Day Two Hundred and Ninety Nine - Pasta Bake and Salad

Dear all,

We are entering another cold snap so what better way to spend the evening than cooking with Darren so I plunged my head into our cupboards to see what I could find. Darren then suggested 'an experimental pasta dish' so I got my thinking cap on and started to bake!

I decided on a pasta bake found online but from the onset *completely* changed the recipe and the results were pretty good!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/BAKED-PASTA-WITH-FETA-AND-BACON-1200472

I defrosted and fried up a ton of bacon and [at the last minute] and also fried up some extra hot Italian sausages ( already going WAY off-piste from the recipe) to put in the bake.

I then made up Darren's special tomato sauce using chopped tomatoes, onion garlic and some Orgasmic Onion and popped in some chilli's for good measure.

Once the tomato sauce was simmering, I found a baking pot and started to layer the pasta, tomato sauce and meat inside, also putting in a generous helping of feta and cheddar cheese (this had all the makings of a very hearty dish).

I then throw on a LARGE bowl of mixed cheese onto the top of the pasta concoction and popped it in the oven. Hey Presto! A very filling dinner and extremely tasted to boot.

As always, I had shunned any reference to portion control so I had a load of pasta left. I threw together this pasta salad for lunches for the next couple of days (with a couple of extra jalapenos to tastes) http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1563/gazpacho-pasta-salad.aspx

Both were a triumph and gobbled up in now time. Another culinary success!

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Eight - Trouble On The Gardiner

Dear all,

Darren and I took a trip down to the big city today on the quest to find a lawyer to help us with my visa application. Darren had taken the helm in finding the best in town and we scooted down after breakfast for a meeting at 1pm to discuss our case.

After a very successful meeting, we got straight back on the highway without a blink of an eye to try and beat the rush hour traffic out of the big smoke. Darren took the Gardiner Express, a large highway that cuts across the bottom of Toronto beside the lake and meets up with the Don Valley Highway for all those heading north. We were doing fine until we hit a 'wall' of traffic as we were hitting Don Valley (I love the Sheffield link )

Turns out there was a horrific 'leak' of sorts [there was a lot of *sand* being thrown liberally across the now abandoned lanes) and it caused a frighteningly terrible build up of traffic coming from the opposite direction. It was total shut down and our lane was also going at a snail's pace as people were slowing down to 'see what was going on'. Gaaaaaa.

We were driving past all the commotion feeling deeply sympathetic for all the drivers, now climbing out of there vehicles to see what was going on, when the most extraordinary thing happened: The cars started to turn around and drive *the wrong way* back down the Highway from where they had come from. The Transport Police were sectioning off the highway to try avoid total gridlock, so the frustrated commuters were driving back to try and find an exit!

It was quiet an extraordinary sight and I was trying to document the event using Darren's phone but got flummoxed by the various commands being fired at me from his android ( I blame me entirely, I love Darren's phone, it's a thing of beauty). It was stunning! And made us glad to be peeling out and away from the big smoke after having seen the major traffic jam that we left behind, I love Collingwood and it's beautiful, long, straight, empty roads!

And in other news:

1. My photo is being published!!! In a 'Hard Back "Best `photographs of the year' Boulevard of photographers compendium". Eeeeeeeek. Angus and Mac are doing me proud. I am short listed in the top 300 to win $6500... ooo lalala.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Seven - Cougar

Dear all,

I was driving into work this morning and something caught my eye. I was just climbing up and out of Collingwood while driving along the 10th Line, a long straight road that stretches from the main town out towards Duntroon and passes by numerous vast, empty fields.

Exhibit [a] Jessie in the snow.

As I was driving over the highest point in the road, I glanced to my right and saw a lone 'animal' standing in the middle of the vast field. It was larger than any normal sized dog {see exhibit [a]'Jessie in the snow'}. This photo confirms that dogs are rarely able to stand still; especially if alone, surrounded by rabbits and in a large, snow covered area.

There were several things about this animal that immediately got my attention. I was sadly unable to stop and take photographic evidence, primarily due to it being 7AM, I was [cutting it fine] on the way to work and [it's ski season] there were a lot of cars on the road. Oo and it was minus 27.

There were a number of key points in classifying the beast:

1. It was alone

2. It was confidently standing alone ( ie not a deer)

3. It had a long tail with a 'Tim Burton' style curl at the bottom

4. It was stocky with a small rounded head

5. It was a cougar

Yep, the myth could be true. I am fairly confident what I saw was a cougar. The only other two things it could have [realistically] been is a dog or a deer and I have already explained why I believe why this couldn't be the case.

It puts an interesting slant on my running... ( Cougars/ Pumas/ Mountain Lions kill small people). But, I am not as afraid as I would be if I bumped into a 6ft snake!!

And in other news:

1. Most people will know I have a rampant fear of snakes. I put it down to a close, psychic bond to Indiana Jones. Wonderful Mary Lou sent me this email today. It contains rather disturbing information that I feel I need to report as it affects everyone in our area. This photo was taken IN WIARTON, very close to Owen Sound: This is a Rattle Snake.

If I am ever in the company of any rattle snakes, LET ALONE one that is more than 6 ft tall, I will require post traumatic care in the form of serious psychological counselling.

There were 57 rattlers killed on two farms alone in the area this year. Highly disturbing information. Keep your toe-capped boots on folks.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Six - Taste Book

Dear all,

We are still house-bound due to extreme temperatures so I thought I would surf the net for a winter warmer that would fend of the Seasonal Affected Disorder and hopefully prove to be worthy Blog-Fodder.

Taste book is apparently 'The Web's number on search engine' so I thought this would be a good place to start. Darren had mentioned a desire for a 'spicy cheesy soup' so I popped those tree golden words into the Taste Book search engine and a veritable Encyclopedia of recipes containing these three golden words. After scrolling down through the huge compilation of spicy, cheesy goodness, I decided on this recipe; mainly because I had all the ingredients to hand.

http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/1401166-SPICY-POTATO-SOUP-WITH-GREEN-CHILLIES-CHEESE

I had a large bag of [extra hot] jalapenos in the fridge so I cracked them open and started to chop them whilst trying not to explode in a tearful, coughing fit from the potent chill-fumes. I cooked up some onions and garlic with oil in a pan, threw in some potatoes and a dash of flour and poured in some chicken broth.

Whilst that bubbled away, I added some milk and then the chilli's and celery seed and don't forget a good helping of the Orgasmic Onion seasoning ( which I am starting to believe is the best thing a Domestic Goddess could wish for in her kitchen) and left it to cook for around one hour. The condo smelt like an authentic Thai kitchen with the milky, spicy goodness being pumped out from the bubbling pan.

I grated up several cheeses ( mozzarella, mature cheddar and beemster) and popped them in at the final moment. It tasted wonderful and an instant relief from the cold, inside and out! Check out taste-book, it's definitely worth it!

And in other news:

1. Stefan and Cornelia are back in Canada, HURRAY! They bought me back this fabulous Yodeling Beaver. To this day, I didn't know such a thing existed, but now I do! Check this out.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Five - Model Pets

Dear all,

Oh my goodness it's cold. Minus 31 apparently. But it feels colder. I went for a [100 m] run today and thought my face was going to fall off. I aborted mission immediately. Anyway, on returning back to Darren's warm haven, I decided to start entering as many competitions as I could find with the primary objective of winning something.

I have so so many photos and none of them are labelled or logged which made this immediately very challenging. I therefore took potluck on my various photo files, every one of which contains around 2000 photos, to see what I could come up with. Here is a wee selection..

Pippen wearing her super hero cape and Mac on his step made me smile..

Kelsey and I having a moment was potentially interesting..

as was the scarlet-pimper-hen.

I had to get Jessie in there.. but then remebered this was actually mutter's photograph...

So, in the end I sought the help of Mac and Angus whilst they were overseeing their snow covered Kingdom. I just love how they both look so regal (even though Mac is currently sporting a perm). If I win, i get $6,500. Eeeeek. That would put a big dent in my school fees! http://www.thephotochallenge.com/

Wish me luck! Right, I am off to enter some more competitions (we need a new fridge).

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Four - Green Clean

Dear all,

It's time for spring cleaning! And no, I am not suffering from a weather induced brain malfunction...it all started with a large build up of salt residue in the entrance hall. The floor had taken on a strong resemblance to a 'from-the air' map of the Arctic. We decided that action needed to be taken before the condo started to taste like something you would add to fish and chips after a good dousing of vinegar.

We had picked up a bottle of this new Eco-cleaner after a brief trip to Rona earlier in the evening. This range is fabulously herbal and claims to be as pure as the morning due but at the same time, cleans the crap out of your bathroom using the dazzling power of essential oils.

http://www.cleanattitude.com

You know when a product is good when the cashier raves about it at the check out ( unless she is suffering from late night boredom and just desperate to talk to someone... I'm thinking it is usually pretty quiet around hardware stores late on a Saturday night)

The cashier was not wrong; I was extremely impressed by this product ( we bought one of the bathroom cleaners for 'mold and mildew') and within about 15 minutes, I has cleaned all three bathrooms to the point where they were sparkling. One of the nicest things about this product is the ingredient list; It's free from the usual chemical horrors and my hands were soft and malleable after using it rather than that oh so familiar feeling of the skin melting and then falling off.

We also tried this rather unusual dish washing soap from the 'Eco-Me' range. It is the most bizarre product using essential oils rather than soap and smells like something you might find whilst walking down the corridor of an institution ( a strange mixture of stale tea and sherbet lemons. Very incongruous with what you might normally find in a washing up bowl). I might not purchase this one again.. but at least we gave it a try.

http://www.eco-me.com/

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Three - Reddit

Dear all,

We are currently experiencing average temperatures of around -18 so how better to spend an evening than to seek sage advice from Darren on some top websites to indulge in whilst popping the feet up in front of a roaring fire.

So I logged onto Reddit, Darren's favorite site du jour and the hub for latest news on the ever expanding information highway the http://www.reddit.com.

Reddit is an extremely compelling, popular and Zeitgeist forum which allows you to enjoy the wonderment of the forum-friendly Internet in one, easily accessible 'cyber'-space.

The beauty of Reddit is that anyone can post, anyone can read and anyone can comment. It's as simple as that. The site is drumming up so much traffic that is becoming more powerful daily and increasingly more fascinating links are being posted from the intriguing IAMA [I-am-a..... *******]whereby people post something about themselves and open the doors for multiple questions from the readers. Some are VERY obscure); topical news and information on virtually any subject imaginable care of the all-knowing 'search' tool.

You find the odd 'troll' or two (someone who posts extraneous, rude, random or inflammatory messages online, usually to cause a reaction or to just be plain annoying) but it's easy to sift through the poppy-cock and makes for a brilliant read.

The other cracker is The Urban Dictionary. Type in any word and see what comes up... it's a hilarious review of modern day diction and prose!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

And in other news:

1. Here is a brilliant example of the 'run of death'.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Two - Driving on the 401

Dear all,

Today was a MAJOR first for me and so totally blog worthy I feel like I am exploding with blog-worthy-ness while writing this post. Today I drove a BMW [CAR] DOWN THE 401.

Call me sheltered, but I have little automobile experience and yet I am {and this is clearly an erroneous result} quite a good driver (I blame good genes). I was still a little hesitant about our trip whereby Darren and I would be driving two cars in convoy down to Simcoe in freezing rain and on one of the biggest highways in North America.

The 401 runs from Windsor to the Quebec Border and the section that runs through Toronto is one of the busiest highways in North America. It is not a small road.

I have only had one 'highway' related experience in my life which involved driving onto the Southbound 400 in Barrie in such a brazen panic, that I slowed down and as a result nearly died. It's hard to find any sympathy amongst destination-hungry commuters who have NO tolerance for anyone driving anything less that 120.

Darren was a brilliant mentor and just told me to 'stay in the same lane' and 'follow him'. Easy enough if it wasn't for a blaze of juggernauts hurtling down the highway as we were both attempting to merge on to the main drag and easy enough if it wasn't for the intermittent snow squalls.

But, I made it! And (this is with deep apologies to my trusty Sunfire), I love that car. Holy Moly, it's good to aim high kids; life is better in a beamer! That car runs like a DREAM.

Anyway, we got down to Simcoe safely and into the wonderful warm home of Bob and Mary Lou. Bob already had dinner on the go but I still got to observe what was going on ( very good for Domestic Goddess Training) and we also got to marvel at the beauty of Red Cabbage in all its glory. I see a painting in there somewhere.

Bob had pan fried up some pork chops in onion, garlic and oil and then he pulled the chops out and popped in some vinegar, apples and then threw in the shredded cabbage that boiled away with some ginger added too.

Bob then put the pork back in onto of the cabbage and let it bubble away. It was delicious. I love red cabbage so It was a massive hit with me and I am very inspired to use more. We then sampled some of Mary-Lou's fresh made Key Lime pie, with Key Lime mixture from the Key Lime central, Florida! It was all so wonderful and we chatted away for ages. It was a real shame Darren and I had to head back, but with wood in the trunk and bellies full of food, we set sail for Collingwood after a wonderful day!

**apologies but my camera battery ran out mid way through cooking)

Day Two Hundred and Ninety One - Beef Burgandy

Dear all

I am taking on my culinary duty with gusto! Today, I had a strong urge to cook up something challenging so I frog-marched myself into Metro after work with the sole aim of cooking up 'a large plate of meat [Darren had given my plan the green-light].

As it was all fairly 'impromptu', I grabbed a recipe book from the Metro cashiers desk and found myself frantically flicking through it as I paced up and down the aisle. After pondering on a couple of recipes including Chicken Pot Pie and Mexican Tortilla Bake, I had a flash of inspiration as I stumbled across 'Beef Burgundy' and know I had hit the jackpot.

So I braved the Meat counter and picked up a pound of sirloin steak ( later D informed me that I could have gone for something cheaper.. but I am a still a beginner, there is a lot to learn). I raced home and started cooking immediately as Darren watched as if a whirl wind had sped through his condo. I chopped the onions, garlic and beef ( into chunks) and popped them in a pan with some pepper until the beef was browned.

I then stirred in some baby carrots, poured in some red wine and a can of condensed chicken soup and poured everything [just] into a casserole dish. And that was it! The beef cooked for about one hour in which time I had put on some egg noodles ( that took me AGES to find in the supermarket).

It certainly made the house smell incredible and Darren was eager in anticipation to taste the dish.

I was pretty happy with the final result as I have never cooked anything like this unaided before. It possibly needed a bit of 'oomph' but the recipe was fairly low key and I might search for something a little more exotic next time. The sirloin worked well though!