More Rock Stars

Somehow I've seemed to have taken a hiatus from writing for a while. It's not that we weren't doing fun things, but somehow 2 seasons of Mad Men had me preoccupied for a couple of weeks. But I'm trying to wean myself off, and am only allowed to watch the third season at a rate of one episode a day. Hence, I'm back to posting.

We've done some pretty cool things since my last post. We toured the Niagara Glen, looking at all of the Carolinian forest we could. It was really cool and über-ambient in a creepy primordial way. The rocks are amazing and look like they have been tossed around by giants and the trees are super old and huge. It was very green when we went though I'm sure that everything has started to change colour now. I didn't get any pictures, because it was raining, but you'll have to take my word that it was beautiful. I'll definitely be going back to repeat the tour with Tim.

We also had another lecture from Julian, and we covered the cultural landscape that was and still is Africville in Nova Scotia. It was a very touching story and although a terrible experience for the people who lived there, it was useful to see the destruction that can be wrought by a lack of sensitivity towards a community's cultural landscape. Unfortunately all we can do now is learn from the devastation that that community felt, but it is a lesson well-learned.

But the real subject of this post is the 3 days of masonry we had this week. That's mason-ry, not mason-a-ry...it drives me insane when people add that 'a' in there. Anyhow, we had a great instructor, Johnny Laundry, (awesome name right!) who taught us the basics of squaring up stones and some rudimentary finishing. You'd think that all of this would be very easy, and the concepts are, in practice though we made a lot of gravel. One wrong hit and your stone could be through. I think unless any of us actually become masons, we should probably stick to rubble stone houses or leave the intricate stuff to the experts.

Here I am going to town on Kristina's mother of a rock.  Eventually that huge chunk came off the back. Do you see the size of that hammer?

These are our finished squared rubble rocks. I think we each completed one, or at the most two  in one day. Johnny could do one in 5 minutes. 

The chain gang. These were already squared St. Matthew sandstone that we were shaping to make a  window arch.

Sometimes the shaping got a little out of hand. And stones would have to be abandoned.

Here is a shot of how we finished the arch stones. The small scoops along the edges of the stone are called boasters batted margins. The middle was then henpecked sparrow-pecked out. Unfortunately I didn't get a finished picture, as there are still a few more stones to be completed.

P.S.: The above corrections were given by Johnny Laundry, who was I'm sure very excited to find out he is famous in my very small blogosphere, but less thrilled that I had apparently not learned the proper masonry terminology.

Everyone likes a cute legume...or... Boozy Beef and Lentil Stew

The last couple of days have felt very fall-y here in Niagara. It's been quite cool, we even had to turn on the furnace yesterday. Tim and I told each other that we were turning it on to make sure it was working, so we wouldn't be caught unawares when we really need it. But somehow it has stayed on, I guess we haven't yet acclimatized to the cool weather.

All that's to say that it's soup and stew weather, or if you are a fan of Rachel Ray, it is 'stoup' weather. I think that is a 'stoupid' word but it'll suffice for tonight's dinner. Our 'stoup'erfic meal was a good one, and I'd like to share it. It involves beef and lentils, two of my favourite things and I'm calling Boozy Beef and Lentil Stew for it's inclusion of 2, that's right 2 types of alcohol (an idea I got from here).  The scotch  teamed up with the sweetness of the butternut squash to add a surprising depth of flavour.

This is a really tasty and satisfying dinner, and a good way of upping your intake of legumes, something we've been trying to do around here. I have found that lentils are the easiest way of doing that, since they are so quick-cooking comparatively with other beans. And I like that they are cute little disks. Yes, I find legumes cute, who wouldn't adore such little nutritious powerhouses. At this point you may have noticed from my affectionate descriptions of lentils that I have partaken in the cooking wine a bit, don't worry, I did put the appropriate amount in the stew before imbibing.

I served the meal with roasted butternut squash seeds and parsley as the garnishes, but only because I had them around (the squash seeds came from the squash used in the stew).  I also made a quick loaf of brown soda bread, recipe borrowed from 101 Cookbooks, though I did throw in a tablespoon or so of caraway seeds. I love the aroma and flavour that caraway adds to bread, but I recognize that it's not for everyone. Do what you will. Here is the recipe:

Boozy Beef and Lentil Stew

2 tbsp. veg oil
1 tbsp. butter
2 small yellow onions, diced finely
1 carrot, diced finely
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 -3 celery stalks, diced finely
2 1/2 lb. beef, cubed and patted dry (roughly measured, use more or less if you prefer)
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 c. diced tomatoes
500 mL red wine
3 tbsp. scotch or whiskey
4 c. stock ( I used veg stock, cuz that's what I had around but beef stock would be more flavourful)
1 c. green or brown lentils (I used green)
3 c. butternut squash (or another veg, I had this kicking around the fridge)

1. Heat veg oil and butter in a large pot over high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown in small batches, being sure not to crowd the pot, for maximum brown-age. Remove beef and place in bowl.
2. Lower heat to medium and sauté the onions for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the mirepoix (carrots and celery) and the garlic and saute until just starting to soften, about another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the browned beef, bay leaves, diced tomatoes, red wine, stock and lentils. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer for 1 hour. (The 60 minutes total will give you enough time to cook the brown soda bread if you want it.)
5. Add butternut squash and let cook an additional 20 minutes or until squash is softened.
6. Adjust seasoning.
7. Ladle up and garnish with parsley and roasted squash seeds (I roast mine with olive oil and a smattering of hot hungarian paprika and salt at 325°F for five minutes or usually 'til they are on the cusp of burning). Serve with a slice of fresh brown soda bread slathered with butter and soak up the comfort.