As mentioned in Caturday’s post (here) we had company last Sunday. Andrea came over to hang out, have some Mojitos and dinner, and watch a movie with us.
The drinks were made by Nick using fresh mint grown by me! Forgive me for repeating myself (after already mentioning this magical mint plant of mine in this story) but I am a little proud to be able to say that, for the first time, I managed to keep my mint plant going over the winter by bringing it inside and putting it near a window.
[For other plant enthusiasts reading, I let it sit outside until late fall, after it had gotten a few days of frost before bringing it in. It spent the winter in a cool room, in a north facing window, so the plant didn’t get any direct sun, but the window is pretty big so it did get quite a bit of light (well, as much as it could given we have pretty dark winters here in Toronto). The growth over the winter was minimal and we didn’t pick any of the leaves, just let it sit there really, watering about once a week. Then last month it obviously ‘woke up’ because it began sprouting lots of new leaves and growth. I haven’t put it outside yet, but will soon. I also brought in my oregano plant, giving it the same treatment, but with less favourable results. It is still alive but doesn’t look like it’s thriving in any way.]
Nick cooked us dinner as we entertained him with our witty banter in the kitchen. He made a tossed salad with a fresh dill dressing, a roasted pork loin with sauce, some of this Onion and Apple Relish and steamed green beans. Oh, and I helped out by pre-prepping this recipe for Rice and Mushroom Casserole, that we just popped into the oven after Andrea arrived.
After dinner it was (barely) warm enough to sit outside for a bit. A couple of my vintage mohair shawls helped keep us warm, but not enough and we didn’t last out there very long.
It was too darn cold out for May, and dessert was calling us back inside. Andrea brought the most delicious of cakes, which she made. It was a Raspberry Buttermilk Cake using this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Blog.
There is no question that I’ll be trying to make this cake too. My baking skills are not nearly what Andrea’s are (see these Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Icing, and this Peekaboo Pumpkin Cake), but I am going to try.
We had originally intended to watch some old Star Wars movies at A’s suggestion because it was May 4th … (May the fourth be with you!), but the disc she brought didn’t work in our X-Box (which is what we use to watch movies, when we’re not watching on Netflix). Luckily she brought along another disc too, with ‘Shaun of the Dead’ on it, which we had never seen. It was pretty funny for sure. She left the disc with us to watch the other two movies of The Cornetto Trilogy. She is a film buff with good taste, and has been introducing us to all kinds of interesting things to watch.
All in all, it was a fun evening spent with a lovely person who we’ve really enjoyed getting to know over the past year that we’ve known her. Here’s to new friends who become good ones!
Thanks for checking out my post. Hope you’re having a great Monday.
xo loulou
