eG Foodblog: Zucchini Mama - A Merry Zucchini Christmas

[Zucchini Mama]

Look at the time! We've got to be out of the house at noon so I've got to finish packing and get all those frozen perogies safely into mini Coleman cooler. I'll meet you in Alberta later tonight! Have a wonderful day and if you're Christmas shopping for food gifts , tell us what you bought!

Zuke

[Zucchini Mama]

Just before we go, a poem about the golf course where my sister lives:

The Links of Glenn Eagles

Men bash dimpled white balls,

snicker off-colored jokes

when I pass by.

Children play here on the marginal land,

too steep to develop,

so that playing is falling.

The sun's still going down.

Susan's on the way to pick up mom-

long day's journey into strip malls.

There are mansions on the horizon.

The walking paths are paved with gold,

and littered with broken mustard weeds.

There's a light on in the yard,

the slow dusk is falling,

cattle's dinner call lasts all day.

Men bash white dimpled balls

into the last vestiges of natural prairie,

blasting the petals off the wild Alberta rose.

I am afraid of being hit in what remains of my

natural cranium.

The unnatural lake is lined with a layer

of floating golf balls.

The sign behind the chain link fence

warns in red letters

look don't touch-

you may spit, bash, snicker,

twist pigeon-toed upper class strut

but don't go near the edge

of the false luck.

A boy sees a garter snake this big

and a girl meditates on the art of

catching a white moth.

She is deeply inside summer

as deeply as the sun dips below

this day and enters another.

LDW Aug 9/04

[Rebecca263]

Quick points before I forget an important part of the perogy process.... don't forget to poke the perogy dough!

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Favorite boy wants to know why I just called him and said "Come here, Perogy."

Please, please, don't stop writing, I need the smiles today!

[Badiane]

The flour is Anita's Organic unbleached from Chiliwack. How far is Chiliwack from Vancouver? Is the wheat grown there or milled there?

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Chilliwack is about 70 miles east of Vancouver...an hour or so of steady driving, which isn't too bad. We'd love to have you visit the area if you are so inclined! I think you would want to come in the growing season, when there is plenty of interesting food to be had.

I live very close to Anita's, and drive by her mill at least once a week on my way to the cheese shop. The grain is purchased from certified organic suppliers in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and is ground as it is ordered, so it's not sitting around waiting to be bought.

Here's a clickety to her website for you.

Anita's Organic Grain and Flour Mill

[Zucchini Mama]

Hey folks! We made it safely here, landing in Calgary and then dad drove us out to Cochrane via Balzac Alberta. We ate a salmon dinner with my mom's butternut squash from her garden slathered in butter, followed by deep fried cookies.

My sister's house is super high tech and baby proofed to the hilt. Even the toilet seat has a combination lock, which I better learn before going to bed or I'll have to use the out house in the middle of the night. This computer is top of the line, and what literally took me hours at home will take me minutes here, so I'll be able to give you play by play coverage!

When it's daylight I'll be able to take some photos of the golf course vista, and we're hoping Bernie's Bavarian bakery will be open.

So I posted the quince jam above: The big jar is from Mix bakery and cost 9$, which is a very good deal considering that little jar from Les Amis des Fromage cost about $8. My little jar looks pale an anemic compared to the other two.

I've got a bit of a learning curve here because this is a Windows program, but other than that we're off to the races!

Thanks badiane, for the info on Chiliwack and the link to Anita's. Do you ever cook with quince at all?

Edited December 26, 2005 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Zucchini Mama]

Dad gets jet lag as soon as he's on the plane.

Tomorrow we'll make traditional belgian waffles in the VillaWare Farmyard Waffler.

Mom's squash:

The salmon is from a store called Costco. I don't really know much about that place. It was stuffed with crab and tiny shrimp. It had a kind of plastic taste, but the salmon itself was all right.

Fried Cookies: I know there's a proper name for these, but can't remember it.

[kurtisk]

Your insight, writing and experiences are fascinating. Thanks so much!

See you soon!

xo,

k.

[mochihead]

Fried Cookies: I know there's a proper name for these, but  can't remember it.

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Rosetti or, if you're in Hawai'i, called Chinese pretzels. I'm still not sure why, though. I don't remember it being part of any traditional Chinese desserts while growing up.

You have such a beautiful and well-written blog, Zucchini Mama! I've been having such a great time "visiting" you thorough your wonderful stories and pictures.

[Pan]

Thanks for your warm comments girls. I hope the Goddess of the feminist Utopia didn't scare all the guys!

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Not this guy! That was pretty damned funny!

I liked the photo of the rooster looking at you, too. I know, though, that his next move was to jerk his head to a couple of other positions, as that's just what chickens do...

OK, now to read page 5...

[Badiane]

Thanks badiane, for the info on Chiliwack and the link to Anita's. Do you ever cook with quince at all?

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I do cook with Quince...purchased from an extremely eccentric Italian couple with an incredible array of fruit trees.

I am still trying to unload about 4 pounds of product from the 'Great Quince Paste Experiment'. This is the weekend it is all finding new homes with my unsuspecting siblings. I have also made a number of jams and jellies, chutney and pie. It's good stuff, and very cheap, so it's an easy target for experiments. It also appeals to me on a heritage level...I am very interested in preserving our past through the food, and have a deep love of cooking with heritage recipes and techniques.

[Genny]

The cheese shoppe!!! How I wish I had something so wonderful here...:sigh:: And your boy is absolutely precious.

Traditions are an interesting subject. It is a thread that ties us all together in our ablility to understand that others hold their personal history in fond rememberance yet our experiences can still be completely different. I'm not Canadian/Saskatuan or from any kind of Prairy land but I can recall standing in a quiet field enjoying a kind of quiet that pushes itself into my being that one cannot find in an urban or suburban setting.

My own Christmas traditions growing up are not still held today but still are remembered fondly. They are from a child's perspective and of a family that seems to not exist any longer due to age, divorce, circumstances and distance. Growing up we always rotated Christmas and Thanksgiving between my aunt's or grandmother's and my parent's home. There were 9 of us kids: 5 boys and 4 girls. We often all played together and got into trouble together . Funnily enough, the holidays weren't about the food to me. We always an ample spread of veggies, salami, olives deviled eggs, etc. before the main meal and then a big meal that was fairly simple: turkey, stuffing (plain and oyster), green beans with bacon, dinner rolls and often sweet potato casserole w/marshmallows. The adults sat at the table and the kids lined the hallway with plates on their laps. We preferred being able to eat separately! My favorite part was trying to hang out while the adults chatted while playing cards and playing with my cousins and the big "sleep-over". Back in the day we did not stay at the local hotel. The entire family would sleep in one house. Every bed and couch was slept in and the kids all slept in sleeping bags either in the bedroom (depending on the house) or by the Christmas tree in the living room. Snug as a bug in a rug!

My most memorable Christmas was when I was about 8 years old and I was just beginning to think there was no Santa Clause. My parents were hosting so my female cousins got to sleep in the bedroom that my sister and I shared. The kids were all sent to bed around 9:30 and I was just antsy with anticipation of opening gifts on Christmas morning. (We always tried - with varying amounts of success- to get to open just one gift on Christmas Eve.) I must have been flopping trying to get morning to hurry up and arrive when I heard the jingle bells. Oh!!! Then I heard footsteps on the roof! I screwed my eyes closed as hard as possible and was renewed in my faith that Santa really did exist and I'd better sleep so that he would leave me gifts The next morning we had our wrapped presents from our parents but Santa's gifts were unwrapped and I had a chalkboard easle set up with my name on it and a doll under it too! I was a believer for sure!!

My parents never 'fessed up to being Santa that year. It was just as well, everyone needs to believe in a bit of Santa to keep the magic alive.

Merry Christmas and Happy Returns Everyone!

Genny

[Zucchini Mama]

^Thanks for sharing your memories Genny. Everytime I get a post like that it's like opening a gift!

badiane, I am so excited about your quince projects. Please post photos if you have the time--sounds like your extremely busy. I hope to do the roadtrip home this summer, and now that I know you have a value Village out there we're definitely going to have to pop in!

pan, you remended me that when the vet came to check out the chickens in a routine inspection he said they are the happiest chickens he's ever seen. They are fully self-actualized and have been observed playing a game of "keep-away" with a bit of paper fluttering in the wind.

mochihead, Chinese pretzels! Ha, that's what I call fusion cuisine. I remember my mom making them when I was a girl, dipping the mold in the batter and holding them in the boiling oil. These were made by a friend of mom's. They are best eaten warm with a sprinkling of icing sugar. Peter said "They are like the skin of a doughnut!"

kurtisk, I'll try to take some photos of this side of the Rockies this afternoon to remind you of home. maybe I'll even practise my yodelling. I have yodelled on CBC radio you know, but that's another story!

So dad and I popped downtown to get some maple syrup as Zucchini Mama accepts no imitations! Our first destination was Bernie's Bavarian Bakery, and I was shocked and appalled to see a "for lease" sign on the window". Luckily there was another sign that said they'd moved around the corner. Phew! B's BB is Zuchini Mama's favorite bakery in Canada. It may not be everyon'e cup of tea, but it's got a special place in my cookie-loving soul. We bought a stollen that is over a foot long for $12-what a deal. We also received a stollen in the mail froim our relatives in Germany, and have some of grandpa C's home made stollen.

We popped into the IGA and bought maple syrup, fresh cranberries and The Original Longview Buffalo Jerky! So this afternoon, we'll have a stollen and jerky tasting!

[Zucchini Mama]

Here's a photos of the sunrise taken off the balcony, which faces east. There is barely any snow, so no toboganning for me. However, since it's a balmy ten degrees above Celsius, I'm not complaining. It's usually 30 below at Christmas whenever we visit.

Dad gets creative with his waffle.

So mom and I made some yeast-leavened Belgian waffle batter and tried out the new novelty waffle iron which even chirps like a bird when the waffles are ready.

[Zucchini Mama]

A stollen preview of the tasting to come.

A few words about Bernie's Bavarian Bakery from his flyer: "We bake our crusty breads fresh every day in our stone-hearth-oven. Using quality ingredients, we leaven, shape and bake these breads in a slow, artisan process. We add no preservatives, stabilizer shortening, eggs, or dairy products, sugar or molasses and no fats or oils, except as they naturally occur! All our rye breads are made with natural sourdough from living sour-dough cultures. We use exclusively certified 1005 whole grain flour from Nunweiler Flour, a family owned flour mill in Alsask, Saskatchewan, producing organic flour since 1988."

Edited December 25, 2005 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Zucchini Mama]

Some photos of Bernie's Bavarian Bakery:

Bernie sells flour at the bakery as well--note that he calls kamut "Kingsgrain."

By three in the afternoon, these will probably be all gone.

Cookies!

Bavarian Delights

Today was the first time I've ever seen the actual Bernie of B's BB. He starts baking at four A.M., so he's usually gone by the time I get there. He's a lot thinner than I imagined! So I guess his baking is so healthy it doesn't put on the pounds. Well then, it's an all you can eat Stollen kind of day!

Edited December 23, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[Zucchini Mama]

Now I'm going to plan for the rest of the day. I think we need to get some port for the stollen and jerky tasting. Dad wants me to help him buy something for mom. We're also going out for a long family walk and a playground romp in the fresh air. Yahoo! We've got to get ready for the buffalo stroganoff tonight. Dad also explained his sausage-making photos to me, so if I can convince my sister to hook up her scanner, I'll share those with you.

Mom's borscht for lunch!

See You Soon,

Zuke

Edited December 23, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[Genny]

^Thanks for sharing your memories Genny. Everytime I get a post like that it's like opening a gift!

Thanks Zuke! Your blog is like champagne, just popping with a multitude of pleasures at every sip

You have the cutest dad!!!! I love the pix of the family. Who is that with the wee Jedi? Your husband is so very patient to let you take so many pictures of him for the blog

What did you ask Santa for this year? Do you find that when you are back in the family home with your parents and siblings that the old family dynamics pop up? If so, is it a good feeling like comfy old slippers or is it more like the cranberry analogy from an earlier post?

[Zucchini Mama]

Family dynamics, yes. We're not a lovey dovey family, but we check in with each other and connect by phone every one or two weeks. We're all worriers--I think that's a family trait--so we can drive each other mad with that. We know our sore points and try to avoid them. My sister and I are very different and obviously lead different lifestyles, but I just revel in our differences. I'm the kind of person that thrives on space and solitude, so too much togetherness makes me a grumpy zucchini. Knowing that, I just have to make time to go out for walks with Peter or by myself. The atmosphere is very low key and casual. We love playing with the kiddles, cooking and eating. We keep it simple.

I love my parents to pieces and continue to learn so much from them. We share a love of prairie conservation and culture. My dad's a popular guy and he'd love to talk your ear off and ask you about your life.

Here's mom's borscht made with her own beef bone stock and beets out of her garden. We brought the cheese with us from Vancouver: the Drunken Goat has the burgundy rind, the cheese with the golden rind is Little Qualicum's Nonpareil, the grey rind covers the Poplar Grove Tiger Blue, and the other cheese is from France-a mild, creamy cheese with toasted nuts--I'll look at the name again later.

Look at that stollen from Bernie's! I can't wait to have some with a wee dram of port.

The buffalo sirloin is simmering away in the crock pot with vegetable stock, onions, and mushrooms.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[purplewiz]

Bavarian Delights

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I was just curious - what's in the Christmas pie in the case? It looks pretty good!

Thanks -

Marcia.

[Zucchini Mama]

Hi purplewiz, I think it may be filled with rum fruits, but I'm just guessing.

Here's his lovely stollen:

I must admit, once I tasted Bernie's stollen, there was no other stollen for me. It is dense, rich with orange peel and raisins and covered with a icing sugar and a crunch of white sugar. Okay the most amazing thing is to have this slathered with Poplar Grove Blue Tiger and a swig of Port. Pure dead magic! If you had it with Cherry Point Blackberry port, it would be the quintessential Canadian Christmas treat.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[petite tête de chou]

Howdy Zucchini Mama, I adore the fact that most (if not all?) of the signs at Bernie's seem to be handwritten. That's a wonderful, loving detail that speaks of the affection the bakery has for it's products. Baking takes time as does sitting down to write all those signs.

Along the same lines, the picture of your father is just perfect. I imagine him patiently depositing a blueberry into each waffle square and wonder if he sneaked a few while doing it. And at this time of the year, when I'm bombarded with RED and GOLD and GREEN images it's very soothing to rest my eyes on all the blues in your photograph. Quite soothing.

[Zucchini Mama]

I'm sorry,the image does not do it justice:buffalo stoganoff on spaeztle with braized red cabbage.

Mom's Saskatoon berry pie made with local farmed berries. (It wasn't a good year for wild Saskatoons. With too much rain, they got blight. The port went well with this--too well.

And if you'll excuse me, the port has rendered me a bit useless for a while so I'll catch up with you in the morning--Christmas Eve!!!! Get a good sleep because it's a big day tomorrow.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[Abra]

Zuke, thank you so much for undertaking to blog Christmas week, which must be a fairly thankless task, given that people are so busy offline right now. I'm loving your blog, each time I get a chance to dip in.

Your Dad is adorable with that waffle, and Bernie's, well, it's easy to see that that baking was done with love. Farmed saskatoons? That's a new one for me.

Genny, that's a very sweet story. Thanks for sharing that with us.

[KatieLoeb]

Zuke:

Have I told you lately that I love you? This blog has been such a pleasure to behold and read. And each and every one of us, regardless of our family beliefs and traditions, sees just a little bit of something familiar along with all we are learning from you.

Thanks for that.

[Lori in PA]

Not thankless from Pennsylvania! I'm enjoying this so much and I appreciate it.