Viva Epicurea!

FANCY THAT!

Pinch me, please.

I'm in Habibti Heaven.  At this very moment I'm in San Francisco (love this town!) attending the Winter Fancy Food Show at the Moscone Center.

I've been reading about this show for years - most recently on other people's blogs.  I'd soak up the writing and their lovely photos, sighing, resigned to the fact I might never attend a Fancy Food Show of my own.  Until today.  I'm here!!

I'm attending on behalf of Sahale Snacks ... my most recent professional endeavour. 
Today is purely "shock and awe."  Surrounded by gorgeous food & displays, I'm wandering up and down aisles of cheese or chocolate, pate & proscuitto -- just trying to take it all in.  It's a tad overwhelming but the good kind.  Sort of like that decadent dessert you say you can't possibly finish but you know you'll find the strength somehow.

Photos will come tomorrow .. but highlights today are of the personal kind.  This morning in the press room I ran into to two gals whose blogs are among the very best.   They're certainly two of my favorites.  Heidi of 101 Cookbooks and  Elise of Simply Recipes.   Call me silly but I was absolutely tickled to meet them in person & chat a bit.  I got to peek inside Heidi's new cookbook & chat a bit - such a treat. 

Still smiling to myself over my chance encounter, I walked right into Ofer & Ofri Barmor of Carmelis!  If you've read my blog before you'll know what a huge fan I am of Ofer & Ofri.  They're here on a recon mission and sadly for me, they are not sampling their lovely cheeses.

I'm heading back to the booth now .. hopefully I'll have some photos to post and food to write about tomorrow. 

The Long Farewell

My family's farewells often amuse my husband and sometimes... they drive him a little batty.  Farewells bid by  his family tend to be short and sweet.  Our adieus are long, verbose, physical (lots of hugging) and can often be the beginning of  new and lively conversations.  Now that we're spending some time in Seattle (even closer to my family) you'd think that our goodbyes would take into account the shorter distance between us.  Not so.

So it will come as no surprise that it has taken me weeks to write my last missive from Kelowna.  Only now I'm not in Kelowna, I'm sitting on my patio looking over Lake Union.  But for all intents and purposes, at this very moment, my heart is in Kelowna.  And the fond foodish memory tempting me now is rooted in the summer farm kitchen at Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisan with charismatic chef Geoffrey Couper at the head of the table.

It was that meal shared with Ofer, Ofri, Geoffrey, my dear friend Trisha, Milan, the "Rock Star of Tomatoes", and a handful of friendly strangers that I began to realize that I was going to miss the Okanagan.   The long goodbyes began shortly thereafter.  I won't bore you with the details but I must tell you about dinner.  Because that, is most certainly, long overdue.

Safari Lunch

Do you remember the last time when the sight of food was the most welcome sight you could imagine?  That was me recently after a long, hot and dusty drive into Kruger National Park in South Africa.  Not that I am complaing -- not a bit.  I'd skip lunch any day to see the wild beauties we did. Giraffes (my first sight of one caused me to screech like my niece Zaza!) zebras, elephants, impalas.  Incredibly wonderful, beautiful and wild animals seemed to welcome us at every dusty turn.
I forgot my hunger until we arrived at the quiet and peaceful Shishangeni Lodge, located on a private reserve inside the Kruger.  Greeted with cool, damp cloths we refreshed our tired and dusty faces before sitting down to meal of moist chicken kababs, roasted vegetables, feta cheese, salad and healthy dose of dessert. It was the best lunch I've had in ages. Quietly we washed down our meals with a crisp South African wine and inhaled the beauty of the bush... which is really quite intoxicating on its own.

Catch of the Day

Gaborone, Botswana

Based on the very long "whiskers" protruding from the mouths, I'm guessing these are catfish. I couldn't communicate very well with the man who was hanging this fresh catch so I snapped a pictures as he hung his dripping wares on the line and walked back to our vehicle.  I was in another hot & sticky place the last time I saw (and ate) catfish - Shreveport, Lousiana - on our marathon documentary trip.
We're in southern Africa now.  Gaborone, Botswana to be exact.  Over the last few days we've driven nearly the entire length of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor from Pretoria, South Africa to Walvis Bay, Namibia. And Back.
I haven't had much time to blog but I have been getting my fare share of Peri Peri Chicken. I'll devote proper blog space to that spicy concoction soon.  But for now - a quick "shout out" or is it "blog out" to Cafe Dijo here in Botswana.  Yesterday I enjoyed a scrumptious roasted veggie sandwich and iced coffee, topped off with perhaps the very best brownie I have ever enjoyed.  Cafe Dijo is only a few months old but so well known already, that one has to arrive early to snag one of those brownies before they disappear.

Mahdinas

Oh hello little food blog.  Allow me to introduce myself... I think the last time I was here was August.

Where does the time go?  For all two of you checking, Independent America: The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop is complete.  We had a great premiere in Kelowna late last month and have been getting such good press here in the Okanagan, H and I joke that we're over-exposed.  We're so very grateful for the incredibly positive response to the film & we're looking forward to sharing the project.  So far we're planning a few hundred screenings in the U.S. and a few here in Canada. It's been quite the journey

And it's been busy.  I found myself revisiting old cooking magazines the the other day.  Sighing and practically salivating, I couldn't recall the last time I cooked something interesting-  let alone, take a picture of it!   I'm posting a summer restaurant write-up I did for Off-Centre in hopes it will light a fire under my cooking & blogging instinct.

Quite honestly, I'm nursing a cold right now.  Does anyone have a favorite feel better soup I can try?

Mahdinas for Off-Centre

UPDATE: I hear that Mahdinas on Tutt is now owned and operated by another party. This review ws written when Chef Marcus was at the helm. I believe he is currently at Mahdinas in Naramata.

One of the first impressions diners get when walking into Mahdinas is “this is a friendly place.” Co-owner Dana Kharboutli greets guests with such enthusiasm her “hellos” often turn into full contact hugs. But tucked away inside Kelowna’s Tutt Street Square, Mahdinas does more than make diners feel welcome it sends their taste buds on a whirlwind trip around the globe. One meal at Mahdinas and you might taste a bit of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Indonesia and always – the Okanagan.

It’s par for the course for Dana’s husband and Mahdinas chef, Marcus Kharboutli.  Born in Beirut, a young Marcus was exposed to his mother’s superior talent in the kitchen.  “It was like a restaurant” he remembers, “people would phone up, like they were making reservations and ask if it was their turn for dinner yet.” Often times the Kharboutli family would take to bed while their guests continued to dine, making sure to clean the kitchen before they left. To this day Chef Marcus credits his mother for his own faculty in the kitchen.   

A Thought

Like so many people around the world, I have observed in horror the famine in Niger over the past few weeks.  The world had been warned nearly a year ago this would happen, say the reports, but apparently few of us (this writer included) were paying attention.

So as I struggle to meet my Eat Local challenge, as worthy an endeavour as it is, I have to shake my head.  It is not fair to compare, yet it all seems frivolous. As does this blog, even though it brings me great joy.  I have spent enough time working in news & traveling around the world to know that I can't feel bad enough to affect change in a poverty and famine stricken place like Niger.  But I also know I can do something.

Does that make me feel a little better? Yes.  Should it? No.  Does it help?  A very little, perhaps.

More importantly it makes me aware and that awareness manifests itself in my life - every day.  I like to say that the bounty in my life is not lost on me. But  I think it is.  No more. I've had yet another wake-up call.  I'm not about to drop Viva Epicurea!, my love of food or the challenge.  But I will continue with more gratitude than when I began and I will do something.

How to Help

I'd Rather Be Shucking Broad Beans

It's another long night of logging our more than 70 hours of tape.  I'm sneaking this entry in while watching an enthusiastic Wal-Mart manager walk through his massive store in West Gastonia.  Shhh.. don't tell H.

Frankly, I would rather be shucking these local beauties.  The effort is more relaxing and, in the short-term, more rewarding.  A little local butter, a little salt (which would be local if I happened to live in France) and Voila!  A Vegetarian is born. Well, almost.