A mingling of threads

motivated forgetting*

Tree peony in my garden.

As I mentioned last year I have no recollection of planting this tree peony. I am in awe and delight in the absolute perfection of its blooms. As I look at this plant trying to remember when I bought it, why I planted it where I did, it reminds me of a very sad time. It seems as if there is a wall around my memory of that time; a wall protecting me.

I do remember the kindness, love, laughter, and joy that Peter’s friends and co-workers gave him during his last days. I remember the nurse that sang to him at night when he could not sleep. I remember how the nurses often commented on the richness of Peter’s spirit.
I remember my brother of the before time.

The peony comforts me in its beauty.

The peony is named after Paeon or Paean, a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing.

Gardening on the East Coast.

* Memory Loss: motivated forgetting

Down by the harbour

the sky was blue, it was sunny, there was a breeze coming off the water. A blanket of fog billowed just above the water of the harbour. Each minute the harbour view changed, it was like a game of peek-a-boo or now you see it now you don’t.

It was my Dad's birthday last week so on Friday I took him and Mom to Salty's.

The Access-a-Bus let them off near the entrance to the Historic Properties.

Walking towards the Historic Properties.

Morse’s Tea Building, the large ironstone structure was built in 1841.

"The Historic Properties Privateers Wharf  is four-acre National Historic Site features ten buildings, some dating back to the 1800s. Privateers Wharf was the centre of activity on the Halifax waterfront, welcoming trading vessels and privateers from ports around the world. It was from Halifax that many of the privateers, licensed by the British crown to raid enemy vessels, set sail and returned with their bounty."

 

After our lunch, Dad and I had Digby Scallops, Mom had the lobster roll, we walked around the area.

We went into Argyle Fine Art.

 

I fell in love with this tea train by Theresa Bergen. 

 

Sweet Basil & O'Carroll’s

Looking at the Harbourside Market, Salty's, the Purdy's Wharf towers, and you can just see the MacDonald Bridge, or if you are a local the old bridge, rising through the fog.

Chebucto Landing, the landing site of the first settlers to Halifax, where on the left you can see North America’s oldest operating Naval Clock (1772). We stopped at Canada’s only crystal manufacturer, NovaScotian Crystal

to watch the crystal makers at the glassworks.

The shop where the finished crystal is sold.

It was a lovely June day on the East Coast.

Mouth watering tale

These two books contain a touch of exotic, a sprinkle of magic, and a bit of drama; this makes for delicious reading.

 

Pomegranate Soup
Author: Marsha Mehran
IBSN: 978-0-8129-7248-1 (0-8129-7248-1)
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Rosewater and Soda Bread
Author: Marsha Mehran
IBSN: 10:081297249X
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Canadian Living Book Club interview with author Marsha Mehran.

Woven into the story of each book are several interesting recipes. I just happened to have all the ingredients needed to make the Iranian chicken and rice dish called Tahcheen, however since I only had 1 cup of basmati rice I fiddled with the quantities and came up with my own version of the recipe found in Rosewater & Sodabread.

Tahcheen
4 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
olive oil
4 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)
1 large onion
1 - 284mg bag baby spinach
½ cup plain yogurt (Greek style)
2 eggs
½ tsp saffron
½ tsp turmeric
Kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
½ cup honey
slivered almonds

Directions:
Cook rice in 2 cups of salted boiling water.
Sauté the chicken breasts (season with salt) in olive oil until the meat is golden on both sides. Remove the cooked chicken from the pan; shred the meat or rough chop. Set aside.
Chop onions into thin slices and sauté in olive oil until golden.
Added the washed spinach to the onions and sauté until the spinach is wilted.
Remove the pan from the heat.
Added the shredded chicken to the onions and spinach.
Dissolve the saffron a bit of hot water. Add saffron, pepper, turmeric, and eggs, to the yogurt, mix well. Add this sauce mixture to the chicken, spinach, and onion. Mix to combine.
Preheat your oven to 350 F
Assembly:
Add a layer of the cooked rice to a well greased casserole dish. Pat the rice layer down evenly. Add a layer of the chicken mixture on top followed by another layer of rice. Again, flatten the rice. Continue layering ending with a rice layer. Because of the size casserole dish I used I had one layer of rice, a layer of the chicken-spinach mixture, and a final layer of rice.
Sprinkle the casserole with the slivered almonds and drizzle the honey over the top.
Place the covered casserole dish in the oven and cook for about 1 hour.

Note: the longer the Tahcheen is cooked, the thicker the Tahdig (delicious crispy layer of rice at the bottom) will be.

When cooked, remove the lid and allow the Tahcheen to cool for a few minutes.

Place an inverted plate over the casserole dish and turn it over. Tap the dish in order to loosen the contents inside. The contents should fall on the plate in one piece with the Tahdig on the outside.

I served my Tahcheen with a side-dish of sautéed mushrooms, yellow bell peppers, carrots and green onions.

This is a lovey dish and I will make it again. Next time I'll add some red pepper flakes for just a touch of heat. This is a simple recipe and took about half an hour to prepare. Oddly, some of the recipes I looked at on the interweb complained the process to make this dish was long and complicated.

Reading and cooking on the East Coast

Garden wizardry

 

Lupin or lupines is derived from lupus - Latin for wolf. Lupin means, wolf like in Latin. The Romans believed that lupins robbed the soil of nutrients in the same way that a wolf would steal domestic animals.

 Remus Lupin was the name of the wizard/werewolf in the Harry Potter books.

They grow in great colourful masses along the highways and byways of the province.

These flowers are a cultivated variety, Russell Hybrids  (Lupinus polyphyllus). I planted them near the wooded part of my property and they seem to be spreading as I hoped they would.

The next three photos were borrowed from local media sites.

This photo was taken near where I live - looking across the harbour to Dartmouth.

From the Citadel - looking across the harbour to Dartmouth.

Looking down the road just before the blockade.

The fire is over sixteen kilometres by three kilometres in size. It has been burning out of control since Friday; the reason why on this clear sunny day, that we pray for rain.

Please rain on the East Coast.

Button, button who's got the button...

Centaurea montana (common names include perennial cornflower, mountain cornflower and mountain bluet), however we've always called it Bachelor's-button.

In the language of flowers the Bachelor Button means: Single Blessedness

"The language of flowers, sometimes called floriography, was a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken. This language was most commonly communicated through Tussie-Mussies, an art which has a following today."

My garden helper, she digs the holes... although not always, where I would want them.

Gardening on the East Coast.

Nothing common about it to me...

Syringa vulgaris, the Common lilac.

One of the first shrubs I planted when I bought my house was this lilac. It stands over 3 metres tall. The photo above was taken from an upstairs window.

I rarely cut flowers from my garden to bring inside. I prefer to see and admire them in their natural state. Plus, my boys like to EAT plants.

At dusk, through the open windows, the scent of the lilac will fill the house.

Gardening on the East Coast.

Got dirt...

There is an amusing program on Slice each Wednesday night. How To Find A Husband…and What to do if You Can’t. The documentary style show follows Sally Gray (she is hilarious) around for ten weeks, while she dedicates herself completely to finding a husband. Sally does everything from internet dating, psychics, blind dates, speed dating and more.

Well, I find one sure fired way of attracting men is to get yourself a pile of dirt.

This is 4 yards of garden soil & in front there is 4 yards of mulch.

You know a pile of dirt and a pile of bark.

Men love dirt. How do I know you ask…well, because they kept stopping to ask where I got my dirt. I lost count of the number of guys that pulled over to ask me about the dirt.
I was dirty, sweaty, dripping blood from black flies bites. More guys spoke to me today than they do on the days when I’m showered, dressed in nice clothes, and don’t look like an escapee from a horror film.

So, my tip is that if you are looking to attract men get yourself a pile of dirt.

Robin says it is all about the smell...

Gardening on the East Coast.

Fiddling for supper

One of the first tastes of spring are the Fiddlehead.

CBC has a clip about fiddleheads.

The easiest way to cook the fiddlehead is boiled and served with butter.

Our favourite way to have fiddleheads is blanched, than sautéed with garlic in butter, served with a grinding of fresh pepper.

This recipe for a fiddlehead omelette looks good.

Fiddling on the East Coast.