Here I am!

Okay so I’ve been pretty bad about updating this thing. It’s just that I want to be outside once I’m finished work every chance I get now that the weather is so nice. I’m sure you feel the same. We’ve just been hanging out in our backyard having BBQ’s and gardening.

We also built a huge vegetable box to hopefully prevent the rabbits and possums (do possums eat vegetables?) getting at them. I’ll post photos of that soon. Every morning before work I check on their progress and again as soon as I’m back. I can’t believe how fast those seeds have grown! We started growing a few plants inside the house from seeds about 3 months ago, but not everything lasted once it was time to introduce them to the outside. Only a few tomato plants have made it so far, but the peppers are thriving! So we bought a few more tomato plants to replace the ones that didn’t make and planted a bunch of seeds for beans, zucchini, beets, radishes and all sorts of herbs. I guess I’ll soon find out if I have a green thumb or not.

Also, now that it’s 44 days until our wedding things are about to get a whole lot busier. I feel like everything is under control (thanks to all our family who have been so helpful), but there is still a lot do and I’m thinking the wedding should take priority now. I wrote up a list yesterday and slowly our evenings are starting to book up with appointments. I don’t want to wish this amazing summer we’re having away but I just want the day to come! Just to see it all come together and all of a sudden being a wife! How long does it take to get used to that? I still want to laugh when I say fiancé. I feel like I have to say it in some kind of posh accent… like when I say luxuuuuurious… Anybody?  Okay I guess it’s just me.

On the weekend we went to visit our good friend Jen in Kingston. It felt like a vacation up at the cottage. We sat outside by the water and enjoyed a lovely fish dish she made called Baja Fish & Rice Bake. The pictures didn’t turn out, but the food sure did! Jen was nice enough to write it down for me before we left.

Baja Fish & Rice Bake

3 Tbs vegetable oil
¾ Cup of onion, chopped
½ Cup celery, chopped
3 Cloves of garlic, minced
½ Cup uncooked white rice
2 Large cans of Italian stewed tomatoes
1 Tsp of lemon pepper seasoning
½ Tsp of salt
1/8 Tsp of cayenne pepper
1 ½ pounds of fish fillets (and firm white fish)
2 Pounds of shrimp (optional)

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat; sauté onion, celery and garlic.

Stir in rice; sauté about 5 minutes or until rice browns slightly. Add undrtained tomatoes, lemon pepper, salt and cayenne pepper.

Place fish fillets in bottom of baking dish. Spoon rice mixture over fish.

Cover with foil; bake in preheated oven at 400F oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Add shrimp (if you’re using) ten minutes before finished. Stir into mixture and re-cover with foil and bake.

Allow to stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

Phil and I took the long way home from Kingston and took a ferry ride across the Bay of Quinte and drove through Prince Edward County.  By the way, I look so awkward in this photo beacuse it was windy and I was trying to keep my dress down.  Prince Edward County's downtown is so sweet with lots of little shops. For those of you who don’t know PEC has quite a few vineyards too. We didn’t stop this time, but maybe in the fall we’ll take a day trip. I also know from my visits with the friendly and knowledgeable folks at the Whole Foods cheese counter that they make some damn good cheese too.