Ebates and some new recipes

I decided to  join the Ebates community after reading about it in  Moneysense magazine to which I subscribe. According to Moneysense, it works as it says it does, you shop online at stores on their site and every quarter they mail you a cheque, a certain percentage of what you bought.  They have just launched in Canada after being in the US for 13 years.

Having said that, I'm not a big online shopper, but I've noticed the young people do a lot of that these days. I read in the newspaper that online shopping is on the rise in Canada, it may be a trend, something that is being embraced for the convenience of it! At any rate, I'm a member of Ebates now. This is their US website. 

I tried some simple recipes on the weekend that I found on Pinterest and quite enjoyed them.  The first is an egg drop soup .  Here is my interpretation of the recipe:

1 inch of fresh ginger, sliced
1 stalk of green onion thinly sliced
1 tsp corn starch
2 eggs
4 cups of low sodium chicken broth

In a small bowl combine cornstarch with 1/4 cup of broth.
In a large saucepan bring remaining broth, ginger to a boil.
Slowly drizzle 2 whisked eggs into the broth. It will cook instantly. Whisk cornstarch into the mixture.  Now depending on how 'low sodium' your brand of broth is, you may have to add salt to taste.

Makes about 4 servings


I also tried potatoes roasted in chicken broth and garlic from Kayotic Kitchen. The potatoes have a soft, yet roasted taste.  I marinated the peeled, whole medium potatoes in olive oil, garlic salt, thyme, onion powder and a squirt of lime juice.  Then I put them in a small baking dish, covered with an inch of low sodium chicken broth and baked uncovered at 350F for 45 minutes.

I might add that it's dangerous to go looking through the food section on Pinterest, you end up making and eating too much!

Free online university courses

I was reading Moneysense magazine of which I am a current subscriber.  It mentioned that there are a number of respected universities (University of Toronto, Stanford, Princeton) offering free online courses.  I've heard about this before, but judging from this 6 month old article, it is VERY popular.  The internet is providing the world with all sorts of wonderful possibilities.  Were you aware of this new trend?

According to the article, the internet is changing education.  A generation of students have grown up online.  This kind of education will also appeal to older learners and retirees.  They are already figuring out how to administer exams and connect to job opportunities.  Wow, it's a brave new world!


An interesting fact I have to share is that No Name generic low sodium chicken broth has about 10 percent more sodium than Campbell's low sodium chicken broth. I discovered this by accident, you really have to check your nutrition labels.

Good for her

My husband M said he saw this senior lady on the subway the other day, over 60 years old.  She had her Samsung Galaxy smart phone in hand, dug out her tablet, attached her earphones, got some biscuits out and started playing a movie.  Before long she was smiling and enjoying herself, and people thought it was so cute!  Good for her!

I made a beef outside round roast recently using a recipe for roasting less tender cuts. I just season the meat with my favourite spices (onion, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, ketchup, worcestershire sauce) then I add beef or chicken stock to a depth of about 1" and roast at 325F for 1.5 to 2 hours.  I don't even bother with browning the meat first and I add my seasonings right into the baking pan lined with parchment paper. It was delicious with some mushroom gravy made from a pack of mushrooms and the drippings.  Less tender cuts of beef tend to be leaner, and healthier.

World's Happiest Countries

One freezing morning last week K and I heard a radio contest where a contestant has to decide to keep going through different vaults in order to win money.  The maximum pot of winnings is
$10, 000.  At the 5th vault the woman had climbed up to over $2000.  It was getting so exciting.  It went to about 9 vaults and she ended up winning the $10,000!  It doesn't happen often but we couldn't help but admire her sense of adventure and pure courage to keep going on, gambling at its finest!  I would've given up at $2000.  What an uplifting way to start the morning!  Then they started playing one of my favourite songs on the radio by Bon Jovi, (who says you can't go home? )  Do you have days like that which start off on the right note?

A friend sent me this article on the world's happiest countries,  I'd love to visit them all. Well, Canada's on the list and I've been to Switzerland.  What countries are on your bucket list?

My son K sent me this pretty instagram photo he took on the beach when we were in Jamaica.

Sunday Sketches - My Framed Art

For Sunday Sketches, I'd like to share some of my recent art that I framed.  They will be housewarming gifts to a friend. They have a similar colour scheme so I thought they would make a nice set.

Kitchen Witch

Borrowing from Wikipedia, I printed this card to go with the good witch:

 Here is the other painting:

Winter Sunset

A beef blade roast

I made a blade roast in the oven the other day.  I usually make more tender cuts of beef in the oven, but I decided to try this cut of blade roast I bought.   I knew it had to be simmered in stock somehow and I found a simple recipe on the internet.  After roasting at a low temperature (325F) for a couple of hours, there it was, tender and juicy.  I made a gravy with the leftover broth in the pan.  The leftovers were also good for sandwiches the next day.  If you are a meat eater, have you tried roasting less tender cuts of meat?

My son K sent me this pretty instagram photo he took on the beach while we were on a trip to Jamaica.

Paint Party Friday - Another Kitchen Witch

Last week at Sunday Sketches, I had a watercolour sketch which I refined into this version. I put her against a sunset background, acrylic on cardstock (6.5" x 4.5").

According to Wikipedia, So that those unfamiliar with the kitchen witch can understand its meaning, sometimes a note will be hung around the witch's neck stating something similar to:

"The Legendary Secret of Goof-Proof Cooking: The Famous Kitchen Witch
For centuries, Norwegians have hung this good witch in their kitchen. They believe she has the power to keep roasts from burning, pots from boiling over, and sauces from spilling."

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

Google Glass

Have you heard about Google Glass?  One of my sisters mentioned it to me yesterday. It sounds like Smart Phone glasses that you wear. There are competitors out there as this is not really a  new product.  It sounds a bit cumbersome at this point, but it's hard to say which new technologies will become a success. Apparently there will be lots of new apps developed for this product. Do you like this idea?

It's time once again for Winterlicious in the city.  From January 25 - February 7 many restaurants offer special prix fixe lunches and dinners so you can try their menus.  We have planned to go to a couple of  restaurants with friends where we will take advantage of the prix fixe menus.  

My son K is in the middle of exam week. He sent me this beautiful instagram photo he took on the beach at our recent trip to Jamaica, isn't it a pretty shot?

A break in the weather

   Laurie mentioned that Canada was the coldest place on the planet this past  Friday.  No wonder we were all shivering and in hibernation mode!  There was a break in the weather on the Saturday.  M, K and I decided to splurge and have brunch at Panera Bread. I had the new ham and gruyere breakfast sandwich as pictured:

Panera Bread Ham and Gruyere

All too soon it went cold again.

We've been eating cake this week. K was complaining there's no 'good' food in the house lately, such as cake and potato chips (right!)  M decided to go out and buy some chips and cake. We decided to get a white 'birthday cake' type of cake with frosting, all decorated. M had them write 'College Bound' on it. K was tickled pink. He even asked for a rosebud on his first slice. Well, let's hope College becomes a reality anyway! I asked M why he had to buy 3 bags of salty chips. He said it was a special when you bought 3 bags! What could I say, lol.

Creative Tuesdays - Lighthouse

Here is my 'Lighthouse' entry into the latest Creative Tuesdays theme. It's acrylic on cardstock (6.5" x 4.5").  I've seen beautiful photos with giant waves crashing around the lighthouse, but settled on a more simple sunset background.  I was going to do a red and white lighthouse then decided it looked better here in silhouette.

Please drop by the other participants, the theme runs until January 29th!

Suspicious, don't you think?

I was checking my email and saw this note in my junk mail from Fedex couriers telling me that  my package was shipped but no one was home.  It asked me to click on this link to print my claim receipt.  It gave dates of order and delivery.  Coincidentally, I am expecting a package so I almost printed the receipt.  Then I thought twice, went back to my actual order and realized  the order dates were different and it was a different courier.  That was a close one.  In any case, if a delivery is missed we usually get an actual notice stuck on our front door.  Suspicious, don't you think?

I've managed to find the perfect frame for one  of my recent paintings.  It will be part of a gift for a friend.  The frame is matted and fits the (4.5" x 6.5") cardstock perfectly! I found this informative article with advice on framing and matting your artwork.  I haven't gone too wrong here.

Sunday Sketches - Kitchen Witch

I decided to  do a kitchen witch this week.  I was thinking of housewarming gifts for a friend and thought of kitchen witches.  She is meant to bring good luck to the home. I may re-do this one in acrylic perhaps with more crone-like features.  This one is done using watercolour pencils on cardstock (6.5" x 4.5").

Linking to Sunday Sketches.

Banana Clafouti Part 2

I made a Banana Clafouti from a recipe I found recently and was not disappointed.  It was quick and easy and everyone liked it.  It's like a custard and with 4 eggs, what's not to like?  I decided to make it after Gigi made it and said it was easy.

A friend of a friend is having her whole family do a DNA test to see what diseases they might one day get. A kit costs $99 here. Would you do one of these? At this point, I'm not ready.

Paint Party Friday - Winter Sunset

I decided to do a sunset theme with an orange wash for the sun's radiating rays. I went with silhouetted branches with a bit of sparkle from the sun. It's acrylic on cardstock (4.5" x 6.5").  I'm pleased with the way this one turned out.

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

Banana Clafouti

I found a nice recipe for banana clafouti that I might try. It's from the Registered Dietitians at Dairy Farmers of Canada. It does call for 4 eggs, but then it must be good!

I took my mom to the doctor's yesterday to renew some prescriptions. It seems the geriatric doctor that she sees is off on sick leave until April! I happened to call to see when her next appointment was. It was supposed to be at the end of January. He's a busy guy to begin with. We're to see the family doctor if medications are required in the meantime. The family doctor is guessing it must be something like a knee injury, nothing too serious. My mom says the geriatric doctor is on the younger side, tall and athletic looking. Our family doctor says he caught the flu in December but got a mild version. He thinks having the flu shot might have diminished his symptoms. Have you, will you have your flu shot?

I had been at the gym earlier on and mentioned to a new friend that I'd be missing my aerobics class due to this doctor's appointment. He said I'm a good daughter and I would see true fulfillment from this as it's something worthwhile, or words to that effect. He seems to be an encouraging, optimistic sort of person. He's out of a job at the moment and trying to network as much as possible to find a new job. His two children are almost finished with their schooling and fortunately his wife is working.

The Irish Millionaire

I just have a cute joke for you today. Enjoy!

Ah, the Irish are so logical!


The  Irish Millionaire

Mick, from Dublin , appeared on 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire'
and toward the end of the program had already won 500,000 pounds.

"You've done very well so far," said Chris Tarrant, the show's presenter,
"but for a million pounds, you've got only one life-line left, phone a friend.
Everything is riding on this question. Will you go for it?"
"Sure," said Mick. "I'll have a go!"

"Which of the following birds does NOT build its own nest?
a)  Sparrow

b)  Thrush,
 
c)  Magpie,

d)  Cuckoo?"

“I haven't got a clue." said Mick,
“So I'll use me last lifeline and phone my friend Paddy back home in Dublin ."

Mick called up his mate Paddy,
and told him the circumstances and repeated the question to him.

"Fookin’ hell, Mick!" cried Paddy. "Dat's simple -  it's a cuckoo."
"Are you sure?"
"I’m fookin’ sure."
Mick hung up the phone and told Chris, "I'll go with cuckoo as me answer."
"Is that your final answer?" asked Chris.
"Dat it is."

There was a long, long pause and then the presenter screamed,
"Cuckoo is the correct answer! Mick, you've won 1 million pounds!"
The  next night, Mick invited Paddy to their local pub to buy him a drink.
"Tell me, Paddy?  How in Heaven's name did you know it was da Cuckoo
that doesn't build its own nest?"

"Because he lives in a Fookin’ clock !!!"


 

Latest Food Experience

Ipad order system

My daughter L was telling me about a new food experience at a Sushi Bar. She was able to order from their Ipad menu on their provided Ipads!  Then the order is brought out to you.  Well, she thought it was neat, but I think I prefer to have someone else taking my order for now!  It's kind of like checking your own food out at the grocery store I would imagine.

I had my annual eye exam with the opthalmologist yesterday.  The small cataract in my right eye is stable and he says not  to worry, I may never need surgery and if I do, it's nothing to be afraid of.  I love the confident, competent manner of some of these surgeons, puts me right at ease!  He also did an eye pressure (glaucoma) test which went fine.  He has started colouring his hair now, he is middle-aged.  I've been going there for 15 years now.

His assistant was chatting about ever present smartphones nowadays.  She must be nearing retirement.  My old Blackberry had gone 'ping', likely K sending me a text.  We lamented that it's hard for older adults to keep up with these devices and it's so easy for the kids.  Her husband had downloaded his Facebook friends list or something to his new Samsung Galaxy phone and subsequently lost a whole bunch of contacts on Facebook itself.  I think that's what she was saying.  Then her daughter managed to recover everything.

I went back to the waiting room and decided to tell a caregiver that her coat had the buttons misaligned.  Earlier on she had brought a much older man in using his walker and I had noticed something amiss with her wardrobe.  At first I thought it was the style but then ...

This is a cute test if you are in the mood to try one!  I scored 6 out of 11 but my friend says I'm smarter than that, that I must have been rushing!

How Smart Are You?

Macarons

We met some good friends for dinner this past weekend and they brought us some yummy macaron desserts. We usually get together before Christmas but weren't able to this year.  Have you had these desserts before?  They are to die for!  I had never had one before but it made me think of Luxemburgerli by Confiseri Sprungli which I sampled in Zurich, Switzerland many years ago.  It must have been similar, but I had forgotten.

Magazine Inspiration

I saw this woman in a newspaper or magazine Ad last month and quickly sketched her on a post-it note. I digitally changed the colour of her eyeglasses to make her a bit different from the ad.

Linking to Sunday Sketches.

Latest Addiction

We're having unseasonably mild weather in Toronto as it snows in the Middle East!  It's not a good thing, but we'll enjoy it while it lasts!

My son K and my latest addiction is 'A and W' onion rings. At first I thought they were too salty, then I read they are freshly battered and fried up when you order them. I guess it depends what batch you get because the second batch we bought was totally delicious!

'A and W' Onion Rings

It's stressful for the next few weeks as K has final exams for the semester and a big summative project to hand in worth 10% of his mark. Regarding the provincial teacher's strike, they were legislated back to work but their union has been threatening illegal walkouts much to the parents' dismay.

Tax time is looming, have you bought your tax software yet?

The Cat

I was inspired by a photo I saw on a Tumblr blog. It could have been a black leopard. I changed the colour to avoid copying it outright. It's done in watercolour pencils on cardstock (4.5" x 6.5").

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

This Guy Flirting With My Mom

I saw this jar cake at the airport recently. It was about $7, I didn't buy it but I'd never seen one before.  How's that for a treat to go?

Jar Cake

I took my mom for a routine blood test a couple of days ago.  She had been fasting, so we went to McDonald's for a quick meal afterward.  This older guy sitting next to her was trying to chat her up while I was at the cashier.  I come back and he complains 'She's not talking to me'.  I asked him if he was retired.  He says 'For 10 years now.  I'm waiting on the Casino bus, it comes in 20 minutes'.  I told him mom used to go to the Casino.  He says to her ' You should come with me, I'll take you'. Then he shows me his cane, his sight is impaired but he said he can read large letters.  He lives in the neighbourhood.    He took a liking to mom, being of the same age group I guess.  He was  tall with a slight European accent.  Mom said she doesn't talk to strangers.  She has a bit of memory loss as she approaches 75 years old and is sometimes not her usual friendly self, what can I say! My siblings had a good laugh when I told them this story.

The Vacation

Mango Daquiri

On our recent vacation, my favourite drink at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa was a virgin mango daquiri. I had one a day, mindful of the calories. We ate a lot but I didn't gain more than say half a pound!

We had a pleasant flight over to Jamaica on Westjet airlines. The plane held about 75 people, 40 of whom were young people attending a wedding at a resort. One of the couples sat next to me. Apparently the bride's plane earlier that day was delayed 4 hours due to bad weather. 

Upon arrival at our hotel, we were upgraded to ocean front rooms as they were full to capacity at this time of year! This vacation just kept getting better. The beds were so comfortable and the rooms were so spacious!

The Beach

The next morning we reserved our sit down dinners at the three specialty restaurants on the property, Three Palms Caribbean Cuisine, the Seafood Grille, and an Italian restaurant. These restaurants have a fine dining dress code. There is also a casual buffet restaurant called Fresh.

The resort has a decent beach, waterpark with slides (which I did eventually try) and a lazy river, tennis courts, gym, a spa, a fabulous golf course and is walking distance to the infamous Rose Hall Great House. You get free shuttle rides to a nearby shopping mall, and to the Great House.

We decided to book a peaceful tour down the Martha Brae river on bamboo rafts. The sales representative told us the bride I spoke of earlier ended up losing her luggage and passport, perhaps the effect of too much alcohol!

Raftman Wilkie on the Martha Brae River

On our raft ride down the river, we saw blue herons and local foliage. I learned that banana and plantain trees only live about 6 months and die soon after they bear fruit. They have to be replanted.Our raftman Wilkie happened to mention that Jamaica has a new TV show called 'Rising Stars' which is like American Idol where hopefuls vie for a recording contract. He said that the rafting business is getting a lot of competition from newer attractions such as the zipline rides and the bobsled ride. Most of their business comes from the cruise ships. However there are 90 raftsmen competing for shifts. They make and sell crafts on the side to supplement their income. In fact we bought a couple of carved calabash (bottle gourd) containers from him for about $20, not because we wanted them, but to support him. They are actually his art and he signed them for us. Then we spent another $15 buying a calabash from L and K's raftsman! I was a bit surprised when Wilkie's cell phone went off on the raft. It seemed out of place with the environment! I asked if they had many seniors on the raft. He said they do lift quite a few from their wheelchairs into the raft and then back onto shore. It's a very quiet, peaceful ride and the water's very blue and clear. We were lucky to have an hour and a half ride. Apparently when the water is 30 or 40 feet deep in the spring, the ride is only 45 minutes.  We were  given life jackets to wear.

One day we went up to the Rose Hall Great House to have a tour of the restored 300 year old mansion. It is said to be haunted by a White Witch known as Annie Palmer who killed 3 husbands and a number of slave lovers. The grounds used to be a sugar plantation that had 2000 African slaves.

Rose Hall Great House

Annie Palmer's Bedroom

One morning M and I walked through the scenic 18 hole Cinnamon Hill Golf Course on the resort. It took 2 hours. We went uphill, downhill, past waterfalls, ruins of Roman aqueducts, past fruit trees bearing tropical fruit such as ackees, breadfruit, naseberries, oranges, coconuts and bananas.

Banana Tree

Naseberry Tree

Breadfruit Tree

Ackee Tree (National Fruit)

We loved our dinner at the Three Palms restaurant. The service was great too. So we booked another night there. This time we ate outside under the night stars next to the flower bushes on the raised terrace. It was wonderful and about 28C with a light breeze.  Oh it's called Three Palms because the lore is that Annie Palmer's three husbands are buried under three of the palm trees outside the restaurant.

Another night we dined at the Seaside Grille. It's an outdoor restaurant by the beach. Talk about ambience: 28C, a light breeze, the sound of the ocean, a cruiseship glowing in the distance and dinner music playing in the background.

The Italian restaurant is all indoors. I did like/love my shrimp scampi but L didn't like her lasagna and M's pork loin was overcooked. However, his previous course of a chicken pasta dish was very good.

Based on our experience, I would recommend this family resort, super clean, beautiful property.  The employees looked happy. We all had a great time.  Keep in mind that it's a family resort, so it was noisy outside our second floor room but that didn't bother us.  There might be more quiet rooms facing the golf course.   I saw a few grandparents there with their kids and grandkids.  There seemed to be a lot of repeat customers.

Creative Tuesdays - Birthday Something

Please visit the other talented Creative Tuesdays participants through to January 15th!

For Creative Tuesdays' 'Birthday Something theme' I thought back to one of my favourite birthdays.  I was 5 or 7 years old and my mom made me a Cinderella birthday cake, complete with pumpkin carriage sidecakes!  She stuck a doll down the centre of the cake and it looked something like this, I think (watercolour on cardstock 4.5" x 6.5", outlined with a fine point marker) :

I'm Back!

We spent a wonderful week in Montego Bay Jamaica at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa. I would recommend this hotel, it's a beautiful family resort with a wonderful ambience! L is back at school now and so is K.   Happy New Year 2013!

Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa