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.

Running a B&B gives you the opportunity  to meet some really interesting people. We were fortunate to have Adam Hart stay with us this year along with his family as they explored Vancouver Island.  Adam is a  nutritional expert, whole foods chef, professional speaker, coach and author. (E3 for Life)

After his stay we picked up his book and have been working through some of the recipes and ideas for obtaining optimum health and happiness. Sometimes if feels difficult to find that healthy balance. Adam has a simple proven formula for achieving that balance – e3 for Life begins with the Food you eat, followed by the THOUGHTS you have and concludes with your HABITS  that produce your results.

Here is one of his recipes that we adapted to include some of our local produce here on the island.

Lentil Shepherd Pie

1 can organic black beans, 2 cans organic lentils, 3 medium sweet potatoes, 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tbsp. butter, salt & pepper to taste, 1 cup carrots chopped, 1 cup broccoli chopped, 1 medium onion chopped, 4 cloves garlic chopped, 1 cup wild mushrooms chopped, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 2 tbsp fresh basil and rosemary.

Boil potatoes until tender then mix with a hand blender along with butter, milk, salt and pepper.  Keep aside until ready to use.  Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes until softened.  In a food processor, combine all the other ingredients and mix  until it forms together. Place this mixture into a medium sized baking dish and then spread the potato mixture over the top and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Really Good!!!!  To increase the nutritional content of this already highly nutritional dish, garnish with ground nuts or seeds.

Join the Island Estuary and Jo-Vic Pottery during the Artisan Christmas Tour November  17 – 20, 2011.  We will be featuring our homemade line of gourmet antipastos at Jo-Vic’s sale. All our antipastos are made with locally sourced ingredients – we offer a variety of flavours including classic, cilantro, curried, garlic, spice, wine and vegetarian (no tuna).  Vic and Josee  have been working around the clock to produce some amazing pieces – one we are particularly fond of is a serving bowl that showcases our antipastos beautifully.  Come and see us, have a sample and enjoy a tour of Cedar/Yellowpoint and Ladysmith during the Festive Season.

After visiting the Pottery Studio, continue along the loop with map in hand and enjoy the works of many talented artisans in our area.  Take in the cranberry farm, herb farm, Barton Leier Gallery, Fredrich’s Honey Farm, Goat Willow Farm and so many others!  Pick up a map and take your time enjoying all the talents of our area.

Take your time and stay with us at the Island Estuary as you explore our beautiful countryside!

Summer is often hectic and busy as travelers flock to Vancouver Island but tourist travel from October to February typically  slows down offering some of the best opportunities to visit the island. The weather on the island is fairly mild compared to some other locations in Canada, which again makes it a great location to visit between October and February.

A few of the events worth attending are:

• Mary Fox Studio Sale (November 5th & 6th)
• The Country Christmas Tour (November 17th – 20th)
• Old Fashioned Artisan’s Xmas Market (November 19th)
• Festival of Lights in Ladysmith (November 24th)
• Christmas Lights Sail Past (December 10th)

Make a reservation inquiry to come and stay with us during these wonderful local events.

Everywhere we look, we see mounds of pumpkins sitting at farm market stands and local grocery stores… what better way to use up this nutritional inexpensive vegetable/fruit than in a warm comforting late fall soup.  We also have access to wild chanterelles, local garlic and honey so we combined all these lovely fall ingredients together for a satisfying evening meal.

Ingredients:  2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 lb (1 cup fresh chanterelles or any other mushroom), 1 tsp curry powder, 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, 2 cups cooked fresh pumpkin (I roasted ours in the oven along with some garlic) or 1 can/ 398ml pumpkin, 1 tbsp liquid honey, freshly grated nutmeg, 2 cups milk.

In large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat and cook onion, garlic and mushrooms for 10 minutes or until softened.  Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute over low heat.  Gradually add stock, whisking until smooth.  Stir in pumpkin and honey then season with nutmeg to taste.  Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add milk and heat until hot.

Blend soup if you wish in a food processor or leave as is.  Garnish with pumpkin seeds and sour cream if desired.

It all starts with the wine!!

Next comes the mushrooms.  We are so fortunate to have access to morels, chanterelles, chicken of the woods and many other varieties here on Vancouver Island.

We enjoyed a curry tonight along with some local green beans and turmeric basmati rice.  So delicious!

There was no stopping them once they hit the kitchen… in fact, there was no stopping them once they landed in Ladysmith!!  Loved serving up all this wonderful food on local pottery from Mary Fox and Jo-Vic and certainly enjoyed sharing the meal with Vic & Josie from Jo-Vic Pottery and Sheryll and Bud from Sealeggs Kayaking.  Thanks to Bud for washing up all the dishes after the meal!!

What a feast!  Thank you Eileen and Susan – come back soon!!!!!

We needed to fuel up our eager athletes before embarking on their adventure with Sealeggs Kayaking at Transfer Beach.

Our guests enjoyed the start of the evening with oysters that Ted and Lynda harvested from Lesquiti Island – we caught them, shucked, brined, smoked and canned these little beauties so that we could share and enjoy them with our guests.  Turned out that these had always been a favourite food for our Food Editor Annabelle and she happened to mention that these were the best she had ever eaten!  I thought I was going to cry!!!!!

And then we served her Alberni Valley Signature Salmon… fresh sockeye from Port Alberni (skinned and filleted by Ted), roasted garlic, fresh baguette and local wine.  Do you think she liked it?!!!!  The recipe was from my friend Gail from the Metropolitan Chef.  Award winning in more ways than one!!  She shared it with me so I can make it for you if you come to the Island Estuary B & B.  We still have lots of great Sockeye Salmon in our Freezer!!!!!  We love our local food and so enjoy partnering with other like minded artisans and foodies in our area.

Enjoying a meal of chicken fricasse with a wild mushroom medley on the deck of the Island Estuary overlooking our beautiful ocean front property.

Life is good… we are very fortunate indeed!  Would love to have you join us for a meal.

The two chefs enjoying a glass of local wine before getting down to business.  It’s tough…. but someone has to do it!!

Julia puts the final touches on the lamb koftas while enjoying a chat with Paul Mycroft, local web designer in Ladysmith. Paul has definitely pushed our site in a good direction that comes from that personal touch. He is a local and a fantastic resource for business.

Our meal consisted of  lamb koftas (local lamb), greek style yoghurt(Tzatziki) with cucumber, Gabriola garlic and mint (all local of course) and mixed salad greens.  Thanks for the great meal Julia!!!