Snow and groundhogs.

Sunday and Sunday  night it snowed gently but continuously with the result that when we got up on Monday morning everywhere was totally white. We got 6 inches on our balcony wall which means it’s pretty deep elsewhere. Nothing like the pictures JoJo has been posting from the Cape Cod area, but still quite a bit of snow nevertheless. Enough to make driving a problem. I have always wanted to have the apartment on the ground floor which we can see from our windows, it has direct access to the outside, no wall. Monday morning the tenant was shovelling his patio. Never thought of that before so now I have changed my mind.

It being February 2, as I write, I wonder how our Wiarton Willie got on this morning. Oh! he predicted an early spring but apparently he has a competitor Shubenacadie Sam who disagrees. There is a third groundhog, Winnipeg Willow, didn’t know there were any others in Canada before.. I just saw a video announcing Willie’s forecast. Quite funny to watch. They make sure that the groundhog is always an albino. Apparently last year Willie was  the only one to get it right – the other two predicted an early spring and instead we had one heck of a winter.

Going to see the Paddington Bear movie this afternoon – Tuesday. Looking forward to it. Oops, no I'm not. Changed to next week.

This is my all time favourite soup but it’s not the easiest to make because you have to have so many ingredients which I don’t stock normally. It’s always the first thing I have when I go to the Mandarin restaurant, they make an absolutely fabulous one.


Chinese Hot and Sour Soup by Closet Cooking
 
(makes enough for 4 light meal sized servings)

Ingredients:
6 dried tree ear mushrooms (also known as wood ear mushrooms)
6 dried black mushrooms
8 dried lily buds (otherwise known as golden needles)
1/2 cup bamboo shoots
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon oil
4 ounces pork loin (optional, cooked and shredded)
4 cups Asian chicken stock (or regular chicken stock or vegetable chicken stock)
1 package tofu (cut into small pieces)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 teaspoon black pepper (ground)
1 teaspoon white pepper (ground)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons chili oil (to taste)
1 tablespoon chili sauce (to taste)
4 green onions (sliced)

Directions:
1. Soak the tree ear and black mushrooms in boiling water until softened, about 20 minutes, and shred them.
2. Soak the lily buds in warm water until softened, about 20 minutes, and shred them.
3. Cover the bamboo shoots in water, bring to a boil, drain and shred.
4. Mix the vinegars, soy sauce, salt and sugar in a bowl.
5. Mix the cornstarch into the water in a bowl.
6. Heat the oil in a large pot.
7. Add the pork, tree ear and black mushrooms, lily buds and bamboo shoots and saute for a minute.
8. Add the broth and tofu and bring to a boil.
9. Add the vinegar mixture and the cornstarch mixture and stir until it thickens.
10. Pour the eggs into the soup in a thin stream while stirring the soup.
11. Stir in the peppers, oils and chili sauce.
12. Serve garnished with green onions.

Have a great day