TEMAGAMI GROCERY STORE IS BACK!

After closing and going bankrupt in October 2010, Temagami has a new grocery store. The the pleasure of the community, and independant of any chain, are Joanne and Dick, new owners of our community grocery store. In other words, an honest to goodness, family run grocery store. Local produce and meats will be the focus, along with the usual staples. So for campers and cottagers coming through, Temagami will appreciate your buying support. If on the other hand, if you are short on time, Smoothwater will buy locally and outfit your canoe trip or cottage life with catering.

SPRING WASHOUT RABBIT LAKE ROAD

The Rabbit Lake Road is washed out just past the 27 km sign. About 20 metres is missing to a depth of 1 – 2 metres. The culvert is still in place under the road bed with the creek flowing through it and everything appears normal except for the flotsam stranded in the bush about 2 metres above the creek. So if you’re looking to get to Grand Campment Bay, Lakeland can fly 5 hikers with normal backpacks in the Beaver. The ice is gone. To be sure, more roads will be in this spring condition.

A NEW VIDEO OF TEMAGAMI

Here's a new (commercial) video about Temagami. It covers some nice stuff. But some utterly silly stuff too. (Maybe I shouldn't say that). But I think for a commercial enterprise, needing to give their sponsors time, it goes pretty well. I'd still want to visit Temagami. And if you want to dig and find other businesses in Temagami, you can just click through to the town's website. Have a donut. Or poutine.

CRAIG MACDONALD PRE-CONTACT STORIES OF TEMAGAMI

Craig MacDonald spent nearly 30 years researching and documenting the nastawgan, Temagami's traditional network of summer and winter travel routes. The history, language and culture of the Anishinawbeg were used to create an important window on the area's history.

Craig's seminal publication, the Historic Map of Temagami, is crucial to the work Friends of Temagami does protecting and promoting the region's historic canoe routes. It is a unique and invaluable contribution to our understanding of the aboriginal world that existed in Temagami in 1900. His work is a defining guide to the Temagami Wilderness.

Craig will present his work and passion for Temagami on Saturday evening, following the AGM dinner, and you are cordially invited. Smoothwater has three invitational offers:

1) attend the AGM on Saturday,

2) come for the AGM dinner and presentation,

3) make it a weekend and book one of our cozy rooms.

Take it from me, if you like history, you cannot get enough of Craig's stories. I can listen to him for hours, and have. Hope to see you at Smoothwater of Temagami next week.

P.S. Craig's maps will be for sale.

HARD RYDE BLUEGRASS BAND PLAYS TEMAGAMI

Presented by the Temagami Artisitic Collective, Hard Ryde plays tonight in Temagami. Hailing from musical backgrounds encompassing country, old-time and jazz, the sum of these individual parts equals one dynamic powerhouse of talent taking the Canadian bluegrass stage. 8 p.m. August 21st at the Temagami Welcome Centre theatre.

WINNING SECOND PLACE

Lemon Blueberry Daquoise

Smoothwater of Temagami takes second place for this scrumptious dessert. We have 3 c0-creaters to thank: Caryn Colman, Chantelle Mousseau, and the Mademoiselle Wwoofer Marie.

Here is the recipe to share. Enjoy!!

Dacquoise

6 egg whites

1 cup fruit sugar

½ tsp. pure vanilla extract & ½ tbsp. pure almond extract

1 tbsp. corn starch

1 cup toasted almonds

Beat egg whites until light. Gradually beat in ½ cup fruit sugar. Beat in vanilla and almond extract. Combine remaining fruit sugar with corn starch and chopped almonds, and fold into egg whites. Spread meringue evenly over 3 parchment paper circles. Preheat oven to 250 and bake for about 1 hour. Don’t overbake. Meringues can be tricky.

Lemon Cream

180 g sugar

zest and juice of 6 lemons

6 eggs

450 g of cream cheese

9 tsp. sugar

3 g agar-agar* (option gelatin)

*Agar-agar is a seaweed thickener used instead of gelatin. It’s perfect for vegetarians.

Mix together sugar and lemon zest. Add eggs, lemon juice and agar-agar. Cook in a double boiler until the mixture thickens. Add a spot of butter. Put the mixture aside. Meanwhile, mix cream cheese and sugar, and add it to the lemon cream. When the mixture is cool, whip the cream and add it. Refrigerate.

Blueberry Jelly

2 cups wild blueberries

½ cup sugar

5 g agar-agar (option gelatin)

Cook blueberries and sugar for about 20 minutes. Add agar-agar dissolved in boiling water. Cook 5 more minutes.

Blueberry Icing

1 cup butter

1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

4 cups of sifted icing sugar

2 tbsp. milk

½ cup blueberry jelly

Cream butter and icing sugar. Add vanilla, milk and blueberry jelly.

Assembling the Daquoise

Start with one meringue. Layer with blueberry jelly, lemon cream, fresh blueberries. Then begin again with the second meringue, and layer. Add final meringue, but do not layer with anything. First ice the sides of the dacquoise, and pipe icing around the edges of the top. This icing edge will hold in the jelly and the blueberries. Now the cake is ready for you to add a layer of jelly, and top with wild blueberries.

SWALLOWTAILS IN TEMAGAMI

It's late spring and the fields and forests are ripe.

The Swallowtail butterflies have hatched out of the birch trees, with which they have a symbiotic relationship. I think the Swallowtails are one of the most beautiful. They are a real sign of late spring. Here is a photo of one on a milkweed plant.