Canada Day In The Neighbourhood

This Thursday, July 1, Canada will celebrate its 143rd Birthday!

It is a national holiday and there will be countless celebrations across the land. The largest gathering is always in Ottawa – the nation’s capitol but odds are there is also a gathering near you.

I’m one of those people who has access to a party in my own neighbourhood and another one within about a mile.

Having a Canada Day gathering in your part of town can be both good and bad.

On the plus side, you don’t have to worry about how you are going to get there – you can walk or ride a bike if you are so inclined. It’s great if you want to pop in and out at various times of the day and evening. If you forget something you can just walk home. Local transit also offers shuttle service between the larger celebrations if you want to party hop!

The area I live in, has hosted a large street party for many years. The local business improvement zone closes off several blocks so that they and other vendors can set up displays and offer entertainment for the crowds.

They usually start closing streets at 6:00PM on June 30. Stores and vendors set up special displays with crafts, clothes, jewellery, books and other merchandise. Restaurants offer food and drink specials and set up street patios. Food vendors also abound with mini donuts, corn dogs, cotton candy – you name it. Things are more or less set up and ready to party by about 7:30PM.

There is a fun zone for the kids and a beer garden for the adults. The beer garden also has a free stage featuring local performers. A second free stage is also set up at the opposite end of the blocked off area and offers a variety of performers. Just for good measure, there is a smaller, third stage set up about the middle of the blocked off area. Several buskers also set up along the streets between the stages.

The scheduled entertainment goes until about midnight on the stages then resumes late morning on Canada Day. Things start shutting down around midnight on Canada Day and streets are reopened by about 3 or 4 in the morning.

Sounds like fun, right?

Well, yes it can be a lot of fun. Unfortunately there can also be a lot of negatives to a neighbourhood party.

Transit buses are rerouted to usually quiet side streets. Aside from emergency vehicles from the neighbourhood fire hall, most streets are restricted to local access only. In other words, if you don’t live in the area and have your vehicle parked here before the streets are blocked - then don’t even bother trying to drive here or you will be walking at least 10 minutes from wherever you do find a place to park!

Depending on the weather, up to 10,000 people may visit the party. That is a lot of extra people milling about. That is great for local businesses and vendors, but can be a nuisance for local residents who are tolerating you traipsing through their streets and back lanes.

The part that I hate the most though, is the noise factor.

Walking along the party area can be a bit loud – much like walking through a packed midway - especially as the day wears on and the crowds swell. Many businesses and vendors also have their own sound systems. Everybody wants your attention. They want you to check out what they are offering and open your wallets. The entertainers on the free stages, tend to ramp up the volume as the day goes on. That is okay, IF you happen to like whatever genre of music that stage is offering but not much fun if you aren’t a fan. Sometimes you have to shout just to be heard by the person standing next to you.

Regardless of your audio tastes or how long you stay, you tend to walk away with a bit of ringing in your ears. That goes away fairly quickly once you get to quieter areas.

Escaping the sound isn’t much of an option for those of us living in the area. There are a lot of apartment blocks in this neighbourhood and the audio from the various sound systems of the three stages tends to reverberate off of the nearby buildings. You don’t notice it much from street level but if you live in one of those buildings it can be very annoying. It’s like getting three overlapping radio stations and not getting any of them clearly. The booming base of all three stages comes through though! Add to that the drone of the crowd and ... well it starts to sound like those annoying horns that are constantly blaring during the World Cup Soccer Games in Africa this year.

It probably wouldn’t be so bad if the street noise actually went to a reasonable level after the stage entertainment ends at midnight. Unfortunately, that is when so many of the buskers – with varying degrees of talent - come out and try to entertain the young revellers who don’t want to go home yet as well as the semi sober and the inebriated who have spent some time in the beer gardens or local pubs. For these people, there is something very appealing and liberating about being able to party in the middle of a deserted city thoroughfare. They want to enjoy this normally forbidden activity as long and as loudly as possible. Just when you think things have quieted down, someone will set off a few firecrackers or start singing Oh Canada at the top of their longs – off key!

They don’t realize – no make that they don’t care – that there are thousands of people living in the area who are trying to sleep. Children who need their rest. People who don’t have the next day off to sleep in. Residents who didn’t have the option or ability to go somewhere else for a couple of days of peace and quiet.

I think most of us who live here, tolerate the inconvenience and the absurdly high decibel of noise for the street party. After all it is only once a year for a day and a half right? Well, yes unless of course Canada Day falls on a weekend in which case the party is usually a 2 ½ day affair with three nights of little or no sleep. Oh, joy!!

Over the years, I’ve tried using earplugs to block the noise and get some shut eye, but I don’t sleep as well with them in. I can barely hear my phone ring with them in, let alone if there were a fire alarm. Frankly, I find the earplugs make things too quiet and very disorienting. It’s not that I am a party pooper – I love my country and want to celebrate its birthday just as much as the next person - I just need my rest to function decently the next day.

Wherever you happen to be, I hope that you have a safe and enjoyable Canada Day as you celebrate the birthday of our great country.

Just one little favour ... please try and keep it down to a dull roar after midnight, okay? Thanks!

dn

Hats On!!

Have you ever noticed how some people look better in hats than others?

Most men can find a hat that suits them without a lot of effort. Depending on the shape of their head, most can wear a baseball cap and look pretty good – although I’ve never been a fan of the backwards or sideways cap. Just looks silly to me. Some guys look great in a poor boy or engineers cap. Cowboy hats have always been a staple for men. Frankly, some can pull it off better than others.

Personally I think a lot of men can look really great in a fedora – especially tipped slightly to one side a la Bogart! Most can also look pretty darn good in a panama hat!

It isn’t that simple for a woman. I swear some women were born to wear hats! From the stylish hats that women wore for special occasions to the Sunday hats to the everyday hats that ladies of a bygone era wore just to run errands - a hat was always a must to complete the ensemble. It still is a must for some women.
Nowadays, hats are more for protection from the sun than for glamour and style. Not that these kind of hats can’t be stylish!

For some of us, finding a hat that suits us isn’t a simple or even enjoyable experience. I’m one of those people that hats don’t look that great on.

I’ve never really been a fan of hats. As a kid, I remember my mom making me wear one when I went out on really hot days in the summer. I looked ridiculous. I took it off whenever I could. It made my head sweat and made a mess of my hair.

By the time I was a teen in the early 1970’s hats were a bit more in fashion again. My friends were wearing the crocheted floppy brim hats. I had a friend make one for me in a dark brown and also in a denim shade. These weren’t bad because they were made of a cotton yarn and had lots of little holes so at least the head didn’t sweat!

Floppy brim cloth hats were also popular and I bought a couple. They didn’t look great, but it was passable and it did keep the sun out of my eyes. For awhile, engineer caps and bandanas were all the rage among my friends. I wore it too, but didn’t look nearly as stylish!

I’ve owned my share of ball caps that promoted various companies, organizations and promotions. I still own one for the local drive-inn of my youth and a favourite radio station! I’ve also worn a few visors.

My parents brought me a soft brim leather hat from Mexico many years ago. I really liked that hat even though it didn’t look that great on me. I also owned a cowboy hat at one time.

If I had my choice, I wouldn’t wear a hat at all. Actually, the only time I wear hats these days is on bright, warm sunny days when the UV ratings are high.

I have a floppy brim denim hat that reminds me of my teen years but it looks like hell on me. It also doesn’t stay on very well if there is more than a slight breeze.
Over the last fifteen years or so, I’ve been wearing a modified style of a baseball cap, It ties in a bow at the back rather than the notched band and also has an extra long, wide brim to keep the sun out of the eyes. I really like this style and it is one of the few that actually suits me. The main problem is that it doesn’t cover the back of the neck or the ears and tends to blow off fairly easily in a breeze.
Trying to function with this kind of hat hasn’t been easy for me. Walking with a white cane is challenging enough in the best weather conditions. Then, throw in using a monocular to see distance or trying to carry any bags/packages in the other hand. If the wind picks up, you practically need a third hand to hold your hat on. Although, a third hand may come in handy at certain times, it just isn’t a practical or viable solution. As much as I hated to admit it, it was time to buy a hat that had a chin strap option – or as my mom likes to call it, “something to tie my head on with”!

So, I finally went looking for a new hat a few weeks ago. I hadn’t seen anything I liked that was even remotely practical or durable in most of the major stores, but I knew that there was one place that I would surely find a good selection AND knowledgeable staff that could help me find the right hat for my needs – Mountain Equipment Co-op!

I checked the web site first and found a few possibilities so printed off my three top picks. The following morning, I went down and a very helpful staff member showed me the hats I had printed off as well as a few others. Most didn’t look that great on me or I felt that the brim was too narrow or way to floppy to actually protect me from the sun in a breeze. Some were also heavier material than I wanted or were meant more for wearing in rainy weather.

The hat I ultimately chose is stylish, practical, durable and very versatile in how it can be worn. I bought the Halcyon Sombrero which is made by Outdoor Research. OR’s site lists the hat at $42 Canadian yet I paid only $34 (plus taxes) regular price in store at MEC.
I’ve only worn it a few times so far but have gotten several compliments on it. One of the days that I did have it on, also happened to be extremely windy – gusts of 50-70km/hour (31-44 miles/hour)! For that strength of wind, I tightened the hat band and used the chin strap. In the ten minutes I was facing into the wind, the brim only went up once. Later that same morning, the wind was at my back for about 10 minutes and the back only lifted once. Not once did I have to worry about losing my hat – it stayed on perfectly!

This hat isn’t a great choice for rain, but it will keep a light squall from soaking you. It is also light and airy enough to keep your head from getting sweaty. This particular style is suitable for both women and men.

Warm sunny weather has arrived. Summer officially begins tomorrow – June 21.

So, if you are looking for a great summer hat – and you really should be wearing one to protect yourself from those dangerous UV rays – then this just may be the perfect hat for you too!

dn

Improvised Camp Chilli

When I worked at summer camp back in the 1970’s, there were certain foods and recipes that were unique to each camp. For those of us who worked there several weeks or over several years of summers, it came to be as much a tradition for us as it was for the campers. Some we enjoyed more than others! There was your basic camp food like pancakes and sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, roasts, soup, sandwiches and so on.

But where I worked, there was a type of chilli that was not found anywhere else. Almost every week we would make this recipe – outside in a large cooking pot over an open fire if the weather cooperated. It was so good and there was rarely any leftovers.

It isn’t your basic chilli recipe and many people will likely screw up their noses just reading the recipe. I recall the first time I worked in the kitchen and had to help assemble the ingredients I thought the head cook was joking when she handed me the list of ingredients.

I asked the origin of the recipe. I was told that several years earlier, a cook was going to make chilli and discovered she was missing a couple of ingredients so she had to improvise. The campers loved it and a tradition was born.

Before I left the camp that summer, I wrote down the recipe – not the version that served 50 but a more manageable family size version. I made it several times over the next few years.

Eventually I got tired of it and actually forgot about it until a few months ago when I was talking to a friend about weird recipe ingredients. I wondered if I would still like the recipe after all these years. I would have to try it again one of these days.

So, a few days ago, I checked to see if I had all the ingredients. I was missing only one - the second canned ingredient listed below - so picked up the ingredient while shopping. Before I prepared the chilli, I looked over the old recipe again and decided that my tastes had changed a bit over the years so I should probably add a few more things. The peppers, mushrooms, garlic, basil and oregano were not in the original but I had a strong sense that I would need them to make it satisfactory to my more mature taste buds.

As I was preparing the recipe, I really wondered if I was making a mistake in even trying this again after so many years – let alone making changes to it. When it was ready, I ladled out a bowl and set it on the table beside the fresh French bread that I had bought that morning.

Okay, here goes nothing .... hmmm ... this isn’t bad if I do say so myself!

So here it is - a modified version of the camp chilli that I enjoyed as a teen. It isn’t cooked over an open fire, but there is no reason you can’t cook it inside or out this summer.

Improvised Camp Chilli


• Olive or canola oil
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 ¼ cup)
• ½ sweet red bell peper chopped (about ½ cup)
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon (bottled type) minced garlic
• 1 14oz./398ml can red kidney beans, undrained
• 1 14oz./398ml can spaghetti in tomato sauce
• 1 10oz./284ml can vegetable soup
• 1 ½ teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Drizzle about a tablespoon of canola or olive oil in a large, deep frying pan and add the ground beef. Brown the beef over medium high heat stirring often. Add the onion and pepper and stir into beef, cooking till translucent. Stir in the mushrooms and garlic and cook just till tender. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Reduce heat to medium low and cook about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often.

Serve with a tossed salad and a bread such as Focaccia, French or homemade buns.

Serves 4

Enjoy!

dn

Gal Pals

I have a confession to make. I’ve never watched Sex And The City.

Yup, that’s right – not one single episode. Of course, I have seen clips of the show and heard about it enough over the last decade or so, to know the main players; Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha. Frankly, you’d have to be living under a rock not to know at least a little bit about the show. It has been a huge hit among women around the world. Even men have followed the show – if only in hopes of getting a clue about how a woman’s mind works!

I understand the concept of the show – four female friends sharing their life experiences and fantasies . The bonding and the camaraderie. The men, the drinks, the fashion and so on. I get that this is a huge draw for many.

I just don’t want to watch it. I have no interest in fashion. I don’t own any high heels or designer handbags or even a dress for that matter. I’ve never bought or read a fashion mag. I’ve never been interested in the bars or club scene. I have no idea what is in a Cosmo. I almost never drink and when I do it is vodka – which is about the only alcohol I can tolerate without getting sick! Some would see all of this as blasphemy and I could be considered a traitor to my gender.

Sex And The City, certainly wasn’t the first to promote the gal pal relationship. They just did it in a more provocative way. Being a cable show allowed them a lot more freedom to say and do things that weren’t allowed on network TV.

That being said, the ladies of Wisteria Lane on ABC’s Desperate Housewives could give them a run for their money in my book. Bree, Susan, Lynette and Gabby have unique bonds. They are not only neighbours, but have experienced a lot of drama together over the years - all while looking rather stylish and hoisting a few cocktails. They play poker together, shoot the breeze, offer advice, a shoulder to lean on and an alibi when necessary. Now that is a gal pal!
But, if I were going to go for the best gal pal ensemble of all time – well, there is no question in my mind that it was “The Golden Girls”! Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), Rose Nylund (Betty White), and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) were four spirited women of a certain age who shared a home in Miami, Florida. These four women, bonded over cheesecake – usually late at night. They talked about their lives (past and present), their families and growing old. They shared their hopes, their dreams, their fears, their sorrows and their triumphs.

They also talked a lot about men and sex! These women all grew up during a time when s-e-x was more of a dirty word, but as they aged, they discovered more freedoms and liberations in their sex lives. Even though they were all considered seniors, they were dating and enjoying the company of men in and out of the bedroom. The conversations that these ladies had were enlightened, entertaining, frank and often thought provoking. They were also rather spicy at times. They said what they felt and took risks to find love again.

The Golden Girls gave us hope and encouragement to be ourselves and take chances with our love as we age. They gave us something to aspire to in our golden years or at any age for that matter.

Sadly, real life isn’t as simple.

Gal Pals on TV always manage to work out their differences – eventually. Real life often tells a different story. We change as we age. Our priorities change. Spouses/Partners, children, careers and interests change how we feel and react over time.

Then there is the whole clique like thing that often happens in gal pal relationships. Some feel closer than others or get their nose out of joint when they think they aren’t’ fully in the loop. Some get territorial or too gossipy. Way too much drama and immature behaviour for my tolerance level.

Don’t get me wrong, I do have my own gal pals but I just can’t imagine sitting down with them and sharing the intimacies of my life with all of them as the ladies on TV have done. I’m better at the one on one conversations for the really personal stuff.

Let’s face it, some gal pals are closer than others. Some you can confide only a few things and some you can tell almost anything! There are a couple of my gal pals that I can tell anything to and others that I’d be much more cautious in how much I share.

Gal pals means different things to different people. I have no idea if any of mine watch Carrie and her pals but it really doesn’t matter. We will never be Sex And The City gals. Thankfully we don’t have the drama of the Wisteria Lane gals. I think we can relate more with The Golden Girls even though we aren’t quite that old - yet.

My gal pals aren’t anything like the gals on TV, but we are all intelligent, open minded, spirited, compassionate, insightful and funny women of a “certain age”. We know that when push comes to shove or we just need a shoulder to lean on – our gal pals are the ones we want at our side. I love my gal pals dearly and try not to take any of them for granted.

So, if not being interested in the latest designs in fashion or sipping trendy cocktails at a hot spot and dishing about the latest gossip or man to cross my path makes me a traitor to my gender – so be it. I can live with that!

dn

Pay More – Get Less!

In my last post, I told you about the way manufacturers and stores are changing the labelling and packaging of their products. It isn’t always because of new recipes. I think it is more of a way to keep consumers on their toes and to keep us in the store longer in hopes that we will spend more money.

Well we are spending more money but we certainly aren’t always getting more for our money!

Sure, some things are on sale and there are good deals to be had if we are lucky enough and patient enough to hunt for them BUT sometimes the new packaging can be a bit misleading.

How often have you checked the weight, volume or quantity of the product in that new packaging? Is it the same as what it used to be?

Several products have gradually shrunk over the years. When Canada brought in the metric system in the 1970’s products gradually switched their labels from imperial to metric. Rather than have odd sounding quantities the companies rounded the totals up or down to make the numbers even. For example: 8 ounces equals 227.2 g. This was either rounded down to 200 or 225 or rounded up to 250. 16 ounces is equal to 454g so that was generally rounded down to 450 but occasionally rounded up to 500. It was all rather confusing at the time and to some extent still is for those of us who were pretty much out of school by the time the metric came in.

What happened after that initial change though is in some ways more interesting. Several products gradually shrunk. You used to be able to buy a 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips. That converted to 340.8g. Somehow over the years, that has managed to decrease to the new standard of 300g or 10.56 ounces. Some varieties have even gone down to 270g which is only about 9.5 ounces.

Generally I don’t go by the weight of a package in a recipe – rather by the volume or weight of the product required for the recipe, but it can get confusing if you aren’t paying attention to a recipe and the size of the package you are using.
In the last few years several major manufacturers have changed the packaging to cover up the fact that you are actually getting less for the same price.

I don’t buy a lot of cereal, but I remember seeing a piece on the CBS Early Show a year or so ago that said some of the companies had actually decreased the amount in each box by anywhere from 2 – 5 ounces (57 – 140g) but kept the same suggested retail price.

Snack food companies have also done the shrinking product content trick. Several brands of potato chips and crackers have about an ounce less (28g) per package. Frankly, the fact that you are getting less snack food for the same price is a good idea in my mind as most of these type of products are high in calories, sodium and fat. I buy one or two bags of tortilla chips and a three or four boxes of crackers a year. I’m not much of a snacker and rarely eat junk food.

One item that I buy a few times a year is the Green Giant frozen vegetables. I don’t use them often - I prefer fresh – but these are nice to have on hand when you want something out of season or to throw in a casserole. Late winter of 2009, I was watching for them to go on sale as I didn’t want to pay the regular price of over $3 for a 1 kilo bag. Finally, just before Easter, I saw them on sale for $2.39! Great! I could stock up with a bag each of sweetlet peas, peaches and cream corn, cut green beans and the mixed vegetables. I found the display case in the frozen foods and started picking up my bags. Wait a minute – something doesn’t feel right here. These are smaller! I checked the label and sure enough – the 1 kilo bag that had been around for years was now down to 750g! The regular and sale prices were about the same but the quantity that you were getting was 25% less! When I got home, I checked the ad more carefully and there – in tiny print was the size of 750g. Needless to say, I was not impressed!

This shrinking product syndrome isn’t just happening in the edible areas. It is also happening in the paper products such as Kleenex tissues. They used to be 200/box but now about 100 to 150 depending on type but the tissues are also smaller than they used to be.

I think the most glaring of the shrinking products is toilet paper. I’ve been buying the Purex brand for many years. I always wait till it is on sale and then stock up with several packages. About 15 years ago, a double roll was 500 sheets. Eight double rolls for $4 or less was considered a good deal. Well, you can still get eight double rolls for about $4 if you watch for sales BUT the double roll has somehow gradually managed to shrink to 280 sheets!

Yup, times are changing. Inflation has increased prices and a dollar sure doesn’t go as far as it used to. Packages are being redesigned and getting smaller. If there really was truth in advertizing, the slogan would be “Pay More – Get Less!”

Then again, maybe the truth is a little too hard to sell. We’d need way to much toilet paper to clean up the mess that would create.

dn

There Is A Flaw In My Shopping - Manufacturers!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t really enjoy shopping. I don’t enjoy spending the day in a mall or hours perusing the latest products or sales racks.

I prefer to get in, get it done and get out as quickly as possible with minimal damage to my wallet.

It’s not that I am cheap or that I don’t try new things – I do experiment with some things – mostly in the grocery section.

There are tens of thousands of products in the average grocery store and most of them will never be brought into my home. There are several reasons for that including: price, calories, additives, personal tastes and some mild food allergies.

When it comes to grocery shopping, I find most of my items on the peripheral aisles - in the produce, dairy and meat departments. I occasionally get bread in the bakery or things in the frozen food aisles.

The produce and meat are relatively easy. The major decision is which variety of produce or cut of meat do I want. Do I want leaf lettuce or romaine? What variety of apple? Do I want pork, beef or chicken – what cut? Those decisions are made mostly on price and quality of the item.

For me, the problem with grocery shopping usually occurs in the aisles with the packaged products. The ones with the cans, jars, boxes and such. I don’t buy a lot in these aisles, but when I do, I seem to have trouble locating the items I want.

You see, I shop in bulk. I’ve come to know what brands I like and how things are packaged. I can grab the item and do a quick price check. I check the shelf life of the item and “guestimate” how much of it I would use over the shelf life. For example: if a 1 kilo jar of my favourite brand of peanut butter is on sale and it has over a year till the expiry date, I can safely buy several if I have the extra money and the space to store them at home. This takes a bit of pre calculation, but it saves me money in the long run. Shopping like this also helps me to make more healthy choices and to occasionally splurge on some other kind of food that my taste buds would enjoy.

So, you’d think this would be a win-win situation right? Well normally yes BUT there is a flaw to my system. A flaw that is caused by manufacturers.

Manufacturers have this really annoying habit of “rebranding” or “repackaging” their products. They don’t necessarily change the recipe, they just update the packaging.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can confuse the heck out of a visually impaired and/or busy shopper!

The most confused that I ever got by a repackaging was a few years ago. I had gotten a really great deal on some feminine protection products, so bought about an 18 month supply. By the time I needed more, the package had gone from a pastel mauve to a deep purple with a completely different font for the print and entirely new labelling system. I honestly thought that my brand had been discontinued until I finally found a clerk who helped me sort out the new packaging and explained the new labelling and how to find what I needed.

In the last year or so, some major manufacturers have been updating their packaging.

Campbell’s soups have changed their labels a bit. The familiar red with white is still at the top but the soup pictures and variety labelling has been changed. I almost bought a cream of chicken rather than cream of mushroom. Not huge in the grand scheme of things but it wouldn’t have been what I really wanted.

Kraft has been doing some major changes to their packaging. Pretty much all the dressings have new labels and some items such as Miracle Whip even have a slightly different shaped jar. The familiar glass jar has been replaced by plastic with a unique scalloped edging on the lid.

The Kraft product that confused me the most though, was the Lemon Instant Pudding. The box used to be a rectangle and clearly said “pudding” on it. The newer one is more of a square – almost identical in size and shape to the Jell-o gelatin boxes. Yes, there is a suggested serving pictured but given the box shape and size it can be mistaken as gelatin unless you look closely. In the upper right of the box – in small pastel print no less – it does say instant pudding mix but good luck reading it without perfect sight!

It isn’t just the big name manufacturers though – even the store brands are changing designs. Over the last few months, there have been changes to packaging for some of my favourite no name products as well.

Picture it – you are moving along the aisle and scanning your list. You need salsa. You know you want the mild store brand but .... wait ... where is it? All the brand names are there and you know they are more expensive. Oh wait - what are all these white labels? Okay, the store brand is labelled differently now. Great – now I have to figure out which jar it is I want and hope it is the same as the one I’d been buying for the last few years.

For the salad dressings, the old labels were yellow with a small picture and a small section in blue with the word light on it for the low calorie versions. The new one is still yellow, but there is no picture and most of the printing is in black. The word light is in small letters above the variety of dressing. The light sits right beside the regular and all the other versions. That means you have to look really closely to make sure you have exactly the variety and version you want.

The boxes for the instant puddings have undergone changes as well. It isn’t as drastic but the print is different and the picture is smaller.
'
Some of the changes may have taken place months ago, but since I still had some on hand, I didn’t know about them until I needed them.

Now a days, when I put something on my list, I also have to be prepared for a treasure hunt. Oh goodie!

dn

Next Post - May 30: "Pay More - Get Less!"

Related Posts:
- Food storage to save you money! - Part 1
- Food storage to save you money! - Part 2
- Grocery Shopping

Empathy

Empathy: understanding of another's feelings: the ability to identify with and understand somebody else's feelings or difficulties

Many years ago, I remember someone telling me that I should try and find some type of commonality with people I meet. Find something within my life, experiences or knowledge that can draw a parallel to what the other person is experiencing. This would create a bond of sorts that can lead to a great friendship and a better understanding of the person.

That was good advice. It really does work. But if you aren’t careful, it can also be a real problem if one of the people feels the need to take almost every detail you’ve shared and relate it to their own life. In other words, sometimes it has a way of becoming all about them. Your experiences were really only a springboard for them to express theirs. It doesn’t matter that you were the one who needed to share or vent. It becomes all about them – again.

Just because I may be having a bad day, doesn’t necessarily mean that I need to hear how bad your day was. You can relate, but don’t override mine. It isn’t a contest.

Maybe I got a really good deal or had an interesting experience that I’d like to talk about. I don’t always need to hear that you had an even better experience or got a better deal. And I certainly don’t need to hear a woe is me of “How come that kind of thing never happens to me?”

Sometimes you just need your own moment of euphoria or woe is me. You need a friendly ear that will listen but not feel the need to interject their own experiences on top of yours or before you’ve even had the opportunity to fully express yourself.

There is a fine line between understanding how someone feels and taking over that persons need to go through whatever they are going through.

It doesn’t mean that I don’t care – I do – well usually I do - but sometimes I just need some me time and for you to listen.

It is a balancing act that takes practice. It is a line that is sometimes too easily crossed.

We want to be a good and supportive friend, but trying to relate to everything is impossible and sometimes you just need to let the other person have their moment to vent or express themselves.

In a healthy friendship, you are able to take turns in being the ventee and the empathetic one. The roles will often reverse, but it eventually balances out.

In a less healthy relationship, one of you has to be more supportive than the other and that can be exhausting. There is only so much you can take or empathy you can express before you want to get an unlisted number or run screaming from the room.

You feel like every amount of energy you are putting into the friendship is being leached to feed their needs and your needs aren’t even being heard – let alone met.

Maybe it is just me and the stage of life I am at, but some people are just really working my last nerve. I dread running into them or even talking on the phone to them as I don’t feel they are even hearing me. They are too consumed with their own drama to really get that there are other things going on outside of their self imposed cocoon.

Oh that sounds harsh doesn’t it? Sorry. Maybe they are going through some rough stuff of their own, but sometimes the balance stays tipped in one direction for way too long. Just when I think it is starting to balance out, it tips over - again.

Don’t get me wrong. I have some amazing friends who are there whenever I need them and they know that I will always be there for them. We’ve helped each other get through a lot over the years.

I guess I’m just a bit tired of being the supporter rather than the supportee for some things.

It’s not that I don’t want to hear about what is happening in the lives of the people I know and care about. I do want to know how life is treating them – I just don’t need to hear every minute detail. If you want me to be empathetic – fine - I can do that, but know that I will most likely expect it in return at some point without you overriding my experiences and needs.

We’ve all had experiences where a friend has had a run of bad luck and feels the need to relate every little detail – even if it takes an hour to tell a story that could have been done in 10 minutes or less for the Reader’s Digest version and still gotten the point across. Sometimes brevity goes a long way. If I want more info, I can ask. The problem is that some people just don’t know how to self edit. But, by the same token, don’t be so brief that I don’t see the issue or that I have to pull more information out of you. Knowing how much to share can go a long way in getting the right amount of support in return.

Be happy for someone who got a great deal or is having a good day. Whining about your lack of luck or relating your better deal or luck, isn’t going to do a lot to endear you in the heart or mind of the other person.

Empathy works both ways. If you don’t seem to be getting what you think is your fair share, then stop and take a long hard look at your life and how you express yourself around others. It really isn’t all about you.

Sincerity and being a good listener goes a long way in being empathetic.

Empathy is not a game of “I can top that” or one-upmanship. It is a balance of compassion, support and related understanding.

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now. Was there something you wanted to say?

dn

Happy Mother's Day!

My mom has a great sense of humour. She loves a good laugh. We talk every Sunday morning for about an hour and every week we share at least a laugh or two or three! Since she doesn't use a computer, I often read her some of the email humour that regularly shows up in my inbox. So today - in honour of Mother's everywhere - I thought I'd share a little Mother's Day humour:

Mother's Day Quotes:"Mothers of teenagers know why animals eat their young." - Author Unknown
"Mothers are all slightly insane." - J.D. Salinger
"I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them." - Phyllis Diller
"My mother's menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it." - Buddy Hackett

What Famous Mothers Might Have Said:

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary's Mother: "I don't mind you having a garden, Mary, but does it have to be growing under your bed?"

Mona Lisa's Mother: "After all that money your father and I spent on braces, Mona, that's the biggest smile you can give us?"

Humpty Dumpty's Mother: "Humpty, If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times not to sit on that wall. But would you listen to me? Noooo!"

Columbus' Mother: "I don't care what you've discovered, Christopher. You still could have written!"

Babe Ruth's Mother: "Babe, how many times have I told you -- quit playing ball in the house! That's the third broken window this week!"

Michelangelo's Mother: "Mike, can't you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?"

Napoleon's Mother: "All right, Napoleon. If you aren't hiding your report card inside your jacket, then take your hand out of there and prove it!"

Custer's Mother: "Now, George, remember what I told you -- don't go biting off more than you can chew!"

Abraham Lincoln's Mother: "Again with the stovepipe hat, Abe? Can't you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?"

Barney's Mother: "I realize strained plums are your favorite, Barney, but you're starting to look a little purple."

Mary's Mother: "I'm not upset that your lamb followed you to school, Mary, but I would like to know how he got a better grade than you."

Batman's Mother: "It's a nice car, Bruce, but do you realize how much the insurance is going to be?"

Goldilocks' Mother: "I've got a bill here for a busted chair from the Bear family. You know anything about this, Goldie?"

Little Miss Muffet's Mother: "Well, all I've got to say is if you don't get off your tuffet and start cleaning your room, there'll be a lot more spiders around here!"

Albert Einstein's Mother: "But, Albert, it's your senior picture. Can't you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something...?"

George Washington's Mother: "The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can kiss your allowance good-bye!"

Jonah's Mother: "That's a nice story, but now tell me where you've really been for the last three days.

Superman's Mother: "Clark, your father and I have discussed it, and we've decided you can have your own telephone line. Now will you quit spending so much time in all those phone booths?

Thomas Edison's Mother: "Of course I'm proud that you invented the electric light bulb, Thomas. Now turn off that light and get to bed!"












Happy Mother's Day!!
dn

Choco Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

A few weeks ago, I wanted to make a coffee cake. For the past few years, I have been making the “Choco Coffee Cake” on page 149 of the Company’s Coming Muffins & More by Jean Paré. Alas, this was one of those rare occasions when I didn’t have any sour cream in the fridge. I pulled out the family favourite Coffee Cake recipe from an old cookbook I got from my grandma called Cooking The Co-op Way (1959), but that recipe called for shortening and I haven’t bought that in years!

I looked through a few more cookbooks and on line but anything that sounded tasty called for shortening or sour cream and I wasn’t going grocery shopping for a couple of more days. What to do? I guess I could have made something else, but I really wanted a chocolate coffee cake - so I decided to experiment and create my own new recipe. I compared ingredients and quantities in a handful of recipes, made some notes and rough calculations – then crossed my fingers and hoped my creation would turn out!

Not all of my creations have turned out good on the first try. Some have taken several attempts before I’m happy with the results, but I got lucky with this one! A couple of my friends have tasted this and assured me that this is awesome – a real keeper! So here it is for you to try:


Choco Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Topping:
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons margarine
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
¼ cup finely chopped almonds

Cake:
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup margarine
½ cup mini chocolate chips
1 egg
½ cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray an 8” round or square pan with cooking spray such as Pam and set aside.

Topping: Combine first four ingredients and cut in margarine. Mix till crumbly. Stir in the chips and nuts then set aside while you prepare the cake batter.

Cake: Combine the first eight cake ingredients and then cut in the margarine. Mix until it resembles a fine crumb like mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Add the egg and milk and mix thoroughly. Batter will be stiff. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Spread the topping mixture evenly over the batter and lightly press into the batter.

Bake for 30 minutes or until it tests done using the toothpick method. Cool on a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 8.

Notes:

Ever have trouble measuring small amounts of margarine? Here is a simple method that I’ve been using for years:

Most cakes are generally made in a round pan, but cutting the pieces evenly isn’t always easy. I almost always use a square pan for baking and have figured out a simple way to cut it so that everyone gets an equal size portion – and an edge piece. The triangular pieces aren’t quite the same shape everyone expects but its the taste that really counts! Here is the method I use:

Enjoy!

dn

April Showers

April showers bring May Flowers.

That’s how the old saying goes. We need the moisture of the rain to nurture the beauty of nature. Too little and plant life will wither and die. Too much and they will rot and mold. Either way there is a problem for all who rely on plant life for day to day life. In other words – all living creatures from the smallest of insects to the largest of animals and of course us humans.

We rely on Mother Nature to provide the right balance of sunlight and moisture to help us in our day to day life. Sure there is a lot that science can do to help things along but we can’t survive indefinitely without the assistance of Mother Nature.

The winter here was cold and not nearly as much snow as usual. I wore my duck boots most of the winter and only pulled out my heavy winter boots for about six weeks – from early January to mid February – and that was more to keep my feet warm than for the depth of snow!

Spring came unusually early here in The ‘Peg. It was actually showing signs of spring by mid March. Sure we got a smattering of snow after that and some more cold weather, but it was bound and determined to come earlier than usual to this neck of the woods.

A couple of local golf courses were open by the last weekend in March. Granted the “greens” weren’t really that green yet and you had to wear a jacket but they were open and the diehard golfers were lining up to get in the first game of the season.

The Canada Geese have been heard flying north for a few weeks already. Other birds are also arriving from the south. The Pussy Willows and Crocus’s are out.

Some farmers are well into seeding. That is at least a full two weeks earlier than usual. Seeding this early is always a risk though, as you can’t rule out a killer frost for a few more weeks yet. Grain crops can go in much earlier than produce and flowers. The general rule of thumb for produce and flowers is waiting till the Victoria Day long weekend in May before planting those with reasonable safety.

The weather this month has been sunny and for the most part, above normal temperatures. Our April showers have been almost nonexistent. We got a bit of snowfall on Friday and Saturday of the Easter weekend – about 18mm of precipitation in all. Since then there has been only a trace of moisture from the skies – less than a mm.

The lack of normal winter snowfall and minimal spring rainfall isn’t all bad. At least there was minimal flooding this spring. Only a few low lying areas were affected but no major damage was reported.

The biggest downside to the lack of moisture is that there have been a higher number of grass fires in the last few weeks. There is even a “no burn” order in effect until conditions improve.

The grass really isn’t turning green yet – unless of course property owners are using their sprinkler systems. The trees are starting to bud though. I may be legally blind, but even I have noticed this bit of Mother Nature’s artistic paint brush at work.

The historical weather data on the Environment Canada web site shows that on average, the month of April should get about 31.9mm of precipitation. About a third of that amount is usually from snowfall and the other two thirds is from rain.

There is a slight chance of rain today and Monday, but at this point our best chance of showers may be later in the week – the last two days of April no less!

That really is cutting it a bit close for April Showers isn’t it? Of course, that chance of showers is subject to change. It is hard to predict weather accurately that far ahead. Environment Canada has already changed their minds - and subsequentily the forecast - on chances of rain a couple of times for the coming week. Don’t get me wrong the above normal temps of late have been a nice change and I know a lot of people have really been enjoying the weather, but we really do need some moisture in the parched soil.

I’m just thinking out loud here but maybe Mother Nature was getting some maintenance done on her version of the sprinkler system. Maybe that is why it hasn’t rained more than a few drops since the beginning of the month. Or, maybe she has also been hit by the downturn in the economy and is behind on her payments to the water company. Oh wait – she owns the company. Scratch that last idea.

Okay, it is probably maintenance or repairs. If that is the case then I hope that when the system is fixed, that we get a nice gentle soaker rainfall. The kind that slowly penetrates the earth and helps provide the growth for farmer’s crops, gardener’s plants, trees and other plant life that makes this such a beautiful place to live. The kind of rainfall that can make you want to go for a walk in the rain or make you want to take a nap or curl up with a good book.

Note to Mother Nature: Last year, many of us complained about a long, cool and wet spring. Sorry about that. We know that we have to take the good and the bad. It is just that we do like our nice weather. We are loving this spring and are trying not to complain - but we also need a bit of rain to freshen things up. We need the rain to help things along and settle the dust.

I know that you will do as you see fit, BUT when you do turn on the taps again, please don’t forget to turn them off from time to time. We don’t want a drought – but we also don’t want too much. We want to enjoy the beauty that you create not build an ark.



dn

Spring Cleaning

So, we are about a month into spring. How is your spring cleaning going? Have you even started?

Unfortunately, it isn't one of those things that does itself. Too bad really as spring cleaning can be a lot of work.

When I was a kid, we used to do a really thorough cleaning that including moving all the furniture and washing all the walls. We also sorted the clothes of the seasons to see what still fit or needed mending before being stored, given away or taken out for the upcoming season.

Spring cleaning is one of those necessary evils. It helps to get rid of unnecessary clutter and freshens up the place after the confinement of winter.

The problem is finding the time and the energy to even attempt a half assed attempt at the whole thing. Doing a basic cleaning is relatively easy and done on a regular basis - like when the dust bunnies start building condos under the coffee table.

The hardest thing about any kind of cleaning is actually starting. I find that it is one of those things that you have to be in the mood for. Not easy. To do a proper spring cleaning, you should actually be willing to part with items that no longer fit, are of no use or are broken beyond repair.

That isn’t always easy either– especially if the item is even remotely of sentimental value. You also want to keep things that may come back into fashion or will fit if you lose that extra weight you’ve been trying to shed. Even if we haven’t used something in years, odds are that within weeks or months of parting with something we will need it! It’s just the way that life works!

We all have that area(s) that we use to stash the things we don’t know what else to do with or that we just don’t want to get rid of – yet!

Come on, if we are honest, pretty much all of us have a space like Fibber McGee and Molly’s hall closet...


Some people have a rule that if it isn’t used for a certain amount of time then it either gets thrown out, recycled or given away. The time limit on how long to keep things varies greatly. Some say a couple years, but that seems awfully short to me. I think ten is far more reasonable.

As you age, ten years is even more reasonable as the odds are, by the time you get around to cleaning out that decade, you may not still be around to do it yourself. It might be your family and friends going through your belongings instead. Not always a great scenario for them - but at least you didn’t have to clean it!

Many years ago, I helped some of my family go through my grandma’s home after she moved into an assisted care facility. She wasn’t well enough to help. She wasn’t a pack rat – at least not in the sense of huge amounts of clutter in the home. Hers was more confined to a full, floor to ceiling wall of drawers and cupboards and a couple of storage closets. Years earlier, she used to have a basement full of things too, but a few spring floods in the town where she lived got rid of most of that! Even so, she still had a lot more stuff than any of us realized until we actually started going through it! Grandma had made a list of many of her belongings and stated who had given them to her and who should receive them after she was gone but it sure didn’t cover everything!

Anyways, going through her stuff was a little overwhelming after awhile as we were also sorting it for various family members to take home with them. It got to the point that if you looked at something for more than a few seconds or commented that item looked interesting then there was a chorus of “it’s yours!” from the other family members!

My mom and I still laugh about all those days we spent sorting. The problem is that, mom also has years of stuff saved. The majority of what she has, still has sentimental value to her so she doesn’t want to part with it. Like my grandma, she has also made a list of many of the items and who is to receive them, but that sure isn’t going to cover everything. I’ve already told my sister that when we have to go through mom’s stuff that I’m busy that year!

Okay maybe it isn’t quite that bad, but getting rid of stuff is hard! You have to be in the right frame of mind when you are cleaning. It is one thing to dust and clean but quite another to actually get rid of things.

I don’t live in nearly as big a space as my mom does or as my grandmother did. I don’t have nearly as much as they have had, but I do have items that I don’t need or use anymore.

This past winter, I actually got that oh so rare urge to clean AND throw things out! Granted there was a bit of incentive as there was work being done in my building that required tenants to move things in our apartments for worker access, but I still had the urge to get rid of things! I knew I had to move on this before it disappeared for at least another decade.

Over several weeks, I slowly and methodically went through pretty much every closet, drawer, cupboard, box and file. I did a little bit every day. I found items that I had no idea that I still had. There were things I had no idea why I had even saved in the first place! I made several trips to the garbage and recycling bins. I even had the guys from Good Will come and pick up a big pile of my previously prized possessions.

It felt really good to get rid of all that “Stuff”! Sure there was also a lot that I wasn’t willing to part with yet, but it was a start. My home wasn’t cluttered to the point of not being able to move, it was more behind the doors and such. But it was “my stuff”. It was a LOT of work, but I’m glad I did it!

I was telling a friend about all the cleaning I’d been doing and how much I’d gotten rid of. They said: “so you’re actually a pack rat!”

I said: “No – I just have a lot of stuff...”

Oh my, did I say that?




dn

At The Lake....

When I was growing up, I spent time at "The Lake" every year. Anywhere from a few days to several weeks. But "The Lake" that I grew up around wasn't your typical lake. In fact it wasn't even a real lake.

Farmers have to have a sense of humour - it is the only way to survive what Mother Nature can dish out. The land where I grew up was settled by my paternal great grandfather and grandfather in the early 1890's. There is a creek that twists and turns through the yard and the farm house is surrounded on three sides by the creek.

My father always said he was like a rich Texan. He didn't have to take his family to the lake - he brought "The Lake" to us - at least once every year!

The problem was that "The Lake" was actually flood water from that creek that runs through our farm. Spring thaw and flooding are par for the course.

The creek is actually rather small and narrow but it runs off of a larger river further upstream. That river and part of the creek also run through the nearby hills. Because of that, we can get flood effects several times in any given spring. The first is a general melt of snow off the land and the creek itself. The second and sometimes third floods are off the overflow from the river and the snow melt from the hills. Add into that the normal late winter snowfalls and spring rains and you are pretty much guaranteed at least a small flood every year!

They tend to come a few weeks apart. It can start as early as mid March and come slowly or rise in a matter of hours depending on the weather. The first round starts to recede and it is almost dry enough to start working the land and cleaning the yard. If the weather has been kind - with a slow melt and little extra precipitation - then you might be lucky and only have that one flood. But, if it goes too quickly or you get more rain or snow, then all bets are off! You just bide your time and hope for the best. It's a frustrating but inevitable part of living on this land.

Floods don't just happen in spring though. Nope. There have been several years where a heavy rainfall has triggered the creek to overflow its banks and turn our yard and fields into a mini ocean. We've had them in June, July and August.

Some of the pictures that have been taken over the years, can be deceptively beautiful until you take a closer look and realize that there was a potentially bountiful harvest of grains underneath. The vegetable garden that promised produce for the coming winter was gone. And the flowerbeds and lawn that were so lovingly nourished were now a murky and muddy mess.

Row boats, small motor boats and the front end loader for the tractor were often used to get around the property. We'd park the vehicles and implements on high ground and wear hip waders to get to them. When we still had livestock, the baby farm animals sometimes had to be moved onto higher ground or even up on a makeshift level of bales for a few days.

We've been lucky though. Our house may be surrounded by the creek, but we have rarely had more than a few inches of water in the basement. There have been the odd years that hip waders were required to go to the basement, but those were the exception. Many years a sump pump could handle most of the moisture that did seep in. The water often lapped at the top of the bottom step into the house, but we have also been lucky in that we have never had water on the main floor.

We don't have pictures from every flood - especially the early years, but my mom has put together a photo album with a lot of photos of the land and yard under water. I borrowed that album a few months ago and have put together a slideshow of some of those pictures. There are almost 60 photos here that cover the last 70 some years. I've added the year to all of the pics and text to a few.

For the best view of this slideshow, I suggest watching it in full screen. To did that, click the second button from the right (four arrow icon) at the bottom of the video box.


So for a few days - or a few weeks - as the case may be, we had waterfront property every year. I haven't actually been at "The Lake" for several years and I don't particularly miss it. It got to be rather inconvenient and tiresome after awhile.

A couple of weeks ago, during our regular Sunday morning phone call, my mom informed me that she was at "The Lake" again this spring!

Some things never change...

dn

A Little Easter Humour...

Today is Easter Sunday, and for a lot of people that means a religious celebration. It may also mean a family gathering of some sort. But for many of us, it is just another great reason to have some chocolate and enjoy a little Easter humour....

When one breeds an angora rabbit with an Easter Bunny is that a cross hair?

All I Need to Know About Life I Learned from the Easter Bunny

Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.
Walk softly and carry a big carrot.
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
There's no such thing as too much candy.
All work and no play can make you a basket case.
A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
Some body parts should be floppy.
Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans.
The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.
An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare.
To show your true colors you have to come out of your shell.
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey!

Q: What do Easter Bunny helpers get for making a basket?
A: Two points, just like anyone else.
Q: Why did the Easter Bunny hide his eggs?
A: He doesn't want the other bunnies to know that he was fooling around with the chickens.
Q: Why was the rabbit rubbing his head?
A: Because he had a eggache! (headache)
Q: How do bunnies stay healthy?
A: Eggercise
Q: What does a rooster say to a hen he likes?
A: Your one hot chick!
Q: What do you call ten rabbits marching backwards?
A: A receding hareline.
Q: Do you know how bunnies stay in shape?
A: Hareobics.

Saving the Easter Bunny

A man was blissfully driving along the highway, when he saw the Easter Bunny hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the Bunny, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of his car and was hit. The basket of eggs went flying all over the place.

The driver, being a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what had become of the Bunny carrying the basket. Much to his dismay, the colorful Bunny was dead. The driver felt guilty and began to cry.

A woman driving down the same highway saw the man crying on the side of the road and pulled over. She stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong.

"I feel terrible," he explained, "I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny and killed it. There may not be an Easter because of me. What should I do?"

The woman told the man not to worry. She knew exactly what to do. She went to her car trunk, and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp, dead Bunny, and sprayed the entire contents of the can onto the little furry animal.

Miraculously the Easter Bunny came to back life, jumped up, picked up the spilled eggs and candy, waved its paw at the two humans and hopped on down the road. 50 yards away the Easter Bunny stopped, turned around, waved and hopped on down the road another 50 yards, turned, waved, hopped another 50 yards and waved again!

The man was astonished. He said to the woman, "What in heaven's name is in your spray can? What was it that you sprayed on the Easter Bunny?" The woman turned the can around so that the man could read the label. It said: "Hair spray. Restores life to dead hair. Adds permanent wave."











Happy Easter!

dn

dn’s Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies (and Variations)

Easter is only a week away and for many that means finding a mouth watering chocolate treat! Today, I thought I would share one of my favourite cookie recipes and some variations to tempt all the chocolate lovers! I recently created a Black Forrest version of these and received rave reviews from those who tasted them!

The original recipe for these is from “The Search For The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie” by Gwen Steege. It can be found on page 6 and is called “The Orchards’ Chocolate – Chocolate Chip Cookie”. I pretty much followed the original except for two things. I use a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour and of course added more chocolate chips! Over the years, I have also come up with a few variations on this recipe.

This recipe makes a huge amount of cookies and requires a good quality stand mixer such as Kitchen Aid to mix the dough thoroughly. If you do not have a stand mixer, I highly recommend that you use the half batch quantities that are listed at the bottom. Depending on your hand mixer, you may need to stop and rest the mixer motor if it starts to overheat.

dn’s Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies (and Variations)

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups block margarine, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ¾ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups chocolate chips

Combine the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
In a stand mixer bowl, beat the margarine till light and creamy. Gradually add the sugars and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time – beating well after each one. Add the vanilla and mix in. Gradually add the dry ingredients and combine. Do not overmix! Stir in the chocolate chips. Transfer the dough to a bowl that you can cover with saran and put in the fridge. Chill the dough for 2 hours or up to one day.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into small balls about 1 inch round and place about 1 ½ inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake in preheated 350F oven for about 7 ½ to 8 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE! Let cookies sit on the pan on the cooling rack for a minute or so after removing from oven, then carefully slide the parchment paper and cookies off of the pan onto the cooling rack to finish cooling.
The full recipe makes about 13 ½ - 15 dozen depending on the size.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, they can be placed in freezer bags and frozen.

~*~*~*~

dn’s Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies (Half Batch)

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
½ cup + 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup block margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed
3 eggs
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Follow directions as above. If using any of the variations, use the amounts in brackets. The half recipe makes about 6 ½ 7 ½ dozen depending on the size.

~*~*~*~

Variations:

dn’s Chocolate Chip Combo: Try combining two or more different types of chocolate chips such as bittersweet, dark, semi sweet, milk, white or mint. Also try different size combos such as mini, regular and chunks. As long as the total quantity is 3 cups (1 ½ cup for half version), you can use whatever amounts of each you want.

dn’s Peanut Butter Chocolate – Chocolate Chip Cookies: Reduce the margarine to 2 cups (1 cup) and add 1 cup (½ cup) crunchy peanut butter. Also add 1 cup (½ cup) chopped blanched peanuts with 2 ¼ (1 cup + 2 Tablespoons) cups chocolate chips.

dn’s Nutty Chocolate – Chocolate Chip Cookies: Reduce chocolate chips to 2 ¼ cups (1 cup +2 Tablespoons) and add 1 ¼ cups (½ cup + 2 Tablespoons) finely chopped almonds, pecans or macadamia nuts. For added flavour, toast* the nuts beforehand and allow to cool completely before adding to the dough.

dn’s Black Forest Cookies: 2 cups (1 cup) mini dark chocolate chips, 1 cup (½ cup) toasted chopped almonds and 1 cup (½ cup) dried cherries**. The method listed below for the cherries, may seem tedious, but doing it this way, will ensure a more flavourful cookie with bits of cherry in every cookie.

* To toast nuts: Spread the nuts out on a shallow microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for about 5 minutes – stirring every minute or so. Your nose will tell you when they are done. I personally like them quite toasted – just to the hint of a burnt smell for the almonds in particular.

** Dried cherries: Place the cherries in a single layer in a shallow dish. Cover with hot tap water. Soak the cherries for about 20 minutes then drain and rinse. Cut each cherry in half or thirds depending on size. Spread cut cherries out on a paper towel and cover with another paper towel then pat dry. I start the cherries soaking before I even measure anything else as they take the longest to prepare.

Enjoy!

dn