Ann_T

Thanks everyone. I've never done anything like this before and I'm a little nervous. And to have to follow Bryan's amazing blog on top of that. Fabulous FoodBabe, your son might not want to come home. He will probably fall in love with the Island. We moved our son out here back in 1998 when he was 15 and he says he is never leaving. Daniel, the espresso machine is a Saeco Incanto Sirius, one of the super automatics. We are really happy with its performance. It is all we drink now. Klary, I hope you find time to visit the Island. Especially if you haven't been here before. It re

Bryan, I've really have enjoyed your blog. You only turn twenty once so I'm happy to see that you and your family celebrated it in style. Ann

Good Morning from beautiful, sunny Vancouver Island. My name is Ann and I live with my husband Moe in Duncan, British Columbia right in the heart of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. We have a son, Matt, who is 24 and lives just an hour south of us in Victoria. My blog theme is planned around all the wonderful foods that are available here on the island, mostly in the Cowichan Valley and the Victoria/Sidney area. I have a friend visiting from Toronto this week and Sandra and I plan to drive all over the southern part of Vancouver Island visiting farms, markets and wineries.

Happy Birthday Bryan. Looks like you started the day off well with a wonderful breakfast. Looking forward to seeing what is on the menu for the rest of your Day. Ann

Bryan, I'm really enjoying your Blog. Your meals and your photos are wonderful. I really love seeing the Wegman's photos. Brought back memories of when I lived in Western New York 5 years ago. Wegman's was my favourite grocery store. Ann

Wow Bryan, you have so much planned for the week. I know I'm really going to enjoy your Blog. Ann

Nice looking french bread Daniel. I very seldom use leftovers for anything but I had some of the salmon leftover from last nights dinner so I made Moe some Salmon cakes for lunch.

Oh I miss the meats from Oyama, especially all their wonderful sausages. I baked French bread this morning and then used one of the mini loaves to make Moe a Grilled Steak sandwich using a small beef tenderloin steak and topped it with fried onions. And I had a cold roast turkey sandwich using the rest of the small turkey breast from last night's dinner. I know it looks plain , but it was so good with just butter, salt and pepper and wonderful crusty bread.

Lori, I have so enjoyed reading your blog. I love the pictures and the tradition of your kids spitting cherry pits. And there is nothing ugly about your bread pudding. Bread and Butter Pudding is one of my all time favourite desserts. I've made it with a chocolate bread before but have never added chocolate chips. Great idea. You live in a beautiful part of your country. . Love the photos of your shopping trips and the Cooking lessons. Looks like you and your husband celebrated your anniversary in style. I would have been happy with what you both had. Everything looks so good.

Beautiful sonces, Megan! I think you did Ann proud! Lori ← I'll say. Perfect Scones Megan. My favourite breakfast food. Ann

Those look super good, Lori. Is the recipe in RecipeGullet? I didn't see it when I did a quick search, but I simply must have it! ← Megan I posted the recipe for you on Recipe Gullet. Susan that is one beautiful waffle. Ann

Scones This is my favourite Scone recipe. Great with raspberries, blueberries, fresh currants, etc... Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Scones ================ 2 1/4 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 6 Tbsp. cold butter 1 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries/blueberries, etc.. extra cream and sugar Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into mixture with pastry blender until it resembles a course meal. Add cream to dry ingredients. Mix lightly with fork and just be

LOL! I had to look too. We are having "baby" goat for dinner tonight too. When I ordered my kid from a local farm I got everything but the head. Looking forward to your next post. Ann

Decadent Brownies These are my all time favourite brownies. If you like a fudge style brownie then you will love these. I've played around with this recipe for a number of years. I call it Decadent because of the 20 ounces of chocolate in the batter. Rather than melt butter with the chocolate and then add the sugar. I melted the butter and the sugar together and then added all the chocolate. I also used a combination of brown and white sugar and I think the flavour is even richer. I edited the recipe to show the change. And I topped some of them with a glaze. But decided that they are decadent

Here is the dinner I made on Tuesday night based on what was in the pantry. I'm trying to decide whether to take some Bolognese sauce I have in the freezer out for dinner tonigh or if I feel like going out and picking up something for the grill. Ann

OOh perfect timing. I've just started to read the food blogs and I' m really looking forward to reading yours Tupac. I really enjoy your posts to the Dinner thread. Ann

No secrets Susan, I add a little vinegar to the water and I always crack the egg into a little bowl and then slide it into the water. Giving the water a little swirl also helps to keep the egg compact. Plus I think that really fresh eggs work best for poached eggs. Ann

Spinach and Crab, Foie Gras, now that is my idea of breakfast. Thankfully though, Moe is happy with simple poached eggs on toasted homemade french bread. The Eggs are farm fresh free range eggs. With wonderful dark yellow yolks. Ann

I slow roasted one last week. . Skin was wonderfully crisp and the meat was melt in the mouth tender. Served it with an orange sauce. I cut the wings off prior to roasting and they were browned and used to make stock. I have a jar of duck fat in the fridge that I have been using to roast potatoes.

My family loves Yorkshire Puddings. If I'm making 12 I use muffin tins and if I only want six I use a popover/yorkshire pudding pan. The recipe I use calls for 1 cup of flour , one cup of milk and 3 large eggs. Salt and Pepper. I add about 2 teaspoons of fat to each cup and heat in a 450°F oven until very hot. Fill each cup no more than 1/2 full.

I keep going back to look at Percy's Walnut and Cream Cheese Bread. Yum! That and all the Sweet pastry type breakfasts are my favourites. Made an oyster mushroom and chive omelette for Moe this morning. He would eat eggs every today if he could.

I find I get a better approximation if I make the fresh bread crumbs without drying out the bread first - it's a bit lighter that way. ← I agree Mottmott, I tried Panko a few times because it was so highly recommended. But I preferred homemade fresh bread crumbs. I like both the flavour and the texture much better. Ann

Abra, I have to find that recipe. Yours looks wonderful. Makes me wish I was having it for dinner tonight. Linda, I make mine almost exactly the way you do. The only thing different is I add a little cumin and oregano to the chicken broth. The first time we had carnitas was about 25 years ago in a little off-the-tourist-track Mexican restaurant in San Juan, PR. of all places. Came home and duplicated it.

I made this recipe recently and although the Chimichurri Saucewas good, my husband and I both decided that it was something I wouldn't make again.. It really overpowered the tenderloin. Ann

If you have a few left, I would suggest Parisienne potatoes. I make them quite often to serve with steaks, or other grilled meats. Just use a melon baller to carve the russett potato. Ann