There's something about diners...

That makes for a great meal. And Lucy's Diner - just opened this week - is a great choice if you're in the neighbourhood.

It's in Vancouver trendiest new neighbourhood - Mt. Pleasant. It's tiny, the price is definitely right, and it's open 24 hours a day. Every day.

The menu is definitely diner food. I had meatloaf and mashed potatoes and my friend Heather had a fried egg sandwich, both of which were very good - although the meatloaf wasn't quite as good as mine.

The music was terrific - 50s and 60s tunes - all of which we knew and we spent much of the time guessing who sang what. I figured I was pretty safe saying the Beatles, Hermans Hermits or the Turtles and I won a few guesses. Heather, of course, is much better than me at this game because she's a real music buff. I like it but don't study it.

This is the kind of restaurant you go to after moving (which is what I was helping Heather with), or after the bar, or after a light tea with a friend that's left you starving. You can go there in the morning, or the afternoon, or the evening, or the middle of the night. It's sure to have the kind of food you crave - friendly food that makes you think of your childhood. Comfort food.

I love diners. What about you?

Kate

Kate's Rhubarb Cake

It's rhubarb season and this is my absolute favourite rhubarb recipe. I promise, you're gonna love it.

This is the only cake I make. I'm not a baker (I'm a good cook but a terrible baker) so if I can do it, so can you. I only make in rhubarb season and I usually only make it once because I love it so much I can eat the whole thing all by myself.





Preparation time:
1/2 hour after rhubarb is prepared.
Servings:
1 or many

Batter:
1/2 c. margarine
2 c. flour
1 egg
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. chopped rhubarb
1 tbsp. flour

Topping:
1/2 c. margarine
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. brown sugar (packed)

Rub margarine into sugar and cinnamon and set aside to sprinkle on cake top.
Cream margarine and sugar until smooth and creamy.Beat in egg and vanilla.Sift together floor, soda and salt.Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.Toss rhubarb with flour and mix gently into cake batter.Spoon into greased 13” by 9” pan.Smooth the surface.Sprinkle topping evenly over batter.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until the cake has risen and browned and comes away from pan sides. Top will be rich, dark brown and gooey with a wonderful cinnamon aroma.



Enjoy!
Kate

Comfort foods

We all have comfort foods and they're probably all from our childhood. I fall back on mine when I'm especially tired, when something bad has happened, when I'm worried about something.

This isn't good because almost all of my comfort foods are things that come ready-made in a package. Not healthy at all - I just don't think about all the calories and chemicals that are involved.

Kraft Dinner, which I understand is now only available in Canada - at least the original is. And I NEVER add hot dogs or tomatoes or anything. I love the orangeness of it, the saltiness of it. I don't add milk either, just butter and the cheese and, occasionally, a little bit of pepper. And I eat the WHOLE package. At one sitting.

Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee ravioli. I don't even have to heat it up. I'll eat it directly from the can.

Cold hot dogs (and I mean uncooked straight from the package). Roll them in a piece of bread and add mustard - French's yellow mustard. Excellent.

Beans (preferably Heinz in tomato sauce) on toast (preferably whole wheat with butter). This is such an English thing - almost everyone I know who grew up with an English parent eats this. AND it's healthy - lots of fibre.

Soft-boiled eggs with toast soldiers. Another English thing.

Cheese and yum-yum pickles and stoned wheat thins. The stoned wheat thins are my nod to healthiness - when we were kids we probably had Ritz crackers.

Anything that can be eaten by hand is a comfort food for me - in fact, I have a tendency to turn most meals into finger food - especially if I'm alone.

My favourite meal as a kid was lunch or afternoon snacks at my English grandmother's house. There would be sliced tomatoes, buns, several kinds of sliced meats and cheese, pickles of one kind or another. Not a lot of vegetables on that table. Butter tarts, those tiny little English candies called Dolly Mixture - which I still see once in a while and always buy, Licorice All-sorts. Hmmm, all my favourites.

Tell me what your comfort foods are and I'll send one of you some English candy.

Kate