The rain is pouring down in a fine mist. The sporadic wind gusts are sending soggy leaves and twigs onto the ground. The temperature is a cool, not conducive to swimming or any other water activities. I’ve hit a seasonal funk.

Normally summer’s biggest cheer-leader, I’m what you would call, under-the-weather. It’s our last week of summer holidays and it’s rained every day. I loaded my natty kids, muddy dog and dirty laundry into the Jeep last Sunday and headed back to Vancouver. Our 784 square foot cabin is not big enough to endure seven days of rain, or rather seven days of the kids fighting with on another.

While some folks are quick to write off the whole season as being too wet and too cold, I must admit I had an excellent time at the cabin. We were there for the 30 degree days. I boarded until my back was so sore I could hardly sit upright. We had lots of great guests who assemble patio furniture, washed windows and cooked for us.

The super heroes attending last weekend’s year-end party were nothing short of spectacular. What our lake lacks in sunshine, we more than make up for it in enthusiasm and beer.

For those folks heading to their cabin or cottage for a last hurrah of the summer, I wish you no traffic, lots of sunshine, a calm lake and cold beer.

I’m rain soaked and dry docked here in Vancouver.

Cheers,

Julie

My husband loves tarts. Pies are a source of joy, but he likes nothing better than to sink his teeth into a fruit custard tart. The fruitier the better.

The summer provides a cornucopia of fresh fruit: fat little blueberries, raspberries, peaches and apricots just to name a few.

Today’s recipe is dedicated to all the tart lovers out there - Honey-Glazed Peach Tart. For the crust, I use John Bishop’s pastry recipe. It’s simple, easy to make and serves as a delicious platform for any fruit and custard topping.

Pastry

• 1 1/2 cups white flour sifted
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, not soft
• 1/3 cup of icing sugar

Combine flour, butter and icing sugar in a food processor until it forms a ball. Trace the bottom of a 10 inch springform pan onto parchment paper. Cut out the circle and place it in the pan. This will make it easier to remote the tart onto a serving plate after it is baked. Use approximately 2/3 of the dough to line the bottom of the pan, and press the remainder up the sides. It works well to form it into a roll first, and then press it evenly up the sides (about 1 inch/2.5 cm). You can also just roll this into a regular glass pie plate if you don’t have a springform pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake crust until golden brown for about 25 minutes, pricking crust with a fork if bubbles form.

Filling
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
6 ripe medium peaches, peeled, halved, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
2 tablespoons peach preserves, melted

For filling:
Mix sugar, flour, and lemon peel in large bowl to blend. Add peaches and toss to coat. Pour into baked crust. Drizzle honey over peach mixture; dot with butter and sprinkle with almonds. Bake until peaches are tender and almonds are toasted, about 35 minutes. Brush fruit and almonds with peach preserves. Cool 15 minutes before serving. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Store tart at room temperature.)

Mascarpone Cream
1 cup chilled whipping cream
6 tablespoons mascarpone cheese*
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For mascarpone cream:
Using electric mixer, beat cream, mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until peaks form. Slice tart into 6 wedges and serve with dollops of mascarpone cream.

Cheers,

Julie

I’m expecting Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Popeye and Olive Oil for potluck dinner on Saturday night. Batman and the Hulk may also show up. It’s our annual year-end summer bash at the lake and we usually go out with a bang.

This year’s theme, “Super Heroes,” promises to be an interesting night. I’ve learned since we first bought our cabin, that the cottagers take this event very seriously. We failed to dress up for our inaugural party, “Mexican night” and were put to great shame with our lack of effort. We’ve since made up for it.

Two years ago, I was Julia Roberts and Jackie Chan was my date, as we celebrated a night at the Oscars - see above photo. Yes, we’re standing on a red carpet.

The evening commences with an extended happy hour followed by an amazing potluck dinner. After that, and of course some libations, things get really interesting. We’ve an added surprise for this year’s party where the super heroes will have to perform. That’s all I’m saying, but look for the photos on Monday.

Part of the hosts’ job is to also come up with some prizes. Our goal was to keep them under $2 - something we managed to do thanks to the Superstore. With all the details neatly tucked away, we are now scrambling to get our own costumes together - this is proving the hardest part.

Any suggestions???

Cheers,

Julie

If you’ve been glued to your TV the past two weeks and dread going to the cottage because you don’t want to miss the Olympics’ closing ceremonies, rest assured there is a solution.

The Slingbox is a small square box that transmits your home cable, satellite or HD TV to your laptop or wireless phone anywhere in the world, even the cottage. It uses the Internet to transmit the signal. If you’re currently paying for two services, it’s a great way to save money, especially if you’re not getting all the channels you’d like to receive at the cabin.

The technology does have some limitations.

The first one: you need to have high speed Internet ( at least 256 KBPS) at the cottage in order to receive the streaming video.

Then there are the technical requirements.

Your laptop must have:

• Window Vista or Windows XP with service pack
• Graphics Card
• Sound Card
• Network Connection
• Home Network Router

The Slingboxes start at $199 and are available at Best Buy, Future Shop and London Drugs.

To find out more about this technology and read what others think about it, visit CNET.com for a complete product review.

Cheers,

Julie

Tortillas are arguably one of the most versatile appetizers. From quesadillas to fajitas, many wonderful snacks can be created with this flexible flatbread.

Today’s recipe comes from the docks of Horne Lake. Andrea and Debbie have been urging me to include this appetizer - tortilla with fig jam, pancetta and asiago cheese on my blog. While I don’t have the exact amount for the ingredients, you can ball park it depending on how many tortillas you use.

Tortilla with fig jam, pancetta and asiago cheese

Ingredients

• 4 10 - 12″ white flour tortillas
• 1 small jar of fig jam
• 200 grams of sliced pancetta
• 1 cup of shredded asiago cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Place tortillas on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes - you want the shells to be crunchy but not browned.

Spread on warm shells, fig jam, then layer with pancetta and top with shaved asiago cheese. Place back in the oven for an additional 5 - 7 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Slice tortillas into eights and serve immediately with a gin and tonic, mojito or cold Corona.

It’s no secret that lime has been one of my favourite flavours this summer - from fajitas to mojitos, this zesty citrus has ruled my grill. Last night I squeezed it on my fresh cherries - awesome combination.

I came across this recipe for Chili Lime Tortillas on epicurious.com and with a few modifications have listed it below:

Chili Lime Tortillas

• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 tsp lime
• 1/4 cup veg oil
• 4 10 - 12″ flour tortillas

Directions
Mix the first six ingredients together and brush mixture on flour tortillas. Place on cookie sheet (need two cookie sheets) and using a sharp knife cut into narrow wedges. Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate sheets (so the tortillas cook evenly) and then bake another seven to 10 minutes.

What’s your favourite tortilla recipe? Leave me a the details in the comment section below.

Cheers,

Julie

Not sure if this is happening on other lakes, but things have definitely shifted on ours. Wakeboarding is way more popular than waterskiing.

I’ve recently noticed a plethora of brand new wakeboard boats moored at cottagers’ docks - you know the ones with the big chrome wake board racks. Ninety percent of the boat traffic on our lake is towing wakeboarders not water skiers, which begs the question - Is waterskiing dead?

I personally find getting out of the water on a wakeboard takes far less effort than coming out on a slalom ski. Once up, I find the board way more stable than my ski. When it comes to speed I usually get towed on my ski at around 30. On my board it’s closer to 17.

Waterskiing for me takes a lot more strength and energy. With boarding I find criss-crossing the wake takes less effort - my motions are much more fluid. Now, I’m not saying I like wakeboarding more than waterskiing. Truth be told, I love them both equally. But I can definitely see myself boarding well into my 80’s. Waterskiing might end in my seventies - only time will tell.

I would love to know what’s more popular on your lake and what do you preferer - wakeboarding or waterskiing? Leave me a comment.

Cheers,

Julie

Cottaging on the west coast means has many benefits including access to fresh seafood. Lately around the campfire I’ve been hearing stories of cooked crab. The result has left me feeling crabby. Normally a fan of crab dipped in butter, I’m on a quest for the perfect crab cake.

My search will start at the French Creek Fisheries, located off the old Island highway between Parksville and Qualicum, it’s a great place to pick up fresh seafood including crabs. Hopefully they will clean the crabs for me so all I have to worry about is the meat.

Today’s crab cake recipe comes from Epicurious.com, with a few modifations.

Crab cakes
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons minced fresh dill
4 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
4 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound blue crabmeat or Dungeness crabmeat
2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs),* divided

2 tablespoons (or more) butter
2 tablespoons (or more) grapeseed oil

Directions:

Line baking sheet with waxed paper. Whisk first 9 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in crabmeat and 1 cup panko, breaking up crabmeat slightly. Let stand 10 minutes. Place remaining panko on rimmed baking sheet, spreading slightly. Form crab mixture into eight 4-inch-diameter patties, using about scant 2/4 cup for each. Press both sides of patties into panko. Transfer patties to waxed-paper-lined baking sheet. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 heavy large skillets over medium-high heat. Add crab cakes to skillets and cook until golden on both sides, adding more butter and oil as needed, about 5 minutes total.
I like to serve my crab cakes with an Asian sweet chili sauce (the kind used for salad rolls and spring rolls)

Stay tuned for the results.

Cheers,

Julie

While the rest of the world is focused on the Beijing Olympics, the cottagers of Horne Lake held their own summer games this past weekend.

Undeterred by the storm clouds or choppy water, we hopped, hoola-hooped, and paddled boated our way around waterfront obstacle the course. The events, designed by Sammy, Jessie, Jarrett and Janelle, ranging in ages from seven to 10, were nothing short of fun and challenging.

Families were pitted against each other in the battle for supremacy. While some folks focused on the events, others focused on distracting each other, while still others opted for a beer. It was a hoot as you can tell by the photos shown below.

Those balloons are suppose to represent the Olympic rings. Who knew you could use panty-hose and balloons to make a ring.

Congratulations to the young organizers of this event. Their imagination and creativity made for a fun afternoon.

Cheers,

Julie

Under a dark brooding sky and black choppy water, the re-floated docks and brand new extension were launched last night. With the help of our neighbours (seven to be exact) pushing, shoving, barking out orders to each other and some throaty grunts, the first section emerged floating in the water.

I have to liken this whole process to giving birth. To call it a struggle would be an understatement. From the dock’s inception, Bill has plotted and schemed, trying to figure out the exact amount of flotation needed in order to keep all the sections afloat at the same level above the water.

This past week he’s worked from sun-up to sun-down. His knuckles skinned, his neck, arms, and back aching with exhaustion, but still he persisted.

The result? A beautiful bouncing cedar dock able to withstand any windstorm, and a perfect place to moor our new boat.

Relieved to finally have it in the water, Bill’s taking the rest of the weekend off. There’s still some work to be done, but that can wait until next weekend. The worst part is over and it’s time to relax and enjoy the cabin again.

And just like giving birth, the pain and suffering of this renovation will quickly be forgotten once we find the next “project” to work on.

The pictures tell the story best:

Section One Section Two Bill emerging from the lake

Congratulations Bill on a job well done and special thanks to all our neighbours who pitched in, offered advice and lent a hand. There’s a beer in our fridge with your name on it.

Cheers,

Julie

We seldom go out for dinner at the cabin. It’s a 25 minute drive to the nearest town and nothing tastes better than a steak on the barbecue, or maybe it’s the view from our deck that makes the food so good.

When we do venture out, like we did this past weekend, it was to one of my favourite restaurants - Atlas Cafe (#250 - 6th Street). I first stumbled onto it during a girl’s golf weekend. Five years later, it’s still one of my all time favourite. restaurants. It’s open for brunch, lunch and dinner. If you love goat cheese, be sure to try the goat cheese tart - delicious.

If you’re traveling north on Vancouver Island highway (19A) this summer, Courtenay, Comox and the road leading to these small towns, offers some excellent local cuisine. Salmon, halibut, crab and oysters are the mainstays on most menus in this part of the country. Here are some great restaurants, verified by the local, that you might want to try.

• Avenue in Comox is a sister restaurant to Atlas
• Tuscano’s in Courtenay
• Harbourview Bistro (located in Union Bay - they have limited seating so make a reservation)
• The Noodle House is another local favourite for the residents of Courtenay
• Greenwood Meat Pies sells frozen meat pies and can be found on the back streets of Courtenay
• Fanny Bay Inn - located north of Qualicum on the old Island highway this is a biker bar. While I can’t vouch for the food, but there are always a lot of bikes and cars in the drive-way.

If I have missed your favourite restaurant, please feel free to add it in comment section below.

Cheers,

Julie