Sunday Dinner - A very good cheesecake

A blurry picture of a deeeelicious cheesecake.

After our sad Thanksgiving cheesecake fail, I had cheesecake on my mind big time.  And also, chocolate.  Always chocolate.

I decided to make a cheesecake for Sunday dinner for my family and then also so I could have some leftovers to take to work for treats.

This cheesecake is easy and delicious and so chocolaty.  Everything you want in a cheesecake.

Recipe:  No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

Cookbook Cleanup Book 9 - The Pioneer Woman Dinnertime

Book 9 is The Pioneer Woman Dinnertime.

I have 2 PW books, I think, and I think I bought this one secondhand.

Her books, if you have never seen one, follow a very photo heavy, step by step process.  Every step in every recipe is accompanied by a small photo, so you can have anywhere from 4-12 or more photos in a recipe, plus pictures of the finished dish and her personal photos of her life.  

There's a lot to look at.

I found it not too hard to make a list of things I wanted to try from the book, and the first recipe  - Greek Yogurt Pancakes - were really, really good. 

The next recipe - Chow Mein - was pretty boring.

And since then this book has sat for probably 3 months, as I've had no desire to try any more dishes.

So this one is going to head out to find a new home where it can be appreciated.  

I'm sure it's a good book, it's just not for me.

Cookbook Cleanup results so far - Bookshelf -5  Donated - 4

Snapshot - Saturday Morning Sunrise

Two very good soups

It's Fall; the clocks have gone back, darkness is everywhere, 

it snowed so I've had to stop wearing sandals (although if the snow keeps melting they might be able to be worn a bit more.....), my office swings from freezing cold to boiling hot on the regular, 

IT'S THE MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER, 

it's soup season.

I started us off with a batch of  One Pot Beef Pasta E Fagioli  which was easy and delicious.

Even better was the Sausage and Kale Soup  here, SO GOOD.  

It made a huge pot and I was happy to eat the leftovers for days and days.  This is a great recipe and the instant pot is so good for making soup.

The Mister blessed us with fresh bread for both meals, we everyone was a winner, baby.

Book Club - The Know It All

2019-45

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In a tribe on the island of Santa Maria, old men used to stand by with bows and arrows and shoot every dance who made a mistake.  The perfect way to raise the stakes on American Idol.

"Never say "no" to adventures.  Always say "yes" otherwise you'll lead a very dull life."

Let me tell you: it's a sad sad day when the Encyclopedia Britannica is hipper than you.

Mood

Brisket

My dad - aka The Grandpa - had a hankering for a brisket, so he made a deal - he would buy it and I would cook it.  I had never cooked a brisket before, so I combed the internets for a good recipe, and found one that had oven and slow cooker options - I was pushing for the slow cooker version to ensure it was nice and tender.  The Grandpa wanted the oven version, so I nervously went that way.

The brisket turned out pretty darned tasty - although I did not put enough liquid in the bottom and it started to get crispy in there, so I wasn't able to add any of the juices to the sauce, but it was amazing - AMAZING anyway.

And The Grandpa like it so much he went out and bought a corned beef brisket, so now my recipe search has started anew.

Recipe:  Juicy Beef Brisket

Book Club - Audiobook - The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman

2019-44

Pretzel bites

Here is something to know about me and The Mister - we love soft pretzels.  LOVE 'em.  If they are on a menu, we'll order them.  We've made them a few times over the years, but they are a lot of work and in the Spring and Summer it's easier to buy them from our favorite baker at the farmers market.

We wanted to make some a couple of weeks ago, but the recipe we thought we wanted to make, we decided we didn't like after all.  So instead we made pretzel bites.

They are still a fair bit of work; you have to make the dough and cut the dough and boil 4,000 little bites, but it went quickly and we ended up with a large batch of tasty pretzels to go with our soup and veggies.

Recipe: Parmesan Garlic Pretzel Bites

11-11

Remembrance Day ceremony - Riverside Park 10:30

Pumpkin pancakes

For Thanksgiving last month I was thinking about making a pumpkin pie, because that's one of The Mister's favorite desserts.  

I was talking dessert at worth with some pals, and one mentioned she was going to make an no-bake pumpkin cheesecake for her dinner.  That sounded even better, so she sent me the recipe, and I showed it to The Mister that night.

He didn't think that particular recipe sounded good, but we were both on board with pumpkin cheesecake, so we found another recipe to try, a swirled pumpkin cheesecake bar.

We made it for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was AWFUL.  

We all hated it.

I was bummed.  We should have made the recipe from my friend! 

I went to work the next day, having decided to keep my bad dessert story to myself, but when my friend showed up, she had her own sad story - the pumpkin cheesecake SHE made was terrible TOO!

Sometimes you just can't win.

I used up the leftovers of the can of pumpkin that was wasted on that awful dessert on these very delicious pancakes.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

3 TB butter, melted

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat a pan over medium heat.

Whisk the puree, butter, milk, eggs, vanilla and sugar until smooth.

Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just smooth.

Add a but of butter or oil to the pan, and spoon in your batter in the size you like your cakes.

Cook, flip, and eat!

Cookbook Cleanup - Book 8 - Back in the Day Bakery

Book 8 in the Cleanup is Back in the Day Bakery by Cheryl and Griffin Day.

I got this one from the clearance table at the bookstore because my secret dream is to open a bakery and bake breads and muffins and cookies and sell them to the adoring public.

There is so much in this book - muffins, breads, pies, crackers.....There's also some arts and crafts sprinkled in the book - how to's for celebration banners, snack holders, and a chandelier made of marshmallows. 

I started with the Honey Nut Bran Muffins and almost right away 

found something that irked me.

The instructions tell you to preheat the oven, then a few lines later the recipe tells you to refrigerate the batter overnight.  what.  and.  how.

Annoying.

But!  Those muffins were delish!  I doubled the raisins and omitted the nuts and they were perfect.  I've made them quite a few times since.

I also made the Foccacia Bread, Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Shortbread and 

Icebox Pickles - so easy.

The Buttermilk Rolls were super  tasty, and the Bee Sting Honey was a fun new try for us - and we recommend drizzling it on a toasted buttermilk roll with some ooey brie cheese......

I definitely want to try the Apple Brandy Brown Butter Glazed Cake, and helllloooooooo Pimento Cheese Crackers........

Cookbook Cleanup results so far - Bookshelf -5  Donated - 3

2 more downtown Kamloops murals

Some more murals for you - 

This first one is one of my favorites.  Love the colors.

Here is the work in progress and finished side on the theater downtown.  The bottom 2 photos are the back side of the theater in the alley, taken early in the morning.

I spotted another mural getting started too - I love this project!  Well done Kamloops.

How to cook dried beans in the instant pot

Last Sunday I was going to make a soup for Sunday Dinner.  It had mild Italian sausage in it, but "some" people in my family find that can be too spicy sometimes, so I was second guessing myself.  Should I figure out a different meal to make?  Or add some side dishes so if the soup doesn't appeal, there are other things to eat?  Or!  Should I make a second soup????

The Mister was all down with that idea of course, and suggested ham and bean, since we have bags and bags of ham in the freezer from Thanksgiving.  The problem was that we didn't have any canned beans, only dried, and I was trying to make this dinner happen without having to go back to the store.

I had the instant pot out as I'd make some hard boiled eggs that morning, and I couldn't help but wonder, could you cook dried beans in the instant pot?

You can, and I did, using this recipe!

Toss your beans into the pot,

Add some water, salt, olive oil, and optional garlic and bay leaf.

Close it up and cook for 25-30 minutes.  Let the pressure release naturally for as long as you can, 

et voila!  You have perfectly cooked beans!  

My mom's waffles recipe and her waffle maker

I pulled out my mom's waffle recipe and her waffle maker on Sunday to make the kids THE BEST waffles ever.  So light and crisp.  The recipe makes a small batch, so if you have a big group to feed, you might want to double it.

The waffle maker is a double sided style, so you pour the batter in, close the lid, flip the whole thing over and make another waffle on the other side.  My favorite kind of waffle maker.

Snapshot - my self care pumpkin

I found this on Health Magazine's Instagram page, and because I really hate carving pumpkins, this was the perfect way to join the family fun but not have to get all messy and ultimately be disappointed when my pumpkin looks nothing like what I envisioned. 

Intentions for the beginnig of November

You guys, there are less than 2 months left in 2019.  Shall we make the most of them?

Make time to read every day.

Lower my expectations while still moving forward on a positive health and wellness journey.

Be mindful of what I eat and drink.

Work on a movement schedule that includes walking, the gym and yoga.

my favorites in october

Here's a list of some things I enjoyed in October - 

On Netflix - 

 

 Brooklyn 99 - I really needed some laughs and I found them here.

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In the basement - 

Dryer balls - years ago I bought some plastic dryer balls to try to cut down on using dryer sheets.  I say try because The Mister has always loved dryer sheets, even when I show him articles that they are not good to use.  The plastic dryer balls didn't last long before one of them broke open in the dryer which made me sad and mad because I spent a good amount of money on those bastards.

I recently bought some wool dryer balls and they definitely do speed up drying and reduce wrinkles.  I've been adding a few drops of essential oil to the balls before drying, but the clothes aren't picking  up the scent like other people say theirs do.  Could it be my oil?

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In the kitchen - 

The kids continue their annoying eating habits of hating preeeeeeetty much everything we cook.  But this keto chicken parm pizza was a surprise win with both of them, and the adults too!

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In Kamloops - 

We tried out  Shawarma Time on Seymour Street - this restaurant opened in September and is run by a family that came to Canada via the Syrian Refugee program.  The family is lovely and the food is delicious.  Service can be slow but be patient and enjoy your time.

We tried the chicken shawarma and the falafel.  It was all delicious.  

I hope these guys are around for a long time.

Here's 2 recent articles about the restaurant:

Syrian immigrant brothers who started from scratch ready to open Kamloops restaurant

Syrian restaurant in downtown Kamloops thriving

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Cutting back on social media - The past many months have proven to me what I already should have known - social media is bad for my mental health.  Was being on social media to see pictures of my cousins kids, and stay in sporadic touch with relatives and friends outside of Canada worth all the negative feelings and emotions that bothered me from direct or indirect contact with other so-called "friends" on these platforms?  And what about the yoga videos and cooking sites I follow and love?  Was I willing to give up those?

I finally followed some advice I'd given to a friend (that she herself didn't follow - ha!) a while back - make your social media what you want it to be.  I unfriended and unfollowed people who I truly wasn't friends with in any real way; with old school mates, colleagues, friends of friends; all the ranty people; the people who post multiple times a day; the people whose beliefs were so different from mine that it made me immediately uncomfortable when their name popped up; the people I never really wanted to be "friends" with in the first place.

For those tricky folk/family who it would cause real trouble with to unfriend or unfollow?  I muted them instead - so we are still technically friends but I don't have to see anything that makes me feel sad, or excluded or hurt.

I kept the family and close friends, the local news and weather, the yoga and the food, the health news and podcast information.  The stuff I like, and the stuff that doesn't make me sad and spirally.

It's only been a couple of weeks since I purged it all, but I love it and I can see a real difference in how I feel after a facebook view.

Snapshot - The Mustards of Thanksgiving

for the ham, dontcha know.

Book Club - The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

2019-43

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When my mother spoke to me, she spoke softly, the tones of Vietnamese giving it music - not high and reedy, but scratchy and bluesy.  I always wished I had her voice.

Every casualty of war is someone's grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, brother, sister, child, lover.

....I can look with fresh eyes at my son.  

He is a mystery - crystalline, breathing and growing.