Manic Saturday...a recipe, pretty flowers and a new book.

Saturday morning dawned crisp and sunny and I hopped out of bed to give Pepper her medicine...
the poor cat must think I am punishing her by squeezing a syringe full of foul tasting liquid down her throat.
It's hard for me to do this (I would make a terrible nurse) but I can follow orders, especially if the outcome will be favourable, and that it will relieve some discomfort and suffering.

Seeking out comfort...

I lit a scented candle, this one in the signature Aveda fragrance.

It didn't take long for the aroma to permeate the kitchen where I was working.

I was taking control...

by energetically cleaning.

Wiping out drawers and cupboards

rearranging the counter tops.

Washing things that somehow had been overlooked!

When things go awry I like to feel that I do have some measure of control...

even if it is an illusion.

It took awhile to deep clean the space...

when it was all done I looked around with a wonderful feeling of a job well done and was satisfied.

I actioned a comforting meal...

soy ginger glazed chicken

rice

and steamed broccoli.

Soy Ginger Chicken

Mix the following in a bowl:

 2 tsp of grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup soy sauce or Braggs

2 minced cloves garlic

3 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. honey

Pour over chicken pieces and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Basting once or twice during cooking.

Sauce is yummy over the rice too!

I'm loving the new Cuisinart enamelled pots.

Mr. HB drew my attention to a lily blooming in our front garden.

I seem to recall planting this many years ago but he thinks it might be a volunteer.

It matters little how it got there I am just so grateful that it has decided to thrive and bloom in our space.

A cobalt coloured primula with frilly petals has filled out and is putting on a decent showing this season.

On my frenzy of cleaning and reorganizing I added a few things to the bathroom...

The silver tray used to be on the counter in the kitchen and the perfumes were on my lingerie chest in the bedroom, now they are easy to access in the bathroom.

I think they look quite pretty on the tray.

I found a new copy of Edith Wharton's classic book "House of Mirth" at the bookstore on Sunday.

It sounds like an interesting read...

quite ahead of its time by the sound of it.

Pepper has had a quiet day today, she has been more social and gave us lots of cuddles.

 Thankfully she nibbled a bit of dinner and sipped some water tonight...

I have my fingers crossed that her health will improve with each coming day.

Chester and Pepper  

(a picture from the archives)

Chester has been very gentle and considerate and I am convinced that he knows Pepper is not feeling well.

We sprayed catnip on the cat toys to perk up Pepper and she played for a few minutes like she was a kitten 

which did my heart good to see.

Our furry family are so much a part of our lives that when they are under the weather 

they greatly affect how we feel too.

Looking at my newly arranged counters and tidy kitchen has given me a boost.

It didn't cost me any money and I like the results.

Plus I got some of that anxiety that I was feeling about Pepper out of my system.

 Hope that you have a wonderful week ahead...

Cozy days...cashmere and cooking.

Fall is settling in with cooler days and foggy mornings...
the trees are shedding their leaves and we have put the furnace on to chase the damp away.

The change in weather means putting on cashmere sweaters and socks.
Love the cozy feel of cashmere as it keeps me warm.
I have several cashmere sweaters...
a vintage Johnson's of Elgin pullover in black, a navy V neck cardigan from Lands' End, and a long grey V neck cardigan from Lord and Taylor.

After I have done most of the domestics I like to retire to the comfort of the Morris chair in the living room put my feet up and cocoon with a good book and a hot cup of tea.
The cats usually follow me in and find a chair to curl up onto for a nap...and often it's on my lap.

Warm beverages, soups, stews, and roasts are such a happy marriage with the cooler weather.
In the kitchen, apron on, stirring a broth or baking is so soothing...
savouring the scents as they waft about our Humble Bungalow kitchen.

Pepper likes to keep me company and is stretched out on the bench seat by the arts and crafts trestle table.

It's so convenient having utensils close to the stove.

McCoy jardinere in basket weave pattern holds an amazing amount of spoons and spatulas.

The yellow silicone duck is actually a spoon holder...

it sits on the rim of pots with the spoon wedged in the middle.

I have two of these matte white planters and I use the other one for the stainless utensils.

They figure prominently in our kitchen as they sit on the granite counter top right by the stove.

The new "Whitewater Cooks" book has been published and I could not resist buying a copy.

Inspired

 I rolled up my sleeves, put on my apron and got busy.

Olive oil Orange Cake

Why stop now?

The kitchen is already a mess so I made some healthy muffins...

I found the recipe on the package of Roger's Ancient Grains Porridge Oats.

Martha Stewart uses an ice cream scoop to portion out muffin batter.

I have adopted her idea and it's quick and easy.

Packed with fibre and goodness these make a great breakfast with a bowl of fruit.

I'm halfway through this delightful book.

It's a bit far fetched but is a lovely escape ~ pure entertainment.

Hope your week is off to a great start.

Keep cozy.

XO

(The"Ugly Truth" kitchen renovation post has been popular...stay tuned as a few more are on the way)

Orange...a pop of colour that elevates the spirit and energizes.

The heart of the home...
our kitchen
in The Humble Bungalow
where I spend many contented hours cooking, baking and cleaning.

Orange Gerberas in a vintage vase add a shot of colour.

I keep an old fashioned day timer in which I record our appointments and meals.

Mandarin oranges add colour and a tangy flavour to this coleslaw salad...

Mandarin Orange Coleslaw

Shred or slice a red cabbage

chop a few scallions

grate a large carrot

1 cup mandarin oranges sliced in half

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Place in a bowl and top with dressing.

Dressing

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Toss together and chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy.

I served this to company with BBQ ribs and boiled new potatoes topped with butter and freshly chopped mint.

Dessert with a little help from Ina Garten.

It is from her Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook.

(You could substitute the lemons for oranges and make orange bars.)

A delicious and easy recipe.

The Kitchen aid gets plenty of work here in The Humble Bungalow.

I love mine and they come in many colours...even orange!

Luscious lemon squares served with fresh blackberries.

This luxurious linen towel is made specifically to clean glass and crystal.

I use it to clean the windows.

It is from the Irish Linen Shop here in Victoria and I cannot recommend it highly enough...

some may like micro fibre for this job but I am a die hard linen fan.

The drawers in the kitchen have been cleaned and sorted.

The Humble Bungalow everyday cutlery is Reed and Barton stainless.

If you have a bumper crop of tomatoes you might like to pop them in a hot oven for a few minutes

so that they take on a rich flavour and top them with some freshly grated pepper and sea salt.

I like to drizzle mine with some balsamic crema...which is a reduced balsamic vinegar.

I buy mine from the deli area of Thrifty Foods.

I'm feeling in an orange mood and will pop this vintage silk Lanvin scarf on when I go out to do my errands.

It may hide my pearls but that's OK as I know they'll be on my neck...

rather like wearing nice lingerie..

it's a secret that makes me feel a bit more dressed up and adds that little bit of French Chic.

Hope that your week will be fun...

thank you for taking your precious time out to stop by my humble blog today

and I appreciate the emails you sent introducing yourselves to me. 

It's nice to meet and connect with readers.

Hostess

Julie's glorious Friday night Feast...

The weekend so far has been busy, it's a bit of a blur...
a lot has been happening to keep us out of mischief but first let's talk about Friday.
We started off with dinner at Julie's...she is our friend who owns and runs a local catering company.
When she invited us for dinner she mentioned that she was not going to "fuss."
I assumed that meant simple fare that required very little effort...something that I might do myself, although it takes me a lot more effort to make it look effortless!

I picked up a posy of flowers for our hostess from Thorn and Thistle...

Julie and her husband have recently renovated their kitchen and it is a cook's dream!
A 6 burner gas range with a hood overhead and a faucet to fill up the pasta pot right at the back of the stove top.
Three ovens...one is a state of the art steam oven and the other two are more traditional,
although they are all top of the line...exactly what a serious cook would want to use.

Are you ready for a peek?

The counter tops are "leathered granite" in black and they are sumptuous...
I loved all the LED lights with dimmer switches especially the task lighting.
The cabinets are white and the drawers and cupboards have those closers that make it impossible to slam even if your souffle falls!
The open plan makes it easy to have people seated at the table in the dining area and she is able to interact and converse with guests as she prepares the next course....

So are you ready to see the "no fuss" dinner?

We started with prawn filled won ton wrappers drizzled with Miso sauce...atop avocado and garnished with slivers of red cabbage, carrots, chives and thinly sliced radishes.

The wine flowed...

I drank lots of water with the wine.

Ribs drenched in a delicious BBQ sauce topped with roasted tomatoes, grilled asparagus and homemade gnocchi in a Gorgonzola cheese sauce.
Yes dear readers I ate it all....
I put the WW point count completely out of my mind and savoured every tasty morsel!

Chocolate souffle, what a decadent way to cap off the meal!

We had a wonderful time chatting and visiting and talking of her upcoming trip to Paris, Barcelona and Tuscany where she will be taking some cooking lessons.
I drank a few more glasses of wine than I am accustomed to...and just before midnight we hopped in a taxi for the 30 minute ride home and I went straight to bed!

I'll post more soon...hope that you have a delightful day.

Nighty Night...sleep tight.

It's night time and all is quiet and calm in The Humble Bungalow kitchen.

Mr. HB and I have been watching House of Cards on Netflix and I am stunned by the evil and malice of Frances. 

He is the character that Kevin Spacey portrays so convincingly alongside his on screen wife Claire played by Robin Wright whose role is a nasty piece of work as well.

It is about as far away from delicious and addictive Downton Abbey as it can get but we sit riveted just the same.

I like the grittiness of the cinematography, the sepia tones playing against the blacks and white of the sets.

Robin's hair cut is very chic and she looks so attractive in her stylish wardrobe.

I do not know how she walks around in those high heeled shoes though...

meandering on a path in the park with her lover she walks with such grace that it looks effortless.

(a skill that I have never mastered!)

I have a routine at night...before getting myself ready for bed.

Do you?

I plump the pillows on the love seats.

Put all the dishes in the dishwasher and turn it on.

Wipe down all the granite counter tops and stove before turning out the lights.

I take off my make up and wash my face before applying a light layer of Sea Buck Thorn Salve.

Brush and floss my teeth and put some lip conditioner on before grabbing a bottle of Perrier.

If I wake up during the night I'll have a few sips so that I stay hydrated throughout the night.

I am a firm believer of drinking lots of water.

I think it helps in so many ways and keeps my skin clear.

Reading is not one of my regular night time routines unless I go to bed super early.

My mind gets over active when I read at night and I have a difficult time quieting it after I close my book.

Sleep is much deeper on the days when I walk vigorously and get plenty of fresh sea air.

On nights when I have had a busy or stressful day or had caffeine after 4 pm I need to practise Yogic breathing...

it works surprisingly well....no need to count sheep.

Alternatively view this You Tube Sleepy Time Yoga session.

Soft cotton sateen sheets, a feather pillow, and the goose down duvet all contribute to making my sleep as restorative experience as possible and I need at least 8 hours or I cannot function.

How are you sleeping at night?

What habits have you adopted to ensure that you enjoy a restful night of slumber?

Sweet dreams,

Hostess

The Joys of Cooking....removing sap, a bit of nature and a new book.

Browsing through cookbooks and trying new recipes help to keep me enthusiastic about cooking.
Cocooning inside The Humble Bungalow on a blustery day making a hearty stew feels so good.
Harvesting and eating root vegetables seem to go hand in hand with the shorter daylight hours and cooler weather.

The colours of yams, parsnips, turnips and carrots remind me of autumn...

Our family have been enjoying "Little Stew" for years.

It is a simple meal of ground beef and vegetables made with a rich gravy.

It simmers in the large Le Creuset dutch oven for hours and is just as tasty the next day.

Little Stew

Saute a large diced onion until soft.

Add ground beef and brown.

Make a "gravy" with a bouillon cube or beef stock and pour over cooked beef.

Add vegetables, any that you like.

I used carrots, potatoes, and peas.

Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer for several hours.

I served it with some home made bread.

Our large Le Creuset gets used most days.

It's a heavy Dutch oven that can go into or on top of the oven.

I feel like I get a workout merely lifting it in and out of the cupboard!

This Ulster Weavers linen tea towel is new from The Irish Linen Shop on Government Street.

I liked the whimsy of the lone black sheep.

I bought some new linens from them when I walked by 

after the Veteran's Day Ceremony at the Legislative Buildings.

Speaking of new things...

I found a new ~ to ~ me platter.

It is enormous and will be fabulous for the turkey dinner at Christmas.

I love the oak leaf and acorn detail on the edges.

In the "Oak Bay Style" 

I grew up in Oak Bay and went to both Oak Bay Junior and Oak Bay Senior High Schools.

(many moons ago)

I plan to go to out and gather up a bunch more cones to decorate this platter.

I read recently that cones are considered "autumn roses."

I got the cones but ended up getting some sticky sap on my coat!

Grrr..."How to remove sap?" 

I entered this line into a google search and to my relief the results were "hand sanitizer removes sap."

It worked and was so easy, no damage to my coat either!

Reading another book by Linda Grant and loving her writing...

a former English literature professor who spent time lecturing at Simon Fraser University in BC during the 1970's.

I've been shopping for some new core wardrobe pieces and will share them with you later in the week.

~ ~ ~

“Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn--that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness--that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.” 

~ Jane Austen ~

 Persuasion

Thursday today and it's a green post...

Oh dear me I seem to be stuck in a domestic zone these days.
This preoccupation is bound to pass as I enrich my days with more exciting yet less expensive pursuits.
Mother has spent her days since Father passed by regular trips to the Mall and shopping for beautiful clothes that she seldom wears. Bear in mind this is not a judgement call on Mom just an observation...

I am home more than I have ever been in the last 25 years so I am noticing small details like dust that never really showed their furry heads on my radar before...so now I take prompt action.
Funny thing happenend the other night when Mr. HB and our son got together to watch the movie Jobs...
I went to Winners to see what they had, I had not set foot in the store for months and I used to be a regular!
The handbags are my first stop and there was a very slim and disappointing array of faux leather bags and not one that I would consider bringing home...next was the clothing. The styles were "Way too Out There" for me.
Rack upon rack of tops with bold slogans and sayings, then add a mixture of lace and peepholes and cotton and studs! I kid you not!
I saw a few cashmere sweaters that I would consider but I didn't feel they were worth the trouble as they were so thin and not a 3 ply to be found.

So after I wove my way through the aisles I found myself staring at the cleaning products.
This surprised me as I picked up many and read the labels...most were full of chemicals whose names I cannot pronounce and know that they are not particularly healthy ingredients.

I did swoon a bit when I sniffed the Caldrea line...I opened them and decided on the Citron Ginger.

First coffee of the morning shot...I forgot my mug is on the counter in the background.

I like products that have a clean scent.

One of our oldest tea towels in The Humble Bungalow still on the job.

Linen laundered many times and now a soft whisper of it's former self!

Ulster Weavers of Ireland.

Oaktree pattern which is still available and you can purchase them from the Irish Linen Shop.

I think I am as passionate about linen tea towels as I am about Hermes scarves.

Though one thing I am certain about is that there will be more tea towels in my future than Hermes scarves!

Hope that you are enjoying your week.

Mother is getting quite confused these days and my sister and I are on high alert.

We understand and know that this is all part of aging...

a natural progression,

yet it is very upsetting all the same.

I actioned a roasty veggie feast.

I find this recipe so soothing.

Comfort food come to mama!

Use any vegetables that you have on hand.

Lightly toss them in olive oil and spread on a roasting pan.

Crank up your oven to 425 degrees.

Roast turning once for 30 minutes.

Turn on the broiler for 5 minutes until the edges get a bit brown.

Remove and sprinkle with rosemary, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

 Add a bit of feta cheese and toss in a serving bowl

Enjoy!

Thank you to Gail, my friend from Australia for this recipe.

I have made it for years after she brought it to one of our staff parties.

She was kind enough to share her recipe with me.

So you can thank Gail too if you decide to make it.

Trust me this one is a keeper.

It goes really well with roast beef and chicken or on it's own as a main course!

It feels very autumnal with the variety of colours.

Thank you for stopping by...