Our Wedding...

...we attended in September of Sara and Ken outside Kelowna, was held at the Gallagher's Canyon Golf & Country Club. The ceremony was held on a little platform next to the Canyon with a stunning view, surrounded by flying golfballs. It was our first Canadian wedding ever and we really enjoyed the shortness of the ceremony, since there were no washrooms on site....aaahhh! I think we would have kicked out of the golf course, if we tried to pee behind some tree.

The first dozen

The wait is finally paying off. Last week we got our first dozen of eggs. Every couple days, more hens start laying and soon we will have up to 31 eggs per day. Of course the landlord will get his share as well. They are tasting soooo yummy and the yolks have this rich yellow colour - just amazing!

The silence is back

We had a great summer with lots of visitors. First up were Nicole's parents for an extended stay at the lodge. We are pretty sure, Adrian brought home some unforgettable memories of Nickel Plate lake and the mosquito attacks. My cousin Kevin was here for a wedding in Vancouver and came up for dinner one night. Thank's again for the booze! Of course we overbooked, like professional hoteliers and convinced Daniela and Paul to stay an additional day in Penticton. However, their visit was still toooo brief, but Daniela was soooo eager to get back to work... we just had to let them go. For the last 10 days I shared accomodation with TWO Nicole's. We took her to Vancouver for an extended weekend and did lots of shopping, as we always do. She helped us process all the fruits we got from Ruth & Walter. Now we stocked up on jam and compote for the colder months.
Nicole made sure, she gets up to the house the coming winter and bought a 2006 IMPREZA with a hatchback. In the meantime we are still trying to sell her Äntli for a better price then the trade-in would have been. No pressure....

Orofino's 1.6 Mile Dinner - when 100 Miles is just too far!

With all the talk of the 100 mile diet, Orofino winery owners John and Virginia Webber decided to take it to a whole other level last year with their first 1.6 Mile Dinner held at their vineyard in the picturesque Similkameen Valley. The event was such a huge success that for the past two nights they have offered the same experience again with Chef Darin Paterson who is the chef/owner of the iconic Bogner’s (previously Granny Bogner’s) in Penticton.

With guests from Vancouver, the Okanagan as well as many neighbors from the surrounding farms of the Similkameen Valley, Chef Paterson put on an outstanding meal with only ingredients (sans salt and pepper) found in a 1.6 mile radius of the winery.

The menu included delectable dishes such as:

Double Hung Jersey Milk Farm Fresh Cheese - Rhubarb Confit with Plucked Greens, Honeycomb and Fresh Shucked Peas
Orofino 2004 Chardonnay

Chicken Leg Confit & Butter Poached Breast - Shaved “Cull” Slaw, Sun Dried Cherries
Orofino Pinot Noir 2006

Spit Roasted Rosemary Merlot Cab Lamb - Warm Siegle Potato Salad, Ugly Sous-Vide Swiss Chard, 02 Foot Stomped Riesling Zabaglione
Orofino Merlot Cabernet 2005

Grilled Peaches - Apricot Sorbetto & Roasted Cracked Almonds
Orofino Late Harvest Muscat 2007

Some of the highlights in the ingredients included homemade butter made using the Jersey milk to poach the chicken, the dressing for the potatoes was made using the chicken fat and the roasted almonds came from the trees on the Orofino property (some of the only almond trees in the province). Chef Paterson was also very passionate and shared the stories of each dish included why he chose to use “cull” vegetables, and where he sourced all the ingredients for each dish.

The weather was threatening last night so the dinner was held in Orofino’s famous straw bale winery building which was very cozy and full of dozens of very happy people.

For pictures of the event visit: OROFINO 1.6 MILE DINNER

Fire in the Okanagan

The pieces are coming together

Day by day, we work hard to finish all the projects. Today we put up the new fridge / freezer. It was boiling hot and the metallic surfaces heated up pretty good. It reminded me of Magda from the movie "something about Mary" getting the right sunteint with the tinfoil around her face. The new tent also made it thanks to DHL, so we are getting ready to shake up the weekly farmers market with home-made pasta, icecream, vegetables from the Bogner's farm and other delicious products from the restaurant.

Chicken Little in Penticton

The little Chickens arrived and are doing well. It is probably the heat of the lamp, that makes them behave so weird...