Summer

Anthology July 2018 ~ Music, Mini-Vacas and Modern Love

- mpost Leave a comment
July 2018 Anthology: Music, Modern Love, Mini-Vacas
Photo by Moritz Schmidt on Unsplash

I should’ve known I would have my ass handed to me on a platter recently by two new writer friends. This small tale comes with a dose of humility and warning: do NOT play scrabble with writers. Last month, I played scrabble for the first time in five years with two very sharp and lucky minds. I think in the end I was almost double skunked by the time my last tile placed on the board.

Besides my rusty Scrabble skills and lack of rules remembrance, I drew almost 80% vowels. So again, if you fancy yourself a mediocre Scrabble player, play with math nerds, mechanics or other slightly sleep deprived moms. Don’t play with people who pay the bills entirely by their eloquent vocabulary and journalistic skills. Save yourself the fire truck red cheeks and an hour of blushing. 

But rather than wallowing in defeat, let’s focus on what I’m good at, instead: finding and sharing some of the best fun on the web to do with eating, living and traveling.   Read more

Flavour Trip: Salal the unsung hero of B.C.’s coastal berries

- mpost Leave a comment

Meet the humble salal berry, an earthy, waxy and sweet unsung berry hero

Hiking through most coastal forests in British Columbia, you’re likely to encounter thick, leafy salal bushes or Gaultheria Shallon. In the spring delicate bell-like flowers, white or baby pink in colour, hang in linear herd of five to fifteen. In early summer, the blooms transform into berries that reach their peak flavour and a blackish, deep purple colour from late July to mid-September.

Meet salal berries, B.C.’s unsung hero of coastal berries. It’s one of the province’s most plentiful, delicious and under appreciated wild edibles…. Read more on Edible Vancouver & Wine Country High Summer edition.  Read more

The Mid-Week Anthology ~ August 2016 ~

- mpost Leave a comment
Can't get enough of the AESTATE wall tapestries.
Can’t get enough of the AESTATE wall tapestries.

I miss doing these curated lists. But frankly, the interwebs cruising has not happened much these days. We’re settling into our new place, developing in our new life rhythms and hanging out with old (visiting) friends and getting to know new island buds. This summer has been fantastically, exhaustingly, excitingly busy. Our neighbour warned us that there was literally a-festival-a-weekend here on Haida Gwaii, and she was not joking.

My summer highlights so far? Swimming at Gray Bay,  remembering my inner activist during the Buffy St. Marie set at Edge of the World, watching the Clan Together Born pole go up and watching our son scramble for parade candy. We thought we would be doing a lot more campfire cooking this year but believe it our not our rainforest-fringed island home is experiencing a level 3 drought. It’s green here with pretty major swatches of brown, so there are not a lot of campfires these days.

And now onto some sweet stories, recipes and fixations.

We found a sweet off-grid glamping getaway during a misty, fun weekend in Masset, BC. More about our stay at North Beach Cabins coming soon.

My new favourite Society 6 shop the AEState: think tropics, cacti & buffalo.

Story-listening: thanks to Jallian at Savoir There for her podcast recommendation for The Moth.

Read more

Westcoast to Winnipeg – This Summer’s 5 Best Summer Sips

- mpost 2 Comments
Victoria's Olo serves up a savoury summer sip: the What's up Doc?
Victoria’s Olo serves up a savoury summer sip: the What’s up Doc?

Summer is in full swing. My instagram feed is full of magic hour photos of patios, picnics and colourful cocktails. My real life feed is full of toddler trips to the beach, road trips with visiting family and when I can manage, a fancy cocktail or three. I love having folks for a bevvie on our deck. There’s nothing better than a tumbler full of quirky flavours spiked with some interesting spirits to mark the end of the day or the beginning of the weekend. I’ve been alternating my TGIF bevies between rose cordial spritzers and strong, extra sour mojitos. (The never ending pot of mint on our deck is a total enabler.)

Last year I interviewed some of Canada’s best bartenders for their favourite summer cocktail recipes and was completely inspired to up my host game. This summer, I decided to continue canvasing Canada’s cocktail stars to highlight the crazy talent we have in front of our bar stools from sea to sea to sea. Whether you love savoury sips with carrot garnishes or a rainbow twist on an old classic, I reckon you’ll swoon over the drink recipes below. Read more