Found it!

A Very Good Meat Loaf

Combine and place in loaf pan:

                 *  1 1/2 lb. ground beef

                 *  1 slice bread chopped or broken finely

                 *  1 egg

                 *  1 small onion finely chopped (sweet is nice)

                 *  1 t. salt

                 *  1/4 t. pepper

                 *  4 T. ketchup (the best you can find)

                 *  1/2 - 2/3 c. milk or half and half

                 *  1-2 t. Worcestershire Sauce

Sauce to be poured over and on sides of meat loaf:

                *  4 T. apple cider vinegar

                *  2-4 T. brown sugar

                *  1/2 c. ketchup

Bake at 350 degrees for about 75 minutes till done.

Enjoy!  This is my favourite comfort food ... served with creamy mashed potatoes and a veggie ... either my Oma's spinach puree with chopped green onions or garlicky green beans or carrots slathered in butter.

              

Bereft ... well ... sort of ...

I can't find the recipe I used to make the meat loaf that Peter loves.  It was soft and had bread, milk and egg in it ... but it was tomatoey sweet and spicy as well with a lovely glazey saucy topping.

I have hunted everywhere in my own cookbooks and have now gone on-line. There are lots of recipes but I can't be sure I have found the right one.

This is important because there is only one mini-loaf left in the freezer and when I ask Peter what he wants me to make, he says he likes everything but especially the meat loaf.

This is one  that kids would love. 

Do you have a favourite recipe that you always make ... or do you just play it by ear/eye/aroma  & taste buds, putting everything but the kitchen sink in?

Since starting this cooking for Peter, I am cooking smarter than I used to.  Some of my favourite tricks are ways to deal with fresh veggies.  I buy peas and green beans  in bulk at Costco, and blanch/freeze the ones I don't use immediately so that I can pull them out of the freezer on Saturday morning and quickly stir fry them with olive oil, butter, and garlic or shallots to add to the meals.  With asparagus, I keep it as dry and cold as possible in an open plastic bag and when I am ready to cook it,  I stir fry it quickly and dress it with grated orange peel or tarragon.  As soon as tomatoes no longer tempt me to eat them raw, I oven roast them with garlic, onion, and olive oil, then buzz them in the blender and freeze them for sauces.  I no longer have leftover veggies that rot in my fridge ... one of the dangers of living alone.

I am also losing weight.  I am not sure whether it is because I am always surrounded by food or whether it is because I feel no compunction to eat up the left overs, or because I don't cook Peter's carbohydrates till Saturday morning so I am tending to eat lots of veggies with a little protein rather than a lot of rice or potato or pasta with veggies and protein.  Maybe it has to do with when I eat ... earlier in the day.  I hope it is not because the food is terrible!

Our LONG lesson on Saturday afternoon was fun.  We had enchiladas, salad and wine and then went out snow shoeing.  Diane took us up hill  and down dale through the woods, and told us how to avoid problems with bears.  On one of the particularly steep places I kept slipping.  i finally got up with help.  Diane pulled me up by my ski pole and Pauline pushed on my fanny!  Afterwards we had cocoa with a ginger, lemon, oatmeal cake.  Then we began our lesson.  We were all so tired and full we decided against our original plan of having dinner in Wakefield.  Six hours with three great women.   Nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Not too lazy Sunday

I have not accomplished a great deal today but I did do some work on the novel and took Kenya to the village with me. My intention was to buy milk and then go for a walk some place where the roads were less icy than here ... more amenable to walking. Kenya got all dressed up in her new scarf and looked pretty spiffy.

We bought the milk and found a great spot between two sunny fields but as soon as I got out the car the wind caught me and practically tore my jacket off. The windbreaker broke no wind! I drove home.

Enroute we saw a flock of shaggy sheep and a pack of Alsatians lying peacefully on their dog house roofs. Then we saw a road sign showing a husky crossing. Just as I was thinking how cute that was, two deer bounded across the road.

When we got back to our parking space I unloaded the groceries and let Kenya loose, and then we visited Tanya (my nice neighbour) and I drank tea and ate some home made pumpkin and chocolate chip squares and Kenya got a bunch of loves.

When we came to the house ... my gawd it is treacherous up here today especially wearing rubber boots ... I made three litres of yogurt which will be ready sometime late tonight ... and we curled up and watched Pan's Labyrinth. I worked on the second red sock and Kenya dozed.

I am up here preparing this post because the movie was at that terrible torture scene and I didn't think I could face it just then. I am not sure I can face it at all. I may just do something elsewhere till it is over.

I hope everyone has had as pleasant a Sunday as I have.

Happy Birthday, Deb

Happy Birthday, Deb

Today is my daughter's 51st birthday. It seems strange to me that we are both enduring hot flashes and night sweats now. Fifty years ago I was enduring hormonal fluctuations and demands while she was still needing her diapers changed. It seems that the older we get, the closer our ages become. My group of friends includes people of all ages and many are younger than my children.

But I am not 51 and my body reminds me of that fact quite often now.

Last weekend I went out for lunch and to an art show with friends who are younger, and decided by 3 p.m. that I needed to go home to the serenity of the lake and just veg out with my dog. They continued on to other pursuits.

This weekend I planned to go to many different art shows, see a play at the Elmdale Tavern, and generally keep happily busy for three days and evenings.

But, reality intervened.

On Friday morning, I walked Kenya and then went to my pottery class where I laboured for three hours on a bread baker. (Slab plus coil for anyone interested.) By the time I finished the building I was exhausted, fed up with it and my stomach was growling. And then Carrie noted that the base was too thin for the sides so it had to be re-done and attached.

Before I could go home though, I had to photocopy a set of directions for some fingerless mitts and send them off to an email-less friend in Barrie. By the time I got home the growling had become thunderous and then sullen.

I boiled two eggs and wolfed them down with toasted whole wheat challah bread, and then felt awful: bloated, nauseous and sweating profusely. I thought maybe a hot bath and a nap would help... it didn't ... maybe a 2 mile walk with Kenya ... uh uh. By the time I got home again I was feeling no better, just more exhausted. And I had to go to an art show at 6:30 and then entertain friends for dinner.

I took meat out of the freezer and planned the menu. And then I realized I did not have to do this. I could phone and cancel. As soon as I did, the world came back into focus. I could breathe again. Life was once again manageable.

I can no longer overload my plate, it seems ... either with food or commitments. I need to maintain a quiet pace of life with regular meals and a balance between being alone with my own thoughts and opening myself to new experiences.

I will try to get to Cathy and Dave's show this afternoon ... it is in Chelsea. And maybe I will check out the Nearly New Shop in Chelsea as well while I do my grocery shopping.

And, then, I think I will spend the rest of the weekend baking 3 different kinds of bread with the giant zucchini I grated yesterday, making a curried pumpkin and mushroom soup and more challah bread, and listening to Stuart MacLean when Tyler's story will be read. And I will invite my friends to share food with me here and tell me all about what they saw at the Bead show, the 260 Fingers show and the art exhibit at the old Creighton Street School.

I will also continue reading Merle's Door, a book that makes me very glad I too have a free thinking dog.

I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend, Deb, and that this birthday is special.

Tidying Up and Looking Ahead

Yesterday I baked bread ... whole wheat challah from a recipe I received by email ... and banana bread from all those bananas that almost didn't make it through the storm. Kenya and I were finally able to deliver food to Barry. Gerry, his next neighbour, says Barry is getting spoiled; that he can't possibly eat everything we bring; that he'd be glad to help out.

I also sorted out my calendar so that I won't miss the things I really want to do this month. I don't mean the regular things like pottery class and the book club evening, or the doctor's appointment; I mean the art and craft shows that are all on before Christmas.

So far my next three weekends look like this!

November 2 Ottawa Valley Spinners and Weavers with Tammy and Yvonne

November 8 Marta is telling stories at the National Library from 10-12
Cathy and Dave have a show from 1-5

November 9 The 260 Fingers Pottery show is on all afternoon

November 13-16 The Ottawa Valley Potters' Show ... I think I will go after my doctor's appointment at the Riverside on Friday.

I am hoping to learn things at all the shows but especially this afternoon as these fabric artists are working with all kinds of materials and many also have sheep for felting materials.

Hope your weekend is a good one and that you have lots to look forward to.

Strategy sucks

Well ... so much for strategic voting! I am going back to the tried and true ... well at least to the familiar ... I will simply vote for what I believe in from now on.

Last night I went to the first meeting of a new book club. I think I will enjoy it. The books chosen range from non-fiction to biography to the short story to the novel to poetry. I like reading novels better than anything else, but maybe this will stretch me. The people seem interesting and intelligent. I just hope I can afford the books!

Today is going to be a cooking day. I am trying out recipes that are basic, down-to-earth and cheap. Yesterday I did a side dish with beans and green pepper. Today I am cooking up a minestrone and an apple cake.

I am glad this election is over and we can go on to other things, but that post election coverage on CBC was helpful last night. When I awoke every hour with night sweats I drank water while listening to the latest returns. The night passed more quickly than it usually does.