Hello Blog Friends!
This past week saw the second of the 2026 Day Camps. This one took place in the suburbs south of Montreal, in a community that opts for the Backyard Program package. It makes a great outreach in areas where most children are locked into municipal day camps and/or sports lessons for the whole summer because it is just 2 ½ hours of programming and so they hold it as an early evening camp. The children arrive around 5pm and are served a simple supper, (prepared at the church), then they enjoy the program, going home at 730pm, when it is still daylight. Many of these unchurched children would simply spend summer evenings hanging around on their bicycles or mindlessly looking at screens so, for one week, they can still receive some solid teaching, enjoy all the songs and some of the creative activities as well as games. I am hoping, by the next post to have some photos, to share, with blog readers!
Meanwhile, this week included the monthly DC committee meeting. One member was unable to join us, and that was for a very good reason, as she and her husband are on a roster to volunteer at a foodbank in their community and, this month, the dates happened to conflict and one other had a previous commitment, All of this kerfuffle was caused by the fact that we always meet on the first Wednesday of the month, but had to switch to the second as the previous Wednesday was the Canada Day Holiday! We had plenty to discuss, as two Day Camps had taken place since we last met and there was also the Cook-Along Cookbook to talk about. We then took a look at the 2027 “Tasks Sheet” that lays out various ways committee members, and others, can volunteer to prepare for next year’s program and, lastly, examined the calendar dates for our autumn 2026 events and activities. All in all, quite a full meeting!
Tuesday evening, I received an email from the directors of Junior Youth Camp, asking if I was willing to take on the annual task of making of the Camp name tags. Counting the Campers, Staff Children. Young Leaders, Adult staff and Visitors this adds up to over 80 names and it is quite a logistical challenge to get all the tags colour coded and to put in peoples’ nicknames, which some of the campers prefer to use. I will get started on this right way but will not actually print the tags until last minute additions and changes are added and the sheets of tags are triple-checked!
No one else had volunteered to give a reflection and take the minutes at our DC meeting so, Thursday, there were yet more minutes to type up, AGH!! It is always important to keep on top of pending minutes, in case some unexpected ones need to be taken. In fact, an extra Diocesan meeting has popped up for this coming Monday evening, so I will soon have those to deal with. Thursday, I also sent off an email asking a number of people if they would like to volunteer as chefs for Season 12 of the Cook-Along. .We only need 3 chefs but it is essential to spread the net much wider in order to catch enough “fish” so the email went out to 12 prospective candidates!
Meanwhile, the week has included a couple of visitors. Monday afternoon, while I was deep in the throes of complex gluten-free/vegan baking, a friend dropped by to return a borrowed book and stayed for a snack and then, Tuesday evening, a dear Priest friend, who is a Chaplain at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, came for an early dinner. It was a very hot evening so I had made iced tea, (with mint from the garden), Fish Tabouli and, for dessert, homemade Lemon-Lime Ice Cream. I set the table with my Nana’s fish cutlery and the lovely, hand painted, Italian fish plates (a long-ago gift to my Mum from her special friend, my “Auntie” Mary). It made a perfect cool meal on a hot evening and made such a pleasant end to a rather difficult day involving unexpected plumbing repairs (always a costly adventure!).
As noted above, Wednesday was largely occupied with the DC committee, as was Thursday, when I sent out several emails relative to committee topics. Yesterday I took a deep-dive into the nametags for Junior Youth Camp and made a fair start. I’ve decided to go with a fish theme as the little bit of “art” squeezed onto the tags. The fish is an ancient “secret” symbol of Jesus, among early believers who lived in times of religious persecution. The official theme of the camp is – “Who God Says I Am (Identity in Christ)”, which I confess, seems a bit heavy for the average, 7-12 year old, camper to get their head around, so I’m hoping that wearing a “secret Jesus” symbol will help them in forming their own identities in Christ; we’ll see what the Camp Directors think of my logic!!
After squeezing in the extra, Monday afternoon Bake, I just have one more item to make for the gluten-free/vegan catering order. It is going to be a Maple Layer Cake. I will bake it today, freeze it, and then ice it next Saturday, which, I am assuming is the day when the order will be picked up. So today I’m also making a Rhubarb Crunch AND a Ginger Rhubarb Galette, with the extra rhubarb, sourced, last weekend, by my friend. I also have to make the bi-weekly 2 GF loaves for Sue and I hope to make 2 sandwich loaves as I like to have them on hand when an impromptu Tea Party pops up.
So, we had better wrap up this post with the Ginger Rhubarb Galette Recipe and I will get back to mixing and kneading!
Ginger Rhubarb Galette
- pastry for a single piecrust
- 4 cups fresh rhubarb cut into ½“ dice
- 1 large apple, finely sliced
- ½ cup chopped candied ginger
- ½ cup organic dark brown sugar
- 2 Tbsps tapioca starch
Place all the filling ingredients in a large saucepan and toss well to mix. Cover and cook over med-low heat for 10minutes, stirring, frequently, to make sure it is not sticking. Add 1-2Tbsps water if it begins to stick. Set aside to cool.
On a large sheet of baking parchment, roll the pastry into a 12” circle. Spread the cooled filling on the pastry, leaving a 2” border. Fold the border up over the edge of the filling, crimping to hold it in place. Bake for 35-40minutes in a preheated 400°F oven. Cool before serving. Serves 6