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.

Just down the street from the Hotel Puccini was another place recommended by the hotel owner Patrizia. She was very excited about the re-opening of the restaurant that very day. We took her recommendation and checked out The Fishing Lab by San Francisco. While there we saw her and her husband arrive for dinner as well. The facelift of the décor was fabulous!

We had a tricky time figuring out the menu but eventually decided upon Tuna sliders on pretzel buns to share. They were excellent but I was saving room for the delectable treats ahead.

I chose the Frutti di Mare salad. There was a little bit of everything on my plate. The seafood had been tenderly poached and then tossed with just a hint of dressing. Simple tastes: pure & clean.

D’s sea bass in salt was hand carved at the table by our handsome server. D’s dish too was simple and wonderful.

Our server told us the story that the fish served at the Fishing Lab was from the same boat for the past 23 years (as long as they had been opened). I suppose the saying: “Why fix what isn’t broken?” would apply here.

Although D and I had imagined fish with tomatoes, olives, cheese and pasta while in Tuscany, we were really impressed by the expert fish offerings.

Why the Fishing Lab by San Francisco, you may ask? I read this story on their website:

San Francisco is Montecatini Terme’s history: the place to go from the second half of the 1950s onwards when the rich and famous from the entertainment world and the international jet set flocked to it.
And, in accordance with Fishing Lab’s ‘style manual’, the name was kept on when the restaurant was restyled for our new concept.
The restaurant is ‘easy chic’ making even the most exacting client feel at home: the lower ground floor room creates a more intimate atmosphere without losing any of Fishing Lab’s trademark convivial feel.

Even though D and I are empty-nesters, I still remember a time when this last week of summer holidays was so stressful. Not only were we running around purchasing jeans, sneakers and ballet tights, but I was dreading lunch making, let alone nutritious dinners. I would have loved a guide like the one the Wal-Mart has put out. The link is here.

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of shopping, prepping and food styling for Katie the editor of Living Well magazine and the spokesperson for Wal-Mart when she touched-down in Winnipeg for appearances at both Global and CTV.

In both of these cases lunch and dinner can be prepped at the same time: deconstructed nachos & baked enchiladas and bacon salad & bacon & tomato wraps.

With the third recipe you get three meals-Hawaiian pizza, lunch kebabs and pineapple & granola yoghurt. There are even more recipes at the link above.

I truly wish that time did not march by so quickly. Next week the Wee One starts nursery school!

Kath’s quote: “Fussing over food was important. It gave a shape to the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner; beginning, middle, end.”  ― Robert Hellenga

Love never fails.

Having been connected to the hospitality business in Winnipeg most of my life, it is difficult to surprise me with a restaurant that serves food that I have never tasted. But such was the case with Saperavi (709 Corydon Ave.), the first Georgian restaurant on the prairies. This is a statement made on their website and I for one would not dispute it.

My good friend who once lived in Georgia was my dining partner on the evening we visited. After once eating Georgian food in her home, I had to look up its location on a map. Bordered by the Black Sea, Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia is a mountainous country with a rich history.

Since I could not even pronounce most of the items on the menu i.e. Chkmeruli, I let my friend make the decisions for our meal. She explained to me that there are as many Khachapuri recipes from Georgia as there were provinces and regions of the country. Saperavi’s version dubbed-Adjaruli, was a cradle of freshly baked shiny-surfaced bread stuffed with a cheese that resembled a mild feta and a partially cooked egg. As the egg was stirred in with the cheese, it continued cooking and provided a gooey mass of deliciousness. She demonstrated how to break the bread around the edges into pieces to scoop up the egg and cheese. I had a hard time sharing, as I kept snapping off hunks of bread until the dish was quite literally gone.

We had a difficult task choosing between the traditional Khinkali (dumpling) filled with pork, beef, onion and herbs and the Mushroom Khinkali containing mushrooms and mint, so we ordered both! My friend educated me that the more folds there were in the top of the dumpling, the more skilled and practiced the cook was who prepared them. I loved them both but especially the latter as it reminded me of a mushroom turnover that my Mom would make at Christmas time.

Lastly we chose Shashlik which resembled a Greek souvlaki and was equally fine. I look forward to visiting again when I may have room to try their eggplant stuffed with walnuts and cheese.

Both the owner and his son came over to check on us and ensure that we were enjoying our evening. “Enjoy” was an understatement. I was so impressed with the inventiveness of Georgian cuisine but also the skill that went into the preparation of Sapervai’s dishes.

Kath’s quote: “Exotic, mysterious, unique.” Describing Georging food on a Georgian website.

Love never fails.

Confession time-I have an addiction to renovation shows. My current favourite is Fixer Upper but truly, I love them all. I also love cooking shows, not so much the contest ones but following a home cook in their own kitchen. Pioneer Woman is particularly fascinating because I understand that she started with a food blog just like me. Recently I found a book that combines both my loves. Recipe for Disaster is the story of Anneke as she is forced (due to a lost job and a break up with her chef boyfriend) to live in as she renovates a historic home in Chicago. I was on my way to Chicago so it was serendipitous. As she is demolishing the kitchen she finds the notes and recipes of the house cook that was once employed in the grand old home. She uses the culinary journal to teach herself how to cook. She also relies on the diary to provide practical advice concerning her complicated life. I found this aspect of the novel to be a wee bit hooky, but because I was dawn to both subject matters, overall I enjoyed the read a great deal. Here are a couple of culinary excerpts:

At the end of the day, the difference between being a cook and just cooking is your ability to assess your resources, and make something out of nothing. Any fool can follow a recipe and end up with something edible. But until you can open the larder and see a dish come together in your head, till you have an innate sense of what flavours are good friends, you are just cooking. You cannot call yourself a true cook. Page 240 Used without permission.

I whole heartedly agree with this notion. I feel like a bona fide cook each time I prepare a dish that we call Refrigerator Soup in our house. I typically start with a mire proix, add some stock and then start chopping and throwing things into the pot.

Bread is the staff of life. If you can take, water, yeast, salt and flour and make it into bread, you will never starve. And if you find some skill with it, a loaf and a lump of sweet butter, maybe a jar of preserves, that is a feast worthy of any king. You can be a very good cook without serious skills in pastry art, as long as you can throw together a simple biscuit or cake to end a meal sweetly. There are quality goods in cans and jars available for sale or trade with neighbours, so if you don’t need to stock a cellar for survivial, you don’t necessarily need to can or preserve. But you cannot be a good cook if you cannot put forth a decent loaf of bread. Sometimes, when the stomach is tender, bread is all one can manage to eat, and sometimes when the heart is, it is all one can manage to cook. Page 299 Used without permission.

My Momma patiently taught me how to make bread- a tradition that I hope to pass along to my girls.

I understand that Ballis has a number of culinary themed novels under her belt. Stay tuned, as I read through the collection and mark the pages of some exceptionally fun quotes.

Kath’s quote: “I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.”
― Stacey Ballis

Love never fails.