The Week Starts On Fire

We said goodbye to Margot, Hadley and Brewer who headed off for the rest of their adventure in New Hampshire and then home to Asheville.  Before they left, Margot went down the lake to have lunch with a couple of her good friends from way back growing up in North Hatley in the summer.  As she was headed down the lake, much to her surprise, she found that Black Point, a spot that is very special to all of us but especially to Margot and Hadley as they became engaged there, was on fire.  Yes, literally, on fire.  Margot and Hadley had been there early that morning when they went out for a cross-country run.  They didn’t see anything at the time but they did smell what they thought was a fire that, again, they thought was coming from the beach where many campers spend the night.  Unfortunately that was not the case.  Someone had been camping up on the point and they left some garbage smouldering at their campsite.  The fire spread through the very dry pine needles.

The fire department responded very quickly for the situation.  You won’t know this but there are no roads into this part of the lake so the only access is to hike in or go by boat.  The fire department launched their boats as close as they could get to the spot that was on fire.  They arrived shortly after Margot spotted the fire and called us.  Someone else had called it in.  They were very quick to start pumping water and were able to put the fire out before it became more than a ground fire.  None of the trees caught which was a real blessing.  We dodged a major bullet due to some very careless camping practices.  Those people may not ever know what calamity they almost caused.  We are all very grateful to our fire department and to those who were observant enough to call in the fire.

Beautiful for Walking the Hills

It was a gorgeous week for walking.  I did a couple of good hikes up into the hills with Margot and then with my brother and his grand-dog.  The weather was absolutely perfect all week long so no excuses.  Bluebird skies, clear clean air, bright sunshine, a gentle breeze, you couldn’t ask for better.  Part of what makes the walking/hiking around here so special is the spectacular views.  Once you climb up the hills on either side of the lake, the whole world opens up to you.  My brother and I drove into Montreal one day and as we crested the hill that looks out over the Magog valley, our breath was taken away by the clear view of Mount Orford, Jay Peak and Owl’s Head, and the gentle lushness of the fields full of hay and rye that look so soft from a distance.

Later in the week we did our favorite walk and once again were agape at the magnificent vistas before us.  The fields here are full of rye.  The last of the rye that was planted organically.  Unfortunately, the person planting the fields has found it to be prohibitively expensive to grow organic grains.  Our loss.

Happy As Your Garden Grows

Construction slowed down to a complete stop this week but the landscaping continued.  Now I say construction because the hammers and saws were silent but our neighbors joined the band wagon this week and started their major landscaping renovation.  We could not believe the size of the trucks that came up and down our shared driveway.  Some of the trucks were full of the largest boulders I have ever seen.  When they were dumped the entire house shook.  Our guys came back and finished the major work on our what once was a major project but now seems minor compared to what is happening next door.  Now the fun starts.  The planting.  We have a very talented fellow who is finding just the right bushes and perennials to plant to make it beautiful.  We are making progress and by the end of the week were very happy with what we now have for a rock garden.  There are those who make a garden but then there are those who know how to appreciate a garden, that’s me.

The house is looking beautiful again too.  We pinch ourselves every time we walk on the deck or we sit on the porch to have coffee or a cocktail.  We are so very lucky.  Something that I did this week that I have never done before is to take a nap on the swing.  Two days in a row I fell asleep on the swing for about a 1/2 hour.  Sound asleep.  Even with all the noise and ruckus next door.  Somehow that 1/2 hour was as good as an 8 hour night time sleep.  Nothing to do, it was all done, so I relaxed and fell asleep.

Messy Cook in the Kitchen

Somewhere in there I decided to make last week’s recipe.  Now I know why I have dogs.  They cleaned up my mess on the kitchen floor.  I had looked in the cupboard and thought I had what I needed but here’s the thing.  I couldn’t find exactly the ingredients so I made some substitutions.  Couldn’t find the bow tie pasta so used shells (they are a little heavy), couldn’t find jarred red peppers so used fresh (actually good but not quite the same taste), artichokes were delish but that’s cause I used marinated instead of packed in water (yum), peas were great, and I didn’t use enough lemon in the dressing so I sprinkled balsamic on the top when I served it.  Otherwise, recipe was great and by the way, it was delicious and lasted a couple of meals.

Another Recipe to Try

Roasted Tomato & Artichoke Pesto Pasta from Blue Zones

INGREDIENTS
2 cloves garlic
2 cups kale
½ cup button mushrooms
½ cup cherry tomatoes
½ red pepper
1 cup no salt canned cannellini beans
½ cup canned artichoke hearts
1 lemon
1 cup pasta (whole-grain or GF)
¼ cup walnuts
2 cups arugula
1 cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Rinse produce. Peel garlic. Chop kale into thin ribbons. Thinly slice button mushrooms. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. For the red pepper, remove stem and seeds and cut into small pieces. Drain the canned artichoke hearts and quarter. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out into a container, removing any seeds as you do.
Cook pasta (whole-grain or gluten free) according to directions on the package. Immediately after draining pasta, return it to the pot and add kale ribbons (the pasta should be hot enough to wilt the kale without having to return the pot to the stovetop).

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, button mushrooms, and red pepper pieces in a single layer. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until tomatoes deflate, but are still juicy, and all veggies are slightly charred.

While the vegetables roast, make the pesto. In a food processor, add garlic and walnuts. Pulse until finely chopped. Add arugula, fresh basil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and black pepper to taste. Pulse to combine. With food processor running, slowly pour in warm water a little at a time until pesto reaches a thin, sauce-like consistency.
Place the roasted vegetables, beans, and hot, cooked pasta in a bowl and pour on pesto. Sprinkle with extra nutritional yeast if desired.

Just imagine the mess I can make of this, but I do love pesto so will give it a try this week.