Marg Simons - a Founding Member

talking about our early history

Find Yourself, Serve Others, Drink Coffee

The flavours of Salt Spring are rich and varied and go well with a good cup of coffee.  And you can find both at the Saturday market.  One of the best ways to enjoy these pleasures is to stand behind the Ometepe Coffee table as a volunteer at the Saturday market.  As Mahatma Gandhi said: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

And there is much to get lost in at the market.  It is a great place to people watch, see friends and neighbours and chat with strangers. Today on my first shift behind the market table I chatted with a young girl about her pink fairy doll named Lila while her Grandma and mom got coffee.  A couple from California who had visited Ometepe Island stopped by to chat and a young woman said that our coffee was the highlight of the Saturday market for her each week.  Market vendors are always popping by for their cup of coffee.  Today the Raging Grannies came and sang a song beside the table. The Taoist Tai Chi group did a demo on the grass nearby and a palm reader set up on the grass not far away. And there is always a moment to chat with your fellow volunteers.

Baskets overflowing with peppers, ripe melons and onion bread called from a nearby stall and Brigitte and Bruno's artfully displayed French pastries were in clear view.  And there is always a moment or two to nip out and buy your favourite market bread and cheese.

As anyone who has volunteered anywhere knows, you seem to get more than you give. You get to feel good about offering your service. The act of doing your work is a pleasure and the memories of your contribution linger warmly in memory.  The Salt Spring Ometepe group welcomes new volunteer members.  The work is straightforward and not difficult.  And there is always an opportunity to make and nurture new friendships and spend some quality social time volunteering at the market, the film festival and the fall fair.  There are monthly meetings where you can learn more about the organization and their work (and have coffee of course!)
and a Christmas potluck to get to know members and share a delicious meal.

Do You Do Decaf?

Do you drink decaf coffee? We all have different reasons for making this choice. Perhaps you drink it in the evening if you have coffee then?  Or perhaps caffeine makes you feel jumpy and agitated and you never drink caffeinated beverages.  Perhaps you always drink half decaf mixed with caffeinated coffee all the time?

If you do choose decaf, it's nice to know that the caffeine has been removed from your coffee by a natural process.  Ometepe's decaf beans are prepared in just such a way, using the "Swiss-water decaffeination process".  If a coffee doesn't say they have used this method, the caffeine is most likely removed by the use of chemical solvents such as methylene chloride or ethyl acetate.  That doesn't sound very tasty, does it?

Check out this link to learn about the safe and natural process of Swiss Water decaffeination which removes 99.9% of the caffeine while maintaining the flavour: http://www.swisswater.ca/consumer/swiss-water-process.

So whether you choose decaf or not, for yourself or your guests, when you buy Ometepe beans you are buying shade grown organic beans that promote sustainability and support farmers and their families on Ometepe Island.  Profits from the sale of these beans support other projects in Nicaragua.

Find Omeptepe beans at the Salt Spring Saturday market, Rendezvous Patisserie, The Mercantile, Nature Works or Global Village in Victoria.  Coffee by the cup is available at Kizmit, Rendezvous and the Saturday market.  And what nicer way to enjoy your coffee than out on your sunny deck this weekend?  Sip your coffee and savour the sunshine.  Happy weekend.

Rendezvous With A Delicious Secret Of Salt Spring

Salt Spring Island has a delicious secret tucked in a little cluster of shops off Upper Ganges Rd, just across from Harbour House Hotel.  And who doesn't love a secret, especially when it involves something delicious and authentic with a little old world charm?  When you step inside The Rendezvous French Patisserie, you will most likely feel like you have been teleported off to a small town in France.  The pastry cases are filled with delicious morsels like tart au citron and macaroons. Flaky croissants, canelle and lovely pastries with goat cheese and raisins are artfully displayed atop the counter. There is no shortage of goodies to tempt you.

You will be greeted by the friendly owners, Brigitte and Bruno who came from Bordeaux, France nine years ago. Brigitte began by selling her canelle and macarons at the Saturday market.  Now they are a mainstay of the food aisle at the Saturday market with burgeoning table goodies that are sought after by locals and visitors too. Five years ago they opened their little patisserie to make their baking available year round to an adoring audience.

And what do you need to go with these delicious treats?  Why coffee of course. Brigitte and Bruno offer Ometepe Coffee  by the cup in the Patisserie or for take out.  Beans are also available by the pound and half pound to take home.  There is a secret Rendezvous blend that you must try.  They have created it in response to their customers comments.

There are several lovely little tables where you can sit down and enjoy your morning coffee and croissant or your afternoon canelle and coffee. Rumour has it that Bruno and Aki (of Roly Poly Rice ball fame) sometimes play guitar on Wednesday morning from 10-12.

At any rate you must pop by #4 -126 Upper Ganges Rd between 9:00 - 4:30 Monday - Friday, to try one of Salt Spring's special treasures. It's a great place to take friends visiting the island. They will be surprised to discover a French patisserie of such amazing standards of excellence tucked away on this little island.

Feuillete with goat cheese and raisins

In case Brigitte is not busy enough whipping up all these incredible goodies she also runs the "I Love Salt Spring Island" facebook site to promote local culture and businesses.  You can also keep up with Rendezvous news on their own facebook site.

Amazing Espresso Drinks At Kizmit Galleria And Cafe

If you are on your way to Ruckle Park for a walk (or even if you're not) you must stop in at Kizmit Galleria & Cafe for (dare I say) one of the best espresso drinks on Salt Spring.  And of course Carola is using Ometepe dark roast to make these amazing drinks!  The first time we had an Americano here we had to ask what coffee she was using.  We were delighted to learn that it was Ometepe. She certainly knows her way around an espresso machine!

The atmosphere at Kizmit is charming and eclectic as if you've stepped into a friend's funky living room complete with couch and art on the wall and good company.  There are gluten free brownies from Laughing Daughter's Bakery and Kizmit's own goodies and soup too.

 There are cards, pottery and art from local artists to entice you.  If the weather is fine you can sit outside in the garden. It is a destination spot for islanders showing visitors the flavour of Salt Spring.  Visitors always feel they have experienced the secret Salt Spring when visiting Kizmit.

It's definitely on the tour route if you want to stop at Salt Spring Cheese, and visit the wonderful bakery at Salt Spring Bread on Forest Ridge Rd.

Kizmit's hours are Thursday - Sunday 11- 5pm and whenever else that the sign magically appears on the road.    Find Kizmit at 1431 Beaver Pt Rd.

Easiest Chocolate Cake Ever

This is the easiest chocolate cake recipe. The only way it would be easier is if someone made it for you. Honestly, you don't even need a bowl.  You mix it right in the pan.  And what makes it so good is the secret ingredient: COFFEE.

So of course, you will want to hurry yourself down to the first market of the year this Saturday to see all the people you've missed all winter and pick up a little bag of Ometepe coffee.

And if you don't know about Ometepe Coffee you can find out all about our work from the friendly volunteers at the market table. We support coffee farmers on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua by buying their coffee at fair trade or better and then with the profits we fund other ongoing projects like Onil stoves, programs for streets kids and health care.  This is delicious coffee with a feel good flavour.  And if you feel really inspired you might just want to join the volunteer crew. Note to coffee enthusiasts: volunteers can purchase their coffee at the wholesale price!

Happy Easter long weekend everyone!

 Easiest Chocolate Cake Ever  (with thanks to The Moosewood Cookbook)

1 1/2 c unbleached white flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c  brewed coffee cooled 
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp vinegar

Glaze (optional)
1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate
3/4 c hot water or milk or half and half
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375.  Sift together dry ingredients into ungreased 8 in square or 9 in round baking pan.  In a 2 c measuring cup measure and mix together oil, water or coffee and vanilla.  Pour liquid ingredients into baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or small whisk.  When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly.  There will be pale swirls in the batter where the baking soda and vinegar are reacting.  Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Set aside to cool and make the glaze and reset the oven to 300.

For the glaze melt the chocolate in a small ovenproof bowl or skillet in the oven for about 15 minutes.  Stir the hot liquid and vanilla into the chocolate until smooth.  Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake.  Refrigerate the glazed cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Roasting Coffee

Our coffee, sold under the label Ometepe Coffee is stored and roasted to our specifications at the Serious Coffee roasting facility in Duncan, BC.  We like to be certain it is always fresh so our roasts are done between two and three weeks apart and are about 400 pounds (180 kg) at a time.  One of our volunteers transports the roasted beans to Salt Spring Island where they are packaged by hand.  In order to keep our costs to a minimum, we also print and apply our own labels.

Here is a short video of roasting being done at a facility in Nelson, BC