Green-Bean, Almond, and Feta-Cheese Salad, and Summer Holidays!

The Teachers Jumped Out of the Windows

    

 (Sing to the tune of "My Bonnie") 

We're all childlike in the summer, aren't we?

The teachers jumped out of the windows.
The principal ran for the door.
The nurse and librarian bolted.
They’re not coming back anymore.

The counselor, hollering madly,
escaped out the door of the gym.
The coach and custodian shouted
and ran out the door after him.

Chorus
Oh my! Goodbye!
They’re not coming back anymore, no more.
How fun! They’ve run!
They’re not coming back anymore.

The lunch ladies threw up their ladles,
then fled from the kitchen in haste,
and all of the students looked puzzled
as staff members scurried and raced.

We’d never seen anything like it.
But still, it was pretty darned cool
to see all the staff so excited
to leave on the last day of school.

Chorus

By Kenn Nesbitt  (Gratefully used with permission)

www.poetry4kids.com

Found these great mittens on summer holidays in PEI !

Next week, my teaching buddies are coming over for lunch; we’re celebrating the beginning of our SUMMER HOLIDAYS!

Even though I’ve been retired for a couple of years, during the school year I still occasionally do some substitute teaching, but not in July and August; I, too, am free again! We’re all ready to let loose and enjoy the blue sky days of Alberta, or wherever we find ourselves over the next two months.

An easy-peasy way to stay healthy and happy is by nurturing relationships with friends and close colleagues. They're our support system when we're having a rough go; they're our cheerleaders when we accomplish that goal for which we've been striving; most of all, we share with them a common history - they're some of the eyewitnesses of our life journey.

So, while my friends and I re-tell old stories, drop our jaws at new tales, and laugh until we hurt, I’m going to serve up a crustless salmon and roasted red pepper quiche; a crunchy, delicious salad made with fresh, plump green beans I saw at the  market, sprinkled with lightly toasted almonds, a touch of red onion, goat feta cheese, and dressed with a ‘just-picked from my garden mint' vinaigrette. 

The recipe for the salad comes from my favourite cookbook, Back Roads and Country Cooking by Sara Waxman. I’m still using the imperial measurements in this 1985 publication. I’ve made a couple of minor alterations to the original recipe; here is my version of:

Green-Bean, Almond, and Feta-Cheese Salad

1 ½ lbs. fresh green beans

1 cup sliced toasted almonds

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

½  cup thinly sliced red onion

¼  cup + 2 tbsp. olive oil

¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped

2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

¼  tsp. salt

¼  tsp. minced garlic

a generous pinch of freshly ground pepper

A sprig of mint leaves for garnish.

Trim the ends of beans and cut the beans into bite-size pieces. In boiling salted water, cook the beans just until crisp but done (about 3-5minutes after the water comes to a boil after adding the beans). Drain the beans, and immediately plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain, and lay on a clean tea towel, or paper towel to dry. (I often do this ahead of time, wrap them in the paper towel, and put them in the fridge crisper until it’s time to assemble the salad.

In a blender, combine the olive oil, mint leaves, vinegar, salt, garlic and pepper. Blend until the leaves have been thoroughly crushed and the dressing is thick. I do this in my little coffee grinding machine that has a small blender attachment.

Put the beans into a bowl – pour the dressing over the beans and mix together to coat the beans. Place the dressed beans on a shallow glass serving platter. Sprinkle with the red onions, the feta cheese, and the almonds. Garnish with the sprig of mint leaves.

Serves 6 as an appetizer salad.

This dish is a hit at potlucks, parties, wherever and whenever you want to make a great impression. It truly is a dish of kindness, if only for the delight of discovering the melding of these varied flavours.

In the meantime, if you think you might like to plant mint in your garden, or your flower bed as is mine, don’t. As fragrant and tasty as mint might be, it’s invasive – let me spell that again for you; i-n-v-a-s-i-v-e. Put the plant into a very large container, or somewhere in the back forty, or somewhere with garden edging more than a foot or two deep. If you live in Calgary, come and help yourself to some of mine - please!

Warmly,

Wendy

Greek- style Lemon Potatoes, Father's Day, and Bonds

Sunny October day in pastoral Bavaria

It was a strange dinner party; new friends over for a farewell meal together. They had embarked on a new adventure to emigrate from Europe to Canada, but now, life events were sending them “home.”

So, we ate, drank, laughed, and enjoyed the ongoing discovery of kindred spirits before it came time to say, "Auf wiedersehn!",  "See you again!"

 It was  a precious time.

 A couple of weeks later, as my little family gathered for Father`s Day, our German friends came to mind. What struck me was the parallel between the altered connection with unsere fruende (our friends), and the bonds I have with my Dad who died almost a decade ago: both relationships continue - in absentia.

My Dad, John Kurchak, and me in 1955

In grief work, we call this connection “continuing bonds.” It seems that we don`t ever actually `let go` of the loved ones we've lost;  the relationships just change. How they look will differ for each of us: my sister talks to my Dad each day; I rarely talk to him, but I talk about him, all the time. Different people, different ways of continuing the bonds.

This year, at our Father`s Day dinner, we lit candles in memory of the dads that were no longer with us:, my dad, John; Hubert's dad, Xavier; and Adrian's dad, Patrick.

It was also a precious time.

Then we set on eating the feast that Logan, Hubert’s daughter, and her buddy, Adrian, cooked to celebrate Father"s Day. The charcuterie plate on which we indulged before dinner was loaded with smoked meats, herrings, smoked oysters, goat cheese, fig and olive crackers, and pate.

Next came the Black's " family - secret BBQ chicken recipe" from Adrian’s dad, Patrick;  just the fragrance of the drumsticks arriving at the table caused serious drooling on my plate (classy). Our side dishes included crispy oven- roasted smashed potatoes with garlic, and balsamic- drizzled BBQ grilled vegetables. Lemon meringue pie, at the end of the evening, finished us off. 

Although we bribed, okay, we cajoled and threatened, Adrian for the BBQ sauce recipe, his dread of sisterly retribution protected the 'family- secret'.  So, instead, I‘d like to share my recipe for “Greek- Style Lemon Potatoes” that I made for the farewell dinner with our German friends. These potatoes soak up the ollive oil and the lemon juice, resulting in succulent, lemony potatoes just like at your favourite neighbourhood Greek restaurant - maybe even better!

Greek-style Lemon Potatoes

( adapted from www.allrecipes.com/recipes/)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp fresh rosemary ( or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
Extra fresh rosemary, chopped, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together all the ingredients, except the potatoes.

Put the potatoes into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Pour the lemon/oil mixture over the potatoes, and mix to coat.

Cover tightly with foil, and bake for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours, stirring occassionally.

Add extra stock, as needed, to prevent the potatoes from drying up. Start testing  for doneness at the hour. Garnish with extra chopped rosemary, and serve.

Serves 6-8

You just can't beat these taters; fast prep, into the oven, and soooooooo tasty!

In the meantime, just as our relationships with each other change, so do the continuing bonds we have with our loved ones who have gone from us.

 To have a look at more info, take a peek at http://www.griefsheart.com/ -> Video -> Love in Separation.

Also, Thomas Attig's book The Heart of Grief is second to none. Here's an excerpt from the  website:

 "When we grieve, we move from loving in presence to loving in separation. Nothing is more difficult in grieving. Nothing is more important if we are to thrive again in lives profoundly changed by loss "

 BTW, Attig currently lives in Victoria, BC!

Whew, this is one long blog - making up for the past two weeks.

Hey, try the potatoes - you'll enjoy them!

Warmly,
Wendy 






Andrea's Delicious Root Vegetable Soup

Hubert cracks an egg.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Not just wars, famines, plagues, and economic downturns for us; desperate times in our home means post –op knee replacement recup!

Desperate measures found Hubert playing master chef as I laid around groaning and whining. My 60- something-year-old German partner made a mean fried onions and egg with toast breakfast, fried onions and egg with toast lunch, and fried onions and egg with toast dinner.The menu also included any  take-out I desired. Hubert’s effort and willingness to cook and gather earned him an A+ !

However, after a couple of weeks of Hubert Cuisine, I needed REAL food. Andrea to the rescue – again!

Loaded with grocery bags, she just appeared at the door. The house became filled with sounds of chopping and stirring, and the sweet mouth- watering fragrance of caramelizing root veggies in the hot oven. Life was good again. I laid on the couch, icing my knee, and waiting....

Dinner was almost ready; once the veggies were blended into the stock, we’d be slurping. I heard the button on the blender click and the machine started; suddenly, a scream, and all hell in the kitchen. Flinging aside the icepack I rushed (hobbled, quickly) to the kitchen.

The top of the blender had come off and there was hot soup on everything: the coffee-coloured glass tiles on the backsplash, the stainless steel stove, the stove hood fan, the cupboards, the floor and even the window on the other side of the kitchen.

Hot soup on everything, including Andrea. There was soup in her hair, on her face, all over her arms, and dripping off her T-shirt. She looked...shocked. She didn’t say much as we got the soup washed off her face, and I got her into one of my XL tees. Then she started to cry - for a long time.

Turns out that sometimes we just need a reason to cry. A hot soup burn, or any other unexpected incident, on any scale of magnitude, may be the catalyst we’ve been waiting for to finally release whatever’s inside.

 So, while Andrea let go of life’s gak and  I sat next to her icing my knee, Hubert cleaned the kitchen, finished blending the soup, and made fried onions and egg with toast. 

The perfect dinner – soup, eggs, and family.

What did  I love most about that day? Andrea came bearing food to take care of us, and then we took care of her – just the way it’s supposed to be, everyone taking care of each other.  It’s great, isn’t it?

I’m not sure of the origin of Andrea’s dish of kindness so I’m calling it “Andrea’s Delicious Root Vegetable Soup". Here's the recipe, in her own words.

Andrea’s Delicious Root Vegetable Soup

1 pound carrots

1 pound parsnips

1 large sweet potato

1 small butternut squash (it’s easier if you just buy the pre-cut pre-packaged kind)

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

2 tbsp. fresh parsley

1-2 containers of prepared chicken or veggie stock ( somewhere around 4-8 cups)

Preheat the oven to 425.  

Cut the carrots, parsnips, potato and squash into large (1 inch) cubes.  Don't cut these too small; they will shrink while roasting.

Place veggies in single layers on 2 cookie sheets.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Toss well (you can always do this in a bowl and then distribute veggies on cookie sheets).

Bake for 25-35 minutes until veggies are tender, turning once.

 Remove the veggies from the oven.  Cool (highly recommend :) then add to a blender and blend small amounts at a time with small amounts of cool chicken broth.  Transfer to pot.  Add enough stock to bring the soup to desired consistency. Heat , add in parsley and serve.

In the meantime,  making myself cry when I need to shed just a few tears is effortless. I listen to Ukrainian folksongs by Kvitka Cisyk ( makes me think of my late, dear dad John Kurchak); I watch inspiring youtube videos about people overcoming disabilities to obtain victory; I try on clothes that used to fit.