Welcome to a new edition of “A Week on Sunday”. Pleased to be home and back into the routine of things, here’s a little roundup of things I’ve noticed online and in real life.
“Grey gold”
A fan of Australian, Beau Miles, I’ve been keeping up with the updates on his latest project to restore an abandoned cottage. It’s an unappealing adventure, but Miles is generous in sharing the ups and downs of his undertaking, and that’s what makes it interesting. In a recent video “stumpers” are hired to redo the foundation, and we get to meet a man named Danny who is not only in high demand for this kind of job, but who took the time to do a little research into the cottage’s history. The fact that Miles calls his new concrete stumps “grey gold” make me think of my dad who liked working with concrete and was foreman at a cement plant before he died.
Clogs
Authors of the cookbook Kismet, Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson, recommended Calzuro clogs for long days in the kitchen, and I took their advice when invited to help cook for a week for a girls camp in Quebec. The old sugar shack kitchen had two fridges on a slightly raised concrete platform. Inevitably, one day I rammed my foot on one of the corners, but hardly suffered any pain. The “co-polymer rubber compound” the clogs are made of provided not only good support but excellent protection. It was a worthwhile recommendation! (Mine are tomato-red, pictured here with the visiting kitchen mascot… a tiny dog named Pistache!)
Dinnerware
My son had a birthday party event on the western end of Portage Avenue and I took the opportunity to visit a Value Village I hadn’t yet been to. There were such pretty sets of dinnerware! How darling would it be to outfit a cottage with one or both of these?
Eating
We had company this week in the spirit of summer holiday gatherings with friends and family… We served mojitos and Hailee Catalano’s Maple Cheddar Snack Mix.
Ina Garten’s Slow Roasted Spiced Pork is a reliable main when feeding a crowd and choosing the oven over the barbecue.
Besides salad and fresh beans from the garden, we also served Sohla El-Waylly’s Bravas Potato Salad which was a hit!
Summer views
A few pictures from evening walks in Henteleff…
Happy Sunday!