Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Tomato and Endive Salad with Tuna

The only thing I have changed in this recipe is that I use balsamic dressing.

Tomato and Endive Salad with Tuna


Curly endive, tomatoes and tuna with a mustard-garlic vinaigrette.
2 servings
Preparation 10 min 
Cooking 5 min
370 calories per serving 

Ingredients

1 3/4 cupcurly endive, torn 70 g
1tomatoes, cut into wedges or slices120 g
2 tbspolive oil 30 mL
1 clovegarlic, minced 
1/2 tbspwine vinegar 8 mL
1 tspDijon mustard5 mL
1 pinchsalt [optional] 0.1 g
 ground pepper to taste  
170 gtuna, canned 
6black olives 2 1/2 tbsp
60 gfeta cheese, diced 

Method

  1. Tear the lettuce leaves into bite-size pieces and put them in a salad bowl. Cut the tomatoes into wedges or slices, then add them to the bowl.
  2. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Mince the garlic and add it to the pan. Cook 1 min, withstirring, then pour in the vinegar and mustard. Warm through and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad, then add the tuna, olives, and Feta cheese. Toss well and serve.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Recipe - Chinese-Style Beef with Snow Peas

Recipe - Chinese-Style Beef with Snow Peas

Chinese-Style Beef with Snow Peas


2 servings
Marinade 1 h 
Preparation 10 min
 
Cooking 20 min
370 calories per serving 

Ingredients

200 gbeef strip loin, or rib eye , cut into 1 cm strips 
2 tbspsoy sauce, low-sodium 30 mL
2 tbspsherry [optional] 30 mL
2 tbspcornstarch 16 g
2 tspsugar8 g
4 slicesgingerroot, cut into thin slices6 g
1onions, coarsely chopped200 g
1green peppers, cut into thin strips150 g
2 clovesgarlic, minced or pressed 
1 cupsnow peas 100 g
3 tbspcanola oil45 mL
1 pinchsalt [optional] 0.1 g
 ground pepper to taste  

Before you start

You will need a wok or frying pan.

Put the serving dish in the oven at the lowest setting to keep the vegetables warm while the meat cooks.

Method

  1. Slice the meat into strips ½ to 1 cm wide and about 5 cm long. Mix with the soy sauce, sherry (optional), cornstarch, sugar, and 2-3 slices of ginger. Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator.
  2. Preheat the oven to the lowest setting.
  3. Prepare the vegetables. Coarsely chop the onion, thinly slice the pepper, and mince or press the garlic. Keep the snow peas whole. Cut 2-3 more slices of ginger.
  4. Heat ½ to 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying-pan or wok. Add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper, cook 2-3 min until they start to soften, then set aside on the warmed serving plate in the oven.
  5. Turn up the heat and add ½ to 1 tablespoon of oil. First add some salt, then immediately add the snow peas.Stir constantly for 2-3 min since they cook very quickly (the colour should stay dark green). Put the snow peas on the plate with the other vegetables. Keep the plate warm.
  6. In the same wok, add the remaining oil and the marinated meat. Reserve the remaining marinade. Stir constantly over medium heat 5-7 min until the meat is almost cooked. Put the vegetables back into the wok, add the new slices of ginger plus the reserved marinade. Cook another 2 min. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Monday, September 28, 2015

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) ~ m

A while back I took a "quiz" on Facebook to determine how many of the top 250 movies of all time. I had actually seen. I scored 100 out of the 250 movies that were listed. If I was unsure about seeing a movie I didn't check it off so my score could possibly be much higher.

And then I started thinking that perhaps instead of binge watching old TV series I should binge watch movies. I decided just to take on the top 100 movies for a starter. Now I'm very sure I am going to agree with quite a few of the entries on this list but I already know I'm going to argue about a few as well.

So here is #38 of the top 100 Movies of all time according to IMDB:

To Kill a Mockingbird(1962)

This is a great movie.  Gregory Peck did a fantastic job of portraying Atticus Finch, a southern lawyer, who is raising his children and trying to live an honourable life.  The movie begins sharing the idyllic life in the south of gentility and kindness.  When Atticus must defend an innocent black man who has been accused of raping a white woman, the lawyer and his family begin to feel the ugliness and hate that lay beneath the veneer of southern gentility. 

Based on a book by the same name, this movie does a decent job of representing the author's intent.  As my grandson commented, after reluctantly reading the book for school and then watching the movie with me, the book is better than the movie.  But that's pretty normal, isn't it?





Academy Awards, USA 1963

Won
Oscar
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Gregory Peck 
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Horton Foote
Horton Foote was not present at the awards ceremony. Alan J. Pakula, the film's producer, accepted ... More
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White
Alexander Golitzen
Henry Bumstead
Oliver Emert 
Nominated
Oscar
Best Picture
Alan J. Pakula 
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Mary Badham 
Best Director
Robert Mulligan 
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Russell Harlan 
Best Music, Score - Substantially Original
Elmer Bernstein 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Your Week

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014

Today's Writing Prompt: Your Week

How's your week going so far?


My week has had some great moments . . . especially our trip to Kingston.  But its been a kind of yucky week as well.  I'm sure I probably overdid it on the weekend because I've hardly accomplished a thing since.  My house is rapidly becoming a disaster and I've not made much of a dent in any of my projects.  I think I may just go with this feeling and continue to take it easy until this feeling passes.

Squash and Leek Soup and Thank You SOSCUISINE

For quite a while I have been subscribed to a menu planning service called Soscuisine.  It costs less than $10 a month and they do all the work for you . . . except for the actual cooking.  They focus on fresh, locally foods where possible.  They count the calories and the carbs and whatever else you need them to count.  This service even produces your weekly shopping list for you.  I can't rave about it enough.  Check it out.

Today's lunch menu was for Squash and Leek Soup, an egg salad wrap and a glass of milk.  The soup tasted even better than it smelled . . . and it smelled pretty great . . . 

Squash and Leek Soup [L.S.]


4 servings
Preparation 10 min 
Cooking 1 h 10 min
110 calories per serving 

Ingredients

1/2butternut squash500 g
2 tspcanola oil, to toast the seeds10 mL
1leeks, white and light green parts only 300 g
1 clovegarlic, minced 
1 tbspbutter, unsalted14 g
3 cupschicken broth, low-sodium750 mL
1 pinchsalt [optional] 0.1 g
 ground pepper to taste  

Before you start

blender or food processor will be very useful to purée the soup.

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
  2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, remove but keep the seeds. Place the halves on a baking sheet, cut side down. Bake about 45-50 min until soft. Alternatively, cook each halve separately in a microwave oven: Place each halve in a bowl, partially covered, then cook at high intensity about 8 min for each halve. Let the halves cool down, carve out the pulp and dice it into 1,5 cm cubes. Set the cubes aside.
  3. Clean the seeds by removing the threads, dry them with a paper towel and place them on a baking sheet. Add the oil and salt, mix well and bake until golden, about 20 min, with occasional stirring.
  4. In the meantime, prepare the leek. Keep the white and light green parts only, then slice them thin. Mince the garlic.
  5. Heat the butter in a pot over medium heat. Sauté the leek and garlic 4-5 min until translucent. Add the squash cubes and cook 2-3 min with stirring. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmerabout 20 min uncovered. Purée the soup in a blenderAdjust the seasoning.
  6. Pour the soup into serving bowls, add the baked seeds and serve.

Remarks

The soup keeps up to 7 days in the refrigerator or up to 4 months in the freezer. The baked seeds will keep up to 3 weeks at room temperature.

Recipe - Squash and Leek Soup [L.S.]

Monday, September 21, 2015

Hollandia Cookies, Mt. Brydges, ON

Every Christmas a group of our friends do our Christmas "baking" together.  Each person contributes to a fund and then Deb and I go shopping at Hollandia Cookies outlet in Mt. Brydges, picking a wide variety of their delicious cookies by the case.  I always grab a couple of honey cakes for french toast.

The cookies are divided evenly between the participants.  Christmas "baking" done.  These cookies freeze and thaw quite nicely so you will always have treats on hand for holiday visitors.






Six Word Saturday photographed on Sunday written on Monday . . .

Six Word Saturday

Describe your life or current situation using exactly six words.



Relaxing after an amazing letterboxing weekend.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Winter Wheat, Sparta ON

I've only been to Winter Wheat a few times over the years but each time I go I am overwhelmed again with how perfect it is.

"Set in the tranquil shadows of stately pine and spruce trees just south of Sparta, Ontario, Winter Wheat invites visitors to slow down and take delight in the unexpected."  (from their website)

We recently visited and there was even more to see in the woods than my last visits.

And when you get tired of wandering through the trees you can wander into the store and be absolutely amazed.












This is a miraculous place that should be visited over and over and over again.

New Things

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Today's Writing Prompt: New Things

What was the last new thing you tried, tasted, or did?

http://www.gelliarts.com/

Can I tell you something that I've just re-tried?  Gelli Plates.

I tried them for the first time at The Art House in Cambridge, ON and fell in love.  That was in February 2013.  You can see more about that amazing visit with this link.

The amazing Karen Ellis shows us how.

I may have got a little carried away . . . LOL.
I didn't buy the gelli at the time because my imagination wasn't seeing exactly everything I could do with this marvelous tool.  I recently became very very very interested in art journaling and at a recent class with the very talented Melissa at Paper Passion Studio re-discovered gelli plates.  I'm so sad for all the creating time I wasted not buying one the first time around.  As you can imagine, I now own my very own gelli plate.



Yes, greens and oranges are still my favourite colours.

The Mercantile at the Crossroads, Elmira, Ontario

I cannot believe I've never blogged about this place yet.  One of our favourite stops when we are in the Kitchener-Waterloo area is to At the Crossroads Family Restaurant in Elmira . . . but more about them another time.  

We always make sure to wander through The Mercantile at the Crossroads.  It is a fascinating shop with something special for everyone and every room in your home.  It is always an adventure wandering through.  To find out more about this store, check out this link.

These photos were taken the very first time we took Nanna and Mom for supper At the Crossroads in November 2014.  Sorry for the blurry shots.  These photos were taken with my old dying camera.





And this is Nanna's very first selfie: