Food-lover’s delight

The Produce Market on Granville Island in Vancouver, Canada offers a plethora of culinary delights from vegetables to meat to pate to jam to fruit to seafood to chocolate to pastries like the ones above. I found the sight of these perfectly formed puff pastries with their savory fillings to be especially titillating.

I spent most of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in Vancouver with four close friends: Ed De La Fuente, Brian Choo, Bobby Boos and Marian Liu. One of the places we wanted to see was Granville Island which is just minutes from downtown Vancouver where we were staying.

So on a rainy Saturday afternoon we headed to the highly walkable village area. After we got some nourishment at Agro Cafe Coffee and Roasting House we headed on over to the famous Granville Island Public Market.

Once inside we are bombarded by the sights of fresh fruit and vegetables as far as the eye can see. The food will bring you to the market but the real charm is in the vendors who offer you their advice on how to eat or cook their wares. There are about 50 or so stalls and stores of every kind imaginable and all of these shops include at least one expert on the types of food they sell. It’s intoxicating to talk food with someone who has a background in it.

The Public Market is open until 7 p.m. all the days of the week.

If your visit occurs between June and October you can check out the Farmer’s Market that the Island hosts every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. immediately across the street from the Public Market adjacent to the Net Loft.  Like most farmers’ markets this one is cash-only.

Gone in 40 minutes

This is the cinnamon-pecan-cherry coffeecake I made.

“It’s so moist, rich and flavorful. Yet light and delicate.”

Aisha Khan, copy editor on the foreign desk at the Los Angeles Times

It was a rainy Sunday and since I couldn’t go take my usual hike or hit some balls at the tennis court, I decided it was the perfect day to bake something delicious. Baking is a relaxing and creative activity for me. But I wanted to make sure my creation was something that I could toss in a tuppeware container and take to work for the Sunday Crew at the Los Angeles Times. I thought a coffee cake with some nuts, dried fruit and plenty of sugar and butter would smell great during the baking part and taste great too.

“Scrumptious,” said Matt Moody, LAT graphic artist said after he finished his piece.

“The cinnamon really works with the other flavors.” said Lauren Raab, finance section copy editor. She also insisted that the pecans I put in the cake were toasted. No, I never toasted them but the melted butter that doused the top of the nuts may be the reason the nuts seem so crispy and aromatic.

Sugar high: If you normally don’t eat sugar or are on a low-sugar diet just one bite of this cake will give you a buzz. But be careful because one bite won’t be enough of this addictive confection. Remember, this cake was gone 40 minutes after I took the lid off the container. That type of speed is due to the candy-like filling and the tender, buttery cake it is layered in. Enjoy!

Want to make it for yourself? Click here for the recipe.

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