Food and Cocktail

Tags

cocktail, cottage, cuisine, drinks, French River, PEI, Quiche

With the Summer Solstice, we have been cooking a lot. I usually do all the shopping and W. does all the cooking. Today he made one Quiche for a dear friend and one for our supper, both ham and PEI Asparagus, we are at the end of the Season now. The New Potato Season has started and on PEI it is like Beaujolais Nouveau you have to try them and be able to offer an opinion. PEI Strawberries Season are about 2 weeks away though we have Strawberries from Nova Scotia because of a special micro climate there, it is protocol to wait for PEI Strawberries, they are very fragrant and have a good fruit perfume, reminds me of the olden days.

Then in terms of Seasonal Cocktail I got out my bottle of PIMM’s No.1 which is the Official drink of the British Foreign Service and Army. PIMM’s is the drink of diplomats, of Wimbledon, Henley Royal Regatta, Chelsea Flower Show, Glynbourne Festival and Ascot. It is very easy to prepare as a cocktail, the recipe in on the label. PIMM’s has won 14 international awards in 160 years. Served cold it is very refreshing and elegant. The creator was James Pimm’s who invented the liquor in 1823 and served it at his Oyster Bar in London.

The liqueur featured is Pimm’s Cup No. 1, a gin based spirit with the flavor of spiced fruit. Adding a mixer as subtle as lemonade enhances its character and turns it into a stimulating and light beverage.

Ingredients

• 1 part Pimm’s Cup No. 1
• 3 parts 7up or Lemonade
• Garnish: mint, orange, and/or strawberries
• Garnish: cucumber slice or peel

For dessert I got some Pears to poach in Red Wine, a wonderful dessert and again something you see a lot in Italy in Summer. Refreshing and elegant serve cold at the table. Finding the right kind of pears might be difficult, because you are poaching them and you want a firm fruit not a mushy one. For the red wine a good table wine will do.

Tomorrow, W. is going to make another dessert with Rhubarb, the Season is at an end and we will use the stocks we have left. W. is also making a Veal Stew for our dinner. We have good simple meals always.

Now in 29 days we are going to the Cottage at French River PEI near Cavendish and looking forward to it.

The Lighthouse at Yankee Hill, French River PEI.

French River PEI

Tags

cottage, French River, PEI, Seafood

The French River area of PEI is on the North Coast of the Island and faces Cavendish the area made famous by author Lucy Maud Montgomery who was born in the area and her modest family home is now a small museum, she wrote extensively, novels and poems and other works the most famous being Anne of Green Gables. Her last novel was with her publisher in 1942, it arrived on his desk the day she committed suicide. Only published in 2018, rediscovered and it is anti-war.

French River refers to a French colony in the area as of 1710. French speaking Acadians settled in the area as fishers and farmers. Some evaded the mass ethnic cleansing of 1758 by the British army. The area is lovely, peaceful and scenic.

You have quiet sandy beaches, a few houses in an agricultural setting and dirt roads. There is also a famous cemetery called Yankee Hill. We visited it two years ago and it is the resting place of some 25 American sailors who perished during one of the most spectacular storm of the North Coast around 1850, the storm immortalized in painting is called The Yankee Gale. In total 250 sailors where caught in that storm and with their ships disappeared. Unfortunately last year hurricane Dorian came up the coast and destroyed this ancient cemetery and left behind many dead trees which are still scattered around and block the approach to the resting ground. Hopefully the PEI Government will do the necessary to clean up the mess. I have also learned that a volunteer group has worked for many years at maintaining the site, but this clean up job will require machinery and know how.

Too dangerous to go in as the ground is unstable and too many broken half fallen trees around.

We decided to rent a cottage in the area this Summer for a week to get away from the hubbub of Charlottetown. Despite Covid 19 the city has returned to normal and that is not necessarily a good thing. Self-discipline is not a virtue here and given that we have no cases and no trace of the virus, people have relaxed though it is in the back of people’s minds.

The view of the lighthouse and a portion view of the beach from our cottage. Few people come here, the narrow dirt road is semi-private and is a dead end with no parking. Lots of birds and a few fishing boats here and there. 

For lunch we stopped at SOU’WEST a restaurant in the harbour of French River serving the freshest of seafood. It was delicious and so relaxing, looking over the water a boat was harvesting oysters just 200 metres from shore. Locals and businesses buy direct from the fishers as they come into port, cannot get any fresher than that and prices are pretty low this year for seafood.

I ordered the Bruschetta with seafood in a white wine cream sauce with balsamic drizzle. It was wonderful and so nice. There is nothing nicer than fresh seafood off the boat.

A very nice sunny day.  Can’t wait for our time at the cottage.

 

 

 

LOBSTERS

Tags

Canada., cooking, cuisine, PEI, Sea, Seafood

Today Saturday 16 May was the first day live lobsters were available on the market place. Yesterday was setting day and the fishers went out to sea to harvest lobsters. So today long line ups of Islanders in 45F weather, respecting the 2 metres or 6 feet apart rule of social distancing could be seen outside shops selling seafood. It is a tradition to have your first feed of lobster, it is like Beaujolais Nouveau.

Until about 1960 eating lobster was not popular, lobster was poor people food, in schools the poor kid ate lobster sandwiches while the rich kids ate baloney on white bread. I know it is laughable but that was the way back then, how things have changed.

In the maritimes lobster is fished everywhere but they do not all taste the same. Also lobster trapped in one region does not travel or is not exported to another region, this is done to protect markets and the fishers. So in Caraquet in New Brunswick the fishers will sell their lobsters in N.B. In PEI it is sold only in PEI and exported to foreign markets. We do not get lobsters from Nova Scotia though their season starts earlier than ours in PEI. No we do not have Maine lobster, considered foreign. Though on international markets PEI competes with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and the US market. Usually Canada wins because of our dollar being 0.25 to 0.30 cents cheaper than the US dollar.

Lobster is a rich meat and usually a one pound beast is enough for a satisfying meal. Many tourist will try the 2 pound lobster and some brave soul may go for a 3 pound lobster, but I cannot imagine how you do that, it is sooo rich tasting. Also the price in a restaurant can start at $30 for a one pound lobster and will go up with weight. At the fish store today the little canner sold for $6.99 and the one pound lobster sold for $9.99.  You will pay more if you want only the meat. You can buy it cooked or live. What you should look for when buying a live lobster is the long antennae, if they are intact this means that the beast is not stressed and was not involved in fights with other lobsters, it’s a sign of quality.

Cooking your lobster at home,  remember only fresh Sea water never tap water. Do follow carefully cooking time, over cook it and it’s uneatable and chewy. The meat should be like butter. Lobster is good served with lemon wedge or if  you prefer with hot melted butter but that is not necessary since the meat is rich tasting.

The claws are powerful and be careful not to put you hand or fingers near them, it can be painful and very unpleasant and they don’t let go. In 1990, The U.S. National Institutes of Health tested lobster for cholesterol content and found that it was just as low in cholesterol, fat and calories as chicken and turkey. (Just watch out for the butter!)

So tomorrow Sunday we will go get some lobsters across the street at the Water Prince restaurant for our dinner.

 

 

May 15, Setting Day

Tags

Canada., fishing, Maritimes, PEI, Seafood, Setting Day

Today is a very important day in the Maritimes. Setting Day is 2 weeks late this year due to the Pandemic. Fishers are nervous and anxious about this day but following established rules, all should go well. Lobster traps are set today and this means that we will have PEI Lobsters available in the next day or so.

The current price in fish stores is $9 a pound uncooked and $10 cooked. However the Island is still closed to visitors until further notice, so the pricing may stay low with only local demand.

The boats set out at dawn from various harbours around the Island.

Another Covid day

Tags

anxiety, Canada., cooking, Covid 19, cuisine, Food, PEI, shopping, Stress

So this Monday we have lovely sunny and warm weather, so I went for an hour long walk to the end of our street and along the Hillsborough River to Victoria Park which is the former Royal Park of the Lieutenant Governor’s Residence. It’s a very big park about 90 acres of forest and parkland. On one side is the Residence of the L.G. with its 10 acres of manicured park and old trees. The grounds are usually open but the L.G. told the groundskeeper to close the gates during the pandemic.

It is so quiet and pleasant to walk along the streets by the river with its beautiful parks and old trees, mansions and nice homes. No cars and just a few people who seeing you coming simply take their distances.

I was at the supermarket yesterday and I just became anxious, nervous and tired of the place. There was not many people in the store it was quiet and no waiting at the cashier station. Still I just dislike it and find people in general to be self centred and not aware of their surroundings. I only go now about once every 8 days and try to go early to avoid people. There is stress in all of this and I am also tired of constantly sanitizing everything.

We are in PEI in a privilege situation in North America and Canada, no cases and no one sick or recovering. The down side, people immediately feel over confident thinking its over and let’s return to before 11 March when it all started.  Our Island borders are still closed but there is a lot of political pressure to re-open to allow people from elsewhere in Canada and the USA to come to their Summer cottages. Like many I am firmly against such an idea, Canada has 70,000 cases now most of them in Quebec and Ontario the two most populous provinces. With numbers still climbing each day though not as fast. Montreal is a real disaster area, it is so bad that the Government of Quebec may quarantine the entire Island of Montreal some 4 million people to flatten the curve.

We will have a quiet Summer in PEI our tourism traffic is down 90% and now operators are hoping in Islanders as customers, renting camp grounds and staying in resorts or renting a cottage by the beach.

Here are some pictures of what we have been cooking or got from the Water Prince restaurant across the street from us now open for take-out. You may know this restaurant where many celebrities comes for a lobster. It is a simply unpretentious place but the food is superb and we know the owner and his son and all the staff. Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee ate there a few years ago.

Malpeque Oysters on the half shell prepared for us at the Water Prince. A nice appetizer for dinner.

Haligut and chips. At the moment Halibut is in Season and I prefer it to Haddock.

Made at home, puff pastry stuffed with meat and vegetables served with Brocolletti.

Pastry stuffed with raspberry jam and sliced almonds.

Made this meat pie with vegetables for an evening dinner.

A 3 lbs Pork Roast in a cast iron pan, using a marinade of garlic, thyme, rosemary and Cayenne pepper. The cast iron pan is perfect and it goes into the oven. It was soooo good.

Banana Foster a New Orleans recipe with Rum, brown sugar and vanilla ice cream.

Banana Bread,  Nicky and Nora love a piece of banana in the morning after their breakfast. So we had too many bananas and made bread out of the more ripe ones.

 

James Duncan – Charlottetown’s Biggest Bankrupt — Sailstrait

Tags

bankruptcy, Harry Holman, history, James Duncan, PEI, Sailstrait, Water Street

I read the new entry in the blog Sailstrait of Harry Holman, who for years was the PEI Chief Archivist. Harry knows his stuff and he knows it in detail, he wrote the history of the house were we live currently. I knew that it was the Duncan family home and the Hon. James Duncan was a shipbuilder in PEI. However there was lots of details I did not know and was very surprised to read it all in Harry’s entry. Suddenly I do not look at the building in the same way now nor the land surrounding the house and the incredible physical changes that have occurred in the last 200 years.

Here is the story of our house on Water Street.

Between the Steam Navigation Wharf (which had carried the names of Reddin’s Wharf and Pope’s Wharf) and the Ferry Wharf at the end of Prince Street lies a property of some significance to the history of Prince Edward Island. Here the foreshore stood at the foot of a high embankment and the waters were relatively […]

via James Duncan – Charlottetown’s Biggest Bankrupt — Sailstrait

Meals

Tags

Atlantic, Canada., Cheese, cream, cuisine, Food, parmesan, pasta, PEI, penne, Recipe, shrimp

Recently a fellow blogger commented that we eat like Royalty. I don’t think we do but every morning as I rise early at the crack of Noon, my first question to Monsieur W is what will we have for dinner and his answer is always, what do we have in the garde manger? We always try to plan meals ahead so that it is all organized before meal time. These days with all the restrictions it is unlikely we will get a dinner invitation or go to a restaurant, they are ALL closed!

I also watch Sheryl on What’s for tea on YouTube and she plans her meals for the week, now I would not do that, but she does because she lives South of Glasgow Scotland and goes to Tesco to shop for specials. She is also very chatty on her channel. I do watch two other cuisine channels who will have some interesting recipes. Bonita in Newfoundland of Bonita’s Kitchen on YouTube specializes in NFLD cooking and specialty and I did find a couple of recipe she presented. One of them is the following recipe for a Cheddar Shrimp and Penne bake. Simple and easy to make, no fuss. She also presented the other day a Lobster Salad and again easy to make and so good looking. I am going to try that in the coming weeks when I can get some Lobster claws, I need 3 cup full. It’s the sort of thing you can prepare for a luncheon and everyone will think it was so fab!

So here is a sample of what was on the menu this past few days at Maison B&H.

Roast chicken with sage and roasted vegetables in a rich white wine sauce. We have been roasting radishes and they are quite good with other root vegetables.

Filet of steak with a baked potato

Osso Buco (veal) with a white rice and vegetables celery, carrots and onions in white wine sauce.

Wild Pacific Salmon and home made scallop potatoes in a cream sauce.

Tonight is the following recipe which only take 20 minute to prepare and 35 to cook.

Cheddar Shrimp and Penne

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1-1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided.
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan
• 1 pound peeled and deveined cooked medium shrimp

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the garlic in butter over medium heat for 1 minute. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in 1 cup of cheese until melted. Remove from the heat.
• Drain pasta; add the pasta, shrimp to cheese sauce, mix well. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish.
• Cover and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheddar cheese remaining and add Parmesan. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly.

 

Sunday

Tags

Beach, cuisine, home, Me, nature, PEI, sand, sun, surf

Well today was a gorgeous day, Sunny and warm and no cold wind. It was so nice that we decided to hop in the car and go down St-Peter’s Road to the beach, we usually go North to Brackley Point Beach but today we decided to look into another area.

This is following Hwy 2 North-East about a 30 minute leisurely drive. Funny enough from our house to the cut-off to St-Peter’s Road which is just next to the airport runway, now quiet because no flights are coming here. There was some traffic and then suddenly a lot more traffic. Note a lot of traffic on PEI is 15 cars.

The reason was the Agency Liquor Store at the Irving Gas Station on St-Peter’s Road. It’s open longer hours than the Government Liquor Stores and has more hard liquor, you know the hard stuff, the brown stuff, like Bourbon. The clientele goes with the Liquor. After that it was clear sailing,  the road to St-Peter’s Harbour suddenly becomes unpaved and is basically the red dirt road typical of the Island. It was dry and not muddy, red mud is sticky and clings to everything. Driving on it is difficult, I still have my big winter tires on the car because of the Pandemic I did not want to go to the garage to have them change etc, I now have an appointment for the end of May. Winter tires gives better traction anyway.

We had never been to that area of the Island and discovered that it is a Nature Preserve with very high sand dunes that look like the grand canyon but not quite. With high Marram grass growing on top, the grass is planted by volunteers to protect the dunes. The area behind the Marram Grass covered sand dunes is a mix of wetland, plants, grasses and maritime shrubs and shallow ponds of water which rise or ebb with the tides, perfect for ducks and other aquatic fauna. The dunes are so high that you do not hear the Sea until you follow the marked sandy path across. The dunes are protected and to avoid damaging them people are asked to stick to walking on the beach.

The sand was warm today to the touch and despite nice waves the wind was very light. I have always been fascinated by the immensity of the Sea, it looks infinite. However if you look at the map you will see that we are clearly in the Gulf of St-Lawrence.

The quiet of the beach and the fresh air is exhilirating. The only noise is the surf and bird songs. The Piping Plover nest on the beach and you have to be careful when walking around, it’s a little bird and it camouflage itself with the natural colours around. It is also an endangered species only 6000 in the World.

Near the beach and at the end of the road you can see some beach houses, some are expensive looking but they really only function from May to September. You would not want to live in the area in Winter with the terrible fierce storms, unreliable electricity and rural mud roads. In Winter such roads are not plowed so become impassible. I would love to live at the beach like that in the Summer.

The nice thing about beaches in PEI is that they are very clean, quiet and not overrun with people.

Today was a nice break from the City, we came home, had a nice Osso Buco for dinner and our neighbour surprised us with a Coconut cream pie she had made, it was delicious.

Remembering

Tags

Charlottetown, covid19, film, isolation, PEI, Rome, the past

With the crazy state of the world at the moment and being mostly confined to home due to the so called lock down it gives us a lot of time to think and reflect on the past and on where we are now. You hear a piece of music or an image and you are send back to another time in your life. Today we learned of the death of an old work colleague of W. and given her age it got us to think that W had retired some 22 years ago. I retired 7 years ago. We have been in PEI 4 years now. We left my last post Rome some 9 years ago. I graduated from University some 41 years ago. Amazing how time flies by quickly and it always seem like it was just yesterday. We have not really seen anyone in 7 weeks and not likely to see anyone for another 4 weeks, if there is no second wave.

This week in the mail was 2 documents from the Government of Canada, I thought someone is keeping watch, it was a reminder that in 11 months I should apply for my Canada Pension Plan commonly known as CPP, as Canadian taxpayer, I like everyone else have to pay into it and when you reach a certain age you can apply to get it back in monthly sums. Then the next day it was another letter and documents to apply for my OAS which is the Old Age Security and there is a third pension program for persons who are poor under a certain income level. This last program does not apply to me. The OAS I can wait I don’t have to apply for that one for another 5 years if I so choose. In terms of social programs who support you in life, Canadians are damn lucky since 1965 when most of those programs we take for granted including Health Care came into being. It is all about maintaining a social net. The amounts of money are a support to avoid you ending up in the street with nothing. They are also indexed to the cost of living yearly.

Same with the Pandemic now, everyday the Government of Canada and some Provincial Governments have announced financial support for individual Canadians, from students with no Summer Jobs can get between $1200 to $1750. There is rent relief for individuals, salary relief covering up to 75% of employee salaries so employers do not lay people off. Commercial rent relief for small businesses, Income for Canadians who are unemployed, more income support for seniors, etc… and the list goes on. It is costing so far about $285 Billion dollars to the Government of Canada. Still people complain it’s not enough, sheesh some people really. We have nothing to complain about. But I never thought we would ever find ourselves in this world situation. War, nuclear annihilation, climate change disaster yes of course that I expected, I grew up during the Cold War but not this. So I have now a very strong desire or feeling to go back to 1989 or before, though not perfect we were I think in a better place relatively speaking. I am also appalled at the selfishness of people, grasping for easy solutions. Constant whining about nothing.

This bring me back to remembering better days and better times. People who are gone or distant friends. I also wonder what the world will be like after all this has pass, if it passes. I am not confident that we are or will be out of it, to say nothing of climate change. I remember the world prior to September 11, 2001 and we have not gone back, it will be the same this time. I can see how travelling will be more difficult and complicated and not nearly as affordable as before.

This little clip of La Grande Bellezza (ROME) a movie I have seen many times and love. Reminds me of our time 10 years ago in a city I know so well. The main character Jep is played by a very good Italian actor Toni Servillo. The film won many awards in 2013. You can actually see the city this way either early in the morning before 8am or at dusk around 7pm, the streets can be so peaceful or in August when everyone is away on vacation. I wish I could return but that has to stay as a memory.

Today 2 May is our first day of relaxed restrictions, the main point is you can meet with up to 5 people outside but everyone must keep 6 feet apart from each other. I also got news today that a favourite restaurant is re-opening on 8 May, doing only take-out of course. In house dining will come later probably in July if all goes well.

If this issue does not resolve itself, we will have to re-invent life because no one can go on living in isolation forever.

FOUR YEARS AGO

Tags

Canada., home, moving, Ontario, PEI

On May 1, 2016 we crossed the bridge from the Mainland to PEI our new home. A new chapter. Much has happened since some good some average but overall we have made our home here in Charlottetown.

Photo from the International Space Station showing Nova Scotia and our Island in the Gulf of St-Lawrence.