I found some blackberries at the store yesterday at a reasonable price ($1.65 for a punnet) and will have then with my home made crème fraiche. It is so easy to make and, in my opinion, better than the real stuff which is quite high in fat. I use a small carton of low fat sour cream and a tablespoon of brown sugar, well mixed.
Here's another recipe - my grandmother's recipe for stuffing. I used this to stuff the capon for the Christmas dinner but had a bread stuffing cooked separately for those that prefer it. But I did notice that both were popular. I had a little left over so mixed it with some sausage meat to stuff in the neck of the bird.. It was delicious too.
8 ozs. oatmeal
4 ozs beef suet
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt and some freshly ground pepper
milk to moisten
After taking the stuffing out of the bird, fluff it and check it for seasoning (oatmeal does need quite a lot of salt) and add more if needed.
Sunday, 28 December 2014
Saturday, 27 December 2014
Lucy's Visit
Lucy the dog arrived around noon yesterday. Steve and Alison were on their way up north for an overnight visit. Lucy didn't seem to object to being left and we had a pretty active afternoon, playing in the back yard and a walk to the park. She can spend an inordinate amount of time fetching a tennis ball and waiting for it to be thrown again.
We had an early start to the day today with a trip outside at 5:00 a.m. However, after she had finished her business and come back in, I headed back to bed and got another couple of hours sleep before starting the day for real. That's actually a better performance than when the grandkids sleep over. More walks this afternoon and more action with the tennis ball! While in the back yard I did a bit of a clean up since it's still mild (up to 9C today and last week's snow pretty well all gone) and put a cover on my air conditioning unit. I would like to keep it looking new as long as possible The old one got very tatty looking before it was replaced.
Now Lucy has departed (she was very glad to see Steve and Alison) and I can relax and start on the leftovers again. I have put half the leftover chicken in the freezer for another day and plan to start with the Taramasalata and a glass of White Zinfandel. I should be able to finish off the potatoes, gravy and green vegetables tonight and I gave Steve and Alison most of the plum pudding - there's just enough to have with some custard if I have room!
We had an early start to the day today with a trip outside at 5:00 a.m. However, after she had finished her business and come back in, I headed back to bed and got another couple of hours sleep before starting the day for real. That's actually a better performance than when the grandkids sleep over. More walks this afternoon and more action with the tennis ball! While in the back yard I did a bit of a clean up since it's still mild (up to 9C today and last week's snow pretty well all gone) and put a cover on my air conditioning unit. I would like to keep it looking new as long as possible The old one got very tatty looking before it was replaced.
Now Lucy has departed (she was very glad to see Steve and Alison) and I can relax and start on the leftovers again. I have put half the leftover chicken in the freezer for another day and plan to start with the Taramasalata and a glass of White Zinfandel. I should be able to finish off the potatoes, gravy and green vegetables tonight and I gave Steve and Alison most of the plum pudding - there's just enough to have with some custard if I have room!
Friday, 26 December 2014
Back To Normal (almost)
Just a day for sorting and tidying. The dishwasher is finally empty of all the pots and pans that had to be handwashed. A quick run (or rather fast walk) down to the drug store for milk this morning
- I knew they, at least, would be open, not sure about the supermarkets. Got the capon carcass in a pot and cooked up some soup - barley, lots of veg and spices, and, an interesting addition, a tsp. of vinegar. Supposedly it draws calcium out of the bones and into the soup - all the better for my bones!
Steve and Alison arrived around noon with Lucy dog who is having a sleepover with me tonight. She is a delightful house guest, very low maintenance, except she is leaning on my arm, making it difficult to type. We went for a long walk just before lunch so she slept while I had a nap. I hope tonight is equally calm!
- I knew they, at least, would be open, not sure about the supermarkets. Got the capon carcass in a pot and cooked up some soup - barley, lots of veg and spices, and, an interesting addition, a tsp. of vinegar. Supposedly it draws calcium out of the bones and into the soup - all the better for my bones!
Steve and Alison arrived around noon with Lucy dog who is having a sleepover with me tonight. She is a delightful house guest, very low maintenance, except she is leaning on my arm, making it difficult to type. We went for a long walk just before lunch so she slept while I had a nap. I hope tonight is equally calm!
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| She loves her yellow tennis ball - we needed an indoor one and an outdoor one due to muddiness. |
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| In her Christmas finery and eyeing the snacks on the table. |
Thursday, 25 December 2014
Time to Relax
The meal is over, dishes all clean and put away, and the visitors off home. Lots of leftovers in the fridge and I shouldn't have to cook (other than heating things up) until next week.
I had the bird (a capon) in the oven by 9:30 a.m. and everything else under control by 11:30 when the guests arrived. Following was a frantic opening of gifts (the grandkids) and some more genteel exchanges (the adults) accompanied by snacking on crackers, cheese and sausage. Soon the meal was ready - shrimp and smoked salmon, followed by capon, green beans, brussel sprouts, carrot and turnip mash. roast potatoes, two kinds of stuffing (probably a redundancy of carbs!) cranberry sauce (Judy's homemade), and gravy. It was quite tricky getting everything hot and served at the same time! It was only after we were finished that I realized I had forgotten the sausage stuffing in the neck of the bird. Well, I will eat it tomorrow.
After a brief respite dessert arrived - fruit and crème fraiche, flambéed plum pudding, and mincemeat tarts. The little ones had to try everything (they have really sweet teeth) and Elliot had seconds of each. Coffee followed for the adults while the kids were excused to try out their gifts
After a walk around the block with Lucy the dog, out came the Christmas Trivia and that lasted as long as James's patience. Then the kids decorated gingerbread men while the adults had more coffee and the cookies came out. Surprisingly they disappeared pretty fast.
Everyone departed around 5:00 p.m. and I have been sitting with my feet up since. I did finish the kitchen cleanup; there's still a bit of a tidy up needed but that will keep until tomorrow!
I had the bird (a capon) in the oven by 9:30 a.m. and everything else under control by 11:30 when the guests arrived. Following was a frantic opening of gifts (the grandkids) and some more genteel exchanges (the adults) accompanied by snacking on crackers, cheese and sausage. Soon the meal was ready - shrimp and smoked salmon, followed by capon, green beans, brussel sprouts, carrot and turnip mash. roast potatoes, two kinds of stuffing (probably a redundancy of carbs!) cranberry sauce (Judy's homemade), and gravy. It was quite tricky getting everything hot and served at the same time! It was only after we were finished that I realized I had forgotten the sausage stuffing in the neck of the bird. Well, I will eat it tomorrow.
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| Getting the bird ready for the oven. It was just under 9lbs. |
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| A tranquil time around the tree. |
After a brief respite dessert arrived - fruit and crème fraiche, flambéed plum pudding, and mincemeat tarts. The little ones had to try everything (they have really sweet teeth) and Elliot had seconds of each. Coffee followed for the adults while the kids were excused to try out their gifts
After a walk around the block with Lucy the dog, out came the Christmas Trivia and that lasted as long as James's patience. Then the kids decorated gingerbread men while the adults had more coffee and the cookies came out. Surprisingly they disappeared pretty fast.
Everyone departed around 5:00 p.m. and I have been sitting with my feet up since. I did finish the kitchen cleanup; there's still a bit of a tidy up needed but that will keep until tomorrow!
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