Vanilla
I am lucky to have a friend that regularly brings me pure vanilla from Mexico. The price is so much better than it is here. I usually only need bake her something with vanilla and lemon to cover the cost! Win win for me! I …
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Carrots
Easter brings a wide variety of baking to mind…hot cross buns, European braided breads with eggs nestled on top, sugar cookies that look like Easter eggs, chicks, bunnies and flowers and one of my favourites made with carrots!
Carrot Cake is a super moist, spicy, cream cheese icing-covered delight! It takes minutes to stir together( minus the carrot grating and draining of crushed pineapple) and there are no complicated instructions to follow. You mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet and sugars in another, stir them together and pour it into your pan.
The Canadian Living Magazine cake recipe has been in my old tin box for years. It really is foolproof. I add raisins and walnuts, or currants and pecans, sometimes a little ginger or cloves but the basic recipe is delicious.
It’s baked in a 9×13…..much easier to ice and serve to a crowd. I have put the batter in 2- 8″ pans….it works, but I like the 9×13. You can get creative on the top with decorations or just lightly dust it with orange sprinkles.
Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think and please…..don’t forget to use cream cheese icing!
Happy Easter!
Transfer
Trans-fer
INTRANSITIVE VERB: to move to a different place, region or situation.
Yes, I moved departments…… again! Nursing provides us with so many options to spread our wings and discover a multitude of experiences.
Uncertainty about my income over the last couple of months, as well as a desire to top up my pension made me decide to transfer to a new ward and exercise my brain! It’s a place I haven’t worked for many years but have a great appreciation for.
Talk about coming full circle.
When I decided back in primary school to become a nurse,(Grade 1) never did I (in my wildest dreams ) imagine all the places this profession would take me. I started out as a Candy Striper at our local hospital (I think I was 14) , then moved on to Healthcare Aide at 16 in a Long Term Care home. I loved that job. It paid $2.15/hr, I wore my first nursing cap and it gave me a real hands on look at what was in store for me as a nurse. Then on to self employment, Pediatric ER, Adult/Peds ER, Day Surgery and back to seniors!
I went back to caring for seniors, 34 yrs later. We certainly had our share of the elderly in the ED….but this was different. I got to hear the stories they love to tell, make a difference in their care if only for a short time and be part of a multifaceted team.
Who would have thought after a start in long term care…..that a transfer back there would spark an old nurses’ energy!
The bottom line is that I still get to do what I love the most.
Caring for others.
Remembrance
November is a month to reflect on how very lucky we are to live in a country like Canada! I always spend some time looking back at what nursing was like for those brave souls who volunteered during the conflicts we were a part of …
Pastry
Pastry, pie crust, pie dough…….
I have struggled with this form of baking since I started baking with my Mum. Seriously, the best pie crust pastry came out of her kitchen at any given time. She throws all the ingredients in her bowl, uses her well worn pastry blender and whips up a masterpiece that gets placed in a pie plate and filled with all kids of good filling…. Apple, peach, rhubarb custard. Amazingly flaky and delicious!!!!
I have tried every kind of recipe imaginable. From the best pastry chefs to the well-used well-tested recipes from friends claiming “This is the best recipe and it’s no fail!”
Fail I have……until….
I stopped trying to be a perfect pie crust maker.
In baking(cakes, cookies, muffins etc) I’m secretly fascinated by the precise measuring in these recipes and the exact instructions. (thanks Dad). The outcome is realitively consistent for me. BUT PASTRY……sigh…
When does one stop incorporating the fat into the flour?, how big are “pea-sized crumbs” or when is “until sufficiently blended”? And then gathering the mixture and not “working it too much” on a “lightly floured surface??” always baffles me…..I want a well rounded smooth round of dough that looks like a ball!
Long story short, I just now loosely measure the flour, throw in the salt and measure the shortening, hope I’m incorporating the liquid enough, roll it into a ball, cut it in half and throw it into some plastic wrap to rest in the fridge for an hour or so. I use the pastry recipe on the shortening box….and have overcome my insecurities to produce a not half bad pastry. (Most of the time!)
Lesson here: Just do it!
I’m really looking forward to the cooler weather….it means fruit pie, meat pie, pot pie and Tourtiere!
Let me know in comments your favourite pie story!
