Happy 72nd Birthday

Another year not being able to celebrate his birthday. 

Happy Birthday Sweetie

I have made a couple of purchase in the last couple of months. The first is a new coffee perk. It works perfect for me as I can make 2 cups of fresh coffee each morning.

New Perk

Old Perk

The old perk still works great and will not be going anywhere anytime soon. It is great for making 12 cups and as far as I am concerned, it still makes the best coffee. The new one takes about 3 minutes to perk and the old one took about 15 minutes. For the old one, I needed to be close for when it started to perk so the temperature could be turned down to slowly perk. 

Another purchase was an Air Fryer.

Gourmia 6 quart Air Fryer

Items that came with the fryer

8" pan that fits perfect in the basket

I put the multi-purpose rack in first, then add the crisper tray. The 8" pan goes on top of the crisper tray. The majority of air frying is done this way. It saves me from washing the basket after each use. Instead of the 8" pan, any container that is oven and microwave safe can be used. For me it works perfect and not having to use the oven, which takes longer to cook.

I have learned that whatever the directions say in the book that came with the Air Fryer, you need to cut the time in half (at least) and check for doneness. I did fish and chips the first time and they were way overcooked. I have done recipes from the blog and adjusted the cook time accordingly and made notes on the recipes I have printed out. Mostly everything has turned out great and taste similar to BBQing on the Weber.

I have had success with bacon wrapped scallops and french fries, pork tenderloin, chicken breast, chicken wings, reheating pizza and salmon. Need to work on the pork ribs to get them the way George always had them so they fall of the bone. A beef roast, I still do in the slow cooker. I found a recipe for Apple Crisp that I have not perfected yet. The next attempt will be to cover the dish with Tin Foil and see how that works. You can bake in the Air Fryer, but I find the oven easier for baking items like the Pecan Tarts.

Time to re-organize. I have been looking for containers to put sugar, flour etc. in. A friend had the 6 top containers that she didn't need anymore. They work great. I have replaced the bags with the containers. Very easy to see what is in them.

On the second shelf, if found containers at Zehr's to put items that I could smaller amounts in, like baking soda, icing sugar, oats and coffee. Another great find.

The last purchase is a three tier shelving unit for my spices. The unit can be extended to hold the spices.

Of course, the spices are sorted in alphabetic order except the first shelf as they are the spices I use the most. Now it is easier for me to find the spice I need. 

Looking forward to going to Rock Glen Family Resort and stay in a cabin, but since Ontario is still in a Stay At Home order for the time being, I can't go. I will go, when I can.

I having keeping busy and following the rules. With the warmer weather coming, I will be able to read outside instead of inside. Reading is my favourite past time. 

Thanking everyone in advance of your comments.

Happy Valentines Day

A couple of weeks ago we had several inches of snow and I noticed that on the back of two cars in the parking lot, the snow looked like half a Valentine.

I was unable to cover up the license plates, so I asked a friend for help.

Chantelle, thank you so much for putting this together.

New neighbours became great friends

I checked the blog for past Valentines Day posting to see what we did for supper. The answer is we went out for lunch or supper to celebrate Valentines. So, I will be ordering something from one of the restaurants in town for supper.

George, you are the love of my life. You will never be forgotten from family and friends. Happy Valentines Sweetie.

A Year Already

Resting in Peace 

A year ago today, George passed away. I think about him everyday in one way or another, especially  what we were going to have for supper.

He was an awesome inspiration to everyone he met and also people who followed this blog. He will be remembered by his patience in answering questions, his optimism, calm demeanor, willingness to tackle anything, his willingness to help anyone who needed it, his positive attitude, his cooking skills and most of all his infectious smile. He lived his life to the fullest. 

A different year for me without him. Making the decision to sell our home was easy and tough. I know he knew that I would sell it as we had talked about this several times over the years. I just didn't feel that I could hook up the car to the RV and especially not being comfortable driving it. Over the years I have admired several single women who travelled by themselves and the challenges they had. As we went through major cities with construction, I would almost cringe since the lanes seemed so narrow. He made it look so easy. We both loved our 13 years of full timing. We got to live our dream.

George, you know that I love and always will. You are the love of my live. You are so missed.

Thanking in advance of your comments.

I will see you down the road, then we can be On The Road Again.