Olive and Celery Salad

 This is Valerie Bertinelli's olive and celery salad recipe that I made recently.  I added some oregano to the dressing.  The salad had a very refreshing taste.  One of my sisters said she had seen something similar using fennel in place of the celery, something I would try.  Here is the recipe:

1 jar of roasted red peppers

1 romaine heart

1 1/2 c pitted olives

4 celery ribs thinly sliced

3 tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tbs white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Mix red peppers, romaine, olives and celery together. Whisk the olive oil, salt, pepper, white wine vinegar and oregano together. Add the dressing just before serving.

Charred Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower Steaks

 Jan at the Low Carb Diabetic shared this recipe for parmesan crusted cauliflower steaks.  This is my rather charred version.  I may try it on lower heat next time, however it tasted fine, delicious in fact.

Paint Party Friday - Cozy Cabin

 Here is a cozy cabin ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") that I am showing for Paint Party Friday.  It is done in Sharpie oil paint markers and Alcohol Ink markers on blue poster paper cut to size.  I was inspired by a photo I saw on Instagram featuring a cabin snowed under like this at Mount Assiniboine Lodge in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Mysterious and Dark

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date!  The theme is 'Mysterious and Dark'.  Here is my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol ink and a white PITT artist pen on purple poster paper cut to size.

A Fun Meme and follow up on 'Where is Bernie'

I got this one from Pam's blog:

 

 Here is an interesting article, it tells you everything you want to know about menstrual discs.  There are reusable and disposable versions.  The author of the article seems to like them.  Daughter L says she will pass on these.  Were  you aware of this product?

This photo zooms in on my 'Where is Bernie' post of a few days ago.  I thought maybe Elizabeth and others would like to see this.

Presumed Consent

I had to laugh at this one:

 

 Daughter L's friend sent her this interesting news article on 'presumed consent' organ donation.  This is being implemented in the province of Nova Scotia in Canada.  'The legislation isn’t without controversy' according to the article and as you can imagine.  

Where is Bernie?

Can you enlarge and find Bernie in this photo?  I will leave the solution in the comments.

Bernie Sanders recently went viral in a meme spreading over the internet since the US Inauguration.

Oeufs Plats Jambon Fromage

 One of my sisters gave me this recipe for 'Oeufs Plats Jambon Fromage' which she had in Seattle, Washington on a trip there with her daughter.  It is a simple and delicious dish, I think it translates to 'fried eggs with ham and cheese'.  According to the article, it is also a dish made at a famous wine bar in Paris.

A Year in Pixels

 P & P Style shared a year in pixels on her blog.  It is her free downloadable calendar where you colour in your mood for the day based on the suggested colours for your feelings that day.  I thought it was a great idea and hope to do this all year.  Do stop by and get your pixel calendar.  It can be used for any year.

Paint Party Friday - Winter Rose

 Showing my Winter Rose ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") for Paint Party Friday today!

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Board Games and Game Night

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date 'Board Games and Game Night' theme!  This is my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol ink markers on poster paper cut to size.

New CPR Steps

 They have changed the CPR steps in light of Covid as pictured above. It was from a local newsletter in my city.  Call emergency, ensure you and/or the person is wearing a face covering, perform hands only CPR and wait for help.

My Mac and Cheese Pie

I found an old recipe of my late mother's and was inspired to make a version of it.  She put a sliced tomato in hers.  Making a cheese sauce is always a challenge for me as I get impatient.  You have to add the milk a little at a time and it will thicken nicely as you stir.  Of course anything with a lot of cheese tastes delicious.  Here is my recipe:

2 1/2c elbow macaroni

2 c  milk

1 tbs flour 

1 tbs butter

2 c cheddar cheese

2 handfuls grated cheese

1 tbs butter cut up,  to dot over the pie

1 tomato sliced

1/4c breadcrumbs

Cook macaroni in salted water.

Melt 1 tbs butter in a medium saucepan, mix in 1 tbs flour.  GRADUALLY add milk  a little at a time.

The roux will thicken in about 8 mins as you stir.

Add cheese and stir till melted, add tomato.

Line a  9 inch pan with parchment paper, add macaroni,

pour cheese sauce and mix in.

Sprinkle 2 handfuls of grated cheese over top.

Then prinkle breadcrumbs over top, then dot with butter

Bake at 325F for 20 mins, check at intervals to make sure it is not burning, it should just be nicely browned on top.

Time for some memes

I will go with pumpkin pie as my favourite dessert in the 2nd meme below, although I tend to avoid pies these days.

 

My split pea soup

 The English Kitchen recently posted a recipe for English Pea Soup and I decided to make my own split pea soup as pictured above.  I don't find it necessary to soak my peas beforehand.

Here is my recipe (sooo delicious):

1 1/3 c split peas

2 tbs butter

2 cloves garlic minced

1 onion chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried parsley

2 tbs fresh dill chopped (or whatever herb you choose)

7 1/2 c water

1 bouillon cube (I use Maggi brand)

1/2 tsp red pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 c chopped ham (I used half a 340g can)

3 tbs olive oil

In a large pot, saute onions, celery, carrots, in olive oil and butter. add garlic,

then add split peas, water, bouillon cube, ham, bay leaf, parsley, dill, red pepper, black pepper

bring to a boil and simmer 1 hour.

The Ladybower Reservoir Plughole

The Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire England showed up one day on my laptop screensaver.  Click on this link to see the one of its curious giant plugholes.  'the drains were designed to regulate water levels in the reservoir by letting out water when the reservoir became full after prolonged wet spells.'  They also create hydroelectric energy.  If you were to fall in (not advised) water drains into a river but there is a grille down there that would trap you and you would have to be rescued.

Paint Party Friday - Cubism

 Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This Cubism inspired piece on coloured cardstock (8 1/2" x 11") is based on an antique bronze water vessel.  It looks at the vessel from different angles.  I incorporated stippling, cross-hatching and shading techniques using a Pentel colour brush.  It needs to be more abstract, but it was fun learning more about cubism last month.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Birds and the Sky

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date's 'Birds and Sky' challenge.  I did a Blue Jay with wings unfurled. Isn't nature wonderful?

Tibetan Proverb

 I thought this Meme would be good to post for some New Year inspiration, such good advice don't you think?  I will work on 'eating half'.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and yesterday's quiz

 I have some roasted sweet potatoes to show  you today.  They were peeled, chopped into pieces and seasoned with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dill, salt, pepper, minced onions and garlic.  It is then baked at 350F for 30 mins until softened.

They are low glycemic, a great alternative to potatoes and go well with meat dishes.  They were so good with my steak.

Regarding yesterday's quiz, the answer I eventually ended up with was 10.  In the last line, the time on the clock face changed as did the number of chocolate chips on the last cookie.  And there is a multiplication sign at the end of that equation.  So 2+ 1 + (1 x 7) = 10.  Multiplication has to be done first then addition according to the order of operations (PEMDAS).  These quizzes get me every time.

Fun Quiz

 Here is another of those fun quizzes I keep seeing.  There is always a trick in them, give it a try.  I always miss something.  

Oh the Snacks

 I am sharing some of the snacks I have been enjoying over the holidays.  We received the cheese sticks in a gift basket and they were really good, so crunchy and cheesy.  Then we got these dates enrobed in dark chocolate which are also delicious.  Those tiny chocolates are each 70 calories however.  I have always enjoyed nougats so I had to try these assorted ones and they were so good.  

Once a week I weigh myself to try to keep the pounds in check.  It doesn't completely solve the problem but it helps to keep me accountable.

On Hair Colour

 One of my sisters wants to start dyeing her hair and she asked me what brand of hair colouring I use.  I told her my regular brand is L'Oreal but my friend S gave me 4 packages of the Garnier brand as her husband had decided to stop dyeing his hair.  As far as I can tell they seem to be pretty much the same, the Garnier brand is less expensive.  Then another sister discovered the L'Oreal owns Garnier.    

So I will switch to the Garnier brand, why not?

Paint Party Friday -Cubism ACEO

 This is a Cubism inspired ACEO I am showing for Paint Party Friday.  It was one of a few pieces I did last year when  Rain's Thursday Art Date had a Cubism challenge.  It was interesting to learn more about how cubism looks at things from different angles.  This piece is based on an antique bronze water vessel.  It needs to be more abstract but I had fun with it anyway. 

Rain's Thursday Art Date - A Facial Feature

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date.  Her theme this week is 'A Facial Feature'.  I thought I would do a pretty eye.

Three Cheese Dumplings

 My sister in California was making Three Cheese Ravioli the other day.  She has a pasta machine.  I remembered I had a package of 40 Chinese dumpling wrappers in my refrigerator.  I was not about to make my own pasta.  So I had the idea to make the three cheese filling and wrap them in the dumpling wrappers, Chinese/Italian fusion food I suppose!  The dumplings were delicious.  I had a bit of cheese filling left over so  I stuffed a red pepper with it and baked it for 20 minutes.  It tasted like a crustless pizza!

Here is the Three Cheese Ravioli recipe if you want to see how the filling is made.

My Cabbage, Carrot and Celery Stir Fry

I was very happy with my latest vegetable stir fry.  Finally I decided to use the grater attachment on my food processor and it makes all the difference with getting a cabbage into bite sized pieces.  Another tip is getting the sauce just right.  Here is my recipe:

1/2 cabbage grated

2 carrots grated

2-3 stalks of celery chopped 

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 onion chopped

3-4 tbs canola oil

sauce (mix all the ingredients below):

2 tbs light soy sauce

1 tbs dark soy sauce 

1/4c oyster sauce

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp chili oil (optional or can use your favourite hot sauce)

1 tsp sugar

1/2c water

1 tsp cornstarch

Instructions:

Heat canola oil in a large saute pan.  Add onions, celery.  Once tender, add garlic.  Then add all the grated vegetables.  Stir for about 3 minutes then add the sauce.  Mix the vegetables with the sauce.  Cover and simmer for 9 more minutes.  Enjoy your vegetables!

 

After Eight Brownies

 I got this recipe via The English Kitchen.  If you like After Eights these brownies are to die for!

Here are my measurements

1 c unsalted butter

1 c dark chocolate squares

1 c granulated sugar

4 eggs

1c white flour

1/2c cocoa

1c After Eights broken into rough quarters

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300F

line a 9" x 9" baking pan with parchment paper

in a small glass mixing bowl, melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave for about 2 minutes and mix the butter and chocolate together

In a large mixing bowl, whisk sugar and eggs together until mixture is thickened

stir in melted chocolate and butter

mix in flour and cocoa 

Mix in 2/3 of the After Eights 

Pour into the baking pan and bake for 15-17 minutes

Brownies are ready when the edges come away from the pan.

Top with remaining after eights and bake for 2 more minutes

Leave the brownies in the pan and cool completely.  I cut them into 16 delicious squares and some can be frozen if you are not eating them all right away.

Carrot Ginger Japanese Dressing

 Daughter L whipped up this Carrot Ginger Japanese Dressing over the holidays and it was delicious!

My January 2021 Calendar Page

 Happy New Year!

I am sharing  my January calendar page with you today.  The quote I chose:

"January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow." - Sara Coleridge.

Paint Party Friday - Happy New Year 2021

 Happy New Year and welcome to Paint Party Friday!  This is my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") done in alcohol ink markers and Sharpie oil paint markers, outlined with a PITT pen.