My un-garden

This year I vow I will not put any seeds into little bitty pots (except for my lettuce leaf basil, cause not available anywhere else except my mothers seed hording bucket of seeds), and I WILL NOT plant 55 tomato plants from the packet of heirloom tomatoes, nor will I attempt to plant that damn armenian cuc yet again this year ( I found out the damn thing is a melon for heavens sake according to this book a really good read by the way, and no wonder it never really grew....not enough hot sun i guess).
I knew I was going to run out of space in my itty bitty back yard so I even had to sign up for a "community garden" spot, but they would only give me one spot...all this "everyone has to have a chance at a spot" stuff....
So this year.....I will not plant more than 4-5 tomatoes, and I will buy them as seedlings, same for the cucs.
I will not spent march, april and may lugging trays and trays of seedling from one window to another, up the stairs in the morning and down in the afternoon, I'm just not going to do that again.  And for what...we had such a crappy june that I had to buy some seedlings anyway cause most of the tomatoes didn't make it past the stormy month.  And the community garden spot was so new this year that no barriers were planted and it was a wind tunnel all year.
But I guess I will have to plant some beans again, and herbs, again and then there's the potatoes that I swear I am going to try in the potato cages again..... but this time I'm going to get my daughter in Toronto to plant that #hit, cause...well she has a huge back yard finally, and she ...well...needs the experience..and it helps that she seems to be gung hoooo about the whole thing.
This year I vow that I will not spent upward of $500 on a garden....well not @ home anyway....not saying how much I will contribute to the Toronto garden though...I mean someone planning on a first time garden will need some $$$ help, there's the raised beds to build, the soil to purchase, the mini greenhouses to construct over the raised beds,....the list goes on and on, and the seedlings and seeds haven't even been planted.....heavy sign

I'm only going to plant anything this year because if I don't the grandkids will desimate the back yard into a mudbath if nothing is planted.  And that won't be very pretty at all, not to mention all that mess to clean up every week.  And that damn neighbor cat will be digging all season, if I don't manage to take it for a ride....no just kidding, really I am

case in point....

trying to figure out where to put everything....will not be a problem this year

a little bit crowded

the potato cages, that really deserve another try again this year, if nothing else for something interesting to keep track of...sort of a reason to get outside once in awhile.

But this year, I will be spending my time either here...

with a good book..

or in a chair here, with a glass of wine.

Hot Pink Hummus

The next bookstore I walk into, I will be purchasing this book.

Only because I don't want to give my copy back to the library. Yesterday I made Beet Hummus.

Her recipe:
1 med beet roasted, peeled and chopped
1 1/4 c cooked,canned chickpeas
1/3 c tahini
1/4 c toasted pin nuts
2 garlic cloves
1/2 c olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Well I had 3 roasted beets and the can of chickpeas measured 2 cups so I improvised. It didn't help that my food processor is at my daughters either. Hmmm well I do have a smaller itty bitty one...it will have to do.

My recipe:
3 roasted med beets
2 c canned chickpeas
2 russian garlic cloves (thank god I didn't use 4) they are larger and much more pungent than regular garlic
2/3 c tahini
1/2 c roasted pecan halves, chopped
1 c+ olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper

I had to make it in three batches in the small processor. I used two of the larger garlic cloves.....that was a mistake

I had to open another can of chickpeas and make another batch
1 cup chickpeas
1/3 c tahini
1/2 c olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

and mixed it up with the original one, had to thin out the garlic....it was very powerful....after the intervention it was much better. So basically I quess I trippled the recipe.

This morning I went to grocery store to pick up a few things and noticed a big bag of lemons for $.50, and a large bag of Brussel Sprouts for $1.25 in the vegetable reduction bin. The only reason I went over to check it out was because so many other shoppers were standing grabbing stuff, that I grabbed some cauliflower, lemons, and sprouts, and I managed to leave the area with all body parts intact.

I was planning on making mashed potato and chicken for the grandkids for a late lunch early dinner today and I thought I would try combining the cauliflower and potatoes. They were a hit. Wow I will probably make mashed this way all the time. Shepards Pie for sure. It was very good.

I also thought it might be a good idea to juice the lemons and zest and stick in the freezer, so I washed the lemons and poured boiling water over them twice, and voila ...lots of juice when I need it, and I never seem to have a lemon when I need one, so hopefully this will end that problem.

The lemon waste will be a nice addition to the compost
The brussel sprouts....well I thought I'd give pickling them a try, i've always wanted to but never thought of it before. I've only ever bought them for thanksgiving or xmas dinners.

RIBS...chez moi

I've been reading this book over the weekend. And I gotta say snacking up a storm. I realized that I probably would enjoy every recipe in the book, unfortunately I'm going to have to buy myself a copy instead of renewing it continually at the library. I went to the Co-op to replenish my lottery ticket on saturday and was walking around the store, I haven't been in this particular one for ages, I used to live in the neighborhood and have forgotten how much I enjoyed the smallness of the store. Even though it's half the size of most of the others in the city, its a great store. One doesn't have the feeling of exhaustion roaming the aisles. Since I haven't been in it for a bit I went for a stroll and managed to pick-up a few things including a rack a ribs. Only because they looked good and happened to be on sale (one of my new years resolutions - it must be on sale if Im going to buy meat products that are not currently in the freezer)

As I was reading, and enjoying this book I figured It really needed to be tested just for accuracy sake etc. So I decided the rib recipe should be tested, not because I had some of them in the fridge, but the story behind the recipe was interesting. And I have to say hear, that every recipe has a story in the book. I love cookbooks like this.

Her recipe:

Apricot Ribs
6-8 servings

4 racks spareribs
salt and pepper
2 cups apricot jam or marmalade
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 scant tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 c water

Season ribs and lay them don bone side up in roasting pan. Everything else gets put into pot and heated till melting then dumped over the ribs blah blah blah...its not rocket science from here.

Well, I thought I had my own apricot jam, but after much searching of the basement, none was found. Wow that was a surprise, then I cleaned the fridge out and none there. Bummer....another new years rule was "no grocery shopping if at least 5 things aren't on the list, made do - or do something else" I also don't do a large grocery shopping every 2 weeks anymore either. It's only quick pick ups when I need more than 5 things and since I tend to go to at least 3 different locations around the city in a given week, I make a point of going somewhere different instead of the usual place at least once in awhile.
No apricot jam but several plum jam where available, so that's what I used (it was either plum, or strawberry or blueberry) I figured the plum would add a nice demention of color to the ribs.
And since I had only 1 large rack of ribs, I halfed the recipe.

My recipe

1 rack of ribs
Peal of the ucky thin skin off the bone side (it's there, it always is, it MUST be taken off. And it's easy, just pick one corner off and pull --- hard.
Cut ribs into sections of 3 bones and put them into a freezer bag and dump in equal portions of soya sauce, lea and perrins, and balsamic vinegar. Set aside and take the laundry out of the dryer, vacuum ---turn the bag over, and set aside

Into a pot, goes
1 cup plum jam
1 tbsp lea and perrin
1 tbsp lime juice (didn't have any lemons)
1 tbsp honey dijon mustard (that's what I had)
1/4 cup water
after melting the mess down I tasted it and decided it needed
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
scant squirt sriracha hot chili sauce (red rooster brand)
scant shake (and I mean scant) McCormick's smoked paprika, and ancho chili pepper
after tasting this....good to go

I didn't really need the water, next time will leave it out.
I removed the ribs from the freezer bag, lined a pan with parchment and put the whole mess into toaster oven, convection combo thing. At 425 for 1/2 hour bone side up. Then turned oven down to 325 for about 1- 1 1/2, I can't remember and I also turned them a couple times and repeatedly put more sauce over them. After what seemed like a bit ( I was sewing a quilt top, so kinda lost track of time here) before turning temp down to 200 I sectioned the ribs indivually and smushed then around the remaining sauce in pan and returned them to oven for about 1/2 hour.

Best ribs I ate, Don't know why I never made them with jam before. But will every time from now on.....

I bought a bunch of beets at the store the same trip and they are roasting away in the toaster, convection combo expecting to be put into the Beet Hummus that the author promises to be a "beautiful thing-hot pink hummus"

The saga of the toilets

Just around xmas my husband removed the toilet from the ensuite....because it was wobbly. I came home and found the toilet (in one piece) sitting on a pile of towels in the tub. I was amazed that he was able to do this all by himself (its kinda heavy and awkward and then there's that wall of the tub to get the whole thing over) anyway there it sat. The ring under the toilet was cracked and a piece was broken off and the wood under the toilet sustained some damage and necessitated (is that spelled correctly....who cares?) the lino removal and replacement. So it took me awhile to decide what to replace it with. For some reason that took forever. It's probably due to the fact there are two other toilets to use, that we were so lazy. So once the floor was finally replaced and sealed and baseboards installed etc., the ring was replaced and then I decided that we had to replace the toilet because I figured since the floor was kinda damaged under the old toilet, a new toilet would not sit on exactly the same spot. (I could have replaced the wood sub floor under the toilet, but that just seemed like way toooooo much work, so i guncked up the space and figured a new toilet would be best. That took a month.....actually my son (works in plumbing supplies in another province) came to visit february long and I insisted he come with a toilet. I failed to mention that there was a banjo (didnt know that thing had a name) and the toilet and the space under said banjo were exactly the same measurement. just.....wouldn't.....quite.....fit...Of coarse, the visit was very busy and no one thought to take the said toilet out of the boxes and put it together and measure....until after he left town......

Pissed me off....I called him to moan about the size...wondering if I could put a different tank on it maybe....Then----It struck me. I could put the new toilet downstairs in the powder room (no banjo there - a pedestal sink in that room) and move the toilet from that room up here into the ensuite. It would fit because it's the same toilet that was up here, so fit, it will yay. Wow---what a brainstorm....I'm so smart I scare myself. I hung up the phone and patted myself on the back and headed upstairs to tell my husband the good news...when I remembered why I wanted a different toilet in the first place......I must say here that in a fit of getting really pissed at having to shower in the guest bathroom (because there was a toilet sitting in the ensuite bath tub). One day in a fit of getting things done I ripped that toilet out of the tub and toke it downstairs and dumped it next to the backdoor, and there it sat for about 4 days. When in another fit of getting things done I toke it apart and hid it in garbage bags (we aren't supposed to throw stuff like that into the dumpster, fines fines fines threatened) so I waited until the cover of darkness and dumped the thing into the dumpster. Why not...my plan was to put in a different toilet, why do I need this stupid thing....landfill is where it went.

So.... today, I removed the toilet in powder room and put in the new toilet in that spot and had to go back to home depot for another set of screws and bolts because they are plastic (probably made in china, cause they suck) and one of the plastic bolts, snapped into two pieces. While at the store of coarse no bolt could be found to replace the old one so I would have to remove the friggin thing off the floor to insert a new screw thing into the plate because the old one would not work with any bolts known to man. So yet another wax thing had to be installed.

*One trip to home depot down

Back home the toilet was raised, the wax ring removed and discarded, the new bolts installed, the wax re-installed, the toilet put down, screwed...yay, this time I didn't screw the thing down tight, just enough. And the screw and bolts were bronze, or yellow METAL anyway.

The tank screwed down...."wait, we should screw on the water supply thing first"
Well....i purchased new water supply flexable hose things cause the new toilet sit higher than the old one, thereby needing a new pipe/hose thingy...I didn't want to rebend the old one, figured it would spring a leak anyway...so why bother, replace it.
The 18 year old guy in plumbing at home depot gave me two new flex hose things about two weeks ago and I figured he worked here, he knows what he's doing....I bought them and went home with new hoses and piles of wax rings.
The 18 yr old GAVE ME THE WRONG HOSES....grrrr doesn't fit.

*Second trip to home depot that day
Seems he gave me hoses for a sink...not a toilet - don't trust children working at home depot, cause they know ....shit!!!!

Came home with new hoses and silicone tape.

Siliconed up the knob and then proceeded to unbolt the water supply from the pressure connection thingy. It would budge ....stuck. So I made my husband do it, cause I didn't want to be responsible for the water plume that was inevitably going to start shooting up into the air at any moment. I was maddly scrambling to remember in my mind "just where was that main water shut off anyway". Hmmmm....I should go check for the darn thing...Oh too late, he managed to remove it...heavy sigh!!!! No water shooting up into the air.

Everything was screwed on, bolted down, sealed and then we stood back and admired our amazing job and tried to decide who was going to be responsable to turning the water on....you do it...no you do it....no I insist, you do it.

Well I didn't do it, but water was filling, flushing and no water was on the floor. Wow, one down.

The second toilet was hauled upstairs, (the same exact toilet model that was there in the first place)grrr....I'm living with this turn of events, so I don't want to hear anything about it again!!!!

The bolts and screw were matched up and again metal, the two different wax rings (two, one on the floor and one on the underside of the toilet-because that's the way we did the one downstairs, the newer one and that's the way my son instructed me to do it...blah blah blah and it worked downstairs just tickety boooooh)and I proceeded to screw the thing down to the floor. And screw, and screw and screw....this must have been the screw from hell cause it just wouldnt end. Then you stand on the thing and sort of press the wax down and then screw some more.....When I finally finished the thing I stook back and noticed that the front of the toilet was a good 1/4 inch off the floor....wtf
so I unscrewed the bolts a bit and put some weight down on the thing again and screwed the bolts again and again and stood back and .....still up off the floor. Hmmmmm

My husband said....give it a day we will use it and it will sit down after a bit....so I unbolted a bit...again and screwed the tank on, and the water line, I used the old one still attached to the pressure bolt thing attached to the floor, CAUSE ITS THE SAME FRIGGIN TOILET...see, it will work!!!!
I turned on the water, and there's water on the floor, grrrrr
"is it tight"
"yes, it won't turn anymore,it's tight"
"hmmm, did you check if there's a washer in the thing"
"....no"
turned the water off, emptied the tank....turned the water off, unscrewed....no washer....where the f*ck is the washer.....It's been almost two months....since original dismantalling was done, it could be anywhere, but it's not here....so the new flex thing has to be installed.
"you do it", no "you do it"...
I took the bull by the horns and managed to unscrew the old one without any major catastrophy.....big sigh of relief
Bolted this, screwed on that, bolted that...turned on the water, flushed, reflushed, refilled.....no water on the floor. Oh, happy day!!!!
I left to do some shopping and on the way to the mall, it came to me....We have to remove the stupid second toilet cause obviously tooo00 much wax under the toilet.

*third trip to home depot, for yet more wax. I've seen more than my share of toilet wax, enought for a lifetime. Sick to death of the stuff at this point.

So when I came home with fish and chips take-out for dinner, fixing the damn toilet upstairs was put off for another day. Maybe tomorrow....maybe not...

So this morning I'm getting out of bed for my cup of timer coffee (yay great invention), when I almost couldn't ...get...up...wtf. Wait, what's going on, why am I so sore...my butt...hurts like someone hit me with a baseball bat, my legs won't bend. I do not remember climbing any mountain yesterday. Let's see now, I went to the library, ...no stairs were involved, the mall...again no stairs, couple other places...no stairs, no mountains. Man am I out of shape or what. I complained and staggered out of the room, when my husband mentioned "it was probably the heavy toilet up and down the stairs"

"OH yeah, ...i completely forgot about that stupid toilet thing....wierd
But the toilet wasn't really all that heavy"

It was all that bending and screwing and unscrewing ....and rescrewing....Who would of thought that bending over a toilet and manovering yourself into tight places and screwing down bolts, into said tight places COULD BE CONSIDERED A 'WORKOUT'

Well, the toilet will have to wait another day.....I'm done... maybe tuesday
We are still using the toilet in the guest room, but the new toilet in the powder room is really comfy.....sits a little higher for us old folks. I don't think the grandson just learning about the potty will like it all that much....and my grandaughter will have to hike herself up a little bit more, but its all good.

community garden

Finally - community garden coming together I sure hope I can reserve 2 4X12 plots. I'm already dreaming of all those heirloom tom's and the beets that don't grow in my only 3 hours of sunlight backyard....and the greenbeans I am exited

Lost Camera

Where oh where is my camera.....it seems to be missing now for a couple weeks.

So last week i picked up a pork picnic shoulder for 8 bucks, so then I had to make a visit to T&T supermarket (my local all things oriental market) for some baby yams, so tonights menu is pork picnic boiled in rootbeer, smeared with a concoction of pomegranate molasses, brown sugar, mustard and cloves then baked to within an inch of it's crunchieness (really bad spelling) with slow baked mouth wateringly sweet baby yams......i can hardly wait. Maybe some marinated coleslaw on the side with some curry roasted cauliflower. Good thing I have a good countertop toaster oven to manage all this seperate roasting and baking temps.

I think I will make myself sick just waiting for this amazing combination. I better throw some water on myself to cool off

middle eastern market

Yay....happy day - finally found pomegranate molasses close to home. The aroma in the deli was wonderful. Of coarse I has to buy a few other things I've been looking for like rose water though I can't recall why I wanted it hmmm mauybe I will remember after I get home

something out of a can.....

Dinner today....something out of a can, something out of a box....and meat.

two guesses.

.....

give up....

peaches and cream niblets, kraft dinner, pork chops.....very yellow meal.
But the saving grace is that i poured in some vermouth into the sauce to deglace for the pork chops. Although i only had a small piece of chop, (had salad only) it did get raves from those that ate.

Weekend, yaaaaay

So I made some cream of broc soup. I added vermouth just before the milk, and after the rue. It was wonderful. I tell you vermouth.....is a good thing.

So I'm sitting here it's now just a bit past 8PM and I can't keep my eyes open. Litteraly nodding off. for the last couple days it's all I can do to stay away after 4PM. This evening I've got an empty cocktail glass bedside me - but that surely cannot be the cause of said drowsiness. ITS ONLY ONE GLASS.

A wierd thing happened to me the other day that I can't get over just yet. It's actually driving me out of my ever loving mind...as it is.

It was a friday afternoon and I was walking towards the exit in a small mall and I happened by a jewelry store, and I was admiring the rings in the window. There was a display of family rings. Now I never admire jewelry - its just not my thing. But someone I know is in the market for a family ring and for some reason i looked at them. Then as I was walking away from the window display I looked at my finger.....where MY FAMILY RING usually resides aaannnnddd.......WTF WHERE IS MY RING.......??????

WTF
WTF
WTF... where the heck is it. I don't remember taking it off. I never take off my wedding band or my family ring unles I'm experiencing some wierd blotting of my hands but that hasn't happened for ages and its supposed to be RIGHT THERE.....
OH MY GOD
by the time I drove home I was kinda frantic. I checked the bathroom counters and all my containers of stuff, dumped everything everywhere and shuffled around it. no where......
I wracked my brain.....
when did I take it off? why did I take it off? ..... nothing...a blank
A few weeks ago I was running through an airport standing in line for security. The stupid thing kept beeping, had to take practically everything off....maybe....but no don't remember taking it off. and if i did why is my band where it is. but my other one isn't. they where on the same finger......
maybe it's in a pocket somewhere.....It's got to be in a pocket of something....but what?????
this is making me crazy

Vermouth day 2

Bought a new pot one that I've always wanted - on sale half price. So I wiped the cob webs off my mastercard and went to the check out. I love my pot (too bad I didn't buy the damn thing for $10 @ that garage sale in the summer kicking myself for that stupid mishap).I washed it per instructions and preheated it and threw in onions celery lemons and the spiced up breasts (bone-in). Couldn't believe how fast and tender they cooked up. Strained the juices and poured in the vermouth boiled it down and poured the whole mess over the chicken that was now all boned. Lip smacking meal the baby sweet potatoes and the roasted broccoli. Great meal thanks to julie/julia's oldd blog site that I've been re-reading. Waiting for my copy from the library for mastering the art.

Vermouth

Someone gave me (well that would be sharon) a bottle of the stuff as a gift as a secret santa for xmas probably 5+ years ago. I've had it around even moved it from place to place. But never used it....why would someone give me a bottle of the stuff anyway. I figured i'd keep it around just in case someone ever said "what this drink needs is vermouth" and then I'd run down to my wine rack in the basement and "ta da".
So far that hasn't happened.

Then...for some reason I've become obsessed with the Julie/Julia project, I've read the book, seen the movie(actually have it recorded on PVR and sometimes....late at night when I can't sleep....it's easier than finding the dvd(have that too) to stick in the machine) but i goggled something or other can't remember what, and the project came up on the search. so I've been reading it from day one. I gotta say it's taking along time to read the thing. And I've been downloading recipes that were hard to find on the internet until I found an easier site.

anyhoo,.. there is vermouth all over this book. so i dragged the bottle up, opened it, and declared to everyone...."we will finish this bottle....we will put it in everything that calls for alcohol...as god is my witness....

So I will let you know how it goes.....

testing

Just testing to see if I can upload pic from phone. So far - not working hmmm

Marcie's worlds best oatmeal cookies

Super easy to make.

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp each salt/baking soda/baking powder
1 cup quick oats
2 cups coconut

Cream butter and sugars until fluffly. Add eggs and vanilla and mix.
Sift together flour, salt, soda, and powder. Add in 4 parts to butter mixture. Mix in oats and coconut.

Drop by teaspoons-ungreased cookie sheets-bake at 375 for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. (I only cook them for ten minutes because I find they are chewier that way)

Enjoy!

I advise everyone to just do a double batch 'cause you will thank me later.

mini manicotti

or stuffed rigattoni







*rigattoni noddles
*less than 250g raw hamburger (usually the smallest pkg you can buy is 500g/1 lb so use less than half) I've used 1/2 pork and 1/2 hamburger and that's good too, even ground chicken works
*diced onion (small dice)
*3+ cans Heinz tomato soup (i've tried other brands other combinations but nothing tastes as good as heinz, you can try pasta sauces, campells tomato, basil & oregano, or campbells fiesta tomato, etc but DO NOT use campbells or no name brands tomato soup, they really really suck)
*lea & perrins
*balsamic
*celery salt
*cottage cheese
*garlic



drain liquid from cottage cheese while doing other prep ( this is important step)
you can also use a small amount of really really dry thawed out spinach chopped up but this is not necessary



I use a wok for this because of its depth, it's easier to plunge the noodles into the mixture. If you don't have a wok just use a smaller pan with high sides.
Sweat the onions and garlic, if using extra lean or chicken you will have to add oil otherwise the meat won't brown nice. I usually throw the meat in and brown everything up together at the same time



this is where you add the balsamic, lea and perrins and celery salt and whatever spice you want to add. you MUST brown the meat until no liquid is left in pan though, don't be tempted to just cook the hamburger and then drain it. And then keep browning until the meat actually pops, it should be very very brown, but not burned. Otherwise it just doesn't taste as good as it could. In fact that is one of my pet peeves, people just don't brown hamburger as long as they should. It's an important step in the flavouring. And it smells awful if not browned properly. That's probably one of the reason that I hate eating anything with hamburger in it that someone else cooks.



take the pan off burner and cool slightly, i usually stir it around alot. then add the very dry *cottage cheese curds, *1 can tomato soup, *parsley and about *1/3 - 1/4cup bread crumps, s0rry forgot to mention bread crumbs, i've used panko here only because i had some, otherwise I usually put in the ends of the loaf into the food processor and just use those. don't add too much that the mixture is really dry, it should not be really soupy either. just remember this mixture should be able to get put into the noodles



mix it all up till blended



dump 1 can of tomato soup into the roasting pan remember to grease it up or you will be sorry when you can't get the stuff out. this is non-stick and I still use a little bit of oil on it.



smear it around, remember the bottom of noodle gets cooked with this mixture, so if your using a combination of other stuff, instead of straight out of the can, get enough on the pan for this. Actually after I cooked this up I realized I should have added more under the noodles. The pan should not be visible. I should have added about another 1/2 can or some stock or just water would have done, because it was kinda dry on the bottom after I made them. Use your judgement you don't want them to burn on the bottom trust me that really sucks after you do all this work for them to be uncooked or burned on the bottom



get your noodles ready, because your hands will be all gucky so dump them out of container or bag



plunge the noodles into mixture until full



repeat, it doesn't take long plunging faster is better, 3 to 4 times per noodle usually is all it takes, and if you have little ones around get them to help they enjoy helping out. There are times I had all 3 kids plunging noodles into filling and it doesn't take as long as you might think. They enjoy filling the pan as well.They can personalize the topping later. Often one put parmesan, the other just grated cheddar and the other one who likes mushrooms put on chopped mushrooms after I fried some up for him. Mushrooms.....that's a way to ruin a good thing in my estimation. But my son likes them. Put this personalized topping on after the tomato soup topping. You can fancy it up with parsley or chives. When I had all three teenagers for those 4 years I was lucky to have a basement suite (no tenants - just extra kitchen) I made a 2nd using the oven downstairs. Because they became territorial after their toppings went on. A couple times if there wasn't too much filling left over, i would just spread the remaining mixture over the top after the tomato soup was put on. Use your imagination.



it should look like this



ooops forgot about the parmesan cheese, add some any amount you want, actually any cheese will do, I've used swiss, and many combinations of whatever odds and ends I had of hard cheeses



fill up the pan really fill in anywhere you can, but don't overfill the pan



smear the last can onto the top



i bet you thought you didn't have enough mixture, well forgetaboutit, you will have more than you need, it always works out that way i always have extra ALWAYS. I have bags in the freezer of extra mixture that I never remember I have until I throw in the current bag. If you have more cans of soup or want to try with other tomato stuff like just canned tomatoes - pulverized with an imertion blender, or any other combinations of liquid, here's your change to improve on it - in another smaller pan of sorts, but you should do this afterwards, because main roasting pan has to go in the middle of the oven and the extra one will not get the right space to cook. believe me when I say WAIT and make this second one later - you will thank me because it never turns out if the other one is on a different rack. so don't waste your time and creativity at this time



cover with foil or lid of your roaster has a lid, i've used a large turkey roaster for this for a larger amount with it's own lid and it works just fine. Just don't double up the layers because THAT WILL NOT WORK, been there - tried that- doesn't work , will be too dried out or toooo liquidy DOES NOT WORK - only one layer per pan



put it into oven at 325 - 350 (my oven is hot, yours is probably ok at 350) after 40 min open the foil carefully because the steam will burn you. and test the noodle with a fork or knife, put it in slowly, you will know when it is not done. If it's not done take it out every 10 min after that and test it. It should look dry and shinny and no visible liquid at all.It usually takes an hour. but start checking at 40 min- it's never the same twice. If you think it's ready take out of oven and let rest, covered, for about 10 min.



enjoy and let me know how it turned out







mmm goooood




















i usually cut the noodles in half for my grandchildren so they can get one in there mouths at a time, but they like to poke there fingers into each one. It's messy










what little is left is wonderful the next day cold, great for snacks or lunches or for kids en route to soccer, hockey, ball, swimming - you name it. They will be fought over I guarantee it. You can use hot sauce for dipping them also. Great finger food.

Mothers Day

Ahhh mothers day! Its taken 25-30 yrs to appreciate motherhood as a "good idea" How did it all start? Xmas 1979 we were at a family dinner and we were the only couple without children. We felt left out. I remember going to bed that night and discussing parenthood. So one day during the week between xmas and new years I had the IUD removed and probably that night concieved. My son was born Sept 20/80. On my husbands birthday during a thunder storm. Then in October 82 my brother came to visit with his girlfriend and my husband was out of town for that week so I let them have my bedroom and I slept on the couch. I was having a shower that morning when my husband came home and he refused to go in our bedroom to get "the little bags". "If I go get them, they'll know what we are doing. Don't worry I won't get you pregnant." Well so much for that. My daughter was born in July after a week of the hottest weather ever, ending in a thunderstorm or incredible lighting. I remember driving to the hospital in such a rainstorm that I couldn't see anything out of the windshield and the lightning and thunderstorm were amazing. The last day of August 84 I was moving, my husband was out of town again...... I was throwing the last mattress on the floor I remember how pissed off I was that I was doing this alone (with two little kids running around and my stepson was living with us at the time). My husband came in the new house in a really good mood and walked into the bedroom were I was arranging the last piece of furniture that I unloaded from the moving truck. I was so mad at him for all the work I had to do and he was in a good mood because he was out of town all week. My daughter was born 6 weeks early in April 85. So if you want a female baby I say have sex in unexpected places and make up sex probably helps. And the reason that she was born 6 weeks early.....once again my husband came home after being out of town and decided that sex would be a good idea. Needless to say - it wasn't. So babies are usually born during a change in the weather and if you are overdue, having sex won't be a bad idea. But not a good idea during the last trimester. So the reason I'm a mother is three times of unprotected sex, last two times I was promised that I wouldn't get pregnant, "I promise".

May already.......

What's been happening, I'm still in March. Can't believe how time is flying. Someone should do a study and just see if the rotation of the earth has sped up. Time is just going to fast lately. Way tooooo fast.

I'm in the middle of making a pie, so far the filling is to die for. It's called a Lime-Marshmallow Pie from "Ready for Dessert" by David Lebovitz.
I'm just debating weather I should make the topping or not yet. I don't have a candy thermometer. And I'm watching the grandchildren so can't run out to buy one until later. So the topping will have to wait. I just have to keep my fingers out of the pie until then. Or maybe.......I should make more filling.....for tasting or for dessert for the kiddies. Hmmmm that's a thought. That's a good thought.

Monday Morning

Well what a beautiful day. I made my ritual Meal in a muffin from leftovers. This batch had a few pieces of roasted chicken, an italian sausage, half a honey garlic pepperoni. Wow...they are sitting on the counter cooling. I don't know if I will have the will power to leave them in the fridge. They are so much better the next day.
I'm going to try buy a silicone mini muffin pan. I think the grandkids will really enjoy them in a mini muffin instead.
I was going to put in a picture, but my charger for the camera has been missing forever. I am going to have to mount an all out search for the damn thing.

Another great meal in a muffin

Mini Meatloaves

here's the original recipe

Madeover Mini Meatloaves
originally from Sobey's Supermarket magazine



Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 min.
Total Time: 45 min.

2 tbsp Balance Zesty Italian Dressing
1 cup finely chopped Organic Sliced Portabella Mushrooms
1/2 cup each shredded carrot and finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Balance Tomato & Herbs Pasta Sauce, divided
1/3 cup Organic Quick Oats
2 egg whites, beaten
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 lb extra lean ground beef


1.Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Heat the salad dressing in a non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Sauté the mushrooms, carrot, onion and garlic for 5 to 7 min. or until softened. Cool slightly; transfer to a large bowl and stir in 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the pasta sauce, oats, egg whites, salt and pepper. Add the beef and mix gently to combine.
2.Lightly spray 8 cups of a muffin pan with cooking spray. Divide the mixture between the cups, pressing gently to compact the meat. Spoon an equal amount of the remaining pasta sauce over the meatloaves. Bake for 30 min. or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the meat registers 160°F (71°C). Cool for 5 min. before serving.

Here's my changes

no mushrooms (that's the way to ruin a recipe for anything but stuffed mushrooms)
instead
3/4 c shredded zucchini
3/4 c shredded carrots
1 onion diced
1 egg (instead of 2 egg whites)

I sometimes use just italian dressing, (watch your eyes when heating will sting) or just grape seed oil, I also use a silicone muffin tin, it just browns soo much better without sticking.
I also fry the onions and carrots together in the oil before adding to hamburger mixture. I also add some taco seasoning, but not too much. But only occasionally, it's really good without it.
This is great the next day cold or sliced up into a meatloaf sandwich. I usually double the recipe so that I can keep some in freezer.

Meal-in-a-muffin

I saved the original recipe from a copy of Real Simple Magazine.
Here's the original called Zucchini Pie.

But it's the change to a muffin where it really shines. I call it my Meal in a muffin of Leftovers.

Change the 3 cups of grated zucchini to 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini and 1 1/2 cups leftover meat of any kind (rotisserie chicken, taco hamburger meat, cooked ham, deli ham, - basically any left over meat, in any combination)

Change the directions to:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine zucchini, leftover cooked meats (diced very small is best), chopped onion, 1 cup of grated mixture of whatever cheese you have on hand - the sharper the better, 3 tbsp of grated parmesan, either fresh basil or 1 tsp pesto. Mix together to combine.
Sift in the flour, salt, pepper and heaping tsp baking powder.
Mix to combine well.
Then beat the veg oil and eggs together and pour over the zucchini and flour mixture and mix to combine the whole thing. Don't over mix, but mix it all well. It will seem really gloppy and on the thick side. I usually have more than the 1 cup of cheese. And I sometimes have a little bit more than the 1 1/2 cups of meat because I usually have more than one kind of meat, that's why the HEAPING tsp of baking powder is important. I like to throw in a 1/2 pepperoni stick into the food processor and pulse to fine. This usually adds a nice flavour. It's the mixture of meat that is key to flavour. If I don't have anything but leftover cooked chicken I usually throw in whatever coldcuts I have on hand like honey ham, and pepperoni into the food processor.
The next important part of the process is that you MUST have a silicone muffin tin.
Fill the muffin tin with a scoop ( but do not over fill) and bake the muffins until they are browned. You may think they are overcooked, but trust me - very brown is best. You can eat them with a salad after cooling slightly, but the best, the VERY BEST is the next day after they have cooled and the zucchini and meat mixture and cheese all combine and wow. It's just the best taste. And kids LOVE them. They are great in the car on the way to whatever place you are going, soccer, swimming etc. But I just love them all day long. I specially like that I can rip of a piece and give it to my grandkids who never let me eat anything without sharing. They last in the fridge - i usually just put 4 into a sandwich bag. But the trick is to use a silicone muffin pan, because they will brown and not stick. I've tried in a regular pan with muffin papers, but trust me, use silicone. Ohh and sprinkle the other 1 tbsp parmesan over each muffin before throwing into the over, but I usually forget that part, I don't know why but I usually do.
I can't say for sure how long you bake them, because each time is different but usually around half hour at least, to 40 min.

Clean-up

This blog kinda sucks, the design.... I should ask the stepson (who is a computer wiz) to redesign the thing for me. I wonder if he could do that without reading it hmmm. No one knows about this thing. I want to keep it that way. This is my private place to vent.

Update

An update about the family dynamics around here. My daughter didn't move away,instead they all moved in with us. When she found she was pregnant again so soon before going back to work and not qualifying for unemployment ins. They sold their place and moved in here. And Xander was born end of Nov 2008. So now there are 4 adults, and 2 kids. It's been a trial, but seems to be working. I let my accounts go and stay home to watch the grandchildren. As of three week ago my husband is off on disability. The arrangement was working - we are living like imigrants, three generations in one house. Everyone should try it.

My stepsons marriage tanked in September last year. He discovered his (b*tch) wife was carrying on an online affair with this looser in the states for about a year. And his two children were aware of it. My stepson who had two jobs to support this b*tch (never worked a day of her life - how could she when she was so busy online all day long) was an emotional wreck. She moved out with the kids (used my minivan to move out) to her brothers. So one night he went online to match.com and did a search in the same wyoming town as this looser lived and two days later is involved with a women from the same town. So he arranged to visit with her and took off. While he was gone the b*tch got into the house and sold most of his computer equipment and wi and sony play station and alot of other stuff. Over this visit he feel madly in LOVE. I tell you no one could make this stuff up. So he decided to sell the house and move to (town in wyoming) to be with the love-of-his-life. I come down with carpet cleaner, and other stuff. Couldn't believe the mess the b*tch left the place in. A pig sty does not do it any justice. We were in the middle of the clean up when the b*tch showed up and a war of words ensued. I couldn't help myself I said a few things, there was pushing and shoving and I sustained scratches and black and blue marks ( I just happened to have my camera - i was going to take pic's to list the house) so I took some pic's of my arms and made comments about child services and the state of the pig sty blah blah blah and she ran away. One of my prouder moments I gotta add. But the whole thing kinda freeked the step son and his new love-of-my-live insisted that he come "right now" "dangerous b*tch" blah blah blah. So he did and a week later before he could go on disablity for emotion distress (manulife already agreed to the whole thing for 6 months shorterm) his dick head manager fired him for being absent after working for the dickhead for 22 years, since he was 18 yrs old - i might add here. So he decided to stay with the love-of-my-life and get a green card etc. Meanwhile the house got taken by morgage company, no money from disability etc etc. The love-of-my-life supported his until he had to come back to canada last week. Because after filing the paperwork to stay permantly he had to leave. And quess were he is residing? Yes you got it, with all of us on the living room floor on a blow up mattress.

After talking with Unemployment Insurance with his handy note from the doc about distress etc they are paying him in lump sum from semptember to march. Yay and He did his income tax and got a nice refund. And applied to a job with the competition and is working in the next booth over at the airport. So we are 5 adults and 2 kids of 18 mnts and 30 mnths.

He will probably be here until mid april (we hope no longer) and my daughter is in the planning stages of the wedding in mexico in november. So we are a happy family of many generations and step children living in one house. It's a good thing we have a full finished basement and three bathrooms.

You should try it.

To-do list

I WILL FIND A CAST IRON FRYING PAN TODAY....and I will make candied ginger. I've already forgotten the third thing I was going to do today. But I'm sure it will come to me later. I have been eager to replace my long lost cast iron frying pan for years now. Today is the day. I'm sure of it. Now that I'm almost over this horrible, awful, cold from hell. I can actually make it out the door without horking and clearing my naval cavityies and blowing my nose. It's a lovely picture isn't it. But this thing has been going on now for almost 3 weeks. And I have had enough. ENOUGH. I have to get out of this house.

Food 101

Just saw the documentary. Some parts were worse than a horror movie. I had to look the other way. Shit.....i shouldn't watch this stuff, now i'm going to have to bother the meat guy at sobey's about the origin of his meat. I don't know about chicken hmmmm that was uncomfortable to watch. It's hard to believe that walmart is becoming the place to shop for food. Wierd. I haven't been to one in ages, I will have to go check it out

Selling

Well my daughter is selling her home and probably moving to BC. I will be losing my granddaughter. I don't know how that's going to go over. I'm not looking forward to it. Why is it that everyone renovates for resale instead of renovating for living in it. I don't understand it. She should have done a little maintenance when things needed to be done. She seems to think nothing really has to be done. Wrong... I've been pulling up hardwood that has to be replaced and replacing cupboard doors. Honestly she just thinks it can be sold as is. Wouldn't that be nice. But alas - work needs to be done. Some people should not own, a little too used to having someone else do the maintenance.

I read somewhere that women's brains shrink during the pregnancy and usually doesn't return to normal until the baby is about 8 months. So my daughter's should be back to normal by now. I don't know what it is, she's in a state of "duh". Can't seem to get out of her funk. And refuses to see a doctor. She goes back to work on tuesday, that can't be anything to look forward to that's for sure. She's been off eleven months now and is not very happy about the prospect of leaving her baby. I've offered to babysit on saturdays, and her husband will be doing tuesday's so there's only wed to fri. But I'm thinking she won't last two weeks before she packs it in.

For the past year I've attempted to talk her into allowing me to train her to do bookkeeping, but that doesn't seem to be exiting enough, but who knows...she may change her mind. I work only 4 - 6 hours a day and make more than she did working 8 - 10 hours. But I quess restaurant management is more exiting. I don't see why - all that standing. That's something that will be hard for her to get used to again. Oh well, I quess we'll just have to wait and see how it all turns out.

Birthday party

Ellise's 2nd birthday party

I just love this cake. It was chocolate and very good. The quilt was a last minute idea. The party was Thursday and I finally decided on Wednesday what I was going to attempt. I believe it was around 10 PM. I cut out the flannel pieces from scraps and sewed them together, with much trouble. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my friggin machine. The tension was so screwed up. Nothing worked, so I finally gave up and went to bed around 1 am. I woke up around 5:30 (a wrong number on the phone) but since I had "things" to do I got up anyway. I made coffee trudged down the basement stairs and had another go. Well it must have been the coffee or something but I finally figured out that I had to take the machine apart and clean it. You see I've been sewing alot of flannel (with two babies in 10 months, what else would I be sewing) and the gunk and broken thread iin the bobbin thingamagig was amazing. We;ll after much tweezer use and blowing everything finally came out and the sewing resumed. After I finished (the back is a lime green polka dot, really cute) I had alot of regret in giving the "baby doll blanket" away. I had some squares leftover from the first attempt of cutting 0out the squares so I made a small pillow. I was really pleased at how it all turned out. And the birthday girl seemed to appreciate it, by dragging it around. So now I have to make one for my own granddaughter.

But the cake, what can I say it was great. Should have been larger so some of us could have taken pieces of it home. I mean how often are there no leftover birthday cake pieces to unload on the guests.

Apple Brown Betty

A funny thing happened on my way to making an Apple Brown Betty. I was lurking around blogs today and was inspired to make a brown betty. I even went so far as to throw the hard brown sugar in the micro to soften it. I discovered that I only had one apple-all be it a huge apple, but only one. Then I remembered the frozen rubarb and the frozen blueberries. So I figured I'd make a fruit brown betty. So I got out the baking dish and buttered it up and started peeling the apple and even got out the other fruit out of the freezer. But then after slicing and coring the apple I got another inspiration. There was half an avocado from our BLT's from lunch sitting on the counter getting brown, and I only had a little hunk of cheese left, again from our sandwiches at lunch so I decided on this dish instead. I poured two glasses of wine and I'm heading upstairs to share. My husband thinks he's getting hamburgers, Oh well... this is probably better for both of us anyway.

Wow end of March. I can't believe I've been so lax in posting. I have a good excuse though....menopause. It's all I can do when I get home from work is pour a glass of wine and vegetate on the recliner. I've been taking everything out there to relieve the discomfort. I remember hearing " starting your periods later will make menopause easier, more pregnancies will make it easier, breast feeding with make it easier" ALL LIES. If this is "easier" I'd hate to experience "harder". My sister, has less pregnancies, started periods in grade 5 (did breast feed though) and she is older than me by 16 months and I started about a year before her but we are both in the depths of menopause and both are in hell. Although I think I have it harder than her....
The handful of supplements I take twice a day I thought were almost usless until two days ago I forgot to take them in the evening and had the "worst" night of my life. So maybe, they might be helping, I admit that grudgingly only because I wonder how much longer I have to take these things.
I bought a book about it, but haven't bothered reading it yet, because I can't committ to anything right now. I just don't have the patience to sit and read anything other than a crossword these days. I can't believe how lazy I've become. And the damn hot flashes are making me crazy.
I'm tired of the supplements - evening primrose oil, multi minerals, vitamin d, mega antioxidants, menosense, calcium mag, vitamin c, b complex.
Then there's the essential oils, Solace and Transitions, one is for hot flashes, one is for hormone balancing. I smell like a pine forest.
Every morning I have a serving of yogurt with either strawberries, or blueberries and trail mix. (only because I've been testing this to loose some wieght around my gut, amazingly it seems to be working for the weight loss) so I'm kinda addicted to this because maybe it's got something to do with regulating the hormone inbalance too....you never know.
So I've also added drinking the supplements down with blueberry juice...don't ask me why, I don't know why...but why not.
I just want to be able to get some sleep at night. I can't remember the last time I didn't want to have a nap in the middle of the day.
It's a good think I set my own schedule for the clients that I have. I don't know how women who have to work 8 hours a day manage this.
Although I haven't posted anything like forever, I still manage to read some other blogs, I just wsant to ask, How do all these people manage to post something all the time. I'm beggining to thing they have no life or are self absorbed or ...something. No offense to anyone. But how do you all do it everyday? although I do enjoy several of them.
So here's the post for March hopefully I will post again before June.