Thursday, February 26, 2015

The Things We Did: Phil & Sebastian Coffee and Chocolate Pairing Class

Chocolate and coffee are some of our favorite (not to mention staple) food and drink choices. When we saw that Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters was hosting a coffee and chocolate pairing class, we were definitely intrigued and knew we had to sign up. The class has room for 8 people at its Marda Loop location (2043 33rd Ave SW) and we were lucky enough to get a spot!

Our class which began at 6:30pm had 7 people and was hosted by head chef, Leslie Morrow and supported by the events manager, Brynne Steinbrenner. We were first given some history on the origin and initial users of cocoa - it was interesting to learn that cocoa was used by the Mayan and Aztec people in drink form as far back as 1900 B.C.! We even got to try a sample of chocolate that resembled the form it would have been in hundreds of years ago. The chocolate had pockets of cane sugar and was a rough texture. We learned that this was because there were no processes that long ago which could refine the texture or smooth out the chocolate evenly. 
Photo credit goes to Lauren Popadiuk from Phil and Sebastian. She did a great
job of capturing all of us hard at work learning about the history of chocolate
from head chef, Leslie Morrow (on the left side). Clearly the engineer in Gajra
must be taking notes as her head is down scribbling away on a note card.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

The Things We Did: Learning to Ski

So there's a saying that goes "when in Rome do as Romans do". When we moved to Calgary we applied this saying and participated in a number of events Calgary had to offer. It started off with the Calgary Stampede in the summer of 2013 which we definitely enjoyed (maybe enjoyed a bit too much...). We also indulged in the Sun and Salsa festival in Kensington along with the Taste of Calgary in Eau Claire, and of course we rafted down the Bow River. But alas, summer and it's wonderful festivals only last for so long and it was time for us to become truly Calgarian and learn to enjoy winter in the mountains.

As Edmontonians, we both had enjoyed skiing at the local hills such as Snow Valley and Rabbit Hill when we were younger. We quickly realized that although they were a good place to start learning to ski, they did not exactly prepare us for the mountains. Also because neither of us had skied for over 10 years, we realized that lessons and a lot of practice would be necessary! We had heard from our well-seasoned skier friends that Nakiska Mountain Resort in Kananaskis was a good place to start. Being only an hour away from Calgary, it was recommended as a great ski resort for day trips that has some of the friendliest instructors from around the world. We were lucky that they offer a fairly reasonable deal called the "Telus Performance Package" which includes 3 lessons, full day lift tickets, and high performance equipment rentals for $259.00 + GST.



Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Things We Ate: Corbeaux Bakehouse

Calgary's 17th Avenue has some of the city's best restaurants and bars. Needless to say that anything new that opens there is definitely going to get a lot of traffic and if it is good, it will be the next hot spot. When we heard that Analog owners were opening Corbeaux Bakehouse, we could not wait to try it! Being big coffee fans we both have enjoyed Analog coffee many times since we have moved to Calgary. If the owners could do such a great job with coffee, we couldn't wait to see what was in store at Corbeaux Bakehouse.
We were able to snag a seat at the front of Corbeaux, facing
17th Ave. Corbeaux is located at 730 17th Ave SW, just steps
away from Analog Coffee and Clive Burger. This picture
showcases just one side of the bakeshop goodies which
include sandwiches, scones, muffins and other
deliciousness that you must go experience for yourself.
When we walked in the first time we saw that Corbeaux was energetic and bustling with people - with good reason though as it had lots to offer. The front of the venue resembles Analog coffee where you are encouraged to sit down at high tables and enjoy a cup of coffee with a baked good or two (or 4 in our case...). The left side of Corbeaux is a dining area with booths and tables. The back and right side have additional seating for coffee drinkers and a fully stocked bar to enjoy if you are just out for drinks. We quickly decided that we would not be able to have the full experience in one visit so we decided we would just have to go twice!