We are blessed with wonderful food and amazing friends to prepare it for us.

Congratulations Jackie…. lots of hard work and now time to do what you love.

This “mock” meat loaf is so easy to make and extremely delicious!!
In a large pan, saute an onion and celery over medium heat in some olive oil.  Add chopped mushrooms, salt and pepper and saute about 4 mins.  Then add 1/2 cup of sundried tomatoes (quantities are not very important), at least not in my world!  You can add some wine or veg broth for extra flavour and then cook until no liquid remains.   Add 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans along with 1/2 cup unsalted raw sunflower seeds. Then mix together 3 eggs along with 1 tsp baking powder and 1 cup of bread crumbs.  Add to the mushroom mixture and mix well.  Pour into a parchment lined loaf pan, top with 1/3 cup ketchup mixed with 2 tbsp. brown sugar and 1 tbsp. dried mustard and bake in 350 oven for 1 hour or until set.  Once you remove from the oven, allow it to rest for 10 minutes and then slice into 1 inch pieces and serve with mashed potatoes or oven baked fries.

So yummy you won’t miss the meat at all!!!  Enjoy.

Veggie Chili with Goodness of Garlic Spicy Potato Wedges

Canadian Living Vegetarian Cookbook inspired me to create my own version of this tasty dish.  We used both white and sweet potatoes that we spiced up with Goodness of Garlic “Garlic Chili Pepper”.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream,  grated cheddar cheese and finely chopped green onions.  Delicious!!!!

Spring is “springing up” all around us here at the Island Estuary.  Our front yard is filled with these lovely “miner greens” and lots of other delicious wild edible plants.  We used this to put a new twist into a nicoise salad which traditionally uses spinach as the green.  We also used local free run eggs from Island Farms and dilly lemon dip from Epicure to round out the beautiful fresh flavours.  How fortunate we are to live on the island!!

 

Island Estuary Nicoise Salad - Jo-Vic Pottery

What better way to “show-off” local produce than in a gorgeous local pottery bowl.  Jo-Vic pottery has a lovely assortment of hand made pottery to showcase all your own creations.  Visit them on the artisan loop in Ladysmith while enjoying your stay at the Island Estuary B & B.

Puff pastry with onion, spinach, bacon and sundried tomatoes and baked eggs sprinkled with Epicure Cheese Chives and Bacon Dip Mix.  Delicious, Nutritious and Super Easy!!!

The recipe calls for pork ribs, but we used a pork roast and it was perfect and delicious!!  Serve with a mixed salad and brown rice for a simple easy and nutritious meal.

This is such a simple dish to make.  We used dried morels from Untamed Feast on Vancouver Island.
You can add chicken or shrimp, peppers, asparagus or whatever vegetables you have on hand.  A wee bit of cream added to the sauce adds a hint of decadence!!

Once cooked, remove roast and using two forks shred the meat.  Serve with buns, coleslaw and salad as we did here.

You can find Daksha’s Spices at many specialty stores and farmers markets on Vancouver Island.

Serve with Green Bean Curry and a Mixed Green Salad for a satisfying healthy dinner.

Mary Fox Pottery is having her annual Studio sale on Saturday and Sunday, November 5th and 6th, from 11am till 5pm. Come  see what the best dressed pottery is wearing for breakfast in 2011!!

We are offering 25% off on accommodation to help celebrate this annual event in Ladysmith. We are only 5 minutes away from Mary. Those of you that have been to Mary’s Studio Sale know that there is a line up outside the door prior to the opening- the slightly flawed work (by Mary’s standards) are a great way to get a fantastic deal along with 25% off everything else in the Studio.

We are offering our guests the same deal for the annual sale and if there are folks that want to really make it worth while come and stay with us for a weekend – do a “walk on” ride across on the Ferry – we will pick you up and drop you off.  The money saved on your ferry ride can be used to buy some pottery that will last a lifetime and you will have a great weekend stay at the Island Estuary.

The sale opens at 11 am and there will be amazing finds from the ever-popular functional ware like coffee mugs and casseroles to the one-of-a-kind decorative vessels that Mary is known for. We constantly use Mary’s pottery for breakfast, dinners and cooking courses that we run at the island estuary.