Sarahs Salt Spring Island Adventure- Part 1

 Salt Spring Island

So finally I arrived at my final destination, Salt Spring Island, truly a place like no
other. I have had the privilege, over my 30 years, to spend many summer, and
even some winter vacations here, and I can tell you, once you’ve been here, you
will know how truly unique it is.

Beautiful beaches, kayaking, sailing, hiking, rock climbing, locally grown crops,
and raised meat, handmade soaps, jams, jellies, teas, cloths, jewellery, the list
goes on and on. Let’s just say there is nothing you cannot get here, except maybe
Mc Donald’s.

The most unique part though, is the people. There is definitely a different way
of life, more relaxed, natural, and healthy. People dance in the park, pick up hitch
hikers at every turn, and offer complete strangers places to stay. This last one
actually happened to me, I shit you not!

There is too many experiences to share, that one blog will not do this special
little island any justice. So for now, I will leave you with a few snippets from an
article in the Island Marketplace free magazine;

You know you live on Salt Spring when.....

• Monday at 2pm really means you’ll show up Wednesday at 3.
• There is a drunk guy in a rainbow poncho in the middle of the road and
the cops wave.
• You decide to walk for exercise, and five people pull over to see if you
want a ride.
• You see women shopping in their Jammies!
• Gumboots and crocs can get you through the year.

• (And my favorite) A lot of your home BAKED cookies are not for
children.

Love Sarah 

And dont forget to keep checking back, the updates as we prepare for our biggest adventure yet willo be happening pretty much daily! So make sure you check it out!

Love Kristen

A message from my brother

Today I received this loving text message from my brother at 9:00 am...said it made him think of me...not gonna lie it kinda made my heart smile!

Pig Tails and Pogos (St. Jacobs for real)

 This past Tuesday Sarah and I ventured out to St Jacobs once again to experience this Mennonite town and its wonderful farmers market!

First things first we had to have lunch...and yes at first we went with the boring choices of a slice of American style pizza, and dumplings....but then Sarah saw a pogo sign and had to have one! She comes back with two plates, one is clearly a pogo and the other....A PIG TAIL! She saw it on the menu and had to have it and for only $3.00 how could she say no?!?!The picture right below is Sarah extracting all the meat from our delicious pig tail, and it was wonderful, very fatty but the meat was tender, a lot like ribs!

 After we had stuffed our guts with probably more food then they could handle we started our adventure around the market. There were so many vendors.Outside mostly fresh, local produce and home decor items. Inside...the good stuff, meat and cheese vendors lined every wall! With a few Sweets tables thrown in here in there! We took home some awesome Beef Kebab's and Texas style cut pork ribs for dinner!

 These amazing flowers are actually made out of chocolate!!! so beautiful!

 I was even able to find a gift for my mom! The population in St Jacobs is heavily German decent so I was able to find my moms favorite cheese, Limburger. In Toronto its really hard to find so it was awesome to find a market that has a lot in stock!

 Up stairs they have eccentric clothing vendors, home decor and jewelry shops!

 This market caries anything food wise that you could possibly want! From goose fat, to whole pieces of cured meats, to maple sugar candy and everything in between! And bacon......lots of bacon!

 We chatted with one of the maple syrup vendors for quite sometime, he was explaining his maps to us! Every push pin represents a person that has visited/bought from his booth from all over the world! The top map is just Europe, and the bottom one is the globe! Its pretty interesting to see how people from all over the world come here and buy our liquid gold!

 Just as we were about to head home we stumbled upon a booth called the Fruit Cellar. They have anything you could possibly want pickled, preserved and candied. One jar in particular caught Sarah's eye, pickled baby corn! Me I left with some fudge!

 Home sweet home and we settled down to some awesome margaritas and our St Jacobs dinner! awesome day and worth the second trip to see it in action!

Chicken Adobo, Philipino Style

So I have decided to broaden my cooking horizons, try and learn new techniques and methods to different produce and meats. My first challenge took me to the Philippines. I got 4 chicken thighs from Rowe Farms and put them into a pot with vinegar, soy sauce, lots of cracked black pepper, 2 cloves of garlic and a bay leaf, let it go in the oven covered for about 4 hours. Traditionally served over rice, and I added a little bit of hot sauce and a bit of chickpea puree. Its fantastic and probably my new favorite way to eat chicken! try it out...I promise you wont be disappointed!

50th Wedding anniversary

I did some cup cakes for my sister in laws grandparents 50th wedding anniversary... or the golden anniversary! Here are some beautiful pictures from that special day :)

The cup cakes were simple, vanilla cake, with either chocolate, caramel or vanilla butter cream frosting. I sprayed them with an edible gold spray and hand brushed them with a more detailed gold leaf powder!

So when we decided to go to a Mennonite country I guess neither of us was thinking much when we decided to go on a Sunday. We forgot that most Mennonites take Sunday as a work free day, to enjoy church and family. We got the chance to go into a few open stores, and a maple syrup museum, but all the food markets were closed :< No need to fret though, we are headed up there next Tuesday to get the full experience! Here are a couple pictures from our quick visit on a Sunday, stay posted for more in depth pictures to what St Jacobs is really like :)