Jer’s Continuing Adventures…

Not directly related though.

Had a lovely evening last Sunday at Rob and Amanda’s to celebrate Rob’s birthday. What fun! Fantastic food, great conversations and a few tasty libations created by DC squared. (That’s Deputy Chief Doug Chinnery). While I brought a simple Ground Venison, Beer Tomato Spaghetti Bolognese; there was a yummy Homemade Caesar Salad, Grilled Steaks and Roast Vegetables, and Grilled Prawns with Spicy Miso Sauce. Mmmmmmmmmm. And Lindy is back! She’s looking good and taking a break before her new job starts now that she’s done school. Way to go!

Speaking of bikes, this Sunday is the 4th Annual No Horses Challenge! Come on up to the top of Strachan Road at noon on Sunday to either race or cheer on the competitors! We’re expecting a few more riders this year and lots more spectators. Lee will be riding his new Banshee Wildcard and is super stoked about it! Even Arly is coming back to improve his time. Thanks to Jody and friends for timing! See you there!

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!

These days, if I want to get in a ride it seems like I’ll be doing it at night. With that in mind, I taped a flashlight to my handlebar and rode the trails to the Firehall for Fire Practice. It was quite fun, even though the light I’d taped to my helmet was pointing nearly straight down. It just made it more of a challenge. There’s a decent headlight coming my way on loan to really try the night.

Stoked that my plans for many dinners are coming to fruition. I think the trick is to invite interesting people in the right quantity and see what happens. Looking forward to the first of many tomorrow evening. A local chef is coming early and we’re going to experiment with venison steak. Yum!

So good to get off the rock for a couple days. To take a deep breath of city air and (gasp, choke, cough) realize how sweet life is on a little island. Seriously though, there is a lot more noise, light and people in the city. And it doesn’t stop. On the other hand, there are a lot of really good restaurants, stores and things to do. Where else can one have Dim Sum for brunch, shop at a Middle Eastern grocery, and have really good sushi for dinner? Mmmmm, sushi.

Spending time with Kim has been realy good and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. We spent part of Saturday baking a cake for her friend Angela’s birthday party. Double chocolate Rum Cake! To die for! Not to mention all the other fantastic appies that were there. Oh my aching tummy! This is why I avoid All You Can Eat situations, because I usually Eat All I Can! Totally worth it though. The company and conversations were very interesting (who’d have thought I’d be talking about sewage treatment technology? Shit – in layman’s terms).

Sunday we walked up to my sister’s place and met her for Dim Sum. The place we went to didn’t have the usual carts milling around with food to choose, so the task of ordering off a list fell to me. Apparently I had no idea of the amounts I was ordering. The table was full, we were full and there was still 5 more dishes to come! Oh god! I tried to send stuff back but it was unstoppable. Oh well, Kim and Caroline have lots of food for lunches this week!

Later on we met Gid and Fin at Zipang Sushi on Main. Great to see them both and as usual, the conversation was lively and engaging. Somehow we got to talking about Google, hiring practices and the difference between Discoverers and Explorers. Good times! And the Toro was awesome. The conversation continued outside the restaurant for awhile longer, it just seemed like we were caught in the flow. It was almost with regret we called it and Kim and I walked back to her place. I’m looking forward to the next one.

Now I’m back on Hornby and ensconced at my folks place. Apparently the hot tub is fixed! I’ll be cleaning and filling that puppy tomorrow. I may be posting the next update from the tub! If you want a soak drop me a note or give me a call. Now I’m off to a well earned rest. Sweet dreams.

You may be wondering about the title. Well, there was a great gathering at my place (my folks place, actually) with a Mexican theme. I provided Read more

One of the nice side effects of Supper Club is the tasty leftovers. Angel and I had left over Nalysnyky for breakfast this morning and it was yum!

Apparently (according to the recipe Angel used) the French copied Nalysnyky from the Ukrainians to come up with crepes. Whatever you call them they are a great flavour and texture. Stuffed with either savory or sweet they were a hit at the supper last night. Amanda’s labour intensive Varenyky (perogi) were awesome, Bethany made a dreamy light bun with cheese and dill filling, and Elaine’s Borscht was a treat! And I can’t forget the very tasty Cream Ale produced by Ian and Doug. Smooooooooooth.

The highlight of the evening was making pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Eggs). What a hoot! Everybody tried their hand at it and there were some amazing designs. It kept us going till midnight before the last of us left and the hosts could get to bed.

I’m looking forward to the next adventure in dining.

Budmo! (This means approximately ‘shall we live forever!’ Usually, one person says ‘Budmo!’ and everybody at the table/party answers ‘Hey!’ (the meaning is straightforward). This repeats for up to 3 times depending on the mood of the crowd. Only then, everybody empties their glasses.)

Jamaican night was yum! Ian’s Ginger beer went with the Appleton’s rum really well. Thankfully Amanda had the mother of all cast iron frying pans. That made it so I could create my Plantain Chips and Johnny Cakes! Doug and Rachelle’s spicy Sorrel drink washed down the tasty hot carbs.  More details on that later.

The next night, feeling good and not hungover, I leapt a couch at the firehall. I thought I was being smooth on our way downstairs for practice. Instead I bashed my toe into the top of the couch. Mother****er, that hurts! So my evening of fire practice became sitting on a chair, icing my foot. After a visit to our estimable Dr. Bob it was confirmed, I broke my pinkie toe. So much for riding for a while. Ah well, that means lots of time to get my graphics projects done.

I’m for bed, g’nite.

It’s official. I did most of my FF evaluation on Tuesday night and finished it off last night.
The quorum voted me in and voila, I’s a FireFighter again! Now I can vote and abuse rookies! Wahoo!

In between (Wednesday night) we had a very nice dinner with Doug and Rachelle. Pat Perry had some dressed ducks for sale and I picked one up. I spent most of the day preparing Peking Duck! What a neat process. The poor headless, plucked bird spent the day hanging forlornly outside my front door. I sort of wanted to invite folks around during the dayjust to see the reaction. Evening came and I put it in to roast and prepped the Mandarin Pancakes that go with it. It turned out well, from all reports. Some duck was et, some applejack was drunk, a fine time was had by all.

It fell on the same night as the first supper club of 2008, so we missed that one. We’ll be hosting the next one at my place. Any ideas for theme? I am thinking something really challenging, like only foods from above the 60th Parallel. Iceland, Greenland, Aluetians, Scandinavia, Northern Canada, Northern Russia. Maybe that’ll be too much of a challenge. How about Africa?