Figs!

I arrived home from work Tuesday evening to find treasure. Look!

Friends were harvesting figs from the tree in their yard. While I was at work they called Hubby and told him to come and get some. Yippee! 

Fresh figs are a recent discovery for me.  I'd had them dried before, but never had the chance to try fresh figs until a couple of years ago. Sooooo good.  As their season is short, and as they can be rather pricey out of season, they are a rare treat. Arriving home to find more than a dozen on our counter practically made me giddy. I've had more figs this week than I've had in a year. And there's still a few left. We're lucky and grateful to have such generous friends. So, if our figgy friends are reading this, thanks!

Confessions and Mushrooms

Let's start the day with some confessions, shall we? 

I have a poor sense of direction. I often struggle to find my way home from places I've managed to find my way to. This happens where there are roads, street signs and landmarks. I'm completely hopeless when "off road".

I'm not a big fan of spiders. At this time of year they become very visible, and this year there seems to be a whole heck of a lot more of them than normal. I've been told they are beneficial in many ways, but that knowledge has not seeped from my conscious awareness to the part of my brain that controls automatic and irrational reactions. 

I live in a place where there are cougars and bears. I have learned some basic "bear aware" strategies over the years, yet I have a sneaking suspicion that if I were confronted by one of these large, local mammals I'd panic. 

Hmmmm. Having read those last two confessions I'm beginning to wonder if the connection from the "knowledge" part of my brain to the "reaction" part of my brain is faulty. 

Because of these shortcomings, I'm particularly grateful when brave friends are willing to roam through the forest with sweat running down their necks, spiders dripping from their hat brims, and pine needles in their underwear, to forage for chanterelle mushrooms. I'm even more grateful when they share those mushrooms with me. 

Of course, the fact that chanterelles are delicious may also have something to do with my gratitude.  Thanks to our brave friends T and R we had a particularly awesome lunch last Sunday. 

I know it doesn't look like much. Blame my amateur photography skills. And my desire to sit down and eat!
 

Usually, when we are lucky enough to acquire chanterelles, we make pizza. Sadly, there wasn't time this week for pizza-making. Still, I'm particularly pleased with the meal we made with our gift of mushrooms. It satisfied on so many levels. 

First it was economical, as it allowed me to use up the ends of many items lingering in the fridge. The salad was leftover from dinner the night before, as was the home-made honey-mustard dressing. The sandwich allowed me to use the last bit of an onion and the remains of a wedge of cheese leftover from earlier meals.

The meal also included a number of locally grown and prepared ingredients. That always makes me happy. On our small plates we managed to squeeze in the following local stuff:

• Bread from Vassili's Denman Island Bakery
• Chanterelles (a gift from foraging friends T and R)
• Smoked salt from Vancouver Island Salt Co.
• Smoked Boerenkaas cheese from Natural Pastures
• Honey from Big D's Bees
• Sweet pepper from Fiesta Greenhouses
• Tomatoes from our garden
• Cucumber & onion from Sleeping Cougar Acres (gifts from L)
• Lettuce from Whole Hog Farm
• Garlic from our garden

In addition, the open-faced sandwich was much easier to prepare than pizza, and it came together quickly. Here's the recipe, if you can call it that.

Sauted Chanterelle Mushrooms on Toast

• chanterelle mushrooms (as many as your friends are willing to part with)
• 1/4 medium onion - chopped
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• butter
• olive oil
• sea salt
• smoked salt
• bread - toasted
• cheese - sliced, grated, whatever.

Preheat broiler.

Clean and slice chanterelles.

Heat oil and butter in a frying pan.

Add onion and garlic.

Add chanterelles.

Add a small sprinkle of sea salt.

Cook until onions and garlic are translucent and mushrooms are tender.

Sprinkle with a wee bit of smoked salt. 

Top toast with mushroom mixture.

Top all that goodness with cheese.

Pop under the broiler until the cheese is melty, gooey and delicious.

Lastly, our lunch was darned yummy. Seriously, you need to find some brave friends willing share some chanterelles and try it yourself!

Happy Newish Year!

Happy Newish Year!

At what point in January does it become ridiculous, redundant or just too darn late to wish people "Happy New Year"?

Wasn't that a Seinfeld episode?

Oh wonders of the internet. I just checked and here it is:

Why is it I can remember a nine-second clip from a television series that ended more than ten years ago when I can't remember where I put the gift card I got two weeks ago?

???

Enough pointless questions. 

I'm really here to:

a) Wish you a Happy New Year. (Done)
2) Let you know what I've been up to project-wise.

(See what I did there? The pop-culture reference above? Use the comments to identify it and tell me where I stole the idea from, and I'll post more sketchbook pictures. Or not. Your choice.)

Remember when I posted this picture?

From this...

Well, there has been progress. Now those pages look like this:

...to this in more time than I care to admit.

Yep, I'm about half-way through. It's been scary and fun. Really, really fun. Probably more fun than scary actually. Probably.

Fortunately, my yoga practice is close to becoming a habit, so I am able to find some balance on those scary days. Some.

I'm pleased to say that since I first met with my instructor on November 29 I have only missed my practice once. Go me! (No excuse for the missed one. I had a day off with no plans. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the lack of schedule, my yoga practice just didn't happen.) 

Again, I have to give huge thanks to all those people who have followed my progress on facebook. Their continued support has made all the difference. I recently read that Michael Moore has an online team of thousands supporting him in his walking endeavours. My team is much, much smaller, but they're more effective. Though they probably don't know it, their "likes" carry the weight of thousands. Go them!

Yoga Home Practice

I am in the second week of a gentle, at-home yoga practice.

I like to think I look like this while practising:

Yeah, and I like to think my house looks like that too!

In reality I'm sure I look more like I've fallen and I can't get up. 

It doesn't really matter how I look. I practice alone. Besides, my goal isn't to look like the lovely woman pictured above. Good thing, as that boat sailed about 20 years ago. (OK, maybe 25 years ago. Whatever.)

I may share my goals at some point, if I ever figure out what they are well enough to put them into words. Right now the reasons behind why I started are less important than the fact that I have started. I've always wanted a morning practice, but I kept putting it off. I finally got tired of waiting for the right time.

Once I made up my mind getting started was easy. I have a friend who teaches yoga. (This is the same friend who suggested the Sketchbook Project. In retrospect, I wonder if that invitation was a ploy to get me so stressed that I needed the yoga.) I outlined what I wanted and emailed her a list of my ouchies. In exchange for lunch, some farmers market items and a reasonable fee I got a personalized plan, and she came to my home to help me get started. I've managed to practice EVERY DAY since we first met.

I've had some help getting to the mat each morning. Once I had an actual plan I put the word out on Facebook. I asked people to "like" my status when they noticed an update about a yoga session. Yep, there I was, once again making rash announcements on a social media site. A similar comment got me committed to following up on the sketchbook;I figured it had to help here too.

I am amazed and honoured by the support I've been getting. I'm "friends" with some incredibly busy people, yet many have managed to take a moment out of their day to "like" my activities. People I haven't seen in years are offering encouragement. On days when I've really needed it, a postive comment has appeared like magic. I can't tell you how much it has meant to me, and how much it has helped. There are varying opinions about how long it takes to form a new habit. Thanks to my virtual cheerleaders yoga is becoming part of my daily schedule much faster than I expected.

I meet with my yoga-teaching friend tomorrow to refine and update my plan. I can't wait.

Lettuce Not Waste Food - Again

This is a re-post of an article I published on May 11.  It was lost somewhere in the blogosphere, as were any comments you made.  Feel free to comment again.  


"We apologise for the inconvenience"  Douglas Adams


I have a confession to make.  I know this will come as a shock to those of you who saw my most recent recipe.  In spite of my attempts to maintain a healthy diet, I have a difficult time finishing a head of lettuce before it turns into a mushy, unidentifiable blob in my fridge. I hate wasting food, so this really irritates me. 
  
It doesn't seem to matter what kind of lettuce, though romaine tends to stand the best chance of being consumed by its best-before date.  Any other variety requires a great deal of effort to polish off before it goes off.  Sometimes I wonder why I bother with lettuce at all. 

It's not that I dislike lettuce.  There isn't really anything to dislike about lettuce.  Problem is that there really isn't anything to like either.  Even in salads I find that it's just kinda there providing the background for all the tangy, crunchy, savoury, sweet, salty ingredients that make a salad interesting. I often don't include lettuce in my salads, and I have to say I don't miss it.  

I guess I feel that I don't get enough reward for the work involved in prepping lettuce.  I wash, I dry, I tear and what do I get for it?  A healthful ingredient for sure, but not really a flavour all-star.  

I try to sneak lettuce into other things in order to use it up before it goes off, but even my recipe for lettuce soup doesn't have any lettuce.  Later versions of this recipe included lettuce, and I liked it just fine.  Unfortunately, it's not something I make often enough to satisfy my need to avoid food waste.   

Often I'll toss lettuce leaves into a smoothie.  I like using lettuce this way, as I can skip two of the three prep stages.  Just wash and blend.  It's also a good way to use up lettuce that's at the stage just before unidentifiable blob.  You know, that stage where it's wildly wilted but not yet slimy.  

At Christmas my friend G gave me a jar of homemade Thai sweet chili sauce. (Yum!  I have such talented, awesome friends!) She included this recipe in the package, and I've been making a variety of salad-filled wraps ever since.  This is also a good way to use up lettuce, but certainly not the 20 leaves the recipe calls for.  I'm lucky to squeeze a half dozen leaves into my wraps.  

Recently, as I was making a lettuce-based Greek salad, I was inspired to try something different.  Even though it was a large salad there was a lot of lettuce left when I was finished.  I knew it wouldn't last much longer in the fridge, as it was rapidly approaching the age where crispness would be a thing of the past.  I looked at those sad, remaining, soon-to-be-wilted leaves and the light bulb went on.  What if I put some of those remaining leaves in the salad dressing?

I hauled out my favourite Greek salad dressing recipe and my blender.  In went the dressing ingredients.  In went one, two, three, four lettuce leaves.  Taste.  Mmmmm!  Gooooood!

I was so confident I had a winner that I wrote down the recipe for my amazing Green Greek dressing.  I was sure I'd make it again and again, and I was sure you'd all want to make it too.  

Sadly, I've misplaced the recipe since then. (I really need to tidy up around here.) It's just as well. As much as I enjoyed the flavour of the dressing it wouldn't stick to the salad.  Seriously,  it reminded me of magnet experiments in grade school.  You remember - likes repel.  

The dressing almost magically slid off the salad and pooled in a soupy puddle on the plate.  From there it slid into everything else and made a sloppy, green mess.  Frustrating and disappointing!

Sadly, in my initial over-confidence I made a lot of this dressing.  We ate it for the rest of the week. (Did I mention how much I hate wasting food?) The dressing even slid through lettuce-free salads.  So much for my likes repel theory!  

Some day I may try to sneak lettuce into my salad dressing again.  I think it could work.  I just have to figure out how.  Maybe an avocado would help...

In the mean time, dear reader, I'd love to hear your creative lettuce recipes.  Please let me know what you come up with.  I have a head-and-a-half rapidly growing old in my fridge.

Blogger Ate My Homework

It doesn't take much to discourage me from writing.  Words don't flow freely;  ideas don't come; I don't remember how to spell acomodate, accommodate, accomodate... 


My most recent setback was technical.  I posted an article about lettuce on May 11.  On the same day I worked on new articles.  I updated my "About Me" blurb. I commented on other blogs.  I also had a migraine that day, so anything I did was completed in a post-headache, drug-induced fog. 


By the following day kind people had commented on my article.  I responded.  On May 18 I came back here to write. I was dismayed to find that everything from May 11 was gone.  No article, no new blurb, no notes for new articles. The comments and my responses were gone. Even my comments on other blogs had vanished.  It was like I imagined it all, which was very possible considering the migraine and the drugs.  


Fortunately, when Hubby came home from work he was able to confirm the existence of the article from the previous week.  I was doubly fortunate to have friends who receive emails of my articles every time I publish.  I was triply fortunate that two of those friends still had copies of the lost article in their inbox and were able to send it back to me.  (Thank you, thank you, thank you to Hubby, C and S!)


From there most people would appreciate their good fortune and move on.  Not me.  I froze.  I was the Blogger version of a deer in the headlights.  (By the way, why doesn't the spell-checker in Blogger recognize the words Blogger, blog or blogs?)  I couldn't even bring myself re-post the article from May 11.  So not only did I lose my work from that day, I developed writer's block as well.  Just marvy. 


I know the reasonable thing to do would be to set up a backup system for such emergencies.  Apparently I am not a reasonable person, as I have not yet done so.  When I have the time and the inclination to write I want to write.  I don't want spend my time setting up fail-safe systems in case something goes wrong.  Actually, I'm not completely unreasonable.  I have tried writing elsewhere and transferring the results here, but I found that to be ponderous, time consuming, and the results often didn't look right in Blogger.  


Anyway, I guess my point is that I'm back now.  I'll be re-publishing the lettuce article shortly.  Apologies to those who have already read it, and to those who commented the last time.  Your last comments are gone, but feel free to comment again, and again, and again... 


Obviously some writers need more encouragement than others. 

Lovely Lovage

I am rich in friends, and as I result I am rich in herbs too.  The post about my new bay tree prompted my friend C to contact me.  As C has a gorgeous lovage plant growing in front of her house, and as I had herbs on my mind, I strongly hinted that my new garden could use some lovage.  Fortunately C is an incredibly intuitive woman who is good at picking up on such hints.  I had lovage and oregano for my garden and some lovage leaves for my kitchen the next day.  

My new lovage plant!

So, what the heck is lovage you ask?  That's a good question. I had to ask too the first time C offered to cut some for me to take home.   

Lovage is an old herb.  It's not that common anymore, and until I saw C's plant I had only ever read about it.  The leaves taste and smell like celery on steroids.  Not surprising, as lovage leaves look like large celery leaves.  What is surprising is the slightly salty flavour the leaves impart to a dish.  I've read that the dried leaves can be used as a salt substitute, but I haven't tried that yet.  I might though.  If my wee plant takes off it could grow up to 7 feet tall.  I'll have more leaves than I know what to do with, as a little bit goes a long way.

Recipes that call for lovage are as uncommon as the plant.  My internet searches resulted in lots of recipes for potato-lovage soup, which is very nice by the way, and several suggestions to add it to recipes I already use, like egg salad.  Since C first introduced me to lovage I've pretty much exhausted all the recipes I'm likely to make.  There are others, but they are the ones that tend to be too exotic (sanathu) or too much work (cheese-stuffed cabbage) for this cook. 

This time I decided to be brave and create my own dish using lovage.  I basically went with what I had in the house and made a salad, and I was rather pleased with how it turned out.  It's tangy, sweet, salty, crisp and crunchy all at the same time.  It's also something that could be switched up quite easily.  No raisins? Use dried cranberries.  The mixed bean sprouts only went in because I had them in the house.  I bet walnuts or pecans would work just as well.  Prep and clean-up were also easy.  (You'll notice that I make the dressing first in the same bowl the salad will be served in.  I know that's not the traditional way to make a salad, but it means one less item to wash come clean-up time. Always a good thing in a house with manual dishwashers.) 

Salad with Honey-Mustard-Lovage Dressing

Makes 2 generous servings. 

Honey-Mustard-Lovage Dressing
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard (approx measurement)
1 tsp honey (also approx measurement)
2-4 minced lovage leaves
pinch of sea salt

Mix the dressing ingredients in a large bowl.

Salad 
4-5 romaine leaves
1 crisp apple
1 small handful mixed bean sprouts (maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup)
1/3 of an English cucumber
1 small handful raisins

Tear romaine into bite-sized pieces, chop apple and cucumber and toss into bowl with dressing.  Top with sprouts and raisins.