Kara and Nick visit Seattle

We enjoyed meeting Kara and Nick in Seattle, catching Nick on his last full day there.  We met at Paul and Kay's, seeing Yuri and Gareth as well.  Then the four of us went out to eat at Ray's Boathouse on the water.  The food was great (tuna, salmon, scallops, etc.) and the corner window absolutely picturesque. We watched young people paddle boarding as the sun set behind clouds which promised some badly-needed rain.

Sadly, I forgot to take my camera to Alyssa's and Bill's place Saturday when the clan gathered to enjoy three of Paul's delicious pizzas, each having two pieces specially made in accordance with his healthy diet.  The rest of us gayly added potato chips to our plates.  Dessert consisted of lots of juicy watermelon, an entire flat of raspberries and I forget what else.  I always enjoy those informal family gatherings at their place, seeing Yuri somehow being lured upstairs for his bath/book/bed routine at about 6:30.

With Stephen's mother's visit in several weeks, there was a special urgency to get the main floor in shape.  The guest room was nicely furnished with a new bed and adjoining bathroom.  The plumber will soon install the shower fixtures, but the toilet and sink were operational.  Stephen and Vivian installed the remaining kitchen cupboards, primarily the ones which hang on the wall, and then did the electrical work on the dishwasher, kitchen disposal, and electric stove.  The fridge was already in place and operational. 

On Sunday, Kara joined us at Vivian's and Stephen's house for an afternoon of work.  She and Janice cleaned/mopped/washed the dining and living rooms which had just been cleared of doors, boards, boxes, tool chests and the like for the first time in memory.  Kara also used the power sander on one of the trim boards and then, with Vivian's guidance, operated the power nailer.  Janice and I also washed the leaded windows inside and out, something I had wanted to do ever since I first saw them.  Since some windows could be reached only by using an extension ladder, it was surely the first time they had been cleaned in decades.  By about 6:00, the five of us closed shop, put all the tools in their places, and trotted off for a delicious meal at a local Ethiopian Mom-n-Pop restaurant.  When we learned that it was cash only, four of us had to empty our pockets while Janice smugly sat and watched . . . she had fortuitously left her purse back at the house and consequently got a free meal!

Christmas in Vancouver, 2010

It is always exciting to add more place mats to our dining room table, and always just a bit sad to remove them later.  We are now back to just two, but we have many happy memories of there being 3, 6 and even 7 mats positioned tightly at our little table.

It was a treat to have everybody here for Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day, three big Canadian holidays.  The weather could not have been more soggy and wet, nor more grey.  We kept assuring Julia that we really are surrounded by mountains, but none could be seen.

Aaron arrived Tuesday evening, looking fine for having just crossed the continent. On Wednesday, we visited the northern edge of Chinatown to stock up at Sunrise, our favourite green grocer on Gore.  The selection and prices are the best in the city, far as I can tell, and their tofu is sold throughout the city.  We had a substantial lunch at a new Chinese vegetarian restaurant on Main Street.

Aaron then started cooking in the kitchen in which, decades ago, Janice let him be involved as soon as he was able to reach the counter by standing on a chair unassisted.  Here he is making a peanut sauce to go on some pot stickers (though I could be mistaken because by now our many meals are becoming a blur in my memory).

Stephen took Thursday off and Vivian got off work early, so they were here by late afternoon, in time to head off to the new and far larger Chinatown in Richmond, B.C.  Each time they visit Vancouver, we have an all-you-can-eat sushi feast, turning the ordering chores over to Steve, who actually recalls some of the Japanese names for fish.  There were also ample things for Aaron to eat.

Julia also worked on Thursday, and then headed to the airport for her long flight via Toronto.  She arrived much later that evening, more like 2:00 Friday morning.  Stephen, Vivian and Aaron wisely stayed up to meet her at the airport.  I also intended to go, but wanted a cat nap first, so I set my phone alarm for 1:00 so that I would wake up in plenty of time, but alas, I set it for p.m. rather than a.m. and slept straight through.  I only woke up when hearing people returning, so I was able to welcome an exhausted but happy Julia to our home.

Friday (the day of Christmas Eve) began with some stove top espresso coffee (even for Aaron), a whole bodum of decaf for Steve, lots of my home-grown mint tea for Vivian, rolls and breads Steve picked up at his favourite Vancouver French bakery, and fruits to ease the conscience.

Then we headed off to the Granville Island market, an obligatory stop for all tourists and serious cooks.  Julia decided to take some B.C. salmon back to her roommates.  This is packaged for travel and will satisfy customs in most countries.

One vendor was a great salesman, offering his various hot salsas:  tomatillo, pineapple, mango, etc.  We enjoyed sampling and figured they would be a nice addition to our growing list of Christmas appetizers.

Then the six of us continued riding in "Ruthie", Steve and Vivian's 1995 (?) Buick, to revisit the Sunrise grocery and vegetable store.  It is bewildering to see so many many kinds of tofu (might not eight suffice?), mushrooms, and greens. They had the best selection of crisp apples we have seen this month. 

Steve and Vivian kindly made dinner for us on Christmas Eve, featuring creamy polenta with their homemade tomato-mushroom(s)-basil etc topping, some Himalayan lamb sausages, a mushroom-sweet pepper dish, gigantic green salad, olives, fruits, etc. 

Then the Scrabble commenced, which is when I usually quietly drift off.  Friendly but competitive disputes over words could not possibly be solved by our ancient dictionaries (most of which are in other languages), so Julia turned to her trusty laptop to consult the latest official Scrabble Online dictionary.

I should have taken a better photo of the board but did not want to interrupt the concentration.

Meanwhile, I started making my Christmas Swedish tea ring dough in order to let it rise overnight.  I got up a bit early (comparatively), finishing it with brown sugar, soaked raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and melted vegan margarine.  I like to do all of this while playing some Christmas CDs quietly with the kitchen doors closed.  This is my own time to remember songs from my youth.  Steve is invariably the first to rise.  He likes to find a Starbucks for his first decaf, and hopefully a newspaper, but Canada takes Christmas very seriously and there were no new newspapers to be found.

Julia picked up several pomegranates at the market and showed us how to extract the seeds without creating a mess.  These crunchy seeds offer little explosions of flavour that go well with the tea ring.

Aaron showed Julia two of my photo annuals, another way to introduce her to a bit of his life in France and Vancouver.

I always like to see Vivian take a nap here, it means she is on holiday, relaxing, briefly crashing.  Nobody reads newspapers quite like Steve.

For her contribution to Christmas dinner, Janice made each of us a small salade composée with greens from her winter garden.

Our friend Harold joined us for the Christmas feast, which had quite a few non-traditional dishes.  I remember Julia's stuffed portobello mushrooms, Aaron's tofu and his dumplings made from scratch with Asian bok choi. The Seattle crew brought various homemade pickles and pickled veggies, and added some fried polenta with mushroom topping.  We also had baked yams and apples, peppernata, the 'Mennonite' cranberry/orange/apple relish (though with far less sugar), Vivian's roasted fennel, Aaron's roasted chestnuts, etc.  We topped it off with a leisurely sampling of 7 different chocolates selected by Aaron.

The next day, Hans joined us for our Boxing Day feast, but I was a bit under the weather and now see that I neglected to take any pictures.  Using Steve's and Vivian's homemade sauerkraut, I made a traditional Alsatian choucroute with smoked pork chops, "Mennonite" sausage, juniper berries, Riesling and bay leaves in the afternoon while the youngsters went hiking and then played some disc golf.  Their new way of making and canning sauerkraut is a winner, so I am thinking we may need to pay a visit and can some for ourselves during cabbage season.  I also made my tarte tatin.


Boxing Day concluded with another game, Settlers, I believe, but it was my turn to go to bed early.  In the photo you can see Steve's decaf, Vivian's sparkling water (they brought and finished off a whole case), and expressions of deep concentration.  Janice tells me that she lost each and every game but enjoyed the competitiveness and interactions.

This morning, Steve and Vivian rose early (5:15), had a quick breakfast (which for Vivian was still more choucroute) and drove straight to Seattle and to their respective jobs.  The Philadelphia crew then had breakfast with us (oatmeal with lots of nuts, etc., and I juiced the rest of the oranges).  We checked flight plans one more time, and were at the airport by 9:15 a.m.  Philadelphia just had its first major snowstorm of the season, so there were canceled flights on Boxing Day, surely a peak day for travel.  But Aaron and Julia are experienced travelers and young enough to go with the flow.

So now, it's back to two rather lonely-looking place mats . . . .

Thanksgiving in Seattle

Vivian and Stephen offered their Thanksgiving feast a week early so they could attend their sister-in-law's wedding on the east coast.  For us, one of the highlights was seeing Yuri again.

But first, the calm before the storm.  We had a light lunch, topped off with getting the first crack at the day's cheeses.  Steve knows how much I enjoy cheeses: the harder, the better; the softer, the better; the stronger, the better. 

This year's homemade pickles go well with the cheeses.  People would eat all the pickles Vivian was willing to put on the table.

Yuri is getting teeth very nicely, growing like a weed, and by now is likely ready to crawl.  We noticed how much stronger his back and torso were than in August, reminding us of how quickly children develop.

Neither man nor dog showed fear, just curiosity.

 

After all of the stimulation, it was time to recharge the batteries for the next round.

Yes . . . we can

The west-coast response to Uncle Mark's wonderful preserving this fall . . . Vivian and Stephen have been busy freezing and canning.  Here we see pickles, which everybody enjoys who comes to one of their meals.  Beans and various veggie broths, etc. make up the rest.

The large crock on the lower right is for making sauerkraut, one of Vivian's favourite treats.  We gave them our shredder (after throwing away two spoiled batches) and another crock.  But this special crock has a lid with a seal which lets the fermenting gases escape without introducing foreign bacteria (which is where my method went astray).

 The lovely shelves were made by me (Evan) in Vancouver in October 1975 from teak or cedar (?) crating some foreign students had abandoned in the basement where we were renting (UBC married housing).  We had just moved here, Janice was Very pregnant and we needed some more shelves for supplies for the coming baby (Aaron).  I made the shelves rather crudely but sanded them, and Janice varnished the shelves.  That afternoon, Aaron was born.

Visitors From the Great Northwest

Saturday, the 29th, Amy and I went to Laguardia to pick up Vivian and Stephen, then headed straight out to Cutchogue. This was Stephen's first visit so it was a lot of fun showing them around. Among other things we drove to Orient Point and did the circuit hike from the ferry to the point's end along the Bay then back walking along the edge of the Sound. On the way back to the house we picked up vegetables, a Catapano goat cheese, locally made chorizo and fresh seafood, ingredients (not the cheese) for Stephen's first ever paella. We all helped washing and chopping as Stephen browned the meats, added wine, stock, rice, herbs, saffron, mussels, shrimp, clams, I can't remember what all, topped by a nice piece of cod. After a stint in the oven it was ready and we sat down to a very savory paella with salad and some of Amy's garlic bread followed by a fresh peach cobbler. Yum!

Vivian, Stephen and I played two games of Super Deluxe Scrabble over the weekend and I got put in my place losing both by around 150 points. These two are professional Scrabble Sharks, beware! One game Vivian led off with a seven letter word getting the 50 point bonus on her first move, then Stephen showed his prowess laying three seven letter words in the other game. On Monday we went to see Coney Island, sample the foods, see the sights and walk the boardwalk (for Coney Island photos click here). It was all an amazingly good time. We enjoyed their visit so very much!

Thanksgiving in Seattle, 2008

The Thanksgiving menu (on fridge; "TJs" = Trader Joe's)

Appetizers included two heritage cheeses from near Hoquiam, Steve's pickled red radishes, assorted dips, glorious soft cheese, washed rind cheese (the so-called 'stinky cheese'), and cukes, which make delightful "crackers" for cheese slices.

The Soft cheese, possibly the top attraction of the first course

Part of an 18-pound turkey, nicely presented by Chef Stan

This year's wines were from Argentina

Serious fresh chanterelles from Hoquiam (end of the season, frost is coming). The can is being used to convey sense of size of the box.

Steve preparing a few chanterelles

Food starts to arrive (left to right: veggies, Chinese greens, vegan gravy in hot pot, Steve's Mom's pearl onions, chanterelles, potatoes, stuffed squash, my cranberry/orange/apple relish, two stuffings--wild rice and bread, turkey)

First sitting, 5:00 p.m. (suddenly, it became very quiet, mouths were busy chewing)
Brenda, Jesse and Christine

Various pies (sweet potato, apple, pumpkin), more stuffing, several teas, whipping cream, etc. "There was no room for them in the inn."

Preparing care packages for guests. Steve likes to give away the leftovers (starting with garlic mashed potatoes). Early Friday morning, he is flying to Washington DC to see his brother (leukemia) and parents.

We just returned from another enjoyable feast put on by Stephen, with assistance from Vivian. As is his custom, Stan bought, stuffed and roasted an 18# turkey at his place and triumphantly brought it to the feast. As usual, it was done to perfection and the stuffing was excellent. Jamie's stuffed squash was pleasing to both eye and tongue, Christine's apple pie was a big hit, the cheeses were a delight.

We drove down for the day (after my Photoshop class) and when we were returning to Canada after midnight, were surprised to see a 30-minute lineup of cars waiting to get into the States. Seattle's Black Friday sales seems to be popular with Canadians. We also wondered whether some stores opened at midnight.