On Monday night, my husband I had a "meeting" to book our next vacation. He still has some vacation time to use up and while we wanted to go somewhere warmer, we weren't enthused about going to the Caribbean during hurricane season. We both have always wanted to see the lights of Vegas (hey, I grew up in a small northern city far from any big cities) and marvel at the wonder of the Grand Canyon. Now it looks like we will do both.
I must admit that I'm a little nervous about it all. Neither of us have been in an airplane since our Honeymoon 23 1/2 years ago. Now we have booked flights with a stopover both ways (4 flights in all!). Up until now, I've always booked our hotels through Expedia mostly. This time we were booking flights, hotel rooms, car rental, theatre tickets (Phantom of the Opera), travel and medical insurance all at once! It was a little overwhelming to say in the least! It actually was quite easy to do on Expedia, but I am still a little anxious and second guessing myself... I'm usually more slower paced and methodical when it comes to vacation planning. We plan to leave in a couple of weeks! Yikes!... I mean Yea! I think.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
More New Foods
5. Shanghai Bok Choy and Baby Bok Choy
Our family tried Baby Bok Choy about a year ago and loved it!!! This time when I went grocery shopping, I bought Shanghai Bok Choy. We loved this one also! I can't say if I noticed a difference between the two, but both are great! This is the recipe that I use.
2 lbs Bok Choy
1 cup chopped bacon
2 cloves garlic
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb sliced leeks
salt and pepper to taste
1. Clean and prepare the bok choy. Set aside in two groups, leaves and stems. (If you cook bok choy too long it becomes bitter. The leaves cook faster than the stems, so I remove the stems and slice them like matchsticks.)
2. In a wok or large skillet, over medium heat add olive oil, chopped garlic, mushrooms, leeks and bacon.
3. When the leeks and mushrooms are about half cooked, add the bok choy stems. Cook for 2 min.
4. Add bok choy leaves and cook for another 2 min. (avoid over cooking the bok choy).
5. Season with pepper and salt to taste.
Serve as a side with rice or rice vermicelli if desired.
6. Fennel and Anise
As far as I can tell, there isn't really any difference between these two. But we love them both. This vegetable has a mild licorice flavour which is really great in a stir fry. I have also found many recipes for fennel on allrecipes.com. One of the best is "Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Fennel".
Our family tried Baby Bok Choy about a year ago and loved it!!! This time when I went grocery shopping, I bought Shanghai Bok Choy. We loved this one also! I can't say if I noticed a difference between the two, but both are great! This is the recipe that I use.
2 lbs Bok Choy
1 cup chopped bacon
2 cloves garlic
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb sliced leeks
salt and pepper to taste
1. Clean and prepare the bok choy. Set aside in two groups, leaves and stems. (If you cook bok choy too long it becomes bitter. The leaves cook faster than the stems, so I remove the stems and slice them like matchsticks.)
2. In a wok or large skillet, over medium heat add olive oil, chopped garlic, mushrooms, leeks and bacon.
3. When the leeks and mushrooms are about half cooked, add the bok choy stems. Cook for 2 min.
4. Add bok choy leaves and cook for another 2 min. (avoid over cooking the bok choy).
5. Season with pepper and salt to taste.
Serve as a side with rice or rice vermicelli if desired.
6. Fennel and Anise
As far as I can tell, there isn't really any difference between these two. But we love them both. This vegetable has a mild licorice flavour which is really great in a stir fry. I have also found many recipes for fennel on allrecipes.com. One of the best is "Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Fennel".
Making Progress
Now we're actually able to move around in 2 out of 3 rooms in the basement. Our progress is clearly visible. On Saturday we spent another hour down in the dungeon and removed another 10 bags of stuff... 3 garbage bags, boxes of religious books of my Dad's, old sports equipment, some unused craft items, bag of clothes, boots... etc. Why on earth do we hold on to that stuff??? It's amazing me at how quickly we can actually get rid of it if we don't allow our emotions to get in the way. Anyway, more of it is gone and I feel soooo much better!
Decluttered 46 bags so far ... aiming for 50!
Decluttered 46 bags so far ... aiming for 50!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
8 bags worth... GONE!
On Saturday, my husband, son, and I were able to tackle some more cleaning in the basement. This time ... the tool section... scattered all over the floor... duplicates, triplicates... etc. Not any more. They are neatly put away back on the shelves or hanging from the wall. Surplus, outdated / antique tools have been donated. Are we foolish?... Maybe. But now there is room to actually walk on the floor... that has gotta be worth something!
Decluttered 36 bags so far ... aiming for 50!
Decluttered 36 bags so far ... aiming for 50!
Yeah! It's Done!
Yup... it's finally done. Actually, this Comfort Quilt has been completed for nearly two weeks... all except for the label, that is. We were encouraged to put a personal message on the label and I just needed time to ponder what to say. I finally got my inspiration from a baby card I saw in the drug store while hunting for an anniversary card for friends. The wording is not exactly the same, but I liked the idea of tying in how baby quilts can be used to bring comfort. I got around to sewing it on this afternoon... just in time for the Kempenfelt Quilter's Guild meeting tomorrow night!
Goal # 26 of 50 Completed!
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