New growth

It has been a week since I planted my heirloom tomatoes. Waking up to a sunny morning, I decided to look closely to see if anything was happening with these small seeds.  To my pleasure and surprise, I saw that some had started.  I had a grin from ear to ear and couldn't wait for Ralph to wake up to share in my excitement.  The seeds have started to sprout.  They are just tiny little shoots that are sticking up in the soil.  Now I'll have something else to keep an eye on.  I can visualize the pots now with their beautiful lush tomatoes growing in them.  I know I'm being optimistic but if this pandemic goes on into the summer, I'll have nothing but time to nurture and coax the fruits on the vine. I'm really enjoying growing these vegetables. 

On Friday I decided to try to grow romaine lettuce and celery from their core.  The celery started growing right away. Seriously, in 1 day I saw a tiny little shoot and it continues to grow.  The romaine has also started but is a little slower growing. I planted my onions on the weekend as well.  It's funny, as we don't even have our garden hose out yet to keep them watered, but after several trips with a jug I think they have enough to get started.  I had to spread the  bulbs over 3 pots and used up about 1/4 of my side garden.  I was thinking of "Holland Marsh" as I planted and wondered if our little plot of land in Rexdale will smell like onions in the summer. Wouldn't that be funny.   After church service on Sunday morning, I looked out of our back window and exclaimed in shock "look at my pots"...someone has been digging out my newly planted onions.  Grrrr, those darn squirrels.  Upon closer inspection I discovered that some of the onions have gone missing and I suspect that I might find them elsewhere in the garden or the squirrel enjoyed a nice snack.  Can you believe that?

Ralph made some cookies this week.  The recipe is a variation from the "famous" Hilton Hotel cookies which are placed by the front desk during the evenings when you are visiting.  I'm not sure that I've ever tried them, but supposedly the recipe is well sought after and the chain decided to release it to the public because of the Covid-19 virus.  Ralph modified it to be "gluten free" so that he could enjoy them as well.  I have posted the original recipe below for your enjoyment.  These cookies are huge as you can see.  He reduced the size on the next batch as these were big enough for two people to share. They were really tasty though and the batch made quite a few.  Ralph shared the recipe with his sister Ingrid and she took it one step further and used them to make ice-cream sandwiches. The picture looks so yummy!!  A nice Covid treat in the summertime.

While I was on youtube, I saw someone had posted a video on how to make bacon out of carrots.   Hmmm I was pretty intrigued so I watched it.  It seemed simple enough and I had carrots in the fridge so why not give it a try.  These are "vegan" and contain less fats so they are supposed to be more healthy for you.  I decided to make a batch for Sunday morning breakfast. My carrots weren't large like some you see in the store, but smaller bacon is fine. After washing the carrots I sliced them thinly lengthwise using my vegetable peeler.  Once that was done I mixed up the marinade which consisted of maple syrup, garlic powder, smoked paprika, celery salt and a few dashes of liquid smoke.  Simple enough and the smell made my mouth water.  I left them to marinade while I drank my coffee and heated up the oven.  I cooked the bacon on a silpat thinking it would be easier for cleanup.  The oven was set to 375c and I let them cook for about 12 minutes after which I turned them over for another 3 to finish.  Overall the end result was pretty tasty but if/when I make another batch I think I would add some salt as bacon (to me anyways) always should be a little salty.  I reserved the left over marinade so I can modify it slightly to enhance the flavour the next time. I enjoyed them, but Ralph thought they still tasted like carrots.  

I've always been curious about the photos I sometimes see displayed in Facebook which is done using simple household cooking oil and water.  It sounded easy enough.  I watched several videos to get an idea on how these are made noting that everyone seemed to do it slightly different.  The common elements included "light" ie. a flashlight or coloured lights of some sort, water and oil. Most used professional looking Macro lamps or "torches" along with "coloured" paper of some sort.  Since my flashlight batteries were dead, this wasn't an option as I needed the spares for my insulin pump.  I dug into my storage cupboard and found a roll of Christmas lights (LED).  These should work.  The next challenge was to find an oblong bowl made out of clear glass.  Hmmm, what could I use?  I don't typically have any "clear" cooking casserole dishes and my pie plates are all scratched up.  In the end I opted for a "round" mottled glass plate to use.  I thought it might enhance the look of the bubbles adding a bit of texture. After many attempts and not being pleased with any of them I walked away a bit frustrated.  All in all I had spent about 2 hours trying to figure this out.  Time for lunch and more research.  I decided to look for another bowl to do this in.  I had a covered baking dish in the cupboard that was deep and could hold a fair amount of water.  That might work.  The challenge was that it had a large stamped name imprinted on the bottom.  I'd have to avoid shooting towards the middle.  So I started again.  After figuring out that I needed to get "higher and higher" above the lights (after many failed shots), I slowly started seeing some results.  By the time I was at the correct height I had totally destroyed the water/oil mixture by over mixing it as I was encouraging ithe bubbles to "flow" to the right side of the bowl (to miss the stamp). How frustrating.  Time to step away for a while and do some puzzling.  A break is always good to refresh the mind. After dinner I decided to give it another try.  With fresh water and a different oil (the first time I used vegetable oil, this time I used canola oil) I was ready to start again.  I decided to "raise" the bowl higher away from the lights so I needed to build up my stack, and I added more lights to give more colour.  It wasn't fancy but it worked.

Finally I have started to see the results that I was hoping for.  With all the fiddling and adjusting the oil kept flowing together to make one big blob in the middle, but I managed to get it to separate and give some nice bubbles.  Hah hah, it sure was an interesting way to spend a day and in the end I am happy with the results.

On April 9, I posted that I was drying seeds and attempting to germinate them from a pepper that was store bought.  Upon closer inspection this week I saw that they had finally started to grow.  I was so amazed that it was actually happening.  Each morning I have been faithfully giving them a little water ensuring that they were kept moist.  They are each laying on a small piece of kleenex to ensure that the moisture remains constant.  In retrospect I probably should have used toilet paper as I could simply take the seed and toilet paper and place it into soil.  I may need to do some finagling with the kleenex later as I don't believe it breaks down as easy as toilet paper.  It will probably be a while before I can transfer them into pots, but I'm still pretty excited.

Clara, one of our neighbours came by earlier this week with masks for Ralph and I.  She and her mother have been making them for members of their church, family members and neighbours.  What a blessing it is to live on Clearbrooke Circle.

I continued this week in my quest for photography knowledge.  Hours have been spent researching how to make double exposure images using only my camera.  It sounds simple enough, but in practice was actually very difficult.  I know I'm doing something wrong, but haven't been able to figure it out yet.  After many attempts and performing lots of "clean up" editing (which I shouldn't need to do), I have created two portrait images of Ralph and I using what I have available in the backyard.  I think I'm using the dreariness of the season right now as an excuse for my lack of creativity and need to get myself into a better mindset.  This can have a very artistic effect if done correctly and maybe one day I will succeed.  Maybe I'll try it again next week.

As the week draws to an end I ponder at how quickly the time goes by.  We enjoyed celebrating Wilf's birthday with a Zoom birthday party which was really nice to do.  Ralph and I reconnected with friends of ours that we haven't seen in probably 35+ years.  What a blessing to meet them at the zoom party.  Somedays I look back and wonder what I have accomplished.  I find it's easy to get into a bit of a "why bother" frame of mind and just to let things go.  I'll look at a task and think - that will be here tomorrow, why bother today.  I really don't like that feeling and find myself giving "me" self talks about getting things done.  I'm thankful that I have my camera and that I've been able to use this time to learn new things.  Sometimes I feel limited because of the restrictions that are being enforced, but thats just me limiting myself.  There is so much here in our "home" that can be enjoyed and God is using this time as a reminder.  We have a lot to be thankful for.  As I was reflecting on this, God reminded me yesterday morning that he is in control and gave me a beautiful sunrise to enjoy. As I looked out of my back window the sky was painted a beautiful red colour.  This is my favourite time of day.  I'm thankful for these reminders and look forward to another week of isolation with Ralph.  I wonder what new adventures will come our way.

Every week we ladies get together and enjoy a glass of wine while keeping each other updated on how we are managing during this time.  I look forward to being able to get out and golf with the ladies sometime this summer.  Hopefully we'll be able to get out.  Time will tell.

I have started a Landscape Photography course this week.  Its being offered for free up until the end of April so I'll be spending many hours on line absorbing the information being shared.  I've followed the instructor Dave Morrow for a couple of years and practice quite a bit of what he has taught via youtube videos.  Its a good way to pass the time and I look forward to one day applying this new found knowledge.

May the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation.  2 Thess. 3:16

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon juice
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (we substituted "Cup for Cup" Gluten free flour)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 2/3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts (we substituted Pecans)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 300F Line a baking sheet (s) with parchment paper
Cream the soft butter, and both sugars in a stand mixer for 2 minutes until light and fluffy, Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. You can use electric hand beaters if you like.
Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice. Beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Lower the speed and blend in the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts, making sure to get them evenly distributed
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough (3 tablepoon amounts) and place 2 inches apart on your lined cookie sheets. I flatten the balls slightly. Bake for 20-23 minutes until starting to turn golden. I found that 20 minutes worked for me.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.