What a humungous Ten Days of Food it’s been!  It started last Monday with Alison here for dinner, at which time I made wild sockeye salmon and a cherry fool for dessert.  We then went to Osoyoos, where a guest of mom’s cooked a fab dinner on Tuesday night.  She made chicken piccata, linguine tossed with butter and olive oil, and roasted vegetables.  I vaguely remember a plum crisp for dessert, but there was a lot of wine, so that part is hazy.

Then on Wednesday I made the infamous seafood casserole, which contains shrimp, scallops, cod and salmon and topped with a pound of butter.  This was accompanied by rice and a tomato salad.  A friend of mom’s who’s a gourmet cook brought crepes for dessert.  She had filled them with cream cheese and hazelnuts, and topped them with peaches flambeed with Cointreau.

By Thursday I was dizzy with the sudden extra poundage around my girth, and had to drive home for Nicky’s birthday.  I arrived to tell the family that I was much too busy to cook, so we ordered three large pizzas.  As usual, there were at least four extra kids in the basement.  I had to re-pack as the next day we were off to Sechelt for a family wedding.

We left on Friday morning, and had a lovely pre-rehearsal dinner at an Indian restaurant in Sechelt.  On Saturday we had the most fabulous food at a great place called Spence’s.  Denis had the pistachio crusted French brie, which he said was very nice.  I had lamb skewers accompanied by fries (it said yam fries on the menu, but wouldn’t you know it, some kid got the last order).  Our young nephews-in-law were pouring back mixed drinks like there was no tomorrow.  Ah youth!

Speaking of strange places in which to reside, I always find it curious that one would want to be dependent on something like a ferry for getting to and from home.  Fortunately, we had reservations coming and going, so it was a smooth trip.  I’ve been stranded on that hot tarmac too many times to find the ferries any fun at all.

For the past two days our friends Mark and Gitte were here from Vancouver with two of their three girls.  For dinner I made a Tuscan chicken dish, accompanied by the ubiquitous roasted vegetables (all local) as well as rice and corn on the cob.  It’s always so sad when the last of the local produce is gone for another year.  We’re then forced to choke down Chilean vegetables and pretend the third eye sprouting on our foreheads has nothing to do with unregulated pesticide use.

Now that the eating spree is over, it’s time to settle down for some serious work.  I’m behind in marketing, baking, packaging and just about everything else you can think of for a seasonal fruitcake business.  I hate myself for it, but have still not found a cure for procrastination.  As with essays due in university, I seem to work best while weeping and praying, promising I will never, ever leave it this late again.