ME EITHER

BIG FEAST–A GOOD PLACE TO BE

Last night my BB Guy and I went out to a restaurant that I thought was quite new called Big Feast Bistro. Turns out they have been open 3 years. Apparently I just haven’t been paying attention. We were glad they were even on a Monday night. When we walked in I had to ask if they even had a full dinner menu.  The deli case at the counter was full of some amazing Panini style sandwiches but not what I would call dinner. Lucky for us they were open for dinner but I can’t wait to head back for brunch. How about some Lobster Eggs Benny? This is a special restaurant. They believe in using local ingredients and food that is in season. They also use their own dried or canned produce, soups etc. They can food as well. The furniture is mostly  repurposed furniture and doesn’t match and it doesn’t matter. They serve Fair Trade coffee that comes from Salt Spring Island on our west coast. Have you ever sat at a chef’s table? A community table where mixed groups of people all sit in one sitting at a large table. Conversation erupts at such sittings while a groups of people who don’t know each other enjoy the shared experience of the restaurant’s bounty. They support food banks, local artists, community education, local school districts and many local food producers. Kids cooking classes even. They cater too. Weddings? You bet. Private room for a dinner group? Yup. There is so much to this restaurant you should click here to go to their website and read about them. You can also see their Facebook page here. I didn’t have my camera with me but they said it was okay to use some of their own photos from their website.
Now we like a good meal. A fair sized meal. I don’t want a plate with one green bean and a slice of meat shaved off with a razor for dinner. We were very happy with what we ordered. King Oyster Mushroom Chicken…. naturally grain fed boneless breast pan seared with local king oyster mushrooms, capers and lemon pepper finished with chardonnay cream, aged reggiano cheese…oh my this was delicious. Served with roasted potatoes and a mix of beets and carrots. We love beets and are so rarely served them in a restaurant. There was so much flavor in this dish. It was creamy, it was bright. Do you know what bright tastes like? Mmmm. As I said they have been there for 3 years. They are celebrating soon and will be giving away some of their homemade canned soups to their guests and also have some selected entrees on for $5.oo . I wonder if I am free that night! I guess my point here other than to commend a small local restaurant on their ethics and  accomplishments is to urge you all to see what is available in your own area. A special restaurant or a local farmhouse that sells to the public. A nearby bakery or a butcher who is organic. See what is out there and support your local businesses.

ONE BED AT A TIME

It is a beautiful day in the neighbourhood. The sun is shining and it was a perfect morning to go out into the garden.

I have not been active in the garden for some time and it really shows.  Too busy, too tired, too frustrated with the enormity of the whole job.

No good excuses.

I am taking it one small area at a time.

I went out this morning with the goal of cleaning out one small garden bed next to my front porch.
 The remains of my Sedum Autumn Joy, a perennial sweet pea, a lavender, geraniums, Lucifer Crocosmias, a lovely pink Gaura that deposits its pink petals on our legs when we go down the steps to the driveway.

Looks stark now, I know, but soon it will fill back in. For two years now we have had little chickadees nesting in that decorative bird house. We hear them peeping when we come in and out of the front door.

These shots are from previous years. There is hope and promise in gardening.

We have a ways to go before summer. I hope I have the rest of the garden beds cleaned up by then. Sigh.

PLEASE VOTE FOR MY GUY

My BB Guy has a photo in the running to win a stay at a lodge. Please go by and click like on his photo of the beautiful sunset. 

Just click on the photo below to be taken to the voting page and just click on "like" under his picture.

PERFECT ROAST BEEF

We struggle at our house to get a roast cooked to the liking of both my BB Guy and myself.

He likes it rare. Really rare. Me? I don't mind it pink but the texture has to have changed to cooked. Not the slimy rare that he will eat .

What to do, what to do? 

I have found the answer to this dilemma.

• Preheat your oven to 500 degrees
• Make sure your roast is at room temperature all the way through.
• You can rub the outside with your favorite spices or just salt and pepper. I used Montreal Steak Spice but I find it too salty.
• Place your roast in a pan and put it in the hot, hot oven and cook for 5 minutes per pound.
• Ours was a 5 lb. roast so it cooked at 500 degrees for 25 minutes.
• Shut the oven off and DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR FOR 2 HOURS. No peeking. Nope. Not even a quick look. Nothing. Nada.
• Take it out of the oven after the 2 hours and let it rest covered for 10 minutes while you make the gravy. 
• Slice it up.

This roast was so tender and was cooked perfectly for both of us. It was rare enough for my BB Guy and it the texture had changed enough for me to enjoy it. The only down side is that it wasn't terribly hot at serving but hey, that is what gravy is for right! I highly recommend this method of cooking a roast. 

VERIFICATION WORDS

(This was a post from 2009 but I wanted to start out this day with a chuckle.)

I am not a fan of word verification. I don't use it. Of course one day when I am big and famous then I may have to reconsider but until then you have clear sailing when it is time to comment.

My question is where on earth do these snippets come from? What do they mean? Nothing I know but what if they did.

Here are some of the recent ones I have had to type in. What would your definition of these "words" be?

1. tacrocra - a South American vegetable similar to okra
2. puticar - a car for Lilliputians
3. ingoeste - an ancient word for eating as in "ingoeste thy food"
4. sothe - how you feel after you ingoested your food
5. deopun - a joke about your deo
6. tateduc - a new brand of duct tape
7. pockall - an acne medication
8. bioner - a pioneer in a biosphere
9. fogisci - an Italian fog
10. zyman - the way German people say hymen
11. murbeke - the hillbilly cousin of William Moerbeke, Flemish translator, which is who we need to get a hold of to translate what all these crazy word verifications mean.