Category Archives: food

escargot…

04 Wednesday Jan 2023

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for years we celebrated New Year’s Eve with steak and lobster… this started with friends before we had kids;-)…

at some point it moved to New Year’s Day as the kids wanted to participate but were off celebrating on the night before…

this year I enjoyed the preparation as I worked on getting escargot stuffed mushrooms, baked potatoes, fried mushrooms and sautéed Brussels sprouts ready…

the kids arrived, got the barbecue going and then grilled the steaks and lobster tails…

dinner was delicious and we had a great time…

on Monday, as I emptied the dishwasher and put away all of the pieces we used, I revisited the fun and special moments…

and the tradition continues…

banging…

25 Sunday Dec 2022

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I wasn’t expecting to get up early, but apparently my body remembers previous Christmas mornings, lol… although it was 6:47 am when I woke up, for many years it was often around 4… and I would eventually start banging pots in the kitchen to encourage all of the sleepers to wake up…

around 7:30 I got up, made breakfast and then read for a while in the living room enjoying the tree lights…

there were matching pyjamas, calls, texts, visits and naps throughout the day… the naps may have had something to do with the 6:47 wake-up, lol…

spaced amongst all of that were relaxing dinner preparations… beautiful mashed potatoes, delicious stuffing and tasty gravy went perfectly with chicken, turnip, ham, and previously homemade cranberry sauce…

I was absolutely spoiled with a myriad of wonderful gifts…

a lovely day… amazingly blessed, as always…

ingredient…

24 Saturday Dec 2022

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my dad insisted on turnip water to make the gravy… felt it added just the right flavour… so I cook turnips for every holiday meal, lol… and I’ve also passed along the need for this important ingredient to others;-)…

of course when I ordered the turnip I got two good sized ones, lol…

happily I was able to give one to a friend…

I peeled and cut up the other one and after boiling it, saved the water for gravy, and mashed it up…

had a bowlful and put some away to go with Sunday’s dinner;-)…

fabulous…

23 Friday Dec 2022

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had a busy day yesterday… makes me laugh, because usually my days are quietly spent at home reading and watching tv…

started with our aquasize class in the morning… even though it was very cold outside… lots of fun as the session was filled with holiday music that many sang along to…

from there we were off for lunch at the Falafel Place… perfect timing as most people were nearly done as we arrived… had falafel with hummus and salad… it was yummy…

home to spend time listening to Christmas music and reading…

then, a dear friend came by with fish and chips for our dinner… and brought Christmas presents;-)…

I was so excited to spend time with them that I completely forgot to take a photo of my meal, lol…

after we finished our dinner we had cookies and a wonderful visit…

I am so blessed with fabulous friends 🥹…

exchange…

22 Thursday Dec 2022

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Christmas came on Monday…

my BS group gathered for lunch, a visit, and gift exchange…

we had a great time;-)…

everyone chose what they wanted for lunch and a few of the group picked up the order… we gathered around the dining room table and visited as we enjoyed our meal…

back in the living room we had cookies and coffee, and then shared our goodies;-)…

I am always amazed at the wonderful items that we each find or make for one other… none of us really need anything so it is fun to produce little things to share…

and usually there are donations to favourite charities… mine, this year was to Made with Love, which is helping feed the hungry here in the city…

we usually end with a group photo… technology tried to beat me, but in the end we got a few great pictures;-)…

🤗…

longtime…

20 Tuesday Dec 2022

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Monday afternoons our longtime group meets…

we used to meet in the evening when we all worked, lol… since we are all retired now, we’ve moved to the afternoon… for some of the pandemic we met online and since the spring we’ve been meeting in the garden… then we moved into the garage for a while…

we moved into the house in the fall… for a number of weeks, I left the front and back doors slightly open and we wore our masks until everyone was sitting down…

now, the doors are closed and we no longer wear masks, but I still bring the coffee into the living room, where we gather;-)…

everyone drinks decaf, except me and my tea…

we often have pistachios and sometimes folks bring other treats… a great time of conversation and sharing…

what a gift these women have been for me…

trays…

17 Saturday Dec 2022

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had a lovely visit with my neighbour…

she brought over a cute purple tray filled with delightful homemade goodies…

she makes a number of cookie trays for family and usually puts them on red trays, but had to go out and find a purple one for me😊… what a sweetie…

we usually meet for a little glass of something in the garden, lol, so it was good to get together in the house…

we snacked, chatted and had lots of laughs… and there are still some of the goodies left for me to eat and share🤭…

Gather…

16 Friday Dec 2022

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once we left The Leaf biomes, we checked out the gift shop and then were able to get a table in the lounge portion of Gather Craft Kitchen and Bar…

the space looks fresh and has some very cool lights…

we were happy to get in because online it appeared there weren’t any spots available until January 😳…

the food was good as was the service… I had pork tenderloin and my grandson had the risotto…

they were both tasty, although I found the pickled carrot purée a bit spicy, lol… the risotto was very tasty…

we ended the meal with two desserts which we shared, lol… I chose the flour-less chocolate fudge cake and my grandson the chocolate mille-feuille…

in the end we liked what the other person ordered best😂…

had a great time and enjoyed the entire evening… can’t wait to go back again…

gummy…

12 Monday Dec 2022

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felt a bit like I was getting a cold, so I dug in the freezer for some chicken and made chicken soup…

just the making of the soup is always relaxing… you can’t really do it quickly… slow and steady;-)…

I also decided on Mom’s dumplings to go with it… that reminded me of the time I took chicken soup with dumplings for my colleagues… a few hadn’t had dumplings, so I made very small ones which I thought would work well… NOT… they were gummy and yucky, sigh… clearly not the way to serve them… so funny, lol…

six o’clock came and I enjoyed a bowl filled with delicious broth, veggies and dumplings…

felt way better🤗…

and then there were a couple of meals ready in the fridge…

eventually…

10 Saturday Dec 2022

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out and about today!

well, I went to Canadian Tire and Subway, lol…

my grandson picked me up and once we were in the store we asked for help finding the water shoes I was looking for… the young man we dealt with didn’t seem to be having a good day… he appeared a bit unfriendly, but eventually did produce the shoes…

then, in another section of the store, the woman helping us was very knowledgeable and friendly and found what I needed quickly;-)…

and the cashier was pleasant, so all in all a good experience… and the store wasn’t crazy busy…

at the sandwich store, the young woman we dealt with was very helpful even though we caused her some confusion with our order, but she figured it out…

we enjoyed our subs when we got home…

a couple of jobs around the house and off he went;-)… then I had a nap😂…