Please excuse the roughness of this post, I’m typing it in on my lowly little iPhone 3Gs, sitting on the deck, at the cottage! Gotta LOVE technology!
It’s cottage closing weekend. This time of year is always so sad, marking the end of yet another summer. This year was not a good year for cottaging for me; counting this weekend, it’s only my second time up! I never like to be one of ‘those’ people who turn down city invitations because, ‘sorry, we’re going to the cottage!’ On the other hand, it was a very sociable summer!
I left work early so we could have cocktails at the cottage, HAH! The drive up was a joke! The ridiculous drive that usually takes three and a quarter hours took FIVE! FIVE EFFIN HOURS! Can you feel my frustration???? It was pouring rain the entire way up, which made it even worse. Did you ever notice that people are TOTAL IDIOTS on the road? Breathe, breathe, breathe! That martini sure tasted good!
The cottage is on a smallish spring-fed lake called Limerick Lake (spring-fed=bone chilling cold!). JTs grandfather bought the land in the early 1900’s; it took them 24 hours to come up: 1)Two trains, 2)Stage coach 3)row boat. The grandfather had a log cabin built on it. Back in those days Canadian Indians canoed across the lake. How cool is that? The grandfather then sold the cottage and the land in the early 1920’s and bought it back in the late 1940’s! JTs Dad and Dad’s sister shared it until the late 1960’s at which point, JTs Dad built his own Panabode cottage (http://www.panabodeloghomes.com) about a kilometer away as two families in an old log cabin was getting too cozy (the family owns about a hundred acres!). We had electricity put in about 20 years ago, prior to that we used a gas generator, a propane fridge and stove. It was pretty rustic. In the late-1960’s JTs dad built a boathouse with three slips and a two bedroom cabin above it that they used to use in the winter (no running water, chemical toilet, basic and ugly). 20 years ago, JTs dad had a road put in; before that we would keep a boat at the marina and boat in the 20 minute ride! It does sound romantic, but shlepping groceries and necessities from the car to the boat, then from the boat to the cottage was no fun!
About 15 years ago JT and I took over the boathouse; we put in a composting toilet, a small shower and a decent kitchen (it’s not legal to have septic over water). We call the boathouse The Upper Deck – I have some pics at this link if you’re interested. We tried renting it to friends a few years ago, and discovered we’re not renting types. We like our stuff just so. http://evaandjohntaylor.shutterfly.com/2383. Please don’t think it’s fancy, far from it! But I know for sure that we are fortunate to have access to it. JT and I own land across the bay from the family ‘compound’ and had thought about some day building our dream cottage on it, but the five and a half hour drive (and so many others like it) convinced us otherwise! Anyone interested in 33 gorgeous Canadian acres, 1300 feet of shoreline? No road access, yet!
Our lake is still remote; the closest store is about a 20 minute drive on a dirt road and it doesn’t really have things that I would want anyway (mostly canned goods!). You really have to plan your weekend, food, libations, etc. Once, I forgot cream cheese for our bagel and lox breakfast and the only thing we could get was sour cream and onion chip dip! It was ghastly!
JTs sister used to use the log cabin, but now that their 87 year old Dad no longer comes up, she’s taken over his cottage too. Her two adult kids use both the log cabin and the Panabode.
There are so many things that I like about our cozy little cabin, it’s hard to list them all; but my most favorite thing has to be that we are right on the water! And that it’s small enough to clean it from top to bottom in less than an hour.
Back to the matter at hand, Huevos rancheros: a recipe I developed after a similarly called dish at our local restaurant, Dr. Generosity (stupid name but good food).
Huevos Rancheros (updated September 2014)
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup cooked navy beans (I like navy beans because they are so creamy)
- 1/2 cup ground meat (we used turkey because it’s lowest in fat)
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion (we like Vidalia)
- 1/4 cup sweet corn
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Pinch of cayenne
- 2 soft poached eggs
- Sour cream (we used fat free yogurt)
- Hot sauce
- 2 small ancient grain fajita shells warmed
- Chopped cilantro and green onions for garnish.
- 1 avocado, sliced
Directions:
- In a splash of olive oil, fry the onions and garlic until translucent, add the ground meat and cook thoroughly.
- Add the spices and garlic and mix until evenly distributed.
- Add the beans and corn and mix well, heat the beans through.
- Serve 1/2 the bean meat mix on one warmed fajita shell, with a poach egg on top. Garnish with chopped cilantro, sliced avocado and green onions.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream and hot sauce.
[…] would totally spread this over my Heuvos Rancheros, Shakshuka or even in Pulled Pork. Or add it to a BBQ sauce for the pulled pork to make it even […]
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Great job on the backyard!! love love love the design! I like navy beans too, for the same reason 🙂
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Thanks Manju. It’s getting back into bean season…and I’m looking forward to different takes on them.
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Never tried (nor heard of) navy beans – do they go by any other name? Don’t be sad about autumn – it’s a lovely time of year. A bit sad because all the life from spring is dying off but still beautiful! I’m so jealous of your cottage – Screw closing it down. I’d want to live there year round! Thanks for sharing the photos on Shutterfly – the location of the little dining table in the corner of the room over the water is just so idyllic!
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Hey Eva! The cottage sounds lovely! My folks have a small lake house in Michigan that they spend their summers in. I like the country, but need my conveniences!
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Thanks Ann, it’s not fancy but rest assured it has all the conveniences!
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You have done well typing this post on an iPhone. I got an iPad this week and I’m really having trouble typing any lengthy stuff and forget about any kind of formatting! I guess I need more practice at it.
I love the sound of your cottage and you are so fortunate to have it. Even if it’s 5 hours away at times. My husband pines for some land off the beaten track for if one day things in our world go completely haywire. Think zombie apocalypse or similar.
Anyway, planning your meals isn’t such a bad thing and getting inventive with what ingredients you have can lead to happy accidents. Sour cream and onion chip dip doesn’t sound too bad in my mind so I’ll just take your word for it that it was ghastly.
I am in love with the outdoor living area!
We don’t really eat Huevos Rancheros here in New Zealand and I’ve never been to America but I ate it a lot when I was in Thailand. I guess there are plenty of Americans tourists there that requested it or shared it with the locals. It always set me up for a big chunk of the day.
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Thanks for your comments Genie, nice to have you by! You’re right, we are VERY fortunate indeed to have the cottage. Glad you were able to experience Huevos Rancheros, it sure is tasty!
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Oh , how I understand your frustration with that drive. My trip home usually takes around 7 hours but it has taken as long as 13 or 14 hours due to weather conditions and the resultant traffic (Idiots!!!). My drink of choice happens to be a Manhattan, although a martini would be tasty, too. I love huevos rancheros and your recipe sounds perfect! I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay at the cottage and have a safe, uneventful ride home.
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Thank you for your kind wishes, John. The weekend turned out great, beautiful sunny on Sunday. Our trip home is proving to be better than Friday!
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I always use pintos, so I’d love to try navies this way. Sorry your ride up was such a pain!
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Thanks Greg. Traffic is getting worse and worse each year!
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Another bean that I need to try. I like that they sound creamy. Enjoy your last weekend at the cottage. I can totally relate to sitting in traffic like that – it’s never fun.
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Thanks Kristy. Definitely try it, we sometimes make a navy bean ‘risotto’ that is delicious!
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