originals at original joe's

Hubby and I experienced a first today. We were the first customers at the new Original Joe's that opened at 12 noon in our neighbourhood.  (They even took our photo.)

The decor is bright and modern with clean lines and rich colors. 

I noticed the feature wall and snapped a picture. The owner came over and explained that the framed photos on it were taken in the community. And so now I'm going to be on the lookout for the where they're from. 

 Hubby ordered the burger, I the quesadilla (chipotle quesadilla with side salad of greens, dried cranberries and almond slices.) Yum!

We decided to go the distance and even have dessert. My tip: leave room for this luscious mud pie (with mocha). Double yum!! 

It's the first Original Joe's we've ever been to and we'll be back!

fruit

Apple Pear

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week: GAMES (Chess, Video Games, Card Games, Children's Games,...)

you dream it, they'll cake it

On these wet wet days when our walking path looks like this...

...we've altered our route to go through town. We walk past a cute shop window that has the coolest decorated cakes. I first noticed it this fall and took some photos around Halloween and Remembrance Day.

Fall Cupcakes

Beach Cake

Halloween Ghoul Cake

Creepy-Crawly cupcakes

Treasure Island Cake

Flanders Fields Cake

Over the Christmas holiday the window was empty. But this morning when we passed by I saw the shop window was again getting filled with these incredible cakey creations. Are they real, edible cakes? I have no idea. But they sure are fun scenery on a rainy morning. 

Snowboard Cake

Penguin Cake

And a HOCKEY CAKE, to celebrate the end of the lockout, do you think?

The shop is Scoop-N-Save, Cake Decorating Supply Specialists. They have a web page and a presence on Facebook. (If you're into cake decorating and live in the area, they're probably a destination that will make you drool.)

a break from travels to make some jam

My friend beside a giant plant (Gunnera) in her yard

On Thursday night, we stopped in at the house of my friend Satwant to pick up fruit she had offered us. We left with a box of golden-green apple pears and two small boxes of yellow damson plums.

Yesterday I began tackling the plums—soft, very sour and each with a pit that needed removing.

After washing, picking them over, and cutting out any dark soft spots, I decided to soften them in the slow cooker before pitting. A few hours on high brought them to the mash stage, but steaming hot. So I set them aside to cool till later in the evening when I began the onerous job of removing every pit.

top left: jam colander || top right: pits and pulp

bottom left: cooking || bottom right: the jam set nicely

Mom's old jam-making colander to the rescue! I can't remember the last time I used one of these, but I'm sure glad I never gave it away. I dumped the mashed plums into the hopper and after a few minutes of working the mash through the mesh, I was left with this stony, pulpy mess. I suppose I could have discarded it, but I wanted the plum skins in the finished jam. So one at a time I fished the pits out of the pulp, returning it, now pitless, to the strained mash.

I found a super-simple plum jam recipe on Mama Knows website and simplified it even more. "Yellow Plum Jam" called for lemon juice and water, both of which I omitted. But I added the amount of sugar it called for (4 1/2 cups to 6 cups of plums). I cooked the jam this morning, boiling the mixture for twenty minutes as it suggested, then I bottled and sealed it.

It was great to see that as it cooled it set up beautifully and without an added crystal or drop of artificial pectin! The finished jam is very tart but yummy! As well as a great spread for breakfast toast or waffles, I think it would work beautifully as a condiment for pork or Oriental food like egg rolls.

That was fun!

My recipe for:

Yellow Damson Plum Jam

6 cups of prepared fruit (pits removed)
4 1/2 cups of sugar.

Combine all ingredients and bring slowly to boiling, stirring occasionally till sugar dissolves. Boil briskly for 20 minutes, stirring often to prevent mixture from scorching. Pour boiling hot into sterilized jars and seal.

island adventure 5 - artisan bread and cheese

One of the brochures we pick up at the Visitor Centre is called "Salt Spring Studio Tour." It's a description, together with a map, of 34 working studios on the island that welcome tourists. There are lots of pottery, jewelry, wood, and fabric studios. The two that snag our attention are the Salt Spring Island Bread Company, and Salt Spring Island Cheese. Both of them are near Ruckle Park, and so after one of our visits there, we tour first the bread studio, then the cheese place.

We follow the signs (the main roads have signs to each studio together with the numbers on the map—pretty well coordinated) and come to a long, picturesque driveway that leads to a quaint yard, and a path to the 'bakery.'

Our brochure describes the Salt Spring Island Bread Co. as "Organic artisan baking in a wood fired oven." (Salt Spring Island Bread Co. website.)

They are indeed baking bread in a brick oven, and there are rows and rows of loaves rising on the table waiting for their turn. There are also stacks of yummy-looking pizza-cheese breads already baked along with many other kinds. One of the workers even opens the oven for me so I can take a picture of the bread that's now baking!

Every bread type looks rustic and yummy. What to buy? We finally decide on a loaf of fruit and ginger bread. Later, we enjoy it slathered with butter and hunks of cheese, along with coffee—and I feel just like Heidi! 

Our next stop is Salt Spring Island Cheese ("Handmade goat & sheep cheeses. Free tastings, tours—beautiful courtyard for picnics." - and we do eat our lunch in the courtyard after our tour.)

As we walk around the plant, we see information posters that describe the cheese-making process (and here is Cheese-making 101 as described on their website). There are also large windows perfect for viewing what's going on inside. The place looks very clean and wet. All the workers wear hair nets and gum boots. As we watch a woman sprays the floor with water. The inside of the windows are covered with droplets.

Here are some of the steps of cheese-making we observe. We notice that they are packaging cheese for Costco.

 Our self-directed tour ends in the store, where there are crackers and spreads, along with every flavour of cheese to try. We end up buying a plain goat cheese, which it turns out neither of us is crazy about... something hot, like the chili or peppercorn would have been a better choice. As you can see, there are a lot of cheeses and spreads to choose from!

beverages

A delicious meal with water

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: MOVEMENT (Dancing, Jumping, Running, Falling,...)

june treats (1016 to 1023 of unending gifts)

"Flowers ... have a mysterious and subtle influence upon the feelings, not unlike some strains of music. They relax the tenseness of the mind. They dissolve its rigor."-Henry Ward Beecher

My list of unending gifts continues...

1016. On the 19th we celebrated our 31st anniversary. We've come a long way baby! The photo is of us on our wedding day (top), and us earlier this spring (bottom), against a background of the anniversary roses I got from my sweetheart.

1017. 

1018. I am so enjoying my hanging baskets. I think our cool weather is agreeing with them. Here's a little comparison: what they looked like when I first put them up on May 8th and now.

1019. My yellow lily bloomed! It's my Mother's Day gift from son last year. I love it when gifts keep giving.

1020. I found out the name of the trees that grow along the path behind our house. They're Hornbeam trees.

1021. It's strawberry season. We bought a flat from Driediger Farms. They are some of the juiciest berries I've ever had—such a treat. For a potluck tonight I'm making Strawberry Trifle (I'm trying out this recipe).

1022. Scenes from the mighty Fraser flood of 2012. Yesterday we went to check out one of our favorite trails—the Fort to Fort from the Heritage House to Derby Reach. Here's E. on the path. Any more rise in water level and that path will be gone. The last little bit of the path into Derby Reach is under water.

But that's nothing compared to the campsite. Here we are at the picnic area.

And this is the campsite. Each pole designates a camp spot.

1023. And this is my 2000th blog post. That is another reason for thankfulness!

Now to tackle the last week of June! What are you up to this week? And where is the time racing to? 

This post is linked to the "Multitudes on Mondays" meme at  A Holy Experience.

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 Mugs of coffee... does it get any better than that?

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week: BIG (Building, Mountain, Sky, Animals, Vehicles, Tree,...)