Saturday 17 November 2012

How I came to the Ranch





How I came to be a Rancher
written by Loretta LeBlanc




Hey everyone:
For those of you who don’t know me, I am Linda’s cousin, same age and almost as cute. I grew up on the island also but am now living on the westside of Okanagan Lake on 18 acres in a very rural area, with our closest neighbour 3 km away. It is 45 min to Kelowna or 35 min to Vernon. My husband (of 41 years! Yes Really!) and I bought this property 7 years ago as a summer/retirement retreat. We left it for a year then took some time off to come up from the coast to do some work to it to make it more livable. Well, we never went back. Sold our 4500 sq ft home & moved into 800 sq ft rustic cabin, heated with a wood stove and water from a stream. My husband said he wanted a more simple life. I see life as an adventure, but I Am a city girl so this would really test my survival skills. Not to back down from a challenge, I packed up my dangly earrings, high heeled sandals and white skinny jeans. I can do this! I am strong! I am woman! I proclaimed. Until a big brown bear jumped out in front of me and strolled down my driveway and I ran screaming like a sissy into the house breaking a heel on my favorite shoes. Don’t judge. I am short and always wore heels to feel/look taller. Now my favorite store is the VV Boutique (Value Village, for those of you who couldn't figure that out), I actually own flat shoes, lots of poop/mud boots and not one pair of white pants. I still like dangly earrings and that is about as fancy as I get these days. You just never know where life will take you but you might as well enjoy the ride. I hope you will enjoy some of my stories of our new life on the ranch.


This simple statement triggered an avalanche of thoughts


Written by Linda Gauthier

I was flipping through pages and then I saw this simple statement sitting all alone and I found myself making lists.  Then I started to wonder what would your list be?  In this "hurry, hurry" world, we sometimes forget to be thankful for the small things in life and take pleasure in what is all around us. 
With the holiday season fast approaching, it is easy to get caught up in the rush, and forget what it is all about.  This year, I am determined to enjoy my friends and family, to enjoy the moments, the lights, the laughter and the music.  Maybe if we all had the opportunity to just slow down, be thankful for the little things and not buy into the commercialism of it all, we would find the childlike joy that we, as adults, have lost and remember what it means to be happy and satisfied in the moment. 

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Here are some of my entries on my Happiness list:

  1. walking along the railway tracks in the rain
  2. listening to the sound of the robins when the rain has stopped and evening is falling
  3. the way the sky looks when the wind is still down close to the earth, but the sky has these wispy clouds racing across the blue
  4. laying in the deep grass on a hot summer day, listening to the crickets
  5. sitting beside the ocean, eyes closed, listening to the lapping of the waves on the shore, feeling the warm sun on your face
  6. the sound of crickets in the late summer heat
  7. watching a dragonfly dance across the pond 
  8. the smell of a baby's head
  9. sleeping in the gazebo on a hot summer night
  10. curled up under blankets in the gazebo, listening to the rain pitter-patter on the canvas in early spring
  11. the smell of fresh-baked bread
  12. The feel of soft wet clay between my toes on the edge of a river
  13. the crackle of a bonfire
  14. the laughter of my children as they played outside our window
  15. the sound of owls at night calling to each other
  16. the laughter of kids at dusk as they chase flying ants
  17. the giggles of kids as they have a sleepover in the backyard
  18. a leftover turkey sandwich, on white squishy bread with cranberries and mayo late at night after all the excitement of Christmas day 
  19. curled up together watching a movie and listening to the house settle down, kids asleep
  20. the smell of cinnamon and coffee
  21. the smell of fresh cut grass and newly turned soil in the spring garden
  22. the smell of a fresh-cut Christmas tree
  23. the wonderful smell of a freshly peeled orange
  24. the feel of a brisk winter wind on my face
  25. the sound of ice skates, as they slice into the ice of an outdoor rink
  26. the squeak of boots trudging through the snow
  27. the sight of kids sledding down hills on anything they can turn into a sleigh
  28. being an adult and flopping down and making a snow angel in my front yard in front of the neighbors, with my best friend
  29. the pride I felt when my husband returned from sea after a long tour
  30. the sweet taste of a tomato picked fresh off the vine, still warm from the sun
  31. the joy you feel when a puppy licks your face, pleased with himself and smelling of puppy breath.  All of these and more are things that make me happy
I could go on and on, I won't, but I will ask you to make your own list and to take joy in making it.  Try to truly remember things when you have felt totally free and happy, don't keep them locked away bring them out and enjoy them, look at them and share them.
What are yours?  Leave me a comment and let me know some of the things that touch your heart and soul.


Speaking of happiness, today is the day I go to the scale so let's see what today brings.




Wow!! I honestly thought I had not lost anything this week.  In fact, I was thinking I'd gained, but I'm down another 3.2 lbs, for a total of 27 lbs gone since September 1st.  I feel a happy dance coming on.

I have only found one drawback to this loss, but it is not one I truly consider a drawback.  This drawback is that now I have to start doing some adjustments to my clothes.  So todays project is getting the sewing room set up for a mass reconstruction of clothes.  Don't think the look of pants hanging off my butt with the underwear above the waistband and the baseball cap on backwards is meant for the Grandma types, no matter how young they feel.  What do you think?  What about Old Lady Rapper Style?


Mabel says No!!!

And now for this week's menu:




Enjoy, and I'll talk to you soon. Slow down smell the coffee, and please send me your lists I'd love to hear what little things bring you joy.

Talk to you soon.

Wednesday 14 November 2012

What attitude will you wear today? It's all up to you..

Written by Linda Gauthier



I was in my early 20's the first time I heard Dr. Wayne Dyer speak, and it has been an ongoing admiration on my part of the wisdom and the life lessons he passes on to us.
The words that resonated  with me from that first time have been in essence; "No one can make you mad or angry, it is how you react to what they are saying or the situation, you are in control of your reactions." 

It took me several years to come to terms with that thought pattern, but eventually it did become part of me.  It helps if you repeat it over and over and over and over again, until you truly believe it!!  It truly does help if you can remember this, and practice this in your daily life.  It relieves a lot of stress.  I will not say that the old "hothead me", does not surface on occasion, but she isn't a daily visitor like she was in the past.   

So why am I telling you these things?  To be truthful, I have no other reason than that I saw this.  I love it and I do have a couple of friends out there that are having a hard time dealing with some anger issues, and rightly so.
I'd like them to picture themselves with the crown because that is what they deserve, a smile, serenity and a glorious big crown and the attitude to go with it.  So gather up the attitude girls, and strut your stuff because if you believe it, others will too.


So let's get on to the business of this food blog thingy.  



Portebello mushroom cheeseburger



I had a craving for a grilled cheeseburger, so I made myself an open-face grilled Portebello sandwich as a cheeseburger.

 Ingredients
1/2 of a whole wheat bun, 
1/2 a slice of natural smoked ham ( no preservatives, low sodium), 
2  Portebello mushrooms.
topped with soy cheese and low fat mozzarella 


  1. What I did was take the top portion of the bun, slice it in half again so I had two round pieces but not the calories of a whole bun.
  2. I washed, cleaned and removed the stem from 2 Portebello mushrooms, then I fried them in non-stick oil in a non-stick pan until fork tender.  Why did I use Portebello mushrooms? Because they are chewy and give the sandwich the consistency of having a meat patty.
  3. The ham was warmed in the same pan as the mushrooms.
  4. Toast the bun portions, place your mushrooms on the bread rounds, top with ham and cheese.  I also put a ring of onion on each sandwich, then topped with the cheese mixture and placed under the broiler until the cheese melted.
It met my need for the burger and it was less than 1/2 of the calories and fat content of having a cheeseburger.
  
Nutrition info:
Regular Cheeseburger with full bun:
473 calories
9 grams fat
1633.28 mg salt

My Portebello Mushroom Cheeseburger:
175 calories
2 grams fat
248 mg salt


Have a great day, I'll talk to you tomorrow.Keep smiling, like my little friend here enjoy the moment and let the past go.


Omg adorable

Monday 12 November 2012

In every family there's the stories..

Daddy and daughter
Little girl with her daddy, a moment in time to hold onto.

Written by Linda Gauthier



We all have our family stories, ones that trigger tears, or fits of giggles or laughter.  Many of my stories center around food, because that is what brought us all together in one place.  I've said before that I come from a relatively large family.  We were and are 4 sisters and 1 brother, 2 wonderful parents and at one time, grandma and grandpa also lived with us.  We were busy, loud and boisterous, and it was a family rule that no matter what you had to do, we eat the dinner or evening meal together.  Throw in stories that included meals with aunts, uncles, cousins, future in-laws, great aunts and extended family and friends and you have volumes of stories.

One such story centers around my Dad (Mac) and my uncle Bill.  The story takes place when they were very young and still living on the farm in Saskatchewan, in the little community of Mildred.  Grandma was making macaroni with cheese for dinner; my uncle Bill, who was the younger of the two, started to cry. When my Grandma asked him what he was crying about, he looked at her with big watery eyes and tears streaming down his face and said, "why are we having Macaroni, why don't we ever have something named after me"?  So from that day onward in Dad's family and ours, if you eat Macaroni with tomatoes in it, it is called Billaroni.

I'm telling you this story because I'm going to give you my latest update of Billaroni--I'll let you in on a secret, I have always been a Billaroni fan.  There is just something special about the taste of a homemade cheese sauce with tomatoes and the yummy creamy texture when it is all cooked together in the oven, with the bubbly crisp cheese on top.

Simple food with a heart-warming memory, and the laughs of a young family, when their Dad tells them the story of his brother, happiness, warmth, and love, all rolled into one.
Could you ask for any more?


Yummy Gooey Billaroni





Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (625 ml) macaroni pasta
1/3 cup (80 ml) Epicure’s Seasoning for Mac & Cheese
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter
1 small can of stewed Tomatoes  ( I used my own canned tomatoes but a commercial brand will work just as well)
2 Tbsp (30 ml) Epicure's Seasoning for Cheese, Chives & Bacon Dip
1 cup (250 ml) breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp (15 ml) Epicure’s Bruschetta Herbs
1 cup (250 ml) shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). 
2. Lightly oil Epicure’s Oval Au Gratin Dish. 
3. In Epicure’s 12-cup Multi-Purpose Pot, cook macaroni according to package directions until al dente. Drain. 
4. Stir in Seasoning for Mac & Cheese, milk, butter and Tomatoes. Spoon into Epicure’s Oval Au Gratin Dish. 
5. Toss breadcrumbs with Bruschetta Herbs and mozzarella. Sprinkle over pasta. 
6. Bake, uncovered, for 20–25 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and crust is golden brown.


I'm serving this with a nice crisp green salad.  The contrast of the textures, crisp clean salad with the creamy comfort of the pasta is perfect.  I'd also like to add garlic toast, but for my meal plan, that would be just a little too many carbs, and I'm pushing it with the Macaroni.

So I'll just envision it, that way.  This may not be one of my sisters' or my brother's favorite, however, you always have someone in the family with a different point of view, but that is what adds to the spice of life, variety and the willingness to try.  Everyone's stories are different, what's yours?


I don't care. I want Red Lobster now. I'm ready. What are you waiting for.

To heck with Billaroni, I want Red Lobster, Now!!!