God Save the Queen!

Bees poop.

When people think of bees, they think of honey, pollination, flowers, the Queen Bee...

People hardly think of bees as creatures - insects - that poop. In fact, most miniature creatures - creatures as small as honeybees - are exempt from any sort of probe into how their most basic, bodily functions can be released, mid-flight, to land on your unsuspecting person.

Two Sundays ago, Richelle (Greybelle Designs) and I experienced what it is like to be pooped on by a swarm of bees.

It feels like sun showers.

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It was Mother's Day, and the final day of the Campesino Pop-Up. It was a grey day punctuated with periodic sunny breaks. I got called out to witness the swarm of bees that followed their escaped queen to hunker down on a cherry tree branch two houses or so down from the shop. I promptly went outside armed with Janaki's camera to take photographs of the bee-wranglers from Mellifera Bees and Pascal in beekeeper-wear. They were formulating a plan to get the queen away from the cherry tree and back into their hives above the Marché garage rooftop. It was really quite the sight; the clump of bees have formed almost a sloth-like appearance on top of that cherry tree branch. Adults and children looked on in wonder and awe from a safe distance. I stared ahead at the flurry of activity above and at these beekeepers in hazmat-like suits and remembered thinking to myself just how surreal all of this was...

Game plan...

Game plan...

Melissa Cartwright (Mellifera Bees)

Melissa Cartwright (Mellifera Bees)

Do you see what I mean? This clump of bees look like a sloth hanging off a tree...

Do you see what I mean? This clump of bees look like a sloth hanging off a tree...

Richelle and I watched from across the street as Pascal relieved part of the branch from the tree. The shaking of the branch caused a mad flurry of bees to fly all over the place. I kept snapping photographs with Richelle beside me watching excitedly... and then...

A pitter-patter... like raindrops.

I tore my eyes off of the camera and held my hands out to the sky. "Is it raining?", I asked Richelle. She looked as bewildered as I did. It was then we noticed tiny yellow splotches dotting our clothes and faces and arms and necks. It was a bit sticky, and at first, we thought, perhaps... pollen?

It smelled faintly of chamomile, beeswax, honey, and a melange of flowers.

We crossed the street and asked Melissa what the sticky, yellow dots were... and she said... "Oh! It could be their poop! It's bee poop!"

I looked at the yellow dots that have now solidified clear across my arm in part-horror, part-fascination. At this point, I have also become hyper-aware of how strongly I smelled of beeswax and honey and something else. I wasn't sure if I liked it... and I knew the smell wasn't entirely unpleasant... but this did not erase the fact that I have bee poop all over my person and I was stricken by the urge to wash it all off. The documentary photographer in me stuck it out, regardless, and continued to take photographs, and now, looking back, can say with absolute certainty that this has been the most interesting sensation I have ever experienced to date.

'Just another day at Le Marché St. George, I say.

Words and Photographs: Issha Marie

The End of her Roaring Twenties...

Klee turned 29 about a month ago.

The end of her roaring twenties began with a Mexican-themed party, complete with build-your-own-tacos, lots of cerveza, and a mariachi band to serenade her to the end of her second decade. It was a spectacular event - a surreal one to witness. The usual quiet of the neighbourhood was, for a few hours that evening, filled with the sounds and spirit of what I have always imagined Mexico to be. What a way to ring in the end of one's twenties!

These photographs are about a month overdue, but I post these now because Klee will be noticeably absent from the cafe as she embarks on a mushroom-picking journey for part of the summer.

I mean... Mushroom-picking. Mushroom-picking!

I've a friend who does this every single summer, and I've heard of his adventures. You are in the middle of nowhere. You have to have a few months' worth of food and supplies to tide you over during your entire journey. It's backbreaking work - hard work... but extremely fulfilling and lucrative once you get the lay of the land. Of course, I am oversimplifying this. It'll be interesting to hear of her travels when she returns, because I have romanticized the very idea of mushroom picking in the wild in spite of my dear friend's stories of the hardships one can encounter in the great unknown.

We look forward to your safe return, your stories, and your photographs, Klee! Be safe, stay fed and hydrated, and may the mushroom gods impart upon you bountiful harvests. We, at the cafe, will miss you dearly! Come back soon!

Happy Travels, Klee!!!
With love, from your family here at Le Marché St. George.

Photographs: Issha Marie

Campesino details... and a simple iced tea (non)recipe.

It's our summer pop-up's final five days! The shop changes a little every single day as we sell out of certain items and bring in new inventory. These final few days will be bittersweet, but this will give us more fuel and inspiration for our next pop-up. Our last day as Campesino also falls on Mother's Day, so if you are still on the hunt for something to give to your dearest mum, drop by the store, or treat her out this Sunday to a visit to the cafe downstairs and the shop upstairs.

We will end this post with a simple (non)recipe featuring Le Troupeau Bénit, a tisane we have sourced from Quebec, handcrafted with a variety of flowers and spices by the nuns of Le Monastère Vierge Marie la Consolatrice. It makes the most refreshing iced tea, and is a perfect beverage to serve on Mother's Day.

Le Troupeau Bénit Cold Brew

1 litre of cold, filtered water
3-5 grams of Le Troupeau Bénit

Infuse the tea in cold water inside a water carafe overnight in your refrigerator. Strain out the leaves the next day and serve in champagne flutes or tea cups.

Shop the Campesino Summer Pop-up Online.

Words and Photographs: Issha Marie

Our first weekend in Campesino

The team has worked long and hard for months to bring our version of Campesino to Vancouver, and the fruits of that labour were most certainly reaped with the overwhelming positive response and turnout from our first weekend!

The first day left the pop-up looking a little barren, but rest assured the pop-up will continue to evolve over the course of its two-week run as we bring in more edibles, clothing, jewelry, and ceramics, so make sure to check back often. New stock will be updated at our online shop as well, for those of us who cannot make it to Vancouver for our annual summer pop-up.

Below are some of the photos I took the day before the pop-up opened to the public. I was unable to take photographs on the first day of the pop-up due to an incredibly packed house; it was madness! But it's a good kind of mad; lots of positive energy and vibes, sunshine, and friendly faces both familiar and new.

Thank you to all of those who came to support us this first weekend and we hope to see you throughout this pop-up's entire run and beyond!

Words and Photographs: Issha Marie

Les Recettes de Ma Mère: Callos a la Madrileña

This post will mark the start of a new bi-monthly series on dishes that remind us of home. Les Recettes de Ma Mère (My Mother's Recipes) will take a look at some of the dishes we have grown up with, with special emphasis on the multicultural culinary landscape Vancouver has, and how each of these cultures' dishes has defined 'comfort' and 'home'.

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Callos a la Madrileña (cal-yos a la ma-dri-le-nya) is a tripe stew, and its origins stem from Madrid. The Filipinos have adopted this dish, among many other Spanish dishes, largely because the country was colonized by the Spanish in the mid-1500's, and remained under the Spanish rule until the late 1800's. Spain has left more than just cultural traces in the Philippine culinary landscape, and while, admittedly, Filipino cuisine is difficult to describe, much of the country's cuisine is European by nature.

My mother takes an entire day (or two) to prep for this stew. I remember the smell of tripe tenderizing; that is usually what she tackles first, and it is not a very pleasant smell. The sauté of aromatics that come after the meaty-fatty mise-en-place - that sweet-char smell that emanates from the bell peppers, the onions, and the garlic hitting the hot oil - are what I look forward to smelling the most when she prepares this family favourite. When the dish is finally ready to eat, I serve myself a generous portion, but I usually pick off the tripe from my dish. I was never a fan of the texture, but the use of tripe really lends itself to the richness and the resulting tomato-smoke-umami of the stew.

This version is a tripe-less version, and is much easier to prepare for the curious home cook who wants to try something different, but has not the wherewithal to acquire premium ox tripe and ox legs, nor the time and patience it takes to go look for a great butcher who will source a decent product for you. That is me, in a nutshell. I work more than 40 hours a week, I have allowed myself a small food budget, and I hardly ever have time to cook for my self these days, much less take two whole days to prepare this classic Spanish-Filipino stew. So when I was presented with this assignment, I racked my brain for two whole days trying to figure out how to replicate the classic flavours of callos without having to deal with the smell of tripe and the costs it takes to make the stew. I pored over my mom's messy handwriting for her callos recipe, dug deep into my memory banks for the flavours that stood out for me, and, by golly... I think I've done it! I know I've done it - because the proof, as they say, is in the pudding (or stew, in this case). Sorry, mom! My version is just as good, I swear!

Callos a la Madrileña (Filipino-style)
Preparation time: 4 hours | Serves 8-10

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
2 cans peeled, whole tomatoes
4 sweet bell peppers (2 red, 1 green, 1 yellow), cut into large chunks
2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme

500 grams beef stew meat
300 grams applewood-smoked bacon, diced
2 to 4 cured chorizo de Bilbao (or any cured sweet Spanish or Portuguese-style chorizo), sliced into coins

1 organic beef bouillon cube
3 cups water
3 bay leaves
4 to 5 pieces dried chile de arbol
2 chili peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped with about 2 tbsp. reserved adobo sauce
2 tbsp. sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. olive oil

Mise-en-place
1) Chop the vegetables and set aside.
2) Drain the liquid off of the can of chickpeas and set aside. 
3) Set the dried aromatics, spices, and seasoning aside: dried thyme, Mexican oregano, bay leaves, chile de arbol, organic bouillon cube.
4) Dice bacon and slice the cured sausage.

Directions
1) Preheat your oven to 350C.
2) In a Dutch oven or deep skillet, heat olive oil. Gently fry the bacon until nice and crisp. Drain with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3) Fry the sliced chorizo in the bacon fat until the edges are slightly crisp. Drain with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4) Brown the beef stew meat until outer exterior is nicely caramelized. Set aside.
5) Pour away any excess bacon fat, but leave some for the vegetables to sauté in. Sauté the peppers and onions in the pork fat until slightly softened. Add the garlic, Mexican oregano, and dried thyme and continue to sauté until garlic has sufficiently browned and has imparted its garlicky aroma. Take the vegetables out and set them aside for later.
6) In the same dutch oven, add the browned beef and the chorizo and cover with three cups of water and the two cans of peeled, whole tomatoes. Crush the tomatoes with your wooden spoon. Add the beef bouillon cube, the chile de arbol, and the bay leaves and make sure to scrape any excess brown bits off of the bottom of the pan. Add the brown sugar, paprika, and the adobo peppers and let it dissolve into the liquid. Put to a gentle simmer before turning off the heat and place inside your preheated oven. 
4) Leave the stew inside the oven for two hours. After two hours, add the chickpeas, and leave the stew inside the oven for another 45 minutes to an hour. The chickpeas will thicken the sauce naturally without the addition of the tripe.
5) After the last hour, fish out the bay leaves, and stir in the reserved sautéed vegetables and crispy bacon. Test the stew for seasoning. I found that over the course of the three hours, the chorizo has imparted most of its seasoning into the stew, so the callos did not need any salt. Serve the stew over cous cous with lemon zest and chives, or traditionally, over steamed jasmine rice.

Recipe courtesy of Joyce Onoya
Words and Photographs by Issha Marie

Spring has sprung, and with it, a long-overdue new look for us.

We are currently undergoing a bit of a transformation and transition from our old platform into this new website, so please excuse the rough edges while we sort out the kinks of this new interface. We have lots in store for the future, so hang in there while we make this new platform into our new digital home for years to come. In the meantime, visit our new online shop and take a look at what we have in our digital store.

See you around the neighbourhood!

Sincerely,
your friends at Le Marché St. George.