MARIE'S MUSES

When I was walking home from work last night I noticed that the leaves at the top of the large chestnut tree at the end of the Manor Drive are already starting to turn and there is a distinct nip in the air. Can summer be over already? I sure hope not, but it has been a lot cooler these past few mornings and one night last week we actually had to turn on the little electric heater down here in the kitchen for a little bit, to help take the chill off. It was almost cold up in our bedroom last night when I crawled into bed as well. Wherever has the summer gone?

I had a really busy day at work yesterday. My boss arrived home, from being away for a few weeks, and so I got to do a lot of the thing I love doing most, and that is to cook! I made him a lovely blackberry pie in the morning, with some of the blackberries they have up in the fruit cages at the top of the Estate, and a nice big pot of Cream of Tomato Soup. I also made some Devilled Eggs. They love a plate of them in the fridge so that they can just pick one up to snack on when they are hungry. I also always keep a bowl of Vegetable Dip at the ready and a stack of vegetable crudités for them to munch on, so there was that to make as well. Then there are the fresh fruit smoothies that I keep at the ready. The Mr likes to have a big glass of that every morning. They’re really easy to do. I just cut up a variety of fruit and blitz it in the blender along with some fruit juice. I baked a ton of chocolate chip cookies, the Mr’s favourite kind, and then for supper I did him another one of his favourites, my Baked Artichoke Chicken along with some steamed fresh vegetables. They are quite healthy eaters, as you can see, well . . . all except for the pie and cookies! (everyone deserves a treat now and then!) Today I shall make my Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella to stick in the fridge for him to have for his tea tonight, but that’s pretty much all I’ll have to cook for him, and so it shall be mainly a cleaning day for me. I never did get all the silver finished to hopefully I’ll be able to get a bit more done today.

Tonight is Belly Dancing at the chapel with the women in my church group. It should be good for a laugh if nothing else and, I am guessing, good exercise! I thought I would pop over and participate, to have a laugh or two or three. I don’t work on Tuesday nights and so it is a welcome opportunity for me to get together with some of the ladies. I cannot imagine that I will be moving about like a middle eastern princess by the end of the evening, but I expect I shall pick up at the very least a move or two, and who knows I may discover some hidden talent, hitherto undiscovered! The best part will be getting to spend some time with friends!

We watched one of our Little House on the Prairie DVD’s last night when I got home from work. It was an episode called The Blizzard. In it, a sudden blizzard happens upon Walnut Grove and all the school children get caught out unawares in it. The men of Walnut Grove have to go out searching for them. It brought back a lot of memories for me, of being a child in Northern Manitoba and how much it can snow out on the Canadian prairies, and how suddenly a blizzard like that can come up. I can remember being sent home from school one time because a bad blizzard had started, and just how snowy, blustery and scary it was! Thankfully I did not have very far to go to get home, but I do remember not being able to see two feet in front of my face, all the houses disappearing into an oblivious white curtain of snow, and it being cold, cold, cold … the wind blowing fiercely and having to walk against it, while bits of snow and ice pelted my face and made it sting. In days gone by, people could get lost in blizzards just trying to go from the house to the barn and many froze to death not two feet from their own back doorways. Animals still needed to be fed and firewood still needed to be gotten in. In Vermont and New Hampshire I noticed though, that the barns were all attached to the houses and perhaps that is the reason why. It does make sense.

Now, however have I done that? I have gone from talking about the leaves changing on the chestnut tree, to getting lost in blizzards, and I have filled up over two pages and run out of time in doing so. I really must get a leg on with my day! I hope you haven’t minded my prattling on this morning, and I do hope that each one of you have a lovely day! In the meantime, here is my offering to you this morning . . . Hot Bacon Dressing, which I had on a lovely chicken salad at the weekend, but goes equally well on spinach and egg salads as well as hot vegetables such as carrots or green beans.

Makes 1 ½ cups

This is a classic dressing for spinach salad, but it’s also wonderful on other salads. I like it on a mixed salad with chunks of grilled chicken and avocado. Try it on some steamed green beans for a change. It is guaranteed to tempt even the most avid green bean hater into going back for seconds!

6 slices of thick streaky smoked bacon, diced

½ cup finely chopped onion

Canola oil

2 tsp corn flour mixed with 2 tsp water

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup water

¼ cup caster sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the bacon bits in it until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon onto some paper kitchen towelling to drain, leaving the fat behind. Add the onion to the bacon fat in the pan and cook for about five minutes until it is soft and translucent. Remove the onion from the pan as well, leaving the fat behind. Add enough canola oil to the pan to make an measurement equal to ½ cup. Stir in the cornstarch mixture, the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until bubbling and thickened, about two minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the bacon and onion. Serve while warm. Delicious!