A good one

 This is a good one...it says 'My brain refuses to believe there are 4 people in this photo.'

Time for pita bread pizza

Son K loves this pita bread pizza I make.  Slather some pizza sauce on pita bread, top with shredded cheese, chopped onions and some slices of Italian salami.  Into the oven at 325F for 9-12 minutes.  We like to add bell peppers and tomatoes, but he prefers his without.

Paint Party Friday - Dongchuan District China ACEO

 Welcome to Paint Party Friday!  I drew the Dongchuan red soil district in China, it came up on my screensaver one day and I thought it was so pretty. It is an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol ink markers on poster board cut to size.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Tragedies and Melodramas

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date's 'Tragedies and Melodramas' theme.  This is my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol ink on poster paper cut to size.  

Sour Cherry Compote

 I found some sour cherry compote in my freezer, and forgot how good it is with ice cream.

Then Pam posted this one her blog last week, hahaha:

Easy Pita Bread

 

One of my sisters thought I might like to try this recipe for 'Easy Homemade Pita Bread'.  I did find it really easy and have already made it several times.  I used half whole wheat, half white flour.  It was fun to see them puff up in the oven.  The next time I used half a teaspoon of salt instead of a full teaspoon.  I noticed whole wheat needs a cup of water compared to 3/4c in the recipe.

Here are some white flour pitas I made. White flour always tastes better in my mind!

 

Making things fun

 We generally don't do much for Valentine's Day even less so in Covid.  Daughter L likes to make things fun, so she arranged for a surprise Uber dessert delivery on Valentine's Day for us.  As much as we try to  avoid dessert around here we immediately tried some of the strawberry ice cream!  I limited myself to half a cup.

Smile

 I don't know if this was photoshopped but it is delightful nonetheless!

On the importance of being kind,  I saw this story of a Toronto restaurant Leziz Kitchen, that was giving leftover food to the poor and often hungry.  The owner said dying with money is not the (material) legacy she wants to leave behind, she would rather be remembered for having fed the hungry, leaving a meaningful memory.

Milk Rolls

 I made these delicious milk rolls from a recipe Natalia shared.  I used half whole wheat flour, half white flour.  It is a wet, sticky recipe so you may use a lot of extra flour.

Paint Party Friday - Thufa

 

Welcome to Paint Party Friday.  This image came up on my screensaver, it is Thufa, Reykjavik in Iceland.  I had to paint my version of it.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Comedies

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date's "Comedies" theme!  Thanks to Rain for always hosting us.  I did an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol inks to represent the "Home Alone" 1990 comedy movie starring Mccaulay Culkin.

This is also for #29faces.

Cauliflower Chowder

 

Today would've been my late mother's 83rd birthday, thinking of you mom!

Martha at Seaside Simplicity recently shared a cauliflower chowder recipe that I had to try.  Here is my version:

2 tbs butter

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion diced

2 carrots diced

2 stalks celery diced ( I used the leaves diced)

3 c broth

2 c coconut milk

1 head of cauliflower chopped (I include the centre stalk)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried parsley

2 tbs fresh or frozen dill

Melt butter, add olive oil.  Saute garlic, onions, carrots, celery 3-4 min.  Add cauliflower, bay leaf, herbs.  Saute 3-4 mins longer.  Add broth and simmer 15 mins.

Some Funnies

I thought this one was hilarious:

This one took me awhile to get, mainly because I don't speak German.  But imagine if you did, just a bit, then it makes sense!

 

A lovely surprise

So the Chinese New Year of the Ox was officially February 12th.  That night we heard a loud knock on our door.  One of  the next door neighbours was outside, along with one of the little girls, I noticed they wore their masks.  They were bearing a lovely gift bag holding these delicious cakes pictured above.  They said it was a Happy New Year gift.  I had such a good feeling due to their thoughtful kindness, it was actually exciting.  It was perfect as we had no dessert planned that night.  

A Valentine's Day Story

 Husband M likes bran muffins so I decided to make some using this recipe.  The recipe uses buttermilk and molasses.  If you don't have buttermilk you can substitute plain yogurt or add a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk.  Apparently brown sugar is a good substitute for molasses if you don't have any on hand.

So we have been trying to clear out our stacks of old paperwork, memorabilia, etc.  I seem to have kept all of my children's school notes throughout their school lives.  Anyway I came upon this old email printout sent from my sister dated February 5, 1998.  She doesn't remember it and thought maybe my mom might have sent it.  It contained a charming story which I found in this link.  I hope you will read it and have a Happy Valentine's Day!

On muscle memory

What do you see in this photo?

 I am really enjoying doing Lucy Wyndham Read's 7 minute workout videos on youtube each morning.  Stuck on doing the same one for awhile, daughter L told me to try different ones.  It would avoid 'muscle memory' where your body adjusts to the same routine and it is as if you are doing nothing for your body.  Lo and behold I discovered so many new ones that Lucy has been doing.  They are quick and enjoyable and go by so quickly.  Are you a creature of habit like me?

Every winter I seem to gain 5 pounds, likely due to less activity.  It is not a good thing.

Paint Party Friday - Two Horses

Happy Valentine's Day when it comes and welcome to Paint Party Friday.  As always thanks to our hosts Kristin and Eva.  I am showing 'Two Horses' and ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol ink and permanent markers on poster paper cut to size.  This one seems timely for Valentine's Day don't you think?  My niece took this inspiration photo atop one of the horses I am thinking, she rides.

And Happy Chinese New Year if you celebrate!  It is the year of the Ox.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Film Noirs

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date.  For the 'Film Noirs' theme I did the Joker from 'The Dark Knight' in an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol ink markers.

Also linking to 29faces hosted by Martha at Ayala Art.

Such a Pleasure

I saw this photo on social media, don't know who to attribute it to but it shows an Osprey poised to attack. Isn't nature magnificent, it is also a beautiful, well timed shot.

Last week daughter L and her fiance spent some time with us, she cleared a lot of clutter out of her bedroom and we decided to give some old childhood books to our neighbour with young children. It was such a pleasure ringing their doorbell, the young girls scrambled past their mother to greet me by name. I was fully masked with the hood of my coat over my head. They seemed to really appreciate the books. One was a large book never really used depicting the human body. It had matching stickers. The other was a simple 'learn to cook' book for little ones, with recipes for sandwiches and such. Then daughter L suggested a book on spiders with lots of pictures. The 8 year old told me she wants to be an animal scientist, that she loves animals. I didn't linger although it would have been good to chat with them awhile longer. Everyone is glad for a little company these days.

My black bean beef burgers

These black bean beef burgers were a success! It seems when there is some meat in a burger my family will readily try it.  So I decided to add meat to my black beans.  It is also makes a lot more burgers using less meat.

 Here is my recipe:

1 lb lean ground beef 

1 19oz can black beans, drained and roughly mashed

 1 onion diced

 2 cloves garlic minced

 1/2c breadcrumbs

 2 eggs

 1/2 tsp chipotle or chili pepper 

1/2 can tomato paste 

1/2 tsp cumin

 1/2 tsp dried oregano

 mix all ingredients to form approx 12 patties pan fry in canola oil 8 mins per side,  flip gently

I am going to try baking at 325 F  10 mins per side as an option

 This recipe would work for chick peas as well

Jump-Start Banana Muffins

 Robin kindly shared this banana muffin recipe with me and I set about making them.  They were perfect and so yummy!  Thanks Robin.

Mulan 2020 Movie

I burst out laughing when I read this one:

 

We really enjoyed watching the 2020 Mulan Disney movie, female empowerment to the max! It doesn't seem to have made a lot of money and the reviews were not great, go figure. Covid could not have helped.

Salmon en Croute

 I made salmon en croute (salmon Wellington) recently.  It was so good.  It was based on a youtube video I found.  You need puff pastry and some salmon fillets.  I used some leftover broccoli instead of spinach in mine and slow baked at 300F for 35 minutes.

2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed

2 salmon fillets

2 cups blanched spinach (I used pre-cooked broccoli)

1/2 c cream cheese

1 egg plus 2 tbs milk whisked

Lay out puff pastry

Spread spinach over the sheet leaving a 2 inch border around it.

 Spread cream cheese over the salmon and lay on top of the spinach, cream cheese side down. 

 Brush egg wash around the border of the pastry.  Fold the sides of the pastry over the salmon.  Crimp the edges with a fork.  Flip the pastry over and lay onto a baking sheet.  Brush eggwash over top. Make cross hatch marks onto the pastry.

Repeat with the other sheet of pastry.  Bake 300F for 35 minutes, or adjust to your own oven.  

I sliced 8 portions out of my 2 pastry shells.

Paint Party Friday - My Digital Art Pieces

Linking the 'face' above to 29faces #29faces hosted by Martha at Ayala Art.

Welcome to Paint Party Friday!  I am showing some my first digital art pieces.  The one above is  called 'Horse', done using the Sketchbook(Autodesk) app on our ipad.  I also have the Medibang Paint app installed on our ipad.  Daughter L was over and showed me how to use both of these apps. Sketchbook seemed to be the simpler one.  It was very helpful having someone to show me what to do.

I used the Medibang Paint App for the cupcake piece above.

The piece below was done on my Windows laptop using the Krita app and just the built in trackpad on the keyboard.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Westerns

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date!  For the 'Westerns' theme I did an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") portrait of Clint Eastwood.  Husband M is a fan and says the photo I used to draw the portrait was taken from the 1966 movie 'The Good the Bad and the Ugly'.  The only western I really remember was the Bonanza TV series I watched when I was a little girl.

Also linking to 29Faces  #29faces hosted by Martha (Ayala art) 

An interesting link

Here is Bernie outlined in purple from yesterday's meme for those interested.

Jan of the Low Carb Diabetic had an interesting link to the London Fog of 1952. 

The Sympathy Limp

 Here is another 'Where is Bernie' puzzle for  you, sorry for the torture but I found this one easier for some reason.  I will post the answer tomorrow.

And sharing this cute story of  'The Sympathy Limp' with you today.

My February 2021 Calendar Page

 

Welcome to February.

 I chose this mountain scene (18" x 24") I did in acrylic for my February 2021 calendar page. Here is the quote I selected to go with it:

"February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer."

 - Shirley Jackson, "Raising Demons."