Klahanie Faces: Vicki Weber of “Whole Sugars”
Klahanie is a diverse neighbourhood and to showcase this we want to feature residents who have an interesting hobby or profession. If you would like to be featured on our Klahanie Faces web page send an email to info@klahaniecommunity.com.
Vicki Weber is a Klahanie resident and has recently launched a website called Whole Sugars.
How would you describe our community?
I would describe it as a nice mixture of young, old, families and singles (and dogs, lots of dogs!) in one micro community. I really like Port Moody and our little nook here in Klahanie. I think we have the perfect mix of city and nature which isnt very easy to acheive. And being a dog lover its hard to go wrong living here and owning dogs myself.
What are your favourite activities to do on a day off?
I usually hang out with my husband and do some baking, and if not we’re usually eating, whixh seems to be a large part of what I do in my free time haha…I like shopping (much to my husbands dismay) and mountain biking.
What improvements would you like to see in Port Moody?
I really think that Port Moody has a lot going for it already! I mean truly we have a nice large pool and playground for the kids in the summer months and a great park so close that everyone can enjoy all year round! I am a fan of outdoor events and festivals as well as farmers markets so I think having more events like that would create a good sense of community and bring people outside.
What do you do in life?
I am a Digital Compositor for film and television by profession. Which basically means I make the un real – real by use of the computer. Its quite a big business these days, especially in Vancouver. I am originally from Toronto and moved out here because of the amount of film work that was happening on this side of Canada. I do things like, working with blue/green screens, in order change the background behind the actors, paint out wires and rigs in situations where an actor is flying through the air or doing some kind of stunt, we do color enhancements or changes which allow us to change the time of days or enhance colors and other times we use 3D or computer graphics to add things into a shot that werent initially there, whether it be a creature or even a set of buildings. Depending on the movie or tv show, there can sometimes be hundreds of artists, each with different expertise, coming together to get a specific shot to work. Its a very interesting field to be involved in and its nice to be surrounded by so many talented people!
You have just launched your on-line business. How did “Whole Sugars” evolve?
The idea for my “Whole Sugars” business came partially from an interest in getting quality products to use for baking – at a better price and more conveniently. I was having to go across town to get something as little as vanilla, assuming I was able to find what I was looking for at all! I’d like to start a family and unfortunately my day job sometimes requires an extensive amount of overtime. So it is a bridge for me to be able to do something I enjoy without sacrificing family. Aside from that, I also wanted to start “Whole Sugars” because I have a sensitivity to refined sugars – which is a problem when I love sweets so much! Finding alternatives was problematic. I know there are others out there like me, so I saw the potential and created a business to make it easy for bakers to get quality products at a reasonable cost.
Do you have favourite cookbooks you can recommend for beginner bakers?
I have a couple of books and a website that I use frequently – but I think with baking and cooking, it’s mostly a matter of practice. Unless of course you take a class. But in terms of books, I would recommend a book called Taste of Home, Cookies 101. Its written by Readers Digest and has really great recipes for cookies, tarts and other little treats that were submitted by bakers from across North America. I use it often when I am trying to find something a little different to bake. I also have a book called Professional Baking by Wayne Gisslen. Its definitely more intensive as it is a course book but I have learned many many things from this book as an everyday baker. I also think everyone should have the The Food Substitutions Bible by David Joachim. This book is great if you ever run out of a specific ingredient or if you are allergic to certain ingredients. This book will provide tons of ideas on alternatives. Aside from that I tend to go to www.allrecipes.com to search for specific recipes. Its great because everything is user submitted and rated. So you can pick and choose which recipe to use!
Have you taught baking classes for people who want to incorporate whole sugars and natural products into their home baking?
No I have never taught classes. I think a lot of people are becoming more informed about everything through the internet. I think its really very simple to incorporate different, better ingredients into your day to day baking, but for many I think the stumbling block could be the difference in taste their baked goods might take on. Refined sugar has the ability to sweeten without producing any sort of specific ‘taste’. Whereas something like honey or cane sugar has a definite distinct taste to it. Some people are happy with that, others aren’t. Just depends on how much you want to ‘make the change’!
What are your baking traditions for the holidays??
Well usually I grab my ‘tastes of home’ cookbook and take 6 or 7 recipes from it and bake a big batch of treats which I then give to my friends and family in little cookie tins. That has been my little tradition for the last 2 years and I hope to do it again this year. I figure you cant go wrong with baked goods!
Where can we find out more information about your on-line business Whole Sugars??
Healthy Options for Less!
www.wholesugars.ca
1.877.9SUGARS
sales@wholesugars.ca
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