Ann_T

Ever tried carrots with honey or brown sugar? I'm not saying that will turn you into a carrot convert, but they take well to the sweet stuff. ← No chance I'll ever like cooked carrots. I often roast and glaze them in brown sugar or honey or maple syrup for Moe. But it is actually the sweetness of the carrots that i don't like. I can eat them raw. But they wouldn't be my first choice for a snack. H. du Bois, I cook summer squash/zucchini the same way. Just cut the squash into 1 1/2 to 2 inch logs and then cut the logs in half horizontally. Then I just use a knife to carve a little off the edges, rounding them. I steamed the squash until it was almost tender and then tossed them with some butter/olive oil and a little garlic. Hi Tony, the James Bay Market didn't have many produce vendors when I was there last week, just mostly crafts people. But the Moss Street market has a number of produce vendors, all organic I believe. Lots of crafts people there too. It opens at 10:00 and people line up in front of their favourite vendors waiting for the bell to go off. You should check out the Duncan Farmers Market. It is one of the better ones. I decided for "picture" sake to take the Mill Bay Ferry over to Brentwood rather than drive down through the Malahat. We almost made it too. This is a small ferry that only holds 18 cars. Apparently we were number 19. We would have had to wait for over an hour for the next ferry so we ended up driving after all. So no pictures from the ferry. First stop was at the Church and State Winery. We tasted 4 of their wines and bought a couple of bottles of their Chardonnay. Wasn't terribly impressed with the others. This is a picture of their vineyard. Next we stopped at Marley Farm Winery. Fun place. Wasn't able to taste everything but I bought some of their dessert wines. Forgot to take a picture. We stopped at The Bakery for lunch. Almost forgot to take pictures. Sandra had the Meatloaf Sandwich and I had a Egg Salad Sandwich and a cup of their mushroom soup. Everything was homemade, fresh and very good. Next we drove into Sidney and wandered around the harbour for a bit. Beautiful view of Washington's Mt. Baker today. We decided not to hang around until the evening market opened and instead stopped at one of the roadside stands and picked up some fresh corn. The first of the season . And it wasn't even island corn. It was from the mainland. Chilliwack. I should apologize in advance for dinner. We didn't get home until close to 5:30 and all we ended up having was corn on the cob and I also made a corn and potato chowder. Driving home I pulled off at one of the lookout points in the Malahat and took a couple of pictures. You can see Mt. Baker in the background again. I did make dessert though. I had a loaf of chocolate bread in the freezer that I made a while ago and I used it to make a chocolate bread and butter pudding and served it with a custard sauce.

Thanks Abra. We spent the day over on the Saanich Peninsula. Just got home and still need to download pictures off the camera and make dinner. But I thought I would share a picture of the bagels I baked early this morning.

Tracey, Klary, Gifted Gourmet answered the question on Peameal Bacon. It gets the name Peameal because the loin is rolled in cornmeal. As much as I like Canadian back bacon, it is the peameal bacon that I really really like. I think I will talk to the butcher here and find out if it is something he would consider making. I remember when we lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had a wonderful butcher there and he started to sell Peameal bacon after I told him how much I missed it. I can buy chicken breasts just about anyway I want them. Skinless and boneless, Bone in Skinless, boneless with skin. This is just a spectacular thread to wake up to!! All the dining out and the cooking---my, my. Lucky Sandra---that's MY KIND of visit. That lovely bacon, all sandwiched between the juicy tomatoes and that crispy, crusty bread---Heaven. And the shiny, perfectly cut vegetables, cooked to a turn. Miss Martha would be SO envious!! That chicken is a marvel, with its hidden secrets revealed by the slice of a knife, and the juices that you soak up every drop. And the Hand-pie!!! That's just perfect, with its golden wispy crust and the berries bursting out. And is that Angelica I see? Or a candied violet? Haven't used either in a long time, but I've always thought they gave the MOST elegant touch of anything on a dessert. ← Racheld, I love your posts. H du Bois, You are right that not all Wegmans are created equal. But most of them were still a step-up from the Tops and Quality that were the two major grocery stores in the Dunkirk area. I lived right on Lake Erie, and it was about the same distance to Erie, PA as it was into Buffalo. So I would just as often to go the Wegmans in Erie. It was one of the better Wegmans. The one in Jamestown was pretty good too. MarketStEl, some soups are quick and easy to make. That mushroom soup would be one of them. Cream of cauliflower, cream of broccoli or asparagus are also soups that can be made in 30 to 45 minutes. The escargot are a little more time consuming, but you can do some of the work ahead of time. Make the toasted bread cups the night before. Just use regular white "cotton batten" bread. Cut off the crust and flatten the bread with a rolling pin. Cut out rounds using a biscuit cutter and fit each one into a buttered mini muffin/tart tin. Brush with melted butter and bake in a 350 oven until toasted. You could start the sauce in the morning. Prepare it right up to the stage just before you add the cream. Then when you get home from work all you have to do is add the cream and the escargot and the cheese or butter depending on what you are using. That chicken dish can be made ahead to. These are great for a dinner party because they can be made much earlier in the day. You can stuff them and then refrigerate them until you are ready to cook them. Megan, yes is is a candied violet. I could never be a vegetarian, but I do love my vegetables. Almost all of them, except for carrots and parsnips. After I took the picture I gave my carrot to Moe.

Thanks Saskanuck. Is this the name that you used on the Gardenweb? Thanks H. du Bois. Coquus, I've been to the one near the Galleria and another one near the McKinley Mall. I think it was this one that was actually the closest too me in Dunkirk. I liked going to the one off of Sheridian because then I could stop for lunch at the Taste of India in the Northtown Mall and then visit the Premier Wine store before heading home. I often took the scenic route along highway 5. Oh Marlene, it is so nice to hear that you are recreating something that I've made. Daniel, I was so glad that I chose the Short Rib sandwich. It was even better than I expected it to be. OOH and it was messy too. We stayed close to home today. Lunch was a favourite of mine and something that I can't get out here. When Sandra came out from Toronto she brought me a big piece of Peameal Bacon. I love Peameal bacon. It is really common everywhere in Ontario and I would have thougth all over Canada. But unfortunately not in BC. Or at least not in Vancouver or on the Island. We had toasted Peameal bacon and tomato sandwiches on homemade bread. I split the loaf lengthwise and toasted it. Dinner was Chicken Breasts stuffed with Mushroom Duxelles. This was requested by Moe. Something I hadn't made for him recently and his way of helping with the Blog. I used up some of the veggies picked up at the farmers markets earlier this week. Ready for the oven. Local blueberries are in season so we had Blueberry Turnovers for dessert. I used frozen puff pastry and just used the same filling that I would normally use for a blueberry pie. I promised Sandra that I would make Bagels while she was here. So that is what is on the agenda tomorrow morning. Good Night. Ann

The sauce for the escargot is basically just shallots simmered in white wine, chicken broth, garlic, fresh thyme until the liquid is reduced to about 1/3rd of a cup. Then a cup of heavy cream is added and simmered again until reduced to 1/2 a cup. At that time I add the drained canned snails and the gorgonzola cheese and just let it cook for another 5 minutes or so. It is also good without the cheese and just a little butter added at the end. I normally make little toast cups to serve them in rather than using puff pastry. Sometimes I make slightly larger toast cups and serve them as a first course at the table. That way you get more of the escargot. Susan, I think that soup would be very easy to recreate. It is similar to one that I already make. No real recipe. Just saute shallots, garlic and mushrooms, season with fresh thyme and add some chicken or beef broth, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes and use a stick blender to partially puree some of the mushrooms. Add the cheese and drizzle with the oil. The soup was very brothy rather than creamy. I like to use a combination of fresh mushrooms with some dried porcini for a more intense flavour. Thanks Racheld, I was hoping that you would read my blog. Coquus, I shopped at a number of of the Wegmans in the Buffalo area but my favour was the super version over behind the Blvd. Mall off of Sheridan. I called it the flagship store because it really was a step above the others. I think Wegmans is one of the best grocery chains. I wish we had them in Canada. Kim, I have to make bread year around. Moe can always tell when I give him someone elses bread. Actually I don't mind because I like making bread. We are kind of boring though, because we are definitely white bread eaters. Either Italian or French. I put together a pictorial (Italian Bread) for some friends on another cooking forum. It is a very wet dough and some were having problems with it. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. And I have lots of pictures of breads stored on Smugmug. We are going to just hang around town today and probably have lunch at home. I'm still thinking about dinner. Leaning towards chicken breasts stuffed with a mushroom duxelle, although that may change between now and dinner. Ann

Lori, I know that you can bake so making French or Italian breads will be very easy for you. Check out Julia Child's French Bread recipe . It is a good one to start with if you are looking for just a simple baguette or loaf. Do you have a stone? I bake all my breads on a large square stone that I keep in the oven. Thanks Grub. Thanks Daniel. Funny, I wasn't even going to post that picture but my husband (Moe) really liked that photo the best. Suzi, I agree, Beef on Weck truly is one of the most perfect sandwiches. Topped of course with a little hot horseradish. Hi Jennifer. Thanks for dropping by. You've been missed over on tthe CF. Lunch today was in a little restaurant on the west coast of the Island. We did the tourist thing today and went to Sooke, stopping and looking in a few galleries and other tourist traps. The restaurant was in a little resort about 30 minutes outside of Sooke - Point-No-Point. View from our table. Sandra started with a seafood chowder and I had a mushroom, blue cheese soup that was drizzled with truffle oil. See the little pepper grinder in the background? That is the one that I carry in my purse. Nothing better than fresh black pepper. We both had sandwiches. Sandra had a wild salmon and mine was Beef Shortribs with carmelized onions. Tonight we started with Escargot in a gorgonzola cream sauce in puff pastry cups, followed by Duck Breasts with a Black pepper and pear sauce. I should have taken the duck out of the oven a minute or two sooner. I would have preferred it a little more rare. I don't think that we will stray far from home tomorrow. But Thursday should be fun. We are going to head over to the Saanich Peninsula and check out some of the wineries and farms in that area and visit the farmers market in Sidney Thursday night.

FabulousFoodBabe, there are a number of farms in the area where you can buy free range chicken, beef, duck and of course fresh produce. I bought a baby goat from one of the local farmers back in April. I still have quite a bit of it still in the freezer. I should have said just corn, butter, salt and pepper. Got to have fresh ground pepper too. But when corn is ready it takes centre stage. We will make a meal of just corn, nothing else. Thankfully I have a husband who loves fresh corn as much as I do. We both grew up in Ontario. He is from the Windsor area and I'm from the Toronto area. Wow Kerry, you do have some wonderful memories. I'm glad my pictures are jogging them for you. I'll try to post a few more of the local scenery this week. Thanks Shaya. I just love good food and I like to cook and bake. Just for leisure. I've been a stay at home wife/mom for 27 years. The veal shanks are browned and cooked with onions, garlic and a carrot (I hate carrots, but can handle the flavour and sweetness that one adds) , seasoned with fresh rosemary and sage, a little white wine and some chicken broth. And then roasted in the oven, basting often, until tender. I covered them for the first hour and just basted for the last hour. I used the stick blender to puree the veggies into the sauce. Susan, I don't really have a food background, except for the fact that I have always loved to cook and to eat. I'm originally from the Toronto area but have moved around a bit. Just after we were married we moved to Grand Rapids Michigan for a couple of years. I took a few hands on cooking lessons from Pat Davis. She ran a cooking school in her home. Matthew was born while we were in Grand Rapids so he actually has dual citizenship. We moved back to the Toronto area and lived there for the next 12 years and then ended up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario for 5 years before moving to Vancouver back in 1998. Then we ended up in Dunkirk, NY for two years. I really liked living there. I was only an hour from Buffalo, Erie, PA and Jamestown , and all of these cities had Wegman grocery stores. So I went into Buffalo at least once a week and usually into Erie and Jamestown once a week too. And we were less than three hours from Toronto. So we would get down to Toronto quite often. We moved back out west the summer of 2001 and lived in Nanaimo for 3 1/2 years before selling our house and moving to Vancouver for a year. Moe was working on a few things and it was easier to do from Vancouver. Matt lives in Victoria and we really missed seeing him whenever we felt like it so we moved back to the island last December. Since we are less than an hour from Victoria we see a lot of Matt now. Thankfully he is happy to have us so close too. My son is a real foodie too and is becoming quite a good cook. I recently gave him my Cuisinart . It was an excuse to buy a new one for myself. Here are my new toys. Breakfast wasn't too exciting. But the bread is homemade french bread and the honey is local. I didn't hear any complaints. Oh and I forgot to post a picture of my fridge. Since I shop on a regular basis, I don't keep a lot in it and I'm not big on leftovers so I try to not save anything that I will just end up throwing out a week later.

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 really is beautiful. MarketStEl, The Dinner thread is the thread that I hang out the most on so I don't think that many members will know me. Hopefully my blog will change that. I promised Moe and Sandra scones this morning so that is what we had. Blackberry Scones. We are going to spend some time driving around Lake Cowichan this afternoon. I'm hoping that we will find a nice place for lunch. See you all later. Ann

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. It is my intention to cook most of our meals using local in-season produce, meats and seafood also from the area. We got started early by going to a couple of the farmers’ markets in Victoria on Saturday and the Cedar Farmer’s Market on Sunday. Duncan has a wonderful farmer’s market that is open every Saturday 12 months of the year and I very seldom miss it. I love this time of year. Each week the selection at the market just gets better and better. I can’t wait until the corn and tomatoes are available. Actually this week won’t be too much different from the way that I normally cook and plan meals. I’ve always shopped on a daily basis and I’ve never minded driving some distance to find what I want. Here is a picture of Saturday’s take from the Markets. The garlic is from the James Bay Market and the rest of the produce came from the Moss Street Market. It's early here, just 6:15 AM so I'm off to the kitchen to make coffee.

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. Ann

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 before the mixture comes together add the frozen berries. Form the dough into a ball and then pat out into a circle on a floured board. Roll into 7-inch round and cut into 6 or 8 wedges. Place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet; brush tops with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Note: When adding fruit to the scone mixture, make sure the raspberries or blueberries are frozen. Otherwise you end up with crushed fruit. Still tastes as good, but not as pretty. Keywords: Breakfast, Dessert, Bread ( RG1737 )

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 enough without the glaze. They freeze well. I usually cut them into bars, wrap in plastic wrap and put them into a freezer bag. Easy to pull out a bar when a chocolate craving hits. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Decadent Brownies ============================ 1 Cup butter 20 Ounces chocolate 1-1/2 Cups sugar Pinch of salt 4 eggs 1 Cup flour vanilla to taste 1 Cup toasted pecans/walnuts (or more. I usually add about 1 1/2 cups) Options: Use 3/4 cup brown and 3/4 cup white sugar Add a shot of real espresso Line a 13 X 9 inch rectangle pan with foil and butter. Melt butter and sugar together over medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the chocolate and stir until chocolate melts. Continuing stirring until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat. Add one egg at a time and mix well using a wooden spoon. Add vanilla (and espresso if using). Stir in flour and salt and mix well. Stir in the pecans or walnuts and pour into prepared pan. Bake in a 350 °F for approximately 30 minutes. Do not over bake. Brownies should be set in the middle but still slightly soft. Place immediately in the freezer. When cold, remove and cut into bars. Wrap each bar in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Keywords: Chocolate ( RG1733 )

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