Catching Up - Part 2

Two days after we sold our home (see Catching Up - Part 1) the husband and my mother and myself flew down to Nova Scotia to celebrate our daughter's graduation from University of King's College and Dalhousie University in Halifax. We had a lovely time taking part in all the many special graduation events and we also went on a little road trip over the May long weekend. Lots of fun!

Kate makes the fifth generation of women in our family to graduate from university and coincidentally graduated from Dalhousie just like her great great grandmother did back in 1901 (in the photo below is Kate with my mother and myself - we both graduated from the University of Toronto, as did my mother's mother)

We always seem to hit up a Tim's on important occasions (like just before our son and daughter-in-law got married)

All the students were led in a procession by a bagpiper from the university through the city to the cathedral where the convocation took place.

The cathedral in Halifax is beautiful and a fitting place for such a grand affair. 

University of King's College is a beautiful university with stone buildings all around a quadrangle. It is the oldest chartered university in Canada (founded in 1789, chartered in 1802 ). Kate had a wonderful four years there - worked hard, learned lots, and made fantastic friends.

We also spent some time visiting Kate's favourite spots in Halifax.  Places like the Public Gardens which were spectacular with all the flowers - especially the daffodils and magnolias

And the new Public Library with its amazing building complete with a cantilevered reading room, words on the windows, and book art on the walls.

  

And the market on Saturday where we enjoyed a breakfast pizza and coffee while looking out across the harbour.

We also went on a little road trip to Yarmouth and, of course, had to stop at Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove.  We have been to Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove before, but they are both beautiful spots and are definitely worth a second (or third) visit. 

Lunenburg is full of beautiful old wooden buildings and ships at the harbour, including the Blue Nose (finally).

We stopped at Sand Dollar Beach just south of Lunenburg and stretched our legs. There were people in swimming (crazy people is what I'm thinking as the ice had been there just a few weeks before.) There were also sand dollars all over the beach. The live ones leave little trails in the sand as they move. I actually didn't know they could move, so that was interesting. 

  

Yarmouth was new to me and although the weather wasn't the best when we were there, the historic homes were gorgeous and definitely made it a worthwhile visit.  We also popped into the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Yarmouth and enjoyed the Lucy Jarvis exhibit.  She was a new-to-me Canadian artist, but I really am glad to have learned about her and seen her work. We also drove out to the Yarmouth lighthouse which we visited in the gale-force wind and threatening rain.

And Peggy's Cove was classic and gorgeous - as always!

Oh, Nova Scotia you steal my heart every time I visit.

Quirpon Island Salmon Loaf

When we stayed at the Quirpon Island Lighthouse Inn in northern Newfoundland (which you can read about here) we had the most delicious salmon loaf for dinner. I asked the cook if she would mind sharing the recipe and she let me copy it out. I modified it slightly to accommodate our tastes, but when I made it recently it was just as good as I remembered. 

The cook also told me that they usually serve it with cucumber sauce, but they hadn't received any cucumbers in the last shipment of food so she had substituted a sauce made from mayo and mustard. While the mayo-mustard sauce tasted great, I wanted to experience the real deal so I made the cucumber sauce. I served it with potatoes and veggies and everyone loved it. The secret to this salmon loaf is that it is made from fresh salmon which means it is a little pricier to make, but man oh man, is it moist and delicious.

SALMON LOAF
Ingredients:
900 gms (2 lbs) fresh raw salmon, skinned and chopped into small pieces
1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups mayo (I used low fat mayo)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red or green pepper
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Method:
1.  Mix ingredients together
2.  Pack into 2 greased loaf pans
3.  Bake at 350 for ... actually I forget how long I cooked it for and forgot to write it down (oops) and the orginal recipe didn't say, but I just googled how long other recipes call for and the verdict seems to be 45 minutes. I vaguely think that is what I cooked mine for.

CUCUMBER SAUCE
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sour cream (low fat)
1/2 cup mayo (low fat again)
3 tablespoons milk
1 cup finely chopped cucumber, drained and packed into the measuring cup (about 1/2 an English cucumber)
1/2 tsp dried dill (3 teaspoons if you are using fresh dill)

Method:

1.  Drain cucumber for 15 minutes in a strainer
2.  Mix ingredients together 

And just because any excuse will do to post some more photos of our time at Quirpon Island (you can see more in this post) I thought I would take you on a tour of the lighthouse keeper's house, which is now the inn.

  
Somehow lighthouses look gorgeous no matter the weather.

The lighthouse keeper's house was built in 1920 and is actually two identical homes side-by-side. There were two families that worked at the lighthouse and alternated one month on and one month off.  Instead of clearing all their personal belongings out every month when it was time to leave the island they just built them each a home to use. 

When the lighthouse keeper's homes were converted to an inn an opening was created between the two homes and it is now used as one building (you can see the two front doors in the photo below). The original living room for the house on the left is now the inn's living room and the original living room for the house on the right is now the dining room. Likewise, the original kitchen for the house on the left is now a staff room and the one on the right is the inn's kitchen. 

I love knowing the layout of older homes and imaging how they were used. Isn't the white with red trim perfect for a lighthouse keeper's home ... and just imagine decorating your front porch with whale rib bones.

Let's take a look inside shall we.  Here's the front hall with the door cut through between the two homes with the living room visible beyond.

And turning the other way is the dining room.

with the kitchen behind it.

We actually stayed in the guest house so I don't have any photos of the original bedrooms. Life on Quirpon Island is slow and quiet. You go there to see icebergs and whales and beautiful rocks and gorgeous skies which we did in spades.

I hope you give the salmon loaf a try as it is too good to be missed. Have you ever made salmon loaf?  I always used tinned salmon in the past, but the fresh salmon is the best.

p.s. Linked to Enchanting Inspiration at Migonis Home