Lorraine comes to Quebec City for a Visit

Day 28 on the CSL Laurentien. It's Saturday morning and I already have a load of laundry in the washing machine while I write to you. It should already be in the dryer but the person before me set one of the dials on the machine to two rinses and I didn't notice it. I will make sure to take note next time because it adds an extra 20+ minutes to my perfectly timed system of wash, transfer to dryer, and pick up before starting work at 08H30. We are in Quebec City and have been here since Friday morning. We are unloading and then loading so it was the perfect time to organize a visit with Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher). We are a self-unloader so you have to get to port at the perfect time because we can be unloaded and gone in under 12 hours. If it isn't the right 12 hours (day light) you have to wait for the next trip. Since we are loading we will be here much longer. It was exactly four weeks ago today that Lorraine drove me to Quebec City to join the ship. I remarked yesterday that the weather was exactly the same as the day I joined almost a month ago; rain, high wind and cold. Today is overcast but the strong winds have dropped and for the moment, the rain has stopped. I cautioned Lorraine to wear an old jacket and gloves to climb the ladder. The red ore dust mixed with all the rain makes everything a little messy. I'm excited to spend the day with her. I told her to aim for 11h00. We have groceries coming at 09h00 and she has a 3.5 hour drive from Tremblant. It's perfect that it's Saturday, so she will not have to contend with the morning workweek traffic. It is going to be a fun day!

Lorraine text me along the way, a feature on the car that we love, hands free texting. She updated when she was at the gate and when I got the text I am at the ladder, I went outside. Let the fun begin.

The crew are so nice onboard. They went down the ladder to pick up her bags and make sure she was secure and ready to climb the ladder.

The whole week has been great. When I wrote to you last we were almost across Lake Superior. We made it into the Soo Lock at 19h00. I went out briefly to see if there was anyone on the observation deck but it looked like it was closed. I gave a quick wave to the webcam and returned inside. It was a rainy evening. Monday morning I started my day baking three loaves of bread. I found three extra long bread pans which was the inspiration for the bread. I thought it would be nice to offer slices of Sunday's leftover baked ham on homemade bread. Who can resist a sandwich on homemade bread. The bread was still a little warm when I sliced it to order and thought the uneven pieces looked like I had used a hacksaw. Still, they tasted good which is always my goal. I always cut the ends off of the bread and think of my mom. She loved the end piece of bread. She liked to spread some unsalted butter and add one of her two favorites, either plum jam or apricot jam. It's funny as I am writing this I can imagine my dad and his grin when he knows he is going to get a delicious treat too. I came from a family that loved food.

I went out briefly to see if anyone was around but the evening hour and rainy night kept people away.

The extra-long pans make a beautiful loaf of bread.

I had ham leftover from Sunday night’s supper and made ham sandwiches on the fresh bread. it was a little too fresh for slicing but still tasted good. Usually I make scalloped potatoes with baked ham but I broke the slicer blade on my food processor. I had forgotten and when I realized I would have to cut by hand I realized I didn’t leave myself enough time so I baked potatoes and for the first time ever made twice baked potatoes. They came out really nice and were popular. I will have to make them again. Lorraine brought a spare slicer blade when she came to visit yesterday so I am back in business to shred and slice to my hearts content. I am happy that I was pushed to try something new and added the twice baked potato to my repertoire.

I had an extra loaf for the next day to make egg salad sandwiches on homemade bread and they bread sliced beautifully.

I knew we would be approaching the Blue Water Bridge and hoped it would be after supper was served. I had made Chinese food and finished serving it when I saw the familiar shoreline just North of the bridge. Perfect timing. The sun was shining and wearing a grin that comes from the knowledge that I was doing something a little indulgent, I walked past my pile of dirty pots and pans and went outside to wave. It's fun to wave and as I was making my way back inside the 4-8 watchman and the second cook joined me for a final cheerleader wave from the stern. The 4-8 was surprised when I showed him the live stream of him waving. It was fun.

I found wontons in the freezer and made wonton soup for the first time. It came out very nice and I would make it again.

Chinese food is always popular. I made garlic ginger eggplant. The wontons came in a huge bag and with the balance of the bag that did not make it into the wonton soup I deep fried them and served the crunchy treats with my “GPS” sauce. Ginger Pepper Sauce.

The Cheerleader wave times three

The pots patiently waited for me to return from waving. I had already rinsed them so washing them up and passing them through the dishwasher did not take long.

Tuesday was very windy and as the day went on our ETA for the Welland Canal grew later and later. Crew members who live in the Welland Canal area often go home for a few hours as we transit the canal but our night time arrival makes it more difficult. I enjoy going through the Canal. There is so much to see. When I drew my curtains open on Wednesday morning I saw that it was not raining and decided to take my coffee and enjoy it outside on the swing bench. We had cleared lock two and had one lock left before entering Lake Ontario and continuing on our way to Quebec. I had already done the calculations that the picturesque part of the trip through the 1000 islands would be in the dark and passing Brockville (the town I grew up in) would be around midnight. We are a cargo ship and have been carrying iron ore so anytime I go to sit outside I bring a large garbage bag to lay on the surface of my chosen spot. I chose to sit on the swing bench, a level above my room. The swing bench was protected from the cool morning wind. When I opened the door, I was greeted by the bow of a passing ship. I tucked my big garbage bag into the top of the swing bench, straightened it out and sat down with my coffee ready to enjoy the view. It was great! and I sat there for over an hour. The Welland Canal has a beautiful bike/walking trail the length of the canal. I have walked different parts of it and it is such a great place to sit on one of the many benches and watch the ships quietly glide by.

I opened the starboard side door on my way to make coffee. I thought I have to enjoy my coffee outside this morning

The ships pass quite close in the Welland Canal. I enjoyed sitting on the swing bench for over an hour. It was a great way to start my day.

It was a beautiful morning. The bike/walking trail is right behind me on the side of the canal. There are benches along the way to sit and watch the ships pass.

I was tempted to sit outside longer but I had planned pizza day and knew I had to make my pizza dough. One day I will make it a day or two in advance like the note suggests under my pizza dough recipe.

for supper I made the Chicken Adobo (it has nothing to do with the Adobo seasoning that I sprinkle on everything that I make) I was happy with how it came out and got good feedback.

Thursday morning when I parted the curtains of my forward facing porthole I could see that we were approaching a lock but I wasn't sure which one. I went and got my coffee as usual and by the time I got back to my room I recognized the Eisenhower Lock in the distance. It was 06h30 so I didn't think anyone would be around, but the just the same and to take a moment to think of the time Lorraine and I went to the Visitor's Center to do a book signing, I went out when we were in the Lock. This is also a great place to watch the ships pass.

It was very quiet at 07h00 but I went out to take a look and reminisce.

We picked up a pilot when we were in the Welland Canal to navigate us through the section of the seaway from Cape Vincent to Iroquois Lock. Because of the timing I didn't see the pilot but had a nice surprise when he came in for lunch. We had sailed together before and I was happy to see him. He mentioned that he and his girlfriend made the butter chicken and naan bread from my cookbook and they loved it. I thought quickly and asked if he would still be on board the next day I would make my vegetarian version of the butter chicken. He calculated the time it would take and said he would be there, and the new menu update was made. I already had a chicken dish planned for that night. I was making Adobo Chicken which is a favorite of my Filipino Crew Members. I had only made this once and was still researching how to make it more authentic. One of the crew gave me a website to look up the recipe and earlier that day I watched the 13 minute video and thought I can do this. Some of the crew that I questioned said they like their chicken adobo served with a boiled egg so I had extra boiled eggs ready.

There was some chicken adobo leftover for the following day at lunch and I served it over rice with eggs. I made some crew members very happy.

I also had beef stroganoff on the menu and served it over buttered noodles. My mom made this with hamburger meat and I do the same.

As promised to the pilot, I made the vegetarian version of my famous butter chicken recipe.

To make the meal extra special I made Onion Bhaji. I also had baked salmon. I had fried the onion Bhaji before the crew came in and they sat like a mountain of crispiness on a pan. Each person pointed at them and said I’ll try those crispy onions. They were a hit with everyone with some crew coming back and asking for more.

As we made our way down the seaway, I kept Lorraine updated on our progress. We approached St Lambert Lock before 21h00. Once we cleared St Lambert there are no more Locks and I could narrow down the time of our arrival in Quebec City. It is approximately 12 hours from Montreal St Lambert’s Lock to Quebec City.

There is always lots to see when we are sailing by Montreal. I liked that this ship was in the reflection of the window in the door.

Approaching St Lambert’s Lock. It is approximately 12 hours from clearing the Lock to Quebec City.

I made a vegetable beef stew with mashed potatoes. I usually cut my beef from a beef flat but there was already cubed stewing beef in the freezer. I don’t necessarily like this product because there is a lot of fat mixed in with the good meaty pieces. I separated the good pieces for my beef stew and saved the less desirable pieces to cook and then run through my food processor to make beef quesadillas.

I made dinner rolls which always go well with beef stew.

Beef quesadillas are the perfect way to use up a less desirable cut of beef. After they run through the food processor they are always tender and tasty.

I love chili fries but was only able to convince one person to have them. Everyone ordered the Fish and Chips, which I have to admit I also love to eat.

It was rainy, windy and cold just like one month before when I was sitting in the pretty red car with Lorraine on the South Shore waiting to spot the ship and the job where I would spend a little over three months.

If you look closely you can see two Navy ships sitting below the famous Chateau Frontenac perched on the cliff.

Of course there are no guarantees, and it was very windy in Quebec, I heard mention of maybe going to anchor because of the wind but with the help of the obligatory tug we made it to the dock and were ready to unload. We didn't start unloading right away and I hoped that this would not interfere with the timing of Lorraine's visit. When we finished unloading we would have to shift down the dock to the area we would load and I didn't want this to happen when she was supposed to come on board. We would have an 8 hour visit and I didn't want to lose an hour while we shifted. As it turned out we shifted an hour before her arrival. It was raining lightly but with the absence of the high winds it was not a problem and like a pro she climbed the ladder and was on board. I really appreciate that Lorraine made the 3 1/2-hour drive from Tremblant to see me. Our mom and dad were always ready to jump in the car and drive for hours for a quick visit and turn around and drive home.

It helps to have the tugs especially when it is so windy.

I was happy that we were already in position to load before Lorraine arrived. In the distance you can see a cruise ship. I felt bad for the passengers who wanted to explore the beautiful city of Quebec. The weather was not suitable for that at all.

Lorraine and I decided to have an omelette for lunch. I had made one of Lorraine's favorites and we decided to eat that at suppertime while the crew enjoyed their steak dinner. It was a great visit and Lorraine helped me with my dishes and washed the galley floor at the end. We went to my room and her cutoff to leave was 20h00. She had seen my unmade bed with the linens stack on the mattress and knew that she would be making my bed before she left. Lorraine, like our mother, makes a great bed. I mentioned to her how the mattress sat low in the bed and the hard edges were not comfortable when I got out of bed. She said she could make it more comfortable and tucked a towel over the edge. I had the best sleep in my fresh bed made by Lorraine. I bring my own pillow when I travel, and I have the pillowcase from a set my mom bought years ago. I am on the second pillowcase of the set of two, the first has wear marks that expose my feather pillow. I still use the tattered pillowcase and cover that one with the newer one over top. I love the feeling of laying my head on something so special and the comforts of home and family.

I made one of Lorraine’s favorites for her visit. I put it on the lunch menu and thought some would like it and for those who I did not think would like it I had grilled cheese sandwiches and fried eggs. I also had a homemade tomato soup. One of the crew asked for the Beet Meat Shepherd’s Pie. I have been onboard for four weeks and from the selections on the menu board that this crew member has made I didn’t think he would like the Beet Meat Shepherd’s pie. I cautioned him, there are beets in this version. he said it’s ok. I said would you like a grilled cheese, He said “No Ill take the Shepherd’s Pie” My instincts told me he was not going to like it but I passed over the plate with the beet meat shepherd’s pie at the same time saying if you don’t like it, come back and I will give you something else. I watched when he came back with the same size piece of beet meat shepherd’s pie I had given him and he carefully scraped it into the garbage. He didn’t ask for anything else and I didn’t say anything…until supper. It was steak night, something I knew he liked and I light heartedly asked “what did you think of the Beet Meat Shepherd’s pie?” He said He never had anything like it before and probably never will again.” We both laughed.

After washing all my pots and pans, Lorraine swept and mopped the floor. I felt like I was on vacation. We sat in the Captains dining room and enjoyed our supper together.

We spent the day together in the galley and there was one more task before she did for me before she had to leave…

…she made the perfect bed for me. She added the towel on the hard edge of the bed so that it would be more comfortable getting out of my perfectly made bed.

It was a great day and I woke briefly around midnight and saw the message from Lorraine that she was "Home Again" It is Sunday morning now as I finish writing this to you and if I hurry and the internet continues to support the speed of my thoughts I will have this ready for you to enjoy with your coffee. We will leave later this afternoon with the tide. Have a great day and week.  This time I can’t blame the internet for not posting this until after lunch. The delay has a little more to do with just wanting to spend more time sharing my past week and the, especially wonderful day with Lorraine. Enjoy the rest of your day. Mine is going great so far and I will share it with you next week.

Lorraine is going to update the list of stores where the books are available and I will let you know. We will also mail out any books you order online. Click on the website to order online www.shiptoshorechef.com