Before the snow flies, I thought that I should get around to writing my summer reflections.  I love many, many things about time spent at our little beach house “Life is Good”: beachcombing for glass and heart stones, family bonfires, strolls through the forest and glasses of wine at sunset.  Not surprisingly, my favourite times revolve around food and the time that my extended family and I spend preparing and consuming it.

This was one of our first sunsets of the season in early May before the leaves had even come out on the trees.

The lake was uncharacteristically calm on this evening.

One of our pastimes is “Robin TV”.  We get to experience two batches of eggs and babies each year when the robin families build a fresh nest on top of their former one.  The ledge of the window keeps them protected from wind and rain and when we are inside, we get a perfect view of the nurturing.

Our lake routine is that we make huge canisters of coffee for people that come and go.  D and J1 play tennis at neighbouring Grand Beach every chance they get, I go walking with the Wee One on the beach while J2 gets caught up on some much-needed sleep.  Then at noon, we make big breakfasts to stave off hunger until dinner time (or Happy Hour which is another lake tradition).

There is often a family member at our screen door inquiring if we want to join them for a walk or a meal.

On this evening D whipped up a batch of bacon wrapped scallops for us to contribute to happy hour at Sister #2’s place.  Her family co-inhabited with ours for years at “Life is Good” and have recently moved to their own place which is much larger and grander than our little beach house.  We teasingly call it “Resch Mahal”.

Sister #2 is an exceptional cook and we love their frequent invites for meals.  This is either her tequila chicken or a curry-sorry that I can’t recall.  The astonishing thing is that she doesn’t yet have a kitchen in their new place and made this on the side burner of their barbeque.

Back to “Happy Hour” for a moment…Our little treats with cocktails, craft beer or a glass of wine are typically simple concoctions from items that we have in the fridge or cupboard.  I had been sent a sample of Matt & Steve’s Extreme Beans  which I rolled with prosciutto and a slice of provolone cheese.  They were a big hit.

We take turns cooking meals for each other.  On this evening J1 and J2 provided a huge pot of their slow-cooked meatballs.

The next evening, Reb & Seb made us taco salads.

The Wee One approved of both.

This happy bunch was photographed at J2’s birthday dinner, which we celebrated on the May Long weekend.

Her request was anything grilled so D made his famous brined pork tenderloin and a bevy of grilled veggies.  We even had a grilled dessert-strawberries, pineapple and cake.

There seems to be more time for just doing nothing at the beach house-like Poppa and the Wee One playing in the hammock

or reading with another one of our little loved ones.

More of those big breakfasts……

and another of D’s grilled masterpieces.

It has been said that our gang can make a drinking game out of every activity.  Here we are playing “Drinking Scrabble”.

Daughter #1’s birthday was celebrated at the lake too.  Her only request was for a pasta salad so I whipped up a oriental one and we enjoyed an Asian grill.

Here was another get-together at Resch Mahal with my eldest brother D at the head of the table.

We always have D & P for dinner while we are on holidays.  Since we will be getting together with them for the first time on Isla Mujeres next spring, P thought that it might be fun to be introduced to island cooking.  So we got into the swing of things by getting out a few Mexican items.  This is an embarrassed Buddy joining in the party.  The life we live on Isla is very similar to our lake life so the theme was very appropriate.

Photos from both ends of the table.  D made Lavender Margaritas and I

coconut shrimp and chilies relleno (pictured here).

This is how you will find me most afternoons-sitting in the shade on the beach enjoying the breeze.

An August sunset.

One evening my Sis-in-Law and her sister invited me to share their Ukrainian dinner with them.  They are inseparable and both have places at Lester Beach.  When my brother Tom was alive, they called them Tom’s two wives.  We started with borscht

and continued with meatballs, perogies and holupchi-yum!

Later that week Wife #2 invited D and I over to watch the Emmy Awards with her (we don’t have conventional TV).  D made shrimp cocktail with these whopping shrimp!

I am not even sure who we invited over on this evening but D was at the grill again making Greek chicken topped with grilled tomatoes, olive and feta.

I often convince myself that the weather will soon turn and I have spent my last weekend at the lake and then lo and behold, I am there again and get to enjoy a bonus stroll down our beloved beach.

Everyone thinks Life is Good at Lester Beach including this little furry guy.

Kath’s quote: “Life is good when we think it’s good.”-Doug Horton

Love-that is all.

 

 

 

 

 

The Frenchman is now officially a part of our family.  The wedding took place on a glorious fall Sunday afternoon.  I have watched in fascination as they toiled to make their day one of love, comfort, joy, simplicity and hospitality.

Our family of “helpers”.

The objective was very intentional and with a vision shared by their bridal party, friends, family and the folks at Fort Gilbraltar, they beautifully achieved their goal.

The scripture quote below from Romans was read at their wedding ceremony.  It is also the theme of this blog space and is quoted on the “About”.  So how did Reb and Seb go about “practicing hospitality” on their wedding day?

They knew that they wanted to celebrate somewhere in St. Boniface.  Since Seb is French and Reb is Metis, the geography made perfect sense.  If you recall, Seb had proposed on the Provencher St. Bridge.  Their ultimate choice of Fort Gilbraltar as their venue had a great deal to do with the success of the day.  They were quite sure when they met with the expert staff at the fort that their vision for the day was embraced by all.

The room was soft and warm even before it was full of all the people who love the couple and had traveled from near and far to celebrate the day with them.

With personal touches like the decorating of the mantle, it felt like you had entered someone’s amazing home.

The outside space at the fort is almost as beautiful as the inside and provided a relaxed space for the kids to run around and the adults to enjoy the last warm rays of the setting sun.  Late in the evening a bonfire was lit and little paper bags of smore fixings were set out for a treat.

The split second timing of the wedding party entrance was absolutely magical and set the scene for the rest of the evening.

I decided that it would be crass for me to take photos of the food throughout the evening and so I don’t have specific details to share with you, except to say that Reb & Seb also wanted the eating portion of the celebration to be in keeping with their overall vision.  As a result, instead of having a formal sit down dinner or even a buffet style where people would be “stuck” at a table, they wanted finger food to be passed around for a considerable length of time so that guests would be satiated but unconfined during the process.  My personal favourite were the mini tortieres, both in theme and taste.  But the biggest hit was the poutine bar that was set up late in the evening.  Not only were the fries perfection (and you likely know that I am a French Fry snob) but the savoury gravy and the “real” cheese curds were sublime.  I am a purist regarding my poutine but I understand that the pulled pork topping was an enormous hit as well.

Of utmost importance to Reb and Seb was that the joy of the day would be captured in an informal and unobtrusive manner.  The fabulous ladies of  “Hello Love Photography” ensured that this was achieved.

Kath’s quote: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

Love-that is all.

The view from the 17th floor where we assemble each year.

Thanksgiving this year was especially poignant for me.  Perhaps it is the upcoming family wedding, perhaps the delight of having my Goddaughter home from Australia to celebrate with us, perhaps that my Mom persevered through another move to be with us, perhaps a sweet combination of all of these things.  Of particular significance though was the gratitude of being carried through some of the tougher moments that the year had brought us since the previous celebration of the harvest.  Surrounded by my family, my friends near and far, my church family and my neighbourhood, I realized anew how wonderful my life is and can be, even though it sometimes feels that I am crushed by its stresses.  As my friend Claudia (who is here right now) says: “There is always a hair in the food!”.

Our assembly this year was diverse with representatives not just from Australia but Japan (an international student living with a family member),

from the Wee One who is the youngest (and her adorable second cousin)

to our Mom and my bother-in-law’s Dad who is in his 90’s

with various generations of cousins in between.

When a family of over 40 gets together from all over the city, how does hot and tasty food make it to the table?  One of my sister-in-laws assigns the tasks and as we always say “Many hands make light work”-with different people assigned to prepare our standard favourites, designations to set up and take down and others to bring disposable plates and take out the garbage.

There is always turkey, ham AND meatballs, potatoes made with and without cream cheese and a couple of casseroles of green bean bake.

Over the years there have been many food “hits”, this year I may humbly put forward that my adaption of middle eastern sweet potatoes might have taken the most accolades.  The recipe is adapted from my new favourite cookbook:

The piece de resistance was Sister #3’s pumpkin pie.  Creamy and bursting with spices, she may make me a pumpkin pie lover after all these years.

Kath’s quote: “The king and high priest of all the festivals was the autumn Thanksgiving. When the apples were all gathered and the cider was all made, and the yellow pumpkins were rolled in from many a hill in billows of gold, and the corn was husked, and the labors of the season were done, and the warm, late days of Indian Summer came in, dreamy, and calm, and still, with just enough frost to crisp the ground of a morning, but with warm traces of benignant, sunny hours at noon, there came over the community a sort of genial repose of spirit – a sense of something accomplished.”-Harriet Beecher Stowe

Love-that is all.

With the arrival of autumn, our routine changes. Our travelling is done for another season and we no longer head out to the beach house every weekend. We re-establish our routine of Sunday dinners together as a family and we get caught on up the movie watching that we have missed since the previous Academy Awards. The guys are avid NFL fans so we also try to accommodate as much football viewing as possible. Sometimes when a Sunday afternoon game goes late, I have to whip up a quick nibble to hold us over until our designated supper time (they typically PVR the second game to watch after we are finished at the supper table). This is when having a variety of Smucker’s jams in the pantry comes in handy.

Both these savoury little bites are perched upon a leaf, reminiscent of the change of season. The first is a green romaine leaf. A generous dollop of Smucker’s Blueberry Jam is smeared on the leaf and then a glorious whole clove of roasted garlic is rested on the jam. Toasted pine nuts and a sprig of earthy sage follow and the entire little boat is a potpourri of lusty flavours.

A red leaf of radicchio is employed with the second bite. Complementing the claret colour of the leaf is a matching one from a smear of Smucker’s Raspberry Jam.  Creamy chèvre follows and then the surprising combination of dark chocolate chips and freshly ground black pepper. I first tasted raspberry, chocolate and pepper together at a now defunct Winnipeg restaurant called Victor’s where the young chef was not afraid to stretch our taste buds with exciting flavour combinations.

These are placed in front of my appreciative guys who have spent the afternoon in front of the big screen in the basement family room and need just a little something to tide them over until dinner time. I don’t join them as I am anxious to get back upstairs to visit with my girls but especially our granddaughter who has made the visit too.

Kath’s quote: “And the Quangle Wangle said to himself on the Crumpetty Tree,–‘Jam; and Jelly; and bread; Are the best of food for me!”-Edward Lear

Love-that is all.

Smucker’s Pairings for Fall Entertaining are a simple, easy way to create delicious food combinations with jam and other ingredients, designed to help you discover how fall flavours mingle together for mouth-watering results. Each pairing has 5 ingredients or less, and is ready in less than 15 minutes. Because with a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good.  For specific information on our jam flavours and varieties, please visit www.smuckers.ca.

Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Smucker’s foods of Canada via Mode Media Canada.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Smucker’s Foods of Canada

At daughter Boo’s recent bridal shower, I learned during Sister #2’s toast, where bridal showers originated.  Supposedly there was a time when a community would gather round a new bride if her parents disapproved of the groom and did not present her with a dowry.  Such is not the case with Boo’s choice of husband as we love the Frenchman and cannot wait for him to join our family.  Although these origins seem a little punitive and unforgiving, I think that showers are wonderful occasions.  If you happen to live in my extended family you are doubly blessed because we have some extraordinary event planners in our midst.  As one of the attendees indicated: “Lovely afternoon- the love and care was palpable. I honestly don’t know more sincerely kind women than the 3 of you! Well spoken, articulate, amazing cooks and beautiful to add!”

Here are Sister #2 and #3 (I’ll remind you that I AM Sister #1).  Sister #2 on the right has a twin but it is not Sister #3, even though they look so much alike.  Brother #3 is her twin.

Sister #2 managed the food and Sister #3 the décor.  When you are careful planners and divvy up the work, an event like this flows like the love that was in the room.

Hot pink and orange were the colour choices.

Orange for the season and pink for femininity.  Guests were invited to make date suggestions and offer words of marriage wisdom to the bride and groom.  What a simple but fabulous idea.

Sister #3 was also responsible for the cupcake wedding dress that was as delicious as it was beautiful.

Old school quiche is such a convenient lunch entrée.  They can be made ahead and heated up or are equally delicious luke warm (just make sure that you keep them refrigerated up until serving time and then get left-overs back into the fridge).

Salad varieties were: orange and romaine, Chinese noodle and Greek quinoa.  We have someone who is highly nut allergic in our family so she was walked through the ingredient list in advance.

Other “Aunties” contributed the salads for lunch.

Sarah said these took four tries-but now she’s perfected them!

the bridal attendants baked desserts and then did a great job with the flow of gifts to be unwrapped, itemized and displayed.

Faces in the crowd.

My two Moms.  My first Mom on the left (almost ninety) and my 2nd Mom since I married her son over thirty years ago on the right (almost eighty).  Both Moms know how to cook, how to give good gifts, how to stay looking young and how to be as full of joy as life’s circumstances will allow.  They have taught me well.  And soon Boo will have two Mom’s (well three actually).  I have shared in her mothering with Sister #3 and as of next month, she will officially be mothered by the Frenchman’s Mom as well.  I love being your Mom, Boo.

Kath’s quote: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”  ~Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally

Love-that is all.