Olives the fruit of the Gods

From time to time I attend the food and trade shows here in Vancouver. It's a great way for those of us in the industry to keep in touch with new products, technology and for me personally to see so many familiar faces. I love going up and down the isles looking at everything new or discovering things I was looking for but didn't know where to start looking.

All of a sudden I come across OLIVES. This may not be so new of an item, but I have really come to appreciate these little fruits in the last couple of years. I marvelled in how these were so fresh and had so much flavour and well 10 times better then what I have been buying in the local grocery store at times. The unfortunate thing is I can't even recommend where you can buy these from, because here I am dealing with Restaurant Wholesalers who don't sell to the public.

But my point is don't miss an opportunity to find these little gems in some Mediterranean or even little Italian store tucked away somewhere or at the fresh markets that Vancouver has to offer.Use them as a snack, cut them up in a salad, fry them with chicken or fish there is endless possibilities.

Pour yourself a glass of wine, place a small bowl in front of you and just enjoy.

Caipirinha....Capa What??

Caipirinha is Brazil's National Drink made with Cachaca Rum. I discovered this drink a few years back and decided to revisit it one night with some friends. It was a great visit.

Cachaca is a distilled spirit from Brazil that is in a class of it's own, but is often associated with rum. The difference is that cachaca is made from sugar cane juice where rum uses molasses.

Step 1: You will need 2.5oz of Cachaca, 1 Lime, and 2tsp of granulated sugar.
* Slice the lime into 8 wedges.

* Muddle the lime wedges and sugar in a highball glass.

* Add ice to the glass

* Add the cachaca to the glass

* Stir and enjoy

Tip: Consume these in moderation