Growing up in the country, I didn’t have a lot of opportunity to go to concerts. Well, unless of course you count community, school or local church based concerts and talent nights. There were also the performers that would travel the country fair circuit and do live grandstand shows in the evenings. Okay, yes I know those are all technically considered as concerts, but the concerts I’m talking about are the ones with performers that I would have heard on Winnipeg’s top 40 radio stations – CKRC and CKY - or seen on TV. The artists who toured the country or even the world!
I honestly don’t remember whether many of the artists of my youth even came to Winnipeg. I’m sure many of them did, but I just never really thought about going to see them live. As a teen, there were many performers that I would love to have seen in concert, but I never had the money or a ride to get to a concert in the city. I was reasonably content to hear them on the radio, see them on TV and buy their latest 45 or LP.
My first BIG experience with concerts was the summer of 1977. I went to a weeklong Christian Artists Music Seminar and Camp at Estes Park, Colorado. That was the first time I was ever on a plane or been that far away from home by myself! The days were filled with seminars and workshops. Every evening there was a 4 hour plus concert with a variety of some of the biggest Christian artists of the time. The music was amazing! I came home with a suitcase full of cassettes and LP’s!
By the late 1970’s and early 1980’s I’d pretty much given up on top 40 and really wasn’t listening to much Christian music either. I’d turned more to country and a bit of folk.
One of my favourite groups from the early 1980’s was a local trio Elias, Schritt and Bell. They got some local radio air time and played regular gigs at what is now the MTC Warehouse. The seating wasn’t that comfortable in those days, but the guys had such great harmonies and musicianship that none of the fans really minded. My friends and I went to their shows at least a couple of times a month! Sadly, their album was never picked up by a national distributer so they didn’t get the full recognition they deserved.
During the 1980’s I went to a number of country concerts. Some of the performers I saw were; The Statler Brothers (twice), Alabama, Don Williams, B. J. Thomas and Eddie Rabbitt! I’m sure there were more than that but those are the only ones that really stood out for me!
Like most people, my musical tastes changed as time went on. In the late 1980’s and during the 1990’s I went to a lot of concerts – mostly folk but also some pop and jazz. The folk artists ranged from Connie Kaldor, Ferron, Heather Bishop, The Wyrd Sisters, Eric Bogle to James Keeleghan and Oscar Lopez.
Those folk concerts were all at the West End Cultural Centre on Ellice Avenue. The building used to be a church before it became the WECC. The venerable venue has been around since 1987 and has hosted countless events. The WECC formed as a venue that would be offered to the arts and entertainment world. It hosts concerts, literary events, socials, meetings and any number of other events. A few years ago, the aging venue was in dire need of a physical overhaul to update its aging facilities and structural failings. The venue itself closed as it underwent a complete renovation in 2008/2009 but the events continued at other venues. The renovated building now has two venues – a small venue for about 80 people and the main room that can seat up to 380 depending on the layout. I hadn’t been to the centre since the remodelling but was impressed with what I had seen in the photo gallery on their web site.
I went to see jazz artists Tuck and Patti twice! I got to see several big name Canadian acts such as Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen and Holly Cole. I went to see Barenaked Ladies at least twice and Moxy Früvous three or four times!
Yup – my tastes were diverse! They still are!! Unfortunately, my finances just didn’t allow me to keep going to all the concerts that I would have liked to go to. I don’t even recall what the last concert was that I went to but I think it was sometime in the late 1990’s!
There was another reason I didn’t want to go though. Because of my low vision, I had to sit pretty close to the front – like within the first 2 or 3 rows or I couldn’t see anything. Anything further back and I might as well have been sitting in the back row or listening at home. The tickets at the front are almost always priced quite high as you are paying for the privilege of sitting that close to the performers but many of those were just way out of my price range.
The ones that were rushed seating, posed another problem. Some venues allowed patrons to make special arrangements for preferred seating for the disabled. That wasn’t possible everywhere though so if I didn’t get there REALLY early I’d end up too far back to see anything. Sure, being there in the midst of a live concert was fun and you felt the electricity and enthusiasm of the audience but I wanted to see some of the stage and performers as well.
The part that annoyed me the most though were the concerts where I did shell out my limited resources for the prime seats only to have people from the cheap seats rush the stage and stand there for the entire concert blocking the view of anyone who was sitting in the first few rows. Security would block them from getting on stage but never forced them back to their seats. Complaining to management was pointless as they didn’t want to deal with angry fans. What was the point of paying good money for an actual seat at the front if you were going to be usurped by a bunch of cheapskates with no respect for other concert goers? I pretty much quit going to concerts after that.
There have been lots of concerts that I would LOVE to have gone to in the last 10-15 years. Artists like: Tony Bennett; Michael Bublé; Diana Krall; Rod Stewart; James Taylor; Bette Midler; Paul McCartney; Chicago; The Eagles; Crosby, Stills and Nash. Artists such as Meaghan Smith, Roy Forbes, The Chenille Sisters, Alice Peacock, Allison Krauss, kd lang, Melody Gardot and Linda Ronstadt would also be part of my "concerts to see" wish list! I’d also love to see some of the artists that I’d seen in the past again: Ferron, Leonard Cohen and Tuck and Patti to name a few.
Another artist that I had really wanted to see again was Connie Kaldor. I have several of her CD’s and have always enjoyed her voice and presentation. A couple of weeks ago I got that opportunity but I will save that for the next post!
dn
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Snowman
I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I loved playing in the snow and making snowmen. We all know the story of Frosty The Snowman and I'm sure that at some point most of us wondered what kind of personalities our own snow creations would have had. Well, luckily there have been creative cartoonists out there that have taken that very idea and put it to paper. A couple of years ago, I shared several of the creative snowman cartoons from Calvin and Hobbes.
Today, I want to share some of the works from Tundra.
dn
Today, I want to share some of the works from Tundra.
dn
Sunday, January 16, 2011
dn's Scalloped Potatoes
I’ve been kind of hungry for scalloped potatoes for awhile but just never seemed to have the extra time needed to make them. It's not that much extra work, but I just never felt like doing all the slicing. Sure I could have pulled out my food processor and done it in a couple of minutes - but then I would have had to clean it and ... well ... that also seemed like to much work so I just didn't do it.
When I finally did get around to making them this past weekend, I couldn’t find my old recipe so I decided to wing it and just see what happened! I've never been good at making cream sauces or rues from scratch, so I opened the cupboards and the fridge and looked for ingredients that I thought would make an interesting blend of flavours.
Luckily I made notes as this turned out to be absolutely fabulous and very flavourful!! The mushroom soup and Monterey Jack cheese keep it very creamy. The Ranch Dressing and the sour cream give it just a bit of zip. Lots of onion and a bit of seasoning just to put the final touch on it all. Oh, and I also used low fat or fat free versions of the soup, dressing, sour cream and cheese so this is pretty much guilt free comfort food!
I served it with mini meatloaves and some baked squash! Talk about a perfect meal for a winter evening!
mmmmm.... so good!!
dn's Scalloped Potatoes
4 medium white/russet baker potatoes (about 1 1/4 -1 1/2lbs)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup (low fat and low sodium)
1/3 cup light Ranch Dressing
2/3 fat free sour cream
1 cup grated light Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Spray a 2 quart/litre deep baking dish with Pam. Wash and pat dry the potatoes. (Do not peel the potatoes) Slice into very thin slices. Chop the onion and set aside. Combine the last 6 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Spread 1/4 of the potatoes evenly on the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 1/4 of the onions then 1/2 cup of the cream soup mixture. Repeat layers - finishing with the remainder of the cream soup mixture. As you are layering, try to spread the layers out as evenly as possible without disturbing the layers below. This will make for maximum coverage and more even cooking.
Cover with lid or foil and place on a foil lined baking sheet in a pre-heated 375F oven. Bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and continue baking for about 45 more minutes or until potatoes test done with a fork. Serve with a meatloaf or baked ham and a vegetable or salad.
Makes 4 servings
Notes:
- You could use other types of potatoes and peel them if you wish but I prefer russet potatoes and love the skins so why peel off the extra nutrients?!
- Other white cheeses or creamed soups could also be used but this is my favourite combo.
- This recipe will boil over in the oven so putting the dish on the foil lined baking sheet eliminates a lot of clean up!
Enjoy!
dn
When I finally did get around to making them this past weekend, I couldn’t find my old recipe so I decided to wing it and just see what happened! I've never been good at making cream sauces or rues from scratch, so I opened the cupboards and the fridge and looked for ingredients that I thought would make an interesting blend of flavours.
Luckily I made notes as this turned out to be absolutely fabulous and very flavourful!! The mushroom soup and Monterey Jack cheese keep it very creamy. The Ranch Dressing and the sour cream give it just a bit of zip. Lots of onion and a bit of seasoning just to put the final touch on it all. Oh, and I also used low fat or fat free versions of the soup, dressing, sour cream and cheese so this is pretty much guilt free comfort food!
I served it with mini meatloaves and some baked squash! Talk about a perfect meal for a winter evening!
mmmmm.... so good!!
dn's Scalloped Potatoes
4 medium white/russet baker potatoes (about 1 1/4 -1 1/2lbs)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup (low fat and low sodium)
1/3 cup light Ranch Dressing
2/3 fat free sour cream
1 cup grated light Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Spray a 2 quart/litre deep baking dish with Pam. Wash and pat dry the potatoes. (Do not peel the potatoes) Slice into very thin slices. Chop the onion and set aside. Combine the last 6 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Spread 1/4 of the potatoes evenly on the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 1/4 of the onions then 1/2 cup of the cream soup mixture. Repeat layers - finishing with the remainder of the cream soup mixture. As you are layering, try to spread the layers out as evenly as possible without disturbing the layers below. This will make for maximum coverage and more even cooking.
Cover with lid or foil and place on a foil lined baking sheet in a pre-heated 375F oven. Bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and continue baking for about 45 more minutes or until potatoes test done with a fork. Serve with a meatloaf or baked ham and a vegetable or salad.
Makes 4 servings
Notes:
- You could use other types of potatoes and peel them if you wish but I prefer russet potatoes and love the skins so why peel off the extra nutrients?!
- Other white cheeses or creamed soups could also be used but this is my favourite combo.
- This recipe will boil over in the oven so putting the dish on the foil lined baking sheet eliminates a lot of clean up!
Enjoy!
dn
Sunday, January 9, 2011
One Bad Apple Could Have Spoiled The Whole Bunch
Over the last few weeks, I’ve slowly been sorting through my possessions and getting rid of the things that I don’t want, don’t need, doesn’t fit or is just too hard to keep clean and orderly.
In that process, I got rid of most of my old furniture so have been looking in stores and on line to replace them with items that are a lot more ergonomic, comfortable, attractive and reasonably priced.
About a week before Christmas, I decided that I wanted to find a small storage ottoman. I wanted one in black in either leather or a faux leather so it would be easy to clean. I checked out several online sites for local furniture stores and found one that looked like it would fit my needs perfectly. It was relatively small and compact at 17”x17.5”x17”. The lid was reversible with padding on one side to use as a seat/foot rest and the other side was flat to use as a serving surface. Inside was a smaller cube ottoman.
It wasn’t on sale but was still a fairly good deal at $79.00. The problem was that I didn’t have that much extra money at the time as I had just hit a really great deal on two leather chairs. So, I decided to just bookmark the page and check it after Christmas to see if it was part of a boxing week sale. I continued to check other sites and stores but nothing else really appealed to me.
Boxing Day, I checked the site and sure enough - the ottoman was on sale for $49.00! I wasn’t about to order it online though as the chain charged $50 for delivery on orders under $500! Yikes! Besides, I hadn’t seen it in person so wasn’t sure of the quality. I called a friend who lives on that side of the city and asked her to check it out. She knows my taste and what I was looking for so I trusted her judgement.
She went over to the store Monday morning and asked a sales person about the ottomans and said she wanted one in black. He pointed out where they were and said that was what was available. He never offered to check if there were more in the back or even see if more were coming in. Needless to say, my friend was less than impressed. She left empty handed and called me with the tale.
I thought that was odd as the website indicated that the item was available for pickup in the colour I wanted at the store I had indicated. I called the store and asked to check product availability. I was transferred to a nice gentleman, who informed me that two of the black were in stock but they could not be put on hold.
I called my friend back and said I would try and get it online and request customer pickup to avoid the delivery fee. When I filled out the online form, it said the earliest I could pick the item up was Wednesday. Huh? I called the store back and spoke with the woman who answered the phone. I explained what had happened with my friend and the attitude of the sales person. She was appalled that the sales person had been so rude to a potential customer regardless of how much they may spend.
I also told her about my phone call a few minutes earlier and asked if I could purchase it over the phone and have my friend pick it up shortly. Normally they will only take orders up to $50 over the phone and the balance would be paid in person - but because of the circumstances and the mistreatment of the first sales person, she made an exception. The total would only be a little over $50 anyways. She took down my info and said she would call me back after confirming the item was in stock. Sure enough she called me back 10 minutes later and we completed the transaction over the phone. She apologized again for how this had all been handled. She gave me her name and asked that my friend speak with her directly when she returned.
I called my friend back and she returned to the store a short time later. When she got back to the store she went directly to the front counter and asked for the woman I had spoken with. Turns out, that the woman had noticed my friend when she had been in earlier – they had made eye contact. She also apologized to my friend for how she had been treated. She also asked my friend to point out the sales person in question from a wall display of sales people photos – which my friend did. The woman also told my friend that she had placed a customer comment/survey form with the invoice and asked her to fill it out.
Good customer service should be a given in any area. Treating your customers and clients equally and fairly can earn you lifelong consumer loyalty. Unfortunately one negative experience with a bad employee or an employee having a bad day can turn you off an entire store or chain. One bad apple can indeed spoil the whole bunch.
Being polite to all customers isn’t easy either - but you are a reflection of the business that employees you. If you treat your customers poorly, don’t expect us to come back – let alone recommend your store/service to anyone else down the road. You cannot judge a customer on their appearance or what they wanted to purchase. A $50 ottoman may not have seemed worth your effort but you never know when that same person (or someone they know) may be in the market for a much more expensive item. A customer is a customer whether they spend $5 or $5,000 and you wouldn’t have a job without our business.
I’ve had countless experiences with customer service over the years. Luckily most of it has been good – and I always express gratitude for good service. I’ve written about great service here in the past. (“Good Service Is Good Business” “Microwave - Part Two”)
Unfortunately, I’ve also had bad customer service. Whenever possible I try to bring that poor service to the attention of a manager. I give them an opportunity to make things right before I tell people to avoid that business like the plague!
Had I not called the store back that morning to check the availability of the ottoman, I’m sure that my friend and I would never have gone near the store again. But, something just told me to check this out and see if the sales person wasn’t doing their job.
Glad I did as the service I got over the phone was phenomenal. The woman in the front office could not have been nicer or more understanding of the situation. My friend felt the same way when she went back to pick up my ottoman.
I haven’t finished refurnishing my home, but the ottoman looks great with my chair!
The customer survey has been filled out and sent.
So what store was it you may ask? Well, I could name it but I think it is more important that both staff and customers always do their best to treat each other with respect and courtesy. After all isn’t that the way we all want to be treated?
dn
In that process, I got rid of most of my old furniture so have been looking in stores and on line to replace them with items that are a lot more ergonomic, comfortable, attractive and reasonably priced.
About a week before Christmas, I decided that I wanted to find a small storage ottoman. I wanted one in black in either leather or a faux leather so it would be easy to clean. I checked out several online sites for local furniture stores and found one that looked like it would fit my needs perfectly. It was relatively small and compact at 17”x17.5”x17”. The lid was reversible with padding on one side to use as a seat/foot rest and the other side was flat to use as a serving surface. Inside was a smaller cube ottoman.
It wasn’t on sale but was still a fairly good deal at $79.00. The problem was that I didn’t have that much extra money at the time as I had just hit a really great deal on two leather chairs. So, I decided to just bookmark the page and check it after Christmas to see if it was part of a boxing week sale. I continued to check other sites and stores but nothing else really appealed to me.
Boxing Day, I checked the site and sure enough - the ottoman was on sale for $49.00! I wasn’t about to order it online though as the chain charged $50 for delivery on orders under $500! Yikes! Besides, I hadn’t seen it in person so wasn’t sure of the quality. I called a friend who lives on that side of the city and asked her to check it out. She knows my taste and what I was looking for so I trusted her judgement.
She went over to the store Monday morning and asked a sales person about the ottomans and said she wanted one in black. He pointed out where they were and said that was what was available. He never offered to check if there were more in the back or even see if more were coming in. Needless to say, my friend was less than impressed. She left empty handed and called me with the tale.
I thought that was odd as the website indicated that the item was available for pickup in the colour I wanted at the store I had indicated. I called the store and asked to check product availability. I was transferred to a nice gentleman, who informed me that two of the black were in stock but they could not be put on hold.
I called my friend back and said I would try and get it online and request customer pickup to avoid the delivery fee. When I filled out the online form, it said the earliest I could pick the item up was Wednesday. Huh? I called the store back and spoke with the woman who answered the phone. I explained what had happened with my friend and the attitude of the sales person. She was appalled that the sales person had been so rude to a potential customer regardless of how much they may spend.
I also told her about my phone call a few minutes earlier and asked if I could purchase it over the phone and have my friend pick it up shortly. Normally they will only take orders up to $50 over the phone and the balance would be paid in person - but because of the circumstances and the mistreatment of the first sales person, she made an exception. The total would only be a little over $50 anyways. She took down my info and said she would call me back after confirming the item was in stock. Sure enough she called me back 10 minutes later and we completed the transaction over the phone. She apologized again for how this had all been handled. She gave me her name and asked that my friend speak with her directly when she returned.
I called my friend back and she returned to the store a short time later. When she got back to the store she went directly to the front counter and asked for the woman I had spoken with. Turns out, that the woman had noticed my friend when she had been in earlier – they had made eye contact. She also apologized to my friend for how she had been treated. She also asked my friend to point out the sales person in question from a wall display of sales people photos – which my friend did. The woman also told my friend that she had placed a customer comment/survey form with the invoice and asked her to fill it out.
Good customer service should be a given in any area. Treating your customers and clients equally and fairly can earn you lifelong consumer loyalty. Unfortunately one negative experience with a bad employee or an employee having a bad day can turn you off an entire store or chain. One bad apple can indeed spoil the whole bunch.
Being polite to all customers isn’t easy either - but you are a reflection of the business that employees you. If you treat your customers poorly, don’t expect us to come back – let alone recommend your store/service to anyone else down the road. You cannot judge a customer on their appearance or what they wanted to purchase. A $50 ottoman may not have seemed worth your effort but you never know when that same person (or someone they know) may be in the market for a much more expensive item. A customer is a customer whether they spend $5 or $5,000 and you wouldn’t have a job without our business.
I’ve had countless experiences with customer service over the years. Luckily most of it has been good – and I always express gratitude for good service. I’ve written about great service here in the past. (“Good Service Is Good Business” “Microwave - Part Two”)
Unfortunately, I’ve also had bad customer service. Whenever possible I try to bring that poor service to the attention of a manager. I give them an opportunity to make things right before I tell people to avoid that business like the plague!
Had I not called the store back that morning to check the availability of the ottoman, I’m sure that my friend and I would never have gone near the store again. But, something just told me to check this out and see if the sales person wasn’t doing their job.
Glad I did as the service I got over the phone was phenomenal. The woman in the front office could not have been nicer or more understanding of the situation. My friend felt the same way when she went back to pick up my ottoman.
I haven’t finished refurnishing my home, but the ottoman looks great with my chair!
The customer survey has been filled out and sent.
So what store was it you may ask? Well, I could name it but I think it is more important that both staff and customers always do their best to treat each other with respect and courtesy. After all isn’t that the way we all want to be treated?
dn
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Help Peak Help The Food Bank!
I got a great email the other day. Please take a moment to read it:
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, December 26, 2010 7:03 AM
Subject: Simply by Forwarding this email you can Help Peak Help the Food Bank
Dear Peak of the Market Recipe Subscriber:
Peak of the Market is having a Food Drive for the Winnipeg Harvest Food Bank and I am writing today to ask for your help. For every new recipe e-mail subscriber, Peak of the Market Growers will donate 50 pounds of vegetables to the Food Bank. Since you have been receiving our recipe e-mails for a long time, you know firsthand we don’t send out spam or junk mail, we don’t share e-mail addresses and hopefully you are enjoying our free recipes. Therefore, your recommendation or suggestion to your friends, anywhere in the world, in your e-mail address book will mean a lot more than anything I could say. I realize everyone’s life is very busy but if you can take a few minutes and forward this e-mail with a note from you, it will help more than you know. If just 10 of your friends sign up for free recipe e-mails that will mean 500 pounds of fresh vegetables will go to Winnipeg Harvest. It’s that simple.
Imagine if all of our 47,504 recipe subscribers in 134 countries forwarded this e-mail. We can use the power of the internet to reach people around the world to help those less fortunate. Thanks for your time and your help. I greatly appreciate it and so does the Food Bank.
Larry McIntosh
Sign up for Free e-mail Recipes and Help the Food Bank
Sign up for Peak of the Market’s free e-mail recipes by February 28, 2011 and Peak of the Market Growers will donate 50 pounds of fresh vegetables to the Winnipeg Harvest Food Bank. Sign up at www.PeakMarket.com/Harvest to receive free recipes on a daily to weekly basis.
Peak of the Market has 47,504 recipe subscribers in 134 countries. Every recipe contains a vegetable, however, recipes may be for meat, fish or vegetables only. All recipe measurements are in both metric and imperial. The only information required is your e-mail address and your province, state or country. You can unsubscribe at any time and Peak of the Market does not share e-mail addresses with any third party.
Peak of the Market is a not for profit organization that represents 40 Manitoba Family Farms. Winnipeg Harvest shares food with more than 58,000 people each month through over 320 Food Banks and Soup Kitchens in Manitoba.
Thanks, take care and please don't forget to eat your veggies!
Larry McIntosh, President & CEO
Peak of the Market
1200 King Edward Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0R5
Website: http://www.peakmarket.com/
Wow! What a great promotion! Lots of free recipes and a very generous donation to a wonderful cause! 50 pounds of produce to the Food Bank for EVERY new subscriber to the service! As Mr. McIntosh explained, there is no fee here and your addresses aren't going to be sold or published. They only send you recipes and maybe 3 or 4 info/newsletter type emails per year.
As the message said, Peak Of The Market is based here in Manitoba, but has thousands of subscribers all over the world who are receiving their recipes on a regular basis. I've been subscribing for over 4 years and have come across some great recipes and ideas for preparing my produce. Of course, there are also some recipes that you couldn't pay me to try but that is part of the fun of opening the recipe email and seeing what the feature recipe is for that day!
I sent a copy of the above email to about 25 friends all over the world. I know at least one of them has signed up so far – and they live thousands of miles away!
The holiday season may be over, but there is still time to give to a worthy cause. This is certainly one of the easiest ways I’ve ever seen to make a generous donation. It is also one that everyone with an email account can afford.
So whether you barely cook, are a novice cook or love to experiment in the kitchen I hope you will consider adding your name to their mailing list so that even more produce can be donated to the food bank. Also please feel free to forward this blog post or a link to the sign up page to anyone you know who may be interested in finding some new recipes!
BTW, if you happen to come across this post after the promotion deadline of February 28, 2011 you can still sign up for great recipes. Winnipeg Harvest can always use extra help and donations. Please visit their site and see if there is a way you can help. Or check your local area for a food bank near you. They can let you know how you can help.
Thanks, dn
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, December 26, 2010 7:03 AM
Subject: Simply by Forwarding this email you can Help Peak Help the Food Bank
Dear Peak of the Market Recipe Subscriber:
Peak of the Market is having a Food Drive for the Winnipeg Harvest Food Bank and I am writing today to ask for your help. For every new recipe e-mail subscriber, Peak of the Market Growers will donate 50 pounds of vegetables to the Food Bank. Since you have been receiving our recipe e-mails for a long time, you know firsthand we don’t send out spam or junk mail, we don’t share e-mail addresses and hopefully you are enjoying our free recipes. Therefore, your recommendation or suggestion to your friends, anywhere in the world, in your e-mail address book will mean a lot more than anything I could say. I realize everyone’s life is very busy but if you can take a few minutes and forward this e-mail with a note from you, it will help more than you know. If just 10 of your friends sign up for free recipe e-mails that will mean 500 pounds of fresh vegetables will go to Winnipeg Harvest. It’s that simple.
Imagine if all of our 47,504 recipe subscribers in 134 countries forwarded this e-mail. We can use the power of the internet to reach people around the world to help those less fortunate. Thanks for your time and your help. I greatly appreciate it and so does the Food Bank.
Larry McIntosh
Sign up for Free e-mail Recipes and Help the Food Bank
Sign up for Peak of the Market’s free e-mail recipes by February 28, 2011 and Peak of the Market Growers will donate 50 pounds of fresh vegetables to the Winnipeg Harvest Food Bank. Sign up at www.PeakMarket.com/Harvest to receive free recipes on a daily to weekly basis.
Peak of the Market has 47,504 recipe subscribers in 134 countries. Every recipe contains a vegetable, however, recipes may be for meat, fish or vegetables only. All recipe measurements are in both metric and imperial. The only information required is your e-mail address and your province, state or country. You can unsubscribe at any time and Peak of the Market does not share e-mail addresses with any third party.
Peak of the Market is a not for profit organization that represents 40 Manitoba Family Farms. Winnipeg Harvest shares food with more than 58,000 people each month through over 320 Food Banks and Soup Kitchens in Manitoba.
Thanks, take care and please don't forget to eat your veggies!
Larry McIntosh, President & CEO
Peak of the Market
1200 King Edward Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0R5
Website: http://www.peakmarket.com/
Wow! What a great promotion! Lots of free recipes and a very generous donation to a wonderful cause! 50 pounds of produce to the Food Bank for EVERY new subscriber to the service! As Mr. McIntosh explained, there is no fee here and your addresses aren't going to be sold or published. They only send you recipes and maybe 3 or 4 info/newsletter type emails per year.
As the message said, Peak Of The Market is based here in Manitoba, but has thousands of subscribers all over the world who are receiving their recipes on a regular basis. I've been subscribing for over 4 years and have come across some great recipes and ideas for preparing my produce. Of course, there are also some recipes that you couldn't pay me to try but that is part of the fun of opening the recipe email and seeing what the feature recipe is for that day!
I sent a copy of the above email to about 25 friends all over the world. I know at least one of them has signed up so far – and they live thousands of miles away!
The holiday season may be over, but there is still time to give to a worthy cause. This is certainly one of the easiest ways I’ve ever seen to make a generous donation. It is also one that everyone with an email account can afford.
So whether you barely cook, are a novice cook or love to experiment in the kitchen I hope you will consider adding your name to their mailing list so that even more produce can be donated to the food bank. Also please feel free to forward this blog post or a link to the sign up page to anyone you know who may be interested in finding some new recipes!
BTW, if you happen to come across this post after the promotion deadline of February 28, 2011 you can still sign up for great recipes. Winnipeg Harvest can always use extra help and donations. Please visit their site and see if there is a way you can help. Or check your local area for a food bank near you. They can let you know how you can help.
Thanks, dn
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Humbug 2010!
It's Christmas Day and I want to wish all of you the very best of the holiday season! I'm taking a little break to enjoy some quiet time and great food but I'll be back here in 2011! In case you missed it, here again is my Christmas video that I posted last year!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Christmas Videos
Christmas is less than a week away. If you have been anywhere near a radio, a TV or a retail area, odds are that you are pretty tired of the usual Christmas music by now. I've never been a huge fan of all the traditional music although there are a few that I tolerate more than others. So today, I thought I'd share a few of the more unique songs and videos that I have come to love over the years.
I know a lot of people can't stand Pachelbel's Canon as they have heard it at way too many weddings, but I love the piece! I heard this Christmas version by the Transiberian Orchestra for the first time a few years ago and have loved it ever since!
I first heard "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" on an Emmy Lou Harris album many years ago. I couldn't find that version on video, but I found a similar version that gives a really nice feel. This one is by The Judd's
Years ago, I was a huge fan of The Statler Brothers. They put out a couple of Christmas albums, but my favourite seasonal song of theirs is "I Believe In Santa's Cause"
Holly Cole released a mini Christmas CD a few years ago that contained a song I instantly fell in love with! I used to sing a few bars of this onto my answering machine every year!
A few years ago, The Muppet's released yet another Christmas special called "Letters to Santa" About 2/3 of the way through, Gonzo and Fozzie Bear sing a duet called "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus". I've always loved The Muppet's, but there is something about this song that just gets me every time!
What's Christmas without a little attitude from my gal Maxine...
Okay, one more and this is the one that I uploaded last year after I took some video of my apartment at Christmas time. I added a special song from Tweety and Sylvester to go with it...
Merry Humbug!
dn
I know a lot of people can't stand Pachelbel's Canon as they have heard it at way too many weddings, but I love the piece! I heard this Christmas version by the Transiberian Orchestra for the first time a few years ago and have loved it ever since!
I first heard "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" on an Emmy Lou Harris album many years ago. I couldn't find that version on video, but I found a similar version that gives a really nice feel. This one is by The Judd's
Years ago, I was a huge fan of The Statler Brothers. They put out a couple of Christmas albums, but my favourite seasonal song of theirs is "I Believe In Santa's Cause"
Holly Cole released a mini Christmas CD a few years ago that contained a song I instantly fell in love with! I used to sing a few bars of this onto my answering machine every year!
A few years ago, The Muppet's released yet another Christmas special called "Letters to Santa" About 2/3 of the way through, Gonzo and Fozzie Bear sing a duet called "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus". I've always loved The Muppet's, but there is something about this song that just gets me every time!
What's Christmas without a little attitude from my gal Maxine...
Okay, one more and this is the one that I uploaded last year after I took some video of my apartment at Christmas time. I added a special song from Tweety and Sylvester to go with it...
Merry Humbug!
dn
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A Bit Of Holiday Levity!
I’m sure by now, most of you are getting a little stressed out preparing for the holidays. So, in order to help you relax, I’ve devoted today’s post to a bit of Holiday Levity! Granted these aren’t new jokes but hopefully you will have a chuckle or two!!
Types of Clause’s:
- Saint Nicholas is the main Clause.
- His wife is a relative Clause.
- His children are dependent Clauses.
- Their Dutch uncle is a restrictive Clause.
- Santa’s elves are subordinate Clauses.
Holiday Riddles:
Q: What do reindeer say before telling you a joke?
A: This one will sleigh you!
Q: Why is a reindeer like a gossip?
A: Because they are both tail bearers!
Q: Why do reindeer wear fur coats?
A: Because they would look silly in plastic macs!
Q: How do you make a slow reindeer fast?
A: Don’t feed it!
Q: If athletes get athletes foot, what do astronauts get?
A: Missletoe!
Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A: Frostbite.
Q: Why was Santa’s little helper depressed?
A: Because he had low elf esteem.
Q: Why does Santa have 3 gardens?
A: So he can ho-ho-ho.
Name That Christmas Carol!
Q: Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
A: Go, Tell It on the Mountain
Q: The Quadruped with the Vermillion Probiscis
A: Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer
Q: Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
A: What Child is This?
Q: Delight for this Planet
A: Joy to the World
Q: Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
A: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Q: The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals
A: The Twelve Days of Christmas
Q: Array the Corridor
A: Deck the Hall
Q: Bantam Male Percussionist
A: Little Drummer Boy
Q: Monarchial Triad
A: We Three Kings
Q: Nocturnal Noiselessness
A: Silent Night
Q: Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
A: God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
Q: Red Man En Route to Borough
A: Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Q: Frozen Precipitation Commence
A: Let it Snow
WHY CHRISTMAS TREES ARE BETTER THAN WOMEN:
- When you dress it up with silver and gold, it doesn’t look like a cheap hooker.
- A Christmas tree will never complain if you compare it to another bush.
- A Christmas tree will stay up late, watch a porno with you, and won’t say, “Hey, look at the size of that one … I didn’t know they made ‘em that big!”
- Christmas trees actually like when you use exotic electrical devices.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t care if you have a plastic one in the closet.
- It always smells fresh as a forest.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t care if you watch football all day or go to a strip club after work.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get possessive if you want to let your neighbor use your balls.
- You can feel a Christmas tree before you take it home.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get mad if you look up underneath it.
- When you are done with a Christmas tree you can throw it on the curb and have it hauled away.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get jealous around other Christmas trees.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t care how many other Christmas trees you have had in the past.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get mad if you tie it up and throw it in the back of your pickup truck.
WHY CHRISTMAS TREES ARE BETTER THAN MEN:
- A Christmas tree is always erect.
- Even small ones give satisfaction.
- A Christmas tree stays up for 12 days and nights.
- A Christmas tree always looks good – even when it’s lit.
- A Christmas tree is always happy with its size.
- A Christmas tree has cute balls.
- You can throw a Christmas tree out when it wears out.
- You don’t have to put up with a Christmas tree all year.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get mad if you break one of its balls.
- You only have to feed/water it once a week.
- It’s always there to light up your life.
- It gets turned on only when you want it turned on.
- It always smells nice and doesn’t pass gas.
- If it needles you, you can toss it out.
- It doesn’t ask you to have little Christmas trees.
Is There A Santa?
1. Santa’s Workload
There are two billion children in the world, but since Santa doesn’t appear to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Budist children, that reduces his workload to 15% of the total, or 300 million. At an average rate of 3.5 children per household, that’s 85.7 million homes. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different times zones and the rotation of the Earth, assuming he travels East to West. This works out to 767.9 visits per second. So for each household with good children, Santa has about 1/1,000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the presents, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, into the sleigh and move on to the next house.”
2. The Time/Distance Factor
Assuming that these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the Earth, we’re talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75.5 million miles.
3. Calculation of Estimated Speed
This means that Santa’s sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, or 3,000 times the speed of sound.
4. Santa’s Payload
Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a mdeium-size Lego set (about two pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as “heavy.” On land, normal reindeer could pull no more than 300 pounds, and even granting that flying reindeer could pull 10 times the normal amount, Santa’s going to need 214,200 reindeer to pull his sleigh. This increases the payload to 353,430 tons, or four times the weight of the “Queen Elizabeth.”
Conclusion:
A craft of 353,000 tons, traveling at 650 miles per second, creates enormous air resistance. This will heat up Mr. Claus and his sleigh like a spacecraft reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
Translation:
If there is a Santa, he’s toast.
Maxine’s Top Ten Ways Christmas Has Changed Due to the Economy..
10) Twelve Days of Christmas now down to ten and a half.
9) "Ho, Ho, Ho" replaced by exasperated sigh.
8) Three out of eight maids a milking on unemployment.
7) Yule log has to last all year.
6) Frosty the Snowman now a depressed, melancholy soul.
5) Letters to Santa include resumes.
4) Tinsel recycled for cash money.
3) People hoping to get coal in case gas gets shut-off.
2) Out of town company staying through next Christmas.
1) Getting a meat and cheese assortment, not such a bad gift.
Merry Humbug!!
dn
Types of Clause’s:
- Saint Nicholas is the main Clause.
- His wife is a relative Clause.
- His children are dependent Clauses.
- Their Dutch uncle is a restrictive Clause.
- Santa’s elves are subordinate Clauses.
Holiday Riddles:
Q: What do reindeer say before telling you a joke?
A: This one will sleigh you!
Q: Why is a reindeer like a gossip?
A: Because they are both tail bearers!
Q: Why do reindeer wear fur coats?
A: Because they would look silly in plastic macs!
Q: How do you make a slow reindeer fast?
A: Don’t feed it!
Q: If athletes get athletes foot, what do astronauts get?
A: Missletoe!
Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A: Frostbite.
Q: Why was Santa’s little helper depressed?
A: Because he had low elf esteem.
Q: Why does Santa have 3 gardens?
A: So he can ho-ho-ho.
Name That Christmas Carol!
Q: Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
A: Go, Tell It on the Mountain
Q: The Quadruped with the Vermillion Probiscis
A: Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer
Q: Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
A: What Child is This?
Q: Delight for this Planet
A: Joy to the World
Q: Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
A: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Q: The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals
A: The Twelve Days of Christmas
Q: Array the Corridor
A: Deck the Hall
Q: Bantam Male Percussionist
A: Little Drummer Boy
Q: Monarchial Triad
A: We Three Kings
Q: Nocturnal Noiselessness
A: Silent Night
Q: Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
A: God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
Q: Red Man En Route to Borough
A: Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Q: Frozen Precipitation Commence
A: Let it Snow
WHY CHRISTMAS TREES ARE BETTER THAN WOMEN:
- When you dress it up with silver and gold, it doesn’t look like a cheap hooker.
- A Christmas tree will never complain if you compare it to another bush.
- A Christmas tree will stay up late, watch a porno with you, and won’t say, “Hey, look at the size of that one … I didn’t know they made ‘em that big!”
- Christmas trees actually like when you use exotic electrical devices.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t care if you have a plastic one in the closet.
- It always smells fresh as a forest.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t care if you watch football all day or go to a strip club after work.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get possessive if you want to let your neighbor use your balls.
- You can feel a Christmas tree before you take it home.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get mad if you look up underneath it.
- When you are done with a Christmas tree you can throw it on the curb and have it hauled away.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get jealous around other Christmas trees.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t care how many other Christmas trees you have had in the past.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get mad if you tie it up and throw it in the back of your pickup truck.
WHY CHRISTMAS TREES ARE BETTER THAN MEN:
- A Christmas tree is always erect.
- Even small ones give satisfaction.
- A Christmas tree stays up for 12 days and nights.
- A Christmas tree always looks good – even when it’s lit.
- A Christmas tree is always happy with its size.
- A Christmas tree has cute balls.
- You can throw a Christmas tree out when it wears out.
- You don’t have to put up with a Christmas tree all year.
- A Christmas tree doesn’t get mad if you break one of its balls.
- You only have to feed/water it once a week.
- It’s always there to light up your life.
- It gets turned on only when you want it turned on.
- It always smells nice and doesn’t pass gas.
- If it needles you, you can toss it out.
- It doesn’t ask you to have little Christmas trees.
Is There A Santa?
1. Santa’s Workload
There are two billion children in the world, but since Santa doesn’t appear to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Budist children, that reduces his workload to 15% of the total, or 300 million. At an average rate of 3.5 children per household, that’s 85.7 million homes. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different times zones and the rotation of the Earth, assuming he travels East to West. This works out to 767.9 visits per second. So for each household with good children, Santa has about 1/1,000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the presents, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, into the sleigh and move on to the next house.”
2. The Time/Distance Factor
Assuming that these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the Earth, we’re talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75.5 million miles.
3. Calculation of Estimated Speed
This means that Santa’s sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, or 3,000 times the speed of sound.
4. Santa’s Payload
Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a mdeium-size Lego set (about two pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as “heavy.” On land, normal reindeer could pull no more than 300 pounds, and even granting that flying reindeer could pull 10 times the normal amount, Santa’s going to need 214,200 reindeer to pull his sleigh. This increases the payload to 353,430 tons, or four times the weight of the “Queen Elizabeth.”
Conclusion:
A craft of 353,000 tons, traveling at 650 miles per second, creates enormous air resistance. This will heat up Mr. Claus and his sleigh like a spacecraft reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
Translation:
If there is a Santa, he’s toast.
Maxine’s Top Ten Ways Christmas Has Changed Due to the Economy..
10) Twelve Days of Christmas now down to ten and a half.
9) "Ho, Ho, Ho" replaced by exasperated sigh.
8) Three out of eight maids a milking on unemployment.
7) Yule log has to last all year.
6) Frosty the Snowman now a depressed, melancholy soul.
5) Letters to Santa include resumes.
4) Tinsel recycled for cash money.
3) People hoping to get coal in case gas gets shut-off.
2) Out of town company staying through next Christmas.
1) Getting a meat and cheese assortment, not such a bad gift.
Merry Humbug!!
dn
Sunday, December 5, 2010
I Know
I heard this great song a couple of months ago and realized that I had heard it before and knew that I loved it but for the life of me, couldn't figure out where I'd heard it. I didn't know the title or the artist as it was playing as background music on my TV weather info channel. I didn't have time to search for it before I went out.
While I was out, I kept humming the melody to myself every few minutes so I wouldn't forget it. I was also trying to recall the words but the only ones I could remember were “I know” That wasn't much to go on.
When I got home, I opened one of my recording programs and hummed what I could recall of the tune - about 30 seconds - into my microphone so I'd have it, because I knew that once I started listening to other music - while looking for this song - I'd get sidetracked by another melody and forget what I was looking for in the first place! After it was safely recorded and saved as an mp3, I began to search.
The song was done by a female singer with a smooth, clear, melodic tone that was both relaxing and fresh. The tune was light but had one of those catchy old style melodies that you could just picture someone doing a soft shoe dance routine to. It was one of those songs that just made you want to hear more. I needed to know who was singing it and hear what else they had recorded.
I went to my cable company’s web site to see what music service their digital music channels were from. I searched the web for that site and discovered that I could actually see the playlists for the last 24 hour period on all their stations. I knew approximately what time it had played so it was only a matter of clicking on each channel for that hour. Most of the channels would not have played this type of song so I only clicked on three or four before I found it in Pop - Pop Adult!
11:17 "I Know" by Meaghan Smith from her CD "The Cricket's Orchestra”
I then found it on YouTube and the moment it started, I knew it was the same song.
I searched for more info on the artist and then the light started to dawn. She is Canadian and I remembered that I had heard her on more than one occasion on a radio show that I listen to every week on the CBC called "The Vinyl Cafe"
I did a bit more searching around and found that this talented lady is not only a singer and musician but also a songwriter and an artist who studied animation. I could go on and on about this wonderful artist but she has made her own highly informative and entertaining video biography that really explains who she is and how she became a recording artist. She tells the story much better than I could so here is Meghan to tell you all about herself:
I started following her on Twitter and learned she also had MySpace and Facebook pages. Meaghan Makes Stuff is a way for her to showcase her various artistic talents. Over the last couple of months that I have been following her, she has offered her fans some really great discounts and giveaways. For example, she came across a box full of her first CD “Lost With Directions” which she thought was long out of print. Rather than sell them at a premium and make a little extra cash (as many artists would do) she opted to go straight to the fans via the social networks and offer them the limited edition and much sought after disk at far less than retail. She even offered to sign copies for anyone who wanted! The fans (including me) were snapping them up in no time! I don't know if there are any left but click on the link for the CD above and you just might get lucky!
Ms. Smith, has also given away some of her hand made purses and a box of specialty chocolates she received while doing a gig for a chocolate maker. Generous and Sweet!
Before Canadian Thanksgiving back in October, Meaghan teased that she had a surprise for her fans but wasn’t telling – yet! Around the beginning of November she announced that “A New Kind Of Light”, the Christmas CD she had done with Jill Barber and Rose Cousins was once again available! It was recorded and released in 2008. The disk sold out within a few weeks, but has been re-released for this Christmas. All 100% of the proceeds go to the Feed Nova Scotia Food Bank. Meaghan designed the album and did the artwork. The three ladies sing a collection of new, lesser known and traditional songs for the holidays.
Meaghan faithfully keeps us up to date on her performances, artwork and activities. She is keeping it real and really does respond to the fans comments and questions. She even asks us a few questions! A few days ago, she offered a free mp3 download to her fans. Not that unusual as many performers do that, but this was an acoustic version of one of her songs that was unavailable elsewhere. Meaghan has also promised more freebies and giveaways to come!
Here, just in time for the holidays, is one more tune from Meaghan. This is "Silver Bells" from the EP "Wish Upon A Star" . I think this is the only disk of hers that I don't have - yet - but it is on my wish list!!
So, if you are looking to expand your music collection or wondering what CD’s to add as stocking stuffers or put on your Christmas wish list, I would highly recommend that you add this gifted, entertaining and multi-talented artist to your playlists. Your ears will not be disappointed!
dn
While I was out, I kept humming the melody to myself every few minutes so I wouldn't forget it. I was also trying to recall the words but the only ones I could remember were “I know” That wasn't much to go on.
When I got home, I opened one of my recording programs and hummed what I could recall of the tune - about 30 seconds - into my microphone so I'd have it, because I knew that once I started listening to other music - while looking for this song - I'd get sidetracked by another melody and forget what I was looking for in the first place! After it was safely recorded and saved as an mp3, I began to search.
The song was done by a female singer with a smooth, clear, melodic tone that was both relaxing and fresh. The tune was light but had one of those catchy old style melodies that you could just picture someone doing a soft shoe dance routine to. It was one of those songs that just made you want to hear more. I needed to know who was singing it and hear what else they had recorded.
I went to my cable company’s web site to see what music service their digital music channels were from. I searched the web for that site and discovered that I could actually see the playlists for the last 24 hour period on all their stations. I knew approximately what time it had played so it was only a matter of clicking on each channel for that hour. Most of the channels would not have played this type of song so I only clicked on three or four before I found it in Pop - Pop Adult!
11:17 "I Know" by Meaghan Smith from her CD "The Cricket's Orchestra”
I then found it on YouTube and the moment it started, I knew it was the same song.
I searched for more info on the artist and then the light started to dawn. She is Canadian and I remembered that I had heard her on more than one occasion on a radio show that I listen to every week on the CBC called "The Vinyl Cafe"
I did a bit more searching around and found that this talented lady is not only a singer and musician but also a songwriter and an artist who studied animation. I could go on and on about this wonderful artist but she has made her own highly informative and entertaining video biography that really explains who she is and how she became a recording artist. She tells the story much better than I could so here is Meghan to tell you all about herself:
I started following her on Twitter and learned she also had MySpace and Facebook pages. Meaghan Makes Stuff is a way for her to showcase her various artistic talents. Over the last couple of months that I have been following her, she has offered her fans some really great discounts and giveaways. For example, she came across a box full of her first CD “Lost With Directions” which she thought was long out of print. Rather than sell them at a premium and make a little extra cash (as many artists would do) she opted to go straight to the fans via the social networks and offer them the limited edition and much sought after disk at far less than retail. She even offered to sign copies for anyone who wanted! The fans (including me) were snapping them up in no time! I don't know if there are any left but click on the link for the CD above and you just might get lucky!
Ms. Smith, has also given away some of her hand made purses and a box of specialty chocolates she received while doing a gig for a chocolate maker. Generous and Sweet!
Before Canadian Thanksgiving back in October, Meaghan teased that she had a surprise for her fans but wasn’t telling – yet! Around the beginning of November she announced that “A New Kind Of Light”, the Christmas CD she had done with Jill Barber and Rose Cousins was once again available! It was recorded and released in 2008. The disk sold out within a few weeks, but has been re-released for this Christmas. All 100% of the proceeds go to the Feed Nova Scotia Food Bank. Meaghan designed the album and did the artwork. The three ladies sing a collection of new, lesser known and traditional songs for the holidays.
Meaghan faithfully keeps us up to date on her performances, artwork and activities. She is keeping it real and really does respond to the fans comments and questions. She even asks us a few questions! A few days ago, she offered a free mp3 download to her fans. Not that unusual as many performers do that, but this was an acoustic version of one of her songs that was unavailable elsewhere. Meaghan has also promised more freebies and giveaways to come!
Here, just in time for the holidays, is one more tune from Meaghan. This is "Silver Bells" from the EP "Wish Upon A Star" . I think this is the only disk of hers that I don't have - yet - but it is on my wish list!!
So, if you are looking to expand your music collection or wondering what CD’s to add as stocking stuffers or put on your Christmas wish list, I would highly recommend that you add this gifted, entertaining and multi-talented artist to your playlists. Your ears will not be disappointed!
dn
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Crusted Chicken Breasts in Citrus Sauce
Today, I’m going to share another one of my own culinary creations. This recipe is a bit different in the ingredients but they really do seem to work well together.
I recently came up with the coating mix for this recipe when I found some pretzel sticks in my cupboard that I forgot I had. They weren’t fresh enough to eat on their own, but they weren’t stale either. I decided to crush them and eventually use them in a coating mix of some kind. I looked online for ideas and as usual, I came up with my own version that combined a couple of recipes.
The sauce is strictly my own concoction! Last spring, I came across Lemon Pie Filling in a bulk food store. I asked the clerk if I could try a bit before buying and she gave me a small spoonful. It was delicious! Great lemon flavour with just the right mix of tart and sweet. The best part was that it was a fraction of the price of the canned version or the powdered mix that is normally bought. The clerk told me that it can keep well in the fridge for weeks! I bought a large container and have been eating it ever since – mostly in desserts or on toast. Actually I’m almost finished my second container and recently bought a third.
Over the last several months, I’ve been playing with creating various types of sauces using the pie filling as a base. The sauce for this recipe came to me recently and luckily it turned out great on the first try!
Crusted Chicken Breasts in Citrus Sauce
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3-4 ounces each)
• 2 Tablespoons margarine, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 cup finely crushed pretzels
• 2 Tablespoons finely crushed almonds
• 1/3 cup unsweetened orange juice*
• 1/3 cup lemon pie filling**
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 Tablespoons Kraft Mandarin Orange with sesame dressing
Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 1 litre casserole dish with Pam and set aside.
I recently came up with the coating mix for this recipe when I found some pretzel sticks in my cupboard that I forgot I had. They weren’t fresh enough to eat on their own, but they weren’t stale either. I decided to crush them and eventually use them in a coating mix of some kind. I looked online for ideas and as usual, I came up with my own version that combined a couple of recipes.
The sauce is strictly my own concoction! Last spring, I came across Lemon Pie Filling in a bulk food store. I asked the clerk if I could try a bit before buying and she gave me a small spoonful. It was delicious! Great lemon flavour with just the right mix of tart and sweet. The best part was that it was a fraction of the price of the canned version or the powdered mix that is normally bought. The clerk told me that it can keep well in the fridge for weeks! I bought a large container and have been eating it ever since – mostly in desserts or on toast. Actually I’m almost finished my second container and recently bought a third.
Over the last several months, I’ve been playing with creating various types of sauces using the pie filling as a base. The sauce for this recipe came to me recently and luckily it turned out great on the first try!
Crusted Chicken Breasts in Citrus Sauce
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3-4 ounces each)• 2 Tablespoons margarine, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 cup finely crushed pretzels
• 2 Tablespoons finely crushed almonds
• 1/3 cup unsweetened orange juice*
• 1/3 cup lemon pie filling**
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 Tablespoons Kraft Mandarin Orange with sesame dressing
Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 1 litre casserole dish with Pam and set aside.
Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts, removing any excess fat. In a small shallow dish melt the margarine and stir in the garlic, onion and basil. In another small shallow dish combine the pretzels and almonds.
Dip the chicken breast in the margarine mixture to coat then dip in the crumb mixture, coating thoroughly. Place in the greased casserole dish and repeat with the second breast. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs on top of the coated breasts. Drizzle any remaining margarine mixture over the breast. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until almost done.
While the chicken is baking, combine the orange juice, pie filling, lemon juice and dressing.*** When the chicken is almost done, pour over the chicken breasts and return to oven to finish cooking and until sauce is hot and bubbly.
Serve with baked potatoes, brown rice or a whole wheat pasta and a steamed green vegetable or a tossed salad.
Notes:
* I’ve used 5 Alive rather than orange juice.
** The lemon pie filling can be purchased in bulk at almost any bulk food store for a fraction of the price of the canned variety and keeps in the fridge for weeks!
*** Since the pie filling is so thick, I find that it is easiest to measure the 1/3 cup orange juice into the bottom of a one cup measure then add enough of the pie filling to bring the juice up to the 2/3 cup level. I then add the lemon juice and dressing and stir carefully with a small whisk.
This recipe can easily be multiplied to serve 4, 6 or even 8 if you wish. Just be sure to increase the size of the baking dish so that all the chicken breasts lay flat in a single layer.
Enjoy!
dn
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Twenty Years Later...
Twenty years ago this past week I ended up in the hospital with a detached retina in my good eye. Twenty years ago today, I had surgery to reattach the retina. The doctor gave me a 50/50 chance of getting any sight back. It would be months before I’d know how successful the surgery would be.
Two years ago this month, I wrote a 3 part blog on what that experience was like. I shared how I’d come to that point, the fear, the frustration and relearning everyday tasks with my new normal. ( “18 Years” - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 )
Actually, over the last two and a half years of this blog, I’ve shared quite a bit of what it is like for me to be legally blind.
“The Journey” was a six part story of how my loss of sight ultimately affected my weight and my emotions because I couldn’t be as active or as independent as I used to be. I had walked everywhere. Usually between 20-25 miles/week year round. Walking had been my main form of exercise but also how I used to clear my mind and work through whatever was bothering me. Sometimes it took several miles but it had always helped! For the visually impaired, walking outdoors - or almost anywhere really – requires a high level of concentration to ensure physical safety. I tried to continue my walking but I’d come home more exhausted and stressed rather than refreshed and relaxed. This may not be true for all visually impaired, but for me, I learned that unless I am walking with a sighted person who is watching out for me, it isn’t a good way to unwind or rejuvenate the spirit and psyche. As I described over the six part post, it took me years to come to terms with the loss of sight and to find new ways to exercise both my body and mind.
In “Blink Navigation” and “Is It Spring Yet?", I talked about the many challenges of getting around with limited vision. In the winter there is snow, snow banks, slippery sidewalks and icy streets. In the spring there is the thawing during the day and freezing overnight to create ice covered puddles, black ice, and perfect conditions for hydroplaning on those areas with a light coating of water over the ice. The new season of pot holes also create new mini lakes to step into and potentially take a dangerous spill. Not to mention the vehicles that don’t slow down as they drive through the mini lakes and splash nearby pedestrians. Then once most of the spring thaw is completed, there is the next season which is better known as construction. It lasts till the snow is on the ground again next fall. In “Spring", I described it as: “feeling like the hamster on the wheel navigating through winter snow and ice, then the thaws and pot holes of spring and the joys of reroutes in construction which lasts till the snow flies again in fall.”
Sometimes getting around this city is more challenging than usual. I recently found myself on two buses that were rerouted on the same day. I didn’t know about either reroute in advance so it took me at least 20 minutes longer than usual to get home that day – most of that time was trying to find the new temporary bus stop for my second bus! Finding your way around isn’t always easy, but usually there are good people around who are willing to offer a guiding arm or at least some decent verbal directions. I’ve met my share of idiots who don’t know or care what a white cane represents but most people are more than willing to help if they can.
As a visually impaired person, you have to learn to be an advocate for your rights and needs. If you don’t learn to articulate your needs, how are others supposed to know or understand what you need to function more independently?
This past September, I wrote a post about the recent changes to the Winnipeg Transit website. I had found that the “supposed” improvements made it much more difficult for me to get the information I needed. When the post went up, I had still not heard back from Transit but I heard from them shortly after. I had an email from a man at transit who wanted to speak with me in regards to my concerns and see if he could help. I asked if, in the creation of the new site, they had consulted anyone who was visually impaired, used English as a second language or was print/learning disabled. They had not. Unfortunately that did not surprise me and I told him that not consulting people such as myself was a major flaw in the system.
I asked him to come to my home and allow me to show him just how hard the site was to navigate. He did came a couple of days later and asked a lot of question as he listened very carefully to my concerns. He couldn’t promise that my suggestions would be incorporated but at least he made the effort to learn how others use the site and saw firsthand my frustrations with the navigation. He was able to help me make a couple of changes in my settings to make the site slightly easier but I still don’t like the new site even today. I’m still waiting to see if any more changes are made.
Dating can also be a challenge. A “blind date” can take on a whole new meaning! In the summer of 2009, a US network began airing a show called “Dating In The Dark”. The premise was that men and women would meet and get to know each other in a darkened room and choose whom they wanted to get to know better before actually seeing the person. It was generally to show how superficial society has become and that we should not judge someone on their appearance. The show may have had good intentions but frankly the fact that those people could take of the blindfolds or turn on a light and see the other person is something those of us with visual impairments will never be able to do. We live it 24/7 and are often judged and dismissed without a second thought. We risk rejection every time we are introduced to someone and have to rely on our instincts to know if the other person is comfortable with us and potentially interested in us as a partner. We can’t read the body language that the sighted world is so quick to show.
Being visually impaired isn’t for everybody. One thing that you really have to have to survive is a sense of humour. If you can’t learn to laugh at yourself and your inevitable blunders and missteps then you will drive yourself crazy in no time. That in and of itself is a bit tricky as we are not technically allowed to “drive” but I’m sure you knew what I meant!
I’ve been lucky in a lot of respects in that I’ve met some wonderful people along the way. People that I probably would not have met had I not lost sight. People I am both grateful and honoured to have as friends. Some came into my life just a few months before I lost sight and those I’ve met along the way. I know I wouldn’t have come through these last twenty years nearly as sane without them!
The last twenty years have not been easy by any stretch of the imagination but since when were we ever promised a smooth ride in life? I’ve also lost more sight over the past years – mostly due to my corneas which are severely damaged from my childhood surgeries. I’m not a suitable candidate for any of the new treatments. With the way technology is changing, maybe someday I will be but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve learned to do a lot of things for myself – including using a computer. I’m also getting better at asking for help in various areas of my life when I need it.
If I could go back and get to the doctor sooner and save some of my sight I would – but only if I could also keep some of the most amazing people that I’ve been lucky enough to know.
Yeah, I know life doesn’t work that way – but I can dream can’t I?
dn
Two years ago this month, I wrote a 3 part blog on what that experience was like. I shared how I’d come to that point, the fear, the frustration and relearning everyday tasks with my new normal. ( “18 Years” - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 )
Actually, over the last two and a half years of this blog, I’ve shared quite a bit of what it is like for me to be legally blind.
“The Journey” was a six part story of how my loss of sight ultimately affected my weight and my emotions because I couldn’t be as active or as independent as I used to be. I had walked everywhere. Usually between 20-25 miles/week year round. Walking had been my main form of exercise but also how I used to clear my mind and work through whatever was bothering me. Sometimes it took several miles but it had always helped! For the visually impaired, walking outdoors - or almost anywhere really – requires a high level of concentration to ensure physical safety. I tried to continue my walking but I’d come home more exhausted and stressed rather than refreshed and relaxed. This may not be true for all visually impaired, but for me, I learned that unless I am walking with a sighted person who is watching out for me, it isn’t a good way to unwind or rejuvenate the spirit and psyche. As I described over the six part post, it took me years to come to terms with the loss of sight and to find new ways to exercise both my body and mind.
In “Blink Navigation” and “Is It Spring Yet?", I talked about the many challenges of getting around with limited vision. In the winter there is snow, snow banks, slippery sidewalks and icy streets. In the spring there is the thawing during the day and freezing overnight to create ice covered puddles, black ice, and perfect conditions for hydroplaning on those areas with a light coating of water over the ice. The new season of pot holes also create new mini lakes to step into and potentially take a dangerous spill. Not to mention the vehicles that don’t slow down as they drive through the mini lakes and splash nearby pedestrians. Then once most of the spring thaw is completed, there is the next season which is better known as construction. It lasts till the snow is on the ground again next fall. In “Spring", I described it as: “feeling like the hamster on the wheel navigating through winter snow and ice, then the thaws and pot holes of spring and the joys of reroutes in construction which lasts till the snow flies again in fall.”
Sometimes getting around this city is more challenging than usual. I recently found myself on two buses that were rerouted on the same day. I didn’t know about either reroute in advance so it took me at least 20 minutes longer than usual to get home that day – most of that time was trying to find the new temporary bus stop for my second bus! Finding your way around isn’t always easy, but usually there are good people around who are willing to offer a guiding arm or at least some decent verbal directions. I’ve met my share of idiots who don’t know or care what a white cane represents but most people are more than willing to help if they can.
As a visually impaired person, you have to learn to be an advocate for your rights and needs. If you don’t learn to articulate your needs, how are others supposed to know or understand what you need to function more independently?
This past September, I wrote a post about the recent changes to the Winnipeg Transit website. I had found that the “supposed” improvements made it much more difficult for me to get the information I needed. When the post went up, I had still not heard back from Transit but I heard from them shortly after. I had an email from a man at transit who wanted to speak with me in regards to my concerns and see if he could help. I asked if, in the creation of the new site, they had consulted anyone who was visually impaired, used English as a second language or was print/learning disabled. They had not. Unfortunately that did not surprise me and I told him that not consulting people such as myself was a major flaw in the system.
I asked him to come to my home and allow me to show him just how hard the site was to navigate. He did came a couple of days later and asked a lot of question as he listened very carefully to my concerns. He couldn’t promise that my suggestions would be incorporated but at least he made the effort to learn how others use the site and saw firsthand my frustrations with the navigation. He was able to help me make a couple of changes in my settings to make the site slightly easier but I still don’t like the new site even today. I’m still waiting to see if any more changes are made.
Dating can also be a challenge. A “blind date” can take on a whole new meaning! In the summer of 2009, a US network began airing a show called “Dating In The Dark”. The premise was that men and women would meet and get to know each other in a darkened room and choose whom they wanted to get to know better before actually seeing the person. It was generally to show how superficial society has become and that we should not judge someone on their appearance. The show may have had good intentions but frankly the fact that those people could take of the blindfolds or turn on a light and see the other person is something those of us with visual impairments will never be able to do. We live it 24/7 and are often judged and dismissed without a second thought. We risk rejection every time we are introduced to someone and have to rely on our instincts to know if the other person is comfortable with us and potentially interested in us as a partner. We can’t read the body language that the sighted world is so quick to show.
Being visually impaired isn’t for everybody. One thing that you really have to have to survive is a sense of humour. If you can’t learn to laugh at yourself and your inevitable blunders and missteps then you will drive yourself crazy in no time. That in and of itself is a bit tricky as we are not technically allowed to “drive” but I’m sure you knew what I meant!
I’ve been lucky in a lot of respects in that I’ve met some wonderful people along the way. People that I probably would not have met had I not lost sight. People I am both grateful and honoured to have as friends. Some came into my life just a few months before I lost sight and those I’ve met along the way. I know I wouldn’t have come through these last twenty years nearly as sane without them!
The last twenty years have not been easy by any stretch of the imagination but since when were we ever promised a smooth ride in life? I’ve also lost more sight over the past years – mostly due to my corneas which are severely damaged from my childhood surgeries. I’m not a suitable candidate for any of the new treatments. With the way technology is changing, maybe someday I will be but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve learned to do a lot of things for myself – including using a computer. I’m also getting better at asking for help in various areas of my life when I need it.
If I could go back and get to the doctor sooner and save some of my sight I would – but only if I could also keep some of the most amazing people that I’ve been lucky enough to know.
Yeah, I know life doesn’t work that way – but I can dream can’t I?
dn
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Microwave - Part Two
Well, as I told you in my last post, it was time to replace my 16 1/2 year old microwave. It had served me well all those years, but it was time to move on to a newer model.
I did a fair amount of research to see what was now on the market. I knew prices had come down and the quality had also improved. I read Consumer Reports and various online forums and purchase feedback on a number of retail sites. I looked at several models in stores and talked to several friends and family about their current models to see what they liked and didn’t like.
Once again, I decided to go with a Panasonic. It seemed to get very positive feedback both online and from my friends. I settled on a 1.2 cubic foot 1200watt (model # NNSN668B) and watched for it to go on sale. The suggested list price for the model I chose, was $169.99Cdn. That was also the price listed at Future Shop. Best Buy sold it for $159.99. London Drugs sold it for $149.99. The price at London Drugs was good, but I had a feeling that if I held out a little longer I could get a better deal.
I couldn’t wait too long though as I had to start the Christmas baking by the beginning of November at the latest and I’d need a little time to get used to a new machine before starting the chocolate making.
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long. In mid October, the London Drugs flyer listed the model I wanted for $129.99. I couldn’t order it online and the store doesn’t deliver. It was too bulky and heavy to carry on the bus and too expensive to take a taxi home. I would have to figure out another way to get it home.
I mentioned the dilemma to a few friends – adding that without a new microwave there wouldn’t be nearly as much baking this year. Two friends volunteered to help me get one home! Amazing what the thought of no chocolate treats can do! LOL!
The next part was a bit trickier though. The friend with the more flexible schedule lived on the other side of the city and I couldn’t ask them to drive that far just for me to save $20. I did a bit of checking and realized that Best Buy and Future Shop both had price match policies. Once the item is confirmed to be on sale at an authorized dealer and available at the competition, both will match a sale price plus 10% of the difference.
I called London Drugs to confirm availability on the day we were to go pick up the new one. Unfortunately, it was out of stock till the following day when another shipment was expected. I decided to call the competition and lay out the situation and see if I could still get the discount that day since I already had a ride lined up.
The woman I spoke with in customer service at Best Buy confirmed that the item had to be in stock at the other store to get the discount. I explained my circumstances – that I was legally blind, couldn’t drive but did have a ride available that evening. Could they please make an exception? The woman asked when I would be coming, then told me to come to customer service when I arrived and ask for her. She gave me her name and said she would personally see that I got the discount!
We arrived at the store at 6:30 that evening and the woman was true to her word! She personally took us to the microwaves. I also wanted to get a power bar so she went and got a guy from the electronics section to come over and help me pick out a new power surge bar! She then carried the new microwave to the cashier for us and explained that I was to get the price match. After I had paid, the girl at the cashier carried the box to the door for us. My friend went to get the car and when she pulled up front, yet another staff member carried the box out and put it in the car for us.
Best Buy and other electronics stores often get a rough ride for being large and impersonal but the staff at this location could not have been nicer to me. They were under no obligation to give me the discount given that the product was temporarily out of stock but they recognized that this was a unique situation and stepped up.
My friend and I got the microwave home and set up in no time. We tried boiling some water to make tea then defrosted some frozen cookies to celebrate! We also took the old microwave down to the dumpster before she left!
I’ve had about three weeks to get used to it now and I must say that I am really impressed! This one is slightly larger and stronger than my old one so I do have to adjust some of my old times, but I am really enjoying this new microwave and its features.
One of the features that made me choose this model is actually tactile. The top row is all raised buttons. Below that, each horizontal row is divided by a slightly wavy line. Visually, it gives the impression that the center column is raised, yet it isn’t. It is the horizontal bar that is raised. The fact that the line is waved and raised actually makes it much easier for someone who is visually impaired to find the appropriate buttons by feel.
The Christmas baking and chocolate making is well under way!
dn
I did a fair amount of research to see what was now on the market. I knew prices had come down and the quality had also improved. I read Consumer Reports and various online forums and purchase feedback on a number of retail sites. I looked at several models in stores and talked to several friends and family about their current models to see what they liked and didn’t like.
Once again, I decided to go with a Panasonic. It seemed to get very positive feedback both online and from my friends. I settled on a 1.2 cubic foot 1200watt (model # NNSN668B) and watched for it to go on sale. The suggested list price for the model I chose, was $169.99Cdn. That was also the price listed at Future Shop. Best Buy sold it for $159.99. London Drugs sold it for $149.99. The price at London Drugs was good, but I had a feeling that if I held out a little longer I could get a better deal.
I couldn’t wait too long though as I had to start the Christmas baking by the beginning of November at the latest and I’d need a little time to get used to a new machine before starting the chocolate making.Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long. In mid October, the London Drugs flyer listed the model I wanted for $129.99. I couldn’t order it online and the store doesn’t deliver. It was too bulky and heavy to carry on the bus and too expensive to take a taxi home. I would have to figure out another way to get it home.
I mentioned the dilemma to a few friends – adding that without a new microwave there wouldn’t be nearly as much baking this year. Two friends volunteered to help me get one home! Amazing what the thought of no chocolate treats can do! LOL!
The next part was a bit trickier though. The friend with the more flexible schedule lived on the other side of the city and I couldn’t ask them to drive that far just for me to save $20. I did a bit of checking and realized that Best Buy and Future Shop both had price match policies. Once the item is confirmed to be on sale at an authorized dealer and available at the competition, both will match a sale price plus 10% of the difference.
I called London Drugs to confirm availability on the day we were to go pick up the new one. Unfortunately, it was out of stock till the following day when another shipment was expected. I decided to call the competition and lay out the situation and see if I could still get the discount that day since I already had a ride lined up.
The woman I spoke with in customer service at Best Buy confirmed that the item had to be in stock at the other store to get the discount. I explained my circumstances – that I was legally blind, couldn’t drive but did have a ride available that evening. Could they please make an exception? The woman asked when I would be coming, then told me to come to customer service when I arrived and ask for her. She gave me her name and said she would personally see that I got the discount!
We arrived at the store at 6:30 that evening and the woman was true to her word! She personally took us to the microwaves. I also wanted to get a power bar so she went and got a guy from the electronics section to come over and help me pick out a new power surge bar! She then carried the new microwave to the cashier for us and explained that I was to get the price match. After I had paid, the girl at the cashier carried the box to the door for us. My friend went to get the car and when she pulled up front, yet another staff member carried the box out and put it in the car for us.
Best Buy and other electronics stores often get a rough ride for being large and impersonal but the staff at this location could not have been nicer to me. They were under no obligation to give me the discount given that the product was temporarily out of stock but they recognized that this was a unique situation and stepped up.
My friend and I got the microwave home and set up in no time. We tried boiling some water to make tea then defrosted some frozen cookies to celebrate! We also took the old microwave down to the dumpster before she left!
I’ve had about three weeks to get used to it now and I must say that I am really impressed! This one is slightly larger and stronger than my old one so I do have to adjust some of my old times, but I am really enjoying this new microwave and its features.
One of the features that made me choose this model is actually tactile. The top row is all raised buttons. Below that, each horizontal row is divided by a slightly wavy line. Visually, it gives the impression that the center column is raised, yet it isn’t. It is the horizontal bar that is raised. The fact that the line is waved and raised actually makes it much easier for someone who is visually impaired to find the appropriate buttons by feel.
The Christmas baking and chocolate making is well under way!
dn
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Microwave - Part One
Microwaves, have been around for decades. For a long time, I never really wanted to get one, but did see the benefit of them for convenience. Several of my friends had them and raved about the ease of use and how much they liked having one. I tried using them, but just never really felt that I “needed” one.
After losing so much of my sight in late 1990, I finally began to think about getting one. In some respects, it would be safer for me to use a microwave rather than cooking on top of the stove – especially for heating up leftovers. I could also use it to steam individual servings of vegetables, cook rice and other things. Not to mention the fact that when it came to my Christmas baking, it would be a whole lot easier to melt my chocolate in a microwave than in the top of a double boiler. Granted, I’d still have to do the dipping chocolate on the stove as it has to stay a consistent temperature while being used.
I studied some consumer reports, asked friends and family for recommendations and shopped around for a model that would suit my needs. I finally got my first microwave in the spring of 1994. It was a Panasonic. I don’t recall exactly what I paid for it but I think it was somewhere around $250. I had the CNIB come in and make a template so that I could easily feel where the buttons were on the flat panel.
Over the years, I used it a LOT. Much more than I imagined I would. I never tried cooking meats in it as I preferred the browning effect on the stove or in the oven. I rarely made popcorn, but I still managed to use it at least once a day. I warmed my breakfast muffin. I’d boil water, cook rice, steam vegetables, reheat leftovers and other uses.
Sometimes I used the defrost but generally I was more apt to just reheat or steam something. I tried drying spices a couple of times, but never really liked the result. The spices always seemed to lose more of their colour and more importantly their flavour that way rather than drying between paper towels on the counter for a couple of days. I never really liked roasting almonds or other nuts in the microwave either. They just didn’t seem to get that same rich nuttiness that they did roasting in a low temp oven.
There are countless stories of microwave disasters. A friend recently had a spaghetti squash explode in her microwave, despite punching countless holes in it first. Friends have also had eggs or potatoes explode.
I never really had a big disaster – although there was one mess that I recall having to clean up. I tried doing one of those upside down pudding cake mixes in it once. I followed the directions explicitly but the thing still overflowed and made one heck of a mess! I called the company to complain and they sent me about $5 in coupons for more of their products. I baked the cakes in the oven after that.
I only did potatoes in it when I was in a hurry. If I had the time, I much prefer the crunchier skin of the potato that is baked in an oven. Although I did learn a great trick from an aunt when you are a bit pressed for time. Wash and dry the potato then poke with several holes with a fork. Place on a paper towel and cook on high for about 2 1/2 minutes for an average sized spud. Turn it over half way through. When the oven stops, carefully transfer the hot potato to a preheated 375 oven to finish baking for about another 25-30 minutes – turning again after 15 minutes. The ‘tater is done in half the time and still has that nice crunchy crust!
One of the times that I appreciate my microwave the most is when I’m doing my marathon Christmas baking. Melting the chocolate and various other concoctions for the treats that I make is just so much simpler. I know I wouldn’t be doing nearly as much every year without it!
In the last couple of years, I started to notice that it wasn’t cooking quite as well as it used to. The interior light had long since burnt out but that was minor. Muffins were taking a bit longer to warm. Leftovers were taking longer. Everything seemed to take a little longer. I’d have to replace it eventually.
Then, one day in mid September it happened. I was reheating some leftovers for supper. I’d set the reheat button and start. It should have taken 3 minutes. The machine just stopped after about 90 seconds. No beeps and nothing on the display panel,
Uh-oh! I checked the power bar and it had flipped off. Everything else in the apartment was still functioning and none of the lights had flickered so there wasn’t a surge or power outage. I flipped the power and started the microwave again. It stopped again after about a minute. My supper was hot enough to eat but my microwave was on it’s last legs.
Over the next few weeks, I was only able to use the microwave for things that took less than 30 seconds or so. Anything more than that and the power bar would flip off. I had to relearn to reheat on top of the stove. The first time I tried steaming broccoli on top of the stove again – it was mush. I ate it but I prefer it tender crisp!
I also realized that I needed a new power bar as it would also flip while using my Foreman Grill. I tried another power bar and the grill worked fine, but the microwave still kept shutting off. I was not a happy camper!
Despite having just spent money on a new freezer a few weeks earlier, it was now time to shell out for a new microwave too. Great.
Next: Getting a new microwave.
dn
After losing so much of my sight in late 1990, I finally began to think about getting one. In some respects, it would be safer for me to use a microwave rather than cooking on top of the stove – especially for heating up leftovers. I could also use it to steam individual servings of vegetables, cook rice and other things. Not to mention the fact that when it came to my Christmas baking, it would be a whole lot easier to melt my chocolate in a microwave than in the top of a double boiler. Granted, I’d still have to do the dipping chocolate on the stove as it has to stay a consistent temperature while being used.
I studied some consumer reports, asked friends and family for recommendations and shopped around for a model that would suit my needs. I finally got my first microwave in the spring of 1994. It was a Panasonic. I don’t recall exactly what I paid for it but I think it was somewhere around $250. I had the CNIB come in and make a template so that I could easily feel where the buttons were on the flat panel.
Over the years, I used it a LOT. Much more than I imagined I would. I never tried cooking meats in it as I preferred the browning effect on the stove or in the oven. I rarely made popcorn, but I still managed to use it at least once a day. I warmed my breakfast muffin. I’d boil water, cook rice, steam vegetables, reheat leftovers and other uses.
Sometimes I used the defrost but generally I was more apt to just reheat or steam something. I tried drying spices a couple of times, but never really liked the result. The spices always seemed to lose more of their colour and more importantly their flavour that way rather than drying between paper towels on the counter for a couple of days. I never really liked roasting almonds or other nuts in the microwave either. They just didn’t seem to get that same rich nuttiness that they did roasting in a low temp oven.
There are countless stories of microwave disasters. A friend recently had a spaghetti squash explode in her microwave, despite punching countless holes in it first. Friends have also had eggs or potatoes explode.
I never really had a big disaster – although there was one mess that I recall having to clean up. I tried doing one of those upside down pudding cake mixes in it once. I followed the directions explicitly but the thing still overflowed and made one heck of a mess! I called the company to complain and they sent me about $5 in coupons for more of their products. I baked the cakes in the oven after that.
I only did potatoes in it when I was in a hurry. If I had the time, I much prefer the crunchier skin of the potato that is baked in an oven. Although I did learn a great trick from an aunt when you are a bit pressed for time. Wash and dry the potato then poke with several holes with a fork. Place on a paper towel and cook on high for about 2 1/2 minutes for an average sized spud. Turn it over half way through. When the oven stops, carefully transfer the hot potato to a preheated 375 oven to finish baking for about another 25-30 minutes – turning again after 15 minutes. The ‘tater is done in half the time and still has that nice crunchy crust!
One of the times that I appreciate my microwave the most is when I’m doing my marathon Christmas baking. Melting the chocolate and various other concoctions for the treats that I make is just so much simpler. I know I wouldn’t be doing nearly as much every year without it!
In the last couple of years, I started to notice that it wasn’t cooking quite as well as it used to. The interior light had long since burnt out but that was minor. Muffins were taking a bit longer to warm. Leftovers were taking longer. Everything seemed to take a little longer. I’d have to replace it eventually.
Then, one day in mid September it happened. I was reheating some leftovers for supper. I’d set the reheat button and start. It should have taken 3 minutes. The machine just stopped after about 90 seconds. No beeps and nothing on the display panel,
Uh-oh! I checked the power bar and it had flipped off. Everything else in the apartment was still functioning and none of the lights had flickered so there wasn’t a surge or power outage. I flipped the power and started the microwave again. It stopped again after about a minute. My supper was hot enough to eat but my microwave was on it’s last legs.
Over the next few weeks, I was only able to use the microwave for things that took less than 30 seconds or so. Anything more than that and the power bar would flip off. I had to relearn to reheat on top of the stove. The first time I tried steaming broccoli on top of the stove again – it was mush. I ate it but I prefer it tender crisp!
I also realized that I needed a new power bar as it would also flip while using my Foreman Grill. I tried another power bar and the grill worked fine, but the microwave still kept shutting off. I was not a happy camper!
Despite having just spent money on a new freezer a few weeks earlier, it was now time to shell out for a new microwave too. Great.
Next: Getting a new microwave.
dn
Sunday, October 31, 2010
happy Halloween!
Today is Halloween so I thought I'd share some of the humour I've come across in the last few weeks.
You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:
10. You get winded from knocking on the door.
9. You have to have another kid chew the candy for you.
8. You ask for high fiber candy only.
7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance and fall over.
6. People say: 'Great Boris Karloff Mask,' And you're not wearing a mask.
5. When the door opens you yell, 'Trick or...' And can't remember the rest.
4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.
3. You have to carefully choose a costume that won't dislodge your hairpiece.
2. You're the only Power Ranger in the neighbourhood with a walker.
And the number one reason Seniors should not go Trick Or Treating...
1. You keep having to go home to pee.
10 Things That Sound Dirty On Halloween, But Aren't...
1. So...What'd you get in the sack?
2. Once you get under the sheet, start moaning and groaning!!!
3. Just hop on that broomstick and ride it!
4. Those small suckers are gone in a few licks!
5. I got the best piece from that house.
6. Quit screwing around on the porch!!!
7. Stick your hand in and guess what you're feeling....
8. It was so filled and heavy, I had to use TWO hands!!
9. They'll suck you dry if they get their teeth in you.
10. I bobbed and bobbed, but couldn't get my mouth around it!
Why Pumpkins Are Better Than Men
1. Every year you get a brand new crop to choose from.
2. No matter what your mood is, pumpkins are always ready to greet you with a smile.
3. One usually makes a better pie.
4. They are always on the doorstep there waiting for you!
5. If you don't like the way he looks, you just carve up another face.
6. If he starts smelling up your place, you can just throw him out.
7. From the start you know a pumpkin has an empty, mush filled head to begin with.
8. A pumpkin is turned on (lit-up) only when you want him to be.
I hope you have a safe yet spooky Halloween with more treats than tricks!!
dn
You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:
10. You get winded from knocking on the door.
9. You have to have another kid chew the candy for you.
8. You ask for high fiber candy only.
7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance and fall over.
6. People say: 'Great Boris Karloff Mask,' And you're not wearing a mask.
5. When the door opens you yell, 'Trick or...' And can't remember the rest.
4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.
3. You have to carefully choose a costume that won't dislodge your hairpiece.
2. You're the only Power Ranger in the neighbourhood with a walker.
And the number one reason Seniors should not go Trick Or Treating...
1. You keep having to go home to pee.
10 Things That Sound Dirty On Halloween, But Aren't...
1. So...What'd you get in the sack?
2. Once you get under the sheet, start moaning and groaning!!!
3. Just hop on that broomstick and ride it!
4. Those small suckers are gone in a few licks!
5. I got the best piece from that house.
6. Quit screwing around on the porch!!!
7. Stick your hand in and guess what you're feeling....
8. It was so filled and heavy, I had to use TWO hands!!
9. They'll suck you dry if they get their teeth in you.
10. I bobbed and bobbed, but couldn't get my mouth around it!
Why Pumpkins Are Better Than Men
1. Every year you get a brand new crop to choose from.
2. No matter what your mood is, pumpkins are always ready to greet you with a smile.
3. One usually makes a better pie.
4. They are always on the doorstep there waiting for you!
5. If you don't like the way he looks, you just carve up another face.
6. If he starts smelling up your place, you can just throw him out.
7. From the start you know a pumpkin has an empty, mush filled head to begin with.
8. A pumpkin is turned on (lit-up) only when you want him to be.
I hope you have a safe yet spooky Halloween with more treats than tricks!!
dn
Sunday, October 24, 2010
dn's Carrot Cake
Every once in a while, I get really hungry for carrot cake - usually in the fall. I hadn’t made one in at least a couple of years but a few weeks ago, I got a five pound bag of carrots at a really good price so started looking for ideas of things to make.
Now I didn’t have to find recipes as I love carrots and could easily go through a big bag like that in a few weeks as long as I keep them in the crisper of the fridge.
It just happened that I was hungry for carrot cake this time. It had been quite a while since I’d made one and I really didn’t recall what recipe I had used. I knew that once upon a time, I had regularly used a recipe from an old Five Roses cookbook. I’d also tried a few others over the years.
I decided to look on line and was shocked to realize the calorie count in the average slice of carrot cake is between 750 and 800 calories! That is 1/18 of the standard 9”X13” pan. Most of that comes from the 1 1/2 cups of oil in the cake and the 16 ounces or more of cream cheese and 2 1/2-3 cups of confectioners’ sugar in the icing! Yikes!! That is crazy! I knew there had to be better alternatives out there! And there are!
I found some that sounded pretty good on line but the one that I chose to play with is called Must Bake Carrot Cake on page 155 of "Crazy Plates" by Janet and Greta Podleski. Their version makes 24 servings at 235 calories/slice.
I’ve tried this one before and it was very good but this time I decided to “tweak” it and make it MY way! Now, I don’t know how to calculate calories in a recipe, but even with all the changes I made and cutting the cake into 18 rather than 24 pieces, there is NO WAY that my version would come close to the 750-800 calories of most other cakes.
Here’s what I did: I used a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour. I’ve never been a fan of walnuts so substituted almonds. I also added raisins and .... drum roll please ..... chocolate chips! (That really shouldn’t surprise anyone who actually knows me!) Instead of their Cheater Icing, I used a variation of an old family favorite for icing cakes. My mom got the recipe for this icing from the old Winnipeg Tribune newspaper sometime during the 1950’s and we’ve all loved it ever since! I think the original name of it was “New Type Frosting”. To top of the cake I toasted some more almonds to sprinkle on top.
The only other thing I did was to make it in two 8 inch square pans rather than the 9”X13” pan. Generally, I tend to find that the center always takes too long to bake thoroughly using the bigger pan. By doing it in two pans, it also spreads the cake more evenly and you get a more even consistency in texture.
Well I took pieces of my carrot cake to several friends and all thought it was one of the most sinful carrot cakes they had ever tried! I had left a piece with a friend (at their office) who said they would take it home to have that evening. I got an email from my friend about 5:30 that afternoon called “Oh, my God”. The message was: “I convinced myself I'd have just a little bite of cake before heading home. It is so GOOD. I've just about finished the whole damn piece.”
So, mine isn’t completely guilt free, but I believe that you’ll love this lower cal version as much as my friends and I did!
dn's Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
Cake:
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup drained, crushed pineapple*
• 3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute, or 3 whole eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk**
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 cups mini dark chocolate chips
Icing:
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup block margarine, softened
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel
• 2/3 cup chopped, toasted almonds for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray two 8 inch square baking pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the almonds, raisins and chips with about 1 Tablespoon of the flour mixture and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pineapple, egg substitute, buttermilk, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir in grated carrots. Add flour mixture to carrot mixture and stir until well blended. Stir in almonds, raisins and chips.
Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Set pan on a wire rack and cool cake completely before icing.
Before turning off the oven, place the 2/3 cup chopped almonds in a single layer on an oven safe dish. Toast in oven for about 4-5 minutes or till nicely browned. Stir every couple of minutes to avoid burning. Set dish on wire rack to cool completely.
While cake is cooling, prepare icing. In a small pan combine the flour and milk till smooth. Stirring constantly, cook over medium low heat until a very thick paste is formed. Remove from heat and transfer paste to a small glass dish. Cover with saran or a plate and allow to cool completely – at least 20 minutes.
Combine the margarine, sugar and salt with an electric mixer until well mixed. Add in the vanilla, almond extract and orange peel then mix thoroughly. Add in the cooled paste and then beat on medium high speed until very light and fluffy. (This takes about 10-15 minutes on about level 5 or 6 of a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer.)
Divide icing over the two cooled cakes and spread evenly. Garnish with the toasted almonds.
Chill cake until serving. Makes 18 servings (9 per pan). Cover leftovers with saran and store in fridge.
Notes:
* A 540ml/19ounce can of crushed pineapple will yield about 1 cup after you drain it well. Empty the can into a strainer, and press down on the pineapple to remove the juice. (Save the juice for drinking!)
** To make buttermilk, place 2 1/4 teaspoons lemon juice in a 1 cup measure then add enough milk to make 3/4 cup. Stir to mix then let stand 5 minutes before adding to recipe.
Enjoy!
dn
Now I didn’t have to find recipes as I love carrots and could easily go through a big bag like that in a few weeks as long as I keep them in the crisper of the fridge.
It just happened that I was hungry for carrot cake this time. It had been quite a while since I’d made one and I really didn’t recall what recipe I had used. I knew that once upon a time, I had regularly used a recipe from an old Five Roses cookbook. I’d also tried a few others over the years.
I decided to look on line and was shocked to realize the calorie count in the average slice of carrot cake is between 750 and 800 calories! That is 1/18 of the standard 9”X13” pan. Most of that comes from the 1 1/2 cups of oil in the cake and the 16 ounces or more of cream cheese and 2 1/2-3 cups of confectioners’ sugar in the icing! Yikes!! That is crazy! I knew there had to be better alternatives out there! And there are!
I found some that sounded pretty good on line but the one that I chose to play with is called Must Bake Carrot Cake on page 155 of "Crazy Plates" by Janet and Greta Podleski. Their version makes 24 servings at 235 calories/slice.
I’ve tried this one before and it was very good but this time I decided to “tweak” it and make it MY way! Now, I don’t know how to calculate calories in a recipe, but even with all the changes I made and cutting the cake into 18 rather than 24 pieces, there is NO WAY that my version would come close to the 750-800 calories of most other cakes.
Here’s what I did: I used a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour. I’ve never been a fan of walnuts so substituted almonds. I also added raisins and .... drum roll please ..... chocolate chips! (That really shouldn’t surprise anyone who actually knows me!) Instead of their Cheater Icing, I used a variation of an old family favorite for icing cakes. My mom got the recipe for this icing from the old Winnipeg Tribune newspaper sometime during the 1950’s and we’ve all loved it ever since! I think the original name of it was “New Type Frosting”. To top of the cake I toasted some more almonds to sprinkle on top.
The only other thing I did was to make it in two 8 inch square pans rather than the 9”X13” pan. Generally, I tend to find that the center always takes too long to bake thoroughly using the bigger pan. By doing it in two pans, it also spreads the cake more evenly and you get a more even consistency in texture.
Well I took pieces of my carrot cake to several friends and all thought it was one of the most sinful carrot cakes they had ever tried! I had left a piece with a friend (at their office) who said they would take it home to have that evening. I got an email from my friend about 5:30 that afternoon called “Oh, my God”. The message was: “I convinced myself I'd have just a little bite of cake before heading home. It is so GOOD. I've just about finished the whole damn piece.”
So, mine isn’t completely guilt free, but I believe that you’ll love this lower cal version as much as my friends and I did!
dn's Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
Cake:
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup drained, crushed pineapple*
• 3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute, or 3 whole eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk**
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 cups mini dark chocolate chips
Icing:
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup block margarine, softened
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel
• 2/3 cup chopped, toasted almonds for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray two 8 inch square baking pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the almonds, raisins and chips with about 1 Tablespoon of the flour mixture and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pineapple, egg substitute, buttermilk, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir in grated carrots. Add flour mixture to carrot mixture and stir until well blended. Stir in almonds, raisins and chips.
Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Set pan on a wire rack and cool cake completely before icing.
Before turning off the oven, place the 2/3 cup chopped almonds in a single layer on an oven safe dish. Toast in oven for about 4-5 minutes or till nicely browned. Stir every couple of minutes to avoid burning. Set dish on wire rack to cool completely.
While cake is cooling, prepare icing. In a small pan combine the flour and milk till smooth. Stirring constantly, cook over medium low heat until a very thick paste is formed. Remove from heat and transfer paste to a small glass dish. Cover with saran or a plate and allow to cool completely – at least 20 minutes.
Combine the margarine, sugar and salt with an electric mixer until well mixed. Add in the vanilla, almond extract and orange peel then mix thoroughly. Add in the cooled paste and then beat on medium high speed until very light and fluffy. (This takes about 10-15 minutes on about level 5 or 6 of a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer.)
Divide icing over the two cooled cakes and spread evenly. Garnish with the toasted almonds.
Chill cake until serving. Makes 18 servings (9 per pan). Cover leftovers with saran and store in fridge.
Notes:
* A 540ml/19ounce can of crushed pineapple will yield about 1 cup after you drain it well. Empty the can into a strainer, and press down on the pineapple to remove the juice. (Save the juice for drinking!)
** To make buttermilk, place 2 1/4 teaspoons lemon juice in a 1 cup measure then add enough milk to make 3/4 cup. Stir to mix then let stand 5 minutes before adding to recipe.
Enjoy!
dn
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