Bowla

For the past few weeks, I have been struggling. But it's humbling how something as simple as good food can always save me. Like the cake Cathy brought over last week. Long after it was all gone, I still pictured Cathy standing in her kitchen slicing each of the strawberries and whipping cream for the top. Such a simple act, and so comforting.

What I made tonight was Sweet Potato Curry with Red Lentils. It is all my favorite things: savory, spicy, easy, cheap, and healthy. If you want to DIY, the recipe is below.

Sweet Potato Curry with Red Lentils

First thing, finely chop one medium onion and set aside.

Next, peel a large sweet potato and cut into 1-inch chunks.

Next, bring 3 ½ cups of water to a boil in a medium or large pot. Add an organic bullion cube. (You can also just use proper stock instead of water.)

While you're waiting for it to boil, throw in the sweet potato.

Meanwhile, warm some oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally. While it's cooking, peel and finely chop a hunk of ginger and a couple cloves of garlic. Put all this into the onions, plus a teaspoon of curry powder and another of freshly-ground cumin. Give it all a stir and keep it cooking for another minute or so.

While you're waiting, add a cup of red lentils to the boiling water and sweet potato. Then add all the onion stuff, stir, and turn the heat way down to simmer.

Cook for 10 minutes or until lentils are softened. The potatoes will already be softened.

You can really put things into the pot in whatever order you want. The key is chopping the onions, garlic, and ginger really finely and getting them softened up before they go into the pot. Also, don't overcook this dish. If you do, it turns to mush, but catch it before that stage, and it will be a lovely golden color with the beautiful orange sweet potato still intact.

Garnish bowls with chopped cilantro and plenty of plain yogurt or kefir. Best eaten with fresh bread for sopping.

Go Big

Karen and Brian went to a lot of trouble, although they claimed it was nothing at all.

They cooked a five-course dinner for eight of us a week or so ago.

First, they passed a platter of the slowest-roasted tomatoes and garlic with baguette and mild goat's cheese. Round it went, a few times at least, and then we were onto the salad course with cold beets, spinach leaves, blue cheese, and sugared walnuts. All this, I thought, was surely enough to fill us before the main course, but no, out came little plates of mashed celery root, topped off with shaved parmigiana, sauteed chestnuts, and delicate, green chives.

Karen and Mike

By this time, everyone was really warming up, swapping tales about Minnesota and New Brunswick, suggesting movie dates, and draining a bottle or two of vino, of course.

Then came pork tenderloin wrapped with mushrooms into the lightest pastry and plated with wild rice and tender pieces of squash. Nothing at all, remember.

We even found room for dessert plus a slice of homemade pumpkin bread...and Karen sent me home with my very own jar of green tomato chow. What an effort!

Classic Karen and Brian.

Mike and Cathy

Ornge Man

Jeremiah's base. He's inside.


I got left in the car, making funny faces to keep myself company.


Jeremiah, being a natural 'Blue Man.'

Nouveau-Brunswick

It was just enough time for me to unwind, maybe not completely, but significantly: four nights and five days in Wicklow, New Brunswick with my mum and Megan.

We spent it watching Wheel of Fortune, drinking cheap beer, getting manicures, eating at diners, grilling pork, reading inexcusably dumb magazines, shopping for Christmas presents, trying on clothes, walking to the garden and back, sharing jewelry, going to bed early, and snacking on potato chips and ice cream.


Garden tomatoes: so sweet, you could eat them like apples.
Noticed in my dad's workshop: unused golf balls and evidence of his dog, Megan.
Fancy Marimekko stockings from Helsinki via Ottawa to New Brunswick. In the background: Mum and Dad's pink-painted plywood deck.
Two cutie pies. You know it.
Thanks to Dad, even the birds eat well. This sits outside the living room window and attracts all manner of teeny birds, plus a couple greedy jays.
Toasted tomato sandwich with sides of bacon and sliced cucumber. The bread, notably, is called 'brown' (a.k.a. molasses bread) and was baked by Grandma's Bake Shop in Centreville. Veggies are from Dad's garden. Bacon is from a pig.
My mum and dad's last New Brunswick grape of the season. But I'll be getting a jelly delivery at Christmas. Seriously, who can grow organic grapes in New Brunswick? They both have green thumbs, although they deny it.
Keith's was the beer of my university days. Over the weekend, I drank it chilled while wearing gloves outside. It was crisp!
Made-to-order Grammatizer. What in it? Grandma's Restaurant and Bake Shop's own hamburger roll, two ground beef burgers, bacon, several slices of processed cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Gramatizer sauce. So decadent (if you look just to the front of the burger on the plate you can see a delicious drip from the bacon).

Saturday the 27th

Missing Link