Canada Day, Taxation, Spanish, Shopping, Berries,

Happy Canada day to all my Canadian friends.

Well, it appears I was right in my surmise that the money from the government would be taxable. I would rather not have it in that case. Wonder if you can send it back?

Busy morning today, first the PSW came and then a bit later the physiotherapist. I must admit I had forgotten he was coming. The two of them got talking and turned out to be a league of nations with Vietnam, Colombia and Great Britain represented. They physio talked to the PSW in Spanish and they understood one another!!! Mind you, I understood them too. Later when the PSW phoned to say he would be coming again tomorrow, I used some Spanish and he did understand me. I think yesterday it was more because he wasn't expecting me to speak his language (I hope).

Later in the day, Kathy came with the shopping. She was somewhat later than usual as she had been on a longish trip to Aylmer, I think, to get fresh strawberries straight from a farm she knows well. She brought me a punnet which we ate later. I was astounded, they were delicious. I haven't had such naturally sweet berries in years. Didn't need to use sugar at all which mostly we do. I see why she bothers to drive so far, mind you, she buys a whole flat for herself and freezes them. 

Luckily I unloaded some of the shopping whilst she was still here and discovered that they had sent me something like 20 bananas. I had called earlier to ensure that they sent me enough as they didn't last week. I ended up giving about half a dozen to Kathy. Turned out that being an idiot, as I frequently assure you I am, I had also ordered Diet Tonic instead of the regular stuff. They will not take stuff back at the moment so I ended up emptying it down the sink. Only cost me $1 a bottle, thank goodness, but Matt can't stand the stuff. They had also emailed me and said they didn't have strawberries but when I unpacked they had sent me some anyway. Not as good as the ones Kathy brought though. We finished off the stuffed peppers and ate the strawberries for dessert.

ladydog was supposed to be playing in her band this evening, Oh Canada, for the celebration tomorrow. They were playing in various parks. Last I heard she said rain was forecast. Not round here, so hopefully they got away with it.

This struck me as a good thing for dessert on Canada Day.

Mango and Lime Crepe Cake with Lime Caramel

Aside from its deliciousness, the beauty of this cake is that it gets better in the fridge for up to 2 days, meaning you might have forgotten about making all the crepes by the time you sit down to enjoy a slice. If making crepes isn’t your thing, the easy lime caramel and chopped macadamias are great over tropical-flavoured ice cream, too.

LIME CARAMEL
½ cup (125 mL) sugar
¼ cup (60 mL) water
½ cup (125 mL) whipping cream
4 tsp (20 mL) lime juice
? tsp (0.5 mL) salt
2 Tbs (30 mL) butter

CREPES
2 cups (500 mL) milk
4 eggs
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
5 Tbs (75 mL) melted butter, divided
1 ¾ cups (425 ml) all-purpose flour
½ cup (125 mL) sugar
2 Tbs (30 mL) finely grated lime zest
? cup (80 mL) water
2 large, ripe mangoes, peeled and thinly sliced
½ cup (125 mL) chopped salted macadamia nuts

1. For the lime caramel, combine sugar and ¼ cup (60 mL) water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until syrup is amber-coloured. Remove from heat, slowly add cream (mixture will sputter) and stir until syrup is dissolved. Stir in lime juice, salt and butter. Allow to cool briefly before covering; refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. (Caramel keeps for 5 days in the refrigerator).

2. For the crepes, combine milk, eggs, salt and 3 tbsp (45 mL) melted butter in a blender; pulse to combine. Add flour and blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

3. Heat an 8-inch (20-cm) nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush with a small amount of the remaining 2 tbsp (30 mL) melted butter. Pour ¼ cup (60 mL) batter in pan and swirl to evenly coat bottom with batter. Cook for about 1 minute, or until top of crepe appears set and bottom is golden.

4. Gently lift crepe with a spatula and flip over. Cook 30 to 45 seconds longer, or until firm and bottom is golden in spots. Remove to a plastic-wrap-lined plate. Repeat with remaining batter to make 16 crepes, brushing pan with a small amount of butter between crepes. Stack crepes on top of each other with a layer of plastic-wrap between each.

5. In a small bowl, combine sugar, lime zest and 1/3 cup (80 mL) water; stir to dissolve sugar.

6. Place 1 crepe in the centre of a 10-inch (25-cm) serving plate. Brush crepe with lime zest syrup, and top with another crepe. Once again, brush with syrup. Continue until you have 4 layers of crepe and syrup. Cover fourth crepe with a single layer of thinly sliced mango and top with another crepe. Brush with syrup and repeat process until you have 4 layers of crepe containing 4 crepes each, and 3 layers of mango. Cover and refrigerate until crepes have softened and cake is completely chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight. (Cake will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator).

7. If serving entire cake at once, drizzle caramel over the whole cake and sprinkle top with macadamias. (Otherwise slice into 8 slices, dress individual slices with a tablespoon of caramel and a spoonful of macadamias; return remaining slices to refrigerator until ready to dress and serve).

Servings: 8

Source: LCBO

Have a great day, stay well, stay safe.