Cassoulet at Thirty Bench

My Mom and I generally have a weekly visit. It revolves around a walk. Her love for walking has rubbed off on me. A day walking in nature is a good day, and over the years she has hiked a large portion of the 900 km Bruce Trail. For over 20 years she organized a weekly hiking group which involved scouting out trails and leading her group of 10-12 ladies on the hike. It seems to be in her DNA to always be looking out for new trail options. In her eyes she has “slowed down” since turning 80 but you wouldn’t know it walking beside her.

We have covered a lot of kilometres on our weekly walks spanning all seasons from spring blooms to winter winds. After we’ve got our steps in we often go for tea/coffee or lunch. Most of the time we stay in the Oakville/Burlington area, the Burloak Waterfront trail a frequent haunt, but sometimes we venture further afield.

This past Saturday we headed to Niagara for a wine event to accompany our walk. On the way to Thirty Bench my brother called. He was not surprised we were heading to a winery as he knows us well. My Mom and I surprised ourselves when we calculated it was 4 years since our previous visit to the winery. On that February day in 2020 the ground was covered in snow. There was even a group snowshoeing through the vines.

But on this springlike February day the tawny vineyards were fully exposed under the bright blue skies.

The tasting area inside had plenty of windows overlooking these barren vines. We thoroughly enjoyed our food and wine pairing as we did 4 years ago. This time it was a savoury cassoulet paired with a Riesling with notes of apple and citrus and a rich beef bourguignon with a peppery Cabernet Franc.

My Mom was looking forward to having the cassoulet; it’s a dish she loves. She recalled the time she had the “best cassoulet of her life” at a tiny restaurant in Carcassonne, southern France, when she was on a bus tour with a friend years ago. It was served in an earthenware dish. She has also made cassoulet at home, though not frequently as it takes a couple of days to prepare. It’s an elaborate affair as white beans are slowly stewed and well flavoured with various meats like pork, sausage and duck. Best have someone else prepare it, I say!

Leaving us with plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors with a walk.