Three Generations of Georges

Today is Saint George's day. And four Georges over three generations were celebrating at somerville kitchen today.

The celebrations began with a trip to English Bay to discover the brand new Cactus Club Cafe at English Bay.

You probably couldn't get closer to the water while eating anywhere else in Vancouver. No wonder the place was packed by 11:45 am (and I doubt those are all Georges celebrating).

The BBQ Duck Clubhouse was worth the try. It is a combination of bbq duck, pan seared chicken and crisp prosciutto on pecan fruit bread. Tasty. Heavy. Recommended.

Better service than I have experienced at Cactus Clubs - this high profile location must be carefully staffed.

Cactus Club Cafe

1790 Beach Avenue

Vancouver, BC

www.cactusclubcafe.com

After food and stroll, all the Georges came back to somerville kitchen headquarters for more celebrations.

 A "Kaiss" (drinks and appetizers) spread included many many vegetables, cold cuts, nuts, cheeses and breads. The drink of choice was a bottle of champagne to celebrate the occasion.

But best of all was the specially-made Anita Cake - a chocolate layered cake with passion fruit mouse, chocolate mousse, and raspberry mousse. It was covered with butter cream and had fresh raspberries in it. Huge and delicious - worthy of the three generations of Georges around. Thank you Anita.

The beautiful day concluded with a beautiful Vancouver sunset - thank you universe.

"And what about me?"....(cats).

Unpacking The Yellers

As if somerville kitchen is not filled with enough goodies after last week's deliveries from abroad (read about them in Part 1 & Part 2), the yellers' bags emptied more goodies.

"Barazek" are a Syrian specialty (those were baked fresh in Toronto though). 

Those are sweet cookies with pistachios; sprinkled with sesame. They usually come in different sizes - from 3 inch to 1 inch diameters.

Baked goods also included dozen bags of freshly baked pitas from Toronto's Arz bakery.

Between those and the trip to Burnaby's Pita Bread Factory, my freezer now has enough pita till end of the world in December.

Fresh green almonds are in season. And I am so glad they are abundant in Toronto.

They feel like suede, easy to crunch into, and the almond is still moist and white. 

Best when dipped in salt.

Another delicacy that is (a) incredibly difficult to make and (b) not all ready made brands do it well is  Fig Marmalade.

They are made from figs, sugar, anise and sesame. I like to eat it with a fork, not on bread. I could just see myself blogging and snacking on this in le jardin this summer.

You can find them in many Middle Eastern stores in Vancouver, but not all brands are good quality. This is a Salloum brand that is made in Lebanon and is not sold in Vancouver - great discovery by the Yellers.

But I got most excited over the house warming gifts.

Two tea cups...

And sweets' serving dishes...

Thank you Yellers!

Welcoming The Yellers

A week after Welcoming The Parents, The Yellers were welcomed to somerville kitchen with a day of food.

As fresh mango lassi cups were circulating, the table spread included sweets and savoury treats.

The star on the sweet side was an amazing fresh, sweet tasting Cinnamon Coffee Anita Cake. So moist, everyone was taking seconds and I am still treating myself to another piece as I write.

Fresh pineapple slices surrounded frozen Trafiq cinnamon buns. 

The few decadent top hat cup cakes that lasted the previous night's celebration joined the welcoming brunch today. 

And sugar highs increased the level of yelling among all. 

 

On the savoury side, cold cuts, cheeses and home made Labneh were on the table.

Also served was a platter of Sudanese Foul - fava beans with lemon juice and olive oil served with feta cheese and boiled eggs.

Four hours later, everyone sat down for "Kaiss". 

The word means drinking glass and also references having a drink with some light munchies before dinner.

As the men were enjoying Scotch and wine with fresh almonds and potato chips, the women were preparing a delicious rice, chicken and meat dish covered with fried almonds and pine nuts.

The accompanying options were a fresh lettuce, beats, tomatoes and cucumber salad and/or buttered corn, carrots and peas combo.

By 8 pm, all were pleasantly stuffed and ready for bed.

A Celebration Day

A day to celebrate and what's better way to celebrate than with food.
 
The kick off was home made Manakeesh with fresh zaa'tar from Lebanon.
 
They turned out the best yet. I should start selling...

Celebration with food continued with a gracious invite by Shaktea to enjoy their culinary excellence afternoon tea.

The tea was served in special beautifully hand painted Thai cups. Trays of goodies came out with special bread and cheese sandwiches for dad along with all the regular fancy savoury and sweets.

Ultimate favourites today were the Tea Egg Sandwich, the Maple Pecan French Pastry, Shaktea Tea Truffle, and lemon cream petit four.

Thank you Shaktea ladies for such a treat.

At night a bottle of champagne was opened to celebrate the day, and emptied very quickly.

It was accompanied by a fancy steak & frites dinner.

The grill got active. Steaks marinated with a bit of olive oil for four hours and grilled to perfection. The French Fries followed a French recipe where they were soaked in water for 15 minutes and fried twice.

Simple grilled vegetables - asparagus, zucchini, eggplants - were added to the mix. All stomachs were well satisfied.

Butterfly cakes's recipe by JM - the blog's official scouse ambassador. 

A top hat cake variation produced by her charming daughter and delivered right in time for the celebrations.



Two versions were served - one with Meyer Lemon butter icing and the other with Demerara chocolate icing. Served with Shaktea's delicious Vanilla Honeybush tea.

Thank you dad, mom, Shaktea, JM, ES for making the celebration day so special. 

Mom's Ma'karuni & Salad

I featured this recipe before (read Ma'karuni) but now I realize that I missed few nuances as I watch mom making it.

The sauce is a small can of tomato paste mixed with 2 cups of water - thick and red.

The spaghetti is broken into smaller pieces (about 4 inches) and boiled with a bit of salt.

Pine nuts (fresh from Lebanon - see Goodies from Abroad - Part 2) are fried in vegetable oil until browned.

Once pasta is ready, drain the water, return to the pot and add (a) cooked ground beef (see recipe) (b) pine nuts (c) sauce.

Bring all to a boil then simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until the pasta absorbs all the sauce. 

The flavours of meat and pine nuts are absorbed in the sauce. The pasta turns orange. The outcome is delicious.

What I did wrong before was not adding pine nuts and not simmering long enough. 

Now a nice lettuce salad will go well with it.

But just like the art of ground beef, mom's salad making is a complex production.

First, the lettuce head is separated into leafs.

The leafs are put in a large bowl (it has to be very large that mom had to use a large turkey baking pot as a bowl).

Lettuce is then soaked in Fruit & Veggie Soap for 5 minutes, rinsed, let sit to dry and chopped for the salad.

And finally a delicious home style Ma'karuni & Salad meal is served.

The Art of Ground Beef - By Mom

You start with 2 lbs of ground beef that is turned into a tightly-held large meat ball. 

Simmer it on stove top on low heat, turning over once, until all fat leaves the meat.

In a small colander, let the liquid drain in a bowl while the fat remains in the colander. Leave aside. You may have to do this process twice as the meat cooks.

Now return the meat to the pot and crunch it into chunks with a wooden spoon. 

Sprinkle it with salt, pepper (Mom uses allspice) and, optional, cinnamon.

The drained liquid is added back to the meat and mixed together until all liquid is absorbed.

Now you have a lot of ground beef that can be added to any sauce, stew or other dishes.

Once the meat cools down, it can go into small freezer containers.

But wait, the production is not complete yet. (Note: By now this production is on hour 3...)





Before freezing, mom adds half a bay leaf on top of the containers prior to closing and freezing. This vaporizes the meat smell.

 

And this was the art of ground beef.

- Mom -  

Tourism in Burnaby

15 minutes driving and we are in Burnaby for the first official touring day.

You'd think Metrotown is the only attraction of the city of Burnaby. We skipped it and went for unique discoveries which included: 

Riverway Golf Clubhouse

9001 Bill Fox Way

Burnaby, BC

604-297-4888

Pita Bread Factory

7070 14th Avenue

Burnaby, BC

604-528-6111

The Riverway Golf Clubhouse may look overly fancy from the outside. 

But once you are in, you are welcomed with warmth, lack of pretentiousness and overall good vibe.

It was now just after 11:00 am and the scenery from the restaurant warranted a lounging visit.

A bottle of local rosé, parents' favourite wine, was ordered and enjoyed as we nibbled on some appetizers.

The TRIO was not as tasty as it looked. Wild candied salmon over what I think were pear chunks and smoked tuna over pickles were okay.

The prosciutto was served over a delicious date puree and a sprinkle of goat cheese.

Our server was the best I have encountered in years in Vancouver restaurants.

She pleasantly accommodated the parents' dining preferences and customized the platters for them along with friendly conversation.

While parents thought the meat was excellent, the Mahi Mahi burger was overwhelmed with toppings and sauces. The opinions of the fries were mixed.

I hear the sirloin burgers are exceptional - next time.

 

The other discovery was worth getting lost for in Burnaby.

All those stale pita you buy in stores all over the city originate from this factory. The only difference is that everything is fresh here.

I stocked up on enough pita to feed my block for less than $10.

They also carry bagels, naans, wraps, Greek bread, pizzas and Manakeesh. But I will be making those fresh in the morning if you are around my neighbouhood.

The rest of the sites were nothing to write home about.