Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

February 4, 2012 Le Marché St. George

Beta 5 Mango Passionfruit Caramels (13 Pieces) | $18.50
Beta 5 Strawberries and House-candied Citron with Crystallized Rose Petals (185g) | $17
Beta 5 Salted Chocolate Caramels (12 pieces) | $19

Belmondo after the rain (face toner) | $37.95
Belmondo the garden (hand and body lotion) | $39.95

luxo banho cream oval (12.5 oz) | $13.95

Menu Inspiration: Rosemary White Bean Soup

February 2, 2012 Le Marché St. George

One of the perks of this job is being around Janaki's cooking. Over the span of our work relationship I've had the privilege of being served food that would make anyone with a heart smile. On today's lunch menu was a rosemary white bean soup with Polderside Farms duck prosciutto and the simple combination of morning-fresh baguette drizzled with olive oil. It's no secret that the star of this dish was the prosciutto, but it would be criminal to forget about the white beans. The particular brand that was used is a French company, Sabarot. They are one of the oldest dry goods companies that specializes in various legumes that grow in specific regions of the country. The rosemary pictured above really elevated the complexity of flavours in the dish. Janaki actually poached the rosemary from a burnt-down and abandoned ex-grow-op house. I guess every neighbourhood has its flaws, but at least ours supplies us with an abundance of this tasty herb.

Photography & Discourse | Luis Valdizon

Kinfolk Magazine

February 2, 2012 Le Marché St. George

Kinfolk is an impeccably-shot, quarterly publication. It's a magazine that celebrates small gatherings and the joy of cooking and eating together, topics that Janaki is very passionate about. After exchanging a few e-mails with Nathan Williams, the editor and art director of Kinfolk, about a possible collaboration between us, it became clear that their lovely magazine belonged in our shop. Last week we got our first shipment and we're down to just one copy left already! If you missed out the first time around, you'll be happy to know we're working on getting some more in, fast. I can't wait to for our relationship to continue developing. Janaki gave me a pretty good idea of what the foreseeable collaboration would look like, and I can't wait to reveal those details when the time is right.

Photography & Discourse | Luis Valdizon

St. George Winter Veggie Box (by Mandy and Siena)

January 20, 2012 Le Marché St. George

Two beautiful ladies that work at our shop have been preparing an affordable and scrumptious Winter Veggie Box program that our lucky patrons can register for. Siena and Mandy have an unquestionable passion for locally-sourced, delicious produce, which is why I am thrilled about this idea. Below you will find details about their program and how it will work. From what we've heard and seen, I am most excited about the recipes that they will offer throughout their program! More information below...

St. George Winter Veggie Box (by Mandy and Siena)

$30/week for supply of local, organic produce for 2-3 people
Minimum of 5 varieties of produce weekly, featuring unique heritage varieties
A weekly newsletter will be sent out with recipes and produce details included
Pick-up at Marche St. George on Wednesdays during store hours (8am-6pm) starting February 15th and ending May 2nd, 2012
The registration period ends of February 8th, 2012 *Extended*
To register please come to the store with a cheque
On pick up days, please bring your own reusable bags.

A sample Winter Veggie Box includes the following organic produce:

3.5lbs Empire apples
2lbs Rose Finn fingerling potatoes
1 bunch of rainbow Swiss chard
1 bunch of thyme
2.5lbs red onions
1lb portabella mushrooms

Please keep in mind that space for the St. George Winter Veggie Box is limited. If you're interested, do not hold off on registering as quickly as possible!

Contact us at: st.george.veggie.box@gmail.com

Menu Inspiration: Tomato Soup & Cheese Toasts

January 20, 2012 Le Marché St. George

Two weeks ago, which now feels like a season ago, we enjoyed this delicious soup that Janaki made. We sipped it on a brisk afternoon under a beautiful sun that made us believe that spring could be around the corner. Then Vancouver was covered in snow. I'm not complaining, but it made these photos seem silly. It hit me at some point that a warm bowl of easy homemade tomato soup with Janaki's "Trailer Trash" cheese toasts is perfect for this weather.

This meal takes a total of 20 minutes to make and starts with a one can of Italissima's Organic Peeled Tomatoes ($3.75). Of course, using fresh tomatoes is always the best, but for a simple dish that can be quickly prepared, Italissima products are a substitute we proudly recommend. Next you'll need an onion, chopped finely, a litre of chicken stock (homemade preferred), ground cumin, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. Throw the aforementioned ingredients in a medium-sized pot, and boil the ingredients down. The last step is to use an immersion blender to purée the pot's contents into a fine, yet textured, soup. The cheese toasts are comprised of fresh baguette, finely minced garlic, "white trash" (i.e. French's brand) mustard and your favorite cheese.

In the end, you will be rewarded with a very delicious soup and accompaniment.

Photography & Discourse | Luis Valdizon

Michel Cluizel Sardines en Chocolat au Lait

January 20, 2012 Le Marché St. George

When I was a child, my father would pull out can of sardines and eat the oily, smelly treats like they were pieces of chocolate. I'm still not a fan of them. Not at all. My only reaction was to smile, when I came across these milk choclate sardines by the famous French chocolatier Michel Cluizel. "Finally!" I thought. "A sardine I can eat." Janaki said that she liked them because they were funny. I agree, and really love the little details on these chocolate sardines. They're almost lifelike. At minimum, they are cute, whimsical and something that could be from the pages of a children's story book.

Price | $14.95
Photography & Discourse | Luis Valdizon

Cups in Fragments

January 20, 2012 Le Marché St. George

This post comes with a great sadness. At Le Marché St. George, we serve our beverages in cups and bowls. It's very likely that you've come in and tasted our drinks in different cups with every visit. It could even be a part of what makes your experience at our shop unique. However, this also means that when cups break, their presence is extinguished from Le Marché. They break at the hand of our staff and our customers all the time. We have celebrated the majesty of our cups in earlier posts, so Janaki and I decided it was only right to document them in pieces. This marks the first post in a series that will with certainly be ongoing

Photography & Discourse | Luis Valdizon

Handmade Cutting & Cheese Boards N° 03

January 10, 2012 Le Marché St. George

We are very excited about this! While this might not be a new product, we are every time even more excited and a little more in love with the work of our friend Michael Nichols. He is back from Africa, and has brought us brand new stock of our favourite cutting and cheese boards. Purchasing these boards made from fallen trees is not only good for the environment, but also part of the fuel for Michael's trips to Africa, where he works on his various sustainable forestry projects.

Photography & Discourse | Luis Valdizon

Remnants of Montreal

January 8, 2012 Le Marché St. George

The holiday fever is officially a thing of the past. While I, like most, can't wait for the winter to go away in anticipation for the a brighter and perhaps, above all, warmer season, after seeing these images from Janaki's iPhone, I couldn't help but ask her to send them to me. Christmas in Vancouver usually leaves me unfulfilled. Deep inside, I need a Winter Wonderland. Granted, in the moment, sitting around the table with loved ones and delicious food, I'm not thinking about snow. Still, in retrospect, I know I need it. These photos made me wish I was with the Pascal/Roy family in Montreal, plain and simple. I'm glad they're home, and can't wait to continue what we started last year.

Photography | Janaki Larsen
Discourse | Luis Valdizon

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

December 26, 2011 Le Marché St. George

The Larsen/Roy family is currently in Montreal celebrating with Pascal's family (hence the snow in the image above). Personally, I'm very envious of them. A decade of so later I'm still not used to the idea of Christmas without snow. I grew up in Winnipeg. I'm a little jealous of Janaki's photograph; however, at the same time, I'm glad that Lola got to experience a white Christmas. We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration surrounded by loved ones and scrumptious dishes, and we wish you the same or better for New Year's Eve. Thank you for making this past year a really great one for us!

Photography | Janaki Larsen
Discourse | Luis Valdizon