Are holidays for everyone?

Photo: Contributed I read an article recently from NPR that discussed the appropriation of holidays by other cultures, and it got me thinking.  As a gourmande, I am keenly interested in food specialties and traditions, and I love to taste them whenever I get the chance. Fairs,

Ruby Blues, Naramata

Photo: Contributed Join our wine writer, Allison Markin, every week for a wine review complete with food and music pairings. Featuring Okanagan and Canadian wines, with an occasional international bottle, Castanet celebrates the bottles of our Valley and the diversity of the Canadian wine

Let's hear it for comfort food

Photo: Contributed As I write this, my hubby is making one of his cherished grilled cheese sandwiches, using an old iron to ensure the bread gets good and crispy Don't worry, it is the cast iron variety, not the electric kind.) It’s pouring rain, and dreary days deserve th

Township 7, Penticton

Photo: Contributed Join our wine writer, Allison Markin, every week for a wine review complete with food and music pairings. Featuring Okanagan and Canadian wines, with an occasional international bottle, Castanet celebrates the bottles of our Valley and the diversity of the Canadian wine

Not all about the pickle

Photo: Contributed It’s not all about the pickle, but it helps When I was little, my Dad used to say that there was nothing that tasted like a homemade burger. Although he did make a mean burger with special spices and just the right amount of charring on the grill, some of th

50th Parallel, Lake Country

Photo: Contributed Join our wine writer, Allison Markin, every week for a wine review complete with food and music pairings. Featuring Okanagan and Canadian wines, with an occasional international bottle, Castanet celebrates the bottles of our Valley and the diversity of the Canadian wine

Kitchen myths, or are they?

Photo: Pinterest Have you seen the latest news? Do you get to watch the latest silly pet video, and read the funny quote that got posted this morning? The arbiter of life’s wisdom seems to be Facebook these days – if you see something there, it’s for real, especially

Familia Torres, Spain

Photo: Contributed Join our wine writer, Allison Markin, every week for a wine review complete with food and music pairings. Featuring Okanagan and Canadian wines, with an occasional international bottle, Castanet celebrates the bottles of our Valley and the diversity of the Canadian wine

Waste not, want not

Photo: Contributed Holidays in the tropics are spectacular. Being spoiled in the sunshine, relaxing my muscles and my mind for days on end – it’s good for the soul. Once back into our First World routines, I want to keep the good feelings coming, and something that stick

Holiday in small morsels

Photo: Contributed We just returned from Jamaica where we put ourselves in reset mode, focusing on storing away some tropical memories for use on stressful days later in the year. Since we returned home to much more winter than expected, I thought I would share a few tastes of the

Glue of my childhood

Photo: Contributed When I was a kid, things were different. We didn’t have all kinds of packaged foods for lunch; it was simple sandwiches. Peanut butter was the most common filling. I know what you’re thinking: “Here she goes; next thing you know, she’l

What now, February?

Photo: Contributed It’s grey outside. The weather will not co-operate. It’s either slushy and mucky or snowing like crazy. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, It’s February. How is it the shortest month of the year is the hardest one to take? In Janua

Let them eat cake

Photo: Contributed On Jan. 20, my stepdaughter is getting married in Whistler. Since her dad is a chef, he is providing the cake for the occasion. I think most girls look forward to that special father-daughter moment of walking down the aisle, but how many get to say Papa made dessert

Meet Castanet's wine writer

Photo: Lionel Trudel Photography Castanet is bringing readers a wine review every week, including suggested food pairings and a song to listen to while enjoying a glass. While we celebrate the diversity of wines from the Okanagan, British Columbia, and Canada, from time to time we’l

Fight those winter blues

Photo: Contributed Do you feel the winter blues setting in? The cheeriness of the holiday season has been packed up, and the grey skies are still hanging over us. The bills from our holiday indulgence are arriving, and our enthusiasm for the gym is already waning. Are you feeling li

Top 10 foodie trends

Photo: Contributed Everyone is back at the office after the holiday break, and so now you need some new water cooler talk, right? Well, how about the trends with food and cooking that are hot stuff for the New Year? I’ve scoured the many newsletters, magazines, blogs and websites

Blue Mountain, OK Falls

Photo: Contributed For Canada’s 150th birthday this year, Castanet is featuring an Okanagan wine each week, celebrating the bottles of our Valley and the diversity of the Canadian wine industry, including suggested food pairings and Canadian music artist to listen to while enjo

Winter foodie survival tips

Photo: Contributed The thermometer is telling us we are in the dead of winter. Perhaps it was the void created after the decadence of Christmas, or maybe it was the record-breaking snowfall we got in the last week. Any way you cut it, here in the Okanagan we are not enjoying globa

McWatters Collection

Photo: Contributed For Canada’s 150th birthday this year, Castanet is featuring an Okanagan wine each week, celebrating the bottles of our Valley and the diversity of the Canadian wine industry, including suggested food pairings and Canadian music artist to listen to while enjo

Breaking bread

Photo: thethoughtfulbreadcompany.com I have a new project in the kitchen. I always find that winter is a good time to experiment with my cooking and expand my skills. I am not as busy with work, and the colder days lend themselves to all kinds of food. Something soulful like stew