Dessert By Candy

I Dream Of Jeni's

I spent Easter weekend in Nashville, TN with my Asphalt Beach teammates for some pre-season training. I devoted plenty of time skating on roads, trails, and airport runway. What I did not expect was a stop at famed Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. If you haven’t heard, Jeni’s makes some of the best ice cream in the US according to many trustworthy sources. But I have little reasons to visit their scoop shops in Columbus, Ohio. Before last weekend, I was certain my dream of tasting such splendid ice cream would remain a dream.

We were driving on Eastland en route to Cornelia Fort Airpark when a bright orange sign caught my attention. “Jeni’s!!!!” I squealed in delight much to the dismay of my travel companion. I couldn’t figure out why they have a shop in East Nashville but the familiar logo was unmistakable. I could not contain my excitement.

Berlin Bound

The last few days had been hectic with packing. I'm spending my birthday weekend in Berlin and as usual, I was busy with clearing my kitchen of perishables. That included some very nice Italian plums that I unwisely purchased (they were so so so nice!) and I had to carved out precious blocks of time to turn them into the Christmas preserve they are destined to be. I cannot wait to send them out as part of my holiday gift basket this year to friends and family! This plum conserve is everything Christmas tastes like to me.

Oh yes, Berlin. I'm at the airport right now and barring some weird consequences, will arrive in this cosmopolitan city Thursday morning for a long weekend of skating, racing, hanging out with friends, eating, shopping, and sightseeing! The original plan for this year was a very competitive event in which I'll get to test myself against some of the best European skaters at the biggest inline skating race in the world. Unfortunately, the string of crashes (nine at last count) this year absolutely derailed my plans and my expectation is merely to finish the race safe and sound. My plan this year is to check out the course so I can return next year ready to race. This change eases off any racing stress and I'll get to enjoy all that this historical city has to offer.

Internet access over the next few days will be spotty at best but I hope to keep you up to date with all the sights and sounds of Berlin. I left plenty of room in my suitcase. You know what that means? Retail therapy is in order!

Shopper Extraordinaire

I am always a little embarrassed about shopping when I travel. A close family friend once scoffed at his wife’s foreign shopping excursions. He insisted that it was worse than frivolous because there are sights to see, museums to take in, and cultures to experience. In his opinion, shopping in most cosmopolitan cities is rather generic and there is no need to travel all the way across the globe when the same thing can be found back home. I am not 100% in agreement with him but have to admit that he has some valid points. It does not stop me from indulging in retail therapy when I travel but this is where my embarrassment stems from.

Shopping in foreign countries allows me to bring small mementos of my travel back home. Some are great reminders in months or even years to come of what I enjoyed abroad. Some are unique finds that I cannot get in my hometown. Some are simply objects I absolutely fall in love with and would have purchased anywhere in the world. On my flight back to Canada earlier this week, my suitcase was bursting at the seams with purchases of all three categories. It was a most fruitful trip in the shopping department.

Just A Taste Of Germany

Ever have that feeling when you’ve been away from the kitchen for so long that you may forget how to cook? My European travel only lasted less than two weeks but I certainly felt like it was longer. Friends old and new were so generous to show me the Old World I couldn’t have asked for a better vacation.

I had never been to Germany prior to this trip. I got the chance to spend a weekend in Damp and a night in Husum/Nordstrand, both in the Schleswig-Holstein region near the German-Danish border. Obscure choices for a first-timer I’m sure but it was inline speed skating competitions that brought me there both times. The photo above really says it all. I took it immediately after I completed my race in Nordstrand of which I came third place overall among the women. I skated a good race, received my medal, and rewarded myself with a slice of authentic black forest cake loaded with kirshwasser. It was as good as I hoped it would be.

I am far less familiar with the German language or cuisine compared to other regions of Europe. This made for quite an adventure which I thoroughly enjoyed in my brief stay. The night before my race last Sunday, I ventured from the hotel to the waterfront neighbourhood in Husum. Being a quiet seaside resort town, the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. The lack of an English menu nor any English-speaking waitress did not deter me from enjoying my dinner. I ordered Friesenteller mit nordischen Spezialitaten: Matjesfilet, Nordseekrabben, Fetakase und Sauerfleisch, Holsteiner Schinken, dazu Brot und Butter and hoped for the best.

Snapshots From Denmark

It’s been one whirlwind of a week. Since I arrived in Copenhagen last week on Thursday, my racing and travel took me to Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. The warm hospitality of friends keeps me in good food and even better company. Last year when I visited Denmark I was mainly ensconced in Gerlev punctuated with brief day trips to Copenhagen. This year, with the stress of big race behind me, I am feeling totally relaxed with no hurry to cram my vacation here in Europe. After all, there are always sights to see, local delicacy to be enjoyed, practices to attend, and I can’t possibly do it all. May as well take the lazy approach. I must let go, for the time being, of that focus and intensity that had driven my training for months.

My lazy regimen kicked off on Monday. I slept in, baked some cookies, baked a blackberry yogurt cake, and went to a fun skating practice with fellow North American skaters. The next day brought us across the water to Helsingborg, Sweden…home of IKEA headquarter! I stuffed myself silly with Scandinavian breakfast buffet, Skagen shrimp sandwich (just like what they serve at IKEA cafeterias around the world except a million times better), rum ball, graddbuller, and princess cake. Fresh cream is a mainstay in Scandinavian desserts.

Day Trip To Sweden

I finally run out of my stash of prepared blog post. I’m still traveling in Denmark right now but yesterday enjoyed a day trip to Sweden. Hope you’ll enjoy the photos of some of the (sometimes) strange and delicious food I had in Sweden!

I have no regrets about my race at World Masters Championship last Sunday in Damp, Germany. Although I was a little disappointed that I did not podium, I proved that I belong with the best racers until the very end of the race and I am proud of what I accomplished. There are much stories to tell and I look forward to share them with you when I return home next week!

Hill Country Barbecue At Long Last

Racing has brought me many travel opportunities over the years. For the last four years, I got to spend a weekend in Austin, Texas in April. Racing was obviously the focus so seeking out the best tacos and barbecue that Hill Country has to offer was not necessarily in the cards. It pained me every time to leave Texas without sampling their great barbecue. More than once, I ended up stuffing my face with a brisket sandwich bought at Salt Lick’s airport outpost. It was the last chance for Texas barbecue before the long flight home and I was desperate.

With a bit of better planning, I finally got my taste of the great barbecue tradition from Lockhart, Texas. Before my early afternoon flight, a short road trip gave me not one, not two, but three highly-regard barbeque restaurants to enjoy. Obviously I had to try all. Kreuz Market, Black’s Barbecue, and Smitty’s Market were all excellent in their own right and unlike anything I’ve ever had.

Being the only girl in our group of five, you would think I’m at a disadvantage when it comes to barbecue tasting. Not at all! My experience with food-centric vacation prepares me well. It’s about pacing and not be distracted by fillers. Our first stop at Kreuz included orders of brisket, shoulder, pork ribs, regular and jalapeno sausages. We arrived before the doors were open and our request for burnt ends was met with a burnished and crispy piece of brisket that I’m still thinking about. I’m all about the burnt ends! The sausages had great snap too and just the right about of smokiness. The guys couldn’t get enough and our group pretty much demolished the whole order. I wanted to warn them against all that water and bread but I was too occupied by the deliciousness in front of me.

Suitcase Full Of…

After five weeks away in sunny Florida, I’m home! I’m home! I’m home! Traveling for a food lover often means bringing home edible goodies. Florida may not come to mind as a gourmet mecca but I still made plenty of worthwhile purchases. Nestled between all the dirty and clean laundry, I packed jars after jars of preserves I made from local Florida fruit. There is also a nice bottle of Estrella Damm Inedit which was introduced to me by friends in Austin last year. Of course, who can forget to buy some Biscoff speculoo spread in both original smooth and chunky?

I also brought back various baking ingredients which may be deemed as waste of luggage space. My pantry in Florida left me with half used bottles of Nielson Massey vanilla extract, instant espresso powder, Droste cocoa powder, Pomona universal pectin, rapid rise yeast, and desiccated coconut chips. I’d be the first to tell you these are all ingredients I can source back home but they are also quality items I use on a regular basis. It would be a huge waste to throw them away so I packed them anyway.

Field Trip To Redland

This is a story of a field trip inspired by ten empty canning jars. My impromptu marmalade making left me with ten brand new half-pint jars that begged to be filled every time my gaze fell upon them. In a moment of brilliance, I started looking up information on South Florida strawberry farms in hopes of filling the jars with farm-fresh strawberry jam. It did not take long before I came upon information on Redland, Miami’s countryside. Last Saturday, I armed myself with a few addresses and set out on a little road trip after I wrapped up training at Key Biscayne.

My search for strawberries brought me to Burr’s Berry Farm. As one of the best strawberry growers in the area, Burr’s supplies their excellent berries to some top restaurants in Miami. I chatted with the gracious owner who told me of the different varieties of berries they plant. His personal favourite Sweet Charlie did not fare well this year but the currently harvesting Chandler are big, juicy, and flavourful. I took a leisurely stroll through the hydroponic field with their shoulder height planters surrounding me. I took a deep breath and was instantly enveloped by the sweet smell of ripe strawberries. This was an experience unlike any strawberry farms I’ve been to because the shrubs are typically too low to the ground for the fragrance to travel up. Behind the rows of strawberries, Burr’s also plant a vegetable garden laden with lettuce, cauliflower, sweet peppers, peas, and tomatoes. Just looking at the harvest was enough to make me smile. I left the farm with a whole flat of the most gorgeous strawberries.

There was another reason I could not wipe that smile off my face when I visited Burr’s. Their famous strawberry milkshake and strawberry shortcake were my well-earned post-workout recovery meal! I’ll simply let the photo do the talking.

Eating Local In Fort Lauderdale

Eating food locally grown and raised by small farms practicing sustainable farming is a value that I did not expect to embrace with such dedication. I do not like to be lectured when I shop for groceries so the moral high ground approach is not the reason I care so much. I appreciate the earnestness and passion of our farmers. I certainly applaud them for going against the trend of industrial farming despite the hard labour and low profit. As a consumer, what truly convinced me is that dollar for dollar, I get much higher quality, better variety, and healthier option. Once I’ve seen the value in this choice, there’s no going back to my old ways.

Even in the familiarity of home, it takes planning and effort to get my weekly supply of farm fresh produce from my CSA Kawartha Ecological Growers and my favourite farmers’ markets. The challenge to eat locally is magnified when I’m away from home. As soon as I arrived in South Florida, my first order of business was to seek out locations of Whole Foods Market and farmers’ markets. Being one of the main growing region of United States, one would expect abundant availability of high quality produce in Florida. Strangely enough, that does not appear to be the case from many people I talked to. Since I arrived in Fort Lauderdale a week ago, I shopped at various grocery stores catering to different consumer markets. I visited Wal-Mart Supercenter, Publix, Whole Foods Market, and Marando Farms. Now I understand my friends’ lament on the lack of quality produce.