Jer’s Continuing Adventures…

Soooo yummy!

The lineup was James and Jordan, Dave Bishop, Sasha and Amy, and meselfs. With the kitchen running full tilt, and every spare inch of counter space in use it was rockin!
After the chaos had settled, the food had been et and the drinks had been drunk, we’d finished a 6 course gourmet meal.

Appetizer (James):
Italian Breakfast (Egg Poached in Red Sauce over Herb and Butter Crustini).

Appetizer (Dave):
Tomato Tartar with Crispy Shallots, Parsley Oil, Basil Creme Fraiche, Balsamic Reduction and Toasted Jalapeno Bread Crumbs.

Soup (Jordan):
Peanut Coriander Yam Chipotle Soup dressed with Cilantro and Peanuts, and served with Homemade Baguettes.

Main (Jer):
Venison Masala Curry over Smoked Couscous with Fresh Basil and Endive.

Appetizer (Sasha):
Organic Faloni with Hot Chili Infused Goat Cheese drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar and Rosemary Blossoms.

Dessert (Sasha and Amy):
Chili Infused Goat Cheese Torte on a Jalapeno Crumb Crust drizzled with Peach Puree and Chocolate Liquor Sauce.

All the while we chatted up a storm, and sampled some fine Libations; Phillips Chocolate Porter, a fine Argentinian White, Phrog Gin, Red Breast Irish Whiskey and Flora de Cana Rum. What a blast and so many wonderful flavours!

[View with PicLens]

Yummmmmmm…

I’ve been inspired over the last few days to put some extra effort in to my food, even if I’m cooking for meselfs. Prawns and Scallops sauteed with dried Tomatoes and Chilies over Pesto Pasta one night, Ground Venison cooked with fried egg and Garlic over toast the next. And tonight, Doug and Rachelle brought a fantastic Wild Mushroom Soup to go with the Venison Sausage over Risotto I prepared. So good! And thanks to them, we finished off with fresh grapes and some killer Christmas Fruit Cake. I’m practically in a food coma. It doesn’t hurt having the very tasty cider that Steve & Carrie made. Thanks Steve! It is so much fun and surprisingly easy to make good food with the right ingredients. What’s next?

In other news, my Dad and I have started working on databasing his artwork. It’s my first real experience of studio photography and I think I like it. Unlike shooting nature where the challenge is composition and light, studio shooting is more about getting the technical stuff right. With the right light set up and everything in fixed positions, I can concentrate on learning the subtle differences between f11 and f13 at .5 second. Fascinating stuff! And I get to see many years of my Dad’s work and hear him talk about what they mean to him. I’m looking forward to more tomorrow.

What’s up with that? Sounds crazy, I know, and it tastes damn good! When I invited Dave and asked for suggestions for cooking the venison, he came up with pine needles in the marinade. Sweet! Let’s do it! Dave came over early and we marinaded the steaks with fir needles (no pine trees nearby) and dried cranberries. After Dan and Tereza showed up we got the steaks cooking. So yum! I’m definitely doing that one again! And the lemon meringue pie for dessert was a killer. A few beers, some very engaging conversation and I’d call that a success. I’m liking this dinners with friends thing. Got to do more of it!

Looking forward to going for a ride with Steve tomorrow. We’ll ride the sections of trail I cleared today and see how they are. Stoked! I haven’t gone for a ride with Steve for over a month. We’ll see how the young feller holds up. Just kidding, he can ride the legs off me on a good day.

With a belly full of beer, good food and sweets, it’s time to say good night. Sweet dreams and bright days, y’all!

Having a great tiime these days! Socializing some, getting ahead on a bunch of stuff, y’know life is good.

My biggest excitement these days is the progress we (HIMBA or Hornby Island Mountain Bike Association) are making on the Bike Park. within a couple weeks we have cleared two acres and are getting dirt delivered. The community support is almost totally positive. With a great crew and many donations of machine time (Island Landscaping, JAB Excavating, Brynco Tree Services) we are really speeding along. The next bit is the design phase and I’m hoping all the HIMBA Board members can see eye to eye on the layout.

Stoked on getting a new location for my trailer, somewhere more longterm. There are three maybes so far and one of them is shaping up to be a really good option. It’ll cost a bit to get a power drop and I’ll have to source running water. That should be totally doable and then I’ll be self sufficient!

Coming up in May we are doing our Second Annual No Horses Invitational Speed Run. Best two of three times racing down Chris & Brads and No Horses. Sasha and I were up there yesterday practicing and we’re getting together there at 5:00 everyday to practice. Join us!

I have my truck back! Old Brown was in the shop on Denman to have a whole list of issues dealt with. The mechanic, Roger Jane, is really good and very reasonable. The work he did for $500 would have cost $1500-2000 in town. Thanks, Roger!

Now I’m off for a morning coffee social and then on to the Bike Park for more progress. Have a great day!

What a hoot!

The Social Climbers Social held at my place was a blast! Some excellent food, a few tasty beverages and much lively conversation was had. Thanks to Gayelle for the brandy and apple/pear juice drinks! Sara, being the instigator, brought a yummy lasagna, Jules made it after her private Salsa dancing lesson with chocolate dipped pineapple, Elise brought the awesome pumpkin pie, who can forget Elaine’s fantastico salad dressing and Amanda’s coleslaw was a hit. I had told Angel that I would do the cooking so I put some pesto on a fresh spaghetti squash. Too much good food. And we do it again on Wednesday for the supper club!

The conversation was flying thick and fast. Too fast for this token male. I abdicated my seat at the table and retreated to the couch when Jules showed up. Discretion is the better part of valor and all.

Besides, I had to work on the shop website. You may have noticed that it’s offline right now. I upgraded the CMS software that handles the site and, of course, now the site has to be rebuilt. Doh! It’s not all bad as I was wanting to upgrade the template and clean up the mess left by my learning curve. And if Doug wants to play along we can build an awesome site for the local cycling community.

Awesome morning!

When I got up at 0730 the light was beautiful on the point. So I did some yoga and then got my camera and headed out on the point. I got in a hundred shots or so, playing with the aperture and shutter speed. The more I shoot, the more I understand my gear, though I can see there will be many more thousands of shots to learn from as well.

What an amazing place. I’m looking forward to the photography club coming out to shoot on the point.