-Despite a light dusting of snow late yesterday afternoon/evening, the winter continues to be unseasonably warm. Again today we're expecting temperatures close to five degrees above freezing and I'm not sure if it's even gone down to -20 at any point this month. It's just bizarre.
-A few months ago I noticed that our oven didn't seem to be heating evenly. Of course, because it did eventually heat up it took me a while to identify the problem. That the element in the oven continued to operate as normal made the problem even more baffling.
Finally, after months of procrastination we finally called an appliance service company last week and arranged for a visit by a repairman. After quickly describing the problem, the service technician got down to work and began disassembling our oven.
Before long panels were off and he was deep in the gut of the thing, where he found that the oven's second element - which was hidden in the side of the oven away from site - was shot. Fortunately, he had a replacement element on hand and he was able to have the oven back in proper working order in less than an hour.
While we were more than satisfied with the quality of the service call, it seems like a bit of a design weakness to place a replaceable element in a location that requires the oven to be torn apart to reach. That the first element lasted about fifteen years will hopefully mean that this won't be a service call we will need to make again.
-With our newly functioning oven we've both already completed baking projects. Yesterday I made a loaf of bread and Jeannette made a small batch of coconut cookies.
-In addition to regular Sunday cleaning and errands, we'll likely have to make a trip to the grocery store later today. Hurrah!
Cameron - 10
Neil - 0
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Sweet Treats
Last weekend, and again this past weekend, Jeannette asked about the possibility of me making sweet treats for her to consumer. For reasons that are unclear to me, I didn't quite get around to making anything particularly sweet to eat last weekend.
When the request was lodged again this weekend I decided that I couldn't put it off any longer, I was going to have to make something on the sweet side of things.
I turned to the Oh She Glows cookbook for inspiration. Since my parents gave us a copy of this book last spring we've both found it to be a good source for relatively healthy recipes that taste good. Because all of the recipes are also vegan it is particularly handy.
I soon settled on the Chilled Chocolate Espresso Torte at least in part because it called for 3/4 cup of hazelnuts, which we just happened to have in the cupboard. Of course, what I didn't know when I settled upon this recipe was that the 'chilled' was really 'frozen' and that the while the prep time for this recipe wasn't all that bad, the final chill was to take some number of hours (like quite a number of hours).
Maybe this is why it is good to read the full recipe (and not just the ingredient list) before you settle on a recipe?
Anyway, before long I had the crust in the oven and was on to preparing the filling. The only real delay was the baking of the crust, which was delayed by 30 to 45 minutes because our oven has started taking quite a long time to heat up.
Soon enough everything was assembled and the torte was in the freezer for the required chilling time.
At least they looked like doughnuts (once we figured out the glazing process).
While I'm glad to say that I went through this process once, I'm not sure I'll be too keen to do this again just to end up with a dozen greasy, not-to-pillowy doughnuts.
Fortunately, aside from the doughnuts, the first two dishes weren't too unhealthy, nor do they demand to be eaten within minutes of being made.
Cameron - 5
Neil - 0
When the request was lodged again this weekend I decided that I couldn't put it off any longer, I was going to have to make something on the sweet side of things.
I turned to the Oh She Glows cookbook for inspiration. Since my parents gave us a copy of this book last spring we've both found it to be a good source for relatively healthy recipes that taste good. Because all of the recipes are also vegan it is particularly handy.
I soon settled on the Chilled Chocolate Espresso Torte at least in part because it called for 3/4 cup of hazelnuts, which we just happened to have in the cupboard. Of course, what I didn't know when I settled upon this recipe was that the 'chilled' was really 'frozen' and that the while the prep time for this recipe wasn't all that bad, the final chill was to take some number of hours (like quite a number of hours).
Maybe this is why it is good to read the full recipe (and not just the ingredient list) before you settle on a recipe?
Anyway, before long I had the crust in the oven and was on to preparing the filling. The only real delay was the baking of the crust, which was delayed by 30 to 45 minutes because our oven has started taking quite a long time to heat up.
Soon enough everything was assembled and the torte was in the freezer for the required chilling time.
When all was said and done that evening we were finally ready to sample the torte. Much to my surprise, I was a little disappointed by the crust - which was definitely a little cardboardy. Sadly, I think the my equipment and ingredients may be to blame - as the recipe made sense.
On the equipment front, I think that even after about an hour in the oven I may not have really toasted the crust quite enough. I suspect that this process didn't quite manage to impart the desired flavour. Bummer.
On the ingredient front, I had a sense that the oat flour I was using may have been a little off even before I used it. Now I'm almost certain the oat flour is off. Guess it's time for new oat flour.
That said, I think that possibly using granola instead of rolled oats might be a good improvement to the crust. Jeannette and I agree that this might be a good way to add a little extra flavour to the dish without really adding much sugar (or other nutritional components we don't want). Alternatively, we also wondered how this might work with a completely different crust?
Once I realized that I'd begun making a dish that wouldn't be ready for many hours I continued to flip through the cookbook a little more, this time settling on the 'Yolo' recipe.
What was striking about this recipe was the simple ingredient list, really just a handful of ingredients the primary being chocolate chips and dates.
The general premise of the recipe is a date-based faux-caramel enrobed in chocolate.
The date paste takes almost no time to make, though does require some chilling before it can be handled properly. Even with this chilling I found working with the paste tricky. I think that the next time I make this recipe I will opt for a much more extended chilling process, and I may even try to find a way to freeze the past in a shape that will be conducive to handling while almost frozen.
Once the date paste is in the desired shape (and chilled again) all you have to do is dip it in chocolate and let it cool.
The end product was amazing. It was hard to believe it was date. Had I been served this blind I never would have guessed that they were date based, or that they were so easy to make.
On Sunday Jeannette finally talked me into making yeast-based doughnuts. I'd long been putting these off because of the length of the process and because even a half batch of the Joy of Cooking recipe would leave us with about 12 doughnuts.
On the other side of the equation, I've long been curious to try making this style of doughnut (as I've always made cake doughnuts in the past).
Much to my surprise, the Joy of Cooking recipe was relatively easy to veganize. I think that the only ingredients I had to swap out were the butter and eggs.
Once I got going what I liked about the process is that though there were several stages, each stage was relatively discrete and simple. In all, only a few minutes of labour was required before the donuts were to rolled and fried.
The downside of the process was that, like the torte, several hours of waiting are required before the product is ready.
Another downside is that even once we'd made it through all the waiting, the doughnuts were a little dense and fat-clogged.
At least they looked like doughnuts (once we figured out the glazing process).
While I'm glad to say that I went through this process once, I'm not sure I'll be too keen to do this again just to end up with a dozen greasy, not-to-pillowy doughnuts.
Fortunately, aside from the doughnuts, the first two dishes weren't too unhealthy, nor do they demand to be eaten within minutes of being made.
Cameron - 5
Neil - 0
Saturday, February 13, 2016
A Few Quick Notes - 627
-After several days of warm weather we awoke yesterday to relatively cold and windy surroundings. Of course, it seems that what passes for cold these days is nothing like winters past when cold was cold (and cars needed to be plugged in).
-One major consequence of our unseasonably warm weather is that we haven't had much snow to shovel. While I can't really complain about the lack of shovelling, I was expecting a somewhat typical amount of shovelling this year. I was further expecting that this shovelling would finally be enough to wear out one of our two shovels. Because of these nested expectations some number of months ago I began dreaming about the replacement shovel I could justify buying once the cheap shovel I'm currently using finally wore out. Somehow, and maybe for the better, the cheap two-pack of shovels that we bought about three years ago just so that we would have shovels when we moved into our house have been much more resilient than expected.
-Several months ago, for reasons that are no longer entirely clear to me, I decided to try to up my cabbage consumption. Thinking back on this decision I think that it must have had something to do with price as it wasn't until after I'd made the decision that I learned that there were some nutritional benefits to be derived from the dietary addition.
While I can't say that I'm yet a daily consumer of cabbage, I have gotten pretty good at adding to my soup rotation, using it as the base component for any salads, and adding it to sandwiches.
I'm quite impressed with myself that I've managed to keep this going for a few months with relative ease. Maybe with a few months more of effort the practice will become so ingrained that it will no longer require effort.
-I really think I need a nap.
Cameron - 4
Neil - 0
-One major consequence of our unseasonably warm weather is that we haven't had much snow to shovel. While I can't really complain about the lack of shovelling, I was expecting a somewhat typical amount of shovelling this year. I was further expecting that this shovelling would finally be enough to wear out one of our two shovels. Because of these nested expectations some number of months ago I began dreaming about the replacement shovel I could justify buying once the cheap shovel I'm currently using finally wore out. Somehow, and maybe for the better, the cheap two-pack of shovels that we bought about three years ago just so that we would have shovels when we moved into our house have been much more resilient than expected.
-Several months ago, for reasons that are no longer entirely clear to me, I decided to try to up my cabbage consumption. Thinking back on this decision I think that it must have had something to do with price as it wasn't until after I'd made the decision that I learned that there were some nutritional benefits to be derived from the dietary addition.
While I can't say that I'm yet a daily consumer of cabbage, I have gotten pretty good at adding to my soup rotation, using it as the base component for any salads, and adding it to sandwiches.
I'm quite impressed with myself that I've managed to keep this going for a few months with relative ease. Maybe with a few months more of effort the practice will become so ingrained that it will no longer require effort.
-I really think I need a nap.
Cameron - 4
Neil - 0
Sunday, September 27, 2015
A pretty successful summer
With the addition of our fourth raised bed (and the subsequent addition of our stone paths) our vegetable garden has really started to produce rather substantial quantities of vegetables, particularly potatoes and celery. Oh, and kale and spinach.
Starting in July our harvests started becoming pretty regular.
And gradually began into include a few potatoes.
And eventually grew to include carrots and tomatoes.
Finally, a few days ago we pulled up most of the remaining potatoes.
We also managed to collect a few squash and peppers. Sadly, neither of these to types were particularly productive this year.
The good news is that after another year we've learned a little more about what works and what doesn't work.
Carrots, the non-stubby varieties, actually work quite well. Next year we'll try to grow quite a few more than we did this year.
Tomatoes, even only four plants, can be incredibly productive. Fortunately, Jeannette has started making her own sauce so this overabundance will not go to waste. Now that we have a better approach to dealing with the crop we probably won't have to worry about having too many tomatoes. Also, smaller cherry-like tomatoes seem to do much better than larger tomatoes (and are preferred by Jeannette).
Potatoes are easy and productive and one needn't wait until the end of the season to begin harvesting. By gradually taking a few potatoes at a time, as needed, we didn't have to worry about storing many pounds of potatoes and either having no potatoes or all of the potatoes. If anything, I think we may be inclined to go pretty heavy on the potatoes again next year.
Squash just hasn't been worth the space. We dedicated 1/4 of our space to squash growth and ended up with one fully ripe spaghetti squash and a few smaller unripe spaghetti squashes. Next year we're not going to waste our time with squash.
Spinach, kale, and celery are great season long producers. In all cases I think we had pretty good numbers of plants to allow for outputs that we could consume without having to worry about spoilage.
My attempt to grow romaine lettuce was a failure. As I'm not really all that much of a lettuce eater I think I'll give this a skip next year and focus on foods I really like.
Peppers are definitely a little hit and miss. Most of our plants produced at least a single edible pepper, but many only produced a single edible pepper. Our small chili pepper plant, on the other hand, has been producing chili peppers for months. Next year we should just stick to this one type of pepper plant (as we've now had two consecutive years of success with this type of plant).
And while we're not quite done with this year's harvest I think it's pretty clear that we're already looking ahead to next year. With a little luck, we may even to break even on our vegetable plot investment by next year (though that may require some real luck).
Starting in July our harvests started becoming pretty regular.
And gradually began into include a few potatoes.
And eventually grew to include carrots and tomatoes.
Finally, a few days ago we pulled up most of the remaining potatoes.
We also managed to collect a few squash and peppers. Sadly, neither of these to types were particularly productive this year.
The good news is that after another year we've learned a little more about what works and what doesn't work.
Carrots, the non-stubby varieties, actually work quite well. Next year we'll try to grow quite a few more than we did this year.
Tomatoes, even only four plants, can be incredibly productive. Fortunately, Jeannette has started making her own sauce so this overabundance will not go to waste. Now that we have a better approach to dealing with the crop we probably won't have to worry about having too many tomatoes. Also, smaller cherry-like tomatoes seem to do much better than larger tomatoes (and are preferred by Jeannette).
Potatoes are easy and productive and one needn't wait until the end of the season to begin harvesting. By gradually taking a few potatoes at a time, as needed, we didn't have to worry about storing many pounds of potatoes and either having no potatoes or all of the potatoes. If anything, I think we may be inclined to go pretty heavy on the potatoes again next year.
Squash just hasn't been worth the space. We dedicated 1/4 of our space to squash growth and ended up with one fully ripe spaghetti squash and a few smaller unripe spaghetti squashes. Next year we're not going to waste our time with squash.
Spinach, kale, and celery are great season long producers. In all cases I think we had pretty good numbers of plants to allow for outputs that we could consume without having to worry about spoilage.
My attempt to grow romaine lettuce was a failure. As I'm not really all that much of a lettuce eater I think I'll give this a skip next year and focus on foods I really like.
Peppers are definitely a little hit and miss. Most of our plants produced at least a single edible pepper, but many only produced a single edible pepper. Our small chili pepper plant, on the other hand, has been producing chili peppers for months. Next year we should just stick to this one type of pepper plant (as we've now had two consecutive years of success with this type of plant).
And while we're not quite done with this year's harvest I think it's pretty clear that we're already looking ahead to next year. With a little luck, we may even to break even on our vegetable plot investment by next year (though that may require some real luck).
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
A Few Quick Notes 623
-As noted previously, today has been a fair bit cooler than forecast. To the best of my knowledge, these cooler temperatures can all be attributed to the sun-blocking powers of massive quantities of throat and lung-irritating smoke. It seems reasonable to assume that as long as the smoke sticks around the temperatures will stay down, which is nice because it's not really open window weather at the moment.
-We've finally started harvesting food from our garden. So far we've managed to grab a few early kale leaves, some celery stalks, and quite a number of green onions. I suspect that for the next few weeks, at least until the peas come in, we'll more or less be suck with these three vegetables.
-On the fruit front we've also managed to grab a few raspberries and a few handfuls of haskap. While the haskap are likely just about done for the year, our real raspberry harvest is still probably a few weeks away. Hopefully by next year, when all of our plants are a little more established, we should really have good production from both types of plants. Sadly, our strawberries, now relocated to the front of the house, don't look as though they'll ever do all that much.
-Since some library school friends in town for a conference paid us a visit a few weeks ago Jeannette and I have been a little obsessed with tofu shish kebabs. Prepared with the broiler or the barbecue, these things are really great.
-We've finally started harvesting food from our garden. So far we've managed to grab a few early kale leaves, some celery stalks, and quite a number of green onions. I suspect that for the next few weeks, at least until the peas come in, we'll more or less be suck with these three vegetables.
-On the fruit front we've also managed to grab a few raspberries and a few handfuls of haskap. While the haskap are likely just about done for the year, our real raspberry harvest is still probably a few weeks away. Hopefully by next year, when all of our plants are a little more established, we should really have good production from both types of plants. Sadly, our strawberries, now relocated to the front of the house, don't look as though they'll ever do all that much.
-Since some library school friends in town for a conference paid us a visit a few weeks ago Jeannette and I have been a little obsessed with tofu shish kebabs. Prepared with the broiler or the barbecue, these things are really great.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
A Few Quick Notes 622
-While it is unlikely that we will make it up to the low-twenties, as we did yesterday, we have every indication that today will be at least another passable Spring day - if a little overcast.
-To take advantage of yesterday's great weather Jeannette and I spent much of the morning walking around our neighbourhood and the downtown area. First we made our way to the city-funded arts centre (which just happens to be a few blocks away from us) to visit a showing of local artists works. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find anything we wanted to buy.
We then made our way up to one of our local coffee shops for some road coffees for our walk to the farmer's market.
Mainly as a justification to head out for a walk, rather than with intent to actually buy anything, we made our way over to the Regina Farmer's market. Unfortunately, as is normally the case, it was something of a disappointment (and nothing like the Saskatoon Farmer's Market that we visited last Saturday) and we weren't even remotely tempted to buy anything. As usual, there wasn't even any flour. What's up with a farmer's market in Saskatchewan not selling flour?
Because the farmer's market is on the same street as the optician from whom I recently purchased glasses I then went to have my glasses adjusted. For some reason my glasses have been slipping down my nose (a problem I have had with every pair of glasses I have ever owned). While I think the adjustment helped I'm not sure if the problem has been altogether solved and I fear that I may have to start using my weird little rubber ear piece attachments. Bummer (particularly, because it this problem that motivated me to buy new frames).
-After a little bit of early yard work (mostly some raking and sweeping) Jeannette talked me into having our first barbecue of the season. Not surprisingly, it was quite pleasant.
-To take advantage of yesterday's great weather Jeannette and I spent much of the morning walking around our neighbourhood and the downtown area. First we made our way to the city-funded arts centre (which just happens to be a few blocks away from us) to visit a showing of local artists works. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find anything we wanted to buy.
We then made our way up to one of our local coffee shops for some road coffees for our walk to the farmer's market.
Mainly as a justification to head out for a walk, rather than with intent to actually buy anything, we made our way over to the Regina Farmer's market. Unfortunately, as is normally the case, it was something of a disappointment (and nothing like the Saskatoon Farmer's Market that we visited last Saturday) and we weren't even remotely tempted to buy anything. As usual, there wasn't even any flour. What's up with a farmer's market in Saskatchewan not selling flour?
Because the farmer's market is on the same street as the optician from whom I recently purchased glasses I then went to have my glasses adjusted. For some reason my glasses have been slipping down my nose (a problem I have had with every pair of glasses I have ever owned). While I think the adjustment helped I'm not sure if the problem has been altogether solved and I fear that I may have to start using my weird little rubber ear piece attachments. Bummer (particularly, because it this problem that motivated me to buy new frames).
-After a little bit of early yard work (mostly some raking and sweeping) Jeannette talked me into having our first barbecue of the season. Not surprisingly, it was quite pleasant.
Sunday, February 08, 2015
A Few Quick Notes 619
-We're currently in the midst of a light snow shower. Assuming all goes as planned, I'll probably head out in a few minutes to do a little light shovelling. Of course, depending on the length of this snow shower I may or may not have to head out later tonight to do a little final tidying.
-Fortunately, we've not had all that much snow this winter. And what snow we did have earlier in the winter was reduced dramatically by a warm stretch we had a few weeks ago.
-The Pet Roombaing has continued unabated. And as I've previously reported, each session results in far more hair and dust than seems reasonable given the frequency with which the machine is run. Gross.
-A few days ago Jeannette and I bought about a pound of strawberries. We consumed them in a single sitting last night as the fruit component of a chocolate fondue session. Once we ran out of fruit I switched to crackers (we wouldn't want to waste perfectly good chocolate, would we?).
-At the New Year's Eve party we attended one of the attending families brought a chocolate fountain with them. While the theory is quite similar to chocolate fondue, to get the right consistency for the 'fountain' effect they had to add quite a bit of vegetable oil to the pounds of melted chocolate. It was probably quite good that I saw the prep stage as I think I am quite unlikely to ever take part in any chocolate fountain activities in the future (not that I'd ever taken part in the past - but now I have a good reason).
-At some point I going to have to figure out what we're going to have for dinner. B'ys, it just never ends.
-Hope you're enjoying your blog-off content spurt.
Cameron - 8
Neil - 0
-Fortunately, we've not had all that much snow this winter. And what snow we did have earlier in the winter was reduced dramatically by a warm stretch we had a few weeks ago.
-The Pet Roombaing has continued unabated. And as I've previously reported, each session results in far more hair and dust than seems reasonable given the frequency with which the machine is run. Gross.
-A few days ago Jeannette and I bought about a pound of strawberries. We consumed them in a single sitting last night as the fruit component of a chocolate fondue session. Once we ran out of fruit I switched to crackers (we wouldn't want to waste perfectly good chocolate, would we?).
-At the New Year's Eve party we attended one of the attending families brought a chocolate fountain with them. While the theory is quite similar to chocolate fondue, to get the right consistency for the 'fountain' effect they had to add quite a bit of vegetable oil to the pounds of melted chocolate. It was probably quite good that I saw the prep stage as I think I am quite unlikely to ever take part in any chocolate fountain activities in the future (not that I'd ever taken part in the past - but now I have a good reason).
-At some point I going to have to figure out what we're going to have for dinner. B'ys, it just never ends.
-Hope you're enjoying your blog-off content spurt.
Cameron - 8
Neil - 0
Saturday, January 31, 2015
A Few Quick Notes 618
-After about a week and a half of unseasonably warm temperatures we've again seen the mercury drop to something approximating the seasonal norm (even if we're still a few degrees above where we normally are). The nasty consequence of the warm weather is that much of the snow that we had on the ground melted and then re-froze as ice and because many people hadn't been completely up to date on their sideway clearing much of this ice is now on sidewalks around Regina. Snowfalls, however slight, since the drop in temperatures have conveniently masked much of the ice making walking even more treacherous than it was when it ice was exposed.
-This morning at about 8:30 I went out for a nice shovelling session. I managed to take care of our shovelling and to also shovel the sidewalks of our neighbours on both sides. Much to my surprise, I think I managed to take care of this shovelling before any humans walked along the sidewalk.
-For dinner tonight we should be having a nice batch of mushroom and barley soup. If I decide to be ambitious we may even have some type of freshly baked bread or dessert to accompany the soup (maybe even both).
-I think that after about a month since we first felt the symptons of a cold Jeannette and I are both back to about 98%. There's a bit more phlegm than either of us would like, but it's not too bad.
-This morning at about 8:30 I went out for a nice shovelling session. I managed to take care of our shovelling and to also shovel the sidewalks of our neighbours on both sides. Much to my surprise, I think I managed to take care of this shovelling before any humans walked along the sidewalk.
-For dinner tonight we should be having a nice batch of mushroom and barley soup. If I decide to be ambitious we may even have some type of freshly baked bread or dessert to accompany the soup (maybe even both).
-I think that after about a month since we first felt the symptons of a cold Jeannette and I are both back to about 98%. There's a bit more phlegm than either of us would like, but it's not too bad.
Friday, January 09, 2015
A Few Quick Notes 617
-After several weeks of unRegina like Winter weather, we've finally moved on to the type of Regina winter weather I've come to know and love - it's about -20 and sunny. As far as I'm concerned this is almost perfect Winter weather. It just doesn't get better than this.
-While doing some supplementary shovelling today (I did the driveway, paths, and sidewalk immediately after the snowfall) I had the pleasure of taking in some of this wonderful Winter weather first hand. Of course, to prepare for the low temperatures I put on my coat, mitts, scarf, face mask, and hat. I was amazed to find that when I came in about 30 minutes later I was really sweating (and at no point did I feel cold).
-A few months ago This American Life began a new spin-off show - Serial. Almost immediately Jeannette and I became rabid listeners. During the run of the show we more or less restricted ourselves to the weekly podcast and the various discussions we would have with each other after each new episode was released.
Now that the podcast's first season has ended but various related stories have been independent news outlets we've gotten sucked into the Serial Reddit vortex. We can seem to spend an entire evening just reading Reddit comments about alternate theories of a 1999 Baltimore murder case. When not reading these comments I am compulsively contemplating my own (or Jeannette's particularly good) theory/ies of the case.
How is it possible that I am spending more time thinking about a 12 episode podcast now that it has ended than I did while it aired? How can I be waiting for new articles from The Intercept, articles that I know will just upset me, with a greater sense of anticipation than I had for new episodes? (I've probably checked for the concluding segment of the Kevin Urick interview 20 times today.)
-At some point soon I may have to start thinking about what to make for dinner tonight. On the other hand, because of our ongoing illnesses it seems likely that neither of us may be as inclined to eat in a timely fashion as we normally might be.
-While doing some supplementary shovelling today (I did the driveway, paths, and sidewalk immediately after the snowfall) I had the pleasure of taking in some of this wonderful Winter weather first hand. Of course, to prepare for the low temperatures I put on my coat, mitts, scarf, face mask, and hat. I was amazed to find that when I came in about 30 minutes later I was really sweating (and at no point did I feel cold).
-A few months ago This American Life began a new spin-off show - Serial. Almost immediately Jeannette and I became rabid listeners. During the run of the show we more or less restricted ourselves to the weekly podcast and the various discussions we would have with each other after each new episode was released.
Now that the podcast's first season has ended but various related stories have been independent news outlets we've gotten sucked into the Serial Reddit vortex. We can seem to spend an entire evening just reading Reddit comments about alternate theories of a 1999 Baltimore murder case. When not reading these comments I am compulsively contemplating my own (or Jeannette's particularly good) theory/ies of the case.
How is it possible that I am spending more time thinking about a 12 episode podcast now that it has ended than I did while it aired? How can I be waiting for new articles from The Intercept, articles that I know will just upset me, with a greater sense of anticipation than I had for new episodes? (I've probably checked for the concluding segment of the Kevin Urick interview 20 times today.)
-At some point soon I may have to start thinking about what to make for dinner tonight. On the other hand, because of our ongoing illnesses it seems likely that neither of us may be as inclined to eat in a timely fashion as we normally might be.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
A Few Quick Notes 615
-After several cold and grey days today was a pleasant change of pace. Eventually it was even warm enough that we needed to use the AC in our car. Of course, even this high wasn't particularly high and was certainly no where near the low 20s that were in the forecast a few days ago.
-Yesterday afternoon we tuned into the livestream of the PC convention in Newfoundland once we learned that the virtual tie on the second ballot was forcing a do-over/third ballot. Not only was it great to see all kinds of people I know (i.e. friends, former profs, former co-workers, and friends of my parents), but it was also neat to watch an entirely unscripted television event. Neither the viewer nor the producers knew what was going to happen and it was exciting.
-For some reason I recently remembered the idea of mushroom barley soup. This morning I started preparing a batch that we could have for lunch. Wow, that was tasty. I'm not quite sure why we haven't been making more of this stuff.
-I saw diagram outlining the ideal viewing areas for the recent Northern Lights eruption and it seems that Saskatchewan was one of the worst viewing locations. I guess now I don't feel so bad that we didn't try to wait for the clouds to clear. Hopefully we'll get another chance soon.
-Yesterday afternoon we tuned into the livestream of the PC convention in Newfoundland once we learned that the virtual tie on the second ballot was forcing a do-over/third ballot. Not only was it great to see all kinds of people I know (i.e. friends, former profs, former co-workers, and friends of my parents), but it was also neat to watch an entirely unscripted television event. Neither the viewer nor the producers knew what was going to happen and it was exciting.
-For some reason I recently remembered the idea of mushroom barley soup. This morning I started preparing a batch that we could have for lunch. Wow, that was tasty. I'm not quite sure why we haven't been making more of this stuff.
-I saw diagram outlining the ideal viewing areas for the recent Northern Lights eruption and it seems that Saskatchewan was one of the worst viewing locations. I guess now I don't feel so bad that we didn't try to wait for the clouds to clear. Hopefully we'll get another chance soon.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
A Few Quick Notes 612
-Though we can often go months and months without any real rain, for the past week or two rain has been a very regular occurrence. For most of the past few days we've had more than one very intense rain shower, and on a few occasions we've had rather extended rainfalls lasting for hours at a time. Not surprisingly, the ground is now absolutely drenched. What fun.
-A few nights ago we even had enough rain that we had a little water in our basement. While it's unfortunate that we have any water problems in our basement, I'm glad that it is only when we have either massive thawing or a substantial rain storm that we have problems. Arguably, that water came in exactly where I hoped it wouldn't because of an epoxy patching agent that I'd used at least somewhat conclusively confirms my sense that the patch work didn't stick.
If the rain ever stops I'll have to head down and try to do some crack patching again. Hopefully this time I'll use something that at least works for one major rainfall.
-Since the local grocery stores started carrying cherries in the past few weeks we've really upped our cherry consumption. If I know what's best for me I should probably consider dialling it back down to under two pounds of cherries a day.
-Last night we received a last minute invitation to attend a barbecue with a few neighbours. Aside from the sudden downpour that forced inside for about an hour, we had a great time. Because we brought a tray of vegetables with us I finally had the excuse I needed to harvest the first green onions from our garden. As expected, they were pretty green oniony.
-While the rain means that we haven't needed to water our garden in weeks, a little more sun would probably be good at this stage. I guess probably shouldn't be complaining too much - basically everything seems to be growing. The potatoes, in particular, seem to be doing well.
-This year we've also planted a garden in front of our house. Our original plan was to plant a variety of plants that would look nice and complement each other in terms of height and style. As the absence of sun seems to have stunted growth I'm not sure if the plan will come to fruition this year. Of course, even if it doesn't we should at least manage to grow a few potatoes, some corn, and a few tomatoes.
-A few nights ago we even had enough rain that we had a little water in our basement. While it's unfortunate that we have any water problems in our basement, I'm glad that it is only when we have either massive thawing or a substantial rain storm that we have problems. Arguably, that water came in exactly where I hoped it wouldn't because of an epoxy patching agent that I'd used at least somewhat conclusively confirms my sense that the patch work didn't stick.
If the rain ever stops I'll have to head down and try to do some crack patching again. Hopefully this time I'll use something that at least works for one major rainfall.
-Since the local grocery stores started carrying cherries in the past few weeks we've really upped our cherry consumption. If I know what's best for me I should probably consider dialling it back down to under two pounds of cherries a day.
-Last night we received a last minute invitation to attend a barbecue with a few neighbours. Aside from the sudden downpour that forced inside for about an hour, we had a great time. Because we brought a tray of vegetables with us I finally had the excuse I needed to harvest the first green onions from our garden. As expected, they were pretty green oniony.
-While the rain means that we haven't needed to water our garden in weeks, a little more sun would probably be good at this stage. I guess probably shouldn't be complaining too much - basically everything seems to be growing. The potatoes, in particular, seem to be doing well.
-This year we've also planted a garden in front of our house. Our original plan was to plant a variety of plants that would look nice and complement each other in terms of height and style. As the absence of sun seems to have stunted growth I'm not sure if the plan will come to fruition this year. Of course, even if it doesn't we should at least manage to grow a few potatoes, some corn, and a few tomatoes.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
A Few Quick Notes 611
-Today has been variously rainy, cloudy, and sunny. Unfortunately, the sunny portions of the day have tended to be the shortest. Apparently funnel clouds have been spotted in souther Saskatchewan - so there's that too.
-Maybe because of the rain we had over the past few days the mosquitos have been out in full force. While at our Ultimate game on Thursday I received several bites and this afternoon while we were in the garden briefly Jeannette received about a half dozen bites, most of which were through her clothes.
-Yesterday I made a quite enjoyable batch of pea soup for dinner.
-We've been on something of a fruit leather making kick recently. We've made three batches in the past few days. I think we're particularly motivated to make this much because each successive batch has been more successful than the previous batch. I'm convinced that part of the recent success stems from my decision to include both a wider variety of fruits and also to include the juice from one or two lemons.
As Jeannette can attest, the only problem with so many successful batches of fruit leather is availability of so much fruit leather. If one's not careful one can in a matter of minutes eat the equivalent of several pounds worth of fruit. I guess there are worse things one could be binging on.
-Maybe because of the rain we had over the past few days the mosquitos have been out in full force. While at our Ultimate game on Thursday I received several bites and this afternoon while we were in the garden briefly Jeannette received about a half dozen bites, most of which were through her clothes.
-Yesterday I made a quite enjoyable batch of pea soup for dinner.
-We've been on something of a fruit leather making kick recently. We've made three batches in the past few days. I think we're particularly motivated to make this much because each successive batch has been more successful than the previous batch. I'm convinced that part of the recent success stems from my decision to include both a wider variety of fruits and also to include the juice from one or two lemons.
As Jeannette can attest, the only problem with so many successful batches of fruit leather is availability of so much fruit leather. If one's not careful one can in a matter of minutes eat the equivalent of several pounds worth of fruit. I guess there are worse things one could be binging on.
Monday, February 17, 2014
A Few Quick Notes 610
-We're just cluing up another slightly overcast, not particularly cold winter's day in Regina. I think there may have been a few flurries at various points throughout the day, or it may have just been blowing snow. It was a little hard to tell and not important enough for me to engage in a serious investigation of the matter.
-I sampled my ginger beer last night. It definitely had a bite, and it was definitely gingery. But I'm not sure it had the bite or ginger flavour I was looking for. My gut is that it basically tastes like carbonated ginger juice.
Fortunately, I've purchased some more ginger and am planning on working on batch two tonight. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the process sorted out or have admitted defeat.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I picked up discounted copies of the first two seasons of The Wire. Apparently Jeannette's incredibly Olympics viewing capabilities don't extend to 10 year old HBO shows - she crashed during the first episode. I, on the other hand, couldn't believe how excited I was to be re-watching the show. Hopefully we'll try again tonight and this time it will stick.
Cameron - 16
Neil - 0
-I sampled my ginger beer last night. It definitely had a bite, and it was definitely gingery. But I'm not sure it had the bite or ginger flavour I was looking for. My gut is that it basically tastes like carbonated ginger juice.
Fortunately, I've purchased some more ginger and am planning on working on batch two tonight. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the process sorted out or have admitted defeat.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I picked up discounted copies of the first two seasons of The Wire. Apparently Jeannette's incredibly Olympics viewing capabilities don't extend to 10 year old HBO shows - she crashed during the first episode. I, on the other hand, couldn't believe how excited I was to be re-watching the show. Hopefully we'll try again tonight and this time it will stick.
Cameron - 16
Neil - 0
Saturday, January 25, 2014
I jumped into action too quickly
It seems that Marmite may not actually be banned for sale in Canada and, like a sucker, I've now saddled myself with an unnecessary strategic Marmite reserve. It's a bummer that Jeannette's not into Marmite because I've got a tonne of it to plough through.
It's a good thing I really like Marmite.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Strategic Reserve
Starting a few days ago news stories started cropping up about the illegality of Marmite in Canada and that stores were being forced to abandon their stocks of the product.
Almost as soon as these stories began appearing I jumped into action. Before long we were in a store whose stocks had not yet been compromised and I grabbed four tubs of this black gold.
I'm hoping that these four will be enough to keep me going until the situation can be resolved.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
A Few Quick Notes 605
-After temperatures just above zero, we've now dropped into the -20 zone. As surprising as some of you might find it, I actually prefer this temperature because it's much drier and easier to content with while walking.
-I seems that between Friday night and Saturday morning we had a bit of a secret snowfall. Because it was just a few centimetres and because it was almost -40 (with wind chill) I opted to leave it on the ground yesterday. Of course, this means that at some point today I'll have to head out and deal with it. Yum.
-In a rare roll reversal, this morning Jeannette suggested a trip to the grocery store and I suggested that such a trip wasn't necessary. I wonder when this will happen again?
-After nine days off, I'll finally have to head back to work tomorrow. Hopefully my sleep schedule hasn't been too contorted by this break.
-Thanks to our turkey-free lifestyle this holiday season hasn't been too bad for our diets. Aside from an overconsumption of holiday breads, we've managed to eat pretty normally over the past few weeks. I guess this means we won't need to make any sure-not-to-be-followed dieting resolutions for New Year's?
-I seems that between Friday night and Saturday morning we had a bit of a secret snowfall. Because it was just a few centimetres and because it was almost -40 (with wind chill) I opted to leave it on the ground yesterday. Of course, this means that at some point today I'll have to head out and deal with it. Yum.
-In a rare roll reversal, this morning Jeannette suggested a trip to the grocery store and I suggested that such a trip wasn't necessary. I wonder when this will happen again?
-After nine days off, I'll finally have to head back to work tomorrow. Hopefully my sleep schedule hasn't been too contorted by this break.
-Thanks to our turkey-free lifestyle this holiday season hasn't been too bad for our diets. Aside from an overconsumption of holiday breads, we've managed to eat pretty normally over the past few weeks. I guess this means we won't need to make any sure-not-to-be-followed dieting resolutions for New Year's?
Saturday, November 16, 2013
A Few Quick Notes 603
-After a few false starts, we've finally had a full-fledged snowy winter's day in Regina. At the moment I'd say that we have somewhere between 5 and 7 cm of snow on the ground, though I guess my estimate could be a little off due because zero-ish temperatures are leading to some simultaneous melting.
-Because of the snowfall I'll have to head out for some shovelling later today. I tried to do some shovelling a few weeks ago when we had another small snowfall but there wasn't enough to really clear.
-Last weekend we purchased a discount vegetarian Indian cookbook. The night we purchased the book we prepared about four of the dishes in the book. They were great. The only problem with the book is that it has lead us to over eat. Of course, this overeating hasn't discouraged me from fantasizing about preparing even more dishes from the book this weekend. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
-A few months ago we purchased a food dehydrator. Since that time we've been really into dried apples and fruit leather. Turns out that with a few hours of dehydrating time you can turn a dozen apples into nothing more than a few grams of dried apples/fruit leather. The problem, if you can say there is a problem, is that the dried fruit can be consumed almost instantly and without the feeling that you're chewing through multiple apples in a matter of seconds.
-Turns out I should probably do some fish tank cleaning today. Do Saturdays get more fun?
-Last weekend, while socializing with neighbours, one of the guys recommended a pomegranate de-seeding technique. When I finally got around to trying it last night I was amazed that it was actually as easy and effective as promised. You really have do the whole thing in less than a minute.
[Embedded video]
-Because of the snowfall I'll have to head out for some shovelling later today. I tried to do some shovelling a few weeks ago when we had another small snowfall but there wasn't enough to really clear.
-Last weekend we purchased a discount vegetarian Indian cookbook. The night we purchased the book we prepared about four of the dishes in the book. They were great. The only problem with the book is that it has lead us to over eat. Of course, this overeating hasn't discouraged me from fantasizing about preparing even more dishes from the book this weekend. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
-A few months ago we purchased a food dehydrator. Since that time we've been really into dried apples and fruit leather. Turns out that with a few hours of dehydrating time you can turn a dozen apples into nothing more than a few grams of dried apples/fruit leather. The problem, if you can say there is a problem, is that the dried fruit can be consumed almost instantly and without the feeling that you're chewing through multiple apples in a matter of seconds.
-Turns out I should probably do some fish tank cleaning today. Do Saturdays get more fun?
-Last weekend, while socializing with neighbours, one of the guys recommended a pomegranate de-seeding technique. When I finally got around to trying it last night I was amazed that it was actually as easy and effective as promised. You really have do the whole thing in less than a minute.
[Embedded video]
Sunday, October 27, 2013
A Few Quick Notes 602
-Though cloudy, today wasn't a particularly cool day. Since our sudden and unexpectedly resilient snowfall of a few days ago I expect full-blown winter to arrive with each dawn. When I leave the house and discover winter hasn't yet arrived I'm both pleased and disappointed.
-The arrival of winter would be even more welcome if our fireplace was fully functional. At the moment the chimney is in need of a serious cleaning. Until we have it cleaned we won't be able to determine if it's safe to use, and if not how much work might be required to make it so. While I'd really like to have a fully functional fireplace this is likely something that will have to wait until at least next year.
-We went on a somewhat lengthy shopping trip this afternoon. As usual, once we're out on our weekend shopping trips we keep remembering additional items that we've been meaning to buy. Also, at least this normally happens, we tend to forget a handful of items necessitating future trips. Fortunately, the items that we forgot today weren't so important that we'll have to head out today or even tomorrow.
-My 'smart' phone, or at least its operating system, has been behaving somewhat erratically for the past few weeks. It seems that the major update has really negatively impacted the operational capacity of the phone - despite the fact that this was presumably exactly the opposite of what the developers intended with the new update. Anyway, it's definitely been a frustrating way to waste a few hours.
-Now that we're a few weeks into fall the sun has started setting not long after I return home from work. While this is to be expected, the transition has been happening a little more quickly than I expected. It won't be long before my walks to and from work will occur mostly in the dark.
-A few days ago I combined a few ingredients and made some pea soup. I'm continually amazed at how simple, yet tasty, pea soup can be. Maybe even more impressive, is that the stuff seems to keep getting better in the following days.
-Turns out homeownership is definitely time-consuming. This weekend I had the pleasure of spending a fair bit of time installing a single board above one of our basement windows. Not only will this board be used to hang a blind, it will also improve our house's security as it will also prevent one of our windows from easily being pushed in from the outside. While I'm not pleased at how long this project took, I am pleased with the results.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
A Few Quick Notes 601
-After a few days of regular thundershowers and downpours we've had a few rain free days. While the days haven't been quite as sunny or warm as I expected, they've nonetheless been a welcome change of pace. Actually, aside from the fact that they're not quite as sunny as I'd like they've been almost perfect (not to windy or hot or humid).
-Today we went to an open house/jazz concert that was held down the street from where we live. Not only did the open house allow us to see one of the units in a row-house complex we'd been contemplating when we were in the housing market, we got to hear the jazz band while were outside working in our yard. The only bummer was that by the time I was finally ready to go the jazz band had finished their show and was packing up. I guess this will teach me to be a bit prompter next time I was to see a free outside show.
-The regular pea pod stir-frys we've been having with our backyard-grown pea pods have been really wonderful. I think that next year we'll have to consider doubling the portion of our garden we devote to peas.
-Our very own sweet little Marie has been really misbehaving the past few days. It's been a real bummer following her around just to clean up her messes. We're hoping that now that we've switched her back to the kitty litter she'd been using for her first few months with us that she'll calm down (but that may be too hopeful).
-As of this week the our house is now completely repainted. The body of the house is purple and the trip is a cream colour. We both are quite please with the outcome.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the colour change seems to be attracting a fair bit of attention. Most drivers seem unable to drive by without at least slowing, some even come to a complete stop. Pedestrians, as you might have guessed, are also frequently stopping to look at our newly purple house. I get the impression that the people of Regina aren't quite used to houses being painted purple.
-I guess it's time for me to get back to dinner. Hopefully it hasn't burned in my absence.
-Today we went to an open house/jazz concert that was held down the street from where we live. Not only did the open house allow us to see one of the units in a row-house complex we'd been contemplating when we were in the housing market, we got to hear the jazz band while were outside working in our yard. The only bummer was that by the time I was finally ready to go the jazz band had finished their show and was packing up. I guess this will teach me to be a bit prompter next time I was to see a free outside show.
-The regular pea pod stir-frys we've been having with our backyard-grown pea pods have been really wonderful. I think that next year we'll have to consider doubling the portion of our garden we devote to peas.
-Our very own sweet little Marie has been really misbehaving the past few days. It's been a real bummer following her around just to clean up her messes. We're hoping that now that we've switched her back to the kitty litter she'd been using for her first few months with us that she'll calm down (but that may be too hopeful).
-As of this week the our house is now completely repainted. The body of the house is purple and the trip is a cream colour. We both are quite please with the outcome.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the colour change seems to be attracting a fair bit of attention. Most drivers seem unable to drive by without at least slowing, some even come to a complete stop. Pedestrians, as you might have guessed, are also frequently stopping to look at our newly purple house. I get the impression that the people of Regina aren't quite used to houses being painted purple.
-I guess it's time for me to get back to dinner. Hopefully it hasn't burned in my absence.
The harvest keeps on happening
It seems that every day we have to harvest some of our crops or they're turn bad.
Amazingly, even though I did a once over on the peas and beans yesterday (pictured above), I managed to snag another few servings worth today. Of course, I should also mention that Jeannette also snagged a nice handful of kale yesterday after I finished my once-over of the place.
The other exciting news is that a few of our female pumpkin flowers actually look as though they might end up doing something other than failing to flower before they die unceremoniously.
I'm a little worried that these developments may be a little late for us to end up with a full-fledged pumpkin by harvest time - but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
In other news, after removing the bushy parts of an arbor vitae and some evergreen bushes in the front of the house a few weeks ago we removed the stumps this morning. Much to my surprise, the stumps came out much more easily and quickly than I anticipated.
Why these developments are important is that they should now put us in a good position to turn the area that previously housed the bushes into a secondary vegetable garden (hopefully with fewer weeds than our primary garden). If all goes according to plan I think we'll even be able to select plants and plant positioning that will allow us to have a very attracting area.
Amazingly, even though I did a once over on the peas and beans yesterday (pictured above), I managed to snag another few servings worth today. Of course, I should also mention that Jeannette also snagged a nice handful of kale yesterday after I finished my once-over of the place.
The other exciting news is that a few of our female pumpkin flowers actually look as though they might end up doing something other than failing to flower before they die unceremoniously.
I'm a little worried that these developments may be a little late for us to end up with a full-fledged pumpkin by harvest time - but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
In other news, after removing the bushy parts of an arbor vitae and some evergreen bushes in the front of the house a few weeks ago we removed the stumps this morning. Much to my surprise, the stumps came out much more easily and quickly than I anticipated.
Why these developments are important is that they should now put us in a good position to turn the area that previously housed the bushes into a secondary vegetable garden (hopefully with fewer weeds than our primary garden). If all goes according to plan I think we'll even be able to select plants and plant positioning that will allow us to have a very attracting area.
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