are TRAVEL Suunur t_he Fluvnurs of Ontario BY MERLE EXIT pring is the air Ithink.. That means it’s time to plan a trip to Canada's Province of Ontario, the 10- cale of not just the Shaw and Stratford theatre festivals, but a culinary vacation of winer- ies and cooking classes. The Shaw Festival will, once again, take place at Niagara—On- The—Lake, a very scenic wine » country area about 15 minutes from Niagara Falls. So, let’s start with the wine. Hillebrand Winery is purported to be Canada’s leading producer of premium Vintner’s Quality Alliance wines such as Char- donnay, Riesling, Cabernet, Gamay Noir and Icewine. Icewine? It’s a dessert wine that is produced from the juice Dinner was another “savour- ing” experience. They call it “Southern style” cooking. Appetiz- ers such as: young watercress with green figs, toasted walnuts, and a creamed chevre and ries- ling vinaigrette and crawfish and sweet basil ravioli with kaffir lime butter. I had a special of rack of lamb in a bourbon sauce, but other entrée choices include; pan-fried pickerel with salsify and Yukon Gold potato pancakes with green chili—infused sauce and gribiche, seared breast of Mus- kovy Duck with butter fried garlic mashed turnips, and a bour- bon, cinnamon and Wine Country Cooking School at Strewn is home to a chef’s dream dried cherry reduction. cream of asparagus and salmon bisque). A typical culinary vacation at Strewn features hands—on cook- ing classes in the mornings, wine- paired lunches each day, light breakfasts and either a foraging expedition or wine-tasting led by Strewn’s Winemaker Joe Will, who is Langdon’s husband. ‘If you're really into it, there is a five- day “summer camp for foodies”. Situated on two hundred acres of lawns, gardens and woodlands, Langdon Hall Country House Hotel and Spa is considered to be a premier country inn for relaxation; and the Spa at Langdon Hall is one of Ontario‘s finest full—service spas. It was here in Cambridge that I “paused” on my way to the Stratford Festival. With all of that exercise I got Of grapes Il3t111‘al1Y ff 02911 kitchen and a in, constantly having to lift the on the vine and making chance to learn fork, spoon and lmife, I thought it intensely sweet with with hands—on that a spa treatment was in order. COI1CeI1tI"ated flavors and experience. What better way to celebrate food ‘<1 rich amber C0101‘. NOW The owner, ' than getting the Chocolate Fon- Wouldn’t that make for chef Jane due Wrap with Raspberry Scrub; a great Passover wine! a full-body Raspberry Sugar Four glasses of that and Scrub followed by a warm I'd be both drunk and Chocolate Clay Wrap that wired, and screaming out detoxifies, firms and bal- the window, “Hey Miriam ances the body. It was (feminist Seder), time to finished with an also get your ass in here for non—edib1e application of the traditional Wine sip!” conditioning lotion. Antonio de Luca is Since I was only the Chef de Cuisine at able to indulge my nasal Hillebrand, where I had senses,» a gourmet lunch the opportunity to sample was necessary, commencing the fare. We did a wine- tasting paired with each course that included fish, poultry and beef. There is an emphasis on using locally-grown fruits, herbs, and vegetables, all freshly picked. Riverbend Inn & Vineyards is a _ restored country inn surrounded by its own 17—acre vineyard. Klaus Reif, of Reif Estate Winery, manages the vineyards and makes the wine for the Irm that John and Jill Wien are in charge of. , You can expect chardonnay, cab- ernet sauvignon, merlot, sauvi- gnon blanc and vidal (Icewine). This year marks the first vintage of Riverbend Inn & Vineyard Wine to be released. Langdon, has her own herb garden and shops at a local farmers market for the delicious sup- plies. That day we prepared a grilled vegetable salad grill- ing English cucumbers, yellow peppers, tomatoes and green onions. The dressing consisted of: chopped basil, oregano, ol- ive oil and lemon juice. Olives and crumpled feta cheese were added to the salad. We then lunched by doing a wine- and soup-tasting (vichyssoise, with a gazpacho soup that had a lump of crabmeat salad in the middle. It was then on to a seafood salad sampler platter of three different seafoods, each in a unique culinary style. Ice cream sampler for dessert, one of which had chocolate. There are other areas of Ontario catering to the Savour Ontario vacations. For further information on the above loca- tions, and other participants, go to the website of www.savou- rontario.ca. V Check out Merle Exit’s web- site at www.merleswhirls.com. Merle is now appearing on - WFN internet radio with two shows that include Broad- way music and some great interviews. ‘ ,1 \A 1.1-'|‘| a ,7- ; : *AP;RiL:2oo6 i’ ‘23 Daniel Patrick Healy ()ur friend and brother, Daniel Patrick llezily, 43, died March 8th, 2006. Dan was originally from Groton, Connecticut but reinained in the Burlington area, sett.ling in Williston, after graduating from St. Michael's College in 1984 with a B.A. in Elementary Educa- tion. At the time of his death, he was working at the Mary Itlogan Middle School in Middlebury as a guidance counselor and at the Pine Ridge School as a co-director of summer school and a social- emotional educator. Through his vocation as an educator, Dan touched innumerable lives; far more than anyone will ever know. Dan had circles of friends that overlapped at significant events in his life; such as his graduation party from Trinity College with a M.S. in Community Mental Health in 2000, and his birthday parties at which he celebrated us as much as we celebrated him. Dan was kind, sweet and generous which made us want to be the same. There will be a Memorial Service at the St. Michael’s Chapel on Saturday, April 8th with a Reception following at the Green Mountain Dining Hall on St. Michael's College Campus. 7 C1 ’ '»r «I» r 7'12 ('2 2''; % Supporting the Vermont GLBTQ Community. 90 main street p.o. box’1263 buriington, Vermont 05402-1263 p. 802-860-6236 f. 802-860-631 S info@samarafoundatiomorg www.samarafoundation.org How To Contactus: