Cooking

Tags

car, cooking, cuisine, Food, Kcar, mechanics, Mexico CIty

There are always dishes I don’t really like to cook, simply because I am not comfortable doing them. One is turkey, I always found that a difficult thing, I think it has more to do with the mythology around turkeys and cooking them. The other is Prime Rib Roast Beef, this is a piece of meat I would not want to make a mistake by over cooking it. I like my roast beef rare or at most medium rare. I also am not comfortable making dough for pies or for any other dish. Basically though I can cook and prepare meals and time them properly so everything is ready at the same time. I am comfortable pairing meals and wines correctly. I know how to prepare pre-dinner drinks and learned that the only 3 drinks acceptable prior to a meal, if you follow the old classic approach, a glass of sherry, Bacardi and soda or Cinzano (red vermouth) on the rocks.

I remember in 1986 Christmas in Mexico City, I had arrived on posting in July of that year. I made enquiries from colleagues about where to go to buy a turkey. Thing was in those days, few people in Mexico ate the birds, though they are indigenous to the country I was told. So one of the embassy garage mechanics said that the local butcher probably could get one for me. So I placed an order and the bird, was a wild turkey, dark plumes and all that. It was brought to the Chancery by someone, I got a call to come downstairs for a delivery, on the sidewalk in a plain cardboard box was the bird, plucked and ready to cook. Since I lived just one bloc away behind the Embassy I took it home right away to put in the fridge. Will came from Ottawa for Christmas and he cooked it. Remember Mexico City is at an Altitude of 5000 feet above sea level and nothing cooks the same as if you would be at sea level, but that is a story for another time.

As for roast beef well though we have it now at home, in a previous life it was something I usually had in dining rooms of hotels, a great show of carving etc, with lots of silver trays.

But if I may digress for one moment, when I was serving in Mexico, we could not bring our cars from Canada. There was some kind of strange rule the Mexican government had instituted on importing cars, it only applied to diplomats. This was the period of the K cars by Chrysler. So we all had K cars, awful and simplistic cars. I did not want to buy one and so when I needed a car I would borrow from a colleague. One such night I went out with my colleague’s car and stopped for a few minutes at another colleague’s house for a drink and then we all went out for dinner in Los Insurgentes area of the D.F. I had to park the car and at the entrance of the parking lot the attendant pointed out to me with alarm that the whole front portion of the car was missing, the grill, the mountings around the lights and the bumper. I had been a victim of one of the many auto part rackets in the city. I was mortified given that this was not my car. The next day at the Embassy I went straight to speak with our car dispatcher and the fellows in the garage what could they do to help me. Not to worry Senor leave it with us, a few hours later the car was returned all was in order and it cost me $50 USD. I had no idea how the guys did it. I later learned that they knew who had done this and went to see them and got the parts back. I was relieved and could return the car to my colleague, I told him what had happened and we laughed about it. In any Embassy the local staff can be very helpful.

To return to my cooking story, I saw my mother cook a lot and in those days it was from scratch, no process food and no frozen whatever. Later in life we always had someone prepare meals when I lived abroad or went out to dinners etc. So I became very dependent on help at home who would do pretty much everything around the house and garden.

We have a friend who makes wonderful cakes and great pastry, he has the eye for it and every year for the last 44 years has given us one of his wonderful fruit cakes. Now Will makes bread and all manner of pastries and cakes. I am still not comfortable with pastry dough making.

Today my dear friend Dr Burrito was asking about turkey cooking, I suggested the method of Sous vide which means that the bird is cooking in the oven in a bag, it makes the most excellent turkey and so juicy, fool proof.

A busy week

Tags

car, Dashchund, dealership, life, Stollen, winter, XMAS

Again I am suppose to be retired and have nothing to do. Well not so.

This week was Nora’s appointment for her teeth cleaning at the Vet. We have a very good Vet Dr Condon who is also with the Veterinary school of University of PEI. He is considered the best when it comes to dentistry. Nora who is 12 years old and weighs 13.5 lbs needed her teeth cleaned, in the process 5 small teeth had to be extracted. Poor dear, it had to be done and she will feel much better says the Vet.

Today was Winter tire change, so off I went to the garage for the switch and while there had a general check, I was told that the brake system had to be cleaned and was shown how dirty they were, some kind of gunk had built up and I had noticed they were not responding as well. This is the time to get this done before Winter storms strike. I was one of two clients at the dealership. It all went pretty quickly and was out of there in 2 hours. I also discovered that the dealership now belongs to a big corporation which owns all car dealerships in Atlantic Canada, that is used cars and new cars. Not crazy about that idea, we had a similar system in Ottawa where one family owned most dealerships and the service was terrible including a constant rotation of staff.

We are approaching mid-November and the weather is still mild and well above the seasonal normal temperature by about 9 degrees. This is climate change in action, though I do not mind not having the frigid weather.

We are trying out a new cleaning lady and hoping it works out. She came last week and she is coming again tomorrow. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Well we are now as of this writing some 50 days from Xmas and 55 days from the end of 2020. We are already planning small parties and thinking of what to ask for presents. Time to think of cards to be sent and what to serve for Christmas day lunch, perhaps Roast Beef this year. The Plum pudding is soaking in brandy and we have also our home made fruit cake which is always so good. I am also getting a German Stollen, a Dresden recipe made by a friend from Dresden using his mother’s recipe.

New car

Tags

car, Charlottetown, Hyundai, PEI

I decided last week, after receiving the umpteenth letter from the dealership that I would go in to look at a possible new car. The current one an Elantra GL 2012 is still very clean with no mileage or Km on it, under 30,000Km which makes the car dealers salivate.

So I went in to see what they had, first it is the end of the month and for any car salesperson this is the time when they have to report how many units they sold in the month and counts on their appraisal as a good or bad sales person. I also wanted a good price for my car as a trade in, no nonsense.

Elantra GL 2012

Buying a car, any car is a con game and I have yet to meet one person who enjoys the exercise. Despite the advertised prices and the promises made, once in the show room you will know that what ever you were told is just flash and no substance. You will have the sales person who takes you on a spin in the model you might want to buy, then the finance guy who will explain how much it will cost. If you have a trade in  well the used car manager is involved and he will offer a price for your car, always much lower than what you expect. Then the Manager comes in to say hello with all the sincerity of a serial killer. Everyone pretends that they are looking out for your best interest but it is so insincere and false it is laughable. I have to say I do not envy these poor fellows, pawns in a game tailored to make the dealership owner rich and the car manufacturer a hefty profit.

It’s a cutthroat business literally, so I came prepared, pencil, calculator and paper to note everything said. I was careful to keep a poker face expression and saying as little as possible. No I am not excited about buying a car, as I told the Manager for me it is the same as buying a dishwasher, a totally utilitarian transaction. I laid down the things I wanted and pointed out I don’t get them, then no deal, I walk. They were careful also not to give too much of their game. So I pushed them to make me an offer I could consider. First offer they made I rejected out of hand, telling the car sales guy that his colleague was losing him the sale with his poor attitude. Second offer was a little better but still not what I wanted completely. So I told them that I was busy and had to go, maybe they could better it some more. Once at home I wrote them an email with my final position. Within 10 minutes I got a reply telling me that all was ok. So I told them that I would return after the weekend. On Monday, all was resolved, I got what I wanted, signed the paper work and I will get the new car tomorrow.

What I bought, Elantra GL 2017. The colour is Blue Star gazing, I call it Plum colour.  I see a similarity with the BMW 5 series in the body design.

Bach Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor (Arr. for Piano by E.D’Albert)

Tags

Bach, Bronzino, car, Kandinsky, Louise Bourgeois, MBAC, NGC, Ottawa, piano, Salviati, Spider

I had a good day today, the three classes I thought on paintings from the National Gallery of Canada went very well. The Kids and teachers were interested and asked good questions. I spoke on the Italian Renaissance painters Salviati and Bronzino, two of my favourite Renaissance painter. Then jumped to the Impressionists with Monet and Gauguin and then to Kandinsky where I introduce the concept of how science and astronomy, geometry etc can play a role in the composition of paintings. I tried Magritte but it is very difficult for an audience of 8 to 12 year old, too many challenges to established social class concept which dictates that Art must be safe. I only have 55 minutes and I need to keep it moving. I also told them the story of Maman by Canadian Artist Louise Bourgeois, the giant spider is just outside the National Gallery and the kids always like to hear about it, they all know it.

Maman is a tribute to the mother of Louise Bourgeois who was a weaver by trade and the eight eggs she carries are the brothers and sisters of Bourgeois. The idea that this spider can be associated to her mother and her work is a challenge for those kids who come from middle-class background, it also challenges and may contradict what their parents told them about Art. Never a bad thing to contradict Mom and Dad, after all they are just 10-11 years old and in just a few years they will enter those rebellious years.

I had Angela Hewitt playing this piano piece by J.S.Bach on my way back to the reception for Volunteers Week at the National Gallery of Canada. This piece is usually done on organ but I find it so much more relaxing on piano and it does not take away any of the beauty of the composition. I do listen almost exclusively to classical music and I am often out of the loop on popular music. Have a listen it is quite nice.

I also found this recording with Maestro Leopold Stokowski one of the great conductors of the XXth Century. His arrangements are always dramatic and fulsome.