Posts

Cocodot Invite

How To Throw A Last Minute Oscars Party

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by
How to throw a last-minute, stress-free Academy Awards party that everyone even the host will enjoy.

Cocodot InviteEASY DOES IT | Pamela Anderson, one of Frugalbits’ favourite food writers, says people should stop entertaining and “have people over” instead. “Having people over,” says Anderson, is about coming together casually with good pals and enthusiastic acquaintances. It’s about serving uncomplicated food and having no other expectation for an evening other than that it be fun. The Oscars this Sunday is the perfect “having people over” occasion. No worries that today’s Thursday and you’ve only got four days to get your event together. We started planning our Oscar party yesterday, and you’re welcome to follow our game plan and our menu.

Frugalbits Oscar Party Day-By-Day Game Plan Read more

Is Nespresso The Espresso To Die For?

/3 Comments/in , , /by
Once you’ve had Nespresso, there’s no drinking regular joe.

BEST FOR LESS  | A couple of years ago when the world fell apart and everyone began scrambling for ways to economize, personal finance journalists everywhere put No More $4 Lattes at the top of their Things to Axe list.

I don’t drink lattes, but I do love espresso and could drink professionally made Americanos all day long if it weren’t a stupid waste of money. Still, I didn’t need pundits to tell me to revert to home brew because I’d already found a less expensive, dead simple way to get a high-octane espresso fix. Read more

Chef John Bishop’s Top Shops & Nosheries

/1 Comment/in , , /by
Celebrated Chef John Bishop shares his favourite shops and nosheries (and what to order) on Vancouver’s Westside.

Regional, seasonal cuisine made with fresh, organic, local ingredients is common- place at many restaurants in Vancouver today, but this notion was revolutionary in Vancouver in 1985 when John Bishop opened the casually elegant restaurant that bears his name on 4th Avenue.

Consistently listed among restaurant guidebooks as one of the city’s top fine dining eateries, award-winning Bishop’s seasonal menus continue to reflect Chef Bishop’s original commitment to sustainable ingredients and the growers who produce them, a dedication also affirmed in his now-classic 2002 documentary, Deconstructing Supper, that investigates food safety in the age of GMOs (genetically modified foods) and industrial agriculture.

This past year, John Bishop received the first-ever Governor Generals’ award for culinary arts, plus a coveted Edna. The Edna, a Canadian Culinary Book Award, is a lifetime achievement prize given to someone who has contributed significantly to the promotion of regional cuisine In Canada.

John Bishop’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver Read more
Robert Belcham, Executive Chef, Refuel Restuarant, Vancouver, B.C.

Chef Robert Belcham Dines, Shops, Splashes

/2 Comments/in , , /by
Dine out, walk, shop and splash with uber chef Robert Belcham of the illustrious Campagnolo and refuel restaurants.

Robert Belcham, Executive Chef, Refuel Restuarant, Vancouver, B.C.Spending the frigid Saturday afternoons of his childhood in Edmonton and Peace River eating fresh-from-the-oven cookies and watching PBS cooking programs, chef Robert Belcham was interested in cooking from a young age.

Starting out as a line cook at Rebar, an innovative vegetarian restaurant in Victoria, followed by as stint at The Aerie Resort on Vancouver Island, Robert eventually received a call from star chef Thomas Keller, offering him a chef de partie position at his famous Yountville restaurant, The French Laundry. He then became a private chef in the Silicon Valley, where, he says, “I became much more aware of what the guests feel, what they want and what they need. I know I’m a better chef because of it.” Read more

Don Genova Shops & Noshes In Vancouver

/5 Comments/in , , /by
Noted B.C. food journalist Don Genova shops, slurps and noshs his way around Vancouver.

Don Genova At Legendary Noodle - C. PhaisalakaniDon Genova is a food journalist and educator who splits his time between Vancouver and an acreage in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. His work is heard regularly on CBC Radio and seen in Aqua magazine with a column called Pacific Palate. Don teaches food and travel writing at UBC with in-person and online courses and offers sustainable eating courses at the University of Victoria. You may also catch him teaching cooking classes at Thrifty Foods or the French Mint cooking school in Victoria. You can follow Don’s adventures in eating on his blog, blog.dongenova.com, and get information on his classes on his website, www.dongenova.com. He also tweets @dongenova.

Don Genova’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver Read more

Why Buy Perrier? Fizzy Water Is Easy To Make

/5 Comments/in , , , , , , /by
If tapwater leaves you flat, home carbonation devices will add fizz to your drink and loonies to your pocket.

Bottled Tapwater - C. PhaisalakaniWASTE NOT | Last summer I had dinner at the home of a stylish and gracious friend whose table setting included a tall glass pitcher filled with tapwater, ice cubes and slices of lime. It was refreshing in every way: simple, elegant and thirst-quenching. For a more casual presentation, another friend recycles the rubber-stoppered bottles from French lemonade, filling them with tapwater that she keeps chilled in the fridge. You can buy similar stoppered bottles without the lemonade (Bella Vita in Park Royal has attractive ones in green or blue from Maxwell & Williams for $5.95).

The advantages of tapwater are well known—better regulated and better for you than bottled water, better for the environment, really really local—yet having imported bottled water on the table has become almost as essential as knowing what wine to serve. Perhaps it’s the bubbles. I’m not a fan of fizz myself, but many of those who are have been turning to home carbonation devices. Read more