A blog full of memories
Here is something I tried today. It’s been raining all week and I wanted something comforting and warm. I also had a can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in my cupboard that I wanted to use. I looked through some recipes until I came up with one I could work with. Here is the result. It …
My sister Skyped me this recipe today. She’d made it the other day and said it was easy and delicious. 2 fish fillets (red snapper, salmon, tilapia etc) 1 tbsp of red curry paste 1 cup of light coconut milk 1 cup of sliced mushrooms 1 small head of bok choy 1/2 tbsp brown sugar( …
I haven’t been on the blog for a while. I just read a comment from my friend in Ottawa: “Update your blog or I’m calling your Mum!”. Oh. The shame! Mais, en fin, voila–an update. BARCELONA We went to Barcelona for a week. My cousin Nik won a cruise in the Mediterranean and she and …
Part of my first assignment of my journalism course: “What particular advice would you give a friend of yours who wished to become a freelance writer?” Here is my response. The first thing I would tell somebody who asked me for advice on becoming a freelance writer would be: Start. Just start. Start something. Start …
I made this jambalaya last night. I was looking for something low-cal and healthy. I found this recipe in an old cookbook I had (from when I was a vegetarian): Vegetarian Dinner in Minutes by Linda Gassenheimer. It was the first time I, personally, had cooked with cayenne pepper. It was just the right kind …
I made jambalaya last night. I was supposed to make this salad, but it was just too late. I was tired. Here is the recipe anyway. It looks yummy! 1 head of romaine lettuce 1 medium orange Dressing 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of vegetable broth 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of fresh orange juice 2 teaspoons …
Now that the nice weather is here, we are looking for a table to put on the balcony–so we can eat outside when it’s warm. And, if we have friends over, we can entertain outside. I haven’t found anything I like enough to buy. I thought in the meantime, in between time, I could just …
My friend has this blue shirt. She’s described it to me twice. Both times, after our discussion, I’ve wanted to go out and find one for myself. She says it’s just a regular shirt that she bought at WorkWear World. I think she said it’s made from material like Helly Hansen long underwear. Long sleeves. …
On March 16th, I asked my readers what I should write about while I was over here in Switzerland. I had a few ideas and a few of you pitched me some more in the comments. I started thinking if I were going to be researching and writing about life in Switzerland, I might find …
My sister read the recipe on turkey in spicy peanut sauce and knows how much I like peanut butter–with just peanuts. AND SHE SENT ME SOME!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU BIG SIS! THANK YOU. Have a look at this: I had some on toast with slices of cucumber this morning. PS: I still haven’t found any in …
My first week here, Ludo’s mother gave me some Swiss schwag — to make sure I was well equipped to live in Switzerland. She gave us two espresso cups with the Swiss cross on them. To equalize the national schwag in the apartment, I am now looking for the Canadian version of these cups. Specifically, …
When I looked at that meatballs in spicy peanut sauce recipe, it reminded me of a stir fry I used to make: Indonesian stir fry. My original recipe for that particular dish included lots of garlic and two tablespoons of peanut butter. I searched the web for something to refresh my memory, but no luck. …
Last night, a friend came to dinner. I thought I’d try to make something simple. I’d seen a recipe in the Fine Cooking magazine last week that I wanted to try out: Meatballs in spicy curry peanut sauce. This spicy meatball recipe called for ground beef. I couldn’t find ground beef in my grocery store. …
An improvement today. I dug out my rollerblades and cruised over to the gym. Total commute time: ten minutes. Still took the elevator down six flights of stairs. When I got to the building with the gym, I clunked up one flight of stairs. In the reception of the gym, I changed my rollerblades for …
Take the elevator down seven flights of stairs to the parking garage. Get in the car and drive 5 minutes to the parking garage at the gym. Take the elevator from the parking garage up four flights of stairs to the gym. Do a cardio workout on the reclined bike. Is that Californian or what? …
I arrived in Lausanne last week. It was also my birthday. Bear’s mother made sure that I was well-equipped to live in Switzerland. We also have a brand-spanking-new meat slicer. An industrial-grade meat slicer in fact. An important amenity here in Switzerland, with all that raclette and viande seche. She threw in some fromage d’alpage …
En fin. I have arrived in Switzerland. It took awhile. About a year in fact. And it’s been a helluva journey. At the beginning of last year, I didn’t know Switzerland was my destination. I just knew that my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be. In California, I felt like I was on …
On the way from Whitehorse to Healdsburg, I stopped to visit my friend in Smithers, BC. She has just bought a house there and is starting to become part of the community. It’s a time for change for everybody I know–or that’s what it seems like anyway. Regardless, I had left Whitehorse at 6h30 am …
…and sometimes in September.” I am sitting in the kitchen, chatting away rather comfortably (I think) in French to Ludo’s parents. And I see the quizzical looks on their faces. Just fleetingly, but enough that I question my choice of the word “culotte”. I was telling them that the Yukon is quite warm in June, …
We went to a soirée des courges (Hallowe’en) at a friend’s house on Saturday night. I notice that Hallowe’en in Switzerland is refreshingly absent from the stores. Maybe the commercialism was refreshingly absent because we still showed up to a friend’s house for pumpkin soup. Cheese, wine, de la viande sechée–and pumpkin soup. Mmmmmm. Our …
A few weeks ago, I installed Tweet Deck on my computer. I search for fellow bloggers and social media fans and just interesting people in general. I have an ongoing search for Lausanne and Valais. One morning I see a tweet flutter by: “On to Lausanne by train today… http://bit.ly/aid14.” I wonder who is arriving …
“Can I bring you something?,” he asked on his way out the door. “I can’t think of anything.” “Are you sure?” I stop and think a moment. I’d bought a butternut squash at the market on Saturday because I’d wanted to make butternut squash soup. I have a favourite recipe from my Looney Spoons cookbook. …
We were a much smaller group this month–and we came in waves. I organized a meetup at 2h00 p.m. Anthony from meetup there. Cynthia, a new media teacher, came with questions about consolidating blogs and users. Check out her class blog at: jour163.wordpress.com. Both Theo and Lori were new members and were very helpful to …