Sunday Smiles - Frogs

 Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

Reusable Swedish Dishcloths

 

A friend gave us one of these reusable Swedish dishcloths to try.  It sounds like a good thing.

Friday Art - Reposting my self portrait

 

Welcome to Friday Art!  I am reposting my self portrait ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2")  to join Nicole's self portrait challenge today

( draw yourself from any age).

Here is my photo that I drew it from (maybe under 6 months) :

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

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - 'Crescent Moon' art theme and Green Tomato Soup

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's 'Crescent Moon' theme.  This is my waxing Crescent Moon ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") acrylic on canvas.

 

For the Dinner Date, I made a green tomato soup using un ripened tomatoes from the garden.  I had picked them just before there was the first frost warning.  I tastes just like tomato soup, if you don't mind the green colour.

Here is the recipe I found.  I used a can of chicken broth and a can of water instead of the one cup the recipe said.  I also used spinach leaves instead of kale. I also added a teaspoon of sugar to counteract the tartness.

Wednesday Memes

 

Steak for baby

 We made a well done flank steak as pictured for Grandson C when they were visiting.  The thing is we had tried a piece of rib steak days earlier and he seemed to like that more but it seemed to break off more easily which is not good for babies.  Well done flank is generally quite tough. It was not a success.

Kale Smoothie

 I made a bunch of kale smoothies for the family using my trusty recipe.  My friend S had given me a lot of kale and it lasts a long time. Here's my recipe:

1 cup of shredded kale

1 banana

1/4c milk

1/2 c flavoured yogurt

4 cubes of ice

blend into a smoothie.  

Sunday Smiles - The Congo River

 Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

In yesterday's post on unsalted baby food I should have mentioned my own kids got baby food from jars as I was a busy working mother. Iris' comment triggered that memory.  

Pureed unsalted baby food

 

I was making a ground beef dish (with onions, garlic, celery, carrots, tomatoes) a few weeks ago when daughter L spent some time here with Grandson C.  I decided to not add any salt or salty sauces to the dish and when it was done, we set a cup of it aside for C.  Then I finished off our portion by adding salt, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce.  Then we pureed C's portion in a blender and daughter L froze portions for  him in an ice tray as pictured above.  He was able to enjoy his ground beef puree for several dinners.

The next day I roasted some trout and set one fillet aside which I made with no added salt.  Then we pureed and froze C's portion. We also did roasted cauliflower.

C's food tasted fine, it made us think maybe we don't need salt in our own dishes all the time.

Friday Art - Pink Dahlia

 Welcome to Friday Art!  I am showing a Pink Dahlia Face (ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") outlined with a finepoint marker, coloured in with watercolour pencils.  A photo of it showed up on my screensaver.

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

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - 'Hanging Out'' art theme and Sardine Pate

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's 'Hanging Out' 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 2 different sardine pates.  The pink one is a Portuguese pate using a can of tomato sardines and the other uses sardines in olive oil.  I will be making these again these pates are nutritious and delicious!

Portuguese Sardine Pate

1 tin sardines in tomato sauce

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 small onion diced

1/2 tsp dried parsley

2 tbs lemon juice

salt, pepper to taste

3 tbs butter

Blend all ingredients together, serve with crackers.

Sardine Pate

1 tin sardines in olive oil (you can use sardines in water and add 2 tbs olive oil instead)

3 tbs butter

2 tbs olive oil (if your sardines were packed in water)

1 boiled egg

1/2 small onion

1 tsp olives, pickles or capers

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs lemon juice

Blend all ingredients together, serve with crackers.

 

Wednesday Memes

 

Kale soup with pinto beans

 

My friend S had just come from her sister's farm and brought me all this fresh kale.

I made this kale soup with pinto beans and it used 6 cups of kale, a win-win.  I used this recipe, substituting 2 cans of pinto beans. I decided not to blend any of the soup, it tastes delicious as is.

Christening

 

Grandson C was baptised into the Catholic faith in late October and we had a big party at a sushi restaurant to celebrate after the ceremony.  I made some balloon weights using soup cans as pictured to anchor a couple of helium balloons for decoration. He wore the same white lace christening gown my kids wore when they were christened.  It was made by husband M's mom.

Sunday Smiles - Reading to Dogs

 Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

Heating Pad

 My physiotherapist recommended I get a heating pad and use it on my shoulder for 15 minutes before doing my exercises.  He said it will relax the muscles.  He told me to put an ice pack on it after but I haven't tried that.  I can see us using this heating pad for neck, back, knees, and other muscles, it is so comforting!  It was $25 on Amazon.  

Friday Art - Owl and a Scare

 Welcome to Friday Art!  This cute owl showed up on my laptop screensaver and I decided to sketch him for you today. It is an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in watercolour pencil.

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

Well I had a scare on Nov 6 when I went for a routine physical. The doctor found a 1 cm lump in my left breast. She ordered a mammogram and breast ultrasound. The clinic was able to do the ultrasound that same day but that mammograms were booked up to March/April. I would be put on a waiting list unless they found something.

On Nov 10 they called to schedule my mammogram that day. Was I scared.  I sent an email to my doctor yesterday (Nov 13) asking what would be my next steps after getting the results.  They replied that same afternoon saying the ultrasound and mammogram results were normal!

We celebrated with a nice dinner.

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date "Pumpkin Pie" Art Theme and Chicken with Green Chili Pepper Stir Fry

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's Pumpkin Pie art theme! This is my pumpkin pie ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").

 

For the Dinner date, my neighbour had brought over these spicy green chili peppers last month.  I decided to try them in a chicken stir fry dish.  I sliced and de-seeded 4 of them.  The dish was delicious and the peppers are not fiery hot, just fine for us.

4 green chili peppers de-seeded and thinly sliced

2 c cooked chicken pieces

2 onions sliced

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp salt

3-4 tbs canola oil

Saute chillies, onions in oil. When softened, add salt and soy sauces.  Mix in the cooked meat and you are done!

I actually had some leftover baked chicken, I pulled the meat of the bones and set it aside. Then I sliced the peppers and some onions.

Wednesday Memes

 

Front Door Mat

Remembrance Day 2025

 Thank you for your service.

Broccoli Soup

 I made some roasted  broccoli soup similar to my roasted cauliflower soup recipe.  It was good.

Sunday Smiles - Owl's Eyes

 Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

Hot Peppers from their Garden

 Earlier in October, my neighbour brought over these peppers from his garden with a warning they are a bit hot, maybe not as hot as the smaller chili peppers but to be careful.  It is always fun when they bring vegetables over.  Google lens says they are green Cubanelle peppers. But they do have a slight heat unlike cubanelles.

Friday Art - My Self Portrait

 

Welcome to Friday Art!  I am sharing my self portrait with you today ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in pencil.

This is for Nicole's self portrait challenge where you can show your face from any age.  I must be under 6 months here.

This is the photo I drew it from:

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

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - 'November Rain' art theme and Home Baked Fries

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's 'November Rain' theme! Here is my ACEO (2 1/2' x 3 1/2") acrylic on canvas.

 

 For the dinner date, my sister gave me this recipe from one of her cookbooks for home baked fries.

Peel the potatoes, leave a few strips of skin on. Cut into 1/3" strips, sit in cold lightly salted water for 1 hour.

Drain potatoes, dry well on kitchen towels.  I used paper towels. Spray baking sheet with floured cooking spray, you can find Pam baking no-stick cooking spray.  Do not use parchment paper.  I didn't use the floured spray and my fries stuck to the tray.  You could probably just lightly oil and flour the pan if you don't have cooking spray.

Place the dried potatoes on the sprayed and floured baking sheet.  Season with olive oil, salt (maybe 1/4 tsp), pepper and herbs.  Bake at 400F for 40-50 min. Rotate the pan halfway through baking, stir the potatoes occasionally.  Done when golden brown.

Wednesday Memes