Lucky, Carrots, and Where did April go?

Lucky carrots: these three weighed in at just over two pounds

Life got really busy for me this month and I can hardly believe it's been almost three weeks since my last post.  I had a tight deadline on a book project I was working on, coupled with a lovely visit from my daughter Darcy and grandson Emmett. Of course, I have been in the kitchen, too, and will be sharing some recipes very soon, including two dishes prepared by Darcy.

For those of you reading this who live in or around Winnipeg, I want to tell you about a grocery store I shopped at recently. It's Lucky Supermarket on Winnipeg Avenue, and if you've already been there you'll know why I am so excited about it. I first became aware of Lucky Supermarket in a column in the Saturday newspaper featuring foods that aren't particularly well-known in these parts. Many times I noticed that Lucky Supermarket was listed as the place to find these foods. A few months ago, another home cooking enthusiast told me about his trip to Lucky and how excited he was to find all the ingredients for a Thai supper he was making for his family.

When I found myself in the West End with twenty minutes to spare before I had to be somewhere else, I decided to check out Lucky Supermarket. Driving past the giant lion statues guarding the parking lot, I knew this wasn't going to be any ordinary food store. And when I encountered the altar with incense and offerings tucked into the corner of the entryway, I felt transported out of the chilly Winnipeg afternoon. On this first time-limited visit, I only had time to discover the produce department and one of the aisles. I have to admit I was dazzled by the variety of Asian vegetables and the fresh herbs, some of which I had never seen in their fresh state. But what really struck me was the display of bulk carrots. I had never seen carrots as large as these before. I had to have some. And I have to tell you they were as delicious as they were gigantic! The one aisle I had time to visit had the largest variety of noodles I had ever seen in one place. I checked out with my carrots and noodles, admired the cheerful children's umbrellas decorating each cashiers' till, and told myself I would return to Lucky Supermarket soon.

A week later I was back with my daughter and grandson and enough time to get a look at the rest of the store. There is a restaurant, a bakery, a meat counter, cookware and, as Emmett excitedly pointed out to us, a shelf lined up with large, colourful ceramic prosperity cats. On that trip I bought a few more items including fresh green beans and beets, both red and golden, as well as a confection called Sticky's (a super sweet rolled wafer with pink stripes) and some candy-coloured tapioca pearls (still working on a recipe for those). As Lucky is associated with Family Foods, you can pick up your more standard grocery items there, too.

I checked out their website at luckysupermarket.ca and found they have two locations in Edmonton and one in Calgary as well. I'll be shopping Lucky again soon as there are many items I want to try like the purple yam cakes and the roasted duck. Maybe I will see you there.