A First Nations Potluck Feast and 200 posts

This is my 200th blog post on Victoria in Person.  I hope someone made a cake for me.  Ah, here it is... but is looks like it got mostly eaten on the way.

The above is a pretty awesome cake made with yoghurt by the Brunette of My Acquaintance. And it was not made for this blog, but instead for a potluck.  This was held outside the Mungo Martin house, next to the BC Museum, in honour of a visit from Kamloops by one of her friends. Forty of her friends and family gathered to meet up and share food from all sorts of places.

There was a massive pot of fish soup which was damn tasty.  Or the portion I had without Oolichan oil (aka Grease) was.  I was warned by the First Nations's folks who invited me to share the meal that it was a rather distinctive flavour and an acquired taste.  Super fishy, and strong, cloying smell.  Reading up on the fish itself, the smoked or fresh meat was a big part of the diet for the coastal peoples, and the oil was traded extensively into the interior. Creating the trade routes known as the 'Grease Trails'.

There was also Bannock.  Bannock was a Scottish way of prepping bread, mostly by frying the dough on hot stone. It was either taken up by the First Nations or very closely aligned to a way of preparing maize before the Scots brought their version over, and the two things became aligned.  In any case, the style here was plain but tasty.  If you took all the bad things on a Krispy Kreme donut away (the terrible sugary coating, the nasty oil taste), and squished them down in a flat patties about the size of your palm, you'd get this Bannock.  Except I'd probably eat it before you got it.

Finally, for dessert, there was Sxusem, more commonly known as Indian Ice cream.  This is a whipped mix of soap berries, water and sweetners.  It makes a big pink-orange frothy mousse, eaten with a spoon.  Soap berries are well, soapy tasty, and bitter. The soap flavour sort of fades after the first taste, and it's a pleasant sort of bitterness, not unlike the pleasant bittering of hops in beer.  What is neat is that berries are a source of saponins, that have the effect of creating the foamy mass to make the dessert.  The saponins might have some positive effects on digestion and reducing inflammation, though the research is still out.  The lady who gave me some of the juice left over swears by drinking some very day, diluted with water.  Though she also said harvesting the berries is not the easiest thing to do either.

I'm very grateful for being part of this gathering, even if my contribution was carrying some boxes, and chopping up a salad (which was not my finest pile of greens ever...).

So here's to number 300, I'm keeping at this, Andrea!

True Confections, English Bay, Vancouver

Two of my old university friends came over to see family in Vancouver a month ago, and asked me to come say hello.   As I wanted to take a quick bike tour of False Creek for a project I'm working on), I combined the two things.  And added in a visit to meet another Vancouverite (The Marmot).  In one day.

Travelling to and from Vancouver, in one day, by ferry is a lot of time sitting on ferries and buses and skytrains.  I drove Schwartz Bay, and then went over on the 9 am ferry.  I decided the 7 am was for the birds. Plus, the coach service into Vancouver is now a lot less regular.  Which seems like a big shame, as it was cost effective way to get from Victoria to Vancouver, when ever you needed with out having to wait for transit at both ends.  That turns a three hour plus journey into five hours or more.

The winning way is to take a float plane.  Of course, that also costs more, but it is the best view of the lot.

I got into town around eleven thirty and hiked over to City Cycle Tours, and picked up a bike.  Disc brakes, thick tyres, well maintained.  I zoomed off over the Burrard Street Bridge and did the cycle path around False Creek from Kits to English Bay, via the Science Museum.  A really fun ride.  Mostly flat, lots of scenery across the Bay, and interesting sights.

Once in English Bay, I met up with my friends and their tiny baby.  We had lunch at the Sylvia after a short walk around the local area.  And then dessert at True Confections.

Where our friendship was put to the test.

Apparently friends don't let friends eat carrot cake.  Not when sky-high towers of New York style cheesecake are on offer.  Thing is, I really like carrot cake, and I've been told True Confections makes the best desserts in town.  They are a dessert-only cafe, set up 1989 to serve just for the sweet course.  And they've been going ever since.  The space isn't that large, seating about 40 people.  They don't take reservations. Just turn up, eat pie and drink coffee.  A nice little niche, especially as you can often go to a great restaurant where dessert is just an after thought.

They weren't that busy, and made room for the bairn's pushchair, though we were kinda stuffed into one corner.  But we had a good view of the street, and massive array of sweets.  After much arguing about what to eat, and recriminations about carrot cake, we got some coffee, and drinks and food.

The Carrot Cake, I can report, is not worth losing a friend over.  It is excellent. Just not the central blissful nirvana that would mean writing off close to twenty years of friendship.  But after trying a forkful, they did decide they could at least see why it was a valid (if still questionable choice). It was moist, light and tasty, with a good slathering of cream cheese frosting on top.

The cheesecake was rich and glorious.  Thick wodges of cake on a buttery biscuit base (yes!), served with a fruit sauce that combined a sweetness and tartness to balance the unctuous cake.

All very good.  And friendships saved. And babies cooed over. And old times remembered.  Great to see those guys again.

So afterwards, I headed back on my bike to the Tour shop, happy with some exercise to balance the calories of the day, and headed to see the Marmot on Main.  We also caught up, and talked business and friends and the future. And she then graciously gave me a ride back to Tsawwassen in time for the last ferry home.

So you can do Vancouver in a day, complete the first stage of a work project, see two sets of old friends AND solve a bunch of puzzles for the Puzzled Pint.  I just wouldn't want to do it every day.

It was a long day.  But good for the soul.

True Confections, 866 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC