August…the last month of summer and a time of fun, frolic, girls in bikinis and guys sucking their guts in. What’s not to love about it? The farmers market is in full swing and drinking white wine is not only tolerated…it’s expected. There is no reason to NOT enjoy this month…unless you are having issues with your girlfriend, quit your job and need to find a new place to live! Yes, welcome to August 2006 for James. What does a man do in such circumstances? My gut told me it was time to regroup. It was time to get back to basics. That’s what the second half of August was all about for me. If I hadn't sought some perspective I am sure a great country song would have been written and I'd get rich...but I digress.

So…here’s my thinking. I will head to a small town, enjoy a lake, fish, cook for friends and serve them great wines…all in an effort to regain my swagger. Yes…this can work. I know it can. This can provide the sparkplug that allows me to get some perspective. My smile needs to come back to me. I have no where to go but up and clarity is what I need…so why not start over in a place completely devoid of foodies, wine geeks, or gourmands. There’s no truffle oil. There’s no truffled honey. There will be nothing but a bulk food section with a series of numbers for each foreign ingredient no one has bothered to quiz the cashier on for quite some time. I wasn’t at peace with myself going into this trip but am excited about being a foreigner in a small town. A dose of reality is just what the doctor ordered. Who cares about designer clothes, making lots of money or the price of real estate in Calgary? I certainly don’t care right now. I have headed back to the simpler things in life excited about reconnecting with my past. I don't remember the last time I have done any of the things I have in mind for this week.

I leave Calgary knowing I have at least seven hours of driving ahead of me. The drive is fine until about hour number five when I have exhausted my supply of cheese sticks, bottled water and Rock Star Energy drink. It matters not. I suck it up and reach my destination after a few stops for gas and bio breaks. Just when I am waning the lake appears out of nowhere, literally. Like some kind of romance novel the lake water erupts out of nothing. Shivers go down my spine as I comprehend the beauty I have signed on to expose myself to for the next week. It is wonderful. If you have ever seen “On Golden Pond” you know what I mean. I wonder who planned this body of water because it does not belong here, but that's part of the beauty. I am in the middle of nowhere and could not be happier…given my circumstances. The rolling hills actually remind me of New Zealand...minus the crazy-ass shade of green and mountains of course....these are the prairies where golden brown is the color of just about everything.

The night we arrive is spent getting set up. Nothing of substance occurs but the cabin itself is something to see. This isn’t a second home in Windermere. This is a C-A-B-I-N. There’s electricity, there’s indoor plumbing and it’s clean but it’s not the Ritz. There are 2 deer heads, 2 ducks, a goose and 2 fish mounted on the walls. Spider webs abound and three rooms are side by side with a kitchen at the end of the hall. The shower operates Russian roulette style spitting out ice cold water, scalding hot water and some lukewarm. It is totally random. Outside our cabin the atmosphere is incredible. The water, the stars, and the people around us are everything you could hope for. The fading sunset was a combination of pink and blue…I cannot think of a prettier backdrop to see stars emerge from. It's a surreal sight. I see four shooting stars on our first night and wish for the same thing each time.

Day 2 brings pure relaxation…other than a trip to the local supermarket we have nothing to do. I never realized how married people nag and argue from time to time but my friends demonstrate and it occurs to me that I have been too critical and defensive in my relationship. Being overly sensitive when you’re in love is no fun because insecurities rise up...but we all need to feel appreciated and respected by our partner. We enjoy the market and the locals and they….tolerate us. After traumatizing a checkout girl we move on and head back to the cabin to prepare our first meal. The look on her face after I told her to stop at $38 bucks because that's all we had was priceless....given the $300 in groceries she had rang in up to that point. She was a good sport. The highlight of town is the Dutch bakery….oh my god. The doughnuts made everyday onsite are orgasmic. I cannot even fathom finding something like this in Calgary but after this experience I will be looking. I need to find light as a feather dough and homemade pies with decent crust back home after this. Alas the butcher was closed but that's okay...it means another trip into town and that means another trip to the bakery.

On to the cooking...I think grilling is a lost art. I say this after years of cooking on a gas BBQ without even considering a charcoal setup. As luck would have it…there is no gas and I am forced to embrace my roots and build a fire to cook with. I am a firebug so it's great to light it up. After 20 minutes of burning coal I am ready to go. What a rush! I had forgotten what cooking with fire is like. I immediately consider banning propane in the same way I banned microwaves. We cook burgers made from scratch and scarf down every morsel. I feel appreciated and respected for my talents. They eat every bite like it was their last meal. I am highly acclaimed on night number one and I didn't even make the hamburger mix.

Given that I am sad, I am surprised I slept. The morning comes too soon but the butcher shop awaits. We trudge back into town determined to come back with something more interesting than steaks...or chicken....or salmon....and sure enough we aren't disappointed by Hub Meats. It's a large industrial looking room with a glass encased counter that stretches the width of the room. There are tables against the back wall with fresh meat on the bone in plain view. I have one thing on my mind, double-cut pork chops with pockets cut into the meat for some kind of stuffing. The butcher is helpful and offers to cut some fresh chops if we can wait 20 mins...no problem on our end because the bakery is calling again. Before we leave I spot another must have item...beef short ribs. We grab 6...no 8...finally 10 beef short ribs and decide we'll braise them. I don't think we could have been happier leaving our new meat buddy to tend to our gastronomical whims knowing the bakery was our next stop. After a chocolate Long-John I have an episode of recall...as a kid I used to go crazy for the fresh made plain cake doughnuts at Woodward’s food floor. They were hot and sweet and damn good. I wonder...so I dart back into the shop and ask if I could possibly order some plain cake doughnuts for later in the week...without missing a beat the doughnut lady explains that she has 6 of my requested treat stashed behind the counter because there is always someone who just loves the taste of fresh dough without any sprinkles, sugar, etc. For $2 I leave with all 6 feeling guilty that such a delicacy could be had so easily for such a trivial sum. Such small things can make us so happy when we aren't stressing about things that don't matter. It’s back to the butcher and then time for dinner.

Did I mention that we began marinating flank steaks the night before in order to tenderize and flavor them for tonight? Hmmm after 24 hours in a chimichurri mixture they are ready to go. James the Fire-Maker gets the Weber going and before we know it we're feasting on the grilled meat, grilled asparagus and some boiled potatoes with cream and fresh thyme. With blueberry pie from the bakery waiting in the wings it's like a stampede at the dinner table. Not my best effort on the meat....a little over cooked but tasty nonetheless. Jeffrey Steingarten wrote a diatribe against the fine people at Weber for not building a grill that allows you to control the distance between your coals and your meat...I thought he was just being a typical New York snob but I am fully in support of his stance now. Of course if either of us could admit the truth...we needed to pull our meat off sooner...this issue becomes irrelevant!

On day 3 I am reminded that fish are indeed smarter than me. I see them jump. I see them come up to the surface...yet none find my hook. Could I possibly suck THAT badly at fishing? Not a chance. Though there aren't many fish in this lake due to a large winter kill off the ones that are here must be the smartest of the smart. There are no nibbles or bites. We only see them from the front porch that looks out onto the lake. They tease us from afar and though frustrating....it's stuffed pork chop night so I am able to forgive the fish knowing that a pig had died so that we could enjoy dinner. God bless les cochons!

I am a good Alberta boy but I have to admit that nothing gets me salivating like pork. The French claim that nothing from a pig should be thrown away. You can literally eat the WHOLE pig. There's a pig roast back here on September 3rd...I could do an overnight trip? Nahh, nevermind. I am very excited about the freshly cut chops. I make a stuffing of mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and toasted pine nuts. Toasted pine nuts taste like pork fat to me....and nothing is better than pork fat...except maybe cracklins. Anyway I grill these monsters over searing heat and 20 mins later we're feasting on the chops with some broccoli and squash. In the midst of it all another episode of recall hits me. The only time I have had squash cooked for me was by my grandmother. She would bake them with butter, brown sugar, and some cinnamon. They were delicious and dinner suddenly evokes wonderful feelings of my childhood and her cooking (I had never found anything like her squash until years ago when one trip to Shaw's Crabhouse in Chicago changed that. While other diners gorged themselves on crustaceans I filled up on baked squash with tears in my eyes). Dinner was really nice this evening...and little bit more of my past seeped into this trip. After taking a sound ass-kicking in Monopoly I hit the sack.

Another good sleep is brought to an abrupt end when the loons start chattering away. Loons? This really is something out of On Golden Pond! I find out later that in addition to the loons, hummingbirds, and seagulls there are many pelicans on the lake as well. Pelicans? I have seen them before...but never on the prairies. Who knew? Anyway after braising the beef short ribs the night before and allowing them to steep for hours...tonight we're ready to devour them and demolish the fresh corn and potatoes we bought. Before the cooking can begin a storm blows in...and this was a boomer. Lightning and thunder rock the lake while rain pounds the lawn. The wind is wild and blows in a cold front that forces us to break out blankets. We watch natures' light show complete with THX-like sound in awe. I love a good storm and the smell of fresh rain brings a huge smile to my face which is needed after another morning of watching fish jump around while not snagging a single one! Dinner is the best yet...the ribs are flaky and the mashed potatoes with bacon are creamy and smokey. Their texture is perfect. Corn roasted on an open flame may be my favorite cooked vegetable...there's nothing like those blackened kernels mixed with the ones that only caramelized...damn good eats. I only wish we had made more and there were additional friends to share it all with.

My sleep was restless...very bizarre dreams combined with a rabidly snoring bulldog are definitely NOT what I needed. Maybe last night's dinner food got to me? I awaken to the chatter of our new guests...and they brought a bocce ball set. Okay it's not lawn darts so no one will suffer a pierced skull but hey there's always the chance for a gorily smashed toe! I dominate the field of senior citizens and moms all morning and don't feel a hint of guilt. After my performance it's time to head into town again because we have eaten ourselves short of supplies. The butcher welcomes me with a smile and manages to sell us rib eyes and pork ribs. I am very happy. A token trip to the bakery for muffins (and my doughnut fix) and life is not only good....it's great! I can't wait to get cooking tonight. The steaks will be great on the charcoal BBQ but what I am really stoked about are the beans I have proposed. Instead of throwing away the braising liquid from our beef short ribs we plan on using it to make baked beans. We add the leftover mixture to some kidney and other assorted beans, toss in a jalapeno, some hot sauce, leftover roasted corn kernels, and bake away for about an hour and half. In addition to my perfectly cooked steaks (seriously one of my best efforts) the beans do turn out to be amazing (even without pork fat). There is nothing to worry about tonight and our new guests are smiling wide during and after dinner. I could really get used to cabin life. I am really looking forward to tomorrow....though I split my afternoon bocce ball match which means there's a tie-breaker on the horizon.

Our last full day on the lake is a hot one. A wonderful book is followed by a great lunch of cheeses, fruit, meats, leftover grilled meat, and homemade apple crisp. My afternoon is spent fishing (still no catch), reading, sleeping, and finally the bocce ball tourney begins. I lose my tie-breaker in dramatic fashion after taking a 12-2 lead early on...but do manage a victory in my final match. Dinner tonight is going to be roasted corn, ribs, burgers, hotdogs and anything else still left in the fridge. My last night of fire grilling was great. The stars came out after a spectacular sunset. Maybe I'll see more shooting stars? Nope...none came out tonight but this trip has been everything I could have hoped for and more. If only I could squeeze one more stop at the bakery in for the ride home!

I am sure things will work themselves out and August can only finish on a better note. My smile is back. My swagger is back. There may be some sad times ahead but this momentum of healthy, positive interactions with friends and their families will help carry me for a while. Seven hours of driving awaits...and I am having a looooonnngggg hot shower tonight!

Cheers!