Tater Tot Poutine: Because WE CAN.

Poutine.  POOOOOOO-TEEEEEN.  It's just a really fun word.

And a delicious dish.  I mean, our friends up north have really nailed the comfort food arena.  Tim Horton's, beaver tails, Nanaimo bars, and POUTINE.  No wonder everyone is trying to move up there...I mean, that's the REAL reason, right folks?  Nothing to do with who El Presidente is.  Put on your best holier-than-thou act all you want---you REALLY just want to have unlimited access to Timbits and a double double from T-Ho's.  AND POUTINE.  Which, if you're not hip to it, is french fries, covered in fresh cheese curds, and then doused in rich brown gravy.  Go on, tell me you're not salivating.

Anywho...

I was perusing the cheese case at my local wine purveyor's the other day and found a package of jalapeno cheese curds from Edgewood Creamery in Purdy, Missouri.  They were marked down for quick sale, and I was happy to oblige.

What shall I do with these cheese curds? The only honest, respectable thing one can do with cheese curds-- serve them over potatoes with brown gravy.  It's every cheese curd's dream to go out like that.  
BUT...I didn't have fries at home. And I didn't want to MAKE fries.  But what I did have?

TATER TOTS.

So, like a good Midwestern non-Canadian gal, I baked up some crispy, delicious tots...

...and got to work.

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 2-3 servings)
Approximately 2 handfuls of tater tots (or more. I won't judge.)
4 ounces cheese curds
1 cup prepared brown gravy (I use Tony Chacheres)
1/4 cup thinly sliced onions (you could easily add or do mushrooms instead--I had some sliced onions I needed to use up and they went really well in this dish.)

DIRECTIONS:
Bake the tater tots according to package directions until brown and crisp on the outside (generally about 20 minutes).

While that's going, prepare your gravy.  Add the cool water, gravy mix, and onions to a small pan, and heat to boiling, while whisking.  Let boil for at least a minute, then decrease the temperature and simmer until it reaches your desired consistency (I like the gravy to be slightly thick, and to cling to the back of a spoon.)

Once the tots are done, transfer them into small bowls, then add the cheese curds, and top with onion gravy.  

Pairs well with Dark Star black kolsch from Bur Oak Brewing in CoMo.

Canadian VayCay Day Three: Nanaimo & Whistler

We woke up & finally got a lovely view of the beachfront outside our room at the Kingfisher Resort.  We could see the rest of Courtenay and Comox hugging the bay to our left.

 

(I love all the repurposed driftwood.)

After being lazy (and lounging in our hotel-provided robes—because, if you stay in a place nice enough to have robes, you HAVE to wear them), we finally got up & ventured down to the beach front to pick up my favorite kind of souvenirs—rocks & shells.

Sadly, we had to get moving in order to catch the 12:30 ferry in Nanaimo, otherwise we would have wallowed in the spa’s Hydropath for a while.

 

Once we got into Nanaimo we decided to grab some lunch.  Nanaimo has a few breweries, but we decided to hit up Longwood Brew Pub since it was close to our route & had good reviews.

SUCH a good decision.  Our waitress was wonderful, gave us great brew recommendations (we tried the Dunkel and the Czech Pilsner)

… and we shared a double order of fish & chips. Uh. MAZ. Ing.  Light & crispy, super fresh & flaky, crunchy fries (with malt vinegar on the table, thank you!) and cole slaw that even my husband would eat.

I could eat this every day & die happy.

Now, of course, we knew we could leave town without having its namesake, the Nanaimo Bar.  I had been hoping Longwood would offer it on their dessert menu, but no dice.  However, the house manager recommended the bars at a little coffee shop around the corner.  So I swung by and picked up two.

We saved one for Whistler, and then shared the other on the ferry ride back to Vancouver.  OMG.  Chocolately, sugary vanilla center, and all kinds of deliciousness in that crust—grahams, coconut, chopped almonds… it’s heavenly.  But super rich.  Not recommended for diabetics.

After we got off the ferry, we headed up Highway 99, aka the Sea to Sky Highway, that takes you up to Whistler & Squamish.  This is by far the most gorgeous stretch of road I’ve ever been on.  EVER.  Sea on one side, mountains on the other, and islands off in the distance?  A photographer’s dream.  Thank goodness I wasn’t driving.

The road follows the sea for most of the trip, until you finally turn off up into the mountains.  Which was, coincidentally, when we actually started seeing some snow.

Um…hope that wasn’t an IMPORTANT notice…

We got checked into our hotel around 5pm and then ventured out for some food.  Most places were pretty crowded but we found Tapley’s Neighbourhood Pub tucked in a less-busy corner & got a table.  A little pricey, but it’s a ski village—that’s pretty typical.  We tried a couple of the Whistler Brewing beers (Whiskey Jack Ale and Bear Paw Honey Lager) along with a quesadilla and a cheddar burger.  Pretty fair for a “stumble upon” type of meal.

And tomorrow… WE SKI!!!

Canadian VayCay, Day Two: Waterfalls & Artwork

Sorry for the delay—I had three 12-hour work days in a row and got a bit behind on my storytelling.  No worries: and we continue!

So we wake up in North Vancouver, thinking about going to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.  But it’s about $32/person.  To walk through a park.  Granted, yes, they have a “cliff walk” that just looks insane…

…but $32 is still $32… especially when you’re from the US and you’re in Canada (ba-dum CHING!  Ahh, yes, currency jokes rule.  Hooray for our currently hideous exchange rate…)  and there’s a perfectly good park just a few miles down the road FOR FREE.

So we hit up Lynn Canyon Park instead.  Loads of trails, several suspension bridges, and a cute lil’ ecology centre.  And tons of beautiful waterfalls.  There were a lot of early morning runners there, and I can totally see why.  If I lived here, this would be the perfect place to start your day.

  

 

We even got to see Sasquatch….sorta.

PS—If you didn’t already know, I’m a sucker for hilarious signage:

Maybe if these folks were a little more flexible, they wouldn’t have fallen…and seriously lady—climbing in a dress?  You’re just asking for trouble.

After we got our morning hike in, we headed to the next locale on my Canadian Bucket List: Tim Hortons.

Timbits (aka, donut holes) and a Café Mocha – life is good!

In case you’re not a hockey fanatic, Tim Horton played for the Toronto Maple Leafs for about 20 years, along with a few other US teams.  He & a partner opened the coffee & donut chain in 1964.  Ten years later, Horton died tragically in a car accident, but his memory lives on every day, across Canada and the extreme north US, with over 3600 locations.

After we got our coffee & donut fix, we headed over to Horseshoe Bay to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island.

Now—if you’re considering a trip to Vancouver, I HIGHLY recommend making the jaunt across the Bay to the island.  HOWEVER—you need to factor in the cost.  We didn’t look up the ferry fees before we got to town, so when we finally looked up the fee schedule online, we got a little bit of sticker shock.  The ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo costs about CAN$80 for two people and a car.  EACH WAY.  Fees differ depending on what part of the island, or what part of Vancouver, you depart from.  We wanted to go visit friends in Comox on the island, so Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo was the closest route for our trip.  And if you don’t need to take your car with you, the cost is considerably lower.

There’s a bit of wait to get on the ferry, but no worries—they provide free wifi in the line-up queue.  Since we couldn’t use our phones or data plans while on our trip, we were pretty stoked about just HOW MANY free wifi hot spots we were able to find.

Finally—we board the ferry, park our car, head up to the passenger area…and we’re off!

It was SUCH a beautiful clear day.  We got amazing views of Vancouver and the islands around us.  It’s about a 2 hour ride, so when we weren’t staring out the windows, we watched a movie on our laptop.  There’s also a food court on board, if you want a snack or lunch.

After we disembarked in Nanaimo, we began our drive up the coast to Comox.  The road signs promised us we should watch out for deer and elk…so we did.  And saw NONE.  Thanks a lot, Island. Way to overpromise & under-deliver on the wildlife front.

Around 4pm we rolled into Comox to meet up with my friends Nico & Naomi:

Nico’s a computer-aficionado/app developer, and Naomi is an amazing artist/web designer.  I’ve known these kids for about a decade, and they are just some of the greatest peeps on the planet.  Naomi & Nico took us for a delicious dinner at Atlas Café in Courtenay.  We had some amazing, garlicky hummus & pita, and the Hubs & I shared the Pork Schnitzel Cordon Bleu, because it sounded like all kinds of bad-for-you rolled into one.  Totally delicious.

Afterward we went back to Naomi’s art gallery and she gave me free reign to pick out some “souvenirs”.  I was like a kid in a candy store!  Naomi’s art is bright and fun and very Dr. Seussian.  She also recently started making Mullies: super-adorbs handmade stuffed “monsters” that you wouldn’t mind finding in your closet.  They’re all unique and come with their own name.  Masher got to come home with me, along with a print of one of my very-favorite paintings, and a card that reminded us of Rocky.

If you haven’t yet, you should go check out her online gallery.  She does such amazing work, and even makes custom paintings.

We finally took our leave from our friends, and headed to our hotel in Courtenay, the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa.  It was a little late when we checked in, so we didn’t get to explore, just went to our room & crashed.  But you’ll get to see more of this gorgeous beachfront resort tomorrow!

Canada: Day One – Vancouver!

Well…in truth, about half of Day One was spent in an airport on on a plane somewhere.  But we landed in Vancouver around 2pm PST (4pm CST) and were starving.  So we hit up The Italian Tomato in Richmond, which was close to the airport and recommended by the agent at our rental car company.  The neighborhood looked a little sketchy, but the food was quite tasty.  They were dead, but I think that has more to do with the fact that we were there at 2pm.  I can personally recommend the Fettuccini Veneziana, a spicy chicken & sausage pasta dish.  The lunch portion is $11.95, but HUGE.  The Hubs & I split it and each had a small salad, and we were STUFFED.  Good stuff.

After that, we meandered our way north to Granville Island to do some exploring (and to hit up the 4pm tour of the Granville Island Brewery).  After spewing a few choice words at our GPS and getting turned around about 3 times, we finally made it to the island, just in time for the tour.  Actually, we ended up being the only people there, so we got a private tour!  Tours run $9.75/each and include three 4 oz samples of any of their brews on tap.  They had eight taps, so we each picked three and shared.

Personal favorites: The Winter Ale and the Hefeweizen.

Our tour guide, Chloe, was awesome, sat around & chatted with us for quite a while, and made some recommendations for places we should check out before leaving town.

After finishing our tasting, we walked around the island a bit & headed to the Public Market…

… where we learned that a) Canadian groceries are more expensive than U.S. groceries, and b) our stereotypical American lack of metric math skills gives us quite the handicap when it comes to guesstimating prices of things.  We averted this potential roadblock buy simply not buying anything. :) 

(FYI—there’s about 28 grams in 1 ounce, or 450 grams in 1 pound.  Just in case you need it for the future.)

The view from the pier behind the market is FANTASTIC, especially at night!!!

After leaving the island, we headed to Gastown (aka downtown) on Chloe’s recommendation to check out Steamworks Brewing, another brewery that, unlike Granville, also has a restaurant attached.  They have a “Beer of the Day” special that will get you a 20 oz “sleeve” for $5.50 rather than $6.75 (score!).  We tried the Pale Ale and the Lion’s Gate Lager, and got a plate of Poutine to share for $7.95.

Ahhh…poutine.  It was everything I imagined.  In the words of my Hubs: “It’s like crunchy mashed potatoes…with cheese.”  AKA: Delicious.

(Also—just so you know, the parking meters in Vancouver accept American change.  Just in case you run into a coin crunch….which may or may not have happened to us.)

After dinner, we made the drive further North over the Lion’s Gate bridge to North Vancouver where our hotel was.  And then we crashed around 8pm.  Because we’z wuz tired, yo.  Getting up at 4am CST will do that to a human. :)

More tomorrow!

Canadian Cinnamon “Cookies” with Fresh Berries & Cream

Hello again!  We’re back from the Great White North.  …and I managed to tow back a Great White Cold, that I’ve code named “Canadian Goose Flu”.  It’s totally a thing.  (Okay, it’s not a thing, but it sounds good, and I did SEE some geese while I was there, alright?)

So let’s work our way through the trip, shall we?  And where else to start but at the beginning?  As in…the day before we left.

A big part of traveling is, of course, the PACKING.  There’s an art to packing for a proper trip.  For our honeymoon, thanks to the tutelage of Rick Steves, we managed to take everything we would need for a 12 day trip in two carry-on suitcases.  But of course, that was September, and Europe.  Most of our clothes were pretty light and easily compactable. 

This trip, we have to deal with SKI GEAR.  Big fluffy stuff. And winter sweaters and socks and the like.

Thank heaven for Space Bags. (Note husband and suitcase included for scale.)

Before:

After:

Ta-daaaaa!!!

 

So then, once you’re packed, there’s the refrigerator that must be considered.  You’re leaving the country for 7 days—what needs to be devoured before you leave so you don’t come home to a stanky rancid mess?

The Usual Suspects:  yogurt, milk, 4 strips of bacon, half-loaf of bread, leftover peas, random produce, etc.

The night before our departure, we had managed to whittle our contents down to:

- a few remaining slices of potato bread

- 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

- 4 oz carton of fresh blackberries

 

And I was craving sweets….but lacking the energy to make anything too complicated.

So, this little gem was born of some Kitchen Improv.

Fleur-de-lis and Canadian maple leaves!  (Yes, I’ve been dying to test out my newest cookie cutters.)

Ingredients:

2 slices potato bread (you could probably use any type of bread, but the potato bread makes this really similar to a brioche or challah)

1 tbsp light butter

cinnamon sugar

fresh berries of your choosing

1/2 cup whipping cream + 1 tbsp powdered sugar + splash of vanilla extract (or 1.5 cups already whipped cream)

(NOTE: I use the whipped cream recipe from Kitchen Basics.  Super easy, especially if you have a stand mixer.  Just add the ingredients to the bowl & let it run with the whisk attachment!)

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 (or use a toaster oven).  Lightly butter both sides of each piece of bread, and then sprinkle liberally with the cinnamon sugar.  Toast for about 5-10 minutes, and then use a cookie cutter to cut out your preferred cookie shape. 

Don’t throw away the rest!!!  You tear that up, and place it in the bottom of a large bowl (or two small bowls, however you prefer, whether you want to share one dessert or make two separate ones).  Then dollop the whipped cream on top, cover with berries, sprinkle with some extra cinnamon for pizzazz, then add your fancy “cookies”. 

The “cookies” and the scraps at the bottom of the bowl are super crispy and buttery, almost like a toast-shortbread hybrid.  Comingle the vanilla-y cream, sweet fresh berries, and the crunchy bread, and it’ll satisfy any sweets craving in a heartbeat.

 

Come back tomorrow for some more Canadian goodness, eh? :D

Oh, Canada…

Small announcement here: I’m going to be absent from this blog for about a week.  At least a week.  Because the Hubs & I leave tomorrow morning for our great white neighbor to the north.  We’ll be in Vancouver for a few days, out on Vancouver Island for about a day, and up skiing at Whistler Resort for 3 days.

 

Well…the Hubs will be skiing for three days. I will HOPEFULLY make it through a full two days.  Me & Skis…we have a love-hate relationship.  On the Green slopes, me & skis, we’re cool.  We’re having fun, making leisurely ski curves down the genteel slopes, stopping periodically to take photos of the scenery.  Anything more than that, or more than two days, and my knee gets fatigued, then the rest of me gets fatigued, and at that point there’s a 50/50 chance that I’m coming off that mountain mad at the world with tears frozen to my face.  Possibly carrying my skis and calling them hateful names under my breath.

But when we’re NOT skiing…we’ll be sight seeing.  And EATING.  One of my favorite things.

So here’s the Canadian Bucket List for our trip.  If you have suggestions that we should add to it, please leave a comment!

1) Tim Hortons.  Because…I mean…really, do you need a “because”?

 

2) Poutine.  I realize this is more of an “eastern” Canadian thing…but I’m still fairly convinced I can find it in Vancouver.  If you have a recommendation for WHERE—I’m all ears.

 

3) Nanaimo bars.  Again…does this really need explanation?  *sigh* FINE. Chocolate, almonds, coconut, grahams, vanilla custard, and MORE chocolate.  What’s NOT to love?

(I have a recipe to make these as well, but I figure I should taste the real thing before I attempt to copy it.)

 

4) Maple syrup:  My hubs LOOOOOOVES real maple syrup.  So I’m sure we’ll be smuggling a few bottles back with us.

5) BEER!  I’ve got a list of local microbreweries in Vancouver and over on the island.  We’ll probably try to taste a few bottles of local wines as well, if we can find any. (Again—all ears for recommendations!)