Pharm Cooking: Adventures in Canada
By LOU GREENHAW
Contributing writer
To relax from the strains of the wedding, we decided to take a week's vacation on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The weather was wonderful and the scenery was breathtaking and we had a great time.
We had several great adventures. The first one involved a hike that the guide book said was moderately difficult and three hours in duration. We headed out or I should say up on this hike the first day of vacation. The hike was right up the side of Mt. Arrowsmith. We had taken a picnic lunch and one liter of water and one liter of mango juice. Thinking the hike was three hours, we had all the fluids consumed by about the two hour point.
The surprise was that it took us five hours! The higher we got, the more poorly the trail was marked, and the steeper it was. We got off the trail once and wasted about 15 minutes finding it again. Then coming down was so steep that the trail would give way underfoot, and I fell at least 10 times. We arrived back at our car totally dehydrated and exhausted.
The next adventure was the black bear that walked out in front of the car. We stopped to get a picture, but the bear left before I got the picture. I found out later that you should never get out of the car to see a bear because he may have "friends" closer to where you are.
The kayaking was the next brush with death. I agreed to ocean kayak with Steve. The Internet said the weather would be terrible, so I knew we wouldn't get to go anyway. On our scheduled morning, we threw open the drapes to find sunshine! However, there were gale warnings out. Our instructor thought we could still make it. We paddled and paddled for two straight hours to keep from being swept against the rocks on one side or carried out to sea on the other. Steve even agreed that we don't have to do kayaking again. The waves crashed over the boat, and we were drenched.
Then we decided to walk to a restaurant that was just six blocks from our motel one night. I had looked up the number in the phone book. We started walking and discovered that in this town they used every number per block. We ended up walking over three kilometers to get the six blocks! However, the food was worth the walk, and the walk was along the beach.
To make up for the near catastrophes, Steve did buy two tickets to the Vancouver Island Symphony benefit. We dressed up and I wore a nice hat and we strolled through Milner gardens. Then we sat on the lawn and listened to the symphony with the ocean in the background. Ladies strolled through the crowd offering trays of beautiful appetizers and sweets. At intermission, tea was served. It was like the Great Gatsby with women in their hats and men in tweed jackets strolling the lawn amidst classical music.
Steve was wild about one sweet they served at the benefit. While waiting for the ferry at Nanaimo, we found the recipe for the sweet and went to a local grocery store to buy the custard powder it needed. They are indeed wonderful. When I got home, I found a recipe in a Washington cookbook that used instant pudding mix instead of custard powder. The powder does look like pudding mix.
If I need a break, perhaps I should make Nanaimo bars, put on my hat, play a classical CD, brew a pot of tea and pretend I'm back on vacation!
NANAIMO BARS
Bottom Layer:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg, beaten
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup coconut
Melt butter, sugar and cocoa in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat and stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press firmly into an 8 by 8 inch pan.
Middle Layer:
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cream
2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder or instant pudding mix
2 cups powdered sugar
Cream butter, cream, powder and sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.
Top Layer:
2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
Melt together over low heat. Cool. When cool but still liquid, pour over middle layer and chill in refrigerator. Cut into small squares to serve.
