Happy Independence Day!

I hope you're keeping cool this July 4th. Cut the beer and the barbeque with some all-American corn on the cob.

This is my lunch of champions: avocado, corn on the cob, and pasta salad Fabio style.

Enjoy the holiday folks!

Poutine

So we all knew I couldn't go to Quebec without getting some authentic poutine. For those of you who don't know, poutine is comprised of french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. It's beginning to take hold in the states as we move away from the calorie counting and towards the decadent.

Here in Cleveland you can get something similar at the Greenhouse Tavern if you order gravy fries. Order it "Animal style" and they'll top it with bacon, fried eggs, and whole mustard. With all that fat I was slightly surprised at how bland it was.

In Chicago you can order pig face poutine at the Barrelhouse Flat which is basically fries topped with delicious pulled pork cheek and caramelized onions. There's also the newly opened BadHappy Poutine shop, which I haven't been to yet, but can't wait to try.

With my love of all things french fried and fatty, I was eager to taste the real deal. The important thing to remember is that if you don't start with good fries, no matter how much stuff you pile on top, it's not going to be that good.

To my delight, at the foot of the Domaine Forget hill there is a roadside stand called Chez Ginette that serves fabulous poutine. Good fries, good gravy, good cheese curds, served steaming in a styrofoam container...eaten at a picnic bench on the side of the road. To drink, a case of Moosehead lager from the liquor store next door. Oh, Canada...how great you are!

Domaine Forget

I just got back from a two-week session of woodwind masterclasses at Domaine Forget in Quebec, Canada. Domaine Forget is located on the north side of the St. Lawrence Seaway, a wide river (and set of locks and canals) that enable ships to make it from the Great Lakes out to sea.

Not only was this my first time to Canada, but also my first trip out of the country. My prior exposure with all things Canadian was a two-pronged: Barney Stinson jokes from How I Met Your Mother and the more romantic Anne of Green Gables. Regardless, I knew I was going to like it there.

After a 16-hour drive, we arrived at beautiful Domaine Forget - a plot of land on the side of a hill with old renovated barns, and a magnificent view of the water. I enjoyed this view from the front porch of my little studio apartment. It was the perfect spot to read a book and listen to Valtari, the new Sigur Ros album.

In fact the correlation between the video they released to promote the album almost exactly captures the way the ships float along. If the light is just right, the ships look like ghosts floating just above the water. The effect is eerie and magical.

The romantic in me got used to eating meals on the deck with a a view of my very own "'lake' of shining waters," climbing a hill on a rickety wooden staircase in the woods, and admiring the green grass flecked with all sorts of wildflowers. I was one step short of picking them and weaving a wreath to wear on my head.

I even made some "bosom friends." Who knew you could get so close to people in two short weeks? My long drive home was a nostalgic one, recalling that time I cried all the way home from my last All-State orchestra concert senior year of high school. Hopefully music will bring us together again. After all, the music world is a small one.

The unfortunate consequence of being surrounded by such beauty is that Cleveland pales in comparison. Lake Erie is usually various shades of black.