Lukee singing and talking about new baby...

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to Lwow, Ukraine

Cutest New Years Eve Eggs

How about these for the cutest New Years Eve eggs  with red pepper rings for breakfast??

These would be nice with toast and smoked salmon

A year later....and still half the size

Gorgeous Christmas Cactus

Babcia's cactus

Vegetarian Kielbasa for Christmas

Here' a new twist on Vegetarian foods...

Kielbasa shortbread.

How about crackers and cucumber slices?

Green and orange food colouring in shortbread.

I must admit this was a stroke og genius after making a mistake with shortbread.  I was originally going to make candy canes.  One rope red and one white...but the mistake I made was following an untried dough recipe out of a "Christmas Book", that wasn't very impressive.  The dough was too fragile and kept breaking.  So no patience from my end I just squished all the dough together and was going to chuck it.  But as I was marbelizing it I thought OMG this looks like Italian smoked sausage.  So I rolled it, chilled it, sliced it and Voila

 " Kielbasa".

Jewish Potato Latkes

Had a craving today....not much of a diet food but me and the scale aren't in sync with each other today,   so I just peeled a potato and said " I'll just have to take my chances"

Enjoy today, pay tomorrow!

 

Had to share half with the neighbors because these were just too good.....and would be too tempting to snack on.

4 Bakers potatoes grated

1 small onion grated

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

salt and pepper

Veggie oil to fry in

Grate potatoes and leave in cold water until ready for use. Cold water keeps them from turning brown. When ready squeeze the water out of potatoes and put in a bowl. Beat the eggs till frothy and pour over potatoes and onion. Sprinkle in flour and baking powder.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour enough oil  to give you 1/2 inch in the frying pan.  I heated mine to medium high (7) and found that temperature allowed me to cook all my batches to a beautiful golden brown without the oil getting dirty and needing to be changed before you're finished.  I had three full fry pans and they were beautiful latkes.  Sour cream is a must to have on these.

Dreaming about spring already

I'm already dreaming about a Cathedral Bell Vine that I want to plant next spring somewhere in my windy yard.  These are just beautiful and will grow beautifully here if you find the right sunny spot.

They grow about 4-5 feet.

A Lovely Story of Narcissus and the Lake

The Alchemist picked up a book that someone in
the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages,
he found a story about Narcissus.
The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth
who daily knelt beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty.
He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell
into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower
was born, which was called the narcissus.
But this was not how the author of the book ended the
story.
He said that when Narcissus died, the Goddesses of the
Forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh
water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.
"Why do you weep?" the Goddesses asked.
"I weep for Narcissus," the lake replied.
"Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus," they
said, "for though we always pursued him in the forest, you
alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand."
"But..... was Narcissus beautiful?" the lake asked.
"Who better than you to know that?" the Goddesses said
in wonder, "After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each
day to contemplate himself!!"
The lake was silent for some time.
Finally it said:
"I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus
was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my
banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty
reflected."
"What a lovely story," the alchemist thought.

A Lovely Story About Me

A Lovely Story About Me

One day long, long ago, there lived a beautiful woman who did not whine, nag, bitch or drink.

(That would be me.)

 

But that was a long time ago and it was just that one day.

Happy Halowe'en

The Simple pumpkin

The Diet Pumpkin....no bread

Okay a real carver pumpkin

My Oh My Chicken Pot Pie and Iyanla Vanzant

This looks like a Picasso painting

And then "Voila"

A Chicken Pot Pie

It's a shame to flute and concern yourself with the crust because once you cut into it it looks like it does before you put it into the crust.

But a good and hearty meal.

Definitely freezing this in containers for lazy days.

Way too much food for a dieter.

Served with Cranberry dressing

And then a lazy day with a good read.

My Autumn Pumpkins

The Greatest Joys

I'm the Man

Once upon a time there was a pumpkin patch.....

Easy Cabbage, Barley Soup with Ham

Cabbage, Barley and Ham Soup

A good autumn dish is soup.

3 medium potatoes diced
1 small onion diced
2-3 carrots diced
3 cloves garlic
1/3 c pot barley
4 cups chopped cabbage
1 can whole mushrooms
1 1/2 c diced ham
2 T oil or bacon fat....2 bacon slices diced
1 litre Campbell’s chicken stock

2 cups water
1/2 ground sage
2 tsp frozen chopped Italian parsley( I always have frozen on hand)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions, carrots and garlic and in oil a few minutes till onions are translucent.

Add diced bacon and remaining ingredients and simmer for about 40 minutes, until cabbage and barley are tender. I add two cups water to the litre of broth because I find it to salty by itself.  I freeze this as well, for nights when I want quick soup.o

This is also a good diet soup

on the heels of a five kilometre walk

 bringing me up to almost 

 100 kilometers in 40 days.....

and 11 pounds lighter.

Delicious Diet treat for Being Good

I'm not a great fan of chocolate.  I'm not a fan, mainly because the sweetness of chocolate hurts my teeth.  Since I  have started food control, I have new appreciations for anything that tastes good.  Anybody who thought sphaghetti squash was a treat should be able to indulge in a chocolate treat once in a while.  I just found these in Costco and thougth I would buy them as a gift. They are Crispy Belgian Chocolate Thins, and a product of Belgium.   Instead of leaving the box alone, I decided to try one. 

 Hmmmm....not bad. 

Not bad because they are thin and the sweetness doesn't kill my teeth.  Actually they are delicious.  But if you want them more delicious and considered a very special treat.....spray them with real whipped cream.  Who doesn't like chocolate anything with a glass of  milk?  Like a chocolate cookie with milk. 

Well I wanted a really special treat and this is it. 

My New Drinkin' Boots

I may not have the original Ugg, but I have new drinkin' boots.

All furlined

Wallymart..10 bucks...Michal's $4.00...

I actually wanted a black sequined heart but couldn't find one.

Chicken Fingers in Cornflake Crumbs

What a yummy coating on Chicken fingers.
A little crunchy if you like Crunch.

3 chicken breasts sliced into thin pieces
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup milk
1 cup cornflake crumbs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. poultry seasoning  (or more to taste)

Put milk in a wide bowl and put all chicken pieces into it. Fill a plastic bag with the flour and crumbs, salt and seasoning.  Put a few pieces of chicken into the bag and coat evenly with the crumb mixture. Lay the chicken pieces on a lightly oiled cookie sheet covered in foil.  When all pieces are on the pan, drizzle the melted butter over them all slowly.  Put in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with VH plum sauce.

 Delicious! 

You'll never eat store bought breaded chicken fingers again.
Keep the flour and crumb mixture made in advance and ready to go.
No fuss in preparation or cleaning and fingers are very moist on the inside.

Leather and sparkles is my new thing this month.

Love, love  sparkle and sequins.My new black leather pants and sequins to match my couch.

The sparkles from the top make my mirror look dirty.

I woulda bought the fake Uggs in black sequins but a little too unrealistic for our winters. I mean who would see the sequins in 2 feet of snow. 

Teaching our Children

And....five lessons to live by:

1. Money cannot buy happiness but it's more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.

 

2. Forgive your enemy but remember the bastard's name.

3. Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they're in trouble again.

4. Many people are alive only because it's illegal to shoot them.

 

5. Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.

Diamonds are Rocks, so put them together with Stones

Love all that  Glitters

Now if I  could afford a nice white ceramic floor this would look great.

My Favorite Chicken Salad

This has got to be my yummiest chicken salad.  I just can't add enough red grapes to this.  The dry chow mein noodles give just that little extra crunch to your meal. A glass of wine and you need nothing else.

Yummiest Chicken Salad 

 4 cooked, diced, chicken breast 

 1/2 cup dry chow mein noodles

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 tsp. curry powder

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 can sliced waterchesnuts - drained

  1 package slivered almonds

handful of diced red grapes

juice of 1 lemon( or squirt of bottled lemon)

Mix all together, except chow mein noodles.

 Chill. Add noodles just before serving

My New Craft Inspiration

Spaghetti Squash

Oh my God!  I was at the garden centre today and a lady was buying spaghetti squash.  I had no idea what this was. So we chatted and I asked how she cooked this squash. A few women exchanged different ideas from olive oil to sprinkling butter and brown sugar on it.  Hmmmm..... so I went and bought  a couple to try. Next guy in lineup is a guy and he says " I just love spaghetty squash".  So I ask him how he cooks it. He says " Just cut it in half lenghtwise, scoop out the seeds, and bake it for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Then shred it with a fork and it will look like spaghetti.  I say " Oh yeah?'.  He says: Yup , then you drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese all over it".  So,  as I am having breaded Basa tonight, I thought this would be a nice sidedish.  Wow it does shred like spaghetti and I just left it in the shell and put some diced tomatoes on it with parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and my breaded fish pieces. 

Delicious!

Potato, Leek and Cannellini Soup

Potato, Leek and Fabulous Cannellini Bean Soup

I wish I could smell this

6 red potatoes cubed

9 cups water

5 packets chicken broth (could use veggie)

1 fresh garden onion

1 cup celery

2 leeks diced

3 tbsp. mazola oil

3 tbsp. flour

1 can cannellini beans

1 cup milk

2 slices ham ( can use veggie ham too)

Boil potaoes in water and chicken broth mix until tender.  Fry onion, leeks and celery till tender in oil.  Sprinkle 3 tbsp. flour over simmered onion mixture, stir evenly  and add 1 cup of hot potato water and stir. Put onion mixture into potato pot and mix.  Add 1 cup milk and beans, and diced up ham.  Bring to a simmer for a few minutes and Voila! 

Cloudy pickles

This is what happpens to my dills when I don't process for 10 minutes, everytime. The unprocessed dills don't all seal.  Thank God I only did three jars this way. They taste really good when they are like this in the cloudy jar but you can't keep them for very long.  They have a  nice fizzy taste to them. So I guess I'll be eating dills for two weeks.

This is what 10 pounds of beets makes in beet pickles.

And this is the mess you have after.