Month: July 2016

A Bavarian Invasion

Published by theporkgirl

The Spaniard planned his return visit home this summer around his friend Paula’s wedding near Munich. Paula had married her German sweetheart Christoph at an intimate ceremony in Santander back in May, so the festivities in Bavaria were to let both their German and Spanish friends get together and celebrate. I flew in a couple of days early to meet up with Alex, who I first met volunteering in Swaziland over five years earlier. After over a decade abroad, Alex has returned home to Germany to start a travel business offering designer trips to Africa. I had a chance to hear all about Wanderlust Africa as we walked around Munich, and Alex helped me pick out a traditional dirndl in anticipation of the wedding.  After two days with Alex I went back to the airport to pick up the rental car, The Spaniard, and our new friend Pilar who was flying in at the same time. We navigated our way to Munich to pick up Adrian & Keesha – who we stuffed in the back along with all the …

The smell of queso at Paddy’s Cheese

Published by theporkgirl

When The Spaniard walked in the door of Paddy’s International Cheese Market located off High Street (12509 102 Ave) in Edmonton for the first time he took a deep breath in and said “Oh my, I love this smell.” The pungent aroma of cheese, or queso in his case, must have brought him back to the market in his hometown of Santander for just a moment. While the selection of cheese at Paddy’s isn’t quite the same as the array of Cantabrian cheeses from the multiple cheese stalls at his market, I know that stopping in for some specialty cheese would be a pleasant experience for him in Edmonton. The last time we hit a specialty cheese store was in Toronto, where we walked out with a selection based on the advice of the man helping us. This time we decided to go with the aceite grand olive oil goat cheese (from Spain and also conveniently 15% off), and two recommendations from the store. We both love trying new things and were very happy to walk out with …

From Gull Lake to Bentley – a central Alberta bounty

Published by theporkgirl

One of the best things about getting away for the weekend to my sister’s cottage at Gull Lake in central Alberta is visiting some great local producers in the area. One of my go-to spots in the Pik n’ Pak – a small warehouse ten minutes off the QEII owned by two shareholders, Gull Valley Greenhouses and Doef’s Greenhouses. The warehouse has a door to a cooler stocked with fresh produce – but you have to bring cash and your conscience, because you tally up your own bill and put the correct amount of cash in a safe. Pik n’ Pak was celebrating its 30th anniversary the last time I was up, so we got to tour the facility and enjoy a taste of the produce including tomatoes. For the event, Cilantro and Chive was on site catering up dishes featuring the local produce including a gazpacho and bruschetta.  After enjoying a few samples, we stocked up on a couple of cases of fresh cocktail tomatoes, eggplants, butter lettuce, and peppers and were on our way. Our next …