Eat Alberta 2012: Your Real Food Survival Guide

Eat Alberta 2012: Your Real Food Survival Guide was a conference that already had big shoes to fill. The inaugural Eat Alberta in 2011, A Celebration of Our Local Food Heroes, was a resounding success and left attendees just buzzing and eager for more. Albertan foodies bookmarked the website, diarized reminders, and were poised and ready to jump at the first word of the sequel. It was like Harry Potter meets the saute pan. 

While we waited impatiently, I can only imagine the fervour and frenzy behind the scenes as the organizers pieced together this next event and satiate the foodie masses.

Well, a few short weeks ago, the email announcement for Eat Alberta 2012 went out. In a panic, I got online and secured my spot in my sessions of choice (though I struggled immensely in deciding on just four). Then... I waited... April 14th received a big red circle on the calendar and the kids counted down to foodie Christmas. 

I was enrolled in... Mushroom Foraging, Macaron Basics, Artisan Cheese Making, and Sourdough 101. And I was ecstatic. 

Eat Alberta 2011: A Celebration of Our Local Food Heroes

Six weeks ago, I posted about the first-ever, and then upcoming, Eat Alberta conference to be held in Edmonton on April 30, 2011. I was so excited about the opportunity to learn and share and connect with fellow food lovers. If I was able to, I would have registered for every session that was to be offered.

That excitement held through until the actual conference day... yesterday... and carried me, enthusiastically, through a very full day.

Works in Progress...

I have been toiling away in the kitchen. Rest assured. But, I've been enjoying a few of the simple things of late... and they don't really warrant recipes.

For interest's sake, I love a croissant. This last week, there were several toasted croissants with fresh ricotta and wildflower honey. And a nice espresso. Sometimes the simplest things are the most enjoyable. There have also been stacked sandwiches... full of real Italian mortadella, cucumbers, tomatoes and grainy dijon mustard. I'm also completely addicted to salads with toasted pecans, goats' cheese and either dried cranberries or plump blackberries.

I have also been working on a couple of recipes but I'm not quite ready to share them... here are the early stages of an awesome pizza...

 ...and a panko breaded buffalo chicken.

A few more tweaks and they will be yours!

The perfect shade of yellow.

I am sitting here... in the passive time of cooking. The short ribs are bubbling away in the oven and there is nothing I can do (or would want to do) to expedite this process. The whole satisfaction that comes from cooking anything slowly is that delightful anticipation... you know how good it can be and it's just a matter of letting it get there.

As I kill time, I am going to write about my kitchen... which I completely completely love. Sure, there are things that I dream of doing to it... like having butcher block countertops... maybe a bit more space... a double sink... a dishwasher (the cruelest thing for a foodie to be without)... but the list is not long. It's quaint and, even better in my mind, it is painted the most wonderful shades of yellow. I always wanted a yellow kitchen and my good friend, whether through intention or lacking better judgement, gave it to me. We picked two shades of Ralph Lauren paint and two days and much swearing later... a happy yellow kitchen emerged.

As I am not fortunate enough to have a dish washer, I spend a great deal of time at the kitchen sink... scrubbing and muttering... or just zoning out. To increase the enjoyment of my dishwashing time, I have filled the shelves above my kitchen sink with many of my favourite foodie things...

I have a few of my Nigella cooking pieces... my olive wood juicer that I bought in Cortona, Italy this past May... the small ceramic cucina plaque that I bought in Cortona in 2006... a ceramic jar of my mother's still filled with orange pekoe tea, as it was in my childhood... a vase filled with corks... a piece of my mother's ceramics... All things that make me smile while I wash away the traces of the meal and prepare for the next.

Before I go, I am going to give today's song to @sarahmacdonald (for those twitterers). Miike Snow - Song for No One. Enjoy!