December 26, 2021. Ancaster, Ontario. Dinner.

Both Wendy and Ken do not mind cooking. In fact they both ejoy both cooking and baking. And both have been making my favorite foods. The first night for dinner Ken prepared a ham with all the trimmings. We were a table of ten and both the food and the conversation was excellent. The next day Ken prepared lentil soup. When you start with the dry lentils, the process is lengthy so Ken was working on the soup all day in bits of time. We ate the lentil soup for dinner. It was worth every bit of effort because the soup was delicious. We ate think sliced break which was perfect with the soup. The next day, Wendy used the bone from the ham to make split pea soup, a French Canadian dish and a favorite of mine. Again, it takes all day. The broth takes hours to simmer. At the same time and in a different pot Wendy boiled the split peas. And of course, flovored them. Eventually they two were mixed together with yet more seasonings. Again we ate the soup for dinner. Two days later we had another bowl for lunch. And in the freezer is a container of the same soup that they will enjoy when they return from Mexico. The weather will still be cold so a bowl of steaming split pea soup will make their day. A few days later Ken prepared red beans and rice. Again he started from scratch, first putting the red dried beans in the presure cooker, then continuing the beans in an open pot, which he seasoned through out the day. And then he cooked the rice in a big pot. Finally, the rice and the beans were joined together in a dish. I ate my whole bowl and loved every bite. I really enjoy red beans and rice which is a New Orleans dish. Ken has figured out how to cook great red beans and rice. All day, in bits and pieces, Ken worked on our dinner so I got to enjoy the different smells. But the best part was eating my dinner of red beans and rice. I have enjoyed and appreciated my meals here with Wendy and Ken in Ancaster. They are indulging me. Pretty nice.