Thursday, January 14, 2016

and just like that - the snow came back!

yep - so far - a totally normal winter. we get some snow, it melts and goes away for a day or two and then we get some more snow.


this snow will be around for another day or two as it is abnormally cold for this time of year - it's -6C (about 22F) and it is going down to -9C (about 19F) overnight. but then we are back to normal temps and the snow should melt. but who knows? sometimes we get staying snow all winter, and other times we have no snow in mid-feb. snow is not a real problem for us as if we are snowed in, then we are snowed in and fully-stocked. our problem in the winter is wind storms as they are the things that wreak havoc, knock out power lines, shake the whole house, etc. jambaloney has to constantly check the pump, check the generator, run the kerosene heater and a whole pile of other jobs during the bad windstorms. we are finally getting used to the wind storms here.

but on a cold bright day, some pumpkin pureed soup will make you feel better and fill you up!


i start the soup by putting a big glump of EVOO in a pot and then add onion, carrot and celery. this is only to get their flavours. once they have browned i add 1 pint of homemade pumpkin puree and 1 pint of homemade veg/bone broth. i let that heat almost to a boil, then lower the heat and add about half a can of coconut milk. let the coconut milk melt into the soup slowly and heat it slowly. then i fish out the celery, onion and carrot. normally when serving i will sprinkle pumpkin seeds in the soup but decided to go with toasted sesame seeds that i had made earlier to have with a stirfry. they were already toasted and ready to go - so why not? and they added a lovely flavour and crunch to the soup. and jam always adds a dollop of his homemade hotsauce.

what is the best thing about fresh, healthy snow? adding a handfull of it to your water - yummeh!


it makes your water super cold and Harry, PP, and Ed - there is no need for any of you to mention in the comments not to use the yellow snow. beat you to it!

kids - what is it about january that makes me crave soya sauce and wasabi? and sushi? and wontons? and potstickers? i don't know but it happens every single january since we moved here. back in ottawa we had 20,000 different restaurants to chose from. here - we gotta make it ourselves! here is some shrimp sushi with soya and wasabi for dipping, kimchi and pickled ginger. and a glass of garrison irish red ale for jambaloney as a treat. i had my snow water with mine.


here's a beautiful sunset from the other night.


finally, the days are starting to get longer. i woke up this morning craving wonton soup. homemade wontons in homemade broth to be exact.


i made the wonton filling with some chicken, shrimp, carrot, celery, sprouts, ginger, garlic, soya, sesame oil, and a bit of fish sauce. jam is better at folding the wontons than i am, so i scoop the filling and he folds them. and jam added his regular dollop of hot sauce. we really enjoyed this! he enjoyed it so much he went back for a second bowl.

here's this evening's sunset...it's beautiful. but as i was taking the pic just off the porch - i thought i was going to be swept up in a hurricane - it's really windy and cold out there today and this eve. how cold you ask? cold enough that we haven't even had one hottub dip today - that's how cold!


we're like postmen - rain, snow, sleet, hail, shine, normal wind - and we will still get in the hottub! it's gotta be pretty awfully windy and cold for us to not get in!

jam went into work on-site on tuesday and guess what? THE FISH GUY WAS THERE!!! WOOHOO! he bought every bit of tuna that the fish guy had. we have a ton of tuna in our freezer! he also got a big, giant bag of mussels - sigh! i made us a big plate of mussels to share with kimchi and jam made himself a couple of pieces of raw tuna. i tried a tiny bite but i know that you are supposed to flash-freeze your raw fish (for 24hrs) to make it sashimi grade. neither of us is dead so i guess this fish really is top-grade.


so for tonight's supper we had.....you guessed it! SUSHI!


the tuna nori rolls aren't the prettiest but we were rolling them by hand. the shrimp sushi is always delicious. but the tuna sushi was like butter - it just melted right in your mouth!  thank goodness we defrosted a ton of it (there was a lot more than what i plated for the picture), because as delicious as the tuna was on the rice and dipped into the soya and wasabi (and it WAS delicious!), just eating pieces of the raw tuna on it's own was also divine!

it was when we were making our sushi that we remembered that our friend t, who works on the crab boats, cooked 10lbs of crab, fresh out of the water, for us and then brought to our besties b and c's freezer. that was like in september! DUH! we could have had crab sushi as well.

no biggee. we'll be seeing our friends very soon and get our crab then. yummeh!

we had our vfd meeting last night and it was nice getting to see some people that we haven't seen in over a month or so from not going to the new year's eve party. we had some good discussion and voted in several motions. all in all - a good couple of days!

16 comments:

  1. Nothing better than fresh sushi. I can't believe the number of people I know who won't even try a piece of tuna raw like that. I always tell them it is there loss because that leaves more for me to consume!

    Yes, yellow snow is to be avoided. I have distinct memories of trying to sign my name in snow as a kid where everyone could see it coming into our driveway... much to my mother's dismay!

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    1. oh Ed - this tuna was like butter! we couldn't believe how good it was! we took it off the rice and didn't dip it in the sauce - we just ate it as is. so did you ever manage to sign "ed" while peeing? seems like it wasn't too hard a name to nail, no? bahahahahah! xoxo

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  2. It may be a crazy Spring. There's a named Hurricane in the Atlantic already.

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    1. thanks Mike - yer always the bearer of bad news - bahahah! xoxo

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  3. I know if the weather gets too bad you two will be fine. I also can commensurate with J on the extra work keeping everything up and functional when the roads are closed, the grid is down, and it's eastern front weather. We are expecting a low of 12 above Sunday. Snow to go with that. Hope we all get by without too much trouble.

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    1. Harry, we're like you - well-stocked and don't worry about being snowed/stormed in - we actually like it! gives us time to read, nap, chat, and just hang out. but when we get the bad winds, that's when jam has to go out several times, run equipment, tie things down - we're not crazy about the windstorms. we're having another one right now AND a ton of snow. but we're doing ok.

      i hope your snow doesn't cause you too much trouble. sending love, as always. xoxo

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  4. Bwahahahaha - yellow snow...

    Oh, k, now I want some tuna sushi with wasabi and soy sauce :(

    P.S. Have some weather news I'm going to post about on Saturday - please - check it out!?

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    1. Dani - it's not just the cat's yellow snow i have to watch for - jambaloney pees all over the property, too! so i have to be extra vigilant when filling my water glass. but i love adding fresh snow to my water - soooooo cold! i will check your post right away. sending love hon.xoxo

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  5. your food always looks so yummy. do you have the bamboo mat to roll the sushi? We have a plastic cube that is like a jigsaw that you fix together to get exact squares of rice. I seem to go over board with the sushi vinegar and it makes it very sticky? I make Posh Boys lunches most days and the blokes are amazed at how much I can pack into a Bento or a tiffin for him. lol

    It was trying to snow here last night. Just a touch, nothing has stuck to the ground apparently we have a little bit on sunday. So you know England, everything will shut down! lol

    Keep warm. Sol x

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    1. Sol - we don't have a bamboo mat, we just roll it on the table. do you make your own sushi vinegar? i do. 2tblspns of rice wine vinegar, 1 tblspn of sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. shake that up in a jar and then add it to your sticky rice.

      hey - i'd like to see pics of Posh Boys lunches...start taking pics!

      teehee...i read a few english bloggers and a mere centimetre of snow and the whole island gets shut down - bahahahahah! sending much love hon! xoxo

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  6. Appreciating wind storms is something I think most people don't really get. Wind is the number one issue around here as well and what causes me the most work of anything. It's not so bad in the Summer except when I worry about it moving my barn to the next county but that Winter wind is a killer.

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    1. yep, PP, buddy - the wind does us in. no matter how much time jambaloney spends trying to put insulation under our crawlspace (which is under a foot!) the squirrels tear the heck out of it to build nests. then we have these old rickety windows and the wind just blows through them. they will all be fixed come a nice day this spring. and yes, the winter winds do us right in! love ya buddy! xoxo

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  7. Sweet Kymber,

    I so remember the extreme cold from living up in the U.P. of Michigan. That wind coming off the lake can be extreme. Good thing both you and Jambaloney are very prepared and can handle this weather. Can you imagine someone not being prepared living up in your neck of the woods? They wouldn't survive. It truly does pay to be prepared, and self reliant. Girlie, I'm so jealous right now.....you have all that fresh see food :PPPP Bulldog Man and I were just talking about the fact we haven't gone fishing in a while, and have to purchase new state licenses. 2016 we have plans on doing more fishing to make up for lost time, and hunting.

    Your sushi looks good girlie. I was going to ask the same question Sol asked about having a bamboo mat.

    The weather is suppose to vamp up again on Saturday for us, more snow coming. It should be interesting getting back home Sunday. Were heading back to the TX estate for more work.

    Enjoy home cooked food, stay warm. Sending hugs and love to you two.
    Your Friend,
    Sandy

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    1. hey Sweet Sandy - we get nothing like the cold you must have experienced in the UP of Michigan - brrrrrr - that must have been cold! we don't get too terribly cold here - but when we get the winds - it is something else!

      and yes, Gurlie, we do have access to a bunch of fresh fish and seafood here! we're pretty lucky for that and as we both love anything out of the river, lakes and ocean - we can eat fresh fish all year long. i hope that you and BDMan get out this year and do tons of fishing together. and get lots of great catches!

      as i told Sol, we don't have a bamboo mat thingy - we just roll the sushi right on the bare table. we tried using plastic wrap (Fail), a cutting board (Fail) so now we just roll it on the table.

      please be safe driving home from the Texas estate - i sure hope that it will be an ok drive for you!

      we are sending love and hugs to our Angel and to all of hers. much love Sweet Sandy! xoxox

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  8. Wind is the worst. We occasionally get Blue Northers here and it is alarming how quickly the temperature can drop. Being out without shelter would be terrible.

    The food, as always, looks delicious. Tuna is the best for sushi.

    Lhiats, TB

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    1. thanks buddy! and yes, tuna is the best for sushi and this tuna is to die for! jambaloney bought all of the fish guy's tuna and the fish guy was amazed and happy! we never get too, too cold - but when it's cold and windy - brrrrr! we get some awful winds here - even in the summer! but the winter winds - downright dreadful! sending love. xoxo

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