Life Tip

Here's the scenario....in Canada, (I'm thinking it must be the same in the US and Aus), large phone companies, tv cable and satellite companies, computer companies, cell phone companies...any of the service industries that provides us with the modern technology we have all become to reliant on, have "help desks"..otherwise known as "Customer Service."

Ha.

Never have I come so perilously close to heart attack or stroke as when I am in the unfortunate postition of being on the phone with one of these jokers for an hour or two, never mind the "hold" time.

Yesterday was one such day. I had to phone Rogers Cable (a large TV cable provider here), to discuss my mothers cable bill, which, was, of course, way to high. After the first two, almost incomprehensible sentences, from the "rep", (I think he was eating something), I decided to avoid said possible heart attack or stroke and ask if there was a "Client Services" department...
"No...," he informed me, but there is "Customer Relations".....WELL...the land of Shangri-la!!!

The Customer Relations department (which reports directly to the President's office) is very, very different than Customer Service. People are intelligent, helpful, and fast. No problems, no difficulties, and I can understand them. My problem was dealt with, satisfactorily, in less than 2 minutes. I got off the phone, went into my husband's office and did the happy dance, so relieved was I not to have to go through the anticipated torture of the "Help Desk."

So, the next time you have to deal with one of the dreaded Customer Service Reps, make sure the first question you ask is......

"Do you have a Customer Relations department?"

Now...about navigating those huge phone systems....anyone got any tips???

Our everyday life is much as ever, productive, creative, with a nice thread of contentedness running through, blessed. Rob has put our gardens to bed, actually they've been sleeping a while now. He also planted the garlic bed, which I've been meaning to show you for a while. Here it is all snugged in and ready for winter, hopefully we will get a great garlic crop next year.

Animals Misbehavin' ...Our rambunctious ram, Gus, (short for Augustus...because of his large, Roman nose) decided the ladies of the flock were looking too good to stay away from any longer....so he broke through his pen, and decided to pay them a visit, about 6 weeks ahead of schedule. This will mean very early lambs for us, in cold weather, and we don't really have the barn space to keep them all inside, so we'll have to see what happens and how we sort that out. We don't want to lose any lambs to the cold...I'm sure my amazing husband will come up with a plan!

The fruit cakes are made!!! 20 lbs of it! They are truly scrumptious and I have them safely tucked into the freezer. We give some of it away, and the rest we enjoy in the evening with a cup of tea. It will do us for several months, and keeps very well in the freezer. This is the 4th year I've made these cakes, and we look forward to them more and more each year. Recipe in the post following, and quite a recipe it is....very detailed instructions.

We use a big roasting pan to mix the batter and fruit together.

Pans ready to go...They have to have a double layer of aluminum foil, buttered.

7 loaves freshly baked.

Carefully lifted out of the pans, hot, right out of the oven.

Still warm from the oven, wrapped in tin foil overnight, to keep them moist as they cool

Here they are wrapped and ready for freezer bags. Friday two friends and I went for a special day at the spa. We go to a spa "school" so the prices are very reasonable, and because they are being watched and graded by their teacher, the pedicures and facials are better than any I've had at a regular spa. We then had a bite of supper and as usual had a wonderful time!

Christmas must be around the corner, as I have a Poinsettia sitting in our front hall, in it's usual spot...well, actually, it's a little early this year, but they were so beautiful, I had to get it! I'm already feeling pretty Christmas-y.....I hope the feeling doesn't evaporate by the time Christmas is actually here!
Today I worked.... I climbed Mount Laundry, and did lots of kitchen work including a yummy potato salad. It was so sunny and warm outside, I decided to make one last potato salad of the year. We also had the first steaks from the beef animal we grew. They were wonderful, very tender and tasty. The menu for the rest of the weeks looks like this:

Tuesday we will have take out food for a treat as Rob is off to a hockey game, and Nessa is joining me for supper.

Wednesday is Salmon Mornay, which is a delicious dish, that uses ingredients from the pantry.

Thursday is Stirfry, maybe beef, maybe chicken....not sure yet...

Friday we will have French Onion Soup and Cheddar Cheese bread and a crispy salad.

Saturday I'm hoping my wonderful husband will made some homemade pizzas??? :-)

Sunday is a Pot Roast with all the usual sides....potatoes, carrots, squash, maybe peas.

I really enjoyed my day. I puttered away, music on the radio, ironing, watering plants, tidying up, a quick vaccuum, and even some Christmas wrapping for our community Angel Tree. Just a nice, relaxing day at home.

In the evenings we've been watching two new series on DVD, both are excellent.

I'm looking forward to a little more "high energy" day today as I have Henry and Nessa visiting, and, as you know, Henry does keep me busy!

May your week by busy and blessed!

Niki

Fruit Cake

This is a simply delectable fruit cake, even people who "hate" fruit cake love this one...

I have posted it as it was given to me by a friend.

Makes 20 Lbs. Of Fruit Cake

You will need 8 bread/loaf pans


Preheat oven to 350 for 1 hour before putting cakes in.

Mix fruit in a big roasting pan.

2 lbs. Red glazed cherries, cut in pieces

2 lbs. Green glazed cheeries cut in pieces

2 lbs glazed pineapple, cut in small pieces

2 lbs raisins

Stir 1 cup flour in the roasting pan, but don’t do it until you are about to add batter

You can cut up the fruit night before and refrigerate.

Batter:
6 cups all purpose flour
2 lbs unsalted butter, soft room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white granulated sugar or sucanet
1 cup honey
16 large eggs
pinch of salt
1 tbsp of each flavouring: vanilla, almond, rum,(****put in extra almond, lots extra, so you can smell it in the batter, and taste it in the batter, I use almost a whole small bottle of Almond flavouring)

In an heavy duty electric mixer blend butter and sugar at slow speed, until combined then, cream until nice and fluffy and creamy, will take a little while.

Add the honey, mix a bit more,

Then add 2 eggs, cup of flour, 2 eggs, cup of flour, 2 eggs etc., until all eggs are gone. Mix well after each addition, start with eggs and end with eggs.

Add salt and flavourings and mix well again.

Stir the 1 cup of flour into the chopped fruit.

Dump batter on top of fruit mixture in the big roasting pan, using your very clean hands, get in there and mix it well. Will not be pourable. Take out with your hands and put in pans.

To prepare the 8 loaf pans ( do this first, before you begin)

Double layer of tin foil in the bottom of pans, single layer everywhere (sides) put single layer on top of first layer on the bottom of the pan.

Grease foil with butter thoroughly.

Fill pans with batter, cake will rise a bit, fill to height you want the cake to be, pretty full.

When pans are filled, push the batter down gently to get rid of air bubbles

When putting cakes in oven turn oven down to 250, if cake is browning to quick turn it down to 225.

Bread pan size cakes take 2 ½ to 3 hours to bake. Take one out slice and serve to see if it’s ready. Should be closer to 2 ½ hours. Smaller loaf pans will take about 2 hours.

To keep cake moist: lift the cake out using the foil, then put a piece of foil over the top, you want to wrap well in foil so you don’t lose the steam which keeps it moist. Leave wrapped in foil over night. When you remove the foil, cut the loaves in half, wrap in saran wrap right away to keep moisture in and then put into freezer bags and freeze.

If the cake is to crumbly to lift out, leave in pan and cover top with foil, over night, then remove it the next day.

This fruit cake slices best when it is kept in the fridge and cool.
Slice it nice and thin and serve with a good cup of tea!

Rice Pilaf

Our favourite rice dish.

In a saucepan heat 1 Tbsp. oil, over medium heat. Cook 1 onion, chopped, and 2 cloves Garlic, minced. Add 1 Tsp. dried Basil, and pepper to taste, stirring often, for 5 minutes.


Add 2 cups Chicken broth and 1 cup long grain rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 min or until rice is tender.

Serve with Lemon Garlic Shrimp!

Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Rob's very favourite supper, and it is goooood!



2 lbs. Large, raw shrimp

1/4 cup olive oil

2 large cloves Garlic minced

A generous sprinkle of red chili pepper flakes

1 tsp Capers (optional, we love them and I actually add more)

1/3 cup chopped fresh Parsley, (less is using dried)

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

Salt to taste

Shell and devein shrimp, rinse and pat dry. In a wok, or large frying pan, over medium heat, heat oil and saute garlic and chili flakes for 1 minute. Increase heat to high, add shrimp and saute 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until shrimp are pink and firm.

Quickly add lemon juice, parsley, capers, and salt to taste. Heat quickly and serve immediately. I like to serve it over Rice Pilaf.

Wonderful Weekend!

This weekend was just wonderful.....no other word describes it!

Wonderful Friday!!

I was invited to lunch at a friend's house, to visit and discuss our craft projects and different "work in progress". Lots of "ooohing and aaahing," a delicious meal, wonderful conversation, and then off to a local Christmas Bazaar.

I did behave myself, buying only a locally handcrafted wooden spoon.

Cozy evening, fire in the fireplace, ourselves for company, Licorice tea, shawl and slipper...time to learn to ripple......bliss.

Wonderful Saturday!!

French Toast for breakfast...YUM

A handsome new Rooster named Jim arrived at our place. He is a Black Bantam Frizzle and is adorable. So far the ladies in the hen house are not impressed...

Goodies from the Library


A new DVD set...

Church Bazzaar ~ lovely bag


I love the fabric...

Work I LOVE around our HOME....

Clean kitchen, folded, sweet smelling laundry, easy, simple meals.

Time to read....Time to nap.....luxury.

Wonderful Sunday!!

My youngest child's 20th Birthday....which is purely unbelievable.

A delicious birthday supper..the bday boy requested homemade deep fried Buffalo wings and ceasar salad...

Yummy dessert...Mississippi Mud Cake with Choclate Glaze

A finished cradle afghan....a labour of love...what a blessing it was to make this

A pretty edge...

And a Wonderful recipe to share....Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Rice Pilaf....posts to follow....

Have a wonderful day!

Niki

Honey Mustard/Curry Chicken

A very easy, delicious supper. Delicious served over plain rice.

3 Pounds of Chicken Breasts or Thighs. The recipe just says "chicken pieces", so I guess you could use bone-in chicken as well.
1/3 cup of butter, melted
1/3 cup of liquid honey
1/4 cup of Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons of curry powder

In a greased 9 x 13 pan, arrange arrange chicken in a single layer. Combine remaining ingredients, stirring until smooth. Pour over chicken. Cover and bake at 350 F, 20 minutes, basting once. Turn chicken over and baste again and bake for another 20 minutes. I would cook longer if the chicken is bone-in, making sure the chicken is fully cooked. Serve chicken over rice and cover with sauce....YUM!

MishMash

This is a real mishmash of a post...a little of this and a little of that all thrown in together in no particular order....just a little bit of what's going on around here.

I finally have some apple sauce canned! Yippee! I haven't done nearly all our apples and may or may not make up another batch, depending on my time, but I'm sure pleased to have this lot made. Just apples in this batch, no sugar, or spice. Perfect for little people. If I make up a second batch it will be a cinnamon/sugar applesauce which we enjoy.

I also sliced up some apples and tossed them in lemon juice, put them in freezer bags, in apple crumble quantity, and popped them in the freezer! They keep very well, and are great to bake with.

Henry's new sneakers...

This completes this year's canning. Phew................!!! My list on the sidebar will reflect most of what I did. I did do a bit more in some areas, and didn't get some stuff done at all, but overall we are very pleased with the quantities and it will keep us going until next year.

Another "golden oldie" on the dvd list this week. Bells Are Ringing, a cute bit of fluff that I thoroughly enjoyed while crocheting away the afternoon.

Our menu is looking pretty good this week,

Monday ~ We had Shepherd's Pie, which I hadn't made in ages...it was very good.

Tuesday ~ we tried a new recipe, Pepper Steak, from Mennonite Girls Can Cook. This will be in our regular menu rotation, it was delicious.

Wednesday ~ we will probably be out...errands and such.

Thursday ~we'll have Penne in a red sauce with Hot Italian Sausage

Friday ~is Rob's favourite... Garlic Lemon Shrimp on rice

Saturday ~we will have Nachos, probably in front of a movie, feet up, in the living room.

Sunday ~ is our son Jon's BDay supper. He has requested deep fried homemade Hot Buffalo wings, and I'll probably made a Ceasar salad to go along with it. Jon has asked for a everyday chocolate cake with chocolate icing for his birthday. I couldn't let it go just at that....I found one with a layer of marshmallow creme in it...so we'll give that a try and I'll let you know how it is.

At bible study a couple of weeks ago, which always includes a supper first, (we know how to pick our bible studies!) our hostess made a delicious Honey Curry chicken dish. I asked for the recipe, which she shared. As I was reading the recipe, I realized I had seen it in one of my cookbooks, and sure enough, found it right away. It's called Honey Mustard chicken in the cookbook, but no matter what you call it, it's delicious, super easy, and I will share the recipe in a separate post, very soon!!

We had Nessa, Cory and Henry for supper Saturday evening, and guess what Cory walked in with!
Aren't they beautiful??? He does spoil me! I'm so glad our daughter had such good taste in husbands! I will divide them up into 2 or 3 different vases, and spread the joy around the house.

Sunday was such a glorious day. The sun was shining, finally! Rob and I enjoyed a walk, and I helped him to load up our wood by the front and back doors. That will keep us going for a week or two. I do so much work in the house, but really love working outside with him, especially in the fall, when the temperature is pleasant and there are no bugs! I have a cute pair of work gloves, in a pretty green. I learned very quickly, shortly after we moved to the country, that I needed most of what Rob has in work clothes, in a female version.

It's hunting season here, this week and next. Rob has been out a couple of times, but since the deer population has decreased over the last few years, he is not to "intense" about it and we're not having any friends over to hunt this year. A few years ago we would pull into our laneway at night and the headlights of our truck would pick up the gleaming eyes of all the deer in our fields. The last couple of years that's not happening at all, we are seeing the odd deer here and there and that's it. Hopefully the population will grow over the next few years.

This morning I am off to the local H1N1 flu vaccination clinic, where I will keep Nessa and Henry company and provide support as we wait to get Henry vaccinated. Please pray this goes well. There have been long line ups and it's quite cold out there today (3deg. C), and also that he does not react negatively to the vaccine.

Although we are hoping for short lines, I am packing like we're going for a week! Lawn chairs, snowpants, heavy winter jacket, balaclava, wool lined mittens, snacks etc. It may take me a week just to get ready!!! I think I'm really getting to old for this kind of thing...... ;-)

Have a blessed Wednesday!

Niki