At Easter we always start the long weekend by attending a Seder supper on Thursday night.  It is an evening steeped in tradition and the consumption of ancient, symbolic foods.  The first item was the karpas -greens illustrating life dipped into salt water representing the tears of life.    Horseradish follows which is a reminder of the mortar of the bricks that the Israelites made for Pharaoh.  The hagigah is a brown egg which represents burnt offerings.  Lastly was the zeroah -a lamb shank bone, a symbol of the first passover lambs.   

We did get to eat “real” food as well and this year it was lovingly prepared by our youth leader and her husband. 

We also symbolically spilled our red wine- a drop for each of 10 plaques as they are recited.

The unleavened bread called matzahs, which are made with stripes and piercings, are wrapped in a special cloth  called a matzah tosh which has three pouches.

Afterwards, we ascend to the sanctuary which has been stripped of all adornment, reciting psalms as we climb the stairs.  Scripture is read in the darkness, of Jesus in the garden, then the book is slammed shut and we leave in silence.

Kath’s quote: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” –John 3:16

“I had lots of fun making these.

I used a cake mix (white cake with pastel colour confetti sprinkles inside). I made the butter cream (1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cut shortening, whipped with 4 cups icing sugar and two Tbsp milk).”

Topped with various sprinkles and M&M Easter eggs. ”

Kath’s Quote: “Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.”-Al Bernstein

Have a blessed Easter everyone.

There are many excellent Vietnamese restaurants in Winnipeg: Viva and Thanh Huong (both on Sargent) and Pho 1 (on Isabel) are a few of our favourites.  KG Saigon (also on Sargent) was recommended just recently.  But it is Little Saigon on William Ave. where we’ve been going to for years.    When my office was on the same street,  I enjoyed it frequently with colleagues for lunch.  More recently, it is a place that the three sisters take our Mom for a night out.  We really enjoy their Salt and Pepper Shrimp.  This is the place that I first tasted Vietnamese rice rolls.  I am allured by the fresh taste of the herbs and veggies and of course by my favourite taste combination of salty/sweet. 

Tonight we are having a guest for dinner that I thought might enjoy them.  I did most of the preparations before I left for my baby hugging shift.  Then when I got home, I just had to soak the noodles and the rice wrappers.

These are the ingredients that you assemble for do-it-yourself rolls:  romaine lettuce leaves, sliced cucumber,  fresh mint leaves, fresh cilantro leaves (optional) and bean sprouts (which I did not have on hand).  Saute thinly sliced pork or chicken that has been marinated in a sauce such as hoisin.  Cover with peanuts that have been crushed with brown sugar.  Put out additional sauces like peanut and sweet chili. 

Here is the recipe for a Vietnamese dipping sauce which is always a hit:  Dissolve 3 T of sugar in 2 T lime or lemon juice, add ¼ c rice vinegar, ¼ c fish sauce , 1 clove garlic and some chili flakes to taste.  Zap them together in a blender.

Kath’s quote: “To see cucumbers in a dream denotes that you will speedily fall in love. Or, if you are in love, then you will marry the object of your affection.”-Richard Folkard in ‘Plant Lore’

He is famous for his chuleta Puerco which are two rib thick porkchops grilled to perfection on his B.B.-Q  but my favourite dish is the plato Mexicano.

Sister #1 Interjections: One night when I arrived solo on Isla, Sis #3 had assembled this gang to meet me at the ferry.  I had a migraine but was so excited to see everybody that I wasn’t thinking straight (or walking straight for that matter).  I was passing off my knapsack and accepting a marguerita from an outstretched arm when OOPS my  foot slipped between the wooden dock and a concrete wall and got wedged in there.  But Fredy’s pork chops were calling me so I still made it out to dinner.  Fredy knows how to prepare them perfectly, which is to say, still pink in the middle.  I always have enough left over for a beach sandwich the next day.

Fredy's

We often have our first Isla dinner at Fredy’s and then our last, so I have also had the chance to taste many of his shrimp dishes, my favourite being shrimp baked in garlic and butter and accompanied with cilantro and cheese.  Other fans claim his Garlic Grouper and Lobster are best on the island.

Fredy’s is a bit further north on Hidalgo than most other choices.  Fredy’s hospitality and expert cooking makes the extra steps worth taking.  In fact in 2009 when there was construction on Hidalgo, we had to climb over bricks and a barricade and it was still worth it.

Kath’s quote: “There is poetry in a pork chop to a hungry (wo)man.”-Philip Gibbs

Can you remember ever having a menu ordering accident?  That is to say,  you ordered a dish but realised when it arrived that you had misinterpreted what was stated on the menu and had to eat it anyway?  Exactly this happened to me when my husband and I were dining in Positano Italy this past fall. 

Near the Norman Cathedral of Monreale (Palermo)

We started our Italian adventure in Sicily and one evening our host ordered a sumptuous dish in Palermo.  We had just toured Monreale and were in the vicinity of  the Palermo train station when we happened upon Antico Bar and Ristorante in the Piazza Giulio Cesare.  Concetta had ordered anchovy and fennel pasta and the forkful that I tasted was divine-an unusual blending of salty and savoury. 

The Antipasto that night-missed taking a pic of the entrees

Days later and on our own on the Amalfi Coast we asked Luigi, the wonderful owner of Hotel Le Fioriere in Praiano where his favourite restaurant in Positano was.  With his advice we headed out for Da Vincenzo’s.  

Under the Canopy

We did not have reservations but considered ourselves lucky to get a table outside but under a canopy as it had just started to rain.  We began with a calzone and this basil, mozzarella  and tomato salad.   

The Salad Plate

Remebering that single taste in Palermo, I ordered the Anchovies and I got just what I ordered but not what I was dreaming of.  

Just Anchovies?

Kath’s quote: “The peasants of Sicily, who have kept their own wheat and make their own natural brown bread, ah, it is amazing how fresh and sweet and clean their loaf seems, so perfumed, as home-made bread used all to be before the war.”-D.H. Lawrence