Tag: food

Summer Harvest Memories: From Garden to Table

There are two songs that ring in my head when I say the word summer. The first song is “Summertime and the livin is easy”, the other one is “We’re have’n a heatwave…a tropical heatwave!” I usually sing both these lines together and it works. They describe perfectly what summer in southern Ontario has been this year. It is a long time since I can recall having such a long hot summer. For those of us who are not our best in the heat it has been somewhat challenging. Still it has also been delightful for those who enjoy being outside on hot, sunny days. I must say I have avoided going out in the mid day just to avoid the heat. Still the early mornings and evenings are most often delightfully pleasant to be out and about. I only head out in mid day when I have to. It has been great beach and cottage weather for those who are fortunate to travel to both.

Time to Relax

What I love most about summer is the relaxed paced of strolling through my days. I have fewer commitments and more time to simply muse. I like to sleep in and linger over my morning coffee. I consider the simple things of life that can be overlooked when I get busy. I love to spend long hours reading a good novel! I leave the non-fiction for another time when I want to dig deeper.

Eating Local Produce

Now that summer is half over we are making our way through August. I find myself grateful for the summer harvest. There is nothing like a fresh ripe peach or the taste of a tomato right off the vine. I remember when I lived in the country and had a vegetable patch in our backyard. First the beans ripened. My then two year old daughter sat between the rows with a bowl between her legs. She helped pick the beans and also ate them. After the beans came the tomatoes. The first year I planted the garden I had no idea what I was doing. I planted twenty-two tomato plants. My neighbour laughed. I discovered later why. I had bushels of tomatoes that all seemed to ripen at once. I learned how to make and can everything tomato. I had shelves of chili sauce, spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, and tomato juice! What I learned later is that sometimes canned tomatoes explode.

One day in the fall while making dinner upstairs in the kitchen I heard a crash downstairs. I went down to investigate and found two jars of exploded tomatoes all over the fruit cellar! I consulted with my neighbour who was experienced in canning. She explained to me that the seal was not tight and the tomatoes fermented. Needless to say I only planted 4 tomato plants the next year. We ate them fresh. No more canning for me.

Corn season has started here and the farmer’s markets are busy. Sadly, I must avoid the corn as my body can no longer digest it. I love the flavour of corn on the cob dripping with butter. Again, this is a memory of the past. Now is also the season for fresh dug new potatoes. Oh how love them. This time of year I am so blessed to savour the flavours of local produce. I love that the food I eat is grown in the soil close to where I live.

Choosing the Food We Eat All Year Round

We have all become so used to eating fruits and vegetable grown far away and transported into our community. I wonder what it would be like to only eat foods that are native to our own locale. I guess that is what the 100 mile diet is all about. What do you think dear reader? Do like to eat tropical foods from far off lands? Or do you like to eat local? I think I am more local though I do love tropical fruits like pineapple, oranges, lemons and limes. I also like vegetables that come in the winter like leafy greens that are grown in greenhouses.

There are so many choices now. We live in multicultural communities. The food offered in our local grocery stores and markets include a variety of fruits and vegetables. The foods are geared to so many different cuisines. We can choose whatever suits our pallet.

Gratitude and Privilege

We are so fortunate and privileged to have the choices we do. Sadly there are so many around the world who go to bed hungry every night or are malnourished. Knowing that is hard for me. Still I want to be grateful for our harvest bounty. Let’s take time to give thanks and remember how graced we are.

Posted on by Beth 0

The Ritual of Making Tea and Connecting with Ancestors

Sometimes around mid afternoon I have a craving for a cup of tea and perhaps a couple of cookies to go with it. I am not sure when this ritual started. Perhaps when I lived in Victoria British Columbia where it was first introduced to me. I fell in love with all the different ways that tea is served. Then I started collecting tea pots just because I loved the shape or colour of them.

Earlier in my life I had a whole collection of cups and saucers that were given to me as shower gifts when I got married. Over the years when I was downsizing many of them were passed on. Now I just have a few that I cherish because of where they came from. Two of them are from a tea set that was my grandmother’s. One was a gift from the Empress Hotel in Victoria. One is from my mother’s set. The others are all from different friends who have passed them on to me to memorialize someone special in our lives.

Connecting through Ritual

There is something about making a pot of tea and serving it in a china tea cup that gives me a sense of peace and calm. I have several different varieties of tea in my collection. Some are loose tea and others are in bags. When I make the loose tea I use a Stirling silver tea strainer to pour the tea into the cup. It was part of a tea set from my other grandmother.

As I reflect on this simple act of serving tea I realize that it is a way for me to connect with my ancestors as well as friends who have gifted me with tea pots, cups and boxes of tea over the years. I am by no means a tea expert or pretend to know a lot about tea. I just enjoy the flavour of it and the ritual that goes along with making it. Sometimes I prefer to drink out of a bone chine mug especially on a cold day when I want to wrap my hands around the warm cup. When I really feel like treating myself to something special, though, I enjoy my tea cup from the Empress Hotel.

Family Traditions

My dad was an avid tea drinker. In his later years he had an office in our house and there was always a pot of tea and mug sitting on his desk. He used to laugh and say “I am just sitting here swilling tea”. My sister has his tea pot now and we recently talked about the memories of our dad it brings up.

When I was a little girl my mom would have her friends over to play bridge and I was charged with the responsibility of picking out the tea cups and placing them at each place setting on the table. I was always so excited to pick my favourite ones.

My grandchildren all like to have tea parties and drink from their favourite tea cup. Two of them live a long way away so we have FaceTime tea parties from time to time. I even showed them how to crook their little finger when sipping their tea. We all get a good chuckle out of it.

So to all of you who enjoy a cup of tea now and then know that you are not alone. In fact tea ceremonies are held around the world in different countries. I was told recently that in Japan when a couple gets married the parents of the bride and groom sit together and the bride and groom serve them tea. What a lovely way of honouring their parents.

Spiritual Practice

There is something Spiritual about a tea ceremony or ritual no matter how simple or involved it may be. Whether you are serving yourself or sharing with others there is a connection that brings us together. The pouring out of the tea for one another and sharing in the savouring of the flavour is a mindfulness practice. It slows us down and brings us into the present moment. Perhaps that is why I feel that call to stop and have a cup of tea in the afternoon. It is an opportunity to stop what I am doing and simply be present with the tea for a few precious minutes. One day I will learn the art of reading tea leaves in the bottom of my cup. In the meantime, I will enjoy the ritual and savour the flavour of my afternoon tea.

What are your favourite rituals? Do you have a special time of day when you like practice something that brings you into the present moment. I would love to hear from you.

Posted on by Beth 2