This and that...

Thought I'd post a few pics of how I spent part of this past weekend. Brad was working on the computer on Sunday evening, so I didn't have a chance to post. A couple of pics of the winter wonderland (sigh) that is our back yard. Our good friends George and Barb came down Sunday afternoon for a short visit with Barb's mother, who was visiting them for the weekend. Barb's mom is a delight and we like her very much. Moreover, the occasion provided me with a good excuse to make a pie.

Many years ago, when I was first learning how to make my own pie crust, Brad used to flee our apartment the minute he heard me take the rolling pin out of the drawer (we were still living in an apartment - one of many - back then). The crust would be too dry or too wet. It wouldn't roll out properly, or it would crumble and break apart as I was trying to maneuvre it into the pie plate. I would curse and spit (not really, I frown on spitting), but suffice to say that the air would turn blue in the kitchen. Finally, after much trial and error, I got the knack (and a pastry cloth!), and today, I could make a pie crust blindfolded.

For Sunday, I decided on a raspberry pie (Don't worry Mar, I still have a few more containers in the freezer!) Come the end of July or the first of August, I put my local u-pick on speed dial and I usually end up taking at least one vacation day to spend in the patch. I try to freeze at least 9 quarts to last us throughout the year. We've also planted some canes in our backyard, so I hope to get 2 or 3 quarts from that little patch next year. I could pick raspberries till the cows come home. I find it therapeutic; just letting my mind wander as I hone in on the biggest and ripest berries. You know, those fat, shade-ripened suckers that hide beneath the lower branches toward the middle of the row that most other people miss. And I never seem to learn and wear longsleeves. By the end of the day, my arms look like I've had a run-in with a pack of ferral cats, but no matter - I got what I came for! Happiness is walking into the kitchen with a flat-full of wooden quart boxes mounded high with of ruby jewels that smell like summer itself. I freeze them in 1 litre ice cream containers and use the berries almost exclusively for pies, though I sometimes throw some into a muffin batter. So Sunday afternoon we had pie and English Rose tea. The pie didn't last long.

Sunday evening, I also made a shrimp curry for myself, and just plain fried shrimp for Brad, served with rice and baked potato respectively. The shrimp curry is very easy. Simply throw a quartered onion and a 2-inch long peeled piece of fresh ginger into your food processor and finely chop (this step could, of course, be done by hand, too). Seed and dice 1 or 2 hot peppers (I use jalapenos). Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion and ginger along with a half teaspoon each of salt and sugar, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 and a half teaspoons of curry powder and the jalapenos, then add a 14-oz can of unsweetened coconut milk and about 3/4 cup of water. Cook over moderate heat until sauce is thickened (about 10 minutes). Then add 1 lb of shrimp (I use large white Pacific frozen shrimp that I thaw by running under cold water for 2 or 3 minutes). Simmer until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the juice of one lime and serve on top of basmati rice.