When I was a kid we used to visit Penticton every summer. We nicknamed it Tickytown. Living in Winnipeg the winters were cold. Really really cold. I dreamt about carefree days spent playing in the BC sunshine. August was the best month. August meant Peachfest and long beach days! You could tell it was August because there was a buzz that went through town.
August is the apex, the very tip of summer. One day it’s 25° and you’re enjoying outdoor activities and then BAM you’re in the thick of it. The highest temperatures and the smell of ripened fruit permeates the air. It is like the ferris wheel at Peachfest! Sitting in that little swinging cart at the very top, on 1 side is the end of spring and on the other side is the beginning of autumn. You can feel the excitement of the last dog days of summer, the feel that anything can happen. Everything is a frenzied peek and you can feel it all over town, it’s combustible!
And then the fires start.
I don’t remember fire season when I was a kid. I don’t even remember it as a teenager or as a young adult. I know there were BIG fires but they happened few and far between, there was the Kelowna Fire and the Chute Lake Fire. Fires we still see the damage from today. But now… This is August from my back deck.
No longer does August mean blue skies. What skies? We are blanketed with the gray haze of smoke that is tinted with red from the flames and the fire retardant that the water bombers tirelessly drop on the blazes. We can no longer smell the fruit teasing our noses in the wind all we can smell is burning logs and charred embers. For the past few years the August buzz of excitement has been more a buzz and flurry of activity from all the volunteers, firefighters, and water bombers working around the clock for weeks on end. The lush trees and heavy limbs of the fruit trees seem to mock the billowing smoke and orange haze in the distance.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? ep.185: By Candlelight HERE Topics: new lights, adventuresome food, living single, first furniture, living together, Ancestry sale, basketball, the Albert, sexism in music and outdoor concert.
Deconstructed Lumpia
6 egg roll wrappers (6 in. square)
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
1 lb ground pork
2 teaspoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 3/4 cup broccoli slaw
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Cook rice according to package instructions.
Carefully drain all but 2 tbsp. oil from pan, add garlic and ginger, and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add pork and fish sauce, and cook until pork is brown, 5-7 minutes, breaking up pieces.
Whisk together lime juice and soy sauce in a small bowl. In a large bowl, toss slaw and cilantro with 1 tbsp. soy sauce mixture.
Top each crispy egg roll wrappers with rice and pork. Mound slaw on pork and sprinkle with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with remaining soy sauce mixture for drizzling.
This week SBean was hard at work on her next novel… The Hamburger part 2 😆. I totally forgot to post last week but Ninja and I gave each other beautiful anniversary gifts! I got him art that represents where we got engaged, where we got married, and where we honeymooned! He got me the sound waves of the song we walked down the aisle to, Better Than Love by Griffin House!
I worked this week so the Girls were in riding camp and dance camp! They both had an incredible time! SBean was off on Friday so we had a fabulous date day! We went and bought new school runners, walked on the beach, and went to the library where she learned that she won reader of the week! Speaking of reading, I read a book that I absolutely loved! Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens! If you haven’t read it yet, give it a try you will not be disappointed! I have also continued reading Daniel Silva’s series featuring Gabriel Alon! If you like Dan Brown you will love this author!
I finished the first week of phase 2 in my Beachbody program, Morning Meltdown 100, and the Girls met up with some musical theatre friends to play twister and have a water balloon/gun fight! On Saturday Ninja and I picked a bottle of wine for the podcast and we recorded over candlelight ❤️.
On Sunday we tried to beat the extreme heatwave by hanging out at the beach! We rented Sea-Doos and spent the morning chasing each other across the lake! The Girls laughed the entire time! It was amazing! Too bad I forgot to sunscreen one spot 😂. We finished the weekend enjoying my almost famous Pulled Pork and watching hockey playoffs.
3 thoughts on “Wildfires & Deconstructed Lumpia”
I hope you and your family are staying safe. The fires are no joke and there seems to be so many of them this year. I feel the same way as a kid I didn't really notice a lot of wildfires but perhaps I didn't really pay attention either. All I know is it's been so hot as of late and it's just a matter of time before it happened. I grew up on lumpur and I love your take on it. I always love more filling so this is a great way to add more! Mmmmm I am craving some now!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
Thanks so much for your comment! I was thinking that maybe I didn’t pay attention when I was a kid either 🤔 I had never tried this dish before but I am so happy that we did! We will definitely be eating this again soon!
Yes we here down in Abbotsford, BC see and smell the smoke and heat but the fires up in Kelowna area and surroundings are devastating. Hope you're safe and doing well.
Thanks for sharing your post at Blog & Inspire