A Gale on Both Sides of the World

brisingamen writes today about the high winds in Britain. Here on the far side of Canada, on the Pacific coast, we too are experiencing a gale. A heavy south wind, which is unusual for this time of year, when our prevailing wind tend to be westerly or south-westerly (we learn to fear "outflow" winds from the east in winter, not because they come from Mordor, but because they most often bring snow). I was woken with a jolt this morning by my window blowing open with a bang; luckily it didn't make the dogs bark, but Robinson got up and shuffled around edgily - he still hasn't quite got over the Halloween fireworks. A huge branch of a great Gary Oak in the park had blown down - luckily noone was under it at the time - and there were news shots at lunchtime of a large oak tree in, guess where, Oak Bay, burning down. I didn't catch whether this was as a result of lightning or fireworks or some other cause but it's sad in any case...

Brisingamen was also writing about her comfort food, leek and potato soup. Strangely, I had been thinking about making a thick _onion_ and potato soup for the weekend, and yesterday made one of my favourite comfort casseroles, a kind of tomato version of scalloped potatoes. You cook onions and garlic together with either chopped fresh tomatoes or I usually use a good quality can of diced tomatoes and lots of basil, parsley and some oregano. Then you layer that with thinly sliced potatoes and grated cheese and bake in the oven until the potatoes are all soft and have absorbed the tomato juices - it is good if you pour a little extra tomato juice over it so it is really soft and gushy. Serve with a green salad and some bread if you really want a carb fix. Yum :)