I'm back from my trip to Northern Ontario. Mostly for work, but
some fun in there too. In spite of all the tomato-eating and greenhouse-dreaming, I did not actually do
anything too creative. I brought a bunch of hand sewing to do but
it sat there all week in the hotel looking sad and abandonned. I
appreciate that it kept me company, at any rate.
The other thing that kept me company was actually the Food
Network. It's not a channel that I've watched much in the past. I'm
not sure why, since I like cooking. Well, I do and I don't. I do
like cooking for company - planning a menu and making hors
d'oeuvres and finding exciting and new things to make. But I don't
like cooking every day, I think mainly because I'm really
slow. My husband can look in the fridge, see "ingredients",
pull it all together, chop, dice, and sauté and make a "meal"
within 30 minutes. I, on the other hand, see "stuff" that despite
all my wishing, just won't make itself into something nice. I
stand in front of the open fridge for about 15 minutes wondering if
peas go well with bacon (they do!), or if salami can be the
main ingredient in a meal (sometimes? but mostly no). When I can
think of something to make that's a real meal, the process goes a
bit like this:
- find the right knife (usually dirty in the sink)
- wash knife
- wash the veg
- put on some high-heeled sandals since the counters are so
high in my kitchen
- find better sandals that go with my outfit
- start cutting the veg, wonder if I'm cutting the veg the right
way
- run to laptop to look up videos from cooking experts on correct
way to hold knife when slicing
- go back to the fridge to see if there are better veg like the
ones I saw in the videos
- run over to the fire alarm to wave a tea towel frantically at
it to shut it up since the boiling water set it off and I forgot to
put the stove fan on
- turn on stove fan on HIGH
- open window
- throw veg in steamer
- refill water in bottom of steamer since the water all ran dry
because it took me so long to cut the veg
- wait for water to come back to a boil because I just filled the
hot pot with cold water
- wipe my glasses because I just filled the hot pot with cold
water
- remember that steamed veg isn't really a meal, go back to
fridge to find meat or some other main ingredient
- ....
I think you get the point.
Anyway, last week I watch several episodes of French Food at Home with Laura Calder. She's
totally odd and I'm completely in love. She had me as soon as
she talked about cooking comfort food for her friends who were out
hiking. Not because I love hiking, but because I loved the way she
said the dish reminded her of being in the Auvergne in
France. She strikes me as a totally anglo slightly-uptight and prim
lady with deep undercurrent desires to frolic naked through the
countryside of France having trysts with the baker's son behind the
Roman ruins. Yes, this is what came to my mind when she was
talking. Perhaps I was projecting.
It was my friend Emily who told me I should watch the show. She
had made a few things, most recently her lemonade recipe, or "Citron Pressé". I had a
glass of it at her house, and it was superduper. So, last night I
made some of the lemonade and I've been drinking it ever since,
which is probably not a good thing since it's got quite a bit of
sugar in it. But it's really yummy, and perfect for this mini heat
wave we are currently having in Ottawa. Basically you boil together
equal parts water and sugar with lemon rind to make a syrup. Keep
the syrup in your fridge for any lemonade emergencies you may
happen to have. To make a glass of it, you put some ice in a glass,
pour a tablespoon or two of the syrup on top, add the juice of half
or a whole lemon (which ever you like), fill the rest with water,
and add a sprig of mint if have it. Lemony! With a je ne sais
quoi!
