The Dream Café

Our first stop when we got into Penticton was The Dream Café for brunch.  This was a cute little spot with a nice patio, and good food at a decent price.  Just what the doctor ordered at 11am on a Saturday!  I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

2 Eggs: poached with slice of toast & salad instead of roasted potato.  ($6.95)

One Egg Benny: egg served on an English muffin with your choice of ham or veggie and hollandaise, potatoes, tomato, and fruit garnish.  ($7.95)

Mango Chicken Breast Panini: mango chicken breast, rosemary foccacia baked daily at Walla Artisan Bakery, topped with greens, cucumber & tomatoes and served with salad.  ($10.95)

The Dream Café patio!

 

http://www.thedreamcafe.ca/

Twitter: @DreamCafeMusic

The Bench Market

If you haven't guessed yet, this week's posts are dedicated to the fabulous city of Penticton.  Not only do they have gorgeous weather, amazing scenery, and taste bud tantalizing wine, but they also have some amazing restaurants!  My favourite discovery so far?  The Bench Market.

Homemade yummy goodness to eat in or take-out, indoor seating, outdoor seating, gluten-free options, sunshine and they cater to the bike community (bike racks galore)...what more could you ask for?  We enjoyed breakfast there on two occasions and I've included the yummy photos from both below.  Definitely a must visit if you're ever in Penticton.  Thanks for the good eats Bench Market!

The Breakfast Plate: 1.5 hardboiled eggs, amazing brie cheese, 2 slices of bacon, homemade cranberry bread and a bowl of fruit.  ($10.95)  The cheese sold me on this meal initially and then it melted me into putty while eating it.  Amazing!

 

 Homemade granola with yogurt and a side of fruit.  (Approximately $9)  This was just what the doctor ordered.  So fresh and flavourful!  I loved that they had mint in the fruit salad.

 

My freshly pressed apple juice!  Being an Okanagan girl, my heart skipped a beat when I noticed this on the menu during our second visit.  Lots of apple goodness in this glass!  ($2.50) 

The outdoor patio.

Our view during breakfast.

 http://www.thebenchmarket.com/

Twitter: @TheBenchMarket

Frozen bursting flavour explosion, Batman!

One of my favourite parts of going up to the Okanagan in the summertime is the fresh fruit.  Not only does it taste better because it ripens on the tree (rather than off the tree like most of the stuff we get in Vancouver), but it's so cheap!  The only predicament is how to make all this yumminess last.  The solution?  Freeze it! 

I grew up in the Okanagan and my Dad used to bring the cherries home by the beer flat.  To make sure all went to good use, my Mom would freeze the cherries so we could eat them after the season was over.  The trick is to freeze them individually so they don't stick together.  The other trick is to not let them thaw fully before you eat them.  If you do, they get all mushy.  If you let them thaw a bit, you get the juiciness of the cherry but it's still firm.  A bowl of these after dinner is better than any popsicle in my books!

My 10 pound box of cherries ($20) and apricots ($2) from a fruit stand in Keremeos.

 

Freezing in progress!  To freeze the cherries individually, first wash, dry and de-stem your cherries.  Then, lay a sheet of wax paper in your freezer.  Place the cherries on the wax paper so there's a bit of space between each one.  Once the cherries are fully frozen, place them into a freezing bag of your choice.  My Mom used to always use old bread bags.  Probably not the best for freezer burn but, trust me, these won't last long enough to get a burn!

Grape Escapes

I recently headed up to Penticton with some ladies for a weekend of cycling, wine tasting, shenanigans and general old fun in the sun...it was fabulous!  We booked our wine tour with Grape Escapes so that everyone could fully partake in the tastings (none of this dumping of wine...such a waste!).  It was a well organized tour, the bus was spacious, there were yummy crackers, cheese, fruit, dark chocolate and water for the ride between wineries, and Dino (the tour guide) definitely picked some fabulous wineries for us to visit.  The only thing I'd mention is that it is a true tour, so if you just want to go to some wineries and get a bit tipsy, this might not be the tour for you.  The other thing to note is that the 5 hour tour does not include the time for lunch, so it ends up being approximately 7 hours.  All in all, a very fun day! 

First stop of the day: Penticton's VQA Wine Information Centre

If you're in the Penticton area and don't have the time to go to any wineries, or if you regretted not picking up an extra bottle while you were at a winery, make your way to the VQA Wine Information Centre.  They have a plethora of local wines at winery prices.  Dino, our guide (and an ex-Principal), is on the left.

 

http://pentictonwineinfo.com/?page_id=3

Second Stop of the Day - Misconduct
This was one of the cutest wineries that we visited and the lady who helped us with our tasting was brilliant!  She had us cracking up on multiple occasions.  They also have a tapas restaurant with a gorgeous view of the valley...I'd definitely like to check that out at some point in time! 

My view at the tasting bar.

The patio.

 

http://www.misconductwineco.com/home

Twitter: @MisconductWines

 

Third Stop of the Day: Ruby Blues
I absolutely loved this winery!  It was just so unique and eclectic.  As we drove in we passed their trademark VW van as well as the owner on her tractor.  Then as we got out of the bus we were serenaded with music...turns out that they have rock speakers throughout the entire vineyard and play music to the grapes all day long.  Awesome!  Add to that that the people were fabulous, the wine was yummy and the owner also makes shoes which she sells in the wine shop...it was fantabulous!

Rick about to start our tasting.  Not too shabby of a view!

 

The tasting room and wine shop.

The vineyard, Ruby Blues mural and the gorgeous Okanagan. 

 

 http://www.rubyblueswinery.ca/

Twitter: @RubyBluesWinery 

Stop #3: Lake Breeze
Up next was Lake Breeze for lunch and a tasting.  I'm not going to lie, we bumped into some friends here and I was starving, so I was more focused on the excitement of seeing friends and the food than the tasting.  However, that was a good thing because their patio rocked and the food was amazing!!!  Would definitely recommend stopping here for a bite to eat.  The only thing to note is that there isn't a view of the valley when you're eating lunch, but it is still gorgeous.

Two of the best ladies ever to ride and wine with, on the Lake Breeze patio.

My Chicken Sandwich: roast Maple Hill Farms chicken in house-made charred sour apple BBQ sauce, granny smith apple and smoked gouda on fresh baked focaccia bread and served with organic blended greens.  Heaven!  ($16)

The Pasta: tagliatelle pasta with zucchini, fresh chili, lemon zest, white wine, parsley, extra virgin olive oil and parmigiano reggiano.  Had I known the person sitting next to me at all, my fork would have been in her dish multiple times...it smelled out of this world!  ($15)

The Organic Blended Green Salad: Happy Days goat dairy cheese and birch syrup glazed walnuts in a grilled apple, brandy and thyme vinaigrette.  ($11)

The Antipasto Platter: the Chef's selection of Italian inspired, locally sourced favourites - cold sliced charcuterie, assorted Canadian cheese, marinated vegetables, bruschetta and olives.  The only reason I didn't get this is because I wasn't sure if it would fill me up enough for lunch...definitely had a wee bit of buyers remorse when this dish came out...until I took a bite of mine! ($15)

 

http://www.lakebreeze.ca/

Twitter: @LakeBreezeWines

Stop #4 - Van Westen Vineyards
This was hands-down my favourite tasting of the day.  Robert Van Westen (the owner and winemaker) came in from camping with his family especially to do our tasting.  Add to that that he was humble, knowledgeable, genuine, funny and entertaining...you felt that you had been invited into someone's house to try their wines rather than getting a rehearsed skit.  It was fabulous!  Plus, the wines were out of control.  I literally could have bought a bottle of everything we tried and we must have tried eight different wines.  This is most definitely a must-visit winery.

Robert Van Westen

Can I take a barrel home??

 

http://www.vanwestenvineyards.com/

Twitter: @winegrower99

Last Stop of the Day - Therapy
I'm not going to lie, by this point we'd had a few tastings, it was hot and we really just wanted to get back to the pool and start drinking our plunder!  So, I give full credit to the fellow who did our tasting.  He rolled with the punches, had a good time with us and made the tasting thoroughly enjoyable.  Which wasn't hard considering the wines were yummy and at a very good price point.

The view through the vineyards of the lake at Therapy.

 

The wine shop and Farmacy (I got a good kick out of that one!).

 

http://therapyvineyards.com/

Twitter: @TherapyWines

We drove home via the Hope Princeton so we could stop off at Burrowing Owl along the way.  Gorgeous winery and amazing wine...now if only the people who work there could get their noses out of the air.

 

http://www.bovwine.ca/

Twitter: @BurrowingOwlBC

My plunder! Misconduct Chenin Blanc, Ruby Blues Riesling, Ruby Blues Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon, Lake Breeze Gewurtziminer, Van Westen Voluptuous, Therapy Syrah, Therapy Fizziotherapy, Therapy Superego, Burrowing Owl Syrah. 

http://grapeescapes.ca/ 

Twitter: @GrapeEscapes_ca

Thanks to all the shenanigan makers out there (you know how you are!) who made the weekend such a fun one!  #cheetos

Vodka Freezies

Think back to when you were five years old and on a hot sunny beach.  If you're anything like me, one of the best parts of the day was when your Mom told you you could have an icy cold treat.  My favourites were always the Rockets popsicles and the Mr. Freeze Freezies.  So, when we stopped off at a liquor store in Calgary recently and my sister told me to come over and check out the deep freeze, I just about lost my marbles when I saw what was inside: Hard Ice Alcoholic Freezies!!!!!  Greatest invention ever!  Needless to say, I had to buy one.  It was literally like a Mr. Freeze Freezie with a kick of vodka.  Scrumptious! 

I did some detective work and discovered that Hard Ice is actually a Kelowna company, but unfortunately the BC government isn't a fan of these fabulous treats so they're not sold in BC (#frownyface).  However, you can order them online on the Saskatchewan Gaming and Liquor Retailers site (link below), or purchase them when you're in Alberta or Saskatchewan.

My Wild Raspberry Hard Ice Vodka Freezie!

 

http://winterlandbeverages.com/our-brands/hard-ice-vodka-freezies/#

Twitter: @WinterlandVodka

 

http://www.saskliquor.com/SaskLiquorWeb/ProductSearchResults.aspx?keywords=hard%2bice

Fresh, Local, Wild...

I recently made my first trip of the year to Fresh, Local, Wild with my long-legged food truck adventuring friend.  Before we even got to the truck, I had a good idea of what I was going to order: the BC Fish Shawarma.  My friend's husband (who will remain nameless, but for those of you who know him, he has one heck of a stare!) had told me fabulous things about the shawarma so, even though I wasn't fully convinced that seafood would work in a shawarma, I had to try it.

Low and behold, it was delicious!  My long-legged friend ordered one as well and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the plethora of veggies and was impressed with the amount of fish.  All in all, a very yummy lunch.  Word of wisdom, though, grab some napkins.  And then once you've grabbed as many as you think you'll need, grab that amount again.  And, whatever you do, don't make a rookie mistake like I did and eat directly over your lap.  All that yummy goodness doesn't come without a little messiness!

My BC Fish Shawarma: ling cod, halibut, steelhead, tabouleh, red onion, pita, hummus, and hot sauce.  ($10 + tax)

 

The menu.

The X that marks the spot.

 

http://www.freshlocalwild.com/

Twitter: @freshlocalwild

The Pie Hole

Supercalafragelisticexpialidocious!!!!!  That's all I have to say about The Pie Hole. 

I have been dying to try a pie from The Pie Hole for quite some time now, but hadn't had an excuse to buy a full pie.  So, when I was in charge of dessert for a fabulous brunch that I was invited to (it may have been fabulous because the cutest little baby boy ever was there), I decided this was my chance and emailed Jenell to see if there was any way I could order a pie with only 1.5 days notice.  Lucky for me, Jenell was super accommodating...I was able to pick up my pie on the way to the brunch and I was super excited to see that they make my favourite pie flavour: Strawberry-Rhubarb!

I was a little worried that the ladies at the brunch would feel that I had copped out by buying the dessert, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were all excited when they saw The Pie Hole label...they'd been dying to try their pies too!  The conclusion?  Absolutely heavenly!  One of the best pie crusts I've ever tasted and jam-packed full of yummy, fruity goodness.  I swear the pie weighed 8-10 pounds.  It was unbelievable and tasted like it had just come out of your Grandma's oven.  If I had a dollar for every time someone said "This is delicious Shayne" and I had to say "Thanks, but I didn't make it myself"...I would have been a millionaire!  Well, maybe not quite since there were only 8 of us there...but I would have definitely made $8 (I even said it to myself).

Thanks for the fabulous pie Jenell!  I can't wait to try more flavours...especially the savoury ones...Mac & Cheese pie here I come!

Things to note: (1) To order a pie, go to The Pie Hole's website (below) and either email or phone Jenell.  (2) The Pie Hole makes sweet pies, savoury pies, pie pops, tarts and treats, hand pies and pie holes.  All flavours are listed under the menu link on their website.  (3) A variety of stores are now carrying their pies in store.  A list of the stores and what they carry is on The Pie Hole's website.  (4) They accept cash and VISA, but make sure you have enough cash in case the VISA thingy is down.  Those phone swipey things were a fabulous invention but if only someone could invent one that always worked! and (5) I was very happy to discover that The Pie Hole makes individual pies.  Dangerous and fabulous discovery, all at once.

The yummy goodness of my Strawberry-Rhubarb pie when I opened the box.

 

My slice of pie and ice cream.

The X that marks the spot!  Picking up your pie is half the fun.  You'll want to turn East on Industrial from Main.  When you see the purple building, turn left into the parking lot and drive to the very end.

 

Go into the last store of the building and walk to the back right corner.  You'll find Jenell and your fabulous pie!

 

So excited to open this puppy up!

You've got to love it when the ingredient list consists of 12 ingredients, all of which you can pronounce and either have in your pantry, fridge or garden.  Brilliant!

 

http://www.vancouverpiehole.com/

Twitter: @pieholevan