Manitoulin - Day 4

More from my Manitoulin diary.

September 18, 2008 Oops, my blood sugar readings are climbing, better cut out the Crème Brulèes etc. Pity. We had Peameal bacon for breakfast, despite over 30 years in Canada, I have never eaten it before. Its very good. We also tried a low sugar marmalade made with orange peel, carrots and ginger. Also very good. We went to Gore Bay after breakfast and the first thing we did was go to Valu-Mart to buy stuff for lunch. I am very glad I don’t have to do my regular shopping on this island, they don’t have lot of choice. Up to Lookout Bluff to see the lake and the harbour of Gore Bay. Pretty area. Well its water isn’t it? On to Kagawan where the Bridal Veil Falls are (see my video posted on September 25). It was a popular spot so had trouble parking. There were lookout points at the top and then steps, lots of them, down to the falls. You could actually walk behind the falls if you wanted. One young lady walked part of the way but said it was VERY wet. Walking was a bit difficult anyway. This is one of the rivers (if you can call it that, more like a rushing stream) that attracts spawning salmon and they are obviously already running as we saw one dead one lying in the water. You can just see it in the picture. Getting out of there was a bit of an effort for me, there were a lot of stairs to get back up again. Living in an apartment, I rarely climb stairs, they can be quite a problem for me. I am getting lots of practice with stairs this week though, maybe I should continue when I get back home. We then took our lunch over to a picnic table at the top and enjoyed sitting in the sun. Matt figured we shouldn’t have our wine though as we were in a very public spot. I took a picture of this blue flower as there were hundreds of them dotted about and they looked so very pretty. Down the hill into Kagawan which calls itself the prettiest village in Ontario, bit of a stretch. They are right on the bay which does help and it is very attractive to look out to the water. We went into the chocolate shop and looked around but I didn’t dare buy anything. They had all kinds of chocolates, local made as well, they looked delicious and I began to drool. They sold both hot chocolate and coffee but they didn’t have any coffee made which I would have enjoyed. Pity. We took a back road round the bay and found a pretty spot to overlook the bay and I took some video – we also got onto more back roads and saw some deer, first we’d seen. Someone was telling us the other day that they had seen deer and a fox, I was miffed because I hadn’t seen any wild animals. The island is supposed to be overrun with deer. Bit scary when you are driving at night. It apparently isn't funny if you hit one, doesn't do the deer much good either. Found our way to M’Chigeeng again and this time the Catholic church was open. What a gorgeous little church it is. I bought a postcard, but it really doesn’t do it justice. The Stations of the Cross were painted by the Indians and are wonderful in bright, vibrant colours, quite incredible. On the back of the main doors there are the most amazing wood carvings. Easy to miss on your way out. The base of the church is under ground level and is circular. It has a wonderful sense of serenity. There are no pews, just ledges to sit on. I would love to attend a service there. Headed back to Mindemoya and found a coffee bar. By then I was gasping as I hadn’t had a drink since breakfast. The café was right opposite Mum’s where we had eaten lunch the other day. From Mindemoya we went to South Baymouth as I wanted to take a pic of the ferry coming in. Was I fooled. I was looking out one way and it arrived behind me. As looking that way was directly into the sun, that was the end of that idea. We made a booking for the 11:10 a.m. ferry on Saturday and I bought another postcard as you can see. I am absolutely fascinated by the bows lifting up to let cars in. Matt wanted to time the drive to Providence Bay but wouldn’t believe me when I told him he was taking the long route. It took 40 minutes. However, we confirmed with Ingrid that the other route was shorter, so that is what we will take next time. Have spent a lot of time chatting to Ingrid, she is fun to talk to. However, she got some new customers, so we went on the porch and had a drink. Later Ingrid set up her Paypal account so I could pay her, however Paypal didn’t recognize me. Not that it mattered as far as paying, but I was teed. Turned out it was my fault, wrong password. Passwords are a flaming pain aren’t they? I thought this cartoon very appropriate. For supper we went to Mum’s which we were told had good whitefish. It wasn’t bad at all. Miss Congeniality was still working, but she went home before we left. The other woman (owner, manager?) turned out to be very friendly. Back home Matt decided we shut ourselves in our room to play crib as we hadn’t like the look of the guy who was in the other room. He was a hail fellow well met type, noisy too and irritated us the way he came out onto the porch and said "ah two newly weds" in a loud, jovial voice. They told us afterwards that she was in the room and he was down in the garage with Trevor and friends drinking scotch out of a large jug with no glass, no mix, nothing. Had the bottle hidden in his trunk (boot to the Limeys) apparently. Alcoholic?

Our LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) issues a magazine called Food and Drink about 4 times a year. We always try and make sure to grab it as it has wonderful recipes. The following is one which is absolute poison to me, but I thought it sounded delicious.

Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie

A chocolate topping makes this traditional pie a little trendier. If you'd rather use a ready-made frozen pie shell, buy a deep-dish shell and bake it according to the instructions on the package before filling. (In fact I am going to assume you are doing just that and that you have pre-baked your pie shell.

1 1/2 Cups pecan halves toasted (you can also use walnuts by the way)

3 eggs

3/4 Cup dark brown sugar

1/2 Cup corn syrup (or any other syrup available to you)

2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 Cup coarsely chopped, good-quality bittersweet chocolate (about 3 oz).

Set aside 1/2 Cup of pecans; coarsely chop the remainder.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in sugar, syrup, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth. Stir in chopped pecans.

Pour the mixture into your baked pie crust. Scatter chocolate evenly over the surface. Arrange reserved pecan halves decoratively on top. Bake for 30 to 40 mins. until filling is set a round the edges but centre still jiggles slightly, shielding pastry edges with foil if they start to brown too much. Let pie cool to room temperature on a wire rack before serving.

Have a great weekend.

Tomatoes, Supper and Food for the Brain

This morning I phoned the Produce Manager in our local supermarket, Zehrs. She assures me that all the salmonella problems are in American produced tomatoes, and all the tomatoes in Zehrs are Canadian hothouse grown (they sure couldn't have grown them in the fields yet awhile). So, Matthew, stop worrying about my daily intake of the red fruits - love apples as they were once called. The picture of the sliced tomatoes makes me feel hungry. I have had a love affair with tomatoes for as long as I can remember. Their round, rich lusciousness is one of the greatest foods to tantalise your taste buds. Just think of how many dishes, from simple to gourmet, include tomatoes. Because I cannot seem to find really good ones these days, we buy them ahead of time so that by the time I am ready to eat one they are good and ripe. I eat tomatoes most days and this generally seems to work pretty well. I never, but never, put tomatoes in the fridge.

Last night, for supper, we had broiled salmon steaks and I had, you will be surprised to know, asparagus with it. Just plain with Butter Buds sprinkled. I suddenly remembered this was one of the things I really expected to eat in profusion when I came to Canada. I wonder why it took me so long to find Barrie's Asparagus farm? Not only that, fresh fish was very difficult to obtain when we first arrived here in 1975. Certainly salt water fish was not readily available unless it was frozen in packets.

Yesterday, on Good Morning America, we watched a programme about stimulating the brain. I thought it was pretty good and I pass on the article printed on their website for your interest read here which tells you some of the simple tricks you can employ to make your brain sit up and take notice. Things like cleaning your teeth with your other hand. Learning anything you didn't know before, it doesn't have to be complicated, just new. You don't have to learn Russian or anything like that. Apparently even actions like eating with your eyes closed cause your brain to work a bit harder and be stimulated. I just re-read the article and was surprised that I had missed one or two things. I did change my seat for lunch yesterday, then forgot about it since. I have always been concerned with an aging brain as some of my relatives ended up with senile dementia if not outright Alzheimer's. I have never been totally clear on what the difference is. Be sure I will be trying some of these changes.

Today I am going to try making Asparagus Vichysoisse. I think I have all the necessary ingredients. I published the recipe on June 4. Meanwhile here is another Asparagus recipe for you.

Asparagus Casserole
Serves: 4

Jeanne Jones, Cook It Light

4 slices whole wheat bread, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup steamed asparagus (about 1/2 pound fresh asparagus cut in 1-inch
pieces, trimmed, and steamed 3 minutes)
1 large egg
3 large egg whites
1 cup canned evaporated skim milk
1 cup grated 20 percent fat-reduced Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Place bread cubes in the oven for about 15 minutes or until a golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

2. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with a non-stick vegetable spray. Arrange toasted bread evenly on the bottom and top with the asparagus.

3. Combine egg, egg whites and milk. Mix well and pour evenly over the bread and asparagus. Top the casserole with the grated cheese and bake at 325° F for 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and the top is lightly browned.

Have a great day.