This one is a stunner! Dragon fruit is the key, as it makes a fuchsia-coloured simple syrup that can be created into all sorts of beautiful concoctions. This one is very easy-drinking…just be careful it doesn’t creep up on you! Unless of course, you are looking for some liquid courage to enjoy one of the greatest summertime cottage traditions — the skinny dip!

There is nothing quite like an August night on the dock, when the sun has long set, the air is still warm, and only starry sky casts any light. If you have never tried skinny dipping in a lake, you must. When you doff your clothes in the dark, it’s more than peeling off layers of fabric. It is shaking away worries, stress, judgements and body hang-ups, and giving into the awesome freedom that only skin on water can bring!

Skinny Dipper

Dragon Fruit Simple Syrup

• Wash & chop up half a dragon fruit (keeping on pink rind)
• Heat 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar on medium. Remove from heat as soon as it hits boil
• Pour in mason jar (filling it half full), and add fruit
• Sit out (un-lidded) to cool 30-45 minutes, and then refrigerate ~4 hours.

 

4 hours later…

For one Skinny Dipper, mix:

• 1-1/2 oz gin
• 1 oz dragon fruit simple syrup
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 3-4 club soda, to taste

Food Pairing:  Chunky Dunk

Ok, the real recipe name is Feta-Pine Nut Spread (thank you guest-contributor Patricia for this bit of loveliness! I think originally from Epicurious). However, Chunk Dunk feels like a better name pairing with Skinny Dip. Plus, once you taste it, you will be spreading it on everything — we enjoyed as a veggie dip, but it would go equally well with crackers, baguette, as a sandwich spread, a burger condiment, or just dip your finger in (only once though!) and nosh away! Trust me, this photo does not do it justice.

Chunky Dunk

• 1-8 oz tub whipped cream cheese spread
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
• 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1-7 oz package crumbled feta
• 1/3 cup drained oil-packed sundried tomatoes

1. Blend cream cheese, yogurt, pinenuts, basil, and garlic in a food processor.
2. Add feta and sundried tomatoes, and blend until combined but still chunky
3. Cover and refrigerate — a great make-ahead appetizer!

Song Pairing:  Skinny Dippin’, Cody Parks

Really, was there another choice??

In our 8 years of cottage ownership, we have had MANY guests.  We love our personal slice of heaven, and love also to share it.  We intentionally created a space that could accommodate loads of guests, and thus far have had only great experiences — either we have a fortuitous guest-selection process, or our guests have actively vied for invitations back!  If you find yourself invited to someone’s cottage and do hope to score a return, there are generally two 2 basic facts to keep in mind:  1) your hosts also want to relax, and 2) your hosts likely don’t live at their cottage and don’t want an accumulation of stuff to have to deal with later (see basic fact #1).

If you are the recipient of an invitation to a friend or family member’s personal oasis (cottage, cabin, farm, summerhouse, beach house, etc), here are some good-guest behaviour tips that will keep you on the roster:

10 Ways To Be a Good Guest (aka…how to get invited back)

1. Offer to bring/prepare a meal.  When you go to a dinner party at someone’s house, unless it’s potluck, your hosts are likely happy to buy/make/serve/clean-up the whole thing.  If you are going to someone’s cottage for a weekend, that is a lot of buying/making/serving/cleaning up.  Plus, unlike a home, where you have a pantry full of staples and/or a convenient grocery store, at a cottage almost everything that gets consumed has to be brought to & from the cottage.
2. Bring your own sheets/pillowcases (unless otherwise instructed) — chances are, your hosts will be departing the cottage around the same time you are, so will not want to be left with a bunch of laundry to do, nor cart back to the city where the washer & dryer actually is.  If your hosts tell you in advance they will provide bedding, consider it a bonus!
3. Clean up after yourself — strip your bed, empty the waste basket in your room, offer to clean the bathroom, etc.  [I get it, you might be thinking: ‘wait a sec, I have to do that at home.  I don’t want to do it when I’m away.’  Fair enough, but your hosts are themselves thinking the same thing.]  If you see something that needs to be done in communal spaces, offer to help with that too — clean up after meals, sweep, etc
4. BYOB/BYOP.  It could be our guests, but we’ve never (ever) had anyone forget to bring booze.  Your hosts might have plenty for you, but don’t assume it!  The same goes for any other preferences you might have (the P in BYOP…).  You may prefer vegetarian fare, a certain type of milk, gluten-free options, or anything else you might consider a staple at home, but don’t assume your hosts will know or remember your preferences.  Same with any allergies or sensitivities — let your hosts know in advance (bring your own allergy meds too for that matter — it might be a long drive to the nearest hospital!)
5. Check with your hosts on the plumbing situation.  Every cottage will have its own finnickiness (yes, I made that word up) — whether you can drink the water, need to jiggle the handle, need to let yellow mellow (ugh), etc.  Just ask.  Even showering…while stinky is not necessarily encouraged if it’s a cozy place, your shower water will likely end up in a septic system that ultimately has to get emptied…so shower sparingly.  A jump in the lake may just do the trick (though no shampoo in the lake please!)
6. Make yourself at home (as in, don’t wait to be waited on).  All hosts will have their own take on this, but my general assumptions are: a) you want to relax, and b) I want to relax.  So, I will show you where the fridge is (and will likely offer you your first drink), but you’re on your own after that.  At home, I might not want you digging through my fridge, but at the cottage, knock yourself out!
7. Do not complain about the bugs, weather, lack of cell reception/WIFI — For most people, it fills the soul to get back to nature.  And since nature comes in many forms, don whatever you need to make it tolerable (bug spray, sunscreen, rain boots, etc) and get in it.  Likewise, embrace the chance to eschew all things digital, and go old school — cards, games, puzzles, books, actual conversation, etc.  Don’t worry, your weekend will be over soon enough, and you’ll be back to your screens, email, tweets, streaks, and likes.
8. Consider ‘consumables’ if you want to bring a hostess gift (which you don’t need to bring to our place! :).  Even the least sexy of consumables (toilet paper, batteries, hand soap, etc) are appreciated!
9. Bring home your perishable leftovers.  I don’t mean the compostable garbage, but the leftovers that you might be inclined to toss into your fridge or freezer at home.  Most likely you are being kind and generous when you suggest “keep it, it will freeze”.  However, if your host asks you to take it home, there is likely a practical reason for it — they don’t live there and will likely have to pitch it when they leave anyway, they don’t want a freezer full of mystery meals, they get pests/rodents if food is left behind.  Notable exceptions — beer and wine — generally not much risk of them not getting consumed before they go bad!
10. If you bring a watermelon, cut it up and serve it!  Watermelon is great — feeds a crowd, tastes good, not too filling, universally appealing — a veritable celebration of summer.  But they only do those things if cut up and served.  If it doesn’t get consumed, take it home with you.   (or…see last blog post for an excellent use for left-over watermelon!)

Now, if you happen to be hosting this weekend, and your guests do not read the above list in advance…for you we have created a:

 

Guest Tolerator

• 1 oz fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz fresh-squeezed orange juice
• splash of fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1-1/2 oz tequila
• 1 tsp simple syrup (for a batch:  equal parts water & sugar on med-high heat; remove immediately from heat when it hits boil; allow to cool)
• pinch of salt
• 1-1/2 oz grapefruit soda (we used Perrier; San Pellegrino also good)

1. Shake all ingredients except soda
2. Pour into glass filled with ice
3. Top with grapefruit soda
4. Garnish with citrus of choice
5. Head to the hammock, or your own secret spot, and enjoy in peace and quiet!

 

 

Song Pairing:  We’re Here For A Good Time, Trooper

Enjoy your guests.  They’re here for a good time.  Not a long time.

 

 

I have a love-hate relationship with August.  Mostly love, but some hateful twinges.  I LOVE you August because your days are still beautifully hot.  The lake is warm.  The bugs are gone (woo hoo!).  Everyone is looking healthy & tanned (or in my case, a close proximity, as the freckles start to connect).  The sun sets earlier, so outdoor night-time fun can happen sooner — campfires, flashlight tag, skinny-dipping… (not all at the same time, mind you).  And August bursts with in-season fruits and vegetables that are spectacular for all the senses — bountiful, colourful, fragrant, and soooooo tasty.

My tinges of irk lies in that August sometimes brings out glass-is-half-empty observations:  “summer is half way done”…”the kids will be back to school before you know it”…”I saw a red maple leaf the other day”…  For all that is holy, please swallow those observations, and enjoy the here and now!!  This August long-weekend, I implore everyone to choose a glass-is-half full outlook!  Unless of course, your glass really is half empty…then quickly pour another of these — in tribute to August’s big beautiful colourful in-season watermelon:

Watermelon Mules

(makes 2-3 cocktails)

• 4 cups cubed watermelon, frozen
• 3 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 3 oz vodka
• 12 oz ginger beer
• Lime slices, for garnish
• Ice

1. Blend: watermelon, lime juice, vodka, and 6 oz ginger beer; add ice if needed to make a thick slush
2. Stir in remaining ginger beer (or add all of it in the blender in step one, and create a volcano over the sides, as I did…)
3. Serve in copper glasses
4. Garnish with lime

 

 

Food Pairing:  Nacho chips and August Salsa (aka, August Salad)

My all-time favourite salad is this:  August Salad.  So named for two reasons:  1) it’s made with ingredients that are at their peak of awesomeness in August, and 2) you can be unapologetic about making it over and over again, if you restrain yourself to a one month period.  So far, my family has not complained!  Plus it tastes great for days, so it’s a good make-ahead recipe.

Wait, salad you say??  It that not a photo of nacho chips?  This cottage day in particular, the salad was served for lunch.  The leftovers were brought out again at cocktail hour, re-purposed as a salsa to go with said nachos — a stroke of brilliance from one of our cottage guests!  And yes, it paired perfectly with the cocktail!

 

August Salad/Salsa

• 4 cobs fresh corn
• 2/3 cup green onion, diced
• 1 red or yellow pepper, diced
• 1-1/2 cups wild blueberries (another reason to only make this salad in August, as you can’t generally only find them in summer)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tblsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced (seeds removed)
• 1 tblsp candied ginger, finely chopped

1. Cut raw kernels from cobs.  Saute in 2 tblsp olive oil, on medium heat, ~3 minutes.  Remove & cool
2. Toss all other ingredients in large bowl.  Add corn when cool
3. Add salt & pepper to taste

 

Song Pairing:  Consequence Free, Great Big Sea

“I’ve got the best intentions for a little bit of anarchy…but not the hurting kind.”

Ok, using a salad as salsa is probably the lightest form of anarchy you can get.  Call it dock-side anarchy…where the very, very, chill anarchists are hanging out.