Kensington and Summerside

Tags

ferns, flowers, French River, Holman's, ice cream, Kensington, PEI, Summerside

Today I drove Nick and Nora to the groomer in Kensington about 40 minutes from Charlottetown down Hwy 2. They go to the groomers every 3 months for coat stripping and a good bath. It is stressful for them, so it is a long day. On the way down they sleep on the back seat in their blankets with the air con going full blast, they like it.

The groomer lives on a big piece of land surrounded by woods and fields, the road is call 19 and it is a very simple turn off from the Hwy. like any intersection. She lives there with her mother who has her own house about 300 feet away. She has a ton of budgies and 8 huskies who have tons of land to run around. Of course when we arrive down the long driveway they start to howl and Nick and Nora do not like this one bit. Nora wants to kill them and Nick wants to protect Nora, quite the comedy.

Kensington is a small community, the police is known for being very strict about speed limits, so you do not date go more than 40Km. They are also known for their sense of humour which makes the news on the Island. About 3 years ago, they would arrest people and bring them to the police station all the while playing very loudly music by the rock band Nickelback. Apparently this was a deterrent to bad behaviour.

In the Summer when we are at the cottage at French River we come to Kensington about 10 minutes away for grocery shopping or lunch in the former train station. It was when we had trains on PEI a famous station, like Petticoat Junction.

From Kensington after dropping Nicky and Nora at the groomers, I went on to Summerside which is about 9 Km away to have lunch at Samuel’s, a very nice coffee shop in an old bank building. Summerside was until the 1990’s a big Royal Canadian Air Force Base. It was also a sea port and it has a famous light house way out in the harbour called Indian Head. Summerside is in section a very beautiful town and at the same time can be a bit of a mishmash with an area of big shopping malls for the region and other modern parts with nondescript architecture. The town did burn down 3 times in 90 years which is very unlucky, however a big effort to reclaim the bay shore area as a park and beautify the area around the city hall and the old armoury makes for a pleasant town of about 16K. Life is also less expensive in Summerside. The big industry in town is Agro-food Cavendish Farms (potato) owned by Irving Oil.

In Summerside one big attraction is the boardwalk area and Holman’s Ice Cream shop which is located in the former mansion of the family built in 1855. The Holman family are well known for their big department store both in Summerside and in Charlottetown. The department store is gone but not its building which sits on Water street and is now offices.

The family home was to be demolished a few years ago and a business man came to the rescue and renovated it and repurposed the building keeping all the woodwork and its beautiful garden full of flowers and sitting across the street from City Hall a building of similar period.

In PEI you probably heard plenty about COW’s ice cream which is a big industrial concern. I for one do not care for it but it is flagged to the tourists as the best. I much prefer Holman’s, it is made daily and the flavours change constantly, they even make flavours customers will request. However once the flavour of the day is gone, that is it. So on any given day they offer 15 flavours and yesterday at the shop there was a lot of people. They did not have pistachio but I bought sugar free Blueberry swirl and it was very good.

This photo taken at Low Tide shows the sand bars which appear and are a threat to any boat. You can also see the Indian Head Lighthouse which indicates where you can sail through.

So this morning we went out to York to see about buying a small fern in a 4 inch pot. This is pretty much the end of the season to buy flowers for the garden and they did not have anything like that in stock. So up the road is Jewel which is a farm/market store with 6 huge green houses with an incredible selection of plants and flowers and we did find that miniature fern with the help of the staff because there is so much it is a little overwhelming. It is so beautiful to look at in all its variety.

Sono in Spiaggia

Tags

Beach, home, ice cream, life, PEI, Summer, vacation

For the last 2 weeks we have been at the Beach, so this is why there has been no blogging. What I cherish most here is the perfect quiet, the only noise is nature itself, the many variety of birds and the surf. We are surrounded by forest, marsh and the sand dunes of the beach. It is so pleasant that living in the city you forget how it can be.

The nearest small town is 10 minutes down the road where there is a liquor store and a small grocery store with all the conveniences. Many nice cafés and little restaurants here and there in and around Kensington. The big town is Summerside 20 minutes away, pop 15K, we go there for the Ice Cream at Holman’s which is located inside the former mansion of the Holman Family with its beautiful garden of old trees and plentiful flowers. By far the ice cream at Holman’s is made daily and in small batches, once sold that’s it. The taste and texture is wonderful and the owners follow high standards to produce it, it is well worth the drive down the road to Holman’s.

In PEI usually you hear a lot about COWS ice cream which is owned by a big Corp. ADL and is a major producers of dairy products. The quality is industrial and it is flogged at the tourist crowd.

Going to Kensington on country roads where you share the road with farming machinery, surrounded by farms, you should know to slow down once you see the sign up ahead for the town, the speed limit drops from 80Km to 50Km and the police cruiser is hidden in the field, they watch for speeders. In fact the small police force of Kensington (5) has a FaceBook page and they are well known for their humour.

The weather of our first week was quite nice with walks on the deserted beach. Now since yesterday a big storm has come in and it is windy and rainy with big waves. It appears that it will be like this for the next day or so. We return home on Saturday, I wonder how I will find the city with its noise. Both Nicky and Nora will be happy to see us and probably will stick to us like glue, creatures of habit that they are.

Last night 21 July was our 14th Wedding Anniversary, we married between assignments, I completed my Beijing posting came home to Ottawa, the house had sold and in those few days we prepared for our next post Rome. Got married with our long haired dachshund Reesie present, he would be coming with us to Italy. A friend had offered her beautiful garden for the event. It was small and simple and with a few friends present. Then a few days later we flew to Rome and wonderful years in Italy. Now all this seems so far away.

For our anniversary we have this habit now in PEI to go to The Mill in New Glasgow, the award winning chef is Emily Wells, her food is beautiful and the dishes always very well prepared. She is a chef who knows how to bring out the flavour of each ingredients and balances it all carefully. The restaurant was once an old mill built in 1874 on the banks of the Clyde River, simple but beautiful dining room on a quiet river surrounded by parkland. The meal was great and so happy to see Chef Emily again.

So at the beach I brought one book to read, but while we went to Summerside we discovered a bookstore Seaside Books owned by a lady called Nancy, it is a second hand bookstore on Water street, the selection was eclectic and very interesting. I found books by John LeCarré and by Lord Jeffrey Archer. However the style of LeCarré I like because it reminds me of my former life. Archer writes about detective stories and it has the feel of a TV script which I find annoying. I also bought a book on Jung and his mystic approach to psychiatry. Though Jung himself often said he was not a mystic and did not believe in it.

The greatest find came from Nancy who showed us a book of paintings on Venice over a period of four centuries, with accompanying text. It’s a big coffee table book, cloth binding weighs about 20 pounds, in mint condition. A spectacular book which Will loved at first sight.

Tonight we are going to the theatre in Rustico which is a fishing village further East from us. The Watermark theatre produces great summer stock plays, we are going to see the Gin Game by D.L. Coburn.

Such a nice staycation just 50 minutes from home but feels like we are thousands of Km away.

P.S. photos to come

A good time

Tags

Canada, Christmas, cuisine, Elizabeth II, Food, ice cream, life

We had a good Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Luncheon with friends.

The 24 Dec was a simple affair of a few friends came to say hello and exchange good wishes. We served home made sausage roll made from the meat of English Banger sausage and using a recipe of Nigel Slater we made puff pastry stuffed with British Stilton Cheese served pipping hot, with a glass of bubbles its a great little bite. He also made small pastry stars mixed with parmesan and served hot. They are very good and of course while we were not looking our Nicky managed to grab a couple. He loves cheese, so does Nora but she is not as bold as he is.

Today’s Luncheon, Will borrowed a great recipe for Tourtiere which came very close to my Mom’s, it was delicious. We also had a turkey breast, Brussel’s sprouts roasted, carrots and roasted small potatoes. We started the meal with Red Sockeyed Wild Pacific Salmon with capers and dill. Our dessert was Plum Pudding Flambé which had a good flame this year and instead of the usual hard sauce, Will made Nesselrode Chesnut Ice Cream, it was a big hit with our guests. It was the great French Chef Carême who invented this dessert in honour of the Russian/German Diplomat and Chancellor of the Russian Empire Count Karl Robert Nesselrode in 1814 after Napoleon’s final defeat.

The tradition of the Christmas day message goes back to 1928 when King George V, the grandfather of the Queen did the first broadcast. As Queen of Canada the message of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II is carried on the Nation’s airwaves of the CBC at 3pm. This year unlike any other year the Queen is in Windsor Castle due to the pandemic.

It was also very warm today in Charlottetown, 50F which is unheard of and shows how climate change is really changing the world around us, normally it should be near zero or below zero and snow should be covering the ground, not so this year.

Recipe requested

Tags

Canada., cuisine, ice cream, Irish whiskey

Well dear readers you requested the recipe of the Irish Whiskey Browned Bread Ice Cream and here it is from Glen, who is a Canadian cooking all manner of nice dishes for our pleasure. Please enjoy!  We tried it and it is really good, sorry Ben and Jerry, here is your pink slip.

For Dr. Spo,  Glen also has an Absinthe Ice Cream recipe, I know you will enjoy it.

 

Food videos

Tags

1930, amaretti, cuisine, ice cream, Ireland, life, whiskey

So I started with the Japanese Egg Salad sandwich, well from that first recipe I was prompted by YouTube to see other types of sandwiches you can make which in Asia is considered street food you can buy in small kiosk or in the large kiosk in all train stations for a snack on board a train. What is interesting about train stations in Japan is the variety of the food offer and the quality, something you simply do not see in Canada. There are lots of very interesting recipes on YouTube and none are difficult to make.

Sometimes they will use some ingredients like sprinkling sugar and then using ketchup and mayo as part of dressing up your sandwich. Some combinations may appear strange to Western taste but it is worth a try, I know Foodies will understand that.

The three ingredients for this ice cream recipe, the custard, the whiskey and the roasted bread. All this will go into our ice cream machine and then into the deep freeze. 

Today Chef Will, who has always been good in the kitchen and has an aversion to boiled potatoes, decided to make Irish brown Bread Ice Cream, for this recipe you need a good 12 year old Irish Whiskey, we have a bottle of Yellow Spot, single pot still, aged in three casks, Bourbon, Sherry and Malaga. I know Dr Spo of the No Rubbish school would approve. What got Will to make this type of ice cream is his recent purchase of a previously admired Ice cream machine by Cuisinart. Three days ago he made fresh pistacchio ice cream. Yes pistacchio has 2 C. in the word, pronounced Pis Tak Kio. I know you may wonder, Brown bread ice cream?!? really? Yes really, will let you know how it all turns out.

He also made with left over egg whites some Amaretti cookies to have with our Espresso. For those who might be interested, we use Lavazza ground coffee.

So has promised, here it is very good ice cream, it does have that taste of Irish Whiskey and a crunch to it due to the roasted bread. This is a recipe Will found on a YouTube site which specialize in recipes of the 1930’s in Canada.  If anyone is interested, let me know and I will post the link to this YouTube Channel. The host and his wife are charming and will be honest, if after making a recipe it is not good or they do not like it, they will tell you. Not every recipe can be a winner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summerside

Tags

coffee, ice cream, PEI, Summerside

Once upon a time the Town of Summerside PEI there was a military airport and training facility from 1940 to 1991. Then Government program cuts came and it all disappeared. It destroyed the economy of Summerside and created serious unemployment and business failures. The town of 15K went into a slumber and decay. The town had also suffered great fires in its core which did damage the fabric of the city in 1879 and 1880. Summerside is often described as a city of little interest.

During our staycation we discovered something quite different. Summerside has beautiful neighbourhoods and great homes far more impressive than what you see in Charlottetown. Leafy avenues and imposing brick buildings. We went to Summerside to buy ice cream at Holman’s, a family run business located in the old Holman Family Mansion across the street from City Hall. All the ice cream is freshly made on the premises, all natural ingredients and made in small batches. This is high quality ice cream and in my opinion beats in terms of taste and quality, the more commercial COWs which dominates the market in Charlottetown.

Holman Family Mansion 1855 in Summerside, PEI and its beautiful garden.

We did buy 2 litres of ice cream, chocolate and strawberry, creamy and very good.

There is also some very good coffee shops in Summerside, which also serve breakfast and lunch. One is Samuel’s where we had a coffee and a sweet, top quality, all made on premises fresh daily. There is a trend in PEI now for this type of coffee shop which offers someting different from the Corporate brand coffee shops. In Charlottetown we have Receiver Coffee and in Montague The Lucky Bean, all offer their own roasted coffee beans on premises and all food and breads are baked by them, it is a more European approach. Menu is also ever changing and has Vegan options.

Samuel’s Coffee House at 4 Queen street corner with Water street.

Summerside is on the sea and here is the famous Indian Head Lighthouse at the entrance to its harbour. I was surprised to see how far out it was in the harbour.

Summerside City Hall across from Holman’s

Also while we were visiting we stumbled upon the Wyatt House who organized an Art Exhibit of large canvas paintings on one of its residential streets.

All in all Summerside is well worth a visit, it’s a nice city.

 

 

 

 

This afternoon in Charlottetown

Tags

boat, Charlottetown, COWS, cruise ships, ice cream, Marina, PEI, sun, water

We have had a glorious sunny week in Charlottetown, late Summer weather with cool nights.

There are 2 cruise ships in port every day and next week we will have 3 in one day. Though the ships can carry upwards of 2000 passengers, they usually have only about 1000 on board at the most.

It is so pleasant to walk around town and go the to dock to look at the river and all the green and some colour now on the trees all around, really idyllic. Here are some pictures.

 

 

 

With this Thanksgiving weekend a lot of activities at the Marinas, the owners are taking their boats out of the water for winter. There was one this afternoon being taken out a great big thing, valued at $750.000 cdn. I can just imagine the cost of gas for that boat. It is so big that as it goes down Water Street to its parking place for the Winter it needs an escort truck to make sure incoming traffic is not in the way. The other pictures are of the various Cruise ships. This is my backyard literally, the once close up with the Holland American ship is taken from my kitchen window.

It is so relaxing to just sit on the docks, enjoy the quiet and the sun and eat an ice cream looking at the scenery.