“We’re finding the best local coffee roasters in Canada, and delivering their hand-crafted beans to you faster and fresher than anyone else. We believe in keeping things simple and telling the real version of every story. And we’re here to help you brew better coffee.”

Needless to say, life with a barista is pretty damn sweet. We had talked about a coffee series on the blog for some time now but life….well you know how that goes. So we were stoked when Food Bloggers of Canada offered up the chance to review the monthly coffee subscription service from Parachute Coffee. Founded by fellow coffee lovers Michael Potters and Jake van Buskirk, Parachute brings a new locally roasted (as in Canadian) craft coffee right to your door each month. It’s even roasted and shipped the same day. That’s how serious they are about your morning or afternoon or, let’s be real, your evening cup. 

Damn cool, am I right? 

Besides the super cool branding and enclosed brew tips there was even a personalized hand written note from the owners themselves. I mean c’mon. Brent was also pretty excited when we opened our Parachute drop to find this Costa Rican Finca Don Chepe from Toronto’s Pig Iron Coffee Roasters. We’ve enjoyed Pig Iron espresso at Le French Fix, a local patisserie, but had yet to sample any of their drip offerings. With Josh Tarlo of Pig Iron coming 3rd at the 2013 World Coffee Brewers Cup, we knew we were in for some great cups of coffee. Plus, notes of Oreos and dried raspberries people. With a house full of brewing options, we figured we might as well try the Pig Iron several ways: a full immersion Clever dripper, an Aeropress and the Kalita wave. And we might as well get Brent to do the talking. Because after all, he’s the one grinding, weighing, brewing, and cupping. I’m just the one drinking all the coffee. I will warn you however, shit’s about to get real.

<Brent> With a two minute extraction time and a minute and a half drawdown, the Clever dripper gives a really clean cup with a slight emphasis on some of the deeper undertones. Always an impressive simple cup of jo. The Aeropress, our travel brewer whenever we hit the road, has a fast extraction time and bombproof design and makes a mean full bodied cup in under two minutes. Finally, the Kalita wave is dead sexy and brews equally sexy cups of coffee. A 45 second bloom and a slow steady pour makes this method one of my favourite ways to make the juiciest cups of coffee.  

On to the nitty gritty. All of these methods require a paper filter but rinsing with boiling water helps remove any papery taste. It also preheats all our brewing devices. For the Clever we ground 19g of the Finca Don Chepe at a medium grind, bloomed with 45g of water for 30 sec then topped it up to 330g of water, making sure all the grounds were evenly saturated. When the timer hit 2 min, we gave it a quick stir, threw this sucker on our cup and watched the magic happen.

Next up we ground 16.5g on a medium fine setting and got the Aeropress in on the action. Adding 40g of water to bloom for 30 sec we stirred up this slurry and topped the press up to 250g of water. After a final stir, we let it sit for another 60 sec then gave it a slow press into the cup.

Lastly we rocked the Kalita wave with 24g of Don Chepe on a medium course grind with a 45 sec bloom of 40g of water. We then slowly poured an additional 340g of water in a slow controlled pour, letting the final draw down do its thing till it hit about three and a half minutes. 

The Aeropress provided a nutty, full bodied cup bringing forward lots of chocolate and nougat notes. The Clever was a well rounded cup with tons of dried fruit notes particularly dried figs but still some of that lovely chocolate and maybe even a lil’ marshmallow. The Kalita also opened with a fruity bouquet plus a raspberry or blackberry finish on the sip. Of the three methods we both agreed that the Clever was our favourite cup. It had the most emphasis on the fruit notes but surprisingly slightly more acidity than the Kalita, something  I’d like to see more of from this coffee. All in all we really enjoyed this roast from Pig Iron; it would make a great daily drinker and, while it wasn’t blowing our minds with loads of fruit like a Yirgacheffe nor did I find any Oreos in the bottom of my cup, it was incredibly well balanced. I’d suggest this coffee in a heartbeat and have really enjoyed every sip since we opened the bag.

<re-enter Kathy> Not only he is the sickest of models, but Brent really knows his shit. If you ask me, that was one delicious cuppa; fruity with subtle chocolate and just the right amount of acidity for my palate. But hell, what do I know. Whatever your brew method, I’m sure the Pig Iron would do your coffee cup proud. 

If you want to get in on the monthly coffee action, get in touch with Parachute on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Better yet, hashtag it #parachutecoffee and see what other bloggers had to say. There’s even cake. Coffee and cake, now that’s a breakfast of champions. 

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These past few months have been hard. I know I’ve eluded to it in past posts but to be honest they’ve been some of the hardest times in my life. I’m finally ready to take back my life and that means drawing the strength to be honest. While many will be shocked by this, family and friends alike, it’s time to stop hiding.

Somewhere along the way, life changed. It got complicated, dark even. That’s not to say I didn’t still love food. Food is  – and will always be – my life. Want to know where you should go for dinner? I’d be happy to oblige. Looking for what to make with that celeriac you just got at the market? Sign me up. Despite all that, self doubt started creeping in. I no longer felt like my blog was good enough, even adequate for that matter. I felt, and sometimes still feel, like I’m a sub par cook and should probably put down the knife for good. There were even times I thought about packing it in and shutting down the site. Would anyone care? Would they even notice? I certainly didn’t think so. Stress started to take over. My happy place got darker and darker. Feeling just as stressed when I didn’t post, there seemed to be no winning. I tried to have perspective, to remember why I’m doing this in the first place. Was it for fame and money? Lord no though who wouldn’t like a little of that? It was supposed to be a place of passion, a place to share my love of food and cooking. How could that be stressful? Did it still make me happy? I wanted to believe. So, post by post I started reclaiming this space as my own. No stress. No judgement. No more tears.  

I have thought many times about confessing my thoughts despite how embarrassed and scared I may feel. Maybe I’ll lose readers, maybe I’ll gain some. What will my friends and family think? Regardless of what happens now, it was a step I needed to take.

So, you can only imagine what this win means. If I could hug each and everyone of you out there who voted, I would. I am beyond grateful. Today I raise a glass to you. You who make it all worth it. You who have given me the strength to carry on. You who remind me that everything is indeed going to be ok. 

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I have to admit what drew me to this cocktail wasn’t the amazing Summer flavours. It wasn’t even that Mai Tai literally means ‘out of this world’. Rather, it was one of it’s fundamental ingredients: orgeat, the cornerstone of many tiki drinks. As I have been venturing down this rabbit hole of cocktails, I have realized many of the ingredients that are required for many classic and even modern cocktails are either not commercially produced or are simply unavailable locally to me. So I have been trying out lots of recipes for syrups, shrubs and infusions. One I have been looking into for a while now is orgeat, an almond infused syrup that incorporates the botanicals of orange blossom. It sounds kind of complicated but it’s really not. Most of the recipes and formulas I encountered consisted of soaking almonds twice, once to soften them up and a second long soak to extract the flavour. Then throw in your orange blossom water and sugar and you have orgeat. Others required heating the liquid, blending the almonds, straining everything through muslin or cheesecloth. All of that seems fine and well until I stumbled across a blog with a recipe for “blasphemously easy orgeat”. The recipe calls for organic almond milk, sugar, orange flower water and a bit of almond extract. Indeed it is dead simple and in comparing results between it and the double soak cooked method the flavours are totally comparable.  I adapted the recipe a bit for my own uses, incorporating cane sugar instead of plain old white sugar to add more depth to the sweetness. I also added more almond extract and orange flower water to pack a little more punch plus a splash of vodka to help keep it longer. The results are delicious.

On to the cocktail! The Mai Tai is said to have originated at a restaurant by the name of Trader Vic’s in Oakland, Califarnia circa 1944. Victor Bergeron the proprietor of Trader Vic’s mixed one up for some visiting guests from Tahiti. When one of them exclaimed “Mai Tai-Roa Aé”, the name stuck. The Mai Tai consists of Jamaican rum or a blend of dark and light rum, orange liqueur, some lime, orgeat and a little simple syrup. We were sent some Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum V/X recently and it would make the perfect base to the cocktail. The result is a dubiously refreshing summer drink, usually leading to more than just one.  If a Mai Tai isn’t your thing or you want a few other drinks to throw your orgeat in, check out a Scorpion, a Japanese cocktail or a Trinidad sour.

And if you like what you taste be sure to give us a vote over at The Coast for best food blog.

Cheers.

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With Spring on the horizon, trees around the province have been tapped. You know what that means. Bring on the maple syrup. Around here we love the stuff. There is no imitation, corn derived syrup in our fridge. We wouldn’t think of putting it on pancakes let alone mixing it in a cocktail. There simply is nothing that can replace sweet, sweet maple syrup. 

Once again I’m taking inspiration from PDT. We just so happen to be reading their book right now. Based on The Applejack Rabbit, the Spring Jacket is certainly sweeter and more bitter with the addition of both Aperol and Peychaud’s Bitters. Using locally produced apple brandy from the folks at Ironworks Distillery in Lunenberg, local maple syrup and fresh citrus, this is the kind of cocktail to welcome Spring. It’s bright and citrusy with just the right amount of sweet. 

I also need to give a shout out to the gang at 2 Doors Down. Their Autumn Sweater with Rye, Campari and maple syrup provided the perfect inspiration for naming the cocktail. If you get a chance to try it, it is awesome. Sweet, bitter, boozy and absolutely delicious. 

It’s time to put away that Winter coat and get out the Spring Jacket. Well soon I hope…

Cheers. 

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While I have my favourites – some not even available in Nova Scotia – there is one bottle I’d highly recommend. It will open your mind to the new age in cocktails. Enter St. Germain. 

Made with fresh, hand picked elderflower blossoms, St. Germain is easily one of my favourites. The floral aromatics, subtle melon and pear notes and balanced sweetness pair so well with everything. It works, not only with champagne as in the French 77, but also most other spirits from gin to tequila. It turns an ordinary gin and tonic into a breath of fresh Summer air, a boring white wine spritzer into the best you’ve ever had. It’s even incredible served simply with soda and a wedge of lime. It’s that good. 

In thinking of what to shake up today while the cocktail guru isn’t home, I really didn’t need to look any further than the fridge. Some local thyme and pear would be the perfect compliment to the St. Germain, subtle enough to let it shine.  I also fancy my St. Germain with gin, the floral bouquet balancing out the woodsy juniper. In trying to find a name for this delicious drink, I came across the Vieux Mot or rather “old world” from the famous NYC bar PDT. Though the proportions are slightly different, it was close enough. If you are still not yet convinced that your palate can handle a 2 ounce cocktail, add soda and make it into a delicious twist on a Tom Collins. 

With the sun teasing us with its warm rays today, this is the perfect Spring chaser. If you close your eyes, you can almost feel it.  

Cheers.

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So, first things first, we need all our ingredients for our shrub, in this case equal parts granulated sugar and apple cider vinegar plus a few rhubarb stalks finely chopped. I chose to use Boats cider vinegar because it happens to be local and delicious but feel free to use whatever is available to you. To make the shrub, you coat the chopped rhubarb in sugar. Feel free to mash the rhubarb a little as the firm texture can make it difficult to really extract the juices. Let the mixture macerate at least overnight, or better yet 24 hours, then fine strain the solids out. Add the vinegar and a shrub is born. Let it sit again at least overnight so that all the flavours begin to incorporate. Lucky for me I had some rhubarb syrup I canned back in the late summer to make a quick shrub. If rhubarb is unavailable, any berry will do. Raspberries, strawberries, and juniper berries all work really well. Once your shrub’s ready to go, we need to prepare one more thing, honey syrup. It’s stupid easy to make. Just shake together equal parts honey and water and we are ready to roll. I find using warm water helps to incorporate the honey a lot faster. Let the syrup cool then add it to a sprayer. 

On to the cocktail. For the Love Shrub, we are going to be using Gin. I like Citadel with its heavy floral notes and beautiful juniper finish. We’re also using Dubonnet, a French aperitif that’s wine based. It contains a mix of herbs and spices namely quinine, a bittering agent derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. Next, we add the rhubarb shrub we prepared earlier then freshly squeezed blood orange juice. They’re apparently in season somewhere now and what says I love You more than a little blood on your hands. Finally, we throw in a few dashes of rhubarb bitters, a dash or so of orange bitters, and shake things up.  Double strain into your favorite cocktail glass, spray on a little honey water, garnish with orange zest and a few maraschino cherries, and just like that love is in the air.

Cheers.

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If you remember, the Negroni is both easy and delicious; three equal parts, a quick stir later and an aromatic sipping cocktail is made. For The Elena, we swap out the gin for Capel Pisco as our base spirit, Amaro Montenegro takes over for Campari as the bitter component, and Dolin sweet vermouth rounds things out. 

The Capel Pisco from Northern Chile is a brandy made up of 30% Muscat grape as well as 70% Pedro Jimenez and Torontel grapes. Oak aged from three to six months, it’s quite popular in Chile and Peru, mostly shaken into a Pisco Sour which, by the way, is delicious. Next, the Amaro Montenegro with its heavy orange citrus component and great bitterness is easily one of my new favourite Italian herbal digestifs. This amaro brings a great deal of fruity and botanical notes on the nose well before a sip is taken. Named after princess Elena of Montenegro, it made the perfect namesake for the cocktail. Finally we finish off with Dolin Rouge, a sweet vermouth from Chambery France that brings a sweetness as well as a dry component to finish off the drink.  

Though much different than the classic, The Elena’s twist on the Negroni is a variation that will no doubt be a repeat offender in this house. We also flipped it, adding egg and simple syrup to create a creamy variation on this liquor forward cocktail.

Cheers.

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A flip is a classic drink that consists of liquor, sugar and an egg. The first bar book to mention the flip is Jerry Thomas’ the Bon Vivant’s Companion. Often considered the grand daddy of american mixology, I think Jerry would be proud. Simple ingredients – Jost Port, Courvoisier V.S. Cognac, superfine sugar, and egg – come together to produce a rich and creamy cocktail much like eggnog minus the cream. Whether you’re cozying up by the fire or hosting friends over the holidays, it’s the perfect drink to get you through the cold, dark days of Winter. 

Cheers.

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A little back story on this one. A few weeks ago the town of Wolfville N.S. was lucky enough to host Devour! the Slow Food Film Fest, a five day celebration of film, food and drink. The event itself was great and the few films I caught were both inspiring and mouth watering. My favourite was easily the feature film Hey Bartender. Emphasizing the historical evolution of the modern cocktail, Hey Bartender follows the path of a few individuals involved in the cocktail scene in the US, namely Steve Schneider.  The film follows his rise to fame at Employees Only, a notorious cocktail bar in New York City. Voted the best cocktail bar in the world at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail, Employees Only is one of the epicentres of the cocktail world.

So, when our friend Lia asked me to do a cocktail for the Devour staff wrap up party, picking a cocktail from the Employees Only menu was obvious. After watching the film a second time, the choice was clear when Steve mentions the Amelia is the most popular cocktail on their menu. I knew it would be a crowd pleaser, and indeed it was. The Amelia, a vodka based drink, is another variation on a sour with blackberries and lemon as its sour and St. Germain and some simple syrup as its sweet. I have to say I love St. Germain. It adds a Summery note to any drink, suits a collins perfectly, and can be used very easily with any drink containing vodka or Gin. I also really enjoy it with rye or whiskey cocktails. Not being able to get my hands on any fresh blackberries, I opted to go with raspberries instead. It came out beautifully but I’ll let you be the judge.

Cheers.

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Our Nova Scotia climate be damned, certain grapes happen to like our temperate never too warm never too cold kind of climate. Some grapes like it so much that out here on the East Coast, we’re producing wines that trully represent Nova Scotia and the world is starting to notice. Though many traditionalists maintain that terroir is born out of centuries of grape growing and wine making like in Italy, France and other location in Europe, the wines here do not taste like any other region. With each vintage, they reflect our landscape, culture, and climate. They taste like Nova Scotia. And, let me tell you, Nova Scotia is delicious. So, grab that pen because you should probably take notes.

White

In case you hadn’t heard, our whites here are pretty incredible. Crisp and aromatic, they pair perfectly with all that Atlantic seafood. Coincidence I think not. While you’d be hard pressed not to find a white you’d love among the L’Acadies, Muscats, Seyval Blancs, Ortegas, Vidals, Chardonays and even Reislings, there are a few that stand out. The Gaspereau Muscat ($19.99) is a stunner and according to fellow blogger and friend Kelly Neil, a requirement for a good risotto. Truthfully, many of the regional Muscats such as Jost‘s Eagle Tree Muscat ($18.99) will also impress. Other fantastic whites include the Grand Pre L’Acadie Reserve ($18.50) a slightly oaky wine giving it a character unlike other regional L’Acadies, the slightly off-dry but sadly sold out Luckett Phone Box White, and the German-inspired peachy Ortega ($22) also from Luckett. Though also sold out, the Avondale Sky Bliss just took home the Taste of Nova Scotia Consumer Product of the Year. The people have spoken.

Tidal Bay

Nova Scotia’s own appellation, made with grapes grown exclusively on our shores, Tidal Bay requires it’s own category.  There are 10 to choose from and many of them are incredible. I hear this year’s Petite Riviere Tidal Bay ($21.99), out of LaHave Valley, the oldest wine growing region in North America, is fantastic although Gaspereau ($21.99) recently took home top honours from the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers for their 2012 Tidal Bay. According to Chef David Smart of Front & Central, Avondale Sky’s Tidal Bay is not only his favourite Tidal Bay ($20) but his favourite Nova Scotia white period. “Well structured with a subtle smokey finish, it is an absolute slam dunk with seafood.”  

Red

Unlike the sunny region of Bordeaux France with their full-bodied reds or the smooth, spicy Shirazs of Australia, here we have Baco Noir, Marchel Foch, Castel, Leon Millot, Lucie Kohlman and more recently Pinot Noir. Many of the reds produced locally are medium-bodied easy drinkers although some earthy, dry, full-bodied varieties do exist. Popular reds include Luckett Phone Box Red ($20), the Sainte-Famille ($14.75) or Blomidon Estates Baco Noir (sold out), and Grand Pre’s Castel Vinter’s Reserve ($19.50). According to Susan Downey of Grape Escapes NS Wine Tours (who by the way is easily one of the most knowledgable people I know concerning our wine industry), Nova Socita’s best red may be the Passito ($24.99) from L’Acadie Vineyards, Nova Scotia’s only organic vineyard known more for their traditional method sparkling. Their method of drying the grapes followed by two fermentations draws out as much flavour from the grape skins as possible, leaving a much fuller red. 

Rosé

Though not my first choice, Nova Scotia produces many refreshing rosés to suit any pink-loving palate. Both the Avondale Sky Ladyslipper ($17) and Lavender ($16) will not disappoint and if you fancy a bubbly rosé, the L’Acadie Sparkling Rose ($26.99) has you covered.

Dessert

Listen, dessert wine isn’t really my thing. However, the Maple Ice Wine ($14.99) from Gaspereau enticed even me. I had visions of rich maple ice wine buttercream but then I may or may not have shot through the bottle at 3 am on my birthday with the Food Wife. Word is many of our dessert wines are fantastic since the cold Winter climate and slow fermentation allows for a richer, full bodied ice wine. Many of the wineries produce Vidal, Ortega and Muskat ($20-$45) ice wine varieties to satisfy any sweet tooth. Also of note is the Grande Pre Pomme D’Or ($22.50) with its golden colour and rich caramel apple notes.  

Bubbles

It may be a surprise to you but this is really where we shine. Apparently our temperate climate is perfect for traditional method sparkling. We can thank the Atlantic for that. While we can’t technically call it Champagne, it damn well rivals any traditional French sparkling I’ve had. Lucky for you, there’s even a range of options to suit any budget. Blomidon Cremant is a steal at $23.99. So are the L’Acadie Vineyards Vintage Cuvée ($24.95) and their award winning Prestige Brut ($39.95). The other fan favourite is Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 ($24.99). People go crazy over this stuff and with good reason. If I were to chose a top pick to gift, it may very well be the Nova 7. At the higher end, the Benjamin Bridge Brut ($44.50) and Brut Reserve ($74.50) are also worth every penny. Time and again, the Brut Reserve stands up to the best Champagnes in the world. But honestly, it’s not about tasting like Champagne, France. It’s about tasting like home and showing the world Nova Scotia’s terroir is one to notice.

From reds to sparkling, our wines are truly an incredible reflection of what we can produce here in Nova Scotia. Whatever your price point, gifting Nova Scotia wine this holiday season will show everyone not only how much you love them, but how much you love Nova Scotia. 

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