(Thinking about) making bread

I've never had the inclination to make bread. Before now. You can blame Tartine. I've gone to the bakery every time I've visited my sister in San Francisco (that photo of chocolate banana bread pudding is from a visit last spring), and in November I went to Bar Tartine for the first time. That's where I ate the best bread in the world. It was the best part of an amazing meal (actually, celebrating my dad's 60th birthday was the best part, but you know what I mean).

At dinner, after pointing out that Chad Robertson was eating at the bar, Shannon told me about this video, which (successfully) promotes Tartine Bread, a new cookbook which I must own. I like Marie Abe's portion of the video best, so watch the whole thing!

My stomach is growling.

Christmas moments

Cardboard gingerbread men at Choux Choux Charcuterie:


A snowman and his cat in our backyard (who have since expired):


A snowman and his popsicle (obviously) at the Christmas tree farm:


Slippers, tree, lights and Michael in a rocking chair in our living room:


Lights on a giant tree at Government House:

Making chocolate cupcakes and malted icing

A few months back, I made Orangette's Chocolate Malted Cupcakes for Jen's birthday. I will make them again.

Making canned tomatoes

So in addition to making jam, I also canned tomatoes this year. I can't wait to dig into these in the coming blustery months. You can bet that I'll be making poached eggs in tomato sauce at some point. My parents recommended freezing tomatoes over canning, but I'm glad we went this route. The process is relaxing and the product adds to our emergency stores.

Relish

In August, Jamie Cummins opened a restaurant in Victoria: Relish Food + Coffee. Yes, he's a friend, but you guys. It's amazing. It has homemade everything. Biscuits. Muffins. Cookies. Bread. Bacon. Sausage. Gnocchi. Yesterday I had the homemade pasta with tomato sauce, a generous portion of fresh mozza and a ton of sauteed greens. It was simple and perfect.

Even though it's not located near my office, I often hustle over there on my bike to have lunch with friends (more often than not I'm meeting my buddy Susan from my old place of work). The cauliflower soup pictured here was one of Susan's meal choices shortly after Relish first opened, and it's the only decent photo that I have. If you want to see some additonal photos and read some additional gushing words, check out this review in Eat Magazine.

I wish Relish was open on weekends, so I could go more often, but I also don't want Jamie to burn out. Opening a restaurant looks like a lot of work, yo.

Belle and Sebastian Write About Love

After a few listens, "I want the world to stop" is my favorite song from Write About Love: