Look Deep

 

 

Look deep into nature,

and then you will understand

everything better.

 

Albert Einstein

Dessert Decadence

 

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday.  Photos from Sunday supper, copyright Carol Steel.

Scharlachglut Roses

 

 

It's cold in New Brunswick.  Not as cold as it will be later in the winter, but cold enough.  The daytime temperatures are just above the freezing point; night times are just below.  Yet look at what continues to form new buds, to burst into bloom, in the front garden.  Amazing hardiness!  Such determined gifts of loveliness, in a landscape that is turning to the greys of November.

Photos and words are copyright Carol Steel.

Sunday Supper

 

 

 

We were invited out for Sunday supper.  What a wonderful treat it was!  The appetizer was created from cooked and pureed fennel, with Pernod and creme fraiche added to lobster.  The dish was garnished with lobster oil and fresh tarragon with fennel fronds.



 

 

 

Because I am allergic to shell fish, my appetizer followed the same recipe but had salmon and was garnished with tarragon oil.  It was delicious, mouth watering, delicate and decadent.

And then...

 

 



 

 

 

the main dish was a dry brined organic chicken cooked on a bed of root vegetables, subsequently used for the gravy base.  The gravy was extraordinary and will require its own separate post to describe.  We had homemade pesto squash gratin, local potatoes enhanced with roasted garlic brown butter and parmesan, dressing with sage and onion, sausage and miche campagne.  There were carrots and peas and edible flowers.  So beautiful, so utterly delicious.

 

But wait....then we had molten chocolate lava cakes with homemade caramel sauce, candied pecans and whipped cream, accompanied by chilled Warre's Optima 10 port.

 

It was a luxurious evening spent with family who are superb cooks.  Thank you Kyla and Mark.  We enjoyed ourselves so much, we may never need to eat again.

 

My computer is being finicky and will not download the photo of the molten chocolate lava cakes.  They were so good and so pretty, but sorry, no pictures.  Photos and words are copyright Carol Steel.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Thank You

 

 

Thank You

 

for your wonderful gift basket

with Mourvedre wine and handmade bread,

for two kinds of homemade soup,

(carrot, and minestrone with chicken),

for carrot cake and raspberry shortbread cookies

both from Tony's Pastries.

 

It was lovely to see you,

even if only for a short time.

I was overwhelmed with your kindness

and your thoughtfulness.

 

Many thanks for this Sunday surprise. 

 

 

Words and photo are copyright Carol Steel.

Tony's Pastries is located at 137 McLaughlin Drive in Moncton.

If you haven't been there

to the bistro and patisserie,

you are missing one of the delights of this city.

Perspective

 

 

 

Perspective

I had an appointment for today at 2pm to consult with the oncologist…finally.  It should have happened two weeks ago but they “lost my paperwork.”  Today at 1:30 pm I received a phone call postponing the appointment until tomorrow morning.  “Sorry for the last minute cancellation,” she said.

I asked about whether they were doing the markings and set up tomorrow too.   “Oh no,” she said, “that will be sometime next week, if we can find a slot for you.”

 “Oh and then I’ll begin the radiation?”

“Well no, then we’ll have to see when we can fit you in to begin sometime in the next month.” 

I wondered why, and felt a little sorry for myself; sorry that obtaining treatment would take so long and be so vaguely planned.

Then I remembered.

I have a home, un-burnt and un-flooded.  I have electricity and heat.   I can do laundry and can drive where I want to go.  I don’t have two hundred year old Black Oaks falling on my roof while I wait over a month for a tree company with a crane to come and cut them down.   I have fresh food.  I don’t have to worry about the temperature dropping outside and my pipes freezing.   I have Medicare which will pay for all or most of my treatments, whenever they happen.

I’m a lucky woman.

It helps to keep the problems in perspective. 

Photo and words are copyright © Carol Steel



Happy Hallowe'en

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN

 

 

Photos are copyright Carol Steel.

It's Wordless Wednesday.