« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »
Whee! My cross-border shopping list has gotten shorter! I just read an article in the Globe and Mail reporting that Shoppers Drug Mart has started to carry Method cleaning products! (I hope it's not just the Toronto stores! That would be terrible!)
Now I just need to work on deciding what to buy from Trader Joe's :)
I don't like eating bananas after they get spotty. So ...
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients using a fork. In a medium bowl, beat wet ingredients until well-blended. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just-combined. Spoon into muffin cups. Bake in centre of a 400 degree F oven for 20 – 25 minutes. Makes 12.
It's taken awhile for Martha to work her way back into my consciousness since her release, but I have caught bits and pieces of her new show lately. Today she had a feature on fish tacos with chipotle tartar sauce, and suddenly, our proximity to the ocean and fresh fish here in Newfoundland is tasting pretty good :) Wonder if I could substitute cod tongues for the snapper ...
I've been warned that St. Patrick's Day is a big deal here in St. John's. It might be a rumour, but I've heard that it might even be a government holiday. Several drinking establishments have been adverstising that the beer, green or otherwise, will be flowing until last call on Sunday night. Too bad I don't drink the stuff :)
There's a post on Slashfood that caught my attention - this one about the black and tan. It's the prettiest beer concoction I've seen, I'll admit, but I still won't drink it :) I think I was eight years old when I discovered what is still my favourite St. Pat's beverage: the Shamrock Shake from McD's ...
I'm innocent. Anyone who has ever seen me try to navigate through Photoshop will verify that :)
I'd like to send out some internet props to the The Aitch, the talented culprit behind this smashing site makeover.
did my crafty side go? It's been missing ever since the little M arrived on the scene, I think. Do you think she used her superbaby powers and stole it? Maybe aliens abducted me and performed a crafto-ectomy that I just don't remember? Gosh, it seems like lifetime ago that I was making those way-too-popular now marble magnets, Christmas ornaments, various beaded things ...
Gah. Well, maybe I've just been re-focusing my interests. I started scrapbooking (and an obsession with poking around Two Peas in a Bucket) as a way of combining a photo album for Madeline with a traditional baby book. I've made baby announcements, thank you cards, Christmas cards, and birthday invitations (note to self: Why did I not buy a paper trimmer when I made envelopments for our wedding reception invites?). I have managed to do a bit of sewing - but it's mainly been baby stuff and another Roman Shade. Not really extending myself. My lovely husband and daughter gave me a copy of Stitch and Bitch for my birthday - I figure I might as well learn to knit while I'm stranded on this island. I've heard many people say that knitting is a form of therapy, so maybe that's exactly what I need to get in touch with my creative side again.
sidenote: I noticed that there is a crochet version of Stitch and Bitch - The Happy Hooker. Whee!
Chris bought me this lovely scarf for my birthday this past weekend. It's locally made (by Charlottestreet) from old sweaters, apparently. We found it on our little shopping expedition in downtown St. John's at a store called Johnny Ruth that was full of other nifty stuff, including a collection of handbags and change purses made from old billboard art.
I'm not a really picky person when it comes to my vacuum cleaner. At home we have a no-frills lightweight Hoover and a heavier Dirt Devil, both uprights that use bags. One of my online friends recently was complaining that her cannister vac broke, and she didn't have the money to buy another cannister. She loathes uprights, figuring they aren't as powerful. I didn't that there was a difference. Is there a difference? I've always used an upright!
Here in St. John's I'm using a lime green Eureka Optima. It does an alright job. But the innovation in floor cleaning that I'm really excited about is the Scooba! I would totally welcome a robotic floor-washing device into my home ...
I thought that I would love the convection oven that's here in the townhouse, but I'm not feeling it. I've made a batch of lemon squares, using my regular recipe from One Smart Cookie and I've also made a batch of blondies. The blondies were just undercooked after being in the oven for the specified period of time, and also with ten further minutes of baking. The lemon squares were undercooked in three quadrants, and overcooked in a fourth quadrant. I've made both of there recipes many times back at home and they've always turned out. I wasn't even using the convection funtion in this oven here, and I'm almost willing to go on a baking hiatus. Bah.
For the second Fat Tuesday in two years, I managed to make pancakes for dinner. As we have no particular affliation to Mardi Gras or Catholicism, though, I felt it was okay if I experimented a bit and tried to make potato pancakes. The one I sampled was pretty tasty, but I think I should have used a lighter hand with the pancake mix because I don't think latkes are supposed to be so buttermilk pancake-ish ...
