yesterday I finally got around to making rhubarb scones…
I’ve had the recipe for a few weeks but it has been too hot to make them…
I was especially interested as the recipe used canola oil instead of butter… I wondered if they would end up being dense and heavy, but they turned out light and fluffy and very tasty…
they may have been the best scones I’ve made;-)…
and were delicious warm with pro-activ on them… I think they would also be great with warm cheese on them;-)…
just home from a wonderful gathering with my best buddies… we haven’t been together since my birthday in April, when they came and wished me a happy birthday at a distance with signs and a card…
this was the first time that I have left the house, and driven the car, since mid-March…
everyone brought their own dishes, silverware and mugs, and I even brought my chair, which worked out really well as it has a little table attached where I could put my tea and camera…
we sat – physically distancing, of course – around a lovely fire in our host’s backyard, celebrating another birthday and enjoyed a visit while eating lemon cake with fresh raspberries which she had baked for us… (cake photo from the chef)…
we talked about birds, celebrations, family and wind chimes… and we learned that wind chimes can have different sounds attributed to them… the ones we were listening to were the song of a meadowlark…
it was cool, but we all brought warm clothes and were quite comfortable… a bit crazy that gloves were needed…
it was an excellent first outing and I felt good about getting out for the first time since the pandemic began, although I did wash my hands as soon as I got into the house, lol…
last night I cooked a steelhead trout fillet for the first time… it came as part of my Save-On-Foods delivery, substituted for the salmon I had ordered… I’ve never had this fish, and wouldn’t have likely tried it otherwise…
I found a recipe online and even used the pepper flakes it called for… getting braver with hot things…
I also used the last of the rice from Sunday’s Chinese food with some fresh asparagus… it was a very tasty dinner and I enjoyed it…
there was enough left for another meal, which I had for my lunch today, and it was equally as delicious;-)…
had a bit of a giggle when I told my daughter that I had mushrooms and bacon with croutons for my supper recently…
she wondered if it was an actual meal…
I shared how it was certainly a meal when I was a teenager although then when my mom or dad made it, it was on toast, not with croutons…
so, for me it is comfort food… I feel that we are eating a lot of comfort food these days as we try to figure out what our next steps will be…
so many of the meals we ate a long time ago might not have been considered as nutritious as what is being eaten these days… I think of corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes, spaghetti and meatballs without any vegetables, macaroni and cheese on its own, lol… a lot more fresh veggies are part of our meals today…
but it is fun to remember, and recreate some of those old recipes…
Wednesday was Canada Takeout day and I decided to support Pho Hoang, a local restaurant which always produces delicious food…
I used a different app than normal, which appears to make sure that all the money goes to the restaurant…
whenever I order I try to get enough for at least a couple of meals…
this time I got 3 different things… the pho soup is always enough for two meals…
I also got shrimp garden rolls which I had for my supper as they are best when eaten fresh… finally I ordered sweet potato and shrimp crepes… I had a couple with the rolls;-)…
my dinner was delicious…
since then I’ve had pho for two meals as well as enjoying the sweet potato and shrimp crepes for a breakfast…
this morning’s activities included two particular items…
I started a pot of chicken soup as I now have a cold… the aroma permeated the house throughout the day and I was very eager to eat it for supper…
it was very tasty😋…
the other, and more exciting, thing that I did was pick up my Nikon and walk around the house taking pictures of flowers and greenery… can’t even remember when I last used it…
planning to practice with the camera over the next while and see if I can’t improve my photos…
although this one is basically the same as my last camera, I am not doing near as good a job of producing great pictures…
started with rice in the Instant Pot… think I have the process down now…
from there I made Thai Shrimp Soup… it takes a while, mainly because I make shrimp broth as part of the process… I left out the red pepper as I didn’t have any in the crisper… produced 3 containers and a bowl for my dinner… tasted very nice and didn’t miss the red pepper…
after that I made rice pudding… ended up with a bowl for supper and 3 containers for later…
there was a container of rice left and today I heated it up with asparagus and green onions to go along with some roasted chicken…
preparing the rice and using it in something that will be heated later means that the sugars go right through my system… still get the calories, but not the sugars, so this is great for my meal plan…
after yesterday’s odd day, I decided to make some comfort food…
things that have always made us feel good, or remind me of special moments;-)…
the first thing I made was a batch of cornmeal muffins… I’ve never made them before, but the idea of a tasty – bread-type – food sounded good… they were delicious and went well with the Thai Shrimp Soup that I had for lunch…
then I made macaroni and cheese… this has been a family favourite since the girls were small… I packaged it up into containers and will bake it when I want to eat it…
finally I made bacon, mushrooms and croutons… I remember my mom and dad making this for supper… it was usually served on toast, but I’ve adjusted the recipe and add croutons at the end as I don’t usually have bread in the house… the crunch is a perfect accompaniment to the soft bacon and mushrooms…
it really was comforting to spend the day in the kitchen, making these reminders of family times…
I’ve used quite a bit of the leftover rice that I made last week…
so far I’ve made a few things with it… combined some of it with shredded Brussels sprouts; mixed it with shrimp and egg for a lovely fried rice; and combined it with meatballs…
but I am getting a little tired of it, particularly as rice isn’t one of my favourites, lol… I would much rather have potatoes…
but I do love rice pudding;-)… so I did some research and then made some…
