I made this little needle felted cat for friends who recently lost their little feline friend of 21 years.
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What a great tomato season this year. We’ve been eating so many from local farmers, many different varieties. The only glitch with making a post about them, is that we eat them all so quickly, I don’t get to try new recipes! Salads, of course, have been full of tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are grazed upon through the day or chopped up for topping pasta or eggs. Mixed varieties and a big bunch of basil whizzed up in the food processor and cooked very gently with garlic, oil, salt, pepper and crushed chili is my most favourite pasta sauce.
The recipe I did follow was one I had tried many years ago. Now GJ wants me to make it all the time: Mexican Gazpacho from The Vegetarian Table: Mexico by Victoria Wise. A delicious late summer soup that is so refreshing. Here’s the recipe:
• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded, pureed and strained (see Note)
• 2 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 medium Anaheim chili, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño chili, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
• 4 scallions, trimmed and minced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon tequila (optional)
• 1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
• Wheat or corn tortilla chips
In a large bowl stir together the tomatoes, stock, lime juice, cucumber, chilies, scallions, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, until very cold.
Just before serving, stir in the olive oil, salt to taste, and tequila, if using. Spread the chopped avocado on the tortilla chips and sprinkle the remaining fresh oregano and other herb over the avocado. Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Garnish each bowl with the avocado-topped chips and serve right away.
Note: An equally fine, and also traditional, gazpacho can be made without pureeing and straining the tomatoes. Increase the amount of vegetable stock to 4 cups. Peel and seed 2 pounds of tomatoes and cut them into thin julienne strips. Stir the tomatoes into the stock along with the other vegetables.
My note: I didn’t use the garnish idea so I just stirred in the chopped cilantro when serving.
Today I picked up my prize for Best Lady’s Bike at North Park Bicycle Shop: a wonderful Po Campo Armitage Satchel!
Big thanks to North Park and all the sponsors of this year’s Tweed Ride.
I will certainly make good use of this satchel!
In spite of the torrential rain and a shortened ride, a wonderful time was had by all at Tweed Ride Victoria 2013! Instead of a nice long ride to Gorge Park, a few of us took a shorter ride from St Ann’s Academy to the old railway roundhouse in Esquimalt. Many more came by other routes and means and we all picnicked together. It was nice to be dry for the afternoon. And, I won in the Best Lady’s Bike category! The coordinators of this event always do an amazing job. The proceeds support Bicycles for Humanity, Victoria. I didn’t take too many photos, but in the weeks ahead there should be lots to view on the Tweed Ride website.
Riley, Frasier and GJ having fun as twits. We’d all had a lot of tea by then.
GJ (right), in his fabulous hunting trousers, beret and Welsh wool tweed jacket, chats with two other tweedy gents.
The rain! It actually wasn’t bad while we were riding, but the sky really opened up later in the afternoon. Still a very beautiful day!
The “art” shot of a rain-soaked window with our friend Riley (who won for Best Men’s Facial Hair) seated on the left.
Our tweedy picnic at the roundhouse.
My little picnic: sandwiches, fresh farm cherry tomatoes, pickles made by our friend Rebecca, and in the tin, orange coconut macaroons. And of course, tea, this year supplied by Murchies.
These two new pieces began as a commission for my sister. She sent me the most gorgeous red pearls and asked me to make something from them. I really enjoyed this one, so I made two. She loved them so much, she took both and gave one away as a birthday gift.
Deep red pearls and garnets are braided into dark maroon and bright red embroidery floss with a brass floral pendant. © Firehorse Designs 2013.
The detail in the flower for this one has small faceted glass beads and tiny mixed-coloured pearls. © Firehorse Designs 2013.
This second one uses a pink thread to replace the bright red one. Overall it has a pinker, or purply hue. © Firehorse Designs 2013.
Pale pink freshwater pearls and tiny garnets are used in the floral detail. © Firehorse Designs 2013.
Just a few random shots around my neighbourhood taken over the last few weeks. The autumn rains and fogs are here and it’s gorgeous.
Our beautiful harbour on a foggy morning.
From the recent Victoria International Chalk Art Festival.
A new consignment clothing store called Duchess & Duke has just opened on Government Street. They have an amazing collection of vintage suitcases (sadly not for sale.)
What’s left of our iconic Blue Bridge. The railway span has already been removed. The structure was designed by Joseph Strauss and opened in 1924. Strauss went on to design San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Work begins on the new bridge.
We have just set up a new online shop through Big Cartel. We’ll be selling my jewellery and paintings; prints and postcards of GJ’s drawings and perhaps some originals; some collaborative pieces. There aren’t many items in the shop yet, but we’ll be adding a lot more over the next few days and weeks. Here’s what’s there now:
Little Death, 12×18 print © GJ Pearson.
© Firehorse Designs; yellowy-gold pearls with a cast pendant by GJ Pearson.
© Firehorse Designs; orange pearls with a cast pendant by GJ Pearson.
Chart, 12×18 print © GJ Pearson.
© Firehorse Designs; rose quartz, pearls and glass with a cast pendant by GJ Pearson.
© Firehorse Designs; pearls with a cast pendant by GJ Pearson.
I had an amazing walk early yesterday morning down to the waterfront at the edge of downtown. The sky was threatening and the forecast was for possible thunder storms through the day. I love walking in the morning; the air is so fresh.
A grey day at the harbour. The famous Victoria flower baskets are beginning to wain, but the “Welcome to Victoria” red flower beds along the lower causeway are still vibrant and inviting.
This was the view from the walkway along Dallas Drive, looking west towards Sooke. Beautiful morning sky.
As I turned to head back, I saw this. I hadn’t noticed it building behind me as I walked. Just after I took this pic, struck the first lightening and rolling thunder.
Friends brought us ten pounds of organic Okanagan peaches a couple weeks ago. The Okanagan Valley is a region of southern British Columbia, Canada renowned for beautiful lakes, fruit production and vineyards. A few days later we made our weekly walk over to Moss Street Market and found an abundance of blueberries. Both fruits were so flavourful and juicy, it was hard to save them for cooking as I just wanted to eat them all right then. I did manage to save enough for a few recipes!
We made an amazing meal, which began with peach-blueberry sangria and ended with peach cake. The meal in between was mostly from Sinfully Spicy: we made Murgh KaliMirh (Black Pepper Chicken), Palak Aaloo (Spinach Potato Stirfry), Baingam Bharta (Smoky Mashed Eggplant), as well as fragrant rice, dahl and chapatis. Topping it all off was locally-made rhubarb chutney and lemon pickle.
Peach-Blueberry Sangria
This was just a simple sangria. I added a thinly-sliced lime, sliced peaches and blueberries to a jug. Another peach was roughly puréed and added along with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. This sat in the fridge for a few hours and we added ice and sparkling water when served. It was simple and refreshing.
Peach cake was the only cake my mother ever made from scratch. She had one cookie recipe, one cake recipe and about ten dinner meals from which she never deviated. This cake was a once-a-year treat if we were lucky. I think the recipe is from her one-and-only cookbook: a small fat book with a cloth cover from the first half of the 20th century, the name of which I have long forgotten. I used vanilla sugar for extra flavour. This is a very simple cake and benefits from the love of whipped cream or ice cream to make it really special. As I didn’t have a 9-inch square pan, I tried making it in a bundt pan, which didn’t work perfectly: it was a bit dry. Next time I would try a 9- or 10-inch spring form pan and adjust the baking time.
My Mamma’s Peach Cake
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup diced fresh peaches
Preheat over to 375°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with milk to creamed mixture, starting and ending with dry. Add peaches and stir to combine. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with plain or brandy-laced whipped cream or good vanilla ice cream.
The following morning I made peach-blueberry pancakes. I don’t use a recipe for pancakes, everyone seems to have a recipe they love. I prefer a thinner batter, so I use about one part dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) to one and a quarter parts wet (milk, yogurt, egg, melted butter). They were delicious and I ate far to many of them!
The last item I baked was a gluten-free peach crumble. We brought it to a wonderful dinner cooked by delightful friends who made us salmon, German potato salad, tomato salad and corn on the cob: all fresh and local.
Peach Crumble: Gluten Free
Preheat over to 350°F. Combine 8-12 sliced fresh peaches with 1/4 cup of maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of sherry, brandy or rum and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract and add to your baking dish (I used a 9×13-inch oval).
For the crumble:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup of gluten-free all-purpose baking mix (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill brand)
1/4 cup wheat-free oat flour*
3/4 cup wheat-free rolled or quick oats*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coursely chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine all these ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with your hands until you have a crumbly mixture. Spread over the peaches and bake until golden and bubbling, about 40 minutes.
*Most oats are processed with wheat, so if you are baking for people with celiac disease, make sure you find wheat-free oats and oat flour.
Warm light from August sunset illuminating buildings in Chinatown, Victoria BC.
Amazing accordion group from Moldova – Contertino – at the International Accordion Festival.
The evening air accentuates the delicious fragrance if this flower bed at City Hall.
Flowers at City Hall with glimpse of the setting sun.
Chinatown Sunset, underneath the Gate of Harmonious Interest.
Chinatown Sunset, detail with yellow lantern.
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