Nothing like a brisk, cold, northern wind smacking you in the face to get you into the mood for soup.

I have been in soup mode since our Thanksgiving a month ago and have already made and ate several hundred bowls of home made turkey soup, squash soup and tomato mushroom soup.  This time though I had a hankering for barley…. but alas, no beef or beef stock to make it out of.  Since I am the queen of kitchen improv, I utilized the last of my turkey stock along with a mittenful of mushrooms.

The result?

Fantastic if I … Read more...

The days are screaming by faster than you can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

At least it seems that way to me.  I can’t believe how busy I have been this week, hardly having any time to sit down and play with the loom since getting the warp tied on.  At this rate I will be a pro when I am 95.

For those looking for some fun this weekend, the Royal Winter Fair ends on Sunday, but you still have 2 good days of spectacular events and tons of things to see and do.  A little bit of country in the city … Read more...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Oh wait..that was last week.  Since we missed it, this weekend hubby and I will be having our turkey dinner with all the fixin’s as we were away last weekend enjoying an exhaust-filled couple days of car racing.  Which, by the way, was simply fantastic.  The weather was beautiful, temps in the mid-20’s (in Celsius, that would be mid-70’s Fahrenheit for non-metric folk), and the drive down and back thru the Appalachians in West Virginia was simply stunning.  Do you know how hard it is to drive and sight-see at the same time?  especially on a windy-curvy road … Read more...

One of my all time favourite Ukrainian meal items are Vushka (although we call them Oushka, pronounced ‘oosh-ka’).

These plump, mushroom filled dumplings are usually served with Borscht, placed right into the bowl of soup served with smetana (sour cream) on top.  They are little mushroom filled pillows from heaven and I could eat a plateful (and have been known to) all to myself.

A couple weeks ago my daughter, her husband and myself headed up to visit my Aunt and Uncle who live over 2 hours farther north than the Homestead.  Hence why we made the trip from the … Read more...

This will only be a partial weeks menu as hubby and I are going on a weekend jaunt to the States next week.

Woo-Hoo!  No cooking for me for 5 whole days!!

We are leaving Thursday and will not return until Monday, so restaurant fare will be had every night (there goes all the diet restraint out the window).  As we return on Monday evening (Canadian Thanksgiving Day), we will not be having our usual turkey day either, but hope to squeeze it in over the next week or so.

I bet you are wondering where we are off to….the … Read more...

That is a mouthful.  Figuratively as well as satiatingly…is that even a word?  I must call Webster’s to confirm, but since I made it up and I like it, I am going to use it anyway.  Basically, you will feel just as stuffed from all the stuff stuffed in the squash.

The White Swan Squash is actually an Acorn Squash (aka Pepper Squash) wearing a ghost costume and is only available up until Halloween, then it mysteriously vanishes into the misty night until next Fall.  Ok, major fib there, but it sounded spooky didn’t it?  The only difference from a … Read more...

Halloween is only a month away.  Which means Christmas is 86 days away, which means New Year’s Day is 93 days away.  Which means the first day of Spring is only 171 days away.

Now that you are all freaked out about how soon all these special dates are coming, lets get to some fun Halloween stuff.

I have a recipe for Christmas Pinwheel cookies that is extremely versatile.  I usually just make them at Christmas time, mainly because they can be a tad time consuming to make due to making the dough one day, then baking the next.    So … Read more...