Hello Blog Friends!
June is certainly whizzing by and the 7 communities hosting Day Camps seem to be busy preparing, as I am now dealing with daily emails, most of which seem to focus on people having trouble using Google Docs 😊. Hopefully, as we come to the end of this week, all the people have been able to open the files they need!
More Alumni have been registering for the online Team Gathering and a couple have been in touch to say they have prior commitments but hope to join us next time. So far there are 14 names on the list, which is excellent as we still have 2 weeks to go before the event. Last weekend, at Synod, I chatted with an alumnus from the early years of Day Camps and he said he would like his email address added to list so I have sent him a copy of the TG flier and hope he might decide to log on that evening.
This is the first of two long weekends in Québec with Fête St. Jean this weekend and Canada Day next. Historically, today would have been Team Training Day and if you follow that link back to an older post, you will see that was a very busy day on which almost all of the Travelling Team Members would gather for a one day training before being sent off to the 3 Training Day Camp locations. This week would have been jammed with last minute preparations (centering especially around FOOD) as the first week of July would also have seen us gathered for the Team Training Retreat.
Almost every day I walk past the building that used to contain the Isaiah 40 Foundation, which, for about 12 years, was home to both CTM’s supply room and which also welcomed us to fill the whole building for the Retreat. The property was sold to a developer who turned it into 3 row houses. These houses never sold and so sit there forlornly surrounded by overgrown grass and weeds. I am saddened to think of all that was lost with the closure of the building. It’s demise certainly contributed to the decision to transition away from Travelling Teams although in no way was the fundamental reason as there were many other factors involved, including, of course the pandemic and it’s aftermath.
I am so thankful for the 7 churches who are hosting Day Camps in 2023 and for the many children who will still have the opportunity to experience our program and I truly hope that, next year, the ministry will be able to extend even farther afield 😊.
Outside of the “here and now” of Day Camps, work this past week has seen a number of visitors! Of course Timothy was still here for Sunday breakfast and then went off, with a packed lunch, to visit his paternal grandfather’s grave and on to catch a train back to Ottawa. Tuesday evening my dear friend, Jenna joined me for dinner, Wednesday Jessica came for her monthly visit and dinner, Friday the young man I have just started to mentor through the Bishop’s Commission on Ministry, came to lunch and today I welcomed Mae Anne (also for lunch 😊) for her monthly visit! Whew! so, despite not being required to prepare food for 20 hungry Team Members, my kitchen has still seen plenty of activity!
Evenings, I have made good progress on my first Christmas gift knitting project- a shawlette in a pretty rusty red heather wool. And I did carve out time to cut out one of the summer dresses I will be making from the two patterns I purchased using a gift card sent to me last Christmas by a friend. Hopefully there will be a block of time tomorrow afternoon in which I cam make a start sewing the dress. The fabric for the second one was ordered online and arrived Thursday afternoon but the fabric for the first one has been in my stash since it was gifted to me 2 years ago. It will be super exciting to have two new dresses from my favourite designer.
As mentioned above, Mae Anne joined me for lunch today. I wanted to do something special as she has just finished the academic year serving as support staff integrating children with learning disabilities in a public elementary school and working with at risk teens at the YMCA. This salad originated on the NYT food app but I took it a step up by making homemade Shanghai Dumplings instead of using the frozen packaged kind called for in the recipe., it turned out very yummy 😊.
Dumpling and Tomato Salad
- 1 lb. ripe tomatoes cut into 1 inch pieces (at room temperature)
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ½cup fresh cilantro leaves
- coarse sea salt and black pepper
- 1 recipe Shanghai Dumplings (or frozen ones if you aren’t a purist 😊)
- Olive oil
- For the Dressing:-
- 1 Tbsp. Tamari
- 3Tbsps Korean chile crisp
- 2Tbsps. brown rice vinegar
Place the tomatoes on a serving plate. Add the garlic, half the cilantro and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.. Toss to combine and set aside.Whisk together the chile crisp, rice vinegar and Tamari. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium high until very hot. Add 1Tbsp. of oil and add the dumplings. Cook until the bottoms of the dumplings are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Immediately add about ¼ cup of water or chicken stock to the pan, just enough to cover the base of the dumplings, then cover and cook until the water has evaporated, 5-6 minutes. Place the warm dumplings over the tomato salad and drizzle with the chile crisp dressing. Toss very gently. Top with the remaining cilantro. Serve while warm or at room temperature. Serves 2-3.