A few weeks ago, arctic-dwelling Snowy Owls migrated to Boundary Bay (bordered by Surrey to the East and Delta to the West). These birds are on BC’s Endangered Species list under a code “blue” which means they are “considered to be of Special Concern (formerly Vulnerable) in British Columbia. Blue-listed taxa are at risk, but are not Extirpated, Endangered or Threatened.”
As expected, many photographers have setup their tri-pods at Boundary Bay to catch these beautiful creatures in action. Our friend John Biehler went out to document the snowy owls yesterday.
According to the Vancouver Sun: “They feed largely on lemmings on the tundra. The population fluctuations of these rodents dictate when we see owls. In most years, lemmings are numerous and the owls stay in the north feasting on the rodents. However, every few years the lemmings numbers crash and the owls need to go in search of food. When food is particularly scarce, the owls will appear far south of the arctic in places like Boundary Bay.”
The City of Vancouver had their snow and ice removal information posted weeks ago, in anticipation of the white blanket that was bound to fall this season.
Aside from having a winter-ready vehicle, it’s also your responsibility to make sure the sidewalks are clear for pedestrians in your neighbourhood. No matter how long the snow sticks before turning into a muddied slush, there are a few things you should know:
- All Vancouver property owners and occupants (tenants) are responsible for clearing snow and ice from the full width of sidewalks that surround their property (shown in blue) by 10 am on the morning following a snowfall, seven days a week. Property owners and occupants who fail to remove snow and ice may be fined. Please make arrangements for someone to clear your sidewalk of snow and ice if you are away or are unable to clear it yourself.
If you are unable to clear the walk yourself or if you are an able-bodied person who can assist someone who cannot clear their sidewalk, you can get on the Snow Angel list. You can call 3-1-1 in the city to be listed for assistance or to be a snow-shoveling volunteer. You can sign up through the Britannia Secondary School Streetfront Program, the Grandview- Woodlands Community Policing Centre, Templeton Secondary School, or the West-End Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre.
A few more tips from the city when it comes to removing snow:
- Choose a snow shovel that is right for you. Push the snow instead of lifting.
- Speak to your doctor if you have a heart condition or you’re unsure if you’re physically able to shovel snow. If you experience pain, stop immediately and seek help.
- Warm-up and stretch before shoveling.
- If the storm is over, the City has plowed, and snow begins to melt, please clear the snow around the catch basin in the gutter fronting your property. This will help the melt water runoff into the storm sewer system, and reduce flooding problems.
- Avoid shovelling snow onto sidewalks or the roadway as it can be hazardous to pedestrians and vehicles.
Read the complete list online and find out more about the Snow Angels program.
One thing that John and I look forward to most on the weekends is a proper breakfast. From Monday to Friday we’re starting the day with coffee and a muffin, or sometimes a breakfast sandwich. When Saturday and Sunday roll around, we either take a morning trip to the market or try out some of our city’s best eateries to get our dose of eggs.
The Egg Farmers of Canada have recently launched a mobile application (for iPhone and Android) that helps you cook eggs at home. Whether you’re boiling, poaching, frying, scrambling, or combining them with other ingredients, the app set out to educate Canadians about the seemingly endless array of egg preparations – for any meal.
I downloaded the free app to give it a whirl. It caught John’s eye right and we played around with the settings. We usually get our eggs over medium so I clicked on the pre-set timer. You could just use your iPhone’s default timer for this, but the benefit of using the one within the app is that it will pair up with recipes, and let you know when to flip.
I do cook from home often and I use various recipe applications. The Egg Timer app has dozens of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, kids meals, and quick snacks. It’s been added to my food app arsenal for my future endeavours with quiche, macaroni bake, risotto, gnocchi, or burger melts.
To promote this new tool, the Egg Farmers of Canada have offered up 5 egg-tastic prize packages to give away. Each package includes:
- A Get Cracking apron
- A cookbook: The Perfect Egg Cookbook, by Alex Barker
- A cookbook in French: Les Oeufs, Plus de 130 recettes, par Michel Roux
- A microwave egg cooker
- Spiced French Toast mix
- A Get Cracking egg turner
To enter to win, leave a comment on this post naming your favourite place to eat eggs in Vancouver. You could say eggs benedict at Cafe Medina, the big bowl breakfast at White Spot, a frittata from Campagnolo, or the scrambled eggs you make with your kids at home.
I will draw 5 winners next Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10:00am. Prize packages will be delivered to each of the winner.
Update The winners are Shelley, Rachel, Jan, Mike, and Vaughn!
Dunn’s Famous opened their doors in Vancouver last November, serving up their well-known Montreal smoked meat alongside a menu full of rich, gravy-topped, comfort foods.
My brother-in-law previously introduced us to Estrella’s in Langley, which was my first taste of a sky-high stacked Montreal smoked meat sandwich. For this reason, I sent my sister and my brother-in-law, who grew up just outside of Montreal, to the launch event when Dunn’s first opened on Seymour, just off Robson. He sent me an email the same night: “It rocked! They officially have best poutine on the West Coast now.”
I soon realized that upon mentioning “Dunn’s is now in Vancouver”, anyone within earshot who is from Eastern Canada will perk up and salivate. Dunn’s has been smoked meat favourite in Montreal since it was founded in 1927 by Myer Dunn.
My first (and only experience) at Dunn’s was with Lucy Hyslop recently. It was a great lunch however I did not get smacked with the aroma of smoked meats upon entering the restaurant, something one might expect or anticipate. Nevertheless, I soon discovered that the reason for this place’s legendary status lay between the pages of its menu.
The menu was large both in size and in terms of offerings. Bright images of the meals appear on every second page to illustrate what “Two Rivers free run chicken breast on sliced white bread covered in gravy, topped with ‘mushy’ peas” might look like. I decided to go the traditional route and order one of their Super Sandwiches.
Super Montreal Smoked Meat $10.99
6 oz hand sliced smoked beef brisket on light sourdough rye, sliced to order. Lucy informed me ahead of ordering that I could get “light, medium, or fat” meat and that “fat” would be the most tasty due to an even marbling throughout the slices. I decided to go with “medium” for my first run.
All Super Sandwiches are served with French fries, Dunn’s special coleslaw and a kosher pickle. I “up-sized” to a poutine Quebecoise and other side options include onion rings, seafood chowder, or a caesar salad. After considering the knife and fork on the table in front of me, I dove into my generous stack of sliced brisket (that was smoked for 17 hours then steamed for 3 hours). It takes a full pair of bites to break through from bread slice to bread slice. I came away from the meal with fairly clean hands as the sandwich wasn’t over-run with dripping sauce or juices. The coleslaw wasn’t drenched in dressing either, which was nice, and the crunchy pickle completed the meal.
The side poutine was tasty, definitely different, but tasty. One could argue I’ve never had “real” poutine since I’ve never been to Quebec. My Quebecois was just one of their poutine offerings along with Dunn’s (cheese curds, Dunn’s special gravy & chopped Montréal smoked meat), Peppercorn (cheese curds & peppercorn sauce), Italienne (cheese curds & meat sauce), Dunn’s Italienne (cheese curds & meat sauce with chopped Montréal smoked meat), and Vegetarian (cheese curds, vegetarian gravy).
The staff was very attentive and helpful to us Dunn’s first-timers. I left with half of my sandwich in a take-away box, to be enjoyed again later. Next time I’ll try something different like one of their poutines or entrees. I know John would also want to try their all-day breakfast since it’s his favourite meal of the day.
Dunn’s Famous is open from 10:00am daily at 827 Seymour Street. Find them on Twitter and Facebook for restaurant information and updates.
The Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival returns for a second year January 14 to February 14, 2012. I heard mention of this on Twitter yesterday and found details on Erin Ireland’s blog which linked to the event host, CityFood Magazine.
The month-long festival has a massive line up of daily flavours and treats that will be served up at the 15 participating cafes and restaurants. In case you’re wondering if that many flavours of hot chocolate exist, believe me they do! The Hot Chocolate Festival has a Flavour Index listing over 20 dark chocolate, over 15 milk chocolate, 5 white chocolate, and 5 non-dairy options. You can look up flavours by date and follow the festival on Facebook for daily information.
Participating venues are: Bel Cafe, Bella Gelateria + It’s to Die For Banana Bread, Beta5 Chocolates + The Juice Truck, Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France, CocoaNymph, French Made Baking, Gem Chocolates, Leonidas Chocolates, Mink – A Chocolate Cafe, Schokolade, Terra Breads, Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe, and Thomas Haas. Click on a day in the calendar/listings to see what they’ll be serving up.
Proceeds from featured festival drinks will benefit the food program at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. With the weather dipping mid-month, it’s the perfect time to try a new silky sweet hot chocolate flavour and support a very worthy cause in the process.
You can also pick up a Hot Chocolate Passport for the festival which you can stamp at the various locations when you pick up a participating beverage.
