It is always a challenge to come up with new snacks for book clubs, parties or kids. It is even harder when you try to come up with nutritious ones. Since it is now fall, it is an important time to take advantage of the fall harvest and great produce that is available.
One of my favorite fall foods is pumpkin. I love pumkin muffins, scones, cheesecake, ice cream and, of course, pie. I love to use pumpkins for decorating my entry way and kitchen. I especially love them for my favorite snack - pumpkin seeds. There are many ways to roast and prepare pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seed recipes can be as simple as roasting with olive oil and salt, to Asian flavorings using soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and sea salt. You can do sweet variations, adding some honey, maple syrup, brown or raw sugar, or cinnamon sugar. If spicy is your thing, try adding in some black pepper, Cayenne pepper, curry seasonings, tobasco sauce or red pepper flakes.
If you are using dry seasonings or spices, you will need some liquid to make the seasonings stick to the seeds. Try olive or canola oil; egg white; butter (low temperatures only); or sauces like soy, Worcestershire, hot sauce or maple syrup. Try different recipes and put them out in decorative little bowls for your next get together.
Click here for a quick video on how to make your own roasted pumpkin seeds. For information on ordering pumpkin seeds online, click on the link. Since pumpkin seeds are so nutritious and delicious, you will want to serve them all year round.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
American Family Quotes and Sayings
From cradle to grave, there are amusing American family quotes and sayings about all stages of life. Some are funny and amusing, some poignant, some thought provoking.
Perspective: When you are a child of 10 - 30 seems old. When you are 30 - 50 seems old. When you are 50 - 70 seems old and 30 seems young, and so on. Are you as old as you feel? Some people who are young are called "old souls". Some people age but never grow up.
An elderly lady who was asked by a child if she was young or old said, "My dear, I have been young a very long time." (Author unknown)
"We are always the same age inside" Gertrude Stein
"We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves." May Lamberton Becker
"Oh, to be seventy again!" Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1931) upon seeing an attractive woman on his 90th birthday.
Understanding. Our western culture puts too much emphasis on being young and beautiful Instead of aging gracefully, we are told to fight it every step of the way with wrinkle creams, diets, plastic surgery and hair implants. With age comes wisdom, which is why older people probably tolerate the young. We need to teach our children the value of families and to respect their elders.
"People who don't cherish their elderly have forgotten whence they came and whither they go" Ramsey Clark.
Mortality. We have all heard that the only 2 certainties in life are death and taxes. All of us, except for Benjamin Button, grow from infancy (where we need diapers and help to walk) to old age (where we may need diapers and help to walk). The same joy and compassion we feel for small children should be how we feel when we see someone near the end of their life. After all, it is not the end destination, but the journey that counts.
"Life is like a role of toilet paper; hopefully long and useful, but it always ends at the wrong moment." Rudyh
One final quote, "Old age is like a bank account... you with draw from what you have put in. So my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories." Anonymous
Great advice for parents: keep a sense of humour and keep things in perspective. Family is the most important thing of all.
Perspective: When you are a child of 10 - 30 seems old. When you are 30 - 50 seems old. When you are 50 - 70 seems old and 30 seems young, and so on. Are you as old as you feel? Some people who are young are called "old souls". Some people age but never grow up.
An elderly lady who was asked by a child if she was young or old said, "My dear, I have been young a very long time." (Author unknown)
"We are always the same age inside" Gertrude Stein
"We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves." May Lamberton Becker
"Oh, to be seventy again!" Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1931) upon seeing an attractive woman on his 90th birthday.
Understanding. Our western culture puts too much emphasis on being young and beautiful Instead of aging gracefully, we are told to fight it every step of the way with wrinkle creams, diets, plastic surgery and hair implants. With age comes wisdom, which is why older people probably tolerate the young. We need to teach our children the value of families and to respect their elders.
"People who don't cherish their elderly have forgotten whence they came and whither they go" Ramsey Clark.
Mortality. We have all heard that the only 2 certainties in life are death and taxes. All of us, except for Benjamin Button, grow from infancy (where we need diapers and help to walk) to old age (where we may need diapers and help to walk). The same joy and compassion we feel for small children should be how we feel when we see someone near the end of their life. After all, it is not the end destination, but the journey that counts.
"Life is like a role of toilet paper; hopefully long and useful, but it always ends at the wrong moment." Rudyh
One final quote, "Old age is like a bank account... you with draw from what you have put in. So my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories." Anonymous
Great advice for parents: keep a sense of humour and keep things in perspective. Family is the most important thing of all.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Children Quotes and Sayings
Who doesn’t love funny children’s quotes and sayings?
Someone sent me this collection and I wanted to share it with you.
A first grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading these keep in mind that these are first graders...
Strike while - the bug is close.
It's always darkest before - Daylight Saving Time.
Never underestimate the power of - termites.
You can lead a horse to water but - how?
Don't bite the hand that - looks dirty.
No news is - impossible.
A miss is as good as a - Mr.
You can't teach an old dog new - math.
If you lie down with dogs, you'll - stink in the morning.
Love all, trust - me.
The pen is mightier than the - pigs.
An idle mind is - the best way to relax.
Where there's smoke there's - pollution.
Happy the bride who - gets all the presents.
A penny saved is - not much.
Two's company, three's - the Musketeers.
Don't put off till tomorrow what - you put on to go to bed.
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and..... you have to blow your nose.
There are none so blind as - Stevie Wonder.
Children should be seen and not - spanked or grounded.
If at first you don't succeed - get new batteries.
You get out of something only what you - see in the picture on the box.
When the blind leadeth the blind - get out of the way.
And the favourite: Better late than - pregnant!!!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Book Club Benefits
On a Thursday night every 6-7 weeks, about eight to ten of my favourite women and myself, get together to catch up, eat some great food, drink some great wine, and discuss, more often than not, a great book. I am describing of course, your typical book club meeting.
It took me well over a year or two to be convinced that this would be something I would want to be a part of. I had met this wonderful group of women consisting of homemakers, lawyers, teachers, and entrepreneurs, through a neighbour of mine about 11 years ago. At that time, their book club was quite large and they had already read a number of interesting books. I was married with a 6 month old baby and two older step-daughters and thought that I had no time to read, and if I did, I had all these great books I had collected over the years that I would rather get into. To this day I don’t remember what made me decide to attend one of their meetings, but since that first one, I’ve never looked back. Maybe it was Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Fall On Your Knees, the first book I read with them, and the fascinating discussion that followed… Or maybe it was just the escape that this Thursday night offered me. Or maybe, it was just the wine! Whatever it was, being a member of my book club has become one of the things I treasure most in my life.
We always meet on a Thursday night, and it will always be after 8pm. We make sure that we have fed our families and that any little ones are already on their way to bed. This is mom’s time for herself! Usually each member will bring an appetizer or dessert and although we never assign specific plates, we always have a good variety of great food. And of course, we each bring a bottle of wine. Sometimes our choices are geared to the theme or setting of the book. The hostess is responsible for everything else such as soft drinks, coffee, tea, etc. We rotate throughout the year and although we don’t set up the calendar at the beginning, it still seems to work out that each person gets the chance to host. When you are the hostess, you pick the book. We always try to find the best deal (paperback or Costco) and then everyone is responsible for getting their own copy. We are a very easy-going group and understand that sometimes reading the book before the meeting is an impossible task, yet we welcome everyone to attend. We all have extremely busy lives and we respect that about one another.
A normal meeting will start with everyone just hanging out around the food table, enjoying our wine and catching up. It is truly a great way to force yourself to get out and spend quality time with women you enjoy being with. By around 10pm, which does seem rather late, we move to the sitting area that is set up in a circle and then one by one each person tells the group what they thought of the book. There is no time limit and it varies with each member. Quite often a comment may spark a dynamic discussion about our interpretations of the book or something that pertains to life in general (or to our lives specifically). We have had many an amazing discussion! Once we have even had one of the authors join us. That was our most insightful meeting to date as you can well imagine. There have been many laughs and even some tears, but overall, we respect each other’s opinions and more often than not, we leave these meetings (usually after midnight albeit) somehow changed….and usually, I would have to think, for the better.
It took me well over a year or two to be convinced that this would be something I would want to be a part of. I had met this wonderful group of women consisting of homemakers, lawyers, teachers, and entrepreneurs, through a neighbour of mine about 11 years ago. At that time, their book club was quite large and they had already read a number of interesting books. I was married with a 6 month old baby and two older step-daughters and thought that I had no time to read, and if I did, I had all these great books I had collected over the years that I would rather get into. To this day I don’t remember what made me decide to attend one of their meetings, but since that first one, I’ve never looked back. Maybe it was Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Fall On Your Knees, the first book I read with them, and the fascinating discussion that followed… Or maybe it was just the escape that this Thursday night offered me. Or maybe, it was just the wine! Whatever it was, being a member of my book club has become one of the things I treasure most in my life.
We always meet on a Thursday night, and it will always be after 8pm. We make sure that we have fed our families and that any little ones are already on their way to bed. This is mom’s time for herself! Usually each member will bring an appetizer or dessert and although we never assign specific plates, we always have a good variety of great food. And of course, we each bring a bottle of wine. Sometimes our choices are geared to the theme or setting of the book. The hostess is responsible for everything else such as soft drinks, coffee, tea, etc. We rotate throughout the year and although we don’t set up the calendar at the beginning, it still seems to work out that each person gets the chance to host. When you are the hostess, you pick the book. We always try to find the best deal (paperback or Costco) and then everyone is responsible for getting their own copy. We are a very easy-going group and understand that sometimes reading the book before the meeting is an impossible task, yet we welcome everyone to attend. We all have extremely busy lives and we respect that about one another.
A normal meeting will start with everyone just hanging out around the food table, enjoying our wine and catching up. It is truly a great way to force yourself to get out and spend quality time with women you enjoy being with. By around 10pm, which does seem rather late, we move to the sitting area that is set up in a circle and then one by one each person tells the group what they thought of the book. There is no time limit and it varies with each member. Quite often a comment may spark a dynamic discussion about our interpretations of the book or something that pertains to life in general (or to our lives specifically). We have had many an amazing discussion! Once we have even had one of the authors join us. That was our most insightful meeting to date as you can well imagine. There have been many laughs and even some tears, but overall, we respect each other’s opinions and more often than not, we leave these meetings (usually after midnight albeit) somehow changed….and usually, I would have to think, for the better.
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