Friday, March 31, 2023

Friday Art - Bird


 Welcome to Friday Art!

I have a bird ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") for you today, in time for spring!  Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.


This is a Mud Lotus piece I did for a 'mud' challenge over at Instagram in Febuary.

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Primary Colours and Picco De Gallo

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date. Here is my piece for the primary colours theme.

 


 I found this Pico de Gallo recipe and decided to try it.  It was easy once you gathered all the ingredients.  This is what I am showing for the dinner date.  It has a refreshing taste.



Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Parmesan crusted potatoes


 

I found this recipe on Instagram and they were so good, I put my adjusted recipe below the link:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cp2FUIXgbxF/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D


2 tbs olive oil
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp each pepper, paprika, dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder
halved baby potatoes (mix with a tbs of olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt, you can quarter the potatoes if they are not baby potato sized)

Mix cheese and spices in a bowl
line baking sheet with parchment
spread olive oil over baking sheet and cover with cheese mix
lay potatoes face down, skin side up
bake at 400F 30 mins

Monday, March 27, 2023

Kiss of Life

 This is an interesting story on an award winning photo.   Photographer Rocco Marabito gained a Pullitzer prize in 1968 for a photo he called 'The Kiss of Life'.  Mouth to mouth resuscitation between 2 workers on a utility pole.  Randall G. Champion survived and fellow lineman JD Thomson was the hero.

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Lavazza Coffee


 This is a good coffee from Italy that we often drink.  It is a fine grind, we discovered it when daughter L brought a box from Italy when she visited years ago.  What is interesting is that they stock it at my local grocery store!  

Saturday, March 25, 2023

New Stamp and the Cheque


 I noticed a new Canadian stamp commemorating the Queen recently.  They chose a good photo.

I had complained about my Rakuten cheque being delayed, it finally arrived this past Wednesday March 22nd.  I have been waiting since I first got the notification Feb 15 that the cheque had been mailed.  So all is well with that. Better still, my brother advised me to switch to Paypal payout which I just did.

Friday, March 24, 2023

Friday Art - Lynx

version 2

version 1

 Welcome to Friday Art!

This is my Lynx ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").  It was inspired by a Canadian photography award winning photo that I noticed online.  Version 2 is with the reflection added to the eyes.  I haven't figured out how to easily delete photos from my post.

 Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Fridays.

Also  showing a 'Retro' themed piece that I did for an Instagram challenge last month.



Thursday, March 23, 2023

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Complementary Colours - Cookies and Cookies

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date! I drew some cookies in complementary colours of orange and blue.


For the dinner date, I am sharing these yummy real cookies. 

My sister gave me a delicious recipe for these chocolate peanut butter swirl cookies.  This is my adjusted recipe, I used less sugar and salt:

makes 24 cookies

1 16 oz (455 ml) jar of smooth peanut butter

1 cup of sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/2c (85 grams) chopped milk chocolate 

3 tbs cocoa powder

350F

Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper

In a bowl, combine peanut butter and sugar.  Mix in the eggs and salt.  Put half the mix into another bowl.  Mix the chocolate and cocoa into this bowl.  Make a ball with a tablespoon of the peanut butter mix and a tablespoon of the chocolate mix.  Place them on the cookie sheets, 1 1/2 inches apart.  

Bake at 350F 14-16 minutes, turning the cookie sheet half way.  Cool and serve.


Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Whole Wheat Pizza


 I hadn't made pizza in awhile, it is similar to making pie, but for some reason it is more fun for me.  This one is covered with salami and fresh basil.  It is whole wheat too.

It occurred to me that skills have to be practiced, then you get better.  Pizza making is a definite skill.  This time I remembered to crimp the edges of the pizza.

Monday, March 20, 2023

Moon just after DST time change, Spam and Gmail


 I took this moon photo last Wednesday at about 7.30 am, just a few days after the DST time change.

My spam folder has been full of at least a hundred messages per day, do  you clear yours?  Some have been genuine comments from as far back as 2010!

Well I finished clearing out old gmail messages, it was a marathon few weeks.  I had gotten a storage warning, since I started using Gmail back in 2006 it seems.  I am down from over 10,000 messages to over 3,000 now.  I have not looked at my sent folder, apparently that also counts.

And welcome to Spring, apparently it arrives at 5.24 pm this evening!


Sunday, March 19, 2023

Pecorino

I found some pecorino cheese at Walmart which the spaghetti carbonara recipe calls for, so I tried it.  It is very similar in taste to parmigiano reggiano.

I posted here on spaghetti carbonara recently.


 

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Weekend get together


 We met daughter L and her husband at their local East Side Mario's restaurant last weekend.  They serve lovely warm bread as soon as you are seated!

Friday, March 17, 2023

Friday Art - Barred Eagle Owl


 Welcome to Friday Art!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This is my Barred Eagle Owl ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").  Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and Gillena's Art For Fun Fridays.


Showing a pencil sketch here that I did over at Instagram for a 'no brush' theme.


Thursday, March 16, 2023

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Grayscale and Simple Tortillas


 For the dinner portion of Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date, I made these simple tortillas based on this King Arthur Flour recipe I got from one of my sisters.  I decided to do whole wheat ones.  I found them easy to make.

For the Art Date, here is my 'Grayscale' ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").



Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Chia Seed Snack


This is my chia seed snack.  

3 1/2 tbs chia seeds

1 cup of milk


Add milk to the chia seeds, mix and store overnight in the fridge.  Add fruit to it in the morning and you have a quick breakfast (or snack).  You may want to add a bit of sweetener to your taste.

Monday, March 13, 2023

Chicken Big Mac


 And here is the new Chicken Big Mac, it may be in Canada only.  Daughter L brought some over when she was visiting recently.  It does have a Big Mac taste, just chicken instead of beef.

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Parmigiano Reggiano Vs Grana Padano


 This is an interesting chart explaining the differences between Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano.

I prefer Grana Padano, it seems it is a less intense flavour among other things.  The cattle diet also includes corn which Parmigiano Reggiano does not.  It is also produced in a larger area of Italy compared to Parmigiano Reggiano.

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Whole Wheat Berry Pie from Scratch




 Proudly showing you my whole wheat berry pie from scratch!  This is the recipe I used.

The only difference is that I used frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries).  I drained any liquid off after thawing.  I like that the recipe uses a whole wheat crust and less sugar and flour are added to the berries.

I will say that I enjoy baking bread more, making pie crusts is not fun for me, the process seems laborious.  I do prefer to cut the butter into the flour manually as opposed to using a food processor.  Then rolling out cold dough is the other thing.

But the pie is sooo delicious haha!


Friday, March 10, 2023

Friday Art - Deer in Snow


 Welcome to Friday Art!

Here is a Deer in Snow ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").  Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Fridays.


These are my 'flower' cookies that I did for an Instagram flower challenge last month.


This is my 'snowdrop' that I did for an Instagram flower challenge last month


Thursday, March 9, 2023

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Cool Colours and Spaghetti Carbonara

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date! For the Cool Colours theme I decided to do a bowl of blueberries using blue, green and purple, the cool colours.


 For the dinner date portion, I made this amazing spaghetti carbonara based on this link.  I have to say it is restaurant quality, with bacon, eggs, cheese, what's not to love?

6 slices of bacon

3-4 tbs unsalted butter

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/4-1/2c parmesan cheese grated

1/4-1/2c pecorino cheese (I had some manchego cheese which I grated)

3 eggs beaten

350g (1/3 of a pack) of spaghetti

1 tbs salt

pepper (optional)

Boil pasta in salted water, drain and reserve a cup of the pasta water.

Cook bacon and cut 6 slices into bits (I bake my bacon).

In a saute pan, add butter and saute garlic, add bacon bits.

Lower the heat and mix in the pasta and pasta water.

Remove from heat, add cheeses, and the beaten eggs.  Keep turning until the eggs form a sauce. Pepper is optional.