Pause a Moment

When the world falls away, what else can you do but pause a moment to think of your own little world?

We are in a haze at the moment, with smoke from forest fires to the west and the north drifting into our valley of paradise. Depending on which way the wind blows, the smoke hangs on one side of the valley or the other.

When I got up this morning, everything but our little domain had disappeared in an eerie sort of brownish fog. I could see the vegetable fields, and the farm market at the end of the street, but the town and hills beyond were gone. There was no sign of the lake and what was usually beyond seemed a figment of my imagination. In the air was the scent of ash, charcoal – like the melancholy smell that signifies the end of an evening bonfire.

I suddenly felt a rush of gratitude. Here I was walking casually with Ella, having just stopped to nibble berries from our bushes in the front yard. I watched the young crew picking cucumbers and zucchinis from the fields to be sold at the farm market. So peaceful. But with an underlying sense of foreboding. 

I was struck later in the day too, by a story shared from someone I know of their recent tough  family times. They were stoic, and gave the advice “Hug your loved ones. Hug them hard.” I was heartbroken for them in their difficulty and also inspired by their ability to carry on. Using love as a force in life, a way to sustain oneself, is quite possibly the best diet you can adopt.

I’m using today as motivation to focus even more on the value of my time to sit and share a meal. The simple moments around a table are the perfect time for us to soak in the love and be grateful for our blessings.

There but for the grace of God go I.

 

Travel theme: flavour

I came in from outside tonight with my fingers all coated in saskatoon and raspberry juice, and read Ailsa Prideaux-Mooney’s post about harvesting berries – I took it as a sign. So, here I am contributing my handful of harvest ideas and memories to her theme for this week.

I live in the Okanagan, western Canada’s fruit basket. We have an edible fence in our front yard, with tayberries, golden and red raspberries, white currants, and two kinds of gooseberries. We also have a cherry tree that is over 60 years old, the only one left from the original orchard that surrounded our farmhouse. Late June our harvest begins with the currants and saskatoons, then it’s non-stop eating till the first frost.

 

As I stood out there tonight, picking and eating (you know, “one for the bowl, one for me”), I thought of how fortunate we are. To live in a place where all summer long I can eat my fill with the dogs nuzzling at my feet – it made me think of the phrase “an embarrassment of riches”.

When I was a kid growing up in Calgary, berries were much more of a luxury. My parents tried to grow raspberries, but we only ever managed a few handfuls for a harvest. My mom would buy them occasionally but they were doled out like gold coins. Perhaps that is part of why they taste so good now.

My favourite way to eat berries is by the handful right off the bush, but if I’m cooking them I want to make sure I can still taste the full impact of their flavour.

• Our golden raspberries are more delicate in taste than red ones, but in Raspberry Financiers they shine. These are delicious for brunch or afternoon tea, and they make a delectable hostess gift.
• Gooseberries have great taste but they are tough to deal with. The prickly bushes put up a good fight for their bounty, and their stems and tails are rather gnarly to eat. I like to make syrup by simply boiling the fruit with a bit of sugar and then I strain it for syrup – yummy on pancakes, ice cream, or even in salad dressing.
• Currants are good for syrup too, and you can take things a step further and make mostarda. This Italian condiment is a great savoury match for roasted meats and cheeses. You can use this recipe for cherry mostarda for currants too.

As a foodie, I am all about the flavours of life. It amazes me that Mother Nature can offer us so many variations on a theme. I mean really, your imagination has to be good to develop the sweetness and range of colour in blueberries and golden raspberries and then head all the way through the spectrum to the different but equally delicious tangy gooseberries and currants.

I’m not sure what flavour the fuzzy saskatoons have – that was more about texture, not one I wanted to sample …

I have been fortunate to have flavour memories from other parts of the world, but I’ll save that for another post. Today I’m just going to stay grateful for the bountiful flavours of home.

I wonder…

…if the person who invented fireworks was inspired by Mother Nature?

As I watered the garden today it occurred to me that it holds  plenty of inspiration. 

Ready…

Set…

Go!

Children draw “simple flowers” … but have you really looked at a sunflower lately? It looks just like a child’s drawing. 

But there are many possibilities, both in individual blossoms and the entire plants as well as the landscape itself. There is no set design…

There is no single way to grow…

For the kid who loved to wear pink striped socks with a purple embroidered tunic, all this is still  great encouragement every morning. 

Mary, Mary, quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells 

And pretty maids all in a row. 

It always seemed like a silly nursery rhyme to me; anyone can see that gardens don’t want to grow in a row. 

Here’s to unruly blossoms that wave in the wind and gardens that inspire the child in all of us! 

You could fry an egg on the sidewalk!

We are in the midst of a heat wave. It’s not unusual for where I live at this time of year; the Okanagan is the northernmost tip of the Sonoran desert that runs through much of North America. It is a summer vacation destination, so many people are on holiday and don’t worry too much about being hot. For those of us working though, it’s tricky when the outdoor temperature is at or above body temperature. I bet you really could fry an egg.

Thankfully we have Okanagan Lake and a few other lakes along the length of the valley. They allow for moderate temperatures much of the year, but there is always a week or so that makes the mercury boil. I work mostly outside in the summer, long hours, but I vow not to complain because I am someone who dislikes cold much more than heat. I am thankful I don’t work in the snow and ice, and I am in a happy environment sharing in people’s celebrations. It could be worse. If sweating a little (okay, some days more than a little) is the price I pay, so be it.

It is especially delicious when we get to cool off. Some days we get down to the lake with the dogs and all of us go for a swim. Other days, it’s a soak in the tub, maybe even with a cocktail if we finish work early enough. At the very least, we can wander down the road for an ice cream cone at our local favourite, Paynter’s Fruit Market.

When I was a kid, it was easy to beat the heat. You gathered a few friends and someone turned on the sprinkler. Ta da! Instant fun. Or you listened for the ice cream truck – it was bound to come by sooner or later. Then you could critique your friends’ choices (“ice cream sandwiches are better than fudgsicles, for sure!”), and decided whose tongue turned the best colour.

I don’t hear an ice cream truck anymore, and kids seem to play at municipal water parks instead of in back yards. As long as they find some way to have honest-to-goodness fun, what does it matter? A little bit of creativity is all it takes.

I am reminded of a podcast I heard one hot summer day years ago, by the late great Stuart McLean. It made me think of a summer with my cousins when we had an epic water fight. In case you are in need of inspiration on a hot summer day, here it is:

Vinyl Cafe – The Waterslide

With that said, I am going to close now, and see if perhaps the dogs want to frolic a bit in the shade with the hose. The sweat is dripping down my nose as I write this, sitting even in the shade…

You Gotta Have Heart

Spokane Riverfront Park, July 4

It’s July 4th, and if there is one thing Americans know how to do, it is hold a patriotic party. Being Canadian, I am part of a country known more for its politeness and low key attitude so I have always been in awe of the Americans when it comes to this kind of thing.

I have been in the U.S. on July 4th twice in my life, and both times it was spectacular. The pomp and ceremony was grandiose, there was stars and stripes everywhere, and of course there was plenty of food and drink with American favourites in abundance.

The first time as a young teen at basketball camp in Pullman, WA. I had never seen a fireworks show like that before – wow! And that was just for all of us campers being hosted at the university campus. We had hot dogs for dinner, on tables dressed with bunting and flags. For dessert as a special treat we got apple pie.

The American girls wanted to know if we had a party in Canada (they had no idea about Canada

despite being low key, Canadians do have their own sense of pride – and sense of humour

Day). They also asked about Canadian food, not expecting that much of what we ate was at least similar (you couldn’t get Babe Ruth chocolate bars or Dr Pepper in Canada when I was a kid, but I never felt that I suffered).

This was before the internet and online shopping, so I suppose you can excuse some ignorance of Canadian culture.

My next Independence Day experience was taking a bunch of teenagers, when I was part of a Girl Guide trip to Spokane for the July 4th holiday. We were downtown at Riverfront Park, so there was not only the fireworks show but also the full carnival atmosphere from food trucks to craft vendors and all manner of buskers.

We saw dance troops, marching bands, a capella singers, a one-man band, a magician, and a fire

you want to share this treat – the whole thing is enough to conquer even the heartiest of foodies

juggler. I even had a chance to try a deep-fried Mars bar. The girls were overwhelmed by the scope of the celebration; it opened a door to a new understanding of a different world, as many of them had never left Canada before.

We celebrated 150 years of Canada as a country this year. I did see more Canadian flags on cars and tattoos on people’s faces. We knew more people who had parties, and we catered a party for people who had done all kinds of decorating at their lakefront house, and hired a fireworks barge to do a show on the lake for their guests. It was heartwarming, and fun – I could even say patriotic. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and felt a rush of pride at being a part of our great country.

It is important to give credit where it is due – as I type this, I’m watching fireworks set off from five barges in the New York harbour. The West Point band and glee club are singing a medley of patriotic songs in tune to the explosions. Cheers and good health to all you Americans out there. Here’s to your spirit!