Essential Elixers

I went to the hospitals Craft Sale at the hockey arena a few weeks ago. I stopped by a table on my way out called Essential Elixers. Aromatherapy has been part of my life for years and years, since I "discovered" it in my early 20's at a health food store in Calgary. The lady running the table was very nice and answered all my questions and helped me pick out a couple of things - 

I bought an aromatherapy bracelet - you put a couple of drops of oil on the lava beads and wear away.  I have a lava bead necklace that I love.  

I also love the oil that came with this - called Fall in Love.

I liked this spray so much that I bought 2 bottles!  Wake The F Up, 

with my favorite scent, peppermint.

You can find them on Facebook - essential.elixirs.mm

And Instagram - essential.elixirs.mm

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I am trying to clean out our freezer; it seems to be mostly full of weird things that I never seem to use because I forget about them - heads of roasted garlic, random bags of greens (spinach, kale, chard) I have frozen for soups and smoothies, BREAD products galore. 

And also, bags and bags of rhubarb. I have got to figure something out for all that rhubarb...... 

But anyway, I found a bag of chicken breasts in there, and I had some gruyere cheese, so I thought - Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole! 

This recipe is a new favorite - easy and delicious.

I cooked the chicken and made the sauce the night before; so the day of, I just had to assemble it while the oven was heating up.  

Very, very good.

Cooking from Queso

My new filter again!  Do you love it still?
It won't be making an appearance for a while,  as I forgot my new filter plan almost as quickly as I planned it.

This is the first dish we made from Queso - El Paso Chile Con Queso.

I didn't use the fresh Anaheim peppers - instead I used part of a can of diced green chiles. 

My kids are not fans of heat.  

I also didn't serve this as a dip - I left the chicken a little chunky and served it over rice.

It was AMAZING.  I could eat it every day.

I tried the Chile Con Queso Sausage Balls for a test run for a potluck next month.  They were ok.  A bit dense and very tomato-ey.  We ate them, but they aren't a contender for the potluck.

I need to shave a few pounds off this bod so I can dive into some 

of the cheesier recipes in the book soon.  The melted cheese,  it calls me.

You can't spell Painting without Pain

The Mister decided we should paint the kids rooms. The Girl's was the same beige color as the rest of the house. The Boy's is a bit juvenile for him; blue with clouds at the top.

After testing a few paint colors we were ready to go on The Girls room!

I think the pillow was removed before we started.  Getting things out of the way and protecting them from the paint is apparently not a strength of ours.

Both kids were desperate to "help".  We managed to distract them for almost the whole paint - but near the end The Mister and I both took our eyes off The Girl, who took the opportunity to grab a paint brush, dip it in paint, and drip paint on the one area of carpet that wasn't covered with a drop cloth.  AIEEEEEEEEEEEE. 

We did yellow in The Girls room, but 2 weeks later we still haven't found the time to do the touch up work so we can put her room back together.  

She isn't sleeping on the floor, don't worry.  Her toddler bed is in our room.  I should be in more of a hurry to get that painting done!

Up next is The Boy's room, once we find the walls through all the Lego and Star Wars worlds.  We had more trouble picking a color for his room.  He wants green and the first was too dark, the second too light.  He's settled on a mint green.  I am a bit worried about the end result, but then I remember a million years ago I lived in a tiny apartment in downtown Calgary that had mint green fixtures in the bathroom - sink, toilet and tub, and how much I loved it.  So maybe once all the junk is back in the room it will tone it down enough.

I will be done with painting for a while after this, and thankfully the paint is holding up everywhere else in the house except for the trim around the front door, but November is not the time of year for THAT sort of project.
Next I am considering tackling the teenage mutant ninja turtle stickers that have been on the bathroom wall for 3 years.  If anyone knows an easy way to get old stickers off a wall, let me know.

Book Club- The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

"O mind, the world is a deep, dark pit.  On every side, Death casts forward his net."

2017 - Day 322 - a day in pictures

I get up a couple of hours before everyone else nearly every day of the year. Practiced yoga at home for the first time in a long while. Was hoping this would be the start of another long stretch of practices, but after 2 days, my plan derailed.

But this was good.

Made The Grandfather a batch of his favorite blueberry muffins.  I just noticed that in the title of that post I'd spelled muffins as mufins.  Our computer is slowly dying and one of the new symptoms is that some of the keys - f, b, y, z are all prime examples - don't always work. And the space bar too.  And I don't always notice.

While the muffins were baking I decided to make a batch of baked Oatmeal

 from my new Pioneer Woman book.

Lots of butter and sugar.  It was good.

 

The Girl was recovering from a cold, so we skipped her Saturday activity and went to 

the Dufferin Craft Fair instead.

Checked out the new wetlands area they are working on.

Bought The Girl a Wonder Woman skirt for Christmas.

After I took The Boy to HIS Saturday activity, we stopped by Chapters to pick up a gift for The Grandfather's birthday.  The Boy's birthday is also coming up, and all he wants is Lego.  I asked him to please think of something non Lego related, like a book, so he took my phone and took pictures of the books he wants.  Lego.

I was considering buying this mug for The Mister, because sometimes we 

call him Papa Bear.  But it was $$$.

Then it was home for a mediocre dinner.  I tried a new recipe that we didn't like very much.  

After dinner the kids and I watched Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas special on Netflix.  They loved it!  To The Mister's annoyance, their favorite part was The Secret Word, and we 3 all screamed our lungs out every time it was spoken.

Double Squash Coconut Soup

Let's talk about the filter first - I threw a party, and the soup was invited!

It adds something, don't you think, to my usual quick, no set up shot?  This might be my new thing.

Now, the soup. So easy and delicious.

I had half a butternut squash (i wrote butterbut at first, and didn't notice, and I must be more tired than I realize, based on how hilarious I thought it was) and an acorn squash in the kitchen that I decided to roast and then see what I wanted to do.  So I roasted them with some oil and salt and pepper at 400 for about 40 minutes (the acorn was cut in half and seeded first) until they were nice and tender.  I set aside a couple of big spoonfuls of the butternut for another 

purpose and the rest I decided was for soup.

I scooped the squashes out of their skins and into a big pot, and added 5 cups of veggie broth.  Brought to a simmer and cooked for 10 minutes or so.  Removed from the heat.  Pulled out my stick blender and whizzed until smooth.  Stirred in a can of coconut milk.  Reheat - check for seasoning.

Enjoy!

Kids Book Club - Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

Why we chose it - from the bookshelf - part of a "Classics" order from Scholastic at school.

The Boy's favorite part- "The mystery of the white vegetables!"

The rest of the order is here

The rest of my birthday order is here!  I also impulse purchased the new Pioneer Woman cookbook.  I bought one of her other ones - Dinner, I think, secondhand this summer, but I have yet to make anything out of it.  Been too busy to even open this one yet.
I added Bear Town in for my last pick because I wanted another fiction book, and I've heard good things about another book of his - A Man Called Ove.

I haven't been reading much this fall, since mid summer, but I'm trying to get back on track.  We are also doing nightly reading with The Boy and I thought I might mention some of the books he's reading here too.  He will be 8(!!!!!!) soon and is enjoying reading more, which makes me happy as I've always loved to read.

Menu planning and cooking have also fallen apart over the past few months as my days are longer and busier, and it is hard to come home and figure out something fast, interesting, nutritious, AND that everyone (kids) will  eat.

And with that, off to find something for dinner tonight!

Snapshot - chalk art summer 2017

HRC's CC Cookies

I recently came into possession of a slightly damaged but mostly intact copy of the 2004 Better Homes Christmas Cookies magazine.  I note the slight damage because to my disappointment the page containing the first recipe I decided I needed to try had been ripped out by some diabolical person.
The second recipe I wanted to try was Hillary Rodham Clinton's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I am a fan of hers in many ways and for many reasons.
She is a smart, strong, opinionated woman.

I can't wait to read  her book, and  I will make another batch of these cookies for the Nasty Women in my life, just like I did with the first set.

HRC's Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies

Book Club - Reinventing The Body, Resurrecting The Soul by Deepak Chopra

"When you assume nobody is going to change, you have closed the box and locked them in."

"The deeper point is that people will go a long way to protect their comfort zones and to fence out painful reality."

"Embrace every day as a new world."

Snapshot - Be The Change

Riverside Park, Summer 2017

Red Cabbage

I've got a couple of pot lucks coming up and I've already started researching some options, which is totally out of character for me.
After I finished up my cookbook shelf purge in August I tried to take another critical look  at all the cookbooks that stayed behind.  Do I really need all of them?  Really?
Well so far  the answer seems to be yes, but I am keeping that thought in my mind.  I am hoping that if I do decide that a book isn't for us, that I will do the right thing and donate it so someone else can enjoy it.
One book I wasn't sure if it should stay or go was The Rest of the Best and More - A Best of Bridge cookbook.  But now that I've flipped through it again I've found a lot of recipes I'd like to try - for potlucks and just eating in general.

I made the Red Cabbage recipe last weekend to use up a half head of red cabbage and also this is the sort of the thing that The Mister loves to eat.  It was easy and we had to tinker a bit to get the sweet-sour yin yang just right for us, but in the end it was delicious.  And even The Boy ate some!
Something about this dish says Fall/Winter to me.

Red Cabbage
from The Rest of the Best and More

3 lb red cabbage
2 green apples, peeled and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
2 TB bacon fat
1 tsp salt
pepper
1/2 cup boiling water

Shred cabbage and place in a large saucepan with remaining ingredients.   Bring to a boil and reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour, stir occasionally.

Book Club - The River at Night by Erica Ferencik

"This is my world too; don't I deserve the chance to see it?"

Upcoming reads and miscellaeney

I received a book store gift card from The Mother In Law for my birthday this year.  The order was broken up into 2 deliveries and I just got the first.  Queso was a total impulse purchase but after reading the first few pages I can already tell it was money well spent.  

I have read in a few places how great we are never meeting in real life is, 

and am looking forward to it.

Some other stuff floating around my head -

I really liked this article - A High-Security Prison Is Offering YTT for Inmates
I am trying to convince my head that it is time to get back to yoga.  It isn't going well so far.

I made this honey garlic chicken a while back and loved it.

If you like chicken and peanut sauce- I do! - then you will love this chicken and broccoli with peanut sauce.

I don't watch much TV any more, but I am excited about David Letterman's show on Netflix.  When does it start?????  I liked this interview from early this year.


I have some childhood memories of visiting my great-nana when I was small; not many - but I remember quite clearly a big plastic photo cube she had on her coffee table.  It had photos of her great grandchildren in it, and I was fascinated by it.
I made one similar this Spring for The Grandmother - I bought a wooden cube and cut photos to size and glued and sealed them on.  It was a cute quick craft.  

Snapshot - Wedding favor cookie cutter

Recently I was helping my dad clean up some  stuff in their basement, and I came across this favor from our wedding.  I'd wanted to be different, and not do the same  old candy or cookies that everyone seemed to do.  So I chose a cookie cutter and recipe for cookies.

We had to tie each cookie cutter in place with the ribbon, and I can't even tell you what a unfun job that was to do on 100+ cutters.

The wooden desk this photo was taken on was my desk in my bedroom when I was growing up.

After I moved out, my mom used the desk for sewing and knitting projects

and then it became one of my dads art tables.

A few weeks ago we moved it from their house to our house and now it is in The Boy's 

room, covered in lego. 

Pork Wontons and Carrot Soup from Shutterbean

Shutterbean is one of my weekly reads. Gorgeous photography, adventures, yummy eats. 

What else do you need? 

I recently made her wontons, which were delicious. I had only small wrappers, so we made a ton. And then ate them all. 

Pork wontons

I also  less recently made her carrot coconut soup 3 times in 2  weeks.  Delicious.

Carrot coconut soup 

The Kamloops Symphony Book Sale is on!

The Kamloops Symphony Book Sale started yesterday.  This year it's at Lansdowne Centre downtown, between the dollar store and London Drugs.  The crowds were big and there were some good books.  We picked up a handful for The Boy, and I scored the 2 above.  Yippeeeeee!  7 years after first reading it, I now have my own copy of I Like You.

The book sale runs until November 25.  Go often!

There is always something to be thankful for

 

It is easier, some times, to be negative than to be positive.

Let's focus on the positive today, shall we?

I am eternally grateful for The Mister.  Sometimes he drives me crazy, 

but I know I drive him nuts too. We got it going on.

I am grateful for what a good big brother The Boy is.  He is almost always kind and 

patient to his little sister.  I hope they will always be a team.

I am always grateful for my parents, and I am thankful we moved from Alberta to be closer to them.

I am thankful to be Canadian.

After this blast of cold weather I am grateful for scarves and slippers and heating pads.  

French Onion Chicken

This one popped up in my facebook feed last weekend and it looked SO delicious I made it that very night for dinner. The kids were fairly indifferent about it, but The Mister and I really really enjoyed it.  It wasn't a super quick dinner - you have to cook those onions down for a long while, nice and slow, but it was worth it.  This could be a make ahead too - cook the onions in advance, I bet that would work well.
I forgot to buy some nice bread so we had our with roasted potatos which were also excellent.
The only change I made from the recipe was to skip the broiling in the oven as I was trying to get dinner on the table as fast as I could.  This is a definite make again!

Recipe - Cheesy French Onion Chicken

Blueberry muffins for G

Every weekend I make a batch of blueberry muffins for The Grandfather.

They are one of his favorite things ever.

These are serious muffins - low in fat and sugar, and high in fiber.
My kids are not fans.  What a shock!

I've taken my mom's recipe, which she has noted on the paper came from the local hospital, and made a few changes over the multiple times I've made these.

Blueberry Muffins for G

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

3 TB vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp grated lemon or orange zest

1/2 cup Bran Buds cereal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350'.  Line 12 muffin cups with liners.

Beat egg, stir in milk, oil, vanilla, zest and bran buds.  Let stand 5 minutes.

Stir again and add in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined.  Gently stir in berries.

Spoon into prepared cups and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Chicken curry

This is from Rick and Lanie's  Excellent Kitchen Adventures,which I cooked from for my bookcase clean up back in .... 2015.  Oh my lord.  

At that time we tried 3 recipes - biscuits, meatballs and chicken donburi.  I still dream about the biscuits.

I made two more recipes a couple of weeks ago - a chili which I altered A LOT so I can't really say it was theirs, but it was fine.

This curry was more than fine.  I made it on a Sunday for dinner on Tuesday.  Even the kids liked it, which is completely and utterly amazing as they are pretty much the most picky beasts on the planet and like practically nothing, so this is a keeper.

Creamy Potato Soup and Davidson's Orchard

We took the kids to Davidson's Orchards in Vernon this Summer and had lunch at the little cafe.  They had a soup on the menu that I thought The Girl might eat - probably chicken noodle - but after I'd paid they told me they had just run out. They had 2 other choices, one of which was spicy, so I chose the potato soup and lordy it was delicious!  I mean, The Girl didn't eat any, but The Mister and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I started googling to find a similar recipe - creamy, with veggies, not pureed, but the potatos were starting to fall apart.....and I found a very very good one at Cooking Classy which is very close to what we enjoyed that day.

I've made it twice since, and everyone (ok, everyone who is not my child) loves it.

Recipe- Creamy Potato Soup

And some photos of our day - 

Menu Plan -Nov 6-10

It's been a while since I've written about menu planning, but I still hate it.

Hold on to your hats, this is a wild week. And by wild I mean boring.
I had no alone time (aka before the kids got up Saturday morning) to really sit and plan and look up ideas, so we have a pretty dull dinner week ahead.

Monday - Beef Dip sandwiches, raw veggies

Tuesday - dinner at Costco after shopping

Wednesday - Spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday - Soup and sandwiches - still figuring out what the soup will be....

Friday - Fish and chips

dreaming of mini doughnuts this morning......

Dreaming of warmer days

Man, did we get walloped by Winter this week.  Tuesday, Halloween, was cloudy and cool; a bit rainy, but the drizzle stopped by dinner and the kids had a beautiful, not too cool night for trick or treating.  (One of the houses across the street had special effects lights and sounds and it scared The Girl; now every time she sees the house, she says "Fooky house!  OOOOOO!"  and holds her hands up Frankenstein monster style.)

Wednesday was a beautiful sunny day, but before I turned off the computer for the night I saw there was a weather advisory.  Really?  I thought, and toddled off to read scroll Instagram for half an hour.
Thursday morning I woke up to a howling blizzard and a shit load of snow.  WTF.  The wind screamed and it snowed all day and into the night and Friday morning I was out first thing trying to get rid of the snow drifts that were waist deep behind the car.

We are seriously considering buying a snow blower.

I am not a winter person at the best of times.  We don't ski or skate, although I am hoping to try snow shoeing this  year or next, depending on many circumstances.  I would much rather have the sun and heat than snow and cold and ice.  But what can you do, this is where we live.

Why make muffins when you can make cookies?

Here is my nicest photo of these cookies - artfully styled on a kleenex on my desk at work.  

So classy.

I planned to make some muffins or a  quick  bread  from the leftover pumpkin from the pie, but then I found some cookie recipes and that solved that dilemma.

I used this recipe and they were quite nice - cake like and full of spices.

Book Club - Sitting Kills, Moving Heals by Joan Vernikos

"The state of health in the world is deteriorating.  In the United States, two out of every three people are unhealthy.  This alarming trend must be stemmed and reversed or it will cripple personal health, national vitality, and resources."