Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Wolfe Island Epitour

Caroline, Kaarina and I set off for Kingston, took a short ferry to Wolfe Island, and then drove the curvy roads to  Laura's new doorstep. Very picturesque territory.

It's not often I get to use the word bucolic, but it truly was such a sight, with mocha coloured and black angus cattle watching us with their big cow eyes as we drove past.

Laura has begun a new adventure, selling her city home and buying lakefront property with several acres. I'm excited for her and her husband Peter as they commit to a more independent lifestyle.

What a gorgeous property! The lake in front and a pond to the side. Acres to walk in the back.

Lots of birds. Raptors, ducks. Bird feeders front and back with visiting woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, bluejays. Freddy the cat was crouched on the counter for hours birdwatching and perfecting his attack technique, but the pane of glass made it all quite impossible.

In the mornings I did yoga in front of the wood stove while Ginger the cat circled my ankles. Tree pose, cow pose, cat pose, the morning sun rising. Perfect!

Laura is an Epitourist and as it was her turn to host, she invited the group to create a feast on Wolfe Island. We stayed two nights for a series of memorable meals.

When we arrived we enjoyed a snack of melted brie with warm blueberries. Dinner was tortiere from Cliffcrest Bakery, a mushroom kale salad with homemade ice cream and fruit crumble. After dinner, a scotch tasting.

A light breakfast the next morning, of fresh eggs from Caro's girls. "Lunch" turned out to be an eight hour extravagance. We paced ourselves, allowing plenty of time between courses and a nice long walk into the back woods after the main. Before dessert, we watched the full moon rise over the water and then finished with a cheese course.

Mont de chimay, beer washed le vieux pane, St. Agur blue, wine soaked goat
The next morning, a comfort breakfast of mushroom risotto.

A highlight of the trip for me was learning more about gourmet mushrooms.

We had also planned a tour of some Kingston artisans but decided to delay our departure to enjoy a leisurely morning before the drive back to Toronto.

Truly a wonderful few days escape from city life.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Scotch tasting

What a perfect way to relax in front of a warm wood stove.

Sampling a Glenmorangie taster set with Epitourist friends.

This single malt has never made it to my liquor cabinet, but the bright orange packaging caught my eye.

The Original and Lasanta were my favourites, and the Lasanta I think will be a wonderful finish to a Christmas holiday meal.
Glenmorangie Collection Taster Set is a selection of the 10 year old, with 50ml bottles of the Nectar D'Or, Quinta Ruban, and Lasanta. Excellent introduction to the top selling single malt in Scotland
Tasting Notes:
The Original 10 years (43%)ABV
Sweet citrus and floral notes with creamy vanilla and rich malt and orange peel.
The Lasanta (46%)ABV
Sherry and dried fruits with a hint of floral notes and a touch of honey.
The Quinta Ruban (46%)ABV
White chocolate with a floral infusion follwed by citrus notes and rich malt.. 
The Nectar D’or (46%)ABV
Mandarin orange and vanilla with hints of cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg. 

Gourmet Mushrooms

At a  recent Epitourist gathering, I had the fun of putting together a course that revolved around mushrooms, and took full advantage of Laura's proximity to Kelly's Gourmet Mushrooms on Wolfe Island.

Here's the recipe:

Sauteed and Roasted Blue Oyster and Shitake 

First take a tour of the mushroom growing operation and marvel at the science that goes into creating the right environment and conditions to raise gourmet mushrooms. Owner-operators Darren and Deb studied with world-renowned mycologist Paul Stamets to perfect their technique.

Choose 2 pounds of the freshest available mushrooms (in this case Blue Oyster and Shitake).


Realize they are too beautiful to shred and dice, so decide to saute and roast.

Lay out all ingredients
  • Garlic (2 cloves)
  • Onions (2 small)
  • Butter (about a 1/2 cup)
  • Mushrrooms (1.5 pounds)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • fresh herbs (oregeno, thyme)
  • thinly sliced cheese (pick your favourite meltable)
Tear stems off shitake; slice the tips of the blue oysters but keep stalks attached. Melt some butter and cook a bit of garlic in a stock pot, then toss in the bits to make mushroom stalk stock for use at a later meal.

Thinly slice some garlic and onions and caramelize in a generous amount of butter. Enjoy the smell!

Begin to saute the mushrooms  - don't crowd the pan - take your time and saute in batches. Don't worry, this is a very meditative process and you are still under their magic spell. Don't fully cook as you will finish off in the oven. (I sauteed with a  generous amount of butter but next time will experiment with a dry saute).

Keep an eye on your onions!

Ten or fifteen minutes before serving, pop the mushrooms into a preheated 375 degree oven and finish cooking.

Take the thinly sliced cheese and layer on the plate so it melts underneath the warm mushrooms. Then place mushrooms in such a way that people can admire the shape and colour; drizzle with the caramelized onion and butter. Add your fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste.


Risotto

The next morning, take the stock and 1/4 pound of the shitake mushrooms to make a comfort breakfast of Wild Mushroom, Pea and Pancetta Risotto from Melissa Clark's new book Dinner in an Instant.  Using the Insta-pot there is no stirring. I substituted scotch for the wine because we had a wee bit left over from our scotch tasting. It was quite aromatic in the pot but we couldn't really taste it in the final product. I also substituted bacon for pancetta. 

Go back to Kelly's Mushroom Farm the next day and pick up another two pounds of mushrooms to bring home. While you're at it, get a mushroom kit for your husband because you know he will love it (and of course he is a fun guy).

Make Creamy Mushroom soup with Shitake and Shitake Bacon for Sunday dinner.

Wait patiently for your Lion's Mane mushrooms to grow so you can try out more recipes.

Become a mushroom aficionado. In addition to being incredibly tasty, some mushrooms offer health benefits and healing properties. Passionate advocates say mushrooms can even save the world. It's not too late!

Friday, November 23, 2018

Full Beaver Moon

For Christmas, many moons ago, I bought my mom a moon light to hang in her room. After she died, we found it tucked away in her closet and I've reclaimed it for our bedroom wall. It casts a soft glow, the moon light.


THE CLOUD
As a free person I can always come and go,
Not caught in ideas of is and is not.
Not caught in ideas of being and non-being
Let your steps be leisurely.
Waxing or waning the moon is always the moon
The wind is still flying. Can you feel it my dear?
Bringing the rain from afar to nourish the nearby cloud
Drops of sunshine fall from on high to earth below
And the lap of the earth touches the clear vault of the sky.
- Thich Nhat Hanh


Barn's burnt down -
now
I can see the moon
- Masahide

Moon is full November 23, 12:41 a.m.



Sunday, November 18, 2018

Mutual Interest?

Last spring, I was sitting in my financial advisor's office, and we got around to that part of the script where she tells me I should be investing more in RRSPs. The fact is, I had been, but it was with a self-directed account at a financial institution.

Was it me, or was she making me feel I was cheating on her? I'd been seeing the advisor for many years now, and was slowly coming to the realization that although I'd been sharing very personal information about my annual earnings and overall wealth and risk profile, I really wasn't getting the kind of advice I wanted and needed. She was in business to help sell me products from her firm, like insurance and mutual funds.

I've known for several years that if I did my own investing it would be a lot cheaper. Years ago I'd heard of 'couch potato' investing and it went straight to my to do list, where it languished. Then ETFs came on the scene. I wanted a cheaper alternative and since my advisor wasn't offering it, I tried another route.

Unfortunately the bank advisors weren't much better.

"I'd like to try Index Funds and ETFs so I can reduce my fees."

"Those type of funds can only purchased through the online brokerage account. Do you have one?"

"No."

"Well let me show you this fund, modelled on the Canadian Index." 

It wasn't until I took an investment course this past fall that it finally sunk in that front-office bank staff and mutual fund 'financial advisors' aren't licensed to sell anything else but mutual funds. What I wound up with from the bank retail discussions were  mutual funds that were modelled on index funds and even labelled as such. They referred to them as 'funds' so I wasn't really catching on. Misleading!


Yes, buyer beware, but I feel like my long-time advisor and my trusted financial institutions have taken me for a sucker.

The course I signed up for was a college night course, thirty hours over ten weeks, with an introduction to bonds, the stock market, options, trading etc.  Now, while I'm certainly no expert, I am less intimidated by all the lingo and finally got around to setting up that online account.

I am still a couch potato at heart. By the end of the course it was confirmed.

When I saw the title of this book by Larry Bates, Beat the Bank, it became a handbook for me to help with assembling my own online portfolio.

The book reinforced that Canadians are a loyal bunch, trusting in our banks and among the highest per capita to hold mutual funds. We are also charged the highest management expense ratios (MERs) anywhere on the planet. Percentages of 2.0 - 2.5 percent don't sound too bad until you start adding it all up. Over the long-term, those fees can eat up as much as half of your investment return! Infuriating! The author's website has a useful tool to help illustrate how much of your investment return you actually get to keep after paying out fees.

What's that saying? "Too late smart"? "Better late than never?" Or, "it's only too late if you don't start now"?



Monday, November 5, 2018

Writing Wild

I reconnected with an old friend this past summer via Linked In. Janine lives in Waterloo and while staying with my mother I popped by a few times to catch up.

We were high school poets and won some awards and recognition in our senior year, however we've both gone on to different careers to earn our living. I still love words, but haven't been doing much creative writing over these last decades.

So when Janine suggested we attend the Wild Writers festival, I thought it would be the kick in the pants I needed to write a few pieces, and bring them to the festival as works in progress.

I creatively avoided doing any creative writing and although I didn't have any works in progress, I was still happy to attend the festival as a poser.

Janine's invitation included a weekend stay at her condo, just a short walk away from the festival location, the Centre for International Governance and Innovation. CIGI is a great venue space, with a fantastic stage and lots of boardrooms and lecture halls for discussion and exploration.

The opening showcase  featured Sharon Bala and Rawi Hage in a panel moderated by Jael Richardson. When it turned to practical advice for new writers, both authors declined, which was a bit disappointing. However, the two workshops I attended the next day had lots of great tips for those aspiring.

The Creative Nonfiction workshop was with Jael, and she confirmed the importance of calling to all the senses to lift scenes from the page. She also shared practical advice given to her from Helen Humphries, which is to write from beginning through to the end before you start perfecting drafts. Save each draft as a separate version. Focus on just one or two things when doing your draft (dialogue or character or senses or...). Very useful.


How Research Shapes a Story was a panel with Liz Harmer, David Huebert, Pamela Mulloy, Clare Tacon, and Brent van Staalduinen. Here it was evident that there is definitely no one approach, with each author having a different take on the topic.

Writing Raw: How to Explore Personal Material that is touchy, dark, intimate, tangled, problematic, risky, taboo or downright radioactive was delivered in a very methodical way, which surprised me. First we attacked the question of what subjects made us most uncomfortable, then we listed some of the root causes, and next we read from a handout writer Mike Barnes included with some super-practical writing process tips.  Confronting fears of rejection and separation weren't neglected topics. Although surprised by the methodical approach, I really did appreciate how straightforward and demystified the process could be when deconstructed. It's true the best writing has a magical quality but sometimes we humans have a way of making things more difficult than they need to be.

Janine had signed up for the Poetry Masterclass, Writing New Poems from the Wreckage of the Old.  Participants were to bring books of their favourite poetry along with recent works. During the afternoon they explored techniques such as erasure, cento, glosa and text collages.

The next morning there was a Literary Brunch with Katherine Ashenburg (publishing her first work of fiction in her seventies), Claire Cameron (finalist for Roger's Trust Fiction Prize), and Michael Redhill (winner of last year's Giller prize).  Delicious food, writers reading from their books, and great conversation.

As a result of attending the literary festival, my reading list is now much longer! And I have renewed my interest in creative writing, too... since I don't have to earn a living at it, why not explore it as a means of self expression? The New Quarterly runs an annual contest with the winners announced at the Writing Wild festival. I think I will set a goal for myself to enter a submission in a category (or two). God knows I have enough raw material in the way of life experience.

It was also fantastic catching up with Janine and having a weekend get-together. Next time, to be held in Toronto!