Fat and Crafty.com

I love pot pies. I love pasties , I love food wrapped in dough that you can eat.  Simple huh?

Hand pies were developed a couple of months ago. I came home and immediatly slipped into making dinner mode. I pulled out some chicken breasts and steamed them, cooked some ground beef , found some frozen veg, some left over veg, and made a simple dough. The beef got cooked potatoes and frozen peas and carrots, the chicken got chopped, gravy made and tossed with the leftover veg. I wrapped each filling in to dough. About a quarter cup of filling per pie.
They were a hit.

Last week I made tortillas to go with a dinner of Chicken Bacon tacos, and having a little dough left over at the end, i wrapped up two “Chicken Bacon Taco Handpies, for Leahs lunch.

Today Handpies come out again, This time in the form of Turkey Handpies for dinner. And for once, I’ll share the recipe….

But not today. It’s not ready yet. The proportions are still off and I want to offer you a couple of filling riffs before I give it to you. Oh and sandwich rolls, you totally need to know about sandwich rolls.  Maybe next week I’ll make those too…

Breakfasts at Albion
The crowd at the Albion kept growing, as there were only 4 couples on the first day I think there were 8 on the last day. As the crowd grew Fernando’s attentiveness did too. We were not neglected in any manner even if there were twice the number of us. (Though on the last day one lad had to go do dishes, but that was because he was Don’s nephew)

(the dining room at the Albion Manor) The second day we were there Fernando came in and sat next to me as we all chattered. He was enjoying the conversation, and i could sense a hint of pride at “These people all came to enjoy our hospitality, and look how they get on.”

That isnt to say we were all on perfect behavior. First off, we did a great job the first day waitining to eat until everyone got served, but that fell apart gradually as the size of the group grew. Aron was a perfect gentleman and still waited. Are you surprised?

We also never introduced ourselves. i mean we talked about where we were from and what we were doing and where we were going, heck the first morning we even talked about my test, but we never said our names. How odd!

The other two breakfasts were as gourmet as the first. We had fruit and yogurt followed by lemon ricotta pancakes and sausage the second day, and Curried fruit followed by Eggs a l’Albion

(Tarragon scrambled eggs served over orange basted ham and topped with mushrooms and Hollandaise sauce. ) Both were good for me, Aron’s less fond of curry, but he was a good sport about it.

Aron’s only allergy is kiwi, and when I made the reservation and when we spoke our first evening I explained the situation. No Kiwi, not on the fruit plate, preferably no cross contamination. Both responses i got were fairly clear that this wouldn’t be an issue, as they never served Kiwi. (We wondered if it was rare in Victora.) Funnily enough, kiwil appeared on the table the second morning. the Spanish couple was served two whole kiwi. It wasn’t an issue because there was no cross contamination, but it still confused me.

This is the kitchen that turned out all those wonderful meals. Tiny isnt it?

The couple from Spain asked if this is how we all eat in North America. We laughed and explained that no, this was special for us. Fernando explained that he could serve the traditional toast with olive oil and coffee, but that would make them a very poor bed and breakfast.

Dinner at the Old Vic
Fish and Chips seemed like a very British thing to do in Victoria, and after wandering the parliment buildings and learning all about the government and history, we wanted to sample something British inspired before we left. This was dinner at the Old Vic on Saturday night. It was such a retro restaurant, with formica tables and small wooden booths, decor that hadnt changed since the 1960′s if you ask me.

We opted for a canadian starter, poutine. (Cheese curds and gravy over fries) This was real poutine, not the prettied up fancy poutine Irish times has on its menu It was basic brown gravy. fresh fries, and cheese curds. Yum. We had the halibut, and both found it fresh and mild, It was good solid fish and chips. What made the place shine was the service. it was a slow afternoon/early eveing. The gal who was running tables could not have been more attentive and friendly She earned a nice tip.

Victoria food in the end
We both agreed that while the food was good, it was a l little on the pricey side overall. Fish and Chips ran us $50. Thats a lot for a casual meal. On the other hand, having breakfast included with the room was genius, and I enjoyed it. Looking back I do wish we had been able to sneak in high tea, and I think instead of Irish times we should have dont a non chain pub Next time more restaurant research before we go.
(High Tea at the Empress seems to be the default, but i just roll with the crowd like that. Buchart did high tea, but that would have been even more expensive. )

Oh and Coffee was hard to find. We found Blenz which was only ok, and we saw lots of starbucks, it took a while for us to find decent coffee at Serious Coffee

Well i’ve got time to decide before my next trip to Victoria.

Our trip to Victoria was a casual vacation. No room in our agenda for fine dining of any any sort. in fact, though i’d researched most everything else, i didnt spend a lot of time researching places to eat. First I knew we were getting a gourmet breakfast each morning, and we’re breakfast people, so I knew that there would be no option to explore there. i also had a fabulous lunch planned out at the Buchart Gardens. that left 1 lunch and 2 dinners to worry about, and I didn’t worry. Here is how it turned out.

Eating on the Clipper.

First, if you are going on the clipper, know you can bring your own food. i brought mini pancakes and a little syrup to dip them in, yogurt and berries, and some applesauce. Had Aron been the eating type, I’d have done a more festive breakfast picnic for us to share.

Lunch at the Museum
Arriving in Victoria Aron was STARVING. See he was protecting himself from feeling ill on the trip up by not eating. By the time we got there he was low blood sugary and ready for lunch. We docked in the inner harbor and I began looking for a place for lunch. I’d read decent reviews of the BC museum cafe, and decided we’d try it. The cafe was a Willies bakery cafe, and they had a nice variety of sandwiches and gelato. Aron got a great sandwich with a side salad that had a tasty vinegrette. i had a cream of cauliflower soup that was good, but not great. We returned here for espresso and gelato after we were done with the museum.

Irish Times Dinner
Dinner the first night taught me something, Aron hates having pictures taken of his food. We decided on Irish Times based on a Thursday special seen in a tourist brochure, a beer and a burger for $13.00 sadly, this was not the special running on Thursdays anymore. Aron had a corned beef stack that was good, i had a burger that was decent. i think the best thing on the plate was actually the garlic aioli for the fries. Dessert for him was a monster ice cream sandwich, for me was “doughnuts and coffee” fried dough served with a firm custard flavored with irish cream. i loved the custard. Not so much on the doughnuts, they were salty and cold!?!

Aron’s ice cream sandwich was ok, but the cookie was too hard and in my opinion should have been warm. But see, huge. We wandered back and enjoyed the lights of the parliament building at night.

Albion Bed and Breakfast : Breakfast 1
The next morning was our first of Fernando and Don’s breakfasts. We entered the dining room at 9 am to find our place seatings ready for us. Fernando served the orange juice while we all talked about where we were from and what we did. The first course came out shortly, it was yogurt with peaches, sherry and a twist of lime. Yum. Fernando served the ladies first, and we all waited until everyone was served before digging in . Fernando then cleared and brought us the main, a Spanish fritatta made in Canada by Don, an Englishman. it was a simple salmon quiche really served with fresh asparagus. Aron’s not so into fish, but I enjoyed it. There was time for more coffee and conversation before we all went on about our day.

Buchart Lunch
When we got to the Buchart Gardens I asked for the latest lunch possible, knowing we were both full from breakfast still. We got a 3pm seating and at about 2:45 wandered to the dining room.

Y menu was such that you would each choose a main and either an appetizer or dessert. For $8 you could add on a third item. We took this option, choosing calamari for our appetizer to share, Aron getting pasta as his main and chocolate mousse torte for dessert , Myself getting a burger for my main, and creme brulee for dessert.

The calamari was good. Aron’s pasta was great. i wanted to marry my burger. Literally at the end of it, Savoring the last bites I asked, why can’t all burgers taste like this Because not all burgers are ribeye steak meat with homemade barbecue sauce. BEST BURGER EVER. seriously

Dessert was good too. Aron was delighted by his torte, and i found the creme brulee to be good, if not orgasmic.

We were so full from lunch and a little tummy ill after our bus ride back to the inner harbor, that we opted not to do dinner Friday night.

In Part 2, I’ll tell you about breakfast at the Albion for the last two days,and about our old fashioned fish and chips. Yum. So stay tuned. I need to go find some breakfast now.

The Local Yarn Store tour was this weekend. Miss Pixy Sticks, my favorite partner in crime for yarn stuff, and I had discussed going. i very much enjoyed it last year, but after spending some time on google maps I decided we were insane

24 stores equaled nearly 300 miles including the travel to the start and at $4 a gallon of gas… you see insane.

I decided instead that i would rather do the local local stores via public transit and foot. In the end this translated into only visiting three stores, two that were new to me.

Churchmouse Yarn and Tea.
This was such an awesome stop, not just because of the store, but also for the adventure of getting out there. I took the bus downtown, wandered through the market to the hill climb, from the hill climb along the water to the Ferry Dock. i picked up a great Chicago Style Hot Dog and a quad espresso over ice (just add a little milk = instant iced latte) I hopped on a ferry where i sat on the top of the sun deck and relaxed. i soaked up the sun, visited with a dog on the deck, laughed at the giggling gaggle of field trip girls who were having fun in the wind on the bow of the deck.

While we docked, i ran into another woman who was also on the Yarn Store Tour, and we dished a bit . i ended up walking with her, her son and her dog to the yarn store.

The yarn store itself was wonderful. i started at the front counter where they gave me a passport, a bag, the free pattern (fingerless gloves) and they gave me a choice of either a sample of tea or a measuring tape. i took the sampler,.
Here is the kicker though, when she learned i was new to the store, she came out from behind the counter and showed me around the store. This blew me away

Since the gal I’d walked over with turned out to be a bit weird, i ducked out of the store after i was done browsing, and headed over to Mora for ice cream. MMM Mora.

(two scoops of hazelnut chocolate ice cream with 2 shots of espresso. MMMMM)

I say there should be a girls afternoon outing to Churchmouse and Mora.

Bad Woman Yarns

After my trip to Churchmouse, i took the ferry back and hopped on the 16 bus to Wallingford Center. Bad Woman Yarns was open and welcoming, with offers of assistance given as i wandered around. I think they maybe had snacks available for those on the Yarn Store tour, or it was someone’s lunch, as there were two gals sitting right by it knitting, a little sign would have provided a better clue. it wasnt nearly as welcoming as my first stop, but i will definitely stop by again. Their one skein pattern was a cute knit neck piece. (necklace/scarf/cowl kind of thing)

My last stop was weaving works, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t do the shop much justice. i came in, filled out the form for the drawing, got the free patterns and left.

I’m glad i decided not to do all the shops, but should have worked to get to more shops. No worries, the Black Sheep Festival is coming you’ll see a better report from that.

Micheal Pollan’s two books have received a lot of attention. I’ve read the Omnivore’s Dilemma, and have In Defense of Food : An Eaters Manifesto on my hold list at the library. (Looks like that will be coming shortly) It seems that one Seattle Writer is turning Micheal Pollan’s real food manifesto into a diet manifesto.

I’m a fan of the concepts that he sets forth, eat whole foods, things that your grandmother would recognize. I’m actually more fond of the illustration that Miss Ginsu offers.

What I’d like to encourage is not falling into the consumer traps laid out for you when you implement this sort of thing. You don’t have to shop at PCC, Central Market or Whole Foods to eat healthy. Particularly if you are moving from a diet of not cooking at home to a diet where you are cooking at home. The produce section of Fred Meyers , Safeway and Albertsons have enough to get you started. Visit the farmers market and embrace the local vegetable stand. Honestly, groceries may have a sticker shock value (particularly if you are shopping at whole foods) But when you compare the cost to what you pay when you eat out, you’ll be amazed at the savings.

Want to get more advanced? Try finding a U-pick farm and getting in touch with where your vegetables and fruit are coming from. Can’t do that? What about trying out a CSA? Or a veg delivery service like an organic box from Spud or Full Circle Farms. (Huh Pioneer Organics merged with Spud? didnt know that)

Anyway, just remember, you don’t need to shop at a specialty store to eat real food.

(and just because it’s real food, doesnt mean it’s healthy, but thats a post for another day)

I have a terrible habit of buying grains and then not labeling the packages. We also have a habit in the household of getting into a grain rut. Lots of rice, some potatoes, some  cous cous. Last night I had fantastic steaks to use for dinner and decided i wanted to make Deborah Madison’s Quinoa and Corn recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Its a tasty recipe with corn and green onion, stirred into a pot of cooked quinoa.

I got myself going on dinner, dumped the grain in the simmering broth as according to the recipe and settled into my homework as it cooked. Started the corn and green onion mixture, and went to add the quinoa.. and it wasn’t.   Not that it wasnt there, it wasn’t Quino. Hmm I served it out and no one complained, they all called it cous cous  and despite complaints of it being a bit crunchy it was enjoyed.

I kept racking my brain through. The last time I’d made amaranth was the souffles, and this taste was quite   different. Hmm Millet maybe? MILLET! That was the answer. Checking on google it confirms  yes I served millet to the masses last night and everyone thought it was cous cous.

I have to get better at labeling packages.

Vacation was civilized. Every morning I was awoken by the smell of something delightful in the kitchen. At 8 there was coffee and tea in the peacock parlor. Most mornings I got up and dressed and settled into the parlor for some conversation.  At 9, the bell rung and we adjourned for breakfast in the dining room.

The company was cheerful and engaging with conversation directed to travel and where we were from originally.There was a couple from Spain, in Canada for 3-4 weeks, a couple from the interior of BC who were on a school break, a couple from Anchorage,  a couple from Vancouver.

We started with orange juice,  then a fruit course. Fernando served the ladies first then the gentleman. I was  amused to note that when the group was at its smallest points, we waited until everyone was served to eat. When the group got larger, that was not the case.  After the fruit course, our plates were cleared and the main was brought. The coffee refills kept coming as we ate  and chatted. On Friday morning,  Fernando came out and listened to our conversation, clearly  satisfied at the eclectic group he had brought together for conversation.

Vacation was civilized