Song, Vincenzo’s, Tradition, Il Volo.

There’s a song which I heard whilst typing yesterday, I have heard it many times before, and there is a line which says something like “if perhaps I say a name which perhaps is not your name” and then asks for understanding. No way, more likely to get a slap upside the head. A couple of times when we went to the UK for a visit, we stayed with Matt’s ex wife and the first time we were there, he called me Dinah practically the whole time. Not only was I furious, I was also somewhat hurt.

We finally found Vincenzo’s new home, boy what a store! Much better than they used to be and they had absolutely anything a good cook could desire. We bought some Borgonzola which is what we were looking for, we also bought some fresh dumplings to try, chatted to the owner of the dumpling section and she told us a story about when she and her sister were kids her dad used to make them prepare dumplings when they got home from school and how they hated it and wanted to go out and play like the other kids. Today she lives in Canada and sells dumplings and her sister also sells dumplings (not sure where) and they make a good business of it plus they both realise the importance of carrying on such traditions. You should see the cheese counter these days, I don’t think there is any cheese they don’t have including the St. Agur Blue which I bought in Niagara last week. They have whole wheat rolls there which Matt says are cheaper than we buy normally at the grocery store, about 15¢ a bun difference. They had some genuine Italian Mascarpone which I bought, the stuff made here has preservatives which give a sweet flavour to the cheese, me no likee. They sell Barrie’s asparagus there too but it’s a nice ride out to the farm. Will soon be the end of the season I think.

We also took recyclables back to the beer store, anything from wine bottles to beer cans. We get about $5-$6 back usually. Today there seemed to be dozens of people taking back cases and cases of beer empties. Matt said the guy in front of him got $56.80 – boy some people drink a lot of beer, it used to be a joke in the UK about having a party on what you got for the empties, I think some of these people I saw yesterday could have done just that.

Finally, American TV has found Il Volo the three young tenors I was raving about several weeks ago. These are two 16 yr. olds and a 17 yr. old who sing like adults and have the most wonderful classical voices. I already have a CD of theirs and plan to buy more when I can. They were given time on Good Morning America (before PBS, that does surprise me) which will start them off on their North American career. They are already well known in Europe. There were discovered on a show similar to American Idol I learned this morning.

I promised this strawberry recipe for today, it says digestive biscuits, over here we would use Graham wafers although you can sometimes obtain digestive biscuits (cookies) here. This is supposed to be a Wimbledon recipe. You might get berries and cream there, but I doubt you would get a cheesecake actually at Wimbledon. Not that I know, I have never been. Many years ago, when I used to go to the Derby on Epsom Downs in England, you could get strawberries but not the cream.

Strawberry cheesecake

Paul Rankin

Paul Rankin layers citrusy crushed biscuits, stewed strawberries and cheesecake in this easy yet dramatic dessert.

Ingredients

For the biscuit layer

150g/5¼oz crushed digestive biscuits

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp caster sugar

½ tbsp freshly grated lemon zest, very finely chopped

6 tbsp orange juice or juice from the strawberries

For the strawberry layer

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp water

2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch), dissolved in a little cold water or orange juice

100g/4oz caster sugar (regular sugar here)

1kg/2lb 3¼ oz strawberries, cleaned and sliced

For the cheesecake layer

2 sheets gelatine (equivalent to half a pack of powdered)

1-2 tbsp of lemon juice

350g/12¼ oz cream cheese

225g/8oz caster sugar

300g/10½ oz thick Greek-style yoghurt

1 tbsp of vanilla extract

To serve

whipped cream

sprigs of mint

Preparation method

1. For the biscuit layer, mix all the biscuit ingredients together and reserve.

2. For the strawberry layer, place the lemon juice and water into a small saucepan and mix in the cornflour well.

3. Bring to the boil and when the cornflour is dissolved, mix in the sugar and the strawberries.

4. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool and thicken.

5. For the cheesecake mixture, soften the gelatine in the lemon juice and a spoonful of water if needed, for 3-5 minutes.

6. Heat the mixture gently over a low heat in a small saucepan until the gelatine is completely dissolved.

7. Meanwhile whisk the cream cheese and the sugar in a mixer or blender on medium speed.

8. When the sugar is dissolved turn down the speed and add the yoghurt and the gelatine.

9. When the mixture is blended together add the vanilla extract.

10. To assemble, place the biscuit layer into the base of six wine glasses, add a good dollop of cheesecake mixture, then add some strawberries. Chill the mixture for a few hours and top with whipped cream and a sprig of mint. Serve immediately.

Have a great day