A Week at the Improv

I've been on holiday recently, the first real holiday I've had in a long while. I wasn't planning on going but my Sis insisted and made it possible for me to go - thanks, Sis!

A lot of bad things had happened in the past year and I needed to heal, so I took it easy for this trip. As I enjoy cooking, I found a B&B that had a kitchenette in one of its suites so I booked my entire stay there.

The B&B was gorgeous with a private flower garden and all. Just the environment for me to sit down, relax and heal.

However, I realized that I had a wee bit of a challenge when I started cooking - I had one small frying pan + one saucepan (both lidless), a spatula, two shakers of salt and pepper...and nothing else except what I packed in my knife roll. You don't really appreciate how important lids are until you have to make do without them.

So, I had to improvise. When it came time to make steamed rice (which required a lid), I used one of the large plates. I discovered that grocery stores sold single sticks of butter - exactly what I needed for cooking fish and shellfish. For spices, I bought this multispice pack for camping ($4) that gave me most of what I needed. The local in-store deli at the grocers' had a boxed sushi collection, so I got a couple of packets of soy sauce from them (I asked the lady at the counter for permission first).

Everything else was food. And oh my, what fresh food it was!

I rediscovered my love for fruit. I used to love fruit growing up but edged away in favour of processed foods upon coming to Canada. Now, I'm re-experiencing the joy and wonderment that comes from having very juicy, very fresh local fruits explode with flavour in one's mouth. I also learnt to cook with it too; as I had no sugar, I snuck a few packets out from cafes when I got coffee there.

Fresh salmon, large scallops, fresh locally-grown organic strawberries...mmm! My mouth still waters at the memory of those wonderful fresh foods. I also found out that mushrooms, one of my favourite foods, will cause a massive flare-up of a stress-related condition of mine, which means that I shall have to avoid them in the future. *sigh*

Plus, I got to try edible flowers for the first time. Tasty and beautiful!

I came away from that vacation with some healing and respite from the negative events in the past year. On my final night there, I wrote over twenty pages in my journal. The hurt and fear had to come out and I finally pinned them down on paper. I hope I shall be free of them now. The scent of lilacs now has a very calming effect on me - my suite was filled with their fragrance when the windows were open and they have become inextricably linked to my stay there.

But that was not the only thing I came away with from that vacation; I also feel rejuvenated in my passion for cooking. Not only did I have the chance to work with fresh ingredients, I also had a chance to partake of my innkeeper's excellent breakfasts (she's a chef) as well as one fine dining establishment. I returned home from my holiday with a head full of ideas and a laptop full of notes. Oh, and a wonderful plum-coloured ink that is now my primary colour for journal-writing!

I tried some of my new techniques tonight. I was happy to see that it worked out rather well. Must experiment more...