Cinderella Curry Bowl

You know the old phrase "up to your elbows…" Well, that is literally what I was up to in pumpkins & squash this weekend.  I had the whole collection of my beautiful decorator gourds piled high, by the front door, to go out to the dumpster when I heard a still small voice saying that I should check to see if any or all of them were edible.  Actually, the little voice sounded oddly like my mother who was very pragmatic & hated to throw away anything of value - nutritionally or otherwise.  I like to call it the "saving syndrome." I don't scoff at all at this syndrome.  In fact, I think many of us would do well to be more stricken with it.  So, I trudged off to the phone to call the little market where most of the decor came from.  Here, I must quickly plug My Country Garden where the little fellows closest to my decorator heart came from. My Country Garden is a little roadside stand a ways out on K L O Road in the Mission area of Kelowna.  They have a most amazing array of produce, as the season permits, but, in the fall - the most incredible display of pumpkins, squash & gourds.  Also, while growth prevails, you can pick your own bouquet of flowers from the rows & rows of flora.   Only, Miss Cinderalla remained.  I could not remember the spot, on my way home from wine tasting in the Pentiction area, where I had stopped & bought her, so Google saved the day.  All, were not only edible, but considered to be highly sought after & highly nutritious.

I gathered up my best carving fortitude & my sharpest knife & set about the task.  I Facebooked & whined a little as I went along & some friends commiserated or offered solutions to my sore wrists.  The solution several people offered was to leave the flesh on the skin & simply roast it.  When tender, the flesh comes easily off the skin & can be canned or frozen with ease.  I, of course, had to complicate said situation by wanting to mainly use the contents for savoury dishes like soups & curries.  Therefore, I wanted to freeze the flesh in a cubed form.  I did freeze a bag or two absolutely plain to attempt a pie, or more probably, some loaves or muffins. For the record, whether it is Better Homes & Gardens approved or not, I removed the flesh from the skin, cut into reasonable sized pieces, tossed in a swish of EVOO, seasoned slightly with Montreal Steak Spice & roasted for appx. 30 mins at 400 degrees.  I then portioned into Ziploc bags & froze for my cooking pleasure.  What follows is a little glimpse of the process & my first (most delicious) recipe made with the Cinderalla pumpkin.  The recipe is loosely based on the Ymir Curry Bowl from my best-loved Whitewater Cooks series & hence the slight name change to accommodate big bright orange Cinderelly!!

If you can possibly get your hands on some of this, you will not be disappointed. When I checked, there are many recipes online to make your own.  It is a delicious accoutrement to the Cinderelly Bowl.

Duqqa:  an Egyptian treat made of spices & nuts that is most delicious alongside your favourite loaf with some exceptional EVOO

The Cinderella Curry Bowl 

A curry that definitely leans into the Thai side.  Smooth but intense flavour!!

2 tbsp EVOO
2 white onions, diced
3 carrots, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced (I LOVE my new microplane for this job - it's sturdy & sharp & just makes me happy using it!)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced (never sub the spice for fresh!  You can finely chop, or whiz in your food processor,  a whole piece of ginger from the store with a little vinegar & keep it in the fridge for weeks, in a sealed container, to use when fresh ginger is called for.  The vinegar does not change the taste but acts as kind of a preservative.  Always peel it first.)
1 red pepper, diced
1 tbsp red curry paste (I like Patak's the best)
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground cumin
3 medium potatoes, diced (or…you know when you roast those little baby potatoes for company & you overshoot the amount by about a pound…freeze them & they are perfect for such a time as this! And, alongside, your pumpkin that is already to go, it cuts down your cooking time exponentially!)
2 cups (or so) of Cinderalla pumpkin, yam or squash of your choice, diced
1 stalk lemongrass (just the tender white end) trimmed & finely chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves                                                                                                                                
*I put the lemongrass & lime leaves into a little cheese cloth bundle & tie it off with string.  I could not get fresh leaves on short notice today, so I had to use my dried ones & a big bite of lemongrass or lime leaf is not pleasant, fresh or dried.  So, after they have done their business in the dish, you can pluck the little packet out of your curry & discard*

2 tbsp fish sauce
juice & zest of 2 limes (& again I used my most handy & much LOVED microplane)
3 - 14 oz. cans of light coconut milk
1 - 19 oz. can chickpeas
2 cups chicken stock (I am fortunate enough to have an instant boiling water tap - *because the "much-loved hubby is strictly a tea drinker* & so I just swear by the "Better than Bouillon" product.  A teaspoon or so in 2 cups of boiling water is amazing & you are not always left wondering what to do with the rest of the 1L container of stock)
4 tbsp cilantro, chopped

In a large stock pot, sauté onions, carrots, garlic, ginger & red pepper in the oil. When soft, add curry paste, garam masala, & cumin.  Add potatoes, pumpkin, & lemongrass/lime leaf packet.  Saute for 5 mins.  Add fish sauce, lime zest & juice, coconut milk, & stock.  Bring to a boil if you are lucky enough to have potatoes & squash in the freezer already cooked - or - simmer until potatoes are tender. Squash will be done by then too.  Add chickpeas & cook for 10 more mins.  Serve over Yellow Basmati Rice & garnish generously with cilantro.  Serves 8 - 10 people!!

Yellow Basmati Rice

2 cups basmati rice, rinsed & well-drained
3 1/2 cups chicken stock (or, again, stock made with "Better than Bouillon")
seasoning packet made up of:  1/2 cinnamon stick (or if you can find cinnamon sticks in the Indian cooking section of your grocery store, they are larger & can be broken into smaller pieces.  Then, use about 3 small bits) 3 whole cloves, 1 pod of large dark brown cardamom, 3 pods of the smaller regular cardamom.  I know this sounds crazy & like a lot of work, but believe me, the taste of the rice is soooo worth it!  What I do is, while I am at it, I cut up many little squares of cheesecloth & make several of the packets tied up with string, so that they are at the ready when I get the urge to do a curry supper.
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp tumeric

Heat the EVOO in the saucepan & add the seasoning packet.  Turn your heat back a bit & let the spices infuse the oil a little. Turn the heat back up & add in the rice. Constantly stir the rice in the oil until every kernel looks coated - just a couple mins. Then, add the chicken stock & turmeric.  Stir for just a min or two.  Pour all of the rice, stock, & the seasoning packet into a baking dish sprayed with Pam.  Cook in the microwave with a lid on for 10 mins on PL 8.  I have never had it "not" cook in 10 mins, but every microwave is slightly different, so put back in, for a min or two at a time, if the rice does not come out perfectly in the 10 mins suggested.  Remove the spice packet & enjoy with your Cinderelly Curry!!

Pictured is the Cinderella Curry Bowl & a bit of the process involved in its arrival…Hope you give it a try!!

Glory Bowl

Today, I was much more bundled, on my walk, than I care to admit.  There was a chill on the wind coming up over the vineyard, from the water, that I do not like.  At least, I will blame the wind & the water for chilling me to the bone.  That's what I felt but what I saw was a feast for the eyes that could cheat the chill out of my bones. The leaves are turning. I have witnessed this beauty, in all its glory, on the riverbanks of the South Saskatchewan River as she winds her currents through the beautiful city of Saskatoon.  However, the wind I witnessed here, in the beautiful Okanagan, today, can't meet the challenge of her efforts when she blows in with the fall air in Saskatoon.  (Just a side note here:  I can hardly type the word Okanagan without the adjective beautiful in front of it.  I pray I never tire of the tapestry of the land that God reached down & gave to this place.) And with her chill, she whisks away, with ease, so many of the fall colors on display in Saskatoon.  Here, the leaves manage to hold on to their grandeur for just a while longer.  That was what was on display for me today.  Reds, oranges, yellows, purples, greens (of every description)...really it was a dizzying array of color & content.  Every shape of leaf, every genre of flora represented, roses still bursting their vibrant colors into the fall mix, grass green as if has forgotten summer has passed...

And still, though not my favourite, fall has its place.  The fireplace can now, for a few days, take the place of the air conditioner before the furnace has to come on.  For me, the desire to cook something to eat from a bowl starts roiling in my brain.  I want something saucy, soupy, or warm, at least, to partake in when fall starts to show its antics.

Maybe, its my thoughts of glory & colourful splendour from my fall walking or maybe just that I am easily impressionable.  I have been craving a Glory Bowl every time I see them in the display case at my absolute favourite coffee stop, The Bean Scene. Several ladies ahead of me in the the line yesterday ordered them for lunch.  That was it!  I got out my Whitewater Cooks Cookbooks, looked up the recipe & gathered up the ingredients.  (I must deviate again to plug the Whitewater Cookbooks.  They are some of my faves & if you know me at all, I have a lot of cookbooks.  I read cookbooks like most people read novels & collect them with great fervour!)  I don't know if the Glory Bowl really fits the "saucy, soupy" category, but it is warm & just fits the bill for how I'm feeling food-wise today.

I actually started on the Glory Bowl prep yesterday, when Darrell & I made a midcourse correction & decided to take in a movie & have the evil movie popcorn for supper instead.  I have to admit that's not such a bad idea when it comes to Glory Bowls - to do some of the prep a day ahead, that is.  Don't let the simplicity of her look fool you - there is plenty of work involved in her "glorious" finish!

I love any excuse to get out this little gadget too!!

GLORY BOWL;

EVOO = olive oil (a Rachael Rayism)

General Ingredients:

3 cups brown rice (I use brown basmati & cook it in my rice cooker, so I cook a scant 3 cups because of using the rice cooker measuring cup - they are always smaller than a standard cup)
2 cups of raw red beets (I spiralize mine but it is unlikely that you may have a spiralizer, so grated is fine) *I keep a small bag of surgical gloves on hand for dealing with beets, raw or cooked.  And I have a couple of dark coloured plastic sheet cutting mats that are a breeze to clean after beets.*
2 cups grated carrot (the pre-grated bags of carrot are so good for a bowl like this - go ahead - no one has to be super girl!)
2 cups Tamari almonds toasted (I like to leave some whole & chop some)
2 cups spinach leaves (give or take - buy a pre-washed bag full - I like a little more spinach with mine)
2 cups tofu chopped (I prefer the firm & pressed kind, and even at that, I like to squeeze it out more in a clean kitchen towel. When I have time, I marinade the tofu in a little soy sauce first)
2 chicken skewers grilled & diced (if you have an aversion to tofu)
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
dash or two of soy sauce

Dressing:

1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes (you can get these at a health food store - a little sprinkled on your popcorn is good too)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup oil (I have used veg & olive oil & I am stuck - canola oil is a little too oily & EVOO is a bit too big of a flavour in competition w/the tahini - another time I am going to use 1/2 of each)
2 tbsp tahini paste

Combine all ingredients, but oil, in a blender & give them a good whiz.  You can add oil gradually & blend but I have great results from just dumping it all in at once & blending till creamy.  Without a blender, whisk vigorously in a tall container (save a frozen yogurt or ice cream container to use) or put in a large sealer jar & shake it up baby!  *NOTE:  THIS WILL BE WAY TOO MUCH DRESSING FOR THIS SALAD* Just put into a small serving pitcher & let everyone drizzle on as much as desired.  Keep the rest in a jar or Tupperware in the fridge for at least a week. This is a very unique dressing & may have to grow on you, but once committed - you will crave it, I am certain!

Prepare brown rice as desired.  Sauté tofu cubes in a skillet with EVOO salt & pepper. If you did not marinade first in soy sauce, drizzle a little over as you sauté.  

Eat as a deconstructed salad.  Put rice into a bowl with a little drop or two of soy sauce, top w/beets, carrots, spinach leaves, almonds & sautéed tofu cubes.  Drizzle with dressing & dig in!!  It's glorious!!!!

P.S.  pairs beautifully with Little Straw Sauvignon Blanc

Spinach Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad

Recently, I had the Maple Glazed Salmon Salad at Earls.  For the record, let it be known, that I love Earls & have frequented the Saskatoon location regularly (& happily) for years.  And, now, we do, on occasion, go to Earls on Top in Kelowna to enjoy the food & the most fabulous view. (& especially the pumpkin pie of late - hee) However, this salad left me wondering if I could not tweak it a little more to my liking.

First of all, I found the farro to be overwhelming in the salad & it seemed to expand exponentially, in my stomach, as the evening wore on! I wondered about changing that to quinoa & eliminating the salmon altogether.  Also, the cold green beans & butternut squash (maybe mine just arrived cold) weren't my favourite.  With all this aside, I really did like the potential of the salad & decided to try one on for myself. What follows is my new rendition.  I hope you enjoy - we sure did!!

Spinach Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad

The salad:

1 Bag prewashed baby spinach
1 225g box quinoa - prepared as instructed cooking in chicken stock instead of suggested water
1 large sweet potato - peeled & cut into small cubes
1 tbsp steak spice
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
Appx 3 Cups green beans (you can use fresh or frozen - I happened to have a bag of Costco's Tender French Beans in the freezer, so I used 1/2 the bag of those)
1/2 cup feta or goat cheese - crumbled (Costco also sells a great little box of small cube goat cheese - it's the bomb for salads!)
1/3 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup craisins (try to get the ones sweetened with fruit juice) *You will notice I forgot mine before taking the photo - do add them tho, they are tart & nice*

The Dressing:

1 cup olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 or 3 cloves garlic minced (never sub garlic from a jar or garlic spice in a salad dressing unless otherwise specified!)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Tarragon or thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 - 2 tbsp maple syrup, honey, or agave (amount & choice to your taste)
1 small shallot or 1/2 of a large
*1/2 fresh lemon - squeezed

Preheat oven to 400.  Mix cubed sweet potato, in a bowl, with olive oil & steak spice. Spread out on a parchment-lined cookie sheet & bake for appx 30 mins - just check in as some sweet potatoes cook quicker than others

While potatoes cook, bring your beans to a boil (you may add a drop of oil & a dash of salt to water if you like) & boil for precisely 5 mins.  Drain, & leave in pot with lid on until ready to serve.  When they have cooled a little, dump out on cutting board & cut beans roughly in 1/2.  It definitely makes for happier chewing! Then, return to pot with lid on.

Cook your quinoa as per package instructions.

Toast your pumpkin seeds if you could not buy them already toasted.  Just stick them in alongside the potatoes in their own small baking pan - just be careful - at 400, they will not even need 5 mins!

When nuts have cooled a little, toss them in a bowl with your spinach & cheese.

If you have a blender, that is definitely my preference for making the dressing.  Just add all the ingredients, pulse a few times to emulsify the mustard properly & break down the shallot.  Blend until creamy.  If you don't have a blender, whisk the mustard with all ingredients except the oil & then whisk the oil in in small amounts until nice & creamy.  Without a blender, you may want to leave out the shallot.  It is still a very good dressing without it.  *I find that this dressing becomes quite stiff, so just before I serve it, I always sqeeze in the juice of appx 1/2 lemon  NOTE:  this will make WAY more dressing than you will need for this salad!!! Just keep in a jar or sealed container in your fridge for at least a week.  It is yummy for many salads!

We served our salad deconstructed as pictured & just drizzled a little dressing on each serving.  It was simply delicious!! You could put all ingredients in a large bowl & toss with a small amount of the dressing if desired.  My husband insisted on BBQing some sausage to go alongside - but - it was not needed - he agreed in the end...

Viola!

30 Minutes With Jim MacKlean MacDonald

Today's walk was not similar in comparison to the day I met Jim, but for whatever reason, I could not get him off my mind for the entire 3 miles.  I walked, and composed in my head, as I so often do, the things I would blog about when time permits.  And today, my thoughts were most completely of Jim;
maybe because today was a lonely day on the path near the end of Boucherie. (And it seems that loneliness is the only reason that a complete stranger would engage in more than a smile & a brief hello in my experience on this path...) That's where I park my little truck & pick up the path at Rotary beach, where begins the most scenic off-leash dog park - a beach all of their own overlooking Lake Okanagan towards the mountains on the Mission side.

Today the path was pretty much my own, maybe because the angry sky threatened rain & the cool air coming in off the water didn't appeal to many.  Today the waves crashed against the rocky shoreline & the park along the way was visited by only one brave Dad cheering on his little guy as he swung across the monkey bars.  The Cove Resort was not bustling with happy tourists & children using the water park. One teenage boy threw rocks against the incoming tide in a futile effort to skip the stones. The boats, left to brave the cold in the small marina, lurched & creaked against the force of the waves against the docks.  As I rounded the corner of the resort into the quiet park on the other side, I could see a small group of bundled seniors engaged in a raucous game of Boules & I nearly collided with a Grandpa emerging out of the bushes.  I chuckled to myself that he must not know there is a fully equipped toilet only footsteps away... The lush green grass carpet of Gellatly Nut Farm now lay covered in nuts from the presiding winds.  Soon shoppers & pickers would be gathering to harvest the spoils.  The pastures along the road are now full of horses eating the lush green grasses, their owners possibly too engaged in the frenzy of fall activities for a crisp Sunday ride.  It is here that I walk along a busy little stretch of road with Shaquille in a tight heal, for a while, to make the circle complete back to The Cove. There, my circle forms its way back to the parking lot where I am parked.  It is, on that corner, where The Cove starts & my trail converge, that I first met Jim.

This day the sun was shining in all of its glory, not a cloud to be seen, the sky a full burst of blue.  I had my ear buds in & was just a' walkin' to a favorite Country playlist. You couldn't miss him though on his shiny red scooter smiling & waving me over in his direction.  I pulled one ear bud from my ear & walked near him to see if he needed help with something.  It actually wasn't me he was interested in at all, at first, but my four-legged friend, Shaquille.  This was the beginning of my "30 Minutes With Jim MacKlean MacDonald."

He was drawn to Shaquille because of his fluffy white coat.  He promptly told me how he & his wife had Yorkie show dogs for 25 years & did all of their own grooming. (Good thing Shaq didn't look too bad that day...) They had travelled all around to attend shows and they had started a sort of club for Yorkie owners here in Kelowna back in the day.  After his bit on his love of dogs, with no apparent need for an appropriate segway, he told me of the movie he had watched just the night before, Pal Joey.  But as he went on about it, I realized he was indeed still on track, as the movie was an old musical & featured Frank Sinatra & Rita Hayworth...and a brilliant little white dog, that was in his opinion, the real star of the show.  Speaking of Rita & Frank must have made him think of his wife.  It was at this point that he told me of his wife & how she was now in a care home.  He has a small condo close by the care residence so that he can "scooter" over every day to see her.  He told me of his macular degeneration & how he can see close up but loses sight of things far away. Life could always be worse though, didn't I know, there are so many worse off than him - he sees plenty of sadness in his wife's care home.  But, once he sported clear vision & was a driver instructor in Calgary - his wife is a Calgarian (in his words.) I thought maybe he was not sure-footed either, because of the scooter, but no sooner had the thought crossed my mind, than he burst up onto his feet - still on the Frank Sinatra track, I guess - & told me of their involvement, too, in Scottish dancing.  They had been very involved in such a club & teachers of that genre of dance.  Oh, & he still dances to this day - one has to stay fit, you know!  Scottish dancing, of course!  I knew I recognized that accent from somewhere.  I commented on it & he was off! Telling me of his last trip to Scotland & the Italian fellow he had met there who was doing stem cell research.  He didn't know how he felt about that & he marvelled at the wonder of creation & now shared his faith & love of Jesus with me.  He told me how it is not his job to lead people to Jesus but just to sew seed, to love unconditionally (like dogs do - back to dogs!) and to enjoy the wonderful life we are given.

At this point, you are not going to believe it, but a cavalcade of black Escalades like I have never seen before whisked by.  And in hot pursuit was an unmarked SUV with a flashing light that pulled over the most unassuming small car.  This threw me and every other passer-by, on the path, off of our game.  Everyone, that is, but Jim.  He could, of course, not see what was happening.  He did not take a breath.  He had now dug out his binoculars & was preparing to show me a bird's nest high up on the hill that he had been keeping his eye on.  A small group of folks had gathered around us & we were all talking about what could possibly be going on.  Jim became quite interested when someone speculated that the prime minister was rumoured to be in town to speak at Quail's Gate later in the day.  This got him onto the subject of politics and this is where I knew I had to bow out.  He had found a new talking companion, now, anyway, in a young man that had stopped in all the commotion.

I did quickly explain to him that I would like to write a little blog about him & asked if I could include a photo of him.  He was more than cooperative.  I promised that I would carry a copy of it with me & give it to him the next time we cross paths.  ...and he was off..."so your a writer are you, well you should look up Dorothy Brotherton, she's quite a local writer you know, writes a real worthwhile column..." I assured Jim that I would look her up, (& I will) I said my good-byes & my prayers, as Jim told me he had to cross Boucherie to get back up to his place & I now knew of his poor distance vision.

I haven't seen Jim since - maybe he's a fair-weather scooter.  But, I do know this: Never again, will I see just an old man on a scooter.  I will see an old man on a scooter that represents an entire life filled with scores of stories.  And if I but pause to listen, my life will be fuller for it.  I do look forward to our next encounter and another "30 Minutes with Jim MacKlean MacDonald!"

Hairdresser Wisdom

I was awaiting permission from Spring to post the blog below when at breakfast this morning, I received the following text:

I was going to include a photo of her but decided to use this text copy instead.  I shan't always seek permission, but in this case I chose to.  I was fearful that she would not want me to blog about such intrinsic parts of her life, but as it turns out, all is well.  So, read on...

This week was a wonderful week on the calendar because Wednesday was my hair appointment.  Of the many things I enjoy, getting my hair done is in the high faves.  I have often fantasized that if I was independently wealthy, I would have a dresser, & hair & make-up professionals as my daily assistants.   Oh well, enough said of my fantasy world for now.

Sometimes, you are going to sit down in, what you think is the hair chair, and find that it is actually the chair of life's little wisdoms.  However, I do suppose that any time we listen intently to another individual for a couple of hours, with little interjection on our own part, we will come away with a morsel or two of wisdom.  (It doesn't hurt either to have a head full of color foils to keep your undivided attention - you are definitely at the mercy of said hairdresser.)

Today was one of those days.  Spring, this is my hairdresser's name, (& a name that aptly suits her, I might add - she is a bright change in the daily seasons for me & I always await my appointments with eagerness) just started to do my hair per usual & we started to gab per usual.  It was the typical ebb & flow of conversation between two women - the cadence that men can rarely follow - but two females can banter easily through.  That is, until I asked one question without any insight into where it would lead.  The question was:  "Then, what is your daughter going to do?"

Spring had earlier shared that her son had just fractured his arm skateboarding and hoped it wouldn't affect him playing fall baseball.  So, I knew her son would be playing ball this fall & just wondered what interests her daughter might have.  Both of her children are pretty young, so they are at that beautiful age of investigation, before sports are all about scouts & tiers & over-zealous parents.

This is where the wisdom & the story all came out as one.  Spring's husband has been away working days in & days out-type work for a while now.  Recently, he injured himself on the job & now their life  is a little stirred up.  He can't go back to the part of the job he was doing, & whatever medical attention he may require seems to have to be taken care of in AB.  Even before this happened, they feared that this line of work was not going to work out for him, especially, considering, not one other man in the camp was a family man with a wife & kids at home.  So, when I asked about her daughter, out came the first morsel:

1.  Children are Resilient -
   
Spring felt she had to sit her kids down & tell them that Daddy's work is kinda unstable right now so they might not be able to be in lots of activities for a while.  Her daughter was enrolled in dance, gymnastics & Sparks.  She asked her if she had to pick just one, which would it be?  Her daughter quickly replied, "Sparks! And don't worry Mommy - this just means I will have more time to spend with you."  Her daughter is 6.  Oh, from the mouths of babes...

2.  We Have to Let Go of What we Can't Control

Spring admitted that she had hit a bit of a wall of worry the night before.  Her husband is injured in a strange environment with seemingly little support from co-workers & staff.  His job security seems unstable at best & when he took this position, away from his family, it had such high hopes.  He would do this line of work for a while & they would complete some tasks around their home that they had been waiting to do for some time.  Now, here in Kelowna, alone, she could do nothing - not a thing about it.  She cried, she got angry, and then - she realized that she had to let it go.  In her words, "I gave it out to the universe & released it!" She admitted control is a big thing for her & maybe there is a lesson to learn in this very difficult time in their lives.

3.  Be Good to Your Mom - She is a Rock in Times of Trouble

Spring told me how, during her mini-melt-down, she had called her Mom.  She tried to share her frustration & despair to her Mom.  And when her Mom did not give her the response she wanted, she hung up on her.  Then, in a couple minutes, she called her Mom back & told her she loved her & that she was right.  Her Mom had said that it was ok to rant & rave & be mad, but then Spring had to pick up the pieces & get on with the stuff of life.  Staying in a bad place does not do you or your children much good.  And by every observation of mine - that is exactly what Spring did. She listened to her Mom!

4.  Forgive Always

After telling me about the phone call to her Mom, Spring segwayed into the reasons why her Mom is such a strong person.  Her family has endured real hardship the likes of which most of us shall never encounter.  Spring's Dad died tragically when she was only 3.  She witnessed her Mom pick up the pieces from a very difficult situation & carry on & raise her & her brother the best she could with little to no support from her father's extended family.  Spring had to forgive those around her for their actions then & again as an adult for her own health as much as theirs.  So, with all of that behind her, there would be no point in holding grudges on these other men in her husband's camp regardless of their simple stupidity!

5.  All Families are Messy

Families carry with them the badges of blessing, the medals of hardship, the stripes of addiction...no one is immune.  Spring shared why it is so hard for her husband to be working in a camp that is not "dry."  He does not drink or use drugs - medicinal or recreational.  He saw the effects of it all in his own home growing up.  We chatted about how, regardless of how messy our families are, there are always some good memories, and those families are where we came from regardless of circumstances.  The conundrum is how some folks rise up out of it to a better day & some carry on in the same destructive path.

6.  You Will Never be Given More than You Can Handle

Spring talked about what her family is going through right now, what she went through as a child, her mother's hard life & her maternal grandparents.  She often speaks of her grandma & grandpa when I am there & what an influence they had on her growing up.  She knows from experience past & present that you will never be pushed further than what you can bear.  This hard time in her own little family's life shall pass.  I should have told her that she is obviously designed for greatness because she has been through an awful lot!

7.  Just Live Each Day as it Comes

Spring talked a bit about her worry & frustration, her mind racing ahead & having thoughts of , "what will we do about this...what are we gonna do about that...how will we pay for this...how will we get past this injury..." And she realized she had to just deal with what was right in front of her at the moment and not worry about each thing until it really happened.  Some things we fret unreasonably about never do come to pass! A very common trait amongst women, creating a pseudo reality out of something that hasn't even taken place yet.

8.  There are Always Worse Situations than Mine

Now, Spring got to the point in the conversation where she was saying how she shouldn't complain.  She knew of people who were so much worse off than her &, of course, her Mom is right.  You eventually have to pull up your socks & at least try to move on.  I agreed, but also noted my own small life philosophy.  That whatever you are going through is your own worst thing & you don't always have to minimize the current state of pain you are in.  I call it "your own broken leg."  If you have a broken leg, that is your own worst thing, at the moment.  Indeed, someone else may be dealing with two broken legs & you must sympathize, but it is not "your" worst thing! It is ok to admit your pain - you just can't linger & live in that pain.

9.  Life is Full of Good Examples

Even though Spring can admit she has been dealt quite a hand in life, she always talks about all the good role models she has had.  She talks about the orchard that her grandparents owned & all the good times shared there with them, of a favorite uncle, of the poor decisions others made & how easy it was to see they were wrong.  Even bad actors can leave you with a good example (of how not to act!)


10.  A Lesson Learned Comes out of all Hardship

Spring talked several times throughout the two hours of how there must be a lesson in this trying time for her - something she has yet to learn.  And of how, many times, we can't see a life's lesson till long  after the fact.  Oh ya, vision is crystal clear when you look back on something rather than while you are staring it in the face.  Maybe someday, I will be sitting in the chair again & we will be talking of this time & of all she learned through it...

Well, I think 10 tidbits of wisdom was enough for one day.  I know there is more that I have missed.  These were the main nuggets that I left there with that day.  Sometimes, it pays to be the listener.  I would be better served to do a lot more listening.  I only spoke up a couple of times that I remember.  Once, to tell her that I believe that when you let go of things & give them to the "universe" that there is really a God out there who hears your pain.  And that many of the morsels of wisdom that she was sharing with me were real truths from the Bible.  Really, no more needed to be said...

Hair...a chair...two hours of life to share...

A Fruit Stand Story

This is a photograph that just swells with a story.  You can tell the minute you look at it.  It is the stuff of magazine covers - a food writer's dream come true.  The story I have to tell about it, so far, is short but nonetheless needs to be told.

There is a large fruit cooperative in downtown Kelowna.  It is often where I go to buy fruit in season.  Guests of ours were craving peaches & we went there only to leave disappointed.  So, we headed home on the 97 and turned off on Boucherie as we often do.  There, nestled into a corner of the road as you begin your ascent up the hill, is a little produce stand flanked by the flags of several countries - one of which is Hungary.  We pulled in and parked along the fence of the horse pasture, in close proximity to the little vendor.  There, the horses were gathered, enjoying the apples, peaches, and carrots that were in generous supply from their industrious neighbours.  I asked a fellow feeding them why he just tossed the fruit in to them & didn't let them take it from his hand.  He smiled but gave no response, as if he hadn't quite understood me.

We crossed the road to the quaint make-shift sales centre & were greeted with the tender smile of  Rochelle.  We ogled over her vast array of fruits and vegetables. None of which disappointed!! I asked if I could touch the peaches, as I had been told not to at the Saturday market in downtown Kelowna.  She said, of course but not to squeeze & explained how easily you bruise a peach.  We bantered cordially as we selected our goodies & she shared how her seeds are all from Hungary.  Her husband is Hungarian but she is French Canadian, her accent still lovely on her lips.  (As was her helper at the horse fence, although not as honed in English as was she.)  Just last season, her stand & small growing operation was on Hudson but in her words, "A man bought it & wanted nothing to do with us.  He wanted us out."  They acquired this new spot on Boucherie with a parcel of land in behind the stand for growing some of the produce.  She is from Peachland where they grow all of the fruit on display.  We tasted small grapes with dark purple skin that immediately took me on a mind train somewhere way back in my childhood.  We smelled the rich aromas of fresh peaches, apples & strawberries.  The strawberries, savoured too by my friend, & coveted by my allergic self were apparently amazing.  I was left only to delight in my sensory satisfaction.   We learned of her many plums & their distinct qualities.  We only wished we could have added the yellow & green beans to our already zealous supper menu. She asked, too, of our origins, & delighted in the Hungarian connection between herself & my friend. When we exchanged names, we all laughed & rolled our "r's" together, not making light of, but delighting in her french accent.

Finally, we made our choices as pictured.  Corn, picked only moments before our arrival, new red potatoes, green onion for our salad, yellow onion to marry with the mushrooms, peaches & nectarines to dive into when we got home, a taste of apples, & a clump of grapes laid across our spoils - a perfect work of art.

Rochelle, as I inquired, will be at her stand until the end of September.  I hope to frequent there quite a few times before her fall departure.  I know there is so much more of a story behind those eyes, the tilt of her head, the pride in her work.  There is a tenderness, a Grandmother quality, that emanates off the page from that still photograph.  I am captured, somehow, in the story - the story that I don't even know.  I can only hope that in the next few weeks, as I share in the fall harvest from her bounty, that I can also glean little pieces to bring that photo even more to life.

On Roosters & Art Galleries

I am in a fog of sleep & location confusion, when I hear a distinct "Cockadoodledoo.....gasp, rasp, Cockadoodledoo."  I can't determine if I am lost in a dream state, back in time, at my childhood farm, or if I am in fact waking in my hotel room to the annoying sound of a rooster crowing!  I continue to listen..."Cockadoo...rasp...hack...dledoo."  It is, indeed, a rooster, although, I am skeptical of his vocal health.  Now, I am awake, frustrated, worried about this rooster that is misplaced & vocally challenged, and somewhat interested in why a rooster has emerged within the city of Calgary...I do what any half-awake wife of somewhat sound mind would do - I wake Darrell up and ask if he, too, can hear the rooster.  Less grumpy than I expect him to be, he listens, agrees that it is, for sure, a rooster & proceeds to tell me to shut the window & go back to sleep.  Instead, I get up, draw back the curtains & see if I can spot this misguided rooster.  I am certain I will see a semi parked near by with a load of chickens (& said rooster) or a farm within the outskirts of town that is home to such foul...nothing...nothing that explains a rooster in the city.   I shut the window & return to bed.  And, later, as I progress into my day, encountering conversations & varied speculations on my rooster friend, none can fully explain the phantom foul or his plausible whereabouts.  I am left pondering, but with Darrell as my witness, certain of my mental health.

After having a great little breakfast at the Belmont Diner in Marda Loop, we headed out to drop Darrell off at work.  I then did one of my less favourite things.  I took the rental vehicle, armed with Google Maps & headed off to the Chinook Centre.  I feel a very false sense of security using GPS and do not enjoy, one bit, the blind trust given to a girl in the sky telling me where to turn.  But, with all my reservations aside, I made it to the mall & back - regardless of the fact that I have no idea how.

The mid-course encounter of the day was also the highlight of the day.  We made it to the Art Museum of Calgary where our son Lew's documentary has been showing for the summer.  I enjoyed looking at all of the work exhibited by the other artists in his group as well.  There is just something so expansively exciting about seeing these young artists with their whole careers ahead of them & wondering to where that will take them...so much undiscovered talent! We are certainly proud of our son & know he can succeed with his passion for film.

The finale to this big day was a Harvest Supper shared with friends who prepped the meal, almost in its entirety, from their own garden.  What a bounty of deliciousness!! Good food shared with good friends is always a most agreeable combination. It is, in fact, one of my favourite & most valued simple pleasures.

And now before the cock crows 3 times *note:  Biblical reference (which, by the way, is before 6 a.m.) I better get a little shut-eye!!