What's in Your Fridge, Janis Jean?

What are the must-have staples in your fridge?

Free run eggs picked up fresh from local farm stands where I live. (I love finding eggs that are in varied colours.) Another favourite is the “Ruckles” variety goat cheese with garlic and herbs made by Salt Spring Cheese Company. Salt Spring Kitchen Company Candied Jalepēnos are also a must. I put this on almost everything—homemade pizza, veggie burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches.

What is your favourite item you love to see in your fridge when you open the door?

Any kind of cheese! I just started a monthly cheese subscription with The Farmer’s Daughter in Sidney so I know it will be my new favourite item to see in my fridge.  

What’s in your crispers?

Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apples. Seedless green grapes, in season berries, carrots, broccoli and leafy greens from Michell's Farm are also always present.

What is your favourite go-to snack in your fridge?

If I always indulged, it would be goat cheese on crackers. Every single day. On days when I need something lighter, I love fresh sliced red pepper and hummus.

What’s in your fridge that is your guilty pleasure?

Sarah’s Staples Apple Pie Jam. I will eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon!

What’s your favourite cold beverage?

Tofino Brewing Company’s Blonde Ale. We love our time in Tofino, and I found this beer on our last vacation there and it tastes just like how I like to remember its namesake.

What’s your favourite food to photograph?

My favourite image creations are often styled to showcase a beautifully plated recipe including some of the fresh or raw ingredients that were used in the final recipe. In the fall edition of Edible Vancouver Island I photographed “Pain Perdu” at the Fox and Monocle in North Saanich, where I added vanilla beans and fresh pears and ground cinnamon into the frame.