This is quinoa in bloom. Until recently I’d never seen a picture of the plant. I knew quinoa was a South American ancient grain carrying many nicknames. Despite being dubbed Incan Gold and Gold of the Gods, I hadn’t paid much attention to quinoa after an unfortunate experience with it in pasta form more than a decade ago. But when I needed a gluten-free, low-GI alternative to rice, I found myself scouring the health food stores for the grain in its whole form.
The prices varied wildly. One popular brand was …

A card-carrying carnivore and voracious vegetable lover, Heather Travis left life in the city for life in the country and now boasts an extensive rubber boot collection. Travis is the Public Relations Manager for the Beef Information Centre.
What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Mains for sure, although I am sucker for apple pie – which in our house is classified as a breakfast main.
Who or what got you interested in food?
Both of my grandmothers – Polish on one side, Irish on the other – hence my extreme love of potatoes, they’re …

Nancy Hinton, Chef de cuisine, works at Les Jardins Sauvages, a country restaurant specializing in wild edibles just outside Montreal, She works alongside her partner, François Brouillard, a long time forager by profession and lineage. Her business card also reads Consultant, but only to cover all the other culinary odds and ends she does on the side, such as writing, teaching, menus… She spends most of her time in the kitchen, especially during the growing season.
What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Definitely savory, not sweet. But it is not the main …

Being one of the most abundant and widespread hardwoods in Quebec, the red maple (acer rubrum) is familiar to most of us, populating our forests and ornamenting our sidewalks; yet when it comes to maple syrup, it remains the underdog.  It is the sugar maple (acer saccarum) that is king, scooping up all the glory.
Before maple syrup became big business, most farmers made maple syrup to occupy themselves off-season. If red maples grew on their land, well then, that’s the syrup they made. Often it was a mix of varieties, …

The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, March 23 to 29, 2009, is a must for any wine (and food) lover. It’s been going for 31 years and is among the top three wine festivals in North America. Part of what makes it special is that a winery principal must be in the Festival Tasting Room at all times pouring their wines. So you’ll see Rafael Boscaini pouring Masi wines, winemaker John Simes from Mission Hill Family Estates, port maker Cristiano van Zeller, Cathy Seghesio from Seghesio, Kristy Skrabic from Caymus, …

Come October 2009, British Columbia restaurants will be trans-fat-free thanks to provincial legislation. As a consumer, I avoid trans fats and would be happy to know they can’t creep onto my plate when I dine out.
But as a restaurateur, how do you feel? Were you ahead of the curve on this ban or do you resent government intervention? Will this affect your bottom line or is it just the cost of doing business?
Don’ live in BC? Is the west heading up a health initiative you’d like the rest of the …