My Favourite Places on Vancouver Island: Cathedral Grove

Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island

Living Forest Trail, MacMillan Provincial Park

Location: Vancouver Island, Hwy 4 between Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni (map)

Parking along either side of Highway 4

Time: About two (leisurely) hours, could be shorter if you’re in a rush

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Cathedral Grove!  A pretty, lyrical name that I think suits this little gem of a spot very well. True, not everyone loves Cathedral Grove. To placate the naysayers and to keep everything on the level, I thought it might be apropos to start things off with a quick run down of what Cathedral Grove is not:

1. While hiking is listed as one of the activities to be enjoyed in MacMillan Provincial Park page on the BC Parks site, I believe it’s fair to suggest this is based on a somewhat broad interpretation of the concept of hiking. I expect most will see this as more of a ‘stretch your legs’ kind of experience and not a hiking destination.
   
2. A visit to Cathedral Grove isn’t a ‘get away from it all’ kind of experience, unless your interpretation of getting away from it all includes encountering people.  Possibly lots of people.  To be more precise, possibly lots of tourists. Depending on the time of year you visit the grove, the parking lot and trails will likely be moderately busy to crawling with people.  Furthermore, you should be aware that at most points along the trails winding their way through the grove you’ll be within eyeshot and/or earshot of Highway 4.
   
3. Cathedral Grove is not the only spot on Vancouver Island to view stands of tall Douglas Fir…though it is one of the most accessible spots. I believe taller samples of Douglas Fir can be found in the Nimpkish River Ecological Reserve

Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island

 Per aspera ad astra

Now, let’s cut the doddling and get down to the nitty-gritty with the stellar details! These trees are massive and they’re 800 years old!!! 800 years old!!! To us colonials, 800 years is virtually ancient.  Practically before the universe began. Nay, for intensive purposes, truly before the universe began! America had yet to be discovered, after all.

Beyond being massive and ancient, the trees of Cathedral Grove are beautiful. In my books beautiful enough to warrant the two hour plus trip up Island from Victoria to spend a couple of hours checking them out.  If you’re going to make the trip I’d recommend stopping at the Old Country Market in Coombs, BC (a.k.a ‘Goats on the Roof’) to pick up some snacks and/or taking a side trip a little ways off the highway to the best pub on the Island, The Crow and Gate Pub in Cedar, BC. Order the Cheddar Ploughman. YUM!

Sasquatch checklist: A few music festival packing tips for my friends

Crowd shot of the terrace at the Gorge during the National concert at Sasquatch 2010, a photo by theotherlondon on Flickr.

One week to go to the Sasquatch 2011 music festival and the excitement is almost too much to bear! While the big draw at Sasquatch is, of course, the stellar line-up, a close second is the opportunity to take it all in whilst surrounded by the majestic glory of the Columbia River Gorge. Gobsmacked I tell you!! As with all experiences in the great outdoors, one must be prepared.

If you're wondering what to bring, here's a few things I'd suggest:

• Sunscreen
• Warm clothes for chilly evenings
• A small backpack to bring your stuff to the festival grounds in
• A blanket to sit on...no chairs allowed
• A point and shoot camera...no pro cameras allowed
• Snacks
• Rain gear (just in case)
• Earplugs (if you’re planning on sleeping in the campground)
• Hand sanitizer and wipes

Sasquatch 2010 photos by theotherlondon on Flickr.

Things I learned at SXSWi 2011, part 4: Optimizing content for mobile

Things I’ve learned about making pies

My first strawberry rhubarb pie.

A while back my friend Andrea came up with the awesome idea to get a group of our friends together  on a regular basis so we could teach each other things.  It’s of course also an excuse for us to meet up to enjoy a few beverages and some conversation, but that’s not the main point (at least that’s our story and we’re sticking to it).

Anyway, Andrea started us off with a flower arranging party (if this perks your interest and you live in the Victoria, BC area, check out the workshops at the floral shop Andrea co-owns with her mom, Poppies Floral Art). Next, our friend Carole introduced us to the art of making wontons. Yum!!  We’ve also gotten together to decorate mirrors and dye Easter eggs.  For my contribution, I promised everyone I would organize an evening of group pie baking.

That was over a year ago.

An explanation in my defense

I most recently proposed holding my pie baking soirée in June, but I don’t think anyone, least of all me, is overly serious about the idea that this will actually happen. 2 months ago, I proposed a spring date that has since come and gone.  Yes, this is a recurring pattern. Now before you go passing judgment and blaming me for being a serial friend-disappointer, I want to point out, in my defense, that it has proved extremely difficult to coordinate a night that works for everyone during a week when I have time to make enough pastry dough for 10-15 pies. 10-15 pies!!

Anyway, I fear the time has come for me to rethink my skill-swap strategy.  That said, in the interest of not completely dropping the friendship ball where passing on pie making skills are concerned, I thought I’d offer this post:

How to make pies

Notice I’ve titled this section, ‘how to make pies’, not ‘how to make A pie’.  If you’ve resigned yourself to being a one-off pie baker, I can tell you right now, your pie will probably suck.  How can I be so certain? Well, one of the innate qualities of pie pastry is it’s ability to recognize undedicated novices. Seriously.

Choosing a pastry recipe

I don't believe it really matters which pastry recipe you choose. I’ve tried a few different ones with fairly consistent levels of satisfaction – in the beginning, every recipe I tried produced somewhat miserable results and, with those false starts behind me, every recipe I’ve since come across has been pretty all right. As of late, I most often use the recipe printed on the label of whichever brand of shortening I’ve purchased. The only additional recipe-related comment I would offer is that, despite any claims you might come across, ‘no-fail’ pastry is a pipedream.

Tips for making pies:

• Keep your shortening in the freezer and when you’re ready to use it, cut it into sugar-cube sized cubes before adding it to the flour.
  
  
• When cutting the shortening into the flour, don’t worry about making sure the ingredients are well and uniformly mixed. The less you fiddle with the mixture the better. As outlined in most recipes, stop when the mixture begins to resemble crumbs and small peas. I’ve learned that stopping a little sooner- when the mixture begins to resemble flour with crumbs and peas of various sizes - works too.
  
  
• Wrap your pastry dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest in the fridge before rolling it out. I usually let dough rest a 1/2 day or overnight.
  
  
• Wrap your rolled out pastry dough around your rolling pin and unroll it into the pie pan.
  
  
• Unless the fruit you’re using is super tart, use 1/2 to 3/4 the amount of sugar the recipe calls for.
  
  
• For fruit pies, assemble the ingredients for your pie filing and let the mixture sit for a bit (at least 15 minutes), then drain off the juice before placing it in the crust.
  
  
• Add a little additional flour, corn starch or tapioca to your pie filling. I usually put in an extra teaspoon or two if the fruit seems very juicy.
  
  
• In my experience, the easiest kind of pie to make is apple.  If you’re trying to decide what type of filling to put in your first pie, go for apple.  Strawberry rhubarb is pretty easy too, but don’t forget to drain the juice before placing the fruit in the crust.

Links to pie filling recipes I've tried and liked:

• Apple pie 
• Apple berry pie
• Strawberry rhubarb
• Strawberry
• Peach
• Lemon meringue pie
• Chicken pot pie

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With thanks always to pie baking superstar, Corrie Huys and her son Baasje who gets the first slice of every pie I make.