Survey help

If you have time please help the University of Pennsylvania with their data collecting by taking one or more surveys at http://tinyurl.com/p52zf to gather happiness statistics. If nothing else it may amuse you for a few minutes while you are waiting for your morning coffee to finish brewing!

MAC & CHEESE!

Prebake

It really is amazing how it firms up

Tonight we decided to make Mac & Cheese! And before you think what was I thinking, look below and see what is in our M&C.

It was amazing how wet it starts out, but don't worry it firms up and tastes great.

Recipe:

• 3 1/2 cups dry gluten free pasta
• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup raw brazil nuts
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 medium clove garlic minced
• 2 tsp arrowroot powder
• 4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp (rounded) dry mustard
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Gluten free breadcrumbs (we used our leftover pesto biscotti here)

No tofu and no cheese substitutes!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Throw pasta into a deep pot of boiling salted water for exactly 15 minutes and never more. While pasta is cooking, blend all sauce ingredients (ingredients 2-11) in a blender or in a deep bowl with an immersion blender. Once pasta is almost tender, fully drain (don’t rinse). Mix noodles with sauce, and immediately pour into a baking dish. (It will look like there is a lot of runny sauce – it will thicken up, trust the pasta!), then sprinkle bread crumbs over top of casserole. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove foil cover and bake another 7 minutes. Don’t overbake or sauce will get too thick. Serve! We served this with salad and smoked duck breast slices and raw Cacao mousse and tea for dessert.

Don't be fooled by this being gluten free and with no cheese, it is good and kids and their dads will want seconds. Just don't tell them what it is until they are eating their dessert. 

A little family cruising!

This is a balloon covered in beans.

 The folks came over for a walk, lunch and tour of the ginger bread houses.

Frank & MJ

The winner!

The other winner (front)

The other winner (backside)

Very cool!

Judith Baby!

Judith and Sandra enjoying the beach.

Judith's brother emailed this photos to Judith and so I decided while she was at work today you all needed to see how cute our Judith is.

Nice bikes huh! They start them riding young in the Fletcher family

I am sure Jane (mom) made those dresses. Looking good girls!

Peter: "Tell us Judith what made you pick this bathing suit?"

Judith "well, I have to admit when I was packing for the beach I had to make sure I would have something practical yet stylish for a day of boy chasing and sand throwing".

OK, well I am not sure what is going on in this one. Trying not to look guilty?

Good friends!

Life is good!

Peter: "Judith I notice you have a big girl bike here. Where you starting to plan your European ride then?"

Judith: "Funny you should mention that. In fact I was also trying out some new womans cycling designs I was working on with my mother. Jane felt it was important to look stylish while riding across Europe so we needed to get a 20 year R&D head start. You will notice the similarity to LuLu Lemon. I was happy Chip took my advice early on to work with these patterns and comfortable fit." 

Peter: " Judith I see you have the same hairstyle today as you did back in the day. Can you explain?"

Judith: "First of all thank you for noticing. I designed that cut originally for a famous figure skater friend Dorothy. She and I had the same need for a highspeed doo that could withstand the rigors of skating and squash all at the same time. It is too bad skating squash never became more popular as we thought we really has something at the time. By the way that doo still serves me well on the squash courts."

Peter: "Judith I see you here working with sweaters and coats. Can you tell us how this shaped your career in fashion?"

Judith: "Yes you are right. I went on to Holts to work in the coat division at corporate. It is nice to see these classic styles coming back with the fashion forward folks. Especially that little red number, still one of my all time favorites."

Peter: "So tell us a bit about your experience in the pool. Is that hef's grotto we see in the background?"

Judith: "Ha ha ha. No not Hef's silly. We where just kicking back enjoying some rays after a long week in the lab brainstorming some new designs for Yoko and whats his name, that hippy musician?"

Peter: " Well thats it, thanks Judith for speaking with us and we look forward to interviewing you again when you launch your new super hero pajama line in the spring"

Judith: "Thank you, it is always my pleasure to speak with you. You still are my favorite interviewer and I must admit I think you are the most handsome and kind man I have ever met "

December Family Birthdays

Between the two extended families, Peter and Judith have several December birthdays to celebrate.

Peter's sister-in-law, Patty, celebrated on Saturday. We usually get an invitation to join them via Skype for the cake cutting, but apparently this year we were preempted by Pete's eldest nephew in Edmonton hogging the Skype waves. However, we managed to privately serenade Patty later in the evening. I am sure she was appreciative!

In addition, Judith's aunt Ann and sister-in-law Cheryl each have an early December birthday.  They have for years, so the family quite often celebrates the two birthdays on the same day.  This year, as each birthday fell either side of the weekend, it was decided to have a lunch celebration on Saturday in a small private dining room at the retirement home where Judith's mother Jane lives.  Brother Graham took this lovely photo to remember the day, and share with those of use not able to attend the meal.

Cheryl, Graham, Jane, Ann, Janine, Jocelyn

But wait, there's more!  Next up are the late December birthdays - nephew Alex and Pete.  We will keep you posted!

PeJu's Super Yummy Biscotti

Right out of the oven!

Our friend Chris emailed us a chocolate almond fig biscotti (gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, vegan-adaptable) receipt the other day, so we decided we would bake some biscotti this weekend after returning from our morning errand-hand-holding bike ride (Christmas Market, Foi Epi, Fantastico, and Mother Nature's Market) to go with our afternoon tea.

We altered the original ingredients:

• Coconut flour and quinoa flour for some of the almond meal 
• Maple syrup for honey
• Candied ginger for figs

We ended up with two versions, fig and cacao, and almond and ginger.

Ready for first baking!

Both taste great with afternoon tea. Don't let the whole gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, vegan-adaptable scare you off. I guarantee no one will notice if you don't tell them they aren't packed with refined sugar and glutenous flour!

Next up:

Our own version of ginger bread biscotti:

• 1 c sorghum flour
• 1/4 c almond meal
• 2 t tapioca flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 4 t ginger powder or candy ginger
• 3 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t ground nutmeg
• 6 T maple syrup or agave syrup or honey
• 3 T almond slices (you can add these by hand after)
• Add water if it is too dry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the food processor, add all ingredients. Pulse to combine until the dough comes together in a ball. Remove the dough and press the dough together with your hands. The dough should be barely moist enough to come together. If it is too moist, add a bit of tapioca flour. If too dry, add a sprinkle of water.

Pat the dough together on the baking sheet into a log about 2 1/2 inches wide and 10 inches long. Place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes.
Remove and allow to cool on the baking sheet for at least 30 minutes. Lower the oven to 300 degrees.

Once cooled, slice the dough with a serrated knife into pieces about 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal. Separate out the biscotti onto the baking sheet and bake again for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely before serving.

Makes about 10-12 biscotti.

Any other suggestions for ginger bread flavour tips?

Do you think we should dip the ends in chocolate or a white glaze? 

Note: you can add any spice you like to change the flavour from sweet to savoury. It good with cacao to. 

PS, It was sunny in Victoria yesterday in case you easterns are wondering!

Renew and Reuse

Peter giving the book the once over.

For Peter's birthday in December of 2009, he was given a 2 lb. coil of fibre rush and a 'how-to' book on chair caning.  I think he'd casually mentioned that it would be a shame to have to stop using the stool by the fireplace, as it was definitely losing it's structural integrity.  Apparently, his parents agreed and were delighted at his interest in the well being of the small stool that was living at our house.  Knowing the stool could be repaired with a little time and effort, they purchased the tools necessary to complete the project - and made him a birthday gift of them.

As Peter was keen on the project, he attempted to document with photos just how it was - the pattern of the rush, how it was being held together, where the pieces joined together, etc., just in case we didn't get back to it for a while, or alternately, it fell apart completely! 

You should know that this stool has played a long and distinguished role in Peter's family history.  It was originally made by Peter's maternal grandfather before he left high school at 16 years of age (he was born in 1896).  When his grandfather got married in 1928, the stool moved with the young Edmonds family to begin family life in the interior of BC.  Mary Jane tells the story that during the late 1960's when the stool was in need of re-stringing, her mother called the Institute of the Blind in Vancouver to get directions on how to do this.  Well, the verbal directions were apparently so clear that she had no trouble with the process of repairing the stool and bringing it back to life.  She had been so pleased with the result that she phoned the woman who had originally spoke with her and invited her for lunch to see the successfully completed project.  Much to her surprise (and disappointment, no doubt), the woman replied she wouldn't be able to attend lunch - because she was blind! 

Early in the 1980's, Peter's parents took over the care and feeding of the stool when his aging grandparents moved to a care facility.  It was probably at that time the stool made another big move, this time to the Hornby Island cabin and where it became a fixture near their wood stove.  However, with the constant use there, Frank had to strengthen and stabilize the stool with a dowel crossbar.

Shortly after we moved into our own house on Hornby Island in 2006, this very same footstool was bestowed upon us - and, believe me, it was a welcome gift!  The stool was perfect for us to use when tending our wood stove.  It was the exact height to sit at to light and tend the fire with ease.

Since that time, Peter and I  have moved from Hornby Island to Victoria, and we very consciously moved the stool, fibre rush and book of instructions with us, fully intending to put the stool back together.  This past summer, Peter's health improved enough that the stool repair moved closer to the top of the list of 'things to accomplish'.  So, with renewed energy Peter took the stool with him back to Hornby, where his friend Rob helped put the wood frame back together, square it up, sand, and refinish it. He then brought it back to Victoria where we could apply the final touch - the weaving of the fibre rush seat.  In my opinion, the seat is definitely the most time consuming part of the project - aside from waiting for the right moment to start the project.  The weaving was several weeks from start to finish, as we had to pace ourselves on pulling what seemed like miles and miles of fibre rush through ever decreasing spaces in the seat.  It's hard to see in the photo on the right, but there is pile of unwoven rush sitting on the floor, just waiting to be pulled, one arm's length at a time, from right to left, the left to right, and so on, and so on.  Who needs an exercise class when you have projects like this?

So, while it has taken a couple of years (okay, technically it's been three), we finally finished the stool renewal!  It was truly a team effort (very gratifying, don't you think?) and we're proud of it.  Here is photo of the repaired stool in front of our 'fireplace' in Victoria - approximately 100 years after its creation.  We may have to take it with us on our next trip to Hornby, where it can once again sit in front of a real wood stove and be a key component in the very important work of tending the fire.

As I've said before, "Life is good."