The Colours and Signs of Autumn
Some signs that fall is here! A stand of yellow birch trees. Squashes for sale at the local fruit stand. Autumn leaves catching the light. Orange pods (Chinese Lanterns), the color of […]
Category Archives: Seasonal
The Festival of the Three Kings in Mexico
In Mexico, the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ begin on Christmas Day and end on January 6, the ‘Dia de Los Tres Reyes Magos’ (Three Kings Day). This is the day the […]
Christmas in Vietnam
Although Vietnam is officially an atheist country, and less than 10% of the population considers themselves Christian, Christmas seems to be loved by all, especially the festive red Santa suits. […]
Travel Theme: Autumn Harvest of Chestnuts in Spain
Chestnuts are something we don’t eat much at home but they are really popular in Spain, France and Portugal. They are just about ready to harvest around October in the Spanish […]
Travel Theme: Autumn is Mushroom Season
My friend Jon noticed that pine mushrooms were selling for $130/kilo in Vancouver. Ouch! No wonder the pine forests of Spain were alive with people parked in every spot available, […]
Travel Theme: Autumn’s Spooky Sunflowers
I always think of sunflowers as being rather sunny things but in Spain we kept passing fields and fields of decidedly unsunny sunflowers, dead and spooky looking. Although I would […]
French Soup: Butternut Squash Potage
Lots of squash from the garden? Here’s a delicious way to use some of it up! French: Potage de ‘Squash’ 1 small acorn or butternut squash (or pumpkin or carrots or […]
Pear and Almond Tart
This Thanksgiving we brought the dessert (plus a Sauterne to go with it). We had a ton of ripe Bartlett pears plus a big bag of almonds so I googled […]
World Spices Cooking Class 1: an Italian Apple Dessert
It’s apple season and here’s an Italian dessert from my World Spices cooking class at UBC: Blushing Poached Apples in Spiced Wine. The apples were first peeled and then each […]
Blueberry & Blue Cheese Summer Salad
I went shopping along Main St. and came home with blueberries (two baskets for $3!) as well as a big wad of crumbly Gorgonzola ($5). Inspired by the superb salad, […]
Albatz Travel Adventures 