THE FREE PRESS STYLE LIFE FEBRUARY 11, 2001 B5 Heritage at Huble Sweet singing valentines The Sweet Adelines chorus always provides the soundtrack for Valentine’s Day in Prince George. The harmony group offers a quartet each year for surprise visits to sweethearts. It is always a popular gift, for the lovers involved and also for the onlookers as the Sweet Adelines singers burst into song in the middle of offices, worksites, classrooms or wherever the object of your desire happens to be. “We find it especially interesting singing to the men. Some of them get really embarrassed; some even cry," says Dody Morehouse, one of the quartet members. “We go to strange places like garages, the pulp mill, restaurants, people’s homes...it is a very emotional day. We have lots of fun.” The quartet costs $25 to hire. They will go wherever your special Valentine happens to be, sing a song of love, present a candy rose and leave the recipient of their Valentine-gram in a state of melt. Get your sweetheart Wine and dine sweetheart at home Want to wine and dine your Valentine in real style? Celebrate at home with a menu of affordable luxuries you can make almost entirely ahead. Commence your romantic dinner with a champagne toast and some spicy Califor-nia-style seviche. Follow with the main course—chicken breasts with mushrooms and Madeira — which only looks complicated; it can be assembled entirely ahead and baked just before dinner while the side dishes cook. California-style seviche Allow the fish to “cook” in the fresh lime juice for at least 5 hours before serving it. 8 ounces white-fleshed fish, such as rockfish or red snapper Juice of 2 large limes 1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped 1 small jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 2 green onions, finely chopped 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1 medium whole line, halved 1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced 1. Remove skin and bones from fish; cut flesh into 1/2-inch cubes. Place in glass bowl; cover with lime juice. Cover bowl and refrigerate until fish turns opaque (at least 5 hours). 2. Drain off excess juice; combine fish with tomato, chile, oil, salt, pepper, onion, and cilantro. Squeeze the lime From the COOKBOOK halves over mixture; toss. Garnish with sliced avocado before serving on chilled salad plates. Serves 2. Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Breasts With Madeira These can be prepared early in the day and refrigerated until needed. Serve them with rice pilaf and steamed vegetables. Two boneless chicken breast halves, skin intact Salt and paprika, to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 cup Madeira wine 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced 3/4 cup whipping cream Mushroom Stuffing 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 shallot, finely chopped 1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, finely chopped 1 tablespoon flour 1/4 cup whipping cream 1/4 teaspoon salt Pinch of cayenne powder 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives before he/she gets you! The money raised by the Sweet Adelines quartet goes to offset the costs of travelling to the Sweet Adelines competitions and singing events around Western Canada. The Prince George chorus is almost always in the winner’s circle because of their high vocal standard and sense of showmanship. To book the Sweet Adelines quartet call Dody at 964-4537 and send the gift of song (and surprise!) to your dear heart. 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a shallow ovenproof pan that can also go on top of the stove. 2. Wash chicken; pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and paprika. Lay each breast skin side up on work surface. Loosen skin by sliding fingertips between skin and meat. 3. Insert half of mushroom stuffing under skin of each breast, concentrating stuffing in middle of breast. Fold under skin and meat to form a neat dome. Brush skin with oil. 4. Place breasts skin side up in pan. Bake on center rack of oven for 30 minutes. 5. Remove breasts to platter; cover with foil and keep warm. Discard all but 1 teaspoon of fat in pan. Place pan on top of stove over medium heat, add Madeira and reduce by half, loosening any browned bits in pan. Swirl in butter; add mushrooms and quickly saute. Pour in cream and continue to cook, stirring con stantly, until liquid is thick enough to coat back of a spoon. Adjust seasoning. Pour sauce over chicken breasts. Serves 2. Mushroom Stuffing: In saute pan over medium heat melt butter. Add shal lot and cook slowly until soft but not brown. Stir in mushrooms. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally, until all moisture has evaporated (10 to 15 min utes). Sprinkle flour over mushrooms and cook, stirring constantly for 1 or 2 minutes. Pour cream into pan, mix thoroughly while bringing to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Use at once or refrigerate until needed. History is on our heels every day of the year, but there is a week dedicated especially to the past. Heritage Week comes around every February and people look forward to this opportunity to celebrate the past. Prince George has a reputation for respecting its heritage, making this a special week indeed. Heritage Week runs from February 18 to 25. This is the first year that the Huble Homestead will have activities for the public during Heritage Week. The historic site north of town is usually closed for the snowy season, but they are taking the initiative this year as a sort of test run for future winters. Everyone is invited out on Sunday, February 25 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. for pioneer-era activities...as long as the weather is no colder than minus-10 and no big snowfalls occur the night before. “With the new Salmon Valley Post Office exhibit on-site starting next year we will be able to do more things because we will have heat, so we won’t need this minus 10 clause,” says Amanda Cole, spokesperson for the Huble Homestead. She stresses that all events at Huble are contingent on the weather. Their answering machine (564-7033) will let callers know the status of the day. If the weather co-operates, they’re going to let the old times roll. There are also Huble Homestead events in town at Art Space during Heritage Week. From February 21 to 24 the Huble Homestead will co-host an exhibition of hand-made quilts. Local quilters will hang some of their work at Art Space and do quilting demonstrations. “There’s been a lot of long-time support between us and the quilters,” Amanda says, and nothing says winter tradition like a thick quilt. The public can get an inside view of the Huble Homestead plans when the Huble Homestead — Giscome Portage Heritage Society holds a special open house at Art Space on February 23. Meet with society members, find out about the coming year, listen to music by Derrick McCandless and enjoy treats from their soon-to-be-released cookbook. Children have a special day at Art Space to enjoy pioneer activities on February 24 starting at 10:30 a.m. This also takes place at the Huble Homestead downtown office at Art Space. There are also Heritage Week events going on at the Prince George Public Library. The most eminent occasion is the presentation of the Jeanne Clarke Local History Award on February 18. This annual award goes to people who stand out for efforts in preservation and/or presentation of local history. It is the library’s 20th anniversary in their current building, and an exhibit of newspaper articles, photos and other commemorative items (there was some controversy at the time of building!) is open for the public through the month. Loving Spirits at Our Saviour A concert of classical and Christian music will be presented February 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Christ Our Saviour Church (4514 Austin Rd. & South Kelly Rd.) The "Loving Spirits Concert" features 20 local artists in one evening. All proceeds go to fund O'Grady High School. Tickets are $12.50 each or $10 for students/seniors. Call 962 8835, 962-7239 or 962-8324 for more information. Jill Bishop, Dody Morehouse, Angela Mummery and Maureen Morgan are voices for hire. John mckenzie/free press