Between the Vines: One woman's wine-soaked musings

Still life and fluid textures: An evening of wine and art at The Reach in Abbotsford

Please join me and artist Desneige Meyer for an evening of wine tasting and artistic expression.

You'll gather at The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford on Thursday, March 8, from 6 – 9pm. There I'll guide you through tasting three wines from Spain, after which you'll nibble some cheese with a glass of your favourite and paint a still-life canvas under Meyer's expert tutelage.

The evening promises to be stimulating, tasty, and fun.

What:	Three Wines & Still Life
Where:	The Reach Gallery Museum 32388 Veterans Way, Abbotsford
Date:	Thursday, March 8, 2012
Time:	6 – 9pm
Reg  & Info	604-864-8087, ext. 111 thereach.ca | $45 per person

Cheers, all!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

Wine & Food: In Honoka‘a, Hawai‘i, it is all so civilized

During our recent stay in Hawai‘i, we made our way, with new friends Gary and Betty Burley of Warsaw, N.Y. and travel companions Karen and John Laing, to Café Il Mondo for its hand-made, delicious pizza.

This little pizza joint is on Honoka‘a's main drag, which, when you take away the palm trees and fragrant, warm breezes, reminds me a little of TV’s Mayberry. The restaurant always has a lineup, takes cash only, and you bring your own wine or beer.

We discovered we couldn’t order a bottle of wine with our meal when we ordered our food. “But,” our waitress said, “You can go across the street to the grocery store and buy your own. We have a cork screw.”

Ha! How civilized! Bring our own.

John ran out and grabbed two bottles of 2009 Big House Red, which was $9.99 at the Malama Market and is $12.99 at B.C. liquor stores.

The wine was stuffed with juicy red fruit, a bit of smoke and a pleasant earthiness that worked well with the pizza. It is a classic cheap and cheerful bottle of wine that should have some sort of international status, what with the myriad grape varieties that go into it.

(This piece appeared originally in the February 16 issue of My City, a monthly magazine within the Abbotsford News.)

Cheers, all!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

A toast to Champagne: History and fun facts from Wine.com

I saw this first on Cherries and Clay and ended up on Wine.com where the questions was, "Love Champagne?"

Since my answer is unequivocally YES, I have followed instructions to embed the code that will share with you, my dear readers, this infographic explaining of the history of the regal French sparkler, Champagne.

Brought to Between the Vines by Wine.com.

Cheers to you!

Still haven't made Valentine's Day dinner plans? Lots of great places to eat in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Harrison Mills

Still haven't made Valentine's Day dinner plans?

Here are some suggestions for those who live in the Fraser Valley or those who don't mind driving here. As I write this, there are still some Valentine's Day dinner seatings left, but if by the time you write or call you can't get a reservation, I highly recommend you try another date and simply share some oysters and wine with your lover on February 14.

• Restaurant 62 in Abbotsford
  @restaurant62 | Facebook 
  
  
• Roasted Grape Café & Tasting Bar in Abbotsford
  @RoastedGrape | Facebook 
  
  
• River's Edge at Rowena's Inn in Harrison Mills
  @RowenasInn | Facebook 
  
  
• Bravo Restaurant & Lounge in Chilliwack; and
  
  
• Ann Marie's Café in Abbotsford if you prefer a big Valentine's breakfast over cocktails, dinner, wine.
  @AnnMariesCafe | Facebook 

xoxox

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

Canuck-inspired luau serves up great food, fun in Honoka‛a, Hawai‛i

We hosted a luau for all our Hawai‛ian friends.

We greeted our guests with lilikoi margaritas—yes, we made sure they included those fun little umbrellas—and presented a menu that included poke, laulau, BC-style salmon, kalua pig, chicken in coconut milk, baked beans, and an Asian-inspired coleslaw. We finished with cheesecake, mango-rum pie, and an Island favourite, haupia.

Watch a very quick video menu recap here:

Cheers, all!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

John makes poke in Honoka‛a, Hawai‛i

This time it's our friend and fellow vacationer John R. Laing who shares his fun foodie-ness as he makes poke for our Sunday lu‛au.

Scroll down a bit to view a very short video featuring our very own poke man and then scroll down just a little bit further to see a snapshot of John's finished poke.

Here is a snapshot of John's finished poke:

Cheers, all!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Chile invades Vancouver: Fraser Valley benefits from good value, full flavour

Here is my column as it appeared in the January 19 issue of My City, a monthly magazine in the Abbotsford News.

“The Chileans are coming,” is the call of this year’s Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival running Feb. 27 – Mar. 4 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. And this means a spotlight on some value-packed,flavour-filled wines. Many of the... read more.

Click here or on the image below to read the whole column.

Cheers, all!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

A passion for liliko‛i in Honoka‛a, Hawai‛i

During December, 2011, good friend and co-vacationer Karen Laing mastered the art of making liliko'i jam. In January, I followed her lead and helped make some more.

Inside the lilikoi (passion fruit)

In addition, we've made guava jam and grapefruit marmalade, all from fruit on our winter-house-sitting property or picked and gleaned from friends' properties.

I haven't even started on all the fresh papaya and avacado...

Cheers, all!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Tasting three kinds of fresh oysters and three white wines

My son, Steven, and I had a fun evening tasting three white wines and three kinds of fresh oysters (Kumomoto, Effingham, Kusshi) from 1Fish 2Fish in Langley. 

The Cuvée du Haut-Censy Muscadet was my favourite wine with the oysters, while Steven really enjoyed the Silver Chardonnay. The Prospect Winery Sauvignon Blanc was pleasant and worked nicely with the oysters but didn't come in as number one with either of us.

From your left, here are the wines we enjoyed tonight:

1. Cuvée du Haut-Censy Muscadet Sèvre & Maine Sur Lie 2009
2. Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay 2009
3. Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery Council's Punch Bowl Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Cheers, all!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

Christmas Eve at our house: Prime rib roast, family, friends and more red wine please

Red meat. Lots of it. Family and friends. Lots of them.

Oh, and the red wine. Let if flow, please.

That's Christmas Eve at our house.

Behold the 3.776 kg (roughly 8.325 lbs) Lepp Farm Market prime rib roast we'll serve tonight. Sides will include roasted asparagus, braised red cabbage, grilled Roma tomatoes topped with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, half-as-bad garlic smashed potatoes, and a rosemary-shallot red-wine sauce.

Wines will represent the old and new worlds: 2008 Twisted Tree Six Vines and 2009 Mission Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (B.C.), 2007 Château de Beaucastel (France), and 2010 Castillo de Monséran (Spain).

Merry Christmas!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.