Happy π Day!

Hi Folks:

It’s March 14 once again, the one day of the year where everyone has the right to be at least a little more irrational than usual. For some of us that isn’t easy, but we do our best. 🙂

For the past several years we’ve honoured π Day by offering glimpses of that most alchemical of processes (pastry), although one year we shifted to Michael Smith’s Potato Bacon Cheddar Tart (with a bacon crust) and one year we offered a Cast Iron Shepherd’s Pie. This year we thought we’d shift once again and go with something a little more romantic. As the song goes, “When the moon hits your eye like a big peachzza pie…” WAITAMINUTE. Peachzza? Why not?

Flatbread in varying forms has been around for centuries, and while most tend to be savoury in nature, there’s nothing to suggest one can’t twist flatbread toward dessert as well. When we lived in BC’s Okanagan Valley, peach season was (and still is) a highly-coveted celebration. Woe betide those who failed to show up at the Saturday market much later than the crack of dawn because fresh peaches always sold out early.

NB: if you’re of the overly anxious type and can’t wait for peach season, it is possible to make peachzza with canned peaches. Just make sure to drain them well first. You can drink the drained-off juice separately (we promise not to tell anyone 🤫) Continue Reading →

Happy Pi Day!!

Hi Folks:

Today being 3-14, it’s the best day of the year to celebrate pi (π) and all things irrational. Since there are few things more irrational than a nice tender, flaky crust, what better way to celebrate than with pie!?!?

Blueberry Pie“Blueberry Pie” by leguico is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Both of us have some sensitivity, especially to white flour, and to that end we mostly use a gluten-free flour mix. It works well for making cakes and things, but for bread/pastry … not so much. We’ve tried. We have buckwheat flour for making waffles, but it also fails at making bread or pastry because there’s nothing to bind the dough together.

However, we recently discovered einkorn flour and all is well in our (pastry) world once again. You’ve probably never heard of it, and that’s okay. Einkorn is an ancient grain, with some estimates for cultivation going back 10-12000 years. It was likely the first cultivated plant. Einkorn is a form of wheat, but for those with gluten sensitivities it’s often a much better choice:

“It is a diploid, with 14 chromosomes, compared to 42 in modern wheat. The grain has higher protein than modern wheat and is considered more nutritious. There some evidence that einkorn contains a less toxic form of the gliadin protein, which may reduce the toxicity to consumers with gluten sensitivities.” (https://plantscience.psu.edu/research/projects/grains/heritage-grains/einkorn)

“Einkorn does contain gluten and has a higher percentage of protein than modern red wheats and is considered more nutritious because it also has higher levels of fat, phosphorus, potassium, pyridoxine, and beta-carotene.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einkorn_wheat)

Whether or not it will work for you is something you’ll have to discover for yourself, but we appreciate having it to use!

As far as a good pastry recipe, we refer you to the pastry recipe we posted back in 2012. Egads! Have we really been doing this for 10 years?!?! Talk about irrational!!

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. In honour of Pi Day we’re making Cast Iron Shepherd’s Pie. No crust, but very tasty!!

Happy Pi Day!!

Hi Folks:

It’s Pi Day (3-14)!! Since there are few things more irrational than the alchemical blending of fat and flour, it means it’s time for another recipe. A pie recipe, of course. Today’s recipe comes from the book, The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Chocolate by Christine McFadden and Christine France. The book was a gift to us from Mike’s mom, and we trust the publishers won’t mind us sharing a recipe if we encourage you to buy the book. It really is a perfect gift for the chocolatier in your life. Before we get started we also wanted to mention how important it is to buy Fair Trade Certified chocolate. From the site:

You may not know it based on first glance, but chocolate products go through a lengthy process to earn the Fair Trade Certified™ seal. Producers and businesses we work with adhere to strict labor, environmental, and ethics standards that prohibit slavery and child labor and ensure cocoa growers receive a steady income, regardless of volatile market prices. It’s not an easy process. You can thank them for their commitment, and incentivize even more sustainably-made chocolate, by enjoying fair trade chocolate in its many forms, from chocolate bars, powders, and baking chips to ingredients in energy bars and snacks.

If you live in Victoria, BC, be sure to check out The Chocolate Project at the Hudson Bldg, and also the new Chocolat and Co on Fort Street.

Today’s recipe is for “Chocolate Truffle Tart” because, well, chocolate. ’nuff said.

Continue Reading →

Happy π Day!!

Hi Folks:

Happy Pi Day (3-14)! Today, devotees around the world dedicate themselves to the pursuit of all things irrational, and of course, really good desserts. BTW, if you want to know what the first 1,000,000 digits of π are, you can find that at the link.

As we have in previous years, we’re going to celebrate today with some pi(e). Since Marcia has grain sensitivities we’re going to forego the crust, and since we’ve already profiled Michael Smith’s wonderful Potato Bacon Cheddar Tart, we’re going to choose something equally savoury instead: shepherd’s pie. The recipe we’re using today comes from the folks at America’s Test Kitchen, here: Cast Iron Shepherd’s Pie.

NB: They did provide this recipe free for two days, but that period is now over. You can still view it by signing up for a free trial. That of course is up to you. As for us, it’s been so long since either of us have eaten ground beef we don’t remember the last time, but shepherd’s pie has been a comfort food recipe in both of our families for generations. We thought of using ground turkey instead, but we thought we’d go all out. We’re using organic corn instead of peas and while we usually replace potatoes with yams, we did find some lovely organic potatoes to use here. We’ll see how it goes!

Cast Iron Shepherd's Pie
Cast Iron Shepherd’s Pie

Okay, that’s it for now. Enjoy Pi Day, however you celebrate it! For more of our Pi Day posts (and recipes) click here.

Remember to hug the ones you love today. If you can’t hug a stranger, then at least offer them a smile. 🙂

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. While you’re wandering around the Cook’s Illustrated site, watch out for their Cast Iron Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe!!

Happy Hallowe’en!!

Halloween YodaNever before have we seen a lighted, inflatable Yoda holding a Boo! bucket (at Bridgeman’s West Coast Eatery, in Port Renfrew, BC). Our lives are now complete. 🎃

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. In years past we’ve shared different pumpkin recipes for post-Hallowe’en enjoyment. We sadly don’t have any new recipes to add right now, but you can find our existing pumpkin-related posts here.

Happy Pi Day!!

Hi Folks:

It’s that time of the year (3-14) where we get to celebrate all things irrational, and so as we’ve done for several years now we thought we’d add a recipe or two. Mike’s Auntie Dona – at various stages in her life – ran a bakery, a restaurant, a catering service for several small airlines, and a cooking school. She was also quite a character. Wherever she is now, she likely has flour in her hair. These recipes are hers.

In case pastry has become your bête noire, here’s the one I used in the bakery and still do.

5 cups flour, 1 lb. lard, 1 tsp. salt… blend with pastry blender. Break 1 egg into a cup, beat and fill with water. Add to flour and stir and knead until it’s ready to handle. Seeing as how you’ve got that great lump of pastry there, make a pie or two, some butter tarts, turnovers (apple pie filling, zipped up with cinnamon and a few raisins) or raisin squares or just bake the shells and store them on a shelf. They’ll stay good for ages.

Now about those butter tarts. This recipe I gleaned from an old Mennonite cookbook and have used constantly over the years. Surprise, no butter in butter tarts.

Dona’s stolen recipe for butter tart filling

2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 cup brown sugar, handful of raisins. Beat the hell out of the eggs with your balloon whisk. If you don’t have one, stop right now and go and get one. I mean, really. Then put in the sugar and beat until you have big glutinous bubbles on top. Add your vanilla and raisins, put in tart shells and bake. Do use a 2-lb jam can to cut out your tart shells, 4-lb size for turnovers. Don’t bake butter tarts or anything with an egg base in a high oven. 325° at the most. I find 325 is best for these as a nice crust will form and they look beauteous. Gravy ladle fills the easiest. The amount makes 1 dozen.

So there you go. Have some fun with it! And since you have pastry dough left over, maybe put together a pumpkin or lemon pie or something. Check our Food section for more recipes.

Hugs,
M&M

President Austin: Superhero

Hi Folks:

Things have been a little quiet around here of late while we’ve been organizing Rainbow Mouse and friends, but we came across this article from CBS News this morning and just had to share it with you.

Mild-mannered four-year-old by day, once a week he slips into a convenient phone booth, dons his cape and shares food (chicken sandwiches), hugs and appreciation. “Share Love” is his slogan, and it’s one we would all do well to adopt. The link to the full article is here: 4-year-old superhero using his power to feed the homeless – CBS News or click on the image below to see the video of Austin in action.

President Austin: Superhero

Share Love indeed. From Victoria, we send you hugs!

M&M

Happy Pi Day!!

Hi Folks:

That most special day of the year is upon us once again! While it will be another 97 years before we’ll have a really special Pi Day (3-14-15, 9:26:53), any excuse to eat baked treats is a good one!

Since the idea of combining irrational numbers and desserts is a bit nutty, we thought we’d offer up two slightly nutty recipes for you today. The first comes from the oldest cookbook we have on the shelf (so far): The Good Housekeeping Cookbook (© 1942, edited by Dorothy B. Marsh). Continue Reading →

Eating Our Way Through Kelowna – Masala Fusion

Hi Folks:

Last weekend we left our island hideaway for the Okanagan valley to celebrate Mike’s mother’s birthday. As part of our stay we stopped for dinner at Masala Fusion. It’s a small restaurant on the NE corner of Harvey and Cooper, across the street from Orchard Park Mall and beside A&W (although we recommend the former rather than the latter for food!)

Masala Fusion

Masala Fusion Restaurant, Kelowna, BC

When we walked through the front door we immediately felt welcomed. It was like being wrapped in a favourite warm, fuzzy blanket… 🙂 We took a table for two at the back, but when we delivered our order to our server she pulled over an extra table for us. We expected to have leftovers, but (somehow) we managed to eat everything! It was just that good. We had a bit of deciding to navigate Marcia’s food allergies, but we did just fine.

We started with Chicken Tikka for an appetizer. From the menu: “Chicken breast marinated in ginger and garlic paste, hung yoghurt and spices, then slow roasted in clay oven.” The flavours of chicken and garlic and cilantro and more enveloped the mouth without overpowering. 

For the main course we chose Tandoori Salmon, Vegetable Korma, Garlic Naan and a side of Cucumber Raita. As mentioned, we thought that was probably way too much, and we couldn’t believe we ate the whole thing! When we ordered the main course items our server asked us if we wanted mild, medium or hot. Since Marcia is a little more sensitive to spices, she decided on medium and it worked out perfectly. There was enough spice to provide flavour without being overwhelming. Unfortunately, we didn’t have room for dessert (next time!) Mike had an iced tea, and Marcia had a soda water with a slice of lemon.

If you’re visiting Kelowna this is well worth a visit. We told our server the food was almost worth moving back to Kelowna (but we can do without the 37°C summers!)

Hugs,
M&M

Eating Our Way Through Victoria…

Hi Folks:

It’s been a while since we did a food post, so it must be time for another one! We had two delicious meals out in July and we thought we’d share a bit of information with you…

John's Place

John’s Place

John’s Place

We’ve eaten at John’s Place before, but only for dinner. As we’ve mentioned, breakfast is Marcia’s favourite meal out, so on a sunny Sunday morning we wandered down to Pandora Avenue for some brunch. Now, normally that time of the week would have a line-up down the street for many of Victoria’s fine restaurants, but coincidentally we timed our arrival with the beginning of Victoria’s 2017 Pride Parade. As such the restaurant was still packed, but with most folks out watching the parade we only had to wait a few minutes to be seated.

What we love most about John’s Place is the laid back atmosphere. It’s very much like being in someone’s country kitchen (albeit with a bunch of friendly strangers). John’s place is open, loud, and it is not pretentious. The staff are great and John’s Place prides itself on serving free run eggs, butter (not margarine) and the freshest ingredients they can source. This shows in both the delicious scents and the taste! They serve LavAzza coffee, so Marcia opted for the bottomless cup of drip coffee and Mike had a double Café Americano. For breakfast Marcia had the Free Run Traditional breakfast – eggs over, bacon and fresh fruit on the side. Mike opted for something a little different – the Valdy’s Frittata. It’s a 4-egg, open-faced omelette, served up with chorizo sausage, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, onions and feta cheese. Both were excellent!! Victoria has a number of great breakfast places, and John’s Place is certainly one of them! (Psssttt… their staff give great hugs)

Table 21

Table 21

Table 21

Table 21 is located on the first floor of the DoubleTree Hotel, at the corner of Douglas and Burdett Streets. There is a bar/lounge seating, but they also have a large dining area. Table 21 mostly does tapas (small plates), and for a general recommendation one orders 1-2 plates per person.

We opted for four dishes and that worked out very well for us. First we ordered the Grilled Romaine Salad, which was an entire romaine heart divided in two and served with a house dressing, candied bacon and shaved Grana Padano cheese. For a vegetable dish we ordered the Ponzu Chili Zucchini Noodle, which was a blend of grated zucchini, peppers, chili sauce and garlic. To round it out we had Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus and Crispy Duck Wings. The duck wings were Marcia’s particular favourite – prepared Asian style with cashews, spring onion, cilantro and green papaya slaw. That was certainly ample for us! We passed on dessert, but Mike did finish the meal with an espresso. One thing to note: Show proof that you are a resident of Victoria and get 21% off your bill!

Victoria has so many great restaurants; these are two more to consider for your next meal out. 🙂

Hugs,
M&M