Spanokopita

Trying to fill my days with things I love to do, meanwhile having fibromyalgia, means that any craft or project I tackle has to be either quick or can be broken into chapters.
I used to enjoy cooking, but it can be so taxing standing in the kitchen for long periods, chopping, lifting, bending. A recipe has to be easy and has to be managed in a short amount of time.It's a challenge for me to find foods that fit that category, but I've been having fun trying.

Recently, I really wanted spanakopita, a Greek phyllo pastry appetizer, with a delicious savory filling of spinach and feta. It turns out, you can make a quicker version of the traditional, with a twist.

Not wanting to deal with phyllo, I bought frozen puff pastry, that once thawed in the fridge for a day, can be rolled out without fuss, filled, folded over, and baked, with buttery and flakey results. Not as light as
phyllo, but a tastey substitute.

For the filling, I used packaged and already rinsed spinach. You could use garden fresh, or canned, but not having to wash or squeeze means time saved and an extra step not taken. A couple of handfuls in a skillet, will wilt in no time, with a drizzle of olive oil, dashes of salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Once wilted, remove from heat and add a beaten egg, and as much crumbled feta(which you can find already crumbled in the supermarket) as you like. Stir well and allow to cool.

I decided that instead of making many small triangles, that I would make a streudel type dish. I rolled the puff pastry into a rectangle and arranged the filling on half the width, egg washed the edges,and folded the bare side over. Crimping together with a fork, I then sliced through the top to vent the filling. I baked it at a high 400 degrees to make the most of the puff, until golden. Once the spanikopita had cooled a little, I sliced it into individual servings, about eight per streudel.

For the frustrated cook in me this whole process, from prep to enjoying, was Most Satisfying!
And I will live to cook another day...

'Fridge bread and butter pickles

When you have lemons, you make lemonade, but when you have too many cucumbers, what do you do?

I have generous neighbours. Neighbours who have large backyard vegetable patches. Last weekend, I was offered a bag full of cucumbers, freshly picked that morning. They had had their fill, and now it was my turn.

My daughters eat cucumbers constantly. It's an easy snack, refreshing and crunchy. They also love pickles and could probably sit with the jar and eat until empty!

Pickling is a long process. I shudder at how long it would take me, not to mention I don't have the tools in my pantry. It's not something I was ever comfortable trying.

Enter large number of cucumbers....and a nicely written recipe for 'fridge bread and butter pickles'!
Thank you, kind neighbour.

As it turns out, refrigerator pickles are remarkably easy and quick to prepare, and in a week, you can enjoy sweet, tangy and crunchy bread and butter pickles.

Two large quart jars, washed and dried, then filled with boiling water from the kettle, are set aside while the brining liquid is prepared.

The brine is quite simple. In a large saucepan, I added 4 tablespoons of salt, 2 teaspoons each of celery seed, tumeric, mustard seed, 3 cups white vinegar, 3 cups boiling water, and 3 1/3 cups of sugar. This gets boiled until the sugar and salt is dissolved.

While the brine is smelling wonderful and cooling a little, you can slice about nine medium cucumbers, and one onion, into 1/4 inch slices. Empty the water out of the jars, then pack the jars tightly, almost to the top, with the sliced cukes and onion rings. Carefully ladle the brine into the jars, covering the veg. but not to the top. If you seal the jars right away, then the vacuum takes place. Leave them to cool, and shake after a couple of hours, so the top of the jar touches the brine. Once cooled, the jars can go into the refrigerator, where they will stay for about a week, so the pickles soak up all the flavours. They last for at least six months. Once the pickles are all eaten, you can add more fresh cucumbers!

This is by far the most uncomplicated pickle.

Enjoying a summer garden

Every winter I start planning a fantasy garden. Arbors with hanging roses, lush plantings of colourful perrenials, potted herbs and tomatoes. Of course, all this would happen immediately. Materializing from thin air and fertile soil. Every year I realize a beautiful garden takes years to produce, hours of tending and weeding. And Peter and I would have to do it.



In our home, we inherited a unkempt garden from the previous owners. The back garden did have a few beautiful mature shrubs and a decent lawn, but we surely had our work cut out for us. Four years since, and so far, we have added a flower bed, a couple of new trees and a couple of shrubs, and so many perrenials. Our battle against weeds is eternal. There are bellflowers and thistles in the rose bed. Can't see the roses hardly at all. Ants run amok.



I can see the future. Digging up the substantial rose bed to remove the invasive bell flowers, dandelions, thistles, and daisies. Fighting back the ants who have dug well under the patio, flower beds, and driveway. The garden is magazine perfect (I hear Peter groaning) and we are relaxing on a circular brick patio, surrounded by blooming plants, overhung with weeping willow branches. The birds are chirping.



In the meantime, we have to find the beauty amongst the chaos. This summer I am weighed down with fibromyagia fatigue, so Peter has to shoulder the burden of the garden's upkeep. A big job. Time consuming and physical. So I have to see past any shortcomings and find the jewels we have planted. Best way to achieve this? Avoid the bigger picture. Look for the small beauties and tiny successes. Realize that it doesn't have to be absolutley ideal to be idyllic.

Having moved to southern Alberta almost four years ago, settling into my new home and new province, I enjoy exploring with my family and capturing alberta's beauty.

I have lived in northern Quebec-Sept-Iles, a rugged but beautiful location with extreme temperatures; in St. John's, Newfoundland, another naturally beautiful geography, with warm people and rich culture; big city Canada in Toronto, full of activity and excitement; Thompson, and Brochet, in northern Manitoba where winter was long, and we were isolated most of the year; in Brownwood, Texas, where we were aliens, but basked in the heat and novelty, and finally in Lethbridge, Alberta. After varied experiences, it is second nature to adapt to new people, new homes, customs, climates and routines.

Alberta is a great place to spend time taking photographs. Mostly, there are fantastic opportunites to do daytripping to many of the parks, mountains, and prairie areas. There is so much beauty here.

Above and below are photos I've taken in Lethbridge, of a downtown park, known as Galt Gardens. Just the perfect amount of snowfall, and the sun coming through the branches makes for a magical image. It reminds me of Narnia.