Spring has finally arrived (at least for now) so what better way to celebrate than stuffing your face with yummy street food. 

YYC Food Trucks is holding its first annual Spring Food Truck Frenzy today (April 26) at the Riverwalk Plaza in the East Village (Fifth Street and Confluence Way SE). There will be 15 food trucks on site from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as live music and giveaways. The event is family-friendly, and admission is by donation of a food bank item. 

Go!

The Auburn Saloon, the favourite watering hole of Calgary's theatre community, is being evicted, effective immediately. That's according to a notice on the door of the bar today.

The notice, posted by Palliser Square Properties Inc., cites failure to pay $32,598.14 worth of rent and failure to provide adequate proof of insurance.

The Auburn has a long history of quenching the thirsts of theatre artists and audience members, with its perfect location down the hall from Vertigo Theatre and Lunchbox Theatre and just a short hop from the Epcor Centre. It has also been a strong supporter of the arts community, regularly hosting events.

No word from the Auburn just yet, but we'll update if and when more information becomes available.

Got … Read More

One of the perks of being a local food writer is that you sometimes get a firsthand look at the ingredients that go into some beloved dishes. Last night was such a night. B.C. Blueberries hosted an event from the rooftop patio of Le Germain with CHARCUT chefs, Connie DeSousa and John Jackson. Like an episode of Iron Chef, DeSousa and Jackson took the not-so-secret ingredient of the season’s first-harvest, B.C. blueberries, and served up an array of tangy dishes, in a hailstorm, no less.

The evening started with a martini aptly named the Blueberry Thyme Bomb, mixed with Grand Marnier (among other things), fresh blueberries and garnished with a sprig of thyme.

Next up, was the Blueberry Collins, with elderflower liqueur and sparkling … Read More

On July 16, my husband and I had the pleasure of partaking in one heck of an event hosted by CHARCUT Roast House. Co-owners and chefs, John Jackson and Connie DeSousa, welcomed Michelin-Star chefs and friends, Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani of California’s award-winning Terra (Napa Valley) and Ame Restaurant (San Francisco) to collaborate in their kitchen for a one-night-only, one-of-a-kind culinary event.

The six-course dinner with wine pairings began with milk-fed piglet and foie gras porchetta.
 

Served chilled, the young pork was savoury and succulent. On the side was a salad of frisée, fennel ribbons and an intense salsa verde aioli. For an extra bite of acidity, the salad was topped with crunchy-fried artichoke.

The wine … Read More

The bonus of having a long, cold winter is how exciting it is when summer finally comes with its bounty of fresh, local produce, bought straight from the farmer at farmers' makets.

With burgeoning local and slow food movements in our city farmers' markets are popping up all over the city. There are nine Alberta Approved farmers' markets in Calgary and the surrounding area, as well as numerous other markets.

If you have time tomorrow (June 2) between 3:30 and 7 p.m., check out season opening of one of the older markets in the city. The Hillhurst-Sunnyside market has been around since 1994, when it started with four vendors. Since then it has had its ups and downs, some years there have been very few vendors, others the parking lot has been … Read More

There are a few common misconceptions about jam-making that I don't quite get. And I'd like to clear them up now, if possible.

1) you must make an enormous batch, requiring pounds of fruit, an enormous pot and every square inch of counter space available.

2) you must use proper canning equipment, buy jars with sealable lids, and process your jam at so many pounds per inch for a precise length of time, lest you give someone botulism.

3) you must buy packaged pectin, be exact with your measurements and then feel some degree of panic over the possibility that your jam might not set.

4) it will take you all day, or at least most of the afternoon.

Really guys, it's just not that big a deal. Jam is just fruit cooked down with sugar and acid (ie. lemon juice). So … Read More

Afternoon tea isn't just for Mothers' Day. It just so happened that we went for Afternoon Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel on Mothers' Day weekend, so I can pretend that was orchestrated on my behalf, in honour of my most excellent motherness.

But really, I'd take a tower of tea sandwiches and sweets, warm scones with clotted cream and a mountain view on any afternoon of the year.

Having lived in Calgary since grade 2, I've made my share of day trips to Banff. But over the past year I've rediscovered the place, newly appreciative of the fact that it's an easy hour's drive away, and enough of a change of scenery to make a regular weekend seem like a long weekend, even if you bring your blackberry and laptop with you. Friday afternoon we threw our stuff … Read More

For some reason, a bag of Cheezies (the real, Hawkins kind - they're Canadian, did you know?) with a bottle of big red wine has become my idea of heaven on a Friday night. (Achievable dreams are important-yes?) It occurred to me awhile ago that I could in fact make something similar. These are easy, snacky, and a great way to use up the last of the cheese ends (any kind, really) in your fridge. I'm not sure revisiting these cheesy bits (which were oh-so-popular in the 80s, often made with frozen puff pastry) was altogether a good idea. (It might be better to save this recipe for occasions at which more than one person is present, if that person is you.)

They also, it turns out, make a great nibble alongside a bowl of soup, if you need a sort of ballast that doesn't … Read More

SHUT UP.

A Nutella latte.

deVille on first street.

I went for elevenses today; Pierre, author of the (award winning!) cookbook Kitchen Scraps, made crumpets. I know! For real! Crumpets! Only the very best butter transport system ever created!

Crumpets are made out of a wet, yeasty batter - thicker than pancake batter but thinner than bread dough - cooked in a hot skillet in crumpet rings (or cookie cutters, or cleaned-out tuna tins opened on both ends) until they're set enough to flip and cook until crusty gold on the other side. Why pancakes and waffles are so commonly made on Sunday mornings but crumpets aren't I have no idea. It's totally unfair. Maybe I'll go to the UK and ask them. Over crumpets.

The recipe isn't quite done yet. Pierre deemed the batter too sticky. They were quite fabulous, even … Read More