Fish, Rainbows, Dip and Dinner at Silver Lake

After my morning duck time I headed over to the G. compound, where I spent my day swimming, lounging and generally taking it easy. I think at one point that day M. and I took a walk around the entirety of the lake, which pretty neat. We saw a number of interesting mushrooms and it was lusciously green and mossy along the treeline right by the shore of the lake. A good outing. Others took longer hikes. In fact three intrepid G.s went on what was supposed to be about a 20 mile hike....except that they took the wrong loop at some point and added at least another five miles to the whole journey. While they were making up the difference, many of us sat at the lake idly wondering where they were. Others went fishing. I really need to get into fishing more...only I would want to cook the fish I caught whenever appropriate.

This fish's fate was not a dinner plate.

The hikers return and we all sit in a circle around beer.

The days were generally warm, but not necessarily consistently sunny. On this day, this led to a rainbow.

The four brothers G. and W. in the foreground.

A cheesy delicious artichoke dip.

Just very beautiful. It's funny, you almost get accustomed to it when you're there. The light changes from moment to moment, the surface of the lake is still or ripples. But it's all just so perfect.

I insisted that I get a few purposeful people shots.

We both look kind of weird but kind of good at the same time. I believe M. is doing a serious eyebrow arch.

Bros.

I've found it challenging to take photographs of M. when she's not making a funny face.

Sometimes she's helped.

Dinner started with a green salad with tomatoes.

The main course was a tender stewed chicken, sweet carrots and rice.

Thanks goes to the Rhode Island contingent for the meal! The rest of the evening was spent lounging. Children were tickled. I retired back to the campsite at a reasonable hour.

Beef Bourguignon Minus the Tomato Paste and Cognac

Even before arriving in the country, I had plans on making a beef stew during my week. The snow storm made a slight wrinkle into that timing, but I still managed to get it accomplished by that first Sunday. I followed a recipe by the Barefoot Contessa, and didn't really mess around with it much except for the addition of potatoes.
I gotta say, it was really delicious. I ate it with egg noodles and a dollop of sour cream. Of course, I made enough for an army, and I am not an army. After a couple of days I got around to freezing it so I can enjoy it completely again in some weeks' time.

Strange Combo Stew

On Sunday I turned my left over jerk chicken into a stew. A stew with a few coq au vin notes...mainly a bit of red wine. I added more potatoes, carrots and olives. I then ate this stew for dinner for the majority of the next week.

Beef Stew Resurrection

At some point during my absence my mother made beef stew. A few days back she resurrected the leftovers from the freezer. The beef was still very tender and the whole thing nice and flavorful, served over egg noodles, a dollop of corn and a wallop of sour cream.

Beef Stew

On Monday I made beef stew. The photograph, I admit, makes it look pretty unappealing but I swear it tasted pretty good. The beef chunks nice and tender, the broth a nice mix of beefy and wine-y ness. With carrots, mushrooms, green peppers and Lima beans.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Last night my mother made a delectable Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy). Tender sirloin tip, button mushrooms and carrots in rich wine sauce. Yummy goodness yummy. And we got to use the plates I loved oh-so-much as a child though, regrettably, my French is not so good as to understand all the different captions.

I love me a tender stew carrot like you wouldn't believe. I was quite militant about their inclusion.