book club 30 - Unf*ck Yourself by Gary John Bishop

 2023-30

 

book club 29 - Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

 2023-29

 

book club 28 - Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid -Menon

 2023-28

 

book club 27 - The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones

 2023-27

 

grocery shop - fresh co september 14

 

tostadas, rice vinegar, coconut milk, cannelloni beans, black beans, greek yogurt, cheese, rice, sausages, leeks, cheetos, milk, chips, peanut butter, coconut oil, salsa, soup, chamoy chile, blue cheese dressing, rice crispies, rice cakes, drinks for the kids, shredded coconut, masa harina, tortillas, noodle soup, pistachios, cashews

$123

gumbo

 We were cleaning out the freezer a while back and unearthed some ground chicken and turkey bones.  I was anxious to use them up as I wasn't sure how long they'd been in there and puzzled over what to do with them.  Chicken chili?  Meatball soup?  But then the best idea came - GUMBO. 

 I used Lucy Buffett's recipe as the starting point for the roux and veggies and broth quantities - using my turkey stock I made in the instant pot from the bones - and then added in chicken meatballs from the ground chicken and some leftover sausage from the fridge.  

I served rice and steamed spinach on the side, and once we had dinner, I stirred the spinach into the leftovers for me and The Mister, since the kids are anti-spinach and anti-leftovers.

It was probably the best gumbo I've made, and it DEFINITELY tasted better the next day.

The Mister suggested gumbo for Christmas Day but was shouted down by The Boy and The Grandpa, so we'll be having it New Years Day instead.  Maybe a new tradition?

Harrison BC

 This summer we went back to Harrison and had a really, really great time.  The kids loved the pools and the grocery store for snacks, and we loved how quiet and green and beautiful it was.  There wasn't enough time to do all the things we wanted, as usual, and The Mister started planning the next trip as soon as we got home.

 Our first night there we had dinner at Pho Ho, which we had eaten at on our last trip as well.  The Mister and I love Vietnamese food; we were spoiled living in Calgary for so long where it's everywhere, so we try to eat it whenever we come across a restaurant.  It was even better than last time, partially due to the fact that the kids actually wanted to try some of the food.  :)

We had breakfast every morning at Basecamp, it was SO delicious and the staff were the best.  Our last morning we got the breakfast sandwiches to go and ate them on our hotel patio, sadly saying goodbye to the water and trees (and pools).

Last trip to Harrison, we weren't able to eat at the Black Forest Restaurant as they were booked all the nights we were there.  We made a reservation this time, to make sure we got in.  The food was delicious, the service was not, but I would go back again and again.  

The absolute best meal of the trip was at Royal King Indian Restaurant.  The food was out of this world and the owners were so nice.  We ate until we were beyond full, it was all so delicious.  The Boy still talks about our dinner there almost weekly.

grocery shop - costco August 31

 

protein bars, mini banana loafs, popcorn, chips, limes, ketchup, a calendar, buns, walnuts, melon, 2 books, tomatos, salad, bagels, epsom salt, cheerios, dishwasher soap, onions, milk, granola bars, broth, breakfast burritos, spinach, cucumbers, chicken breast, prosciutto, raspberries, yogurt, butter, mousse, eggs, cheese, vitamins, queso dip, apples, olive oil, band aids, laundry soap

a jaw dropping $430

book club 26 - Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

 2023-26

 

book club 25 - The Match by Harlan Coben

 2023-25

 

book club 24 - The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

 2023-24

 

book club 23 - The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

 2023-23

 

almond butter dates

 over on the old tickety toks people are making stuffed dates, date bark, and i'm over here trying to curb my sweet tooth and eat better so I gave the stuffed dates a try.

First i made the traditional ones - smear the dates with almond butter and dip into melted chocolate.

I was trying to be frugal with the amount of chocolate I used, so I ended up with a thick drizzle and a sprinkle of some old flaky salt from the cupboard, but oh man were they good.

Neither kid would try them and The Mister politely had one, but I nibbled through them somewhat slowly.  Self control!

One afternoon everyone else was napping/gaming/out and I wanted a snack so badly.  I had 4 dates left and needed something sweet so I made myself 4 almond butter dates, but instead of going through the hassle of melting chocolate and cleaning it up, I stuck a bit of dark chocolate bark into each one and gobbled them down right quick.

garden and corn

 The Mister pruned one of our trees and while we were cutting up the branches into small pieces to fit in the car to take to the yard waste drop off, our neighbor very kindly offered to throw them and any other yard waste we had in his truck along with his stuff.  We took him up on the offer  and then went and pulled up a bunch of stuff in the garden to add to the pile

Our 2 cauliflower plants got huge, but didn't actually produce any cauliflowers, and our squash plant gave us a few yellow squashes before giving up.  The raspberries are doing poorly.  I think we need to find a new place in the yard to plant them.  We are giving the carrots more time - I'm hoping for a good harvest but realistically probably not.  We got one bug eaten cabbage, a handful of peppers and a meals worth of sprouts.  The tomatos are hanging in there - we've never had such a good year for cherry tomatos.

We bought some Chase corn this year to boil and freeze and I decided to try the boil in the husk method -boil in the husk for 5 minutes, cut off the end and the corn slides right out, with no silk on the cob.

Worked like a charm!

book club 22 - Pageboy by Elliot Page

 2023-22

 

book club 21 - Hail Mary by Andy Weir

 2023-21

 

grocery shop - a trip to the new natures fare august 16

 

coconut rolls, ramen, garlic spread, protein bars, salsa, corn tortillas, soap, flavored waters, nut butter bars, gummies

$92

cookbook cleanup 52-56 - big summer blowout part 3

 

 

 Back on the bookshelf - 20 Donated -36

cookbook cleanup 47-51 - big summer blowout part 2

 b

  Back on the bookshelf - 20 Donated -31

cookbook cleanup 42-46 - big summer blowout

 A lot of things happened this summer, including both The Mister and I having less than stellar checkups with our doctors.  The Misters was a bit of surprise, mine was not.  I have been avoiding taking care of both my mental health and physical health, and that has come to bite me in the ass.  Let this be a lesson to you - take care of yourself, you are worth it, even if you think you are not.

The day before we left for holiday I decided to stop doing laundry and packing and instead focus on what was really important - cleaning out my cookbook shelf.  

Most of these are going because having so many cookbooks makes me tired and anxious, and I wanted to get rid of that feeling.  And also, will I ever cook from most of these books again/at all?  It was a hard question because I have loved cookbooks for so long, but it just isn't realistic for me any more.

So these 5 have hit the road.  Another 5 tomorrow.

 Back on the bookshelf - 20 Donated -26