Day Off...

Lately, I find that booking time off at work is getting harder and pretty much, next to impossible. My boss has been off work for almost two months due to extensive surgeries. I have been holding down the fort in my department. Honestly it is tough as I have been doing two people's work at the same time, on the other hand, I enjoy the added responsibilities and challenges which in turn, bring forth tons of adrenaline. I have been trying to book a day off since the beginning of September, and every time I submit my form, my boss's boss said to me, "Do you really need a day off? We need you here. Can you push back your vacation a bit?" SERIOUSLY!!!!!! Since when do I need to justify to anyone that I need a day off? SERIOUSLY!!!! (Gosh! I begin to sound like Meridith Grey in Grey's Anatomy...)

After three unsuccessful attempts, I was finally "granted" a day off today! I got up the same time as usual (I do not do very well with sleeping in as my little pooch will try every possible ways she can think of to get me out of the bed. One time, she brought me half of her toys in her toy basket. She transported one by one from the main floor to our bedroom and then strategically placed them one by one, around me, and then waited patiently for me to wake up.) and I drove Joe to work. I then came home, fed Bee Bee and then drove all the way out to Orleans (yup... I know that sounds crazy and it was exactly an hour drive according to the GPS from our home) for my haircut appointment. For the past 15 months, because of the wedding, my hairstylist held off on her creativity when cutting my hair. When this restriction was finally over, and I was just about to explore new hairstyles, Hanna, my talented and gifted hairstylist, had a baby girl and is currently on maternity leave for at least a year. I was like, "SERIOUSLY!!!!" I am a fussy person, and this drives Joe nuts. It took me the longest time to find a hairstylist in Ottawa, and before I met Hanna, I only had haircut twice a year, when I went home to Vancouver to visit my parents. The hairstylist I went to see this morning, came highly recommended from my bride-friends and I decided to drive out to Orleans. I must say that she was worth the drive.

Later on this morning, I decided to surprise Joe with a nice dinner. Joe loves cabbage rolls. Not sure why. Probably it is a comfort food for him. I googled cabbage rolls recipes on the weekends and ended up finding over at least 30 different recipes. I learned that cabbage rolls is actually Hungarian Food! After my haircut appointment, I went grocery shopping and got all the ingredients needed for the cabbage rolls. Funny thing is that I think I am culinary challenged but I LOVE to cook, especially after I got myself a copy of Eat, Shrink and be Merry! I think I can cook, and perhaps one day, I can cook like a chef!

From Food Diary

Autumn

Autumn is my favourite season in the year. It marks the transition from summer to winter. I especially enjoy walking in the park around this time of the year. It is cold enough that you need to put on a vest, but not chilly enough that you can't feel the tip of your nose or your toes. It's just perfect. Joe and I spent a day in Perth yesterday. We walked around Camp Opemikon (Scouts Canada's Campground). The site is huge, quiet and peaceful. I was so amazed by the Fall leaf colors, the colors are so vibrant. Who says Gatineau Park is the only place to see the color turning of the leaves?

A Weekend without my hubby Part II

Ok! For this weekend, while Joe was away in a Scouts' Camp... I had relived my single-gal's life.

Friday night, I did not do much and decided to chill out at home. I lit up every single candle in the house, took a super long bath, watched Sex & the City movie and sipped a glass of Pelee Island's Pinot Noir. I stayed up late till 12am (something I have not done for a long time... back in the days when I was a single gal, I often stayed up past midnight, going out for drinks and dancing with girlfriends. However, once I hit the big 30, I then realized that I need my beauty sleep at night in order to look good during the day!).

Saturday, I did grocery shopping in the morning while the house cleaner was lending me a generous helping hand with house cleaning. When she left, I did two full loads of laundry. Laundry is Joe's department but since he was away, I guess it was time for me to step up to the plate. While the laundry was in the washer, I made myself a big pot of Starbucks' coffee and finished the saturday's newspaper from the front page to back page. By the time I finished the newspaper, I felt that I had become more knowledgeable.

The only highlight of the day was that I took my pooch, Bee, to the day-spa. For the longest time, I have been on the quest of finding my little pooch the perfect day spa. I requested for a standard shih zhu cut every time, strangely enough, Bee looked more like a rat than a dog after the grooming session every time. It comes to a point that I actually feel sorry for her. So, I was talking to a friend at the beginning of the week about my quest for the perfect groomer, and she had referred me to her dog's groomer. I took Bee to her new groomer, Samantha, and I must say that I was so amazed when I picked up Bee as she looks like a Shih Zhu for the first time in her life! :-)

Saturday night... I did not feel like cooking. Back in my single gal's days.... I hated cooking just for one. What's the point of cooking just for one when there is no one to compliment or criticize your culinary skills? I had a samosa and a cup of camoille tea with honey (I had a bit of a scratchy throat... let's keep the fingers crossed that it is not yet another cold....) and watched the first season of Private Practice while the whole house was being lit up by Partylite Candles!!!! :-) I stayed up till 11:30pm and decided to call it a night.

From My Pictures

Sunday... I woke up at 9am and was really excited that Joe was coming home today YAY! I went to LOEB and grabbed a few stuff and started cooking up a storm in the kitchen. First, I made lemon pound cake using my new toy, Kitchen Aid Professional Standmixer. When it comes to baking, I am really fuzzy, and I like to make everything from scratch. That's why I bought the KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

From Food Oct 19,08

The second recipe I attempted was Turkey Dumpling with Cranberry Soy Sauce. I got the recipe from The Daily Struggles of the Domestic Un-Goddess. It is not a complicated recipe but it is time consuming.

From Food Oct 19,08

The third recipe I tried was "It's Only Brocc 'n Bowl" from LooneySpoons.

From Food Oct 19,08

By the time the soup was done, Joe was home! He had the chicken dumpling as snack and he liked it! I guess home-made food is much better than camp food.
As for dinner, I made Spanish rice and a beef stir fry "The Way We Stir" from LooneySpoons.

From Food Oct 19,08

I did cook up a storm this afternoon and I kept going, and by the time eveything was done, I realized I had cook way too much for two people. Well, good thing is I won't need to cook for monday night!

A Weekend without my hubby...

Joe is off for his Scouts' camp for this weekend. First time since Joe and I got married, Bee and I will be holding down the fort. I wonder how I will be spending this weekend...

For starter... I will go get myself a super long bath (with no one popping into the bathroom and ask,"Hon, are you ok there?") and then lit up the house with candles everywhere....

What's next? Sex and the City's movie and a glass of Pinot Noir! :-)

From My Pictures

Happy Thanksgiving

When it comes to food, I'm not a big fan of the traditional. Just because you have been eating the same thing for the last 20 years doesn't necessarily mean that it is a great idea.

This Thanksgiving is the first Thanksgiving for Joe and me as a married couple, so I decided to add a twist to the original turkey dinner.

I spent a few days earlier last week, google-ing new turkey, cranberry and stuffing recipes... and managed to find a few that I think are workable.

I took the turkey (about 15 lbs... yes it is a bit too big for two people, but Costco's Turkeys you can't expect anything less than 15 lbs!) out of the chest freezer last Thursday and had it sit in the cold storage room for a few days to thaw.

Sunday Oct 12. I got up at 9am and started preparing the turkey dinner.

Roasted Turkey -- I did not stuff the turkey this year, so that turkey took less time to cook. However, I did put parsley, carrot, rosemary, onions and celery in the turkey cavity to give the bird some flavour while baking. I cooked the turkey breast-side down and by doing that the turkey came out very tender and moist.

From Thanksgiving Dinner Oct 2008

Stuffing -- Last year, my coworker gave me a home-made recipe of stuffing which requires tons of potatoes. I am not a big fan of potatoes and so I decided to make something without potatoes. Joe loves stovetop stuffing. To Joe, stovetop stuffing is the "it" stuffing. As I am not a traditional person, this year, I decided to widen Joe's horizon on stuffing.

Turkey Stuffing Recipe

Ingredients

* 1 loaf of day old French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10-12 cups)
* 1 cup walnuts
* 2 cups each, chopped onion and celery
* 6 Tbsp butter
* 1 green apple, peeled, cored, chopped
* 3/4 cup of currants or raisins
* Several (5 to 10) chopped green olives (martini olives, the ones with the pimento)
* Stock from the turkey giblets (1 cup to 2 cups) (can substitute chicken stock)
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground sage (to taste)
* Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

Method

1 If you haven't already made the stock, take the turkey giblets - heart and gizzard - and neck if you want, and put them in a small saucepan, cover with water and add a little salt. Bring to a simmer; simmer for about an hour, uncovered. Strain the stock into a container for use with the stuffing. Alternatively, you can use chicken stock or just plain water with this recipe.

2 Toast the walnuts by heating them in a frying pan on medium high heat for a few minutes, stirring until they are slightly browned (not burned) OR put them in the microwave on high until you can smell the aroma of them toasting, about a minute or two. Let them cool while you are toasting the bread, then roughly chop them.

3 Heat a large sauté pan on medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in the pan, add the bread cubes, and stir to coat the bread pieces with the melted butter. Then let them toast; only turn them when they have become a little browned on a side. Note, if you aren't working with somewhat dried-out day-old bread, lay the cubes of bread in a baking pan and put them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to dry them out first, before toasting them in butter on the stove top. The bread should be a little dry to begin with, or you'll end up with mushy stuffing.

4 In a large Dutch oven, sauté chopped onions and celery on medium high heat with the remaining 3 Tbsp butter until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Add the bread. Add cooked chopped walnuts. Add chopped green apple, currants, raisins, olives, parsley. Add one cup of the stock from cooking the turkey giblets or chicken stock (enough to keep the stuffing moist while you are cooking it). Add sage, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper.

5 Cover. Turn heat to low. Cook for an hour or until the apples are cooked through. Check every ten minutes or so and add water or stock as needed while cooking to keep the stuffing moist and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

From Thanksgiving Dinner Oct 2008

Cranberry Sauce -- I hate the Oceanspray's Cranberry Sauce. Seriously I HATE it! So I decided to make my own cranberry sauce:

Spicy Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (about 8 ounces)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 cups Pinot Noir or other dry red wine
(we went to Merrickville on Saturday and we picked up a bottle of Pelee Island's 2007 Baco Noir)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Large pinch of Chinese five-spice powder*

Method

1 Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cranberries and fresh ginger; stir until cranberries begin to burst, 3-5 minutes.

2 Add wine and sugar; boil until mixture is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes.

3 Add crystallized ginger, curry powder and five-spice powder.

Serve sauce cold or warm. Makes 2 1/2 cup

From Thanksgiving Dinner Oct 2008

Mashed Potatoes -- last year I simply boiled potatoes and I found them too plain. So I made mashed potatoes instead. Of all the recipes I did yesterday, this one, by far, was the easiest.

Ingredients:
5 lbs. potatoes or 9 large 2.5kg
8 oz. low-fat cream cheese 250g
1 cup fat-free sour cream 250ml
2 tsp. onion salt 10ml
1 tsp. salt 5ml
pinch of pepper
2 Tbsp. butter 30ml

Instructions:
Cook and mash potatoes. Add all ingredients, except butter, and combine. Put into large greased casserole. Dot with butter. Bake, covered, at 350F (180C) for 30 minutes.If making ahead, cover and refrigerate or freeze. Thaw before baking. Serves 10-12

** I modified the recipes by cutting into halves so I did not end up having tons of leftover.

From Thanksgiving Dinner Oct 2008

After spending close to 9 hours in the kitchen, thanksgiving dinner was served at 6pm. When Joe first saw the stuffing, he said, "No Stovetop Stuffing?" I almost wanted to smack him in his head. Then he tried a bit and said, "Wow! This stuff is good!" He looked a bit skeptical on the cranberry sauce and after a spoonful taste, he said," wow this IS good! How much wine did you put in there?"

Although it was a hard day of work for me, it was worth it as Joe and I both really enjoyed the dinner and Joe even said it was THE best turkey dinner he ever had.

Well... who says we need to have traditional thanksgiving dinner?

From Thanksgiving Dinner Oct 2008

For more pictures of our thanksgiving dinner.. here is the link!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Louisa, Joe and Bee
(Hopefully there will be a Couscous in our family soon!)