This is a sort-of recipe for ratatouille. Basically, a quick, veggie stew using whatever veggies you have in your garden.
Chop up onions, eggplant, zucchini. Smush in a clove of garlic, salt and pepper. Red or green peppers too, if you have them.
Fry in a little olive oil until tender and add tomatoes.
Cook through until mushy.
Serve with a hunk of fresh bread and a piece of cheese. A great light lunch or supper served hot, room temperature or cold. Very summery!
Natalie's chickens are indoor/outdoor birds. They have a cozy indoor home and another that's fenced in to keep the coyotes away.
Natalie's moniker is the "Chicken Whisperer."
Do you suppose Richard is giving the hens fresh grass in an attempt to become a "whisperer" too?
Personally, I'm up for a nice dust bath after a hot day of pecking around. Sounds good, doesn't it?
Our artist trading card gang met and as usual, the cards were amazing.
There were spiderwebs by Reto...
...and butterflies that seemed to really fly by Suzanne!
Harriet's snakes in the grass were presented for trade in real grass surrounded by a real-looking snake.
Our oldest and most enthusiastic trader, 90-something Perry was putting a few last minute touches on his ATCs.
Fran's elegant watercolours were snapped up quickly...
...as were Evlyn's animal paintings.
Lots of fun summer themes by Flip and Susan D.
All in all another fabulous trade. Can't wait to see what folks come up with next month.
When we arrived at Gordon and Natalie's house, Alex was guarding the recipe by Marcy Goldman for Chocolate Eruption Cheesecake...
...while Gordon was putting on the finishing touches. 
This amazing concoction included white, milk and dark chocolate, five bricks of cream cheese, nine eggs, and other good stuff sitting on a brownie layer with turtles mixed within.
What can I say? Oh. My. Gawd.
Sigrun was ready to dive in...
...although Dave looked a little circumspect.
Richard took the opportunity to strike a pose...
...as did Natalie, a.k.a the Chicken Whisperer.
I'm thinking that Gordon should now be known as the "Cheesecake Whisperer."
The Glengarry Pioneer Museum held its annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic on Sunday...
...and one of its busiest volunteers, Murphy the Museum cat was busy greeting all the picnickers...
...while the rest of the volunteers kept eating.
My "Ode to the Star Inn" cake was a big hit...
...and disappeared into many of the 50 or so volunteers' tummies rather quickly.
Opened in 1962, the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan consists of several nineteenth century log heritage buildings and artifacts. The museum's original structure started life as MacIntosh's Store in the 1840s. It then became the Star Inn, a stagecoach stop in the 1860s. It is this period that the inn is furnished to reflect...including the original barroom, believed to be one of the oldest in Eastern Ontario.
When I was asked to do a cake for the Volunteer Appreciation Picnic, I decided to imortalize the Star Inn in icing and feed 60 people too.
The 12" x 18" marble cake looked good and tasted good too, if I say so myself.
The Tom Cat Bakery truck as seen in New York City in May. Great logo. Gotta love a working cat!
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The bright sun cast a long shadow of fun on a late, summer evening last Saturday. Hooray for summer!
My wonderful niece Sylvie spent the month of July in Montpellier, France studying French in the exact, same program I did some 30(!) or so years ago. Unfortunately, the last week of her stay was spent in hospital. Poor Sylvie picked up a nasty eye infection but luckily she is now back home recovering and eating her mom's food. Happy to have you back on this side of the world Sylvie!
Just down the road a piece from me is a delightful new winery called Vankleek Hill Vineyard. Don't you love the cow logo?
Once inside, there are more fantastic cow paintings done by the vintner's partner, Laurie Kral.
Marty Kral, owner of Vankleek Hill Winery told us of his impressive background, having worked in France for B&G and Mumm's, I guess he picked up a few things.
The showroom is outstanding. Eventually Marty will offer red wine ("purple cow") and rosé ("pink cow") but for now we settled on a delicious, cold white called "Yellow Cow."
Free samples are offered and there's even a place to sit down and enjoy them.
We even got a first hand tour of the vineyards...
...and a close up look at the grapes.
Back inside, beyond the French doors are the vats where all the wine is made.
A lovely light drink for summer. Here's to drinking locally. Cheers!
I love this little critter. 
It looks like a little hummingbird but is really a moth, who flies around in the daytime (moths are ususally nocturnal)...
...and pokes at my phlox, looking for nectar. To see more about the hummingbird moth, click here.
The summer is flying by and I decided I'd better take some quick photos of the lovely flowers around here before the blooms fade. Here's my boisterous purple phlox...
...and a new addition this year, a dark purple phlox.
My mother's day lilies are pink...
...and these beautiful Asian lilies always smell so fragrant. Ahhhh.
