Hello Blog Friends!
Welcome to August. I do hope you enjoyed this week’s Wednesday Words post. It was quite disappointing that technology defeated us in adding any MP4s to the post but the site said that even the shortest ones “exceeded the maximum limit”, sigh. Jennifer had sent 4 sweet short clips and I continue to hope that one of my technical wizard friends will help find a work around so we can. add them in.
As usual, especially in summer, it has been a pretty packed week. Sunday morning, knowing how things were shaping up, I made the decision to get up extra early and complete the quarterly “deep clean” of the pantry shelves, which line the walls going down to the basement. The task takes a couple of hours, but I was able to have everything back in place before logging onto the Canterbury Cathedral site, for the Eucharist. Getting up early also proved very special as I, once again, caught a glimpse of the wild brown bunny who is living somewhere in the lanes of my neighbourhood! That afternoon, I also began a small calligraphy project of lettering a new “favourite” prayer on the wall of the “Blue Guest Room”. I worked on it for several evenings and am happy with the result!
Just to backtrack a bit, last Saturday’s High Tea went pretty smoothly! Sadly, no photos got taken as my friends actually arrived a. bit earlier than expected so, after receiving a “we’ll be there in 10 minutes” message, besides corralling Thomason and quickly changing into “party” clothes, I was a still rushing around, adding crackers to the cheese board, when they came in the front door, so I have no record, for posterity, of the rather attractive table setting. They all ate heartily of my carefully selected, allergy-free foods and toddler, Elenora, even climbed on my lap and happily ate fruit salad! After-party clean up took longer than usual as the kitchen sink drain is still out of commission, although word is that the plumber is supposed to return from vacation this Monday.
Last Monday, a big chunk of time was spent reprinting several pages of the Junior Youth Camp name tags as there have been last-minute additions to both staff and campers. I knew that Pippa would be coming Tuesday both for an afternoon visit and to pick up the folder of name tags, so there was a bit of a flurry to have everything completed. Both those workdays also involved a big push to finalise the aforesaid Wednesday Words post, in order to publish it on that day.
One of the DC committee members also sent a message around, asking if we might possibly change the dates for both our August and September meetings. After considerable back and forth,new dates were settled upon so that, by Thursday, it was possible to circulate the agenda. We have a tonne of stuff to discuss, and it is always best, if possible, to have everyone present so it was worth a bit of fritzing around to find suitable dates.
Outside of all the office and Day Camps hours, there has also been quite a stream of visitors! As mentioned, Pippa came on Tuesday afternoon and we enjoyed cold brew lattés, as it was a very hot and humid day. Wednesday evening Amy, a priest whose is chair of a committee on which I sit, finally came for a ”Bao”tutorial, something she had requested, after I had mentioned, a couple of months ago at a meeting, that I was a making Bao with the Theological student, whom I mentor. After preparing the Bao as an accompaniment, we had a tasty supper of Korean Whitefish and Kimchi Stew with Bubble Tea and Asian cookies for dessert. When Amy was leaving, she presented me with two skeins of lovely bronze-coloured knitting wool, I am so excited to knit something for Autumn with it, as the colour is perfect for that season!
Then, yesterday afternoon, a special friend who has just got back from a month-long hiking trip around Prince Edward Island came for afternoon tea, ostensibly to tell me all about her adventures, but in reality, we ended up talking about our work, as she, also serves in a ministry. She has promised to come back soon and “walk” me through her gorgeous photo log of the hike, which I followed on Instagram.
This morning, I’m waiting to hear if the train from Halifax has arrived. It is supposed to get in to the downtown station at 9:46am but, as it is a very long journey, it is rarely on time. Yesterday, Anna and I messaged a few times and I said I would prepare something for their lunch but it may or may not be needed, depending on when they get here. Meanwhile, after early chores and a quick whiffle around the garden, I’m currently cooking a batch of sourdough English Muffins and about to launch into making some Potstickers, which will be part of tonight’s dinner. Depending on how the afternoon plays out, I’m really hoping to do some more sewing on the diaper bag that Jillian has requested as my gift for her baby, who is due to make an appearance in the next couple of weeks. As mentioned before, the pattern tutorial is in Japanese, but I’m trying to take it slowly, and apart from, Thursday afternoon, having to unpick the stitching on a zipper (AGH!!), the project is beginning to take shape.
So, before setting up my sewing machine, it’s time for our recipe. The whitefish stew we had Wednesday evening, with the Bao, was very tasty, and only takes 30 minutes to pull together.
Whitefish Stew with Kimchi
- 3Tbsps. olive oil
- 1 medium zucchini (green or yellow), halved lengthwise and sliced ¼”thick
- ½ a red onion, chopped
- 2” piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2Tbsps white miso
- 1 cup kimchi, with its juices
- 3 Tbsps. Tamari
- 1lb. whitefish filet (perch, halibut or other firm fish, cut into 1½” pieces
- Sliced green onion and toasted sesame seeds, for serving
In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil and brown the zucchini slices. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and miso. Cook until fragrant, stirring up the brown bits. Add the kimchi, tamari and 3 cups of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the fish pieces, cover, and cook over very low heat until the fish is opaque but still firm. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Serves 4
Outside of all the office and Day Camps hours, there has also been quite a stream of visitors! As mentioned, Pippa came on Tuesday afternoon and we enjoyed cold brew lattés, as it was a very hot and humid day. Wednesday evening Amy, a priest whose is chair of a committee on which I sit, finally came for a ”Bao Tutorial”, something she had requested, after I had mentioned, a couple of months ago at a meeting, that I was a making Bao with the Theological student, whom I mentor. After preparing the Bao as an accompaniment, we had a tasty supper of Korean Whitefish and Kimchi Stew with Bubble Tea and Asian cookies for dessert. When Amy was leaving, she presented me with two skeins of lovely bronze-coloured knitting wool, I am so excited to knit something for Autmn with it as the colour is perfect for that season!
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