Quaintrelle Weekender – Cottage Edition

Four ways to a better weekend

Welcome to Quaintrelle Weekender.

This is a short list of things I am currently loving to make eating, drinking, and hosting easier and a lot more interesting.

Greetings from the shores of Lake Huron!

I am pleased to report that after a few days of below seasonal chill, thanks to a drifting sneeze from Hurricane Ernesto rolling along the Canadian Maritimes, Ontario is now bathed in the proper warmth the dog days of summer prescribe.

Even though I’m working from the cottage, work takes on a different light. Things flow easier, breath deeper, the intensity of the city dissolved from my shoulder muscles.

On my morning walk I learned Dave Sherlock, whose place is about 20 minutes down the road, is selling his 2004 Harley Davidson. At 80, Dave, a cigarette dangling from his lips, tells me his legs are getting too shaky to ride for long anymore. Dave used to ride with the late owner of the cottage we rent – he owned a Gold Wing. Or maybe it was a Gold Eagle. I’m not sure.

As Dave and I chat in his driveway, this morning’s riding partner, Phil, ambles up on growling red three-wheel Harley, his long, grey, wiry beard blowing softly in the wind. He doesn’t stop but slows long enough to shout to Dave, “I’ll meet ’ya at the Tim Horton’s!” with a roar, Phil speeds off in search of a double-double and chocolate dipped.  

I like this about cottage life. In the city, averting your eyes unless to flip someone off is the social norm. Here, you can get carpal tunnel waving to every driver you pass. Your morning coffee grows cold as you’re constantly interrupted to shout, “good morning!” or advise, “it’s gonna be a hot one!” from your front porch as early dog walkers stroll by.

Yes, cottage living is unhurried and easy. But the backwater nature of rural Ontario means streamlined living. Outfits on repeat, a dip in the lake often standing in for a shower, and, kitchen (and bar) equipment stripped to the bare essentials.

It’s in this vein that this issue of the Weekender focuses. Today we discuss some of my favourite hacks for bar ware.

Stand-In Shaker

In full disclosure, I make room in my suitcase for a proper shaker and strainer, but it hasn’t always been this way. A few winters ago, we rented a place in Nicaragua for the month of February. A place that advertised a fully stocked kitchen. It turns out my definition of fully stocked and the house owner’s is disparately different.

Be not undone, I counselled myself at cocktail hour. As necessity is the mother of all invention, I turned to the all-star Mason jar to shake what my mama gave me.

To strain, a wire colander did the job. It might not have been as elegant service as the Rainbow Room, but roughing it isn’t always pretty.

Note: be aware of the sturdiness of your jar, you don’t want the cold ice cracking the glass.

Take Out Bar Spoon

If you’re more of a “stirred not shaken,” cocktail lover, don’t panic if you find yourself without an elongated bar spoon. A chop stick is beautiful alternative – and every kitchen junk drawer has loads of them still in the paper envelopes from the last Chinese take-out order. Even at home I usually reach for my reusable chop stick over my shiny bar spoon, its utilitarian design is better adapted to getting through chunky ice cubes.

Jiggers and Old-Fashioned Math

I dropped math in Grade 10 – the first in a long line of disappointments to my German accountant mother, but we’ll talk about that another day – so I also make room in my suitcase for a jigger, 2 ounces on one side, one ounce on the flip. However, should you not have a proper measuring tool at your disposal, a Tablespoon works. Two Tablespoons (30ml) equals one ounce. Go forth in good measure and better cocktails.

Tough Muddler

Listen, froufrou cocktails are the first to go when it comes to simple cottage living, but that’s my rule, not yours, and I’m not here to dictate how you live your life or run your bar.

Perhaps some of you are dedicated mojito lovers or can’t imagine a summer weekend without a cooling julep, in which case more power to you. As you are well aware, you will need a muddler to smash the goodness from the herbs and citrus. Should you find yourself adrift and mudderless, the handle of a wooden spoon is what you need to get the drink you want.

We seem to be picking up a bit of speed with many more joining the Quaintrelle party every day. If you missed my hack on loading up on ice (which we have also employed at the cottage) you can read it below.

Thanks for reading Quaintrelle Weekender.

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Also, let me remind you of my Tasting Tour of Argentina on October 3 in Toronto. Early bird ticket pricing ends in September, so if you are thinking about joining us, you might as well join at the discount.

I’m back next Wednesday with another report from the cottage. My parents join us this weekend, and I recently had a hotly contested debate with my mother (you will be happy to know Babs is still kicking) over the right way to boil an egg, so there will likely be salacious details to share.

Until then, enjoy the weekend, and your drinks, however you make them.

xo – Erin