Walk Widely. Eat Wisely. Live Gratefully.
Yesterday was Christmas tree day…the local Lions Club had set up shop in the parking lot of our nearby grocery store. We stopped first for some provisions, including some delicious-looking peppered smoked salmon, from St. Mary’s Bay.
So this morning, surrounded by the gorgeous smell of balsam fir in the house, we made smoked salmon bennies on homemade English muffin loaf. We’re all set for a day of decorating. On a day like this how can we help but feel grateful?
Silly season has begun…when our workdays are busy but we also have social events every night. The food choices tend to be highly caloric and low on nutrition. This week our solution has been to keep snacking to a minimum, then make something satisfying when we get home, like this delicious salmon risotto. Sorry for the low light, but candles make every day better!
Back from a long walk in preparation for a busy day, I thought some French toast would be nice. But alas we were out of bread. My resourceful husband seized on an idea. Why not use up that leftover panettone that has been lurking in the freezer since Christmas? If you live in an Italian neighbourhood, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll receive one of these eggy breads over the holidays, and frequently, multiples. They’re often studded with raisins or dried fruit, and hold together beautifully when dipped in egg and cooked. We had ours with a bit of sliced banana and some Canadian maple syrup. Today’s gonna be great!
…A cup of hot coffee and homemade hot cross buns!
Time to fuel up so we can finish making the bunny cake and get to Mass!
As local grocery stores begin to stock spring vegetables from distant producers, it can be tempting to fill the table with fresh green foods like asparagus. But St. Patrick’s Day or thereabouts is a good time to remind ourselves that there are still delicious ways to serve the carrots, cabbages and potatoes that are the staple of Canadian winter locavores. In our case we heated and puréed the leftovers from Saturday night’s Boiled Dinner. Then we stirred in a little cream we picked up at Better Bulk, and garnished with a few carefully-hidden slices of corned beef.
Last night, a lovely, if smaller, family dinner. And this morning, a chance to relive the memories over a plate of corned beef hash, topped with a nice fresh egg. One more meal to go out of last night’s Boiled Dinner…for lunch, Potato and Cabbage soup.
For the breakfast: in a nonstick skillet or seasoned cast iron pan, cook a chopped mix of whatever veg are left over, with a small dice of any leftover corned beef (if there is any!) when it’s getting nicely browned, make a small hollow for each egg and tip them gently in. Cover and cook until the eggs are done as you like.
Next…off to Mass and then to prep for the afternoon ceilidh.
It’s been said that St. Patrick’s Day was given to the Irish as a break from the sacrifices of Lent. Whether or not that’s true, one thing is for certain: around here St. Patrick’s Day means Boiled Dinner. Whether the family gathering is large or small, we cook a bit pot of corned beef with onions, carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Somehow no matter how much meat is set aside to make hash the next morning, it is somehow stolen by leprechauns and only the vegetables remain. Still, they make a lovely soup, combined with the cream left over from the Guinness cake.
Slainte!
Lent is nearly here. As usual, that means that just as we need to be taking stock, counting our blessings, and engaging in some introspection, the world of work is starting to get spring fever. Of course our personal commitments are also on the upswing. Projects are underway, and to-do lists are multiplying. One way to slow down the hamster wheel is to simplify wherever we can. Like Friday’s fish dinner…the perfect way to put the brakes on a hectic week.
Simply prepared, the meal includes black cod, cooked in a little olive oil and butter, and dressed with a squeeze of lime juice. On the side, a salad of local greenhouse veg (lettuce, tomato, cukes, green onion) topped with a couple of spears of visiting asparagus. For the dressing:
1T/15ml olive oil
1T/15ml Maille Dijon with hazelnuts and nutmeg (or add some nutmeg and ground nuts to your own mustard
1T/15ml sherry vinegar
I feel calmer just remembering it…
Christmastime at our house always involves tourtière, usually on Christmas Eve, after Mass. The year we moved to the walkablefeast Neighbourhood, I went shopping at Royal Beef for my ingredients. I didn’t see any ground pork, so I asked the butcher. And do you know what he asked me? “Are you making tourtière ?” and ” What mix with the beef, 50-50? Because I can just make that up for you.”
Those are the sort of touches that make you know you’re at home, even if your “real” home is miles away. And they’re also what make you want to be a small shop shopper, and turn in your big box membership forever.
Even though we’ve been featuring all sorts of gorgeous treats around our house for the last few days, sooner or later calmer heads must prevail. So for lunch, we made this delicious Turkey Avocado Salad. Next on the agenda, a long, calorie-burning walk, before heading to another holiday open house…