We all have our likes and dislikes don’t we? Of course we do. Nothing wrong with that. Some remain the same all through our lives and others change. Many things I disliked as a child I now enjoy and vice versa. As a teenager I loved the carnival rides 🎢 🎡, the higher the better. Now I can’t even look at them, let alone get on them. Just the thought makes me ill.🤮

Family members or friends often have different likes: movies 🎞, sports ⚽️⚾️🎾🏉, clothes 👗👔🧢👟🩴👠🥾👖👚, hair styles 👩🏽 🧑🏻‍🦰 👱🏼‍♀️ 👨🏽‍🦱👱🏼‍♂️, vehicles 🚗🚴 🛻 🚙, music 🎶🎺🎷🪗, books 📚, drinks ☕️🍵🍷🍺🧃, food 🍩🍪🎂🍨🍫🥗🍝🌮🍕🍔. That’s what makes us unique. We can’t expect that everyone will like what we do.

So what about today got me thinking about this? Richard’s breakfast: Sweet Beet Raspberry Yogurt.

Looks beautiful doesn’t it? He loved it. My worst nightmare. Greek yogurt, raspberry jam, toasted walnuts and beets. Yes beets. He loves beets. I detest them.

In my last post I discussed how my legs had been extremely painful due to the statin I was prescribed and that since stopping it I was much better. That improvement continues and thankfully my exercise regime is improving daily. Yay! It reinforces that we have to be our own health advocates. I previously knew this but you know how it is, you forget that and you take the advice of others. But we do know our own bodies and we need to listen to them too.

Today was a very tough day for Richard so I decided to be in charge of supper. Tonight’s was from Chef Michael Smith’s 100 of My Favourite Easy Recipes. Both recipes were from this cookbook. We paired it with a Don David Malbec as there was red wine in the sauce.

To my surprise the meal was very good. I had tasted the red wine sauce while it was cooking and did not like the flavour but once it was on the chicken it was delicious. The instructions for the sweet potatoes said to dice them, which I did, but in his picture the sweet potatoes pieces were much bigger. I’ll make them bigger next time.

It’s been a tough day, Teresa. I’m thinking of you.❤️ Take care.

My song choice is not really about my post but Richard played it for me today and I loved it. So peaceful and calming. A beautiful song for when you’re having a rough time.

Be At Peace With Yourself – Bill Fay

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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“Life is not just about the good things or not just about the bad things. It is both. It all depends where you focus your attention.” Ann Marie Aguilar

During the past three months I found it very difficult to focus on the good things and, sad to say, I became a bit of a whiner. Well if I’m really being honest, much more than a bit of a whiner. Not my best winter and not my best quality. During those months I suffered from almost constant pain and cramps in my legs. Worse during the night. It sure wears you down. And I had no idea why. Plus I was so exhausted. Adding to that, over a week ago I had my first shingles vaccine and had quite a reaction. My upper left side pained and itched all the time. Was worse than when I actually had an outbreak of shingles 25 years ago. (But I really had a mild case back then.) Good lord. What else. So that’s the bad things. Here are the good things. I woke up today and the pain from the shingles vaccine was almost gone. Thank goodness. Still incredibly itchy but no pain. And the leg pain? Gone for almost a week now. And the cause? Statin. In November I was put on a cholesterol medication (a statin) and that’s what caused it. As soon as I stopped that medication last weekend the leg pain went away. Boy! Do you ever take good health for granted! I can’t believe the lift in my spirits today. Let’s hope I can remember to focus more on the good things and look on the bright side of life.

We had many projects for this winter. Some were completed and some weren’t. That’s the way it goes. Nothing wrong with that. I’d like to share one with you.

Richard has a typesetter drawer. It’s been stored in the basement and we wanted to find a use for it.

What is a compositor or typesetter drawer?

A type case is a compartmentalized wooden box used to store movable type used in letterpress printing. It was held in the printing shop in a job case, a drawer about 2 inches high, three feet wide, and about two feet deep, with many small compartments for the “sorts” (various letters and ligatures)…Traditionally, the capital letters were stored in a separate drawer, or case, placed above the case holding the other letters (this is why the capital letters are called “uppercase” characters, and the minuscules are “lower case”).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_case

What? What? How could I have been a teacher for 37 years and not know why they were called lower and upper case letters. Unbelievable! I am obviously not an inquisitive person.

So what to do with ours? Being right on the water we’re always walking on the beach and finding shells, sea glass, stones, and yes even skulls. What a perfect way to display our beach treasures. Hung it on the wall, added our little gems, and even added a light to highlight the display. What do you think?

I have a recipe for you today but it’s not from a PEI cookbook. Trying to focus on eating a low cholesterol diet and this recipe, Black Bean and Quinoa Skillet was delicious.

Love this song.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – Monty Python

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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This winter, although we haven’t been eating out, we have been supporting local by ordering in. We’ve had delicious meals from Lone Oak Brewing Company/The Abby in Borden (they make a great burger and I do love a great burger 🍔 ) https://loneoakbrew.com and from Crossings Cafe, also in Borden. Crossings doesn’t have a website but you can find it on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/CrossingsPEI A great addition to Crossings’ menu this winter has been their homemade pizza 🍕- lots of variety, reasonably priced, and very tasty. What a nice treat. Order and then pick up. Yum 😋.

This past Sunday was our first time going out to eat this winter. We went to Crossings for breakfast. I love their Breakfast Sandwich and they even have gluten free buns. They have so many delicious treats: homemade bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, cookies, muffins, and then all their meals. If you haven’t been then you must go.

I don’t usually review the cookbooks where I get my weekly recipes but Prince Edward Island Memories by Laurie Brinklow was just too cute. (and available from the PEI Provincial Library)

It’s a tiny book but chalk full of many fascinating tidbits and absolutely stunning artwork by Hannelore Kennedy. The book begins with a brief history of PEI followed by information on Charlottetown, the Birthplace of Confederation. Throughout the book there are the recipes of course, but also included are interesting Featured Pages i.e. The Acadians, Confederation Trail, The Japanese Connection, and The Land of Anne, to name a few. It concludes with a PEI Historical Timeline followed by Annual Festivals and Events (some of which I’m sure have changed over the years but were relevant when the book was published). Just the sweetest little recipe book. Well worth a look.

When I saw it included the recipe, Kinkora Potato Soup, I just had to make it. Kinkora is very close to where I live and PEI does grow the best potatoes 🥔😊 Another good way to support local.

I wanted something to go with the soup and as I’d been wanting to try this Cornmeal Cake recipe I decided that today was the day. I’ve previously posted recipes from this cookbook Acadian Pictorial Cookbook and it’s also available from the PEI Provincial Library.

I certainly couldn’t make a potato recipe and not include Bud the Spud as my music selection. Years ago when my grade six music classes did projects on Canadian musicians they contacted them for information. Many musicians didn’t respond, some responded with only where to purchase their CDs, but Stompin’ Tom sent them his book, posters, and a CD. Says a lot about him. The kids were impressed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stompin’_Tom_Connors

In Skinner’s Pond, PEI there’s the Stompin’ Tom Centre. Check out https://welcomepei.com/feature/stompin-tom-centre/ And https://stompintomcentre.com/

Bud the Spud – Stompin’ Tom

Stay safe and healthy.

Forgot to mention we got our first Shingles vaccine last week. And although our arms were sore and we felt out of sorts for two days I’m thankful we got it. How great is it that the PEI government offers this vaccine free to those over 65. Good work PEI. Glad I live here.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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I don’t know how much soul I bring to recipes. I guess that happens when you have a love of cooking. And there are lots of amazing people who absolutely love cooking. Me? Not so much. I don’t love it. I do it but it doesn’t fill me with an intense joy. I like it when I have a reason, like the blog, to do it.

I do love entertaining, although there’s not been very much of that happening the past two years. What do I love about it? I love planning, creating a menu, researching recipes, organizing the serving dishes, making a centerpiece, creating a beautiful table, etc. And yes, I even love the cleaning. It gives me great satisfaction. 😉😉 And Richard always picks lovely dinner music. Quite often Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong or John Coltrane.

Now one would think I’m entertaining tonight. Nope. Just us. But I am trying a new recipe, Poached Cod.

Cod is popular as a food with a mild flavour and a dense, flaky, white flesh. In the United Kingdom, Atlantic cod is one of the most common ingredients in fish and chips.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod

For more information on the Newfoundland cod fishery: https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/economy/moratorium-impacts.php

It’s not been a great week, with a friend’s death, and then Russia invading the Ukraine. Too much turmoil. So for my recipe I chose a quickie. A quick recipe and a quicker salad – a bagged salad with added pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and cranberries.) Paired with a Moscow Mule.

The cod recipe was from the Acadian Pictorial Cookbook. Richard loves cod. The cookbook photo is the Grand Pre National Historic Site.

Grand-Pré is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to “Great/Large Meadow” and the community lies at the eastern edge of the Annapolis Valley several kilometres east of the town of Wolfville on a peninsula jutting into the Minas Basin surrounded by extensive dyked farm fields, framed by the Gaspereau and Cornwallis Rivers. The community was made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow‘s poem Evangeline and is today home to the Grand-Pré National Historic Site.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand-Pr%C3%A9,_Nova_Scotia

Information about the Acadians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadians

This area of Nova Scotia holds fond memories. My alma mater, Acadia University, https://www2.acadiau.ca/home.html is in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. What great years they were.

I couldn’t cook cod and not include a Newfoundland song.

I’s the B’y – Great Big Sea

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.” B.K.S. Iyengar

Working on complete harmony is a continuous journey.

Body: In the past I always tried to exercise every day incorporating cardio 🏃‍♀️, strength training 🏋️‍♀️, and yoga🧘‍♀️. This fall I tore a calf muscle and worse yet I had issues with what seemed like every muscle in my other leg because I had been overcompensating with it. (Getting old is no fun.) Off to Physio every week this winter and making great progress but still not 100%. I am a good student. I follow her instructions and exercises to a tee but my regular exercise regime has been less intense and at times nonexistent. Accepting that reality was difficult but necessary. My legs let me know when I do too much. Finally these past few weeks I’ve been able to increase my time and speed on the treadmill. I’m trying not to push it as I don’t want to regress. Heathy eating also comes in to play and thus today’s recipe.

Mind: Reading is something I love. It’s great that I can order books📚 online from the PEI library and then check them out at the local library. I’m a ‘book in my hands’ kind of person📖. I love to hold a physical book and turn the pages. There’s a certain joy I feel. The weight of the book, the texture, and the flipping of the pages give me a sense of satisfaction I don’t receive from online reading. I also love a physical newspaper 🗞, mostly because I love doing one of their crossword puzzles every morning. I used to buy the Saturday paper and limit myself to one puzzle every morning but this winter I get the paper online. I could buy crossword books but that just doesn’t feel the same. Once in a while I do get a ‘real’ paper. In addition I’ve joined the ranks of the many and do Wordle every morning. Besides loving doing these sorts of puzzles I figure they’re great mental exercises.

Spirit: Hmmmm. This is a more difficult one. Doing small improvements 🧰 around the house lifts my spirit. Even something as mundane as touching up spots on the walls and the trim. That may seem bizarre but I smile every time I look at them. I’ll often walk out of a room and then back in just to enjoy the results. Richard plays lots of music 💽 and that’s good for the soul. I used to play the piano🎹 and sing 🎶but I’ve fallen off and need to return to it. This blog is good for both my spirit and my mind. It gives me a weekly focus. I especially enjoy the research aspect: searching multiple cookbooks for suitable recipes and making them, discovering applicable quotes and music selections, and then finally putting it all together. Like a lot of people a hair cut 💇🏼improves my spirit. Maybe part of that is the head massage💆. On Sundays I often do some baking while listening to Elaine Paige on Sunday on BBC Radio 2. It features music and news from stage and screen productions🎭. Love this show and love to sing along with the songs. 🥰

As I briefly mentioned earlier healthy eating is important. Am I the greatest at this? Nope. I have a sweet tooth. But I try. On the healthy eating side 🍽 vegetarian meals are included at least twice a week. Sometimes it’s simply a salad 🥗 with maybe a hard boiled egg 🥚and other times it’s from a recipe. Today’s recipe, Tomato Chickpea Stew, is from the cookbook Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen.

I googled songs about chickpeas never expecting to find one but low and behold I found this one. Although it’s actually about hummus, hummus is made from chickpeas. A little bit of fun to lift your spirit.

The Hummus Song (Give Chickpeas a Chance) – Techiya

I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this.

Give Peace a Chance – John Lennon

To Carolyn, who embodied today’s quote, RIP. You are loved and you are missed. Onward with your new journey sweetie. ❤️

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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The oak is the strongest tree in the forest, but the willow bends and adapts. When the fires and storms hit, it is the willow that survives.
Kara Barbieri

Adapting can play a part in our lives in many ways. The ability to adapt is important. Without it we may find ourselves stuck in situations and unable to change or enjoy new experiences. I must admit I don’t react well to change. At least not immediately. Springing something on me never sits well with me. But give me some time to think about it, weigh the pros and cons, and get used to the idea, then I usually can accept it and go with it. And with change comes growth.

Seeing that it’s Valentine’s Day we made dinner together, ahhhh, using a recipe from a PEI cookbook. Richard borrowed the book from the PEI Library and found this recipe.

We had the ADL cheese. https://www.adlfoods.ca, love to support local products and a white wine. (Sorry we didn’t have a local white.)

Here’s where today’s adapting came into play. We bought fresh gnocchi instead of making it. We substituted oyster mushrooms for the chanterelle mushrooms. The grocery stores didn’t carry them. I have no idea what chanterelle mushrooms taste like but the oyster mushrooms were delicious. They added a nice ‘meatiness’ to the dish. We didn’t have fresh basil so we used dried.

This was our first time making this recipe and we both loved it. We will definitely be having this again. A tasty vegetarian dish. We try to have at least two vegetarian dishes a week.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“I Am Changing “from Dream Girls – Jennifer Hudson

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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Hold fast the time! Guard it, watch over it, every hour, every minute! Unregarded it slips away, like a lizard, smooth, slippery, faithless, a pixy wife. Hold every moment sacred. Give each clarity and meaning, each the weight of thine awareness, each its true and due fulfillment. Thomas Mann

This spoke to me. I feel it’s what we should do but often don’t. So busy doing things that we don’t take the time to savour the moments. I’m not the best at doing this. I need to. Life is busy and often throws us curve balls but we should, as he says, hold every moment sacred.

A dear friend and former colleague does just that. She is the strongest, most amazing person I know. No matter the curve balls sent her she faces them with strength, determination, and a never ending belief in the power of positivity and love. She is a warrior. She is love. ❤️ She holds every moment sacred. I admire her so much.

I love this. To me it displays the many depths of love.

I’m in quite a reflective mood today. I’m sending lots of positivity and love to Brenda in England wishing her a speedy recovery and also to Carolyn who continues to inspire me.

Seasons of Love from Rent

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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“One fool at least in every married couple.” Henry Fielding

Not me. 🤪

So why am I talking about fools today? Oh I don’t mean human fools. Although in the world’s present state there are quite a few of them. I’ll leave that one alone. I’m talking about food. In the lovely British cookbook I received for a Christmas gift there’s a recipe for Raspberry Fool. Now Richard made Gooseberry Fool a few years ago so I decided to try this recipe ‘cause if he could do it then I can do it, right? And who doesn’t love raspberries and whipped cream.

My first question to him was,”Why is it called a fool?” He had no idea so of course I had to research and find out. That happens quite often. We’ll hear about something or someone and I’m straight to Google to find out. Just the way I am.

So what is a fool?

Google found it.

According to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_fool

A fool is an English dessert. Traditionally, fruit fool is made by folding pureed stewed fruit (classically gooseberries) into sweet custard . Modern fool recipes often skip the traditional custard and use whipped cream.

Various other sites say that the name of this delicate dessert actually comes from the French word fouler, meaning to press or crush, referring to the crushed fruits that are gently folded into thick cream.

But Wikipedia (if it’s correct) states:

Why the word “fool” is used as the name of this fruit dessert is not clear. Several authors derive it from the French verb fouler meaning “to crush” or “to press”… but this derivation is dismissed by the Oxford English Dictionary as baseless and inconsistent with the early use of the word.

Sorry. I didn’t make the Almond Biscuits. 😢 I’ll save that for another day. 😋 I figured Raspberry Fool was enough dessert for us. Not foolish enough to make two desserts.

The recipe said it serves four, which I thought would be great – two today and two tomorrow. We don’t often have dessert so this would be such a treat. And what a treat! It was delicious. 😋 As it made a large amount and was very rich I think it could easily have made six or more servings. I guess it would depend on how large your main meal was and the size of your sweet tooth. 😉 If I make it again I’ll try substituting yogurt for half the whipped cream to make it a bit healthier. See how that works.

Who knew there were so many musical choices using the word fool. Choices, choices, and more choices. But seriously how could I not choose this one.

Fool on the Hill – The Beatles

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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“All I really need is a song in my heart, food in my belly, and love in my family.” Raffi

Isn’t that the best? And so true. Something to remember on a day like today. Nothing more needs to be said.

Can you believe it? Another weekend snow storm. We’ve certainly had our share this winter. I really don’t mind them as long as we don’t lose power. I get a peaceful feeling knowing I can’t go anywhere and just snuggle in for the day.

But I didn’t actually snuggle in today. After my workout I tackled painting a wooden cabinet. It was dark brown and I wanted it white. Primed it yesterday so needed to get at it today and finish. Got two coats on but I am way too particular. I wasn’t satisfied with the look so tomorrow I’ll give it a light sand and another coat of paint. Why are my projects always more time consuming than I imagine. Maybe it’s because I see a picture in my head of how I want it to look and then reality never lives up to my expectations. That’s definitely an issue I have. Need to work on that. Thanks goodness for music. Music sure makes work much more enjoyable, especially Broadway tunes. My favs. And then it’s there again when I’m totally exhausted. What would we ever do without music. 🎶

Today’s recipes are from Courtney Hogan’s 🎶 PEI cookbook.

Overall the recipes were easy to follow but in hindsight I should have read the recipes completely before I chose what to have for dinner. The pork sauce and the glazed carrots and parsnips were too similar. Now I have quite a sweet tooth but both recipes were too sweet for me. Richard said he’d have them again. But I won’t be making them together.

Wagon Wheel – Fiddler’s Sons and Courtney Hogan

Peaceful Easy Feeling – Eagles

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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