Informal Dinner at Springbank House

Sunday June 22

It takes eight hours to drive from Cincinnati to St. Catharines Ontario, including roadside stops for schnerdling (we need to look at the Car Talk website to see how that's spelled, but it means the same as what they used to call "a wicked haircut"), picnic lunch, and the immemorial talk with a humorless guy in a flak jacket at the US/Canada border.

So we were pretty tired when we stumbled into Springbank House, in the pretty Yates Street section of St. Catharines. We were met by Andrea and Stefan, plus their wonder-dog Bruno; all three had treated Barbara so kindly when she last visited at the end of March that she had to bring Holt here for a visit too. Not the least sign of their kindness was, they let us rest for an hour or so, and then brought us outside to their garden for a last-minute patio dinner.

Andrea poured a local sparkling wine, and Stefan grilled fillets of fresh, salmon-pink rainbow trout, sprinkled with just a little cayenne-based spice mixture, on the gas grill. A salsa of finely-diced tomato and cucumber went alongside, along with chunks of grilled red and yellow bell peppers, asparagus finished with a touch of sesame oil, and perfectly-steamed golden potatoes, with knobs of good sweet butter. The air was fresh and cool after what Stefan said had been six days of non-stop rain, and we, the roses, and hostas enjoyed some unaccustomed sun.

Suddenly we felt less tired, and were able to stay up late talking, fortified (of course) with local ice-wine and slices of raspberry pound cake slathered with strawberries and caramelized bananas. Now I remember why I wanted to come back to Springbank House so much.