Posted on December 26th, 2008 by Pamela in Music, Recipes
I have a bit of a dislike for cilantro. It all started in Chile where I was served lentils with cilantro every day for dinner. I liked it at first but by the end of three weeks if I never met another Coriander plant again I definitely wouldn’t miss it.
Unfortunately I love guacamole, and it’s difficult to find it sans cilantro. So I’ve taken to making it myself on a regular basis. And why not? it’s healthy, it’s easy to make and the ingredients are available year round.
I don’t have an actual recipe, I just go with my gut (haha!).
2-4 ripe avocados cut into chunks
1 medium tomato chopped
1/2 small red onion chopped
juice of 1/2 to a whole lime
few shakes of hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
mix it all together in a bowl and serve. I like to leave mine chunky instead of mashing the avocados until they’re smooth. Store leftovers in the fridge with plastic wrap in direct contact with the guac, otherwise it will turn brown.
Posted on December 17th, 2008 by Pamela in Total Cuteness
This is my cat Autumn. It’s really hard to take pictures of her that don’t turn out blurry or with major red eye because she’s so dark. Plus, she always looks ticked off unless she wants something.
Anyway, she’s up for all of you who come over to our house and never see her. Really, I do have a cat.
I used to get out my grandmothers old Viking (Eton’s brand) record player, set it up in the dining room, and listen to records while I did my Christmas baking. By then there was mostly just base coming out of the speakers, which was great for playing my parent’s Bee Gee’s album.
In keeping with the season, here’s a Christmas album I love.
Posted on December 17th, 2008 by Pamela in Recipes
(or in my case bread flowers)
Saw this on the internet. Had to try it.
I went with the French bread recipe that came with my KitchenAid stand mixer manual. then instead of making baguettes, form the dough into rings and and make angled cuts along the outside edge to shape it into a wreath, or a daisy if you prefer.
French Bread:
2 pkgs active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp butter or marg. melted
7 cups all purpose flour.
1 egg white.
1 tbsp cold water.
Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add salt, butter, and flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 1 min, or until well blended. Knead on speed 2 about 2 min longer. Dough will be sticky.
Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about an hour or until doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough and divide in half. shape into loaves or “wreaths”. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover. Let rise in warm place again for about an hour.
Bake at 450F for 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Beat egg white and water together with a fork. Brush over bread. Return to oven and bake for 5 more minutes. Cool on wire racks.
Posted on December 17th, 2008 by Pamela in Recipes
Wow! A week away from Christmas!!! Here’s what I’ve been up to lately:
Chocolate Crinkles:
I think everyone has their own version of this recipe for Christmas, I’ve seen it on a million food blogs of late. Not sure where it came from other than my mom’s recipe box.
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
4 eggs room temp.
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup icing sugar
In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl with electric mixer on high, beat butter, sugar, vanilla and peppermint until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. At low speed mix in cocoa. Stir in flour mixture until just blended. Cover and chill dough for at least 4 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350F. Place icing sugar in bowl, drop dough by level teaspoons (I usually do tablespoon) into sugar and roll each cookie into a ball to coat. On greased cookie sheets bake 9-10 minutes or until slight imprint remains when touched in the centre.
“I need music in my life. I need to make challenging, uplifting, wonderful choral music that feeds my soul, comforts my heart and transfixes and transforms me. Church music, while comforting, is not enough for me. I need to be a part of the grander choral scheme of things. I need Bach, Mozart, Estacio and yes, even Beethoven in my life.” – Lisa Macoll
This afternoon I had my nieces, Aislinn and Tara over to bake some Christmas Sugar Cookies. We all agree that stirring is very hard work. But is well rewarded by a good squishing of the fingers in a big bin of flour (or using the dough as playdough).
Sugar Cookies (from my mom’s recipe box):
1 Cup Shortening
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cream of Tartar
1 tsp Salt
Cream together shortening and sugar. Stir in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, soda, tartar and salt. Mix together wet with dry, roll out on floured surface and cut into shapes. Bake 375F 8-10 minutes.
I usually decorate my sugar cookies with a few sprinkles but in our case, today we made up a glaze that I grabbed off the internet and had fun “colouring in” the shapes. Somehow the red and green for Christmas ended up pink and green.
When we were finished we crashed on the couch and watched Christmas movies.
Posted on December 4th, 2008 by Pamela in Music, nonsense
Since Chris and I have been together we have noticed a peculiar phenomenon when it comes to me and electronics. Every time I walk by I cause some sort of interference (we assume it’s all the space age titanium I’m loaded with). Seems to happen mostly with video but it will also occur with the internet. This was most apparent Tuesday night during a hockey game, when every time I walked by the cable box, the TV would scramble. Fortunately not during any crucial moments.
Posted on December 1st, 2008 by Pamela in Music, Recipes
I don’t know why, but I love sad music. I love to listen to it, sing it and altogether envelope myself in it. I don’t really know why, maybe it’s because I view it as being the most authentic. Some of the best of course, and one of my favorites to sing comes from Rachmaninov. It also seems appropriate to hear a something from his works when there is a good snow storm on.
In my opinion it’s best of you dim the lights and light a candle or two, drink Russian Tea.
Oh, and here’s the recipe for Russian Tea to keep you warm:
3/4 cup instant tea
1 cup tang
1cup instant lemonade
1/4 -1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
( mix together, then add a tbsp or so in a cup of boiling water)
