A good scoff, cod tongues, toutons and tea on The Rock aka Newfoundland

[ElsieD]

Today we had lunch at the Random Passage Tea House near Old Bonaventure.  It was earlyish for lunch so we weren't all that hungry.  Turkey soup with vegetables seems to be very popular in Newfoundland so we both had a bowl of that.   It was a very big bowl, and more like a stew as it was chock full of vegetables and turkey.  John had 2 hot dogs o go with his, I had a very tiny pizza.  Thus fueled, we toured the Random Passage site which I will tell you about in my next post.  Right now we are in the town of Bonavista having stopped long enough for me to post this.  It is the first time today that I have had an Internet connection since we left the hotel this morning.  No picture of the hot dogs.

[ElsieD]

Today we did a tour of Cape Random where the mini-series Random Passage was filmed in 2000.  We had watched the series at the time and really enjoyed it so decided to buy the DVD and watch it again before we came out here.  To have seen the series recently made it that much more interesting to see this set.  The series took a year to shoot and was shot at this location except for 1 week in St. John's and three weeks in Ireland.   The village, or community as it would have been called was built using materials and methods available in the early 1800's.  This meant, for example, that no nails were used in it's construction. The series told of how  Random Passage came to be populated and the back stories of the individuals who lived there.  They even have a little graveyard showing the "graves" of the people who died in the show.  (They are not real graves.)  It was fascinating and you really get a sense between the show and actually visiting the site of how hard life was back then

Edited September 1, 2016 by ElsieD (log)

[ElsieD]

A similar fireplace was used in the room directly in front of the sleeping quarters.  All meals were cooked on it and the smoke escaped through a hole in the roof.  If there were more people than beds they slept on the floor.  The dishes you see were made out of wood, birch to be exact.  Only the rich could afford china.  The other picture is of cod drying on a flake.  After cleaning the cod, they were layered in salt and a few weeks later were dried on the flake.

[ElsieD]

Any guesses as to what this might have been used for?

[ElsieD]

Tonight's dinner was a disappointment.  We were back at Dustabella's where we ate last night.  I had ordered the pork chop special which was stuffed with a pesto filling with feta and almonds.  The plate came, I had ordered garlic mashed potatoes as a side and it also came with vegetables of the day.  The veg were cold and the one fork of mashed I ate was overpowered by raw garlic.   Back it went.  Since I didn't want the mashed spuds anymore, they replaced it with  salad.  Out came the revised plate.  The chop must have been sitting under a heat lamp or something because it was HOT, completely overcooked and dry.  The veg had zero seasoning or anything else on them and were lukewarm.  The salad was okay.  John was satisfied with his fish and chips but his veg were cold too but he didn't care because he wasn't eating them anyway.   I'm glad we have that apple tart to look forward to a bit later.

 

Edited September 1, 2016 by ElsieD (log)

[Tri2Cook]

That village is pretty cool. I'm trying to imagine a Canadian winter in one of those homes. Even with the fire that close, there had to be some pretty chilly nights. It'd be a tough decision. During a hot summer, I'd want the bed by the window. But then winter would hit and I'd probably regret that choice quickly. I have no idea what the mystery item is.

Edited because I added additional thoughts before posting but failed to place them correctly so it was a bit disjointed.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Ashen]

On 31/08/2016 at 1:55 PM, ElsieD said:

Lunch today was very good.  They had a cod special and the menu listed one of my favourite things and something you see rarely to never on restaurant menus in Canada and that is flammekuchen.  I was vacillating between the two then noticed the flammekuchen served two.  I ordered the cod and was very happy with it. Beautifully cooked, nice big flakes of moist fish served with a red pepper sauce.  It came with rice and a condiment topping of sorts which, when I asked, was told it was a shallots, tomato, white wine and cumin sauce. It was really good and livened up the rice which was a plain white one.  John had the pizza and the toppings were hot and sweet peppers, ham, hot chorizo, shitaki mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese,   They had cruet of spicy oil on the table which he also put on the pizza.  It had a very thin crust and was baked in a gas fired pizza oven.  We did not have dessert but visited a patisserie where we bought a couple of delicious looking things for later.  The ferry is about to take off which is when  I loose my Internet so will post the pictures and try to send before we leave.  The connection is not particularly strong.

 

Once again I had poked into my fish and rice before remembering to take a picture.  The menu is a list today's specials.

 

 

3 brewers/les 3 brasseurs  have spots in kanata and ottawa that serve decent Flammekuche.   They are really expanding  that franchise, good beer too.  My wife and I were so pleased when we saw one in Missisauga  earlier this year. We had been to the one in the old port in Montreal on our honeymoon 10 yrs ago. 

Edited September 2, 2016 by Ashen (log)

[IowaDee]

Mystery item.  Just has to be a prototype for a paper towel/toilet paper holder.  

[Smithy]

Is the mystery item a cradle?  It doesn't look it would cradle securely, but it would rock very nicely indeed.

[PattyO]

A base used for chopping herbs or vegetables with a curved blade?

 

[ElsieD]

31 minutes ago, Ashen said:

 

 

3 brewers/les 3 brasseurs  have spots in kanata and ottawa that serve decent Flammekuche.   They are really expanding  that franchise, good beer too.  My wife and I were so pleased when we saw one in Missisauga  earlier this year. We had been to the one in the old port in Montreal on our honeymoon 10 yrs ago. 

 

 

Ooooh, thanks for this.  I have made it myself but it is so nice to know that I can get it at home.

[ElsieD]

@IowaDee um, no, sorry, not even close.  

 

@Smithy  cradle is part of the answer.  Sort of, in that it rocks.  It is a kitchen item, has nothing to do with children. 

[ElsieD]

@PattyO  it has no sharp edges so would not be used for chopping anything.

[PattyO]

I meant something that was chopped ON. 

[ElainaA]

Re: the mystery item. Something used in making butter? Holding a container and rocking the cream somehow?

[ElsieD]

@PattyO a knife was used with that item, so your thinking is going in the right direction.

 

@ElainaA Nope.  Moving it is correct.  See Smithy's cradle comment.

 

One more hint - it is a dual purpose item.

 

 

[Wayne]

 

How about a heavy duty rolling pin with handholds also used for crushing (sort of a rolling mortar)?

 

 

[ElsieD]

2 hours ago, Wayne said:

 

How about a heavy duty rolling pin with handholds also used for crushing (sort of a rolling mortar)?

 

 

 

Bingo!  The bottom was used as a rolling pin.  So what was the top flat part used for?

[Wayne]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

Bingo!  The bottom was used as a rolling pin.  So what was the top flat part used for?

 

Really can't come up with anything. Looking at the photo with respect to the woodworking, and comparing it to the finishing on the rest of the object, I'd guess the depression was formed with an adze and the state of the wood suggests whatever it held had a significant affect to get into the grain. I can't see the original maker carefully bevelling all the edges and then hack away at the depression and leave it like that.

 

 

[Beebs]

Bread loaf holder.  It looks like a loaf of bread would fit on it very nicely. 

 

(ETA: Loving your journey so far, ElsieD, gorgeous scenery! And now I want to eat an entire basket of toutons.)

 

Edited September 2, 2016 by Beebs (log)

[ElsieD]

Wayne got one part and Beebs got the other.  A loaf of breads sits in the top part  and that was where they sliced it and the curved bottom was used to roll pastry, cookie dough and the like.

Edited September 2, 2016 by ElsieD (log)

[ElsieD]

We have just arrived back in the land of the Internet so I will post our lunch.  This we had at Shark Cove in a place called Cupids Haven Bed and Breakfast Tea Room.  I had the special of the day, which consisted of a fish cake, a touton (yes!!!) and baked beans.  This was really good and I really enjoyed it.  John had the mac and cheese and really liked his as well.  This is one of those places that sits at the end of a road and whenever we have been lucky enough to find one of these, the food has always been great.

 

While there, I thought to ask about the actual cooking of the toutons.  I knew they were done in a frying pan but I didn't know how much fat to use or what temperature to cook them at.  The answer was use as much fat as you wish, or as little as is required to fry an egg.  As for heat,  medium low was the answer as any higher than that they won't cook all the way through.

 

Tonight we are going to what could be described as a fancy pants restaurant called Raymonds.  It is one of the best restaurants in Canada and at least one year that I know of, was voted # 1.  We haven't decided if we are sticking with the à la carte menu or the tasting menu but either way, I should have a memorable meal to share with you

[Beebs]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

Wayne got one part and Beebs got the other.  A loaf of breads sits in the top part  and that was where they sliced it and the curved bottom was used to roll pastry, cookie dough and the like.

 

Hahaha! Oh my gosh, I was totally joking, made it up!!!  Can't believe it's an actual thing! 

 

 

[ElsieD]

After lunch yesterday we stopped in at Cupid's Legacy Centre which is a museum dedicated to the founding of Cupids.  I mentioned earlier that Cupids dates back to 1610 and the Centre contains artifacts dating back to that time.  I found one display particularly interesting and that was of the Beothuk culture.  The othe picture is of some older kitchen items although I recall my mother had what we called an egg beater that looks very similar to the one on display.

 

After that we went to Cupids Cove Plantation, the archeological site of the 1610 settlement.  One of the archeologists showed us around and this may be of interest:  the first building was not completed until December of 1610.  Until then, the settlers slept in a depression in the ground.  Also, tax evasion was alive and well.  They found a fragment of cloth that had a lead seal indicating that either taxes had been paid or the individual had tax exempt status.  They sent this piece of cloth out for testing and discovered that the seal was fake.

[ElsieD]

And now, on to last night's dinner.  I may not get it all done in one sitting so will post a separate entry for each of the seven course tasting menu.  This was a meal like no other I have ever had.  The service was very professional and friendly without being familiar.  Just a top-notch place.  The only thing we asked was that they not serve us anything raw.  I have also included the wines that were served as I thought some might be interested in knowing what they were.

 

The first course consisted of artichoke with lardo,  gazpacho with snow crab and basil oil, radish with cultured butter, a tiny perfect carrot with a velvety smooth carrot purée and a pickled chrysanthemum.  Beautifully plated and delicious.  There were three substitutions made on our plate, and they replaced razor clam with cucumber and dill, oyster with raspberry and Albacore tuna.

 

The wine was a champagne, La Valle, Franciacorta,  Primum, Brut, Italy, NV

 

 

Edited September 3, 2016 by ElsieD (log)