Foodie artThis amazing installation at the Saatchi gallery in London was made using large sheets of foil paper. This was such a treat as we were in the largest mosque (in the world?) in Abu Dhabi the day before. I want to try this at home with some foil paper, maybe will try it out on my nephews. I really wanted to touch this exhibit as these sculptures looked so sturdy - may have to google the artist as am intrigued, it was impressive to enter the room and see all these figures so perfectly aligned and formed.

In other parts of the gorgeous gallery, there were some interesting lady-like sculptures, this one had two cantaloupes in her bra, and pearls in the pouch between her legs. The gallery is a must visit. At the event we had the loveliest berry cocktails. Thanks to the lovely KC for the invite - we met while sipping Fijian cava on the Yasawa islands not so long ago.

A little Fiji refreshment Look what arrived via special delivery today...a little reminder of last year's lovely holiday.

I have to still fill in my post below, but at one quick glance, one of the photos has salts from around the world. I remember the black salt being from Hawaii - is there such a thing as too much choice?

Taro and rou rou

If you are not sick of Fiji posts then read on. If you are sick of them here's a diversion...go to this website and read interesting stuff about career and personal coaching at my friend Daryl's site called Dynamic Life Creations.

So readers that have stayed on here is info about the food in the photo which was a typical dish served in Fiji.

I have never eaten taro (white triangular shape at centre of the plate) or rou rou which is the local spinach (green stuff on the plate) but we had plenty of it while in paradise (a.k.a Fiji).

Taro is like a harder potato with a starchy texture but tastes like a dry mixture of pumpkin and potato and the rou rou is the local spinach. It was so nice to eat as it was always served in a coconut milk sauce. I think I will try cooking our local spinach, which is leafy rather than the Fijian one which is ong and stringy, in coconut sauce as it was delicious.

Taro was served to us every day while we were on the Yasawa Islands and it seems that the vegetable has been a staple of the indigenous Fijian diet for centuries. Locals call it taro root but it is not really a root but a corm.

Corms are short, vertical, swollen underground plant stems that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat. Interesting factoid, non?

In 1993 Samoa had a problem with their taro crops and Fiji stepped in to fill the gap. They then became the main supplier for New Zealand, Australia, and Los Angeles in the United States (there are a lot of Californian's in Fiji as it is an overnight 11hr flight to the islands).

Am not sure if you can buy it in Toronto but will have a look next time I am at the market and will try and make taro and rou rou for the Dolce's. Will need to call Grace of Pig 'N Pancake fame, in Oregon for a recipe.

taro corms

Oh so 'Special' Norwegian delights
There will be a series of posts on Norwegian food gathered from friends Lars, Trond and Espen who we met in Fiji. We had some long conversations about food and the Norwegian style of food. Trond and Espen are traveling the world for a year, taking a break from their jobs as chefs at one of the poshest restaurants in Norway. And Lars is the Paul McCartney look alike who is Trond's Dad (see pic below).

The trio recommended that one of the things one must eat when they are in Norway is the 'Special'.

This special hot dog is grab and go food for the Norwegians and is very popular for hang-overs. The 'Special' is made with a hot dog covered in shrimp salad (mayo, artificial shrimp and sometimes vegetables). This tops the many condiments you can find on Toronto and NY hot dog stands. Fish and hot dog- what a combo?

And if you get the special, 'Special' it is wrapped in a large flat potato pancake to hold the hot dog , shrimp surprise and all the condiments. This meal in a bun is also topped with mustard, mayo and more in case you didn't have enough flavours - yum?! Don't have a pic but will try and get one from Lars who is back in Norway. They said the best place to get these are in the gas stations. I found an interesting article then on this sausage phenomena in a Norwegian publication.

"During a lecture at a recent conference on obesity the well-known nutrition expert blasted gas station fast food, newspaper VG reports.

I believe that the sale of hot dogs and candy at gas stations should be forbidden. They should sell gas and auto parts," Norum said.

When you go into a gas station you can hardly do what you came for, namely buy gas, because there is a huge queue for sausages," Norum said.

'The total hot dog market in Norway is 39,000 tons a year, with 9,000 tons being sold in gas stations and fast food outlets."
Aftenpolten, Norway news.

Traditional Fijian lovo
Traditional Lovo is used on special occasions. We were lucky enough to experience this day long affair which ends in a great meal. Similar to the New Zealand hangi, food is wrapped in natural materials and buried and cooked. All foods are cooked in the lovo, pumpkin soup, taro, potatoes, fish, chicken and more.

It is a long process that starts early in the day. Step one: build a great fire and when it burns down to just coals place a grill on top and the food for your feast. These baskets were woven especially for the meat and fresh fish. You cannot see the detail but the fish ones were woven with a fish tail .
Cover the food with palms and branches, then with burlap sacks and cover the whole meal with sand. The food will then cook with the smoke/steam from the hot coals. The smell is amazing.

While watching this we were told how this is the way they used to cook bodies during the days of cannibalism...eeek! Now I always think of that when I look at these pictures.



After a few hours the meal is ready. The palms have also turned a lovely golden brown from the heat.
Dinner is served and it is splendid. Traditional lovo dinner at Otto and Fanny's is not to be missed.

Pig 'N Pancake
It is the long weekend and will try and beat the exodus of traffic to cottage country so will write a short post before I set off . No doubt, the weekend will be filled with bbqs and big breakfasts, the usual cottage fare with lots of fresh local Ontario produce too. The last time I entered the beach supermarket, local strawberries were at the entrance and I was treated to a delightful smell of fresh non-gm strawberries. The Body Shop should bottle that smell!

Big breakfasts reminded me of a lovely couple we met in Fiji. Michael and Grace from Oregon (he is originally from Vancouver) were on holiday with their two children and had owned a franchise of the Pig 'N Pancake in Oregon for the last several years (how many Grace?)

During our long food discussions at Otto and Fanny's we had great breakfasts but the pancakes were not up to scratch. M & G said that they have the best pancakes at the Pig 'N Pancake and named off the eight or 9 varieties but said the plain buttermilk ones were the best. It is making me hungry looking at the website's menu.

It would've been nice if Grace and Michael got into the kitchen to make us some of the famous pancakes like they made at the restaurant but apparently the franchise has a secret recipe that even they do not have access too.

Here is a basic pancake recipe for your breakfast this weekend. Remember to put some Canadian maple syrup and fresh fruit on top!

* 2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred or sifted before measuring
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 2 tablespoons melted butter


Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine egg and milk; add to flour mixture, stirring only until smooth. Blend in melted butter. Cook on a hot, greased griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until brown on one side and around edge; turn and brown the other side. Serves 4.

Or just buy a box of Aunt Jemima which is also a quick alternative to making your own. Aunt Jemima knows her stuff too!

To the Canadian readers - have a great long weekend.

Kava drinking
Kava is the alcoholic drink that Fijians drink at traditional ceremonies like a lovo feast. This traditional feast will be explained in further detail later with great pics from JP's great camera.
Kava looks like mud and I think it almost tastes like it too! (see the brown liquid in the large bowl, that is kava - looks yummy eh?) The ritual before downing the dentist-like numbing agent is to clap three times before you are handed a coconut shell full of this root goodness and to slurp it all down in one go and then clap once to signify that you are finished.

In the past the drinking of kava was saved for important ceremonies but today it is used more informally and quite socially with the village males who drink it while singing or swapping stories. The singing by the Fijians is something very beautiful too, they have very distinct and strong voices.

It is rude to not drink your whole coconut cup full so you have to just take a deep breath and do it even if you think it is vile tasting (this is what I did). Kava is made from a root and has a peppery taste and is known to have many benefits as a herbal remedy from curing anxiety to depression to insomnia. I found a laundry list of its benefits on a website selling it so not sure how accurate all these claims are to its healing magical powers. One thing is for sure, it will get you very drunk if you drink enough!

Kava's Latin name Piper methysticum literally translates as "intoxicating pepper" has been used for centuries, by the inhabitants of the South Pacific Islands -as a ritual drink, a social beverage, and also as a medicine. Kava (Piper Methysticum) is a lush, leafy green member of the pepper family, from the tropical islands of the South Pacific.

Kava comes in a powdery mix that is brewed in cold water for a few minutes, then it is squeezed through a cloth to filter out all the sediments (muddy looking stuff) and then voila it is a clear liquid to drink. If you get to try some Fijian kava try it - I think the Fijians laughed at all the tourists faces and reactions when they were downing these little coconut cups full of goodness.

The woman in the picture Carol Dunlop is also the only female skipper in Fiji, she skippers the yacht called Surprise which is a privately chartered boat. In a male dominated county she is quite the anomaly and I love her spunkiness. She sat and sang and drank kava with the males all night which is most likely unheard of in Fiji. Her crew and guests came to Otto and Fanny's on our last night there for a lovo feast, cava drinking and singing. It was all very festive and our hosts Fanny and her son Harry put on a great spread, as usual. Bula!

Would you like tea with your baggage?After Fiji there was a wonderful week spent in Auckland, New Zealand. Upon arrival at Auckland International Airport I had quite a pleasant shock which at first I thought was a joke. A big sign was popping out from the custom's line which read 'free tea and coffee.'

I thought this was an offer if you buy something from duty free or if you signed up to some credit card or some tourism gimmick but it was none of the above. It was simply a warm welcome and free tea and coffee to passengers arriving from their worldly destinations.

It was served by the two friendliest ladies I met on my month-aventure. The tea counter is near the baggage claim area so while waiting for your bags to roll off the belt you can chat with the ladies and get a steaming cup of java or tea. After a few minutes I got the latest gossip on weather in NZ and who they were and all about how the free tea stand is the only one in any airport in the world (which I beleive to be true- I thought Canadians were hospitable).

We gossiped more on where I was from (they thought I was Brazilian from my now faded tan) and we chatted about Sicily and more about the coffe which was arabica. I didn't actually want coffee or tea at that moment but it was the whole interaction that made having the coffee so pleasant.

The free tea and the airport itself were all very civilized, not like the chaotic third world feel of the Los Angeles Airport (LAX) where you want to scream at how crowded and dark, disorganized and dirty it is.

I wrote down the ladies' names on a napkin and exchanged email addresses with them but I have since disposed of the napkin accidentally. Will try and get their address from J who will be traveling through the airpot on a ski weekend this coming weekend (for some people the holiday never ends!)

New Zealand is a beautiful country with some great food and people. More posts to come on Fijian and NZ adventures...

Bula!

Coconuts, coconuts everywhere...

With two weeks holiday in paradise a.k.a. Fiji, getting back into blogging seems like hard work. Our days were very busy...morning swims, mid morning snorkelling (swimming with sea cucumbers, manta ray's, parrot fish and other colourful sea creatures), late morning naps in the hammock, delicious lunches freshly prepared by the friendliest Fijians at Otto and Fanny's, afternoon snorkelling, a little Scrabble, afternoon tea (3pm) followed by watching breathtaking sunsets by the beach and ending the day with a fabulous meal. This is how our days were spent.


We went to bed early due to the generator being shut down at 11pm, which gave us a long and restful sleep to recharge our batteries to do it all over again; this indeed, was tough work!


At Otto and Fanny's we stayed in authentic Fijiian bures and the property was filled with tall coconut trees which brought pleasant shade to the sunned out beach goers. One thing we noticed was that every so often (at least every hour) a coconut would plummet from the trees onto the property. (Our Norwegian friend Lars, aka Paul McCartney, while resting in the hammock almost had a coconut drop onto his noggin!) Luckily we were spared this experience although at times they fell close to us.

These were large coconuts and there was an abundance of them but oddly enough we did not have any meals with coconut?! I thought we would have fresh coconut slivers for our desert, macaroon type cookies, coconut curries and more. We were served authentic and delicious other meals but no coconuts were to be found on our menu...

One day we did spot the staff eating large bowls of boiled coconut -which didn't look too appetizing. Perhaps that was considered a staff meal and not appropriate for guests.

Anyhow the mystery of the land of coconuts continued throughout our trip. With such an abundance of the fruit I thought we would be drinking coconut water, offered coconut oil at every opportunity to purchase and have coconut in all of our meals and drinks.

We did make gorgeous bracelets on Manta Ray Island from the coconut shell and when we requested a drink of coconut, the staff at Otto and Fanny's collected two for us to drink the crisp coconut water.

According to Wikipedia, 'virtually every part of the coconut palm has some human use.' Someone in Fiji needs to get their coconut hat on and make some money from this lovely fruit! (more pics to be added to the blog as still travelling so not able to upload many pics!)

:)

BEAUTIFUL FIJI
Bula (hi/bye/welcome)
The internet is too slowfor pics but the update is that Fiji is paradise.
Crystal clear waters in the most vibrant green and blue hues, beautiful reefs, the most colorful fish, a plethora of coral which comes in all shapes and forms, completely isolated and idyllic beaches where you can snorkel off the shore, the loveliest Fijian hospitality, Fijian sunsets...the list goes on.

Our accomodation in the Yasawa's consists of only 7 bures (tiki style/bamboo huts) which hold 2-4 people. At breakfast, lunch and dinner we are a small but diverse mix of Norwegians, Americans, Canadians, Kiwis and people from Malyasian and Indonesian descent.

The power is turned off at 11pm, and our dinners commence at 6pm. In these few hours we chat about life, love, religion, music and of course - food. Last night we had especially lengthy talks about food. Grace and Michael owned a pancake house in Oregon and the Nordic folks are chefs in a top restaurant there. The rest of us like to eat so the conversation went on for ages...I will try and post some recipes/comments from our 'holiday family dinners.'

Fiji Bitter Beer is on tap and there are lots of coconuts everywhere. The only dangers in Fiji are sunburn, falling coconuts and getting stung by a jellyfish. Luckily we only got stung by a jellyfish but we did see many a coconut fall very close to our hammock. When the internet comes up again I will try to post more food tidbits. I even ate Kolkoda (from my last post) and it was divine!

Bula
xx

Fijian foods
I am off to Fiji - the islands in the South Pacific Ocean for two weeks. I have been out of blog mode for a while with all these national holidays getting in the way.

Happy belated Canada Day to you all...hope you had a good one. Ours was filled with bbq and more bbq, pies, ice cream, cakes and more treats like brownies, fresh strawberries, cherries and more.

Needless to say it was a great weekend with lots of fresh Ontario produce.

This pic is of Kokoda, a Fijian food. It is made out of raw fish meat seasoned with lemon juice and coconut milk; can't wait to have some great fish meals.

While away, I am going to try and post if I can but not sure if I will be able to access the internet.

Am asking guest bloggers step forward -any takers? Or readers, I will be back in two short weeks. By then, I should have a wealth of stuff to post in regards to plane food (tip: always order a special meal as you get served first), Fijian delights and New Zealand treats - am going to Pat and Robbie's farm so will take pics of me milking the cows!! Am very excited. Maybe Pat will make her famous Pavlova....mmm!