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Pair of Gourmands
The Okanagan is a great place to live and we should do everything we can to keep it that way.  (Photo: Contributed)
The Okanagan is a great place to live and we should do everything we can to keep it that way. (Photo: Contributed)

Pleasures of the Okanagan

by Contributed - Story: 46965
May 16, 2009 / 5:00 am

It’s that time again - the famous Okanagan summer is just around the corner. It seems everything that people love and often choose to move to the Okanagan for is connected to the summer weather.

We moved here five years ago and we are not going anywhere. We fell in love with the Okanagan easily because our first month here was April and that year it was exceptional so we loved it from day one. Now we enjoy the long growing season in the garden, the great camping weather, and the days at the lake letting the dogs swim till they drop of fatigue (we sometimes join them in the water to swim too)! The fact that we now have fruit trees on our land is also a very therapeutic reason why we would never leave the Okanagan. Neither of us had a cherry tree or plum tree on our land before and there is a certain decadence in waiting for the sunny days to grow your very own delicious fruit.

The Okanagan is a great place to live and we should do everything we can to keep it that way. I don’t hate progress, but let’s try to keep the values and reasons intact that are why people moved here in the first place. We need to make sure that the power people know what we want and what we don’t want. Tell your new and old political leaders to maintain the Okanagan lifestyle the way it is and stay away from all those ideas that corrupt the big city. We like the fact that we have small local shops, and local farmers selling their bounty of fruits and vegetables. We should even encourage businesses to do more 4 x 10 hour sifts to allow employees to have three days off each week to go to the lake and put their toes in once in a while. It is up to the employers/businesses of the Okanagan to retain their employees and use what this area has to offer and use the Okanagan to their advantage. Create work schedules that are conducive to your employees having a life outside of work giving them extra energy once they are back at work on Mondays!

The Okanagan is a unique place where people come to enjoy the lake any way they can and get a taste of what life should be!

Martin




BBQ Tips

About the author...

Chef Martin Laprise and his wife, Kristin, are two people who love food in all its forms. They met while cooking, a dessert that was to become their wedding cake influenced their courtship, and their favourite memories involve food and entertaining for friends and family. What they cook is not always necessarily gourmet food, but it does involve taking the time to enjoy the food, the company and the environment.

Martin has been a chef for twenty years in a variety of venues, and enjoys trying new combinations and exploring with new foods. He loves to share his passion for cooking with others, especially children. His favourite assistant is his daughter, Chloae, who has known how to cook a chicken since she was five!

Kristin has no formal training, but has studied food history while writing her two cookbooks, and is a big fan of slow food. She loves to learn about the culture that goes with different foods, and her exotic garden reflects this sense of adventure. She considers herself very lucky to be Martin's muse, and so she works hard to offer him new inspirations!

You can reach Martin at 712-4440 or email. chef@thechefinstead.ca

You can visit their web site at http://www.thechefinstead.ca/






The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet presents its columns "as is" and does not warrant the contents.



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