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

Cartoon, Rambling, Vincenzo’s.

A friend posted a bunch of cartoons on Facebook yesterday, this one, in particular, appealed to me.

Matt thinks I have an odd sense of humour anyway, but I return the compliment.

We are a pair of dummies, no you don’t have to agree; at the weekend we were wondering why Matt hadn’t received Father’s Day cards from his daughters, guess what, we are in the middle of a postal strike. It just didn’t occur to either of us.

I didn’t go bowling yesterday, decided to wait til next week before stressing my puncture site. I am supposed to be allowing the dressing to “fall off” naturally, it certainly shows no sign of doing so, maybe it will be a permanent fixture and my skin will rot out underneath LOL. I must say I am most impressed with this dressing, it adheres extremely well, I wish we could get Band Aids which stuck as well as this thing does.

Having said I prefer my strawberries plain with a dollop of good cream, I got a recipe this morning which I think I will share tomorrow. It does look pretty good, it’s a kind of strawberry cheesecake although not quite like the ones we normally see over here. It is a BBC version.

Today we are going on a store hunt. There is a shop called Vincenzo’s which is wonderful for all kinds of deli items, great cheese selections, breads, cakes, you name it they have it. They moved last year and we have never actually found where they are although we think they have a pretty good idea. So today we are going to check it out, in particular as we have discovered that the store where we always bought Borgonzola doesn’t stock it any more and Vincenzo’s do, according to Tre Stelle who market it. I mentioned Borgonzola a few years back, it is a creamy blue cheese which is a Canadian version of Cambazola (German) and to our taste buds, better. I have heard it described as a copy of Gorgonzola, not really the same at all. Vincenzo’s are also the only place I know of which sells Colman’s dry mustard powder. Once again, there is only one mustard to me. Of course I was brought up with Colman’s mustard. There is nothing better than a really good slice of ham with some Colman’s mustard, yummy. We always used to serve that on Christmas morning with champagne cocktails. We still do, but just for us these days. Everyone else is too busy.

We both like cooked pears and these look good to me. We do another recipe where they are cooked in red wine which is delicious.

Honey Roasted Pears

By The Sprouted Kitchen
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Inspired by Joy the Baker

I used three pears, because that is what fit perfectly into my cast iron skillet. You could probably adjust more or less depending on what type of pan you use, just be certain it is heavy bottomed and oven proof. I don’t often push an organic agenda, but since this is a short list of ingredients, I’d suggest using organic dairy products for best flavor results.

Ingredients

3 Ripe Pears (Bosc worked beautifully)
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
½ Cup Honey
1 tsp. Real Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp. Muscavado or Brown Sugar
½ Cup Thyme Sprigs
Salt
8 oz. Whipping Cream
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Honey
¾ Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

Instructions

Heat oven to 450′

Cut the pears in half length wise, use a small spoon or melon baller to remove the tough seeded center.

In a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet, add the butter, honey, vanilla, muscavado or brown sugar, thyme sprigs and a generous sprinkle of salt. Let everything come to a gentle boil and stir continuously, about 2 minutes.

Add the halved pears to the pan, cut side down. Give it a shake and let them simmer on the stove about 2 minutes. Turn the pears over so they are now cut side up and transfer the pan to the oven, middle rack. Bake for 12 minutes until the pears are soft and the sauce has caramelized.

While the pears are baking, beat the cold whipping cream with an electric mixer until stiff. Add the honey, pinch of salt, cinnamon and beat another minute to combine. Gently fold in the Greek yogurt, this will make it a bit thinner, but that’s ok, it still tastes lovely, I promise.

Put one or two pears on a plate, drizzle with a hefty spoonful of sauce with a sprig of thyme for garnish, and a generous dollop or yogurt cream

Total Servings: 3

Have a great day