Spring Rush

I wrote yesterday about the bad part of our Sunday afternoon walk. Here was the good part.

Skunky

Jeff and I took an extended Sunday afternoon walk out in the sunshine this weekend in Bowen Park. It was lovely... until we caught a rather unpleasant whiff in the air. T'is the season for skunk cabbage.

They might look harmless but they stink. REALLY stink. We agreed that the recipe for this particular stink is 3 parts skunk spray and 2 parts sauerkraut. Not the kind of thing you want to hang around very long.

Big Delivery

A rather ominous delivery arrived in our city two weeks ago.

Marked "United States Air Force", these missiles started a cyclone of rumours. The most prevalent rumour was that the missiles were headed north of Nanaimo to Nanoose Bay, site of the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges, where the Canadian and US navies collaboratively test fire torpedoes. Local forums and media were on fire with public outrage... until one observant fellow noticed that the rail line used for this train is only serviceable for a few kilometers.

It turned out those missiles were arriving to nuke Godzilla.

(The new Godzilla movie has been shooting here in Nanaimo for several weeks.)

My view Wednesday

Beach walk at low tide. 

Namesake

I started this blog when I moved here to Nanaimo as a way to keep in touch with faraway friends and family. I knew almost nothing about this city when I moved here- it was on the east coast of Vancouver Island, and was famous for its namesake dessert. That was the extent of my knowledge. When I registered this blog's address right after moving here, it seemed only natural to choose one of these two facts as inspiration for this blog.

People ask me all the time if Nanaimo Bars were really invented in Nanaimo. Legend has it that they were the invention of a housewife, Mabel Jenkins, in the early 1950s. Mabel lived south of Nanaimo in Ladysmith, but somehow they became known as Nanaimo Bars. According to Wikipedia, there are also claims that Naniamo Bars originated in New Brunswick or New York, but us locals don't pay attention to such nonsense (!).

In 1985, the mayor of Nanaimo held a contest to find the ultimate Nanaimo Bar recipe. The judging panel unanimously chose a recipe submitted by a local woman, Joyce Hardcastle. Her recipe is the one I use and I thought it was high time to share it here.

 

yield: 12-20 servings (1 8x8 pan)

½ cup unsalted butter or margarine
¼ cup sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa
1 egg beaten
1 ¼ cups graham wafer crumbs
½ c. finely chopped almonds or walnuts
1 cup coconut
½ cup unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. cream (or almond or soy milk)
2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder
2 cups icing sugar
4 squares semi-sweet dark chocolate (1 oz. each)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter or margerine

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. In a small bowl, beat the egg until frothy and pale yellow. Add a tablespoon of the hot cocoa mixture into the egg and stir well, then add the egg into the pot as well. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8" x 8" pan and refrigerate until cool.

When first layer is cooled, cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

For final layer, melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool to warm (but still liquid) and pour over second layer. Store in refrigerator and enjoy!

Note- I often cut down the amounts of chocolate and butter on the top layer by a third to a half, as I am not a great fan of chocolate. Jeff loves the whole amount so adjust according to your personal preference.

Shady Mile

One of the most popular of holiday traditions in our town doesn't actually happen on the holiday it references. While tricks and treats happen as usual on October 31 each year, there is a larger Nanaimo community Halloween celebration happens during the first few days of November at "The Shady Mile". That probably sounds sinister but don't worry- The Shady Mile is a lovely stretch of twisting, tree-covered country road on the outskirts of town that becomes a gathering place for jack-o-lanterns. 

Local lore tells us a tale that begins about twenty years ago when a local farmer placed a carved pumpkin on the top of each fencepost along his property on Jingle Pot Road (which was beside the Shady Mile Farmer's Market). The legend claims that the next year, a few more carved pumpkins mysteriously showed up to join in. These days, several thousand jack-o-lanterns appear in the days after Halloween, placed along the roadside, in trees and at the forest edge along this wooded mile. Volunteers light the pumpkins each night and many residents (including us, most years) drive by to take a peek. My photo doesn't give the full effect... as you can imagine, it's a striking sight.

Fall sun

The past two weekends have been wonderfully sunny and warm- the perfect kind of fall weather to be outside.

Fall sunset

Winter diversity

I went out for a haircut today, and saw all of these sights within a one-block radius of my house.  I call it "the multiple looks of winter"...!!

Coastal autumn

A few images from a sunny walk last week at Piper's Lagoon.

Family reunion

Jeff's sisters, nephews and niece overlapped visits over the August long weekend and we had a great time. It was the first time we had all been together (not counting our missing brother-in-laws) since our wedding and Jeff was pretty excited to have almost everyone in his family not only in the same time zone, but around the same table!

We had a such fun time hiking around Newcastle Island,

eating the wonderful tastes of summer









watching the kids climb and zip-line through a tree-top obstacle course, discovering swimming holes at the Englishman and Nanaimo Rivers,

celebrating birthdays,playing games and just enjoying being together.

While at the Englishman River swimming hole, our nephew J was able to put his lifesaving skills and training into practice when two tourists got into trouble in the quicker-than-it-looks river current (close to the same spot where Jeff is in this photo).

It was an incredibly scary situation, especially when a friend of these two young women jumped into the river to try and help but got into trouble himself. We were so proud of J's quick action and the strength, maturity and calm he displayed during the rescue. Thankfully, all ended safely and the three tourists were shaken but not hurt.

It was such a great visit that passed by all-too quickly.

Neighbourhood walk

On Friday, I walked downtown to meet a friend for lunch. The walk from our house is about 30 minutes and can feel quite miserable when it's grey and raining. On day like this, it's not a chore at all.

Autumn

It's most certainly autumn, and the sadness of putting my sandals away until next spring is tempered with how beautiful (and colourful) this West Coast fall is turning out to be. Jeff and I are going to Ontario for the weekend and I can't wait to be back in Waterloo County in what was always my favourite time of year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Nanaimo Introduction

For those of you who don't know much about Nanaimo, check out this marketing video.

Marketing aside, it really does look as lovely as on film. The waterfront is really beautiful and, when it's not raining (!) it makes for a pretty idyllic walk to work.The final frame (eating a Nanaimo Bar in front of an old building with columns) is actually taken at the great coffee shop 'round the corner from my office. The west coast really DOES have better coffee and the Salt Spring Coffee served there is one of my favourite things about downtown Nanaimo.