Category Archives: ideas

Summer Heat

Posted on August 10, 2017 by | Leave a comment

We have been “enjoying” an extensive heat wave. I like to be warm, but I do not like to be hot, and hot is what we are getting (in spades). It has been around 30C for over a month. I have not been baking, as I cannot bear to make the kitchen hot.

A few nights ago, it cooled down a wee bit. I really wanted cookies of some sort, so I thought I’d take a traditional chocolate chip recipe and play with it. The results were tasty.

I substituted white chocolate chips and cranberries for the chocolate chips and raisins. I also threw in the peel of an orange. Next time, I think I’ll add a quarter cup of chopped almonds.

If you try these, let me know what you think.

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Open Face Sandwich

Posted on October 15, 2016 by | Leave a comment

open faced sandwiches

I love an open, or open-faced sandwich. Quick to make, and visually appealing, sometimes they make it easier to tempt someone with a poor appetite to eat. This is one of my favourite lunch ideas.

They can be anything you like, and you can use any kind of bread. Above, I used Russian Rye/sourdough swirl bread, and topped it with old cheddar for one sandwich, and spread cream cheese and topped it with sliced avocado and grape tomatoes for the other.

Basically, pick a bread/bun/naan bread/pita/crispbread…

then spread it with butter/cream cheese/cheese/mashed avocado…

and top it with tomato/egg/tuna/ chicken/sprouts/lettuce/ham/beef…

Let your imagination run riot…and remember, you can also make HOT open sandwiches by putting them under the grill, or in a toaster oven…

 

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Seven Fast Dinner Ideas for Singles

Posted on November 8, 2015 by | 2 Comments

One of the reasons I started this blog was when I read an article in the Globe and Mail about a young woman of 20 who was babysitting some children overnight. Their parents had asked her to make them Kraft Dinner for their supper, and she couldn’t even manage it…she didn’t drain the pasta, resulting in a watery pasta soup. Her own parents said they had never taught her to cook. It made me think about the number of young people who do not or cannot cook, and I wanted to help them. So this is 7 simple supper suggestions for young people who are in a hurry and don’t want fast food (or Kraft Dinner).  All should take about 20 minutes or less.

Pita Pizza

pita pizza

  • 8″ pita bread
  • 2-3 tablespoons tomato or pizza sauce
  • whatever you like for topping (I like artichokes, spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese. My daughter likes ham, mozzarella and pineapple)

Bake at 400F for 10 minutes. Check. If cheese has melted, it’s ready. If you want it browned, put it under the broiler for a minute.

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Pumpkin Madness

Posted on October 31, 2015 by | Leave a comment

carved pumpkin

It’s Hallowe’en. I live on Saanich Peninsula, where the farms grow many pumpkins. Today I set out to buy a pumpkin to carve and as a by-product, eat:)

It was crazy. Everywhere I went, they were sold out of pumpkins. I was beginning to despair when I asked the produce manager at the Co-op if he had any pumpkins. He said he was sold out, but that he had obtained a large pile yesterday from Mars Farms, just down the road. I tootled off, and picked up this fine specimen.

pumpkin

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High Tea/ Afternoon Tea Ideas

Posted on August 22, 2015 by | Leave a comment

high tea

I love high tea or afternoon tea.  My aunt usually takes my cousin and I for tea at The Empress every Christmas. I had some high tea ideas of my own, so when my cousin’s sister came out to visit this week, I invited them both, plus my aunt to high tea, hosted by myself and my mother in law. This is very much NOT a meal in a hurry…I prepared this well in advance, except for the crab and shrimp boats and the pork pasties…which were made by myself and my mother in law and cooked off just before serving. All the baking was spaced out over several evenings, and I made the sandwiches the night before.

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Brown Bag Lunches For Adults

Posted on January 13, 2015 by | 2 Comments

There is always a lot of talk, and controversy, about school lunches.  There is far less talk about lunches for adults. I don’t know why people seem to avoid this topic, nor do I understand why some people feel embarrassed about bringing a lunch to work. There appears to be a stigma attached to the concept of brown bag lunches for adults. Why? It can save you a lot of money, and you have control over what you are eating.

Most lunches from a fast food place cost between $5-$10 on average. At $5 per day, 20 working days per month, that is $1200.00 a year.If you pay closer to $10 for lunch, you are looking at double that amount.

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Quick Steak

Posted on January 10, 2015 by | Leave a comment

One of the quickest meals in a hurry is steak, especially if you have a barbeque.

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We usually use top sirloin, but occasionally we get a small prime rib roast and take steaks off of it:)

Steak is best if brought to room temperature before grilling on a hot grill (as hot as it goes). Season with salt and fresh pepper. Cooking time is determined by the thickness of the steak and the temperature of the grill.

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Quick Chicken Drumsticks with fried rice

Posted on January 8, 2015 by | Leave a comment

There are several quick chicken drumstick recipes, so I thought I would make one of them for supper tonight. Drumsticks are dark meat, so they are a little more
moist and flavourful than the breast. They are also, usually, quite a bit less expensive than other parts of a chicken…so meals made with them tend to be more economical.

chicken drumstick with fried rice and spinach

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Breakfast in a hurry

Posted on December 23, 2014 by | Leave a comment

 

When you are pressed for time, quite often you neglect to feed
yourself, and then try to grab a coffee and doughnut or a fast food breakfast sandwich a bit later in the morning. Those options are okay on occasion, but are not healthy options in the long term. They usually are higher in calories, and often do not have much in the way of protein, so you feel hungry again fairly soon. They are also quite addictive, and you can get trapped in a repeating cycle (think Groundhog Day) where you make this into a routine.

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There are several quick breakfast options at home which can save you money and time. These breakfast meals in a hurry can include some of the following:

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