My eggplant pizza

 My eggplant pizza recipe keeps evolving.  I found it easier to brush about half a cup of olive oil flavoured with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and basil over 4 long eggplants which have been halved as pictured.  Then I layer pizza sauce, shredded cheese and Italian salami over top.  Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.

Splashing around

 My sister in the U.S. who loves to travel has already booked a number of trips in 2022.  Now that many are getting their vaccines, it seems thoughts are turning once again to making travel plans, how about you?

It rained a lot this past Sunday.  The thrill of the day was spotting this red-breasted robin taking a bath in a small puddle in the back yard, it was so cute to see him splashing around happily.

Every so often

On a recent walk, we happened upon a patch of crocuses blooming profusely in a park as pictured above.

Well I was sorting through some clutter and luckily I looked inside of all the envelopes because one of them contained 2 hundred dollar bills!  It is hard to say how long it had been sitting there.

  Last week I was throwing out some old medical statements and found one with a $20 insurance cheque attached to it.  It had never been deposited.  We are thinking about calling to see if they will re-issue the cheque after 9 years!  Would you bother?  It's probably not worth it.

We are usually organized but it seems every so often... we mess up.  

An Endearing Piece of History

Our Toronto Star newspaper featured this article about a little blue suitcase discovered in the basement of a house this grandson was clearing out.  His grandfather has passed away at 98 and the 99 year old grandma is in a convalescent home at the moment having recently broken her hip.  He decided to create a blog featuring all the precious love letters his grandparents wrote each other over a period of years during World War II.  I read a couple of them and it is an endearing piece of history.  Maybe you will enjoy reading them too.  Here is the link.
 

Renovations and a few funnies

We are planning to renovate our kitchen and laundry room and some bathrooms this summer. I am getting stressed just thinking about it although plans are underway.  Husband M thinks it is time after at least 25 years.  Being a creature of habit, I can live with things the way they are forever.

And here are a few funnies for you:

 

Paint Party Friday - Mount Fuji

For Paint Party Friday, I am showing an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") that I did in alcohol ink of Mount Fuji in Japan.  It is based on a photo that appeared on my screensaver recently. 

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Motion and Movement

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date's 'Motion and Movement' theme.  I did a digital painting of a wave that I saw in a photo using the Sketchbook app on my Ipad.

Cajun Flounder Fish Sandwich

Popeye's has a new Cajun Flounder Fish Sandwich and we decided to try it.  Mine was very spicy hot but husband M said his was fine.  Then daughter L said hers was also spicy but her fiance and son K said theirs was fine.  In any case, delicious as it was,  I prefer their chicken sandwich.

Death cleaning

 This meme spoke to me when I saw it.  I suppose it could apply to any age but perhaps more so as you get older. 

I have been doing some decluttering of old files, death cleaning would be a good term.  My problem is hanging on to memorabilia.  For example, why do I need to save all my children's old report cards.

Yet another sausage stuffing recipe

 Bear with me as I take you through yet another sausage stuffing recipe!

170g hot Italian sausage (5 large sausages)

1 c panko breadcrumbs

1 onion chopped

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp salt

Saute onion in olive oil, set aside when cooked.  Remove sausage skins from sausages and place in a large bowl.  Add sage, parsley, onions, breadcrumbs, salt.  Mix well and press into a loaf pan.  Cover with foil.

Bake 350-325F 40-45 mins depending on how hot your oven is.

This seems to be the favourite stuffing in my household at the moment.  One of my sisters says 'that's a meatloaf'!  You could stuff the mixture inside your turkey and bake it along with the turkey.

Sausage sage and onion stufffing balls

 

First of all, Happy Spring which rolled in yesterday.

I had great success making these sausage sage and onion stuffing balls using this video by Mary Berry.

1 onion chopped

1 cup of panko breadcrumbs

1 1/2 lb of pork sausage

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried sage

the rind and juice of half a lemon

Saute onions in olive oil.  Remove skins from sausages and place in a bowl with sage, parsley, onions, breadcrumbs, lemon juice and rind.  I actually zested the lemon by using a potato peeler and then chopping the peels into bits of zest.  Mix everything together to form about 16 balls.  Brown the balls in a frying pan.  Bake them 25-30  mins in a 350F oven.  

Caulliflower and Sausage Stuffing

 I was searching for a low carb sausage stuffing and was inspired by this recipe.  Here is my recipe,  it is delicious.  

1 500g (12 oz)  bag frozen cauliflower rice

1 500g (1 lb) pack of Italian sausage (hot optional)

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

2 c celery chopped

1 sweet pepper chopped

2 eggs whisked

1/2 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp sage

1 bouillon cube dissolved in 2 tsp water

4 handfuls of panko breadcrumbs

1 tbs butter

2 tbs olive oil

1. Microwave frozen cauliflower in a bowl for 6 mins
2. In a large fry pan add olive oil, butter.  Saute celery, onions, sweet pepper, garlic for a few minutes until tender.  Add sausage removed from skins and broken up into bits.  Add bouillon cube, spices.  Once the sausage is cooked, add eggs, cauliflower, breadcrumbs
3. Place mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish lined with parchment paper.  Top with a scant handful of breadcrumbs, dot with butter.  Bake 350F for 20 mins until top is browned.

Paint Party Friday - Happy 10th Birthday!

Welcome to Kristin and Eva's Paint Party Friday! We are celebrating its 10th birthday today and here are a couple of ACEOs (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") I did in permanent markers on poster paper cut to size, to help celebrate these incredible years which have sped by all too quickly.  Thanks ladies for ten great years and at least one more to go!

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Diagonal

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date!.  This is my Diagonal (fence and trees) ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") for you today.  It is done in alcohol ink on poster paper cut to size.

Some Funnies

Sharing some funnies with you today:

 

Orange Cranberry Scones-ish

Denise shared her recipe for Orange Cranberry Scones, they looked so delicious I made a version of my own here.  I didn't  make a glaze and enjoyed them with just jam and butter.  

 I added the juice to the wet ingredients by mistake so ended up having to use double the amount of flour but the result was still delicious and I ended up with extra scones albeit smaller because I used a small cutter.

Husband M enjoyed a small one, he is diabetic.  He proclaimed them excellent with a cup of coffee.

It was a happy accident.

Funnies

Sharing some "mature" funnies with you today among others:

 

I got the following from Cathy:

A bird story

 A few weeks ago husband M and I had just awoken, he looked out the bedroom window and said there was a red finch singing high atop the tree.  I said 'red finch? Finches aren't red.'  So I went to have a look and was able to zoom in to take this photo.  I said 'that's a cardinal silly!'  However, isn't that a great way to start your day?  M says the birds always wake him up these days, I hear nothing through the closed windows.

Happy 106th

 

The newspaper featured a story on the front page a few weeks ago that said this wonderful lady was turning 106 soon and they asked the public to mail her a birthday card to help her celebrate.  I immediately complied, thinking it was a lovely idea.  I hope Mary receives many cards to celebrate her special day.  It seems she even survived Covid last July at the home where she lives.

Paint Party Friday - Trees

 Welcome to Paint Party Friday kindly hosted by Kristin and Eva.

I did a 'Trees' ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol ink on poster paper cut to size.  The trees are dotted with a white PITT artist pen.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Space

 Here is my 'space' piece for Rain's Thursday Art Date!

Winter Vegetable Soup with Cheese Dumplings

This yummy soup was inspired by the English Kitchen.

Here is my perhaps simplified version:

3 tbs olive oil

1 340g tin of canned ham diced

1 tbs brown sugar

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

2 gr onions chopped

1 900 ml box of broth (approx 4 c)

3 c water

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbs white wine vinegar

1/2 med cabbage shredded (I substituted kale stems cut into 2" lengths, cauliflower cut into small florets is also an option, even celery)

1 med potato cut into chunks

1 sweet potato cut into chunks

For the dumplings:

2 c self raising flour (to make self raising flour, add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt per cup of flour)

2 tbs butter cut into small pieces

1/2 c grated cheddar

1/2 tsp dried thyme

3/4 c water

To make the dumplings:

Stir the self raising flour into a bowl, rub butter in with fingertips until crumbly, stir in cheese and thyme. Add

water gradually to bind the mix together. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside

Start the soup:

Heat olive oil, saute onions. Add garlic, ham, sugar, pepper.

Next, add stock, water, potatoes, kale stems (or cabbage or cauliflower, or celery), wine vinegar. Simmer 20 mins until the vegetables are fork tender. You can form small dumplings about the size of a heaping TBS, drop into the hot soup for 8-10 mins along with the green onions.

I would half the dumpling recipe in future, it makes a lot of dumplings and we do watch our carbs.

Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole

 I had some hot dogs and found this low carb chili dog casserole recipe.  It was so good.  Because I had a can of chili it seemed easier to use that for the recipe.  Towards the end of baking, the onions seemed to need moisturizing.  I had a tablespoon of butter at room temperature.  I decided to melt it in the microwave and brush it on top of the onions.  When I make this again, I will cut the hot dogs into bite-sized pieces, this dish is a winner.  It was good with tortilla chips as pictured above.  As an afterthought some  sourcream would be a great topping.  Of course it would be worth making your own chili as described in the recipe too.

The reason I was bringing that tablespoon of  butter to room temperature was that we read they are now feeding dairy cows palm oil.  The butter doesn't become soft anymore, it stays solid at room temperature.  Surely this is not a good thing.  Have you noticed this?  It seems a Dairy Farmers lobbying group are asking them to stop feeding palm oil to the cows.  The whole investigation is being called 'Buttergate'.

1 can chili

1/2 onion sliced

1 tbs butter melted

8 hot dogs cut into bite-sized pieces

1 c grated cheddar cheese

in a casserole dish lined with parchment paper

spread hot dogs on the bottom

top evenly with can of chili

spread grated cheese evenly

spread onion slices over top

brush onions with melted butter

bake 350F for 20 mins

A new artist pen

 I got a new fine point white PITT artist pen from Amazon, I am looking forward to using it.

Some Funnies

sharing a few laughs with you today:

 

 

Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

 The English Kitchen posted this recipe for thin and crispy oatmeal cookies, just the kind I knew husband M would love.  I halved the recipe, still using one whole egg of course.  I used quick cooking steel cut oats which gave them a really crispy bite.  We will be making these again for sure.  I have been having a couple with my coffee in the mornings.  Husband M says they are ok on his blood sugar readings.

Paint Party Friday - Penguins

 Welcome to Paint Party Friday, thanks to Kristin and Eva for always hosting so kindly!

I did a Penguin ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in alcohol ink for you today.  Have you ever seen them live? I have a couple of times.  

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Creases

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date's "Creases" theme! I chose to show you some origami, it involves a lot of paper creases.

One of my sisters mailed me 2 sheets of origami paper with her (late) Christmas Card last year. So I went on youtube and made a bow and a rose as pictured below, even the 'easy' origami are not as easy as you would think.  I seem to mess up towards the end and have to run the video a few times over. Have you ever tried origami?

 

On the Fish Fillet Sandwich

 Did  you know that McDonald's fillet o-fish sandwich was first created in Cincinnati in 1962 for area Catholic customers?  The story is here.

My baked donuts

I baked these donuts using this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.  I had forgotten about this donut baking pan so it was about time to use it again.  I decided to make some plain ones and some cinnamon sugar ones as pictured below.