Don Genova's Blog

Catch Me On the BC Almanac Open Line! (and take my course)

Hi everyone....Tuesday, August 14th I will appear on the CBC BC Almanac Open Line show with host Mark Forsythe (pictured at left) between 1:30 and 2:00pm.  I'll be talking about the Slow Food movement, my travels and studies in Europe, and will answer calls about how your community could become a 'Slow City'.

The number to call in the Lower Mainland is 604-669-3733, long-distance toll-free 1-800-825-5950.

And I still have a few spots left in my class in Freelance Food and Travel Writing that takes place next week(Aug20-24) at UBC.  Find out how you can be a freelance writer, just like me!  Click here for more info or call 604-822-9564.  Hope to see you there!

Blogs Updated

For those of you who didn't get their fix of my wife's trials and tribulations with lasagna making last year, she is still catching up with some postings on her Lasagna Blog.  The lasagna for May has just been posted.  I will be adding some photos of the lasagna (which was really delicious and beautiful), once I poach them off my portable hard drive...which is not with me right now as I am posting from school.

On another note, my recent Food For Thought on Omega-3 fatty acids has brought two interesting responses, one from farmers in BC's Cowichan Valley who raise grass-fed water buffalo, and another alert of a news story that somewhat debunks the reputed effects of Omega-3 oils.  I have added the letter from the water buffalo farmers and placed a link to the news story, so I hope you will visit the updated post.

Congratulations to Quest Outreach Society!

Congratulations to the Quest Outreach Society in Vancouver.  The society was awarded the annual VanCity One Million Dollar Prize this year, which will allow them to triple the amount of needy people helped through the Quest Food Exchange.  You can see the story here on CBC.ca, but you can also listen to the story I did about the Food Exchange in October by visiting this entry on my blog.

Pacific Palate - Contest Winners Announced and My Secret Revealed

This morning I broadcast my last edition of Pacific Palate on The Early Edition, after 10 years of memorable meals. 

On Saturday I climb on board a plane in Vancouver and late on Sunday afternoon I'll arrive in Parma, Italy.  From there it's a short hop to Colorno, where I will be living for the next year while I take a Masters of Food Culture program at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, otherwise known as Slow Food U!

Don't worry, I'll keep writing on my blog as often as possible, and will still be producing my Food For Thought program for CBC Radio One, and my Podcast, All You Can Eat for Podshow.com.

If you want to try the lasagna recipe I talked about on the Early Edition, which was very ably executed by my wife Ramona this weekend, you'll find it here.

And thanks to everyone who entered the contest, there are some truly great stories, and I encourage you to read them by going to the bottom of this posting.

The winner of the dinners for two at Nu, Rare and Senova is Dee Taylor of Maple Ridge.

Daphne Spencer of West Vancouver won 11 different culinary books from Raincoast Books, Douglas & McIntyre and Whitecap Books.

And Nancy Carpenter of Vancouver won the Breville Panini Press pictured above, courtesy of Breville and Ming Wo Cookware in Chinatown.

Thanks to all of my listeners over the years of Pacific Palate and to all the people I have interviewed who helped make the show what it was, the best-tasting show on the radio!

Ciao for now,

Don

Help Me Help Oxfam

Help Me Help Oxfam - On Wednesday, October 11th I will be master of ceremonies at a special fundraising dinner for Oxfam.  October 16th is World Food Day and I'm going to be taking part in a hunger banquet at JJ's Restaurant at Vancouver Community College.

Tickets are just 25 dollars, there are guest speakers and live music.  The theme of the banquet is unique.  By chance that evening, your meal will resemble one of the three types of people in the world.  15 percent of us eat well, 25 percent eat adequately, while 60 percent eat very meagrely.  Three different meals will be provided at dinner so we can all experience the different circumstances the food supply leaves people in.   For tickets and more information call the BC-Yukon Oxfam office at 604-736-7678 or see the pdf version of the poster here .

True Grain needs you!

If you are young and enthusiastic and looking for a unique career in an amazing part of the world, Jonathan at True Grain Bread in Cowichan Bay has an opening for an apprentice baker.  To read the job description as a pdf file, click here.

More Sardines For Sale!

The following is a press release I received today from the Canadian Pacific Sardine Association.  Apparently you like sardines, you really like them!

FRESH BC SARDINE SALES in STEVESTON • Friday, September 8^th and Saturday, September 9^th, 2006

more BC sardines coming to meet a growing demand generated by BC Sardine Fest!

Richmond, BC:  In response to the great interest and demand generated for BC sardines at the Canadian Pacific Sardine Association’s second annual BC Sardine Fest held on Saturday, September 2^nd, 2006 between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm at the Steveston Harbour Authority Fisherman’s Park (in front of the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site • 12138 Fourth Avenue), fresh BC sardines are on their way to the Steveston Fishermen’s Wharf for sale this Friday, September 8^th (3 pm to 7 pm) and Saturday, September 9^th (7 am to 7 pm) or until supplies last!

Sardine fisherman, Glenn Budden of the Ocean Venture says from his boat, “We sold out of 8,500 pounds of fresh BC sardines at BC Sardine Fest and we will be making our way back to the sales dock in Steveston this weekend with more beautiful fish – about 145 grams each – to meet that growing demand.  We’ll have free BC sardine recipe booklets available too featuring unique recipes created by our local chefs who participated at our event both this year and last year.  It’s just great to see the enthusiastic interest in BC sardines!”

Over 1,500 people attended BC Sardine Fest this year showing such enthusiastic interest in BC sardines as they: attended the cooking demonstrations presented by Karen Barnaby (Executive Chef of The Fish House in Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC and award-winning cookbook author), Stephen Wong (local journalist, food and beverage consultant and cookbook author) and Kosta Zogaris (award winning fishmonger and owner of Lonsdale Quay’s Salmon Shop and Screaming Mimi’s, North Vancouver, BC); sampled the fresh and smoked sardine products; and, bought approximately 8,500 pounds of fresh sardines and 400 pounds of smoked sardine creations provided by Classic Smokehouse of Vancouver, BC.

Don Pepper, Executive Director of the Canadian Pacific Sardine Association adds,  “It was especially wonderful to have the full support of the professional chefs, seafood experts, seafood suppliers, the Steveston Harbour Authority, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie who all actively contributed to make this event even bigger and better than last year.  It’s simply great to see the growing interest and demand for BC sardines.  It’s positive news for the 50 commercial sardine licence holders and the new BC sardine industry overall.  We’re already planning for BC Sardine Fest 2007!”

For more information regarding this weekend’s fresh BC sardine sales, please contact Glenn Budden directly at 604-328-7830.

BC sardines are a highly nutritious and delicious fin fish that migrate through the cool coastal waters of

British Columbia

.  With an iridescent, silvery body and fine, soft textured pink flesh, the flavour is described as relatively stronger and heavier than most white fish species providing great versatility in creating sardine dishes.  They are also recognized as a nutritional powerhouse rich in calcium, protein, iron, potassium, phosphorus and omega-3 fatty acids.  The unique story is an amazing natural “boom and bust” cycle that can be traced back 2,000 years  - explaining why BC’s large-scale sardine fisheries of the early 1900s came to an end in the 1950s and then started again in the early 1990s when sardines again re-appeared on the BC coast.  Today, the conservative fishery is committed to sustainability and provides fresh sardines primarily between May and November while frozen, salted and smoked product is available year round.

The Canadian Pacific Sardine Association is a non-profit, legally constituted organization representing sardine permit holders in the management and marketing of this BC sardine fishery.  The association is committed to working with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to maintain the fishery’s sustainability; working with all permit holders and industry members to ensure consistent delivery of a premium, quality product, and; promoting BC sardines in both export and domestic markets.

Pacific Palate Returns!

Hey everyone, Pacific Palate returns to the airwaves of The Early Edition for another new season!  I'll be on the air around 8:20am on Tuesday, September 5th with a report from the Sardine Festival being held in Steveston this Saturday.  It will be great to be back on the air with Rick Cluff and the whole gang.  Rick, I hope you like sardines!

Some of you know that I own a house in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island.  In the September issue of Saveur magazine, the Valley  figures heavily in a major feature about southern Vancouver Island.  It's a great article, and will no doubt bring more tourism and investment to this little slice of heaven.  As long as it doesn't result in traffic jams!

Night of Artists - please join me!

Saturday evening, May 20th, I'll be the master of ceremonies at the Night of Artists at the Leonardo Da Vince Centre on Bay Street in Victoria.  This is a very fun fundraising effort, this year supporting The Lifecycles Project.

It's an evening of music, food, art sales, silent auctions, performance art and more.  Would love to see you there.  For more info visit the Night of Artists website.

Free Food and Beer at Cookbook Launch!

Hi everyone...my BBQ Buddy, Ronnie Shewchuk, is launching his latest cookbook, Planking Secrets,on Tuesday night, May 16th at the Hamilton Street Grill.

He wants you to come along for the fun!  He'll have some great cedar-planked salmon to offer, along with a keg of beer and even some Appleton Rum cocktails.

What's the catch, you ask?  No catch, just a lot of fun. Tuesday night, 6-8pm at the Hamilton Street Grill, 1009 Hamilton Street, in Vancouver's Yaletown.