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......