Today’s Groceries

I haven’t lost any weight in the past 2 months but have maintained my 25-lbs loss for that period. I’m very happy about that because I’ve traveled in Europe during that time and believe me, I didn’t lose any opportunity to try all the local specialties! And since I came back, I don’t have the feeling I didn’t eat exactly what I wanted. So something must be sinking in my brain! But I have another 25 lbs to lose so it’s time to put some extra efforts. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been participating in a Learn Eating and Activity Forever program from the local health unit dietitian; so far it’s been very informative and last week’s cooking demo showed us a few very easy ways to add tasty and healthy food to our daily meals. This week’s groceries are definitely a reflection of what she’s been talking about and I’m all excited about giving it a shot. I already made some fat-free hummus this week and it was a success at the lunch table! Tonight, I prepared a spread of yogurt, low-fat cream cheese and seasoning, I chopped broccoli, onion, carrots and cabbage and will have a cold veggie pita pizza for tomorrow’s lunch. Already looking forward! Isn't that crazy??

Lunch Soup - part 2

Today's use of leftover turkey is a Turkey/rice soup with carrot, topped with garlic croutons and grated parmesan cheese.. A few months back, I purchased at the bulk food store a mixed rice called Aztec Blend (Colusari red rice, brown rice, split peas and amaranth grains), seemed healthy enough and I was waiting for the perfect occasion to try it. Of course, I put too much rice in the soup; it appears I have a problem calculating the proper quantities of rice and pasta per portion...oh well. But the winning ingredient in this soup was once again the Mexican Oregano leaves. I believe I bought it when I was in California last spring and each time I use it, it bring fabulous flavor to the dish. I went on the McCormick's site to find more details and found recipes galore!! I wouldn't have enough week-ends in a year to try all the appetizing dishes I saw there!! And check out their Flavor Pairing section, so much inspiration! I need a bigger spices & herbs cabinet!

Something to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving

My cat! I'm thankful to my friend Ann who had the insight to see that this kitten and I would be a good match, despite my (very!) strong preference for dogs. She was only 4 months old when she joined our household and my 10 y.o. dog didn't really know what to do of her. She was so full of love for him, would follow him everywhere, sometimes clinging to his back legs! Now, I see in her many dog-like behaviors and they always bring a smile to my face. Nita is 7 years old now and I could not imagine how my life would be without her. Definitely empty. Thank you Ann, wherever you may be in your travels. I miss you.

Fleeting Beauty

Beautiful sunset lasted barely 5 minutes. Popham Bay, looking west.

Lunch Soup

With the turkey bones and smoked skin, I made a delicious soup stock this morning. I used half of it to do my lunch soup today and will use the rest for tomorrow's. I put in there some potatoes, butternut squash, lima beans, spinach and some acini di pepe pasta. And of course some turkey meat! I like food with a kick so I added a chipotle pepper to my bowl. When I was putting away the rest in portion sizes, I realized that I forgot to add some smoked sausages from yesterday; no problem, I sliced up some and added to the individual containers.
Already looking forward for my other meals using leftover turkey!

Thanksgiving Turkey

This year, I decided to do a small turkey in the smoker to use my leftover of wood briquette before the winter. Wanting to maximize the space, I added some chorizo and bratwurst sausages and a white fish fillet. The smoker works with moist heat generated from the water basin above the charcoals but below the lower grill. It makes poultry with darker/pinkish meat and very moist. Even the breast is delicious, it just never dries out. The smoked white fish was a first for me; I had a craving for white fish and had dropped by my favorite Jewish deli in Toronto 2 weeks ago but they were closed due to Rosh Hashanah. Luckily, white fish was on sale at Sobey's this week and today was the day for my first experiment. It was quite a success!! Next time, I might put more wood chips earlier to give it a more smokey flavor but it was extremely moist, almost better than at the deli! Tomorrow, I will make some turkey soup, probably a couple kinds and I will use the smoked sausages in them.

Brighton's Popham Bay

Peaceful, quiet and so enjoyable!

How ironic that just as I'm finishing this post, a seadoo and its driver decide to discturb the quietness.

Simply Striking

Such an ideal sunrise, if only the days didn’t bring so much disenchantment.

Europe September 2008 - Ireland

This year, I took the Dublin North Coast tour on my vacation day. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best: gray sky and rain! But I hope the beauty in the landscape is still showing through these pictures.

Europe September 2008 - Germany

In September, I spend 11 days in Europe – mainly for business but my colleague and I were able to squeeze in a few days of vacation. Our last stop was in Heidelberg, Germany and here are some of my best pictures. It took me a while to post as all my pictures were much too big and not web friendly at all. I had to resize them all; I still have the Paris and Dublin ones to do, so stay tuned, more to come!

Booming Brighton!

WOW! 2 new restaurants to open in Brighton this month! Choice Bonanza! Captain George's Fish & Chip and Pizza Factory. Never heard of either but apparently they both have more outlets in Ontario....

Captain George's is having a free taste test this Wednesday; I'll have to drop by to see if their fresh cut fries make the cut! As for the Pizza Factory, wouldn't it be nice if it was was real italian, thin crust, wood-oven baked? Probably just in my dreams.....

Another One Bites the Dust!

Few months ago, I discovered a great restaurant in Colborne, the next village 15 minutes down the road. An authentic Thai restaurant! At first, I was skeptical but when I found out that the owner’s wife was Thai AND was the cook, I was hooked! Unfortunately, I've driven by twice in the past week, and even though the signs are still all there, the restaurant closed and there was nobody in the'r apartment upstair. Hummm, hopefully, they just went on a little holiday and forgot to leave a note on the door…… I certainly hope so but most great places don’t survive too long away from the city crowds. And I would bet that not many locals know about Thai food anyway?