A Life, Lived

Hallowe'en 2021

Hallowe'en 2020 was a dismal affair. Essentially it was banned because of COVID.

This year, even though COVID is still with us, with a high rate of vaccination the decision was made by public health authorities to have a COVID friendly Hallowe'en.

People still took precautions - children were encouraged to travel in small groups, not shout or get too excited.

Those of us who have been children or around children shook our heads at that direction. Imagine telling kids to not get excited or shout on Hallowe'en   . . . not happening!

Generally Hallowe'en is a bit of a rush for us. You know the routine -r ace home from work, carve pumpkins, get set up, make dinner, hand out candies. In fact, I used to take half a day as a action day in the past although that was pretty impossible the last few years. Retired jerry has all the time in the world. LOL

It helped that Hallowe'en fell on a weekend this year. The available time increased dramatically.

We pulled the decorations out a couple of weeks ago. We used almost all of 'em.

One of our neighbours chided me for using my pension to buy Hallowe'en decor. I laughed and said we hadn't bought a thing we just had things in storage for many years.

During the day we carved the pumpkins . . . and did the bad pet owner thing of dressing up the cats.

Beckett tolerated it the most. Then again, as a senior kitty he pretty much tolerates anything!

Because of COVID we set up at the end of the driveway. That way we didn't have crowds in a tight space by the door. We handed out the treats and ensured that a bunch of random kids weren't rifling through the bowl of treats.

Yes, those ARE Hallowe'en wine glasses (thank you Carolyn) and we kept them filled with a nice Pinot Noir throughout the evening.

Most of our neighbours had a similar set up.

It was a lovely night. People were so happy to be out. The kids had a good time. People interacted safely. We met people on our street we didn't know (we've lived here for 18 years. LOL)

In fact, we thought it was one of the best Hallowe'ens ever.

At 7:30 we sorted of closed up and moved indoors.

Kids were still coming around but we were hungry!

Our traditional Hallowe'en dinner is a chill and cream cheese dip followed by a bowl of chili over hot buttered noodles. This year I added some home made pretzel bites which were a happy addition. Dessert was a couple of appropriately themed cookies from a local bakery.

All in all it was a lovely evening.

I hope that you had a good Hallowe'en as well.

Rolo Pretzel Bites

I’m a big fan of fancy desserts.

BUT… there are times when you just need something quick, easy and still delicious!

That’s the kind of recipe I have for you today.

In fact, I have a hard time even calling it a “recipe”, when it only has three ingredients…

Rolo (store bought chocolate/caramel candies), pretzels and M and Ms.

Bottom line, if you just threw those three things in a bowl it would be pretty yummy!

For these tasty treats, all you have to do is lay the pretzels on a baking sheet. Top each pretzel with an unwrapped Rolo candy.

Bake in the oven at 250*F for 4-5 minutes (no longer).

When you remove them from the oven, the Rolo will still be in the same shape as when it went in the oven. Place a M and M on top of the Rolo and press down a bit.

Top each of the Rolo with one M and M.

Place the entire baking sheet in the freezer for about 5-7 minutes to allow the Rolo to cool. Of course, if you live in  deep freeze like we do in Canada just place outside for until set.

Remove from freezer and enjoy! Or place in a container to enjoy later.  These will last several days- probably more, but they’ve never lasted that long in our house!

These are so delicious!  A great sweet-salty combo.

Enjoy!

Peep Art

 

 

It’s that time of year again. All the supermarkets in the States are stocked with pastel colored marshmallow bunnies and chicks. Most people call these “peeps” and whether they end up in someone’s Easter basket or in someone’s desk for snacking; they always seem to be very popular. They’ve been brightening springtime for over a half century.

They have entered popular culture to the extext that they have become a new art form with galleries and respected publications sponsoring peeps art creation contests across the US. Here are some of the ones I thought were interesting this year:

 

Rick Rants - Negative Politics

Love this one . . .

Canada Day Quiz Answers

I had more than a few folks suggest that this year's quiz was more challenging than previous editions. Not sure about that, it wasn't planned . . . perhaps it is just the quetsions that popped into my mind. Anyway, without further blathering . . . here are the answers.

1. Who was the first Canadian in space?

Marc Garneau

2. Which hockey star's suspension led to days of riots in Montreal?

Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard

3. Name the Canadian physician, medical innovator, and Chinese national hero best known for his service in the Spanish Civil War and the Sino-Japanese Wars.

Norman Bethune

4. In 1980, Terry Fox set out to run across Canada to raise money for what disease?

Cancer

5. Officially credited with 72 victories, this First World War flying ace recently became the namesake of Toronto's island airport.

Billy Bishop

6. In the 1960s, Canadians Ernest McCulloch and James Till were the first to demonstrate the existence this type of cell, capable of differentiating itself into a diverse range of specialized cell types.

Stem Cells

7. Name the American slave who fled to Canada and established a community for fugitive slaves near Dresden, Ont., and who is said to have inspired the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Josiah Henson

8. Appointed in 1999, who was Canada's first Governor General to be a member of a visible minority?

Adriene Clarkson

9. What colour must Canada Number 1 maple syrup be?

Canada No. 1 maple syrup is usually intended for table use and is divided into colour classes extra light, light and medium. This classification of syrup is the palest coour and generally has the mildest flavour as well.

10. Who was the first Canadian chef to win Iron Chef America?

Susur Lee

11. What Canadian province is home to more than 100 cheesemakers?

Quebec

12. Which Canadian artist or band was the first to take the number 1 spot on Billboard's Top 100?

Paul Anka

13. In what year did the Canadian dollar reach its highest-ever value against the U.S. dollar since the Bank of Canada's founding in 1935?

2007

14. In what year was Canada added to China's list of approved tourist destinations?

2009

15. Which Canadian city became the world's first to use the 9-1-1 emergency response number in 1959?

Winnipeg

16. Which former Quebec premier would allegedly buy votes using whiskey, food and appliances?

Maurice Duplessis

17. On the list of top 10 countries, ranked by land mass, what spot belongs to Canada?

We're number 2

18. In what year did slavery become illegal in Canada?

1834

19. When did the maple leaf become the official emblem of the Canadian flag?

1965

20. In what year did Canada adopt the $ 1 coin (also known as the 'loonie')?

1987

21. In what bay are the highest tides in the world experienced?

Bay of Fundy

22. Which prime minister, accused of public drunkenness after vomiting during election debates, claimed: "I get sick sometimes not because of drink or any other cause, except that I am forced to listen to the ranting of my honourable opponent.

Sir John A. MacDonald

23.What was the name given to the victims of a scheme that saw several thousand orphaned children falsely determined to be mentally ill by the government of Quebec, and confined to psychiatric institutions?

Duplessis orphans

24. What three oceans border Canada?

Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific

25. What was the name of the war that saw the United States attack and invade Canada, only to be defeated at the hands of the British and Canadian troops.

War of 1812. Interestingly, American history students are taught the the US won the war - strange when they invaded Canada and left without gaining any additional territory at all. Instead, Canadian and British troops captured Washington and burned the White House to the ground.

Come back on Sunday for the 4th of July US Trivia quiz!

English Buttercrunch Toffee

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

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I unplugged the Kitchen Aid and let its engine cool down - it has had quite a work out over the past few days! Apparently we've made 32 different types of cookies and squares over the past two weeks. WHEW

I delivered the 16 dozen cookies and squares to the successful bidders in our silent auction at work. They raised $ 120 for the charity so I was happy with that.

Tonight after dinner Paul looked at me and said 'I don't know why I am so exhausted.'

Ummmmm . . .

Our work wasn't done though! Today we turned our attention to candy. First I made a double recipe of David Lebovitz's Caramelized Matzoh Crunch with Chocolate - a favourite of Paul's sister. While it was baking in the oven I whipped up a batch of toffee. This toffee is easy - it was this recipe that cured me of my fear of making candy (I still haven't managed fudge though - how silly is that?)

If you like a hard toffee with a hint of vanilla you'll purr over this!

Enjoy!

English Buttercrunch Toffee

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter; (no substitutes)
3 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate squares
3/4 c finely chopped pecans

Combine sugar, butter, water, salt, and vanilla in a medium sized, heavy duty saucepan. Cook over medium high heat to 310 degrees on a candy thermometer, stirring constantly. Pour into a foil lined and buttered 9X13 pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the toffee. Allow to sit for about five minutes. Spread the chocolate evenly on top of the toffee, sprinkle with nuts. Cool and break into pieces.

Makes about 1 1/4 lb.

Caramelized Matzoh Crunch with Chocolate

a gratuitous self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest.

Our photo is currently number 14 13  (woo hoo) out of 464 photos.

You can vote by clicking here

Remember a 10 is good!

Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!

*smile*

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I don't know about you but since I became an adult (I think it finally hit me a few months back) Christmas has become a lot of work. The past few weeks have been a blurr of shopping, cleaning, decorating, baking, and planning. I am always amazed at how much gets packed into such a short period of time!

It is at times like this that I look for recipes like this one, simple, readily accessible ingredients, and destined to wow anyone lucky enough to try a sample. In fact, the most complex part for a non-Jewish guy like me was to find the Matzoh! I am so glad I got in touch with Judaism enough to find it in the kosher food section of the store.

This recipe was posted by the chef, author, food blogger, and all around nice guy David Lebovitz. Now before you go all over me about copyright you should know that I asked for permission to post this recipe and he gave it (hence the all around nice guy comment).

This is the story of how to turn 6 simple ingredients

into a fabulous treat.

 

4 to 6 sheets of matzoh
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted or salted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup (firmly-packed) light brown sugar
optional: fleur de sel, or coarse sea salt
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, or coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Line a 11" x 17" baking sheet completely with foil (making sure it goes up the sides) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line the bottom of the sheet completely with matzoh, breaking extra pieces as necessary to fill in any spaces.

In a medium-sized heavy duty saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar and cook over medium heat until the butter begins to boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and pour over matzoh, spreading with a heatproof utensil.

Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the syrup darkens and gets thick. (While it's baking, make sure it's not burning. If so, reduce the heat to 325 degrees.)

Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips or chunks. Let stand 5 minutes, then spread smooth with an offset spatula.

Sprinkle withfleur de sel or coarse salt, then scatter the toasted almonds over the top and press them into the chocolate.

Let cool completely (you may need to chill it in the refrigerator), then break into pieces and store in an airtight container until ready to hand out to anyone you feel is truly deserving of an extra special treat.