Blog catch up day.

New Yorker - Finished at Last
We got our last New Yorker on our subscription over the weekend. I was only one behind at that point but I sat down and plowed through both issues and now I'm done. No renewal for us, I like the magazine but it's too much -- I'm going to read some books for a change.

PIE CRUST BREAKTHROUGH
After troubleshooting my pie crust for the past couple of months I think I figured out part of my problem. One of my foolproof pie tips said to be careful not to use too much water. So all this time I've been adding the most skimpy amounts of water. This last pie I put the entire amount the recipe called for -- didn't even add a tablespoon at a time, I just poured it all in and hey, what do you know. The crust actually held together. I guess it was a little tough. But at least it went into the pie plate without a struggle.

HOLLAND CLOSES
Just because a restaurant has been around for a long time and lots of people go there doesn't mean it is good. Case in point: The Holland. This was a restaurant in downtown Vancouver and we've been there for breakfast a couple of times -- usually because it's a convenient place to meet the in-laws if there are relatives in town. I never liked it. I'm completely challenged when it comes to breakfast foods I will eat so I was pretty much limited to the oatmeal and even that was icky. Last time I was there it had obviously been sitting under the lamp -- nice skin on top. I mean, come on, how hard is it to serve an edible bowl of oatmeal? But my reasons for not liking it go beyond that and now that I'm sitting here typing this I can't even articulate them.

We drove by there a week or two ago and the Holland was closed and I didn't didn't feel sorry. There was an article in the paper and Bob saw it and asked why they closed it and I just said, "Because it was a bad restaurant." I didn't even read the article.