Pear mincemeat tarts

Art and I are busy cleaning up the diner and in one of the deep freezers we found a big box of unbaked frozen tart shells. I was going to throw them out because I'm not sure how old they are but before doing that I wanted to test one out. I won't use them for the public but if there is nothing wrong with them I'll use them at home. I baked them with the pear mincemeat I made a few months ago and the tart turned out very well and the mincemeat is very tasty. I nice blend of spice and crunch and not too sweet.

Very tasty but a bit too big..I'll keep the tart shells but I'll make quiches instead.

Feeling like a hypocrite!

So...I'm opening up a diner...HMMMM!! Exciting? Yes. A good idea? Maybe. Good for my community? Not so much. Staying true to my beliefs? Not at all.



What do I mean? For a long time I've worked towards simplifying, being self reliant and being kind to this Earth we all call home. It's always been my dream ... homesteading! Well the dream was alive and well when I had a paycheck every two weeks. I assumed the company I worked for practiced it's business in an ethical way. I guess I just thought about the way I wanted to live my life and not so much about the company I worked for. But now the buck starts and stops with me. Will I conduct my business in an ethical and moral way? Will I do anything to make a dollar?


I'm asking myself how a diner with not very healthy food is going to work? How am I going to feel good about it all? The health regulations don't easily allow for cloth hand towels, I hate single use anything....Paper napkins and placemats, take out containers...


Bleach and other chemical sanitizers are encouraged..vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda are virtually unknown.


On a positive note - I have decided to try and use local food where I can, not easy during winter, but I will try. And I will try my hardest to shop locally rather than having a National food supplier deliver to my door in an effort to keep my neighbours employed. The local butcher, fish monger, bakery and grocery store will supply my food and miscellaneous supplies. It won't be easy, it will definitely take more time, and it might turn into a logistical nightmare but I'm giving it a shot.


Food waste will be go to my chickens, my neighbours pigs and I will compost whatever I can.

Tomorrow I'll be visiting my local farmer's market..I heard there is a seller who is certified to sell her home made jams made from her homegrown fruit and I want to source out some locally baked sourdough bread, I heard it's also very good. Well wish me luck!!!

Very frugal dinner

While I was employed I committed to volunteer at my church once a month. Which does not seem like much but now that I'm no longer employed and venturing into self employment I find that I have very little spare time. My diner is not open yet but I'm really bogged down with health and building inspection details, elbow deep in paint and I'm so tired by the end of the day...that an evening volunteering at out parish bingo seemed, well very daunting, none the less I made a commitment and stick to it I will.

But..we still have to eat so here is my dinner tonight: sliced pork tender loin with mushrooms, peas and corn in a wine garlic sauce tossed with homemade whole wheat pasta...Not bad for a quickie dinner when tired...and it's very cheap to.

Truth is...leftover pork, veggies and gravy from the night before and I used fresh pasta I had in the fridge from last week. I just love the "cook once, eat twice" idea.

Around the neighbourhood

The West Coast of B.C., also knows as the wet coast, has experienced one of the wettest Novembers in history. I think we had 25 or 26 rainy days out of 30, dismal...through it all my husband walked Seiko, our dog, in the morning, and I walked him in the afternoon, although not very enthusiastically. But finally the weather broke and we have sun, glorious sun...

Sunset Park with the sun streaming in. The picture is very dark but I'm not much of a photographer...

See Winchester the lama on the right hand side? I usually run into him when his mom walks him in the afternoon.

Looking Northwest towards Vancouver Island as I left Sunset Park.

And again looking Northwest at Harwood in the forefront and Vancouver Island behind it.

In the back lanes of Vancouver

We found this gem.

With three other pieces, a vanity with no mirror, a small desk and another dresser. All old, all hard wood, even the bottom of the drawer and the back of the dresser is hard wood, no pressed board and all free. Very cool and so lucky we drove by at just the right moment.

Painting and cleaning still continues on the diner but it's coming together.

Carrot Cake

I was asked to bake a little something for our church bazaar but I honestly could not think of anything to make. It seems that all my efforts and all my waking moments are committed to my new diner. But I promised and a promise is a promise so I looked at the Joy of Baking. It quickly became my favorite site for all of my baking. I've tried several recipes and have never been disappointed. I decided on carrot cake because if it turns out well I'll make it for my diner as well..one square carrot cake for the church and one for me...everyone is happy.

You can find the recipe here. The picture I took looks NOTHING like the one on the website but I am 100% sure it tastes just as good. The cake is moist, flavourful and very easy to make and I did not change or substitute anything.

Magpie's Diner

Opening Soon - Magpie's Diner

These are the before pictures and with some new paint and a good scrubbing the joint should look pretty good.

The menu board

Table and chairs.

The blue will be yellow...soon.

The fryer will be between the grill and stove once the electrician gets it all set up.

We hope to have the diner renovations done by early next week and then I can start trying out my recipes. Stay tuned.