Frustrated

As per yesterdays topic about wasting time - I spent a good portion of the day searching the internet for ways to edit blog posts on my tablet (other than blogger which is totally bare bones). I had hoped that Polaris or another office word type program would have a "send to blogger" function, but no. Not even Google docs does (hey Google - you guys own blogger so get with the program!). Bother. Maybe by the time I go to NZ? Editing blog posts is one of the main things I use my laptop for – there just isn’t anything in the android world that allows me to insert photos and add formatting. Android blogger is good for writing but only sticks a photo at the end of the post, and there is very little other formatting available.

On a better note, yesterday we were in our neighbouring village putzing around and came across a shop to check for new runners for Carm. Well, this shop turned out to be a good (if rather expensive) find. Sure, Carm got his shoes, but I scored the perfect outfit for travelling. It is a knit houndstooth tweed jacket and matching pants that look a little dressy. They are super comfortable and will be perfect for the plane. I'll be able to wear the jacket with jeans and a nice t-shirt, as well as with black dress pants. I just need to add a top (and I have a few in mind) and I'm all set. It will be perfect for non-travel when I need something just a bit dressier. I have lots of jeans and t-shirts, but not much else. And the good news - size 10!

This shop also had a good selection of woman's and men's shoes. I didn't buy anything but will keep a few pairs in mind.

Yesterday there were snowflakes flying around with an overnight forecast of -2. The camper isn't winterized so we turned the heat on overnight. We are hoping to hold off winterizing for a week or two in case the weather turns nice. There was a heavy frost this morning so it is a good thing we did. The cold weather prompted us to start putting the outside furniture away :-( bye bye swing till next spring. For a few years we kept it upstairs in the living room in front of the fireplace!

Btw - Dorothy! Don't give up. It doesn't take (too) much effort to make healthy meals. Last night I cooked a sweet potato in the microwave for 4 minutes, then cubed it. I cleaned and cut in half some Brussels sprouts. Cut a red onion into big chunks. Cut 6 medium mushrooms in half. Tossed all these in a big bowl with 1 tsp (that's teaspoon) of olive oil, a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional), and of course chopped garlic. Spread it all onto two baking sheets lined with parchment and stuck it into a 400F oven for 30 minutes (giving them a shake 1/2 way through). While that was cooking I cooked 1 cup quinoa with 1 cup chicken broth; 1 cup hot water, and the zest of one lemon (in the microwave 5 min high, 15 min med high).

Voila! Dinner for two or in your case dinner for two nights! It is one of our favourite dinners. The selection of vegetables can vary - sometimes we add red pepper, or cauliflower, or zucchini, or broccoli, or green beans, or, and, or, ...

Tomorrow night I'll sauté (in chicken broth) 1lb of zucchini and some mushrooms, probably some chopped onion, and as always, garlic. That will be served on lentils mixed with brown rice (3/4 lentils, 1/4 brown rice). I'll top it off with some chopped tomato.

Tonight we will venture into the dark side of meat eating (gasp)! We still have some small beef strip loins in the freezer so we’ll share one, along with a large helping of vegetables (grilled zucchini & mushrooms). And bubbles. Can’t keep to the straight and narrow every day :-)

When making lentils I always make enough for a few meals. 1 1/2 cups lentils picked over, 1/2 cup brown rice. Mix with 4 to 5 cups hot water (or a combination of water and stock). Add a bit of garlic, and whatever seasonings you like (I often add turmeric, cumin, mustard seed). In microwave, cook on high for 5 minutes, then med high for 35 minutes. Sometimes it will need a bit more time or some more water. Sometimes I heat them up in the sauté pan with onions, garlic and frozen chopped spinach.

I usually try to have a few "leftover" dinners a week - it takes away some of the burden of cooking every night.

To cut down on prep time we clean heads and heads of garlic, chop with the food processor and pack into a jar with some extra virgin olive oil. Kept in the fridge this will keep for ages (my current batch was done in August).

Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.
Joseph Addison