Charcuterie

It’s been an odd summer, but at least the temperatures have finally levelled out. I haven’t been outside too much this year with all the rain and killer heat, and as a result my bike still hasn’t left the shed. The Honey and I can’t complain about the rain because our garden looks fabulous this year. 

The last of our lillies finally finished and now our coneflowers are in full bloom. Our roses are steller and the envy of those walking by. Finally, our garden is doing well!!!

I’ve been going out for walks too because I am newly unemployed again (don’t feel sad, because I’m not). When I left the school behind I wasn’t without a job for long. A little café was looking for a baker and I wanted to learn more about the business and they hired me. It was rocky at the beginning – recipes not written down properly, mistakes in the recipes (then mistakes with what I made). I felt out of my comfort zone so I was also a quieter person and as a result a colleague, who thought he was the gift to the world, wasn’t very nice to me. I let it slide most of the time because I didn’t care about him in the least and even though I wanted to put him in his place, I didn’t. The Honey says I can be a bitch to people sometimes and it was a new job so I wanted to make a good impression. The guy obviously thought I was there because I needed a job – HA!! My position, their full-time baker, was an experiment and it turns out they didn’t really need someone full-time. I was there to learn about the business and I wasn’t really learning that much. The Honey was surprised when I came home after my second shift and told him all the things they were doing wrong (The staff were all wearing flip flops! How is that not a health and safety issue?!) and how it needed to be corrected. It had been many years since I’ve worked in hospitality, but shouldn’t the owners know better than me?

So it’s not a loss. My walks have given a chance to reflect and decide what I’m going do and how. I do have some plans and they’ll keep me occupied. For the last two years I’ve missed most of summer so I plan to enjoy it while I can.

A friend from back home (and the only one I’ve kept as a friend) came to visit for the long weekend because she needed a break from her life and her kids. As much as she loved them, she needed a holiday. We spent the weekend wandering around the city, popping into shops, eating our way through neighbourhoods. We discovered that Oh So Good in the market and Lapointes in Westboro have gf cake available, and they both were really good.

Our dinner plans went a little awry due to the crazy rainclouds/sunshine on Sunday giving my friend a killer headache. I had my heart on trying a restaurant in the market and seeing how disappointed I was, The Honey took me there. Brothers Beer Bistro has 3 gluten-free beers available so I figured they would be able to accommodate a celiac. They can with some effort switching things up and with the patience of our waiter, they did and it was worth it. Next time I’ll make a reservation just to make it easier on everyone. Our waiter was so kind and helpful and he did everything possible to make sure the food was safe for me (even the butter had beer in it), but knowing in advance would have saved him endless trips to the kitchen. This place will be ‘a treat’ to go to because BSG is one of my favourites and at $9 each, our bill grew quickly.

One of the items we had was charcuterie – a plate with cheese, meat and a few pickled items. It seemed really cool and we enjoy the selection. I was on my own Monday evening so I made myself another. With some special elk kielbasa from Elk Ranch and elk, cranberry, & apple sausages from Bearbrook Farm I felt like I was in for a treat in my own living room. I had a bottle of St Peter’s G-Free left and some white cheddar (oddly from Ikea) and made myself a stunning little plate. Sadly though the dill pickles I picked up at Herbfest were mushy and disappointing.

As I was finishing up my board I realized something. Charcuterie is much like an average Polish meal. I grew up eating something very similar to this (sans Dijon mustard), but in my mom’s Polish family we called it ‘lunch’.

Elk Burgers

Ahhhh, finally a chance to relax. I finished with my government student last week and am back with the summer program for the next 5 weeks. Week one has gotten off to a glorious start – great teachers working together, happy students, and outgoing monitors. And I can’t forget the great admin people on staff; my boss included. It was so nice to do things throughout the week on my terms instead of last minute details that ‘had to happen 10 minutes ago’ or chasing after teachers.

Now that my planning is done for my student and her supply teacher and the summer program is under way I actually have time for myself. The Honey and I actually had time to think about what we’d do with our Saturday. What a luxury! No work, no emails, no gardening, no hiding from the heat. Heavenly.

Thinking about what you’re going to do on a beautiful weekend? Why not head out to one of our region’s wonderful farmers markets. No too long ago I picked up some delicious elk burgers from Elk Ranch; perfect on the BBQ. I didn’t do anything special to them as I wanted to taste them as they were; just added a little herbed butter. It was quite the treat especially with some sliced greenhouse tomatoes (they should be arriving at the markets soon), mozzarella and a sprinkle of basil.

Steakhouse Butter (Chef Michael Smith from The Best of Chef at Home)

½ cup butter, softened

2 tbs finely minced shallot or red onion

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 tbs finely minced parsley

1 tbs finely minced thyme

2 tbs red wine vinegar

A sprinkle of salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together. Place the butter in a log formation on a piece of plastic wrap and roll it once so it is almost covered in plastic. Continue to roll it and twist the ends a bit so it pushes all the butter tightly into the log formation. Refrigerate for several hours. Serve a slice over perfectly cooked steak.