While waiting for my ship to come in

Good morning. Lorraine (my sister, best friend, publisher, and publisher) and I will go to the US post office tomorrow. If you plan on gifting or treating yourself to a cookbook, children's book, or calendar, we will be happy to mail them to you tomorrow. It's hard to believe that Christmas is a little over a month away. The weather has been so mild that it doesn't feel like winter is approaching. I am patiently waiting to get a call for a job/ship. I make sure my phone is always charged and within reach. If a call comes in and I don't answer my phone, the job goes to the next person on the list. Right now, there is one person ahead of me and ten behind me. I enjoy the time I spend with Lorraine. When I wait for a job, we know I can leave any time, so we make sure to make each day special and fun. We were invited to a charity event. Lorraine has gone before. It was my first time because I usually sail in November. Lorraine's best friend of 55 years (they met in grade one) purchased two tables of 10. It was fun to meet all her friends. I was finally able to put the faces to the names of those who came up in stories over the years. Everyone was so lovely, and for a fleeting moment, I thought the job I love so much doesn't allow for these social gatherings. The event was an afternoon lunch with a fashion show and a silent and live auction. There were already many people when we arrived. We thought we were early. Lorraine checked her coat; I wasn't wearing one. I loved her outfit, and she reminded me that I had bought it for her. We had been shopping with a friend, and while our friend was trying on coats, Lorraine started trying a few, too. When she put it on, I said she had to have it. She looked great in it.

Waiting to get a job/ship offers the opportunity to attend social functions that I normally miss out on. I really liked Lorraine’s outfit. 

The silver and gold decorated round tables were set for 10. We sat at  gold table and at the end of the event we were each gifted the decorative Christmas tree. I will take mine on the ship with me to decorate my room for Christmas. 

We weaved our way through the crowded room in search of Lorraine's best friend, careful not to bump any arms holding a champagne glass. The servers also weaved their way through the groups in the crowded room. They were easy to pick out in their white shirt, black pants, and holding a small round tray of hors d'oeuvres. A memory of the mid-80s flooded back. I had taken a few months off from sailing and moved to Toronto. I got a job downtown at the Movenpick restaurant as a waitress. For a special event that the Movenpick catered at the Roy Thomson Hall, I joined my fellow servers who were also in the official white shirt, black pants, and white gloves dress code and walked through a crowd of people holding the small trays of hors d'oeuvres. The memory made me smile. I love trying different foods, and I sampled the mini falafel balls, tiny brie-tarts, and a miniature slider hamburger. It was so small but big in flavor. I liked the brie tart with the pretty micro flowers decorating the tops. The falafel ball was a little dry, but that did not stop me from trying a second one to confirm that they were tasty, but indeed a little dry.

The miniature hamburger sliders were very good. 

These little brie filled tarts were tasty. I liked the little micro flower decorations on top. Almost too pretty to eat. 

An announcement came over the room to ask us to find our seats. The round tables were set up beautifully in silver or gold. Our table was along the windows, and I imagined what a lovely venue this would be for a wedding. There were a few speakers, one of whom was talking to the 400 women in the room about positivity. Lorraine and I smiled at each other, knowing we had positivity running through our veins. The fashion show started with fun music. I loved the clothing that they were showing! The models wore clothes that we would buy, and they were mature women, which made the fantasy of wearing the beautiful clothes more attainable. The servers who were serving the hors d'oeuvres earlier were now bringing bread baskets to each round table. The bread was followed by a delicious beet and goat cheese salad, a sun-dried tomato-stuffed chicken breast sitting on a perfectly roasted carrot, and asparagus. They brought a big bowl of delicious French fries, which we passed around the table ourselves. I asked Lorraine what she thought they did to the French fries because they were better than usual. There was so much to see with the fashion show and watching the tables being served and tasting the food; however, my mind still went to the kitchen, and I thought about behind the scenes and the organization that it takes to serve 400 guests, almost all at once. They did a great job. There was a break in the fashion show to raise money with the live action. The auctioneer had great energy, and watching the room waiting for a hand to be raised and the famous words...going once, going twice.... sold was entertaining. The fashion show continued with evening wear. The servers returned with dessert. Each plate had a pretty design and berries on the side to accent the fresh apple tart. It was delicious! The warm cinnamon-coated apples in the crispy tart shell prompted me to ask Lorraine if she thought they heated the apples and placed them in the tart shell or placed them in the tart shell already cooked and heated them. Lorraine is used to me questioning and trying to figure out how the food I am served is prepared. It was a lovely afternoon, and as we left our table by the windows, I saw plates with the apple tarts untouched. I thought to myself that they missed out on a delicious dessert. We don't often eat dessert but make exceptions when dining with friends.

One of the speakers at the event talked about positivity and asked each of us to write down a Power Word. 

. Before parting with our friends, we planned to meet for dinner where a few of us could get together. The music at the fashion show was too loud to talk over, so we got together for a girl's evening. I made Lorraine's best friend's favorite dish. We were on speakerphone making the arrangements, and she asked what I planned to make. I said, "Your favorite," and she excitedly said OMG, you are making enchiladas! It was delicious. Sometimes I make leave the enchilada sauce a little chunky but this time I emulsified it to a very smooth sauce. It came out so nice. I made an extra tray of enchiladas for our friend to take home to her family. We had a fun evening chatting and laughing. It was great fun!

Lorraine shredded the chicken, while I made the sauce. I cooked the sauce for an hour with the onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic and large chunks of fresh jalapenos. I removed the jalapenos  pieces before emulsifying the sauce. I wasn’t sure if the girls would like it spicy. Cooking the sauce with the jalapeno peppers gave it enough of a kick. For myself I would have left them in.  

The enchiladas came out perfect. We served them with sour cream, and pickled jalapenos. Normally we have guacamole too but the avocados that we bought refused to ripen in time. 

We are staying in the area, hoping I will get a call soon. A book purchase came in on Wednesday. We checked the address and read Niagara-on-the Lake. We thought we were close; let's deliver it in person. Delivering books in person is always fun! We wish we could deliver them all. I had visited Niagara Falls numerous times but had never been to Niagara-on-the-Lake. We drove towards the downtown area and made a stop at Picard's. The sign outside the store said fresh nuts. We thought some nuts would be the perfect afternoon snack. We walked through the store that offered so much more than just nuts. We were so surprised to pick up a package of nuts that said Ontario grown. We had no idea that it was possible to grow nuts in Ontario. We had always thought that it had to be somewhere in the South. The lady at the cash explained that in the late 70's the tobacco farmland offered the perfect sandy soil to grow peanuts, so the Picard family started growing peanuts where tobacco was once farmed. They now have seven stores. It was so interesting, and we walked out with some Ontario Grown peanuts.

We were so surprised to learn that peanuts can grow in Ontario. I always thought they were grown in warmer climates. The lady at the cash it was the sandy soil the the peanuts thrive on. It was a fun educational, tasty stop. 

We drove to the pretty little town, parked on the main street and went for a walk. The air was crisp, and the Christmas decorations made it feel festive. We stopped into a few stores and felt like tourists on vacation. We spotted the Rocky Mountain Chocolate store. It is a chain of stores that makes delicious chocolate, fudge and seafoam treats. Lorraine worked at a Rocky Mountain Chocolate store in Tremblant after we closed our restaurant. I suggested we go into the store to have a look. The owner was there, and we chatted briefly. I asked to take a photo so that we could send it to the store owner in Tremblant. They know each other, and we thought it would be fun. She was busy making lumps of coal for Christmas. She offered us a piece to try, and it was the best seafoam I had ever had. The coal-shaped pieces of seafoam were coated with chocolate and then dusted with Oreo crumbs. It makes one think of the stories of naughty children getting a lump of coal for Christmas. If this is what coal tastes like, their naughty behavior would be rewarded.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate is know for making some of their own treats. Lorraine used to work at the franchise in Mont Tremblant after we closed the restaurant. We decided to stop in and say hello. 

The store owner knew the owner from the shop Lorraine worked at we asked to take a photo to share with her. She gave us a same of the lumps of coal she was making and the sponge toffee in the centre was the best I have ever tasted. 

The town is so pretty, and the parks are beautiful. We walked along the main street stopping in shops and taking photos like tourists in our own backyard. It was fun. It is located on Lake Ontario, and we look forward to going back there again.

You can discover many butter tart festivals in Ontario each searching for the perfect butter tart. We thought these looked delicious and didn’t dare go into the store. 

Another Ontario staple is Maple Syrup. I like to cook with maple syrup and always take a jug of pure maple syrup with me on the ship. I use it in many recipes. 

We thought the hat shop was so unique and looked like so much fun. I especially like the Detective style hats. I’m sure the theatre goers purchase them as a souvenir of their trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake and perhaps a play they saw. 

The hat store had the best store windows. 

I like that the original Greaves sign was sill on the side of the wall. 

Niagara-on-the-Lake is known for the Shaw Festivals. It was started in 1962 featuring the plays of  George Bernard Shaw and other contemporary playwrights. 

Seeing the horse drawn carriage made us think of what it was like years ago. 

Its a really pretty town. 

On the way back from Niagara-on-the-Lake, I asked Lorraine if we could drive by the canal. She obliged, and we saw three ships. The Algoma Buffalo, which I sailed on in the past. It was a great job, and they had great windows. The galley was in the center and the crew’s mess was on one side  and officers mess was on the other. You could look out at both the port and starboard side windows while cooking. They also had a galley door for easy access to the deck. The second ship was the Sunnanvik. The third ship was a salty; I didn't catch the name. I always enjoy seeing the ships in the canal.

Its fun to see a ship that I have worked on. I have happy memories from my time on the Algoma Buffalo. 

The canal road passes very close to the ships. It is such a great place to watch ships. 

We saw three ships on our drive by the canal. 

There are no weekend job/ship calls from the Union Hall. Lorraine reminds me that I should be patient and that the right job/ship will come along. Lorraine is right. I will be patient and make sure to let you know as soon as I get a job. Keep your virtual seabags ready. Have a great day.

I like this saying. 

You can do some of  your Christmas shopping online at www.shiptoshorechef.com We will be happy to mail out your books. Receive a free 2025 Porthole Calendar with your purchase.