While I’m hoping for a rare west-coast January snowstorm, nature decides on snowdrops instead… Well, OK.
Snowdrops in Victoria BC, January 2014.
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Late last summer, the Victoria Public Market at the Hudson opened in Victoria, BC Canada. Now, most of the spaces are filled and it is alive with restaurants, farmers, fish and meat vendors, bakeries, and more.
On a grey day, or any day, the Victoria Public Market is an inviting place (especially if you are hungry!).
Douglas Street between Fisgard and Herald streets.
Yesterday was a very exciting day as chef Vikram Vij, from our favourite Vancouver restaurant Vij’s, gave a cooking demonstration in the market’s community kitchen. About 80 people enjoyed his animated talk and sampled the delicious Vij Family’s Chicken Curry which was lovingly prepared over the hour-long presentation. One of the first restaurants to open at the Market was Sutra, locally owned, but a thread in the culinary tapestry of Vij’s. As well as amazing lunches, Sutra carries Vij’s frozen prepared meals, spices and Vij’s and Vij’s at Home cookbooks. Here are photos of Sutra, Mr Vij and some of the other wonderful offerings at the Public Market at the Hudson:
Best chai in Victoria, in my humble opinion…
Elegant decor and attention to detail add to the delicious food at Sutra.
Vikram Vij from Vij’s in Vancouver cooks Vij Family’s Chicken Curry in the community kitchen at the Victoria Public Market. The aroma was intoxicating.
Sutra’s owner and chef dish up the curry while Mr Vij answers questions.
Silk Road Tea‘s satellite shop is located at the Public Market.
Salt Spring Island Cheese is the first shop as you enter the Market from Douglas Street. Tempting samples of their delicious cheeses are on offer daily.
Sugarboy Bakery is a regular fixture on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Yesterday we tried the Bourbon Pecan Tarts, which were heavenly.
Cottlestone Apiary was at the Market yesterday with honey and beeswax candles.
Damn Fine Cake Company, a very pretty space. We look forward to siting down for a treat and beverage soon.
Newly opened, yummy Mexican food at La Cocina de mama Oli.
A very nice kitchen shop has just opened. Colourful and abundant Fiestaware is a prominent offering.
We haven’t tried pie from Victoria Pie Co. yet, but it sure looks great!
Salt Spring Sprouts & Mushrooms had some delectable sprouts and Shiitake mushrooms yesterday.
Long shot of the Market.
If you are in Nelson, here is a list of restaurants to try. I have tried some of these and they are all my sister’s favourites. These are by no means all the restaurants in Nelson, there are many more to try!
Bibo, locally sourced and changing menu
Rel•ish, a chef’s passion
The Preserved Seed, simple and delicious
All Seasons Cafe, the best from every season’s bounty
Full Circle Cafe, breakfast all day as well as lunch
Bennys at Full Circle Cafe. A half order of Eggs Florentine and and full of Nanny’s Benny. Those caramelized onions were outrageously delicious!
The Bent Fork, all-day breakfast, lunch and brunch; and pie!
Oso Negro Coffee, locally roasted
Mana’eesh, Middle Eastern flavours for lunch or dinner
Baba’s Indian Cuisine, excellent Indian food, but no website to share
Once we had looped back to our starting point we were all very hungry, so off to the lodge we went. The Whitewater Ski Resort offers a pub, cafe, and coffee bar. We found a perfect table in the pub and watched the skiers and snowboarders swooshing down the runs. Lines of little ones just learning and others of all ages and abilities were enjoying the glorious day. The original chef at Whitewater has written three cookbooks which I use regularly. Our burgers were all exceptional and the fellas enjoyed local Nelson Brewing Company beers. The food from the Resort is so popular, they now have a food truck, The Fresh Tracks Cafe Express, which is parked at the base of one of the runs in the winter and in downtown Nelson in the summer months.
Our burgers were all super fresh and tasty. My sis and I both had the veggie burger with sides of delicious mushroom miso gravy. The fellas each had a different beef burger. See the menu here.
Beer, hot chocolate, twinkling lights, mountain views and lots of happy, happy people!
The view from our table in the pub.
On our last full day in Nelson, the four of us took a short drive up to the Whitewater Ski Resort, which offers downhill skiing and snowboarding, as well as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails. The trails were very beautiful and we only encountered one other person. We wound our way through the woods, past partially exposed streams and snow-laden trees. A beautiful, peaceful, magical place.
Whitewater Ski Resort, just a 20-minute drive from Nelson BC.
The heavy snow turned the smaller trees into giant fiddlehead shapes.
A little stream trickled away under the snow. There were spots where animals had jumped across it and scampered away through the woods.
Santa brought me something extra specially chocolatey in my stocking this year: Hot Chocolate Spoons from the Mountain Nugget Chocolate Company in Rossland BC. Boxing Day seemed the perfect time to try them out:
Just one of the outrageously good offerings from Mountain Nugget. The burnt toffee bar is another favourite.
We decided to melt the chocolate in the milk on the stovetop as I wasn’t convinced it would melt by just stirring them into a cup of hot milk. They did melt pretty quickly though. We combined one milk and one dark which was delicious.
Extraordinarily delicious. Our cups probably held 8-9oucnes of milk, which seemed perfect. A little less milk and it would have been very rich indeed.
We all had a very slow and quiet day for Boxing Day. There was a blanket of fresh snow all around.
Awoke to new snow falling and a fresh unspoiled blanket of white.
The snow was so beautiful!
We popped into town briefly for a bit of browsing and then home to lounge around and watch Christmas movies. Perfect!
The right number of pigeons for a small town! They seemed to be finding something to eat in the snow.
Such a pretty little town!
Weary, but in no way hungry yet, we set out preparing the feast. GJ was in charge of the turkey and my sis and I powered through the multiple other dishes. My sis’s fella R was in charge of dispensing seasonal beverages. We had such a wonderful afternoon and evening, and so enjoyed the amazing meal we created together! Check out these links which gave us inspiration: Amazing roast turkey, yummy roasted vegetables with different flavourings, and delicious vegetarian nut loaf. Oh, and I think the bread stuffing was the best I’ve ever made! The credit belongs to all the bread: most of the home-made loaf our friends in Salmo sent us home with, most of a Mishe Royale from the Nelson bakery called Au Soleil Levant, and the secret stuffing weapon, three croissants!
My sister and I chopping, measuring, and chopping some more.
Chopped potatoes, garlic cloves and sliced shallot s were roasted first, then mashed with butter and cream.
One of my favourite parts of the meal, cranberry sauce. This year I combined about 400 grams of organic cranberries, one fresh bartlett pear, finely chopped, and brown sugar.
Delicious nut loaf comes out of the oven to make room for the roasted vegetables.
The final moments of preparation.
The tree is lit and the table set. A warm and cozy setting for our feast.
The plates piled high!
After breakfast, GJ, my sis and I waddled across the street to the golf course with snow shoes and toboggans in tow for a bit of fun and exercise. It was awesome fun!
As we head out, GJ smoking one of his Christmas cigars.
Looking back to where we would eventually end up. There were two very long, very fast runs. This little person in the distance was just about the half way mark speeding down the run!
Spectacular views! In the distance is BOB (Big Orange Bridge) across Kootenay Lake.
This was the second place we tried. It was a bit slow.
A perfect “Who-Ville” tree.
My sis from the half-way point of the long, fast run. Some bruising and a lot of laughter ensued.
GJ goes face first down the long, fast run.
Beautiful rowan berries covered in snow.
From the half-way point I mustered the courage to give this fast run a try. But then…
I chickened out! The toboggan had an excellent run, reaching the best distance of the day.
Down the hill comes GJ; seconds later he was mid air!
GJ’s white beard, after his momentous run.
A large section of our extra luggage was filled with two large pannetone from Fol Epi bakery in Victoria. On Christmas morning, we made French toast with four thick slices of it. I made a simple mixture of eggs, light cream, vanilla and the juice of half a mandarine orange. So delicious and rich, one slice was more than enough!
Best French toast ever!
Yum!
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