Weekly West Coast 2016 - Kin Beach Edition

Yesterday was the first sunny, summery Saturday of the season, so Hubby and I hit the beach. We followed that with a stop at a farm stand, then we refuelled with gelato.

Sadly, the gelato disappeared before I could get a picture.

OK, maybe I'm not too sad about that.  Single scoop, half dark chocolate and half coconut in a waffle cone...how could you expect that to last long enough for a photo?

Have a great week all! Sending you warm thoughts wherever you are!

Twenty-fourth of May. Eh?

It's a long weekend here in Canada land. Officially, we are meant to be honouring the birthday of Queen Victoria. Unofficially, it's the weekend that, for many Canadians, heralds the start of summer. For the ambitious, it's a weekend of camping or gardening. I'm not so ambitious, so my tribute to the beginning of summer has involved ice cream. 

Saturday was our first trip of the season to Benino Gelato. Raspberry for me. Salted caramel for Hubby. In spite of the rain we sat outside with our treats. It's the May long weekend dammit. Must... enjoy... food... outside... Actually, it wasn't too bad. The seats were sheltered, and the rain had pretty much stopped. That's another feature of the May long weekend... unpredictable weather.

Of course, exposure to the good stuff means the store-bought frozen treats just won't do. Solution? Make my own. The less-than-cooperative weather worked to our advantage in this respect. Our planned adventure to the Monster Truck extravaganza was out, but ice-cream making was in.  

I could have gone with a tried and true recipe, but where's the adventure in that? A comment by a friend at book club inspired me to try something new. She wondered if I had tried the Silk Road tea I served as ice cream. I had not. Hmmmm....

It seemed appropriate that ice cream made on Victoria Day be made from tea purchased in Victoria. 

Lullaby Tea Ice Cream

Adapted from the Vanilla Ice Cream, Philadelphia Style recipe in David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop 

1 cup whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp Silk Road Lullaby tea leaves
1 tbsp vodka
3/4 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

• Combine cream, sugar and tea leaves in a saucepan. Heat slowly, stirring occasionally until sugar has dissolved
• Remove from heat. Add milk and vanilla.
• Steep for 30 to 60 minutes. (Taste occasionally for desired flavour.)
• Strain out tea leaves. Add vodka. Chill.
• Churn in ice cream maker.
• Enjoy!

So Not Sophisticated

A while ago, I mentioned my longing for a black sleeveless dress like the one I had seen on Canadian company Miik's website. I still haven't found a similar dress, but I did find some Miik basics at one of my favourite local shops, be. I was so excited to try the items in person that I got carried away and bought three pieces. Kiss that tax refund goodbye!

I'm wearing my new Audrey wrap top below. Pricey? You bet, but I love how it feels and how it drapes.  I also like that the company seems fairly open about the making of its garments. And when the top is worn with a thrifted skirt and a hand-me-down jacket, the overall cost of the outfit is less than that of a fast-fashion equivalent. Or at least that's what I'm telling Hubby. 

I wore the outfit for a lunch date with Hubby yesterday.  We planned to go for pasta at Toscano's Trattoria, but when we got there it was closed. Oddly, about every second time we go there it's closed, yet it's always open when I'm in the neighbourhood on other business. Still it all worked out for the best. We ended up around the corner at Avenue Bistro. The food was great. I had the beef dip with frites. I don't regularly order fries when we're out, and when I do I'm usually disappointed and leave most of them. The fries at Avenue are so good I ate every one. With Hubby's help, of course. 

The people at the neighbouring table were quite amusing. They spoke with classic French accents. I had my back to them, but their dropped h's and rolling r's had me imagining French women à la Mireille Guiliano. The men, on the other hand, had us both flashing back to a fifth season Simpsons episode. Their discussion of the "shaudere" (aka chowder) actually had my normally circumspect Hubby smirking into his coffee. Yep, we're mature that way.

After our lunch we attempted a waterside walk. That was almost immediately rained out, so we topped off our Saturday date with our first gelato of the season at Benino Gelato. Frites and gelato. I feel so sophisticated. At least as sophisticated as someone who can quote the Simpsons can feel. 

For actual sophistication, head over to Patti's Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday. The cosmopolitan crew is sure to delight.