Learning a new lifestyle

Tags

dachshunds, Farmers, Fishermen, Fox, market, PEI, Red Squirrel

Well it has been 7 days since our arrival on the Island on 28 May. It has been a whirlwind of activities around the house and in town with gallery openings and cocktail parties. There is a high level of sophistication in Charlottetown and a good crowd of people. The weather is cooler than seasonally normal around 18C in the day time.

Life here is much slower and quiet than anywhere else I have lived and it is very pleasant. That is not to say that there is nothing or little to do, in fact there is always something going on. Socially speaking it is a very active place and we have a group of friends on the Island.

Last night we went to a gallery opening at Brackley Point, then next week the Indian River Festival starts and then the Art Gallery is having its Season Opening. So weeks and weekend tend to be pretty full of activities. It is a different lifestyle, none of the stress of big cities or the noise or  pollution. Walking the streets, there is little traffic and everyone says hello. As I was getting out of the car yesterday, I could smell the heavy perfume of the flowers in the beds all around. Everything is a deep green with the contrast of the red earth. Going to the  Farmer’s Market is a pleasure, so many good things.  Bought Cod Fish Cakes made by the family of the Fishermen who brought in the catch.

I was telling someone that our wire hair Dachshund Nora was not happy because she could not see any squirrels in our neighbourhood however there are lots of Fox and their kits around. However we do have Red squirrels in the wooded area. I wonder how Nora would react if she met with a Fox.

Red Squirrel near Malpeque

  A Fox Kit near us

 

Intense Culinary Scene

Tags

Charlottetown, cuisine, culinary, farmer, Farmers, Food, market, PEI, Seafood

While visiting the Island Province you become aware of the intense devotion people have here to all things culinary. The best quality and freshest ingredients, all natural, no chemicals and no hormones etc. finds its way in the description of many products you find here in the Farmer’s markets who do not compete with the big Food Store chain but present themselves as separate and independent, striving for quality at a reasonable price while being of the highest quality instead of mass produced and processed foods imported from far away at very high prices. You can sense the real pride in quality food production here since a family name is attached to it and nothing phony about it, somewhat reminiscent of the European traditions of place of origin denomination.

 

 

When I saw the doughnut maker I immediately thought of my friend Dr. SPO in AZ. I know he would love this.

Angelika, the famous German baker with her goods.

This morning we went to the Farmer’s Market on Belvedere, the place was packed with people whereas the SuperFood Store just across the street was nearly deserted. At this time of the year you can buy Award Winning Cheeses like the Clothbound Avonlea cheddar or Blue d’Acadie cheese, home made meat pies or fruit pies from the farmer’s, real farm eggs which are noticeably bigger than the big food store ones. Lots of root vegetables, bacon cut Scottish style, sausages, fowl, turkey, chicken which looked like Capon, goose, duck, seafood, fish etc. again at far better prices than any big food store chain if they carry such items. Because the Island has a sizeable immigrant population from Lebanon-Syria, Africans from West and Central Africa and various Europeans, Dutch, Germans, everyone brings specialty cuisine. I was looking at one African Caterer presenting various dishes, not what you usually see in the USA which has nothing to do with Africa and is mostly Caribbean, a different cuisine all together, very tasty.

Here is the new batch of Absinthe, $48. a bottle, 72.5% proof from Deep Roots Distillery, PEI.

How to drink Absinthe This spirit can be enjoyed on its own in a glass, either chilled or at room temperature. However, just as with ancient tea ceremonies in some countries, there is a particular ritual to follow if you want to experience absinthe in the traditional manner. Although there are dedicated “tools” available for the ritual (available soon at our Distillery), they are not essential for taste or enjoyment. A shot of Absinthe is poured into a clear glass. A cube of sugar is placed in the bowl of a spoon and held over the glass. Then ice cold water is poured over the cube and allowed to drip into the glass. The ideal balance between Absinthe and water is one part spirit, three parts ice cold water. We hope you enjoy this very unique experience. As with all our spirits, we have taken great care and pride in the ingredients we select and the process we used to craft this first small batch of Absinthe and to make it available to you for your enjoyment.

Deep Roots Distillery (Father and Son) produce Absinthe in the old original recipe style with worm wood, the improved technique of production is non poisonous as was the old recipe 150 years ago. http://deeprootsdistillery.com/428-2

There was also a lot of producers of craft beer which is sold is big jugs. There are also several very good bakers of breads and pastries.

I had an excellent Espresso coffee, a very sophisticated friendly scene, not what one would expect and we are discovering a lot of very nice things here on the Island. We really miss for nothing. These are just a few pictures but there was so much more to see and did I mentionned the potatoes? Well they have the blue and the pink, meaning that the meat of the potato is that colour when you slice into it, a specialty of the Island to go with a nice fish dish.

Yes folks only .99 Cents for your Lobster dinner.

There is still a Ferry to cross the Strait to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia, am not sure it is still $1. dollar per car or .20 cents for walk-on passenger, we also have the sea bridge since 1997. 

Eccola, Finalmente la Primavera! That’s it, finally Spring!

Tags

Aberdeen, Alstom, Bio, farm, Farmers, Gluten Free, Italy, Lansdowne, LRT, Ontario, Organic, Ottawa, Prince Arthur, Princess Louise of Prussia

Today is a very nice Sunny day and Spring is in the air, mind you it is only 3C but nonetheless it is sufficient to give you a clear message that Winter is finished. I made an appointment with the garage to have my tires changed to Summer and the renovations on both bathrooms will start. The decorator was here this week and she had those ”very fashionable” ideas about design, I am being kind here, I did not like her ideas at all, she is very much in the new concept which says that you do not live in your home, you only use it so sleep and the rest of the time you are at Starbucks entertaining friends, maybe that is why Starbucks will start serving wine and meals.

She proposed that we did not need a medicine cabinet nor a vanity under the sink, we live in a condo building and storage space is essential. So that idea was nixed. She belongs to the Brian Gluckstein school of shlock. Ideas that might work in Southern climes but not in Ottawa with our 6 months of harsh winters.

Anyway the contractor is coming on 9 April and we will go from there.

Today I walked to Lansdowne Park which has just been totally renovated. It is a very old Park, in existence as a race track and agricultural exhibition grounds for well over 130 years, in the 1960’s the agricultural fair gradually disappeared and then the park was use for football games and a carny fair, it was also a huge parking lot, all of it in one of the more up market neighbourhoods ”the glebe”. In the last four years after many Court actions and disputes between City Hall and an ageing group of former Hippies turn rich landowners, the project finally went ahead. What we have now is very nice.

There is also the Farmer’s Market with actual farmers from all the farms around Ottawa in the Valley bringing produce or meat. Lots of fresh Lamb, breads and pies, jams, cheeses, and many other products, all of it is Bio and Organic and Gluten Free, natural and fresh, made at the farm.

Today I was also able to see in the Lady Aberdeen Pavilion the new Light Train Car made by Alstom, WOW! it is exactly like the cars in Rome, Alstom is a French Transport company and their car trains are famous. Same design and colours, very nice indeed. The LRT line will open in 2018 (phase 1) it is well under way and people are excited. This is the biggest project in Ottawa since the construction of the Rideau Canal in 1820. It will put 70% of the city’s population within reach of the Light Train system. Next to the new train was an old city bus no. 5931 in use until 1979, things have changed.

I also looked at old pictures of Ottawa in Winter, very interesting. People played games like Broom ball and Curling, Snowshoeing clubs and Skiing and skating and Tobogganing. The people in the photos all look older and there are no kids.

I found one lady in the Market who was selling all kinds of meat pies and fruit pies, cakes etc. Some where Gluten free, so I bought one Chicken pot pie and a Carrot-Pineapple cake with icing.

Will is going to make Turkey meat balls for dinner, he made Chili yesterday and a beautiful Pulled Pork this week. Our crockpot has really paid for itself.

Rideau Canal near Somerset street, with skiers and a machine that brushes the snow in preparation for the dog sled races down the Canal during the Winter Carnival in 1925.

Dog sled teams near Parliament going to race on the Canal.

HRH Prince Arthur and his wife Princess Louise of Prussia in front of Rideau Hall their Residence in Ottawa with a party of friends 1912.

Snowshoeing Club in 1920 travelling by snowshoe from Ottawa to Montreal, a competition of sorts over 120 Km.

Group of Skiers in 1910 in he locks of the Rideau Canal below the Chateau Laurier seen in the top corner. This was before skying was organized as a sport by Prince George Leuchtenberg-Beauharnais in Saint-Sauveur, Quebec. He owned a small B&B called Pension Leuchtenberg, he died in 1972.

Nicky taking the morning Sun as he usually does after his breakfast.