Can I Take a Sick Day?

Just like Christmas parties, moms don't get sick days either.

All four of us have been fighting colds for the past week. I am totally blaming Hubby because he had it first. And, of course, when he was sick I was the happy housewife - keeping the kids quiet in the evenings and making him chicken noodle soup - from scratch. Yeah, and this week we've eaten crap from a package (fish sticks anyone?) or pre-made food because I am too exhausted to cook and Hubby isn't volunteering to cook. Not good fodder for a food blog either.

So today I am resting, sipping some wonderful tea from Murchies and nibbling on a new addiction - freeze dried raspberries dipped in dark chocolate from Dufflet. Oh, and I still don't have my new camera. Hopefully the pics I took on our last sick day before Christmas when the Norwalk virus hit us will tide you over for a few more days.

In the meantime, I thought I would share with you a few new (at least to me) local places for foodies in Calgary. My mother-in-law was in town so we convinced the Monster that an adventure was a good idea. And adventure it was. I really forget how big the city is getting.

We made the trek to Blush Lane's new retail operation - way, way West in the city. It was a nice store with an easy layout. As far as grocery items go there was little difference between them and the Planet Organic that I can walk to. But they do carry far more in the way of dairy and meat (Sunworks Farm) than my local place. And, they have a wonderful cheese selection with reasonable prices. My mother-in-law and I were ecstatic to see products from Gort's Gouda cheese farm, one of our favourite products and places to visit in Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

I won't be making the trek out to Blush Lane Organic Market too often. We go to the Calgary Farmers' Market every weekend and they are a regular stop for us. Besides, I'm not sure how good it is to drive halfway across the city for products I can get closer to home. Cheese, however, will be the exception. When I have a craving for that salty and nutty Maasdammer I will brave Calgary traffic and drive to Blush Lane. It beats the seven hours to Salmon Arm!

On our way we stopped at another new foodie jewel - Fresh Kitchen. There isn't much in the way of grocery items at Fresh Kitchen, but there is some very yummy food. They carry serrano ham - something I now like better than proscuitto parma - along with a decent selection of meats and cheeses. What I was really impressed with was the fresh meals-to-go options. From salad dressings to fish, from soups to muffins, they had it all. Curry was obviously on the menu that night and the place smelled wonderful. Fresh Kitchen is owned by a very friendly man, Paul Morrissette, who had no problem with the Monster running around and grabbing things just to show me. He seemed generous of spirit and taste. Because I knew Hubby wouldn't be making me soup I did grab some forest mushroom and truffle soup. Soup with serrano ham and maasdammer on the side? It was enough to make a sick girl swoon. Or maybe that was the fever?