book club 44 - Little Bee by Chirs Cleave*

 2021-44

 *did not finish this book

rainbows!

 

book club 43 - Bachelor Girl by Kim Van Alkemade

 2021-43

 

buns to make when everyone panic buys at the grocery store

 Just over a week ago there were rain storms in BC that caused catastrophic flooding and mud slides in parts of BC.  Lives were lost, some homes are gone forever, the highways connecting the coast to the interior were destroyed.  We were fortunate here that we only received the tail end of one of the storms and none of the flooding or slides that so many other communities endured.  However once it sunk in that with the direct highways to the coast out of commission, this was another potential supply chain interruption, some people in Kamloops lost their minds and went out and panic bought all the groceries.  For a handful of days there was no milk, eggs, toilet paper (AGAIN), fruit, veggies, meat to be found at the stores.  

I am happy to say that we personally did not panic buy and while we did run out of milk, bread and fruit, we managed to survive just fine until stores received deliveries, and we did not hoard more than we needed, causing issues for others in our community.

We do love our carbs though and the kids like sandwiches in their lunches, so I made a batch of Jason's Grandma's 2 Hour Buns to get us through the lean times.  I realized after they came out of the oven that I forgot to add the salt (this is something that I do occasionally while making bread and it drives me crazy) so they were sweeter than usual but they made a good sandwich and snacking bun.

If you would like to donate to the BC Flood campaign with the Red Cross - click HERE

crispy potato skins

 I saw this somewhere but I forget where - either Instagram or Tik Tok, and Tik Tok is more likely - that when you peel potatos, to not throw away the peels, but to cook them in your air fryer (or oven) until crisp for a chip-like snack.

We made mashed potatos a couple of weekends ago for Sunday dinner and so I saved the peels, and the next weekend when I rediscovered the container of peels in the fridge and they hadn't gone bad, I cooked 'em up in the air fryer.

I preheated the air fryer on the air fryer setting at 400' for a few minutes, and while that was happening I tossed the peels with some oil and some Kinders Buttery Steakhouse Seasoning.  I went a touch too heavy on both, but it was fine.

I cooked the peels, tossing with tongs every 3-4 minutes, for around 10 minutes.  Next time I might go a minute or two longer to make sure all the peels are crisp, but some slightly less crisp pieces are delicious too.

These were, or course, only a hit with me and The Mister, as the kids acted like I was trying to get them to eat garbage.  They are so annoying.  So I hid in the kitchen with The Mister and we ate them all up.  The end.

snapshot - cup of tea

 from the excellent mintybongwater

book club 42 - Stop Eating Your Emotions by Isabelle Hunt and Catherine Senecal

 2021-42

 

Sunday dinner - Smothered Chicken

We really haven't had a lot going on over here lately; still staying home a lot and avoiding people, still working lots.  The kids got sick and passed it to us for a while.  I am not reading as much as I was earlier this year.  Haven't been trying many new recipes, and the couple I did try recently weren't hits with any of us.  

We've now had the time change (which I HATE with a fiery passion) so it's dark and cold all the time which makes me want to do things - anything - even less.  It's all very blah right now.

But I did make this lovely smothered chicken for last Sunday dinner, and it was a hit with me and The Mister, and a moderate hit with everyone else.  What I like about this dish is that it was easy, and other than being paranoid that the liquid would evaporate away and the chicken and veggies would burn - you just need to check on it a couple of times during the 2 hours cooking time.  The recipe calls for onions, celery and bell pepper, but I think carrots would be great in there too, maybe sweet potato?  Or zucchini?  Endless options and a really good Fall or Winter meal.

Smothered Chicken

 

apple smoothie

 I went looking specifically for apple smoothie recipes when the 2 boxes of apples arrived at our house. This was the only one that interested me but it was delicious and we made it a few times.

Recipe - Simple Apple Smoothie

baked apples and pumpkin treats that are recipeless

 We got roped into a fundraiser selling apples from Davison Orchards and ended up with 2 bog boxes of apples.  I am not complaining even one little bit because A - they were the most delicious apples I've ever had and B - we didn't get out to Davison Orchards this year, so it was nice to be able to get our hands on some apples.  

We ate apples straight up, in pie, in crisp, in bread, in smoothies, diced into yogurt, and baked.  The baked apples were very pretty, and pretty tasty.  And preparing them broke my apple corer.

 Everyone liked them, but didn't love them, so I guess it's ok that I can't find the recipe to share.  We were all pretty full after that dinner and no one ate a full apple so I had 2 left over that sat in the fridge for a few days.  I ended up making a smoothie out of them, adding some water and ice, a couple of spoons of yogurt to the blender.  Since the apples were filled with oats and brown sugar and spices, the smoothie turned out very well.

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I also made a very nice pumpkin cake that I found on Tik Tok, and some good pumpkin muffins too, and have no idea where to find either recipe.

book club 41 - The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

 2021-41

 

I cooked a pork roast

 I don't like to cook things like roast chickens or turkeys, or beef or pork roasts because I have convinced myself I can't do and I will ruin them if I try.  And a few times over the years I certainly haven't done a good job on a roast and that just cements the idea further that I should stay away from this sort of cooking.

The store recently had a 2 for 1 sale on some pork roasts and I couldn't pass up that deal.  I had planned on cutting the roasts into slices or cubes for cooking but then I thought - what if I tried again?  How bad could it be?  And yay, the answer is - This time, not bad at all!

I used this Ultimate Garlic Pork Loin Roast recipe and it came out perfectly.  The plate of sliced roast is not the star of the photo below, but thankfully I got the photo while it was still partially in the shot.

 

pancake battered sausage

 I don't recall where I saw this, but when I did I thought, oh, the kids would love this!  

Of course I was WRONG - The Girl wouldn't even try it and The Boy was polite but refused a second one and asked me where the "regular" pancakes were instead.

But if you were interested, it's a cute switch up on a pancake and sausage breakfast.

Cook your sausage patties and blot off any greasy goodness.

Make your pancake batter and heat up your frying pan.  When your pan is ready, dip a patty into the batter and lay it in the pan.

Also make some regular pancakes for your daughter who is acting like a sausage in a pancake is some sort of international crime you should be arrested for.

Artistically plate them on paper plates the kids found in the basement and insisted on using.  Serve with butter and syrup and don't expect my kids to enjoy them.