Although this post is being composed early Saturday afternoon the plan is to wait and publish tomorrow since it would be nice to include a few photos from tonight’s Harvest Team Gathering 😊.
The week (and the month of October!) began with a pretty crazy Sunday that started with the Huyer family at breakfast, as they had stayed overnight. That was followed by House Church, an early afternoon tea party with the Irish family, a quick visit from Bishop Mary who came to dig a bunch of Lily of the Valley plants I had promised her and.that ended with a dinner party for Joanne and Chris, my boarder, Jillian’s, sister and brother-in-law! Whew, quite the Sabbath.
On Monday I began sending out a series of reminders to Day Camp host communities who have not yet sent us their final Day Camp payment. This is a tedious task that requires a lot of cross checking of invoices, deposits and receipts, since no one should receive an extra reminder if they have already paid their bill 😊 . With that dull job out of the way another chunk of “office” time has been spent beginning to write the Creative Connection chapter for the 2018 Program Manual. So far I’ve only made it through the introduction but am hoping to get into the “meat” of the project in the week to come.
Since this is Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada, this Monday will be a holiday so we have a four-day workweek ahead. This is the only National holiday until Christmas so most people take advantage of the long weekend to do special things with friends & family; I am blessed that this evening will be spent with a number of Day Camp Team Members! We decided to have a Taizé evening without a guest speaker and instead will break into small groups for a short Bible Study/Discussion on Deuteronomy 26:1-11, a fitting passage about gifts of the Harvest.
It is currently raining outside but I was able to spend 2 hours in the garden this morning cutting down plants in the largest flower bed. We have had an extremely dry Autumn so far and many perennials were looking very straggly so it seemed a good time to get started on this big job. There are 4 other beds to tackle and unfortunately the forecast is rain for the balance of the weekend but I’m hoping there may be a couple of clear breaks in which I can do a bit more. Of course the leaves are also beginning to fall in earnest so “raking” has also been added to my list of daily chores.
This week I finished the baby gift I have been working on and am super happy with the results so now it is full steam ahead on Christmas presents!!! There is a long list of things to sew including embroidered felt key rings for some special friends, a laptop case for Jillian (special request!!) and fleece pullovers for 3 of my Godsons. It always seems a shame to work indoors while the weather is still warm and sunny but I guess afternoons on the porch will not be a temptation for much longer!
Well I seem to be getting “the look” from Wil who, despite the rain, thinks it is time for his afternoon walk. So before we head off we need a recipe 😊
Last Wednesday evening Jillian’s fiancé, Victor, joined us for dinner so I made Harvest Quiche.
The original (smaller!) recipe comes from this lovely cookbook, but since Wentworth (our CTM Director of Communications) was also in the house on a conference call about Camp registration platforms I knew we would need an extra-large pie to feed everyone so here is my larger version of-
Harvest Quiche
- Pastry for a 10” deep-dish pie plate
- 1 bunch each of Broccoli and Cauliflower Romanesco
- ½ lb. Italian sausage
- 9 eggs
- 1½ cups light cream
- Black pepper, to taste
- 8oz. grated sharp Cheddar
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 Tbsps. Olive Oil
Roll out the pastry and line the pie dish, refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the quiche. Break the broccoli and cauliflower heads into 1” florettes and blanch for 4mins in boiling water. Rinse in cold water and drain thoroughly. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onions over medium-low heat until they are caramelised, about 20 minutes. Remove the casings from the sausages and brown them in a small skillet, breaking up into small pieces. Place the eggs and cream in a large bowl with a pouring spout and whisk together, season with pepper.
To assemble the quiche:- Spread the onions over the prepared crust. Layer on the broccoli and cauliflower, the sausage and then ¾ of the cheese. Carefully pour the egg mixture over all and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. As a precaution, stand the pie dish on a large rimmed baking sheet in case the filling boils over! Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 50-60 minutes or until set. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6 hungry people 😊
The Harvest Team Gathering-
We had a super Team Gathering with 14 people attending. The music, led by Emmanuel, Kelvin, Donna, KC, Miriam and Miguel was outstanding! Everyone very much enjoyed the Taizé Bible Study and Discussion, plus the prayers, read aloud by Donna from small Taizé boards, just like the larger ones we used at this year’s Retreat.
The evening was certainly a real blessing to me and I trust also to all who were present! We shared, together in great food, community fellowship and meaningful worship.