I Again Attempt To Make Curry Like My Mom

Ingredients:
1 small onion
1 apple ( I used Spartan. I think I should've used Golden Delicious )
Pinch of salt
Pork ( I used fresh. It's better with cooked meat re-heated but ultimately I want to make it w/Tofu)
2 teaspoons  Sharwood's Mild Curry Powder
2-3 teaspoons flour
Approx 1 cup water
Handful of raisins
Juice of half a lemon
Basmati Rice


It is the best one I've made but still nowhere near as good as Mom's.  I didn't peel the apple and I should have as the skin was tough. I didn't let it sit & continue cooking long enough once I'd added the raisins. If I had, they would have absorbed more water and been softer.

It was better than previous attempts and with time and practice I'm sure it'll improve.  I do want to make it vegetarian and use tofu but I have to become more knowledgeable about to cook with tofu.

Here was the prep in photos.

Because I Love Him

On my way home from work tonight, I stopped at a Loblaws

uptown as they carry a crazy hot sauce that Adam loves.

Before I left work, Adam sent me a message to pick up a few
other things as he wanted to make Spaghetti for dinner.

I got home at 6:10pm, tired and hungry.

I forgot his effing hot sauce!

I've noticed it more since I turned 43 but it all started

in my 40's, I forget things.

Vocabulary.

Dates.

Song Lyrics.

Trivia.

Besides vocabulary, my ability to pull random

useless shit out of my brain was all I had going for myself!

When Adam realized that I wasn't joking, he looked at

me as though I killed a bunny right there in front

of him with my bare hands.

I put my keys back in my pocket & went

all the way back uptown.

They were on sale for $2.68

I bought 8 bottles.

Before I could take this photo, he'd cracked one open.

 

I find this stuff stinky & revolting, but

he loves it & I love him.

An added bonus was that upon my return, 

dinner was served.

A Promise

I've made a promise to myself to take better care of me.

This morning, I did not have time to prepare breakfast

so, along with my double double I ordered

a berry oatmeal.

It tastes great ergo it can't be healthy.

I'm convinced Tims add cocaine to all their 

products to get us hooked.

Thing is, another part of my promise to myself was to stop spending

my hard earned money on things I can make myself at home for less. 

So, coffee....you will become a treat

and oatmeal, I'll only see you when I'm running late!

Apples

It's apple picking time.

I love going to the orchards & reaching up to the branches

to select the perfect apple.

My favourite are Spartan and Russets.

I don't normally like MacIntosh, but right off the tree,

they're like butter.

We don't have a car so I looked online with the transit systems

available and one farm, up in Uxbridge would take me

2 hours & 34 minutes one way.

To drive it, 32 minutes.

That really pisses me off.

There is another one in North Brampton,

http://www.orchalawfarms.com/

that we usually go to.

I'll have to check out my transit time on that one.

My only other option, if we don't get up to the Orchards will be

to go to http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/

I'm sure they'll have some fresh local apples

and it's only a 20 minute subway ride.

Homemade Apple Sauce is calling me.

Big Chunks of tasty apple with cinnamon.

I'm hungry.

I Scream, Crockett Screams, We All Scream...

Today was just one of those days that ice cream was mandatory.

A nice cool creamy heavenly vanilla.

Crockett goes mental for ice cream.

I don't know why.

It doesn't matter if it is in a bowl or a cone.

I've tried to hide it, but he just knows.

Magical Pug super powers.

It's also a reason why I no longer eat chocolate ice cream.

Vanilla or vanilla laced with butterscotch or caramel.

Has to be Pug safe!

I'll even dig ice cream out of an ice cream sandwich for him.

No chocolate.

We once had a dog named Sheba.

She was a cheeky monkey.

Crazy smart.

She was a Daschund mixed with what looked like a Lab.

We also had Candy, a beautiful Boxer Chow mix.

( I'm getting teary thinking about my doggies of days gone by....)

My parents & I made the mistake of going out & leaving a box of wrapped

Brandy Beans under the Christmas tree.

We got home to wrapping and ripped cardboard everywhere and Sheba

having had ingested way too much chocolate

and way too much hard liquor.

Then again, there is no such thing as too much...it should be none!

Seriously, scary and bizarre.

Sheba was none the worse off and after her buzz wore off,

she was back to her intelligent lovely dogness.

Our other dog Candy just looked at us with an expression on her face of,

" It wasn't me!"

Since then, no dog gets chocolate, gets near

chocolate or even sniffs chocolate.

I wish I'd had my camera tonight to film Crockett

going mental.

I'm quite sure there'll be a few more ice cream

treats before summers end to catch on film & post!

Tasty

I love Avocado and I love Tomato.

Put them together, add a pinch of salt &

some Edamame mix from the salad

bar at Loblaws and voilà, a perfect dinner.

I just have to eat slower.

I eat too fast.

This really is tasty.

Pizza Loving Pug

We are a family that enjoys a good pizza.

Any kind, it doesn't matter if we order it in,

make it ourselves or have a store bought one.

Crockett also loves pizza.

Tonight, we had this PC pizza from Loblaws.

It was really really tasty & was on sale for $5.

I would absolutely buy it again.

Crockett doesn't get alot of people food.

Maybe a tiny taste of meat.

But pizza makes him nuts.

When I make it he stays at my feet

and barks and barks and barks.

He's not even a dog that barks alot and he certainly isn't yappy.

Tonight, he went on a funny pizza rant.

Delicious Sunday Dessert

Two yummy thumbs up.

My $3.00 PC Butter Tart Square Mix,

Butter & 2 Eggs are

absolutely tasty good.

Cutting the butter into the crust mix.

Cooked crust - 10 mins @ 350

Filling - with raisins

In the oven 30 mins @ 350

Fresh out of the oven - smells wonderful

TAH DAH!!!!  Really really tasty.



Brown Socks

What started out a foggy morning ended up a beautiful sunny day.

After taking Crockett for his Saturday morning walk,

we ran all our errands and did our groceries so

that tomorrow we can relax.

When we were getting our shopping bags together, I started to mumble

to Adam about how he didn't fold them  right.  He brought up

my Love List that I wrote to him yesterday and said that

whenever I get flustered with him he's going to refer to the list.

 I threatened writing a list of the things that annoy me and his response

was, " There are two things I hate about you.  One I can't remember

and the other is when you call me, I answer, then you don't say anything."

Too funny. I'll take that that is all he hates about me!!!!

We'd just missed a bus so we had a nice sit & chat in the sun.

I noticed that my brown socks didn't really match my cords or my black shoes.

Luckily my pants cover them when I stand up.

Comfort over fashion.

We had a good shop today.

With the holiday season approaching, alot of the specialty items

are making their way to the shelves.

PC has increased the selection of their private label goods.

I picked up these 2 packages of squares:

Butter Tart Squares

Lemon Squares

I think I'm going to make the Butter Tart ones tomorrow.

They are really basic. All I have to do is add butter, eggs and water. 

 We'll see how they turn out.



Moment of Irresponsibility

This evening, we have succumbed to our craving and have

thrown responsibility out the window!

We are going nuts and throwing $40 of our weekly grocery

budget to get Chinese Take Out.

Growing up we'd order take out from Chow's on Dorval Avenue.

Dinner for One #4 with 3 extra Egg Rolls.

It was $17 and it fed our family of 4 perfectly.

I haven't found a decent Egg Roll since moving to Ontario,

but also had never had a Spring Roll while I lived in Quebec.

$40 probably doesn't sound like much.

Alot of folks drop that kind of money on dinner

more than 3 times a week without thinking about it.

We used to be that way. A long time ago. Not anymore.

Now that we are a one income family, we have a budget.
I work really hard and if once in a blue moon I  need
a treat, then so be it, I deserve it!

Sometimes those Mandarin Spring Rolls just call my name

and there is nothing else I can eat that satisfies.

I have tried some of the frozen Asian dishes from the Supermarket.

They're ok but just not the same and they sometimes are too salty.

Plus, it is cheaper to have it delivered than it is is to go to the restaurant.

Now the fun part is trying to decide what to have with my Spring Roll!!

Hopefully we get good fortunes in our cookies tonight!

Fortune Cookies -  photo from The Mandarin Take Out Menu.



The Thanksgiving Turkey That Wasn't

I went to visit my parents yesterday for Thanksgiving.

The weather was absolutely beautiful.

The Subway/Bus ride there was nice - I read my book.

The Turkey my Mom bought was not huge, it was medium/small, but

really a perfect size for two senior citizens, a transitioning vegetarian and enough

to bring some home for Adam to have a Turkey Sandwich.

We figured it'd need just under 2 hours to cook & sit.

Along with the Turkey, I learned how to and made homemade stuffing.

It was to go nicely with the Mashed Potato, steamed Carrots and Broccoli and

Cranberry Sauce.

A few times as we were making muffins before putting in the

Turkey we looked at it and commented on how small it was.

Like maybe it was too young to have been killed.

I asked my mom to cut off the bum flap.

She said it was the neck, but it was on the wrong end.

Again, we commented how odd this all was. 

We put it in the oven.

When it came out as scheduled, there was ALOT of drippings.

My Mom cut into it & said,  " This isn't cooked. "

I got up & looked at it & the meat looked reddish grey.

That's when my Mom said, " It's a Duck! "

I bent down & smelled it and agreed, " It's a Duck! "

Eeeeeeeeeewwwwwww.
It was a cute little Duck bum flap, not a neck!

There is a park with a stream near my parents place where
we go to watch & feed the Ducks.

We don't eat Ducks!

Of all days to have not taken my camera with me!

So, we needed a protein to go with our Feast of Thanks.

We made Scrambled Eggs!

They went very nicley with the Cranberry Sauce.

Our feast ended with delicious Pumpkin Pie & fresh Whipped Cream.

Needless to day, my Mom is going to go back to Loblaws and share this tale and

tell them they labelled Ducks as Turkeys.  I wonder how many phone calls/visits they'll get.

I felt sad for the Duck.

It was born, fed, slaughtered, plucked, shipped, packaged, cooked

and then thrown down a garbage chute.

I'd never thrown away a whole cooked bird/duck like that before.

It felt like it deserved a burial. I was sad.

It was yet another nudge from the Universe telling me that my

choice/goal to ultimately not eat meat is a good one for me.

I am Thankful for many things this year. Mostly that my Mom

has a great sense of humor and that although our meal didn't

turn out as planned, I still had a lovely day with my parents.

I am also full of Gratitude and am Thankful that although Adam

didn't spend the day with us, I came home to a clean spotless apartmet.

He'd spent the day cleaning & tidying - knowing that this would
make me happy and it did. It really did.

Today, we will have our own Thanksgiving......more Pumpkin Pie!

I'm a lucky girl for a bunch of reasons & I really don't need Thanksgiving day to remember them all.

Just What I Needed



On Friday night, I slept better than I have in weeks.

I was at my Mom's.

My Dad was away so I spent the weekend with her.

When there, my Mommy hearing turns off.

I don't have kids, but I do have Mommy hearing.

The phone rang early Saturday morning and I didn't even hear it!

If you've seen the movie Mother with Albert Brooks, I, like Albert's character, cannot spend any time with my Mother at her home without my Brother calling her at least once a day.

The way in which I have chosen to deal with my dysfunctional sibling relationship is to not deal with my dysfunctional sibling relationship.

I have an excellent argument/life case study in regards to Nature vs. Nurture.

At home in the city, any small noise wakes me up.

Any movement by Adam or Crockett in the night and I check to make sure they're ok.

Tap is dripping, I hear it. Guy in the apt above tinkles in the night, I hear it.

When I'm sleeping within 20 feet of my Mom...magic slumber.

I ran some errands for my Mom on Saturday.

The sky was creepy and beautiful.

Believe it or not, it didn't rain.

Saturday night we had Lamb Curry for dinner. 
We discussed why it's good to be a vegetarian, and how awful it is to eat a cute little lamb.
My mother said it was especially difficult when she was in England to eat Lamb and then on the way home from the Pub, see them all grazing on the hills.
I will admit, it was a good meal and one I would only eat if prepared by my Mother.
I have never purchased and cooked Lamb myself. Couldn't do it.

My Mom making Lamb Curry
At home, I am a Pescetarian on my journey to becoming a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian.
It is a process and I accept that, until I am fully transitioned and eating a full well balanced vegetarian diet, I will on occasion, eat meat.



Bits 'n Pieces

I couldn't decide what to have for dinner tonight so I had classic bits 'n pieces:

Dill & Lemon Tuna

Avocado

Cheese

Grape Tomatoes

Flaxseed Crackers

and eggs that were being hardboiled as I shot this picture.



I'm going to make some lazy muffins tonight - Quaker Honey Bran.

Lazy because all I have to do is just add water.

I have an issue with Breakfast during the week. I don't have it.

 A large Tim's Double Double doesn't a complete Breakfast make.

It's because I am up and out of the house so early, I just can't eat at 6am.

I've tried taking different things for breakfast but unless I eat them as

soon as I get in, I get into the work groove and forget about eating.

By the time I remember, the yogurt is warm and is on my *I'm crazy I can't eat warm yogurt* list.

  

My Muffin Mix & Adam's open boxes of cereal.

 I'm going to make the muffins and stick them in the freezer.

I'll grab one on the way out in the morning and hope it's defrosted by the time I get to the office.

 If this works, I'll look up some good healthy muffin recipes to make from scratch.

Something with blueberries, lemon and cranberries.

A Little Bit Nuts

I am a little bit nuts about certain foods.

Eggs

 I cut off & take out the umbilical cords - always.

If they smell "off" they go in the trash.

If the egg white is too thick or cloudy they go in the trash.

Milk

I won't drink it within a few days of the expiry date.

I smell it before I pour it

If we buy the 3 bags vs. a carton & Adam loses the expiry date tag, I won't drink it.

Bread

I won't eat it within a few days of the expiry date.

If Adam hasn't closed the bag properly & if it's not airtight, I won't eat it.

If it has been on the counter in the sun & looks sweaty, forget about it.

Cheese

If it hasn't been wrapped airtight, I won't eat it.

Cereal

If the inner bag isn't folded down & airtight, um...nope.

If it's been openned for more than a month, not gonna happen.

Yogurt

I really only like the Fruit On The Bottom style. Texture thing.

If there is too much of the watery stuff on top....I need to drain it.

Chocolate Bars

Have to unwrap & check for bug skeletons.

Chocolate Covered Raisins

They look like chocolate covered houseflys

Hot Dog Buns

Need to separate all the buns before eating.

Thanks to a News bit where a mouse was baked right in & stuck between 2 buns.

Strawberries

Thanks to that link from Adam's Dad, I'm terrified of Strawberry Bugs

Meat & Poultry

One of the reasons I've decided to go Vegetarian is I cannot deal with taking meat off the bone. Tendons, veins, fatty things.....Gross Anatomy 101.

Fish

Must be de-boned & filet'd....no faces.

Leftovers

What is this? Leftovers? I think not.

Flour/Corn Startch/Baking Soda/Baking Powder/Sugar

Check it first for mouse hair.

I remember my Mom telling me once that to pass inspection, flour could

have 10 mouse hairs per bag....or something like that.

Peanut Butter

Sorta like toothpaste, I like to have my own jar.

Only buy small containers & must be eaten within a few weeks once openned.

Jam

Same as Peanut Butter.

Salad Dressing

Same as Peanut Butter, except I don't mind sharing.

Canned Food

I don't buy dented tins

Jars

I can't eat anything in a jar that has its contents on the outside of the jar openning or if it is sticky.

Finally, I will NEVER eat in the dark.

Here is something that, taking the above into consideration

might seem odd. I have no problem buying "No Name" brands.

Look at the labels, they are manufactured & packaged in the same

factories as the name brands. I'm neurotic, not stupid.

Nor am I rich or can afford to throw away perfectly good food.

I was tired tonight so I was lazy & had Tuna Melts for dinner.

The expiry date on the can is 2013.  That is 3 years.

I will now search the shelves for cans with a 3 year window.

Because I know I will think;

" Well, it expires in 2011. That means it could've  been on this shelf 2 years already."

POST NOTE:
I just went to make a cup of tea at work, but the little containers of milk expired 08/31/10.
When I sighed & walked away sans tea, a colleague told me I was mental, " It's just 2 days past."

Saturday Update

They didn`t match the photo on the box and I was nervous as I added blueberries, so I made scrambled eggs just in case. No need, the pancakes were great!

My plan for a lazy Saturday was based on the weather report.

It was overcast with only little hints of blue sky. Today was not hot, but the air was wet.

It was the kind of day where any movement feels like you are wearing ankle & wrist weights.

I was in a dessert recipe mood and don`t own any dessert cookbooks, so I poked around online & found this: http://www.robertsplace.ca/

My Avocados aren`t ripe so they`ll have to wait to tomorrow or Monday.

The movie choices were Adam`s:

Lethal Weapon & Lethal Weapon 2