Friday, October 20, 2017
VEGAN GLUTEN FREE COOKIES BAKED BUT NOT EATEN FOR THANKSGIVING
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| Porcupine and Squirrel cookies |
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| When the dough was too crumbly, I pressed it with my Pampered Chef tool into mini muffins. |
CAULIFLOWER SOUP
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP FROM MARTHA'S MEATLESS
It had a beautiful Quebec butternut squash and I felt like soup. I found this simple recipe and made a batch while listening the fourth part of the BBC Reith Lecture to a CBC radio program about an obscure Polish writer named Stanislawa Przybysweska, who wrote fifteen hour plays about the French Revolution. It was piping hot, and sprinkled with dried sage and ritz crackers, filling and fragrant. It was maybe a little bland, especially with the adjective "spiced", but I do love butternut squash and sage. Maybe I'll try rosemary next time. Check out this option for another time with another squash. Maybe at the farmer's market tomorrow!
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| Supper! |
Friday, October 13, 2017
FRIDAY THE 13TH, A REAL PERFECT DAY
Woke up with my daughter in the house.
Despite 5 days of fever, and exhaustion, when the flu broke and it was time to go back to school, she got up with only one reminder, and we made it to the bus with time to spare.
I ate her leftover half a nutella toast, and found a crust end for a sufficient breakfast.
I had time to go number two!
I went for a run in the forest along the water, among autumn leaves, with a friend. We didn't get lost, and we ran 10k!
I met another friend, and we ate outside at Satay brothers at the beautiful Atwater market, walked along the Lachine canal, and sat on the chairs chatting.
After school, my daughter and I coloured and answered "Would you rather" questions.
Unplanned nap on the couch ending with a warm crushing cuddle on top.
Leftovers for supper.
Last minute ticket to Phantom of the Opera, with a seat so close to the chandelier, I nearly had a heart attack when it fell!
Bedtime in clean sheets with a warm comforter (ready for winter).
Despite 5 days of fever, and exhaustion, when the flu broke and it was time to go back to school, she got up with only one reminder, and we made it to the bus with time to spare.
I ate her leftover half a nutella toast, and found a crust end for a sufficient breakfast.
I had time to go number two!
I went for a run in the forest along the water, among autumn leaves, with a friend. We didn't get lost, and we ran 10k!
I met another friend, and we ate outside at Satay brothers at the beautiful Atwater market, walked along the Lachine canal, and sat on the chairs chatting.
After school, my daughter and I coloured and answered "Would you rather" questions.
Unplanned nap on the couch ending with a warm crushing cuddle on top.
Leftovers for supper.
Last minute ticket to Phantom of the Opera, with a seat so close to the chandelier, I nearly had a heart attack when it fell!
Bedtime in clean sheets with a warm comforter (ready for winter).
Saturday, October 7, 2017
HORNSWOGGLE
My friend Pria made me jealous studying for her GRE, because she had a great vocabulary. I don't know why I didn't just do it too. Okay maybe I haven't felt like I had time, but I am always trying to aquire new words.
This one came up in an animated conversation with a colleague, and I really thought she was making it up. It was maybe because I heard it "horn swaddle". Turns out she nailed it.
To be hornswoggled is to be tricked or hoaxed. She used it in the verb form, but it could also could be used as a noun.
So the next time you feel like someone is tricking you, think of it as being hornswoggled!
This one came up in an animated conversation with a colleague, and I really thought she was making it up. It was maybe because I heard it "horn swaddle". Turns out she nailed it.
To be hornswoggled is to be tricked or hoaxed. She used it in the verb form, but it could also could be used as a noun.
So the next time you feel like someone is tricking you, think of it as being hornswoggled!
MASALA CHAI
A friend of mine and I were having a nice visit when she offered me tea. On offer was chai tea. I was pretty sure that chai meant tea, but I had forgotten that what I think of as chai is actually masala chai. Made with a black tea base, the other four key ingredients are milk, sugar, cardamom and ginger. The usual tea base is referred to a "Breakfast" tea, originating in Assam, India (and according to wikipedia, traditional to Yunnan, China). Other spices used include cinnamon (one of my favourites), star anise, fennel, peppercorn, nutmeg, cloves, and, in the West, allspice. Usually prepared with the spices heated through, and strained to serve.
One day I hope to drink masala chai from a chai wallah (tea vendor) in India. Until then, I'll make my own version in my kitchen or drink it with a friend on a chilly autumn afternoon. I like to eat with my eyes, but prefer to drink with my nose and hands!
This recipe was given to me so long I forget it's origin, but it's era was late 1990s.
SPICY CHAI
1 3/4 c water
1 inch cinnamon stick (a lot less good - 1/2 tsp ground)
4 green cardamom pods (omitted, or 1/2 tsp ground cardamom)
4 whole cloves or 1/2 tsp ground
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
2 tea bags (orange pekoe eg)
pinch of ground cinnamon for garnish
Bring water, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves to boil over high heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add sugar, milk, tea bags and bring again to boil. Remove from heat. Strain and garnish with ground cinnamon.
One day I hope to drink masala chai from a chai wallah (tea vendor) in India. Until then, I'll make my own version in my kitchen or drink it with a friend on a chilly autumn afternoon. I like to eat with my eyes, but prefer to drink with my nose and hands!
This recipe was given to me so long I forget it's origin, but it's era was late 1990s.
SPICY CHAI
1 3/4 c water
1 inch cinnamon stick (a lot less good - 1/2 tsp ground)
4 green cardamom pods (omitted, or 1/2 tsp ground cardamom)
4 whole cloves or 1/2 tsp ground
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
2 tea bags (orange pekoe eg)
pinch of ground cinnamon for garnish
Bring water, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves to boil over high heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add sugar, milk, tea bags and bring again to boil. Remove from heat. Strain and garnish with ground cinnamon.
TV SEASON BEGINS AGAIN
I don't watch much tv, maybe using the screen for a movie once or twice a month, or binge watching some trailers or a new series at the library. I do half watch online shows while I am doing dishes, making supper, answering emails, and writing this blog, as well as other mundane tasks. I have pretty much exhausted the online shows worth watching, but the season seems to have started anew.
Some great shows I am looking forward to seeing the season play out:
CTV
This is Us
Once Upon A Time
The Goldbergs
Kevin (probably) Saves The World
American Ninja Warriers
GLOBAL
Bull
Madame Secretary
?Wisdom of the Crowd
CITY
Brooklyn 99
CBC
Schitt's Creek
The Durells
Some shows to pass the time:
CTV
Big Bang Theory
Me, Myself and I
?The Good Doctor (how many Asperger MDs are there in tv land?)
GLOBAL
MacGyver
Kevin Can Wait
Brave
Man With a Plan
CITY
Modern Family
CBC
The Rick Mercer Report
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Hoping they come back:
GLOBAL
Timeless
Private Eyes
Ransom
Some great shows I am looking forward to seeing the season play out:
CTV
This is Us
Once Upon A Time
The Goldbergs
Kevin (probably) Saves The World
American Ninja Warriers
GLOBAL
Bull
Madame Secretary
?Wisdom of the Crowd
CITY
Brooklyn 99
CBC
Schitt's Creek
The Durells
Some shows to pass the time:
CTV
Big Bang Theory
Me, Myself and I
?The Good Doctor (how many Asperger MDs are there in tv land?)
GLOBAL
MacGyver
Kevin Can Wait
Brave
Man With a Plan
CITY
Modern Family
CBC
The Rick Mercer Report
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Hoping they come back:
GLOBAL
Timeless
Private Eyes
Ransom
VEGGIE SPRING ROLLS
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| Tofu, red pepper, shredded carrots, lettuce, vermicelli, chopped peanuts, mint and kid friendly peanut dipping sauce |
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| The trick to these is to start wrapping when the rice wrapping is still a little crunchy. |
Kid version
1 tsp Hunan or soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 T maple syrup
2T lime juice
1/2 cup broth or salted water
Heat ingredients in saucepan until stir until bubbling. Serve immediately.
CRAZY COMBINATION MY DAUGHTER SWEARS BY
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| Cookie Dough with a sprinkle of nerds, at Wild Willy's on the last dog days of summer |
HAPPINESS IS BEING CAUGHT UP ON LAUNDRY!
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| My sock drawer, a distant memory, but once upon a time, for a day, I was totally caught up on laundry. I'll try it again tomorrow! |
UPDATE ON THE ALTERNATIVE TO GROOMING
It has been a strange experience growing out hair on my legs and underarms. It still makes me a bit shy to wear a nice dress, or hang out in my bathing suit. I still look at my legs and see the shaved leg as the norm of beauty, even if I was always very forgiving of days missed.
I still feel steadfest about the need to be an example. It is literally no where else that my daughter will see an example. From deoderant commercials to the local pool, women's underarms and legs are shockingly and unnaturally devoid of hair. It's a problem for me, because it would be literally be impossible for me to be hairless. I learned this after growing a few unfortunate dark mustache and chin hairs, and trying electrolysis, which essentially pulls out the hair and injects a current that managed to give me folliculitis each time without actually preventing regrowth. In fact, the act of pulling out the hair seemed to strengthen it. I considered shaving the moustache area, but my whole face is covered in fine hair, and I couldn't see it as a believable alternative for me and my Scandinavian fuzzy face.
There have been a few unexpected things that have happened. What I have enjoyed the most is the feeling of air moving through the hair on my legs. All those years, no guy has told me of the joy of running down the street with the wind blowing through all of their hair. I always knew the feel on my head, but it never occurred to me that it could be doubled by chilling my legs on a hot summer day. I wonder what I cannot compare; what if I had never shaved, would the hair on my lower legs look like it does now, or would it be a lighter, finer version that my upper legs still sport. I am surprised that I no longer have a memory of my legs before I shaved. I am surprised at how long I have looked at my legs and without even being conscious of it, considered them ugly if they were not shaved. I am enjoying putting less garbage in a landfill since I put down my razor. I use less water in my shower. I feel like I have more time! It can't be much, but it is a tiny reduction in a burden of daily tasks.
Sometimes my daughter strokes the hair on my legs. I don't know what she thinks, but it is pretty clear that she doesn't yet think it is not a sign of normality or femininity. This makes it all worthwhile. I have also been happily suprised to see a few internet examples of women sporting underarm hair, like Julia Roberts on the red carpet, circa Notting Hill, and Sofia Lauren, in black and white. I don't know that anyone else sees me as anything but a middle age woman unkempt and unfeminine, especially in this age of waxing and laser treatments, but I am starting to feel normal seeing hair at my ankles and under my arms. No one has been outright hostile, but there have been more than a few stares. Fortunately in the era of political correctness, I am free to make this as a personal decision. I seem to be alone, but for my daughter, I will be different so that she might have a choice. How many other things have I accepted as necessary for feminine beauty without thinking? Why are you working so hard to be unnaturally beautiful? Is it for you? Why judge me for my hair that grows naturally? I find it hard to understand why hairlessness is so pervasive. You don't need to apologize to me for not shaving today. I didn't either!
I still feel steadfest about the need to be an example. It is literally no where else that my daughter will see an example. From deoderant commercials to the local pool, women's underarms and legs are shockingly and unnaturally devoid of hair. It's a problem for me, because it would be literally be impossible for me to be hairless. I learned this after growing a few unfortunate dark mustache and chin hairs, and trying electrolysis, which essentially pulls out the hair and injects a current that managed to give me folliculitis each time without actually preventing regrowth. In fact, the act of pulling out the hair seemed to strengthen it. I considered shaving the moustache area, but my whole face is covered in fine hair, and I couldn't see it as a believable alternative for me and my Scandinavian fuzzy face.
There have been a few unexpected things that have happened. What I have enjoyed the most is the feeling of air moving through the hair on my legs. All those years, no guy has told me of the joy of running down the street with the wind blowing through all of their hair. I always knew the feel on my head, but it never occurred to me that it could be doubled by chilling my legs on a hot summer day. I wonder what I cannot compare; what if I had never shaved, would the hair on my lower legs look like it does now, or would it be a lighter, finer version that my upper legs still sport. I am surprised that I no longer have a memory of my legs before I shaved. I am surprised at how long I have looked at my legs and without even being conscious of it, considered them ugly if they were not shaved. I am enjoying putting less garbage in a landfill since I put down my razor. I use less water in my shower. I feel like I have more time! It can't be much, but it is a tiny reduction in a burden of daily tasks.
Sometimes my daughter strokes the hair on my legs. I don't know what she thinks, but it is pretty clear that she doesn't yet think it is not a sign of normality or femininity. This makes it all worthwhile. I have also been happily suprised to see a few internet examples of women sporting underarm hair, like Julia Roberts on the red carpet, circa Notting Hill, and Sofia Lauren, in black and white. I don't know that anyone else sees me as anything but a middle age woman unkempt and unfeminine, especially in this age of waxing and laser treatments, but I am starting to feel normal seeing hair at my ankles and under my arms. No one has been outright hostile, but there have been more than a few stares. Fortunately in the era of political correctness, I am free to make this as a personal decision. I seem to be alone, but for my daughter, I will be different so that she might have a choice. How many other things have I accepted as necessary for feminine beauty without thinking? Why are you working so hard to be unnaturally beautiful? Is it for you? Why judge me for my hair that grows naturally? I find it hard to understand why hairlessness is so pervasive. You don't need to apologize to me for not shaving today. I didn't either!
Thursday, September 28, 2017
ONE VIEW OF METADATA OF A PERFECT DAY
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| Enough sleep and enough exercise! My daughter's new PR running record! |
MY IDEAL DAY
I wake up without an alarm, rested.
I have time to move my bowels!
I have a nice breakfast (excludes toast and cereal).
I have time to enjoy a cafe latte.
I bathe or shower at leisure.
I go with a friend or daughter hiking.
No mosquitos.
I eat a nice vegetarian lunch (harder than it sounds, to have protein, without relying on milk or eggs).
I get a foot massage and a cuddle.
I finish a project, around the house or making memories.
I make someone's day by doing something for them.
I get paid.
My friend sends me a nice note.
My house is clean.
I watch a clever show, ballet or movie or theatre, even on my own tv.
I go to bed with my daughter in the house.
I have time to move my bowels!
I have a nice breakfast (excludes toast and cereal).
I have time to enjoy a cafe latte.
I bathe or shower at leisure.
I go with a friend or daughter hiking.
No mosquitos.
I eat a nice vegetarian lunch (harder than it sounds, to have protein, without relying on milk or eggs).
I get a foot massage and a cuddle.
I finish a project, around the house or making memories.
I make someone's day by doing something for them.
I get paid.
My friend sends me a nice note.
My house is clean.
I watch a clever show, ballet or movie or theatre, even on my own tv.
I go to bed with my daughter in the house.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
BUCKET LIST 2017
Asteroid shower in august -Done! August, 16 shooting stars, moonrise, Solar eclipse- Saskatchewan
4th of July in USA 2018?
Medieval feast/castle in TO 2018?
Organize cooking - menu and recipes WOP (work in progress)
Apple picking in Rougement planned Oct 2018?
Uncles and cousins Done! August
Dinosaur museums and Badlands Alberta Done! August
Cypress Hills Done! August
Run marathon ?2018 Done - 5 k fun run! May, Ran 10 k on the street July!
NYC Central Park, National hx museum 2018?
ACEP DC Booked Oct-Nov Done!
Hike Hautes Gorges and Grand-Jardins 2018?
Stewart hall camp - Done! Book 2018
QUICK SMOOTHIE TO CHEW
One Paula Red apple, chilled
One banana
1 cm thick peeled ginger
1 cup soya milk
1 T OJ concentrate
Blend. Drink. Chew. Unless you have a better blender than me. Then just drink!
One banana
1 cm thick peeled ginger
1 cup soya milk
1 T OJ concentrate
Blend. Drink. Chew. Unless you have a better blender than me. Then just drink!
Monday, September 25, 2017
CHICK PEA TAGINE ON COUSCOUS
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| FOOD’s Jan 2003 Moroccan “Chick pea” Chicken Couscous #1 pp 134,136 I used another serving of chick peas instead of chicken, and sweet potato in place of zucchini. It’s a lot of onions. I liked it, but one probably would have been enough. |
CHEDDAR POTATO PEROGIES WITH THE PERFECT SIDES
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| I splurged on the $4 perogies from Pelmans, instead of the usual no name because the crimped edges looked homemade. A little melted margarine, fried onions and sliced button mushrooms with protein bearing barely cooked frozen peas. A perfect simple supper with leftovers for lunch and a plain version (with peas still frozen) for my daughter. |
POTATO SALAD AND MODIFIED WALDORF
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| Apple celery Pecan salad FOOD March 2006. 2T Mayo/sour cream, 2T vinegar, 1t sugar. Enough mayo to cover-boiled potatoes, hard boiled eggs (10 minutes, heat off once boiling, ice bath to cool), and garden chives. |
THE SUMMER YOU WERE ELEVEN
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| Tiger tattoo from school that lasted through baths and swimming! |
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| Calico's new favourite spot |
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| Inspired by le Princesse Masquée, you found your Princess Pirate costume. |
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| Elk herd in Saskatchewan |
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| Yearbook signing day. My girlie girl. |
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| The bank gave us a free flag to celebrate Canada Day. The exhibit was on Expo 67. |
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| The best white pizza, at Amelia's. |
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| May be the last year for the Jazzfest playground. |
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| Nicole and the turtle at Beaconsfield Yacht Club. |
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| Painting pencils at Jazzfest. |
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| Le Monstre Poilu, and Erable Vanille (right) and Caramel Salee dipped cones. |
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| Circus girl at Place Des Arts. It was a hot day! |
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| Birthday party food |
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| Homemade crackers |
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| Party planning |
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| Loot bags to give away |
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| Summer birthday table |
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| Cracker jokes and activities |
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| Special request Mint Chocolate Chip Cool Whip Oreo Chocolate Chip cookie cake! |
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| Practicing "Disc" |
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| Dorval Lachine bike trip with Nabila and Asmaa |
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| Sebastian sleeping, listening to your lullaby, "Rose, rose, belle, rose" at Bercer le temps, after Stewart Hall camp. |
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| Fairy house making with Romy and Luka at Stewart Hall |
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| The Riders live with Grandma and Grandpa, beating BC Lions. |
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| Trampolining! |
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| Try to slide down the Great Sandhill(s) in Saskatchewan |
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| Silly fun at the Eastend Dinosaur Museum with our new friend Madelyne. |
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| Frenchman River Valley in the summer. |
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| Trecking through the Hoodoos and looking for Petroglyphs in Alberta's Writing-On-Stone Park, with views of Milk River and the Sweetgrass Hills of Montana. |
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| A cold dip in Manitou Beach's bouyant salt Lake, and then playtime in the sand. |
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| Tiny clay food you made with your cousin Kate. Pizzas, nachos, hotdogs, hamburgers and green peas. |
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