I fergot - I meant to mention that on Thursday we had snow, wet snow, but nevertheless, snow. In fact it was an odd sort of day weatherwise, first it was raining then we had sun, later the rain came again and we then got snow. It was doing that all day, but I only actually saw the snow once. In some areas they didn't get snow they got ice pellets. Then Thursday night we got more snow and when we got up it looked like a heavy frost which soon melted in the sun. Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day. Bowling went quite well too.
New fairy tale ending: The wolf says to the little pig, "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down". The pig replies "shove off or I'll sneeze on you"!!!
I was thinking, as I have been a lot lately, about parking notices. For instance we have them at the apar
tment building and at the bowling alley. They say "Customer parking only unauthorised vehicles will be towed away, at the owner's expense, By-law # such and such". It seems to me these signs are a total waste of time. People just ignore them and no-one does anything about it. The cops don't care, they are too busy and no-one else is really able to enforce the law. I get teed off at the bowling alley in particular as sometimes we go there and its impossible to park because people who are going to the pub/restaurant next door are using the alley spaces. This picture doesn't have the by-law notice, but you get the idea.
So, Toronto is going to host the 2015 Pan Am Games. Toronto is close to 
home but I don't expect to go, much easier to watch it all on TV. However, it has generated lots of excitement and no doubt lots of work building all the venues. I suggested we should rent out our apartment during the two weeks, Matt was horrified LOL. You can actually make quite a bit of money doing that, but I too wouldn't want to rent out my home, you never know what might happen to it.
The following bean casserole is a very popular staple in North America for serving with Thanksgiving or Christmas meals - this version is a healthier one and with the holidays coming up, I thought it would be useful.
Green Bean Casserole
From EatingWell: November/December 2008
This healthy revision of green bean casserole skips the canned soup and all the fat and sodium that come with it. Our white sauce with sliced fresh mushrooms, sweet onions and low-fat milk makes a creamy, rich casserole.
6 servings
Ingredients
* 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
* 1 medium sweet onion, (half diced, half thinly sliced), divided
* 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
* 1 cup low-fat milk
* 3 tablespoons dry sherry, (see Ingredient Note)
* 1 pound frozen French-cut green beans, (about 4 cups)
* 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
* 3 tablespoons buttermilk powder, (see Ingredient Note)
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and slightly translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the mushroom juices are almost evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Add milk and sherry and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Stir in green beans and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in sour cream and buttermilk powder. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
3. Whisk the remaining 1/3 cup flour, paprika, garlic powder and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Add sliced onion; toss to coat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion along with any remaining flour mixture and cook, turning once or twice, until golden and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread the onion topping over the casserole.
4. Bake the casserole until bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips & Notes
* Ingredient notes:
* Don't use the high-sodium “cooking sherry” sold in many supermarkets. Instead, purchase dry sherry sold with other fortified wines.
* Look for buttermilk powder, such as Saco Buttermilk Blend, in the baking section or with the powdered milk in most supermarkets.
Have a great weekend.
tment building and at the bowling alley. They say "Customer parking only unauthorised vehicles will be towed away, at the owner's expense, By-law # such and such". It seems to me these signs are a total waste of time. People just ignore them and no-one does anything about it. The cops don't care, they are too busy and no-one else is really able to enforce the law. I get teed off at the bowling alley in particular as sometimes we go there and its impossible to park because people who are going to the pub/restaurant next door are using the alley spaces. This picture doesn't have the by-law notice, but you get the idea.
So, Toronto is going to host the 2015 Pan Am Games. Toronto is close to 
home but I don't expect to go, much easier to watch it all on TV. However, it has generated lots of excitement and no doubt lots of work building all the venues. I suggested we should rent out our apartment during the two weeks, Matt was horrified LOL. You can actually make quite a bit of money doing that, but I too wouldn't want to rent out my home, you never know what might happen to it.
The following bean casserole is a very popular staple in North America for serving with Thanksgiving or Christmas meals - this version is a healthier one and with the holidays coming up, I thought it would be useful.
Green Bean Casserole
From EatingWell: November/December 2008
This healthy revision of green bean casserole skips the canned soup and all the fat and sodium that come with it. Our white sauce with sliced fresh mushrooms, sweet onions and low-fat milk makes a creamy, rich casserole.
6 servings
Ingredients
* 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
* 1 medium sweet onion, (half diced, half thinly sliced), divided
* 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
* 1 cup low-fat milk
* 3 tablespoons dry sherry, (see Ingredient Note)
* 1 pound frozen French-cut green beans, (about 4 cups)
* 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
* 3 tablespoons buttermilk powder, (see Ingredient Note)
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and slightly translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the mushroom juices are almost evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Add milk and sherry and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Stir in green beans and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in sour cream and buttermilk powder. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
3. Whisk the remaining 1/3 cup flour, paprika, garlic powder and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Add sliced onion; toss to coat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion along with any remaining flour mixture and cook, turning once or twice, until golden and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread the onion topping over the casserole.
4. Bake the casserole until bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips & Notes
* Ingredient notes:
* Don't use the high-sodium “cooking sherry” sold in many supermarkets. Instead, purchase dry sherry sold with other fortified wines.
* Look for buttermilk powder, such as Saco Buttermilk Blend, in the baking section or with the powdered milk in most supermarkets.
Have a great weekend.
Snow already? Sounds as if it's going to be a cold winter. Casserole time for sure.
ReplyDeleteToday has been absolutely beautiful once again with the sun pouring in our windows. Hot in here although not so warm outside of course.
ReplyDeleteParking on private porperty is a real problem. In one block of flats I lived in people who weren't even visitors used to come in and park in residents spots and there was nothing we could do about it.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the sun while it's there!