Italian turkey pancakes

Turkey in a bag? Yes, this is the first time that I have cooked a bird in a poultry sac. Our turkey dinner was great. Maura was home from Vancouver just for the weekend so we had dinner and a movie. Went to see Country Strong and thoroughly enjoyed all the music.

The big Sunday breakfast - I always enjoy putting that together.This time I made two kinds of pancakes - pikelets and sour cream.
This month it is all about the scrapbook. I have done about ten pages of the trip to Italy but I was so happy to get the title page done. I used some fancy cotton for the boot of Italy which I machine appliqued onto the background fabric. Then I embroidered all the names of the places we visited and used mother-of-pearl buttons to mark them on the boot. Used canceled Italian stamps from my collection for the lettering. I am really impressed with the quality of the photo copy.

Weekend wrapup

It has been some time since we visited the park; this morning I was surprised to see the old ice cream place still standing.
Salmon fritters for lunch from the George Mercer Dawson Secondary School cookbook. I know the recipe called for crab but salmon from the islands made a great substitute.
Made another batch of Jamie Oliver's pizzza; this is a great recipe but it calls for bread flour - I used whole wheat bread flour. Not so good!





The house was cloaked in fog but at the trail head it was a clear and sunny day. As we slogged up the hill, we resisted the impulse to shed our heavy coats, scarves, and gloves. Instead we reduced our speed and at the top were rewarded with a sparkling view.
Back down the hill, the view from our deck almost completely obliterated by the flimsy off white fog quilt neatly covering the city.

No flour, no butter, but these cookies are loaded with crunchy nuts and chocolatey taste. I used Francois Payard's recipe.

The best chocolate chip cookie

Another chocolate chip recipe - this one from Dorie Greenspan's book 'Baking From My Home To Yours'. This one is loaded with bittersweet chocolate (again I did not have chips so I cut up a box of squares) and ground almonds. Even raw, this cookie is fantastic.

Raisin test

I never put raisins in chocolate chip cookies. I don't even care that much for raisins unless they are covered in chocolate. But today I decided to try a new recipe from the September 2009 issue of Country Living. Lots of oats, cinnamon, and walnuts in this cookie. And even though I had no chocolate chips I made them anyways with unsweetened carob chips. Everyone agreed that it is a good cookie but it pales in comparison with the crunchy version that I have been making for years.

Foggy biscuits

We are in a fog and this brings to mind not only the coast where I was born but a foggy London evening many years ago. We had just spent three weeks on a bus touring the UK and this was our last get together before everyone headed back home. Our soiree was at a pub; they had reserved the room above the pub for us. It was a wonderful evening as everyone traded addresses and stories. When it was time to leave, we gathered at the top of the stairs waiting for our cab but it was so foggy that we could barely make out the street below. In the hush of the fog we said our goodbyes again not wanting the London moment to end. But end it did in the toot of a horn from our cabbie.

My kitchen staff impressed me this evening with a hearty bowl of noodle soup, stewed tomatoes and lentils, and olive oil biscuits. I don't remember what we ate at our last pub dinner in London, but this was a great meal for a foggy night.

Many hands, great bread

It takes a lot of natural talent to draw and paint and make bread. It is good to see that the best qualities that made our ancestors special is alive and well. TG made this walnut boule just like she has been making bread since she was seven. But like that first loaf, there were many hands helping her mix and knead and shape.

The boys are back in town

We knew they paid us another visit yesterday, their tracks easily visible in the fresh, new snow. But this morning the boys decided to try the neighbours hedge. As I walked down the road, the arctic wind whipping my hair around my face, the boys looked up but continued to eat. Shot only these pictures, too cold to do much more, plus I did not want to disturb the boys as they happily munched away.

The girl who shopped with dragonflies

One of my favourite gifts this past Christmas - a multi-pocket shopping bag with bamboo handles. But what I really like is the bejewelled dragonfly poised in one corner. And all the button flowers sprouting from the bottom edge. And did I mention that the fabric is exactly what I would have chosen if I were making this bag? And I also like that this bag is so roomy - can't wait to go shopping.

Oh deer

An unexpected visitor to our backyard helping himself to the cedar buds on our hedge.