Easter Sunday

It is a sunny Easter Sunday and our granddaughter Annelies is entertaining us while her parents take a break. Can this get any better?

North Of The 49 Parallel

With the visible disappearance of small shops, as well as the large ones such as Eaton's, Woodwards, Simpsons and Sears, it is welcoming to see new arrivals. Things seems to be a bit sparse north of the 49th parallel when it comes to choices of furniture, clothing and household appliances. Therefore, it was with delight I saw the new Crate & Barrel store opening in Oakridge Mall. Soon to open there is a new Target store. 

The Last Supper

Easter is indeed the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The Thursday before Easter was the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus shared with the Apostles. The most famous painting of The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan. A lesser known one, also named The Last Supper is by Marco Zapata (c.1753), a meal of bread, wine and guinea pig.  We saw the painting on display in the Cathedral in Cuzco Peru. Roasted guinea pig was an delicacy, which the Spanish call cuy. The Eucharist cup, various other glasses and two platters of native foods are visible. The platters include red, purple, tan and yellow potatoes as well as red and yellow rocotos, or spicy peppers and corn. It is said that there was local Pisco or chicha in the glasses. Marco Zapata was one of the last native painters of the Escuela Cusquena and one of the most prolific artists of mid-eighteen century Cuzco. The platter of the guinea pig makes for a unique Last Supper.

Life Is A Bridge

While taking a night photo of the Expo 86 site, from the Cambie Street bridge, a man asked for directions to Granville Island. He was a long way off, but didn't mind the walk. He carried with him a large painting and I asked if I could see it and photograph it. He agreed, posed and for a few seconds became friends and then continued on our separate ways. I still cannot figure out what the painting was about but I liked the size and am sure it will look great on just the right wall.

The Site of Expo '86.

It had been a dry summer that year, with the last rain the day before opening and the rain managed to stay away until after closing. We received complete cooperation from the local rain gods and we fooled the 22,111.578 guest and tourist into thinking Vancouver's weather is always like this. The Expo theme was "Transportation and Communication" and it featured pavilions from 54 nations and numerous local corporations. It was considered a tremendous success, and it transformed Vancouver from a sleepy backwater to the second most expensive real Estate in the world.

Expo '86 was opened on May 2nd by Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales and the strain on their marriage visible. Diana fainted due to not haven eaten for a few days and His Highness thought that she should have fainted more gracefully, out of publics eye, behind a door. Both Vancouver and Charles have come a long way since then.

After the event, most of the lands were purchased by Hong Kong Billionaire Li Ka-Shing under his Concord Pacific banner. Even though the redevelopment took longer than expected, it remains one of the most successful urban developments in Canadian History. The south-eastern section was further redeveloped as the Olympic Village, which housed the athletes for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

• The next Expo, 2015 will be held in Milan Italy, followed by Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. I haven't checked any flight schedules for that one yet.

No. 3 Road Richmond 沒有3路里士滿

Sprawled under the runway approaches to YVR Airport lies Richmond, the new Chinatown with it's large Asian-Canadian population. Modern high rise apartments, several large Asian malls and well stocked Asian supermarkets have transformed the area that was once agricultural. Running along No.3 Road is the Skytrain and it's connection to the airport, downtown business core and transit system. My favourite is mall Aberdeen Centre, located in the Golden Village district. It was first built in 1989 and demolished in 2001 to be tripled in size by a more modern mall, which opened in 2003. Its primary anchor store, Daiso, a gigantic $2 store proudly displayed its recent arrival of artificial Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. Ah! Spring has finally arrived in Richmond.

Strawberries and Butterflies

I grew up surrounded by paintings and objects d'art. My father was an artist, painting in his free time, when he wasn't working as a house painter supporting a family of six. My parents philosophy was to surround yourself with the things you love and when you move to a new place, you take them with you. When you unpack, you hang up the paintings and unpack your treasures - and you are home again.  After I left home at eighteen to Immigrate to Canada, small packages would arrive in the mail. My mother thought I needed some Dutch items, not to forget my roots, my father's thoughts were that I needed more paintings. I don't know who was right but I ended up with plenty of each. I have immigrated three times and moved around to at least thirty addresses. Our passion for travelling and sailing has also kept us away from home, but when we return and see the little painting of strawberries and butterflies - I know we are  home again.

Dressew, a fabric store for addicts.

I walk through clouds of cigarette smoke outside the numerous International Language Schools in downtown Vancouver on my way to my favourite sewing supply store. This is a well hidden, two story shop on West Hastings, and in better days, it was a Kresge department store. The layout of the building reflects this, the main floor as you enter, has a broad stairway going to the lower level. The main floor is filled with fabrics, vintage and current; hundreds of rolls of them. There are Halloween costumes year round. There is a magical wonderland of burlesque supplies: boas, feathers, gloves and mesh stockings, along with a great range of glitz, glamour and sparkly appliqués. There are some knitting supplies and an on-off supply of wool. The lower level can get rather stuffy in the summer time, but the old warehouse rollup doors are opened and the cool breeze from the rear alley makes it pleasant to shop. There is an endless supply of buttons, threads, zippers, clasps, cords, velcro. I can easily spend a few hours there, mixing and matching fabrics for the latest creation that is still developing in my mind. Fabric stores are in decline along with the department stores that once had sewing departments. As I left the two floors of fun fabric and notions, the sale staff called "Bye, see you next week". Yes, I will be back for my fix. 

Gingersnaps

With the arrival of the spice ships in Europe in the 17th century, bakers started experimenting with spices. Fresh ginger, which never made it into Dutch savoury cooking, found it's way into its baking. Even today, gingerbread with chunks of candied ginger, is a breakfast delight. We had company last night and I baked these delicious gingersnaps to go with ice cream.

Gingersnaps 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups packed dark-brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoon finely grated, peeled ginger one 3-inch piece

1 large egg

1/4 cup granulated sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, molasses, and ginger on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until smooth and combined. Add flour mixture, and beat on low until just combined. Transfer dough to a bowl and wrap in plastic; refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with racks in the centre and lower third. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place granulated sugar in a shallow bowl; roll balls in sugar until completely coated, and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets as the cookies spread. Makes about 36 cookies.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are deep golden all over and centres are firm, 15-18 minutes or 20 minutes for crisper cookies. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. A tin container will keep cookies crisp.

Thar Be Dragons!

Last night we presented Sequitur Rounding Cape Horn to the Tiddly Cove Yacht Club at the Vancouver Maritime Museum. It was a cold night and a good turnout. The museum itself is small considering the Maritime presence the area has had. I found myself under the figurehead that once belonged to the Empress of Japan, with it's replica standing in Stanley Park looking out towards the First Narrows. Canadian Pacific Railway Company (C.P.R.) was determined to girdle the globe with a profitable transportation system and once the steam trains arrived in Vancouver, ship sailed in to complete the connection to the Orient. In her glory days the Empress rounded the Horn and she impacted on the development of Vancouver. My late husband's grandfather was Charles Binns, the purser on the Empess, and was with the C.P.R. for 40 years. He was away from home quite often and lived in Yokohama for a while, settling up the offices there. When he was in Vancouver he hosted casual dinner parties and invited other Captains and crew. After dinner they gather around the old mahogany dinning table, have a few drinks and tell stories of the sea. I inherited that old table and when we are in town, we host small dinners, invite a few sailors as we share stories of the sea.

Say it with Koffie.

We love our early morning coffee and we often try different beans to improve our cup. It is said that the beans originated in Ethiopia and spread to Arabia and Asia. We were excited when we sailed around South America, with Brazil being the largest coffee producer in the world and followed on it's heals are Columbia, Mexico and Guatemala. But what we found were aisles of Nescafe instant, with not a coffee bean to be found. When we found some, it was a specialty item, packaged in small overpriced packages.The bulk was exported to the world largest consumer - Europe.  Which brings us to the Netherlands and their coffee hospitality. Supermarkets offer free coffee while you shop and when you enter someone's house, you are asked: " Can I get you a cup of Coffee? " What they are really saying is: "Sit with me, lets talk and share some time together"  It is called "gezelligheid" The Dutch have their favourite brand name of coffee, Douwe Egberts, which has been around since 1753, giving them the time to refine the art of coffee making.

Celebrating Amsterdam

It is an exiting year for the Netherlands. Queen Beatrix has announced that she will abdicate on 30 April, on Koninginnedag or Queen's Day. Succeeding her is eldest son Willem-Alexander, the heir apparent to the throne; he will be the first King of the Netherlands in 123 years. On an equally important scale is the 400th anniversary of the extension of the canals in Amsterdam. With the booming economy, population and the spice trade, Amsterdam ran out of space. The canal ring area was created which included  Herengracht, Keizergracht and Prinsengracht. Spacious canal side houses and gardens were built to accommodate the wealthy Merchants, Mayors and Bankers. Today the city seems unchanged with its canals, towers, bridges and churches and the ring of canals has just recently been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Another Spicy Delight - Speculaas

I was so inspired by the local Fire Department's visit and immediately started baking cookies. Spekulaas, the traditional Dutch cookie, made popular in the 1700's when spices became more available to the public. A great variety of recipes has surfaced through time and this is just one of them. The smoke alarm went off like clockwork, but I had the opportunity to wave my new HEMA tea towels through the air. No longer am I annoyed with it's mechanical warning, instead it puts a smile on my face and a slight blush on my cheeks.

False Alarm

Prior to our trip to check-up on the progress of Zonder Zorg, there was a notification of a fire alarm inspection for the units in the building. It was short notice and unable to make the arrangements for someone to be there, we just ignored it. It had long passed our memory when shortly after 08:00  there was a firm knock on our door. Michael was up, in the process of making us a cup of coffee and I was still warmly tucked under the covers. Wrapped in his housecoat Michael answered the door. From our open concept bedroom, I could hear that it was the local fire department wanting to finish their incomplete list. Michael explained that we were still in bed but the fireman said that it would only take a minute. The fire alarm is at the foot of our bed and before I knew it he was standing there, like a doctor, clip board in hand waiving at me. He reached up and spayed the alarm, which responded immediately. I know the dam thing works; every time I bake cookies, a bilingual mechanical voice sounds the alarm with "Fire, Feu, Fire, Feu" followed my a dance with a waiving tea towel. With another short hand wave, he was gone. He was right, it only took a minute, not long enough to quickly comb my hair put on some make-up and in this case, I didn't need the blush. 

Signs of Spring

The rain had stopped and for a short period there was sunshine. We all rejoiced as it brought out the long boats, the birds and the lovers. The light was strange but the scene tender and full of hope.

The Dutch Tile

The Dutch have a fondness for tiles, mostly Delft Blue. It started in the 16th century with the finer work from the town of Delft. Inspired by the Chinese painted porcelain, they painted biblical scenes, professions, trades and Dutch landscapes. They exported throughout Europe but a good selection remained in the Netherlands. I was given these tiles 50 years ago and just recently hauled them out of storage. They were made by Villeroy & Boch between 1900 and 1925 and was retrieved from a renovation at an old canal house on Amsterdam's Keizergracht. The more modern versions of these tiles are Birth Tiles, giving the child's name, birth date, weight and time the were born. 

Tulips The Precursor Of Spring

It has been raining in Vancouver all week, with only the seagulls enjoying it. The crocuses have come and gone, and with the tulips now appearing in all the stores, we know that Spring is just around the corner. We are all waiting patiently for the burst of sunshine that will transform the neighbourhood into a sea of Cherry Blossoms.

Celebrating π Day

Honouring the twenty-fifth annual Pi Day and Einstein's birthday as well; I can not think of a better way to celebrate.

Zonder Zorg Apple Pie.

300 gr.         Whole wheat flour

100 gr.         White sugar 

                    Pinch of salt

200 gr.         Cold butter

1                  Egg

1 kg.            Firm  Apples

100 gr.         Raisins Sultanas

100 gr.         Black currents

  50 gr.         Pecan nuts, coarsely chopped  

1 inch          Fresh Ginger Root

1 Tbs.          Cinnamon

1 Tbs           Sugar

500 ml.        Milk

2 tbs            Birds Custard powder

24 cm spring form pan.

Mix flour, sugar, salt. Cut butter in small pieces and add. Beat egg in small bowl and add 3/4 to the flour mixture. Line the tin and side with 3/4 of the dough and place the tin and the remaining dough in the fridge.

Pre-heat oven to 170C or 350F.

Soak raisins and currants in hot water for 10 min. Peel the apples and slice them.

In a large pot place apples and add raisins, currents, ginger and some of the water. Slowly simmer, stirring the apples till they start to soften. Drain.

Add cinnamon, sugar and chopped Pecan Nuts.

Make the custard. Fill the pan with apple mixture, poor the custard over the apples. 

Use the remaining dough for the lattice work on top of the apples and custard. Brush the top with the remaining egg.

Bake for one hour.

Cool pie and serve with whipped cream.

Sand, Soap and Soda - just the basics

Zand, Zeep and Soda came from my mother's kitchen and was used eighty years ago. The set originally had a rack but that was lost through the years. We lived at the dunes in a small village along the North Sea and sand was readily available. It was used for heavy duty pot scrubbing and stained floors. The soap was a basic soft soap and was referred to as Green Soap. It was used for everything; kitchen, bathroom, floors, windows and laundry. The non-perfumed soap was gentle enough to wash your hair with and is most likely the base of many shampoos. Soda was also used for cleaning and laundry and even as toothpaste. When I look down the cleaning product isle at the supermarket I see some clever marketing and some expensive chemical concoctions which do exactly the same thing. These pots remind me that we need to move much closer to just the basics.

Table For Two

Michael loves to cook and I have absolutely no problem with a barefoot man in my kitchen. I cook breakfast and put on lunch, while he applies his talent in the kitchen for dinner. I do the table setting with table cloth, linen napkins, crystal stemware and creative cutlery. My passion is textiles, matching colours and sewing reversible tablecloths for two and not forgetting the candles. 

Old Chinatown

Some of the first Chinese immigrants were men, who left their families behind and were drawn to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858. They later found an opportunity to work on building the Canadian Pacific Railroad.  They mainly settled in Chinatown and slowly began bringing their families and concubines over to settle in Chinatown. Business grew and the area developed into a lively and colourful area. There was a steady influx of immigrants till the second world war. In 1980 it spiked again with most coming from Hong Kong, prior and during the transfer of sovereignty of the former British colony to China. The majority of the new immigrants settled in Richmond where large houses, spacious malls with plenty of parking has sprung up. The smaller vegetable markets could no longer compete with larger concerns such as Cosco and Urban Fair. Merchants have moved or closed shop, leaving the beautiful old buildings behind. The area is in transition and slowly modern merchants are appearing, refurbishing the old buildings with art galleries, coffee shops, beauty salons and interior decor shops. It still has a long way to go but the city is closing in slowly.

Stories of Old Glass

I like to be surrounded by things that are ascetically pleasing to the eye. The morning sun catches the glass objects on the window sills. I have placed these objects together to create a story in old glass.

We are presently sipping our way through the bottles of Tokaji Aszu, one 3 Puttonos from 1973 and other  an Essencia from 1964. The green bottle is an importer's sample of 1961 Armanac. Michael had a great series of samples bottles, ranching  from1961 through 1973 which we shared as we were slowly unpacking and making room in our tiny loft. Less tasty are the two ink bottles we bought in the Falkland Island Museum. They had been salvaged from the American Sailing Vessel JOHN.R.KELLEY, a wooden ship of 2364 tons. Lauched in October 1883 by Goss & Sawyer of Bath, Main. Wrecked on the Kelly Rocks in Port Williams Falklands, 15 May 1899, on a voyage from New York to San Francisco with general cargo. These bottles were generously donated by Fortuna Ltd., to be sold in support of Museum Funds. The half bottle cut glass decanter is from the George III era accompanied by a lead crystal glass, hand engraved with a thistle and vine motif. The bottle stoppers are modern Venice.

Vancouver's "Little Punjab"

I love design, textiles, colour, sitting behind my sewing machine and putting it all together. One of my favourite sources is "Little Punjab" on Main Street Vancouver. I have seen a slow change over the last 30 years but lately there has been a more significant one. The real estate value in the surrounding area  has soared with an average family home now $1,500,000. The rent has become unaffordable for smaller merchants and shops have moved over to Surrey with it's large Indian population and more affordable rent. 

Life is a Piece of Pie

Today is the first day of my daily photo of " Life on and around our 1908 Skutsje Zonder Zorg".  Our boat is in for a refit in Harlingen Friesland and in the meantime we are dreaming of our return. To help the process I have baked Dutch Appeltaart.