Friday Fun at Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton

It was much calmer Friday and so warm early in the day. I spent time knitting and writing in the morning. My allergies were triggered from mosquito bites I got at Rose Hall. The medicine did help eventually. Tim enjoyed the hot tub in the room. I had am amazing outdoor shower. There is something about showering with a beautiful sky above that is freeing. It is a refreshing way to wake up.

we went to Blue Lagoon for breakfast again. We were early enough to get a picture with our hostess before it got too busy. Tim got his banana pineapple smoothie and I got my made to order omelette. Good food to start the day. We walked down to the opposite end of the resort after breakfast. It felt so good to move.

Salted mackerel

Baked beans & saltfish

I love that our room is close to the beach and pool. We can come and get swimsuits on just before going there. This morning we took a dip. I spent some time watching the fish and chatting with our friends from Kensington PEI. She brought her quilting to the beach, so a fellow crafter too. Then I got down to business to complete my post about the Haunted Tour of Rose Hall and do some knitting. The rest of our beach time Tim and I chatted or snoozed.

I had to leave when my burn got warm. We relaxed for a bit while the aloe cooled my burn. I also jumped in the cool bath water. It made my back stop burning. When I was ready we went down to the large pool. Tim grabbed some jerk chicken on the way by. The entertainment team was doing an activity so we moved along. We found two chairs by the pool, dropped our stuff and jumped in. It was cool even for me. We went to the bar and sat on stools in the shade. I was watching a crew from Florida sing along to the music with the confidence of people who knew the song when it was clear they did not. We moved closer to be in the sun. It did not really help. Tim went to the chairs to warm up. I finished my drink and joined him. We went back to the adults only pool by our room and agreed it is more our vibe. We can say we tried it.

Somewhere in there we grabbed lunch at Miss Lou’s. I had been eying the sandwiches and sweets. I chose a smoked salmon roll, grapes, and a lemon pastry. Tim got a ham roll and red velvet cake. The espresso machine was being fixed so no fancy coffee. Which is probably good. Tim took a moment to perform on the empty stage in the Infinity Terrace. We had a note in the room door telling us that the Mexican restaurant was closed so we should call to rebook an al a carte for the evening. We got in to the Bhogali for 5:30 pm. I knit on the terrace while we waited for our reservation. Tim took a great picture.

Bhogali

I left for a minute and Tim met with one of the chefs. He explained the preparation and flavours of the dishes. I took a picture with him and Tim. That thing in his pocket is his ‘Travelling knife’ with a cork on the end of it. A few minutes later he introduced us to the Indian head chef. I was awestruck that he would come and say hi to us just as the first seating was starting. It was such a highlight but I cannot even remember what I said to him.

Lamb Sheek Kabob

Our waitress was amazing so friendly but not intrusive. I took her picture while she poured wine. Today was Jamaica day so she had the Jamaica colours on the bows in her hair. I ordered the Bhogali potato and chick pea salad to start. It was the perfect balance of spice to wake my taste buds, and was served on a bed of lettuce. The next course, Tim had the Subzi Samosa while I had the Lamb Sheek Kebab. Both were good. The spice hit me hard but settled after a few minutes. We both got the butter chicken and garlic naan bread. I loved how the tomato flavour just peeked into the butter chicken. The balance was just right. we ordered rice pudding and crème brûlée. Tim even liked the crème brûlée. He had a few bites and I finished it. The rice pudding was excellent as well. It was lightly spiced but the serving was cereal bowl sized. I could only eat half. This restaurant may be my new favourite.

we relaxed on the terrace after supper. We checked out the cigars but decided against it. The evening was the perfect temperature for both of us so we chatted for awhile before heading to bed.

Tim took this of the full moon behind a cloud

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Curry soup for the soul. I love homemade curry soup. I use curry purchased in Barbados. The olive oil and curry are heated in my pot. Then I add the onions, fresh ginger root, and celery. I cook until the onions are clear. Add the root vegetables I have on hand with some of my homemade broth. This time it was one sweet potato, one parsnip, and three carrots. The broth is in a ratio of one bottle of broth to one bottle of water. It just makes the broth go further and gives enough liquid to cover the vegetables. Once these are almost cooked, time depends on the size of chunks you cut, add the rest of the vegetables. This picture had mushrooms, and green beans. When it is almost finished I add the chicken breast. Finally, when the flavours are well mixed and everything is cooked, I add a can of coconut milk. It just adds that little extra.

Most times when I make a meal with lots of vegetables or a roast with bones. I make broth. It is so good to use making rice or soups etc. I love using my own instead of having to buy broth at the store. Last night I was making soup for a friend. I had celery, onion, sweet potato, green bean, ginger, carrot, and parsnip peels and ends, so I poured water over it cooking the broth as I made the soup. You can see it in the background of my soup picture. It really is not hard. You just peel cut things into another pot as you go. Pour water over it and let it boil. I do have a few tricks. I use an iron fish to add a bit of iron into the broth. This means I add a bit of lemon juice too. I let it sit overnight. Then boiled it again this morning for an hour before bottling it.

I joined Noom before Christmas

Noom claims to be the “last weight-loss program you’ll ever need”. It’s like having a trainer, nutritionist, and health coach all in one place (e.g., your phone). Where Noom differs from other apps, however, is its focus on making behavioural changes surrounding dieting and weight loss. Psychologists helped to develop the app so I was hoping the behavioural modification would work where other things had failed.

I am a number of weeks in and it is helping to change my behaviour. It does not limit any foods but rates them as green, yellow, or red. When I started I ate way more red than anything else always going over my allowed red foods. I am happy to say that by now. I stay pretty close to my limits and have added lots of green foods. This week and last I started focusing on moving. I have a membership at the UPEI track and plan to go walking at least 4 days a week. My first week I made it to the track only a couple of times and walked outside once.

This is not a magic program. You have to be dedicated to change and willing to make the changes. The little quizzes and readings are things that I already know but they are presented in small chunks where you can take a quick read then take some time to think about it. I am now doing so much better as I focus on one thing at a time to get there. It takes less than 15 minutes a day but I think it is doing something for me.

Finally went to the PEI Shellfish Festival

Tim managed to get two tickets to the PEI Shellfish Festival through Air Miles Canada VIP tent promotion. I was so excited to go. It has been on my list for years but we never made it. September is so busy in Academia. But this included a meet and greet with Chef Michael Smith. I could not resist.

We got there around noon on Sunday. It was pretty quite when we went through the gate but the tent was already hopping. There was a concert at one end of the tent and a chowder competition at the other. We walked down one side of the tent before we realized that the VIP tent was across the tent from where we were.

We had a great chat with the person who scanned our tickets. She was from Air Miles Canada;s main office in Toronto and was really enjoying her time on PEI. We only had one couple in front of us. A person from Victoria PEI used my phone to take this picture. 

We had a quick chat with Chef Michael Smith. He is such a nice person and a great ambassador for PEI. On our way out we each got a signed copy of his book.

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

We wander around checking out the displays and chowder competition. Sharing some chowder and battered bar clams. It was a nice afternoon. Inspired, on the way home, we picked up the ingredients to make my Mom’s Bubbly Baked Scallops. A great way to end the day with our kids.

 

Made my own hummus for my knitters

The crew is coming to my house for knitting tonight so I decided to do something special (usually by the end of the day I say “I have popcorn we can throw in the microwave.”). I had made my own sesame paste using toasted sesame seeds and some oil and I really wanted to make something with it soon. I could have ground it up a bit more but it turned out OK and I did not ruin my new hand blender. It smells so good!

Some of you may do this all the time but I had been buying my tahini and just decided to try making it. So simple.

I have been making my own hummus for a long time and have gotten good with just adding what I want. Since my knitting group has a variety of tastes I went with the basic hummus:

• 1 can chickpeas,
• 1/4 cup each of juice from the chickpeas, lemon juice, and tahini,
• two cloves of garlic, and
• salt and pepper to taste.

I had garlic scapes that I might have thrown in for my family but I am sure it would have made green hummus so decided against it for company. It looks great and even got approval from my baby who tasted it this morning for me.

The black is the ground pepper. I could have used other pepper but I was not thinking. It tastes amazing. Now to remember to pick up veggies when I go to the market at lunch.

 

Getting on Track and Living Simply

On Monday I finally recorded Episode 21 of CAWcreations Podcast (well vlog actually but many knitters still refer to their videos as podcasts). I had hoped it would be a month between episodes but it was more. I am feeling behind on everything and playing catch up. I hate this feeling and am working toward a simple living plan that will give me more time.

The hardest thing is not packing my nights and weekends with events that are draining more than they are fulfilling and replacing them with time with family and friends that I find invigorating. This means that sometimes I have to say no to things that I know I cannot do. It is freeing. For example, Wednesday night I skipped knitting to work on a pattern that I am trying to get out this week. I missed seeing my friends but I got to bed at a decent time instead of working after I got home. That late night work is not great anyways, especially when doing final edits.

I am also trying to clean out my craft room. It is now at the point where it looks worse than when I started. I need to do a stash purge and give away some of the material. This is hard because “I just might need that!”. Let me be real. I have not sewn in ages. I need to take my machine in for servicing. I have three… yes three quilts half finished. One for a military friend who has had two postings since I started it. Now I cannot even walk in the door. I have to pick at it this weekend. It is so bad that my husband would not go in to get a chair one day because there was no path through to the chair (that is 3 feet from the door). I can even see the mess now as I write and am feeling stressed about it. This used to be my go to room to relax in.

Now for the good news I am feeling healthier. It is this eating plan where I focus on vegetables and fruit with few processed foods. Some days are better than others but I am generally feeling better, no more running to the bathroom all the time and fewer migraines. Last night I wanted to be bad but instead I cut up a sweet potato and made fries from scratch using coconut oil. So good and my children loved them too. I think even making sure I drink enough water is helping.

My mindfulness and meditation focus is helping my positive outlook. Walking in the morning at coffee break or a short meditation (I am a fair weather walker even a hint of rain or wind and I will balk) makes my mornings so much better. Then I can focus on simple things like enjoying an especially good pot of coffee or how beautiful my plants look.

Here is to appreciating the little rainbows in each day!

Lunch at the Market

I love our summer routine of going to the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market for lunch. It is great to go for a walk in the middle of the day and to see so many familiar faces. The market makes me happy. My only issue is choosing what to have. Everything is so good that I have trouble choosing.

Coffee comes first at the Caledonia House/Coffee Corner. They have wonderful double lattes. I can even get my almond milk. If you just need regular coffee you can get that too. If it is a really warm day I will go for a lemonade at the Hand Popped Kettle Corn booth (as I can get it without sugar). Alternatively, I will grab an ice tea lemonade mix from Lady’s Baker’s Tea Trolley.

Food choices always depend on my mood. Out of Africa has my favourite samosas because I absolutely love the green sauce. Everything is good so I let Makena decide when I am hungry enough for a full meal. La Sazon de Mexico is amazing, but I love their Mexican breakfast which I get on Saturday. Wednesday is my day to try something else. If I decide to have bread then I have to choose between: Chef Ross’ smoked salmon on a bagel (he has many other great things including a lobster roll but I crave the smoked salmon if I get anything else); or The Hearth’s cheese, sprouts and tomato sandwich on homemade bread. Finally, I will go to Shaddy’s for a falafel. That does not even begin to cover all the other great things. These are my repeated choices.

Nurturing Essence Raw Chocolate is always my dessert. Any time I host an event I get Katlin to choose some treats for me to share. I love chocolate but this raw chocolate is my favourite by far.

The Charlottetown Farmers Market is open on Saturday and Wednesday from 9 am to 2 pm in the summer. In the winter, it goes back to a Saturday only market. If you are in Charlottetown any of those days you have to check it out.

Gluten Free Subway Bun

Today for lunch tried the gluten free bun at Subway. It costs an extra $1 in Canada but is so worth it in my view. I got the butter chicken sub with Swiss cheese, spinach, jalapenos, and cucumber. I did not get anything I should not eat on it. This is a major accomplishment because I try to be gluten, lactose and nightshade free (O.K. so jalapenos are nightshades but there was only a few on it and I did not have green peppers too). I juggle the cheats when I go out to eat and try not to have more than one at any meal. The butter chicken was not amazing to me. I found the taste was not as “bold” as I was expecting, so I would have preferred my normal go to sub – turkey bacon. But it was fun to try something new.

My sub was toasted. The warm gluten free bun was great, at least according to my taste buds. It had the moisture and texture of fresh regular bread (sometimes I find my gluten free choices and dry and crumbly). I did not have any of my children with me so was not able to do the kid test. If they say it is good then I can actually take it somewhere or recommend it. Today I am going to be wild and crazy and recommend it anyways without their endorsement. I really enjoyed it and did not have any of the after effects that I would get from regular Subway buns.

 

Peanut Chicken and Vegetables

So I tried a new slow cooker recipe today. I had to modify so much it is not even close to the original now, but it smells amazing.

I love slow cooker recipes because you can chop everything the night before. Chill overnight in separate bowls then mix it up quickly the day you plan to serve it.

1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 package of frozen diced chicken (approx 2 lbs.)

3 medium onions (approx. 1.5 cups) thinly sliced

1 tsp garlic plus (did not have garlic cloves)
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt (I just ground some pink rock salt into it)

2 TBSP warm water
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter (almond butter if you prefer)

Chopped and cooked to desired hardness:
3 lbs. potatoes
2 heads broccoli

1/4 cup grated zucchini
2 TBSP chopped unsalted peanuts (optional use almonds if use almond butter)
1 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (or 3/4 tsp., 4 mL, dried), optional)

Heat cooking oil in large frying pan on medium heat. Add diced chick. Cook until browned. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add onion to same large frying pan. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often until softened.

Add next three ingredients (garlic, curry, crushed pepper). Heat and stir for one minute until fragrant.

Mix 1/4 cup broth with cornstarch, mix until smooth. Add all broth, and salt. Stir well. Pour over chicken. Cover. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or on High for 4 to 4.5 hours.

Stir warm water into peanut butter in small cup until smooth. Add to chicken mixture. Stir. Add potatoes and broccoli. Stir well. Cover cook on high for about 5 minutes. Remove to serving bowl.

Scatter zucchini, peanuts and cilantro over top.

Mom’s Bean Salad

1 20 oz can green beans
1 20 oz can yellow beans
1 14 oz can lima beans
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1/4 cup onions, coarsely chopped

Rinse kidney beans under water to remove sauce. Drain beans well in colander.

Mix together:

3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup mazola oil (do not use olive oil when storing in fridge)
1/2 cup vinegar (flavour you prefer just plain works)
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Place ingredients in a bottled and shake well to blend. Pour over the beans in a large bowl with a tight cover. Let stand in fridge for 12 to 14 hours.