Looking back

Tags

Cheese, dachshunds, life, market, PEI, Quebec, tulips, Vanco

I learned yesterday that 50 years ago the movie the Godfather premiere, is that possible, I was 16 yrs old and remember seeing the movie and thinking how horribly violent it was. Not like the Hitchcock movies where the violence was always implied like the music or lighting or blood in water.

Today FB reminded me that this week in 2009 we went to Capena to pick-up Nick and Nora who were 9 weeks old to come and live with us. They were and still are the cutest and funniest puppies, it is said that dogs are clowns and make our life enjoyable.

We are already past the halfway point in March, time is going supersonic it seems. I left a message with our accountant today so she can do our income tax. I never learned how to do it myself, it is not complicated but I am lazy and prefer have someone do it for me. She can also file automatically with Revenue Canada.

At the Club one of the member is a retired Commodore of the Royal Canadian Navy, who commanded his own war ship. Today HMCS Halifax left for the Baltic Sea to join our NATO mission in support of the Baltic States. Jim told me on Friday night that if he was 20 years younger and in good health he would be back in service in a flash. He really misses going out to sea.

HMCS Halifax

I went to the Farmer’s Market today and now that most restrictions are lifted it was the first normal market day in 2 years. There was lots of people and business was brisk. I stopped at the Cheese counter, they have the most beautiful selection of fresh cheeses. They bring them in from Quebec where there is a well established cheese making culture. They also import from France and UK. Strangely their prices are better than the grocery store where all the cheeses are manufactured from large companies and wrapped in plastic. When she sells her cheese, she wraps them in wax paper to keep them moist and fresh, which is the way to do it. All the cheeses are sliced in front of you, I got a slice 200gr of Brie, I also got 200gr of Morbier which is a cheese that has a trace of wood ashes in the middle and a slice of Emmental. I think next time I will get some of her high quality Burrata and some Raclette which is a wonderful cheese you melt and serve with boiled potatoes as they do in Switzerland. I also got deep purple tulips, grown here on the Island by VANCO a Dutch company, they are now in season and the variety of colours is amazing. I also got at the Butcher some veal schnitzels and some Bratwurst made by the butcher. I then went to the fishmonger and bought 2 pieces of Atlantic Salmon for dinner. I also bought some bread at the Bakery which is made daily at 3am and ready for sale by 9am it is still hot to touch and smells wonderful.

Today was a beautiful sunny day and the last day of Winter. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring and it feels and smells like it.

Vanco Tulip Farm in Stratford just minutes East of Charlottetown PEI.

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.