My Happy List

I'm always at least a day late for Ricki Jill's Happy List event - late, but in no way less happy or grateful.  

So let's see, what I am happy about this week:

1.  I had a nice visit with a friend on the weekend and we went for a walk around the Principal's gardens at the University near where we live.  One of my favourite parts of the garden is the pretty little stone bridge across a pond.  The reason I took my friend to visit it is because we are studying Monet in art class and we were scouting out the location to see about going and painting it next week.  More about Monet coming soon.

2.  Our dog, Juno, has been very sick this week.  We thought she had only days to live as she was so weak and uncoordinated, but she seems to have rallied slightly and for that we are grateful.  She is an old dog so we just take it one day at a time, but we are enjoying her while we can.

3.  My boot camp class was cancelled tonight (which didn't make me happy) ... so I went shopping instead (a girl has got to get some exercise some how).  I was feeling like I have had nothing to wear since the warmer weather struck as all my shirts seemed too short or are faded.  So I hit up Target and Eddie Bauer and bought myself four new tops, and one scarf that I fell in love with, but didn't need, and two simple comfortable cotton skirts on sale for $20 each (is it weird to have the same skirt in two different colours?)  I think I'm set now - lots of colour and new possible combinations have been added to the roster.

4.  I love all the flowers in the garden.  Right now the roses have just started blooming and seem to be having a terrific year.  Go roses!

5.  And finally, there are only seven more work days left in the school year until summer vacation.  And my notes and reports are under control.  There will be no last-minute panic this year.  Yay me!!!

What's making you happy this week?

Burmese Soup

Well we've finally made it Burma (in a virtual sense that is ... in our round-the-world cooking adventure) and we decided to cook some Chickpea Soup. You can see the soup being cooked in the traditional way by the Shan people in this video (the video is so interesting and well worth the time to watch it - my favourite part is when the camera looks down and you can see the river and the boat through the floor boards).
Chickpea Soup is cooked in several different pots and then assembled at the last minute.  You can see all the parts ready to be ladled into bowls in the photo below.  It may look like a lot of pots to clean, but they mostly had vegetables or noodles so they cleaned up quickly.  The key to this soup is using enough of the spice mixture that goes on top as that is what makes the soup so interesting and flavourful.  
This was one of our favourite dishes from our world cooking adventure (do I say that every time?).  It was so delicious we've already made it a few times.  

Here's the recipe with the modifications we made:
BURMESE CHICKPEA SOUP
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 litre water
4 tbsp oil
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cm ginger, peeled, pounded (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
3 tomatoes, diced (or 1/2 can diced tomatoes)
1 tsp paprika powder
Pinch of salt
2 chicken skinless boneless chicken breasts
400g rice noodles, blanched
200g blanched baby bok choy
2 cups bean sprouts
4 teaspoon sesame seeds
4 teaspoon crushed roasted peanuts
2 teaspoon fried garlic
4 teaspoon light soy sauce
4 teaspoon sugar cane syrup
Sliced green onion, to garnish
Dried chilli flakes, to garnish
Lime wedges, to garnish (although we used lemon)

Method:
1.  We mashed the chickpeas using a mortar and pestle, but next time I would just boil them and then mash with a potato masher.
2. Combine the mashed chickpeas and water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Cook on low, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
3.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the turmeric powder, onion, garlic and ginger, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
4. Add the tomatoes, paprika powder, salt and chicken. Stir-fry for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
5.  Prepare the noodles according to package directions.
6.  Blanch the bok choy for 2 minutes in boiling water.
7.  Combine the sesame seeds, peanuts, fried garlic, soy sauce, and sugar cane syrup in a bowl to season the soup.
8. To serve, divide noodles among 4 soup bowls. Ladle the chickpea mixture over the noodles. Add some tomato-chicken mixture.  Add the baby bok choy and bean sprouts.  Top with the seasoning mixture made in step #7. Garnish with the spring onion, chilli flakes and lime. 

We have already cooked dishes from Thailand and Cambodia so I hope to have them posted soon too.  Have you ever cooked any South Asian food?  I'm really enjoying the food from this part of the world.

Father's Day Memory Box

About a month ago we went to an auction at my husband's childhood home (which you can read about here and here) and one of the things we got was an Royal Canadian Air Force jacket that had belonged to my husband's adopted father.  He had been a Tail Gunner in a Halifax Bomber during World War 11 and had taken part in many air raids, including D-Day. 

We don't have any photos of him in uniform so the photo below is just taken from the internet, but you can see the jacket is the same as the one above.

A Halifax Bomber Crew.  The row of bombs on the airplane indicate the number of bombing raids it has undergone (BBC)

Unfortunately the jacket was too moth-eaten to keep so after some consideration we decided that making a memory box with items from the jacket was the best way to deal with it.  

I took the idea and made it a reality by assembling the memory box for Father's Day. I cut some material from the back of the jacket and taped it around a piece of foam-core board to line the bottom of the memory box.  The material was so faded that I used the reverse side to get a truer representation of the colour.  Then I arranged the buttons, one of the badges from the shoulder, the belt buckle, and a piece of the trim from the sleeve and attached them to the material at the back.

It's a nice way to save the memories without having to keep the entire jacket which was long past its prime.  

Men are sooo difficult to find gifts for aren't they?  I have to confess that I'm pretty proud of myself for thinking of the memory box idea.  Did you all think of something wonderful to do to celebrate Father's Day?  

Linked to Sunday Best Party at A Pretty Life,
Sunday Showcase Party at By Stephanie Lynn,
From Dream to Reality at The DIY Dreamer

Ways to be Happier at Home

Last weekend when I was reading the January 2013 issue of Style at Home, the article "6 Ways to be Happier at Home" caught my eye.  It's a short little piece - listed under "Workbook" - that is packed with sage advice. 

The article lists six ideas from the book "Happier at Home" (written by the author of "The Happiness Project".)  I haven't read either of those book, but I love these six ideas.  They are definitely worth pondering!  

Let's have a look:

1.  Give warm greetings and farewells.  
Do you always give a kiss when you are stepping out the door?  I do sometimes, but not always.  It is a lovely habit to foster.  It may be partially cultural, as our French friends certainly do much more kissing at all times of the day than we do.  It's a good tip, though, and I'm going to try to remember to give my husband a kiss every time I leave the house this week.

Speaking of greetings - this is a quotation that always makes me laugh from one of my all-time favourite movies.  Anyone recognize the movie?

I think we could all take a few notes from how Grace Kelly greets Jimmy Stewart in the same movie.

2.  Remove clutter.
So true. So important. Note to self - remove clutter! Having a calm orderly house most definitely contributes to an inner calm and a happier home.

Margot Austin

3.  Complete a project you have been putting off.
Having too long a to-do list can weigh you down and make you feel guilty.  Conversely having no goals or projects can make you feel aimless and bored so the key is striking the right balance.  And I most definitely would get way more done if I had a studio like this.

Architectural Digest

4.  Celebrate family traditions.
One of the things I really enjoy about blogging is reading all the different traditions people have. They vary from family to family and country to country. The best part, though, is that you can pick and chose the ones that are right for you and your family. Traditions help bind a family together, allow us to honour important events in our lives, and give us something to look forward to.

Cut out and Keep

5.  Cultivate a shrine to your passions, interests, and values.
Not sure about a shrine, but how about a corner of the house that you can call your own. That corner may be anything from a cozy chair where you enjoy a good book or a desk in the corner of a room ... or even a magnificent window seat surrounded by bookshelves overlooking a forest.

Decoratrix

6.  Get enough sleep.  
So important, but something I rarely do.  I am so bad at getting to bed on time.  I love having a good sleep-in on the weekend or on vacation and need to make a point of getting to bed on time during the week.

Young Mariner

And if I could add one more it would be:

7.  Eat together.
Make time to create healthy meals, set a pleasing table, and eat together to grow deep bonds as a family.  Our society is getting busier and busier and fewer families are eating meals together.  If we take time to feed our bodies and our relationships, though, we will ultimately have happier homes. Do you eat together as a family?  It is something I feel strongly about and make as a high priority in our home.

Young Mariner

Young Mariner

What would you add to the list?  What do you feel is important to help you be happier at home?

A Rainbow Celebration

While I was driving to the cottage this past weekend I had plenty of time to let my mind wander - to create, and dream, and plan. I love having the time to do that. 

One of the things I thought up was this pretty party.  I wanted to document it so I don't forget the details.

I would set the table with a white tablecloth and white dinner plates so that all the attention is on the centrepiece. I would line up mason jars filled with a rainbow of flowers down the centre of the table. I think it would look gorgeous and can't wait to actually try it. I even love the words - a rainbow of flowers.

The dinner would involve bright and beautiful food. We could start with a rainbow of vegetables.

Then follow the vegetables with a rainbow of beautiful ingredients laid out on trays for make-your-own tacos. Or what about a table full of bright and beautiful salads. Or how about a trio of pretty soups for dinner.

cream of yellow carrot, tomato, and cream of asparagus soups

And then for dessert we could have delicious rainbow fruit kebabs

Quick Dish

along with a bright and bountiful dessert table.  

There would definitely be a tray of rainbow-coloured macaroons,

and a rainbow cake,

Kate Landers Events

with rainbow m&ms.

Beki Cook's Cakes

And if you wanted to decorate the room some more you could make one of these rainbow balloon banners.

Design Mom

or some of these rainbow zigzag streamers.

Oh Happy Day

or some of these rainbow paper fan flowers.

Candice and Ezra

Have I gone off my rocker?  Am I channeling my inner four-year old?  I just can't help myself - rainbows are so bright and pretty. How do you feel about them?

Maybe some of it is over the top, but I can't wait for an opportunity to make the rainbow flower centrepiece.