Prima Strada Gelato

 The pizza at Prima Strada is already fantastic, closest to Italian style pizza that we have had in Victoria. I recently tried their gelato and it is wonderful!

The chocolate peanut butter was just chocolaty enough and the peanut butter added a grounded salty taste to balance the chocolate. The cinnamon honey was a pleasant surprise and was so smooth on the palate with a nice melding of sweet and spice. They switch up their flavours occasionally so I am up for getting more in the future. As you can see, I finished them both before a picture could be taken of what they look like.

Here are the ingredients. All nice stuff.

Raccoon Family vs Neighbourhood Cat

 This is a different raccoon family than previously posted. They surprised the neighbourhood cat while he was reclining on our chair. At 20+ years old there is not much he can do to attack or run away. No animals attacked one another for this confrontation. Fortunately the young raccoon pups are still learning to be intimidating and just curious. 

Blueberry Picking, Anthony Bourdain's Roadrunner, and Zambri's Italian Food

A very active day yesterday. First there was blueberry picking at Meadowbrook Farm. Two hours of it yielded two buckets full. It will be tasty to snack on and freeze for consuming in the winter time.

We have been here before last year and it was nice to do this again. They also have lots of rows to spread out in.

After a short afternoon at home, it was off to see the Roadrunner documentary on Anthony Bourdain's life. It was an honest look at the good and bad parts of Bourdain's work and personal life, concluding with his suicide. It gives pause for looking at what is important in your life and reflecting on the accidents that happen while living it, for boon or bane, and how that shapes you. It also gives great pause for knowing that you cannot let that which causes you grief to control you. That there are people who you can talk to.

In tribute to Anthony Bourdain's joy of good food, we had supper at Zambri's, a fabulous Italian restaurant. I ordered an Antico vermouth as a pre meal drink. The food started with local green beans and cherry tomatoes mixed with pesto (not pictured). There was also a plate of fresh bread and dish of olives. Both delicious. 

For a main we all wanted the special; Dungeness crab in ravioli with local corn for texture. The restaurant took the two portions and split it amongst the three of us. Delicious as always. I had this with a Saltpring Wild semi-dry cider.

Because we know that was not going to be enough, we split an order of the halibut special. It was cooked to perfection and was a very fresh tasting dish.

For dessert I had a chocolate bourdino, a nice end to the day.

I Spy the TV series 1965-68

 I Spy was a groundbreaking series from 1965 to 1968 that shot portions of its show on location around the world: Morocco, Spain, Greece, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, and more. It was also groundbreaking because of the equal top billing of its two costars, Bill Cosby as Alexander Scott and Robert Culp as Kelly Robinson. This was the first time that an African-American received top billing. They are partners working for US Intelligence but Kelly's public identity is a tennis bum and Alexander is his trainer, traveling the world while pitting Kelly's skills against wealthy hosts while enjoying social gatherings and occasional tennis competitions. 

The show's 82 episodes has a bittersweet view of the spy business, from struggling to justify legitimate expenses and losses of equipment to the financial caretakers of the organization they work for to the glamorous lifestyle they lead when not on the spy clock. Often their fun is interrupted with a planned or unplanned mission or someone in need of help. Many parts were a little over the top but the show also surprised me for the mature way things were dealt with. For instance there were also episodes of gravitas where one or the other character struggles with the decisions they or their government have to make. Heavy stuff for TV in the cold war late 60's.

The backstory for the two is that they have been working together for a few years before the first episode and the interplay between the two actors makes you believe it. They tease, poke fun, and egg each other on, even in the thick of danger as a way to cut the tension for the characters and the audience. It works and works well.

Now the elephant in the room: Bill Cosby and his actions towards many women since the 1970's. I bought the three seasons of the series in 2013 and had just started watching the episodes when the first allegations against Bill Cosby appeared. Because of those allegations it sat on my shelf of things to watch until last year, when I had some time and he was in jail. Since then I've seen the entire series because it won so many awards and acclaim for breaking ground in the way the subject matter was portrayed; the hard life of the Intelligence service. 

I also wanted to see it for the way the show and two actors dealt with the fact one partner was white and the other African-American; which was that it didn't matter. Scott is the brains and planner and Kelly goes by his gut. They were both good at what they did, they valued each other for who they were, and were friends who helped each other. The US Intelligence service also didn't care that one of the agents was African-American, only that all their agents could complete missions and keep under budget. 

The show did had sexist parts, especially how Kelly was casual with women. But that got thrown in his face sometimes by strong women, which mirrored the changes in society in the late 60's, in particular the final episode of season three.

I enjoyed the series and will watch it again in a decade or two. If you want to see them for free online, head here at PROClassic TV.

Portabella Jerky

I picked this up at London Drugs to try it out. Very earthy and delicious. I could see it shredded in a salad, stirfry as a garnish, or on its own. 

Garden Progress

After a month of the start of our vegetable gardens this year, our vegetables are coming along great. Here are the bean pots and herbs.

The garlic is done but two that were dug up were quite small. Might need different pots or soil next time.

Our two varieties of tomatoes are doing well, with some turning red. I'm glad I made these poles out of the bamboo growing on our property.

The frount is also doing well. The creeping peas are creeping and bean bushes are slowly becoming bushes.

The Vegepods plants are really going. Its amazing how the greenhouse affect makes a difference.

Here is the left one.

The right one. Will send another update in a month.

Brasserie L'Ecole

 For our first restaurant outing since the COVID pandemic started was Brasserie L'Ecole. It was, as always, fantastic. As always since they do not take reservations you have to line up early. They open at 530pm and I was first in line at 450. Shortly after people started lining up and by 515pm they had enough to fill the place for a first seating (every second table was not used to increase physical distancing inside).

Since I knew I would be ordering mussels, I had a Belgian beer, Orval. Nice and tasty.

For an appetizer I had the pate du Campagne with pickled fennel, grilled baguette, and grained mustard. Supurb!

My wife had the tuna tartar with couscous and vinaigrette. She offered me some and it was refreshing and tasty.

For my main I had Moules and frites, or mussels and fries. I had the fries fancy with truffle oil and cheese. The broth was a saffron and wine broth. Delicious! 

My wife had the 8oz steak with red wine and shallot sauce with frites. She liked. We also shared the chard with 30 year old sherry reduction and it had a nice taste. We had too much to have dessert and was glad we had parked on the 8th floor of a nearby parkade. 

Blind Racoon Momma and Family in a tree

I was watering our garden and just finished chatting with neighbours when I heard a chittering sound. Looking up our tree, I saw blind racoon momma with her babies!

I alerted my wife and neighbours and we had a good look at the kits practicing climbing up and down the tree from 4-6 meters up.

Eventually it was time for something else so the blind momma led her kits down the tree and away. A nice experience.

Blind Raccoon Momma and Family

For several years, a female raccoon has been coming around our house with her kits. In recent years, she has been slowly developing cataracts and is now functionally blind, but she still gets pregnant and has children every year. Yesterday, while I was doing things in the garage, she came by with her newest litter.

She taught them the routes to take, that I have seen them take in years past.

They took a drink of stagnant water behind our Vegepods.

I then heard the momma give her warning chitter and they climbed up the nearby tree.

Soon she gave the "all clear" noise and the kits climbed down again. It was nice to see.