Rain and more rain

   It has been belting down since about 3:00 p.m. and still shows no sign of stopping. The pool, which was already full to the top of the skimmer from Wednesday night's rain, is approaching full capacity. At least I won't have to worry about filling it or watering the garden during "Roger's Cup" week. Natalie had lots of fun in the pool today but was the only one who ventured in. James just wandered around the edge, wearing his "floaties" and throwing in things for her to dive for. Luckily she had had her fill before the rain arrived.

   Early start tomorrow - I have to be across town by 8:30, parked and waiting for the shuttle to the Rexall Centre and arrive there by 8:45 (this includes stopping by "Volleys: for a coffee). Our shift starts at 9:00 a.m. but the gates don't actually open until 9:30. Hopefully the rain will have passed over and the qualifying matches will all be completed. The first day is usually quite easy although it is Family weekend - free to families. Not many hassles or difficulties. It's my only early start and Saturday traffic isn't too horrendous.

   I have taken a few days off tennis this week as I have been very stiff and aching. The mornings are the worst so I hope I will be moving OK tomorrow to get away on time.

First post of August

   The rain was pouring down during the night so rather a damp start to the day. I had the last of the raspberries on my cereal then went to check out the tennis courts around 9:00 a.m.(we usually have a social on Thursdays) but they were pretty soggy, so came home for a quiet morning. It's now a comfortable mix of sun and clouds. I hope the rain is finished for the next week as the Roger's Cup starts on Saturday with the qualifying rounds. The Main Draw starts on Monday.
  
   Later my travel package arrived so I was able to spend a pleasant half-hour going through it - the names and locations of my fellow-travellers (mostly Canadians), bios on the Campus Director and guest lecturers, and more information on the itinerary, hotels etc. So now it's time to start collecting my travel documents and making sure everything is up-to-date.

   Last night's dinner came almost completely from my garden, except for some pasta, two mushrooms and a few shrimp from the freezer. I used an onion, cherry tomatoes, swiss chard and parsley to make a very colourful plateful. I chopped the swiss chard and wilted it like spinach. Topped it off with grated parmesan.

Rugelach

   A sweet treat, rugelach (pronounced roo-ge-la) is a bit time consuming but well worth the effort. The pastry is a tender mix of butter and cream cheese, and the filling can be as rich or as basic as you desire. I didn't have any chocolate chips this time so they were omitted. I think I used a little too much jam - it can be spread quite thinly - as it oozed out during cooking. However, the end results were more than just good; they were decadent!

Dough

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 oz. cream cheese, cut in 4 pieces
1/2 cup butter, cut in 4 pieces
 
Filling

2/3 cup jam or jelly
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup currants
4 oz. mini chocolate chips



Glaze

1 egg
1 tsp. cold water
2 tbsp. sugar

For Dough, place flour and salt in food processor; scatter over room temperature butter and cream cheese. Pulse 6 to 10 times, then process until dough forms large curds - don't let it form a ball on the blade. Turn dough out and gather into a ball and divide in half. Shape each half into a disc; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 day. 
For Filling, heat jam in microwave just until it melts. Cool. In a small bowl mix sugar and cinnamon. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mat.
Remove one disc from fridge. On sheet of waxed paper, roll into about 11 inch circle. Brush jam on top, sprinkle on half of cinnamon sugar, scatter on half of nuts, currants and chocolate chips. Cover with sheet of waxed paper and gently press filling into dough. Remove paper.
Using pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut dough into 12 triangles, by first cutting into quarters and then cutting each quarter in three. Starting at the base of each triangle, roll up dough the form crescent. Arrange rugelach, seam side down on baking sheet; refrigerate at least 30 minutes or, covered, overnight. Repeat with second dough disc.
Preheat oven to 350C.
For glaze, combine egg and water and use to brush each rugelach. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes until puffed and golden. Cool on baking sheets on wire racks.

Tabbouleh

   After much discussion with the guy at the bulk food store, I bought cracked wheat instead of bulgar for the tabbouleh. It required a few minutes of cooking, but basically looked the same when finished. I did change the recipe slightly by reducing the amount of olive oil by half and adding a little extra lemon juice. I also added 1 tsp. of Zattar mix, a Moroccan spice that contains thyme, sesame seeds and sumac.
   Tabbouleh is a great way to use up all the mint and parsley that is growing in my garden, also the tomatoes which are just coming to fruition. I cooked some basa fillets with a panko and parmesan coating which came out nice and crunchy.

1 cup water
1/2 cup bulgar
1 tomato
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small bunch mint, chopped
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil (I used 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to boil, add bulgar, season with salt, and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Cool completely before using. Combine bulgar with all other ingredients in a large bowl. Toss until well mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning.