Weekend Wanderings

I stopped taking Symbicort over a week ago but was (am) still experiencing side effects. One of the worse was the depression and anxiety -- something I don't experience normally. So, I took Friday afternoon off for some much needed "Me" time. And as it was a drizzly, cool day, I crawled the mall.  I still had a Xmas gift card and gifted money (whatever wasn't spent on medications!), and it was burning a hole in my pocket. And I needed socks. 

I think most of my hometown was at the grocery store stocking up for the upcoming weather. There weren't a lot of other shoppers around. So, I leisurely strolled through the shops -- Reitman's, Cleo, Ricki's, Spring, Cole's Bookstores and Northern Reflections. I only had to hold my nose twice as I scurried past the smellier shops. I spent hours and hours, touching and looking; I tried on several items and hemmed and hawed. Most items were marked an additional 50% off. So, I was a very savy shopper.

Here's my haul.

Okay! I admit that I may have gone overboard with the socks. I was aiming for 3-4 pairs and ended up with 10 pairs. The jewellery was in the $2-$3 each range. And the sweater! Ahhhh! Well, the sweater has polka dots -- on both sides so you can roll up the sleeves and have alternate colored polka dots! And who doesn't love polka dots!

On my way home, I dropped into Winner's. I wasn't looking for clothing; I was looking for food! My little (hick) town doesn't carry a lot of variety in foodstuffs. These were sale items again. 

Saturday I began taking down my Xmas decorations. And when I stopped for an afternoon break, I was very happy with my selections. I had a macha latte (with a sprinke of chocolate) and a most delicious chocolate orange biscotti. Fortification for the tedious task of undecorating the tree.  That evening, I prepared a really nice dinner for myself and (Happy gasp!) poured myself a large glass of wine -- the first since early December! "Merry Xmas, Sandy", I said with a smile!

Sunday brought news about the devastation we suffered on the west coast of Newfoundland after the warm temperatures and torrential rains all day Saturday and the resulting snow melt and runoff. The rains continued into Sunday as well. And by late afternoon, Corner Brook was one of 4 communities that declared a state of emergency.

These people lost their house, garage and truck (which you can't see because it's under water!) The smaller villages on both sides of our very long bay were completely cut off with high flood waters and washouts. Half of them are still cut off today with crews working as hard as they can.

Roads in the city as well as several areas on our major highway collapsed. For a while, CB residents were told NOT to try to leave the city. And anyone who needed emergency medical services were told to call the Coast Guard as boat was the only way to get into the city. It was (and is) a mess. But no one lost their lives, thank God.

Early Sunday evening took us back into the deep freeze. So today, although it's clear and at times sunny, my city of hills is a skating rink. 

But as happens everywhere on this beautiful planet, at times like these, people come together to help others. We will rally and smile and sing and survive!  

Christmas in My Little Town ...

This is my little town. 

 It snowed last weekend, and the trees were laden with beautiful, pristine snow. It was so pretty.

We had rain last night, so much of the snow is gone today. But no one in Newfoundland complains about no snow: we manufacture it here!

This was the library and city hall last night as I drove home after our work Xmas dinner. 

I've been in a Christmas-y mood since last weekend when I had my first opportunity to do some Xmas food prep. I made cranberry sauce -- one bottle to share with everyone round the Xmas dinner table at my daughters ..... and one bottle for me to hold on my lap and spoon into my eager mouth between the turkey and stuffing.

I made a traditional German Stollen. I've made the yeast versions many times with great success. But my last German student's grandma sent us stollen; and it was magnificant! This one doesn't use yeast, but it was rich and dense and moist! Yummy! I tried to follow Grandma's recipe as closely as possible. But you cannot buy 'quark' in Corner Brook NL (substitute cottage cheese). And although she doesn't add marzipan (and I adore it), I grated in a log of it. It needs to cure. So fingers crossed that it will be even a fraction as tasty as Grandma Holsts' stollen. 

And then because there was still a smidge of glace fruit and slivered almonds left, I cooked up a few apples and made a sort of poor-man's version of mincemeat. I'm the only one who likes it in my family.

I've started to make dates with myself for baking and my favorite sappy movies. (Do you folks do that?) Trying to get the most I can out of this season!

So, what's on your baking list? Share a recipe (or a link to) if you wish. 

Eating to Lower Potassium

I'm counting down the days here at work up to my 2 week Christmas break. Fortunate, I know, to have such a long period of time off. But I do not get paid for it; so I budget accordingly.

I've got a lot planned for my week before Xmas off.  There's the usual cleaning from top to bottom, of course; things that are forgotten (aka dusty bathroom fans and tops of picture frames) will be wiped clean of any evidence that I don't often look up! Weather permitting, the girls and I will trek to the u-cut Xmas tree lot this weekend and spend the next day decorating. And then there's the baking.

I just found out that I have slightly higher than normal bad-cholesterol levels as well as potassium levels. Potassium? You hear so much about making sure you get enough that it's a shock to know you've got a little too much and its dangers.  Once we ladies reach a certain age, heart disease and stroke are dangers we constantly have to beware of. So, I'll have to be careful; I can't "eat whatever I want and deal with it later" as I've done in other years. 

Knowing what to avoid and moderation in all else shall be my mantra. Thankfully, turkey is one of the things that I'm encouraged to eat. Once I'd visited the doctor, I began to think proactively. 

But before that visit, AnnKatrin and I visited the Gingerbread Haus Bakery in Halifax and bought some German Christmas cookies. 

I have shortbreads and Baklava (in honor of the Turkish guest who'll be at our table). And there's dough for Rugelach and orange gingerbread in the freezer which will be made up next week with my students. Christmas dinner dessert is a pear pie with a pecan 'n' cheese crumble crust -- not too sweet. And I'll make sure there's plenty of low-potassium fruit in the house so I can reach for those. Thank goodness I'm such a snob when it comes to chocolate! These days, it has to be my perfect kind for me to indulge.

And grapes are on the list of go-to fruit for me; but I shall remind myself over and over again that it should NOT be in liquid form.

Christmas Chutney

Having international students during Christmas season means that I sometimes get to incorporate their traditions into our time together. Here are 2 of Annkatrin's Xmas traditions:  an advent candle that is burned each evening during the meal and a "smoking" wooden shepherd. He "smokes" incense which unfortunately means that I can't use him because of my sensitivity to scent. But he is pretty cute on my table. And I have the satisfaction of conforming this staunch German into a non-smoker!

One of my annual traditions is the making of the cranberry sauce. But I've accumulated a number of different recipes for chutneys; and with the great price I paid for a large bag of cranberries, I decided to give it a go.  I made three different recipes. (I like to give some as gifts).

The first -- and my favorite -- is a citrus/cranberry preserve: cranberries, orange, lemon and lime chunks flavored with the zest and a touch of cinnamon and allspice.

The color here is gorgeous.

And the flavor is wonderful! 

This could easily be used as a regular cranberry sauce. (Think of how delicious this would be on a cold turkey sandwich!) Or you could just spread it on your toast. Yum yum!

Next we have a cranberry/apple compote: tangy Granny Smith apples, fresh & dried cranberries, both white & brown sugar, finely diced onion, apple cider vinegar and cinnamon & ginger. 

This has a marvelous flavor and would be perfect on top of a baked brie, I think. 

Look at those lovely little chunks of apple and again, that rosy glow from the fresh cranberries.

The last chutney I made is a dried apricot, date and ginger chutney. This has the addition of garlic, a touch of cayenne, golden raisins and what was supposed to be red wine vinegar. Alas, other than 1/4 cup of the necessary 1.5 cups, I was out of red wine vinegar. So, I substituted a little Japanese wine vinegar and an amazing Black Cherry balsamic that I have and topped it off with good old regular vinegar.

This is thick and rich and utterly delicious. The recipe says to top meat, chicken or fish with this chutney. I'm looking forward to trying it tomorrow night with my pork chops.

And, of course, these will become even more tasty as they mature a little.

If anyone would like a recipe, just send me a note.

In the meantime, tell me what you've been cooking up for Christmas?

 

The Amazing Mrs B!

Once upon a time, I had a husband.  Before he was a husband, he was a much-beloved only son.  His mother, Mrs B, was an amazingly wonderful woman -- always smiling, cheerful and eager to please.  (In his 30 years, he had only one memory of her being unhappy; and being bonked on the head with a half rotten cucumber was the result.  But that's another story altogether.)  She reminded me in the best way possible of Edith Bunker:  Mr B would sit at the dinner table, peruse the expanse of it and declare:

"Mrs.  I thought you said dinner was ready.  Where's the pepper?"

Upon which, she would cheerfully jump up and giggle and run to the kitchen to fetch the pepper.  She adored Mr B; and he although he loved her, he would discover later in life that he adored her just as much as she had adored him.

She loved to have the family around her; as many as possible.  Fill that dining room with people and noise!  When my once-husband and I lived in the city, we'd go to their house 2-3 times a week to eat.  


There were 2 dishes that she made that were great -- sweet 'n' sour meatballs and her chicken and rice casserole. But other than those two, she was an awful cook!  I mean awful! 

We'd arrive at 5:15 for dinner, and she'd only then be taking the steaks out of the freezer.  She'd pop them under the broiler and Voila!  Within 10-15 min, we'd have grain-fed, organically raised shoe leather, complete with mealy potatoes and overcooked veg.  (Better fill up on her home-made pickles and chow-chow..... which were great!)

She was an absolute darling of a woman.  She'd be the 1st to laugh along with you at her terrible cooking.

But MAN!  

Could that woman bake!

There was always between 3 to 5 home baked items in the kitchen -- never store bought.  She made absolutely the best pound cake that I have ever tasted; they were on the table for every birthday and anniversary. Her cinnamon or lemon/lime loaves were divine; not overly sweet and always full of flavor.  Her squash and apple pies, beautiful.  And the cookies!  There were at least 2 kinds a week in the cookie tins.  

In honor of that wonderful lady who was my biggest fan and best ally in a family that could often be overpowering and judgmental, I'd like to offer up one of her favorite old-time cookies, one I often baked for her grandbabies.

Darling Mrs B's Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs 

2 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 Tbsp sugar

4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

In a small dish, stir together 4 Tbsp sugar and 4 tsp of cinnamon; set aside.

In another bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt and add to creamed mixture.  Mix and set aside.

Cream together the butter, shortening and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.  Then add the flour mixture and mix until combined.  

Form dough into 1 1/2'' balls and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 7 minutes. Remove immediately from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

Makes around 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

Christmas Day in Pictures

Ten of us round the table; another delicious turkey (roasted after rubbing real butter and fresh chopped herbs under its skin) and a surprise dessert delivered by my new boss!

The "kids" interacting after dinner ..... before they were commandeered for dish duty!

 

Dear friends and wonderful family:  Canada, Czech Republic, Ireland, Korea and Japan are represented in these pictures.

My merry Children reunited for Christmas.

After dinner has been eaten, dishes have been cleared, goodbyes have been said to friends, this is how we usually spend our Xmas night:

My winning hand at Skip-Bo, duck lips, chocolate, wine, pop, cookies and fun and laughter.

This was the best Christmas I've ever had.  And although the day is past, the season hasn't.  Merry Christmas!

Happy Easter everyone!

The house is dark and quiet.  We had a snowfall last night, and although the streets are bare, all else has a light covering of clean, fresh snow -- it's quite beautiful!  The kettle is on for tea, and I'm headed downstairs to bake 3 dozen muffins for our Easter breakfast at church; the bowls are ready so I just need to mix and bake.

The house has been decorated; and although I'm not sure what happened to my camera (pictures are a little off), things look pretty.  

The girls had never painted eggs before yesterday; we had so much fun with Japanese and Korean characters, funny looking rabbits and farting cows (yes, you heard right; farting cows).  

I also put out a few bunnies and eggs.  

This is one of my favorite days of the year.  I hope your day is filled with family and the love of Christ which was so evident on this day.  Enjoy!

Christmas Menu: Breakfast

Yesterday was my last day of work until next year. So am I a lady of leisure? Not quite. There's menus to be planned and cookies to be baked and gifts-from-the-kitchen to be assembled and spit'n'polishing to be done.


In our house, we pretty much have the same menu for Christmas. But I do like to try change things up periodically with different variations of our basic menu. Last weekend, I got out my Christmas binder food book and began perusing. 'Cooker-girl' (as 8 yr old Molly used to call herself) was right in there with me. 'Texting shlumping-on-the-sofa-'cause-I'm-a-struggling-student-who's-home girl' (as I sometimes call Libby) has always been the type who's only interested in eating food - not making it. And 'Brazilian Beauty' is so agreeable about everything ("I don't know!" "Whatever you want!") that she's happy just to eat something yummy!


'Cooker Girl' is a joy to cook with; she's adventurous and learns quickly. But this mild-mannered child also has some dictator tendencies that only arise in the kitchen. "I'm not sure if I want that this Xmas, Molly". "NO Mom! We're making that this year!"
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So, here's what Molly and I have decided on for Christmas breakfast this year:

• Mimosas - Berry or Campari or just simple orange juice? Unsure as yet.



• Soft-boiled eggs and glazed sausage & bacon - You simply fry 'em up, leave about 2 Tbsp of drippings in the pan, add 1/4 cup ea of apple juice & apple jelly, stir and add back the sausage and bacon to coat.



• Scones (served with real butter!) - Something simple with raisins and almonds perhaps.



• Fruit Salad - Strawberries, mandarin oranges and bananas.

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The fruit salad recipe never changes. I found this wonderful recipe years ago that's different and delicious; so it's our standard special occasion breakfast fare. Here's the recipe.

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Will You Please Make that Fruit Salad?

2 or 3 bananas

1 large can or bottle of mandarin oranges

2-3 cups strawberries (or a large can of fruit cocktail)

1 small pkg instant Jello lemon flavored pudding

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Put the dry pudding mix in a large bowl; add the juice (only) from the mandarin oranges and stir. It will be thick. Slice the bananas and stir them into the thickened pudding. (This will keep them from turning brown.) Add strawberries (or fruit cocktail) and stir. If it seems very thick, stir in a little of the reserved juide. Place in the refrigerator to cool and thicken slightly.

Enjoy!

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