When I was a child, my mom and dad moved us from Ottawa, Ontario to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. I guess technically it was my step-father but to me, at that time in life he was the only dad I knew. It was not until the age of 15 that I met my real father. That doesn’t really matter for this story though.

I was very angry with my mom and dad for a very long time. I’m not sure when I started thinking of Nova Scotia as home but it was after elementary school. I think that I was around 6 when we moved. I can’t remember exactly because of how my age in school was always a little wacky. My birthday is in October and usually when that is the case, the child has to wait until the next year to start kindergarten. To turn 5, I mean. And in Ontario they have pre-kindergarten so the children are 4. Back then at least. I have no idea what the process is now. So I was 3 going into school, for almost 2 months. Now when I moved to Nova Scotia, the school system was different. I was ahead of my peers so I kinda skipped a grade. That meant that I was a year younger than my classmates. That was hard. Not so much in the earlier grades but definitely got harder when we all hit puberty. Or I should say that when all of my classmates hit puberty and I didn’t. There are so many words that rhythm with Roe which was my last name at the time. I won’t go there now because I still have hurt from those rhythms!

I remember writing stories in elementary school about how sad I was living in Nova Scotia. Remember when the teachers in elementary school had you write little paragraphs about your day, the weekend or something like that? I think my poor teacher really was tired of reading my stories about how much I missed my Nanny and Grampa. How I missed sleeping over at my Aunt Paul’s house with my cousin Alison. About how I missed seeing my aunts and uncles, my cousins. I remember that she sent all of my stories home for my parents to read. Apparently I was worrying my teachers!lol

My nephew is in the same position now because they moved to British Columbia. I often wonder if he’s angry with his parents. I worry that he will be lonely at times and I worry that he will not have the positive influence from the family who love him here in Ottawa. Sometimes having people who love you unconditionally is better than all of the friends in the world.

Oh well, enough of my wondering. Let’s get to the recipe! Everything is done in your slow cooker so no turning on the stove! Perfect for the summer heat.

Pork Cottage Roll With Vegetables

• 1 (3 lb) cottage roll (cottage ham)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 carrots, peeled and sliced in 2 inch lengths
• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters
• 1  1/2 cups chopped cabbage 
• 3 celery stalks sliced in 2 inch lengths
  

1. Place rinsed cottage roll in slow cooker. (this cut is very salty so running it under water for a few minutes removes some of the salt). Leave the netting on until cooked.
2. Surround it with chopped vegetables.(You can add as many as will fit in your slow cooker)
3. Sprinkle with pepper and cover roast with water.
4. Cover and place in slow cooker on high 6 hours or low 8-10 hours.

After cooking, remove the netting, the cottage roll should fall apart like a pot roast. I remove the leftover stock and freeze it. I use it later to thicken up as a gravy or use the stock for pea soup or baked beans.

I know that I am a terrible story teller. I have too many things floating in my head! Hazards of not being able to speak. I will try again later. Happy cooking and I hope you are having a great summer!