Bread is fussy and variable. Some days it needs more liquid, others more flour, some times a longer rise. And the only way to really learn is by doing, trial-and-error. I'd like to tell you I whip out loaves of bread like this every day of the week, no problem whatsoever, but I'd be lying. LY--ING. In last week's chickpea and farro salad post, I only briefly mentioned the bread. The first loaf was ok, except for big hollow tear in the middle. And I had no one to blame for it but myself.
Back of the bag recipes have sustained us for ages. Our grandmothers clipped recipes from paper board cylinders of oatmeal, from the backs of chocolate chip bags, and ordered recipe booklets from Betty Crocker and Jello. Some of those recipes stand the test of time because manufacturers just keep putting them on the packages, like the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. But others are lost to the ages because there was no where else to get them. It's in that spirit that I'm bringing you these cookies from the back of the Trader Joe's Rolled Oats bag. (And we all know how transitory products can be at Trader Joe’s.)
So, oatmeal cookies. But not just oatmeal, Gluten-Free Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.
Every city has at least one, right? The breakfast/brunch spot that people line up and wait for without complaint. When we lived in LA, it was Maxwell’s (or Blueberry, or Lulu’s), in San Francisco it was Rose’s and (RIP) Ti Couz; in Portland, there's TastynSons. In Victoria, BC, it might be the Blue Fox Café.
By Sunday morning, our birthday crew was going in separate directions. Some to the spa, some headed home, so it was my morning to get around and see the city. I scoured Yelp for potential breakfast spots and hit on the Blue Fox Café. Four and a half stars on 129 reviews, with many warning about the wait. It was already almost 8:30 am, so I get movin’.
The last time I was in Victoria, BC, it was a pass through point on the way to and from Tofino. We darted around downtown trying to find some quick lunch before the ferry to Port Angeles. This past weekend, I headed up to Victoria with the city as the end destination for a girls weekend celebrating my friend Linda's birthday. We stayed at a great little place on the Inner Harbour - the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort.
This week has been crazy. It's not anything you'd think -- not work, not family commitments, not getting ready for a vacation. It's been Wild Kingdom over here. Literally. It started with the Heron.
Our relationship with the Heron has been tenuous at best. We have a small man-made pond and he showed up about a year after we moved in, looking for dinner. It was mainly a goldfish pond, but there was one big koi in there, old enough and wise enough to survive. We called him The Leviathan. The Heron is a gorgeous bird with a 5 foot wingspan, but his goals and ours are completely at cross purposes. Our koi pond is not a sushi bar. So Wolf MacGyvered a cover out of PVC and netting.
But the Heron is persistent.
Like a 3-year old running through a group of pigeons, I’ve taken off across our grass, waving my arms and yelling to scare him off. We've driven up only to catch him soaring off after a sashimi appetizer from our pond. Eventually, while we were on vacation, he even got the Leviathan.
This week, I saved the damn Heron.
