milk factory blog

Dine Out Vancouver 2005

I'm taking full advantage of this year's Dine Out Vancouver selection and going to a couple of really nice restaurants that I would not normally go to...especially now that I have NO INCOME.

No hungry cries for more cheese. No little hands grabbing at my plate. No pasta bits sticking to the chair and floor and walls. It's a small price to pay for a couple of nights of peace and quiet.

A Whole New Kind of Spread

Mint Chocolate. Caramel. Milk Chocolate Strawberry. Vanilla. Truffle. Pina Colada. Dark Chocolate Raspberry.

If you're thinking...mmmmmmmmmmm, ICE CREAM! Think again! There's a whole new trend of flavour variety spreading itself over San Diego.

Pesticide-Free Food

From the June/July edition of West Coast Families:
"Last summer at the University of Washington in Seattle, research found kids who ate pesticide-free food had levels of chemicals linked to neurological damage, leukemia, and other cancers--six times lower than those in conventional diets."

We try to feed Ella organic food: fruit, vegetables, grains, and meat. But it's expensive, and not always easy to find. If you don't have the budget to buy all organic produce, pick and choose wisely. Here's EWG's list of most contaminated fruit and vegetables:

Fruit
apples
cherries
imported grapes
nectarines
peaches
pears
raspberries
strawberries

Vegetables
bell peppers
celery
potatoes
spinach

Supernatural High

I did a very bad, very good thing last night.

• Chocolate Truffle Cake

• Chocolate Cheesecake

• White Chocolate Charlotte

• White Chocolate Bavaroise

• Chocolate Pecan Pie

• Chocolate Profiteroles

• Chocolate Mousse Cake

• Triple Chocolate Croissant Pudding

• Chocolate Crème Caramel

• Freshly made Brittany Crepes with an assortment of toppings to choose from

• Selection of fresh sorbet and ice-cream

• Warm velvety chocolate ganache with fresh fruit for dipping

For those who have not indulged...you must make a point to visit the Chocolate Buffet at the Sutton Place Hotel...Sinful delights await you Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at Fleuri.

Found a Doughnut

While I was slogging away at the office today, a couple of the Milk Factory moms were supposed to come over for a little tea party. go-Daddy-O LOVES drinking tea. And he loves all the good things that go along with tea, such as sugar cookies, butter tarts, brownies...you get the picture. It ends up that both Grace and Thea had to cancel last minute, which means that there's a whole bunch of baked goods just sitting here waiting to be eaten--possibly by someone who was working all day.

So I pull out a jelly doughnut, and put it on a dish on the counter. Mmmmm. My little treat for posting to the blog at a decent hour. And what do I find under the mousepad? go-Daddy-O has clipped an article from the Vancouver Sun titled "Low-carb diets could harm fetuses."

According to the article, bread, pasta, cereal, and orange juice are fortified with folic acid, a nutrient that helps prevent birth defects and childhood cancers. Because half of all pregnancies are unplanned, it is recommended that all women of childbearing age receive 4 micrograms of folic acid every day; however, approximately 1 in 9 adults in North America is on a low-carb diet, which means that many women are not getting this recommended daily dose.

Personally, I don't think I need to worry about my carb intake. That doughnut's fortified, right?!!

Organic Chicken Soup for the Soul

These days, we try our best to buy only organic cereal, fruit, and vegetables for the baby, but we haven't been overly diligent about buying organic meat. Not that we even feed her much meat--we prefer to give her meat alternatives such as lentils or tofu. I cannot help but balk at the idea of filling Ella's brand new insides with the family packs of medicated chicken or hormone and antibiotic-injected beef that we buy for ourselves at places like Safeway or Superstore.

However, my stomach churns just as much when I look at the price of organic meat. Aye carumba! go-Daddy-O just paid a premium price ($19) for a small organic chicken at Capers. I think that the prices at Choices are comparable, but they seem have organic meat on sale more often.

So is it worth the extravagant price? According to Thomas Reid Farms (BC's first organic chicken farm), unlike free-range chickens, organic chickens are fed only organic grains, and they receive no antibiotics or medication. And organic chickens are also free-range--it is one of the requirements to be "certified organic."

Organic chicken also tastes really fresh and sweet. Roast chicken, chicken sandwiches, chicken soup...and a little peace of mind. All for the price of a nice bottle of wine or a large pizza from go-Daddy-O's favourite pizzaria. It'll be worth every penny.

Let Them Eat Cake

Perhaps we would let the kids eat their own birthday cake--if it were made of carrots or rice. But the cake that go-Daddy-O just finished baking is a chocolate one, with creamy chocolate icing. So now it looks like the adults are the only ones who will get a piece of this tasty treat. It's the thought that counts, right?!

Party Poopers

I'm going to two restaurants for Dine Out Vancouver: C Restaurant and Blue Water Cafe. Both are places that seem far too pricey to go to any other time, and more importantly, both have mouth-watering Dine Out menus.

It ends up that go-Daddy-O and I will be leaving Ella with a babysitter on her birthday so that we can dine out--something I didn't think twice about when I was booking the reservation. Okay, I know I'm going to get some disapproving glances from those of you who have already asked what we're doing for our first baby's first birthday. Will we bake a cake? Possibly (since go-Daddy-O LOVES cake). Will we throw a party? Definitely not.

Let's just say that I see Ella's first birthday as more than just a one-day celebration of an amazingly joyful year gone by. Her birthday is a culmination of many things. 12 hours of active labour, 3 hours of pushing, and a Cesarean section. 1 month of sore nipples, 3 months of physiotherapy, and 9 months of sleep deprivation. 12 months of falling over toys and putting in and pulling out car seats and strollers. And let's not forget about the endless heaps of of stained clothes and dirty diapers.

I think that leaving the birthday girl with Grandma for a couple of hours and going out for seafood is the least that we can do to celebrate such an eventful year. Don't you?

Dine Out Vancouver

Last year, I was supposed to have dinner at a couple of nice local restaurants that were participating in the first annual Dine Out Vancouver event, but the baby decided to come a week early, so I ended up being hooked to an IV instead of eating three-course gourmet meals with my friends during the last week of January.

This year, I'm determined to partake in the feeding frenzy and libations that are bound to ensue during the second annual Dine Out Vancouver event, which runs from January 23 to February 5. Book now. It looks like some of the higher-end restaurants (i.e. Lumiere and Gotham) are already sold out.

Moms Interrupted

Last week I was supposed to meet Grace and Tomi for lunch. For one reason or another (but nothing to do with living on the Eastside!), Ollie and I were late...so late that they were paying the bill when we arrived. They had quite the story for me when I arrived...

Grace had a coupon (of course!) for a place called Waterpoint in Yaletown (which is now closed). They got redirected to a spiffy new grill and satay place called Glowbal. They lucked into a spectacular lunch including lamb for $10, wine and free satays (Grace somehow managed to use the Waterpoint coupon and reference towards the satays...I think Samuel must have been flirting with the waitress). They truly had a spectacular dining experience with 2 babies in strollers and in the busiest new business lunch spot in Yaletown. You don't hear that very often, nevermind finding repeat service the following week - this time with, not 2 but, 3 strollers!

Again, top notch service, excellent food and a really relaxing and comfortable atmosphere that is very hard to find with young babies in tow. That is, until we got ready to go...

The 3 kids were on their best behaviour throughout lunch but Oliver decided he just didn't want to go back into the stroller. Ken and I firmly believe in teaching him that he can't always get what he wants. We're very reasonable about it and he has always responded well to this way of thinking. He gets over his little temper tantrum very quickly and forgets all about it after a minute or two. This time, it was taking him a minute longer and although I was paying attention to him as he cried and squirmed in his stroller, I wasn't going to give in just yet.

Before I knew what was happening, a complete stranger came into the patio area from off the street (we were eating outside - under outdoor heaters) and started yelling at me for letting my baby cry. She insisted that I needed to feed him, rock him, pick him up and pay attention to him. In shock, I replied that he was just fine, he had just eaten and I was not about to pick him up just because he didn't want to be in his stroller yet. She went on and on about how she was a nurse and a mother of 4, that you can't let your baby cry like this and she thought I was a horrible mother. At that point EVERYONE came to my defence...Thea, Grace, Dave (the waiter), the hostess and the owner. The Glowbal staff were fabulous and did their best to calm the situation but she just wouldn't shut up. THEN, she pulled out her cell phone and threatened to call Family Services. I was ready to throttle the woman and I think Thea was right behind me. But Grace, Grace was amazing - very calm, very direct and able to convince the woman that I was a very good mother and that Ollie was just fine (by the way I did eventually pick him up - he stopped crying immediately, as he always does when he gets what he wants). I wish Tomi had stayed for the end - I would have loved to see her blast the woman - as only Tomi can do!

By the time the woman left, we were all convinced that she was a fruitloop - after all...she was carrying a bucket and mop - is that new in nursing these days? As we walked away, we saw that she was getting a parking ticket...hee hee hee! THEN, we met again at the corner. We were stopped, waiting for her to stop, so we could cross - at the stop sign no less - but did she? No, but a real nurse would!