Flavours of the West Coast: A Cookbook from the Celebrated TV Series
By Cedarwood Productions with Steve Walker-Duncan and guests
Touchwood Editions, 168 pages, $29.95

Seasonings: Flavours of the Gulf Islands
By Andrea and David Spalding
Harbour Publishing, 240 pages, $29.95

Reviewed by Candace Fertile

Being able to taste all the food in these two lavishly illustrated books would be quite the treat; reading about the love poured into the dishes, along with the skill of the food producers and chefs, runs a close second. And, given that the food celebrated in these books represents BC at its best, readers have some splendid taste possibilities ahead.

Flavours of the West Coast: A Cookbook from the Celebrated TV Series is the more basic book of the two. Like the TV program from which it hails, the book features the recipes of numerous chefs, along with such simple classics as vinaigrette. The ingredients are generally available, and if something special is called for — Sea Cider Kings & Spies cider in Cider Glazed Free-Range Chicken with Roasted Apples and Lemons — a note explains that a good quality dry cider will do. The recipes are unfussy, and occasionally the chef’s tip will suggest a packaged substitute, anathema to serious cooks, but a valuable aid to those short of time or skill.

From sauces to cocktails, Flavours covers a wide swath of ingestibles, and the most enticing recipes are the homey stick to your ribs and other body parts concoctions, such as Southwestern Meatloaf from Chef John Cantin of John’s Place in Victoria; the unfortunately named but apparently delicious Toad in the Hole; Moroccan Spiced Vegan Rissoles with Rhubarb Gravy; and Whole-Wheat Ricotta Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce. Seafood and fish lovers will salivate over the numerous dishes collected in the chapter “River and Sea,” and serious locavores will head out with rubber gloves to collect nettles for creaming.

The book’s divisions are somewhat arbitrary: Basic Sauces and Dressings, Forest and Field, River and Sea, Farm Fresh, and City Cuisine, but each is illustrated with pictures of the dishes or the environment. More pictures of the food would be great. But as a dip into the world of BC food and how easy it is to make wonderful meals with local fresh ingredients, Flavours does a lovely job.

Because Seasonings: Flavours of the Gulf Islands is written by a husband and wife team, Andrea and David Spalding, who have written numerous books separately and one other together (The Flavours of Victoria), it’s a little more focused in style than Seasonings. It’s also more adventurous and definitely more precise in its ingredients as the Spaldings are showcasing the food producers of the Gulf Islands. Nettles came up in this book as well. Scavenged food has its charms, and I was delighted to learn that Galiano has Nettlefest, a day-long celebration of all things nettle.

Seasonings uses the seasons as its organizing principle, and it divides each season’s recipes into Beginnings, Entrees, Sides, Finishes, and Celebrating. The book is filled with information about food producers, and the authors are keen advocates of small scale farmers and other food producers. Not only does the book offer dozens of delicious recipes, but also it is an exposition on food diversity and individual creativity. Many people are devoted to organic practices, and the Spaldings let us in on their world. Roger Pettit of Galiano grows over 20 varieties of potatoes. His nickname is “The Potato Man.” Juliet Kershaw and Michael Pierce of Saturna have developed an olive consortium. Debbie Lauzon of Salt Spring makes Soya Novu tofu, and now she can do it with soybeans grown on the island. I can hardly wait to try Mushroom, Runner Bean and Spaghetti Squash with Crispy Smoked Tofu. Or maybe I’ll just get my mitts on the tofu and see what I can do with it. The book includes sources for the specialty foodstuffs and suggestions for further reading. I’m already planning Beddis Blue (a Salt Spring Island Cheese Company product) and Fig Tart for next summer when figs ripen on a friend’s tree. And I think I’ll have to test the Salt Spring Chèvre and Cherry Clafouti with Rye Caramel Sauce. And the Caramelized Onion and Zucchini Galette.

Both of these books provided me with tons of fun, information, and inspiration. They do different things well, and they’d be a welcome addition to any BC cook’s bookshelf. The emphasis on making meals with what can be grown nearby is excellent. Both books avoid any hectoring about what people should eat, other than providing strong evidence that healthy, tasty food makes for happy people.

Candace Fertile loves to read about food and also enjoys eating.

George Littlechild: The Spirit Giggles Within
By George Littlechild
Heritage House, 176 pages, $59.95

Review by Candace Fertile

Just in time for Christmas giving (or maybe even for keeping and sharing), George Littlechild: The Spirit Giggles Within is a stunning art book with commentary by the artist on each of the more than 150 pieces contained within the covers. Littlechild’s brief explanations of his art focus on his personal history as a Plains Cree man who discovered at the age of 17 that his father was white.

Littlechild laments the loss of parents and the chance to grow up in the Cree culture. His mother, Rachel Littlechild, was forced into a residential school; her son George was part of the “Sixties Scoop” when many aboriginal children were fostered or adopted by white families. Littlechild is grateful that he had loving foster parents who encouraged both his exploration of his cultural background and his artistic talent. But the discovery of his true biological parentage sent him on a search for his family. Fortunately he has found an extensive and welcoming community of relations who have helped him gain insight to his parents and himself.

Littlechild selected the work in this book, and it gives an overview of his career and his personal life. They are inextricably intertwined. And while giggling isn’t a huge part of aboriginal history in Canada after the arrival of Europeans, Littlechild prefers to deal with the wonder of life rather than the tragedies of his people. He certainly does not avoid the brutal treatment his people faced, but he tends to celebrate the courage, perseverance, and beauty of his people while educating readers in a gentle direct way about the past.

Littlechild’s artwork is political in that regard. And many of the pieces, whether paintings or mixed-media works incorporating family photographs, are portraits. Perhaps the most emphatic aspect of Littlechild’s work is its vibrancy. Images spring off the page in a fabulous concoction of colour. Reds, pinks, and purples predominate. The images, which often have black in them, are placed on a black background to punch up their effect.

The pictures can appear deceptively simple, but time spent looking at them and then reading the brief commentary opens up the richness that is Littlechild’s synthesis of imagination and reality. Horses are a key feature, as are stars. The more recent artworks incorporate elements of west coast aboriginal art (Littlechild has lived on the west coast since 1990 and currently lives in Comox).

The reproductions cannot possibly capture the vibrancy of the originals, but Littlechild himself points to the importance of access to art when he says in the commentary to Even Mrs. Horsechild Gets the Blues that he was fascinated by his foster brother’s art books and was particularly entranced by Egyptian imagery, a transformative imagery which he uses in his works. Mrs. Horsechild has a human body and a horse’s head.

It’s obvious I’m a fan of Littlechild’s work, and I have been since seeing his work in the 1980s at Asum Mena (the Alberta Native art show) in Edmonton. I feel a personal affinity for Littlechild’s work as Cree blood flows from my maternal ancestors. And his vivid colours affirm life, even when depicting sadness and misunderstanding as in Red Horse in a Sea of White Horses.

The message of Littlechild’s work is optimistic. He believes that through education people can move away from racism and other form of prejudice such as denigrating women or homosexuals. He believes that art is important. As he says in his introduction, “In my work, I am committed to righting the wrongs that First Nations peoples have endured by creating art that focusses on cultural, social, and political injustices. As an artist, an educator, and a cultural worker, my goal is a better world.” This book demonstrates Littlechild’s determination. It’s a visual feast — a treat both for newcomers and those already aware of his concerns.

Candace Fertile still has a Littlechild poster from one of the Asum Mena shows years ago.

Exploring Vancouver: The Architectural Guide
By Harold Kalman and Robin Ward
Photographs by John Roaf
Douglas & McIntyre, 336 pages, $24.95

Reviewed by Candace Fertile

Exploring Vancouver: The Architectural Guide is a highly readable and informative guide to Vancouver’s buildings, both old and new. And while the city has not been known for its architecture, except perhaps the Vancouver Special, a two-story, basement-less house put up by the block in the seventies because of its low cost, Harold Kalman and Robin Ward manage to integrate Vancouver’s buildings with its history in an engaging way. And the authors do not shy away from difficult topics, such as racism and homelessness.

A brief introduction guides readers into the book. The authors indicate their intention for their work: “Exploring Vancouver reveals the architecture and urbanism of the city, its history and the people and the society that made it.” And they have excelled at this task. The book is arranged into 14 chapters by location, and each building has a short explanation and a colour photograph. Each chapter includes a map and a suggested route to take advantage of the information within the pages. And the chapters are letter- and colour-coded to make navigating the book about as easy as possible.

I was surprised to learn that Vancouver is the only major North American city without a freeway through it. In 1967, the Strathcona Freeway plan was blocked, thus saving the neighbourhoods of Chinatown and Gastown, which the freeway would have cut through. The lack of a freeway contributes to an emphasis on livable housing density, “Vancouverism,” as the ideology is known and admired internationally. The authors are clearly in love with their subject and present Vancouver as a model for the world, with its eco-friendly attitude and residential downtown. What doesn’t come up much is the traffic problem, which is one of the worst in North America.

For people who want to know what they are looking at while on a walk, this book is splendid: it works well for the Vancouverite or the visitor or the armchair traveller. Strolling around is one of the most pleasant pastimes in a city that is relatively safe, clean, and ice-free. Reading about the city is fun as this book has a lively and crisp tone. Anyone familiar with Vancouver will find iconic buildings, such as the Europe Hotel at 43 Powell with its flatiron design and the Marine Building at 355 Burrard with its gorgeous Art Deco features, along with newer buildings such as One Wall Centre at 938 Nelson with its controversial two-tone glass compromise in its 48 towers and the Olympic Village at False Creek, described in a clear, no-nonsense fashion. I will definitely take this book with me whenever I go to Vancouver and will explore some of the sights with attention.

The authors have scoured the city for buildings to include, from the soaring towers of downtown and the West End to the old Woodward’s store to the mansions of Shaughnessy and numerous other private dwellings of all sizes. Bridges are included. Skytrain stations are also included. The scope extends as far as Richmond, New Westminster, and Burnaby. The breadth is remarkable. It’s no surprise that the book is endorsed by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

And to round out the informative value of the volume, the authors include a glossary, a list of books for further reading, and a detailed index. Put all that on a high quality paper with sewn in signatures, and the result is a beautiful, durable – and affordable – book. And that’s kind of ironic. As the authors note, Vancouver is an extremely “livable” city but only for those who can afford the high cost of housing.

Candace Fertile is a contributing editor of The Coastal Spectator and teaches English at Camosun College