Simple Eats

While I am a simple cook, sometimes simple can be so nice. Today I made dinner consisting of brown rice cooked the old fashioned way on the stove top, roasted chicken drumsticks and a colourful black bean and corn salad.

The salad consists of:

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn kernels

• 1 medium red pepper, washed and diced

• 2 stalks of green onions, washed, peeled and diced

• 1/2 papaya, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

• 1 lime

After you assemble and prepare all the ingredients, simply toss them together with the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon.

If you like spices, you can add cayenne pepper and garlic. Or, you can add some avocado if you wish. As for me, I left out the spices and used bigger chunks of papaya.

Tip:  There is no need to defrost the corn kernels first. I made this salad while the rice and chicken were cooking.  By the time the main meal is ready to be plated, the corn kernels in the salad are thawed enough to eat.

I am grateful that we in the west can still eat. 

Even if we have no money there are things like food banks and soup kitchens

as long as you are able bodied enough to walk to these places. 

My heart and head are still concerned about the hungry and the 

dying in the Horn of Africa. Please consider your gift today. 

You can find donate buttons on the side of my blog.

The Simple Joys of Living

Often I get very behind on housework and domestic tasks despite my best efforts. Does anyone else have that problem *wink.  Then when I energetic  I whirl around like a dervish trying to catch up with things.   I am always pleased when I see how much I've accomplished.

This week I got a lot of domestic tasks done:

• finished loads and loads of laundry. They were all small loads so I was able to conserve water.  As part of my laundry exercise, I was trying to shrink some linen clothing and a rayon dress I purchased recently for comfort in the summer heat we are finally getting.  While the dress shrunk a bit in length, the linen clothing didn't shrink at all!  Now I think I have to alter them or have them altered. It is okay because they were purchased on a very good sale. I can alter the clothing myself if I have time but I want to wear them before I'm likely to get the job done myself. I'm torn about whether to spend the funds because I like to save pennies too.  So we will see what happens in the next week or so.
• loaded up on food shopping. It seems I was out of all the basic items and then some. I didn't even have eggs, milk or margarine on hand.
• baked muffins and bread. Baked goods are so expensive and there was no bread on sale today. The banana muffins saved my bananas from going to waste and the blueberry muffins were made from last year's blueberries which needed to be used.  I also made a loaf of bread and half a dozen rolls from a new recipe.

These buns have a crispier crust than the ones I usually make. I like a crispy crust so will likely use this recipe again.

• baked some navy bean and beef soup with a tomato base in my Kitchen Aid casserole. It may seem like a hearty dish for summer but this week I seem to have a craving for beans.  In a few days I'll try my hand at some black bean salsa or black bean relish and pair it with some fish or chicken.

• washed lots and lots of dishes and pots and pans. My room mate generally makes the dinners.  I clean and run the household.  The cleaning part never seems to end and it can seem tedious.  Given that the work will always be there, I'm making a concerted effort to look at my daily tasks in a new light. I am fortunate enough to have a home, hot running water and hands to to clean so I am trying to take joy in these simple tasks and be grateful that I can live the life I live.

I've been busy with other things too.

Like shopping for my mom. I learned a few days ago that she needed some grooming and toiletry items. It's taken a few days to pull it together but it's all done now.  My brother will kindly deliver these things to her on Tuesday as he is travelling to her city for a quick trip.

I also bought her a few dresses as she is celebrating her 75  birthday later this month.  I bought one each of the dresses you see on the left and right and a 3rd dress for which I don't have a photo.  The dresses in the photos are being modelled by store clerk.

The dresses were shipped a few days ago.  I wish I was there to see her surprise when she gets the package.  The dresses are  nice and roomy so that they won't pull when she sits in her wheelchair. Moreover, the width shouldn't shrink when the care home washes her clothes as they tend to wash clothes in scalding hot water.

I've had a chance to update my blog.  It took awhile but I finally have a new header and a new layout. I hope you like it. The header has a "lomo-ish" effect which brings out the colour of the lily and blurs the images a bit.  Let me know what you think. I plan to change out the header every now and then. It seems to be a popular thing to do amongst bloggers.

Well that it's for now. 

I've got a gazillion things to do this 

weekend around the house and more errands.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday

Thank you to my newest follower Colleen. Hello  my fellow Canadian.

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.  (Kenyan Proverb)

In my last post I wrote about how I was waiting to pick up a table and chairs from the city. I have them home now and I am very happy!  I still have the antique dining table and chairs to offload so I haven't got a photo of new set in my home for you yet but I do have this photo of the exact table and chairs I purchased.

I'm sure I will like the set very much.  The table is round and they say that round tables are good for smaller spaces.  I was also able to gift my friends with a recliner that I wanted to sell. They have need of a recliner so it worked out great!

(Update added later:  As an afterthought I figured I should let you know that this purchase is the first furniture purchase I've made for the apartment for about 11 years, with the exception of replacing furniture ruined by the fire. Those costs were covered by the insurance company.  I'm working very hard to cut down or cut out other household purchases altogether in my quest for a simple life although my sofa and chair which are  almost two decades old may need to be replaced soon. I've been looking at reupholstery, second hand and new options for the sofa and chair.  Really I think they need to be replaced rather than reupholstered as they are a little too large for the space.)

I have now finished my 5th full day of the whole body cleanse which I told you about here. I haven't noticed any major changes though I can say the fibre and laxative are keeping me more regular and that is a key benefit for me right now. I do have a few breakouts on my face the past few days but nothing atrocious. I understand that this happens when toxins are being eliminated from the body. I think in another 9 days I will feel a little better, a little lighter somehow, and that is all good.

It snowed yesterday and overnight the night before.  This was very surprising after a warm spell but the snow didn't last long. In fact it is all gone today and there is still a gray sky with some light rain falling. I am grateful for rain and warmer weather because it means that spring will come early here and with that the lovely spring blossoms which I love so much.

A photo from Kenya. I was fascinated by all the bird's nests in each tree.

I may be taking a few days break from posting as I 

am busy with a lot of things at the moment. 

In the meantime, enjoy your weekend and your 

loved ones.  I'd love to hear what you have planned.