COOKING WITH JAMIE OLIVER

Posted on October 7, 2022 by hafong

Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend. I’m in a bit of a dither about the menu as I am hosting our family supper together. We’re all contributing but I still get into a lather. I am not great at ‘putting something on’. I am not a great cook but I’m not a terrible cook either. I tend to cook by whim – throw everything into a wok and stir the hell out of it. I seldom cook by recipes, not that I lack cookbooks. I have a whole drawful.

I have a whole collection of Company’s Coming, a collection of simple cooking started by Jean Pare in 1981. I haven’t looked at them since about that time. Those are not my oldest. I still have Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker. I’m not sure how old is but it cost only $1.95. It’s a paperback. The pages are yellowed and the print is mighty small. I have one book from Breast Friends. I’ve used a few recipes for cookies once or twice. Then there’s the Milleton Hall Cook Book, a book of recipes from members of the farming community near where I grew up. I have yet to use it. I could go on and on with my list but my latest acquistion is Jamie Oliver’s Comfort Food a Christmas present a few years ago.

It’s a beautiful book. I want to make those fabulous dishes but then I read the ingredients and instructions. I wonder if anyone goes beyond looking at the beautiful photos. I brought it out a few days ago, thinking I could find something to make for our Thanksgiving table. Jamie Oliver does not make a simple anything. There’s herbs and spices I’ve never heard of. There’s sauces, cheeses and a ton of other stuff. Nothing for potatoes. I went online and found a recipe for scalloped potatoes with ingredients I do have. Not by Jamie Oliver but good enough. Then I searched for a curried squash recipe and behold, one by Jamie! It’s called Pumpkin, chickpea & coconut curry. It looks do-able and I have most of the ingredients. I will make these 2 recipes tomorrow for Sunday. It will give me time to make something else if I fail. I think I shall try one recipe a month from his Comfort Food book to improve my cooking skills as well as my brain. I like to challenge myself.

BEING PREPARED

Posted on October 5, 2022 by hafong

All good things, like warm October days, come to an end. It’s the natural order of things. I’m ok with it. I’m prepared. I haven’t hunker down yet. It’s too early. But the most of the garden is prepped for the winter months. The garlic has been planted and mulched. I dug out the rosemary from the herb spiral this afternoon. It’s potted and in the greenhouse along with 4 peppers and a few other plants I want to winter over. They will go inside the house when we close the greenhouse at end of November.There are still 2 Roma Tomatoes inside their Kosy Koats outside as well as 2 pepper plants. They have quite a few fruit on them. They are well covered with extra row covers and table cloths from the Dollar Store. The forecast is for -4C tonight and -3C tomorrow night. I shall see if they can survive those temperatures. It’s worth the sacrifice to find out.

Meanwhile, the greenhouse is still doing very well. It is toasty warm while the high today was only 11℃. I feel so happy stepping into it, seeing all the tomatoes and peppers hanging down. It is our second year and I’ve learned alot being so excited, not being afraid to experiment and try everything. I’ve trimmed off alot of the tomato and cucumber foliage to let in more sun and prevent mildew. I’ve brought in the water buckets as temperatures are dropping below 0 the next 2 days. They will freeze outside whereas in, they will help to moderate the temperature in the greenhouse.

JUST DO IT!

Posted on October 4, 2022 by hafong

I hate it that I’m such a clutter bug. I’m always misplacing things. I waste alot of time and get into such a snit searching for the lost. They eventually are found. I’ve made many vows on doing better, getting organized with a place for everything. I don’t vow any more because so far that hasn’t worked. What I want to do is just DO IT! I can succeed if I do it a little, even just an inch at a time.

I had lost the clipper that I use in the greenhouse 2 days ago. I looked high and low. No success. It’s so annoying but I try to let it go after each search. I do try to figure out why it is so irksome when I have 3 other pairs I could use. I searched again this morning with no success. I tried not to mutter my irritation. No success either. The guy heard. He came back in on his way to his workshop to tell me he found my clippers in the greenhouse. They were under my work gloves. Sometimes we just need a different pair of eyes. Now I wish he could spot my root stimulating powder. But I’m not wasting more time in searching. The plant cuttings will have to root or not in water.

It looks like we are heading into some frosty temperatures in a couple of days. I will have to get my ass in gear and plant my bulbs this afternoon. I have to remind myself not to order any more bulbs next year. They know what they are doing when they send out fall seed catalogues in middle of summer. I am enticed with all those flowering bulbs. It seems like a such good idea when it is warm. Come late September when I get my shipment, I’m disgusted with myself. What was I thinking of? I am tired from all that planting, watering, weeding, harvesting and perserving. Then there’s the cleanup of plant material, chopping them up and throwing them into the compost bins. What I dislike the most is gathering up all the plant containers, trays and pots to put away.

No point in wasting time and energy disliking and procrastinating either. I better save them for doing the jobs at hand. I’ve just harvested my cabbage and the rest of the cayenne peppers. I’m defrosting lunch while I’m sipping my cuppa and finishing up here. Have a good day.

CONVERSATION WITH THE BEES

Posted on October 3, 2022 by hafong

It’s day 3 of this Ultimate Blog Challenge. My enthusiasm and energy is already waning. It is better if I get the challenge bit out of my head and write from the heart and for myself. I love these sunny warm October days. I want to sit on my backstep with my cuppa and talk to the bees all afternoon. They love the colour purple. First it was the chives in spring. Now it is the New England Aster. They’re hopping from purple blossom to purple blossom, like little helicopters. I wonder where they go in winter.

I could sit here all afternoon. Maybe I can show you around a little if you haven’t already seen my photos on FB or Instagram.

WHAT’S MY STORY

Posted on October 2, 2022 by hafong

October mornings are so beautiful once the sun has roused and shined her light upon us. I’m feeling at ease, basking in the sun’s warmth, tapping on my keyboard and sipping my second cup of tea. I love this morning ritual. A friend had introduced me to blogging in 2010. I started out at Blogger, posting photos and a few blurbs. It was a struggle as I was a late comer to the computer and the digital world. I was still lugging a camera with film when school kids had cell phones with cameras. It was frustrating but fun learning. I abandoned Blogger and my blog for a couple of years. Then I found WordPress, an easier fit for me.

I’ve created this writing space at the end of May 2012 – 10 years and 4 months ago when blogging was a rage. I’ve been writing, writing and still writing since, falling off now and again. I wrote flash fiction for Friday Fictioneers for a couple of years. It was a great supportive community for learning. I wrote fiction of 100 words. It suited me well. And checking back this morning, I’ve been doing the Ultimate Blog Challenge as early as April, 2014. I can remember missing just one challlenge – this past July. I guess I do have discipline and staying power.

In the beginning I had a lofty goal of writing a thousand words a day, hence the name of my blog. I dream of writing that great Chinese Canadian novel. I joined NaNoWriMo a couple of times. I soon discovered that it was all beyond me. I haven’t ever made the 1000 words at a single write yet. I am not crushed. I’ve come to my senses and just write – a sentence, a paragraph, whatever I am capable at the time. I’ve come back to my first goal – to write for the joy of it. I am not competitive but I can get hooked into it sometimes. I am paying attention, focusing on my first goal, not getting distracted, write, share and read at least the 2 must posts.

WHY AM I DOING THIS

Posted on October 1, 2022 by hafong

Good morning. Happy October 1st. There is no sunshine this morning. I will make my own. Today is the official first day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’ve been warming up the past few days to ensure my success of showing up every day for the next 31 days. I’m no new comer. I’ve been doing the UBC for a number of years. I’ve missed only one, the last one, when I lost the joy and fun of it.

I’ve always written for the pleasure of putting words and pictures together – mostly for myself. I have no products to push. I do not promote my site but it’s such a pleasure and honour when someone finds my words worth reading. I’ve had my writing space since 2012. It’s a place I come to have conversations with myself to explore my inner landscape. It’s restful to tap out the letters, words and sentences. I love to see them marching across the screen. Thoughts without forms are elusive. They go round and round in the head, chasing each other, causing havoc. This way I am mapping out my thoughts. There’s direction. There’s order.

The Ultimate Blog Challenge is a good community to be in. It’s always better to have support and an audience. Even though we are an online community I can feel the presence and energy of the group. It’s always an adventure to meet and read someone new with different interests and slants on things. My goals for this time around is simple – write a post every day, obey the rules by reading the 2 posts before mine if I put mine in the thread, have fun and not get caught up in the itsy, bitsy hiccoughs of the challenge. Good luck to all of us. Happy writing.

NOT A FAILURE

Posted on April 30, 2022 by hafong

It’s amazing how easily and fast I can get derailed. Habits are, indeed, deeply ingrained and difficult to overcome. Coming back to my keyboard is another distraction and ploy of avoiding on what I need to do. But to give myself credit and not to feel totally weighed down with defeat, my tax return is mostly done. I just need to recheck it and push the send button. I have 3 days to do that. AND I’ve finally phoned for an appointment with my gynecologist. I’ve skipped out my checkups because of Covid. I was happy to have an excuse. What’s left weighing heavily on my plate?

Those damn paper clutter. Now that my tax return is mostly taken care of, I can peck at it. I better do a bit every day. There’s no escaping the pain of it. I have to schedule some time for it daily.
The garden thing. I had so many things done and growing last year by this time. I’m struggling with everything this year. But the greenhouse is doing well with all the greens. We can stop buying lettuce. There’s enough of lettuce, spinach and kale. We’re getting some radish. The outside raised bed has been seeded with salad greens the other day to take over from the greenhouse. But there’s seedlings to be transplanted into bigger pots and the sprouted squash seeds to be potted up, too. I’m sure there’s many other seeds that I need to start up. I’ve lost or I haven’t had a track of what or where to grow. It’s an ugly feeling. Sometimes I just want to close my eyes and disappear.

It is 3 days later. I’ve hit the SEND button on my Tax Return. It is sent. I am another-thing-taken-care-of lighter. I’m almost ready for that first day of the rest of my life again. But first, I need to finish writing this post. I need to write this as the last post of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. True, I dropped out at almost midpoint but I still wrote 14 posts in April. And this is number 15 – a wrap up. I would not consider it a failure. Quitting is really wisdom on my part. I now know when to stop when something is not working any more. And how did I know?

I felt the fatigue of writing every day. It was no longer pleasureable.
I could not feel I had a purpose in being in the Challenge. I had no business or product to promote. I write because I love words and the creativity that comes from stringing ideas and words together. I didn’t have a good fit feeling.
I felt there was a competitiveness that was not good for me. I wanted to go back to writing for myself. It is good to engage with others but I could do that also on my own terms.
I was wishing for more time to do other things in my life. I needed time to tend to greenhouse, starting seeds for the garden. I need more time to care for my self, to read books I want to read…

At the end of the day/month, I am happy. I am not a complete dropout. I participated part of the month. I might participate again in the next challenge. Now that I am more aware of when to step back/off, it will be better the next time around.

WORKING /WRITING SMARTER AND BETTER

Posted on April 10, 2022 by hafong

Day 10 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Another new day. Another new page. It is a grey morning. 1℃ outside at 8:30 in the morning. Snow and wind in the forecast. Meanwhile in the greenhouse, it is 8.9℃. The rock thermal wall and the buckets of water are doing their job well. I did not drop the shade cloth/blanket under the ceiling last night. I thought it wouldn’t hurt and might help to have a little chill for the greens and snow peas. The greens are forming their first true leaves now. The snow peas popping up in rows. I am pleased. I think we can have a fresh salad or two by end of April.

I am feeling a bit frazzled by the challenges I have undertaken. My mind is always preoccupied – thinking, thinking and more thinking. Good thing I still have presence of mind to refill my medication ahead of time. But I forgot to pick it up till now when I’m filling my week’s pill box. It will be a good reason to walk to the pharmacy later on, snow or no snow. It’s a good reason to slow down, organize and find ways of working smarter and better. What are the ways? Here are some that I’ve found on the world wide web:

stop multitasking
take more breaks
front load your week
chunk similar tasks together
schedule tasks according to your energy level
cut down your to do list
take an afternoon nap
turn off notifications
switch back to pen and paper
track your time and productivity
spend time in nature
get up early
set up a start date for tasks
delegate more
know when to quit
don’t wait for motivation
manage your surroundings
declutter

Here’s what I am doing at present.

I am getting up early. Usually between 6 and 7 am. I meditate for 20 minutes. Sometimes I work on Wordle and or watch YouTube on gardening and art. Sometimes I work on my drawings if there is time before breakfast.
I have a small to-do list each day for April. The must include a drawing for #the100dayproject, a photo for Susannah Conway’s April Love and a post for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I fit in other things according to priority.
I do chunk similar tasks together. I can’t think of examples right now.
I don’t wait for motivation. I get motivated once I start.
I don’t multitask.

What I could/should do.

Review my goals more often. Why I am in the Ultimate Blog Challenge – it’s my venting, meditative space and to improve my writing. I want to strive for content, clarity and brevity. More doesn’t always mean better.
I don’t manage my environment well. I am easily distracted. So I could set a limit to my scrolling whilst on the keyboard. Allowing myself to read one article is a do-able limit.
I have clutter. It’s a tough one for me to clear. Maybe I should start with my head first. I have so many thoughts running around it’s amazing I can get anything done. I have to work on bringing my attention back to my breath more often during my morning meditation.
I don’t know when to quit. It’s a good time to practice that now. Readers will be thankful for brevity. I know I am.

BREAKFAST AT A&W

Posted on April 9, 2022 by hafong

It’s wonderful to step out on a Saturday morning to a breakfast at my esteem A&W with the girls again. Now if I can have my Saturday morning swim back at the YWCA it would be perfect. Perhaps that’s asking too much all at once. Be grateful for what I have now. And I am. I can, perhaps check out other pools but I am a creature of habit. I like the familiar. At my age, it is ok. I am adventuresome enough. I don’t need new challenges. I can wait and see.

I am stretching myself now by writing a second post for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Yesterday we had a road trip. It’s a good reason to step away from my keyboard to have a tiny rest. A break sometimes is helpful in giving us a new perspective. I’ve been away from A&W for 2 years now except for one visit last summer. Absence has made me see how much I take things for granted. I now have so much more appreciation of all the small and ordinary things like breakfast at A&W.

There is nothing fancy about A&W but I love the big windows looking out onto 8th street. I love the bright red of the booths. I find the atmosphere conducive to easy exchange of conversation. And the food is good. What can go wrong with bacon, eggs and toast, eh? This morning I had the whole enchilada – bacon, sausages, eggs, hashbrowns, toast and coffee. I guess that’s a bit heavy on the calories. It’s breakfast and lunch. I can afford the extra calories. I am back at exercising Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Life is good.

THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS

Posted on April 6, 2022 by hafong

Day 6 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. It is too early to take a break and skip a post. I will plod on. Over the winter I had taken a beginner’s watercolour course. I learned that the foundation to a good painting is a good drawing. Therefore, my choice for #the100dayproject is to do a daily drawing. According to Malcolm Glaldwell, if you practice one skill for 10,000 hours, you’ll have a good chance at becoming an expert at it. I’ve done day 53 now. I haven’t counted how many hours I’ve put in. Somewhere in the last while I felt I made a somewhat breakthrough.

Practice does make for better. I started out doing everything so carefully, measuring and making a grid. I used a pencil and eraser. I wanted perfect. My drawings turned out well but I felt a bit stifled. I couldn’t start without my grid and measurements. This was the opposite of what I used to do. Before taking any classes, regardless of whether I was using watercolours or acrylics, I drew with my paint brush. No pencil and eraser. That made me scratched my head. I wondered how I did that. They weren’t great paintings but they weren’t terrible either. Some of them were actually pretty good for index card paintings.

I decided to give up the pencil and eraser. I did pen drawings. No eraser needed or of any use. No rulers, no measurements and no grid. I just put down a mark with my pen and away I go. I scratch here and there, adding lines. Somehow it all comes out ok. I astound myself sometimes. I guess I must have more confidence when I know I can’t erase. I better make good or know how to fix it so that it comes out ok. And adding some watercolour sure makes the drawing come alive. Besides putting in the hours of practice, it helps if you have good paint and good paper. And you have to love the object of your creation. When a photo grabs me, I know that I can draw it. Those photos usually hold a story or an emotion. They speak to me and spill onto the page in ink and colour.

onethousandandtwo

Looking at Infinity

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