My Tiffany's: Lüt Boutique + East is East

Ok, I'll admit it: I want it all and I want it now.
Food, Music, Glamour, please!

Being able to kill a few free-range-organically-fed-birds with one stone makes me very very happy, which is why Main street in Vancouver rarely disappoints. Much the same way a Tom Cat has his safely guarded collection of prowls in his back pocket, I have my meanderings on Main down to a science.

One of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon on this hip-strip is as follows:

First stop is Lüt Boutique. Besides the adorable moniker (who doesn't love an umlaut‽), Lüt Boutique's lures you in with it's spacious and uncluttered layout, and keeps you there with their selection of men and women's clothes from forward thinking designers. Other delightful features include original t-shirts, hard to resist jewelry and reworked leather bags.

This recent addition to Main street's string of awesome boutiques gets it right: hand picked pieces mean you will not end up with an H&M cookie-cutter look, and it will be next to impossible to show up at a party in the same dress as someone else (gasp!).

Yet another fabulous aspect of this establishment is the rotating art on display. Local artists are featured on a monthly basis, complete with proper opening parties where hours are extended and clothes are mostly cleared except for a few gorgeous pieces. I have a deep appreciation for community building events such as these that also serve to support Vancouver's wealth of talented artists.

Most recently, the work of Emily Miles is on display. Her paintings offer compelling images that celebrate beauty while subtly embracing dark side of life.

Her latest collection is a series of large canvases featuring impeccable little birds in luscious tones. Her work draws attention to the negative effects of urban sprawl on wildlife.

I have my eye on the little gangster Hermit Thrush. I will fight you for it. But who am I to be so greedy?: I'm already lucky enough to be the proud owner of a very large Emily Miles canvass from her flora series: deep aqua bleeding hearts that change colour as the sun moves across the sky.












My next destination a few blocks south is dinner at East is East. One of two locations, East is East appeals to the secret & polished gypsy heart that I harbour.

I simply adore the silk-road aesthetic and accompanying cuisine: rich yet simple. Every gourmet's dream.

The free refills of the talis, and complimentary samples of spicy chai (including a soy version for us lactose intolerant types) make the Recessionista in me swoon.
And oh! the food...fresh, sumptuous, with options to please everyone from a Vegan to the most Paleo of carnivores. I leave pleasantly full and excited to return again.

The gentle atmosphere is often uplifted with live music. Tablas meet classical guitars, and sitars make an appearance amid heartfelt vocals. Just because you are a Recessionista does not mean you are cheap, so give a little when the donation basket is passed around. Musicians, like most artists, are chronically undervalued.

Main Street, so full of My Tiffany's FTW!

Food Fetish: Chocolate

Welcome to the first in a series of photo shoots that capture women of Vancouver and their food fetishes.

We're starting things off with a BANG! a CACAO! with the beautiful and talented Miss Shauna Eve.

Her food fetish is chocolate and her favourite conduit for this ingredient is cake. A match made in heaven!

Chocolate cake conjures up memories of birthday parties, celebrations; sin and delight, all wrapped up in one gorgeous confection. Go on, have a piece.

Shauna Eve is a local artist whose penchant for all things aquatic manifests itself in her whimsical artwork. Delicate and thoughtful renditions of sea creatures dance lightly on water coloured canvasses, while sharks bleed red from their ancient perfect hearts.

Shauna appreciates the good things in life, as artists are wont to do. I spoke with her before the photo shoot to get the goods on how she squeezes the best out of life.

V: Why Chocolate?

SE: Chocolate resonates with me because it's as biting and naughty as it is sweet and playful. A non-essential, essential. Sometimes the best thing for you is the thing you want the most.

V: Fave restaurants?

SE: My favourite places to eat are The Foundation for their Satay Salad coupled with a nice red, and Gyoza King on Robson, because everything is more fun with chopsticks. Honestly, the venue doesn't matter as much as the company.

V: Fave thing to cook?

SE: The love of my life in the kitchen lately is quinoa, slightly braised bok choy & yellow tomatoes, and green curry. Oh, and anything with coconut milk! On blueberries and oats, when cooking rice, in waffle batter, coffee and shakes. But far be it for me to push coconut milk on friends.

V: Creative ways to stretch your dollar?

SE: Scrap the car and possibly even the gym membership. Walk, ride your bike, and swim instead. Do it alone, or with a friend.

Our photographer for the shoot was Trevor Adams, co-owner of Vancouver's youngest and freshest Visual Effects outfit Leviathan Studios.
I am grateful that he was able to take time out from his hectic schedule to help with this project, as his eye for photography is stunning.

P.S. Connoisseurs of chocolate know that Fair Trade varieties top the list of most desirable for quenching ones' penchant for the treat. Your fabulous lifestyle should never infringe on other beings' rights xo

SLAMMIN' CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 C granulated organic sugar
1/2 t sea salt
1 t baking soda
1/4 C unsweetened fair trade cocoa powder
1 t vanilla
1/3 C oil (ex. grapeseed or sunflower)
1 T white vinegar
1 C cold water

BAD-ASS FROSTING
1/2 C non-hydrogenated margarine
3 C confectioners sugar
1/3 C unsweetened fair trade cocoa powder
1 t vanilla or peppermint extract
3-4 T almond/hemp milk

Food, Music, Glamour

Recessionistas, time to get creative!

Competitions give you a chance to display a bit of creativity and talent, as well as the opportunity to win some cool stuff that you might not ever find the money for.

My sweetie kir mokum had his eye on the offerings in a Blu Mar Ten photo contest. So of course I helped him style and compose a photo entry. Their only rule was that we needed to have a Blu Mar Ten t-shirt or record in the photo. My only rule was that there had to be food in the shot.

We eventually chose a shot of me, ever the dutiful DJ 'WAG', with the obligatory accessory of head-phones-around-neck. I thought it would be fun to portray the vinyl as an absolute necessity for my day to day functioning. I loaded my bicycle basket with an overflowing picnic, including Blu Mar Ten vinyl and wine, of course.

My essentials: Food, Music, Glamour. GO!

In the mail now, en route from London to Vancouver, is some Blu Mar Ten vinyl, an original dub plate, artwork and stickers.

Win!

My Tiffany's: Gorilla Food

After hearing about the working conditions at Gorilla Foods, I cannot in good conscience keep a glowing review of this establishment up on my blog.
Kitchen staff are chronically undervalued and underpaid. It breaks my heart to hear that the same is true under Gorilla Foods' owner Aaron Ash.

Fuck.That.Noise.

Bikini Season

Bikini season is upon us. For about a month now H&M ads have appeared in train stations across Vancouver featuring bronzed & pubescent-bodied 6 foot Amazon teens in colourful bikinis. Ignore everything but the bikinis.

Here is a reminder to women everywhere: You are Perfect and Gorgeous.

Your smile is delectable, your curves are divine, and your skin is exquisite (because you've been taking my advice and riding your bike around the seawall, stopping to eat fresh berries along the way, right?).

You will not be any more perfect if you lose 5 pounds, or tan your hide, or starve yourself before beach day.

Your confidence makes you sexy. (Oh, and did I mention your curves?)

Honour your incredible body that takes you though this world. Show it off as much as you want, and enjoy it while you have it. Life is far too short to waste on feelings of not being good enough.

Ladies, you are my inspiration!

Hanami Picnic Trio

When asked what my favourite Japanese dish is, I am hard pressed to find an answer. Apart from the fact that there were far to many culinary delights to chose from while I was there, my answer transcends particular dishes or ingredients. It is the way Japanese food is prepared.

The attention not just to flavour but to quality, season, presentation, and eating environment is unparalleled. Whether it's gold flecked sushi tucked in a black lacquered box in Tokyo's glitzy Ginza district, or fragrant pine mushrooms in a delicate broth prepared garden-side on Mt.Takao, the elements that come together transcend the ingredients themselves and create a delicious moment in time.

Food can truly be lifted to the realm of art.

I like to take the liberty of playing with the ingredients by introducing foreign ingredients to traditional Japanese fare. For my Hanami picnic, I chose a variety of Chinese veggies to star in my mini feast. The headliner being Gai Lan.

For my rice and seasonings however, I employ decidedly familiar players in Japanese cooking: sesame oil, tamari, sesame paste, rice wine vinegar.

An obligatory cameo by the ubiquitous Daikon keeps Japanese dishes decidedly authentic. In this post Daikon will be transformed into graceful little tsukemono (pickle).



I can't quite imagine making white rice for any meal anymore. Why lose out on all that naturally occurring vitamin E, B6, and Magnesium? Money saved on supplements can be used to procure a high quality organic rice.

Genmai is a beautiful variety of short grain brown with a fluffy texture that works well in sushi and bento boxes alike.

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I'll now share a lovely little trio of some of my favourite Japanese treats which graced my picnic blanket last Hanami season.

The first is a classic dish with a Chinese twist: Goma-ae made with gai lan instead of spinach. I used the leafy bits only. (The stalks should be saved, as they are delicious when stir-fried and smothered in shiro miso sauce.)













2 T white raw sesame seeds
1 T sesame oil
3 T tahini
1 T almond butter
1 t rice vinegar
sweetener (honey or agave) to taste
sea salt to taste

Cut gai lan into bit sized pieces. Blanch the gai lan and allow to cool. Toss in all ingredients.

Gai lan has a more bitter flavour than spinach. You might be put off at first, but you are making your insides very happy. Dark leafy greens are potent liver cleansers, as well as being chock-full of calcium and antioxidants.

Aligning one's tastes with those of her organs is a worthy pursuit.

Goma-ae is traditionally a sweet dish, so the honey should take the edge off the gai lan. Adding a touch of almond butter is a decadent yet healthy touch which imparts a bit of natural sweetness as well.



Probably due to my sweet tooth, and also because they are vegetarian, I've always had a soft spot for inari. Their simplicity is deceptive. They are what I imagine a zen monk would make if asked to interpret a taco.

I love the idea of filling the inari (sweetened tofu pockets) with things other than white rice. However I also like to keep the aesthetic as visually simple as possible.

Non-traditional fillings I like to play with include genmai (brown rice), red thai varieties, purpley-black 'forbidden' rice (seen in the photo to the right), and ruby red quinoa.

I played with the size of my inari. Wanting to make them mini, bite sized, and kawaii, I used tofu 'puffs' (available from Sunrise) cut in half and seasoned as pockets for my fillings.

A Japanese woodland elf would be in heaven.



My picnic would have been incomplete without home made Tsukemono : japanese style pickles. They are an essential part of a meal, adding a burst of flavour and colour to one's rice bowl.



I selected daikon and mini shape cutters to form sakura blossoms. I soaked the them in apple cider vinegar and beet juice for half a day. Daikon is good at soaking up flavours, making this a convenient quick pickle.

Look at how adorable they are!

Photos were taken by Dalyn Szilvassy, multi-talented designer, mother, and creator of one of my favourite new food blogs The Best I Ever Had. Her eye for food photography is top notch, coupled with elegant comfort food and an easy and absorbing writing style.

PS. I highly recommend a good cup of loose-leaf green tea with your snacks. And if you are feeling rather festive, a thimble or two of high quality sake.

We are exceptionally lucky in Vancouver to have our own Artisan Sake Maker on Granville Island. Enjoy a tasting at the boutique premium sake winery and take some home for your next Japanese meal.

Oishii!

Hanami Season: A Tribute

In Japan, the celebration of the blossoming cherry flowers is called the Hanami festival. Far from being an austere occasion, Hanami is the most exhilarating time of year to be in Tokyo. It's a time to savour: a rowdy celebration of Spring, renewal and rebirth, symbolized by the veritable orgy of palest pink petals forming millions of pom-poms for barely two weeks of the year. Kampai amidst a sunny snow flurry of flowers; feel ecstatic to be alive.

Usually modest and reserved Tokyo-ites are out in full force, literally at all times of day and night, having sake and Asahi fueled picnics. Entire offices will re-locate themselves under the sakura trees and spend the day eating, drinking, singing and carousing.

As a foreigner, stroll through any park during the Hanami season and you will be loudly invited to join practically every group of drunken picnickers you pass, whether or not they speak English or you speak Japanese. There is barely a patch of free grass however everyone manages to squeeze in, and all are welcome. You will leave well fed and slightly tipsy.

I would like to dedicate this post to Hanami 2010. Due to an atypical Spring in Vancouver, the cherry trees did not blossom all at once, but that did not stop me from having my own modest Hanami celebration.

I recently spent the day with a good friend making all manner of tasty delights. I was inspired by the picnic foods I remember eating in Yoyogi park near the famous Harajuku district in Tokyo. I couldn't help but put a bit of a gaijin twist on everything, however the spirit of the food resides in the meticulously manicured parks and gardens of Fair Nippon.