book club 65 - the takedown by lily chu

 2025-65

 

the salad was the thai crunch and it was a winner

 i went with the thai crunch salad with peanut dressing and it was so good!  i was very happy with my choice.  the night i was cutting up all the veg i had a screaming headache and i decided to omit the tomatos just to cut down on my prep time so i could go lie down sooner.  i think it was the right call.  

 stealthy salad photo

the olive is from another dish on the plate, not the delicious salad

 

 

book club 64 - my best friends exorcism by grady hendrix

 2024-64

 

grocery shop - costco november 8

 

 

peppers, cucumber, tomatos, onions, apples, spinach, pizza, milk, salmon, pico, taco kit, blackberries, butter, bread, gingerale, pretzel chips...maybe one or 2 more things because i'm doing this from memory

$180 

cuban lunch squares - a canadian treat!

 

1 package chocolate chips

1 package butterscotch chips

1 package peanut butter chips

1 cup rice crispies

1 cup chopped peanuts

Melt the chips and stir in the rice crispies and peanuts.  Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan and let cool until firm. 

the hunt for a salad

 i've been roped into contributing a salad to a luncheon next week.  i'm not super excited, i'm more anxious that whatever i contribute won't be good and no one will eat it and how embarrassing would THAT be.

so far these are my top choices - 

Thai Crunch salad that I've never made before

Autumn Apple salad that I have made before, for a potluck, and I know it's delicious, but I'm hesitant for some reason

Bean salad - also delicious, but maybe too weird for a lunch of people you don't really know?

 

 I feel like i could spend hours looking through books and saved recipes, but i just want to get the shopping done and come home and curl up under a blanket and read and maybe watch a show.

 this will also be the 4th dish in 2 weeks i've made for various non-family events.  the stress of finding recipes and making them and hoping everyone likes them has been ENOUGH.

 

book club 63 - accomplice to the villain by hannah nicole maehrer

 2025-63

 

book club 62 - the book of alchemy by suleika jaouad

 2025-62

 

a plague descended upon us. plus grocery shop and a good chicken recipe

 The day I last posted, The Boy woke up with a cold, and immediately gave it to everyone in the house.  He recovered 3 days later, and the rest of us were sick - SICK - for the remainder of the month.  Meanwhile, work was chaotic and every day felt worse than the day before.

I don't know if I have ever been so happy to see a month come to an end as I was for October. 

 And now it is November, and I am feeling ok about the last 2 months of the year.  So far.

I made 2 pumpkin treats in October - cookies and a loaf.  They were both good.

 I made some apple fritter cookies which were fine, but nobody loved them.  We never got to Davidsons Orchard or Desert Hills, and I missed the rest of the Wednesday and Saturday farmers markets downtown.  I am determined to check out the winter market though, soon.

On Saturday we headed out just before noon to Costco, Walmart and the dollar store to get some groceries and baking supplies for a baking fundraiser I was contributing to.

 chocolate chips, ribs, balsamic, rice crispies, dumplings, croissants, brussel sprouts, rotisserie chicken, shallots, toque, food storage containers

$159

 

 We spent $98 at walmart on groceries and toiletries, and then stopped at the dollar store to pick up some baggies to package up the treats in.

 For dinner I used about half the roto chicken to make Chicken Pot Pie Orzo - i believe i found the recipe on tick tok.  Saute diced onion, carrots and celery in butter and oil until softened.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in some flour and cook for 2 minutes.  Add a couple of cups of chicken broth and whisk until smooth and thickened.  Whisk in some cream, chopped cooked chicken, and cooked orzo.  Taste and season further if needed.  

blue skies and deers at the park

 

cookbook cleanup 72

 i think that now - or pretty soon - the cleanup is going to get harder.  i THINK i've now gotten rid of all the "easy" books that i for sure knew i wasn't going to use but was hanging on to anyway.  now it's down to the stuff that i know i like, am pretty sure i like, and the ones i haven't used yet but have convinced myself will change my life for the better.

sadly, this one fits into none of those categories, so off it goes. 

 Back on the bookshelf - 20 Donated - 51

book club 61 - feel better now by catherine roscoe barr

 2025-61

 

in the bin 6

 Hello, and welcome to episode 6 of in the bin, where I share with you any and all assorted products I've used up or discarded recently.  

 

Blueberry Apple Bran Muffins

 

 

 

1 cup bran

1 cup milk

2 TB maple syrup 

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

 1/3 cup brown sugar

1 apple grated, unpeeled

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen 

 

Preheat oven to 375.  Add bran, milk and maple syrup to a mixing bowl, stir and let sit 10 minutes.  Mix the oil, egg, brown sugar and apple  into the bran until combined.  Stir in the flour, baking power, soda and salt and mix.  Gently stir in the blueberries.

Divide between 12 muffin cups and bake 15-18 minutes. 

book club 60 - holly by stephen king - DNF

 2025-60

 

every child matters

 

what's new? not much.

 i recently completed another trip around the sun, and the more trips i have, the more neutral i become of them.  i know people my age who are still so excited for their birthday every year, but all i want is a quiet day with my family and to not have to cook.

i honestly could not tell you the last time i cooked anything interesting or fun.  it's all basic and boring, and no one cares much.  this year has been a draining year, and i haven't enjoyed much of it.  

we've been to the farmers market a few times this year, which has been nice.  i even made it to a couple of wednesday markets too.

 

  we got out to DeMille's in Salmon Arm, which was alright.  

we haven't got out to Desert Hills or Davison Orchard this fall. FALL already!  Dark at 7:30!  Dark in the morning!  Maybe that is why i am interested in pumpkin spice, a new feeling for me....

 

speaking of pumpkin spice, i highly recommend pumpkin spice cream cheese.  a big hit with the family.

 i bought some heirloom tomatos and tiny plums at the wednesday market, and we made brushetta with tiny plums on the side.

 

last weeks sunday brunch was croissants and muffins and meat and cheese and fruit and my moms potato leek soup.

if you get a chance to try the pickle foccacia from Brynn's Bakery - DO IT! 

 

cookbook clean up 67- 71

Here are 5 more books that are hitting the road, for no other reason than this is not the home for them, and that is ok.  i think sometimes i am hesitant to get rid of some books because i have spent the money on them.  but years later, the money has been spent and all i am left with is a book i don't have interest in sitting on my shelf taking up room.  what's the point?  let's let it go.

 

 

Back on the bookshelf - 20 Donated - 51

cookbook clean up 66 and 2 changes on the list

 

i want everything to be free of clutter - my bookcase, my house, my head.  and so tough - and easy - decisions have to be made.  some tough ones include to stop burying my head in the sand and hope my health improves without me actually taking responsibility (hasn't worked so far) and choosing creative activities over doom-scrolling at night.  or coming to terms with the fact that i have entirely too many cookbooks and i am never going to cook out of all of them, nor do i actually WANT to cook out of some of them.  i don't know why i feel a weird obligation to hang on to some of the books that i have, but i do and i'm trying to get over it.

case in point - the 3 chrissy teigen books i have.  i have not reached for any of these since i cooked out of them for the cleanup (from books 2 and 3) and i don't see it happening in the future either.  she isn't someone i know, or like, or admire, so why am i hanging on to them?

so cravings is out, and it's taking the other 2 that were previously in the kept pile, with them.

  Back on the bookshelf - 20 Donated - 46

book club 59 - king of ashes by s.a. cosby

 2025-59