May long weekend is proving to be quite awesome...as we knew it would be! We were very fortunate, that my dear cousins Kristie and Mark let us stay in their gorgeous apartment overlooking the Okanagan Lake, while they are out of town. It is such a treat to be here...to just indulge in pure relaxation.
We golfed at one of the top rated courses called http://www.fairviewmountain.com/ it was beautiful, albeit very windy, so we only played 9 holes.
The first day we got here, we loaded up with fresh groceries from Quality Greens...an absolutely beautiful, fresh, local and organic grocery store...I'm certain there must be an IGA or something in town...but this is the place we stumbled upon and we love it! http://www.qualitygreens.com/ And the best part yet..is the store right next door called T-Bone's. http://www.mytbones.com/ I could live in this store...its an orgy for your eyes...they have EVERYTHING...something I would have expected to see in Vancouver...but not Penticton, but WOW...you have to go. We golfed with a lovely local couple yesterday and they said they often go into the store just to get creative ideas for dinner. They have every fresh cut of organic or grain fed meats...marinated (or not), local smoked meats, as well as a deli case with stuffed vine leaves, peppers, potato salads...I could go on. Walk a little further and you will find fresh made pies, ice cream and then a large frozen section filled with lobster tails to pierogis! It was hard to make a decision, but at last we went with a Greek theme last night.
We started with dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), as we sipped on Quails Gate local Chardonnay. We sat out on the balcony and bbqued lemon pepper prawn skewers, and Greek marinated lamb, along side was some fresh LOCAL asparagus from Quality Greens...which was meaty and delicious done on the grill with a simple olive oil and balsamic marinade...sea salt and pepper and yum! (TIP: to make the most out of your asparagus, my mom taught me to peel the ends with a potato peeler to expose the tender inside..this way you dont have to snap off the bottoms!) We also enjoyed a local vine ripened tomato salad with bocchini and fresh basil....we didn't even bother with a starch...and felt completely satisfied as we dined on the balcony watching the sun disappear into the water....living the good life!
We got the tomatoes from the local Saturday Farmers Market http://pentictonfarmersmarket.org/ which happens every Saturday at 8:30am until around noon. This is probably one of the best markets I have ever been to...it goes on for blocks and has a huge variety of local produce, baking, teas, and artisan crafts...and I think everyone from Penticton comes out to enjoy this each weekend, because it was PACKED! I know my cousins go every weekend, and they really enjoy it. We also bought local, free range eggs that were awesome...and much better value than buying from Capers or Choices. What we loved...when we opened the carton, all of the eggs were different colors...when asked why, the gal who works on the farm, simply replied...well different chickens lay different color eggs! Go-figure....we are so used to the uniformity of the major grocery chains, that this was such a novel concept! We also had fresh blueberry scones that were completely delicious.
Without going into the myriad local wineries in the area( to be discussed at another time), the Okanagan Valley is a must do vacation!
Enjoy!
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