Winnipeg is such a food-centric community that its Chefs are given celebrity status. Case in point: I have been following the career of Chef Michael Schafer since he medalled in the Gold Plates competition and re-opened a beautiful restaurant at The Forks, that being Sydney’s. Since then he has birthed Rudy’s, a downtown urban bistro and Sous Sol a funky basement restaurant that is as comfortable as being invited to a friend’s family room.

I was delighted when I recently received an invitation to a “concierge” evening at Sydney’s. When I rsvp to manager Carlos, he said “Food Musings, ah yes, Michael Schafer has been a fan of your blog for years”. Michael confirmed this when I finally got to meet him in real life, walking from the executive bus he had hired to escort us from Sydney’s to Sous Sol.

Michael has appointed another Chef Michael, namely Michael Robins to head up the kitchen at Sydney’s. I had met Chef Robins when I was writing a story about Sous Sol. He is another talented grad of the Red River College’s Culinary program. Winnipeg is blessed with so much gastronomic talent from the college. But, I am getting a head of myself.

As bloggers, Instagrammers, Free Press writers and concierges from a number of key Winnipeg Hotels assembled, we sipped on a fine sparkling white wine and the food started arriving.

Poached shrimp in a sweet chili and mango sauce and vegetable wonton with sesame dressing were both tasty but we (accompanied by Sister #3), were most impressed by the smoked gold eye crepe with caper aioli and pickled mustard seed. The seeds popped in our mouths like caviar. We agreed that it was the little things like those mustard seeds that elevates cuisine from “delicious” to “sensational”.

I snuck away to peruse the recent décor updates to the dining room. The goal was to relax the ambience a bit to make Sydney’s more appropriate for a variety of dining experiences. I think that the revamp is right on the money and have been encouraging friends to give the dining room a try for their Friday night dinner dates.

Once we had been escorted to our tables in the dining room more appetizers were set in front of an enthusiastic bunch. We loved the Manitoba trapist cheese selections and the Chef’s ode to McNuggets with clever duck sausage morsels to dip into honey mustard.

My personal favourite was the Beef Tartare with mini grilled cheese triangles for scooping up the silky meat. This was all served before we made personal selections from our customized menus.

Sister #3 chose the Charred Beets as her starter and she swapped tastes with me and my Mango Peanut Salad. Both wonderful.

The Tomato Bisque was also deemed delicious (must have been the bacon)!

A cleansing sorbet arrived and then we were ready for our entrees. Artic Char with lentils, greens, almonds and salmoriglio (a southern Italian condiment) was chosen by our table neighbours and they were happy to let us feast with our eyes.

Sister #3 loved her choice of Duck Breast with pickled butternut squash, golden curry and baby potatoes.

I am crazy about truffles and ordered the New York steak for just that reason. I was delighted with the squash and garlic mashed potatoes. The New York was perfection-pan fried in what I suspected was a nub of butter, just like my Dad always prepared steaks when I was growing up. He managed what became Maple Leaf Foods in Brandon and he knew his beef, so this is the ultimate compliment in my mind.

Thinking that I would love to go home and get into my stretchy pants, we were escorted by Schafer to his pet project-Sous Sol. He described how he distressed the space and furniture himself prior to opening. I love the cozy lower level space and would have been satisfied with a night cap, but Chef Michael Robins had been busy putting out some more satisfying nibbles.

Including the most divine lemon tarts I have ever tasted AND the piece de resistance of

mini crème brulees!

The evening from start to conclusion was a culinary treat and I am enthusiastic to return to both spots very soon (especially because D had plans that evening and was disappointed that he couldn’t join me).

Kath’s quote: “If you are a chef, no matter how good a chef you are, it’s not good cooking for yourself; the joy is in cooking for others – it’s the same with music”. -will.i.am

Sydney’s heart shaped crostini!

Love never fails.

Our final evening in Chicago, I suggested we check out a tapas restaurant not far from our hotel. We were sat by a window so that we could watch the world wiz by on Michigan Ave.

I loved my pear cider and another girlfriend enjoyed her cucumber mojito.

An amuse bouche of bruschetta arrived at our table. We agreed unanimously that we had come to the right place.

My traditional tapas choice of Montadito (small bread with topping) Escalivada (roasted eggplant) arrived first. We shared the crostinis which were also topped with white anchovies, roasted red bell pepper and whipped goatcheese.

Next up were Cepes (wild mushrooms)/ Butiffarra (Catalan sausage) enhanced by bacon marmalade! These too were delectable.

Our third plate to share was the Truita (rainbow trout) de Navarra (a province in Spain), with a crisp piece of Serrano ham, green beans and sherry aioli. Delish.

I added an order of Patatas Bravas just for good measure and remarkably it was the dish that I was most crazy about. When I have enjoyed Patatas Bravas at my favourite tapas restaurant at home in Winnipeg, they were presented like potato wedges. These plumb discs of potatoes must have been carefully formed, cooked and then patiently lined up on the rectangular dish. The smoke paprika aioli put the heavenly dish over the top!

The night was still young so we did some exploring in hopes of finding a gelato spot.

Kath’s quotes:“Short story collections are the literary equivalent of canapés, tapas and mezze in the world of gastronomy: Delightful assortments of tasty morsels to whet the reader’s appetite.” ― Alex Morritt

Love never fails.

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What else do we do to make summers special at the lake? We eat!

D loves to cook the entire supper on the barbeque, so as to not heat up the cottage. This was the last evening of our holiday: grilled pork tenderloin, squashed potatoes, eggplant and corn.

We often sit out at the table on our front deck. Dining el fresco is especially lovely when surrounded by the tall pines and birch trees.

When old friends joined me from Toronto and Vancouver the week that my Mom passed away, they did most of the cooking. I sat back and basked in their love and attention.

We take turns cooking when we are there on a given weekend. On this day Boo and the Frenchman were at it with freshly sliced pineapple and cinnamon and walnut French toast. Yes it was as delicious at it looked!

This simple meal was a particularly poignant one. The day that Mom died, Sister #3 and I stayed behind to pack up Mom’s things. Mom’s favourite meal was a tomato sandwich and she loved summer tomatoes that were ripe and bursting with flavour. She must have eaten half a tomato and had the second one wrapped and waiting for her in her little fridge. It would be impossible for me to describe the taste of that second tomato half.

Sometimes word gets around that we are all assembling at one of the six beach houses that my family owns. Sometimes it is for happy hour and other times it is at dinner time. You are instructed to bring along whatever you were cooking for supper and if you have enough to share “great”, if not, someone else is bound to have more than they need. This last weekend when one of my nephews hosted a games night, appetizers were brought along. They too were as tasty as they looked.

This weekend, was a little chillier and the wasps have driven us inside. We got out table extensions and folding chairs and eight of us assembled for an impromptu dinner of pickerel, shrimp, scallops, corn, potato wedges and green beans. Life is good, is very good indeed.

Kath’s quote: “Better is a dish of vegetables served with love than a fattened calf with animosity”. -Proverbs 15:17

Love never fails.

In Manitoba there are “lake people” and “beach people”. We are the latter. Our little place is not winterized. We have water and indoor plumbing from the May long weekend until Thanksgiving weekend. We like it this way. We have busy lives in the city and “Life is Good” (the name of the house) is the perfect summer retreat.

Time at the beach, defines our day. We fill non-beach days with other pastimes like reading, Netflex watching, visiting, walking and biking. But beach days are our favourites.

This is what the beach looked like last weekend. The water has receded and there are miles and miles of sand. We take up a lot of sand when all members of the family decide to accumulate at the beach. I typically plunk in the shade being fair and freckled. When D and I are on holidays, we love to take our coffee with us in the late morning and have a picnic lunch on the beach.

We love to do the crossword puzzles together and Doug will read the paper as I plow through a book.

We especially love this stretch of beach that we can climb over overturned trees and walk to. This area is actually the most eastern point of Grand Beach. When we are on the beach, we often do not see another soul, except in the distance. We consider ourselves especially blessed to have something so beautiful all to ourselves.

I love the patterns that water makes in the sand, the tree art that is everywhere; even the shadows on the shore.

But my all time favourite time of day, is when D and I will head back down to the beach with our beach chairs and wine “to go” cups and savour the last moments of the fading sun.

What a show! A sight that I could gaze at over and over and over again.

Kath’s quote: “Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” ― Rabindranath Tagore

Love never fails.

Today is the first day back to school and even though D and I are empty nesters, the day still marks a time of reflection. The summer was a bittersweet for our family.

JoJo with the Frenchman.

We got to know our newest Grandaughter that much better when the family would assemble on weekends. She was such a trouper, sleeping on the beach and filling the world with smiles and laughter.

Her big sister loves lake life as much as the adults. One evening she excitedly reported: “I got to go to the beach…at night time”! Here she is whipping us up a batch of blueberry pancakes.

Cousins have been an important part of life at Lester Beach commencing with our kids’ generation and now continuing with another. Here is the Wee One with her second cousin Serena. Last night while babysitting the Wee One, she said her prayers for her best friends, Serena included.

One of our collection of cottages is often hosting something or other. We celebrated six birthdays at the lake over the last couple of months. The pic above is at my brother’s 70th birthday. Even my Mom booked a cab to be there. She loved every single moment of that day. Every time I looked at her she was staring at the poplars rustling against a clear blue sky. Little did we know then, that she would be gone before the next birthday was celebrated.

In spite of our sadness, we did our best to celebrate the Wee One’s birthday when she lead us in a dance off!

I was alone at our beach house for my birthday. My Sister-in-Law and her Sister put on a little party for me (bless their hearts). We supped on Hawaiian Chicken and they even had my favourite Jeanne’s cake for dessert.

My nephew who was also alone at their cottage, picked me up (I was recuperating from surgery) and drove me to the lookout so that I could watch the sunset the eve of my birthday. I was touched by all the thoughtfulness of family members after a tumour was removed from my kidney. BTW-I was good as new in no time!

Like waves of Lake Winnipeg, sorrow and joy took turns lapping onto shore.

Kath’s quote:”There is something urgent I have to say to you and you alone but it must wait while I drink in the joy of your approach, perhaps for the last time”. -William Carlos Williams

Love never fails.