For the past couple of years, I have spent an extended period of time in Thompson, Manitoba.  I loved the setting as it reminded me of lake country.  I was conveniently located within walking distance to the mall, a wine store and a place to watch the Jets games with other travelers.

My room was flooded with evening light

and was filled with other ambient light so I felt warm and cozy.

In fact, the entire hotel had cozy little places to meet with a friend or snuggle up with a book or magazine.  Also important to a single, female traveler: I always felt very safe.

But I got the biggest kick out of their breakfast buffet.  I challenged myself to eat as healthily as possible while there (I have a tendency to eat, to keep my self company).  I was so pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to do so.  I enhanced my selections with a couple of little fresh treats from the mall that I fit perfectly into the apartment sized fridge that is in every guest suite.

Bran muffin, peanut butter, yoghurt.

I made up a packet of hot oatmeal that I sliced fresh apple into.  The cashews were left over from one of those salads in a bag that I had the previous day for lunch.  The flax crackers were one of my evening treats.

This invention became my new favourite: half a toasted bagel, covered cream cheese and crowned with sliced strawberries-oh yum.

A granola bar crumbled over strawberry yoghurt and a sliced banana.

They always had hard-cooked eggs, so one morning I made an open-faced egg salad sandwich.

I successfully avoided indulging in their waffles and sausages and felt energized for the day.

I would highly recommend the Lakeview Suites in Thompson- my home away from home.

Kath’s quote: “The keynote to happiness within the four walls that make any home is plain, wholesome, well cooked food, attractively served.”-Louis P. De Gouy

Love-that is all.

I am eating pizza that is so amazing that I have not finished my first piece and I have to write about it. The crust is firm, crispy and perfectly cooked.  The sauce, as indicated on the take out menu is Tom’s “own authentic”.  I cannot really work up a full analysis on the sauce as the tastes are over-taken by the toppings and the cheese.  This is not a complaint.

The “Miner’s Special” toppings are a thick wedge of pepperoni and julienne salami. The combination is appropriately spicy and because of the abundance, I am very thirsty from the salt.  But not the kind of salty taste that you get when a bad cook tries to disquise their inferiority with the salt shaker, but a deep and rich, saltiness. If I had any complaint, it is that I would have loved more mushrooms to offset the richness of the deli meats.  Mozzarella is liberally layered over top and then hunks of bacon crown it all.

I do not use the term “hunks” in a derogatory manner.  These are lean and meaty pieces, similar to when I was growing up and my Dad would bring home the bacon.  He would purchase a slab of bacon and would slice it up himself.  He would use his big freshly sharpened butcher knife, on the wooden cutting board, that used to slide out of the cupboard.  Tom’s bacon retains a husky, smoky taste and comes closer to what I imagine “real” bacon is supposed to taste like.

I have to fess up on a couple of points: I have now finished my pizza supper and it is only 5 pm.  I really want to watch the Jets game but I have to participate in a twitter party this evening.  The front desk agent at my hotel has called over to Boston Pizza which is within walking distance, to ensure that they have Wi-Fi.  Therefore, I can sit up at the bar, watch the game AND fulfil my tweeting commitments.  But, I couldn’t bear to pay Boston’s prices for a pizza when I knew that their pies could not hold a candle to the local version, that I have heard so much about.  Last year when I was teaching in Thompson, I tasted pizza from Santa Maria and when I commented to locals that I wanted to go again, many advised me that the chef from Santa Maria’s had moved over to Tom’s (or perhaps he even IS Tom).  At any rate, I wanted to give a place that I had never eaten at, a try.

Just before game time, I plan to walk over to BP and order myself a frosty beer or a glass of wine and then get my tweeting fingers warmed up.  Hopefully I will be all done by the end of the first period, when I can then sit back and enjoy the rest of the game.  Which I can now report was won in a shoot out!

Kath’s quote: “I talked to a calzone for fifteen minutes last night before I realized it was just an introverted pizza. I wish all my acquaintances were so tasty.
”-  Jarod Kintz

Love-that is all.

When spring arrives, you know it on the Canadian prairies-the food trucks and hot dog carts start to line Broadway in Winnipeg and the parking lots of the burger joints are lined up with weather-worn vehicles.  The mercury is predicted to dip mighty low again tonight so even though the calendar says it is spring, we are all waiting for the sun and earth to follow suit.  Well at least the spring food offerings will sustain us until summer picnics can commence.

In Thompson, where I am teaching for a couple of weeks, April means that Popeye’s is open again!  I understand that Allison, the owner, has a green thumb and in the summer months, the gardens are overflowing with blossoms.  Right now the snow banks still cover the flower beds and the bubbling fountain.  But the snow is melting on the front path and we had the choice of a couple of inside tables or dining in the car.  We chose the former.  Many other vehicles were pulling in and picking up their “to-go” orders, including one in front of us that drove away with literally bags of burgers.

No wonder so many people make the drive out of town to this tasty little spot.  The burger is made with a hand-formed seasoned patty and even though I ordered mine “loaded” the quality and deep taste of the beef, shone through.  I understand that the recipe for the patty is a trade secret along with the oil blend that the amazing French fries are cooked in.

This overflowing boxful provided two people, two helpings.  I can’t imagine anyone order a large order.

We were able to peak over the counter to see that the cut potatoes are plunged in oil twice.  I know that the best chips are made in this manner.  Have you ever wondered why?  Me, too and this is what I found out.  The answer was on a blog site that I have visited many times before, entitled Serious Eats.  “The key lies in the fact that not all water in a potato is equal. Some of it is bound within the potato’s structure more tightly then the rest, requiring more energy to expel it. During the first fry, some of the water present in the potato evaporates and exits, allowing the oil to enter the space it was taking, and come in direct contact with the potato’s cells. Meanwhile, water that is more tightly bound in the potato’s structure remains. Soon, individual molecules of starch break free from larger granules with the help of the energy provided by hot oil. These starch molecules then come in contact with the water still present in the potatoes, hydrating and forming a gel that acts as a kind of glue, reinforcing the structure of the cells around it. Over time, as the oil works its way into the potato, a relatively thick layer of starch-reinforced cells can build up around the exterior of the potato. This is the paper-like sheath you see around a potato that has been fried once at low temperature.”

I fly in and out of Thompson and so you may wonder how I was able to make this out-of-town jaunt.  No, I didn’t take a cab.  I was escorted by the Front Desk Agent from my hotel.  I am in town teaching a course in exactly this subject area.  The staff at the Lakeview take hospitality to an entirely new level.

Kath’s quote: “I would gladly pay you Tuesday, for a hamburger today.” Wimpy

Love-that is all.