A Life, Lived

Rhubarb-Ginger Sparkler

A few weeks ago my friend Nancy sent me a message asking if I was interested in some rhubarb. She was at her father's house and he still had some in the garden. Of course I said 'sure, hit me up!'.

She brought me about 10 pounds.

Soon I was googling looking for things to make with this amazing gift.

This drink was one of the things which came up at the Fine Cooking website. I decided it would be a great Canada Day cocktail made with some local sparkling wine. Sure enough it proved to be the hit of the celebration.

It was convenient as well. I made the syrup a week before I needed it and stored it in the refrigerator. On Canada Day, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of getting everything ready, the syrup got poured into champagne flutes and topped up with sparkling wine. Moments later we were toasting this wonderful country of ours!

Rhubarb-Ginger Sparkler

1 lb. fresh rhubarb, roughly chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 oz. (about a 2-inch piece) peeled and sliced fresh ginger
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
750ml sparkling wine, or 24 fl oz. soda water

In a medium (3-quart) saucepan, combine the rhubarb, sugar, and ginger with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is broken down and softened, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids. Stir in the lemon juice and refrigerate until chilled.

Divide the syrup among 6 champagne flutes (about 1/4 cup each) and top with sparkling wine or soda water.

Travel Tuesdays - Ottawa

We are in Ottawa this week for the Canadian Teachers' Federation Forum on Public Education followed by the Annual General Meeting. We had hoped for some nice weather so we could get out and enjoy ourselves during the free time. So far our hopes have been a bit dashed. :-(

Anyway, I wont let some gloom and rain stop me!

Yesterday morning, while Paul was still asleep, I got up and wandered around Parliament Hill (well, as much as I could wander with all of the construction underway).

Canada Day Fun

I'm a bit late in posting our pics from Canada Day but here goes.

We focused a bit more on the Canada day celebrations than we normally would have but it was our 150th birthday and all. I also knew I'd be tired out from the preparations for Paul's birthday BBQ the day before. I kept things pretty simple - sliders/lobster rolls/pre-made salads/chips/strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Everything was made before the guests arrived so all I had to do was assemble things.

Paul put together the treat bags (you can't have a birthday celebration without treat bags can you?)

You can tell by this picture that he was ready for a celebration!

We started dinner with a toast to Canada. I made a cocktail from local sparkling wine and a rhubarb/ginger syrup.

We served three salads: marinated tomatoes and white onion, carrot, and a German potato salad I bought at our favourite German deli (yes, we served store bought food. :-) )

We were going with a slider type theme - all sorts of mini-sandwiches for dinner. On the platter were mini-lobster rolls, mini peameal bacon sandwiches, and mini burgers.

Mom had made the shortcakes for dessert. I supplied the strawberries from our CSA and the whipped cream.

Later, when the sun had started to go down it was time for sparklers and watching the fireworks throughout the neighbourhood.

Omar Khadr

A Canadian child is captured by invading foreign military forces and tortured in a black site prison for years before a confession obtained through that torture is used to justify the many violations of international law this represents. Evidence comes to light that the government whose job it is to protect the rights of Canadian citizens instead worked against their own citizen's legal rights. Khadr was not on trial here: it is the action of representatives of Canada's government that denied one of their own citizens their fundamental rights that is being addressed.

By international law, Khadr was a child soldier. He did not receive the rights he was entitled to under international law. No international court has ever convicted a child of a war crime. The primary evidence of his guilt is a confession obtained through torture. There are good reasons we don't allow those as evidence in law.

Birthday Celebrations

There was plenty of celebrating over the weekend.

So much so that I've been sleeping ever since. Well, not really but I sure feel as if I should have been!!!

Paul took his birthday off of work. This meant that when I had to run around and do errands like pick up the cake - he got to come along.

We went out for a nice breakfast. He ordered the Salmon Benedict and then at the half of my breakfast I was too full to eat. We got the cake, made a few more stops and then ended up back at home.

Mom came by early - she and Paul were cracking the lobster for our Canada Day lobster rolls.

While she was given him a lesson on dissecting lobster, I was busy with the birthday dinner.

We had ribs,

orzo salad,

baked beans,

onion rings, and fries.

We also had chicken rings but for some reason there are no pics of them.

After we tidied up it was time for cake!

After dessert Paul opened up his gifts.

A great day for our birthday boy.

Travel Tuesdays - Maine

It is Independence Day south of the border. Here are some shots from our trips to Maine.

Cats

Happy 150th Canada

Yesterday Paul turned 42 and today Canada turns 150.

Of course people have been living on these lands and calling them home for more than 15,000 years and the word 'Canada' appeared on maps long before 1867, but today marks the day enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867), which united the three separate colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single Dominion within the British Empire called Canada.

In true Canadian style their is more than a bit of hand wringing 'is it OK to celebrate Canada when we still have disparities between those who have and those who do not?' or 'the indigenous peoples were here long before 1867, is it insulting to their history to celebrate?' or 'the French Canadians still do not feel as if they are a full part of Canada do we insult them if we celebrate?' or 'we have never fully recognized the impact of our colonialism past on the original indigenous peoples, do we insult them by celebrating?' and so on.

Frankly, I think the fact that we even ask those questions IS reason to celebrate.

We appreciate that we can be proud of our country at the same time as recognizing tat there is still work to be done on the complex issues facing us as a nation. Hold our example up to just about at other nation on the planet and I think you'll find we compare pretty favorably.

Tonight there will be large parties and small parties across the land. We'll be gathering with family and friends for a celebration out back. Food, drink, decorations, laughter, and sparklers. A perfect combination  . . . .