Outpost Caretakers Weeks 4,5,6 - Kitchen Duty

October 9, 2012

The days rush by with a multitude of jobs to take care of, as is the norm at the beginning of each season. The most pressing is to use up as much of the produce in the walk-in as we can before it turns into treats for the 3 amigos, Norm, Al and Sammy.

With cases of tomatoes, celery, peppers, mushrooms and zucchini I make an army size batch of spaghetti sauce thick with veggies. Simmered for the best part of the afternoon I end up with 18 containers to freeze - enough to last us through the entire year.

A bucket of ONIONS ( Mike HATES onions) is a main ingredient for a barbecue sauce recipe that has been in my family since 1966. The 4L jar plus might seem a lot for one person but I find myself dipping out a cup or more to smother a slice of meat loaf, simmer with chucks of chicken, spoon over a bed of rice or sauce up an omelet.

My yearly repertoire of favourite dishes are made in quantity and stored in the 'quick meals' section. Stuffed peppers, spicy chili, turkey noodle, minestrone and beef barley soup, cabbage rolls and manicotti have used up most of the remaining produce.

Finding a restaurant size container of sour cream gets the wheels turning as to how to use it up. Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake, New York Style Cheesecake, Garlic Cheese Bread, Vegetable Dip, Blueberry Scones and a rich Chocolate Cake. No....we haven't been eating non-stop, most of these delectable goodies now reside in the 'frozen dessert' section of my grocery store.

It doesn't matter what's on the “to do” list for the day, when the sun comes out so do we. Warm, sunny and not ripple to be seen in the bay the water beckons us to jump into the kayak for some exploring.

After several trips out this season (each in our own boat) thanks to the awesome fall weather we've enjoyed, we decided to give the two-man kayak a try. I really couldn't turn around so I just held the camera above my head and clicked - not too bad.

Sea lions are a common sight throughout the summer but this is the first we have ever seen the bay.

Must have stayed around for the late season fishing.

Don't blame Mike and I for creating this very friendly fellow, sure he was coming to the back door at the kitchen before we left but now he can be found standing outside the kitchen window, with his nose almost pressed against the glass - Jordan were you giving him treats through the open window? As you can see he is totally comfortable strolling everywhere.

How can one resist such a face.

“That was a tasty snack”


Along with the halibut that was given to us there was also several smaller salmon which the crew left to add to the 'fish' section of the freezers.

Even though it's been at least 10 days since the barge was here we are still working on getting the water all the way up to the lodge. A rack consisting of 40 18.5L (5 gals) bottles isn't heavy when wheeled one by one but when you think of it as almost 800L, which we will consume all of, it puts a different spin on the quantity.

Experiencing a -16C cold snap last year and losing 8 bottles due to freezing and splitting open we have decided to move all the bottles into the “dry room” which is located just off the living room and can be accessed from inside or out. Will be very handy when a new bottle is needed for the water cooler and the rains are torrential.


Ingram as she is know throughout the summer and Princess for the rest of the year is still as aloof, demanding and affectionate as always.

For those who don't follow the Outpost blog on the WCFC site during the summer will be sad to hear that Brock (Big Fat Cat) is no longer with us. Nobody knows for sure where she went, just that one morning she was no longer around. Mike and I miss watching her wattle down the boardwalk to her favorite spot by the bucket of the backhoe where she would watch the world go by. I think Princess feels the loss also for one day we found her sitting on top of the backhoe.

Till next week,

Heather & Mike

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Your comment will be displayed once it is approved by the site admin.

Your email address will not be published.
Your comment will be displayed once it is approved by the site admin.

Thank you! Your comment has been posted.
Oops! Something went wrong while posting your comment.
0 Comments
JOHN BAKER
6 Hours Ago

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros vitae elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet.

Reply
Delete
Author Name
Comment Time

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut libero commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem enim imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere. uis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat.

Reply
Delete
2016 Season Summary
October 12, 2016
2016 Season Summary
October 12, 2016
See You In September?
October 20, 2016
2017 Season Outlook
April 18, 2017
Key Dates Available
July 10, 2017
2017 Season Summary
October 4, 2017
100 Day Countdown Begins!
February 16, 2018
September to Remember
January 11, 2019
The Stan Clan Takes Over
January 17, 2019
See you in September?
August 14, 2019
2019 Season Summary
October 15, 2019
2021 Season Update
June 14, 2021
2021 Season Outlook
June 25, 2021
See you in September?
August 12, 2021
2021 Season Summary
December 8, 2021
Remembering Randy Lee
October 12, 2023