A Nice Evening Out

We went to dinner at the CN Tower 360 revolving restaurant with some friends the other night. It was pricey, but we had received a gift certificate, so it helped considerably with the cost. We had never eaten there before, so we played tourists. It takes about a minute to ascend the 1100 or so feet to the restaurant. It did a couple of rotations by the time we had finished our dinner and L and one of our friends felt queasy by the time we got to dessert. They are not cruise worthy. Afterwards, we went down the stairs to visit the observation deck. It was a clear night, but cold.

This is the wine cellar in the restaurant, they have a considerable wine list:

This is the view from the observation deck:

The CN Tower in seasonal colours:

Happy New Year when it comes!

Some Quick, Healthy Dips

L passed on a few quick, healthy and delicious recipes one of her roommates passed on to her. For this one, you dump some salsa sauce into a bowl, pour some sourcream over top, then top with grated cheese. You have a healthy dip for tortilla chips!

The other thing they do is add some onion flakes to some sourcream and they have an almost instant, delicious chip dip!

News

Bubbles key to New Year's champagne: study

Polish Honey Cookies

I got this authentic recipe for Polish Honey Cookies from a Polish friend. She actually translated her recipe into English for us, and then L and I converted the measurements from decagrams as best we could. We also adapted the instructions a bit. I have to share it with you because they are so delicious. It's hard to stop at just one. I hope you will try them.

Ingredients (for approx. 36 cookies)
4 1/3 c flour

1 c honey
1/2 c icing sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 egg

2 tsp baking soda
spices - ground nutmeg, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, pepper (L used cinnamon and nutmeg)


Mix honey with other ingredients until smooth.

Flatten small spoonfuls, making a hole with a straw, apply any decorations you wish....remember to apply icing sugar AFTER BAKING

bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 350 F

Remember, the cookies are hard, they will soften when you store them in a tightly closed container... the longer, the better..... you can keep them for several months

Enjoy!

Japanese Food Photos

We were at an authentic Japanese restaurant the other day and K snapped a few food photos for us: grilled scallops, cold soba noodles and steamed mussels. That seems to be a quail egg beside the noodles. I must admit that was our least favourite dish that went largely uneaten, but it was unusual for us and worth photographing. We thought we were ordering the transparent glass noodle salad that L and I love. We ate tons of other stuff, so we did not go hungry that night.

A Day of Unwinding After Christmas

Yesterday was a day of rest and unwinding, after all the gifts were packed away. We have so many chocolates, cakes, nuts, candies and cookies left to eat, oh dear. L and K made these spicy gingerbread cookies using a recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen. They are delicious, with just a hint of sweetness. The kids like to dunk them in a cup of milk.

We went over to my mom's on Xmas Eve. I baked her some salmon with zucchini strips, being careful to use no salt, just herbs and spices. She said it was delicious. She has all the symptoms of heart failure and the doctors have advised a no salt diet. I had a damaged baby photo of her at 10 months old restored in time for Christmas and gave her an 8 by 10 inch framed photo as a gift. She loved it. L and K exchanged gifts with their cousins. A cousin of mine who recently moved back to Toronto dropped in to say hello.

On Christmas morning I went for an enjoyable early morning walk, I felt I needed the exercise. Then, we opened gifts. I usually get the kids a lot of gifts then I realized it's just more for me to pack away every year. They are older and it's not as if they still believe although they look forward to Christmas. So I just got them a few nice things and I think it was a good idea.

In the afternoon, we went to M's sister's place for a large family gathering as we have been doing every year for over 20 years. We met M's nephew's new baby daughter, just one month old. She is gorgeous. M's niece has a 19 month old son, so the next generation is well underway. The turkey was moist and delicious.

M's sister had photos of their recent tour to Africa scrolling on the TV. Their group of 24 people flew into Nairobi, Kenya before heading out to the National Parks. They stayed in some lovely resorts with fabulous views overlooking the parks. A highlight of the trip for the group of seniors was the hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti. They brought back some gorgeous photos of the wild animals in their natural habitat.

One of M's sisters was looking in good shape and she told me she lost 5 pounds simply by not eating after 6 pm. She felt it aided her digestion and she is now sleeping better at night. I'd love to lose 5 pounds.

We got home after 2 am, it was a long day and I was exhausted.

Sunday Sketches - Diamonds

I did a 'diamond' theme for Sophia's Sunday Sketches this week. While I don't own any of these pieces myself, I thought they looked pretty. Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Time for some to get ready for the New Year's parties!

Gingerbread House

Merry Christmas Everyone!


The Gingerbread House is all decorated and ready for eating, thanks to L. I won't post tomorrow in honour of Christmas Day.

News

I thought this article was informative and yet funny:
The Christmas Invitation