Holy Saturday and we are blessed with sunny (almost) spring-like weather 😊
Of course it has been a pretty busy week around here, with a surprising amount of correspondence from churches, when I had expected most people to be preoccupied with Holy Week and Easter. Ha!
We are super excited to have received confirmation from Delta and Saanich BC that both Parishes will be hosting Day Camps. Yay! If only we had something booked in the Maritimes we could say we are “coast to coast” oh well, pretty close.
Unfortunately, one of the communities near Toronto who had asked us to hold a space has changed its mind and no longer wants a Camp so the hunt resumes to fill the slot in that area. I think I have names of 9 or 10 young adults who are planning to apply for Travelling Team. This is approx. half of the number of candidates we need to fill 6 Teams but it is encouraging. Of course it would be even more encouraging if they actually FILLED OUT THEIR FORMS!!!! I am endeavouring to be patient 😊
In anticipation of a goodly number of hungry young adults, I have also been forging head with baking for the Training Retreat and am narrowing down the “to-do” list. All the actual baking is done (Hallelujah!!) with 2 main course dishes, frozen berry pies, cherry muesli and curry hummus still to go. The main courses will be done over the next couple of weeks, the other items are better made a bit closer to the summer as they can all be frozen but not for extended periods.
Last Sunday afternoon Chelsea and I made good progress on stringing the cords on the Team medallions although, despite recycling cords off extra crosses left from recent years, we still need a fresh spool of cord and the type we are using is proving hard to find. Sigh. Jillian has offered to visit a different craft store and so will continue the quest for us.( update- she just texted to say she has found some. Yay!!!)
Wednesday morning I was very surprised when Mario, (the handyman who had taken away my back screen door last November) appeared, unannounced, to install a new door. He and his helper also spent some time bolting down parts of my roof flashings to discourage the nest building of local sparrows!
Sadly it is still far too cold to paint the doorsill etc. but at least when it warms up I will have a suitable back door.
Yesterday afternoon I did some Easter baking for gift “buckets”. A friend had sent me a link to some Easter recipes from the Guardian Newspaper in the UK and so I decided to try Hazelnut and Chocolate Scones. They have turned out nicely and I hope that some families will enjoy their treats!
All the other components of the buckets were finished up during Holy Week so now it only remains to deliver the gifts over the next couple of days.
There is lots happening in the coming week. Brett will be visiting me for lunch on Tuesday as he is passing through Montreal at the start of another one of his “world travel” adventures! Thursday Jessica and I will be meeting to discuss Team Supply Inventory and then next Saturday is our Easter Team Gathering. Woot woot!!!!
Well I think it is almost time for the afternoon “Wil Walk” and we may even deliver one of the buckets to neighbourhood friends but before closing off we need a recipe. Last evening I made a very tasty Korean Stir-fry. I love fish and our family has always adhered to eating fish on Fridays. I love experimenting with fish dishes from different cultures and since a friend recently gifted me with a jar of homemade Kimchi, I decided to make something Korean!
White Fish Stir Fry
- 1 cup rye kernels ( pre-soaked overnight in cold water)
- 1 filet white fish (I used halibut) cut in 1” chunks
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 apple, cut into matchsticks
- ¼ cup Kimchi
- 2 Tbsps. soy sauce
- 2 Tbsps. canola oil
- 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup baby arugula
Drain the rye kernels and place in a saucepan with a pinch of the salt and 4 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 45mins.or until al dente. 15 minutes before the rye kernels are ready, heat a wok over high heat and add 1 Tbsp. of the oil. Add the fish and gently stir for 3 minutes or until just opaque. Remove to a plate. Add the rest of the oil, the carrots and apple and stri-fry for 2 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, Kimchi and vinegar, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the wok. Reduce the heat to low and return the fish to the wok along with the walnuts and arugula. Toss gently to heat through. Drain the rye kernels and divide between 2 bowls. Top with the stir-fry. Serves 2.