You gain strength through your hardships
Whatever you learn easily or master effortlessly tends to be forgotten The lessons you gain through repeated mistakes are what gives you genuine strength. Don’t give up until the very end or you may miss out on the outcome. Think outside the box, and there surely will be another day.
Oyashikiri
PL2014.292012.28
Little Sister sharing Thanksgiving with friends.
Good morning world.. A lot can happen in a few hours. picture #1, my backyard was without snow, none to be seen. Picture #2 is what I see when I open my side door to get to my car, the contractor has been by to clear my steps and in front of the garage, the plow will come and clear the lane.. It was done twice last evening, what you see is what fell with the freezing rain pellets in the wee hours. Picture 3 shows you what I see from my back door. I had already cleared a path twice for Keeper to get off the deck to the back .. my last attempt was around 11:30pm.. you can see to the left, the accumulation. This is winter weather in these parts,, we have had it easy, December was one of the warmest months ever. and what snow fell was gone within days.
I saw the poster on the right when I was trying to find a picture without snow of my backyard.. Gave me chuckle, I love where I live, I enjoy the four seasons, and all that goes with it. However from the grumbling I’m hearing on the radio.. there are a lot of unhappy campers out there, We did get spoiled with the clear highways in December. Just means, the birds will be wanting their feeders cleared of snow, the Jays will hope for extra helping of peanuts, and the crows.. well.. they are in for a treat… I had check wings for supper, they get to pick the bones and enjoy the wonton wrappers I didn’t eat.. (I cheat, I like the shrimp or meat inside the wontons.. and save the skins for them…)
It is easier to adapt to something when we find it interesting. No matter how enjoyable a situation is, a slight change in our attitude can make it boring. Let’s face any situation with curiosity and enthusiasm.
Perfect Liberty 2022. 10
If you are driving out there, be careful, seems some parts of the highway are like skating rinks, lots of water and under the water could be black ice. If you live where the sun is shining and the roads are bare and dry, offer a thank you.. and send positive thoughts out to people living under different skies.
I’m going to have Thai coconut chicken soup for breakfast!! yum!
Thai Coconut Chicken soup, Ann’s Table, Costco
Today, was a day of errands. After church I was busy gathering ingredients for a soup, and then to a craft supply place that still had their special sale on. With the holidays around the corner, I have once again, begun to work at my “work table.” I want to finish cards that I have promised for a few “retail” outlets, and want to make a few personal greetings that need to be posted soon.
To accomplish this, I wander and look at everything that I discover along my path, one never knows when an idea or a creative moment will present itself. Funny I go into a shop looking for a very specific item or theme, and come out with way more than I had anticipated. Anyone else, know this curious “happening” it is as if an elf is putting things in our basket when we aren’t looking. When we do see it, we realize that ..”wow! that is a great ^whatever^ guess I will keep it.”
Fortunately, more often than naught, these are the items that will be the first to be consumed or used in the creative process.
If you are someone who delights in homemade soup… then you are likely familiar with the above utensils… maybe not these, but a strainer of some kind.
I start my soups with bones, for me the most delightful of tastes is the meat that is closest to the bone. Exquisite flavour can be obtained by combining the oddest ingredients, then after hours of slow simmer, straining the broth, only returning to the liquid ambrosia, the jewels you want to feature. Sometimes they have absolutely nothing to do with the making of the broth. But their taste, harmonized perfectly to offer up a feast not only for the eyes, but for your taste buds … not to mention the aromatic teasing of your senses
All this to say… I’ ve got a soup on the back burner, and I steamed my veggies to put on my rice, in a Pad Thai sauce. Hmmm must be time for me to eat.
Hope you all had a great week-end. Tomorrow we start a brand new week! Soon a new month will appear too… YAY!!!!
Make every moment count, and enjoy all that life has to offer.. The more you succeed, the merrier life will be.
Oyashikiri
This is a soup you can count on to warm you on a cold day/night. It is easy, and worth the time you spend pulling it together. I’ll list the base items first.. the final items you can change up and fix to suit your taste buds.
1 package of beef neck bones, I look for a package with good chunks of meat still on the bone.
1 good size fresh ginger that you peel, crush and dice. I like ginger so I use a good size (big thumb) to begin with.
4, 5 pieces of garlic, how much you use will depend on how fresh your garlic is and how much of a bite you want.
1 onion, again I use a medium size onion because I’ve been known to add a packet of dried onion mix if I want to enhance the stock with a more “Canadian” onion flavour.
the liquids added, Soba Tsuyu (a dipping sauce for soba noodles) Anchovy sauce (one that isn’t too watered down)
Soy sauce ( one with less sodium)
a pinch of sale
a good shake of black pepper
I dump all of the above into a pot full of cold water, and let it come to a boil, once it starts to bubble, I turn it down to medium heat and let it cook along for about 15 minutes, then I add
Carrots, sliced/shredded banana leaf, and any other veggies that I’d like to have in the soup.
Then after about 5 min. I turn it down to a simmer and let it enjoy itself for awhile.
20 minutes down the line I add either rice, potato, or a pasta. Today I’ve added elbow pasta.
Before serving, I will ad 2 scrambled eggs, 1 teaspoon of butter, and fresh baby spinach. I allow that to sit for about 10 minutes before dishing it up.
Mother Nature is bursting out all over with her various shades of fall colours. I started out wanting to show you the meat for making ox tail soup. I got sidetracked by the hydrangea along the fence, The closer we get to the really cold weather, the more this flower will show off its many talents. It presents a different “face” for every season.
Personally, I feel that this is something we all do, some of us are more dramatic in our changes than others. The fall winter season sees my wardrobe going to darker colours.
Where does the colour go? It is still present in my life, I just don’t wear it. Maybe in a scarf, hmmm no.. I just checked, the colours are all subdued. One of my winter warm jackets is a royal purple, in some lights it looks like a dark grey, in sunlight, you can see the purple hues …. Whatever, the object of the coat is warmth.
OK back to the oxtail soup. Have you ever experienced oxtail soup? To be begin with, do you know what the packaged meat looks like?
This is one delicious succulent cut of meat. You only need a few pieces in your cook pot to get rich savory results. (recipe is for two – four full nourishing bowls)
Choose the package of meat that appeals to you. The meat is not inexpensive, there are other cuts that are cheaper, but only the oxtails give you “the” taste. This meat is also great for doing beef and barley, My version depends on what my taste buds are wanting at the time I am preparing the soup. For this exercise I will be moderate in my selections. I myself do not use recipes, I cook like I do other artistic expressions.. =^_^=
I like a good 5, 6 good size pieces of meat, 1 onion (palm of my hand) cut into slices. 4-5 cloves of garlic, (Russian if you can find it has a nice sharp tang to it) 1 stalk of celery cut into pieces, along with a dash of hot mustard (powdered) also good is adding several slices of fresh ginger (to taste) NO SALT. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and let it cook for several hours. After about an hour, you can add diced carrots, squash, green/red peppers, if I have corn I cut it off the cob and add it to the mixture. Two hours into the making, add the barley or rice.. If you are going to add noodles, wait till about a half hour before the soup is done. Noodles that are too soggy are not pleasant to eat. Only at t his stage, do I consider adding salt (if you use salt) and pepper to taste.
Variations of this dish, is to add curry, turmeric or black bean and garlic paste. that is the delight of this soup, it has so many taste possibilities. The meat gives you a true beef broth that will take you in almost any direction your little cook’s spirit wants to go.
Remember this morning I was wanting Japanese breakfast, I was at an Asian grocery store that has baked, and cooked goods, this is what I had for lunch. I treat myself to these dumplings when I’m shopping there for my groceries.
Today- I enjoyed the visual poetry that the weather and sunshine day brought my way, and I let my taste buds enjoy themselves with the variety of goodies I “stuffed” myself with. All in all, a pretty good day… Looking forward to tomorrow.
How about you, was your day a success? Have a busy day planned for tomorrow? Whatever comes your way, listen with your heart and mind…
Many blessings, today, tomorrow and always…
photos -Q
dymoonblog 
Written
on November 18, 2013