365 Days of Dining

Greetings Readers!


What a beautiful spring day it was in Vancouver today. Sunshine, sweet scent, the world re-awakening from a long cold slumber. Early spring is a time of transition for the natural world every year; early spring is a time for transition for me this year. I am in the midst of huge changes in life, some of which have happened already (career change), some of which are happening as we speak (soul searching), and others that are yet to be (life situation). 

In my constant efforts to infuse this transition with purpose, goals, dreams, and challenges, I am applying for the amazing 365 Days of Dining food blogger position with Tourism Richmond. I am so very excited about the prospects of simply being selected for the Top Ten, even though, of course, my goal is to get the whole shebang and be the new super-psyched ambassador for Richmond, a city that has been my vibrant and ever-changing backyard since I was born. 

Eating at The Grilled Cheese Grill in Portland, Or.

                                            

The competition is stiff, but I am a competitor and I have a lot of unique qualities to bring to this position that others may not have. 


The selection of the next great food blogger is not up to the public, but you can support my quest by checking out my YouTube audition video below and doing the following if you dig it: a) "Like" the YouTube video, b) "Share" the YouTube video and encourage others to watch and "like" it on YouTube, c) write nice comments on the YouTube video page, and d) give me mad props using my full name Jessica Roberts-Farina on Tourism Richmond's Facebook page, the headquarters for the job application process and conversation. All I ask is if you don't dig the video, please keep it to yourself. I want to keep everything positive, peeps! 

Thank you to all of my readers, friends, and family for your support in my heartfelt campaign. I'm not doing it for the prestige or the dollars, but for my sheer love of bringing the joy of food and urban culture to you!

And for your enjoyment, a photo of a recent homemade breakfast, greasy spoon-style.

Egg, bacon, tomatoes, and potatoes. Yum.

With thoughts of hardy crocuses and snowdrops in mind,

The Fledgling Basement Foodie.

Something New, Something Blue

As is obvious, I have been absent from the blogosphere and DDF for just over a month.
I've been really busy with work, tired, and just generally flying at half-mast when it came to my ideas, enthusiasm, and committment to the blog. For me, it is a fledgling project, a hobby, not a business enterprise or a creative outlet I rely on for my sanity. Not that I don't appreciate those who do read my blog and the easy access to free speech and expression that it gives me. I've just been tired and busy.

But, I'm back! With a brand-spanking new design and template that I like much much more than what I had before. Thank you Blogger for giving me more to work with! I like the clean white background, the light blue text, and the welcoming open space of the blog. Perfect for summer. I hope that you will be able to find everything easier and more appealing and refreshing and fun to read!


Below is the reason for my post: a perfect omelette I made a few days ago. Free-range, organic two-egg omelette with local organic pea shoots, local Windset Farms hot peppers, and parmesan cheese. Mmmm good.

An Egg A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

Alright, so there is no such saying. It's just a riff off of the original, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". Neither is really true, but the point of all this is is to discuss my relationship with eggs.

Unlike Julie Powell, I have always eaten and loved eggs: scrambled, eggs benedict, omelettes, quiches, sunny side-up, soft-boiled, egg salad sandwiches, and on and on. But, sometime in January 2009, Anthony and I learned that his cholesterol was a bit high. Not dangerously so, I mean, after all, he is a pretty healthy young man. But, we did consume a lot of eggs.




Eggs while high in cholesterol (in the yolk) are also one of the healthiest foods out there. They are not high in calories, they are full of really important protein that gives you long-lasting energy and improved brain functions, they are an excellent source of easily-absorbed iron, and the list goes on. (Although, after a quick inspection of the "Health Care Professionals" section of www.eggs.ca, perhaps the cholesterol in the egg yolks are not as bad as I thought. Further inspection is required. Doo doo doo doo doo doo, Inspector Gadget!) Regardless, the point is that they are healthy and as long as you're not a vegan, you should eat them (not the vegans, the eggs).

Now, for quite a while now, I can't get this one piece of nutritional advice I read in a magazine (probably Glamour) about eggs: eating six whole eggs a week is healthy, but you should not go over this amount. Yes, advice found in mags is often questionable; however, there is a lot of valuable tips as well. To me, I think eight whole eggs a week works best. Think about it, most people (including myself) usually eat two eggs at a time when they have eggs. Not one or three (I personally couldn't stomach three eggs at once), but two. So if I eat eight whole eggs a week, two at a time, once a day, that is four days a week with eggs, and three days off. That would describe me. Although I have never actually set the six eggs/week goal on the fridge or something, I would keep it in my head as a very lofty goal that I may or may not reach. Eight eggs, however, was something I could do.

I'm not one for diets or ridiculously constrictive eating habits. I love good food to much for that, I value my personal health and happiness too much. But, I do recognize the value of diversity in your daily nutrition and diet. That is part of the reason I try to at least have two days a week when I don't eat eggs. On those days, I'll have oatmeal with milk and honey, and maybe some fruit and yogurt instead. Or, baked beans and toast. I remember a friend suggesting a tofu scramble as a high-protein, hearty, and healthy breakfast alternative, but I never got around to making it. I bought the tofu and then I never ate it. I'm the type of person who has to have a big breakfast or else I just get hungry right away, and if I don't eat breakfast, I'm miserable. So if any of my few cyber-readers out there has any egg-less breakfast suggestions that are easy and filling, send me your thoughts.

And in case you're wondering, yes, I did have eggs for breakfast today.

A Tantalizing New Culinary Discovery

I have discovered something delicious. Something long known to others it would seem. Atop a high "peak" in Vancouver, overlooking the mountains, close to parrots and a jungle, there lies Seasons in the Park...at Queen Elizabeth Park. I have heard good things about this place, vaguely and passively receiving such reviews. It is often voted as a very romantic place to dine. And yes it is pricey, brunch for two hangs around near and in the $50 range. But my god, is it delicious and real culinary revelation (my Book of Revelations would be all be food-related, you see). My mother, generous soul that she is, took me there for the beginnings of a wonderful day on the 27th of this month for a special brunch. After getting over the rather stupefying feeling caused by the surprising deliciousness of the items offered on menu, I ended up going with the Corned Beef & Maple Roasted Sweet Potato Hash, upon our server's recommendation and my pre-existing leanings to that menu option (although when I looked at the menu the night before, my eyes glanced right over this dish). Anyways, long story short-let's get rid of the suspense, shall we?-it was the most delicious breakfast/brunch I have ever had...and I have had many. Chunks of delicious sweet potatoes and corned beef, all seasoned to perfection, with loads of perfectly gooey melted swiss cheese, topped with two perfectly poached eggs with rich orange yolks and a bit of hollandaise and you have the stuff of revelation. Dare I say, the Resurrection of Corned Beef Hash from all its former glory? Wait, has it ever had any glory? Well, the resurrection from its former greasy-spoon derelict dwellings in which it has lied for decades, at least. Un-freaking-believable. Just so delicious. And absolutely something you could make it at home. God, if I had some dough, I'd be dining there all the time. ALL the bloody time. The "Green Eggs" & Ham Frittata and the Seasons Brioche French Toast are particularly calling me. And that's just brunch! For now, Seasons in the Park will remain one of many "special occasion" locales for dining. But my oh my, what a special occasion. And, by the way, the reason for my many religiously inspired metaphors lie in the fact that I am reading Javier Sierra's extremely absorbing The Secret Supper. Highly recommended!

P.S: On a side note, it makes me really mad and fucking angry that the City (fuck you Gregor, I used to be a fan you know!) is closing down the neighbouring Blodel Conservatory and no other level of government is putting any funds forth to support it. All it fucking needs is a fixed roof. Which costs far less than the $6 million dollar-plus federal government grant that was just given to the VanDusen Botanical Gardens.

The Perfect Breakfast