Canada Day - Pool Safety, David's,

I mentioned before that today is Canada Day so Happy Birthday Canada. At the weekend its America's turn to celebrate with the 4th July consequently they were talking about the dangers of children and swimming pools and that you must be forever vigilant with your young kids and the pool. Don't read a book or go in for a drink or anything else, but take time and go in the water with your infant. It made me think of a time in Florida when our youngest grandkids were visiting from England, and the very youngest dropped into the pool and went under water. Luckily I was standing right there and hauled him out. I could never have run to save him. As a 3 yr old he didn't seem a bit fazed about the whole thing, but I was horrified. Kids can get into anything in the blink of an eye. One suggestion I heard was always buy the same colour swim suit for your child, year after year, so you never have to think what colour he/she is wearing. There were some good tips on swimming safety on this page, by GMA contributor Summer Sanders, a former Olympic swimmer and mom. I must say it isn't a very nice looking day for barbecues and outdoor parties today, quite chilly in fact. I think people will need to wrap up warmly and won't be worrying about pool safety this afternoon. The superintendent and his wife are running a barbecue here this evening, I didn't find out about it til late yesterday by which time it was too late to contribute towards the purchase of food. However, we went to David's Gourmet yesterday and bought some goodies. We actually went for English cream as they didn't have any in our supermarket and we had strawberries - expensive cream, cost around $50. However, we bought some Caprese, some really nice looking Brie, some Heirloom Tomatoes (first time I have seen them on sale here and according to Giada di Laurentis, they are the sweetest. Certainly expensive) to make Heirloom Tomato and Basil Tart as published on May 20th. We also bought some of their really good yoghurt a couple of nice handmade cookies, some even nicer strawberries and incidentally, cream. We could spend a small fortune in that store without any trouble at all. I just discovered they sell Muscovy duck breasts, fresh, so now I know where to get them. A very expensive commodity, but I love duck breast. I got an email from Mushrooms Canada with the following recipe. Maybe a bit late for Canada Day but certainly in time for Independence Day. Sounds good, you could always have them alongside your regular burgers if you don't want to be a vegetarian. Marinated Portabella Burgers Preparation Time: 5 mins. Cooking Time: 10 mins. Marinating Time: 1-2 hours A delicious vegetarian option to regular burgers since grilled portabellas have a meat–like texture and flavour. 4 large fresh portabella Mushroom caps (about 4 oz/125 g each) 1/2 cup red dry wine or balsamic vinegar 2 tsp minced garlic 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 tsp Each dried thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper 1/4 cup honey Dijon mustard 4 whole wheat or multigrain hamburger or Kaiser buns 2 medium roasted red sweet peppers*, halved 4 small lettuce leaves Method Place mushrooms in resealable plastic bag. In a measuring cup or small bowl mix wine, garlic oil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour over mushrooms and seal the bag. Marinate at room temperature for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally. Remove from marinade and broil or cook on hot barbecue for 3-5 minutes on each side or until warmed through and softened. Halve the buns and toast or warm on grill; spread cut side of buns with mustard; place lettuce on bottom half of buns, top with grilled mushrooms, roasted red pepper halves and top half of bun . Makes 4 Servings *Roasted red peppers are available in jars or in some deli sections of supermarket OR grill, peel and freeze when peppers are in abundance. Variation: Top each cooked mushroom cap with 1 tbsp chevre (soft goat cheese) and return to grill to warm cheese before placing on the bun. Have a great Canada Day.