Ginger and Nutmeg is a Food and Travel blog for Active Foodies hooked on travelling. We love food, history and digging into cultural traditions. This is a blog with a bit of humour, informative travel information and some great recipes.
Ras El Hanout is a spice blend essential to Moroccan cooking and critical for a traditional couscous recipe. The name translated literally means ‘head of the shop’ for which actual mixtures vary, and in some cases, maybe closely guarded family secrets. A less direct translation is ‘best of the shop’ a savoury combination of as many as 60 spices, ground and mixed together. These are typically found in every ras el hanout; anise, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, mace, nutmeg, ginger, black and white peppers, and turmeric.
Spring starts early in the south of France. Nutmeg was shocked to learn that the cherries on the neighbours’ tree would be ready to eat by the middle of May!! Under perfect conditions, local BC cherries only start arriving in Calgary farmers markets in mid-July. Sure enough the white flowering trees quickly turned to producing the luscious red fruit, and all of a sudden the orchards were laden with produce. The problem with cherries is you can only eat so many before they start spoiling.
The cherry is a stone fruit within the Prunus species, related to plums and apricots. As a fruit, the cherry has been consumed for millenniums, with references even in Roman times. There are numerous varieties of cherries globally. However, the most commonly known strains in North America are the wild cherry (or sweet cherry) and the sour cherry. The red pigment in cherries is called anthocyanin, and it has been shown to provide some pain relief and reduce inflammation.
After a week of travel in a rental car, G&N were happy to park in Melbourne for a few days. Equipped with a friend’s suggestions of places to eat and drink (by district) G&N were ready to explore and eat.
Finally, G&N landed “down-under” on a 30-day Australian “bucket list” trip – it had been a 25-year discussion.
Described by friends as “Vancouver without the mountains” and “Stockholm with more people,” Sydney is Sydney without any comparable. Not entirely sure what to expect of the five-million person (not including visitors) metropolis the twosome stumbled out of their Darling Harbour hotel to explore the highlights. Late morning, after the 20-hour transit including a 16-hour flight leg the only thing on Nutmeg’s mind was finding a strong flat white coffee (maybe two).
Nutmeg is self-admittedly not a patient person. She develops a plan, does not appreciate too much external input, and certainly is not thrilled when there is a proposed change. Living in France, with life at a slower pace, has helped with her natural inclination somewhat. Although, Ginger is certain that she may never be fully cured of her affliction.
Here, are some verbal “pictures” of life in slow motion:
Walks with a 12 year old yellow lab
Sunday morning coffee service at the village café
Opening hours/days for the local boulangerie and boucherie
Watching a dog sleep in the sun
WiFi access in a thunderstorm
A swimming pool warmed only by the sun
Waiting for your tax refund
This post is about the ultimate lesson in patience, a heavy dose of bureaucracy, mountains of paperwork and long queues. Welcome to the world of the sous-préfectures(home of French Administration)! Nutmeg has had the pleasure of visiting a couple of these offices while in Provence, the location in Aix-en-Provence and equally attractive Arles office.
It is not every day that a new vodka hits the liquor store shelves, and certainly not one that is fabricated using only (100%) ingredients from Alberta. The bad news is Ginger and Nutmeg missed the grand opening party. The good news the Wild Life Distillery is nearby, in Canmore.
The distillery’s founders Matt Widmer and Keith Robinson are both Bow Valley locals. Widmer grew-up in Banff and Robinson in Canmore, their connection, like many residents, was snow and sport related – in this case, cross-country skiing events.
It might seem strange for graduates of Kinesiology (Widmer) and Business Administration and Marketing (Robinson) to join forces, but they both appear to be driven by entrepreneurial forces. In the summer of 2014, they shook hands on the slightly crazy idea of opening a distillery in Canmore, and the Wild Life Distillery began to take shape.
Nutmeg asked how the concept came together. According to Widmer,
“I have had an interest in distilled spirits since 2010. While living in Tofino, I would chat with a friend (MBA graduate) on a weekly basis about business ideas and options for future entrepreneurial goals. Distilleries were just starting to be a thing on Vancouver Island around then, and it sparked my interest. Why were there no small distilleries in Alberta? I travelled to Chicago in 2011 to take a spirits course and learn about the industry. Then after some investigation with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC), I discovered that there were extremely high production minimums to grant access to a class-E manufacturing license. So basically, you had to produce 250,000 litres of absolute alcohol to get a license, which clearly prohibited any small distillery from considering starting up. It was then in the summer of 2014 that the AGLC changed the licensing structure, and dropped this huge minimum to zero.”
This was the game-changer that they needed.
“The distilling industry is full of big bucks and big dreams. Keith and I had to find ways to achieve the big dreams without spending too many $$. “
And, sure enough starting a new venture is not easy…
Probably the most difficult part of opening this business was getting permission from the municipality to renovate and acquire our building permit. This involved months of planning, navigating the building and fire codes, and countless meetings with the town to finally arrive at a mutually acceptable solution. Only then, could the space be renovated to suit the production requirements. Determining and finalising equipment needs took months of research and hours of commissioning once it was all installed.
The Wild Life Distillery facility is now fully operational and open to the public Wednesday through Saturday from 12 to 8 pm. Drop by for a tour (at 3 pm), enjoy a cocktail or buy a bottle of local vodka to take home.
Can you tell our readers about the Wild Life Vodka?
We use all Alberta ingredients for our vodka. The grains are raw hard, red wheat and malted barley. We mill, mash, ferment, distill, bottle and label every drop of every bottle on site. It is 100% locally produced, and we are proud to be able to do so here in Canmore. From ‘grain to bottle’ the process is around two (2) weeks. We use Canmore ground water for blending, and the resulting spirit is clean, smooth and authentically Albertan.
Where can readers find your Wild Life Vodka locally?
In Canmore: Stores: Liquor Depot Canmore, Cellar Door, Rusty’s Liquor and Unwined at 3 Sisters Restaurants: Where the Buffalo Roam, The Drake Pub, Hogshead Pub, and The Hive Gallery
In Banff: Stores: Liquor Depot Banff, Side-Street Liquor, Town House Liquor, Tunnel Mt. Liquor Restaurants: Ticino Swiss-Italian Restaurant, Melissa’s Restaurant, The Bison Restaurant, Park Distillery, The Block Bar/Restaurant and The Banff Park Lodge
What is Next up on your list of spirits to be produced?
Gin. We should be ready with gin within several weeks, and then from there, we will likely do a flavoured vodka for summer.
Contact details: Wild Life Distillery 160 -105 Bow Meadows Crescent Canmore, AB T1W2W8 Tel: 403-678-2800
Unkempt and a bit frayed at the edges New Orleans just woke up with bed head.
This is the kind of place where potholes can swallow a car tire in a single bite and construction projects take decades. Flash flooding is frequent when it rains because there is nowhere for the water to go. The city’s residents have adapted, basements are practically unheard of and definitely a folly, slab on grade construction begs for slightly damp walls, and there is a festival of some description almost every day.
This post will most likely make Nutmeg’s Corsican friends angry.
Why bother with the hassle of an overnight ferry, crowded beaches and small twisty roads? If you want to feel like you, have experienced a bit of Corsica without leaving the French mainland, plan a trip to the Ardèche region.
The similarities between, the beautiful island of Corsica and the Ardèche are significant, see below:
Nutmeg is picky about her bananas. The fruit has to be perfect, not too green and certainly not a second too ripe. However, when it comes to banana bread, she has nothing but love for this sweet treat.
Most people have a banana loaf variation that they have perfected over the years, or one handed down from a relative. When this recipe landed on Nutmeg’s laptop from cyberspace, she could not resist trying it. A combination of lemons, olive oil, and bananas adapted from 101 Cookbooks, what is not to love?
Like most sweet loafs this one is very easy to make. The use of olive oil and lemon make it a bit more contemporary than the one you might have from your great-aunt. The trick with all banana bread is finding that perfect moment when the loaf is golden brown but it is still moist - roughly 50 minutes in the oven in this case. Thanks again to Heidi @101Cookbooks for her inspiration.
Ingredients
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
½ Cup Brown Sugar
¾ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
⅓ Cup Olive Oil
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
1½ Cups Bananas, they should be ripe and mashed
¼ Cup Plain Yogurt
1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest, freshly grated
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Optional: 1 Cup Your Choice: Bittersweet Chocolate or Walnuts or Blueberries
Glaze:
½ Cup Brown Sugar
4 Teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350° F
The oven rack should be in the centre
Grease a 9 by 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan - or in this case a Bundt pan
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt
Add the chocolate pieces (or walnuts or blueberries) and combine well
In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, eggs, banana, yogurt, and vanilla
Fold the wet mixture into the flour mixture, do not over mix
Pour the batter into your pan and bake until golden brown
Cool slightly and then move onto a wire rack
Prepare the glaze and run it over the top of the loaf when it is cool
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About Ginger & Nutmeg
Ginger and Nutmeg is a Food and Travel blog for Active Foodies hooked on travelling. We love food, history and digging into cultural traditions. This is a blog with a bit of humour, informative travel information and some great recipes.
Perfectly Provence provides a vast online resource for all things Provence, France. Whether you are about to travel to Provence or currently live their as a local or ex pat, we have curated the region’s best experts to bring you everything you need to know. Perfectly Provence is all about great regional cuisine, France travel tips, local markets and things to do in Provence. Bon Voyage!
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Couscous a Traditional Moroccan Recipe
Claufoutis aux Cerises Recipe for When Life Gives You a Bowl of Cherries
Banana Bread Love Affair
A Perfect Date Recipe
Easy Chicken Stew from the Pantry
Provence’s Olives Start to Finish
Aioli On Fridays in Provence
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Ginger and Nutmeg is a weekly travel blog for worldly foodies.
Ginger and Nutmeg is a digital travel guide aimed at an adult English speaking audience. These are educated, tech-savvy tourists and locals who want to understand unique stories and details behind a destination’s sights and tastes.
The cherry is a stone fruit within the Prunus species, related to plums and apricots. As a fruit, the cherry has been consumed for millenniums, with references even in Roman times. There are numerous varieties of cherries globally. However, the most commonly known strains in North America are the wild cherry (or sweet cherry) and the sour cherry. The red pigment in cherries is called anthocyanin, and it has been shown to provide some pain relief and reduce inflammation.
