Today, there is sadness as my first cousin is being buried in Manitoba.. He was a long haul driver as long as I can remember and even when his health was poor, he continued..
He even appeared at my son's wedding in Northern Alberta driving his semi!!
Last weekend while driving through Alberta, he drove into high winds and his truck was trashed as it was pushed over by the high winds.. Bruised from the spill, his boss had him catch the greyhound to Manitoba, where he was hospitalized then sent home to his rural home where he died in a couple of hours.
This song by Luke Doucet makes me think of him
My cousin loved and died behind the Wheels of his Semi
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for Beef Baked with Yogurt and Black Pepper
I tried with great anticipation last night the recipe posted in our newspaper from Jaffrey's My Kitchen Table: 100 Weeknight curries cookbook..Beef baked with yogurt and Black pepper .. I followed the recipe, only lowered the temperature and cooked it slower in my oven at 275 and longer.. the smell was incredible as my daughter in law with a busy day was in and out of my house, leaving my grand daughter with me and she decided to stay for supper as it did smell fabulous!!.. I used a very heavy caste iron pot with a lid, my Straub which I love!
Beef Baked with Yogurt and Black Pepper
Jaffrey notes this is her take on a traditional cooking method that involves sealing the pot and lid with a stiff dough and then leaving it to cook over a gentle fire with hot ashes spread over the lid. Serve with rice, chapati, paratha or naan.
She adds you can make this dish with stewing lamb from the shoulder as a change from beef.
6 tbsp (100 mL) vegetable oil
2 lb (1 kg) boneless stewing beef from the neck and shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) cubes
8 oz (250 g) onions, very finely chopped (2 cups/500 mL)
I must say that the dish was a disappointment as the yogurt sauce was not thick and creamy as it appears in the picture in the paper..
the yogurt sauce had separated . I was surprised as sour cream and yogurt will separate at high temperatures! This was not as high a temp as suggested in the recipe..
Beef Baked with Yogurt and Black Pepper
Jaffrey notes this is her take on a traditional cooking method that involves sealing the pot and lid with a stiff dough and then leaving it to cook over a gentle fire with hot ashes spread over the lid. Serve with rice, chapati, paratha or naan.
She adds you can make this dish with stewing lamb from the shoulder as a change from beef.
6 tbsp (100 mL) vegetable oil
2 lb (1 kg) boneless stewing beef from the neck and shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) cubes
8 oz (250 g) onions, very finely chopped (2 cups/500 mL)
6 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger
1/4 to (1 to 2 mL) 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
1 tbsp (15 mL) paprika
2 tsp (10 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) very coarsely ground black pepper
1 ¼ cups (300 mL) natural yogurt, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Put the oil in a wide, flame-proof casserole and set over medium-high heat.
When the oil is hot, put in as many meat pieces as the pan will hold easily in a single layer. Brown the meat pieces on all sides, then set them aside in a deep plate. Brown all the meat this way.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Stir-fry for about 10 minutes or until browned. Add the browned meat and any juices. Also add the ginger, cayenne, paprika, salt and black pepper and stir for a minute.
Add the yogurt to the pan and bring to a simmer.
Cover tightly with foil and then with a lid, and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
If the meat is not tender after this time, pour in 2/3 cup (150 mL) boiling water, cover tightly and bake for a further 20 to 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.
Stir gently before serving.
Serves 4 to 6.
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger
1/4 to (1 to 2 mL) 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
1 tbsp (15 mL) paprika
2 tsp (10 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) very coarsely ground black pepper
1 ¼ cups (300 mL) natural yogurt, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Put the oil in a wide, flame-proof casserole and set over medium-high heat.
When the oil is hot, put in as many meat pieces as the pan will hold easily in a single layer. Brown the meat pieces on all sides, then set them aside in a deep plate. Brown all the meat this way.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Stir-fry for about 10 minutes or until browned. Add the browned meat and any juices. Also add the ginger, cayenne, paprika, salt and black pepper and stir for a minute.
Add the yogurt to the pan and bring to a simmer.
Cover tightly with foil and then with a lid, and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
If the meat is not tender after this time, pour in 2/3 cup (150 mL) boiling water, cover tightly and bake for a further 20 to 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.
Stir gently before serving.
Serves 4 to 6.
the yogurt sauce had separated . I was surprised as sour cream and yogurt will separate at high temperatures! This was not as high a temp as suggested in the recipe..
I tried to savage the sauce by thickening it with a bit of cornstarch which did help.. The flavour was also bland.. which was a surprise.. I think I would do this again but hold the yogurt until the end, also flavour it more with more seasoning at the end. I also think this would work well in the crock pot !
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Farm Life
As I spoke to her, all my memories of farm life and my parents came rushing in and tears filled my eyes.
What an experience to visit with her and relive farm life that I had experienced as a child.
I left with 2 dozen fresh eggs, jars of fresh cream, so thick and a yellow cream colour that you could see the fat content and fresh cottage cheese! I also left with many warm memories of farm life and my parents! What a treasure!
Fish Taco
One of my favourite foods and fits well into the menu of dairy less and meatless meal for the First Day of Great Lent
The fish I used was Basa, unthawed, dried well and dipped into seasoned flour, in this case, William Sonoma seasoning.. The fish was fried to a golden brown in Olive Oil!
I love the versatility of Cabbage as vegetables such as carrots, peppers, daikon radish etc as well as fruit such as pineapple, apples, strawberries go so well with cabbage, as do nuts. Yesterday, I used apples and red peppers with a hot garlicky dressing
I also made guacamole using Avocado, red onion, lime, jalapeños and fresh cilantro. I prefer chunky to smooth, so my avocado is smashed with a fork!
Delicious
The fish I used was Basa, unthawed, dried well and dipped into seasoned flour, in this case, William Sonoma seasoning.. The fish was fried to a golden brown in Olive Oil!
I love the versatility of Cabbage as vegetables such as carrots, peppers, daikon radish etc as well as fruit such as pineapple, apples, strawberries go so well with cabbage, as do nuts. Yesterday, I used apples and red peppers with a hot garlicky dressing
I also made guacamole using Avocado, red onion, lime, jalapeños and fresh cilantro. I prefer chunky to smooth, so my avocado is smashed with a fork!
Delicious
Beginning of Great Lent, 2012
My coffee latte was especially delicious today, as yesterday was the first day of Great Lent and I observe this first day of lent day as my parents had by eating a dairy less and meatless diet!
This abstaining from certain food, heightens my spiritually awareness and is a positive feeling of reflections of past days and of self awareness.
Toast with peanut butter, banana , gooseberry jam and almond with black coffee started my morning
The prepared sushi comes past you pulled on little boats, so cute!
This place is very generous, the above samples were free to taste.
This abstaining from certain food, heightens my spiritually awareness and is a positive feeling of reflections of past days and of self awareness.
Toast with peanut butter, banana , gooseberry jam and almond with black coffee started my morning
For lunch we went to Kinjo for Sushi
This place is very generous, the above samples were free to taste.
Vegetable tempura, with sweet potato, broccoli, red peppers and asparagus. A free sample of Tempura shrimp was also given to us.
We ordered the Lobster roll which is 8 huge pieces, so delicious but difficult to eat as the rolls are huge
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Christmas Card 2011
Joyful Joyful Holiday Card
Shutterfly always has unique designs for our holiday cards.
View the entire collection of cards.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
T'was the Night!
DOWNTOWN CALGARY’S BIGGEST PRIVATE SHOPPING NIGHT
which Benefitted United Way’s “BeCause” initiative and the National Music Centre
There was a Red Carpet hosted by Lainey Lui of LaineyGoosip.com. At first we were not too sure who everyone was having pictures with, but hear her saying Thanks for reading my Blog!! Apparently, our pictures of us with her will be featured on Facebook!
It was a very stylish affair, with the unveiling of The CORE"s 45 foot illuminated Christmas tree. Along with fireworks that flashed back forth on the glass covered ceiling. There was entertainment all night , with the feature of singer Chantal Kreviazuk.
At first the highlight was sampling holiday-inspired beverages and cuisine.. they had set up food and beverage stations all through the mall on all three levels. It amazed me how attractive the samples were, but I shuttered at the waste of all the plastic dishes used for samples.
Bite size desserts where decorated in a delightful way with fruit and chocolate.
Pan seared Scallops with herbed rice fritters on a bed of fresh tomato salsa. The arrangement was so cute, the scallops had been cut into small disks and the size of the fritter was the same size.. The fresh salsa as the base was difficult to eat with the picks.. I wondered if it would have looked more colourful and easier to eat if salsa was used a garnish. It was tasty although scallops were over cooked.
Stuffed turkey Roulade
This was a very attractive appetizers served in a bass wood boat.. My friends thought at first it was a dessert and to their disappointment found that it was a Yorkshire pudding with slices of turkey, topped with a pinwheel cracker with no particular flavour. Certainly a great interpretation of Roulade The word originates from the French word " to roll" and usually meat is rolled with a filling in it.
Two appetizers: Bruschetta and the other a topping with goat cheese that was applied in pressurized container.
Slices of Bison strip loin served on citrus aioli on crositini , topped with a pecorino cheese and a dollop of apple compote.. This was a very generous serving and tasty.
At the very end we stumbled on the Italian Spiced Duck Breast served on Barley risotto with arugula on a parmesan cheese cracker.. The slices of duck were delicious! The arugula tied in the flavours of the cracker with the risotto to the duck very nicely. Some discussion as to this not being risotto as not made with rice.. my understanding of the defination of risotto is the method of preparing different grains by cooking in liquid to a creamy consistency. Although I enjoyed this dish, the left over risotto and cracker suggested others didn't!
Then we turned to shopping! The sales varied in different stores, we found a place that had 50% on all it's merchandize!!
All ticket sales will support two local charities working to revitalize Calgary's downtown: BeCause, a next generation initiative of the United Way of Calgary and the National Music Centre Project.
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