THE ROMANCE OF LADNER, British Columbia

How can you not love a village where fishing boats dock at the end of the street.

It was a gorgeous October day.  One of those days you want to grab and hold on to.  A day to just walk, no destination in mind.

To simply wander.  Scuffing your feet in the autumn leaves.  Smelling the breeze scented with smells of the river and the ocean.

To stroll into the used-bookstore and poke among the shelves.  Perhaps find a Louis Penny novel to add to your collection.  Or some old books  one could use to create a new altered book.

To my delight and astonishment I saw high on a shelf  two books with post-notes  marked  FREE. Two books with damaged spines and  fragile pages brown with age.   Carefully, delicately I turned the pages on these worn and battered books.    What  treasure I held in my hands.

The works of Alfred Lord Tennyson, poet laureate.  Published in London and New York by Macmillan and Co. in 1892,  Eight hundred and three pages of the works of Tennyson.

The second book was even more worn.  It had been well-loved and well used.

It was volume one of the complete works of Robert Burns.

Holding my breath I started turning the pages.     The book had been published in l886 by   Gebbie & Co., Publishers, Philadelphia.

Memory filled pages of songs and poems.

Copies of his letters and scribblings.

Maps of the countryside.

You just never know what romance you’ll find in a Ladner book store.

“And you didn’t have to go to Florence to find it”,  whispered a fellow lover of old books.

THAI RED BEEF CURRY … a recipe you should have in your apron pocket

The first time I made this recipe it was so spectacularly delicious the entire dish was consumed by two people.  The Good Husband was even looking for more.  This recipe should absolutely be in your apron pocket.   You could simple stop at the curry paste and coconut milk, but the  grated lemon peel, ginger, fish sauce and brown sugar or honey gives the dish more layers of flavour.    It’s so easy why wouldn’t you go for the gusto.

Use this recipe as a blueprint for any Thai red curry  and experiment with different ingredients in place of the beef.  Boneless chicken or shrimp work well.  Do a mixture of  vegetables such as baby corn, eggplant,  green beans,  sweet potato and broccoli.

Buy the best quality brand of curry paste available, some are better than others.  If you find a good one, this will taste remarkably authentic.  Also buy the best  quality  coconut milk.  I like the organic brands.

 

THAI RED BEEF CURRY  serves 4   recipe at  Mrs Butterfingers

FRESH PLUM TART

Our friend and neighbor, Angela, had shared a gorgeous basket of fresh plums.  They came  from her Dad’s garden.   We gorged on these little beauties, standing at the kitchen sink with plum juices running down our arms. I  decided to make the last of the plums into one of  my favorite dessert,  fresh PLUM TART.  When plums were in season I made this dessert Saturday nights at our little French restaurant, Roxy’s Bistro.  I was always hoping to have left over pie for my Sunday breakfast.

FRESH PLUM TART RECIPE at Mrs. Butterfingers.com

 

HOW TO CREATE A PARIS CHANDELIER

 

 

Living in the country is nothing short of wonderful.  But there are occasional inconveniences.  For over a week we were without internet.    I spent my time on a couple of do-it-yourself projects.

 

 

I had found this chandelier in our local Ladner Thrift Shop.  Although it sported lovely ivory shades, it was very dated.  But I knew what I could do with it.    Giving it a new finish took in total about an hour of so.  Then adorn it with  shades for a very French frou-frou look.  It will hang over the kitchen table.  Perhaps I’ll add some crystals.  We will see.

 

 

Cover any party of the lamp you don’t want to paint with masking tape.  Make yourself a spray booth with a large cardboard box.  This contains over-spray.   Work outside on a calm day, or in a garage with the doors open.  WEAR A MASK.  Absolutely.   Spray with several light coats of light gray primer to eliminate drips.    Wait a few minutes between spraying to allow the spray paint to dry slightly.  The paint will be fragile – dry to the touch but not set, so handle carefully.  Set somewhere to dry overnight, or for several hours.

 

 

Mix ordinary white flat wall paint about half and half with water.  Have several old pieces of t-shirt on hand.   Using a small brush paint one section of the lamp at a time, wait a couple of minutes, then start carefully wiping the paint away.  Allow it to collect in grooves and crevices.  Don’t wipe too hard or you could lift the primer paint.  If this happens don’t worry.  A tiny bit of something else showing on your light fixture just makes it look older.   Allow this to dry for a couple of hours.  Now remove your masking tape.

 

 

You can have a lot of fun with Paris Chandelier.

Drape it with swags of pearls.

Hang it with beautiful Christmas decorations.

Adorn it with crystal pendents.

Or leave elegantly plain

The Coco Chanel look.

EYES UPTURNED TO HEAVEN

 

 

 

“One is not idle because one is absorbed.  There is both visible and invisible labor.

 

 

To contemplate is to toil, to think is to do. 

The crossed arms work, the clasped hands act.

 

 

 

 

 

The eyes upturned to Heaven are an act of creation.”

 

Victor Hugo

 

 

The last of the garden flowers, cut and arranged early this Saturday Morning, October 29th, 2011

HOW TO POACH AN EGG …. perfectly!!

 

Brown eggs

in a blue bowl.

 

In cooking, as it is in life, even the simplest things require a certain technique.

When poaching eggs, pan size counts.  A seven-or-eight-inch frying pan, filled halfway with simmering water, cooks two to four fresh eggs perfectly, without allowing the eggs to drift and lose their shape.

Early this morning I walked down to the Home Farm.  The  Rhode Island Reds, those little darlings,   had laid their treasures.

No Fabergé egg of gold  could possible match the pleasure  of eating a perfectly freshly, perfectly poached egg.

Deep, golden yolks

surrounded by a border of white.

A sprinkle of fine sea salt.

A grind of black pepper.

The perfect breakfast.

FLAT BEANS WITH PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO … a Jack in the beanstalk recipe

If you see flat beans at your Farmer’s Market snap them up.  They are delicious.   If you have a garden or a balcony with lots of sun grow them.  They grow almost as fast as Jack’s fabled beans.

I grew my close to the kitchen, in two five-gallon nursery pots.  This step-ladder, past its prime, became my beanstalk  support.

Pick your flat beans and cook them right away for the  simplest and down-right most decadent way to eat beans.

flat beans with parmigiano- reggiano  SERVES 6

1 1/2 pounds fresh romano or flat beans, trimmed

1 tbs kosher salt

1 1/2 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp sea salt or fleur de sel

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4-5 ounces shaved parmigiano- reggiano  (I shave the cheese with a vegetable peeler.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of kosher salt and the flat beans, and cook for 3 minutes, or until the beans are just tender.  Drain immediately and place the beans on a platter.  Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the sea salt and pepper.  Toss with the cheese and serve hot or warm

SPICY PUMPKIN PIE …. so good you’ll want to make it year ’round!

 

Our family spent Thanksgiving with my brother and his amazing wife.    My contribution to the feast was sweet potato mousse and pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin pie is the favorite dessert of our two nephews so I really wanted to pull out all the stops.

This is the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever made.   AND THE EASIEST!!  Sweetened condensed milk  creates a delicate yet rich,  creamy texture.    An intriguing combination of spices is perfectly matched to the pumpkin flavour.    The filling is easy peasy to make.  You can use a gingersnap crust or your favorite pie crust.  The secret to the perfect pumpkin pie (which is a custard) is to ALWAYS blind-bake your pastry.  You’ll eliminate soggy crusts.

For a nine-inch pie

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin ( not pumpkin pie filling)

1 (14 oz ) can sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp freshly grated ground nutmeg (If you have never used whole nutmeg now is the time.  You’ll never go back to the pale, imitation powdered nutmeg)

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp sea salt

reheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl whisk your eggs, now whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, the pumpkin , spices and salt until smooth.  Pour into your baked crust.    Bake for 40 minutes or so until a knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean.  Cool.  Garnish as desired.  I like to pipe whipped cream onto the pie filling.  A generous scoop of vanilla ice cream would be deliciously gilding the lily.

A GET WELL SURPRISE …. macarons from Thierry

I was feeling a little under-the-weather.   The flu bug indeed had taken a bite out of me.     Pillows plumped,  sheets smoothed,  a feather duvet to keep me cosy, and a stack of Food and Wine magazines.   Recuperation was just around the corner.  Helped by this elegant bag of treats.  Macarons from a local patisserie, THIERRY CHOCOLATERIE of Vancouver.

My friend Dellis,  knowing how much I loved the macarons from LADUREE in Paris,  delivered this delicious get well gift.

 

Coffee, lemon, pistachio, chocolate, gianduja, I nibble my way back to good health.    The THEIRRY  cafe experience awaits me.   I’ll get well soon.

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT THANKSGIVING DINNER ….. a recipe for love

No recipes on this post this Sunday morning.   I’m in the kitchen making pumpkin pies and our son’s favorite side dish for food holidays – sweet potato mousse. (recipe is on my blog)

The best advice I can give you is to cook from the heart.    Cook the dishes that create tradition and good memories.  Cook old-fashioned food.  Dishes your Mom and Grandmother made.   These old favorites stand the test of time because they are real.

Don’t cook to impress.  Cook from love and the joy of sharing food with family and friends.

Leave the elaborate recipes, the trendy dishes,  the  horseradish foam, where they belong.  In the trendy,  soul less restaurants.  There is really no place for them in your kitchen of love.