Gull - fabric art

Zara has loved working with fabric since childhood. Combining her passion for color and drawing on inspirations from nature, she “paints” her pictures with pieces of carefully chosen fabric bonded together, often incorporating intricate details. Not having been formally trained in the arts, she has given herself complete liberty to interpret and create what she considers beautiful and pleasing. Each completed piece is framed with the majority also matted. Intrigued by the ancient Chinese knot tying techniques, Zara has taught herself to recreate the various knots that the Chinese have worn or adorned their homes with for centuries.

Arbutus II - Fabric Art

Her highly wearable jewelry using “rattail” cord and featuring a variety of individually hand-tied Chinese knots are often accented with various types of beads. Chinese knots are decorative knots that are usually double-layered and symmetrical, and usually have one or more cords entering from the top of the knot and leaving from the bottom. Chinese Knots can range from simple knots, to larger intricate knotted patterns.

Pioneer Spirit - Acrylic on Canvas $8,500.00 CAD

Mark Hobson is based in Tofino BC., on the outer west coast of Vancouver Island where he has painted for over twenty years. A diverse artist in both subject and media, he is equally comfortable in watercolour, oils, and acrylics. Mark is best known for his passionate portrayals of the B.C. coast, from pounding surf to sheltered cove; from rainforests to the underwater realm. The richness of the natural environment and its wildlife comes alive in his work. Professionally trained as a biologist, he taught high school science for nine years before painting as a career. Self-taught as an artist, his paintings are simultaneously accurate and sensitive depictions of the many moods of wilderness and rural landscapes.

Morning Shadows - Oil on Canvas $8,500.00 CAD

Mark’s work has won many awards in the U.S., Canada and Europe. He has participated in shows throughout North America and as far afield as Hong Kong and Singapore. In 2006, Mark was chosen as “Artist of the Year” by Ducks Unlimited Canada. The Royal Canadian Mint has invited him to design four different sets of coins. The National Geographic Society has displayed his work in Washington D.C., Mark was selected as a member of the Society of Animal Artists in 1997, and as B.C.’s Wildlife Artist of the Year in 1996. International Artist and Artist’s Magazine’s annual competitions have awarded his wildlife images high honours. In 2003 and 2005, he won the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s stamp award.

Jansens Dock - Acrylic on Canvas $5,400.00 CAD

A strong advocate for preserving the wilderness he loves to paint, Mark has donated numerous paintings and much of his time to efforts to preserve natural environments.

Mark’s floathouse studio, 9kms north of Tofino is only accessible by boat, surrounded by the natural beauty of Clayoquot Sound

She Glides - Acrylic on Canvas $995.00 CAD

Ken Horn was born in Scotland, studied art in Sweden, and at Croydon Art College in England before coming to Canada in 1975 where he spent a year studying art conservation in Ontario.

If Not - Acrylic on Canvas $995.00 CAD

Initially working in black and white Celtic designs, he has since spent a season or two working in clay but from about 1997 to the present finds him concentrating mainly on the use of acrylics.

Talks With The Sea - Acrylic on Canvas $995.00 CAD

Dear guest, visitors, and friends,

We are about to return with our Friday Night Lounge and this season we would like to offer you a little bit more. In addition to our relaxed Friday Night Lounge nights we will be having a series of concerts featuring local and visiting musicians covering a variety of styles and musical genres. We hope to enrich and colour your fall and winter nights with a little music, romance, good food and wine, and a cozy place to relax after weeks work.

Friday, October 1st,

Gergana Velinova

Our first guest is Gergana Velinova, returning to us with her new CD.  Concert begins at 7:30pm doors open at 6:45 Tickets will be available for sale at Sooke Harbour House and select locations starting September 1st.

The concert will take place in the Garden Room,  in the style of dinner-theater, you will be able to enjoy this performance in a very intimate atmosphere, close to the musicians as if it was in a friends living room. We have created a special  small plates menu ,  and wines by the glass to complete your experience at Sooke Harbour House.
Only  40 tickets are available for this show 32 tickets are available at $15.00 per person and 8 preferred seats in the front row arranged as tables for two are $25.00 per person. Call now to purchase your tickets. 250-642-3421 or email info@sookeharbourhouse

Select Seating Options

General Seating $15.00 Preferred Seating -( two tickets at a table for two front row ) $49.00

Award-winning performer Gergana ( visit Gergana’s website) has enjoyed an international career working in diverse musical genres such as jazz, modern, classical and gospel. During her years as a fixture of New York City’s avant-garde music scene, she formed the group Ensemble Gergana and released her first CD of original music inspired by her  poetry. A highlight of 2010 Season for Gergana is the release of her third album featuring her original compositions entitled “The Thief.”

With a repertoire extending from Mozart and Stravinsky to Berlin, Mingus and Jobim, as well as her own compositions, Gergana has shared the stage with many accomplished artists such as Bob Moses, Neil Swainson, Don Thompson, Misha Piatigorsky, Willard Dyson, Gord Clements, Brian McWhorter, Keith Ganz, Walter Martella and Eric Dozier to name a few.

Gergana is currently on the Jazz Department faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Victoria, Canada and a conductor of the VCM Vocal Jazz Ensemble. She also teaches at the VCM Summer Jazz Workshop and the Viva Voice Academy and gives vocal workshops throughout Canada and the US.

To learn more about the artist visit gerganamusic.com

We don’t serve these mushrooms at Sooke Harbour House because some people tend to have allergies to these mushrooms. Do not eat this mushroom raw, which is a general rule for most mushrooms with a possible exception of Boletus edulis or possibly chanterelles. If you are eating this mushroom for the first time, I would recommend trying a very small quantity to see how you react. I would recommend that you only eat moderate quantities of any mushroom you enjoy.

I do eat them and I like them prepared in many different ways and find that they make an excellent breading surface for meat and fish.  Saute them briefly  or prepare it in a stew or soup before freezing. They also dry quite well. It takes a long time to rehydrate these mushrooms (Michael Kuo, 100 Edible Mushrooms, 2010, University of Michigan Press, Pg 84).

The Chicken of the Woods Mushroom that we find in our area is not Laetiporus sulphureus, it is Laetiporus conifericola or L. gilbertsoni (Joe Ammirati and Steve Trudell, Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, Timber Press Field Guide 2009, pg 260-261). It is quite easy to recognize these large polypores that and can be seen by quite far away due to its bright orange or reddish orange colour.  I am not aware of any poisonous mushrooms that look like the Chiken of the Woods.

Harvest only the healthy young growth on the outside of the mushroom. The younger growth is fleshy and soft. Avoid the older growth which becomes tough and hard and, in the end, begins to crumble. The older flesh can be chalky or almost tofu like. When you find this mushroom, it is usually in very large quantities so I would recommend that you preserve some of it for future use.

I have been finding these mushrooms for three weeks now but we are starting to get a regular supply from commercial sources. We should have these mushrooms until mid December, unless there is a hard frost before.

Chanterelles photographed in front of Sooke Harbour House.

They are delicious sauteed in butter. If they are quite wet, it is a good idea to dry sautee them for a while to evaporate the excess moisture, before sauteeing them in butter. In July and August, they are dry and in perfect condition.

These chanterelles are from one of my favourite, secret spots west of Sooke, not too far from the ocean, in hemlock forests where the trees are from 25 to 50 years old.

We had our first delivery of lobster mushrooms from Michael Scholey yesterday, August 12th.

In our region the lobster mushroom is a Russula brevipes parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum. This reddish orange flask shaped mushroom hardens the russula and makes it one of the best edible and most easily identifiable mushrooms in our region.

This mushroom tends to pick up a lot of dirt and debris so it is important to trim and brush this mushroom in the field and wash them under running water. These mushrooms dry well and intensifies their flavour. It has a quite firm meaty, earthy flavour. It  sautés well in butter or oil and longer cooking makes it more tender.

The Gem Studded Puffball was found today, August 12, 2010, in Sooke.

This mushroom is edible when firm and white on the inside but if they are showing any traces of yellow or green, you should definitely not eat them. This mushroom is usually easy to identify and is considered a prime edible. Be sure to slice the mushroom in half and you should see undifferentiated flesh inside. If you notice the formation of a mushroom inside, discard because it could be an Amanita. It should display cone shaped, or pyramidal spines, a rather like stem-like base

 Gemmed Puffballs are one of the most abundant woodland puffball in our region.

I was surprised to find this mushroom during such a dry period and so early in the season here.

A number of chefs like to saute them in butter but I like adding them to soups and stews, towards the end of their preparation.

phone us to find out : 250 642 3421 or better send us an email ( info@sookeharbourhouse.com) subject line ” girls who dish”   with the dates you would like to stay with us, the number of people ( up to 6 for some of our larger rooms!! yes fun and relaxing; add some spa services…) ……and let the fun begin.

A nice article on food, gardens, cooking……and staying at Sooke Harbour House:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/culinary-tour-of-vancouvers-cowichan-valley/3

For less than $300 pp per night, depending on your requirements, you can experience Sooke Harbour House in all it’s glory. From  spa treatment to a delicious dinner, we are sure you will find this fun adventure an affordable girls getaway. We look forward to welcoming you to the Inn.

Please call or email with your details and one of our knowledgable team members will contact you to finalize your visit. 250-642-3421 or info@sookeharbourhouse.com

view from your room

Link to Travel+Leisure Magazine’s July 2010 article, Culinary Tour of Vancouver’s Cowichan Valley, Duncan to Sooke

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