family supper I

Swedish meatballs, roast ham, asparagus and sautéed peppers.
Blueberry pie for dessert.
My Mum is a great cook.

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prairie

Last week I spent a day with my family in the country, near New Norway, Alberta. The dogs ran around, we tidied up my maternal relatives' graves, picnicked, walked, talked, and I made a list of the names on the gravestones: Rudy, Signe, Dorothy, Edith, Gladys, Florence, Agatha, Anna, Julia, Sophia, Freda, Greta, Eva, Inger, Arthur, Walter, Esther, Oscar, Peder, Beatrice, Cecil, Ruth...
I love it out there -the calm of it and the time, as Mindy put it, to absorb "that windswept prairie beauty".


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a really nice belgian beer

ORVAL is brewed by the Trappist monastic community. We enjoyed a bottle the other night at an unexpected eatery. Lovely.

amusements

On my oldest nephew's birthday we went to Duchess Bake Shop for saskatoon pie and banana cream pie, then to Galaxy Land for rides (read: whiplash). Then to A.'s for a delicious supper and birthday cake.

Happy 13th Birthday Carter! Love You Lots.

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Last week I lent a hand to C. and W. who were catering a wedding. It was held in an orchard in the Eastern Townships on a perfect August evening.
Beautiful food: salmon mousse canapés, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, ceviche, duck rillette with blueberry chutney, pork tenderloin stuffed with date, handmade wild mushroom ravioli...

We had fun.

the apricots

and peaches are incredible right now.
Planning some canning for coming weeks: tomato sauce, dilled carrots, peaches, apricots, and hopefully later in September a team of apple pies for the freezer.

Queen Anne's Lace

is everywhere in the Eastern Townships now.

Taverne Square Dominion

Taverne Square Dominion. We had a really really nice supper there the other night under low light. It started with magnificent basil and rye cocktails and ended with a delicious sticky toffee mocha something. In the middle was a braising, a perfectly broiled fish filet, and an endive salad with roasted pecans and gentle Rochefort.

pulled and coled

Roasted pork shoulder and a cabbage/carrot slaw. A joint effort toward a perfect summer meal made even more perfect for having enough to enjoy over a few days.

I can't speak about the dreamy pulled pork (a secret recipe) but I used this recipe from Jamie Oliver as a basis for the coleslaw. I've been getting into Jamie's America lately.

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