how to brew french press - thanks jj bean!

thanks jj bean*!
my favorite way to drink coffee, explained in a beautiful tutorial video:



*jj bean is a local coffee roaster in vancouver, plus they have some of the best coffee shops too. there's one 2 blocks from my work & 6 blocks from me.

ooh & they have some public coffee tastings coming up:

thursday, june 16: 1:00 pm
jj bean on powell street
1904 powell street, vancouver

friday, june 17: 1:00 pm
jj bean in the granville island public market
1689 johnston street, vancouver

thursday, june 23: 1:00 pm
jj bean on main street
3010 main street, vancouver

friday, june 24: 1:00 pm
jj bean at park & tilford
333 brooksbank avenue, north vancouver

thursday, june 30: 1:00 pm
jj bean on commercial drive
2206 commercial drive, vancouver

friday, july 1: 1:00 pm
jj bean in yaletown
402 davie street, vancouver

read more about the tastings here. i'm going to try to hit up the tasting at powell street if i can remember to!

yesterday - pancakes & butter tarts

yesterday was mother's day. i don't really like the commercialization of something we should be doing everyday (telling your mother you love her), but i did call my mom & i told her i loved her. she doesn't live in the same country as me, so i made a lovely pancake breakfast for my sister and i and we ate good food in honor of her. from as long as i can remember, my mother has constantly been teaching me how to cook & bake. i love that she instilled in me a respect for food, and a really close, tangible relationship with it. thanks mommy - i love you! (yeah, i still call her mommy. & i'm okay with that)

it was a decent spring day yesterday, so my sister & i took a walk down to commercial drive to check out the got craft? show. afterwards we stopped at jj bean for americanos and butter tarts. have you had the butter tarts at jj bean vancouverites? if you haven't, and you can eat butter & wheat, you need to head to a jj bean immediately. and order a butter tart. you will not regret this. well, hmm.. maybe you will, because you'll be wanting to eat them every single day. if you have an addictive personality, DO NOT try the butter tarts at jj bean. the crust is flaky, crunchy & buttery. the inside is sugary, buttery & melty in your mouth.

speaking of spring, we've had some bizzare weather here in vancouver lately. one day it is warm & sunny, the next day it is a tropical monsoon and the streets turn into streams of rushing water. our small garden plot was completely covered in water. luckily my sister's been starting some plants inside. she really loves these plants. she likes to stare at them in the mornings watching them grow. they grow pretty fast too! i can't wait til they produce tomatoes and cucumbers. mmm...