Granny, Asparagus, Rhubarb and Trilliums.

The oldest known Orca, Granny or J2, was spotted last week off the coast of British Columbia in the Strait of Georgia. The Orca is estimated to be 103 years old. Apparently her pod spends their summers in these waters and they were first spotted on May 9 this year. Each year they are anxious as to whether Granny will still be alive when the pod returns as Orcas don’t usually live quite so long, 60 to 90 years.

Yesterday I went for a refill of asparagus. I have mentioned in previous years that there are lots of Trilliums along the roadside when we drive there. Today, finally, I took some pix with my android tablet. Matt thinks they aren’t very good, but then he is a camera buff. I guess they are not marvellous, but I have been meaning to take some for years ever since we found Barrie’s Asparagus Farm. I don’t remember what year that was, but it’s a fairly long time ago. I think the first one is rather pretty actually.





At the farm I also bought some of their strawberry rhubarb, just 1 lb. which is enough for me, Matt doesn’t like it he says it makes his mouth feel furry. I cooked and ate some of it as my Sunday afternoon fruit. I am planning to make some asparagus pesto today – I will post the recipe tomorrow. Apart from being delicious, it keeps forever in the freezer
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Today is a holiday in Canada, Victoria Day. We have already had fireworks on Saturday and Sunday, no doubt there will be more official ones tonight. We forgot all about it until somebody mentioned it on the radio or TV. That’s one of the problems with being retired, holidays don’t mean much to us any more.

This is what we had for dinner on Saturday night. It is an old fashioned recipe these days and yet it is one we both enjoy very much.

Steak Diane - my version

Slice each steak horizontally to make two steaks.

2 fillet steaks sliced thinly
2 oz butter (or more)
1 tsp Worcester sauce
2 Tbs onions or shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup mushroom caps, sliced.
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp dry mustard (Colman’s for preference)
2 oz heavy cream
1 oz brandy
Seasoning

Melt butter in pan and sauté steaks til  browned on both sides (1 minute) place on plates in warm oven. Add more butter to pan if required, add Worcester sauce, sauté mushrooms, onion, garlic til beginning to soften. Put steaks back into pan and cook to desired doneness. Add cream and seasoning together with mustard powder. Pour brandy into edge of pan, ignite and swirl to spread flames. Once flames have died serve. Pouring the sauce over the steaks.

Have a great day

Trilliums, ISS, Canadian Commander.

I am not sure how many years I have been going to Barrie’s Asparagus Farm, but every year when we start going there, we pass some wooded areas which are full of Trilliums which is the Provincial Flower of Ontario. I keep meaning to take my camera with me in order to take some pictures, but every year I forget, yesterday was no exception. I strongly suspect that by my next visit they will be gone. They don’t have a very long life. One is not allowed to pick Trilliums although I believe you can transfer the whole plant. They are more numerous in the picture than they are on the road where we pass by them.

Monday the Canadian Commander of the ISS, Chris Hadfield, started his trip back to earth having been Tweeting for the 5 months he was up there and making a video of playing the guitar and singing a farewell song. This is the last video he made just before leaving the ISS and boarding the Soyuz capsule which will bring him back to earth. Canada is justifiably proud to have had a Canadian commanding the ISS for the last 5 months, he is the first Canadian to do so.

Today I go back to the sleep clinic for my assessment. It has taken long enough and I will be very interested to hear what the doctor says.

This is a recipe from Mario Batali who is one of my favourite TV chefs. I am not familiar with vin santo but there are many lightly sweet dessert wines which would fill the bill.


Grilled Asparagus with Pepper Zabaglione

3 large egg yolks
1 large egg
3 Tbs vin santo or other lightly sweet dessert wine
2 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbs heavy cream
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Kosher salt
2 lbs large asparagus
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Light a grill or heat a grill pan. In a heatproof medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the egg and vin santo. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water and vigorously whisk the eggs over moderate heat until the sauce holds firm peaks, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl of sauce from the heat.

2. In a small bowl, mix the butter with the heavy cream and pepper. Whisk the cream mixture into the sauce, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Season the zabaglione with salt and keep warm.

3. In a large bowl, toss the asparagus with the olive oil and season with salt. Grill the asparagus over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until charred all over and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the asparagus to plates.

4. Set the bowl of sauce over the saucepan of simmering water and whisk over low heat until thick and just heated through, about 1 minute. Spoon the sauce over the asparagus, sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

Servings: 6
Author: Mario Batali

Have a great day

Spring Flowers, Lunch, Mother's Day.

I am sure there are millions of gardeners out there who would totally disagree with me, but I love to see dandelions in the green grass, the contrast of green and gold is absolutely beautiful. It is such a shame that people work so hard to destroy them. We went to get more asparagus today and once again I forgot my camera, I wanted to take pictures of all the Trilliums in the woods on the way to the farm. Trilliums are Ontario's flower and are such beautiful blossoms. I used to think there were only white Trilliums but then a friend sent a picture of a pinkish flower growing near her property. Funnily enough, my sinlaw, Mike, wrote about bluebell woods in England yesterday and they are so beautiful to see, making a wonderful carpet in the English woods. Do check Mike's blog (link this page). Trilliums are not so numerous unfortunately, which cannot be said for dandelions. The trees in the park are blossoming now and the tulip trees or Saucer Magnolias, are also in flower. I used to have one in North Carolina which must be a good sized tree by now. I was surprised when we came back to Canada to discover they grew here, I had thought they would only grow in a warm climate. In fact there are one or two plants which I discovered grow here in the freezing cold much to my surprise. Not that I am any horticulturalist. Of course, other flowers at this time of year, which I love to see, are crocuses, daffodils, narcissi, tulips and hyacinths, luckily we seem to have a few keen gardeners in the area so when we drive by we can enjoy the fruits of their labours. Today we are off to have a lunch of dim sum in the same restaurant as last time, with the same friends. Looking forward to it as its quite a long time since we went before. I will have to make an effort to learn exactly what the menu says so that I can order for myself if I ever need to. My friend knows exactly what she is ordering, I haven't a clue although she explained what everything was once we got it. I am currently having mouse problems. I have had an electronic mouse which whizzes around, I am now using a wheel mouse which crawls across the page like a snail. I will have to hi me to the store to purchase a new electronic or digital one ASAP, maybe after lunch today. Meanwhile, a recipe from the local paper, The Record, for a Tart for Mother's Day which you can whip up pretty quickly I think. Almost No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Tart Tart Shell 500 ml (2 cups) vanilla wafer cookie crumbs 50 ml (1/4 cup) butter (1/2 stick), melted Filling 1 packet (7 g/1/4 oz) unflavoured gelatin 50 ml (1/4 cup) cold water 250 g (8 oz) cream cheese, softened 175 ml (3/4 cup) sugar 250 ml (1 cup) fat-free Greek-style yogurt 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract 175 ml (3/4 cup) strawberry jam Fresh strawberries, to serve 1 Heat oven to 200 C (400 F). 2 Tart Shell: In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs and butter. Transfer to a 23-cm (9-inch) tart pan with removable bottom. Gently press mixture evenly across bottom and up sides. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and cool. 3 Cream cheese filling: In a microwave-safe cup, combine gelatin and water. Set aside for 5 minutes or until gelatin is dissolved. Microwave gelatin for 30 seconds or until it boils. 4 In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed to avoid lumps. Add yogurt, gelatin and vanilla, then beat until smooth. 5 In a small bowl, use a fork to beat strawberry jam until mostly smooth. Add jam to cream cheese mixture and use a rubber spatula to just barely fold it in, stirring only once or twice. 6 Transfer mixture to cooled tart shell and, if necessary, use a spatula to smooth top. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about two hours. Serve with fresh strawberries. Servings: 8 Perfect for Mother's Day, this almost no-bake strawberry cheesecake won't leave Mom feeling guilty for indulging on her special day. It's also easy enough for kids to lend a hand. Traditional cheesecakes are made from a blend of cream cheese and eggs, and thus require cooking. This easier version uses gelatin instead of eggs to set the filling, so no cooking is needed. Only the tart shell is briefly baked. The cream cheese also is cut with thick, rich, yet fat-free Greek-style yogurt. This variety of yogurt has had much of the water drained from it, giving it a sour creamlike consistency. Don't substitute regular yogurt. If Mom doesn't care for strawberries, the recipe can be adapted to the berry of her choice. Just swap the jam and fresh fruit. The crust is made from 500 ml (2 cups) of vanilla wafer cookie crumbs. To make that amount of crumbs, you will need about 75 cookies, which is about a 340-g (12-oz) box minus 12 cookies. Have a great weekend and to all you moms out there, Happy Mother's Day.