Holiday

Into the Electric Garden

by Reb Stevenson on December 31, 2011

The worship of manmade light has been a fundamental part of Christmas celebrations for centuries. Think of the Yule log.

Now that we’ve got electricity, what a delight it is to see winking colours cutting into the long, dark nights of December. I truly appreciate a good light display, gaudy giant inflatables and all!

Victoria’s Butchart Gardens is always worth the hefty entrance fee, methinks. In the Spring and Summer, the gardens really allow Vancouver Island to flex its horticultural muscle. But last Christmas, I had my first visit to their light display, which runs from December 1 – January 6 and – oh man – I think winter may be the best season of all!

I had to show Billy what I was talking about, so I hauled both him and my camera there last night.

The Garden turns into an illuminated wonderland. Look at the waterfall, above. The light patterns give the illusion that it’s moving (just take my word for it).

The “sunken garden” becomes a multicoloured Tron set.

There’s even a little ice rink so you can do your Elvis Stojko (or Jason Priestly, for you SNL fans).

“Hey, bozo – don’t forget about me! I’m on duty all year ’round!” – The Moon.

I feel sorry for these guys, having to play “Sleigh Ride” on repeat for over a month, although I am grateful for the jollity they bring to the gardens. My cousin Nick Lariviere usually plays with this group, but he must’ve been taking a breather last night and self-medicating with Metallica or something.

Love the whimsical carousel. Ride a cat with a dead mouse in its maw. Brilliant!

There’s a “Twelve Days of Christmas” theme going on, so you’re always looking for the characters in the song, such as Three French Hens…

..eight maids a milking…

..nine ladies dancing…

…eleven pipers piping…

…and two brats a-pouting! Just kidding, we have no reason to look this way, given how dazzling the gardens are. Highly recommend!

We’re staying in tonight watching When Harry Met Sally (“suddenly you’re singing Surrey With a Fringe on Top in front of Ira!!!”) then heading over to my dad’s for some noshing. Only a key lime pie hangover for me tomorrow.

Happy 2012! xo

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Hello Final Contest Winner, Goodbye 2011

by Reb Stevenson on December 30, 2011

As the holidays draw to a close, who can stomach more turkey or rich dessert? I almost can’t bear to plunge my hand into my stocking for the two hundredth time. Almost.

For the final winner in my holiday recipe contest, I’ve chosen something you shouldn’t be sick of. I love the fruity twist on this simple Canadian classic, and I think it would make a nice New Years Eve or Day dinner: Tortiere with Apple!

Our recipe comes to us from Jo-Anne Ward of Ottawa. Congratulations Jo-Anne! (Imagine me twooting on or cranking ’round some New Years Eve noisemaker). You will be kicking off the New Year with a copy of Gordon Ramsay’s Christmas cookbook – please send me your address.

If you want to see the other two winners, check out Festive Crunch Bars and British Bread Sauce.

(By the way, did you notice that I treated myself to the Emile Henry pie dish I listed in a holiday gift guide? Saw it at a boxing day sale and knew I must have it for this recipe!)

Click here for a printable version of Tortiere with Apples

Preheat the oven to 190°c | 375°F | Gas Mark 5

Ingredients:

500 grams lean ground pork
1 onion (chopped)
1 stalk celery (diced)
1 apple (chopped), such as Granny Smith
½ cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup chicken broth
½ tsp ground sage
1 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp ground allspice
pie crust (frozen or homemade, top and bottom) – I made my own using this recipe from Martha Stewart.

STEP ONE: Cook pork, onion and celery in a large frying pan until meat is no longer a menacing pink.

STEP TWO: Stir in bread crumbs, chicken stock and sage.

STEP THREE: In a medium bowl, combine apples with allspice and sugar. Yum, yum – they’ll never guess they’re about to meet pork.

STEP FOUR: Add apples to meat mixture.

STEP FIVE: Line a pie plate with pastry.

STEP SIX: Spoon the filling into the pie plate.

STEP SEVEN: Top with pastry and crimp edges.

Go on, add a creative flourish or two! If you can craft an entire “Michealangelo’s David” out of pastry, you’ll have my eternal admiration.

STEP EIGHT: Brush top of crust with milk and cut slits so steam can evaporate.

STEP NINE: Cook for about 30 minutes, until crust is golden. Let cool for 10 minutes or so – not on a windowsill or a wolf may gobble it up!

I just want to send out another big “thank you” to everyone who entered the contest! Hopefully we can do more interactive blogs and contests in 2012, so please bookmark me and stop by once in a while! Happy New Year to all.

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Another Peek at the Christmas Album

by Reb Stevenson on December 30, 2011

Ever since I can remember, an integral part of our family Christmas tradition has been the visit to Aunt Elaine and Uncle Greg. Originally, this entailed a trip to North Vancouver, which I thought of as “the big city,” because sometimes you could hear a siren wailing in the distance (hilarious to think I interpreted a place where black bears regularly rifle through peoples’ garbage as “the big city”).

Now Elaine and Greg live in Brentwood Bay, just outside of Victoria. You may know Brentwood as the home of Butchart Gardens.

My mom tends to get quite hyper when we go to Elaine and Greg’s, with or without the assistance of a pom-pom.

Ladies in red: cousin Sylvie, my mom Jaynie and her sister, Elaine.

Boys in blue: Zach, Uncle Greg and Billy.

Mom gets Dickensian. Her main squeeze Ray is too engrossed in egg nog-induced euphoria to notice.

There were some interesting gifts bestowed/received at this particular gathering. If you see someone clad in a Masai shawl walking the streets of Vancouver, it’s probably Zach. Ask not what’s under the shawl.

Elaine and Greg used to give my mom a charity calendar featuring rippling North Vancouver firemen every year. So, when I was in Haworth, Yorkshire in November (if you missed that blog, it’s here), I spotted a pair of charity calendars featuring near-nude locals and I just knew Elaine and Greg ought to have them. Both of them. I got the birds for Greg and the blokes for Elaine.

Here’s Elaine closely examining the male version. Greg also had a gander, then leaned over to Ray and uttered: “Don’t worry, we have nothing to worry about. There’s no competition there.”