Poutine

Having had a love affair with Cretons for quite some time I recently became exposed to another French Canadian culinary delight from my marital heritage. Hands up anyone who loves Poutine.

Ah Poutine.

Funnily enough it combines two traditional dishes from the homeland. At my college (Keele University) one would end an evening of dancing with a 3am portion of chips'n'cheese quite literally what it says on the tin. Then there is the infamous chip shop grab of Chips and Gravy (sometimes accompanied by pieces of a roasted bird). Poutine my friends is a magnificent mash up of chips with cheese AND chips with gravy. Oh excuse me STEAK FRIES with cheese and gravy! Oh yummy. Having tried various versions this past year (The Skinny Pancake in Vermont, Duckfat in Portland and Governor's in South Portland) I realized just how easy this delectable delight could be to make. Forgoing the high end version we recently tried at Duckfat I steered more towards the school cafeteria version and surprisingly enough it was amazing.

Start with your basic ingredients

CHIPS



Gravy



Oooh and shredded Cheese (Smiling Hill farm was unfortunately out of cheese curd on this particular day)



Cook the chips and immediately transfer to a plate and cover with cheese - we want it softened not melted so please do not broil it!



Then...

and here comes the good part...

poor on the hot gravy...



Oh to be the wife of a third generation French Canadian!

D'oh a Deer

Well that was an interesting morning. For years I have listened to the people around me talk about deer jumping in front of cars. It didn't seem too bad to me. Husby and I have driven around the backwoods many a time and seen delightful bambi-esque creatures along the side of the ride watching us go by. Occasionally one has even been waiting for us in the middle of the road and watched as we stopped in front of her before walking away from us. Silly people worrying about deer on the roads, they just like to watch us.

Oh how wrong I was. As we were tootaling along down the Gorham bypass this morning, baby boy snuggled safely in the backseat, wifey sat up front crocheting, husby driving along singing show-tunes (well not really but I was making him listen to Sunset Boulevard), two of these furry friends decided to say hello... immediately... to the front of our car. They jumped right out in front of us! Seriously people right out in front of us! Now it could have been a lot worse. Husby is an expert Maine driver and stopped in time for me to watch them scurry past and brush the hood instead of being smeared across it. All that was left was a wildly racing heart, two deer buts frolicking away across the field on the other side of the road and a long streak of rubber on the new road (sorry Gorham).

So I finally get it.

Deer + road + car = bad mojo

Ode to my slow cooker

I have a confession to make.

I despise Boiled Dinners.

Unless they involve a Grill and a big vat of Lobsters, the boiled dinner is one New England Tradition I could happily live without. That everything has the same flavour, the same texture and sometimes the same colour disturbs me on so many levels. However I have recently commenced upon a love affiar with my slow cooker and have been avidly plowing though the MAMMOTH "Fix it and Forget it" cookbook for recipes that do not resemble my North Easterly Culinary nemesis. There have been Ribs, Potato Chowder, Pulled Pork, Mac n Cheese and my current favourite; Pork and three Bean Chilli.

Now you must understand that very rarely do I follow a recipe. Having a chef for a mother I was taught that recipes were guidelines not scripture and so the Black Bean Chilli from the cookbook became a Pork and three bean Chilli. I am only attempting 10 hr low heat recipes so that I can switch the cooker on as I leave in the morning, turn it off as I walk in and waste no time cooking that should be spent with my five month old son (except for Cake Pops - gotta love bakerella!) The recipe is as follows and is delicious:

2 lbs Chopped Pork (any kind - I'm not fussy - just make it big chunks)
1 can Pinto Beans
1 can Black Beans
1 can Cannelini Beans
16 oz Salsa
1.5 Tsps Cumin
2 Tbs Chilli Powder
Chicken Broth (enough so that the liquid covers everything - just barely)

Throw in slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours. Serve with baked potato or rice but please do serve this.

Darn you Phil!

Am I more of a Mainer now that winter has lost it's appeal? In the past years I have been in the minority, relishing every snowfall and looking forward to a White Easter with glee. I would pull out my snowshoes and bundle up or just sit by the woodstove with a cup of tea. I admit the ice storm that put out our power for three days last year was not fun but there was something appealing about eating take out by the stove and reading by candle light. It might be because we have a five month old, it might be because we haven't had snow in a while or it might be because the Moxie finally kicked in and I am one step closer to being a Mainer but this year I am done. I am ready for mud season, I want no more snow and I want to be able to walk outside without dressing for a polar expedition. And now, NOW, that rodent who in years past I have looked on with affection tells me that I have six more weeks of this! Ironically the year we have seen record lows in snowfall my hometown has seen highs. A friend in London actually could not get up the hill her house is on because of the snow and had to make three trips to and from the car parked at the bottom in order to get her groceries home. Thank goodness I live in Maine!

Oum-nom-she-ba

Look what a typo and too much coffee can lead to.

Wifey: Can't get the baby page to link directly to the blod (actually should have been blog). It ignores my Href instructions.

Husby: Not entirely sure why you want to link baby's Page to The Blood, but I guess if you want to get blood to do something you will need more than just html tags. I've heard chanting "oum-nom-she-ba" over and over works quite well, though I don't remember where I heard that, exactly. I suppose you might be able to use code, but it's getting The Blood to stop ignoring instructions that's really the problem. Perhaps if you made an amigurumi of baby's page The Blood would be unable to ignore a three dimensional version and would submit to the will of the 2 dimensional sub-being though fear/uncertainty.... or maybe I should just drink less coffee...

Mmm Less coffee I think

Lost in so many senses of the word

Well the first installment is a week past and Husby and I were eagerly awaiting the second installment. For those of you not in the Dharma Initiative I am referring to Lost Season Six. Baby boy went happily to bed at 7.45 giving me ample time to run around like a headless chicken doing chores and for Husby to take a nap. At 8.50 we settle on the couch and watch the end of the re-run - ah Richard Alpert how we love you so. This is a momentous occasion. Very rarely do we sit on the couch at the same time doing the same thing unless it involves a Bumbo seat and pureed Prunes. Let's pause for a moment and contemplate the wonder that is ABC programming, bringing families together since the Disney buy out.

We cuddle up under our blanket and get drawn into island life.

9.15 Meh Meh Meh - The boy stirs - I run upstairs adjust the blanket - give him neon the multicoloured seahorse - put the pacifier back in - wind up the mobile and run back downstairs having only missed a brief exchange with Sayeed.

9.20 Wah Wah Wah - Husby runs upstairs adjusts the blanket - gives him neon the multicoloured seahorse - puts the pacifier back in - winds up the mobile and runs back downstairs having only missed a commercial

9.25 Meh Wah Meh Wah Meh Wah - It's all over now. I am lost for good. Wide awake and smiling I bring the boy downstairs and heat up his nighttime bottle. We sit in his room rocking and chowing down for twenty minutes and I get back to Husby in time for him to provide a brief recap and to watch the last ten minutes.

The precious angel has been sleeping straight through from 8ish for about a month now. I think he is experiencing some of the disorienting time effects of the island.