Paint Party Friday - Moon and Sunrise and Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Here is my Paint Party Friday piece called 'Moon and Sunrise', an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in permanent marker. I was driving eastward yesterday, it was a cloudy morning at about 9 am, when I noticed the moon peeking behind the sunrise.

Cinnamon roll cookies

Daughter L made these cinnamon roll cookies for a cookie exchange. She always makes a bit extra so we can sample them!  They were delicious.

Eggplant Cheese Bake

Jan of The Low Carb Diabetic inspired this recipe. She had posted a creamy cheese and zucchini casserole. I didn't have any zucchini on hand that day, but I did have some Japanese eggplant.  This may become a new low carb staple dish in my house!

Ingredients:

2 or 3 Japanese eggplants cut into 1 cm wide slices
1 c of half and half cream
1 c grated cheddar cheese
1 Large onion chopped
1/2 tsp tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
2 tbs olive oil

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven 350F

2. In a 9 x 13" baking dish lined with parchment paper, line the bottom of the baking dish with half of the eggplant slices

3. Place all of the onion on top of the eggplant slices. Then sprinkle half of the cheese on top of the eggplant. Mix salt pepper basil into the cream. Pour half of the cream into the dish.

4. Next, place the remaining eggplant slices on top of the dish.

5. Then pour the rest of the cream over top of everything. Top the dish with the rest of the grated cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

6. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until the eggplant is tender, then slice and serve.

Upside Down Banana Cake

9 inch cake

I had some leftover bananas and found this recipe for upside down banana cake. It is a delicious change from banana bread. I used 3/4 c brown sugar and 3/4 c white sugar, less than required in the recipe. I also skipped separating the egg whites and just dumped them whole into the batter.

The Altercation

Here is a fun puzzle for you to try. There is more than one word that you could find.

I had bought some stamps and was walking over to the grocery store last week, it was the same day that I experienced some rudeness at the mall. This older couple were also going toward the grocery store from another direction. The man was shouting angrily at someone in the parking lot. He turned back toward the parking lot, still angry and I stopped, wondering what would happen. It was raining heavily although I was fine in my raincoat. I didn't know if I should keep walking that way, I thought about getting shot in the crossfire. You never know these days. We have had so much violence in Toronto. However, the man decided to continue into the grocery store with his wife and all was well.

Husband M told me I should hit the floor if there are bullets. We can laugh about it, but I really don't think I could be quick enough to do that.

Bake Sale

Last week husband M and I went to the church craft and bake sale. We picked up some chocolate cookies and shortbread cookies and admired all the crafted goods. They used to have outside vendors but they seem to have stopped that. There is still a tea party that you can attend and of course there is a silent auction.

Rudeness then Politeness

I came across these 'fun facts', thought you would find them entertaining!

Usually I write about positive encounters while out and about, but last week at the mall, in the midday, it seemed more crowded than usual, this young mom was pushing her kid in a stroller, barreling towards me.  Or maybe I was walking towards her.  She said 'why won't you move'.  I was wondering the same as I was forced to move aside.  I said 'that's really rude'.  She continued on and  replied 'you're rude'.  As she turned the corner in the direction of the family washroom I yelled back 'I think you're rude'.

Not half an hour later I was strolling through a store.  Another mom pushing a stroller behind me said 'excuse me'.  I quickly moved aside and said 'oh sorry'.  She turned her head towards me as she went by and replied with a smile 'that's quite all right'.  What a difference a bit of politeness makes!

A Changing World

Welcome to December! Here is the mall tree all lit up for the season!  I waited for a few minutes to get a good photo as people were happily taking photos beside it, posing with their babies and so on.

The city gave us an online link to our 2019 garbage collection schedule as printed copies will no longer be delivered to us.  We can pick one up at the library though.  It is a changing world, going paperless.  Then a couple of times I have had to type an electronic signature on an online document.