First roll of the Summer

Tags

Beach, lobster, PEI, Richard's, Summer, tourism, West Cove Head

Today finally we had some nice weather which was inviting enough for us to go to the beach at Cove Head. We are only 20 minutes away from the beach and the drive up is quiet usually alone on the road. The beach at Brackley is part of the National Park and so it is forested with maritime pines and sand dunes, marshy land and tall grass, beautiful and quiet. There are also some small harbours for lobster boats like Cove Head and a simple shack like restaurant called Richard’s which only serves seafood and lobster prepared very simply like you would have in your kitchen at home. You place your order and pay at the window then you are given an electronic device the size of a small phone and when it beeps your order is ready, you can sit at one of the simple wood tables looking out to the sea and beach or you can sit in your car to eat. The parking lot is small about 30 cars.  Richard’s has become very popular and it is best to go between 3 and 4pm to avoid crowds but still today we waited 20 minutes for our Lobster roll and fries.  It is a generous portion of lobster, I would say half to a full one pounder, chopped up and mixed with celery, salt and pepper and mayo on a hot dog bun. It was delicious. Having lunch late meant no dinner tonight, we are too full.

This being the long weekend of two in a row, June 24 Quebec St-Jean Baptiste Day and then 1 July Canada Day, schools are out for the Summer and so family vacations should start. But where are the tourists? Last night at the Summer Opening of the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre, a person I know who is well connected to the business circles told me that tourism is down 50% so far this year. There are no tourist, I am not making this up, since May 15 we should have had droves of them all over the place, no what we have is lots of vacancies and half empty flights in and out of the Island. Cruise ships come but passengers do not get off. They are usually in port from 9am to 5pm. Last week only 20% got off a ship carrying 2600 people. The only reason I see so far has to do with the terrible weather we have had in April, May and June. Too many days of heavy rain and blustery winds with well below average in temperature. Even today with a lot of sunshine at the beach is was around 16C and in town it was around 19C not exactly Summer weather. The wind is still strong and cold.

Going to the beach so close to our home is pure luxury, it is so quiet, all you hear is the wind, the surf and the birds.

 

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Cold weather and travels

Tags

Charlottetown, Festivals, Franconia, Germany, lobster, Moncton, Moose, NB, PEI, Petitcodiac, Reykjavik, Travel, wines

I am constantly amazed at the amount of people who simply do not believe anything is wrong with the climate. Winter started in PEI in early November, it was not a snowy Winter, it was mostly ice rain and high winds. April was rain and more rain, May not much better so far with one warm day. The Weather is so out of wack that farmers cannot plant anything the fields are mud, big sticky red mud. Tourists are staying away given the cold around the freezing point and rain weather. Of course the joke is that PEI only has 2 Seasons, Winter and Summer, in Quebec its Winter and Construction.

So last week I decided to travel off Island to Moncton, New Brunswick which is all of 2 hours away by car and across the Sea bridge of 12 Km. Going was not bad in terms of driving but coming back 2 days later the wind was high so crossing the Sea bridge, you are 350 feet above the Sea, I had both hands gripping the steering wheel and all the big transport trucks 18 wheelers were in convoys. It is a 2 lane bridge and you cannot go any faster than 80km  per hour, but with high winds around 60 miles per hour you do not want to go fast.

Moncton is poorly planned or not planned at all, shopping malls everywhere, a new COSTCO by the highway, a very beautiful river crosses the city with lots of marshland all around, because of the muddy banks it is called the Chocolate river or by its real name Petitcodiac river and it has a very powerful tidal wave coming all the way from Shepody Bay (Bay of Fundy) some 52 Km away. Moncton also has 2 Universities so lots of academic stuff and students. I stayed in Dieppe a suburb of Moncton but you could confuse the two since only a street separates the two cities. Also a large airport serves the area which is handy if you want to fly to other large Canadian cities and cannot do so from Charlottetown PEI.

I saw friends in Moncton and went for lunch to a very nice Café called Tony’s, tonysbistro.ca the food was excellent and they have the most wonderful French pastry shop. I really do not know anymore if COSTCO is all that worth it, I cannot say I saved much money. The real bargain is cheese, for the quantity and price it is unbeatable. Cheese in Canada in general is so expensive that I wonder why they do not have armed guards in supermarkets. After 30 minutes of shopping I had to get out, I was feeling tired by the place.

Chocolate river or Petitcodiac river.

Since I was staying with friends, I brought them Lobsters, now of course you will think don’t they have lobster in New Brunswick, of course they do BUT it is coastal lobster fished in the Strait whereas my lobster is fished in the Gulf on the open sea side of PEI. The taste fishermen tell me is different because of the salt water content. I am not a big lobster eater and will have one per year. However I bought mine at the Water Prince restaurant across the street from my home and Shane and his son Cody sell wonderful seafood. The lobsters were each 2 pounders, the meat was rich and creamy, very good and at $11. per pound well worth it. Now I bought them cooked because I do not know how to cook them in Salt Water and you have to know how to do it. Salt Water in the cooking is very important, many people make the mistake of cooking lobster in unsalted water, big mistake as it changes the taste and the quality of the meat. The best way is to take the water straight from the Sea.

This was my lobster, please note the long antennas which indicates that this lobster was well fed and very fresh. If the antennas are damaged or missing, that is a bad sign, lobster if they are hungry and have no food, will eat their antennas.

Going to Moncton was fun and seeing my friends was a nice brake from the Island. We will be travelling again in June but this time to Ottawa for a week. A first return trip since we left 3 years ago. We are driving 14 hours, but we will need the car in town anyways. I also visited Memramcook (Micmac language meaning Crooked river) which is the birthplace of the first French Language University in the Maritime Provinces, U de Moncton. The Eudistes Fathers opened the university in 1864, the village of Memramcook is ancient, the Micmac indians have lived there since the beginning of time and the French speaking Acadians arrived in 1700. They were deported by British colonial troops coming mostly from the Boston area in 1755. However those who survived the ethnic cleansing returned after 1765. It remains an important historical and cultural site for the Acadians.

Whenever you travel on the highways in N.B. you have to be mindful that the vast forests all around you are full of Moose, you do not want an encounter with one of them, they are very large animals weighing often for a full grown male around one ton or a little more. There is a special number to call if you see one near the road and it is important to remember to stop if the Moose is on the road and stay well away from it. They can charge your car and will injure or kill you in the process if it is mating season.

Monument Lefebvre, first French speaking University in the Maritimes, now known as the Université de Moncton. These buildings are part of the National historical park now, the University moved to Moncton some years ago.

Coming back to Charlottetown, we had tickets to go to the Wine Festival held at this time each year. This year was featuring German Wines, we bought a few bottles mostly of dry Rieslings and met with the owner of a winery in the Franconia region of Germany, Regina ZenZen (from the German word for Licence collector) a very nice lady and in her presentation she paired her wines, in this case a wonderful Silvaner with raw Tuna in a light acidic vinaigrette, the chef was Mitchell from Claddagh Oyster House in Charlottetown, one of my favourite restaurant. Mitchell is a great guy only 28 but talented.

We are also now booking a 7 day cruise with Holland America from Amsterdam to Norway, we will spend some time in Holland, I want to re-visit the Rijks Museum now that the renovations are completed. We will also fly first to Iceland for a few days, there are direct flights from Montreal to Reykjavik on our way to join the cruise in September. Other than that we lead a dull life.

Reykjavik, Iceland

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 2019

Tags

Charlottetown, island, lobster, Province

Well this month marks our third anniversary living in PEI. I moved with Nicky and Nora in the back of the car snoozing all the way from Ottawa an 1100 Km, fourteen hour drive. Arriving on May 1 from the mainland. The truck with our four and a half ton of belonging would follow a few days later. Will came to PEI in late September, he had to finish a work contract.

It has been a busy 3 years, full of events and happenings. Living in the Maritimes and on a small island with a population equal to old neighbourhood in Ottawa, has its challenges. We always lived in cities of a million plus people, great capitals of the world. Charlottetown at 36,000 often feels like Mayberry, everyone knows everybody, 88% of the population is white and christian.  There is no real diversity, just the beginning of some multiculturalism which is seen by Islanders as quaint. But since 2000 Charlottetown has changed quite a bit and more change is on the way, a large Asian population is visible. Indian families from the Sub-continent form a large contingent. Other towns and villages remain largely homogenous with the exception of Stratford and Cornwall, the satellites towns around Charlottetown. A cosmopolitan area near Montague, pop 2000 with two large Buddhist Monasteries and their distinctive architecture at Brudenell with 1400 monks has attracted a lot of attention, not always positive, despite the charitable work and influx of cash brought by the Monastery.  The challenge is for the Provincial Government to find a way to have these new comers stay in PEI and not leave after 3 to 4 years for cities like Toronto or Montreal, which offer easier integration into society if you are not white and better schools, better health care, better work opportunities, a large international airport. More and more Canadians from the other provinces come to PEI to live and work but they too, like us often face a wall of resistance. Older Islanders the +50 crowd are very afraid of change and our Ex-Premier who was defeated in the last general election on 23 April was very good at playing the xenophobic card to get votes from older people. During the campaign he did not miss an opportunity to remind people of his family ties to the Island compared to his opponents. However the demographics have changed quite a bit and the millennials who voted in the last election point to more progressive and enlighten views and this is a very good thing for PEI. This is why the Green Party has made such a breakthrough, a first in Canada.

So what have we done in the last 3 years in PEI. Well we have volunteered in many areas, got to know a lot of people, been socially active, I ran for Municipal Office. Got involved in the last general election and again met a lot of people. Joined a Club am now am sitting on the board. Raised funds for the PEI Symphony, etc.. Learned about the Island and the people and its place in the Maritimes.

So our lives have become involved in the fabric of Island society. Socially speaking we have been super busy much more so than when we lived in Ottawa. It is easier here to meet people and often spontaneous kitchen parties take place, you just show up.

Has it been a good move?  On the sum of it I would say yes. It took some adjustment and getting to know the Island way. Yes some times we thought what are we doing here, but then we think back and realize that we have a good life.

 

 

 

 

Setting Day in PEI

Tags

life, lobster, PEI, traps

Today May 3, 2019 is Setting Day in all ports in PEI, everyone really is talking about it and it is annually a very big affair. This year due to poor weather and very high winds the captains of the Lobster boats and the Canadian Dept of Fisheries delayed Setting Day by several days. But finally the weather has improved and the wind died down and off they go to start setting their lobster traps, this means that by Saturday people in PEI will eat PEI Lobster. The job of setting traps and catching lobster is dangerous and difficult, anyone who has ever work on a lobster boat will tell you so, but it is also exciting. No where else in Canada do we have such a tradition which is so typical of the life on PEI.

To work on a lobster boat you need good sea legs and a good amount of physical strenght. You go to sea early in the morning just at dawn and return during the afternoon. The traps must be numbered and set according to an exact pattern, no haphazard work here, it is very important that each captain know which traps are his and in what designated area he is setting them. Each trap comes also with a buoy, in the photo you can see the buoy in blue with red tips.

Everyone wishes them luck and happy Setting Day, friends, families and onlookers line the dock and the wharfs to see them off. Now let’s see what the price per pound will be this year. Of course the best prices are set at the dock, so if you go down to the dock chances are you will pay a lot less than what you would pay in a grocery store or at the Fish store or worse what the tourists pay in restaurants, but the tourists are all rich so hey they can pay.

Spring activities

Tags

carpets, Damascus, Iran, leisure, lobster, ocean side, Oriental, Persians, Seafood

The other night we went out for dinner instead of staying at home as originally planned. The day had been very busy and though we had planned a simple dinner, we were not up to making dinner. So we went to the end of our street which is a former wharf/pier where there is a great restaurant, seafood and lobster of course. The dining room and terrace is build right over the Hillsborough river.

The Lobster on the Wharf was a first for us despite the fact that we live just 300 feet away. We got a table on the terrace with a wonderful view of the river, we have had some very warm weather and it was about 23C that evening. 

The view from our table. Across the river is the town of Stratford.

Behind us in the park the setting sun over Charlottetown.

Also this month the 16 bells of St-Dunstan Basilica pictured above, are being re-installed. They were taken down in 1978 due to structural issues in the one tower of the basilica. A couple of years ago, some citizens of our town got together to fund raised and come up with an engineering plan to built a steel structure inside the North Steeple and re-install the bells so they could once again ring. This year they will once more on Canada Day 1 July to mark the 150th Anniversary of Canada.

steel structure to be installed sitting on the steps of the Basilica.

The containers with the bells inside waiting to be hoisted up.

Across the street is the Great George Hotel, a wonderful little hotel which is composed of a whole block of heritage buildings all built around 1835 and turned into a privately owned hotel. Really a nice place and of course being May the tulips are out.

Talking of Spring, many people are now planning their gardens and Van Kampen is offering the first baskets of flowers. The prices are a little too high for my taste, I am going to wait until mid-June to get what I want, there will also be more choice then.

A small offering of what they have now on sale.

Also with Spring, it is time to clean my Oriental carpets, all of whom I bought in Damascus years ago. It is or was the greatest carpet market in the region. Iran is another great place for carpets but with sanctions it is difficult to bring them out of the country. Damascus was a great market because the great caravans and then the railway brought people to Damascus and the Hejaz railroad would bring the faithful to Mecca. Most people would finance their trip by selling family carpets in Damascus. Great choice and prices. I am so glad I had the opportunity to live 8 years in the Middle-East and enjoy the food, people and culture and the great ancient markets.

They need to be aired and beaten and take some Sun it’s good for the fibers. All are hand made, 100% wool and natural dies, real gems.

 

 

Lobster Season

Tags

cuisine, Fish season, Food, lobster, Lobster thermidor, PEI

Yes the lobster Season is OPEN, the boats left the harbours around the Island. Here is a beautiful picture of the boats as they go out. Probably around Rustico which is 30 minutes from my place. Really nice to see.

My favourite lobster recipe is Lobster Thermidor

Lobster Thermidor is a French dish consisting of a creamy mixture of cooked lobster meat, egg yolks, and brandy (often cognac), stuffed into a lobster shell. It can also be served with an oven-browned cheese crust, typically Gruyère. The sauce must contain mustard (typically powdered mustard).

This version, by 1940s Gourmet chef Louis P. De Gouy

INGREDIENTS

2 (1 1/2-lb) live lobsters
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 lb mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons medium-dry Sherry
1 cup heavy cream, scalded
2 large egg yolks

PREPARATION

Plunge lobsters headfirst into an 8-quart pot of boiling salted water*. Loosely cover pot and cook lobsters over moderately high heat 9 minutes from time they enter water, then transfer with tongs to sink to cool.
When lobsters are cool enough to handle, twist off claws and crack them, then remove meat. Halve lobsters lengthwise with kitchen shears, beginning from tail end, then remove tail meat, reserving shells. Cut all lobster meat into 1/4-inch pieces. Discard any remaining lobster innards, then rinse and dry shells.
Heat butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook mushrooms, stirring, until liquid that mushrooms give off is evaporated and they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add lobster meat, paprika, salt, and pepper and reduce heat to low. Cook, shaking pan gently, 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon Sherry and 1/2 cup hot cream and simmer 5 minutes.
Whisk together yolks and remaining tablespoon Sherry in a small bowl. Slowly pour remaining 1/2 cup hot cream into yolks, whisking constantly, and transfer to a small heavy saucepan. Cook custard over very low heat, whisking constantly, until it is slightly thickened and registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Add custard to lobster mixture, stirring gently.
Preheat broiler.
Arrange lobster shells, cut sides up, in a shallow baking pan and spoon lobster with some of sauce into shells. Broil lobsters 6 inches from heat until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve remaining sauce on the side.
When salting water for cooking, use 1 tablespoon salt for every 4 quarts water.

 

Spring in PEI

Tags

lobster, painting, PEI, scenery

PEI Countryside with its fields of red earth ready for potato planting. Lobster boat passing by, it could be a painting.

We were packing

Tags

art., culture, Food, island, lobster, moving, NB, oyster, PEI

Last year at this time we were 2 weeks away from moving day.  Had to plan the move but also the road trip with the dogs in the back seat of the car. Leaving Ottawa proceeding to Montreal on the 417 and then joining highway 20, up on the South shore of the Saint Lawrence river, at Rivière du Loup joining highway 85 and then highway 2 upon entering the province of New Brunswick.

I had decided to make a stop half way to PEI. However now in hindsight, our half way stop was too early in the day at Rivière du Loup and we should have proceeded to Edmunston in New Brunswick, sort of getting us over the hump so to speak, but I was concerned about the dogs and their comfort. I remember that the next day the road from Rivière du Loup to Edmunston and then to Fredericton to Moncton to the bridge unto the Island seemed endlessly long, Highway 2 hugs the Maine border in that area to then swing out across New Brunswick to the sea.  It was all highway driving and the portion in New Brunswick from the provincial border of Quebec was very scenic, a new highway built at great cost but well worth it. As you drive along the Maine Canada border  into moose country in New Brunswick on the way to Fredericton, I found that part long with warnings all along the road to call police if you see a moose on the road, they can be very dangerous and fatal if they charge your car. The dogs slept on the back seat wrapped in their blankets, though our Nick was mighty apprehensive of this long car ride which he did not understand, while Nora did not seem to care at all, just curious about the new smells.

We did move 4.5 tons of personal effects and goods, which seems like a lot but is the average weight for a couple moving. The moving truck would arrive a few days after our own arrival in Charlottetown. The weather was good all along and the move was done easily with the help of our friend Blake.

Now a year later, we went through our first Winter in PEI, pretty busy with volunteer work with various organizations and lots of social functions. Though some businesses, restaurants close during the Winter months, there is still plenty to do and the amount of Art and Culture is quite surprising for this small Island, certainly well above what one would expect. We did discover that Oysters in Winter are far superior than ones in Summer months, Winter lobster is also a lot better tasting and has far more meat.

Just last week we went to the Pour House for a concert by Guy Davis who is the son of Ozzie Davis and Ruby Dee, a great blues musician. There are all sorts of things going on in Winter from food festivals to art exhibits to cultural evenings, talks and conferences, pub nights, classic movies or art movie nights, kitchen parties, etc, it is a bit of an insider thing, we are enjoying ourselves and the best of it is our friends here an easy going bunch.

The Winter was also much milder than old Ottawa, not so much in terms of snow and more sunny days. The wind however remains a factor, we are on the Atlantic and wind conditions are always something to be aware of.

One year already, how time flies when you are having fun.

Spring lobster season 2016 — Mussel Beach

Tags

Canada., cuisine, Food, lobster, Musselbeach.wordpress.com, PEI

Something so Prince Edward Island, I thought I would re-blog this entry from a blog I follow entitled Mussel Beach. musselbeach.wordpress.com

 

No recipe today, just gratuitous lobster photos from the spring season that ended at the end of June. We didn’t get to the wharf as often as we usually like to. So we made the most of the opportunities we had. I packed up my propane lobster cooker (I think it was actually designed in order […]

via Spring lobster season 2016 — Mussel Beach

In Lobster City

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, lobster, PEI, Seafood, tourism

With the opening of the Lobster fishing Season in late March in the waters around PEI there is a lot of Lobster on the market. Because of dwindling stocks and raising prices, one pound lobster is sold in restaurants from $25. to $31. and the two pounder is over $40 dollars. The little canners are now banned, too immature and a measure in need of preserving stocks. Seafood stocks in general are down 40% due to over fishing in the Maritimes. Fishermen over fished the Cod and the Atlantic Salmon and now it is all farmed which is pretty awful when you think of it, especially if you are old enough to remember the taste of it before it disappeared. A bit like the worm infested Tilapia fish sold frozen in supermarkets.

Charlottetown does not have a Fish Market, which is surprising given the amount of fish brought to shore, it has stores like Mr.Seafood which sells fresh seafood and fish. There are also many restaurant in the Capital serving Oysters and seafood and out of town eateries like the famous Point Prim Chowder House in Belfast PEI. http://www.chowderhousepei.com

Point Prim Lighthouse, PEI

But right across the street from my humble abode is the Water Prince Corner Store, the old corner store disappeared years ago but the name endure and this gold mine of a seafood restaurant is open from May to October only. The owner was a former bricklayer who purchased the property and re-invented himself into a restaurateur. In the process he did very well. This very simple restaurant is known for its Lobster at one , one and a half and two pounds, cooked in the traditional way and served with lemon juice. Nothing fancy here, just honest seafood. He also export the world over. The menu also has many other seafood items prepared in the traditional way, it is all good. It must be if you consider the line ups from lunchtime to dinner.

Happy tourists stuffing their faces with seafood at the Water Prince

Despite the empty tables outside the inside is standing room only. 

Lunch crowd gathers, people fight for tables.

Public transport for tourists

Coming down Prince Street to pick up the happy wanderers off the cruise ship.

We also have Lobster Ice Cream now which is available from certain restaurants for a short period. Now this is not as strange as you might think, a few years ago in Sicily in the town of Ragusa we came upon a very well known ice cream shop which had Beet Ice cream amongst the many un-traditional flavours, I tried it and can say it was quite good.

You can also get for breakfast at the Farmer’s Market on Belvedere street Oysters on the half-shelf at 10am, now in my book that beats eggs and bacon any day, which just go to show how civilized Charlottetown is.