The Holiday Season is in Full Swing
It’s been a while since I’ve done a round-up, but why not end the year with suggestions for y’all to have a special holiday season?
First up, have you tried the EPIK app? I’ve been having all sorts of fun with the holiday collection, all without having to dress up, find the proper lighting and get my hair and makeup done. It’s free, but the specific collections will cost you, but I’m a sucker for this type of photo editing magic and the Instagram likes are worth it alone!
Our car this week has been the amazing 2023 Honda CRV and I do not want to give this one back. It’s a Hybrid, and has had a redesign for this year, and is slightly larger with more cabin space, an infotainment system with a 7-inch touch screen, a 204-hp hybrid powertrain engine and all the driver assistance and road safety features Honda is known for. There is plenty of cargo space, 36 cubic feet behind the second row, and of course, a ton more when you put those seats down, which came in handy for some cider deliveries!
In food and travel news, I’ve just returned from a Chew on This Tasty Tours in Chilliwack’s District 1881,. We explored Chilliwack’s District 1881 on the Dig in & Discover Tour. What a great way to get to know a neighbourhood! This locally based company offers an insider’s guide to many communities beyond the big city through a culinary lens. If you haven’t been to District 1881 you should as it’s full of treasurers. Some highlights included Bricklayer Brewing, Zilla’s Donuts, Elevated Pizza, and Eco Luxe Co. for shopping where I bought myself a lovely, beaded wallet.
For holiday drinks I’ve got a couple of recommendations including H Tasting Lounge for their 12 Cocktails of Christmas Shopping, on until December 25. Try the Fast Fashion with chai Campari, Swedish Punsch, nitro orange maple and cardamom notes.
Over in Gastown, Clough Club hosts “Miracle in Gastown” Christmas Cocktail Popup with tipsy Santa-approved cocktails and food and retro-kitsch décor! A cheese ball and either a Christmapolitan, with its festive spin on the Cosmo, or the Snowball Old-Fashioned, that turns this classic into a grown-up gingerbread treat. There’s many other holiday drinks.
Our cookbook this week is BRed: Sourdough Loaves, Small Breads and Other Plant-Based Baking by Ed and Natasha Tatton
Vegan chef and artisan bread-maker Ed Tatton shares techniques and 100 recipes for making naturally leavened sourdough loaves, small breads, and earth-friendly small baked goods.
Flour, water, and salt can be transformed into extraordinary, delicious bread. Ed Tatton, vegan chef, artisan bread-maker, and co-owner of the popular vegan café and bakery BReD with Natasha Tatton shows you how in Bred. Tatton has been refining his recipes and techniques for naturally leavened sourdough for many years—including a wide array of boules, baguettes, loaves, flatbreads, buns, and pizza. As required, he uses plant-based alternatives in some savoury and sweet sourdoughs that would traditionally include dairy (butter, milk, or buttermilk) including panettone buns, hot cross buns, sticky buns, cinnamon buns, English muffins, brioche, and babka. Inside BReD, you’ll find these perfected recipes to start your journey in bread-making; along with a detailed sourdough starter guide with step-by-step visuals on making and maintaining a sourdough starter, levain, mixing, shaping, and baking methods.
The Drink recommendation this week is going to be the Wassail Cider from our own Sea Cider, it’s selling out quickly and is perfect for the holidays with the clove, orange, and cinnamon notes. I’ve also included a little about Wassailing which I found interesting. So many great holiday drinks.
🍊 This Holiday season, cozy up with a warming cider @seaciderhouse Wassail! ✨
Spiced with orange peel, cloves, and cinnamon, our Wassail spiced cider is rich in flavour, deep in colour and high in alcohol to warm the soul and celebrate the winter traditions!
Flavours of candied orange peel with hints of winter spices make Wassail the perfect pairing for all your seasonal dishes. 😋
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🎪 🎊 🍺 🍻 Wassailing🎊 🎪 🥂 🍺 🍻
The tradition of wassailing falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail. The house-visiting wassail is the practice of people going door-to-door, singing, and offering a drink from the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts; this practice still exists but has largely been displaced by carol singing. The orchard-visiting wassail refers to the ancient custom of visiting orchards in cider-producing regions of England, reciting incantations and singing to the trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year., and by 1598 it was being applied to the custom of drinking healths on those nights.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail too;
And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year!
