Rolled Up Red Pepper Bread
The smell of roasting peppers is irresistible. I have observed this fact over the past few years, and yet still manage to be amazed by it every time. A person walking into your kitchen while you are busy roasting peppers, is sure to be dumbfounded by the exquisite aroma emanating from your oven. I made this bread twice. The first time I followed the original recipe, which called for mixing the peppers into the bread. This is all very nice, but I ended up with a wet mess that was impossible to knead, and a bread that took forever to dry out in the oven. The second time I made…
Phelix Hut: J. R. R. Tolkien Lives On
The well known author of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy supposedly died in 1973. However, in a small almost unknown corner of southwestern British Columbia, J. R. R. Tolkien lives on. I know this since I visited his snowy throne. Yes, with my comrades I scaled the steep ice walls of his castle, to stare face to face with the literary giant, and to view his kingdom, or failing that, at least his magnificent creations, notably: Gandalf, the white bearded wizard, his fearless and fast as lightning horse Shadowfax, and Aragorn, the tall warrior. Together, they make quite the bunch, or group of mountains, it depends…
Cuba: Cycling Journey to the Land of Socialism and Endless Coconuts
When you think of Cuba, what do you think of? Perhaps Fidel Castro, Cuban cigars, cheap rum, old American cars, communism and the US embargo come to mind. But the experiences we had, such as riding alongside more horse carts than cars, gulping coconut after coconut given to us for free and watching kids ride to school on a tractor, never failed to surprise us, and gave us a glimpse of another Cuba. A Cuba that keeps marching on to its own special drum, despite huge obstacles that have been put in front of it (thanks in large part to Uncle Sam). Not all Cubans are happy, naturally, but Cuba,…
