kitchening with carly

To me, a visit to Nelson is many things, of which most of them surround food!

Yesterday with vibrations in my ears and one small carry-on bag in tow, I landed in Castlegar after a 45 minute flight from YVR. To give you some perspective, this is just enough airtime to be served coffee and pretzels before being told to prepare for landing. What a glorious decent at 9:30 in the morning, sun beaming into the cabin and me squinting through my peep-hole at the snowy alpine terrain below. That is my kind of flight!
My shuttle ride from Castlegar to Nelson was full of conversation between my driver (Dutch immigrant turned Nelsonite 4 years ago) and myself. What did we talk about? Nature, food in nature, travel, food in travel and food in Nelson of course! We commonly shared an obsession for Nelson’s greatest cafe’s, Oso Negro, breakfast bun. Now I realize that obsession is a strong word here and you might think it overly dramatic. If you find yourself in that camp, you clearly haven’t had an Oso Negro breakfast bun, and for that I am truly sorry. This bun is actually something I think about from time to time while I go about life in another city, country and even continent. I am not alone, as my Dutch-Nelson driver would confess.

This breakfast bun is a dreamy creation involving a free run egg scrambled on a spelt Kaiser bun with cheddar cheese, tomato and Antoinette’s Dip. Such a breakfast bun goes for $4.25. Alongside a freshly roasted dark cup of coffee, what more could you want, right? Wrong! You might want to add crispy fresh alfalfa sprouts or a smoky slice of back bacon or maybe, just maybe, you are really going for it today and want to put all this on a croissant! My bun this morning was souped-up with back bacon and sprouts. Thankfully I forewent the croissant, normally I don’t have the restraint, or I might not have made the snowy walk home.

When I’m not gabbing and creating delicious foods in the kitchen (often a recipe from Vij’s or White Water) with Aileen, my girlfriend since we were eight, and her super cool husband Cory, hiking Jumbo Pass or taking in the hot springs, I am most certainly at Oso Negro Cafe. It is not just a coffee shop. It is a community hub. As I write this post I am sitting smack in the center of the cafe and have already been here for over an hour. Streams upon stream of people have been flowing through the wood and glass doors. There is no rush. By very nature of there being a rush there would have to be a lull, and of that, I am certain there is not. If only you could hear the sounds around me right now! An excited buzz of conversations, meetings, reunions and daily breaks is clear and yet not overwhelming. I am relaxed, working and people-watching all at once. Around me there are individuals of all ages reading, working or socializing. I love the local art for sale that covers the walls amidst the open beams and bright setting. Books are available to keep young hands busy and perfect strangers warmly share tables. My dream is to open a hub just like this one day in the not so distant future. Oso, you are to me an inspiration.

It’s time for me to wrap this beautiful morning up, but before I head out I’ll be picking up some freshly roasted coffee beans for the road. No coffee beans sold here have been roasted more than a week ago. As the stamp on the bottom of each brown bag tells me, my beans have been roasted with love.

A No-Frills Morning

I love simple weekday breakfasts. My husband thinks my excitement over toast is unjustified, but I readily admit it is my favourite “regular” breakfast. Usually I’ll load up my Squirrely toast with almond butter and a drizzle of honey. Today I’m enjoying a couple slices of basic Winnipeg Rye Bread (light rye) with a combination of natural and raspberry yogurts completed with homemade raspberry compote. What a great tangy bowlful!

As soon as I get my own kitchen back, I’ll be making my own rye bread. I learned a great recipe for pain seigle in France!