A beautiful Saturday morning in Chamonix with Saffron as tour guide, Nutmeg, Ginger and Jade (the dog) all head to the Chamonix Centre farmers market.  The market runs Saturday mornings from 8am-12pm all year round.  This market is about 50/50 food vendors and other merchants (clothes, traditional crafts, household goods).  The food vendors run the full spectrum; of fruit, vegetables, cheese, bread, honey, fish, cured meats and flowers. There is lots of choice, and almost all of the food is “local” within a few hours drive.  However, the market does cater to tourists as well so buyer beware!  Our story below should serve to reconfirm that statement….
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Recipes & Travel:
Chamonix, Food info in France, French Food, Markets in Europe, Travel in France

Thanksgiving, it certainly feels like fall in Southern Alberta and in parts of France.  The mornings are crisp and more clothing layers are required for dog walks.  Nearby mountain peaks have some early season snow at the higher levels, and the leaves on the trees are starting to turn their autumn hues.  Nutmeg is not really a fall person, although she has many friends who embrace the transition season between summer (her favorite) and winter (skiing, second favorite). (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Alberta Farmers Markets, Alberta Organic Produce, Easy Casseroles, Food Nutritional Facts, Recipes with Potatoes, Vegeterian Recipes

A gift of time..
Nutmeg is happily jobless for the first time since the mid 1980s (you can do the math).  Ginger as you already know has been working very hard on a Masters degree for the last 10 months – and he has done it!  So what better way to celebrate by taking some well deserved time off than to travel?  Nutmeg has been negotiating with Ginger for awhile and it is finally happening, they are going to France for six months!  The planning began back in June and the list was very long.  The most important thing was the visa application to allow for an extended stay in the country (anything over 90 days requires a visa).
Several years ago, Nutmeg worked in France and she knows that if there is one thing the French love it is paperwork. What better way to emphasize the national love for bureaucracy than a lengthy visa application?  The process is 15 steps…

Recipes & Travel:
Coq au Vin Recipe, French Food, Healthy Chicken Recipes, Travel to France

Back in August, Nutmeg published a blog post on Nu-Roots Nutrition in Canmore.  In the past few weeks, she has had the pleasure of getting to know the three ladies involved a little better; Sam, Tori and Joanne.  These three ladies offer a winning business combination of holistic nutrition (individual and corporate) and a storefront where they sell fresh small batch quantities of gluten free, raw food.
If that sounds strange or yucky, think again….  Nutmeg has tried the “Nutella” spread and it is too die for AND good for you.  The granola comes in two varieties a buckwheat and a cacao version both delicious.  There are all sorts of other great things including; decadent brownies.  Want to learn more?  The store is open Tuesday – Friday and they offer raw cooking classes about every two weeks.  Below is an article from their most recent newsletter and a really easy recipe.  BE TEMPTED! (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Cobbler Recipe, Easy healthy desserts, Food Nutritional Facts, Healthy Apple Recipes, Raw food

The City of Calgary has spent $11.5 million and two years renovating Central Memorial Park, one of the oldest parks in the city it opened in 1912.  This centrally located park had fallen from a prominent memorial dedicated to those who fought in the two world wars, to an inner-city eyesore full of drug dealers and home to some of Calgary’s unfortunate street dwellers. The park was officially reopened on May 14, 2010.  The park construction and work on the new restaurant Boxwood Cafe is finally finished.  The restaurant opened on September 15th.  Nutmeg could hardly wait to check it out.  So the best way is to go for lunch with a great friend! (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Boxwood Cafe, Calgary Restaurants, Food in Calgary, Restaurant Reviews, Travel Alberta

Nutmeg is not really a brunch person.  Here is why:

Marginal coffee, as you may have gathered coffee is very important to Nutmeg, and generally speaking buffet style eating does not lend itself to good espresso and skinny lattes.
In addition to the coffee issue, the question is what to serve?  It is not breakfast, it is not lunch – hence the dilemma.
If you go out to a restaurant with a buffet it is typically a complex spread that runs the gambit of breakfast food to roast beef.
Ask any parent with young kids brunch is a disaster. They need to eat earlier and there is no way to keep them in their “Sunday best” until mid-morning.
Then there is the issue of timing, not too early, not too late…around 11am is typical, which compromises both morning and afternoon activities. (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Easy Casseroles, make ahead brunch recipes, Recipes with Blueberries

Nutmeg had the pleasure on a recent sunny Friday to convince restaurant owner Micheal Beamer, to leave his station behind the La Marzocco espresso machine (for serious baristas), for a few minutes and tell her his story about this small business success. Micheal Beamer headed out to Western Canada in the late 1980’s.  He made his way to the Rockies for the skiing and the scenery.  With a hotel management degree from Georgian College and a big smile he started work at the famed Chateau Lake Louise.  Micheal’s focus on customer service allowed him to move to the position of Assistant Beverage Manager within five years.  During that time, “coffee-culture” was growing south of the border in Seattle and heading North. (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Beamers Coffee, Canadian Rockies, Canmore, Coffee Shops, Restaurant Reviews, restaurants

It is a funny thing, how Ginger and Nutmeg (both Virgos) have so many friends with the same birth sign.  It could be some sort of natural selection occurring, as it is  quite obvious that all the very cool, sporty, beautiful people are Virgos.  Or maybe it is the fact that November is typically a cold, dark month and what else are you going to do…babies arrive about nine months later.  In any case August and September are a great chance for Ginger and Nutmeg to celebrate birthdays with their buddies.
There is a restaurant in Canmore named  Wild Orchid Asian Bistro and Lounge, it is located the Silver Creek Lodge.  The lodge is located on “gasoline alley” just off the Trans-Canada.  The restaurant is at the back of the lodge and once you arrive you quickly forget that you are so close to a busy thoroughfare.  There is a small sushi bar and a fairly large dining area.  The…

Recipes & Travel:
Canadian Rockies, Canmore, Restaurant Reviews, restaurants, Travel Alberta, Wild Orchid Asian Bistro and Lounge

Nutmeg has a very dear friend Sassafras.  They have been friends for several decades and even though they live quite far apart, they usually manage, to get in a ski or bike or hike weekend here and there.  So a bit about Sassafras (besides the great name). She is so smart she has two university degrees because engineering was not hard enough.  She loves the open water, craves mountain vistas, has a great laugh and generally embraces live.  Sassafras also loves to cook and has decided that she will help Nutmeg out and provide a few of her favorite recipes for all of you to try.  So as Nutmeg is digging out her puffy down jacket, the rest of the country is still experiencing summer, so Sassafras’s first recipe is a cool summer soup:  North African Spiced Tomato Soup.

 
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Recipes & Travel:
North African Cooking, Quick and Easy Soup, Recipes for Tomatoes, Vegan friendly, Vegeterian Recipes

As the kids head back to school and everyone gets back into the post summer routines, including work or work-outs you may need something for an extra energy boost. Do you workout in the morning?  Do you have a mid-morning crash after dropping off the kids, doing groceries and cramming in a workout?  Do you need a snooze after lunch?  If any of these scenarios sound familiar you may need a healthy pick me up snack.  Of course you should balance these little treats with adequate fruits, vegetables and fluids.  These Nutty Energy Bars are delicious, easy to make, do not melt in a lunch box and last for a couple weeks in a sealed container (if you can restrain yourself).
Nutmeg has adapted this recipe slightly, you can play with the ingredients to use your favorites – so far almond, dried cherry is the winner.  Check out the recipe for Nutty Energy Bars and enjoy.  No more energy lows.
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Recipes & Travel:
healthy snack bar recipes