eG Foodblog: Ann_T - Vancouver Island

[saskanuck]

Ann, this is a wonderful blog, and I would love one of those poppyseed bagels right now. Bagels are something that I've never made, although I should one of these days.

I never did join gardenweb, so I didn't have a login there. I used to poke around there and read every once in a while.

Your pictures are spectacular.

[mizducky]

Fabulous food--those bagels are gorgeous. And once again I'm feeling wicked homesick for the Pacific Northwest.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Ann, I don't know what's more beautiful: the scenery or your food! Thank you for taking me to an area I've never seen firsthand. Glorious blog.

[H. du Bois]

Beautiful food, beautiful photos, beautiful countryside ... I think I'm going to up stakes and move to your side of the continent.

[Ann_T]

It was really hot here today and the heat has been affecting my internet service. It has been off more than it has been on today. So I'm going to try and post while it is actually working.

We drove around the Cowichan Valley this afternoon stopping at a couple of wineries and having lunch at the Merridale Estate Cidery in their La Pommeraie Bistro. We sat out on the patio and sampled two of their ciders.

Sandra had the Frittata Basquaise "........

Four Fresh Pasture Raised Eggs, Chorizo Sausage, Brie Cheese,

Green and Red Onions & Diced Potato. the the Spinach salad.

The frittata didn't photograph well but it was apparently really good.

And to drink she tried the "Scrumpy" described as"

Winner of Gold & Silver 2002 North American Brewers Awards in Idaho Springs.

If you're a Scotch drinker, try this one. Scrumpy is strong and sharp, and rich in flavour of BC crab apples fermented without sugar. Once you acquire a taste for Scrumpy, nothing else will do! In old England, scrumpy was a cider made by farm workers who stole or ‘scrumped’ apples from the orchard.

I had the Roasted Chicken Foccacia Sandwich "......Roasted Cowichan Bay Farm’s Chicken Breast, Brie Cheese,House-Made Tomato-Thyme Jam & Sunflower Sprouts on Warm Foccacia Bread also with the Spinach Salad. I had them leave the Homemade Tomato-Thyme Jam off the sandwich. I'm not a fan of ketchup even if it is homemade.

I had the Somerset and it was described as:

Somerset – Champagne Style

This is the English version of champagne-style cider, dry and sparkling with balanced acids. Perfect for a special occasion, Somerset is aged for more than a year to become completely dry

After lunch we stopped at the Blue Grouse Vineyard and Winery and sampled a few of their wines before heading home.

It was too hot to turn on the oven so I grilled some fresh Black Cod for dinner and grilled potato slices to have with it.

Edited July 22, 2006 by Ann_T (log)

[Shaya]

Ann, your food and your photos are a feast for the eyes. I hope that after some 20-odd years of raising my family I am as motivated as you to put forward such great food.

[racheld]

This is just the most beautiful trip we're taking---it's the first thing I tune in to when I get a firm grasp on my first cup every morning. The scenery is spectacular---you've done more for tourism than Disney commercials, I think.

The view through the trees to the vineyard, that bracket of geraniums across the water to the snowy mountaintop, the grapevines just framing the rows beyond---just artistry of the best kind.

And the food photos, with all the lovely light from just the right spot---what an album! I wish it could go on for another week.

[BarbaraY]

Had things gone according to plan I would be seeing this beautiful place in person but due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to postpone our trip up the coast. Hoping to try to go in September instead.

Keep up the good work. The photos are fabulous.

[Ann_T]

Ann, your food and your photos are a feast for the eyes.  I hope that after some 20-odd years of raising my family I am  as motivated as you to put forward such great food.

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Thanks Shaya, Since it is obvious from the wonderful meals that you are making for your family now that you are very motivated. I don't think you lose any of that. In fact it just becomes more fun when you have more time.

This is just the most beautiful trip we're taking---it's the first thing I tune in to when I get a firm grasp on my first cup every morning.  The scenery is spectacular---you've done more for tourism than Disney commercials, I think.

The view through the trees to the vineyard, that bracket of geraniums across the water to the snowy mountaintop, the grapevines just framing the rows beyond---just artistry of the best kind.

And the food photos, with all the lovely light from just the right spot---what an album!  I wish it could go on for another week.

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Thanks Racheld. Its been fun visiting some of the places that I haven't been to in a while. And a couple of new places as well. We are already talking about going back to the Cidery for lunch or dinner again soon. In fact we might go there tomorrow night. They have an outdoor wood fired oven and Sunday night is pizza night on the patio.

Had things gone according to plan I would be seeing this beautiful place in person but due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to postpone our trip up the coast. Hoping to try to go in September instead.

Keep up the good work. The photos are fabulous.

Thanks Barbara.

I'm not sure what is going to be on the menu tonight. The Duncan Farmers Market opens at 9:00 and I'm going to go and see what looks good today and I'll plan dinner around whatever I find. My son, Matt is planning on coming up tonight for dinner so I know that we won't be having anything fish/shellfish related. And it is still really hot here so whatever we have will probably be grilled.

Moe just put in a request for a toasted bagel and would like more of the peameal bacon to go with it. So since all I have done so far this morning was make him a cappuccino I guess I'd better go and make breakfast.

I'll post some pictures of the market later. Assuming that my internet doesn't act up again because of the heat.

Ann

Edited July 22, 2006 by Ann_T (log)

[Susan in FL]

Ann's blog was supposed to end late tonight, her time.

However Ann, due to a number of circumstances, including that the heat has been screwing up your internet connection, feel free to take as long as you need into tomorrow to complete it. I will leave it open until Monday morning. I think that everyone will agree that a little bit of overlap between the end of yours and the beginning of the next will do no harm.

[Pam R]

Ann,

Thanks so much for sharing the week with us. Your food is beautiful, your photography skills extraordinary and your choice of locations to live in is stunning.

I've only had the opportunity to visit Victoria - but can't wait until I have a chance to see more of the island. Add me to the list of Manitobans that could see coming out there for the winters in the future. (It's true - we love it here, but it doesn't look so bad there )

[CaliPoutine]

Ann

What bagel recipe are you using?

They look wonderful. Are you using High Gluten flour?

[coquus]

I had my first (and only) beef on Weck last year when I was in Olean, NY to see a client.  I enjoyed it.  It's always nice to have a local specialty.  I grew up in upstate NY (north of Syracuse) and I was surprised that I had never heard of it.  But then again I had never had a spiedie before, which is local to Binghamton, NY until I went to college there.

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At the Beef and Barrell, no? Really the only thing they do well, so well nobody else even tries, but well worth the experience for sure.

And Spedies are great, pork right?

[Ann_T]

Ann's blog was supposed to end late tonight, her time.

However Ann, due to a number of circumstances, including that the heat has been screwing up your internet connection, feel free to take as long as you need into tomorrow to complete it.  I will leave it open until Monday morning.  I think that everyone will agree that a little bit of overlap between the end of yours and the beginning of the next will do no harm.

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Susan, thanks for giving me the extra day. I've been having the same problem today. My service has been off more than it has been on since early this afternoon. We are having record high temperatures.

Ann,

Thanks so much for sharing the week with us.  Your food is beautiful, your photography skills extraordinary and your choice of locations to live in is stunning.

I've only had the opportunity to visit Victoria - but can't wait until I have a chance to see more of the island.  Add me to the list of Manitobans that could see coming out there for the winters in the future.  (It's true - we love it here, but it doesn't look so bad there )

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Thanks Pam. I'm originally from the Toronto area but I also lived in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario for 5 long years. I love our winters out here on the west coast.

Ann

What bagel recipe are you using?

They look wonderful.  Are you using High Gluten flour?

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CaliPoutine. I posted the recipe I use for Bagels on Recipe Gullet. It is one that i have used for years.

I use Rogers Flours the unbleached all-purpose and their bread flour. I've made these bagels with both. I believe our Canadian flours have a higher gluten content then most of the US flours. Their bread flour has 13.5 g of protein and the all-purpose unbleached has between 12.2 and 13.6. Rogers is the flour that I prefer.

We started the day by going to the Duncan Farmers Market.

I bought bread today from one of the vendors. Wonderful sour dough. Picked up one of his small baguettes and a loaf of white/whole wheat. I decided that it was just too hot to bake my own today. I also bought coffee from a young woman who has a small roaster and is just getting into the business. I'll let you know tomorrow if the coffee is any good.

I made salmon patties last week using some leftover ivory spring salmon and I froze a few. Moe and Sandra had them for lunch today.

My son Matt drove up from Victoria this afternoon and stayed for dinner. We started with an antipasto platter of grilled vegetables. And the main course was a 2 pound Beef tenderloin grilled and served with fingerling potoates also cooked on the grill and some green and yellow local beans and some sugar snap peas. The beef was topped with a gorgonzola butter.

I bought a 10 pound box of blueberries today and promised Moe a blueberry pie, but again it was just too hot to turn the oven on. I hate to break promises so my intention is to bake one first thing in the morning.

Ann

[mizducky]

I'm drooling over that huge box of blueberries, as well as those perfectly-grilled vegetables. And every other darn thing, pretty much.

Thank you for a gorgeous blog, and for dropping yet another reminder on me that I'm overdue for a visit back to the Pacific Northwest.

[MarketStEl]

This has been a wonderful blog, and you live in absolutely gorgeous country.

I recall reading a while back that if the United States had been settled from west to east, and not vice versa, we would regard the Pacific Northwest much the way we do New England. (Of course, I assume many of you know that Portland, Oregon, got its name because the people who settled it thought the area reminded them of the area around the Maine city of the same name, which is a very picturesque, charming little city.)

Thanks for sharing all this with us and giving us an excuse to expand our cooking horizons, as if we needed one...

[jayhay]

Thank you Ann, I've always drooled over your photos on the dinner thread.

Lucky you, living on beautiful Vancouver Island, one of our favourite places to visit.

[Ann_T]

I would like to thank everyone that participate this week on my Blog.

When Susan invited me to do a blog and gave me a choice of dates I thought it was the perfect time for our friend Sandra to visit from Toronto. I got to play the tour guide and introduce her to some of the areas that she hadn't been to before. And I got to revisit a few places that I hadn't been to in a while as well as find a couple of places that were new to me.

It was my intention to showcase the Cowichan Valley and the southern part of the Island. I didn't want to cook differently.. I wanted to prepared the type of meals that I would normally cook, using local produce and meats and seafood from the area.

I've really enjoyed the week.

So to bring it to an end, I thought I would share two more pictures with you. One is the Blueberry Pie that I made this morning using Cowichan Valley blueberries. And the other is a photo I took this morning from our front deck. This is the view I have from the kitchen and the livingroom and diningroom. The lake in the distance is Quamichan Lake.

Thanks again for all your support and kind words.

Now I'm off to read Torakris's Foodblog.

Ann

[CanadianBakin']

It was too hot to turn on the oven so I grilled some fresh Black Cod for dinner and grilled potato slices to have with it. 

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I was wondering if you could please share the ingredients of the topping for the Cod. I can see tomato and I think basil and onion. I'm always looking for ways to dress up a mild fish.

[percyn]

Ann, I was out of town for a few days and am sorry I missed the blog while in progress, but am happy to have caught up now....just amazing surroundings and food.

So are any of your neighbor's places for sale (so that I can move in) ?

[prasantrin]

I think you did a great job of showing off your area and your cooking! I wonder how many eGulleters want to move to or visit, now.

And that blueberry pie...what a great ending! And I don't even like blueberry pie!

[racheld]

Lovely week, Ann. Thank you for all the beautiful scenery, indoors and out, and for all the cheery words and descriptions of your travels and cooking and dining experiences.

I'll look again and again at that lake, that mountain, and the green of the vineyard, as well as all the beautiful dishes which emerged so effortlessly from your kitchen. It's been wonderful.

[Pan]

I'm glad you were able to complete this blog, connectivity problems and all. Thanks for all the great photos! I'll be looking at more of your meals on the Dinner thread, I'm sure.

[Ling]

Thanks for this beautiful blog, Ann. I especially love the gorgeous shot of the blueberry pie.

[Lori in PA]

Lovely blog, Ann. Thank you.