Day Two Hundred and Fifteen - Darren's Poker Night

Dear all,

I was treated to a day off from work today and after a lazy morning got to work immediately in turning the house upside down and baking up a storm ready for Darren's poker night. I had asked D if I had permission to ' go overboard' to which he responded 'yes'. Green light for cooking up a feast!

I don't have many photos of the food ( could be a good thing) as I had so much going on it was hard to have electrical equipment in the kitchen for fear that it would got food particles where it shouldn't get food particles.

I also tried a new snack using some random filo pastry that I had stashed in the freezer. I made a mistake early by cutting into the filo sheets rather than peeling the sheets apart from the main core. I charged on regardless and started to butter the sheets and laying a shrimp onto the pastry and then rolling it up inside.

I put the finished parcels in the oven for 5 minutes or so and [hurrah] it worked, a tasty appetizer that the boys all inhaled.

I made two gigantic pizzas from scratch and everyone started their poker game with full bellies and still continued to snack throughout. I felt my job was done! I also played but after a strong start, got wiped out by Vince after about 90 minutes. I am learning though. Soon I will be a poker champ!

Day Two Hundred and Fourteen - Volley Ball

Dear all,

Another iconic sign that Autumn is here is the start of the Volley Ball League and this year, Darren had kindly signed me up for the season and tonight was the first game of the year.

The league is held at the Pretty River Academy which hosts a superb gym where we would play. I had already suggested to Darren that Volley Ball is not something I excel in for several reasons:

1. I haven't played it before

2. I am short

3. I don't know the rules.

Not a huge disadvantage but enough to make me feel slightly apprehensive prior to the start of the game.

Darren was extremely supportive suggesting that because I am inherently quite 'sporty', I would be fine..

My fears were put to rest seeing a sea of familiar faces at the game: Anna, Nadia, Dave, Erin, Erin and co. We started a warm up 'volley' at which point I proved to my comrades that I had no experience whatsoever and was starting from point zero. Again, everyone was VERY generous in supporting my game to which I was very grateful.

As with all 'team' sports, it is important to realize that despite the fact that everyone [always] ensures you that it is 'relaxed' and 'non-competitive', it never is and the inner warrior tends to be released in everyone playing.

Fortunately there was no 'team picking' so I crept in behind Nadia and Anna where I felt that I could easily *hide* if I got into problems. Again, this plan was thwarted as the games were run on a rotation and so everyone got to play in every position, multiple times.

After a couple of games, I was starting to get the hang of it and even managed to hit the ball. My strength currently seems to lie in 'the serve' but I will endeavor to expand this range of skills next week. Darren and Dave were on fire and displayed strong Volley Ball skills over on another team. I was happy to survive the game unscathed and had all in all had a brilliant evening!

Above several photos to give a feel of the games. It was actually quite difficult to take any pictures as had a limited time frame and the gym was filled with very stark fluorescent lighting. Needless to say I managed to get a few pictures of Darren, Dave and Nadia in action!

Day Two Hundred and Thirteen - Jack O Lantern

Dear all,

It's nearly Halloween and to celebrate, I decided today to carve out my first Jack O'Lantern! As all Brits reading will know, Halloween has nor reached the giddy heights that it has in North America.

Anyone you ask will tell tales of treat-o-treating when younger with a wistful sigh and mischievous glint in their eye. I decided that Darren and I needed a Jack O Lantern so set off for the supermarket and picked up a pumpkin so big that I could barely squash it into my car [$2.99 a pumpkin. Insane pricing]

On arrival home, Darren was also excited by my purchase and we got to work straight away. Some might say that I 'rushed' into the carving, but thankfully Darren was on standby to help out; in fact, he was key to the successful completion of the operation.

Above a video of the initial carving that looks as tricky as it actually is [for a youngling like me]. Darren took over [with gusto] and as soon as the top was lopped off, we scooped out the dozens of delicious seeds from the centre of the pumpkin and the Jack O Lantern was beginning to take shape!

More arm action inside the Lantern.

Below more video footage of the carving.

Darren advised I have a clear idea of what I wanted to carve but again, as I am still very much a 'beginner' I dove straight in with the intention of the face evolving 'naturally'.. In retrospect, I should have researched a design, copied it onto the shell and gone from there.. but you live and learn and the finished pumpkin is not too bad. A good first effort!

And in other news:

1. Here are the pumpkin seeds, now drying and ready for seasoning and the oven. I will keep everyone posted on how they turn out!

Day Two Hundred and Twelve - Oysters

Dear all,

Today Darren surprised me with an evening out in Collingwood. We were originally planning to raid the office for leftover fish and chips and have a secret late night feast on the balcony but the fish and chips were all gone by the time we had returned ( many things can happen in a day) and so we went for Plan B. Before we got to our [original] destination of 'The Beaver and Bulldog' for a couple of pounds of wings, we played the 'unusual' card and found ourselves in 'The Stuffed Peasant' on at 206 Hurontario Street, (705 445 6957) and it was a delight!

We had a FABULOUS impromptu meal at the restaurant. It is relatively new to the High Street and the owner Scott is a good friend of Linda and advocate of all thing local, fresh and of exceptional quality.

And it just so happened that this evening, the special was Oysters...

Having grown up beside the ocean, I really should have [at some point] tried Oysters, but to this day, I had not. Darren revelled in the excitement of my first crack at an Oyster and ordered a dozen on the spot. The Oysters were fresh from Prince Edward's Island the hot spot for sea food in Canada and somewhere that I would love to visit.

Here is a video for my first attempt at eating Oysters and all I can say is that they i

have instantly become one of my favorite things.

My new goal in life is to earn enough money to have Oysters at least once a week! hurrah! I love life goals and especially Lottery Tickets!

Day Two Hundred and Eleven - Bluewater Fish and Chips

Dear all,

Today Darren very kindly invited me to join him and his fellow colleagues for lunch at his office. On the menu today was the classic, Fish and Chips.

The chippy in question is in Stayner and many good reports have been flying in about the place and how good their food is. SO, Darren ordered in a whole bulk of fish and chips for all his staff ( he is a great boss) and kindly invited me to join (Bluewater Fish and Chips, on Highway 26 in Stayner: 705 428 6482) .

I wasn't able to take many photos ( didn't want to embarrass D in front of all his staff) but the fish was very tasty and the chips had survived the car journey (always a gamble) and were authentic 'Fish and Chip Shop' chips and very good.

It was a very nice lunch and set me up for an afternoon of admin ( grrrr ) and pie making ( yay).

And in other news:

1. I have started a 10 minute sketch book! My pledge is to sketch for 10 minutes every day until Christmas.. I will keep everyone posted. Apparently I will improve!

Day Two Hundred and Ten - Apple Pie

Dear all,

Today I tried out a wonderful recipe that Deneen had sent me from Pennsylvania and I had been looking forward to making on my day off.

We still have a load of apples left ( and more to come) so I started out with the pastry by mixing 3 cups of flour, 1 tsp of salt and 1 cup of shortening. I mixed up the ingredients with a fork and gradually added 3/4 cup of cold water that eventually left me with a slightly sticky mixture.

Next, I rolled out the pastry onto a floured board, trying not to touch the dough too much and rolling it out as thin as possible. I then put the pastry into a pie pan and went on to the filling!

This pie is all about the apples, and I cut up a few of our beautiful apples that we have in the laundry room and mixed them [peeled and sliced] up with 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp cinnamon and them filled the crust with the fruit.

I them put more pastry on top of the apples, sealed the crust with water and cut a couple of holes on top as well as sprinkling water and sugar on the surface of the pie. I baked the pie at 400 for 15 minutes and then 350 for around 30 minutes.

And here are the pies in the oven and NOTHING IS GOING WRONG. Apart from the fact that I fell asleep immediately on impact with the sofa so Darren [my hero] valiantly stepped in and saved the pies from becoming a charred mass of pie-debris.

Here is the finished product: A pie. Hurray!

Thank you so much to Deneen for the recipe. I am going to now churn out 12 more pies for the freezer and Darren's work. I am very excited!

And in other news:

1. Our hibiscus has suddenly decided to blossom ( in October) and is looking spectacular!

Day Two Hundred and Nine - Key LIme Pie

Dear all,

Today, I am back in the kitchen after allowing the Thanksgiving dinner to settle for a few days and decided to try my hand at the iconic, Key Lime Pie. This pie is an iconic American dish named after the smaller 'key limes' that are found down in Florida Keys.

Key limes are also known as the Mexican Lime or the West Indies Lime and the variety has been long treasured for its fruit and decorative foliage. They are much smaller than Persian Limes; the green limes are actually the immature fruits that are prized for their acidity.

So, I got to work after having found a [relatively easy looking] recipe on the internet. FYI: I cheated somewhat in that I bought a 'pie crust' from metro but feel that it is key at this stage in my baking career to take 'baby steps' and not to get intimidated by things such a 'pastry'.

Key Lime Pie:

15 graham rackers, crushed (equals 1 cup of crumbs)
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup butter
4 large eggs, yolks only (see the variation below and use the whites too)
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
12 key limes, juiced or 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (3 to 4 regular limes)
2 teaspoons lime zest

1 cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix the crackers, butter and sugar together. Press into a 9” pie dish. Bake for 12 minutes until the pie shell is golden. Or buy one.

Meanwhile beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer until they lighten in color and thicken. Add the condensed milk and ½ of the lime juice, and whisk until combined.

Add the remaining lime juice and the lime zest. Mix to combine thoroughly.

Pour the lime mixture into the pie shell, and bake for 12 minutes

It is a miracle that the pie worked. I had put in some extra zest ( I like limes) and was a little concerned that it took 45 minutes rather than the recommended '10' but it tasted great and Darren even asked if it was a 'cheesecake' due to the creamy texture. Hurray!