Tag Archives: color

Ungava – A Uniquely Canadian Product

Ungava – A Uniquely Canadian Product

My Mom and I were shopping for wine the other week and we were checking out what tequilas the store had in stock (my Mom LOVES tequila and together we toast every full moon with it, in person or by phone). The person in the store asked if we had tried Ungava Canadian Premium Gin (I know – how did we get from wine to tequila to GIN!). I love a gin and tonic when it’s really hot outside and had not yet tried this brand.

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The simple and clean-cut Ungava bottle evokes the purity and chill of Arctic ice

The clerk at the liquor store was obviously very convincing as we ended up walking out with a bottle. We sat down to play a long awaited game or two of dominos that afternoon and poured ourselves a gin and tonic. I have to say that this gin, which I had put in the freezer so was ice cold when we made our drinks, was absolutely delicious. Ungava’s unusual bright yellow color and distinctive aroma are derived from six rare botanicals that are native to the Arctic region: Nordic juniper, wild rose hips, cloudberry, crowberry, Arctic blend and Labrador tea. These botanicals are handpicked and steeped in the traditional Inuit way and the result is a deliciously well-balanced, fragrant and delicious product.

The unique script and characters on the bottle is Inuktitut, the language of the inuit

The unique script and characters on the bottle is Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit

Ungava gin recommends serving with a wedge of grapefruit on ice, but do be careful as it has a surprising alcoholic strength of 43.1%. We tried it with chilled tonic, with and without a squeeze of fresh lime, and preferred it without citrus as the flavours are so unique and balanced. Perfect for an ice-cold martini, this unique handcrafted gin is definitely worth searching out – even if you have to come to Canada to find it!

Moab, Utah and Ely, Nevada

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When Ron and I left Santa Fe, we drove though southern Colorado to reach Moab, Utah for the night. We wanted to get an early start so that we could explore as much of Utah’s National Parks and natural beauty as possible before heading on to Nevada and ultimately California. Stretch and Mary had warned us that there were some bad storms in the area and we here a bit concerned about how the roads would be along the way.

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When we checked in to our motel for the night, we knew that we were in the right place.  On the wall was a picture entitled “Fire and Ice”, which of course was the title of my first cookbook.  I treat coincidences and synchronicity like this as an inspired message to confirm that I’m on the right path.  My Mom thinks that I should write a book on the many situations like this that have and continue to happen in my life.  Maybe I’ll just write about it here instead.

Fire and Ice

To beat the storms, we decided that we needed to get to California and over the tallest passes as quickly as possible, so only took a brief tour through Arches National Park. The formations and color of the rock in this area are truly spectacular – we were awed and amazed!

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We hurried on to stay ahead of the weather and quickly passed through Ely, Nevada where we’d stopped at so many times before on our way east or west. We just nicely got about twenty miles west of Ely and it started to snow. Ron’s not used to driving in snow and neither is the BMW, but I didn’t think it was anything to be concerned with initially (being an optimistic Canadian who has always dealt with snow). We continued west and within fifteen more miles, the snow became a whiteout and we definitely decided to head back to Ely for the night.

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We drove through Alpine, Nevada and had breakfast at one of our favorite little diners the next day. They’d endured storms all the day and night before and had a serious amount of snow to contend with – about eighteen inches. We were so glad that we’d headed back to Ely the night before – we never would have made it over the high summits.

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Toasting Spices

Toasting spices is a technique used to deepen and intensify the flavors of spices.  Spices take on enhanced flavor when exposed to heat.

To toast dry spices, heat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.  Place whole or ground spices in skillet and stir until very fragrant and the color begins to deepen (be careful not to overcook or burn).  Remove from heat and cool.  If using seeds, use a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder to grind into powder.  We generally only toast the spices that we need immediately as the intensity of the flavor diminishes after about 1 week.