For the day that's in it.

I'm taking that to heart.

Along with acceptance. And being mindful to stay where my hands are. To be joyful for others. To feel the deep empathy and sadness for others' unbelievable tragedies. On December 23rd, a man and woman I greatly admire, for many, many qualities (kindness, gentility, commitment to their own health in the worst of weather conditions, pillars of support when their son and his wife took on the raising of abandoned twin grandsons, their great-grandsons and so on)lost their beloved teenage granddaughter in a stupid, careless, dumb automobile accident. Unspeakable. Truly. Good people suffering the unbearable. I can't imagine.

Grandgirl was here. We love her, we do. But she's gone now. Back to grinding school work and intense studying, a part-time job and her incredible social life. She really doesn't understand rural living in spite of the changing seascapes and breathtaking sunsets and wilderness. I don't think I did at her age either. My life was the city. And also in Toronto for years and years. I get it.

But a craving for peace sets in in later years, away from the madding crowd, and I knew if I didn't jump then, I never would. So here I am, enjoying this serenity of living, no sidewalks, ocean at my doorstep and a life I only ever whispered about as I was afraid I would jinx it.

And I get social fulfilment when I need it. Like yesterday. An all day "Hash Party", no not that kind, but every bit of leftovers from Christmas put on heated platters that run down the kitchen for about 12 feet, never seen the like, and an enormous cast of characters coming in and out of my friend's house, from all walks of life where one is encouraged to talk of the past year and travels and achievements and hear of everyone else's. A Boxing Day tradition for Daughter, Grandgirl and I.

And friends from the city call and we chat and one is visiting me again later on this year.

And all is good.

And kindness.

Yes.

The Joys of the Simple Life

Daughter gave me a bread maker. I'd always wanted one but couldn't justify the cost. My wrists are the weakest part of me and kneading dough was always a challenge, so I'd make my Irish soda bread and leave yeasty concoctions to professional bakers.

See, she had this rather nice one she'd used before she became gluten-free for health reasons. It's hard to believe these kind of machines exist. They do ALL the work. You just measure out all the ingredients and put them into the unit in order. And push a button.

I can't tell you what this means to me. The scent of baking bread filling up the house fills up my soul.

I'm a pioneer woman, making her own yogurt and jams and breads.

There's no stopping me now.

Recipes from The Outport Woman

Easy peasy - allow about 20 minutes from stem to stern, 15 minutes when you know what you're doing without the recipe.

Serves 4.

I eat this at least once a week, sometimes twice. It freezes incredibly well.

Braised Coconut Spinach and Chickpeas with Lemon

2 teaspoons oil or ghee
1 small yellow onion
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger, from a 3-inch piece
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 large lemon, zested and juiced (about 2 tablespoons juice)
1 dried hot red pepper or dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 heaping tbls of dulse or other seaweed, finely chopped, if desired.
15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 pound baby spinach
14-ounce can coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Toast a handful of coconut in the oven.
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1. Heat the oil or ghee in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is beginning to brown. Add the garlic, ginger, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest, chopped dulse and red pepper, if using. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Add the chickpeas and cook over high heat for a few minutes or until the chickpeas are beginning to turn golden and they are coated with the onion and garlic mixture.

3. Toss in the spinach, one handful at a time. This will take about 5 minutes; stir in a handful or two and wait for it to wilt down and make room in the pot before adding the next handful.

4. When all the spinach has been stirred in, pour in the coconut milk and stir in the salt, ground ginger, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer then turn down the heat and cook for 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are warm through. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice, if necessary. Sprinkle toasted coconut on top.

This can be a fairly thick soup or use as stew served over sliced baked yams (da best) or rice or rice noodles or basmati rice or....

NOTE: In withdrawal emergencies, you can sub a couple of cans of spinach as all these ingredients can be kept in your cupboard, omit lemon and use bottled lemon juice.

Outport Woman was Busy in the Kitchen

Between other bursts of energy and engagements I've been cooking. A lot. I like to make about 4 or 5 dinners and then freeze the extras. With this in mind I can afford to take more time and effort with some dishes.

In the last wee while I've made seafood crepes which I rarely do as it takes a while. But I am in receipt of a long awaited cast iron crepe pan and these were the result. The extra three servings freeze so well:



Then I made an old favourite, steak and kidney pie, making it an unbroken rule to freeze the extras (4) as I could eat it every day and not get fed up with it, it must be the memories of a long, damp, bone-chilling chilblainy childhood in Cork:



And then finally, this recipe which I've fed to so many at my table as it is so nutritious. I call it coconut spinach. I made 6 of these.



Next up is moose lasagna which is incredible. And then someone was telling me about cooking lasagna and then putting this marvellous stuffing along the strip and rolling it all up and baking. It could have been Grannymar, h'm.

Now if you're in this area, drop in. If there's one thing I enjoy more than cooking, it's feeding it to friends.