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.

Recessionistas 1 : Marketing Execs 0

The tale that marketing gurus weave: that we will be happier if we buy X. The sad part is, all those advertisements we see actually work! Even though so much of this ongoing tale goes against our better judgment, we often cave into it.

If you live in Vancouver, you are already living the dream. Why do you need someone to sell it to you again, and a flimsy version at that?

Want a skin care regime? Ditch the over priced skin products and try organic fruits & veggies, a water filter and a bike ride around the seawall. Not only will it be cheaper, it will actually work.

Want to be stylish? Don't buy the latest trends: dress for your body and personality, have clothing exchanges, learn to mend clothes, find a local cobbler to rework your favourite footwear. If you shop: choose classic pieces of high quality to last you years instead of months.

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Because what is unwearable to me might be smashing on you, last Saturday I hosted a clothing exchange. We sipped Green Tea Mojito's, indulged in Lemon Cake from a wholefoods bakery(half price after a little eyelash batting on the part of a charming friend)... and yes, of course, a bit of pink bubbly. Recessionistas chillin' like Marie Antoinette FTW!

My fabulous and talented cobbler joined us, to participate in the exchange and deliver my favourite re-worked boots and trainers. I love her so, and her craft. Having to part with well loved footwear is heartbreaking to me...she makes that eventuality more distant. You will hear more about her in future posts.

As much as I love to purge my closet of clutter and unwearables, I am also an admitted clothes hound; I adore having new cute things to wear. I've worn a 'new' piece from the exchange every day this week. My prissy argyle cardigan from one friend even matches the adorable flats from another. Paired them up with a scarf I procured in India for .50 cents , cause that's how I roll.

I think I might have distracted a few of you back when I mentioned Green Tea Mojitos.
Of course I have a recipe for you, kittens!

Not being much of a fan of sugary sweet cocktails, I'm really into these mellow sweet green tea concoctions.

Let's be honest: the antioxidants found in fresh mint, lime juice and freshly brewed green tea are no match for Rum, but they're better than using saccharine pop as mix at your much anticipated Spring cocktail parties.

1 Mickey of white Rum
1 1/2 litres of sencha green tea, brewed strong and chilled
6 limes juiced
1/2 bunch of mint, roughly chop
honey or agave syrup, to your desired sweetness
ice

Muddle mint, mix all, and WHAM! Spring is in full swing..

Recessionistas Unite!

Recessionista:
A creative spirit who uses charm, ingenuity and grace to balance a fabulous lifestyle with a depleted bank account. The Recessionista eats well, looks great, and inhabits milieus which please her.

She is ahead of the game.


She borrows from the Freegans' philosophy, but does not sacrifice quality for her endeavours: binning for cloth behind outlet stores to make her own yoga clothes? Indeed! Binning for food scraps behind a downtown fancy restaurant? Oh Muffin, don't do it!

A shift in perspective is often all one needs to kick start the challenging yet charmed life of a Recessionista: instead of looking to those who appear to have more money than you and pining for the life they lead, stop and realize how much is actually at your fingertips. Not in a smug way, but with gratitude.

And anyway, one look into the dark recesses of the 'well to do's' credit ratings or debt load would reveal that perhaps their situation is not as enviable as we thought, therefore envy is wasted energy and often groundless. Use that energy to find the cheapest organic apples in the city, to organize clothing, shoes & book swaps, and to barter your way into a show with a basket of cookies or a half finished bottle of Sailor Jerry...

This is no trend: it is a state of mind.

Living in Vancouver is expensive, but who ever said that paradise would be cheap?

My Tiffany's: Eternal Abundance

Let it be known: diamonds are not my best friend. I do not yearn for tennis bracelets or engagement rings. I am much more impressed by the sensuality of gorgeous food and fine wine. I delight in the intangible state of knowing you are truly loved, cherished, or admired. And as often as possible, I revel in the joy of being in a milieu which both fulfills and inspires my tastes, desires and passions.

Holly Golightly, an excruciatingly chic and adorable heroine, feels this way about Tiffany's. It's a place where she feels safe, a place where nothing bad could ever happen, a peaceful haven, an oasis. It isn't inherently so, but Tiffany's is absolutely all of these things to Holly.

I've been lucky enough to find many 'Tiffany's' in my world: my favourite yoga studio, Vancouver's seawall, a hug from my boyfriend. If The Sartorialist blog were a place, I'd hang out there often.

I also have a small but growing list of restaurants and grocery stores which grace this list. As soon as I step in the door of any of these establishments: BAM! I have arrived! Blood pressure drops, eyes dilate. Sigh.

I'm eager to share them all with you, but at the same time I'm curious to know: what's your Tiffany's?

First on my list: two in one! Eternal Abundance on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. They sell organic produce. No frills, no fancy displays, no 'organic' junkfood..just gorgeous organic produce. They are also home to the Truffle Cafe which serves up drool worthy RAW meals in the back of the store. The produce is kept fresh with filtered water from spray bottles, unlike big name health food stores that mechanically spray dubious tap water on all their lovely organic fruits and veggies.

J'adore!