Cannolis for dessert

Daughter L shared this photo of some cannolis she bought recently to take to some friends for dinner. She is happy to have discovered this bakery.  Cannolis are an Italian pastry consisting of tube shaped fried pastry shells piped with a sweet creamy ricotta filling.

Paint Party Friday - Fir Tree ACEO

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I did an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") on cardstock in permanent markers today. It is a fir tree in the snow.  The background is a sky blue using an alcohol ink marker.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Leaps and Bounds

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date, Leaps and Bounds theme. I decided to do a green grasshopper on a pale mint background. They leap vigorously from powerful hind legs so I thought they would represent our theme perfectly!

On Spare Ribs

Here is a funny meme for you today. It's a photo of a shower faucet. The meme says 'every naked person I see turns me on.'

Over the years I have posted various pork spare rib recipes. Recently I tried slow baking them on a low temperature and they came out really good. The trick is to seal the ribs in a packet of foil.

So, coat the ribs with your favourite barbecue sauce. I used back ribs. Seal them in a packet of aluminum foil. Bake at 250F for 2 hours. At the end I removed the fat from the drippings and poured it on top of the cut up ribs.

With this method there is no need to boil the ribs beforehand.  

Eggplant Melt - Take 2

A few weeks ago I posted about this eggplant melt recipe. I have made improvements to the recipe.

After baking the oiled and salted eggplant for 30 minutes at 350F, I layered on some sliced olives from a jar and finished up my jar of olive paste. Next I layered on some sliced tomatoes, then mozzarella slices, then some fresh basil leaves. At that point it needs to bake for 15 mins to get the cheese melted perfectly. It is eggplant pizza really! I may try using some sundried tomatoes on it next.

For those that like eggplant, it is a great vegetarian dish, quite filling.

Stroganina

The newspaper has many interesting articles.  I learned of Stroganina, a Russian delicacy in northern arctic Siberia.   It is raw frozen fish or meat sipped in sauce. The Reindeer meat is shaved very thinly then dipped in a blood sauce made from Reindeer blood, vegetable oil and mustard powder.  It is permanently frozen in these remote areas where reindeer herders have no firewood or time to build a fire.  So these delicacies evolved.  Here is an article on the Reindeer stroganina.

Frost Quake in Toronto

Recently I saw an article in the paper describing these frost quakes or cryoseisms in Toronto.  They are set off by a sudden drop in temperature.  So say it is above freezing during the day then drops dramatically below freezing at night for example.  The water in the ground quickly freezes and causes the soil to expand with loud crackling noises, minor shaking and rattling. This couple experienced this at 2 am then at 7 am one day.  This happens mostly in the winter of course.

I have never felt this, fortunately or unfortunately.