In an Oakville Garden

Monday July 6

Ally and Dave are great cooks and wonderful gardeners, so the ultimate enjoyment is to get to eat their food out in their garden. Their cat Thera supplied the floor show, as she was on her leash among the plants, stalking the occasional bird, squirrel, and even a baby bunny (all of which were smart enough to stay just outside of leash-range).
We started with an amazing variety of olives and a Turkish-style eggplant-walnut dip on wholegrain toasted pitas; various good white wines flowed throughout the evening. Dave grilled some pretty pink trout, and there was a casserole of savory gigantes in a tomato sauce with a touch of honey. And finally, a giant plate of local cheeses, and a delicious fresh fruit cobbler - this rainy spring has been bad for local fruit, but you would never know from this yummer.
To top it all off, they brought out a souvenir of their recent trip to Skye - a bottle of scotch you couldn't equal anywhere else. We sipped (in the case of the driver, one sip was all) with delight, and resolved to visit Skye for a scotch-slosh of our own in the near future.
So thanks, Ally and Dave, for another inspiring evening!