SNAP THAT

Sunday night was a loud night of rattling winds and rain. Monday morning it poured torrential rains and after it stopped, I thought it was safe to go out for a walk and errands. I got caught in the rain and more wind and was a bit chilled despite having 3/4 length sleeves on my sweater and my jacket but I pressed on and managed to get everything done that I had set out to do.  I also managed to get some beautiful photos. Most of these snapshots were taken on Cambie Street.  The street under which the new rapid transit and subway links the Vancouver International Airport to Downtown Vancouver. Though the train opened in October 2009, I still haven't even had a chance to ride it.  I am hoping to get out to the airport well before I travel again by plane. Here is a little peek down a side street.   I thought this tree showed off the lovely blooming green leaves. In this photo you can see the clouds parted and the blue sky peeked out for a bit. The gate at this house was jus

I continue to try and cut daily and monthly living costs wherever possible and to save money on food in various ways so I can pay down my debts as quickly as possible. I haven't kept a journal of what I am doing but in thinking about little ways I've saved money this month here is what I remember. Food Savings ~ I purchased flats of canned mushrooms, canned beans and kernel corn. I usually purchase these in individual cans which is not very cost effective so I don't buy them as often as I would like. After doing a cost per can analysis, I purchased these particular canned goods because they are staples in good home cooking and because the price ended up being between 82 and 88 cents per can.  The savings is about a 17 to 86 cent savings per can depending on where I buy them so I think I got quite a bargain. ~ Of course dried goods purchased in bulk are even less expensive than canned goods on sale. I purchased dried garbanzo beans (chick peas) which cost abo

On a  lazy Sunday I like to make one pot dinners. This past Sunday it was raining and coolish so this dinner hit the spot. Ingredients: 2 small washed and diced yams 2 small washed and diced russett potatoes 1 1/2 peeled and roughly chopped yellow onions 1 large stalk of celery, washed and quartered 2 medium carrots, washed, peeled and quartered 1 head of garlic with outer skins peeled off and top of head sliced off 1 medium pork roast salt and pepper After preparing the vegetables, place the celery, carrots and onions in the center of a baking dish. Then place the pork roast on top and put some coarsely ground pepper and salt on the top to season. Spread the remaining ingredients around the roast and season with more salt and pepper. Cover and cook in a 400 F oven for 1.5 to 2 hours until everything is nicely cooked and the pork is soft and crumbly.

Kamloops, British Columbia is a very different place from where I live in Vancouver. Kamloops is about 4 hours drive north and is located in what is called the Interior of the province. It is cattle country and for years this small city was more like a frontier town. [Panoramic shot of the North Shore, Kamloops] I'm happy to say that in the past decade or so things have changed a lot. New commercial buildings have gone up aplenty. New areas of the city have seen significant residential development and there are new facilities and services to be used such as the new downtown library and the one that will open on April 19, 2010 on the north shore . There are also new hotels and restaurants. [Photo of the newest hotel opened in February 2010] If you are a golfer there are numerous golf resorts. If you are a mountain biker, the city is known for it's mountain bike trails. If you love the outdoors the entire region is known for fishing and camping. If you like hot weathe

I was googling recipes for non-gluten eating a few days ago. While I didn't find quite what I was looking for, I did find a tasty looking vegetable dish. Here is my version of it. Ingredients: half a red pepper sliced half a yellow pepper sliced handful of broccoli chopped in large pieces handful of cauliflower chopped in large pieces two small yams washed and sliced lengthwise like fries half a zucchini chopped in larger pieces two medium carrots, peeled and sliced in long pieces olive oil cracked pepper tuscan seasoning After washing and chopping all the vegetables, toss them with olive oil cracked pepper and tuscan seasoning ( recipe here ).  You can eyeball the amounts. You  just need enough seasoning to taste and enough oil to coat the vegetables. When done, place the veggies in a nice casserole dish and bake until the vegetables have enough crunch. I think I left mine for about 202-5 minutes in a 350ºF oven but you can experiment on this as I find that no ovens are crea

Do you ever get a craving for something late at night when you have no snacks in the fridge or cupboard? The other day I had a craving for chocolate so made these chocolate chip cookies. The recipe was from an old Quaker Oats promotional mini-cookbook I sent away for many years ago. I added the raisins to the recipe. Ingredients: 1 cup butter or margarine 1 1/4 cups of brown sugar 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 3 cups uncooked Quaker oats (or other oatmeal brand) 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup raisins Beat the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy and then add the eggs and vanilla. Blend it all together. Next, combine flour, soda, salt & spice and mix well.Then stir in the oatmeal, the semi-sweet chocolate chips and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350°F oven. If you  fing that

Song of Solomon 2: 11-12 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Another winter passes and glorious sunlight is on the way! Though the skies have been unsettled this week, Winter's earlier warmth meant the blossoms came too soon to the young magnolia trees and to the mature cherry trees. The cherry trees were in full bloom during the Winter Olympics 2010 while I was up country. On a walk the other day I did manage to find some beautiful blossoms though most trees are now bare in preparation for the late blooming plants and trees. These snap shots will give you a small idea of the annual beauty I so look forward to. With beauty like this every year, it is not hard to see why Spring is my favourite season.

Greetings from Vancouver to you my lovely readers!   I want to say thank you to my blogging friends for their faithful support. I also want to especially welcome the new readers. Thank you for following me. In turn, I will be reading the blogs of long-time followers and new followers alike.  Many of you know how I love to post my comments :-) though with an ever increasing list of blogs I love to follow, I may not comment as often as I would like.  I will not be posting every day as I once did but will likely post 4 times a week on average.  This is so that you busy readers can read in a more leisurely fashion.  I know how hard it is for people to make time to read and comment on blogs as well as write their own blogs, especially when they have busy jobs and families also.   Please feel free to comment on any blog, including those in the archives (see the archives of old posts in the side bar to the right). Whenever someone comments, I am notified.  This blog is primarily one wher

I made Japanese Udon Noodle soup today. I didn't use a recipe, I just made up a version based on what I thought would go into it and it turned out rather nicely. First I boiled a few cups of water in a saucepan and mixed to taste, a few tablespoons of prepared miso mixture into the hot water. Once the water boiled I put in two small packages of udon noodles, zucchini chunks, a chopped up stalk of broccoli and a small bunch of baby bok choy. In a frying pan I cooked and browned some minced beef with a finely slice red onion.  This is not your usual meat accompaniment to udon noodles but it was what I had on hand and it turned out quite fine. If you have some prawns or slices of beef you can top the udon soup and vegetables with these if you prefer. Enjoy!

Today was a day for a slow food dinner. I made Oatmeal Bread, Pork Roast with Tuscan Salt Rub and Baked Beans. For greens, I had the left over spinach salad from last night. Cinnamon buns were made later for another day.  Photos above are of the buns before they went into the oven.  First photo has the butter and brown sugar sprinkled on the dough after it is rolled out to size. The middle photo is after the cinnamon spice and raisins have been added and the pieces cut for the pan. The third photo is after the dough has risen a bit and the last of course is the buns right out of the oven. RECIPES Oatmeal Bread This was made in the bread machine and so is simple because all you do is throw all the ingredients into the machine, set it and away it goes until the bread is nice and done. In case you do not have the recipe here is the one I used. Ingredients: 9-11 ounces of water 1 3/4 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons sugar or honey  2 tablespoons butter or margar