Everyone, meet Shannon of Bakergirl Creations. Shannon, meet everyone!

Shannon is the latest interviewee of my Chewing The Fat foodie interview series, not only because she’s a food blogger (about sweet, sugary, delicious baking) but also because she will be doing some guest blogging here, and I wanted to introduce her first. So all you sweet-tooth people (and those who are truly terrified of baking), get ready for some recipes and ideas on this culinary art from the lovely Shannon in the coming weeks.

Tell us about yourself. My name is Shannon Sterling.  I work for The University of British Columbia as a Student Development Officer.  My role has me supporting and working with students who are engaged in their academic and co-curricular communities.  My work really focuses on leadership development and training as well as transition programming and support for new university students.  When I get home, I am a self-professed foodie.  I love to read recipes, surf blogs, garden and dream up random creations that take their inspiration from many places and people.  Add to the mix a love of reading and a new indulgence of golf and I’m pretty busy – not that I’m complaining!

Is there a certain food or dish that reminds you of home?
There are lots!  My mom was an avid cook and baker.  Some of my first memories are of me sitting on the counter watching her make batches and batches of whatever it was that struck her fancy.  If it came to a meal I would say my mom’s slow baked spareribs might top the list.  They were the “go to” meal when we had company.  It was also something we always did together, so there are great memories there.  They were sweet, savory and full of garlicky goodness.  They don’t make it onto our table very often because they aren’t the healthiest of proteins, but every once in a while a great treat.  If it was baked goods, hands down it would be my mom’s carrot cake.  Super moist.  Raisins, nuts, carrots and cream cheese icing to die for.  It is the one recipe she says is a “family secret” not be shared…

What is the ideal Shannon meal?
That’s a very difficult question.  It totally depends.  Are we going for ease?  Comfort? Indulgence?  If I’m cooking, and this is my ideal meal, it would have to start with a nice big cool class (or two) of Pinot Grigot or Pinot Gris.  I love puttering around the kitchen with a glass of wine in hand.  It feels so civilized.  The meal itself, I suppose would have to include a big fresh salad with homemade dressing, probably a spinach, feta and apple salad with bacon vinaigrette… seriously so good.  Mushroom risotto with lots of ooeey gooey cheese is something I make often and with ease, not to mention it is filling and has all those tasty meaty mushrooms in it.  The protein would have to be campfire cooked steak.  Whenever we go camping we only cook over the campfire (provided there are no campfire bans!) and the steaks are always amazing, there is just nothing like that on a gas grill in my humble opinion.  Finally, what meal would be complete without a dessert?  And pie is my favourite to make and to eat.  Pies of any variety are sweet and yet savory with the perfect flaky buttery crust. Fresh blueberries are on the brain right now, so I might say a blueberry pie, ala mode of course!

What are you having for dinner (or dessert) tonight?
Dinner tonight has to be easy and relatively heat free because we are amidst a heat wave right now.  I think it will be a chicken and Soba Noodle chili lime salad.  We have company
coming so I want it to be easy and stress free.  More time chatting, less time in the hot kitchen.  Dessert is going to be homemade chocolate ice cream with blackberries on top.

Is there one food that gives you the heebie jeebies?
As a kid I was pretty adventurous and willing to eat just about anything.   I love to try new foods and to incorporate them into my home cooking.  The only thing that I can remember actively turning down was chicken feet!  There is just something about the look if it that makes my skin crawl, sorry to those good friends who swear they are so good, I just can’t go there!    Though I am apparently really missing out, so maybe one day I will take the plunge and try my first chicken foot…maybe!

What do you say to people who don’t like baking because it’s too ‘by the book’?
I would say, no you don’t!  I am a self-professed poor recipe follower.  I read recipe books like novels.  I never tire of them, they inspire.  Yes, baking is more of a science, measuring  is certainly important to the makeup and chemistry of the piece.  However, you can modify and personalize as you become comfortable.  Everyone has to start somewhere.  Think about elementary school, you didn’t just freehand your alphabet the first time did you?  No, you probably traced a whole bunch of your ABC’s.  Baking is like that, the recipes are dotted lines or your training wheels and then once you get the hang of it you can start personalizing and making it your own.

What are you plans as guest blogger here?
I want to share my love and passion for food and for the process of creating memorable meals.  I also love connecting stories to recipes.  I hope that I hear from readers or other fellow bloggers what it is they are making, why they love it and what inspires them to create and experiment in the kitchen.

Straight from the incredible ambitious and dedicated people at the Vancouver Farmers Markets: the Gastown Farmers Market opens this weekend! Please spread the word and support your local producers.

Looks like the Market is also being supported/promoted by The City of Vancouver’s Summer Spaces program, an initiative whereby “select commercial streets are opening up on Sundays this Summer for local residents to experience as temporary public spaces”. For more info on that go here to find your neighborhood’s Summer Spaces events and here for Gastown.

The opening market is this Sunday August 2nd from 11am to 3pm and will continue until September 27th. The full list of vendors to date includes:

A Bread Affair - organic artisan bread
Anna’s Blumen Design - locally grown dahlias, sunflowers and more
Bad Girl Chocolates - artisan chocolates, truffles, candy and dessert sauces
Cropthorne Farm - Squash, Lettuce, Salad Mix, Potatoes, Cabbage, Broccoli, Peas, Beans, Corn, Carrots, Asian greens, Leek, Parsnip, Cucumbers, Aubergine, Kale, Chard, Beets and more
Dundarave Olive Co - olives, flavoured olive oil, tapenade
Garden Back to Eden - organic heirloom tomatoes, brocolli, eggplant, berries and more
Golden West Farm - organic cherries, peaches, apple chips
Great Day Bokashi - indoor composting systems
Healthy Bagel Factory - bagels
Jobst-Hof Farm - cherries, peaches
Klippers Organic Acres - organic tomatoes, peaches, apricots, walnuts, plums, lettuce, squash, eggs, peppers, herbs, dried fruit, jam
Maan Farm - corn, peppers, berries
Matsqui Blue Farms - organic blueberries, hazelnuts, pears
Richmond Urban Farmers - garlic and ground crops
Royal Herbs - body care, soap, aromatherapy, tinctures, natural home cleaning solutions
Say See Bon Patisserie - Parisian macaroons
Sweet T’s Pies - pies - fruit and nut, cookies
Thai Princess Enterprises - Thai stir-fry sauces
The Cambie Bakery & Café - sweet and savoury baked goods
Wenger Sheep Farm - lamb and sheep products

You can also go here for more info. See you there!

Campagnolo is a somewhat new restaurant just a short jaunt away from where I live, in the Main Street neighbourhood. Recently Chef Rob Belcham and I had the most efficient food photography session ever, producing some new shots for their restaurant promotions. I would officially like to welcome Campagnolo as a new food photography client, it was a pleasure.

One reason I like Campagnolo (besides the delicious fried chick peas from the appy menu) is because they’ve involved themselves with the new Main Street Farmers Market that happens every Wednesday from 3pm-7pm across the street in Thornton Park. Executive Chef Rob and Chef de Cuisine Alvin Pillay purchase from local farmers every Wednesday, from which they create a feature menu item. Combined, this definitely makes for a quaint Wednesday outing: stroll through the market and pick up some local veggies, flowers, free range and grass fed chicken, and whatever else your fridge might be lacking; then cross the street to get some inspiration from what Rob and Alvin have done with the menu for the day. How very locally minded of you.

I hope you enjoy the photos, and Campagnolo’s creations.

Some say that this whole Twitter thing is the next big deal in marketing your message to the world. Some others say it will be gone next week. Either way, a lot of foodies have transported their laptops into their kitchens and with them on their food adventures to keep their followers up to date with entertaining and valuable tidbits, in 140 characters or less. A blessing for use creative ADD types.

So here’s peeking into the foodie section of my Twitter rolodex:

@foodists

@eagranieyuh

@kickpleat

@figandcherry

@TheWineDiva

@glutenfreegirl

@veggievancouver

@Choc_n_Cheese

@foodbykristin

@TheEcoFoodie

@the_dining_diva

@Foodthought

@She_Loves_Wine

@LifeOnTheBlcny

@DigginFood

@suziefoodie

@nibbledish

@StillLifeWith

@TheBackyardChef

@zestycook

@gastronomer

@BakingandBooks

and then there’s me…@jconnellyphoto

The keys, as I’ve learned them (social media marketing expert I am not, for that see @thenextstagemag) are to be honest, have real conversations with your followers, and provide value and entertain with your tweets. Happy tweeting!

Here’s to tasty Summer cocktails.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Cheers,

Jackie

I’m partially reprinting this post from Burns Auto Parts Creative Marketing Consultants because I think it really is that awesome. It speaks about believing in yourself as an artist and in your creative abilities, a total necessity for us creative business types.

” Do you believe you are a creative; that is, a person with a gift, a talent, a set of abilities like no other person? Believing that is an act of faith and, rather surprisingly, it’s damn hard for some creatives to do.

Are you one of those creatives who honors that gift or one of those who acts almost embarrassed or ashamed of it?

Do you put down your abilities, your gift? Ever catch yourself saying things like “Oh, it wasn’t anything special” or “I just kinda shot it–got lucky with the light?”

Do you refer to yourself and your path as “the guy who liked to draw as a kid and ended up in art school” or “the adult version of the kid who liked taking pictures for the yearbook but couldn’t do anything else?”

Do you feel, on some level, like apologizing every time you get a check for your creative work?

Are you waiting for the day when someone finally tells you you’re a no-talent hack who has only managed to fake it this far?”

The author coins the term Cognitive Reduction of Art Pathology…or CRAP, as the diagnosis if you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions. Nice little shot of humour here I think.

My favorite of her prognosis? Ok, all of them.

• • Call yourself an artist and what you make art. Do it out loud, every single day.
• • Remind yourself that if an ad costs $300K just for its space (placement), the art for that ad is worth a hell of a lot more than $2K.
• • Most people will not like your art, after all, most people like Wal*Mart and lawn ornaments; but the ones that will like it are the only ones that count and they’re the ones to market to.
• • You have every right to get paid and paid well for your abilities, just like a doctor or a plumber or any other pro; your skills are just as rare and valuable.
• • And, most importantly, you deserve to be happy–you are doing what you love, what you should be doing in this life–don’t crap on it.

Well said.

You can read the full original article here.

Who’s got questions about raising chickens in your Vancouver backyard? I do! I do!

Sadly I don’t have the space for backyard chickens, I so wish that I did. If you have the space, and want to learn how to do things properly, here’s a place to get some answers!

Here’s the skinny:

” In preparation for a modified bylaw that will allow Vancouver residents to keep backyard birds, we finally have our first urban chicken workshop taking place in Vancouver. Sign up to learn what it takes to responsibly care for chickens on a small scale. Including information on housing, feed, disease control, pest and predator deterrents, and generally how to prepare for the commitment and joys of raising chickens.”

So at 10am on Sunday July 19th get yourself to Strathcona Garden (on the SW corner of Hawks and Prior, just WEST of Strathcona Park). You must also reserve your spot via email at jwnield@ffcf.bc.ca. Entry by donation, $25 recommended.

If you’re new to this whole backyard chicken thing, check out some resources on the Chickens In Vancouver blog to get yourself up to speed.

I literally swore when I was out in my garden yesterday. Loudly.

Every two or three days I poke around my zucchini plants to make sure the leaves are handling things ok. You see, a couple of weeks ago my zucchini plants hit some sort of insane growth spurt and what seemed liked overnight, began to grow outwards and over top of my cucumbers, leeks, lettuce and carrots. Not good. I researched some vertical gardening techniques, bought myself some bamboo stalks, and voila. Problem solved.

But what made me curse out loud was this huge, ginormous green vegetable underneath all those tied up zucchini leaves. My first zucchini! The last time I saw zucchini’s under there, they were maybe 6″ long. This thing is over a foot! I had better start finding some recipes that call for zucchini. Anyone want one? Hey, maybe I’ll do a ‘Free Zucchini Giveaway’.

There also seem to be a lot of little critters in my garden. Some I know are good, like the woodbugs and the worms and the bees, but then there’s some others that I’m not so sure about. As I’ve chosen to purchase organic soil and not use any pesticides or chemicals in my garden to grow vegetables that are as organic as possible, apparently all I can do is pluck these critters out.

What’s on the docket for the garden for the rest of July? This!

I have come to the conclusion that the saying “be careful what you wish for” really is true. In the Spring, I told myself (and the Universe apparently) that I should spend more time on Vancouver Island. My family still living in the Comox Valley is certainly one reason for this, but I also have been working with some new clients in my hometown (I promise to write more about that soon) and want to become more involved there. Funny to me how these things end up materializing, but in this case it was all a good thing.

So I put it out there, and as I look back over June I’ve spent over 10 hours either on or waiting for a BC Ferry to get to Vancouver Island. But it has been worth every minute.

Taking full advantage of the sun this month, we organized family BBQ’s that included seasonal fruits, rhubarb cake and a to-die-for locally made salsa; my sister and I tested a new veggie burger recipe (full post with recipe to follow) as part of a larger project; and a few of us went boating to Tribune Bay. All in all my June travels turned out to be a healthy mix of work and play.

Why does everything taste better barbequed?

This was the only shot of the rhubarb cake...it went that fast.

Chrome Island Lighthouse Station

Tribune Bay, off of Hornby Island

July has some great things in the works: a cookbook local to Vancouver Island, a vegetable gardening book with a fabulous local gardener and blogger, food photography for a new Vancouver restaurant, a trip to Calgary, and a birthday. Looks pretty darn good to me.

Wanted: guest blogger/foodie/writer

Job Description: 1 - 2 blog posts per month about something food related

Compensation: guest posts returned!

That about sums it up. I want to exchange blog posts with a food blogger, who may also be a foodie, a writer, an artist…there isn’t any restrictions and certainly aren’t any necessary requirements, except that you have to have a food or food related blog yourself.

You must want to write about what you love, it must somehow be related to food, and I will do the same for your blog. We will discuss and approve each others post ideas before writing.

There are more fabulous, talented food bloggers out there than I can keep track of, and I wanted to throw my idea of cross pollinating our talents through our blogs.

Any takers?

Email me at info@jackieconnelly.com.