Merry Christmas (2023)

When you don’t have a Christmas tree and have to make do with a bookcase.

Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Tsukimi (Moon-viewing Festival) Melt

My take on the Tsukimi (moon viewing festival) melts at Pizza Hut in Japan.

Instead of the mentaiko (cod roe) dip, I made a spicy mayo (mayo and Sriracha) dip. The inside has cheddar cheese, guacamole and a runny egg. Wrapped in a home made sourdough flour tortilla. Washed down with a mug of Sapporo Premium.

(edited) Happy Thanksgiving (2023)

Having a quiet day at home.

Supper was leftover roast chicken breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, StoveTop stuffing, steamed broccoli with zesty Italian dressing, and a freshly baked pumpkin pie and coffee.

I hope everyone is safe at home with their loved ones near or far on their minds.

Happy Easter ! (2023)

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates the occasion.

I was on my own and threw together a pork roast with fiddleheads, hash brown patties and  onion rings for supper. Cream puffs filled with whipping cream for dessert and a glass of Pinot Grigio to wash it down. The latter was a Christmas gift from my nephew.

Happy New Year (2023)

Hoping this new year is a great one for everyone.

Merry Christmas (2022)

And a Happy New Year (2023)

Decorating for Christmas

Sadly, I don’t have a fireplace to hang my stocking on … yes I DO have a Christmas stocking … so I taped it up on my bookcase.



It keeps falling cause the ribbon slips through the tape so I keep rehanging it.

Oh well.

I tried.

Rum Balls (Redux)

I can’t remember the last time I made these but I was reminded of them recently, when I visited a local European grocery store. They were charging $2.99 per piece for the large size. I was horrified, and since I had just restocked my supply of rum, I made a quick half batch today. The recipe was shared with me by my BFF, Ann, more than 50 years ago, from her family recipes.

I didn’t have much in the way of items to roll the rum balls in so I made do with scraps from my baking supplies. I had less than a tablespoon of two different kinds of candy shot so I rolled the rest of the balls in finely chopped walnuts and icing sugar.



   

Ann’s Rum Balls – makes 7 dozen 1″ balls**

2 x 7 oz (200 gm) pkgs chocolate wafers (1 box of Oreo baking crumbs)
1 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
1 cup sifted icing sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 cup rum, light or dark

Additional icing sugar for rolling.

Crush wafers to equal 4 1/2 cups. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 10 min. Coat hands in icing sugar and roll the mixture into small (~1″ diameter) balls.

Decorate balls by rolling in icing sugar or chocolate shot. Best if aged for a week before eating them so they become truffle like and the rum flavour mellows a bit.

May be frozen but also keep well in an air tight container in a cool place.

** Half batch made 16 balls. I used a 1 inch melon baller.

Merry Christmas (2021)

Have a great Christmas …

and a Happy New Year.

Happy Thanksgiving (2021)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

I went easy on the Thanksgiving spread this year. (Okay, I was lazy and couldn’t be bothered doing much except the bare necessities.)

Although, I DID make some giblet gravy to serve over the mashed potatoes. The coleslaw was from a bagged mix and dessert ended up being an apple instead of the apple pie and vanilla ice cream I had planned on.

Filling and delicious with lots of leftovers ahead.