River of risotto

We joined the geese this morning for breakfast down by the river. It's that time of year; the river is high and very fast moving.

One of these days I'm just going to hop onto the train and go clear across Canada or at least as far as Toronto.

I opened the front door and the aroma of wine mingled with roasted asparagus greeted me this evening. Mr. Cowboy made a very tasty risotto with a little help from Jamie Oliver.

Hospital trees

I was very lucky to be invited to the milling of the hospital trees. Not only that, but I was able to pick out as much wood as I wanted. Our planks are now stored away, slowly drying, and hopefully in a year or so we will build a table which will be gifted to TG as a memento of her birth at this hospital.

Al fresco lunch

After staring at a computer screen for most of today, I could not wait to get out during my lunch hour and just walk. The flowers, the market, the sunshine, music, balloon animals, and especially the coconut chocolate bar renewed my energy.

Notes from my studio

It is finally finished!

I bought the material about a year ago and it sat in my stash pile patiently waiting it's turn.

It only took me a weekend to actually cut, sew, and sandwich the quilt before I took it to my long-arm quilter.

And a couple of evenings to cut the binding and sew it on the quilt.
The fabric is called Windflower by Daphne B for Wilmington Prints.

Victoria Day hike

This time, fuelled with buttermilk biscuits and lots of coffee with a splash of hot milk, we decided to hike Peterson Creek. Again it was windy, but as we trudged up the sandy trails, the wind died down and we were searching for a shady spot.

Rhubarb crisp is one of our favourite desserts; a mixture of rhubarb from Saturday's Farmers Market and strawberries from last years market. The crisp part is made with lots of oats, sugar , and butter.

Sunday hike

After enjoying a stack of buttermilk pancakes, we had no choice but to go for a hike. It was windy and sunny, and once we started the climb it got a lot hotter. Felt good to get to the top, take a breather, and bask in the sun.

Russian market burgers

It was late when we got to the Farmers Market, no asparagus left but while I picked up some rhubarb, shallots, and parsley Mr. Cowboy was busy admiring a Ural motorcycle.

It's a long weekend so I decided to make burgers. The recipe is from the June 2012 issue of House Beautiful. The patties are a combination of beef and lamb.

What makes these burgers like no other is the butter. Mash a chunk of unsalted butter with finely chopped shallots and garlic.

Add two cups of finely chopped parsley, yes two cups.

Generously slather the parsley-shallot butter on lightly toasted buns, tops and bottoms.

Place your burger and cheddar cheese on the bottoms, close with the buttered tops and enjoy.
Some people, who shall remain nameless,  do not appreciate the gamey richness of the lamb so this recipe will be filed under 'G'.