Ultimately their love of food, blogging and their commitment to a health conscious lifestyle is what has brought 5 ladies; 2 from Canada and 3 from the United States ( joining east and west and north and south), together to create the very 1st ever Virtual Supper Club sponsored by Cooking Light magazine!!! We have always had a love for Cooking Light magazine which has an emphasis on healthy eating and living. Each issue covers light cuisine and includes more than 70 delicious and flavourful recipes. It also explores food and nutrition news as well as fitness, health and beauty.
Helene - La cuisine d'Helene
A stay-at-home mom of three (20-18-15), loves to cook and bake. Has lived in seven provinces and now resides on Vancouver Island. Has been a fan of Cooking Light for more than 15 yrs now. Spends lot's of time with her family enjoying sports, camping, travelling, hiking, skiing and making sure she feeds them with fresh home cooked meals.
Val - More than Burnt Toast
A single mom living in British Columbia, Canada of an almost 22 year old university student, who juggles a full time job and 2 part time jobs; as well as being the co-founder of BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine (a group of food bloggers raising funds for the School Meals Programme). How does she manage to fit a healthy lifestyle and exercise into her daily routine....by having 3 hour lunchbreaks!!!
Shelby - The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch
Mom of two young men and wife to the infamous Grumpy living between the Adirondack and 1000 Island region in Northern New York. Inspired by her Grandmother, she started her blog as a record of memories and recipes and it gradually brought forth a passion for photography and writing along with a whole new world of internet blogging friends! She satisfys her "need" to bake by feeding the "starving" college students and staff at her place of employment and recently started a venture called HoneyB's Kitchen.
Aggie - Aggie's Kitchen
Aggie is a Florida gal who loves to eat good food...and feel good eating it. She is a stay at home mom to two young energetic children and has a husband who loves food almost as much as she does. Nothing makes her happier than feeding her family and friends.
Jamie - Mom's Cooking Club
Married nearly 18 years to her Greek/Italian husband and mom to "tween" twin daughters. She lives in a coastal, military town in the Panhandle (the arm) of Florida and works part-time for a financial institution. She started her food blog 2 months ago through the encouragement of her sister-in-law, Aggie, who is also part of this group. She enjoys trying and sharing new recipes as well as teaching her daughters the basics and joy of cooking.
For our very first Virtual Supper Club get together we decided on a barbecue with a mixture of cuisines as diverse as our nations. What better way to kickstart our monthly suppers than to beat the heat and put together a delicious meal from the pages of Cooking Light !!! All across Canada and the United States communities will be celebrating this coming week with Canada Day on July 1st as well as Independance Day on July 4th in the United States. From the Atlantic to the Pacific our communities and families will be bursting with national pride and celebrating with outings, picnics, barbecues, fireworks and celebrations of the birth of our individual nations. We wave flags, sing songs and enjoy the day!
Although distance prevents us from gathering as a group in each others homes we have enjoyed getting to know one another and have developed a menu from Cooking Light magazine that is sure to bring smiles to your own table of friends and family during these holidays or anytime of the year. Join us here on this journey on our individual blogs and also on the Cooking Light web site on Friday July 26, 2009 as we celebrate Cooking Light magazine, friendship and the launch of the Virtual Supper Club !! Read the article HERE. We will be getting together once a month with Cooking Light so hold on to your hats!!!! Delicious recipes are coming your way!!!!!
The great thing about eating light is that you can still love your food and not give up any of the flavour... just focus on loving food that’s good for you. People like us who really adore food and flavour have a much better chance of eating well, and healthily, and enjoying every minute of it!!!
Since the ladies and I are celebrating both our Canadian and American ties what better way than to use some of our local ingredients. Living in British Columbia we have a natural resource of farmed salmon as well as wild salmon of different varieties. Eastern Canada of course is the land of maple syrup, so when you combine the two you get an east meets west marriage of two very Canadian flavours. What better way to celebrate!!!! The sweet and sour marinade for this salmon dish is cooked down to a syrupy glaze that's brushed on the fish as it cooks. I was thinking that the citrus and maple flavors would also be tasty with pork. Garnish fillets with orange slices, if desired. Here you will find the recipe for Maple Grilled Salmon on the Cooking Light web site.
The other ladies have been busy cooking up a storm from the pages of the magazine. To see what they have in store for you for our patriotic barbecue take the time to visit. To accompany the Maple Grilled Salmon Jamie teases us with a delicious accompaniment of Charred Corn Relish; Shelby has introduced us to a delightful Curried Chicken Salad with Nectarines, Aggie put together a delectable Spinach Salad with Stone Fruits and Maple Spiced Pecans...and for the "piece de resistance" Helene has whipped up Cool, Creamy Chocolate Dessert. ENJOY!!!!
See you next month with more from our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club!!
