Category Archives: Nanaimo

A Corn Maze and the Making of Fall Traditions

When Dave and I first started dating I was surprised to learn that Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving also; though their holiday is a month earlier (on the second Monday in October). I’d always thought of Thanksgiving as a uniquely American holiday, but in fact it is not. The importance of the Thanksgiving meal, however, does vary greatly between the two nations. In Canada, or at least on Vancouver Island, there no displays in stores, no Thanksgiving-themed commercials, no chatter about getting together with family, or trying to figure out long distance travel to get home for this one evening. Instead, all the focus seems to be on Halloween, complete with fireworks. Our cats will not be amused…

With this difference in Autumn celebrations, I feel out of sync with the season. Halloween seems on time, but the fact that Thanksgiving is already over leaves me feeling like I’ve missed out on something important. We had a great Canadian Thanksgiving, and we will be celebrating American Thanksgiving come the end of November, but in the meantime we’re trying to carve out some new Fall traditions and get into sync with our new community. In Nanaimo that means a trip to McNab’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch.

A perfectly foggy day for the corn maze and pumpkin patch.

The day we went was a little late in the season, since it was after Thanksgiving (Canadian) and most of the really big pumpkins were gone. However, they had tons of small to medium pumpkins, a local school fundraiser with all the homemade baked goods my heart could ask for, and the corn maze was still in full swing. I was already feeling nostalgic for Iowa since a much-missed friend was throwing a fall celebration party with all of our friends, and we had just passed the dates for two of our favorite things to do in Iowa; the Farm Crawl and the Brews and Muse Festival at Peacetree Brewery. Oh, friends, we were sure missing you on those weekends (especially those friends who shall remain nameless but kept sending emails and Facebook comments about the delicious new brews from Peacetree that we were missing out on… trisky hobbits that you are).

So with homesick hearts we went looking for new traditions at the pumpkin patch. I assure you I never thought in my life that I’d say I was homesick for Iowa, but I’m getting sincerely tired of leaving places behind that have become home. In our quest for new traditions to make this place home, McNabb’s did not disappoint.

Even after living in the American Midwest for five years, I had never been to a corn maze. At Farm Crawl there was a corn maze, but I was always more interested in Pierce’s Pumpkin Patch, the borscht served at Coyote Run Farm, and the amazing preserves, people and brew (Peacetree again…) at Blue Gate Farm. So McNab’s was my first time to be in and amongst the corn.

Dave and Little Man heading towards the corn maze.

Surrounded by corn… like being back in Iowa.

The day was perfectly foggy for an Autumn trip to the pumpkin patch, and we headed off to the maze first. We had a great time trying to get lost, and searching (often fruitlessly) for the little markers hidden in the paths. Apparently the markers haven’t been moved in years so the locals all know where they are, but since we’re new the hunt was still fun. Once the chill of the maze started to get to us, and the enclosed space of the corn from Little Man’s viewpoint started to wear on him, we took the Hay Ride tractor to the pumpkin patch. Here we selected a couple of pumpkins, had them measured and then heaved them back to the tractor, wishing we had brought the stroller to carry our pumpkin booty.

Hmmm… Which one can I carry all the way to the front?

As we got off the tractor at the front of the farm, we ran into some friends from town, and hung around the fire pits chatting. That is the sort of thing you miss when you move often; the regular meeting of friends in public places. Little Man ran around with their kids, visiting the piglets and goats, and climbing massive downed stumps.

When Little Man finally started showing signs of wearing down and needing lunch, we headed off for lunch. We could have stayed there for hot dogs, but the morning was cold and we all wanted some warm, inside rest. So we headed for Coco Café in Cedar. The café’s name is an acronym for the Cedar Opportunities Co-Operative, whose mission is to provide developmentally disabled adults with employment opportunities within their community. This year the maze was dedicated to Coco’s, and I had heard of it before as well. It has the reputation of being a nice little café with cozy atmosphere and good, local food, for good prices. Perfect.

Walking into Coco Café I caught a glimpse of our little family in the glass door; all looking cold, dazed, hungry, and distinctively muddy. Inside I ordered a hot cocoa, and Dave got coffee. Little Man was very pleased with my drink choice, and did his best to polish off my whipped cream before I could get to it myself. Dave had a Thai Curried Chicken Panini with a green side salad. Little Man had the grilled cheese on an awesome whole wheat bread; and I had a massive bowl of Beef and Barley soup complete with a good-sized hunk of warm Pumpernickel, rich with molasses. Dave’s Panini was great, and we were both impressed with the salad. After our time in the Midwest we had come to loath side salads since inevitably they were tasteless piles of wilted, ice berg lettuce buried under a mound of not-cheese. At Coco Cafe even the side salads were great. Not a hint of iceberg lettuce to be seen, but only dark, lovely salad greens with a homemade vinaigrette. Little Man liked his sandwich, but preferred my cocoa; and my soup was divine. It was full of great vegetables, barley and beef, the broth was rich and stew-like with a good amount of black pepper. This soup was a perfect example of why homemade soup is so much better than the stuff from a can. All in all we had a great, home style lunch that did not break the bank, and which warmed us up from our stomachs to our fingers and toes.

On the way back home, Dave struggled to keep Little Man awake so that he could take a nice long nap at home. Little Man, for his part, did his best to hide behind his Pooh Bear and fall asleep. In the end we all had great naps, and ever since I’ve been fixated on hot beverages. I want drinks that I can hold in a real mug, not paper or factory made, but something made by real hands, something that fits nicely between my palms, and warms me from the fingers on out. And that brings me to my family’s Wassle; a hot mulled cider that fills the home and the heart with the aroma of the holidays.

This recipe for wassle comes from my dad’s side of the family, and just a whiff of this simmering away in the slow cooker makes me think of “family.” I don’t mean “family” in the sense of just the three of us, but of gatherings of loved ones, whether or not you are biologically related, where you can just relax and be at home. In fact, it’s worth making this wassle just for the aroma.

When Dave and I first made this wassle for our friends-who-became-family in upstate New York, their first comment was “mmmm… this is good…” followed quickly by asking if we’d ever tried this with rum. We hadn’t. We did. It was delicious. But I have to say, this wassle is amazing on its own and doesn’t need any accoutrement. What sets it apart from other mulled ciders I’ve tried is the mixture of apple cider with pineapple, orange and apricot nectars. Cardamom and cinnamon round out the spiciness of the hot, hot drink, and are key to its aroma. There is no added sugar, the juices are sweet enough as it is. So if you’re having friends/family over and want that scent of the holidays that will stop them in their tracks the minute they set foot in your home, this is the wassle for you. The only problem will be getting them to leave later, since it’s so nice to just sit with loved ones while cradling a mug of this wassle in your hands.

Wassle (A Hot Mulled Cider)

Ingredients

4 cups apple cider

4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice

1 ½ cup apricot nectar

1 cup orange juice

6 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp. whole green cardamom

Directions:

Pour all juices into your slow cooker and turn it on to high.
Place the cardamom pods on your cutting board and crush them with the back of a spoon or flat of a knife. Alternatively, crush the pods in a mortar and pestle (I just can’t find mine since the move…)
Add the cinnamon and crushed cardamom to the slow cooker.
Cover and heat until pipping hot, then turn the slow cooker down to low and simmer the wassle for 25 minutes. Enjoy!
Optional: float a new cinnamon stick in each mug.

Click here for a printable version of the Wassle recipe.

Floating Like a Mer-Baby

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Up to now Dave and I have done a pretty job of ensuring that Little Man is afraid of water. He is more like his mother who likes warm, tropical waters, than his father who must be part polar bear. When Little Man was 6 months old we dipped his little baby feet into the subarctic waters of Barrier Lake where Dave’s family has a cabin. Little Man responded as any 6 month old should, pulled his feet up to his ears and wailed his protest. About a year later we repeated this process at Laguna Beach, California. Now admittedly the ocean water was a little bit warmer… a little bit… but it was still January temperatures for California and Little Man’s response was the same as his lake water experience.

Most recently, while living on Vancouver Island, we found a lovely area of the Nanaimo River where it is very calm and still. Winnie the Pooh would describe this part of the river as an area where the river itself was calm and sure about where it was headed, and therefore not in any particular rush to reach its destination. If there was a little bridge this would be the perfect place for a game of Pooh Sticks. The river is also, fed by numerous mountain streams coming from heights where even in the warmth of July snow still blanketed the peaks. While calm, these were not tropical waters. On this particularly hot day I was able to wade in just past my knees before refusing to go much deeper, while my polar bear husband was splashing and swimming with reckless abandon. Our cautious two year old dipped his toes in the water, intuited what his sneaky parents had in mind, and did his best to turn tail immediately and head for the hills… literally. We, on the other hand, thought that we would help him over his fear of the water and brought him in deeper, with Little Man clinging to his daddy like the best koala bear imaginable. A little bit later with chattering teeth and blue lips we all got out of the water and went home for some well-deserved grilled cheese sandwiches and a warm bath.

Amongst these arctic water experiences we had a couple of pool excursions that were fine, but Little Man was by no means excited about the idea of playing in water. At this point I was starting to get a little nervous that my own reticence towards water was rubbing off on my son. I am the first to admit that I am not the strongest of swimmers, but Dave’s family just might be part mer-people. They all love the water, doesn’t matter how warm or frigid it might be. My parents also love taking the grandkids to special pools through a time-share that they are a part of, though most of this has been done with my brother’s fantastic children and not with Little Man since we’ve lived so far away. My biggest concern was that I don’t want Little Man to miss out on special family aquatic adventures just because his mom is more of a land lover and his well-intentioned parents keep dipping him in arctic waters.

Around the same time that I was mulling over this “dilemma” I heard about the Nanaimo Aquatic Center. I filed the name away, associating it with the sad, little indoor pools that I remember as a child; the fumes of chlorine wafting heavy above the water. My memories are further soured by a couple of teenage swimming instructors that were too young to understand how to work with a child who was afraid (or at least strongly concerned) about the water. In my mind, therefore, the Aquatic Center was something that we might try in the dead of winter when no other outside activities were at all possible. That would have been a horrible mistake.

The Nanaimo Aquatic Center is one of the coolest public access indoor pools that I’ve seen. It contains multiple pools, some for laps, some for aquatic aerobic and other exercise classes, some for great heated soaking, and a large one for kids. The “kiddie pool” is the first thing you see when you leave the changing areas, and you come face to face with what appears to be the better half of a schooner suspended over ankle-deep warm waters. The ship has stairs leading up to its cockpit and a small slide splashing down into shallow waters. When Little Man first tried this slide he ended up ankles in the air with a stunned fish-like expression. The shallow waters lead to a small, secluded pool where the water is half a meter deep and protected from the splashing of the other areas, perfect for tired parents or nervous kids. Both of these areas lead to the larger Wave Pool.

I have not yet seen the actual waves in the Wave Pool, since the machine is turned on later in the afternoon after we’ve had our morning swim. The pool itself, however, is pretty cool. On one end you can walk in from a shallow slope until on the far end it reaches a depth of 1.5 meters. The pool is ringed by a series of low walls designed to look like the craggy rocks lining the shore, with a diorama in the deep end of a few pine trees complete with seagulls. The ceiling over the pool is festooned with colorful banners depicting artists’ views of the ocean. My favorite is the one of a person and a dog swimming in the ocean, but the view is from underneath the water looking up like from a fish’s point of view. The other end of the pool has a small lazy river, or Magic Waters in Little Man’s parlance, and a heated bubbling cauldron of a jacuzzi at its center. In short, Little Man loves this pool and all of its waters. So do his parents.

Our first visit there showed me just how well we had trained Little Man to fear the water. He cried at the shower where everyone starts out rinsing off before hitting the pool itself. Then when we cleared the changing rooms and he saw the expanse of water that we were carrying him to his experience told him that this could only end one way; with him being dunked into ice cold water. His feet zipped up to his ears, his cries echoed off the far walls, and his koala-bear hold on his Daddy near choked Dave out. It took us a good 30 to 45 minutes of warm, shallow water with him sitting in our laps or clinging like a koala before he was ready to stand on his own. That first day we considered it a success when he let us hold him and just move around the pool. The second visit I took him by myself since Dave was working. That visit went better than the first and Little Man was more comfortable in the water. He let me pull him through the deeper parts of the pool, ran around splashing in the shallows, and the only tears shed were those of a tired toddler who didn’t want to leave the fun when it was time to go home for lunch and a nap. Since then, each time we’ve gone back he’s gotten a bit braver and a bit more adventurous, until now he asks to go to the pool. Dave and I have to use code words like “Warehouse 13” (aka place of wonder) when we talk about the pool at home. If we forget to use code Little Man will head straight to the closet where we store his swim vest and declare he’s ready to go “float like a mer-baby.”

That term comes from when giving Little Man a bath I wanted to rinse out his curly locks, but he didn’t want to get his head wet. So when I laid him back to rinse out his hair, I would say that he was “floating like a turtle” referring to one of his favorite bath toys. Then one bath time he corrected me saying that he wasn’t a turtle, he was a mermaid. I didn’t want to debate the gender differences here, so instead we used the term mer-baby and it stuck. From that moment on, floating on his back, letting his curly locks flow in the water, has been called floating like a mer-baby. Now that’s one of his favorite things to do at the pool, float on his back, with his curls rippling in the water, gazing up at the beautiful banners hanging from the ceiling, and singing softly to himself. This has become one of my favorite memories of our first few months in Nanaimo.

Since first discovering the Aquatic Center I’ve found numerous other pools like this across the region. Beban Pool has a similar, if older, version to what we have at the Aquatic Center. Down in Victoria there are six different pool centers like this, the one described by my friends as the best is the Crystal Pool. Unfortunately it was closed for maintenance the last time we were in Victoria, but I can’t wait to check it out the next time we get to visit.

When we got home from that first successful day at the Aquatic Center I wanted a simple, but celebratory lunch. My goal was to continue the great feelings from the pool with something special at home too; linking memories of water to fun comforting times with family. What popped immediately to mind was a Bacon and Tomato sandwich. The best Bacon and Tomato sandwiches are made by Dave’s dad, Joe. In fact, one of Little Man’s favorite books is Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres, this book was first had read to him by Miss Katie, the excellent Children’s Librarian at the Pella Public Library in Iowa, and describes how different plants grow in a garden. At the end of the story the little boy sits down with his dad, a friend and some animals to feast on the bounty of the garden. Little Man likes to point out all the different foods being eaten. The dad in the picture is biting into a sandwich, and when we ask Little Man what it is that the dad is eating he replies “Bacon and Tomato Sandwich.” Then when we ask him who likes that kind of sandwich, he says “Papa Hopwood.” So from the mouths of babes, this sandwich is elevated by Joe. The best one I’ve ever had was up at the cabin this summer. It’s a simple creation of lightly toasted wheat bread (the whole wheat can be accredited to Ruth’s influences) with a generous slather of mayonnaise, lots of great summer ripe tomatoes and of course the bacon. The pictures here are of that delicious sandwich that Little Man devoured, and would have licked the plate clean if I’d let him.

Joe’s Bacon and Tomato Sandwich

For my version of the sandwich I’ve made a few tweaks, all of which Dave objects to since the original is already perfection. I can’t disagree with that, but I wanted to make this more of my own so I had to mess with it… just a little. I like to add peppery greens to the sandwich to cut through the richness of the bacon, and arugula or watercress as my two favorites. I also like to mix a little Dijon mustard into the mayonnaise before slathering it into the bread. I find that the mustard brightens the heaviness of the sandwich without taking away from any of its bacony awesomeness. So while this is not, Joe’s Bacon and Tomato sandwich, it is awfully good.

Not Your Daddy’s Bacon and Tomato Sandwich

(Serves 4)

1 lb. good quality, thick cut, smoked bacon

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 large ripe tomatoes

8 slices good whole wheat bread

2 cups fresh arugula, or peppery lettuce

Preheat the oven to 400º Fahrenheit. Line a large sheet pan with paper towels, and then top the paper towels with a cooling rack. Lay the bacon slices down without overlapping them onto the rack and roast them for 15-20 minutes. Be sure to check the bacon periodically to be sure that it isn’t browning too quickly. Once the bacon is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool. I love cooking bacon this way, since it not only allows me to multitask other parts of the meal, but it also gets rid of the splattering mess all over my stove and therefor cuts down on clean up. Double bonus.

While the bacon is roasting, combine the mayonnaise with the mustard in a small bowl and set aside. Then slice the tomatoes thickly, lay them on a plate and sprinkle them lightly with salt.

About 7-10 minutes before the bacon is done, toast the bread lightly. This should be just enough to give the bread a little bit of a crunch, but leaves the interior nice and fluffy. Once the bacon is out of the oven, slather one side of each piece of bread with the mayonnaise/mustard mixture. Layer the tomatoes across four of the pieces of bread. Top the tomatoes with the bacon, dividing it up between the sandwiches. Then top the bacon with the arugla or other greens. Lastly, crown the sandwich with the remaining slice of bread, cut each sandwich in half (if desired) and enjoy.

Click here for a printable card of the Not Your Daddy’s Bacon and Tomato Sandwich.

Little Man, having completely devoured his own sandwich, was now working his whiles to get mine too.

The Importance of Snacks

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We are finally getting to the point where we feel a bit more settled in Nanaimo, and this has nothing to do with the number of boxes that have been (or have not been) unpacked. The basement still looms large with boxes and piles of who-knows-what, but we are getting there. Little Man calls our house his “Canada Home,” but is also finding new places to be his favorites. One of these favorites is Oliver Woods Park.

Oliver Woods Park surrounded by forest.

The park itself is carved (literally) out of the surrounding woodlands. For someone who has lived in the flat, flat plains (which have their own beauty, don’t get me wrong) for the last few years this park looks magical with its cape of fir and cedar. It also reminds me a bit of one of the parks from back in Pella, the West Market Park, with its wooden castle and bridges. Maybe that is one of the reasons that Little Man calls Oliver Woods “his” park.

The playground is dominated by its large castle-like climbing toy, but that isn’t actually the area that Little Man likes most. Just beyond the castle is a slightly smaller area that is designed more for the 2-3 year olds. The slides are shorter, there are no rock walls to climb, but there is a cool pirate ladder of beams suspended on chains that hang just above a solid wooden gangway. Little Man and most of the other little ones step over the beams onto the gangway below. He loves it.

At the back of the playground is a small exercise circuit designed for anyone over 13 years of age. Little ones run around and play there too, but most of them tend to lose interest quickly as nothing is designed for them and the coolness of the circuit is lost on those who can’t read the instructions.

The “Enchanted Forest” that surrounds the park.

The entire playground and exercise circuit area are surrounded by forest, hence the “Woods.” For Little Man, this is the Enchanted Forest. Just behind and to the right of the castle is a little gate that leads out into the Enchanted Forest and a series of nature trails. We haven’t explored many of these yet, except for the trail on the right. This is a short downward trail, perfect for little legs and for parent legs that are exhausted after chasing little legs around the playground, that ends at a little dock and the duck pond.

The duck pond at Oliver Woods Park.

Little Man loves the ducks… and their food. If you are interested, you can get a bag of duck food from the reception desk inside the Community Center. The last time we were at the park we were making new friends and stayed a little bit later than I had intended to. That meant that Little Man was late for lunch and apparently quite munchy even after his snacks. One of his new friends let him take a handful of duck food to feed the already stuffed ducks. The birds must get quite the feast from all the little kids, and none of them were moving too quickly that day. Little Man, however, was feeling rather peckish. So peckish, in fact, that he took his little handful of duck food and like lightning stuffed them into his hungry mouth. I was not as fast, but managed to fish most of the pellets out of his mouth before he’d swallowed them. I didn’t want to immediately quash his ability to play with the ducks, so I let him feed the ducks a little bit more. This was fine for a handful or two, until he grabbed a fistful and stuffed them in his mouth again. I guess duck food can’t taste as bad as I would have imagined. More fishing of slimy duck pellets out of Little Man’s mouth ensued. The very nice woman at the reception desk ensured me that the duck food was an all natural product from a local store with a great reputation, and luckily there were no adverse reactions to Little Man’s ducky snack. But Mommy has definitely learned that a hungry toddler should not be given access to “snacks” that he’s not allowed to eat. The ducks still look at him askance when he comes close. I think they’re wondering if he’s going to make off with their lunch.

Here ducky, ducky…

Now I plan in advance to have a few more snacks at hand when we might be out closer to lunch time, and closer to the duck pond. I think that this week I’ll make him the same scones that we had a couple of weeks ago when his Tia came out to visit. The best part of living on the island is that every couple of weeks we get to visit with family, a luxury that Little Man has never experienced before. When his Tia came over we had a little tea party, with tuna sandwiches, hummus and cucumber sandwiches, and cheddar chive scones. These scones are great since the dough can be made, portioned and then frozen before baking them. The dough should last a couple of weeks in the freezer. Then when you are ready to eat them you simply break them apart, put them on a parchment lined backing sheet, and shortly thereafter you have delicious scones.

Cheddar Chive Scones

Ingredients

½ cup cheddar cheese, sharp

¼ cup chives, chopped finely

½ cup oats

½ cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup white flour

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 Tblsp. sugar

¼ tsp. salt

6 Tblsp. unsalted butter, cut into ½ in. cubes and COLD

1 large egg

4-5 Tblsp. milk (any kind)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor fitted with the shredding blade, shred the cheese. Put the shredded cheese in a large bowl, add the chives and set aside. Do not wash out the processor. Replace the shredding disk and lid with the standard blade and lid.

Cheddar cheese and chives for the scones.

In your emptied (but still a bit cheesy) food processor, put the oats and blitz until forming a coarse meal (oat flour). Add the other flours, baking powder, sugar and salt. Process to just combine. Add the butter and process in pulses until it resembles a coarse meal with some pea sized bits of butter. Dump the flour mixture into the bowl with the cheese and chives, then toss to coat.

Preparing the oats for blitzing.

Cheesy oat flour.

The dry mixture with cheese and chives.

In a small bowl beat the egg and 4 tablespoons of milk with a fork. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix until the dough just comes together. In the bowl it will look like it won’t hold its shape. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Fold the dough in half and “knead” it no more than four times. It should hold together and form a solid mass when you pat it into a 1-inch thick 6-inch round. Cut the circle into eight equally sized wedges.

The dough combined and messy.

The dough dumped out onto the floured surface.

The dough shaped into a round.

Keep the dough relatively thin. Too thick and it doesn’t bake well in the center, too thin and the scones get hard.

At this point you can wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it, or you can bake it immediately. Cooling down the dough (in the refrigerator or freezer) can make for a lighter, more flaky (and more awesome) scone, as this creates more flaky layers in the pastry. However, they are also flaky, cheesy, and downright irresistible even if baked right away.

The dough round portioned into eight scones.

The scones ready for the oven.

Space the scones evenly on the prepared backing sheet. Add a splash of milk to the empty milk and egg bowl. Brush this mixture over the top of the scones. Bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Cool on a wire wrack and serve.

The scones are golden brown and ready for snack time.

Note: If baking the scones after freezing them, unwrap them from the plastic wrap and proceed with everything as normal. One note is that you may need to bake them for little longer. Just give them a little touch when they “look” done. If it feels mushy in the center, then give them another couple of minutes. If they feel firm to the touch, then they are done.

Click on this link to open a ready to print recipe card for the CheddarChiveScones.

Ready for tea…

A Day Off in Wine Country

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Recently after a particularly tough week of adjusting to Canadian life, Dave surprised me with a special vacation day. We used to do this for each other from time to time in upstate New York as graduate students. We would plan dates and then whisk the other person off for a day of surprises planned just for them. These were not expensive events, but were carried out on the shoe string graduate student budgets that we had. The very first “Surprise Day” was when we were dating and I took Dave on a mini-golf date. This included a short walk down the street to a local restaurant with a ½ price happy hour. While I remember that we had a good time overall, the most memorable part of this date was the weather. Gale-force winds that literally tore the astroturf off of the course while we were playing; golf ball-sized hail that bounced off the road and off our heads; and rain blown so hard from one direction that we were drenched on one side and bone dry on the other. This made the “short walk” down to the restaurant a bit more challenging (and glamorous) than originally planned. Then of course after our snacks we had to run back up the road through the rain. Later we would learn that our mad dash was more impressive than we had originally thought, since moments after we ran by an electrical pole it was struck by lightning. I just thought the electricity in the air was from being with Dave. 😉

My boys…

We used to do “Surprise Days” as often as we could, but they have become a bit more infrequent as we have moved across states and international borders, and especially with Little Man’s arrival. So it was extra surprising when Dave said we were having a day off and I wasn’t allowed to know the plans. Heaven to not have to plan anything, not even diapers to bring along! Dave’s “Surprise Day” was a tour of some of the local wineries on Vancouver Island. This was also reminiscent of our time in upstate New York, when we would drive up to the Finger Lakes, visit a couple of wineries, have a nice lunch, and enjoy the scenery while we tried as hard as possible to ignore the pressures of graduate school that were waiting for us back home. This Surprise Day was our first attempt to recreate that experience here on Vancouver Island; and of course it was made a bit more “adventuresome” with Little Man.

In front of Averill Creek Vineyards.

Little Man was not as impressed with the beautiful scenery or wonderful wines as Dave and I were. And there was the moment of panic when he had a fleeting moment of freedom from the stroller and made a wild dash for expensive bottles of wine on display. He has fantastic taste in which bottles to grab, but thankfully no damage ensued. It was a fantastic day. We couldn’t ask for better weather. Bright blue sky, warm but not hot, and an amazing view of cedars and ocean at each winery we visited. Dave did good.

Averill Creek Vineyard and their picnic friendly patio.

I talk about some of the wines and food that we ate on this trip below. Please note that I am not a food critic, but I am sharing and remembering our experience of that day. The preferences are mine and Dave’s alone, and are likely quite different than your’s would be. Please try the wineries that we visited and see what you think. You won’t be disappointed.

This is the order of where we visited:

Averill Creek Vineyard

6552 North Rd., Duncan, B.C. V9L 6K9

(250) 709-9986

http://www.averillcreek.ca/

This was my first taste of Vancouver Island wines and it was also my favorite winery of the day. The winery itself is gorgeous and has an amazing patio where you can sip wine by the glass or the bottle. Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic for the patio, or you can also buy locally sourced cheese and chartecurie from the tasting room. We are definitely bringing a picnic next time!

Favorite Wines:

Foch, Eh! – This is a low-tannin red made from their Marechal Foch grapes. Marechal Foch are apparently a specialty of this region, and this bottle was a great representation of them. We bought a bottle specifically to share with Dave’s parents, and are looking forward to a chance to break it open.

Pinot Grigio – It was a bright, warm day and I truly enjoyed the whites that I tried. This one had a nice, clean citrusy finish. I’m looking forward to going back and having a glass of this on their patio with our picnic.

Cherry Point Estate Wines

840 Cherry Point Road, Cobble Hill, BC, V0R 1L3, Canada

Phone: (250) 743-1272

http://cherrypointestatewines.com/

This was our second winery and my expectations were high since we had just come from Averill Creek. Their wines were good, and we had a nice time talking with one of the owners who was justifiably proud of the recent awards they have won. Our favorite part of the visit, however, was their bistro. Dave and I shared their Tapas Plate and Little Man had an amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwich. The kiddo food is not listed on the menu, but we asked if they had children’s options and they came up with a couple of options on the fly. The tapas plate included: a fresh beet salad, pickled garlic, mushrooms, mussels, shrimp, pulled lamb shank, olive tapenade, cheese, and an apple compote. This paired excellently with the wine by the glass that Dave and I had. He had the Forte, which was rich and tannic. While I had the Bête Noire, full of fantastic dark fruit flavors with a light finish.

Favorite Wines:

Bête Noire: This was my favorite wine from Cherry Point. It is in a Rioja-style and is almost inky in color, but the finish is light.

Forte: This was Dave’s favorite wine from Cherry Point. It also was a strong, rich red that paired very well with the tapas plate. In terms of comparing this to the Bête Noire, the Forte has a richer overall feeling on the palate and has a strong finish as well.

Wine and bread at the Cherry Point Bistro.

Our tapas plate at Cherry Point Bistro. We devoured it!

Tapas from the side… Yes, we love food photography even with our phones.

Little Man’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich. He’s lucky our meal was so good. The sandwich is such that even an adult would be happy to have that as a meal.

Venturi Schultze

4235 Vineyard Road, Cobble Hill, BC V0R 1L5

Phone: (250) 743-5630

http://www.venturischulze.com

This winery was a bit hard to find, but the search is definitely worth it. They are a “beyond organic” winery and have produced small batch excellent wines for over 20 years. For our visit the daughter of the original vintners was working in the tasting room. We learned a lot about organic wines and their creation that day. It was in this winery that Little Man got loose and things almost turned disastrous. In terms of great wines, this was our second favorite winery of the day. They also produce amazing balsamic vinegars.

Favorite Wines:

Brut Naturel: It was a warm day for our visit and my favorite was their sparkling Brut Naturel. It was not overly dry, and was extremely refreshing after a hot day of touring.

Millefiori: It was hard for Dave to corral himself into admitting just one favorite from this winery. In the end I think that the warmth of the day and the refreshing character of the Millefiori won him over. This is not a sweet white at all, but it also is not overly oaky like some intense (and beloved by me) Chardonays.

Twenty Two Oaks Winery

#1-6383 Lakes Road, Duncan, BC V9L 5V6

Phone:(250) 701-0385

http://www.22oakswinery.ca/

While Dave was fascinated by the names of the ex-hockey player owners, I was less impressed with the wines and the story of their ugly bulldog wine labels. This is a relatively new winery, and things could turn around for them quickly. However they are not on my list of wineries I want to visit again, or labels that I will search out in the wine stores.

Favorite Wines: not so much…

Deol Family Estate Winery

6645 Somenos Rd. Duncan, BC, Canada

Phone: 250-746-3967

http://www.deolestatewinery.com/

Deol Estate Winery was our last winery to visit that day and it was one of our favorites, at least in terms of the number of bottles purchased. Do not let the exterior of the winery deter you. The parking lot and surrounding buildings looks more like an area where restaurant delivery trucks should be off loading product. The tasting room itself is nice, but the woman pouring our tastings was nice and knowledgeable. This is a winery that I would love to go back to; I just wish that its surroundings were more inviting.

Favorite Wines:

Blanc de Noir: This was my favorite wine from Deol. The woman running the tasting room said that the wine embodied the flavor of honey; and it did but not in a sweet way at all. It was a light, crisp wine that left the lingering taste of honey without its cloying sweetness. She had me at “honey.”

Somenos Red: This was Dave’s favorite wine from Deol. It is a rich, deep earthy red. Not overpowering, but something very nice to sit back and sip in the evenings on the arbor bench… which is just what we did.

Marechal Foch: This was an excellent example of the Marechal Foch grapes that are characteristic of this region on Vancouver Island. It embodied all of the best characteristics that we were beginning to recognize from our visits to the different wineries.

Little Man’s favorite part of the day… running wild with Mommy.

When in Rome… Or Nanaimo…

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One of the fun things about moving around a lot (three states and two countries in the last six years) has been discovering local food favorites. For those that know me this should not be much of a surprise. Food places make up most of my landmark references and anyone asking me how to get anywhere will likely be led by directions to make turns just past certain restaurants or food markets. In fact, when travelling (abroad or domestically) I often try to find time to go to one of the local grocery stores. I love to see what foods are unique to a place, and I can often find gifts for friends and family that travel well and are light weight.

I have also found that when attempting to become a part of a community, one of the best ways of winning over the locals is to try (and try to recreate) one of the foods that is special or unique to that place. When one of our best friends was doing fieldwork research in Illinois she stumbled upon the Horseshoe Sandwich. The Horseshoe seems to be any sort of meat protein (ranging from shrimp to ground beef and anything in between) served open-faced on Texas toast (why this was in Illinois I have no idea), covered with a liberal coating of French Fries and a cheese sauce.

When living in Indiana, the closest thing to a local dish we could find was the Tenderloin Sandwich. This was sadly not as unique as the Horseshoe. The Tenderloin consists of a thin slice of pork tenderloin that has been pounded, breaded and fried to within an inch of its life. The finished product is more like cardboard than food. The tenderloin is then served with a little mayonnaise on indifferent bread. If you want iceberg lettuce and out-of-season tomato on your sandwich then you order the “works.”

Unfortunately I did not fare much better in Iowa. I had some amazing food at the homes of friends and in some great restaurants, but what Iowans seem to be most proud of is “food” that can be fried on a stick. This is found at just about any local community fair, but is produced in spades at the Iowa State Fair. Famous for its mammoth butter sculpture of a cow, this year the fair’s website boasted 60 stick-bound food-ish items with new options appearing each year. While living in Iowa they were proud to introduce fried butter on a stick, deep fried bacon, as well as fried pink lemonade. Don’t ask.

With the move to Vancouver Island I was initially focused on eating anything that swam in the ocean. After five years of living in land-locked Midwestern states, I was all about celebrating fish especially salmon. However, great salmon and seafood are not unique to Vancouver Island, but are hallmarks of the entire Northwest Coast of both Canada and the States (Please don’t call that nation “America” as that tends to get me in big trouble with my Canadian neighbors. We do all live on the North American continent after all…). My quest to find a special food that is unique to our new city led me to the Nanaimo Bar.

Little Man trying to score a nanaimo Bar

Little Man hoping to score a nanaimo Bar.

For my State-side readers, “Nanaimo Bar” refers to a wonderfully rich dessert, not to the “bars in Nanaimo.” While there is some debate about where the Nanaimo Bar originated (some try to claim them for the States. Check out wikipedia for more details.), the bars are largely considered to be a local delicacy and are jealously celebrated as a part of local culture. At its most basic rendition a Nanaimo Bar is a layered cookie with a chocolate and coconut graham cracker crust, a vanilla cream middle, and a top layer of chocolate. There are numerous variations on this theme with people attempting to put their own spin on the bars with flavors that pair well with chocolate, like peanut butter, raspberry jam or espresso. Nanaimo Bars have become so tied to local culture that there is a permanent exhibit in the Nanaimo Museum dedicated to this dessert. The exhibit is flanked by two Nanaimo Bar-shaped stools for people to sit on and contemplate the displayed recipe and local lore. Stools and recipe tea towels are available in the museum gift store. The Nanaimo Tourism Council has even published a Nanaimo Bar Trail Guide that includes all things Nanaimo Bar, marking not only the best places in town to try one of the bars, but also themed pedicures, soaps, cupcakes, cocktails and the list goes on.

Pooh Bear enjoying the Nanaimo Bar exhibit at the Nanaimo Museum.

I had heard of these bars before moving to Nanaimo, since Dave had tried a couple on the mainland (aka Vancouver). They were almost always a disappointment, tasting only of intense sweetness. Then when we first moved to Iowa we had a little party at our place where we served a number of dishes that were regional specialties from the different places that we had lived (Yes, Utica Tomato Pie was there as well, but that is fodder for a different post). Dave prepared Nanaimo Bars as the party dessert, but these were different from those that I had sampled before. While still rich and sweet, you could also taste the vanilla, almonds, chocolate and coconut in Dave’s version. I was hooked. He has since made them a couple of times, including most recently at this summer’s Hopwood Family Reunion. The pictures of Dave making the bars (and Little Man trying to score one) come from that event.

When Dave made the first batch in Iowa, he had done some internet research and combined multiple recipes to create his perfect Nanaimo Bar. Then as I was doing a bit of internet research for this post I discovered that what he had created was incredibly similar to what is largely thought to be the most authentic Nanaimo Bar recipe. In 1986 the city of Nanaimo hosted a contest for the Ultimate Nanaimo Bar and the winner was Joyce Hardcastle. It is her version of the Nanaimo Bar that is the closest to what Dave put together as well. Unknowingly Dave had stripped out away of the “unique” add-ins and found his way back to the classic version.

As I mentioned above, Dave’s most recent reason for making Nanaimo Bars was as a special dessert for the recent Hopwood Family Reunion. These are worlds away from the first bite of a Vancouver bakery’s Nanaimo Bar that I had on the mainland, and they will continue to be a part of special celebrations with our family. Just remember that a little goes a long way. A small square with good coffee or tea is a great dessert. However, since we just had them this summer it is going to be a good couple of months before I want to have one anywhere near my vicinity. One of Dave’s young cousins found out the dangers of Nanaimo Bar proximity at the reunion. One night we were all up late playing a get-to-know-you-better game on the deck of the cabin. A number of desserts had been brought out to munch on while we played. One of the teenage cousins had the luck (good or bad) of having the plate of Nanaimo Bars sitting directly in front of him the entire night. We lost count of how many bars he ate, but it was a substantial number. So be warned, these things are good.

Chef Dave getting his ingredients for Nanaimo Bars.

Dave’s Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo Bars are famously three-layered cookies, with a graham cracker base, a custardy center and a chocolate top. Dave’s version is intensely chocolaty with the added richness of coconut and almonds. For the reunion Dave doubled the batch and therefore used a larger baking dish as is seen in the accompanying pictures. A small square with a cup of black tea or coffee is divine.

Ingredients

Cookie Base:

1 ¼ c. graham cracker crumbs

1 c. unsweetened flaked coconut

½ c. almonds, toasted and finely chopped

2/3 c. unsalted butter

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ c. sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

Custard Filling:

2 c. powdered sugar

2 tbsp. vanilla pudding mix

3 scant tbsp. cream

½ c. unsalted butter, softened

Chocolate Topping:

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (not chips)

4 tbsp. butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Prepare an 8-inch square baking dish by buttering it and then lining it with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Be sure to leave an inch or so of overlap on two sides to serve as a handle to help remove the bars once they are firm.

Make the base:

In a large bowl stir together the graham cracker crumbs, coconut and almonds. Set this aside.

No rolling pin at hand, so Dave used the next best thing to crush the graham crackers.

The combined graham cracker crumbs, coconut and finely chopped almonds.

In a saucepan melt the butter with the cocoa powder and sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and temper the beaten egg by adding a few spoonfuls of the hot chocolate mixture to the beaten egg and whisk like mad. Tempering heats the egg gently so that it hopefully will not scramble when you add it to the mix. Once you have beaten in the few spoonfuls of chocolate mixture to the egg, then pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the chocolate and again whisk like mad. Pour the chocolate and egg mixture into the crumbs and stir until combined.

The sweetened cocoa and butter mixture for the cookie base.

Tempering the eggs so that they do not scramble in the cookie base.

Dave showing off his smoothly tempered cocoa and egg mixture pouring into the graham cracker crumbs below.

The combined cookie base mixture.

Pour the crumb mixture into the prepared baking dish and press it down evenly in the pan. Bake the base in the 350º oven for 10 minutes and then cool it on a rack.

The baked cookie base is cooled here on an impromptu cooling rack of an upside down muffin tin.

Make the filling:

In a medium bowl add the powdered sugar and pudding mix. Then stir in the cream and softened butter. Beat until smooth. Spread this over the cooled cookie base.

Make the topping:

Using a double-boiler, or a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water, place the chocolate and butter over low heat and stir until both are melted and smooth. Spread this evenly over the custard filling and refrigerate the baking dish until the chocolate topping is firm.

The completed but uncooled Nanaimo Bar pan.

Just before serving, take the dish out of the refrigerator and let it stand on the counter for 5-7 minutes so that the bars can be cut without shattering the chocolate. Lift the bars from the baking dish by pulling up on the parchment or aluminum foil “handles.” Peel the paper or foil from the bars and place them on a clean cutting board. Cut the bars into 16 squares (4 cuts horizontally and 4 vertically) and place them on a serving plate.

For the reunion Dave made a double batch of the bars so the pan is larger than the one described in the recipe.

Dave’s Famous Nanaimo Bars… be careful if you sit too close to the serving plate.

The bars can be stored in an air tight (and cousin-tight) container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Click on the following link to open a separate page with the recipe for easier printing.

Nanaimo Bars

A Pooh Bear Needs Honey

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In a previous post (Culture Shock) I wrote about the Immigrant Welcome Center, part of the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Center (CVIMC). That is where I was told that there was a name for everything that I had been experiencing in Canada, and that name is culture shock. Doh! I was also told that I am an “immigrant.” Now how did that happen? It shouldn’t be a shock. I am in the process of “immigrating” to another country, I am not Canadian, I am an immigrant. But I resisted that label. I want to be home, where ever and whatever that is. On the advice of the CVIMC staff I signed up for fieldtrips with the center in order to meet other immigrants and maybe make friends. The first outing that CVIMC was doing was to a local honey farm, Fredrich’s Honey, in the nearby town of Cedar. If you have any spare space for a late summer read, this is a good one.

Not that we could have left the house without him, but particularly since Little Man and I were going to a honey farm we had to bring along Pooh Bear. To keep him out of trouble, Pooh Bear waited in the car while we were learning about bees. Before anyone tries to report me for animal endangerment, Pooh Bear is a teddy bear not an animal. He is, however, almost “real” in the Velveteen Rabbit sort of way. The important thing for our story is that I didn’t want Little Man or Pooh to get any ideas about balloons and little gray storm clouds. I’ve learned from experience that Little Man has a good arm and can launch his teddies with surprising speed and accuracy.

Little Man and his tether.

Partly because of the way the trip was structured and partly because I was preoccupied trying to keep Little Man out of trouble I didn’t have as much time to chat with my fellow immigrants as I would have liked, but I did start on the road to friendship or at least to having people recognize my face when I come by. That was a good first step, and I’ll write more about this at another time. In the meantime, let’s talk honey…

Visitors asking Margaret questions about bees, beekeeping and honey.

The “farm” itself is mostly an occupied farm house with their Honey House shop located up the hill from their home. For our “immigrant experience” we were met by Margaret Friedrich, a wonderful woman who is an immigrant from Ireland herself, though her experience in Canada began back in the 60s. She and her husband, Theo, have been in the honey business ever since, and now her son and daughter-in-law are learning the ropes. For anyone interested, Fredrich’s Honey also conducts workshops on beekeeping. You can also read a bit about the ups and downs of urban beekeeping in a book I mentioned in a previous post by Novella Carpenter about urban farming in Oakland. Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer is an amazing story about her own experiences as a farmer in the middle of urban sprawl and ghetto as she raises pigs, all sorts of fowl, and yes, bees in a small midtown apartment.

An empty beehive. It will be added in to the active hives if a swarm is found to fill it.

Margaret is an amazing trove of bee-based knowledge. Some of it I had heard or read about before, but other parts were new. For the case of their “farm” the bees were currently up in the mountains since it is summer time and that is where the water is. They will come back in the winter, stay through spring when everything blooms, and then make their move again. I was a bit distracted by Little Man during much of Margaret’s presentation, but that was to be expected. I had him on a short leash, literally. Little Man has a much beloved tether that he wears when out and about in crowded outside areas, like large zoos, farmers markets and fairs. People often laugh or scoff at the leash, but I do not care. It keeps him safe, it keeps him with me, and he loves it. So there! J Normally at a place like a small farm with so few people I wouldn’t use the leash, but in this case I wanted to keep Little Man a safe distance from any fascinating bee hives, or other things that a toddler should not be sticking his hands into. Did I mention that Little Man likes to run around trees and get hopelessly tangled in his lion leash? Yes… that was much of my morning.

Tools of the trade. Little Man wanted the bee keepers hood in a bad way.

The Honey House was admittedly my favorite part of the trip. It is open year round, so anyone can come and purchase Fredrich’s honey and other bee-related products no matter what season. I bought a lovely large jar of wildflower honey, and Little Man was given his own tiny jar of blackberry honey. One of his and Pooh Bear’s favorite snacks is honey toast. I will remind him of our visit to the farm each time he gets to bring out his little jar.

Little Man inching his way towards and active hive.

Little Man inching his way towards an active hive.

Fredrich’s Honey rotates in different types of honey throughout the year as different plants come into bloom. Later this fall they will have a Fir Tree honey that I must go back to try. I am a huge fan of tree syrups; maple is my favorite but Indiana’s Shag Bark Hickory syrup is a close second. It is lighter in color than maple syrup, but is not as sweet and has a light smoky finish. Always up for new tastes, I am excited to try a tree pollen-based honey. I also want to call soon to see if they have any dandelion honey in stock. This honey is not produced by their bees and they were out of stock when I visited, but woman at the Honey House described it as rich and dark, gotta try it!

Two younger visitors in front of the Honey House.

My final purchase from Fredrich’s Honey was a pair of two beeswax candles. The scent was of warm honey and bees; not cloyingly sweet and definitely not artificial. The candles smelled like what I want “home” to be. Now I just need to find the box with my candle sticks in it so that I can enjoy that scent in the evenings while I write. Maybe it’s in that large stack over under the stairs? Oh bother…