Monday, October 27, 2014

Champagne Monday






The leftover champagne in the fridge was the only reason I tried this recipe. Flipping through one of my favourite magazines, House Beautiful-Sept 2014, I came across Champagne Chicken Veronique, and except for the tarragon part,(I used sage) it sounded good and easy. The recipe calls for shallots but we have a cellar full of onions so that is what I used. The combination of red grapes, champagne and cream is so good that the plates were licked clean. And the chicken breasts, sauted in butter, were so buttery and tender that I had to remind myself that they were chicken breasts.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Sunday walk






















Our Sunday walk took us right past the cenotaph so we stopped for a few minutes of respectful silence.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Saturday company






While I slaved away all afternoon making three pans of Yukon Gold Cinnamon Buns, our company napped in the backyard and then sauntered around feasting on all the goodies that he could find.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Friday night







The neighbour surprised us with a great bottle of Italian wine. Went really well with the pizzas from Bold.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Carrot cake





Carrot cake has been one of our favourite cakes for years; we were given a freshly-baked carrot cake and the pan plus the recipe and carrot seeds as a wedding gift. Over the years I have used the same recipe; it's great but I wanted to make a carrot cake that was different but just as good.



So I searched high and low looking for the best carrot cake recipe. I read all the reviews and decided on one. What's different about this one? The recipe I chose uses less oil and more carrots, plus the shredded carrots are marinaded in brown sugar for an hour. And this recipe calls for crushed pineapple and double the cinnamon. Can't go wrong with that.

 
Both of these cakes have one big thing in common. The one ingredient that you must add when baking, no matter what you are baking. A big glug of love, as Jamie would say.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Just the two of us






Just the two of us for lunch today at the fountain.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Big boots





Yes, this is a not very good photo of hiking boots worn by Chris Czajkowski at her slide show. The room was half full but there were plenty of oohs and aahs and laughter as we were transported, through her pictures and words, to the wild and beautiful wilderness that she calls home.
Can't wait to get into her latest book which she so kindly signed for me.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Picnic lunch














It was cool and overcast and all the benches were wet from this morning's rain, but still more enjoyable to eat lunch amid the still-vivid colours of the garden round the fountain.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

The Mac





The best pies are made with MacIntosh Apples,



not Spartans.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Very, very spicy ribs






Love ribs but these were so spicy that a certain person, who shall remain nameless, was not able to eat them. The recipe is from The Pioneer Woman. The marinade contains, among other things, Dr. Pepper and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The secret to enjoying these spicy ribs; have them cold.
 

Monday, October 6, 2014

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Pumpkin drive









































Surprisingly, we did not buy a pumpkin at Desert Hills Ranch in Ashcroft, (even though they were everywhere,dotting the hills, every surface, even the walkway to the market, pumpkins evenly spaced like an obstacle course) but we loaded the van with apples, winter onions, sweet peppers, and yellow potatoes.




















But at Horsting's Farm in Cache Creek they had the little 'schoolhouse pumpkins' so we brought one of those home to make our traditional pumpkin cookies.