Sugar Bush Maple Syrup Festival

Maple Butter

Maple Butter on banana cake

Daughter L was at a Sugar Bush on the weekend and brought back some Maple Butter. It is creamed maple syrup.  The sweet goodness was delicious on this banana cake that L made.

It is the time of year when the maple trees are tapped for their syrup.  Families will go to the Sugar Bush festivities held at various conservation areas and farms to enjoy pancake breakfasts, tours and wagon rides.  The maple butter is also great on pancakes by the way.

Apple Crisp

Daughter L made this apple crisp the other day.  She says she used about 4 apples, an instant oatmeal packet, coconut oil, 2 tbs maple syrup and cinnamon. 

Creative Tuesdays - Easter Egg

Welcome to Michael's Creative Tuesdays!  For the 'Easter Egg' theme,  I made a greeting card collage (5 1/2" x 4 1/4"). I used a black patterned washi tape as a background.  Then I cut the eggs from pink patterned duct tape.  I happened to have these tape supplies on hand.

If you look closely, you might see 'shadows' beneath the eggs.  In my initial version, I had drawn my egg design onto the plain cardstock and coloured it with watercolour pencils, including the shadows of the eggs.  It didn't seem to work, so I decided to cover the page with the washi tape background and start anew.  Then I noticed the original design still showed through, including the egg 'shadows'. It seems washi tape is somewhat transparent.  So I traced parchment paper stencils from the original egg design and used them to make my pink patterned eggs which I then stuck on top of the original egg sketches.  And now it all works, I think.

So I ended up stepping out of my comfort zone with this piece, who knew that would happen?  I don't normally do collages but I hate giving up on a piece.  And stepping out of one's comfort zone can be a part of what Creative Tuesdays is all about, right Michael?

Easter Monday 2016

Lindt dark salted caramel chocolate

Hope your weekend was a good one.  Sharing a favourite chocolate bar with you on the long Easter weekend. 

Sunday Sketches - Luscious Locks

Welcome to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches!  This piece is done in watercolour pencil and crayon on good quality textured cardstock (6" x 6"). 

Sriracha hot sauce

I was eating this boxed fish, Jane's lemon pepper cod. It's quite good, so I baked some up and decided to give it an extra kick with some sriracha hot chili sauce as pictured.

I just forgot how hot this sauce is, in fact about half a teaspoon is enough for me. My mouth was afire!

Paint Party Friday - Gannets

It is Good Friday, a public holiday here.  Catholics are to avoid eating red meat today, so fish is a good choice.  It is the start of the Easter long weekend.

Welcome to Kristin and Eva's Paint Party Friday.  I did a pair of Gannets based on a photo I saw in a Wildlife Magazine.  It's done in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour pencil and crayon.  They are large birds that eat a lot of fish.  If someone says you eat like a gannet it means you are a glutton!  I just learned they can be found in Canada.

With Avocado Oil

I made a simple avocado oil dressing the other day with some balsamic vinegar, himalayan pink salt and pepper.  It was good with a piece of whole grain bread.  It has a light taste and a mild flavour.

I also tried some avocado oil on toast and it was really good, just as good as butter!

On another day, I made these roasted vegetables using avocado oil, it was delicious, very light tasting.

 I also tried drizzling avocado oil onto natural unflavoured popcorn and it was light tasting and delicious!

 

Avocado oil is a healthy fat but it is expensive, so is good olive oil really, so use as a treat.

Funny

I was watching this show on TV where lottery winners search for homes.  This man won $9 million dollars when he bought a $1 ticket.  He lives with his male partner.  The heartwarming thing was that he decided to buy a house for himself and his partner for $420, 000 and one for his sister for $210,000.  He also allowed his mom to retire.  Too often people will end up losing all their winnings over time.  I think this man is smart and values his family and friends.

Lemon Garlic Herb Salmon

Daughter L made this lovely dinner one night and I told her she should save her recipes so she sent this to me. Here is her recipe word for word. What better way to preserve it than on my blog?  She didn't think the green 'breading' looked attractive but I assured her it did, the green goes well with the pinkness of the salmon I think.

lemon garlic herb salmon

Salmon with Quinoa and Zucchini

Ingredients:
1 mini pack of Snap Pea Crisps
1 tsp butter
Lemon pepper
Little salt/pepper to taste
Garlic powder
Thyme
Lemon juice
3 tsp Coconut oil

Baking sheet covered with double layer of foil. Put 1 tsp coconut oil on foil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place salmon, skin down, over seasoned foil. Melt butter, coconut oil, all seasonings in pan. Pour over salmon. Crush snap pea crisps, sprinkle like breadcrumbs over salmon. Bake 45min at 375F or until cooked.

I used remnants in pan to cook zucchini. Goes very well with PC herb and garlic flavored quinoa.

Coming of Age

Have fun with this one!

Son K told me he was sitting in the back of his friend's car the other day and noticed this book on the seat entitled 'What Women Want'. He was surprised as this friend is quiet and shy (and obviously literary). We couldn't help but be amused by this. K said he opened a few pages and saw 'Put her before yourself.' The book is by W. Anton and is highly rated on Goodreads.

Sunday Sketches - Boat Scene

Welcome to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches!  This is my boat scene on good quality blue textured cardstock (6" x 6").  I used watercolour crayons.

It's officially Spring!  I learned it came a day early (yesterday at 11.30pm) due to the leap year.

Spring Cleanup

This is a discount coupon I received after making a donation to Value Village Thrift Store recently.  A retired friend works there and said they were having a Spring Drive for donations.  We were able to give 3 large bags of mostly old VHS videos and children's books.  It earned us a 15% discount card at their store.  I was tempted to buy a heavy bottomed saucepan and a tiny bundt baking tin but decided it could wait for another time!

Another friend told me I shouldn't donate there because they are a private for profit corporation.  Thus, it would be better to donate to places like The Salvation Army who do so much more with the  money.  That is true enough, but I wanted to support my friend and most places won't take old VHS videos anyway.  There is usually a limit on how many books the usual charity places will accept as well.  Value Village is good in that your goods end up being recycled and there is a certain benefit to the charities even if they do turn a profit.  Not to mention I have lots of other stuff I could donate to the charities if I ever get around to the necessary decluttering!

Paint Party Friday - Celebrate Spring

Welcome to Kristin and Eva's Paint Party Friday! This piece is done on textured good quality coloured cardstock (6" x 6"). It is based on a photo of some tulips I took 2 years ago.

Spring is being welcomed at this time of year in many cultures, what better time to do a spring piece!

Beware

Easter's coming so I thought, why not?

And a Happy St. Patrick's Day to those who celebrate!

In other news, I received this email first thing yesterday morning from my bank:

'Dear Client,

As per our database update, your online account with us is currently suspended.
If you want to enable your account, please verify and complete your personal information.
To launch the verification process, please follow the link below and follow the proposed procedures.
Please follow the link below to continue,... Your access will be recovered within the next 24 hrs.'

I was honestly alarmed as the email contained the bank logo and seemed quite real. Fortunately, I decided not to click the link and to try logging into my account online. It worked fine. Then I took a closer look at the email and realized it had no real contact information other than this 'link'. Almost certainly this is a dangerous hoax and I have emailed the real bank with a copy of this letter so they can be aware of this incident.

Be careful everyone!

A Sunny Destination

One of my sisters was recently on a Caribbean cruise and sent me these photos of when they stopped at the Turks and Caicos islands. I love sunny destinations!

Creative Tuesdays - Baked Goods

Welcome to Michael's Creative Tuesdays. I did this piece in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour crayon and pencil.  It is for our 'Baked Goods' theme.  After drooling online on a variety of cakes and cake slices, I settled on a tray of cinnamon rolls. I actually prefer them without the icing, how about you?

Good Karma

Giggles told me about this avocado oil she found at Costco and I decided to get it myself.  I haven't tried it yet, but it may be good in a salad dressing or used in place of say olive oil or butter.  

On the weekend I overheard the cashier at a local drugstore telling a lady that a customer once won $2000 on a lottery ticket and she gave the cashier $50.  They were both very happy!  I think that's good karma.  It might have been one of those scratch and save tickets.

Sunday Sketches - Eagle

Welcome to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches!  This piece is done in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour pencil and crayon.  It's an Eagle portrait.  Huband M thought he should look more fierce being an eagle and all that.  Then he wondered why all my art pieces are happy ones.  I suppose the reason is that I like beautiful things?  I can't imagine why I would paint something angry and violent. 

I hope you remembered to set your clocks forward earlier this morning at least for most of Canada and the US! Have you ever messed up on this? I have shown up in church an hour late wondering where everyone was! This was decades ago, so I can't blame it on age!

Perfect Chinese Broccoli

I have recently learned how to prepare perfect chinese broccoli.  You may have seen these greens at the supermarket.  They are also known as 'Gai Lan'.  I had the tendency to overcook them but I've finally figured it out.  It is surprisingly easy to make.

Ingredients
1 bunch of chinese broccoli (gai lan)
water

Sauce
2 tbs oyster sauce
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs canola oil

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.  Use a vegetable peeler to trim the tougher ends of the broccoli stems as pictured.  Then rinse the bunch  and blanche  in boiling water for no more than 3 or 4 minutes until fork tender.   Remove the broccoli to a tray.  Now mix the sauce  into it and enjoy the crunchy goodness.  I love the crunchy stems while son K loves the leafy part.

Paint Party Friday - Puffin

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! This piece is entitled 'Puffin', done in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour crayon and pencil. The Atlantic Puffin hails from places like the Faroe Islands near Denmark in Northern Europe. I learned that they develop these bright coloured orange beaks in the breeding season in late spring and will shed them after that.  I feel like I am drawing people when I draw these animals, especially their eyes, it is uncanny.  Aren't we all God's creatures?

Coffee Promotion

McDonalds restaurants were promoting free small coffees all last week in Canada.  Here is mine, teamed with a slice of their new lemon loaf.  It is a really rich type of pound cake, and this is just half of the slice.  It was really crowded there all that week with everyone lining up for free coffees.  There was an impact to regular customers but it must be good for business because McDonald's runs this promotion twice a year.

McDonald's is now offering burgers made to your preference.  This family was sitting just behind me and each of them had burgers individually tailored to them. 

A Sunny Weekend

I took this photo for you at a local park this weekend.  It was sunny at 2C (36F), quite nice out actually.

And then further on in my walk, I came upon these hubcaps lying against this post, what on earth?

Adapter Repair

Daughter L had a broken adapter cord on her computer.  I bought some yellow electrical tape and repaired it.  They had white tape but it came in a package of 6 or so different colours, I thought yellow was good enough!  It will be a good adapter to keep as a spare.

Large Red Grapefruit

This is my latest eating obsession. For awhile I had steered from eating grapefruit as I believed it conflicted with my blood pressure medication. However, I was told by my dentist cousin that grapefruit is okay for me and he happens to be on the same medication so that was a bit of good news.

I prefer the large red grapefruit.  Sometimes I will go on a hard cheezie fix so I think this is better! 

Sunday Sketches - Through the Old Window

Welcome to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches! Unfortunately it is cancelled this week. This piece is called 'Through the Old Window' and is done in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour crayon and pencil.

At the Movies

We went to see the movie Deadpool last weekend.  I thought, how bad could it be, it was the number one movie.  I suppose it was funny...very violent and gory at the same time.  This is what happens when the family chooses a movie to see together!

Have you seen it?  Did you like it?  As a 'heads up' I heard you should stay till after the credits as they have a clip right at the end.  We forgot that might happen so we didn't stay.

Paint Party Friday - How Are You?

Welcome to Paint Party Friday. This is a winter piece I'm calling 'How Are You?' done in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour pencil and crayon. I remembered male cardinal birds are red while the females are brown coloured.

Ice

I love eating ice cubes and love sipping on the ice from fast food restaurants, sigh. How about you?

A Superb Lunch

At the end of last week, husband M had a medical appointment near the Aga Khan Museum. We had never been there and they have this restaurant called Diwan that was recently featured on the local TV station. It is now led by Food Network Canada celebrity chef Mark McEwan and we decided to drop in for lunch after M's appointment.  We didn't have reservations but had no trouble getting in although it got very busy by the time we left.  The food is Middle East/ Turkey/ India inspired.

Well, we cleaned every plate, not something that happens all the time, but the food was so delicious. I didn't really enjoy my Morroccan coffee it was lukewarm and the flavours didn't appeal to me.   The Aga Khan Museum itself was very sterile looking I thought, a large ultra-modern building with grey patterned tiles and stark white walls.  We didn't tour the exhibits that day.  The Diwan restaurant itself was warm and inviting with beautifully decorated walls and ceilings.  I later read that these decorative panels were brought in from Damascus, Syria!

Here are some photos I took for you.

Pretty Restaurant Ceiling

Sweet Onion Bhaji Appetizer

Chicken Jalfrezi and Beef Shish kebab entrees

Carrot Halva Dessert

Carrot Halva quickly disappearing

Carrot Halva all gone

Moroccan Coffee (cute sugar stick)

Milk and Sugar

Creative Tuesdays - Meet Me

Welcome to Creative Tuesdays.  This was a fun and different kind of art challenge!  I used an emoji inspiration.  It's time to 'Meet Me':

Here is an uplifting story on Toronto's Dancing Barista who made it on The Ellen Show recently.  It's meant to show that people with disabilities are employable.