Tag Archives: dinner

simmer…

16 Thursday Oct 2025

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I started soup on Tuesday afternoon and let it simmer for hours…

while that was happening, I also made a batch of mashed potatoes for the frozen dinners I was preparing from some of the leftovers…

we had these containers that were divided into three sections, so I decided to use them…

mashed potatoes went into each and then, turnip and peas and carrots into another spot… chicken, stuffing and cranberry sauce went into the final spot…

once more gravy was made, it was frozen and then fit in on top of the potatoes… all three meals have gone into the freezer for another day…

once we had soup for supper three containers were packaged up, two went into the fridge for the next few days and one went into the freezer…

nice to have a few meals ready for nights when I can’t think of what to have;-)…

chaotic…

15 Wednesday Oct 2025

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had a delightful Thanksgiving…

company arrived and we visited for a few minutes before sitting down to a delicious meal… I even got a lovely gift…

two cute little pumpkins that lit up and moved right over to join the Halloween collection amongst the plants…

a last few chaotic minutes in the kitchen and then dinner…

roast chicken, stuffing, potatoes with cauliflower mashed in, turnip, peas and carrots, gravy and homemade cranberry sauce… everything came out great and the meal was filled with lots of conversation…

we even got a photo with everyone in it… happy for people with long arms, lol…

a lovely evening;-)…

platter…

14 Tuesday Oct 2025

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had fun preparing the table for Thanksgiving dinner…

planning on more company than I’ve had in years, so it made me happy to search out different plates and bowls to put the food on, and in…

from a platter and covered bowl from a dear family friend, to a gifted tray, special pottery pieces my beloved and I had purchased over the years, to a tiny handmade purple bowl, to a very old salt and pepper set that was my grandmother’s…

all set on a thanksgiving tablecloth with leaf napkins…

waitstaff…

12 Friday Sep 2025

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at last I ordered the carrots (roasted carrot, buttermilk dressing, grilled kale, salsa macha, fresh dill) at Gather…

they were very tasty, the sauce was delicious, and it took two of us to get them all eaten, lol… I’ve heard that this is one of the most popular items on the menu…

then I tried the saffron gnocchi, with white wine beurre blanc, asparagus, mint, hazelnut, lemon vinaigrette, rosemary oil, and added shrimp… also very tasty…

my grandson had the burger with some tasty regular fries…

it was busy and the waitstaff were all efficient and seemed happy going about their work;-)…

I also like that you can reserve a spot online, lol…

Rotary…

15 Sunday Jun 2025

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Friday was a delightful day… the sun shone and the temperature rose to 25°C…

throughout the day, I prepped for a dinner party… between organizing and setting the table on the deck, there were plenty of opportunities to sit, read, and relax…

preparing a space or food for special people is always enjoyable for me as I think about those who I am doing this work for and how important they are to me…

for this gathering, it was mainly about making the space comfortable and considering what dishes we would need as the food was being picked up from a Charleswood Rotary fundraiser…

they provided a whole lobster, baked potato, fresh bun, coleslaw, brownie, small bottle of wine, with a bib and a lobster fork;-)… each person received a shopping bag with all of the goodies in it… I added a few fixings for the potatoes, warm facecloths with lemon for our fingers, and garlic butter in warmers…

once the food was warmed up, we had a lesson in how to eat the whole crustacean… I was a bit slow, lol, so had to keep having information repeated…

the weather was perfect, well, except that the wind kept blowing out some of the butter warmers… lots of conversation and story telling kept us busy throughout the meal…

my housemate took the requisite group photo which he was happy to do (and not be in) before we spent time around the pond…

happily, the fish came out for a short visit before returning to their favourite spot under the bridge…

and before you knew it, everyone headed off into the sunset;-)…

prime rib…

04 Saturday Jan 2025

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for New Year’s dinner we tried something new…

we had prime rib… for many years we would have steak and lobster with twice-stuffed potatoes…

so this was fun to try… cooking the prime rib was interesting… first, it had to sit on the counter for six hours to reach room temperature, then it went into the oven at 500°F for half an hour, and finally the oven was turned off and it sat inside it for two hours…

quite the process, but it came out perfect for those of us who enjoy rare meat;-)…

there were mashed potatoes, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts with carrots, little Yorkshire puddings, and gravy…

delicious…

cheated…

13 Sunday Oct 2024

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for Thanksgiving dinner we had steak and lobster… enjoyed setting the table a little fancier than normal..

a fun change, and happy to have the steak grilled..

and it was delicious…

as was the cute little half pumpkin pie for dessert, lol…

even cheated and used canned whipped cream, which saved time and energy;-)…

bliss…

18 Thursday Apr 2024

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what a lovely day…

had a pedicure, which was a real treat as I haven’t had one since covid… the massage portion was bliss…

received cards, gifts, texts, and numerous phone calls… my kids were trying to see how many times they could sing happy birthday to me throughout the day, lol…

enjoyed the technology that let the Ottawa kids send me presents via Amazon…

treats turned up throughout the day, and a gorgeous bouquet arrived in the afternoon;-)…

dinner was barbecued steak and lobster with asparagus, mushrooms and tiny potatoes prepared by my housemate…

and considering the crazy weather – rain, snow, and bits of sunshine – barbecuing was a gift…

a final touch was a small portion of chocolate mousse;-)…

ended the night with a hot tub…

I am truly blessed…

thawing…

26 Tuesday Dec 2023

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I found out in the morning on Christmas Eve that we were going to have lunch on Christmas Day between trips my grandson was making between his various family clans;-)…

it was a quick trip to the freezer to pull out a beautiful chicken and get it thawing… I had been planning on a Cornish hen, with all the fixings, so it wasn’t a lot more to do to cook the chicken;-)…

a turnip was peeled, cut, boiled (so that the water would be available for the chicken gravy), and mashed…

mashed potatoes were also prepared and put into the fridge which helps with making a resistant starch…

stuffing was made and packaged, ready to go into the chicken…

took most of the day to thaw the chicken, lol, but it was ready for the oven in time…

everything turned out beautifully and we had a delicious Christmas lunch…

possibly a new tradition;-)…