One of the first two tomatoes from my plant (July 21st). Just needs a day or two on the window sill and they will be perfect!
Monday, August 29, 2011
August 30 - Day 407
One of the first two tomatoes from my plant (July 21st). Just needs a day or two on the window sill and they will be perfect!
August 29 - Day 406
In Ontario! Peaches (and blueberries) have been my oatmeal topping for the last 2 weeks.
August 28 - Day 405
R celebrated her first birthday on Friday. Today her family and friends gathered to celebrate!
August 27 - Day 404
And wings and beady little eyes.
A dragon fly rests on the garage door frame.
August 24 - Day 401
Melt 3 TBSP butter in a large soup pot over med-high heat. Add 1 chopped onion and 3 leeks (white part and a little green, thinly sliced) and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add 3 peeled and diced sweet potatoes (and one lonely red potato you have leftover), season with salt and pepper and stir coating well with melted butter. Add 6 cups chicken stock, 3 bay leaves and season with thyme. Cook until potatoes are very soft. Puree soup. Adapted from the Food Network - Christine Cushing. Cooking Tunes: The Black Keys Brothers (and a crazy storm).
August 23 - Day 400
Will's bust at the Shakespearean gardens. Rumour is if you work at the festival for 25 or 30 years you are gifted a replica of this bad boy.
Monday, August 22, 2011
August 22 - Day 399
I began following this project on Twitter, based on idea by artist Candy Chang, about a week ago. This project calls upon the community of Stratford to have a say about what should be done about the abandoned, blighted, empty and forgotten parts of this city. These stickers are placed at sites with markers so you can write what you would like to see at that particular site. Today I went to the former 7-11 on Ontario St. to see what some peoples ideas were. Honorary mention to the person who wrote Strip Joint! Find out more at http://twitter.com/#!/blindeyestrtfrd
August 21 - Day 398
And hangs out the window, enjoying the fresh air, the sights and the smells. His butt near my face was a little precarious, but I managed to stay out of his way.
August 20 - Day 397
Today we celebrate my little bro's 30th. We start off the evening with a family dinner that included this cake made by J, our cake boss. M had a little run in with Jagermeister awhile back and this was her inspiration. Notice the play on words..JagerMichael and the fun 30 year old stats. So creative!! If you are interested in having a cake made, let me know, I'll get you in contact with "the boss".
August 19 - Day 396
Yup, I've got herbs. Here's my lavender. Not sure what to do with it, besides making some sachets. Perhaps some research is in order.
August 18 - Day 395
My first run of the year with C & K to raise funds for the Heart & Stroke Foundation in memory of Sydney Evans, a two year old Stratford girl who died, far too soon, of a heart defect. In total over $24,000 was raised! Thanks to those who sponsored me!
August 17 - Day 394
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8 inch square baking pan with butter; line pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper. In a large bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of melted butter, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in one egg and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. Add 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 tsp salt; mix until just moistened (do not over mix). Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup walnuts. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares. Source: Martha Stewart. Baking Tunes: shuffle. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE BRO!!!!
August 16 - Day 393
This summer I'm really enjoying gardening. I water and weed on a regular basis, perhaps spending too much time on the weeding (what a weed! - I blame my type A personality). I've re-organized the plants, including these lilies, which used to crowd my dwarf spruces at the front of the house, but now have room to spread out in the backyard.
Monday, August 15, 2011
August 15 - Day 392
Yesterday I noticed the cement blocks along Huron St had been painted. Today after work I headed over to investigate. The blocks were each painted differently, some in reference to basketball, some names, some inspirational phrases (Life can be messy, being my favourite) and a thank you to the Orr family. Check out this article in The Beacon Herald to see what the blocks were all about.
August 12 - Day 389
T does double duty playing for Octoberman and JF in what was his last show as a 29 year old. At the stroke of midnight this prince turned into a 30 year old! A great show as always and pictured here are three of the nicest guys you could meet in Canadian music, and well in general! Nice to see you again M, T & M! And thanks for a great dinner out and fun night out C2, T and M!
August 11 - Day 388
Fireball.Some more of the flowers planted at work. These are fairly tiny with flowers of red, orange and yellow with pink in the middle.
August 10 - Day 387
Heat 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 lg onion finely chopped and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 12 min. Stir in 3 cloves garlic chopped and 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or fresh if you have it) and cook 2 minutes. Add one cup veg broth and bring to a boil. If using raw shrimp add now and simmer for two minutes. If using cooked just add near the end to heat through. Add snow or snap peas cut in half of the diagonal and stir to combine. Continue to cook until raw shrimp are bright pink. Stir in some chopped fresh cilantro and salt and pepper. Meanwhile cook Bulgar according to package. Serve shrimp mixture over Bulgar. Adapted from Real Simple. Cooking Tunes : Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
August 7 - Day 384
Cold Peanut Pasta. Cook pasta according to directions on package. During last three minutes add broccoli florets, 2 bell peppers thingly sliced and chopped carrots. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Meanwhile in large bowl whisk together 1/4 cup peanut butter, 3 TBSP dark brown sugar, 2 TBSP rice vinegar, 2 TBSP soy sauce 1 TSP sesame oil, and 2 garlic cloves minced. Add drained vegetables and pasta, toss to coat, adding reserved water if needed. Serve chilled, sprinkled with green onions. (Tomorrow & Tuesday's Lunch). Adapted from Everyday Food. Cooking Tunes: Matt Morris, When Everything Breaks OpenAugust 6 - Day 383
Foot. Loose. After staying put for about 45 minutes R is rewarded by being set loose in Sputnik. August 5 - Day 382
Volker. Isn't that the bad guy in Harry Potter? Jesting, I did read the first book and have seen part of the first movie. Now that the pandemonium is over I'll get to it.August 4 - Day 381
I stopped and spent some time watching a herd of sheep off Hwy 8 today (I know, I need a life). It was grazing time and I could only really get shots of their butts as their heads were down in the tall grasses. This sheep had a different idea, the sit and graze.
August 3 - Day 380
Warm Quinoa, Eggplant & Goat Cheese Salad. Preheat oven to 475. Cut eggplant into 1 inch cubes, place on rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, toss to coat. Spread in single layer and roast, turning once about 15 to 20 min (more time if making a large amount). Cook quinoa according to package. Arrange quinoa, roasted eggplant and goat cheese on a bed of lettuce. Dress with a vinaigrette of red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. (Dress lightly - I was a little heavy handed and regretted it). Adapted from Everyday Food. Cooking Tunes: Elliot Smith, Figure 8August 2 - Day 379
Pre-Slaw. I think this is the first non-Chinese cabbage (bok choy) I've ever bought. Yes, I've been lazy and bought pre-chopped coleslaw but never in its original cabbage form. It made a delicious slaw for my lunch the next couple days. My new pledge? No more pre-packaged coleslaw! Monday, August 1, 2011
August 1- Day 378
2 Potato Salad: Peel and dice 2 sweet potatoes and 2-3 white potatoes. Place in pot of salted water, bring to a boil. Boil until fork tender. Drain potatoes and transfer to bowl. Add salt and pepper. Add olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Taste. Add chopped green onions, chopped parsley and oregano. Gently toss. Taste and add more olive oil or vinegar, depending on how you like it. Refrigerate. For Portobello Burgers. Marinade portobello in homemade balsamic dressing (1/2 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp Dijon mustard), 1/2 tsp chili powder and 1/2 tsp cumin for one hour at room temperature. Cook in lightly oiled pan over med-high - approx 3 minutes per side. Dress burger with avocado, spinach and tomatoes. ~ Potato Salad adapted from Gluten Free Goddess Blogspot, Portobello Burgers adapted from Eat, Shrink & Be Merry. Cooking Tunes: Rich Aucion -Personal Publication and Public Publication)
July 31 - Day 377
Christ The King Columbarium.This statue sits a top of the new Masusoleum at the cemetary. The statue was at St. Joseph's Church from 1959 to 1999 but it is believed this statue is over a century old. (Info taken from the Cemetary Heritage Walk - which I had no idea existed but will definitely print off and take this walk myself.)
July 30 - Day 376
After a swim at C&J's, I head over to Ed's Concrete for today's shot. Having driven by the place a couple times in the past week or so, I had thought this would make an interesting shot. Even though all these pieces are on sale it kind of reminds me of a place where all concrete statues go to spend their remaining days, a concrete bone yard, kind of like the Neon Museum in Vegas.
July 28 - Day 374
One of my Buddha bookends. Currently I'm reading Gone With The Wind. It's taken me awhile as I took a brief break and read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which was amazing. But now I must focus back on the South, the Civil War, and a somewhat annoying Scarlett O'Hara.
July 27 - Day 373
R and I play a game of "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands". She was, and did.
July 26 - Day 372
Next year I hope to landscape the right side of my house. Now it's just a home for stones and weeds.
July 25 - Day 371
Mix 1 part PIMMS to 3 parts ginger ale over ice. Add sliced cucumbers and strawberries. Garnish with mint. Serve at a barbecue with friends, it's a great way to start the week!
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