food

Miscellaneous

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Sagie’s 12th birthday

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Since Sage completed an entire zodiac cycle, I thought I would spoil her by trying a recipe from a promising library book:

The Natural Pet Food Cookbook The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and CatsWendy Nan Rees— Howell Book House, 2007 

We went with the Savory-Sweet Chicken and Apple Loaf which involved: basmati rice, fresh and dried apples, parsley, pineapple, grated carrots, cheese, eggs, and of course, 4 cups of cooked chicken breast. Though she looks pouty in the photo, Sage loved it. So did Abbey, Chinny, and Scruffy, while Mom thought it needed salt :)

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September fishing

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Weekend visitors

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Vegan marshmallows

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Step 1: Find a long piece of driftwood that you once collected for decorative purposes but is no longer in use. Impale marshmallow.
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Step 2: Stick stick close but not into firepit and patiently wait.
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Step 3: Rotate marshmallow until all sides are blistered golden and fire has turned to embers.
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Step 4: Eat.

New cheese shop

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Wine and cheese platter for lunch at the Milk Maid: Stilton, aged Lankaaster, rosemary Asiago, and Brie with apple slices, house-made lingonberry jam, olives and crispy crackers. And a half liter of red, please. Can’t wait til Paula visits :)

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Sydenham Forest East Loop

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We recently bought a copy of Looping Through Sydenham, a collection of 25 local day hikes. Yesterday we did #9, a ferny mossy loop through trilliums and crevices. We got rained on, but it wasn’t overly cold. Coffee and cookies back at the car made it all better :)

 

Spring recap

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Long time no post… Spring is really flying by. The frozen pipes throughout town for all of March seems so far past, as does the head cold that wiped most of April off the calendar. Here’s a brief summary of how winter ended:

Pie making

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Mom visited and taught me how to make veggie pot pies, my favourite winter food. I was fairly successful (for a first try).  A couple look like “Frankenpies”, but if they taste as good as the one we cooked already I won’t even notice how Arctically cold it is outside.

Matching slippers.
Start with magic slippers.
The flour
Then mix flour and salt.
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Add shortening and ice water, and it eventually turns into a ball. When it does, refrigerate it.
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Precook miscellaneous veggies, such as: potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots.
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To melted butter, add onions, flour, and spices. Also, milk and broth.
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Stir forever.
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Stir until the instant coffee is finished.
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When it’s thickened into gravy, add green peas and all the precooked veggies. Set aside.
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Splatter flour on the table! Wheeeee!
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Be nice to that pie dough.
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Carefully roll a portion of dough until it’s big enough to fit a pie plate. I said carefully. Try again.
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Fold in half twice and lift the dough into the pie plate. This is delicate work. Next, spoon in the filling. Wet the outer edge with hot water before placing the top on top. (You can ‘seam’ broken pieces together like this as well, luckily).
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Press down all around the edge and slice off the excess.
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Etch a fork mark design around the edge to beautify.
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Place the pie into a freezer back and suck the air out with a straw! Freeze for later. Hurray!

Dad’s seventieth

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These pictures of dad’s birthday don’t include the ordinary:

  • opening of presents (forgot)
  • eating homemade lasagna & cake (competitive sport)
  • me, anna, eric or the 5 dogs in attendance (oopsy)

However, I do have some evidence of the aliens landing in the backyard…