(Can not believe we forgot our camera!  This picture was taken with my cell phone, and so does not do justice to this most amazing meal)
I have wanted to do this post for some time now, and realize I have been stalling on this one.  Why? First, I am not a writer and second, I know I am doing a gluten free food/garden blog, but, I am also a privacy freak!   So here is the scoop: for the past year now my husband and I have been frequenting a most wonderful restaurant down the street from where we live.  I can’t keep this to myself, it is just too good, so have to share!  We live in a small coastal community outside of Victoria, British Columbia, called Sooke.  We are right on the beautiful West Coast of British Columbia, Canada.
You may have heard of Sooke, B.C. because of the World Renowned Resort:  The Sooke Harbour House.  Well, the chef at the Sooke Harbour House who has worked there for a number of years, and is well known in the Chef’s Food World, has opened his own Restaurant called The EdGe.  Ohhh, yes he did, bless his heart.  Chef Edward is an acclaimed chef, I could eat his food 24-7!  He has a small, casual restaurant right on the main strip of Sooke Road, can’t be missed.  We only have 3 traffic lights in Sooke, the restaurant is just before the 3^rd traffic light on the right hand side on Sooke Road.
Every meal we have had there has been unbelievably delicious.  And better than that….if there is a better than that….as a Celiac…..no worries…..there's always one or two meals, if not more that are Gluten Free.  And even better than that, no worries about cross contamination!  Yeaahhhh!
Here's the really good part, the Food, the Food, the Food!  With each meal we have had, we experience the most exquisite blend of flavors, seasonings, texture, aromas  that are true deliciousness.  This kind of cooking is an art, in the same way that a musician creates beautiful music, Chef Edward, creates delicious, beautiful food.
Now….for an embarrassing moment. (I might just go hide under a rock for a month or two) I had been called into work last minute, and with a full day scheduled I did not have time to pack a proper lunch, an apple, a few crackers with cheese, that was it.  Once my work day was over, I was totally starving.   We headed to The EdGe,  I ordered the grilled pork chop, with smashed potatoes and cumin creamed corn, this came with steamed broccoli, carrots, and celery.   Wow, was this ever good.  Okay, so I had an unconscious moment…. Tired, low blood sugar, excuses I know, but what can I say?  I was happily gnawing on the now bare pork chop bone, and running my finger around the plate to scoop up the extra goodness,  when I realized my husband was staring at me – mouth agape and then I felt something to my right, the waitress was in the other corner, grinning.  Oh yes, grinning.  I tried to muster as much dignity as I could, and then proceeded to remove the now bare pork chop bone from my mouth, and quietly placed it back on to the plate.  Sooo embarrassing --- but, dang it was delicious!
A month later, another most wonderful meal. I had the Braised Beef Short Ribs in a Tomato Smoked Paprika Sauce, with smashed potatoes, fresh broccoli and carrots.  Again, the blend of flavors, smokiness of the Paprika, sweetness of the tomato sauce, it was perfect.  My DH had the Crispy Tuna with Soya and horseradish sauces and green lentils, such an elegant blend of flavors.
If I could ask one question of Chef Edward, it is: What about Gluten Free Pasta?  A commercial brand like Tinkyada or better yet,  how about creating your own? Up for a challenge? Ok, that was two questions.
If you ever get  the incredible gift of coming to the beautiful West Coast and Sooke BC, give yourself an even greater gift: eat  at the EdGe Restaurant. Chef Edward’s creations are outstanding, you will not be disappointed, I am sure you will be as delighted as we are!

Why does it always seem when you go away for a mini holiday you eat more???  We had huge breakfasts...I'm talking big!
I always pack my gluten free pancake premix - so those are easy to whip up when we are away.....but there was bacon, eggs, sausages, pan fries......I guess you get the picture!

GOLDEN PAN FRIED POTATOES AND YUMMY ORGANIC EGGS
(This doesn’t really need a recipe….but….hoping my DH will see this, read through and surprise me one morning)  Honestly… I might be waiting a while, sigh!  He is a whiz on the computer, thankfully, or I would not be doing a blog.  He is also my favorite musician,....  his music touches my soul, but in terms of the kitchen..., well, lets just say he is shy!

Bacon grease
Leftover cooked baby potatoes (skin on and sliced)
A few slices of roughly chopped red onion
Sliced scallions
1-2 organic eggs

Heat the bacon grease in a cast iron frying pan on medium high heat.  Once the pan has heated well, add the onions, stirring to sweat out a bit, then add the potatoes.  I discovered the way to know when to turn them is by smell.  You will start to smell the carmalization happening – then turn them over and they should be lovely and golden.  Then add the sliced scallions, reserving some to sprinkle on the entire dish.  Once cooked, transfer to a plate, turn down the heat to low medium, and fry the organic eggs over easy.  I usually add a couple of sliced tomatoes to the pan to heat through as well.

Served with salsa would be yummy.

SO NOW.....THE EMBARRASSING PART.....lord help me!  You see, by nature, I am not an "out there" "social butterfly" "in your face kind of person".  In fact....I am more quiet and shy then people realize.  At times, social situations are all fine and good....but then sometimes I just want to hunker down in my own safe little world....sometimes even hermitize.  Is there such a word?

Well, I may as well spit it out.....The day we were leaving, I began to load up our belongings into the vehicle.  The Chalets we stayed in were right on the water....there is 5-6 in a row.  They all look the same.  Can you guess what I did?  Oh, heavens, help me! ...I was walking back to the Chalet, head down, deep in thought.  Rounded the corner, walked up the stairs, onto the deck, stormed through the door when someone said "Hello there".  I was soooo startled, looking up.....there sat a complete stranger!  I was mortified!  I walked right in like I owned the place!  Here was a pleasant looking gentleman sitting there with a grin on his face!  I said "Ohhhh,.... I beg your pardon,... my humblest apologies"

With that I turned around and "booked it" out the door so fast it would make your head spin.  So in retelling the situation to my husband....he sat there and howled!!!  Laughed his head off!!  I was mortified!  I can see the humor now, but I did not at that moment.  I thought okaaay...laughing...you just go ahead and laugh!

Finally we were loaded up ready to go out for breakfast and catch the ferry home.   Honestly, ...all I cared about was getting out of there real fast!  Did not want to run into that gentleman again!

We reached the restaurant, and enjoyed a lovely breakfast.  By now I was starting to feel better....maybe even see a bit of humor in the situation.  I got up to use the washroom, and upon returning to my seat, saw a lovely looking woman smiling at me.  I smiled back, but then realized,... she is really smiling at me.

I turned to look at her partner........Oh noooo, not again!.....there he was, looking at the menu grinning his head off!  I leaned over to my husband and whispered "Can we get out of here?"  He replies "But I'm not  finished my cappuccino yet, whats the hurry?"  I lean in and whisper in his ear...."Embarrassing!!!! So Embarrassing".

With that, he started grinning from ear to ear.....he was clearly enjoying this moment....lucky for him I didn't clobber him one!  But - he saved the day by drinking down his cappuccino and we were off, once again with me flying out the door.  My husband quickly on my heals.....now he is laughing even harder than ever.  I ran to our vehicle, jumped in and hid.

Oh yes...I was sooooo  ready to hermitize!  One thing is for sure.....when we go back there next year......I will pay very close attention to where my footsteps take me!  Just reading this, still makes me cringe!   Actually, I can sort of chuckle about it now.... well kind of,  just sort of,  well maybe... well maybe not quiet yet....but I'm workin on it!

On our 3^rd night of our Getaway …. We decided to go out for dinner.  Wish I could say it was good……it was horrible!  So disappointing, and last year it had been fabulous!  Well, we won’t do that again….we did discover another place we will definitely try next time!  So, after dinner, we headed back to the Chalet, to walk the beach at our doorstep.  Lovely – but in March our weather is unpredictable…it suddenly got really cold.

Luckily we had this to come back to:

Then to make up for a horrible dinner, I had the pleasure of hearing my DH “noodling” on his guitar.  Some of his best music has happened at times like this… “noodling”.   And to explain:  My husband is Mandolin trained, so any stringed instrument he plays, he plays in fifths…. This lovely baby, was custom built, and yes, it is a 5 string guitar. Not sure you will hear it’s depth on a computer…but here we go!   Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

P.S.  See that little gizzmo on the table?  It is a hand held, pocket sized recording device...this was all he had to record the moment!

Touch My Heart - Short Version - (c) J. Gawne

day 4 to be continued...

This was the view outside of our Chalet!  The sun was just coming out after having rained....and after that we had sunshine for the rest of our trip!
Now for a New Recipe - and that dreaded dang darn warped frying pan!
MARINATED CHICKEN BREASTS
You can’t go wrong with Marinated Chicken Breasts!  This was the 2nd dinner  we had on our “getaway” weekend.  It was sooo tasty, this is definitely a meal we will have many times!  I love it when you throw things together on a whim, and it turns out fabulous!
A super easy marinade, which I made at home and brought along in our cooler.  This was the marinade I posted for the marinated Roast Chicken, but here it is once more with the rest of the recipe.
Using a glass jar, combine: (the amounts here are estimations – eyeball and then adjust to taste)
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 finely minced garlic clove
olive oil – 3 to one ratio with the lemon juice
3 Tblsp. Gluten Free Soy Sauce
3 Tblsp. Of your favorite dressing (I used a Vidalia Onion dressing or an Italian dressing would probably work nicely too!)
Shake up well, place the chicken into a dish and marinate for 2 hours before cooking.
Other ingredients for this recipe:
2 large bone in skin on chicken breasts (any chicken pieces would be good)
1-2 Tblsp. Olive oil (I used bacon grease – I’m on holiday – it’s allowed!)
½-2/3 cup red wine
1 dozen cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1  3 inch sprig of fresh rosemary
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, medium heat.  Brown each side of the chicken breast, about 5-7 minutes per side then transfer to a plate and set aside.  Add the red wine – scraping up any brown bits.  Turn the heat to a low simmer, adding in the sliced cherry tomatoes, rosemary sprig and season with salt and pepper, then return the chicken to the pan and cover with tin foil. (The rosemary was really strong, so I removed it after 15 minutes of simmering time – but if you like a stronger flavor, leave it in longer)
Simmer another 45 minutes until cooked through.
Note:  Normally if I were at home, I would finish cooking the chicken in the oven....but this was sooo good - I will always make it this way.  Thank goodness I have good cook wear at home!!!  But that is another story!  Day 3 next....and a lovely surprise!

We had a lovely 4 day getaway that I wanted to share.....sights, food, (I hope sound, if my DH can make that happen?) oh....and one very embarrassing moment!  (if I have the guts to spill it!) Will do a post for each day.
Always when we travel, we rent accommodations that provide a kitchen.  I have learned the hard way....now it is the only way we travel.  I always pack extra gluten free food to bring with us:  pancake pre-mix,  bread, buns, pasta, some condiments, oh and of course....my toaster!  Usually, we will stock up on other groceries - fresh veggies, fruit, eggs, meat etc. once we have arrived at our destination.  On the day we leave, I always make sure we have had a BIG breakfast, I pack big lunches such as chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, Lara Bars, cheese and GF crackers, salsa and nachos to name a few things.  We have a great cooler, to keep things at the right temperature.  Life is soo much easier, when you plan ahead.  It does mean you pack a lot of extras but as  a Celiac, I won't travel any other way.  By making your own food.....you know it is good.....but more importantly, that it is safe.
I also learned another important lesson.  B&B's, Chalets, Cottages, are often equipped with the essentials for cooking - nothing fancy by any means, but enough that you can cook your own meals.  I had the unfortunate experience one time of getting sick....the dishes and pots and pans were not clean - so got glutened!  Now, I wash all the dishes, utensils, pots and pans before I use them.  (I also will not use any wood cutting boards)  I know this sounds like a drag....especially when on holidays, but for me....better safe than sorry!
This being said......onto our first meal:

STEAK ??????
Why the question marks?  I have not eaten beef in 15 years.  When I first began the healing process from Celiac Disease, I found I could no longer tolerate beef of any kind.  My body simply would not digest it.  So, we ate turkey, chicken, fish and sometimes pork and lamb.
Well, for about 1 year now, every time I see a cooking show that involves beef, I found myself drooling!  Then as time went on, I seemed to develop a huge craving for Beef.
Once we were off of the Ferry, we headed into town to buy a few groceries.  I stood in the meat aisle, looking at steak.  My husband was watching me…then quietly said:  “what are you doing??”  I thought for a moment and said “I want steak”.  He looked at me in disbelief…and slowly said “Okaaay”.  He proceeded to stare at me then said….. “Is my wife in there…. or have aliens taken over??”  I assured him, I was still “in there”, this was still "me" standing next to him.
We packed our food into the truck and were off to our A frame chalet by the sea.
Upon arriving…..kitchen was minimally set up…with a cook top, fridge, dishes and a few pots and pans.
I took out the frying pan.  It was a non-stick 12 inch pan….but the middle was warped – like it warbled and did not sit flat on the element.  Oh well I thought, having not cooked steak in 15 years, this would be interesting.
Steamed baby potatoes, steamed organic carrots and asparagus.  Then the STEAK with sauted mushrooms in brown garlic butter.  Oh, my, word!!!!!  It was heaven!  (I even woke up at 3:00 a.m. – and raided the fridge for more leftover cold steak – I couldn’t get enough!)  We finished off the meal with sliced fresh pineapple for desert.  Soooo delicious.
I know from experience….although beef is still rich for me, I had no problems at all…. what I will do in the future is have it once in a while.  Everything in moderation, right?  So glad we took a chance.  Yeahhh for Steak!!!!
to be continued....with a new recipe!