The Blessing of a Snow Day

We all know this is one of the most busy times of the year. Even when you want to keep things simple ...... even when you're organized and ready for the festivities, life is just so darned busy. I've found that with aging, it's so, so important to make ME the priority: one just doesn't have the strength, stamina, or health to ignore the signs that you need to slow down. So, I make allowances for the things that I 'wanted' to do and just stick to what 'needs' to be done. And I'm okay with that. But if a good ole Newfie blizzard causes a work closure, I take full advantage of that extra day. 

Sunday afternoon, I didn't do my usual cooking for the week but instead took myself for a walk in the mist and scattered slush and sat near the bay to soak up some nature. Ahhhhh! 

Alas, Monday morning I woke to a raging blizzard outside which meant no work. So, while I enjoyed my morning coffee, I looked through my new-to-me cookbooks (purchased for $1 each at our library book sale). I adore reading cookbooks! 

I earmarked recipes that I want to try in future; not everything was a Xmas recipe. But I did pull out my tried 'n' true Xmas recipes and made a list of pantry needs. I took out butter and cream cheese to warm to room temp. And while that was happening, I decided to do my weekly cook. 

Soon I had a pot of delicious Japanese curry bubbling on my stovetop, filling the apartment with the most delicious, comforting aromas! Japanese curry cubes are wonderful: they're really quick and convenient and wonderfully flavorful, adding just a hint of sweetness and a deep, rich color. One of my Japanese international students introduced me to them, and although I love Indian carries, there are times that I crave a good Japanese curry, especially in winter. Yum!

For dinner, I made a favorite chicken dish that I've made for years. I put a couple of chicken breasts in a baking dish, top with salsa and Jack cheese and bake. Serve with a good rice and a salad, and you have a completely balanced meal. 

I ate a simple lunch; and by that time, the butter and cream cheese were room temp. So, I made a couple of batches of cookie dough to pop in the freezer: shortbread and Rugelach, two of our favorites. Then, just like the good Lord Himself, I rested! Feet up, a large mug of hot chocolate (and perhaps a few German chocolate treats which had just arrived), and a little Netflix. 

Because this unexpected snow day, I'll be able to give more time to prepping my 89 year old Dad's house for our family Christmas dinner and my grandson's Dec 23rd birthday. And I'll be able to rest more. Fingers crossed that this Xmas will be illness and stress free!

My last day of work will be this Friday. And as I don't have a computer at home yet, you may not hear much from me until I return to work. But I'll be catching up on your posts via my phone.

Hubert, Doris and I all wish you a Happy Solstice tomorrow, a Happy Hannukah, and the very best of Christmas'. And if you don't celebrate, I wish you peace and joy and quiet amidst the hooplah.

Weekend Update

It rained and rained and rained all weekend in my neck of the woods. No lovely autumn drives in the country for us. 

My organizational skills this weekend took the form of changing  out the seasonal clothes. My goodness! I have a lot of clothing; but there are still a few summer-ish things in there that will get put away later.

Frenchies had a 50% off sale today, so I took the girls for clothes and me for anything but clothes! So I stuck to books and things for others. "Cooking Light" cookbook and "A Moveable Feast" for $1.45 each, Madhur Jaffrey for $1 and the "Food" magazine for 50 cents.


I also bought this costume -- Woody from Toy Story -- for my grandson to wear in a couple of years for $3 (similar to this one but not exact). He's already the cutest little buckeroo in town!




I made a delicious Japanese soup with squash, kale, tofu, udon noodles and a touch of red chili paste. Really tasty.


But my favorite meal was our Sunday night dinner -- Rasam -- from my fairly new-to-me "A Taste of India" cookbook, $4 at Value Village. (Recipe to the left if you're interested.) It was a lot of work: toasting and grinding spices, chopping, frying, baking.  But well worth it.

The dish was marvelous! Really quite spicy (so we cooled it down with Greek yogurt) and served with mixed veg and rice. Lena was content with an egg instead of the Rasam.

Then Lena taught me to make Weckmann or Stutenkerl which are traditionally made in Germany for St Martin's Day.  They are a sweet bread dough shaped into a man; and Lena's mother's version has the addition of gently heated water with mashed apple. 

It's a sad, sad day when I have to make my own man!

Lena made the traditional fat guy at the far right; mine is the slender gent in the middle with the debonair moustache and goatee; and Nagisa's man is actually a Japanese cartoon character.  


They tasted very, very yummy: golden and crusty on the outside but soft and tender on the inside.

Now it's off to bed to catch up on some cookbook reading.

Yup, if I'm not cooking or eating, I'm thinking or reading about cooking and eating.

Citrus Roasted Tofu

I'm now on week 2 of being mostly vegetarian and I must say, it's been surprisingly great.  I've had a couple of dud meals where they were fairly tasteless.  (Thank you, Siracha.) And I've craved meat once or twice (and was able to satisfy the cravings with adding a chicken breast for Nagisa and I or with adding something to my lunch.)  But Lena has been a most grateful veggie-child for all my efforts -- good or bad.

I've been the lucky recipient of 3 great new-to-me cookbooks from Value Village:  vegetarian slow cooker, a Thai and an Indian.  And I've found a number of great websites and/or blogs. But of course, with many of these dishes, you have to get your pantry stocked in order to prepare the food.  In the meantime, I experiment with what I have.

This weekend when I did my weekly cooking, I prepared a chocolate chili, a shrimp curry and my daughter's adapted beet burgers.  We all love tofu, and Saturday evening's  Citrus Roasted Tofu (Food Republic) was a huge hit.

The julienned carrot/almond side was delicious as well.

An excellent recipe.  And even if you're not a tofu lover, this one may convince you!  Give it a try.

Glimpses of my Weekend

Baptist Church yardsale finds:  jewellery box ($1), beautiful beaded chain necklace ($2), hats for summer tea parties ($1 ea), tea tray ($1), 2 cookbooks ($0.25 ea) and a pillow for Nagisa's room ($2).

Al fresco dinner on the deck and my first gin and tonic of the season.

Multi-cultural event in Lunenburg:  beautiful saris; beautiful people; culture, history, dancing and delicious food.

 Chai concentrate -- which smells divine.  Thank you so much Goody (Eat the Blog).  
(She left the recipe in the comments section of my last post.)

Cooking for the week:
curried carrot lentil soup and spatchcock chicken (both from The Perfect Pantry) and baked falafal.

My kitchen smells delicious right now!

I can tell you how to get to Sesame Sweet (Chicken)

The road to healthy eating is an exciting road in this day and age.  Years ago, it was all dry tuna and melba toast.  These days, there's a myriad of information and research on what's healthy; and the internet is at our fingertips, making good food choices much easier.

I'm also hoping that this will help me to stay motivated and continue to make (mostly) good choices.  

It's my new "motivational wall" (inspired by my Korean student, Elly --- except her motivational wall contains much skinner girls "with heads" as she pointed out to me!).  Some of my bad habits are so ingrained in me, that I need a reminder to THINK before I do something I'm just gonna be sorry for later.

I choose to eat consciously and healthily MOST of the time.  And one of my favorite cookbooks is "The Looneyspoons Collection" -- full of great recipes that have been tweaked to lower fat and bad carbs but keep great taste.  

Last night, we had "Sesame Sweet Chicken" and it was delicious.  I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of their recommended thighs just because it's what I had in my freezer.     

We had brown rice and a bok choy/mushroom/onion stir fry on the side.  Yummy!  

Sunny day

Sweepin' the clouds away

On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get

How to get to Sesame Street.

We Can-nelloni get Tasty and Healthy!

Today was "Cooking for the Week" day.  On the menu?  (1) Honey Mustard marinated Pork Chops, (2) Fruity Meatloaf, (3) Vegetable Beef Barley Soup, and (4) Cannelloni -- all of them fitting into my WW diet.

I recently bought a new cookbook by Canadians Janet and Greta Podleski.  They take everyday recipes and find delicious ways to make them healthier; as well, the book is full of practical weight-loss, anti-aging and healthy-living tips (as well as some of the corniest jokes and puns I've ever read).  I love the girls; and I love what they've done with this "best of" cookbook. (They also have a TV show and a fabulous website.)  This is where my Cannelloni recipe came from today.

Part of my healthy journey is challenging myself to try new foods.  Today I cooked with fennel.  It has a gorgeous licorice smell to it, so I knew I'd like it right away. 

It'll help with my tooting!

Fennel is surprisingly full of nutrients. Aside from being low in calories and fat-free, it's a good source of the B vitamin folate, potassium and even supplies some vitamin C.   It's a rich source of antioxidants, most notably, a good source of a phytochemical called anethole, which has been shown in animal studies to reduce inflammation and even prevent cancer.   The health benefits of fennel include relief from anemia, indigestion, flatulence, constipation, colic, diarrhea, respiratory disorders, menstrual disorders, eye care, etc. Fennel, bearing the scientific name Foeniculum Vulgare Miller, or its essence, is widely used around the world in mouth fresheners, toothpastes, desserts, antacids and in culinary.

We start by drizzling olive oil and balsamic vinegar over chopped tomatoes, red pepper, onion, garlic and fennel and then roast this for 45 minutes.  What an aroma!

Once cooled, simmer this with crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes, basil leaves and Italian seasoning for 15 minutes; then you puree.  This is your sauce.


The filling for the cannelloni is made up of ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, parmesan, chopped spinach, an egg and seasonings of basil, oregano, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. 

You lovingly tuck the filling into each cannelloni shell (thanking God the whole time for such things as fennel, balsamic vinegar and ricotta).  I easily filled the whole box of shells - 8 total; and made 2 casserole dishes.  Top with a little shredded cheese and bake.  (I used no-cook cannelloni shells so it was 45 min for mine.) 

How did it taste?  Oh my goodness:  it was divine!  

The filling was cheesy but quite delicate in flavor.  The sauce wasn't thick, but because of all the vegetables, it had texture and substance to it; there was no hint of licorce but it had a slight sweetness and a mellow tomato flavor.  It was a perfect combination!


6 Points Plus for each cannelloni; so with salad and avocado dressing, I'd say I ate 14 points ..... more than I usually eat for dinner but a wonderful meal and well worth saving my day for.