FauxPas

My tiny little container garden is simple fun. The three different cherry tomato plants continue to produce. The larger tomato variety stays stubbornly green, but that's gotta change soon with all the heat we are getting. And despite that heat, I still am getting some lovely sweet snap peas. More flowers on my hanging strawberry baskets so that's nice to see, since I didn't get that much fruit up to now. In a moment of crazy and wild optimism, I planted a couple of watermelon seeds. The plants are still small so I am not too hopeful about actually getting any fruit, but you never know, right? 🙂 From today:

@Norm Matthews, also adding birthday wishes to Charlie. And that meal looks lovely, I bet everyone enjoyed to their last bites! 🙂

I want to try this. I have some of the Noh char siu powder. Yours really looks lovely!

Farmed? I used to live in the Northwest Territories back in the 80's when I was very young and knew people who went out and fished for char, believe they can be tricky fish in the wild, it was considered a bit of a challenge. I had fresh, frozen and smoked from wild stock that people shared. Farmed char seems to be the norm these days. Iceland claims to have sustainable farmed char but I keep looking at what we are doing to wild salmon stock due to fish farming and I can't help but wonder (despair?)

@MaryIsobel, this is the photo I meant to use. Maybe just a little bit clearer image?

Oh, can't forget a couple of options in Cumberland, @MaryIsobel. We really like quirky little Village of Cumberland. Riders Pizza and their sister restaurant across the street, Cumberland Brewing. They share a garden right next next to Rider's, so you know your greens are fresh! Here's a photo I took recently of their garden. I just love it!

Atlas tends to be consistently good, but definitely busy at times. We used to like Mike's Off Main for Eggs Benny as much or more, but the ownership has changed, it's just called Off Main now and they are only open Thurs to Mon from 9am to 2pm, but even those hours don't seem to be consistent. If you need to check something else out for Eggs Benny, the Hen & Hog Cafe has become hugely popular so it can also be busy but the couple of times we went there, we were very pleased with our food. Just spoke to a friend in Qualicum and she says definitely go to Cuckoo in Coombs. She also recommends Qualicum Beach Cafe, which has new ownership (they have a sister restaurant in Gastown) and is getting very good reviews. She says another good choice is Black Bird Schnitzel Haus. Or for something a bit quirkier, the Final Approach at the airport is fun and good. If you happen to head over to Comox, BlackFin Pub is nice - decent food and lovely views of the harbour and marina (especially when the tide is in). They have a few new menu items which we haven't tried but I used to really like sampling from their Starters menu and my husband loved their Seafood Chowder. Couple of new places in Comox are Church St Taphouse (decent patio) and The Curry Cottage Tap & Grill. I really want to check out the latter, but wonder if they have their beer available yet. They are brand new and still trying to get fully staffed, bit of an odd little place. People often recommend Locals Restaurant at the Old House Hotel and their approach to food is really good, but we have been there a few times and had mixed feelings. When it was good, it was really quite good but when it wasn't that great, it seemed like a lot to pay for mediocre. Still, some people love it. Also, 40 Knots Winery is nice and they sell picnic items to go with their wine. It's a pretty spot and they used to have a pizza oven, not sure if they are still doing that. And Beaufort Wines is also a nice place for tasting and/or picnics. Finally, and I'm sure you don't need to be told this, but some of these places are struggling with staffing and regular hours and the current heat wave has caused some of them to reduce hours further or temporarily close, so good to check with places before you go! 🙂

Oh, you are old hands at this region! Ha, not sure I helped much, you could probably give me advice! 🙂 There's also FBI (Fanny Bay Inn). It's changed hands a couple of times recently but it's still adorable. Kingfisher Resort, if you want to venture a bit further north, is also good. I love Coombs also, but we try to go there on quieter days. Hard to come by those in the summertime though!

We haven't been eating out the way we used to, but we hear a lot about two places in particular in Qualicum. One is Q Burger, which was called one of the Top 5 burger places in Canada by Canadian Living and has been super busy since. Plan ahead if you want to try it out. We were going to go there a couple of times but ended up going somewhere quieter. https://viqburger.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral#menu The other is in Coombs, which is a short drive away. I love Coombs, it's a quirky little community but it's become a huge tourist draw (see the goats on the roof, the General Store, etc) and it can be busy in a very annoying way. However, one restaurant keeps getting really good reviews and that's Cuckoo Trattoria. And I admit to loving the goats. 🙂 https://cuckooincoombs.com/ To enjoy Qualicum Beach, you'll likely be driving along Hwy 19A and following the ocean route. There are a few places that have such lovely views/locations that they might be worth the risk of less than stellar food. For example, Shady Rest was getting a bit long in the tooth, but they have been doing some renos and it's a great location on the beach. We have eaten there half a dozen times and it was always ok, sometimes quite good but maybe not spectacular. Again, we haven't been there recently so it may be consistently better now, it gets good online reviews. https://shadyrest.ca/ There's also an adorable little spot right on the beach and I can't remember or find the name, but you'll notice it with it's umbrellas and location. We've had some decent fish and chips there. Maybe it's Shore Restaurant? https://www.eatatshore.com/ You can find various restaurants in town and at the golf courses, but at this time of year, I'd want to be on the ocean or going somewhere fun. Around Nanaimo, same thing. Lots of choices for good food, but if you want quirky, ocean experience then maybe consider something like Dinghy Dock Pub on Protection Island or a trip to Newcastle Island via short ferry rides. https://www.dinghydockpub.com/ https://newcastleisland.ca/saysutshun-concession Edited to add: Not sure if this is your style, but if you let me know more, I can ask friends who live in those communities.

Aw, sounds like a couple of fun places and looks delicious, also. Almost wish we had a road trip in mind, but not on the agenda right now. Hope you are having fun and let us know where else you end up dining! 🙂

Welcome! Podcasts look interesting, I'll have to check some out!

I love citrus also, and use it more and more. In AZ, it was so lovely to get it fresh off the trees, I do miss that. Now, back in Canada, I buy bags of organic lemons (sometimes limes) when they are on sale, zest them and juice them. Freeze the juice into cubes and also freeze the zest. I used to do that in AZ also, as you tend to get a lot of citrus all at once, ha. But here, we don't always see organic citrus for a good price. When I make my small batch jams, it's handy to be able to add a cube of lemon juice and a bit of zest for extra pectin and flavour. Yesterday was hot and I added a couple of lemon juice cubes to a glass of soda and vodka and it was lovely. Tell Ronnie he's on the right track. 🙂

Wow, you really accomplished a LOT! I feel like a sloth. Does your kitchen get hot with the canning/boiling and cooking? Looks so good though! I did manage to make a couple of small jars of apricot jam though, I guess that's something, right? 🙂

@Shelby, dill for pickling? How do you use your citrus?

Happens to all of us now and then! 🙂

For opening jars when my husband isn't around, I use a rubber band. Works very well for me, but may not work for everyone.

Yes, I do. 🙂

The recipe says about a pint of juice. Using a fruit juicer, juice the apples into a jug (you should get approximately a pint of juice) and stir through the lemon juice. Alternatively, if you’re short on time, you can use Pink Lady® apple juice.

I soak berries in vinegar and water also. It really does make a big difference in storage life. Edited to add: I do de-stem or hull them before the soak. Still works fine.

We tried the pickled scapes today at lunch, alongside a ham and cheese sandwich. We both agreed they were good, but pretty intense garlic flavour. I am making a potato salad today and thinking about dicing some of the pickle scapes and adding them to the salad. One or two might be a nice accompaniment to a cocktail such as a Caesar or Bloody Mary.

@Shelby, how is your garden coping with the heat? I guess some things might thrive, but others...? Not to mention, how are YOU coping with the heat? I hope your A/C is working well. 🙂

I'm not sure how many years we have done the CSA program, but this year we opted for pick-up on alternate weeks. We could get delivery but we enjoy the drive to the farm, which is very near Kitty Coleman Beach Provincial Park and the Woodland Gardens. When we first moved to this area, we participated in a CSA from a farm north of town, but it was far enough away that we tired of the drive after a few years. Then we bought in with a collective of nearby farms for another few years. They were small farms and would supplement each other's offerings and were successful enough that they expanded and now at least 3 of them have their own independent CSA boxes available. Our current supplier (Mariette) is one of those and we can sometimes visit with her as well as all three of her dogs when we go to the farm. When we pick up at the farm, there is a great little farmstand where the CSA produce is stored but also additional items are available for purchase, depending on what's been growing best. Mariette also sells at the Saturday morning Farmers' Market. Some of the items we have received so far include items such as lettuces, Spring salad greens, arugula, culinary lavender, dill, basil, strawberries, kale, radishes, salad turnips. We had an unusually cool and wet Spring and many crops were delayed. We are still getting snap peas for example and they would usually be done by now because of the heat. Our last box looked like this. The cherries are from the BC Okanagan and were purchased separately as were the Warba potatoes. Otherwise there was a gorgeous head of leaf lettuce, a few zukes, a few cukes, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, radishes and snap peas. Greenhouse tomatoes. We can't pick and choose what we want in advance but there is a 'swap box' where you can exchange some items for others. I picked a couple of kohlrabi in place of more arugula.

Oh, I loved it! And I must have been living under a rock or something because I knew nothing about Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil. Walked by a pick-up point for one of the book tours and was so entertained by the driver's patter that I jumped on her bus. She had a bit part in the movie, was enormously entertaining and I connected with some people who invited me to join them for dinner. I was fascinated with how Oglethorpe designed the city, makes so much sense to have those squares with public and private space so well intermingled.

Me, too! I combined visits to Charleston, Hilton Head and Savannah in one visit and had a great time. I had to go to Toronto for some work training and Air Canada had a terrific Web special for flights to Charleston. I was due some time off and booked a flight on a whim. My husband couldn't join me - at that time it seemed our schedules didn't work together - so I went on my own. Rented a car in Charleston and stayed a few days there, then a couple of days at Hilton Head and a few days in Savannah before flying home. I don't remember the time of year, but the weather was almost perfect. Spent a lot of time walking around both cities and enjoyed the beach at Hilton Head. I don't remember where I ate, but it was almost all really lovely. And I met some very sweet folk. My husband and I did make it together to Savannah another trip but we had tickets to Augusta for the Masters and that's about all my husband could focus on. @Kim Shook, thanks to you and your husband so much for a lovely tale and lots of lovely food photos and descriptions. I am so hungry right now that I hardly know what to do with myself.

Maybe try again. There are two numbers listed for Customer Service. 🙂 1 (866) 290-1851 may be the number you tried. When I tried calling it using Google Voice, the call just didn't complete. No answer, no message - just kept trying to dial. However, 1- 888-506-9580 answered (with an automated system) when I called. This number is listed on the website FAQ page.