More Asparagus followed by Strawberries

Last night we tried Asparagus in Bed and were both somewhat disappointed. I didn't like the prosciutto with it and Matt said the dish was generally not as good as it appeared from reading the recipe. However, Hrugaar tells me the dish Asparagus and Tomato Bake that I posted on June 13, was good so I will try that next. One thing I learned from the Asparagus in Bed recipe was how to "hold" poached eggs in water until I wanted to use them in the dish. I had never tried this before. I thought the combination of eggs, Parmesan and asparagus was very good but found the prosciutto made it too salt, for my taste anyway.

Now strawberries are becoming available locally, unfortunately I don't find strawberries over here to be anything like the one's we used to get in the Europe years ago. They are not as sweet. The best berries we ever tasted in North America were those we bought at a particular farm in North Carolina, just outside Morehead City. Now they were sweet. I don't think I will be posting lots of recipes for strawberries because basically I like mine 'au naturel' with good cream. I frequently serve them with the Double Devon cream which can be bought in glass jars here. Of course we usually have to sweeten them. The classic dish in North America is Strawberry Shortcake; shh, don't tell anyone, I hate it. Our new Superintendent's wife was telling me, yesterday, she likes strawberry and rhubarb pie which I have never eaten, but the season is so short, I like mine just plain. Rather like lobster, I get it so rarely, I don't want to "muck about" with it. I wanted to try a berry farm which is a fair distance from us, but Matt is beginning to complain about the gas costs to get there. We have been spending a fair bit on gas to get to Tim Barrie's for asparagus and the berry farm I found is even further away.

If you read the comments, Hrugaar said they spend £40 to fill up a small car with gasoline, well, being a Limey he said petrol as I would have done til I emigrated. That, my friends, is close to $90 and that is for, what I have no doubt, is a 4 cyl. vehicle. We are complaining bitterly over here, but Europeans are saying its about time we caught up with them. I do hope you read Elizabeth Moon's letter to her congressman, I feel she really hits the nail on the head. This morning the Americans are talking about offshore drilling in areas which have previously been protected. I don't want to go back to a horse and buggy, but that's really where we should be headed. I commented to Matt, the other day, that I bet the Mennonites and Amish are laughing at our gasoline problems. Let's face it, with a horse, its grass and oats in one end and fertilizer out of the other. Very economical. Yes I know, you need stabling and field space etc. but once you have all that, you don't have to keep buying it. Wherever the expression originated, the oil producers have certainly got us over a barrel at the moment. I know I am oversimplifying, but it is certainly something to think about.

We have to do our bowling on Friday this week as our regular Monday league game is cancelled as the bowling alley will be filled with youngsters. We could just bank our scores for a previous game, but its more fun to actually bowl them. We have a couple of dinner parties coming up, one at a friend's and another one here. I am thinking of doing the Phyllo Bundles again as we enjoyed them so much last time. I need to check our guests like asparagus, surprisingly there are people who don't. As you can imagine, I can't understand that.

I was just thinking about a recipe when I remembered there is one recipe made with strawberries, which I love, Strawberries Romanoff. Here is a recipe from the internet with a little bit of history:

Strawberries Romanoff

Epicurious.com

When he was the chef at the Carlton Hotel in London, Escoffier created Strawberries Americaine Style — strawberries in orange liqueur, blended into whipped cream and softened ice cream. Little did he know that it would one day be the star dessert of every posh dining spot in California. "Prince" Mike Romanoff "borrowed" the recipe and gave it a new moniker. Soon it was the hottest item on the West Coast. The L.A. Biltmore called it "Strawberries Biltmore." The Palace Hotel in San Francisco served it with anisette and maraschino.

Strawberries Romanoff

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

2 pints strawberries, washed and stemmed
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 cup heavy cream

1. Slice the strawberries. In a large bowl, toss three-quarters of them with the sugar and orange liqueur. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to macerate.

2. Put the ice cream in the refrigerator to soften.

3. Put the cream and half the macerated strawberries in a cold mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, whip to soft peaks, about 12 minutes. Fold in the ice cream.

4. Distribute the cream among 6 chilled bowls. Mix the plain sliced berries with the remaining macerated berries and place on top of the cream.

Have a great day.

Mennonites, Drayton Theatres

Yesterday, as I told you, we were bowling with our Travel League. This month we were visiting Elmira Bowl which is about half an hour out of town for us. I had forgotten until we passed through St. Jacobs and the surrounding countryside towards Elmira, how large a Mennonite community there is in this area. Yesterday we saw several Mennonite buggies driving around, a couple of which were open and must have been damned chilly even yesterday which was pretty sunny. The Crossroads restaurant I mentioned where we had lunch is run by this community so all the girls are wearing their traditional clothes and bonnets - I always admire the women's dresses, they are beautifully made and simple in design but quite elegant. St. Jacobs is famous for its market and of course a lot of it is run by the Mennonites who own many of the farms in the area. They are a religious group and have their own doctrines. They basically don't believe in modern technology and therefore use horses for ploughing and pulling their buggies and so on. I don't know about the level of technology in their homes, but TV is out and they are a much better community for it. However, some of the younger Mennonites are breaking away from tradition and do drive cars these days and take part in more modern activities. I have never been fortunate enough to make friends with any of the families, but from casual interactions they always seem to be very nice and cheerful. Not to mention hard working, kind and caring.

St. Jacobs is also home to two small theatres, the Country Playhouse and the Schoolhouse Theatre. There is a group known as Drayton Entertainment who stage plays all round southern Ontario and we usually try and see some of their shows. I am booked to see four of them this summer and am looking forward to it. The first time we went was for my birthday a few years ago and we saw Joseph and His Technicoloured Dream Coat which we hadn't seen anywhere before. It was beautifully done and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We went for dinner at Benjamin's in St. Jacobs before the show and then drove to Drayton itself to their Festival Theatre which is a fair distance away. A couple of years ago, I went with a friend to the Huron County Theatre to see the Mikado, that theatre is in Grand Bend which is a couple of hours' (or more) drive away, we went to the matinée and arrived in time to have a picnic in the sunshine in front of the theatre, it was a great day and the production would not have shamed d'Oyle Carte in London who specialise in Gilbert and Sullivan productions. The Mikado arrived on stage by being driven in a golf cart right through the audience. Pretty funny. Matt is not going to any of the shows this year as there is nothing he particularly wants to see, so I am going with friends. I also plan to go to the pantomime in St. Jacobs this Christmas. We went to see their Alladin which was based on the wonderful British Pantos; this year they are doing Cinderella. Great fun and great theatre. Traditionally there is always a pantomime dame who is played by a man. In England dames have been played by some very famous comedians. One of whom was John Inman of Are You Being Served fame. I bet he was good, I would have liked to see him.

Here's a nice hearty meal, I got this from a friend in England, but I don't know where he got it from although from the measurements it must have been from North America.

Belgian Beef Carbonnade
Serves: 6

2 Tablespoon Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
1 1/2 lb. Round steak, 1" cubes (any good stewing beef)
1/4 Cup Butter
3 Large Onions, sliced
1/2 Bay leaf
1/8 Teaspoon Dried thyme
1/4 Cup Chopped celery leaves
1 1/2 Tablespoon Brown sugar
1 1/4 Cup Beer
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1/2 Garlic clove, halved
1/8 Cup Chopped parsley

Blend together the flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, in a large bowl. Roll the meat cubes in this mixture until they are well coated.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions, and Sauté over medium heat until they are softened and tender. Be careful not to brown the onions. Remove the onions from the pan with a perforated spoon, pressing out as much fat as possible.

Place the same pan over high heat and sear the cubes of meat, a few at a time. This operation will give color to the finished Carbonnade. Return the onions and meat to the pan, and set it over low heat.

Add the seasonings, brown sugar and beer. Bring to a simmer, while stirring. Simmer over low heat until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Add the 1 tablespoon vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve with a dish of boiled potatoes and a beet salad or pickled beets.

Have a great day.