Pass the bread, please...

Here's the conversation:

"Pass the bread, please."

Bread basket is passed, the butter follows. Bread and butter meet. Bread enters mouth.

"This is really good rye bread. Where did you get it."

"Terra Breads."

"Hmm... it's good. Have you tried the rye bread from Cobs?"

"Yes, but they don't always make it. The Cobs on Broadway stopped making it altogether and the one on Fourth Avenue makes it only every third Tuesday when there also happens to be a quarter moon."

"Venice Bakery used to make really good rye bread, but it's not as good anymore. The rye bread from Costco is pretty good though."

"Costco? You're kidding, right?"

"No. It's surprisingly good."

"I've heard about a bakery on Fraser street, somewhere near 57th, that's supposed to make good rye bread, but I haven't tried it."

"I heard a rumour that there's a good one in Coquitlam at Burquitlam Plaza, but they only bake rye bread once a month and you have to order ahead.

***

Okay, maybe this conversation isn't quite accurate, but there's a standing joke in our house (started by my non-Finn husband) that no gathering for a meal of my Finnish family is complete without a discussion of rye bread and where to find the best loaf. I guess you can take the Finn out of Finland, but you can't take the rye bread out of the Finn.

Despite my being a born and raised Canadian, I can't quite shed my Finnish roots. I love many things Finnish: a good, hot sauna complete with a leap into an icy lake so cold that breathing momentarily stops, a slice of cardamom scented sweet bread still warm from the oven and, best of all, good rye bread.

Before we settled on Metchosin for our experiment in converting ourselves into organic farmers, we had been searching the Cowichan Valley for property. While we didn't find the land we were looking for, we did come across a fantastic source of rye bread: True Grain Bread. In this small bakery in Cowichan Bay, some of the finest bread that I've ever tasted is baked. And while many a loaf are excellent, the Ring 'o Rye is the best. But, they don't bake many of these beauties and they aren't open Mondays or Tuesdays, so if you want to sample it, get there early Wednesday to Sunday. And, while you're there, you might as well stay for lunch. Stop next door at Hilary's Cheese. You'll find some outstanding locally made cheese layered onto bread from True Grain, as well as the best soup I've tasted that hasn't come out of my own soup pot.

Recently I was in need of rye bread and we all needed a bit of an excursion after being snowed in for many a day, so we made the hour drive to Cow Bay. We weren't disappointed. A few bowls of soup and many loaves of bread later and all was well in the world again.

For your viewing pleasure, I offer you a look at a Ring 'o Rye and how it should be served. Now, doesn't that make you want to be a Finn?