You can never have enough Starbucks – can you? In an earlier post I wrote about how keeping two homes has some challenges – one of which is remembering what I have for groceries and which house they are in. Two weeks ago I saw that we were low on coffee at the lake so when we went back to our house in town, I put the coffee that I had there in the container to go to the lake, which I did take to the lake the next weekend. Then just this past week I was in Costco and “remembered” we needed coffee at the lake and also our house in town so I bought two more. So, now I have two mega packages at the lake and one mega package in town. I’m not sure this makes perfect sense but I’m finished trying to explain. I think I need a coffee . . .

Zrazy with Mushroom Sauce is part of my Ukrainian dinner for which the menu is included on my “Recipes” page.

Zrazy
2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup or more milk
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground chicken
1 small onion, grated
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper

Combine bread crumbs, milk and let stand for a few minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs, place on rimmed baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes until done. Place in casserole, pour Mushroom Sauce over and serve.
I quite often freeze the meatballs ahead of time. When I’m ready to use them I put them in a pot with 1/2 cup hot stock and heat through.

Mushroom Sauce
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup stock
1/2 cup sweet cream
1 teaspoon chopped dill
Salt and pepper

Cook onion in butter until tender. Add the mushrooms and saute for 10 – 12 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and stir. Pour in stock and stir constantly until smooth and thick. Add the sweet cream and then cook for a few minutes. Mix in dill, season to taste, and pour over Zrazy.

On our journey back to the city last night we caught sight of these deer having dinner. I don’t recall ever seeing this before but perhaps my memory fails me! How comical!

Well, what else? More snow!

We spied a Northern Shrike this morning sitting patiently near our bird feeder. Most likely watching for mice but also keeping an eye on the chickadees that flitted nervously about!
“Northern Shrikes pass southward through Alberta in October and return in late March and April. The Northern Shrikes macabre habit of impaling its kills on thorns and barbs has earned it the name ‘butcher bird’. Lanius is Latin for ‘butcher’ and exubitor is Latin for ‘watchman’ or ‘sentinel’, therefore ‘watchful butcher’ is an appropriate description of the Northern Shrike’s foraging behavior. (Birds of Alberta, Lone Pine Field Guide)

I can’t do anything about this weather so today when the temperatures rose slightly above bone-chilling dangerous I went out to take some landscape photos. I think it’s beautiful out there. It is pure white, flawless beauty, everywhere you look. A visual feast. I’m going out for more tomorrow.

So, since the weather outside is downright frightful I’ve been looking for ways to make the inside fantastically delightful! In the stores at least – there are signs of spring – bouquets of tulips, packages of spring bulbs, and lots of little houseplants in bright pots. Never guess where I found these little gems (Costco). And there are all kinds to choose from. The lady told me these plants need to be watered at least once a month-  hmmmmm, I wonder if I can manage that (insert smiley face here).

Sorry folks. I would have liked to post a beautiful photo of some tulips peeking out of the ground but alas – this is our reality here in Alberta on March 1st. Temperatures are hovering around the -30C mark and that’s without the windchills. If you factor in the winds, which according to Environment Canada are swirling around 15 km/h, it’s feeling closer to -40C. It’s the kind of weather that can freeze exposed skin in less than 10 minutes. It’s downright dangerous! This was our view as we made our way back home. Luckily, we made it safely and are snug and warm. I guess I can always buy a bouquet . . .

My oldest daughter gave me these measuring cups and I just think they are so gorgeous I have to give them a turn in the spotlight. I used them to make my Deluxe Chocolate Pudding. Makes baking fun!

This is a recipe from my Mother-in-Law who is a fabulous cook – everything she makes is especially delicious. Many years ago she published her own cookbook “Food and Fun” and included this recipe. My husband informed me last night that it is one of his favourite desserts. It’s also very, very easy to make, and a bit unusual. So without further ado – here it is:

Deluxe Chocolate Pudding
In a 2 litre baking dish mix:
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa

Make a well and mix in:
1/2 cup milk (I used evaporated milk for extra richness)
1 tsp vanilla

Add and mix:
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Over this mixture (do not mix in) pour combined:
2 cups hot water
4 Tbsp cocoa
3/4 cup brown sugar
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 -45 minutes – check to make sure the sauce has thickened enough before you call it done. Serve hot with ice cream! Divine!

Linked up to
Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

And I shared this with ‘Theme Thursday’

I’ve been wondering what has been nibbling my fir trees this winter. I thought it might be a porcupine, which would not be a good thing because they can kill a tree. Well, this morning I caught this little fella in the act! Poor thing looks so frozen – it’s minus 26 degrees celcius. I took this from the dining room window – no way was I stepping out there! brrrrr

Just out and about again looking for inspiration in everyday things. Taking a photo a day really makes you look hard at everything around you. My Art of Photography class has taken a turn – not so much emphasis on camera controls but now on composition. I’ve really come a long way since this class started. I’ve used manual mode for the whole month of February and I feel like I know my camera a lot better. Now it’s on to the fun stuff!

Well, we had our visit yesterday and Grandma scores! See my Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies!

55mm, f25, 1/60s, ISO100

This is what my February looks like today. It’s cold, it’s grey and it’s breezy, with bits of hard snow falling. Not too easy to get excited about setting up a photograph when your hands are freezing and you know a nice warm vehicle is only steps away . . . But, set it up I did, in manual mode of course, and now I have my photo of the day. I think I’m going to go and make some soup. More on that later.

I went out to visit our little country store last week-end and came away with nothing more than this photo. I thought these sunflowers were beautiful. Shot in manual mode and processed a bit in PhotoShop.

I took a walk through some very deep snow this morning watching for inspiring wintry scenes so I could take my photo of the day. When, lo and behold, reaching across the path right in front of me was this branch. Suddenly my mind jumped ahead – about one month? two? I imagined the smell of soil and new leaves, water running and warmer temperatures. Stop! I tell myself. Not yet. It’s still winter! But it is late winter and March is only a couple of weeks away. A girl can dream, can’t she?

A day of celebration! I’ve had one thousand visits as of today! Thank you everyone for stopping by. I don’t take you for granted and I hope you enjoy what you see when you get here!

Manual, F11 1/80s, ISO 100

Never before spotted here at the feeder! A weasel of all things. This winter is turning out to be pretty interesting. I wondered why they get such a bad rap so I ‘googled’ it and turns out that they
1. stink
2. suck out the contents of eggs (small birds)
I thought he was kind of cute though, and felt lucky to have captured this photo.

The Ruffed Grouse is a regular visitor to our yard and we quite often see one or more, especially in the winter but they are usually hiding behind branches and grasses. So when this fella hopped up onto the wood pile I grabbed my camera and ran outside in my slippers! there’s just no time for fooling around when it comes to wildlife! I couldn’t have got a better shot if I had posed him! sit up straight! tilt a little to the side! look at the camera! pick up your crest, hold it! now smile!

This is an old family favourite on my side of the family – going back 50 years. It’s so simple but hearty and tasty. There never was a real name for it so I’m calling it Mom’s Turmeric Chicken. I was always fascinated that mom used turmeric – she was a fabulous cook and seemed to be ahead of her time.

1 whole chicken, cut up
salt, pepper
1 Tbsp oil

1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove chopped garlic
1 – 28 oz can tomatoes
1 tsp turmeric
1 cup uncooked rice

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, brown in hot oil 15 minutes.
Saute onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic in butter or margarine for 5 minutes. Mix into tomatoes, rice, and tumeric. Place in greased casserole, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1  1/4 hours.

Note:
“Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a culinary spice that spans cultures – it is a major ingredient in Indian curries, and makes American mustard yellow. But evidence is accumulating that this brightly colored relative of ginger is a promising disease-preventive agent as well, probably due largely to its anti-inflammatory action.”  
Dr. Weil

F11, 1 1/3s, ISO100

Well, another mind-boggling night for me last night. It started out good but by 9:35 my inside voice was crying ‘get me out of here’! I tell you, this is hard work! But, I’m a trooper and today I got right to my assignment of taking a photo in manual mode and creating a still life where everything in the photo is as sharp as the next, and with the best possible exposure. I’ve been working on this for a couple of hours and it’s time to move on. This was hard for me because I’ve gotten into the habit of shooting on aperture priority with a small depth of field which has become my ‘auto’. I’m not too sure about it, but I’m done. It’s going to have to do. I am now going shopping.

I saw this ship way off in the distance but by the time she finally got close enough for me to take a photo – her sails were down! A bit of a disappointment but I still thought she was beautiful. I’ve applied several of my own textures; rust, jacaranda trees, clouds and icy branches. A few different blend modes, a vignette, and done! I could tinker with it all day but you get to the point where it just seems to be right. For a complete tutorial on how to achieve this look, go on over to Digital Scrapper (aka Scrapper’s Guide) and check out the June 2010 Premier tutorial – A Touch of Texture by Jan Walker.

… before …

While on our recent cruise, one of our ports was Aruba where we went on a catamaran ride along the coast. I didn’t take my camera because we were going to be snorkeling at two different sites and it just seemed to be too much trouble. Don took a few shots with our ancient Kodak point and shoot, but, (they’re not impressive). So, when we got back to Oranjestad we went to the market where I had fun taking photos of all the crafty things. I always feel guilty just taking photos and not buying anything but no one chased me away on this day (I have been chased away – it’s sort of embarrassing). So here is my little collage of all the eye-candy – so colourful!

Where’s Waldo?

I thought this was a perfect set-up to practice my focusing skills. Can you tell who’s the centre of attention?

My daughters’ blog has now had over 10,000 hits as of today! She is amazingly creative and has amassed a large following. Her posts are informative, fun, and beautiful. Hop on over to see her at “A Pretty Life in the Suburbs“.

I’m blogging in a totally different vein this morning (no snow). I don’t know what this plant is but I spied it as we were getting ready to get back on the ship in Curacao. What drew me in was the size of the leaves. They were as big as a dinner plate. I noticed how perfect and green each leaf was, and yes, I did notice the veins but it wasn’t until later when I was examining the photo that those veins really popped! I’m finding that I actually see more when looking through the lens of a camera than I actually see in real life. This is not news – all photographers feel the same way. But I hadn’t even noticed the water droplets! I can only imagine what wonders go over my head every day. My lesson learned? Slow down and try to see more in the moment. The perfect photo presents itself and is over in a heart-beat – you don’t usually get a second chance.

We were driving to our place at the lake this afternoon when we spied these mysterious balls of snow all over the fields! I knew right away what they were but I don’t remember ever seeing them (only in photos maybe). As soon as I got home I googled “snow balls rolling on fields” and found a good explanation on Wikipedia (hope its right)! Anyway, here is what they had to say:

How cool is that?
PS I’m not bragging about my photography here . . .

View from our hotel in Puerto Rico while we wait . . .

We arrived in Puerto Rico last night after a very long day of flying. We ate at Plato’s where I enjoyed mafongo (major plantain pastiness) and Don enjoyed el jibaritos’s (plantain sandwich!!), Julie, you were sooo right! At the moment we are in our hotel room waiting to get to the ship. It’s raining (but oh so warm!) so we can’t walk to the beach and this is the only photo I can offer – it’s a fig tree hedge with a palm tree in the distance. I have the window open and because we are close to the airport we are getting a mix of giant roaring aircraft engines mixed in with roosters crowing – how neat! It’s just plain good to be here.