This Lemon Lover is Smacking Her Lips

Kids Napping I'm Scrapping by Jessica, is on of my "Blogs That Make Me Go Ohhhhh!".
She just posted  a  yummy sounding recipe for a lemon loaf.   

SIGH! 

I love lemon anything,  so now I just HAVE to try this recipe. 

Mind you if I make it then I'll have to eat  it.  

Soooo...it's a win, win lemon thing. 

Thank you Karla for your yummy sounding lemon post. 

I can't wait!  This lemon lover is smacking her lips!

Not that bad.

It is a long weekend for us in Canada. Thanksgiving is on Monday, always the second Monday of October, and turkeys everywhere are going to be gobbled up.  Hubby John and I are going to do a prime rib instead, as we will celebrate Thanksgiving later this month when all the kids and grandchildren are available.  So one lucky gobbler will survive for a few more days anyways.  I feel bad for the cow though.  Well...not that bad.     

A tale of two turkeys.

Well, here it is....Thanksgiving....again.....I can't believe that a whole year has already flown by since last years turkey dinner. This is one of Hubby Johns favourite holidays because he LOVES turkey! I don't mind turkey but it tends to give me ....how can I say this delicately and lady-like?um...well, it gives me .....gas. So although I do like turkey it doesn't like me. But I eat it anyways and I excuse myself a lot. Last year I insisted on a smaller turkey so we wouldn't have fifteen tons of it left over and be eating it for three weeks. BIG MISTAKE! We ended up with just enough leftovers to let HJ have one or two sandwiches. He was NOT a happy camper. This year Hubby John insisted on a larger turkey so there would be plenty of meat left for his midnight raids on the refrigerator. I agreed. Thursday evening while doing our holiday grocey shopping we debated as to whether we should buy a fresh or frozen one and because of lack of fridge storage space we bought a nice sized frozen turkey. No problem! We took it home, packed it in an ice cooler and left it outside in one of the vehicles to thaw. It was cold enough to keep it from going bad but would defrost in time for Saturday morning. Or so I thought! Come Saturday morning stuffing time I got a rude awaking when I realized that half the turkey was still frozen. Great....just great.... I have eleven people coming that evening for dinner and the bird can't be stuffed. Well, it could have been stuffed but I couldn't get at the end of the bird that the neck, liver and all those goodies were stuffed into. I had no way of knowing it they were loose or in a bag and if there was a bag was it paper or plastic?
Grrrrr......I was not a happy camper. Down went the bird to the laundry tub which HJ filled with cold water in the hopes that the bird would finish thawing in an hour or so. No such luck! I couldn't wait any longer so Hubby John and I went to off to the store to pick up a fresh turkey that I could get into the oven right away. HJ dropped me and the bird off at the house and off he went to buy me a burger for my lunch. I got into the house and put the groceries away and then went to stuff the fresh....not frozen.....turkey. What a surprise for me when I realized that the so called fresh turkey had been and was still frozen in some parts. In fact it was frozen in the in the same place that the turkey in the laundry tub downstairs was still frozen in. Grrrrr.....To say I blew a gasket would be an understatement. I am sure there was a blue cloud hanging in the kitchen. I did the only thing I could do. I chipped at the frozen parts while running water over them until I had a big enough hole to get my hand in to check for the extra parts and the bag, if any. No bag had to be pulled out and I stuffed the turkey, cranked the oven up to 450 and put the bird in the oven. By that time, HJ was home with A&W teen burgers and root beer. That definitely helped and I had a smile back on my face by the time I was done eating. Yummy! Then HJ took the half frozen turkey from the tub downstairs, put it into a plastic bag, packed it in ice and cold water in the cooler and set it outside, in the shade, to continue thawing. The turkey in the oven did get cooked in time and nobody knew it had been slightly deformed from being hacked. It was delicious, if I do say so myself. That evening, as company left, almost everyone took turkey leftovers home. In fact we didn't have any turkey for HJ to make a sandwich for himself later that evening. Poor Hubby John. But it was all good because on Sunday morning I was up early and put the second, now defrosted, turkey in the oven. (And yes, there was a plastic bag in it.) Because I didn't stuff this bird it cooked faster and we had turkey sandwiches for a very late lunch and a later supper and as a snack for HJ really late last night. At his request, there is turkey in the freezer for Hubby John to make turkey soup. We had turkey sandwiches for lunch today and will probably have them for supper tonight too! I will be taking turkey for lunch all this week and HJ will munch on it all week as well. We should be growing feathers by the end of the week. LOL! So there you have it. The tale of two turkeys. Hubby John won't complain about a turkey shortage again....at least not for this year. And believe me when I say this....
next year I'm doing a ham.

Taste "good to the very last drop"!

How many of you can remember that commercial for Maxwell House coffee that had a single drop of coffee coming out of the cup? The announcer would say...."Good to the very last drop!"
I rarely drink coffee. I love the smell of it, before, during and after brewing. For me, the smell of coffee is a comfort thing that brings back very fond memories of my childhood. As a little girl, when I stayed at my Uncle George's house he would take me down to the grocery store and would get a bag of fresh ground coffee. Mmmmmm......that smell........I loved it then and I still do to this very day. Waking up in the morning and going downstairs to the kitchen where Aunt Cecilia would be brewing coffee with the coffee burping up to the little glass cap on top of the peculator while the bread was toasting in the electric toaster with the sides that came down. I remember it like it was yesterday rather than fifty years ago. That smell of coffee will always be a good one in my memory. My Aunt Cecilia and Uncle George always kept their brown bag of coffee in the fridge and my mom and dad and my Grams did the same. And we all know the expression....Monkey see....monkey do. So that is why I have done the same for all these years. Up to this past Christmas our coffee usually came in a can rather than a little brown bag. Once in a while Hubby John would want a bag of fresh ground coffee, but mostly when we needed to restock our supply, we bought a can when it was on sale. Regardless of can or bag, once we got it home, into the fridge or freezer it went. Imagine my surprise then, when I read on MSN news that I shouldn't have been doing that. It seems that it was the worse possible thing I could do. Here is what the article had to say about this subject:
To Store Coffee Beans
The worst place: The refrigerator or freezer
Think that you're preserving freshness by stashing it in the fridge? Think again. Every time you take it out of the fridge or freezer, you expose it to fluctuating temperatures, which produces condensation. "The moisture leeches out flavor—it's like brewing a cup of coffee each time," says John McGregor, PhD, a professor in the department of food science and human nutrition at Clemson University.
Best place: Store your beans or grounds in an opaque, airtight container kept on the counter or in the pantry.
Go figure......who knew?? I am sure that coffee drinkers all over the world were boggled by this news article. But change can sometimes be a good thing don't you think?
The good thing is that I rarely buy canned coffee anymore since Hubby John and I got a new coffee brewing system as a gift from John Vincent & Sarah, this past Christmas. It takes these little pre-filled pods and brews a cup at a time. We love it. HJ can have all the coffee he can drink and I can have tea and hot chocolate or even a speciality coffee, like butter pecan flavoured or whatever, in less than a minute. I try to be green conscious while using our new pod system. After we are done using the pods I clean them out....the coffee grounds and paper filter go into our green composting bin and the plastic pod and the tin foil lid, into the blue recycling bin. The bad thing is that there are still the odd occasions where I buy a can of coffee, for large parties or family gatherings. But I promise to all my friends and family that I will try to remember to keep the can out of the cold and damp. After all, I do want the coffee to taste as good as it smells. And I do want it to taste "good till the very last drop"!

It's a wrap!

I love bread! It doesn't matter whether it is brown or white, sweet bread or sour dough, with or without nuts, raisins or other add-in's. As long as it is bread I am a happy person. This morning however I was not a happy camper. There wasn't enough bread to make a sandwich for my lunch. There was, however, a package of whole grain wraps in the fridge. RATS!!! I don't like wraps. I will eat them IF I have to. Hubby John, on the other hand really likes wraps. He actually orders them when we go out to a real restaurant to eat. Jeez...what a Weirdo!
SIGH.......
Anyway, back to this AM. What was a girl to do? I had to make wraps. Did I mention that I DON"T LIKE WRAPS? So I attempted to make roast beef wraps with lettuce and cheese for our lunches. Stuff was falling out all over the counter when I tried to roll them up. So I took everything back off and smeared mayo on the wrap to act like a glue. It seemed to work. Did I mention that I am also not real fond of mayo on my sandwiches? I prefer mustard but I thought the mayo might stick everything together better. So I re-wrapped the wraps and rolled them up again, or should I say, attempted to roll them up again. I wrapped the wraps in wax paper and then in a bread bag to keep them rolled tight. At lunch time mine stayed together when I went to eat it....sort of...I don't know how HJ fared with his.
So guess what I am doing tonight? Buying bread. It won't matter what colour or kind it is. It won't matter what brand it is. It will be bread....yummy bread...I can hardly wait. I'll walk into that store, go to the bread aisle and take my time choosing one of my favourite things to eat. Then I'll pay for the bread and take it home and tell Hubby John that I am now a happy camper: I bought the good stuff....the job is done....it's a wrap!

One Happy Sicko

My Hubby John a very caring person.
He is always so thoughtful when I am sick. Making sure I get fresh air (aka freezing in the car), making sure I have medicine (aka get better so you don't make me sick) letting me hog the box of Kleenex (aka I am not using those if your touching the box) and making sure I have plenty of nourishment during my sickness (aka if I don't get better he will have to do ALL the cooking).
LOL!!! JUST KIDDING!
HJ really is a good hubby and he does tend to baby me when I get sick.
Yesterday, when I got home from work, I was greeted with the words, "I made chicken noodle soup". Yummy! Hubby John makes the best home-made chicken soup.
Yep....from scratch!
Pun intended ... hee..hee..hee... ...do you get it?...scratch....chicken..... I know...I know....it's a stretch....but then I am sick and not in my best form.
Anywho, thanks to my Hubby John I am feeling a bit better and actually went out for a bit of sale shopping last night. HJ came along and we got a certain Cutie-Patootie some Easter basket goodies (no, not candy) and Mr. Bump, some baby shower goodies. We also picked up some draw prizes for a fund raising event that John Vincent is involved in.
Everything bought was on sale.
Yippee!!!
So yes, I am feeling better.
How could I not be? Home-made soup AND thrifting? How great is that?
I am one happy sicko!

Things I find in the morning.

At the end of our deck is a wild area that has never been filled in. I would like the pool heater to be put down there or maybe the hot tub. My dear hubby John, would like to finish the area with more deck. It has been, for many years, an ongoing discussion between us. Right now it is a wild area that has golden-rod, raspberry bushes and assorted wild plants growing in it. None of these were planted on purpose. It was just lucky for us that we have this pretty and wild green spot. One day it will be something else....maybe.
This morning after my morning rituals were all completed I opened the patio door blinds to let Baby Cat Oscar get a better view of the great outdoors. I noticed that I had not put 2 lounge cushions away and I thought I should take care of it before I forgot about them......again. So out I went, armed with my spider web stick,(everyone should own a spider web stick) and I grabbed a cushion to take to the end of the deck to the bin that holds all the deck cushions. While wildly swinging my spider web stick and being careful not to fall into the pool, I made it to the bin in once piece. I put the cushion in and was closing the lid when I spied a bit of colour off to the side. Hmmmm.........what is that I thought? (I really need to start putting on my glasses before I do stuff.) Was it a large spider in a web? Those sneaky little things do that overnight you know....they just spin away and then presto!......they get you when you least expect it. I side-stepped to my right and that brought me to our lovely stolen raspberry bushes. No, no, we didn't really steal them. You see the house next door has always been rented. Over the last 20 or so years there have been many different people in that house. Each time someone new moves in they rip out the back and front gardens and replant them. I bet that over all these years hundreds if not thousands of dollars have been spent on plants in that back yard. Lucky us got the best of them. Up to this last year when the newest people ripped everything out...again...we had lovely morning glories on our side of the fence. For a few years we had tea roses...very pretty. And sometime along the way we got raspberry bushes. Lots of raspberry bushes. Lucky us! Anyway can you guess what that colour that I saw this morning was? Yep....late growing raspberries....lots of them. I guess all this lovely hot dry Indian summer weather we are having has extended the growing season. I grabbed a handful of those huge berries and brought them in for HJ. There are lots more that will be ripe enough for my Cutie Patootie Neve to pick Friday afternoon when she is here.
Mmmm....yummy!
Who would have thought....summer berries in the fall?
Life is good!
There is nothing more I could want or need.
Except to have that hot tub or heater moved to the end of the deck.

You just might like it.

Tuesday nights are Neve nights. Her Papa and Gram's (that's me and Hubby John) take supper out to her house and we all, (Neve, Sarah & John Vincent aka Mommy and daddy) eat together and talk about our day. Supper over and then it's play time for my Cutie-Patootie Neve. Mostly Papa gets to play with her as Gram's usually falls asleep on the couch. Mommy and daddy go off in the house and do their own thing. Sometimes we sit watching TV while Papa and Neve play a game or pretty ponies. There is always time for conversation among all of us before Papa and Grams's have to pack up and go. Lots of hugs and kisses are given and received before we leave. It's always a fun evening and we always look forward to it. Sometimes we pick up "take-out" - subs, pizza or whatever. This past week, in keeping with Hubby John's and my attempt to keep our budget on budget, I took a crock-pot of PULLED PORK. The recipe was courtesy of daughter Jaime. It was the first time I made it. Oh my! It was Mmmmmmm, Mmmmmm good! We took all the fixings; crusty rolls, shredded lettuce, thin sliced onions and pickles and we also took some par-boiled potatoes that we used to make home fries. Cutie-Patootie Neve had Why Not Soup as she decided she didn't like/want/refused to even try the pork but the rest of us pigged out on pork. (pun intended) Yes, our arteries certainly worked overtime that night. So if you like BBQ pork on a bun you can find this easy smeasy recipe here. Try it. You just might like it.

Why Not Soup

The last week and a half have not been good. Dental problems, house and cat sitting for John Vincent, Sarah & Cutie-Patootie Neve, once a day in a 20 minute drive both ways, dog sitting their 2 doggies at our house, Hubby John coming down with viral pneumonia and ending up in emergency at three in the morning, me driving home alone, for the first time on the 401 from Toronto, very little sleep for both HJ and myself, my mom going to Emergency (she's home & fine), picking the kids up in TO in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday.
Whew! Was it a long, busy, tiring, one and a half weeks!
The two doggies were, for the most part, good dogs. But we are not used to having dogs that bark at cars going by, people going by, dogs barking in other yards, dogs barking at each other in our house and at the ones on TV. We are not used to saying "No! Put that down, get down off there, let it go....let it go now...I SAID DROP IT! Go to your cage...now....right now.....I said NOW! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU IF I GET MY HANDS ON YOU! NO!!! I DON'T THINK YOU'RE CUTE SO STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! It was like that for most of the time we had them. But what can I say? It's not their fault. After all they're just dogs. Our two Oscar cats slunk around trying not to be landed on by the 7 month old puppy who likes to be air borne and who thinks everything everywhere is for his enjoyment and is to be taste tested and played with. To say our patience was at an end by the time this past Tuesday rolled around is putting it mildly. Between feeding cats and dogs and driving to and fro, Hubby John and I both slept whatever hours we could for most of the family day long weekend. Early, very early, Tuesday morning we left the house at one AM to drive down to Toronto airport to pick up JV, S & Cutie Patootie. The plane was delayed and by the time we delivered them to their home and got back to ours it was just after five A.M. A quick cat nap and I was up and on my way to work by 8:30. John, sick as he was, still had to go out to do a few jobs later that morning too. It was a very long day for both of us. Tonight Hubby John asked for soup for supper. I didn’t feel like having packaged soup and thought I would quickly whip up a pot of homemade. Every time I took something out of the fridge or freezer I just said “Why Not?” and threw it into the pot. Hubby John and I both agreed that it is one of the best soups I have ever made. If you look here you can see the recipe. I called it WHY NOT SOUP.

The Candy Critic

Do you know how it is when you need to put a picture with a blog posting and you go surfing trying to find just the right picture and then you stumble upon a great site with the perfect picture and get busy checking out the site and then find that an hour has passed without you even being aware of it? Sigh.......That is what happened to me while looking for a picture of my favourite candy for the my last post.

The Candy Critic is a tasty site.

Yummy!

Take a swing by and look to see if you can find your favourite treat like I did.

This is what makes me happy.

With one thing and another

and a dash of plain laziness added in,

I didn't get my weekly "This Is" blog

done in a timely fashion.

So this week I am posting it late.

As a wise woman once said,

better late than never.

P.S. A big thank you to Jacinta for this weeks topic choice.

THIS IS WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY.
The "F" word makes me happy.

Actually there are 3 "F" words that make me happy......
Family, Friends and Food.

What more does one need in life?

pics by Jaime M. & Tami's Photo's

See you in the donut shop!

Inspiration for a blog can, for me, be found everywhere.
Just opening my eyes in the morning can be an adventure in itself and could be something to blog upon. Especially if Big Guy Oscar has his nose almost touching mine and his eyes are, staring, unblinking, trying to will me into waking up and putting food in his dish.
B.T.W. Oscar is my cat not my hubby. Hubby John, does not stare when he wants to eat. He will ask,"What are we doing for supper?" I'll reply,"What do you want?" He'll say, "Whatever you want to make." Now please don't get me wrong! Hubby John is great about sharing the dreaded " making supper job" so I am definitely not complaining.....at least not this time.
However, I digress so I'll get back on subject. The other night while I was nosing around in blogger space, I stumbled upon this neat site and it got me thinking about today's blog subject. http://www.blogthings.com/

....DONUTS....DOUGHNUTS....DONUTS....DOUGHNUTS....
Dictionary information: dough·nut
Variant(s): also do·nut \-(ˌ)nət\
Function: noun
Date: circa 1809
1 : a small usually ring-shaped cake fried in fat
2 : something (as a mathematical torus) that resembles a doughnut especially in shape
— dough·nut·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

It doesn't matter how you spell it . It means the same in any language.
Donut (Eng.), beignet (Fr.), buñuelo (Sp.), krapfen (Ger.), ciambella (Itl.).
I am sure that somewhere in the world there is someone who has never eaten a donut. I am also sure that I, myself, have consumed not only that one donut but probably more than enough of them to feed a small nation. My downfall in this lifecycle is that I am a carbohydrate junkie and donuts are one of the yummiest carbs I know of (second only to bread of any kind). So I do indulge when I get the urge to do so.
Anyways, if you have ever been kept awake at night, wondering what kind of donut you would be if you were going to be one, then this site will answer that question for you.
I am, it seems, a glazed donut. Go figure.....I am not particularly fond of glazed donuts, although I will eat one if that's all there is left in the box. I prefer a lemon filled donut myself.
Yummy.....especially a Krispy Kreme Lemon Creme donut...mmmmmmmmm....
Oh No! There I go....I am salivating all over my keyboard.
I need to go and clean the drool off the front of my shirt so why don't you take a minute to take the quiz and see what kind of sweet thing you are: http://www.blogthings.com/whatdonutareyouquiz?
See you in the donut shop!