Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader
March 2022 - Front St. West Toronto
We had tickets for an immersive event on Monday but decided against going, too many unmasked people with the number of cases climbing.
The week flew by. The handyman came and flipped the fridge doors with John.
Which led to finally being able to organize the fridge. Baskets were added to freezer to store meat by category. This is before I tidied it a little better. There is plenty of room.
I put my lazy Susan in fridge for salad dressings and it worked.
This meant I had to make a trip to the $ store to replace the baskets I took from the hall closet so that got tidied out on Friday. I found a single lazy Susan for the fridge so I could put my double one back in the cupboard.
I am amazed that this fridge is a lot bigger than the old one.
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Handyman also fixed plug for dishwasher, if and when we find one.
Plumber came to update piping for dishwasher and washer/dryer (coming Monday). We didn't have him reconnect so there will be a lot of laundry next week. John picked up a new metal vent for the dryer, we had the plastic one and it was old.
Old but still running washer/dryer. At least they didn't die on us in the middle of a load. They were here when we moved in and served us well.
We stepped out on Wednesday for a burger, becoming a habit every other Wednesday.
Holy Smokes! I had found gluten free Holy Cannoli on Facebook and we went to check it out. Big mistake, these are delicious!
I "borrowed" this photo of the owner who served us from her website. We tried all her flavours except cookies and cream which would have gluten.
The week passed in a series of chores and organizing. John had physio, two trips to the $ store, I did go downtown shopping one morning, repotted a few plants that needed to be moved up to a another level.
I also got us our 2nd booster shot appointments. The city is lagging behind in its 3rd shots, not sure why people aren't getting them.
WATCHING
We finished the Holby Blue series.
I finished Bridgerton 2 and enjoyed it more than season 1.
I'm still working on Great British Menu, I saw the Christmas 2020 series where the veteran chefs competed to cook at a Christmas banquet for front line workers, all menu items were Christmas themed.
The regular 2020 series theme is children's books from the competitors' locales.
2021 theme was inventions from their locations and 2022 was a tribute to 100 years of the BBC.
Together we watched Suffragette, a 2015 British historical drama film about women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. The film stars Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Whishaw, and Meryl Streep. It is the first feature film to be shot in the Houses of Parliament.
We also watched the series Pieces of Her, an American thriller drama streaming television series created by Charlotte Stoudt, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Karin Slaughter.
I watched Profile, a 2018 thriller film based upon the non-fiction book In The Skin of a Jihadist by Anna Erelle.
In order to investigate the recruitment of a young European women by ISIS, journalist Amy Whittaker creates a new Facebook profile under the alias of Melody Nelson. She creates a persona online of a woman who has recently converted to Islam.Soon Amy is contacted by Bilel, an ISIS fighter from Syria. They begin to talk to each other regularly and after some time she begins to develop real romantic feelings for him.
Great premise, but it is a letdown as you start saying "really"?? I was so tense as she flipped from computer window to window as she Skyped with Bilel, why didn't she close those other applications with her boyfriend etc?
COOKING
Interesting article in Food and Wine - 18 Dishes Every Home Cook Should Know How to Make. Between John and I we can do most of these or have done them at least once. I have bought a spatchcocked chicken but never done it myself.
I have really no desire to make fresh pasta. I have never made sushi rice but it is not hard. Never made black bean dip, but made other dips so not sure what is so special about that.
How about you?
Saturday chicken divan this recipe has been in my recipe box since forever! BUT this time I used sour cream instead of the soup and it was delicious!
Sunday roast beef, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and potato mash, homemade onion gravy. Leftovers ( - sprouts) made a small pot of soup.
Monday homemade Bolognese sauce and spaghetti with garlic bread
Tuesday oven roasted haddock roast potatoes and carrots
Wednesday lunch out so salad for dinner
Thursday pork chops mashed cauliflower and potatoes beans
Friday steak garlic bread and sautéed green peppers and onions
READING
If you like Sherlock Holmes check out the virtual exhibit at the Toronto Public Library.
I finished the Gracelin O'Malley trilogy, I thought the third one was a little extreme on the adventures of everyone. Glad I read it though.
The Other Side of the Door by Nicci French was a welcome relief/escape from Gracelin. The storyline was good until towards the end when it was a little hard to believe.
Started Young Mungo (7 day loan) and I'm finding the plot a little too predictable.
Thanks to Tina I found 5 Ingredient Suppers at the library.
Tips
Spray cheese grater with nonstick cooking spray before grating cheese.
To cut meatball prep time in half: Roll the uncooked meat mixture into logs and cut each log into equal slices, then roll each slice into a ball. Cook the meatballs as usual.Instead of discarding kale stems, try using them in pesto: Simply replace half the basil called for in your recipe with an equal amount of kale stems. Your food processor will transform the stems into a smooth sauce that gives the pesto a slightly earthier flavor and a healthy dose of nutrients.
Since I was "at" the library, I also e-flipped through Delish Quarterly Super Easy Pastas. There is a good review of 20+ gluten free pastas.
I also flipped thru
I never thought about putting a lazy Susan in the refrigerator, but it's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad you liked the Gracelin O'Malley series. We in our book club loved book one. I heard mixed things about the two subsequent books. I have this series, so I may give it a try.
You will have to share with us your thought about the second booster. I'm eager to hear.
Cauliflower rice sounds good.
ReplyDeleteThe lazy Susan is a great idea, but what to do with the existing door shelves then?
ReplyDeleteIf you don't do a lot of washing or sometimes dry using a clothes horse, we are very happy with our combined washer/dryer. It varies a lot but we would probably average five loads a week of washing, one load dried in the machine and towels fluffed for a short time.
There is a people lag here too for the first booster. I think we can get our second now. I must find out.
This fridge has less door space than my other. The door shelves are still full of condiments and stuff!
DeleteI've only used those combined washer/dryer overseas and didn't like them. Salesman also said they take too much time.
Your new and prospective new appliances look great. Lucky that you could flip that door.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
That lazy Susan idea is brilliant. Those cannoli look sooooo good. Now I'm thinking of picking some up when I shop this coming week.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I haven't cooked myself from that list is homemade french fries -- I've made oven fries, but not the deep-fried kind. I've made pasta, but, frankly, I'm just as happy to buy it fresh or dried.
I'll have to look for 5-Ingredient Suppers and that Cooking Light issue at my library
I love the lazy Susan idea so much that I just ordered two more. Another for the fridge and one for the cupboard with the bottles of oils and vinegars.
DeleteI think I missed a post. Why did the doors need to be flipped?
ReplyDeleteBaskets for different meats = genius. I will get some at the $ store.
I think I've only made like 7 of those 18 essential foods. lol One thing I do NOT know how to do and would like to learn is how to deep fry stuff, like french fries, fried chicken, etc. I've always done oven fried chicken, only because I don't know how to fry it in a pan on the stove. I'm intimidated by hot grease.
The door needed to be flipped so it would open outward from the kitchen, otherwise it meant I had to go into the hall to get stuff out. Do I make sense?
DeleteIf you don't like dee frying (and I don't like hot grease either) buy yourself an air fryer, absolute genius, doesn't need any oil to deep fry.
Great idea on the lazy Susan in the fridge and I like the basket idea as well. I keep a list on the side of the fridge about what is inside the freezer.
ReplyDeleteThanks much for the mention about the magazine and linking to me. I ended up taking the photo down as some people thought I ought to access magas online. I can't :-)
The fridge is nice, great the door issue was handled and Hell Yes ot those gluetn free canolis!!
I took a similar survey about foods one should know how to cook. I had made all but a few of the dishes, but some of them I did very badly. Ha!
ReplyDeleteyum to the cannoli! we bought a new fridge a couple of years ago and love it. we call it the miracle fridge cos nothing ever seems to go off!
ReplyDeleteI have heard from many people that the second season of Bridgerton is better than the first.
ReplyDeleteThose cannoli look amazing.
ReplyDeleteI have never spatchcocked a chicken myself or made black bean dip. Don't feel like i am missing out there though!