There is something about summer and its long intangible days.  When you are a kid, it seems to last forever and yet the days slip through your fingers like water. Time has no meaning, it could be lunch or dinner but you are still in your swimsuit so who cares? Snacks in the shade mid day are best if they are cold or frozen to contrast with the heat. Somehow things always seem to fall into place when you are a kid.

When you become the mom, you figure out that SOMEONE was figuring it out for you. SOMEONE was purchasing or preparing the snacks so those languid moments can be peaceful and joyful.  Thanks mom.

I am too much of a kid at heart to give up on those moments and that blissful brain-space of open-ended flexibility.  For me, it is the smells and the snacks that open my mind. A waft of lilac can stop me in my tracks; a bite of strawberry can send me teleporting backward to a less complicated time.  Finding a moment to sit and savour the best Ontario fruit helps me to slow down. Strawberry Rhubarb compote is the symbol of that moment.

Rhubarb has such a short window. May/June and done. Catch it at its peak and the moment can be plucked from time.  Overlapping with June/July strawberries makes it even more special.  I can remember the sour smell of rhubarb mingling with the sweet, bright, fruity smell of deep red strawberries in my mother’s kitchen.  A cool, shady activity of hulling the strawberries was frequently assigned to whichever kids were around. I am still not sure which of us was hoodwinking whom when half of the berries were consumed before they made it to her pot of rhubarb. We never got in trouble for our furtive nibbling so I think it was she hoodwinking us.

This compote tops ice cream, goes on cookies, can be made into a cobbler or crumble…I like it straight from the spoon. That way, I can have a mouthful of summer with the moment stopped in time.

                                            Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Recipe By     : Theresa Albert, DHN, RNCP

Serving Size  : 8     Preparation Time 15

  1/4       cup                         apple juice

1/2         teaspoons           cinnamon

  6           cups                       rhubarb -- coarsely chopped

  3           cups                       sliced strawberries

¼-1/2    cup                         honey or maple syrup

In large pot, combine apple juice, cinnamon and orange rhubarb.  Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium and add strawberries, simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Stir in honey to desired sweetness.

Community is crucial to me.  It is a poorly kept secret that I have a standing date with the women of my postpartum “mumnet” group (it’s called “network breakfast” in my calendar and no one is allowed to override the appointment).  Most of us are 14+ years postpartum but we are all still connected to each other and bound in the act of raising our kids and nourishing each other.  We meet every Friday morning for brunch at a local restaurant to chat, laugh, cry, support and eat. My life would truly suck without these women.

On a career note, these women were my first focus group, my first clients and the first to tell me (over and over again) I actually could balance it all when I started my business.  Some of them went back to a more traditional workforce as counselors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, graphic designers, nurses, you name it, we have it covered. Each has created a life that included kids and self, some with more struggle than others. All have shared her personal journey with the group in an intimate, honest way. I could cry just thinking of the things we have been through together. They are like family.

And, like family, we don’t really talk about the details of work. Oh, sure we share when it’s been a bully of a week either good or bad. But the details, disasters and triumphs of work life are usually restricted to a sentence or two.

What happens then when you are self employed, entrepreneurial and in love with your work? Where does a girl turn to find a community of people who might understand that kind of love or even inspire? Like so many women, much of my work happens in my office or kitchen at home when I am alone.  I research, cook, write and think mostly alone.  But, where does one tap for a giggle or a breath when there is no one in the next cubicle? With whom does one share her next big idea?

Twitter said my pal Erica Ehm. It is where your world is meeting without you. “What a time suck” I thought, “she is as crazy as a kite in a forest”. But, I logged on anyway. And, sure enough, there they were. All the women I had heard about or hoped to find where quipping away in 140 characters.  They were writing and sharing, they were guiding and following. And they were interested and interesting people.  It has become a virtual coffee shop/watercooler that is virtually always open.

I have actually met a number of these people at real events or tweet ups that I have heard of through, yep, twitter. I have been fortunate enough to find colleagues, no, friends who understand what it is like to work hard, think big, inspire exponentially and still be home for dinner. During the week, they lead me into their blogs, news, studies and reports (sometimes their tweets provide simply a much needed quip to break up the day.) Unlike at the “real” office I have to admit, that I have a hard time getting through the weekend hours without tapping in to find them.  Sure enough, Saturdays and Sundays  find them tweeting about the neighbors, their days, their thoughts and where to find dinner. 

Such a motley crew too! Disparate sisters and souls connected through a thread. It is like a hub of my very own creation. I get to follow the goings on of people who are doing things I am interested in. That may be the only thing that they have in common.  Make no mistake, though, they truly are a community.  I would never, ever have believed it if I hadn’t found it, make that created it, myself.

Where do you find community? Do you have enough of it?

I've been very very bad. So busy writing everywhere else that I have neglected my very own blog.  The exact space where I am supposed to have a moment to breathe, think, have joy. 

Where I am finding joy these days is in the busy-ness of writing a book, spreading my wings on twitter and meeting some pretty amazing colleagues. But where I find peace is in my pictures.  Food talks to me, it tells me how it wants to be purchased, prepared and presented. Making that food talk to others in a picture is pure bliss.  I'm ready now, I solemly vow to share more pictures here.

Starting with this gorgeous shot of my dessert at Hillebrand Winery in Niagara on the Lake! Maple cheesecake is baked separately from the biscuit. This way, they are sliced and set together so neither gets soggy. I am soooo stealing that idea!

Loving playing with my new camera! Look at how beautiful life can be when you cut out all the noise and frame it well!