LOVE LETTER TO BUTCHART GARDENS & THEIR AFTERNOON TEA! PLUS A GINGER SCONE RECIPE.

I just recently returned from a trip to BC, Canada and Alaska so I thought it would be nice to try and impart some information that I garnered on my trip. The center photo is the sunken garden, upper right mirror ball in the rose garden and the other photos Dining Room Restaurant, afternoon tea.

I live in Idaho so driving to Vancouver is only about a nine hour trip (time the trip to avoid Seattle traffic and the busiest time at the US/Canada border). We spent a few days in Vancouver before a cruise to Alaska and then a ferry over to magical Victoria before heading home.  The three most iconic scenes of Victoria are (in my humble opinion) the Empress Hotel, The Parliament buildings and last but not least Butchart Gardens. This was our first trip to the garden we made sure to make reservations for afternoon tea. Even though it was July, a beautiful sunny day and crowded it was still wonderful and to call it just a garden is really a disservice as it is so much more, it is simply stunning.  The tea was just lovely starting off with a delicious seasonal berry trifle with layers of sponge cake, blackberry compote finished with Chantilly cream.  Served in small individual compotes.  Then the three tiered tea rack with both sweet and savory, served with a choice of tea - we chose the 100th Anniversary tea. One of the items I loved the most was the ginger scones and they share the recipe.

 

Ginger Scone (makes 10)
1½ cups All purpose flour
1tsp Baking powder
1tbsp White sugar
¼ cup Crystallized ginger (chopped)
1/3 cup Unsalted butter (cubed)
2 Medium eggs (fork beaten)
½ cup 2% Milk

Method
Set oven to 350°F
Blend flour, baking powder, sugar and crystallized ginger together.
Use hand cutter to blend in butter cubes until crumbly.
Add eggs and milk until all ingredients are combined (being careful not to over mix).
Drop by large tablespoon on parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush the tops of the scones with an egg wash and then sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until light brown

The other thing that I most loved was the trifle and the recipe is NOT given out so I will make a humble attempt to recreate this awesome treat sometime soon and if it turns out I will share the recipe for sure!  There are also options for children and gluten free selections.

*A BIG THANK YOU TO BUTCHART GARDENS FOR FEATURING THIS POST ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE!

 Beautiful sign at the entrance to the gardens.....

Along every path are beautiful flowers, the inpatients, begonias and petunias were just a riot of beautiful color. I passed a wall of sweet peas the scent brought me back to my childhood.

A little rustic cabin over the sunken garden, a great place to view the gardens below.

Beautiful pond and latticed cottage outside the dining room restaurant.

Another iconic item in Victoria and all around the Butchart Gardens are hanging baskets.  They sell seeds in their gift shop and my husband bought several packages (OK to bring back to US as long as the seal that they put on the package at the gardens is not broken, you just declare at customs).  They sell a package of seeds for hanging baskets and I look forward to giving them a try for next year as well as several other floral varieties.

Butchart Gardens was on my bucket list, it not only did not disappoint, but was oh so much better than I expected, so even though I get to check it off the list, I hope that I will visit many more times.

Resource

Butchart Garden Hours

Whether you’re planning to visit this season or later, there are always interesting things to see and experience. During our peak season (July and August) we can experience congestion on our paths and facilities between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm—many visitors enjoy coming late afternoon and staying on to dusk to enjoy Night Illuminations. Our ever popular Rose Carousel begins 1/2 hour after opening.
The gardens themselves remain open for one hour after the admission gate closes.
We have a no smoking policy throughout The Gardens, however we have two designated smoking areas.

Spring
March 1 – 31	9 :00 am – 4:00 pm
April 1 – June 14	9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Summer
June 15 – August 31	9:00 am – 10:00 pm

Autumn
September 1 – 15	9:00 am – 9:00 pm
September 16 – 30	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
October 1 – 31	9:00 am – 4:00 pm
November 1 to 30	9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Christmas
December 1 – January 6	9:00 am – 9:00 pm
December 25	1:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Winter
January 7 – February 28	9:00 am – 3:30 pm

 The garden is located at:

800 Benvenuto Ave, Brentwood Bay, BC V8M 1J8, Canada

+1 250-652-4422

Thank you for stopping by.

  

QUIRKY SKEWERS

At least once a week during the warmer months we will BBQ on skewers.  This year we have a new item in our BBQ arsenal - new skewers from Quirky.  What is different about these skewers is that they have a slide that pushes your food off of the skewer, making it so much easier.

 For this meal I used a small pork loin cut into nice size chunks, big chunks of red, yellow and orange bells and Vidalia onions, I sometimes add quartered firm tomatoes.  Whatever you like, personal preference.

My marinade is as follows (or variations of this, depending on what meat we are using and my mood), personal preference.

Marinade

1 cup red wine
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup EVOO
1/3 cup soy sauce
 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, white and green, chopped
Several sprigs of parsley, chopped
1 t pepper
1 t red Tabasco sauce 
3 T dried basil or several leaves of chopped fresh basil
1 t garlic powder

Mix all ingredients and marinate for up to 8 hours

Alternate meat and veggies on the skewers and BBQ

Super easy to slide the meat and veggies off this skewer.  Served with stir fried fresh asparagus & onions and mushroom risotto and crusty French bread.

Resource

Quirky Skewers, Quirky 14-inch Slide and Serve Skewers, Set of 4

Thank you for stopping by.

GIFT OF LEMONADE TO MAKE!

This cute, inexpensive bottle can be used for home-made vinegars, any of the home made vodka drinks, etc. or in my case I used it to make yummy, very concentrated lemonade - make by using fresh lemon juice and simple sugar. Simple sugar is = parts sugar and water. Just add the sugar to water in a saucepan bring it to boil to dissolve the sugar and then let it cool.  Add the lemon juice (remember very concentrated) and using a funnel add the lemonade to your lovely jar and give it with a bottle of sparkling water, the two combine to make a very refreshing drink. Especially good if you have access to Meyer lemons. This is my FAVORITE summer hostess gift.

I like to pair the gift with a nice bottle of sparkling water because it is the sparkling water that makes this so refreshing. If the person you are giving this to likes a cocktail the lemonade makes a great vodka drink (especially pretty in a large martini glass). Personal preference. Remember the lemonade needs to be very concentrated and sweet to stand up to the addition of the sparkling water.

 You can either copy and paste this label into your favorite program or use the "print/pdf" button on the side of the blog and print out on a waterslide label, follow the instructions and adhere to your bottle.  You may use any glass bottle, recycled mayo bottle, Mason jar, whatever you like. If you don't want to go to the trouble of making a waterslide label you can just print out several of these on one 81/2 x 11 full page label.  The big difference will be that the regular label will not last like the waterslide label that is clear and gets a clear coat after applying. This will be appreciated as a gift or looks really cute on your drink cart or area set aside for drinks. Set up a little lemonade area for kids outside and put out a big bowl of maraschino cherries with stems and lemon slices for them to adorn their drinks with, you could add a little red food color to the lemonade so the kiddos have pink lemonade - works for adults too.

Resource

Bottle, my bottle IKEA but you can find these at specialty & import stores like World Market

Waterslide label, Bel Decal Waterslide Inkjet Paper Clear 5 Sheets per package

Eiffel Tower label, Link

Full Page Label, Avery® White Full-Sheet Labels for Inkjet Printers with  TrueBlock(TM) Technology, 8-1/2 inches x 11 inches, Pack of 25 (8165)

Thank you for stopping by.