11.

The idea was an agricultural tour of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, where we planned to visit a truffle farm. All I had to say to mamma was "truffles"? and we were off, planning the trip. In the end, we were unable to visit the farm as all tours were cancelled due to the introduction of competing fungi by visitors. But, by then, we had already found a kiwi orchard with a cabin we could rent and had learned about the only water buffalo in B.C., so we decided to go ahead with the trip.


The orchard was right on the water and on the beach we found plenty of clams and oysters. Unfortunately, Fisheries had issued a red tide warning so we couldn't harvest them. We did, however, find a shop that sold local (Cortez Island) oysters and bought a bunch for our first evening. We enjoyed them with a dry Ortega from Cherry Point Estate Winery. Then mom kicked our butts playing cards.



The water buffalo at Fairburn Dairy farm are beautiful, but mom and I stayed a little further away than Matt. They are milked twice a day and the milk, which has a much higher fat content than cow's milk, is used to make buffalo mozzarella right in the Cowichan Valley. It is sold all over Vancouver Island and Vancouver under the Natural Pastures label. After visiting the cows and spending time with the friendly farm dog, Apollo, we were invited to the main house for a tasting.



On the final day we visited a lavender farm boasting more varieties than we could count, with a delightful little labyrinth to walk. We stocked up on lavender oil for our closets since it's the best thing to keep moths away, and then rushed to Merridale Cidery for a tasting and to buy lots of good, locally made cider.


We were hoping to visit Little Qualicum Cheeseworks before heading to the ferry but the weather turned on us and we decided to take an earlier boat and beat the rain. Overall, the wine portion of the trip was a little disappointing; Vancouver Island wineries have a lot to learn from the Okanagan. Generally, we felt that the wines were of a lower quality and after spending time in Oliver, believe the wineries on the Island don't do as good a job of making visitors feel welcome and showcasing their product. Still, we managed to try some local cheeses, fresh oysters and the first local strawberries of the season, and the three of us had two lovely evenings together.

We did find some nice wines at Blue Grouse Estate Winery and picked up a few bottles to bring home.

Yes, let's please buy a case of this.

Best of all, sharing a car and a cabin meant that Matt and I got to enjoy many mamma-isms. Gems such as: "Don't tell me that I warned you"; or, "Just chuck it and buy another one, Canadian style". Words of wisdom, to be sure.

10. Cooking for those we love.

Me and Matt got together recently with our friends, Mario and Ananda, for a relaxed afternoon of cooking followed by a long, leisurely evening gathered around the table eating, talking, drinking and appreciating good food and lasting friendships. Our friends have recently moved to a city about an hour away from us, so we decided that this would be a good way for us to reconnect and spend a good amount of time together enjoying what we enjoy most. The plan was that each couple would be responsible for a course and then we would discuss the merits of the dishes and the wine we had chosen to pair with them. We arranged for them to spend the night so we could talk into the late evening without worrying about Mario having to drive home tired after a few glasses of wine.



I made the cioppino from Pino Posteraro's book and Mario prepared Mario Batali's osso bucco with saffron risotto.



With the cioppino we served Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc and with the osso bucco Mario served a Masi Campofiorin.

Dessert was tirimisu with espresso.

For comparison, here is a photograph of my mother's osso bucco which she made for Matt and I the week before the competition:

On Sunday my mother and stepfather came over for dinner. Since they love fish as much as we do, Matt and I decided to serve local, fresh seafood. We started the meal with a dozen oysters with freshly squeezed lime and finely chopped jalapeno pepper. Along with this we served vodka straight from the freezer. Next was a salad made with baby greens from my parents' garden with a light lemon honey dressing. The second course was linguine with mussels fra Diavolo - a spicy tomato sauce with capers and kalamata olives. For the main I made a sablefish cassoulet (also from the Posterero cookbook) and served it with an Australian Chardonnay. Dessert was a locally made light and clean mango sorbet. Everything turned out great, but the sablefish (or black cod) was a little rich for my liking.

For me the oysters with vodka stood out from the rest with a taste I can't forget: fresh, clean, mineral. Matt preferred the linguine with mussels. After dinner my mother complimented me so soundly that I was reminded where I came by my great ability to appreciate others cooking. There is nothing quite like serving food to a cook. They ask the right questions, know what techniques were required and can truly appreciate something that requires passion and time and is served with love.

Something else my mother gave me.
Something else her mother gave her.
Another reason to silently toast my grandmother when I untie my apron strings, slip into my seat, and raise my glass to the loved ones around me.