merry merry - and this is my 2,500th post

 

grocery shop - costco december 8

 

breakfast wraps, pretzel crisps, tortilla chips, 2 3 packs of bread, milk, pot roast, mango juice, pretzels, ginger ale, cheerios, napkins, apple pie, 2 pairs of shoes, pico, pineapple, grapes, pierogis, butter

$390 

book club 75 - the once and future witches by alix e harrow

 2025-75

 

reading watching listening loving eating

 reading - as of this very moment, i am between books!  i spent a lovely couple of hours reading last night, and have not picked my next book yet.

watching - The first episodes of Season 5 of Stranger Things.  So far I am not a fan.

listening - when i'm working i listen to green noise playlists - nature sounds, water and rain, ocean, birds.  when i'm in the car it's been acoustic 70's and 80's music.  when i'm in the car with The Girl, it's K-Pop Demon Hunters.

loving - reminding myself that every day we get one day closer to spring, warm weather, and green again

 eating - lots of yogurt because my children begged me to buy a giant pack of yogurt from Costco and now won't eat it - maybe later, they say.  Why do they do this to me.

Healthyish No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

 

This is one of the best snack/treats that I made this year - no bake peanut butter chocolate bars.

Made with just 4 ingredients - almond or oat flour, peanut butter, maple syrup or honey, and chocolate, they are sweet and satisfying.

cookbook clean up 73

 It's time to say goodbye to another (and maybe my last) Guy Fieri cookbook.  We have cooked a few really good recipes from Guy over the years.  But as mentioned before, his recipes are just too much - too many ingredients, too long to prepare, too much for a weekday dinner - for us.

 So bye bye to Guy on Fire, and I hope you find a lovely new home.

We tried the basic sweet pancakes, which were fine, and the pizza dough - which is a very very good recipe - but for me not worth keeping the whole book.  

Side note - I did not realized that I started to cull my cookbook collection back in 2019.  6 years and still not done????  We better speed this thing up in 2026. 

book club 74 - shark heart - a love story by emily habeck

 2025-74

 

roasted veggie soup

 

i've had 2 squashes staring at me from the kitchen counter for a couple of months now, so on a cool foggy saturday i decided to turn the kabocha squash into soup.  i hacked it into pieces, tossed them with avocado oil and salt, and roasted them for about 30 minutes at 400.  Then i added some other veg i had laying around - carrots, some wrinkly tomatos, red bell peppers, and a red onion, all too chopped and tossed with avocado oil and salt - and roasted them for another 30 minutes.  Once they were done, I made some broth with water and chicken and tomato bouillon and pureed the veg with some of the broth, poured it in with the rest of the broth, and simmered for a few minutes.  Not to brag, but I had seasoned the veg perfectly, so we didn't need to adjust the seasonings at all.  I was considering adding some coconut milk, but it was just so good we had it as is, with grilled cheese sandwiches in front of the tv for a cozy dinner.  

yam tacos at senior froggy's

 

i love yams, i love tacos, so when i saw the yam taco special, i had to try it.  2 tacos filled with lightly breaded deep fried yams, cabbage, onions, tomato, and a sweet and spicy chipolte sauce.  delicious.

book club 73 - a slow fire burning by paula hawkins

 2025-73

 

book club 72 - the madman's daughter by megan shepherd

 2025-72

 

book club 71 - a witches guide to magical innkeeping by sangu mandanna

 2025-71

 

my moms cheesecake recipe

 

crust

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

mix and press into an 8" pie plate

filling

soften an 8 oz package of cream cheese.  beat until fluffy.  gradually blend in 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 TB lemon juice, 1/2 tsp vanilla and a dash of salt.  add 2 eggs, one at a time.

pour filling into crust.  bake at 325' until set - 25-30 minutes.

topping

combine 1 cup sour cream, 2 TB sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla.  spread over pie.  bake 10 minutes longer.

cool and then chill in the fridge. 

book club 70 - slewfoot by brom

 2025-70

 

donair dude

 

Donair Dude opened up this fall in downtown Kamloops.  I visited them 3 times in November.  I am a fan.

The store is larger than it appears from outside, and is bright and cheerful.  The staff are all lovely.

 If you are getting your food to go, which I have each time, they seal it shut for you.  So yes my picture might not look the most appetizing, but believe me, it's delicious.  All 3 times I got the same thing - the small plate with falafel, which comes with rice and potatos and 2 sauces.  the last 2 times i added tabbouleh.

If you are downtown, check them out! 

 

in the bin 7

  Hello, and welcome to episode 7 of in the bin, where I share with you any and all assorted products I've used up or discarded recently.  

 

book club 69 - lies and weddings by kevin kwan

 2025-69

 

grocery shop - costco november 24

 

yogurt, chimichangas, chicken fried rice, cheese, protein drinks, eggs, socks x 2, organic bags, butter, maple syrup, tortilla chips, roto chicken, grapes, blueberries, cauliflower, granola bars, pico, mayo, vitamins, oranges, apples

$283 

book club 68 - the change by kirsten miller

 2025-68

 

if i could put time in a bottle.......

 my sweet baby boy turned 16.....where does the time go......

reading watching listening loving eating

 

 reading  - panic reading once and future wishes before i have to return it to the online library

 

watching  - bosch, just starting season 3

 

listening  - to the handsome podcast.

loving  - our new couch and the fuzzy blanket i stole from the girl.  there is NOTHING like coming home from work and curling up on a comfy couch under a soft blanket.

eating - nothing exciting.  i am recovering from the stomach flu so there has been a lot of yogurt, toast and tea.

book club 67 - the serviceberry by robin wall kimmerer

 2025-67

 

book club 66 - open season by cj box

 2025-66

 

my moms fudge recipe

 

5 minute fudge

2 Tb butter

1 small can evaporated milk (2/3 cup)

1 2/3 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups mini marshmallows

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

toppings (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.  Stir vigorously until all melted.  Pour into a buttered 8" can and decorate if desired.  Cool and cut into squares.

bran muffins for one

 i have a friend who complains that whenever she bakes anything for her family, it's gone usually the next day; sometimes the very same day.  i seem to have the opposite problem.  i bake and no one in my family cares.  i made these raisin bran muffins based on this recipe, and ended up having to freeze them because i was the only one eating them, and how many can i eat in a day.  

pickles in process from aloha kitchen

 

i made a full dinner from Aloha Kitchen last weekend - mac salad, shoyu chicken and pickles.

10/10 

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