Shall We Cook? ~ Tuesday 4

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 kept in memory of her.

Let's talk about food this week shall we?

Most people enjoy eating good food after all.

1.  What is/are your favorite foods to eat ?

I don't think I have one favourite. There are just so many good foods out there.  But if I really have to choose, I would say roasted Greek potatoes and toasted pita bread with tzatziki sauce. 

2.   How often do you cook at home and what kind of  meals do you make? 

I cook at home most days.  I cook a variety of things.  I'm not a fancy cook and I would call my cooking style old fashioned home style cooking.

Here are the few meals I made over the past week.

Sausages with onions & apple, pasta with beans & onions, Caesar salad

Ground beef & veggies in gravy over boiled red potatoes

Spaghettini with meat & lentil sauce, garlic toast

Chicken wings, chips & coleslaw

Roasted chicken served with roasted root vegetables

Spaghettini with meat sauce, green salad & garlic bread

Air fried pork chop, pasta with spaghetti sauce & cucumber salad

I also made a large Blueberry Upside Down cake with some blueberries that were starting to go soft. We ate some and I froze the rest for when we (I) have a sweet tooth.

I didn't make any whipped cream topping

I go through periods of time where I eat out more than others,  anywhere from once a week to once a month.  Even a simple restaurant meal is very expensive so I've cut way back on eating out over the past several years.

A meal for one costs a minimum of $20 (Canadian) without a beverage.  Of course you need to double that if you are eating out with your spouse or a friend. If you add drinks, I would say a simple meal costs no less than $60 for 2 people not including the tip. That's a lot and I'd rather spend that kind of money on other things I need.

3. When you go out to eat what foods do you find yourself ordering most?

I mostly go for Vietnamese food (Shrimp Salad rolls and a combination meal in a bowl are favourites) or Japanese food (usually a bento box).  There are both Vietnamese and Japanese options aplenty in my neighborhood. I also like western foods (Clubhouse sandwich with fries, pork chops and mashed potatoes, Baron of Beef Dip) and Greek foods, especially Chicken Souvlakia platter (Greek salad, rice pilaf, chicken kebab, lemon herb potatoes, pita bread and tzatziki sauce. Greek food is a big treat and I have it once or twice a year.

The combo bowl I like to eat

Beef Pho Soup & Shrimp Salad Rolls

4. Can you recommend a restaurant in your area?  Why do you like it?

I would recommend 3 restaurants where I eat my favourite foods (Thai Son Restaurant, Sushi Kaido and Helen's Grill).  It just depends on what you like. There are many restaurants in my neighbourhood and most are within walking distance. In fact, 2 of them have Michelin stars (Published on Main & Burdock & Co.). I've never eaten at them because they are both incredibly expensive. But the menus do look very interesting and they seem well patronised.  Perhaps I will have a chance to experience one or both of them in future.

Keeping Distracted & Focussed

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

When life gets hectic sometimes I just slow everything down with reading, cooking, cleaning or making something.

This week my mind is occupied with the patio renovations and now having to deal with the recent water leakage and damage into my living quarters.  I kept busy with a lot of decluttering and a bit of knitting.

Story of my life, lol

A few decluttered items

Making these simple dishcloths keeps my mind focussed on the repetitive tasks required in working the yarn.  While I'm doing that I can't really dwell on any negative thoughts.  

I also did a bit of cooking.  Once we move out, we'll be gone for awhile.  Food will potentially be spoiling in the refrigerator so I'm trying to use up what we have and buy food very sparingly.

I made a huge batch of spaghetti sauce for some quick meals this week.   I also thawed out some beef rice soup I made a just over a month ago and stored in the freezer.

I'd be interested in knowing whether you ever had to move out of your home due to damage of some kind?  Where did you move to and what was the best and worst part of the experience?

If you're here for Skywatch, my post will be up in several hours. Have an awesome day/night and thank you for your visit.

Things I Enjoy

Joining in with Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 in  memory of Toni Taddeo.

There are some things we just enjoy quite a lot. Let's talk about it okay?

1. Which book could you read over and over again?

I absolutely love certain authors like Rosamunde Pilcher, Rohinton Mistry and Maeve Binchy.  I've read all the books written by Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy and about half of Rohinton Mistry's books so far.  I would seldom, if ever, read a book more than once. There are just too many books I want to read. I love reading! It's so easy to have a book on hand or have one to read on your phone, Kindle or Kobo.

2. What movie or TV program could you watch and never tire of watching?

I can never tire of watching all the (Jason) Bourne movies when they are replayed on television. I first saw them in the theatre on the big screen. I love them all, even the prequel with Jeremy Renner but I preferred all the others with Matt Damon. 

3. What meal do you like enough to eat several times a week or several times a month?  Got a recipe to share for it?

I do not eat any meal several times a week or month though sometimes it may seem like it, lol. I do eat leftovers the next day or 2nd day after if there is more than enough food for one meal.  In general though, I like variety in virtually everything including food.  Recently I've discovered a recipe for Taco Soup and I love it. I've also made Greek Chicken and Potatoes. I only make the Greek dish 1-2 times a year because it takes more planning and preparation than my usual meals.  I'm basically a lazy cook.  Despite the fact I don't eat it often, the Greek dish is my favourite meal of all time. On Friday, I had my first meal in a sit down restaurant for the first time in ages and I had the Chicken Souvlaki pictured on the photo. The restaurant is one of few remaining restaurants with vintage furnishings and individual jukeboxes at the booths. The man who owns it now was relaying how he has been struggling to keep the restaurant going during the pandemic and he has had to lay off all but one staff (the cook) and he is working long days. They make the tastiest food and it's basically home cooking just as I like it. The restaurant is often used as a movie location, the most recent being in the Sandra Bullock movie, The Unforgivable. 

Greek dish of Chicken Souvlaki without the skewers.

Tonight (Sunday) I made roasted carrots/potatoes tossed in herbs and oil, grass fed beef patties with sauteed mushrooms and onions and a kale salad. Monday night I'll be making Pesto Chicken; another new to me dish that I read about recently on Mari's blog. 

Keto friendly Taco Soup

 

Here is a link to the Taco Soup recipe (Keto friendly) but I didn't use quite as much cream cheese in mine. I also used Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream as that is what I had on hand. The second time I made it I added beans, corn niblets and more seasoning. It was even better so this will be a dish I continue to make.

4. What place do you enjoy so much that you go back again and again? Why do you like it so much?

I love several places and have gone back again and again. In Canada, I love the interior of the province where my late mom recently passed and my niece and a nephew and his family still live. It's beautiful there. 

 

I also love to go to the far north of BC and Alberta as I have relatives living there. 

Out of the country I love Australia and have been to the East Coast (and from north to south). I love it's beauty plus I have distant relatives there. I still do have distant relatives there and have travelled to the land Down Under 3 times. Once with my mother and twice with my brother.  I would love to return however there are so many other places to visit in the world and to explore if we get a chance to travel again internationally.

I also love Kenya and Africa in general. I've been to Kenya 7 times and have friends there. I love the exotic wildlife, the people, the landscape and the work I do in missions to feed the hungry and help the very poor. This is a labour of love and is not backed by any church or organization though I wish it was. I have also been to Ghana in West Africa, a very different place to Kenya. I would dearly love to travel to many other parts of Africa if I get the chance but I also would love to travel through more of Europe and parts of Asia. 

Please click this link to see a bit more of the places I'm writing about. I hope you enjoy the tour.

Thank you for visiting and leave a comment. Enjoy the week ahead.

 

Frugal Food Shopping and Cost Comparisons

Those of you who have followed my blog for a long time know that I make a good effort to live frugally and find a bargain for virtually everything.

In this new year I am experimenting with going farther afield (on public transit) to buy good quality food rather than just my local grocer.  Last week I shopped at a place called Young Bros. Produce which is across town on the way to the University of British Columbia. It was recommended by a neighbour in one our hallway chats.  As it happens I have shopped here a few times before but it's been many years since I was last there and I did not know the store by name.

The photo below will show my produce haul.  It cost $24 Canadian  ($18 US, $27.50 Australian, 16.80 €, 2026 Japanese Yen and 1840 Kenyan shillings).  I found the prices to be quite low compared to most other places in the city and the produce is fresh. All of this produce would cost two or two and half times more if I bought it at my local grocer.  The downsides are that the store is very crowded with hardly any room to maneuver and they only take cash.

I bought about a quart of white mushrooms, 2 large English cucumbers, 2 large zucchini (courgettes), 1 small bunch of spinach, 6 small red peppers (capsicum), 1 big crown of broccoli, 1 small bag of green beans, 6 medium to large bananas, 9 small blood oranges, 6 navel oranges. All this cost $24 Canadian dollars.  I still have a small bunch of spinach, some red peppers, broccoli, courgette and green beans left to use this week but am all out of fruits.


Yesterday (Wednesday)  I tried a different place, called Persia.  They have several locations in the city and have very good reviews. 

This haul came to just over $34 Canadian ( $25.50 US dollars,$38.84 Australian dollars,  just over 23 €, 2800 Japanese Yen, 2600 Kenyan shillings).

I bought: 6 bananas, 4 large mandarin oranges, 6 medium blood oranges, 4 navel oranges, 2 grapefruit, 1 sweet lemon, 2 pints of strawberries, 3 small jalapeno peppers, 2 small eggplants, 1 bunch of spinach, a small handful of grape tomatoes, 2 avocados, 1 sangak bread ($2.99), 1 container of smoked paprika $2.99), 900 gr bag of green lentils (not pictured) and one 454 gr bag of black eyed peas ($2.99).  I have plenty of vegetables for the week ahead and lots of beans, lentils etc.

Cost wise it seems fairly similar to Young Bros. Produce on W. Broadway; maybe even a bit cheaper. It has the advantage of being a single bus ride from my home and more room to maneuver my shopping trolley while shopping. It also has alternative forms of payment which for me is far better than only having to pay by cash. I seldom have much cash on me.

 

This is my meat haul from a week ago. There is enough for 3 more dinners.

The meat (ground beef and roast) was packaged into portions for hamburger patties, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, stir  fry (2) and a roast. I also bought a small package of chicken wings (not pictured).  This was all purchased at the usual neighbourhood grocery stores and  cost a total of  $37 Canadian dollars ($27.75, $42.20 Australian, 25.36 €, 3054 Japanese Yen, 2802 Kenyan Shillings). 

 
I bought 10 kg of flour a few days ago.  It was on sale for $9.99 rather than the usual $13.99.  This large bag will last for up to 6 months if I make bread every week or so. I'll need more yeast before I run out of flour.

It's still been cold at night.  I like to have hot  decaf tea or herbal tea to warm up and sometimes have a muffin.  I made Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins last time instead of the usual Blueberry with white flour.  I tweaked the recipe a bit and added bran to the mix of ingredients.  They were delicious.  I prefer blueberry muffins and also cranberry muffins and alternate between these two over the seasons when it isn't too hot for baking.

All in all I'm pleased with the prices I've managed to get on these last few shopping expeditions.  I'm always keen to get a good price on foods and I'm also always curious about how much others pay for their foods. 

What I've discovered over time is that while Canada doesn't have the highest food prices, we certainly are no where near the least expensive.  Our neighbours to the south and some of our farther flung neighbours, like England, seem to pay a lot less for food than we do.  Canada is also such a vast country and the food prices vary wildly depending on where you live.  People who live in the far north, like Iqaluit, and other northern communities, pay an astronomical amount for fresh produce. In the Arctic one cannot grow fresh produce and it is very expensive to have it shipped in.  I can also say that food prices have skyrocketed in the last few years but that is probably true of most countries.

Added: By the way, this is a bit off topic but I wanted to say that I am also trying to change my ways when it comes to plastics. I go through phases of doing well and then not so well with reducing the use of plastics in stores. It can be rather challenging. Then too I am using plastics when I portion out foods for freezing. If I use plastic bags to store breads and muffins I reuse these many times over. But if I use them to store meat I discard them. 

I have actually purchased reusable net bags for my produce but right now I only have 3 of them. I need many more. I also intend to purchase silicone bags for freezing foods when my budget allows. I do use glass containers for storing food in the refrigerator when there are left over items.  All in all, if one wants to reduce or eliminate plastics altogether it can be very challenging at the best of times. One does have to try though for the sake of our environment. You would be amazed that there are now even plastic particles in the air we breathe. Particles which you obviously cannot see. Beyond that, I'm sure most of you are now aware that there is so much plastic in our oceans that ocean life is ingesting it. The problem of plastics is enormous. I cannot get into the issue properly here but I just wanted to point out that I am aware of the issue and my contribution to it. I am trying to do something about it.  Whatever plastics come into this household, are reused as much as possible before discarding. It would be better if stores and sellers did not wrap everything in so much plastic to begin with.

A New Week Begins

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

I had plans to do a lot of sewing but I ended up not doing so much. Instead I was rather busy getting caught up with laundry, sweeping and washing floors, doing dishes, grocery shopping and vegetable preparation. Whenever I can, I like to wash all my vegetables and dry them before storing so they are ready to use during the week.  This helps ensure that I actually use the vegetables as sometimes I get lazy and don't feel like doing the prep when I'm actually making dinner. There are always so many vegetables that I have to soak (I use vinegar in water), rinse, dry and store so I do it in stages. Sunday night I did the green peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, cilantro and kale. The other vegetables I don't mind doing as needed; like celery, carrots, etc.

Last night's dinner was stir fried vegetables with thin strips of beef and noodles. It was very good. I made a lot of it so there were left overs for lunch today.

Dinner tonight is nachos.  I cooked up the ground beef last night and washed the green peppers, tomatoes and lettuce. Tonight I just have to chop up the onions and tomatoes for salsa and wash the avocados for the guacamole. I don't eat this stuff very often anymore.  When I was much younger I had it every weekend.  Nowadays I might have it once a year or even less but it is a nice change.  I discovered I was out of cheddar cheese so had to buy some of that today to top the nachos.  I usually always have this on hand but suddenly it was gone.  I do like mozzarella on my nachos too but I am saving the mozzarella for home made pizza in the not too distant future. The pizza has been on my mind since before Christmas, lol.

I started a book called Americanah by an author I've read once before. Her name is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I really enjoy her style of writing. If I can make good progress on the book this week I may join several people on Friday for a discussion over dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant I've been wanting to try. I will only go if I've had time to read the book.  I  like what I've read so far.

As for my sewing,  I decided to make myself a nightgown before I finish mom's nightgown and dresses. So now I have 3 projects to finish plus one ready made dress to alter. I finished the navy dress late last week. I'm about half finished on the necklines for the other 3 projects so it shouldn't take much longer. I like to work slowly on the necklines because I work without a pattern.  Since I'm working without a pattern and I lack patience where sewing is concerned, my cutting is a bit freehand.  For sewers you will know that freehand cutting can mean wrong "fit" if not careful. So far I'm doing fine. When I started making the clothing for mom I hadn't really planned on making a lot of clothing because sewing is not my favourite thing in the world. I thought the things she requested would be "one off"  projects but I'm now realizing that I will have to continue sewing for her.   It is just easier than trying to find the right ready made clothing. For future projects, I will probably try to cut out a pattern on piece of paper to use for necklines (v-neck and round neck) and for sleeves (set in and dropped shoulders).  This will make future sewing projects go much quicker both in cutting and sewing.

I also spent a lot of time on Saturday getting mail off to my niece for Valentine's Day. She will love the Star Wars calendar I bought her since we went to see the latest Star Wars film over Christmas. Of course, I also sent her some some chocolates in the shape of lipstick and nail polish. She loves nail polish and I think will like the lipstick too though she won't mind eating it at all, lol. 

A Kenyan friend is having a birthday early in the month. It is difficult to send things so far away due to the cost and postage theft is also a problem so I tried to get something nice but not so expensive. I sent a calendar with  photos of my beautiful city and I hope he likes it. I also sent my sponsored boys some picture post cards. One of the young boys I write to told me how much he looks forward to receiving my letters. I've been sponsoring him for just over 5 years and the time has flown by! Since the Fall I've been making a conscious effort to increase the letters and cards I sent to my sponsored boys. There are 3 of them so if I send mail a few times a month that makes for a lot of writing. But it is so very important to these youngsters to know that someone cares about them and prays for them and sends money each month for their needs. If any of you are looking to sponsor children, I would recommend Compassion International. They do a wonderful job of keeping the sponsor involved and informed about everything like the child's development, community information and country information. They provide an updated photo each year along with a letter from the leadership in the community and some community and country information so you know the context within which the child is living and learning. They make sure every child receives a gift at Christmas whether you send funds or not for that purpose.  Of course they encourage you to contribute to the Christmas Fund but they make sure no child is left out. You are also able to make gifts throughout the year to the family and to the child to provide for other things like food and housing needs.

Today I managed to get around to using my Vitamix to make cashew milk! Yeah! I was inspired by Teresa's blog over at Affectioknit  I've been wanting to make the cashew milk for a long time but didn't make it a priority. I needed to find a source of raw organic cashews and also figure out how to do it. Teresa's post showed how easy it is so I got inspired.  

I've looked on line at Nut.Com, Amazon and a local supplier Nut Hut. In the end, I decided to purchase some raw, organic cashews at my local grocers. In fact, I purchased some at two different grocers just to try them out. I just bought a small amount to experiment and made up my first batch today.

My procedure is a little different because I soaked my nuts overnight. I've read several health practitioners say it is necessary to soak nuts because nuts have phytic acid and enzymes inhibitors.  Soaking them reduces the phytic acid and neutralizes enzyme inhibitors. There are other benefits to soaking and you can read more about it on line. Phytates can interfere with your body's absorption of important minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc and lead to bone loss (even whole wheat grains should be soaked for this reason.  You might remember my experiment with soaked grains here.  I haven't made a lot of bread lately due to blood glucose issues but if I make more I will remember to soak the grains).

Here is my procedure:

- 1/2 cup of raw, organic cashews
- cover with water and soak overnight.

In the morning I discarded the water as it looked rather dirty. I put the cashews in the Vitamix blender along with a pinch of Celtic sea salt, a half teaspoon of honey and a cup of water. 

After zapping until smooth it looked like this. I will be using it for coffee and if I find I like it I will be making more to use for cereal in the morning.

The cashew milk/cream. It is surprisingly white though the nuts look more ivory in colour.

Ready for coffee

                               The first cup was great and I found the cashew cream made my coffee less bitter tasting.

I hope to get some outdoor photos to share soon but for now here are two moon shots I snapped on Friday using my phone camera.

I like the first shot where the city street lights bracket the moon.

Unfortunately the phone camera doesn't capture moon detail and it is even hard to get a clear photo at night.

Joining up with Lady Fi and others at Our World Tuesday.

Have a glorious week.

Saturday's Critters

Hello friends,

I'm joining up with Eileen at Saturday's Critters today. Stop by and see all the other fabulous creatures featured there. Have a wonderful Saturday!

This is a resident Salmon Crested Cockatoo at the Bloedel Conservatory located in the Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada.

Entrance to the Blodel Conservatory

A cockatoo is a type of parrot. See the distribution of the cockatoo in the image below.

Image credit:  Wikipedia

As you can see in the first photo, the cockatoo was at rest and  and very placid. I got several photos of him staring at me intently.

A few minutes later he was squawking loudly and putting on quite the show.

 I think he enjoyed an audience of more than one. Either that or one of the children agitated him.

In any case, it was fun to see the bird in action. I wasn't quick enough to capture it hanging upside down on the branches with feathers puffed out.

My World Tuesday & Poppy Love

Hello dear friends,

I hope you are all doing well.

I've been fairly busy as usual as I'm helping build a house and picking out paints, looking at bathroom and kitchen cabinet design, water connections, electric connections and building flower boxes to set outside the kitchen window and gaze at flowers. It is a lot of work looking for design ideas and figuring out everything from scratch on a budget.

I am also busy trying to keep my little garden growing. It has been very hot for several days.

I found this guy in the bird bath on the hottest day so far. I don't know if he was trying to get cool or if he had fallen into the water from the tree above.

My garden soil is of mixed health.  There are parts where I need to water a lot because the soil doesn't hold the water for long.  This is the area where the vegetables are planted.

There are other areas where I've over watered and see I've drowned a few anenome plants that were not that hardy.  I also have a few seedlings I started a few weeks ago that need to go into the ground but I haven't had the time or energy to plant them. Maybe tomorrow.

My vegetables are doing fairly well.  But I've discovered there are lots of tiny holes my cabbage leaves.  Last night I looked up the problem on line and see the holes are made by cabbage loopers eating the leaves. But I haven't caught any of them in the act yet and I'm not quite sure what to do about it as I don't want to use any chemicals. I will have to do a bit more research.

The petunias I planted just the other day are starting to flower already and the geraniums are doing well too.  The pansies easily wilt under the hot sun and need some good watering and deadheading on a regular basis.

I've also been busy trying to get the blood glucose under control. I have been doing my very best for years and it doesn't seem to make much difference to my average blood sugar levels which are slowly rising. The doctor now has me on another drug and I'm cautiously optimistic that it is going to work.  I should have a better idea in a few weeks time.

I made a nice Greek dinner recently just for something different. I had a rack of lamb in the freezer that I had been saving and wanted to use it before it got too old. I didn't get a good photo of the lamb but didn't much like it anyway. I prefer lamb in a stew.

Greek Salad

Roasted Greek Potatoes (garlic and lemon)

Homemade Tzadziki (cucumber) sauce & toasted pita bread

It has been a long time since I did any crafting or extensive reading. I've been trying to do both but haven't gotten very far. Hopefully I can do more of both over the coming weeks. One book I'm reading is called London by Edward Rutherford. I am at about page 700 and have about 500 more pages to read.

I went to the eye doctor for my annual check up the other day. I was relieved to discover that my eye sight had not deteriorated even more. There is a new optometrist I was booked in with. She is a young and bright doctor and gave me some new contact lens to try. They are for presbyopia and can eliminate the  need for reading glasses on top of contact lens. I'm trying them for a month and have to see her again at the end of the week to see how things are going. I think the prescription still needs a bit of tweaking.

Well that is what is going on in my world this week. I'll be by to read about your week.

Joining in with Our World Tuesday this week and I Heart Macro.