Inquiring minds wanted to know . . .

Whew! Sorry for not being here yesterday, but our router went down on our computer late Saturday afternoon and it was not until late yesterday afternoon that we were finally able to get back on line, a journey which took umpteen telephone calls to support and several trips to PC World. It's all fixed now for the time being but what a concern it was. I had not realized just how big a part of my life having the internet was, until I didn't have it anymore! The internet is my main form of communication between myself and my family back in Canada and I don't know what I'd do without it. Well yes, I do . . . it would be horrible . . . having to wait weeks and weeks for letters to pass back and forth. The huge expense of telephone calls . . . it just doesn't bear thinking about!

I thought I would get back to those lovely questions you asked the other day if you don't mind. I really have enjoyed answering them thus far and will continue today.



Prudy from Prudence Pennywise wanted to know: (Check out her page. If that music doesn't get your toes tapping you are not a human being! Great recipes too!)

I'd like to hear more about the favorite foods your mother prepared for you as a child. I'd love to hear about your family background-parents, siblings, grandparents...

My mom was a simple, old fashioned cook, but a very good one. She was not allowed to use much in the way of spice because my dad said that his mother had only ever used salt and pepper and, ever the dutiful wife, that's what my mom used too, although I know that she would sometimes sneak a bit of oregano into things in later years, and my dad never noticed one iota.

One of my favourite things she prepared was her homemade meat pies and stews, oh . . . and her pea soup. It was legendary. Her baked beans were the best!! We could always tell what day of the week it was, by what was on the menu, and kids from near and far clambered to be invited for dinner on Friday nights . . . which was hotdog night! (My mom made the best hotdogs. She got those bread buns with the soft sides and she would butter them and toast them in her grill until they were crisp and buttery browned. She would then slit the hotdogs down the middle and open them up like a book and they would get the same grill treatment. Mmmm . . . my mouth is watering just thinking about them and it's only 5:45 am!!!)

I have a wide and varied family heritage, but lets just say, my father is French Canadian, pure and simple, with a bit of American Indian thrown in for good measure. We have traced our family tree on his side back to the first ancestor who came over to North America in the 1600's in the name of Phillippe Amyot and his wife Anne Covenant. They came from France. My dad spoke French for his whole life until he joined the Canadian Military, then he had no choice but to learn English. He never spoke French at home, probably because my mom was English and didn't speak French, so as kids we never learned any more of the language other than what we learned at school. As a consequence, there is a whole half of my family that I am hardly able to communicate with. Kind of sad really.



My mom was an English speaking girl from the Valley in Nova Scotia, which is where she still lives now. Her family had lived in Nova Scotia for quite a few generations. One of her ancestors, Boyd McNayr arrived in Halifax in the 1700's when he was only 8 years old, having been dropped off to stay with friends by his father, who was a sailor in the King's navy. His father was never seen again. He married a valley girl, Rachael Beals and they lived in Lawrencetown for a time before heading out to the South Shore. There are a lot of other ancestors . . . Loyalists that came up from America during the American Revolution, German immigrants that landed on the South Shore, Irish and English . . . Scots . . . a typical melting pot of an heritage on that side.



I have one sister and one brother, who both read this from time to time. Between the three of us we have given my parents a total of 13 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren to date! (And I'm happy to say another one is on the way!) My parents divorced back in the 1980's, but have remained really good friends. Sometimes that's just the way it is. You are really good as friends but as a married couple . . . well, lets just say it doesn't work at all . . . full stop. My dad now lives back in Quebec where he is close to all his brothers and sisters and my mom, well, she is still a Valley Girl.

(whew! That was a long answer! I think I got a bit carried away there!)



Gloria of Canela's Kitchen Recipes wanted to know: (she is such a sweet girl and leaves the nicest comments. I love her to bits! She's from Chile in South America and has such a cute accent! Not that I've heard it, but it shows up in each one of her comments and I just adore it!)

Hubby and I believe but we share our faith with the childs but I believe too in any person have a road to arrive to God Home, what you think dear???

Gloria, I have often heard it said that God doesn't have grandchildren, He has children, and we each one of us have to make our own way back to Him. As parents we have a responsability to train up our children when they are small and to instill a love of the Lord in them then, and after that it is their choice what they will do for them. Faith is such a personal thing. It is something that we each have to choose for ourselves, and as much as we may want our children to have it, it is, at the end of the day, up to them. It's the same with spouses. I prayed for years, when I was married before, to have my husband become a Christian and share my faith, and I mean that literally. I spent almost 22 years on my knees. It never happened, but I do have a husband now that shares my faith with me and it is a beautiful thing.

My children . . . some of them are committed Christians and some of them are not, but they all believe in God and in the Saviour Jesus Christ. They are, each one of them, making their own way back to their Heavenly Father. My church very much believes that families can be sealed together forever in an eternal ring of love and faith, in a chain that reaches all the way back to Adam. Will that happen for me?? I don't know, but I do have a great faith in my Heavenly Father who knows the precious desires of my praying heart, and who will grant all things to those who pray in righteousness and faith, and so I trust ultimately in His goodness . . . always.

Bunny of Bunny's Warm Oven I will get to your meme later this week!

Peter of Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond by Peter Minakis . . . you rascal you!!! I'll have to do some research on snails and get back to you! It is not something I have ever desired to eat myself. I started off as the Pastry Chef in a big hotel back home called the Old Orchard Inn way back when I was still wet behind the ears. I was responsible for all the appetizers and the desserts. One of the things I had to prepare was the Escargots . . . a task that made me almost gag back then and is not any more appealing to me now. But I'll see what I can do!



Another reader Judy A. wanted to know:

I have begun to wonder about your passion for cooking and baking.(It has to be a passion since you come home and cook or bake after doing so all day for others!) Was it fostered by a grandmother or mother that loved to cook/bake or did it occur after you were a young woman?

I come from a long line of good cooks Judy. My grandmother was a great baker and simple cook, and in fact both grandmother's were. My English grandmother cooked a mixture of farm food and German Dutch food, which was my grandfather's heritage. My grandfather on that side, used to even make his own sauerkraut and smoke his own hams. They had both grown up on farms, so it was simple, hearty and delicious food. My French grandmother, on the other hand, cooked food that was completely different, and yet still simple and delicious. I had a wonderfully tasty and rich childhood which included such tasty dishes as simple soups, stews and farm fare as well as wonderful tourtiere's, creton and cipate. One gran made big fluffy pancakes and the other delicious crepes. . .

I have loved food and cooking ever since I can remember, and spent a great deal of time looking through and memorizing my mother's cookery books when I was a girl. I also started clipping recipes from out of her old magazines at a very early age. My mom was not a lady that liked anyone in her kitchen helping her out, but we were welcome to sit and watch and I watched regularly! As a teen I started buying my own cookery books, and of course took cooking in Home Economics at school (One of my favourite subjects!). My mother went out to work full time when I was 11, and by the age of 12, I had been charged with starting the supper up when I got home from school, which at first consisted only of re-heating food that she had already prepared. I soon started cooking things from scratch though, and I have never looked back since.

You are right when you say that it must be a passion for me, for it has ever been so! (and my waistline shows it!) I just love food and cooking it . . . and unfortunately eating it too!!! I have been lucky enough to have wonderful mother's in law through the years who taught me a lot, and also friends who were wonderful and shared my love for cooking and taught me as well. I have always associated cooking for others with the act of sharing love for others, and so it is only natural that I would want to share that with my readers. I did train as a chef, but will get to that later on. I was a stay at home mom for over 22 years and during that time baked countless cookies and cakes and casseroles and entertained many, many people at my table. I could go on and on, but I won't!

I fear I have once again run out of time!!! I will have to continue this for another day. I am really enjoying this and I hope you are all enjoying it as well.



Is this a Pie? or is this a cake??? Is it a Pie Cake??? You decide . . . I can only say for sure that it's delicious! My Make Me Bake Poll winner from last week, Lemon Meringue Cake, another tried and true from my Old Blue Binder folks!

*Lemon Meringue Cake*
Makes one 9 inch cake. How many it serves is up to how greedy you are and how large you cut the slices!



Imagine a moist and tender cake base, topped with a sweet and tangy lemon filling . . . all covered with a sweet and fluffy meringue . . . delicious! *Note - I use large eggs for this.

Cake:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg, plus 2 egg yolks (save the whites for later)
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp lemon essence
Filling:
2 egg yolks (save the whites for later)
1 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup plain flour
finely grated zest of one lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 TBS butter
pinch of salt
Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round baking pan. Set aside.

Make the cake base. Cream together the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the egg yolks, mixing in well. Beat in the vanilla and the lemon essences. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir this into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and from the pan to a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling, stir the flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt together in a saucepan. Beat together the egg yolks and lemon juice and stir this into the flour mixture, mixing until smooth. Stir in the water and then cook, stirring constantly, over medium high heat until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Lower the heat and cook for several more minutes, stirring the whole time. Stir in the butter, mixing it in well. Set aside to cook for a time.

To make the meringue, put the egg whites and the cream of tartar into a scrupulously grease free bowl. (I have a metal bowl that I use just for this) Beat with an electric whisk until soft peaks begin to form. Continue to beat whilst slowly adding the sugar until the mixture is stiff and holds strong peaks.

Place the cake on a large plate that will go into the oven safely. Place the plate on an oven tray. Spread the lemon filling almost to the edge of the cake. Take the meringue and completely encase the filling and the cake on all sides and over the top, swirling it attractively. Place the oven tray into the oven. (still at the same temperature) Bake for about 10 minutes until the meringue is nicely browned all over. Remove from the oven and set aside to cook before serving to some very lucky people!