On Friday our good friend Wendy turned 50. Charlie decided to have a surprise birthday party for her and we were invited. One small problem. The party was scheduled for January 31st and Charlie and Wendy (The T’s) live in Wawa 3 1/2 hours north of us. The trip means traveling along the east coast of Lake Superior which routinely experiences heavy snow squalls, white outs and extended road closures. It can be a really crappy drive which I never undertake lightly. As the planning progressed I was tasked with sourcing and delivering the fruit for a chocolate fountain and as of Thursday picking up a Wii game system, Charlies gift to Wendy. I also volunteered to make a batch of baked beans and a loaf of whole grain bread. Friday the beans were cooked and bread was baked.Also on Friday I discovered that my good friend Inga had to go to Wawa for another event and we arranged to travel together. All week it was clear with no precipitation. Saturday morning I woke up to snow – of course. A check of the road conditions online foretold less than ideal road conditions but I was committed and decided that if the highway was open we would go. I loaded the car with lots of heavy clothes and boots in case we got stopped somewhere. After stops in the Sault to buy the fruit and the Wii I collected Inga and off we went. The weather actually improved as we headed north. Highway 17 was almost bare, the snow quit and the traffic was light. About halfway to Wawa you reach the hamlet of Montreal River Harbour and climb one of the nastiest hills east of the Rockie Mountains.At the top of the hill the weather and road conditions changed abruptly. We experienced a series of squalls blowing in off the lake which caused sharply reduced visibility and the road surface became snow packed a lot more slippery. We slowed own and made it into Wawa about a half hour later than anticipated but safe and sound. I dropped Inga with her friend and then headed to the party site to deliver the goods and help with set up. Preparations were in full swing. By 2pm 30+ people were sitting chatting when Wendy walked in and was completely surprised. She had no hint what was going on. It was a fun afternoon with visiting and a few drinks and lots of snacks. 
People came and went. Wendy was having a great time. A number of gifts and cards were opened and a funny hat was produced. 
After a while it was suppertime and out came lasagna, salad, beans, home made bread and buns and afterward a huge birthday cake. Everybody ate as much as they wanted and there was lots left over. After supper we broke out the Wii and played a few games of bowling. It really is a lot of fun.About 9.30pm I decided to head up the hill to my hotel room and made arrangements to be back at the chalet in the morning to help load all of the leftover food and booze into Charlies van for the trip back to their place.
I was down in the morning to enjoy a cup of coffee and some chat with Charlie and Wendy before heading to their place. We arrived just after 9 and Charlie immediately started organizing breakfast. Jon and I were dispatched to buy some bacon and Jon’s friend Eric was sent downstairs to start a fire in the wood stove. Just before 10 the bacon was frying and the pile of pancakes was growing when Charlie started mentioning that he could smell something like plastic burning. A few more sniffs and all of a sudden Charlie was yelling at Eric to look outside at the chimney. Yup it was on fire! Eric had overachieved on the fire. Well, then things got exciting. Charlie was roaring at everyone to get out of the house and Wendy called 911. Rebecca stumbled out the door in a tee shirt, boxer shorts and her boots, still mostly asleep. Jon was ordered out of the shower and into the street. In a few minutes the fire trucks arrived with 8 volunteer firefighters in all their gear including breathing apparatus and after some discussion insisted on going up on the roof to inspect the chimney. The street was blocked off, the neighbours were out and the red lights on the fire truck were going round and round. 
By this time the forecasted snow squalls were starting to amke an appearance, the prospect of pancakes and bacon had, pardon the pun, gone up in smoke and it was time to head south. I collected Inga from down the street and Jon from the house and off we went. The weather and road conditions were very similar to what they had been on the way north and but again the traffic was light and we took our time. We arrived back in the Sault just after 2pm and after dropping my passengers I headed back to the island to see Val and tell her of all the adventures. Many thanks to the T’s for a great party and a fun-filled visit.
Every winter we put up a bird feeder or two. Actually I should call them squirrel and bird feeders because those little red rodents are incredibly persistent not to mention dexterous, fearless and not easily deterred. And at night when it is dark we hear but rarely see their really shy cousin the flying squirrels.
All the critters enjoy the sunflower seeds. And a big bag of fat attracts a couple of more species. We routinely get chickadees and blue jays. The chickadees are dainty little birds who arrive on a soft whirr of wings pick up 1 seed and take off again up into an adjacent tree to break open the hull and eat the seed before coming back for another one. The jays come in with a flurry and often a screech and proceed to jam as many seeds as they can into their bills which they then eat while hanging there before starting again. They are however, very skittish and at the first hint of a face at the window away they go. At the fat bag we often get a downy woodpecker or two. Diminutive compared to their larger cousins the hairy and pileated woodpeckers they are also less flighty and much more likely to ignore an intruder of the human type and just keep on eating.
Yesterday was a banner day at the feeders. Not only did we have the regulars we had a few visitors not usually seen. We had yellow finches in their drab winter plumage, we had purple finches looking like their heads have been dipped in cranberry juice and just for a few minutes we had a white winged crossbill. I know that these species as well as several others which are common to this area are around but for some reason we have a hard time enticing them out of the trees. Add to this list pine grosbeaks and the occasional mourning dove which is apparently too stupid to migrate any more. I’ll try to get some pictures to liven up this posting but in the meantime we’ll keep filling the feeder. 
Yesterday we were in SSM for the day and about 11.30 am the usual conversation took place.
“Where do you want to go for lunch?”
” I don’t know . Where do you want to go?”
After a few minutes of this we settled on Vincenzo’s, a very good little restaurant right on Queen Street. Not surprisingly for SSM it is a family run place that has been open for many years and specializes in home made Italian food. As in they make all their own sauces and much of the pasta is home made. We go there occasionally and have never had a bad meal.
Yesterday when we arrived I was checking the daily specials, Monday its a Vinnie burger and cappeletti soup. The server came with water and explained the specials and ended with ” We have rabbit in red sauce and it is very good. I allowed as how that sounded very tasty but I wanted something a little lighter for lunch. Val asked for a couple of minutes to decide. The server left and promptly returned with a small piece of the rabbit in a bowl and said “Here try a taste.” When was the last time you experienced that in a restaurant. I did, it was tender and succulent and I was sold. Val announced that she was going to have gnocci and meatballs and I ordered the rabbit with salad. It turned out to be a great choice.
When lunch came there were three pieces of rabbit and very fresh salad along with a piece of garlic toast to sop up the sauce and believe me I did, it was just plain delicious. Val’s gnocci were obviously hand made, tender and soon gone.
We relaxed, we chatted and we enjoyed our lunch. When we were paying the bill the server told us that rabbit is only on the menu a few times a year and after taking my phone number said that they will call us the next time it is going to be available. As a parting gesture she handed us a copy of the special dinner menu that the chef had prepared that included the recipe for the rabbit! Again, when was the last time that restaurant offered to share their recipe. It was a great lunch!
I live in a rural area east of Sault Ste Marie. Population density is low and this is not an area where you expect to find hunger, that is largely because it is invisible, even more invisible than it is in a big city. But it is here. I was told recently that over the last two years the number of families using our food bank has doubled.
In early January I had an idea to help our local food bank. I went to our parish council and suggested that we organize a food drive over the six Sundays of Lent. I called the head of the group that operates the food bank and she thought that this was a good idea and yes they could certainly put the food to good use. Our congregation already helps out by operating a thrift store during the summer, selling donated clothing at very low prices with the money raised donated to the food bank every autumn. As well we fund vouchers which are given to families with young children to allow them to get milk or formula or baby food. That is all good but most of us don’t pitch in and we are often not aware of the extent of the problem. Time to change that.
I drew up a plan that included a theme for each of the six Sundays and I set a goal. I came up with a catch phrase, “Lets Give Up Food For Lent”. I prepared a short piece for the bulletin each Sunday in which I talked about hunger and nutrition. The idea was simply to keep people thinking about this project.And finally I set a goal. I said that I would like to see us raise enough food to fill the box of my pickup truck. I didn’t really think we would get that much but that was the goal.
Last Sunday Rosalie, our priest suggested that we weigh the food to see how much we had raised. Yesterday was Palm Sunday, the last Sunday of Lent and arrangements had been made to bring the food from our two churches to the food bank. We called the reporter for the local paper to come and see what we had done. Just before 1.00pm a dozen of us drove up to the food bank and delivered 1,425 lb. of food! More than enough to fill the back of my truck! The folks at the food bank were shocked to see how much we had collected and I think quite frankly that we were also. I felt a great deal of pride, not personal pride but pride in our congregation. We may be small but can be mighty when we try!
This one is for the cheese fairy. Last night I made a pasta dish that we saw on tv a couple of weeks ago. We started with whole wheat linguine and dressed it with butter, black pepper, real pecorino romano cheese and chopped spinach. It was very very good. I went to a grocery store in SSM that sells a lot of very good quality imported Italian cheeses and other goodies. I got a large piece of real Italian Romano Pecorino. I had never tried it before. Yesterday when I opened the package to make supper I took a taste and boy is it good. very salty with a sharp edge. I googled it today and found out that it is made from sheep’s milk! The butter and the cheese and some of the water from the pasta pot made a yummy sauce. If you decide to try this make sure that you use real butter.
BTW #1 son sent me a picture of a loaf of his home made bread the other day and it looks lovely enough that I just have to put it in here. Well done.
Sometimes a great meal just comes together. It starts with things you really like. Oh for instance a roast of venison, some wild rice, a pound of bacon 
and a bottle of good red wine.
I took a roast out of the freezer last night and set it to thaw. This morning before breakfast I put a pot of wild rice on to boil. At lunchtime I got out the slow cooker and into it I put a bottle of beer, a lot of garlic, a couple of tablespoons of Dijon mustard and a package of onion soup mix. I gave it all a stir, dropped in the roast, put on the cover and walked away. “I’ll be back for supper”, says I.
As I said at the start, sometimes a great meal just comes together
ps I started this entry last Monday AM and got side-tracked but its finished now.
About 4pm I chopped an onion, half a green pepper, a couple of stalks of celery, a large pile of fresh mushrooms and got out some more garlic. Meanwhile I was heating a wok and when it was smokin’ in went about 1/2 lb.of bacon cut into small pieces. After it was browned and drained, into the wok goes the whole pile of chopped veggies for a few minutes followed by some frozen peas, the cooked wild rice along with some chicken stock and soya sauce. And the bacon. Boy was it good.
And finally I took a nice bunch of fresh asparagus and set it into boiling water for just a few minutes.
This meal did not start out to be anything special but it certainly turned out that way. The meat was tender and succulent, the rice casserole was just good and the asparagus was surprisingly good for February.
A couple of glasses of Pelee island Baco Noir and I was right in hog heaven. We both had seconds of roast and rice, the aspapragus all went in the first round.