Post Christmas Wrap Up....

Mr. HB gave me a new Butter Dish by Emma Bridgewater which I love as it is in my favourite Black Toast pattern but more than that it is really very apropos...

One of our cats, Pepper, has earned the nickname "Butter Lick-er"

She can smell the butter on the counter in the butter dish, which has a cover and she often is caught licking the outside of the butter dish which is really kind of gross and so unhygienic.

Now if she could read...

we'd be in terrible trouble!

Last week I met up with some girlfriends for lunch at Rebar  and was served the most amazing kale salad.

I decided to try to replicate it and I think it was quite successful so I thought that I would share it with you all.

I used small tomatoes that are sold on the vine and cut them in half.

Sprinkled them with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and a lean drizzle of olive oil.

Roasted them in a hot oven until they were soft...about 15 minutes.

I thinly sliced two onions.

I put them in a cast iron pan with a bit of olive oil and a small knob of butter and cooked them until they were transparent.

A secret I learned about carmelized onions is that they love a dollop of brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar...don't ask why it works, try it and you will be happy you did.

Gently wilt a bunch of kale leaves in a small amount of water...

(remember to remove the inner tough stalk and discard)

In a jam jar 

mix 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar...screw the lid on tightly and shake.

Shave some Asiago cheese...

put kale on a plate, top with carmelized onions, add tomatoes, and top with dresssing and shaved cheese.

Enjoy!

I went online and found a recipe for turkey tetrazzini and it was yummy but not WW point friendly.

I'm going to need to get back on track after New Years!

We have been walking a lot but it doesn't really compensate for all the extra treats that have been consumed with gay abandon!

Chester has had a rough day...

I guess I won't be cooking dinner tonight unless he moves!

We took the tree down earlier and I vacuumed up the fir needles...

I cannot believe how much preparation we do to get ready for Christmas...

and then it's over so quickly...

We are leaving some of the decorations up as we are hosting New Years Dinner here for two other couples.

We will have our friends John and Cheryl here visiting for a few days too.

I'm looking forward to seeing them...

Cheryl and I plan the meals, shop and cook together in the kitchen

 we all go for long walks

there is a lot of chatting and catching up

we plan to take in a Yoga class

I'm going to ask them to tell me more about Paris and Auvillar.

So I may not be posting much here on the blog...

I'm sure you'll understand.

Happy New Year!

Hostess 

Boxing Day thoughts...family, friends, food and flowers...

Post Christmas I'm taking a day off to laze around...

Boxing Day thoughts....

So many busy days of cooking and entertaining and I am knackered.

So I am taking a day to catch my breath.

It's been a whirlwind of activity here in our Humble Bungalow...

I am weary but so very grateful and happy that our family was here for the annual Christmas feast.

(the wee ones make it super special!)

Family, friends, food and flowers ~ not necessarily in that order.

Rebar luncheon with my besties...

Wilted Kale salad with caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes and shaved Asagio cheese.

The dressing was a very light vinaigrette.

Homemade baked beans made by my friend LA.

I have her recipe and have tried making these twice but they never taste as good as hers.

I must try again...

"If at first you don't succeed try try again!"

Last minute I realized that I had forgotten to buy flowers for the Christmas table.

They were purchased on Xmas Eve from my favourite flower merchants...

Thorn and Thistle.

Blush roses in the main bathroom...

The centrepiece on the Christmas table.

Organic free run turkey just before cooking...

it was probably the best tasting bird we have eaten in years.

Brussells Sprouts

new recipe I found online...

Halve the sprouts drizzle them with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Grate the rind of a lemon and arrange peel evenly over sprouts then pour the juice of that lemon on top.

Cook at 350 degrees until fork tender.

Top with shaved parmesan cheese put back in oven until just melted.

Serve.

This recipe works with fresh asparagus too!

During the festive season we make an extra effort to make time for those who are near and dear to us.
We arrange to get together, we bake and make food.
We meet with friends and catch up on our busy lives...
we share stories, we cry, we hug.
We eat...celebrate the extraordinary, share the good and joyous, touch gently on the sadness and the struggles...
sharing among caring and supportive friends is part of what links and binds us.

Hold on tight...
life is precious and we must keep those near and dear close to our heart.

Thank you for your wonderful emails this holiday season.
I am so humbled by your kind wishes.

Season's Greetings

Season's Greetings and A Humble Bungalow thank you.

The house has been decorated, the gifts have been purchased and wrapped.

The cookies have been baked, rum balls rolled and the chocolate bark has been assembled.

There are still some finishing touches to attend to, gifts to be delivered and food to be prepped

so I will be taking a few days off while I get busy here in The Humble Bungalow Kitchen.

I will be brewing many pots of tea and pacing myself,

savouring and noticing the special moments...

I've never read The Perfectly Imperfect Home...

it's obvious!

check out my nod to imperfection

(the stake in the pot!)

Price tag still attached...and it's a scrap that I stole from Mr. HB's workshop...

no chance of perfection here in The Humble Bungalow!

I kind of like real life...and who snuck the chocolates?

I had the oranges and chocolates alternating...

I know my family.

(I have extras in the pantry!)

I'll leave you with some images of our wee Charlie Brown tree which is almost exclusively decorated with vintage ornaments.

At no other time of year does our wee bungalow feel so brightly steeped in white light.

You might be able to see my coral coloured Lands' End sweater in the green bauble.

I wore black skinny jeans and a cream tank top with the sweater 

for our annual tree decorating and pizza party with the family.

It was a fun filled afternoon with two lovely "little helpers" who put smiles on the faces of all of the adults in attendance!

Embracing the imperfect,

 from the wee tree to the age and patina of the well worn ornamentation...

hung by our families on trees from Christmases past.

Wishing you a memorable and special holiday season.

I'll be back after the feasting and before our New Year's house guests arrive!

Hostess

XO

Christmas Cheer...

Christmas is a few days away...
We are busy here in The Humble Bungalow, decorating, baking, wrapping and delivering gifts.
 I love the buzz and energy that is out and about in the community...

This couple were suitably attired in their green finery.

Love the pops of red with the greens.

Mother Nature has a lovely hand when it comes to colouring our world... 

I found these cute seasonal pop outs at Finn and Izzy on Oak Bay Avenue.

Isla and I assembled them last week on "Grammy Day."

Grammy Days are about the best gift I could ever wish for...

spending time with the grandchildren is such a precious time and I love it!

My heart swells in gratitude...

This little snowman is perched atop of this wee green tree and it sits on the table in their kitchen.

Mr. HB hung the Christmas Wreath in the dining room...

it is one of my favourite Christmas decorations.

His Mother had it made by a woman that she knew many years ago.

It is made with glass baubles, pine cones, ribbons and assorted vintage rhinestone brooches...

It's my kind of family "heirloom."

I took a break from baking and wrapping and toddled off to the thrift shop...

I find browsing the aisles for bargains is so much fun.

These two cheery red birds grabbed my attention and although the mugs were grimey beyond belief I took a chance and bought them. 

They cleaned up perfectly with a little soap and a massage with baking soda...

lovely daughter has them now.

These Dansk and Rostfrei teak modernist cheese boards with built in cheese knives...

practically leapt into the cart!

I plan to keep the Dansk IHQ board (on the bottom of the photo)

and will possibly sell the other one in our case at Vanity Fair Antique Mall.

New tea caddy by an English company, Hornsea.

I keep my teas in these to keep them fresh.

I found a vintage silk scarf that is huge!

I've not heard of this company before and there is not much information on the internet about it...

it is in mint condition and was only a couple of dollars.

  I wore it out today with a white Tee, jeans and my Barbour vest when we went out and bought our traditional  teeny tiny Charlie Brown Christmas tree...

Our annual Xmas tree decorating and pizza party are planned for tomorrow.

I'll be back with some photo after we have done the tree.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting...

I hope that you are happy and taking good care not to get too tired at this time of year...

we are only human after all so let's leave (delegate) some things to Santa!

HO HO HO

Dreaming of Paris...

There was a marathon wash day this week in The Humble Bungalow...
You may wonder why, when there are so many other things that I would rather be doing,
baking, shopping, walking, visiting with Mother...

Pepper had a furball...

she threw up on our pure WHITE king size bed coverlet. I had to wash it twice AND resort to using bleach to get out the stains so it was a long morning of washing and it took ages for the coverlet to dry...

It looks like new...

Two hours of washing
and the drying was another hour and a half...

Pepper made good use of her time relaxing.

I am so grateful for our Heavy Duty LG machines.
They can handle jumbo loads like this coverlet and the queen size duvet...
before we owned these workhorses I was at the mercy of the dry cleaners...
their price for this service was rather expensive, not to mention that they took 4 days to get the job done.

So while the machines worked hard I decided to use the time to go onto the internet and explore Paris, France...
I found a bunch of blogs which I thought I would share with you...

David Lebovitz

Unlock Paris

Prete Moi Paris

Paris By Mouth

The Hip Paris Blog

La Cuisine Paris

Paris Perfect

Becoming Madame


If you are planning a trip do you like to research the area in advance of your trip?
or do you like to "fly by the seat of your pants?"

I like the forums at Trip Advisor and read the comments about restaurants, sightseeing tours, museums, and shops.

Mr. HB and I went to San Francisco many years ago and I had done extensive research online and read up on what we should see and do...we had wonderful accommodations and a fabulous 10 days so I feel it is worth doing a bit of advance planning....careful not "over schedule" the trip though as to allow for spontaneity and surprises.

I registered for a cooking class with the La Cuisine Market Tours, which sounds like fun,
shopping the Maubert Market and then prepping and cooking in their Paris kitchen.

Sounds like I'll be sitting in outdoor cafes "people watching" while I get my bearings and wandering the streets window shopping for the first few days...

I hope you will explore some of these Parisian sites...and if you have any that you would like to recommend I'd gladly welcome your comments.