The Mandarin

     Forgot to put the memory card back in my camera so no photos that I am able to transfer but I did have an enjoyable outing last week, the first of many over the Christmas season.

   The seniors at the community centre where I attend fitness classes and volunteer in the kitchen had a special event planned for them last week, a lunch with entertainment at our local Chinese buffet restaurant. It was subsidized by the Executive so we had an all-you-can eat meal for just $15!

   I have learned over the years to be very careful at this type of eatery as my eyes are inevitably bigger than my stomach! So, I started carefully with a plate of sushi (very tasty and probably worth almost the whole $15) followed, after quite a lengthy pause with some typical Chinese dishes (no rice or anything else too filling) and a small salad plate. I almost blew it with the dessert as the choices were so yummy, but managed to limit my selections to cheesecake, creme caramel, fruit and just one piece of Nanaimo bar. There was unlimited green tea to wash it all down and I didn't feel too inordinately stuffed.

   The music teacher from the centre provided the entertainment on his guitar and we lustily joined in as he played Christmas songs. Finally there were lucky draws but our table was the only one not to have any of our numbers drawn (we suspect the fix was in). However, that didn't affect our enjoyment of the treat and we all went home happy.

   Needless to say, I needed a nap when I got home and, much later just a very light dinner. There are still three more eating events before the big one on Christmas Day but I will continue to consume lightly until then. And that's not even counting today when the ladies in the Art class at the centre invited me to share in the treats (more sushi!) they had brought to celebrate their last day of classes. Dare I weigh myself tomorrow?

Time for a Catch Up

     Sorry, haven't felt like blogging but have been keeping up with others' blogs, lots of Christmassy stuff which I haven't got into yet.

    Monday was Knitters and Crafters and we had some extra Christmas treats with our coffee. I didn't go out for lunch after as I was a bit queezy, too much chocolate probably. I felt better by the evening and managed a small dinner before heading out to dancing. The church where we dance has finally opened the kitchen for us to use so we had tea and muffins at the break.

   Today I slept in and have been behind the eight ball ever since. Had a small breakfast when I got up then worked out for nearly an hour. Had the rest of my breakfast, washed up the dishes from the night before (!) and then had to rush to get to Bridge on time. I had dreadful cards (and played badly) but the fates were with me as I not only got my $1 back for having the lowest score but also won the Lucky Draw! So, came home $6 to the good. Can't remember ever having that much good luck! Maybe I'd better buy a lottery ticket (NOT).

More Christmas Baking

     I am really ahead of the game this year as I made some Mincemeat tarts to have at the Christmas dinner today. Just a quick batch of pastry and leftover mincemeat from last year. It looked a bit dehydrated so I added the last of the molasses from the plum pudding. They turned out well, just one for each of us. That will be enough as we will have plum pudding first!

   They will go in the freezer until the big day.

Keeping Busy in the Kitchen

    Used up the last of a big carton of milk, just before its expiry date, by starting a batch of yogurt in my Instapot. It will work its magic overnight and will be ready in the morning to go in the fridge to drain for a few hours. Decanting it into a container is the only tricky part of the whole procedure but I am getting better at it!

     I also made a Holiday Fruit Bread to use up the leftover candied peel and glace cherries from the plum pudding. It sank a bit in the middle even though I gave it an extra ten minutes but it tastes fine.

   I like it for breakfast with my morning coffee, slathered with butter. It doesn't have much butter in the recipe and just one egg, so fairly healthy.