Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Sandwich and Kidney Bean soup

I am on a blog break for a few weeks but decided to post this in advance since I had the painting ready.  I will catch up with  you all when I get back.

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's 'Sandwich' theme! Here is my ACEO ( 2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in watercolour pencil outlined with an acrylic marker.

For the Dinner Date I made some kidney bean soup.  It is a great way to use up leftover celery, carrots, etc.  I added a large can of kidney beans, and a can of vegetable soup with maybe 4 cups of water.  Season to taste.

Blog Break

 I will be on a blog break for a few weeks, enjoy the start of summer and take care until I return!

I have pre posted (post-dated) the June 27th Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date.

Kathy sent me a lovely summer card which I am sharing with you here! She got most of the drawings from an Etsy shop.  Oh blogger links seem to be working again.

Friday Art - Giraffe in Tanzania

 Welcome to Friday Art!  Here is my Giraffe ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") done in acrylic.  The background is Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.  I was inspired by some photos I saw.  

It's my Birthday today, a big one!

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Spirals and Spaghetti and Chicken Meatballs

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date!  The theme is 'Spirals' and here is my Octopus Tentacle inspiration.  It is an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in watercolur pencil and outlined with an acrylic marker.  Nature holds a remarkable array of patterns.

For the Dinner Date, I made some spaghetti and ground chicken meatballs.  They were delicious!

Wednesday Memes

 

Nachos

 I made some chili using Yves vegetarian ground round.  Then I made some nachos using the chili, olives, and shredded cheese as a topping for the tortilla chips. First add shredded cheese to the chips then add the chili, and olives.  Then top with more shredded cheese.  Simply bake at 400F for 10 minutes.  It is delicious.

Ube Desserts

 Daughter L got these ube (sweet potato) desserts from a friend who was in the US recently, we don't have Trader Joe's here.  I liked the pretzels a lot.  The cookies are sweeter, being cookies.

Petunias

 Daughter L went to a baby shower where they gave the guests these petunias to take home.  She asked me if I wanted to take them as she is happy with the perennials at her house where they don't need so much regular watering.  I stuck them in some of my planters and it did add a punch of colour to them.  

Almond Flour Banana Bread

 

I made this almond flour banana bread based on a recipe I found on Instagram.  Almond flour has a different texture than regular flour but it is good.

2 med bananas mashed

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c almond flour

2 eggs

1/2 c sweetener (I used a zero calorie syrup sweetener)

pre heat oven 350 F 

In a bowl mash bananas.  Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon.  Stir in eggs, vanilla, sweetener.  Fold in almond flour.  Transfer to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake 350 F 40-50 min

Friday Art - Face in the Sequoia

 Welcome to Friday Art!  This is 'Face in the Sequoia', my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 /12") in watercolour pencil.

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Bicycle and Yves Vegetarian pasta sauce

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date!  Here is my 'Bicycle' ACEO (2 1/2" x 31/2") done in acrylic marker and watercolour pencil.

For the Dinner Date, I am sharing Yves vegetarian pasta sauce with you.  You wouldn't know it is not meat.  It is soy based.  Simply crumble the package contents and reheat in pasta sauce.

Wednesday Memes

 

Freebie

 I got a free drink with purchase last week when I went to the grocery store.  It was a nice surprise.

Oops it seems this is a protein drink with warnings not to consume more than one a day and not to be taken with other similar supplements. This version is 120 calories with sugar. They have a light version with 15 calories. But protein drinks are a no no for us. 

Yves Veggie Ham

 Daughter L served this Yves Veggie Ham at a party and it was very successful.  So I decided to try it again.  It is a bit salty but acceptable.

Sunday Smiles - Sweet Summer Fruit

 The fruit at this time of year has been exceptionally sweet this year.  The blackberries are the sweetest I have ever had.  The cherries are good too, great price.

Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

Clover

 This is a patch of clover on my neighbour's lawn.  Sometimes I forget what it looks like.  My sister actually bought clover seeds to plant on her lawn for the environment.  I spend a lot of time digging it out of my lawn, hmm.  Maybe it's time to stop.

Friday Art - Moose

 Welcome to Friday Art.  Here is my 'Moose' ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Berries and Chickpea chocolate chip cookies

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date!  This is my 'Berries' ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in acrylic marker and watercolour pencil.

For the Dinner Date, I am sharing Chickpea Chocolate Chip cookies, a recipe  my daughter concocted.  They are really good considering they are chickpeas and oatmeal.

Here is her recipe:

• 3/4 cup oats (blend until powder form)
• 1 can chickpeas, washed and drained
• 1/4 c zero calorie  syrup 
• 3 tablespoons milk 
• 5 tbsp peanut butter (melted for 50 secs in microwave)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1/3 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips (or more if you like) 

Blend oats until powder forms. Add in baking powder… add in syrup, chickpeas, milk, melted peanut butter, vanilla. 

Blend until all smooth. Scrape into bowl and add choc chips. 

Put dough in fridge for 30 min (optional, but makes it less sticky). Spoon onto baking sheet. 

Bake at 350F for 15 min (or until golden edges).  My cookies took 30 minutes as they weren't as dainty looking as in her photo below.  Daughter L is a good cookie baker.

Wednesday Memes

 

The bank email

 So I got this email from the bank saying my account ending in **** has not been used in over a year and if it goes dormant there will be a cost.  My daughter got the same email with the same account number.  Unfortunately I clicked on the embedded link in the email and signed into my account to check.  You should always log in to your account on a separate bank link.

I went to the bank thinking I had been scammed although my accounts seemed to be in order.  Luckily the email was legitimate and there was no scam.  The account really does exist although it wasn't showing up in my online screen.  They closed the account and  I asked for a new debit card anyway.

I am not so trusting anymore, we all have to be observant and cautious in today's world.

Scammed

 Well daughter L finally scratched her birthday gift card that we gave her from Walmart.  Her birthday was back in April.  It had a zero balance!  We were scammed!  Their customer service says the card was used the day after purchase.  They say the card was not tampered with and that we used it.  I feel they should remove the gift cards from the open shelves they are somehow being compromised. This happens a lot these days.  I called the customer care number at the back of my credit card and they have opened a dispute case for me.  Hopefully I can get a refund after investigation but nothing is certain.  

Be careful out there! My neighbour says she gets e-gift cards but I think those can get scammed too.    

Sunday Smiles - A Fun Afternoon

Rosemary bread appetizer and Kale salad

White Sangria

Sausage and Onion Pizza

Tiramisu with gooseberry garnish

 The weather was perfect this past Friday.  Some friends came over and we walked to Main Street for lunch.  The food was delicious and we had good conversation.  It was a fun afternoon.

Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.  Her link is in my sidebar, Blogger doesn't seem to be adding links properly these days.