New beginnings

So for the 1 or 2 people that might actually be stopping by, we have some new beginnings.

As you may or may not have known, I've been unemployed since falling victim to the economic downturn in January. That's 6 months for those counting.

It's been hard, and money was beginning to be an issue for us. I'd spoken to my real estate agent and discussed putting the condo up for sale, a couple of times, we'd even drawn the papers up but each time I came close to signing I'd have a good job prospect and decide to put off my decision a few days.

Finally with nothing happening, or rather nothing coming of all the opportunities that I'd delayed for, I decided to list the condo. My agent advised that units in our building would usually take a while to sell. She also recommended a price about 20K less then I wanted to list at.

We decided to list but at my price not the amount she wanted to list for. It just so happened that she had an agents meeting the next morning and decided to tie that into an agents open house. During that, 3 agents brought clients to view the place. That evening we have 4 more viewings, 3 the next night and 3 the following night.

This was now Thursday evening. I would leave the unit while the viewings were happening but I did stay around the building (in the garden or the lobby) so I saw how long they stayed. 3 of the viewers had stayed over half an hour. In fact, one woman and her son waited with her agent to speak with me and ask a few questions about the condo - she was in love with the place.

So I suspected we were getting at least one offer.

Now, while this was going on I had an interview on Monday. They liked me and invited me back for a second interview on Friday. That interview (during which I had to do a small presentation) was good, as well.

I suspected I was in but I had not received an offer at this point so I couldn't be sure.

Friday afternoon I got a call from my agent, she had 2 offers and was expecting 1 or 2 others. We had one more viewing Friday evening from a "serious" buyer whom she thought would make an offer. It didn't happen.

I asked my agent if an offer comes in how long do we have to respond and is there anyway to delay until Monday, when I suspected I would find out about the job.

She said no it would be finished Friday evening. She had some info she wasn't telling us.

She is, actually, a pretty good agent and had been playing the competing offers against each other all afternoon. As a result the mother and son that fell in love with the place put in an over asking offer with no conditions.

My choice then was to accept the over asking offer or to decline it, risk not receiving the job offer on the following Monday and then be stuck with a much lower offer (if we got any) since we'd not likely be in a competing offer situation again.

The SU and talked about it briefly and then decided to accept the offer. What else could we do?

So we sold!! At more then asking, in 4 days, in a recession. Go figure!!!

Monday I received a job offer and started Tuesday since I wasn't working and was free to start, I did.

The new job is exactly what I've been looking for, teaching in a class for a private college, it's close to my home (the current one) and as the college is expanding, it's a good opportunity to get in early.

We decided to rent for a year or 2 and to save some money for a townhouse or bungalow. We can find a rental for less then the cost of my mortgage, maintenance fees (HOH fees) and property taxes and will be saving several hundred a month, in fact. We started looking right away (on the Saturday after signing the deal).

Found a place in an older building that we loved the location of, even though it didn't have air, didn't have en suite laundry and was a bit smaller then we're used to but it did have that location that we loved... so we offered on it. And were rejected - they won't say why we don't know why.

As a result we started looking again and at the end of this week we found a nice condo, a bit small, in a low rise condo (4 floors), a ground floor unit which means we have a patio (nice!) and very very convenient to both my work and the SU's job.

We put in a rental app and we're approved.

In the space of 2 short weeks, we sold our home, I started a new job and we've found a place to live.

Raise a glass to new beginnings.

Recipe Sunday

This week's recipe is a very simple loaf cake, provided for us by a good friend's grandmother -- it is Nan's Lemon Loaf.


Nan’s Lemon Loaf

Loaf:
½ Cup of Margarine
1 Cup of white sugar
2 Eggs
1 ½ cups of All Purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup finely chopped Walnuts
½ cup milk

Topping:
1 Lemon (juiced)
¼ cup of sugar

Mix all ingredients.

Bake in greased loaf pan, lined with wax paper or 2 smaller pans at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and pour over juice of 1 lemon mixed with ¼ cup of sugar.

Sunday recipe time

It's Sunday again. The hardest thing I have to do each Sunday is decide which recipe to share today. Should it be a side? a main? a dessert?

The SU and I eat so much rice and chicken that many of the dishes we have will sound the same or be variants on the same old same old. It's a challenge.

Today I'm offering up Mini Cheesecakes. I found this recipe, originally in an old cookbook that I have had forever and a day (but lost when we moved from the house to the condo and have not been able to replace it). It was purchased from a street vendor, the ones that come around to your office to sell books and I've never seen it in a store. I'd love to replace it though. It was, I believe, called The Encyclopedia of Cooking. I got some very good recipes out of that book but this was my favourite.

I have made only one small change in the recipe from that book. In the original recipe it calls for cottage cheese that has been allowed to drain over night (so that it is dry) but I don't bother with this, just use the cottage cheese as is.

You will need small muffin tins, and small or med (I usually use med) paper muffin liners.

I have this old set of muffin tins that were my mothers, I love them as they are straight sided, most modern mini pans have angled sides. My mothers tins are probably older then me, show their age and are not pretty but they are perfect for this recipe.

If you have a large food processor this recipe couldn't be simpler but you will wow your friends and it will become a signature dish. I started to make these cheesecakes about 20 years ago and I cannot show up to a family function or friends event without them. I make them as gifts, by request and for parties I'm not even attending.

Mini Cheesecakes

For the cheesecakes
1 8oz package of Cream Cheese
1 cup of Sour cream (250 ml container)
2 cups of Cottage cheese (500 ml container) --Optionally drain overnight
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup of sugar

For the graham crumb crust

1.5 cups of Graham crumbs
3/4 of a stick of melted butter.

Instructions

Melt the butter in a small saucepan (or in the microwave) and pour over the graham crumbs.
Line the muffin tins with the paper and press about a tsp of the graham crumb mix into the bottom of each paper cup. Don't make it to thin. A shot glass is ideal for pressing the crumbs down and firming them up.

Note: This recipe makes 48 mini cheese cakes (if you use small muffin tins - fewer if you use bigger tins). So you may have to make it in batches if you don't have enough tins. I have 16 (2 pans of 8) so I make it in 3 batches.

For the filling. This gets complicated so pay attentions.

Into the bowl of a food processor, place the cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese.
Turn on the mixer and allow to mix for about a minute.
Add the eggs, one at a time, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Add the vanilla, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Add the sugar, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Continue to run the mixer for 1 minute until the mix has a consistency of melted ice cream.

Spoon the mix into the lined cups, 2-3 tbsp per liner. In my small cups this fills each cup.

Bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 12 minutes exactly. The surface will dome up and look crusted or slightly firm but will collapse down a bit as they set.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, remove and allow to cool completely. At this point the cupcakes can be frozen in a sealed container, if it's just you and you don't want to eat the whole batch.

Serving suggestions:

The original recipe recommended using 1 can of Blueberry pie filling and topping each cake with a tsp of the filling, chill for 2-3 hours before serving.

I've done this with Blueberry and cherry filling.

Alternately, I've taken the cupcakes plain and set up a topping bar, of prepared and sugared fruits to top the cakes at the event, just setting the toppings in dishes around the cakes with small spoons and let people add their own.

Most generally, I will serve about a 1/3 of them plain, 1/3 with blueberry and a 1/3 with the cherry. Many people seem to really prefer these just plain, and actually that is the way I prefer them.

Fat savings: Since you're already only having 1/48th of the recipe (if you stick to only 1 cake) the caloric content of each cake isn't that bad. However you can reduce that further by using low fat cottage cheese, low fat sour cream and low fat cream cheese. I've used all three at the same time and no one had commented on any flavour difference.

The texture of these cakes is lite and not heavy at all, some cheesecakes are so heavy and rich I can't eat them, but these little suckers are so light, it doesn't even feel like you're eating a cheese cake at all.

Enjoy and pass it on.

Job hunting blues

OK it's been 6 months of unemployment. In that time I've sent hundreds of resumes, have had only a few interviews and have blown through most of my savings.

One of the interviews I had was with a provincial government agency that is looking for trainers. I actually had 2 interviews with them. The first was with the HR manager and it seemed that he really liked me, we connected and as result I was advanced onto the second round. I was also told that they were only seeing two individuals and that I was one of the 2.

However, the hiring manager and I did not connect and so I did not get the job. I assumed it had gone to the the other person they were seeing.

A week or so after I received the results, saying thanks but no thanks, I heard from a head hunter about this great job. We talked and discovered it was the same job with that same government agency. I declined to pursue it with him, since I'd already been rejected.

That all was in late February or Early March. It's now June. I've had no less then six head hunters call (2 from the same firm) about my ability to meet the challenges of this job. I'm more then qualified. The second last headhunter tells me they deal with this particular agency regularly and that they are a pain in the ass. To quote him: "They go out of their way to find reasons to reject candidates."

That isn't what is causing my blues, well not that alone though it is part of it. I cannot seem to see what I'm doing wrong or if I'm doing anything wrong. The positions I've been applying for are well within my abilities, the people I've spoken with have all told me my resume is impressive, my qualifications solid, I'm great in interviews and always get good feedback but still nothing. I do realize the economy is in the shits and that the job market is flooded and so employers can pick and choose but still... it boggles the mind.

Last week, a friend of friend told me about a job her friend was hiring for. I have the experience, I have the ability and the desire. She asked for my resume to pass on to her friend. Great I sent it.

He reads it at her place (he happened to be there when I sent it) and tells her he's very impressed and that my resume is solid. Definitely wants to see me. Subsequently, he emails me to ask if I'm available for a phone interview with HR. I answer that I'm available at his convenience. He emails me right back to ask if I could come in on Friday for a in person interview and that HR will contact me about the phone interview, I tell him definitely I'm available. Then silence. Nada, the week goes by. I email to ask about HR no word from them. I get a phone interview invitation from another firm, scheduled for Friday, I email the first guy to say I can still meet Friday but I've booked another appointment, just so he can work his schedule around that. Nada.

Friday comes, I phone him in person - but only get voicemail. I leave him a message asking for either a contact in HR or to hear from him, I'm still interested and would like to meet with him to discuss the role.

Not a peep. So strange, he just dried up or lost interest or who knows. The friend of a friend that put us in contact is puzzled and pissed at him, she says she is going to find out what happened. I thanked her but said that she'd done her part the rest is between him and I. Still if she wants to find out what the hell happened, I'd be thankful.

So this week dons and I'm feeling blue and it just hit me all at once and on Tuesday I really began to feel depressed. I met our real estate agent on Monday to discuss selling the condo.
My phone is completely silent. The job boards are drying up, getting nowhere with cold calls, emails and resume submissions go unanswered. It all just gets to you after a while.

Then just when I'm down, I'm blue and feeling defeated I get a call. The second phone interview, the one from last Friday, well they liked me. As a follow up I had submitted a few questions to them via email. They called to answer my questions and invited me to an in person meet.

Now I don't have anything yet but an appointment but I suddenly felt the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders. Somebody liked me. Somebody took the time to speak to me. It was exactly what I needed at that moment. The SU says I'm acting like I've got the job already and warns me not to get too excited. And while it is a good job and I would be a good fit for it, I'm not excited in that I think I'm a shoe in or anything. I realize I'll have to fight for this job, give killer interviews and do very well on the skills testing they are giving me and then kick ass in a sample training session. So it's a long haul and I could drop the ball at any of those blocks.

No, what I'm excited about is that I know that there is hope, it's not hopeless. My submissions are being seen and reviewed. I'm not just sending endless emails, faxes and letters out into the empty ether but that they are going to people and some of those people will like me enough to speak to me. And that's all I can ask, beyond that it's up to me to win the role. Whatever role that may end up being.

So, I've been blue, I'm down but I'm not out and I'll comeback stronger and meaner and fitter ready to fight for my life and the life that I want.

Recipe Sunday errrr Monday

We had a great weekend, went camping with my sister and her husband. Not a lot of sleep and I came home smelling strongly of campfire.

Everything, including me, went right into a wash.

As a result I could not post a recipe for Sunday, so I'm posting one today.

Meatloaf

This is my mother's meat loaf. We like it, it's comfort food and it's pretty good.

1 lb of lean ground beef
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1 egg
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, shelled
1-2 drops of Sesame oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optionally - Add 1 tbsp of Cayenne or Chili Pepper
1 can of Campbells Tomato soup.

Mix the meat, bread crumbs, the raw egg, Sesame Oil, Garlic and herbs, the green pepper and Onions in a bowl. Optionally add in the Cayenne or Chili Pepper and Salt and Pepper to your liking.

Add half of the can of Tomato Soup into the mix. Reserve the remaining soup for later.

You will want the meat to be somewhat wet but dry enough to hold a shape when formed into a loaf. Add additional bread crumbs if it's too wet, but not too much or your loaf will be dry.
Form the meat mix into a loaf shape and place the shaped loaf into a bread pan (or rectangular baking dish).

Push the boiled eggs into the body of the loaf, until they are completely covered by the meat mix, in a strainght line so that the eggs form a line through the meat mix. Reshape the top as needed in the pan.

Take the remaining tomato soup and spread evenly across the top of the meat loaf. Sometimes my mother would wait and do this last step until the meat was almost cooked but mostly it was just added at the beginning of the cooking process.

Place the loaf pan on the centre rack of an oven that has preheated to 350F. Cook for 30-45 minutes until the meat is done.

Serve with mashed potatoes, and freshly steamed vegetables.

There is nothing like good old fashioned comfort food on a cold cold June 1st. This past weekend has been exceptionally cold for the end of May and Early June and so I've been thinking of these old comfort foods.

Enjoy.

It's the weekend

The weekend is here. Not that it makes that much difference to my daily routine as I'm not getting up and going to work Monday to Friday but still the weekend is here.

The SU and I are going up north a bit this weekend to spend some time with my sister and her husband at Lake Simcoe (huge lake about 45 minutes north of Toronto). If we decide to stay overnight the only issue I have is that we'll be sleeping on the screen porch, attached to the cottage with screens on 3 sides instead of windows/walls, so it's pretty much outside just bug free.

The forecast for the temperature is not good. Cool and cooler. So we may just be making a day trip. Still 45 minutes each way isn't too bad, we'll see. If we have a wobbly pop or two we may just decide to stay and not change a drive home.

Internally here at casa condo we planted our herb garden. We did this the first year we were here but not since then. This year we decided to do it again and, as a result, we have pots out the wazoo. I haven't taken pics of the various plants yet but when they're up a bit more (they're all up now except the Rosemary - we started them all from seeds rather then seedlings) I'll take some pics and do a garden post.

Also, Monday I have my real estate agent coming to give me estimate of the price we'd get for casa condo if we were to sell. However, on the job front my phone has been ringing off the hook this week. So who knows I may have something and not need to sell after all. Time and good interview skills will tell.

Hope your weekend is good and that you have fun.

Kabobs

What is a kabob? In North American when we hear about Shish Kabob we think of meat on a skewer or veggies and meat mixed on skewer, grilled on BBQ. Nothing wrong with that.

But what the SU's family calls a Kabob is very different from what I called a Kabob. His version (and his families) may or may not be indicative of other regions of the middle east but what I'm giving you today is the version we make.

So what does the SU's family call a Kabob - well basically it's a grilled meat ball. We've been to Arabian restaurants and street fairs (they have an Arabian street fair in Toronto each year in the Arabian neighbourhood). How they would make them there is to take the meat and form the ball around a skewer and cook them on a grill, the meat in this form is thin, and form a long tube around the skewer - so in that respect they are like the Shish Kabob that some of us may have grown up with.

At home, we live in a condo so we don't have a grill (no balcony and our building does not provide or allow for BBQ on site). So we have a cast iron grilling pan and we make them in that. We don't bother with the skewer but just form the balls and grill them that way.

If you wanted to use skewers be sure to soak them in water before using them so that they will not burn on your grill.

Also we use a spice blend to make the kabobs that we purchase at the Arabian market, it's called, funnily enough, Kabob spice. If you can find that use that with salt and pepper to taste. If not the recipe below is how the SU and I will make it without the Kabob spice blend.


Kabobs:
1/2 pound of lean ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (more or less depending on how dry you like them)
1 tbsp cumin
1tbsp Garam marasala
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp Dill seed
1 tsp Anise Seed (optional)
1-2 tbsp of Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, best to use your hands (use rubber gloves if you don't like the idea of touching the raw meat with your hands).

Form the whole in a ball and cover the bowl, set in the refrigerator to chill and to allow the spices to blend - how long is up to you, minimum of 1 hour though.

Remove the meat from the refrigerator and allow to stand for 10-15 minutes, then either using 2 spoons or just your hands form the meat in to 12 kabobs (roughly egg shaped and roughly triangular on the sides).

While forming the balls, set the grilling pan on the stove top with the heat set to medium and allow the pan to heat. Add a splash of cooking oil or vegetable spray the pan to prevent the meat from sticking.

When the pan is hot, place the kabobs on the pan and allow them to cook on all sides (about 5-7 minutes per side).

When the meat is thoroughly cooked remove from the heat and set aside to rest a few minutes before serving.

Serve with grilled veggies and yogurt/cucumber salad.

To make the yogurt salad:

1 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (fat free if you want to save calories)
1/4 of an English cucumber, chopped fairly fine
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped and pasted (or use 1 tsp of garlic powder if you are afraid of getting a chunk of raw garlic)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix the all ingredients in a small bowl until well blended, set on the table and use as either a dip or a sauce to pour over the kabobs.

Sunday recipe again - Already? where did the week go?

It's Sunday and today I'm giving a simple recipe for Pasta with meat sauce. You can use a jarred sauce but it's easy enough to whip up a home made one, and you can control the flavours to your liking that way.

But first the weekly news. The SU has finally connected with his family back home. I have been after him for some time to get email addresses and to use chat to speak with them. The problem is that they live in Gaza and power and other things are sometimes intermittent and often unreliable.

However, we've finally made a connections with everyone. He has 2 sisters, both married and his mother remaining behind in Palestine (or Israel I guess). We had thought they were living in Israel proper, outside Tel Aviv and not in the Territories and definitely not in Gaza, well we were wrong.

The SU connected with Older sister (OS) first, she and her husband and her brood were all excited to see Uncle SU, some of them for the first time in their lives. That first day he chatted with OS and OS Husband (OSH) for several hours, both of them on webcam. He gave them a tour of our condo, tried to show them the view from our window to the downtown core but it was late afternoon and the sun was blasting in our window, leaving only glare on the cam when he tried to show them.

From that conversation he finally got YS (Younger sister's) email address and was able to connect with her and through her his mother, as they live together.

YS and YSH (YS Husband) do not have a webcam yet but he put our cam up and let them have a look, he gave the tour to them, his mother loved all our plants, YS was jealous of our department store carpet, as all they have is straw mats (all they can get - ironic since they're so close to some of the best carpet makers in the world).

Today they are supposed to be purchasing a cam (they can't get food, water or adequate power but a webcam they can get - go figure). So tonight I may get to see my mother-in-law for the first time. Not that she's knows I'm her son-in-law but they come from a different place with different mores, so we'll have to bring them along slowly.

YS and YSH said the whole family is tired of living there, tired of all the fighting and tired of all the deprivation and they want desperately to come to Canada. The first to come is supposedly Mom-in-law to stay with us for several months (I guess to see how she likes it here). I thought she was much older but it turns out she is only 61, so still young and vibrant and she can make a life here, if she wants one. YS and YSH and OS and OSH will have to apply as refugees, in all likelihood and come in that way. We don't have a time table for any of this and we don't know for sure if it will happen, but I think it should. At first the SU wasn't keen on having them here (due our lifestyle and there most probable lack of acceptance of same) but now he's kind of excited that they may be coming.

One funny thing YSH asked: Do we have beer in Canada. Hello???? Does a bear shit in the woods.

The rest of my week was uneventful, I'm pursuing some opportunities on the job front. Always seem to be pursuing but not catching. I have a head hunter working with me now and she was very impressed with my credentials and some skills testing they gave me, which I aced, so I have a champion in her. We'll see if does my any good. In the meantime, I'm working on designing some sample lesson plans, in a couple of different formats to demonstrate my abilities in that area and provide them as a portfolio of work when I apply for jobs.

Recipe time:

Pasta and Meat Sauce.

Ingredients:

3-4 medium sized tomatoes, quartered
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
1 lb of Lean ground beef
1 Green pepper, chopped coarsely
10-12 Button Mushrooms
1 tsp Italian Seasoning mix
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Garam Marsala
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 Jalapeno pepper (or pepper of choice - can used dried if you like - deseed to reduce heat)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp of Tomato Paste
1/2 package of Pasta of your choice
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt
Cooking Instructions

Before beginning the sauce, place a large pasta pot, filled with water on the stove and bring to a boil.

In a blender, place the tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms and pulse.

A note about mushrooms: In all the cooking shows I've seen and recipe books I've read they say never to wash your mushrooms, as they loose flavour when they get wet. Do you know what they grow mushrooms in? I'm sorry I'm washing them. If you're going to use them immediately in cooking I don't see an issue with running them under some warm water to clean them up.

If you want more body in your sauce, leave the peppers and mushroom out of the blender and just puree the tomatoes, if you want smooth sauce, puree all of them together.

In a large saucepan, place 1 tbsp of cooking oil, allow to heat on med-high, add the onions and all the spices and allow the onions to cook down for a few minutes (to become somewhat translucent).

Add the ground beef to brown the meet, leaving the onions and spices in the mix.

If the peppers were not added to the puree, add the peppers once the meat has begun to brown. Pour the pureed mix over the browned meat and onions, reduce heat to a simmer and stir the mix together. If the mushrooms were not part of the puree mix, add the chopped mushrooms now.

Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to your taste. The sugar is optional, it will reduce the acidity of the tomatoes, if you like that flavour leave it out, if not add the sugar and stir to blend it in. Stir in the tomato paste until dissolved, cover and allow the sauce to simmer until the meat is cooked and the sauce has thickened.

Once the water is to a rolling boil, salt the water. Add in the pasta and cook until done, 5-7 minutes for El Dente (for dried pasta) longer for soft pasta.

Drain the pasta, but put about 1 soup ladle full of the pasta water into the sauce and stir it in.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce while still in the pan (or if the sauce pan is too small to accommodate place the cooked pasta back in the pasta pot and pour the sauce over it), blend and serve the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and good bread.

Enjoy.

recipe today is for desert

This week I'm going back to a desert that I've actually won an award with. Nothing big, local pot luck that awards prizes for the dish that receives the most number of votes and I won the desert category. The original recipe was was found on the Food Network website and I am siting the original provider of the recipe. I am not user his/her directions though, for the most part.

If I'm telling someone how to bake something, I prefer to tell them the way that I would do it and not just rely on the generic descriptions usually provided.

This week I am providing a recipe for Marble Cheesecake

Marble Cheesecake

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand (found on Food Network (foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients
For the crust:
4 ounces chocolate cookie crumbs
2 tablespoons melted butter
For the filling:
2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 yolks
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream, plus 1/4 cup
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch spring form pan.

If you choose to buy chocolate cookies and crush them you may want to use a rolling pin with the cookie crumbs in a sealable plastic bag to crush them. However, I generally will purchase chocolate cookie crumbs (in the baking aisle of your super market).

Use a double boiler or heat resistant bowl and place over a pot of simmering water and melt the 6 ounces of chocolate, when fully melted set it aside to cool

Melt the butter (you can microwave it to melt it but watch it so as not to over do it) or in a small saucepan on the stove. Pour the melted butter over the cookie crumbs and stir with a fork to blend them then press the blended mixture into the bottom of the pan, and chill.

Into the bowl of a table mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand held mixture with a large bowl, place the softened cream cheese and whip it. Add the sugar, a little at a time, continuing to mix until all the sugar is blended with the cream cheese.

In a separate bowl shift together the dry ingredients, blending the flour and salt then add this to the cheese mixture and blend thoroughly to incorporate all the flour. Add the yolks and eggs gradually, scraping the bowl down as you go. Add the vanilla and then add 3/4 cup of the sour cream and mix in. Take off 2 cups of the mixture and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1/4 cup sour cream with the cooled melted chocolate then whisk into it, the reserved 2 cups of filling.

Pour a layer of the vanilla filling into the bottom of the pan about 1-inch thick. By large spoonfuls, alternate the plain filling and the chocolate filling to fill the spring form pan. Using the flat face of an icing spatula (or a butter knife), swirl the 2 batters slightly to marbleize it.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 250 degrees F and bake for 1 more hour. Then, turn the oven off and let it cool in the oven 1 hour. The cake will still shimmy, but it is done, it will set up as it chills.

Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Remove from the spring form pan, slice with a hot, dry knife, and serve.

If the cake cracks while baking (crevices on the surface) it’s largely a moisture issue with your oven. Place a pan with water in the oven while baking to avoid this.

Recipe time

It's Sunday morning and the SU has worked all weekend, so I've been a little bored during the day. Bored but not idle. We've begun to do a full spring cleaning. It's more then time for it as the clutter has build up and we have so many kitchen gadgets and no space for them all.

It's time to thin the heard, as far as they're concerned.

We started Friday evening, yep we're that exciting that's how we spend our Friday's --Cleaning. Yay.

I started in the office, by organizing the bookshelves. I have some very outdated software manuals, tons of papers and books that I have just let pile up on the shelves (well not tons but a small pile). By the time I'd finished the first two cases I had a full shelve of one bookcase completely empty.

I have a lot of cook books (including some vintage books from the 30s 40s and 50s) and when we moved into the condo we put them in the cabinet over the fridge and closed the doors on those cabinets and haven't touched them since. Out of sight, out of mind. Well truthfully, the cabinet isn't Fridge width, so it's set back and we have a tall fridge so I can't reach them without a ladder. Over the years I just piled some large bowls and other large pieces ontop of the fridge, effectively blocking those cabinets.

Now with an empty book case, I decided to move the books out of that closed cabinet and put them on the shelf. They just fit and took up the whole shelf. I'd forgotten about some of the books that I have. My favourite is a complete set (from 1972) of the Family Circle Illustrated Library of Cooking. I've made a few recipes from there but it's funny to read them, in a way, and see how tastes have changed (and how they've stayed the same) over the years.

Taking the books out of the kitchen, then opened up that cabinet and allowed us to begin to re-organize the kitchen and actually to put some small appliances away, thus freeing up counter space.

We've finished the kitchen, the laundry room and I'm still working on the office. I may put some items on Ebay, Kijiji or Craigslist, stuff that I'm not that interested in having anymore or just want to get rid of. My comic collections, for instance, I haven't collected since I was in my early 20s, is pretty much just sitting there in comic bags and comic storage boxes. I haven't even opened the boxes in more then 10 years. Never had anything super valuable and I'm not that attached to any of it so I might get rid of it. I also have a small collection of sports cards as well. Originally, I had planned to pass the comics and cards onto to my nephews and/or nieces but I don't think any of them are interested in them so I'll just sell them. They'll go up for sale, as will some of the bobble heads and other toys. I'm donating all my Disney VHS tapes to my niece (she's 2) as I haven't even unpacked them, since we moved in here. I have every Disney animated film released (except Fantasia and Beauty and the Beast - didn't like either one) on VHS.

I'm hoping that with all this cleaning and purging, to get rid of 2 or 3 of the smaller book shelves in the office. The office is also our second bedroom and our guest room. I have an air mattress that we inflate, as needed but I'd like to get a day bed (well ultimately I'd like to get a Murphy bed system but that can wait) to better use the space but need those book cases gone to fit it in.

Enough of my boring ass cleaning schedule let's cook some food.

Today I'm offering a very simple recipe, if you can cut stuff and sprinkle stuff you can make this dish.

Roasted Vegetables

1-2 Heads of Broccoli (peel and use the stems if you like them as well)
½ Head of Cauliflower
1 Zucchini – Quarter into wedges (cut in half is too long)
3-4 Potatoes, cut into wedges
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp Garlic Powder (more or less if you like/hate garlic)
1 tsp of Dried Chili Peppers or 1 tbsp of Chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Grated Parmesan, as much as you like (optional)
Juice of ½ of a Lemon

Slice the Broccoli heads into quarters, break apart the Cauliflower head and sliced the zucchini and potatoes into wedges.

On a baking sheet or cookie sheet (you may need more then one sheet), arrange the vegetables pieces loosely.

Mix the Italian Seasoning, Oregano, Garlic Powder and Chili, in a small bowl and sprinkle over the cookie sheet(s).

Sprinkle the Salt and Pepper over the veggies, drizzle with the EVOO, toss the vegetables on the sheet(s) to coat evenly.

Bake at 400F for about 25 minutes.

Grate a light coating of a good Parmesan over them as soon as you take them out of the oven, drizzle with the juice of ½ lemon.

Serve hot.

The beauty of this recipe is that it can be made with any vegetable that you like. We will most often make with Potatoes and Broccoli but we’ve used baby bok choy (the leaf ends crisp up like chips), carrots and others. You just want to keep all you pieces about the same size or thickness and cook denser vegetables together so the cooking time will be about the same time for each. You may have to monitor the veggies and pull the faster cooking ones out a bit earlier.

As well, the seasoning mix used can be whatever you prefer, rosemary goes well with potatoes, and thyme would add a great element to this mix. Experiment with various spices and herbs to find the flavours that you enjoy most and use those ones.


Optionally, sprinkle the lemon juice on the raw vegetables prior to the cooking process.

Optionally, depending on thickness, par cook the potatoes by poking them in several places with a fork (after cutting), putting them into a microwave safe bowl, cover with water and nuke for 3-4 minutes. This is handy if everything else you're cooking is smaller and will cook faster then the raw potatoes.


If you prefer to Grill your Vegetables, this recipe can be made on the BBQ as well.

Interviews

Today I had an interview with a Financial Services company. I won't name names but they're on the web and a quick search of their name turns up with the words "Fraud" and "Scam" quite often, there are entire website dedicated to this company and their so-called recruiting techniques.

From many of the things I read it reminded me strongly of that AMerican mail order company that would find a WAY to reel people in then pressure them to recruit friends and families. I don't think it was so much about selling any merchandise as it was about bringing bodies into the meetings and signing them up. Not saying anything against that company, but it seemed Scammy and Fraudulent to me as well and awfully cultish.

Back to today, I went to the interview not because I was interested in a Sales Job (er, excuse me Entrepreneurial Opportunity) that is 100% commission based in terms of remuneration but because I wanted some practice with interviewing and I wanted to see, for myself, if all the hype was what it actually was.

The gentlemen I met with was extremely nice, I addressed the internet info early on and the lines he used to cover it were pretty much what the websites said they would say. So one for the websites.

We talked about me and my background, my aspirations, it was very much like a job interview which is unlike what the websites said was their process, so one for them.

He was definitely setting me up though to "buy" into their opportunity. And by buy I do mean buy as they will tell me (during the second of 3 interviews he's told me I'll have) that I require a license to operate and that the licensing fee is 200+. So not only will I not be earning a salary or wage but I'll be paying for the privilege of working for them, of selling the products and services. Yeah not so much. I can't officially award this point to the websites just yet but I will put a tentative mark on their side for now.

Overall the interview experience was good, not a chance in hell I'm going to become one of their agents but it was a good experience for me to go through. At least I think it was.

Recipe Sunday

Today I offer Kebsah. Kebsah is a traditionally Arabian dish with versions unique to various regions throughout the Middle East. Also, this dish is traditionally made with Lamb.

The SU and I have changed it up, we use Chicken and this is a recipe of our own making. The first time I made this for the SU I called it Mock Kebsah, as I didn't have a recipe and had only had Kebsah once before. We've made a few changes since that first experience but this is, according to the SU a true Kebsah dish.

Enjoy Kebsah:

6-8 pieces of chicken, skin and bone on.
8 cups of Water
1 Large (or 2 small) Onions, diced
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Garam Marsala
1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Dill Seed
2 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1 (or more) Jalapeno (optional)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
3 Cups of Basmati Rice
1 tbsp of Vegetable Oil

In a large sauce pan, add the oil to the bottom of the pot, allow to heat.
Add the onions to the heated oil and cook until they begin to become translucent
Add the Garlic, Jalapeno and all the dried spices and the Salt and Pepper.
Stir frequently to coat the onion and flavour the pot while allowing the spices to begin to heat through.
Add the chicken pieces, a few at a time, to sear the outside of the chicken remove when seared on all sides and add the next pieces until all have been seared.

When all the chicken pieces have been browned, place them all back in the pot and cover with all the water. Stir well to get all the flavour off the bottom of the pot. Bring the water to a boil and turn down to a simmer for 30-45 minutes until all the chicken is cooked through.

At this point, remove the chicken from the water and pour the water into the a large bowl.

Return the pot to the stove, turn the heat back to high and add the rice to the pot. Stir the dried rice to pick up flavour and to brown the rice. Avoid burning the dried rice. Salt the rice to your tastes.

Add the chicken pieces to the surface of the dry rice. Use a ladle and measuring cup to measure out 6 cups of the cooking broth to add back to the rice/chicken pot. Note if the there is not enough broth left, use tap water to top up the amount or if you have additional chicken broth (store bought or home made) use that to make up the difference. You will want a 2-1 ratio for the Rice to cook properly.

Bring the water to a boil, reduce to low and cover with a tight fitting lid. Allow the rice to cook for 12-15 minutes or until done and all the water is absorbed.

When the rice is cooked, empty the whole pot onto a large platter and serve family style in the middle of the table, allowing everyone to help themselves to rice and chicken.

Serving suggestions:

This is a staple meal and can be seen to be a little dull - it's pretty much only rice and chicken after all. Serve it with a Cucumber-yogurt salad or with a tomato salsa type salad or tahini salad. Any of these served as side and spooned over the rice on the plate will add an extra flavour element to this classic meal.

Job Fairs and Migraines

Well it's really spring, the weather in Toronto this weekend is gorgeous. Mid 20s (C) and mostly sunny. And I'm sitting indoors, cause the damn sunlight is killing me.

First off Friday.

Friday there was a job fair at a local civic centre, which is very close to my home. I planned to arrived about half an hour before opening, as I expected there to be a line up. I was right.

I arrived, actually, about 20 minutes before opening to find about 300 people already in line waiting to get in. I joined the line right away, it continued to grow and by the time the doors opened I would say the line was easily twice as long as when I arrived.

Apart from the economy being so bad and so many people being out of a job at the moment, I suspect the real draw was that the Toronto Transit Commission is hiring. This is an organization the runs the transit system across Metropolitan Toronto. As soon as the doors opened, and the speeches were finished (the job fair was sponsored by local politicians and they had to have their say - you always have to pay the piper eh?), there was a mad dash to the TTC's booth. I choose to go the other way. As a result, I was able to get in early at several booths that were under attended at the beginning. I worked my way around the to pretty much all the available booths, skipping only those that were only seeking seasonal help (Centreville on Toronto Island - a small theme/amusement park on Toronto's Island Park and The Metro zoo - Toronto's big zoo).

The longer I spent there though, the more crowded other booths became and the competition to speak to individuals at the booths was fierce. A tiny little Chinese woman, that stood all of 4'11" and must have been at least 60, nearly bowled me over to get to a booth, just to get one up on me at a booth for a local commuter airline that is hiring and I'm a pretty big solid hard to move guy.

I had a couple of on site interviews, one with a company selling investment plans for Parent to build RESP (Registered Education Savings Plans) for their children. It was all good until they told me it's all commission based on how much I sell and that I have to pay them almost several hundred dollars up front to become licensed to sell their products. Yeah I'm going to pay you to sell you shit. Don't think so.

I've got a few leads and am expecting a couple of call backs early in the week. So it may have been a good deal that I went. One of the call backs is at a company that is very close to my condo, in the summer, I could walk in 20 to 30 minutes. It would be great.

I'm glad I went but I nearly missed it. I put the date on my calendar to remind myself and using the sticky notes in the sidebar in Vista I put a note on my desktop to remind me of it. And still only remembered when I went to bed on Thursday (technically Friday morning around 2). I did get up and got there early as I planned.

Fingers crossed and thinking only positive thoughts.

However, coming home from the fair I started to get a bit headachey. Nothing big, I thought, just tired didn't get a full night sleep after all, after going to bed at 2 I was up at 7:30. That's all it is I thought. I got home and the SU had been up early and wanted us to go have a nap (a real nap - no euphemisms here) before he had to go to work. So still feeling headachey I took some Tylenol and I lay down with him and tried to sleep.

By the time we got up and he got ready to go to work, my headache a blossomed into something more. Every movement hurt. I was nauseous. I couldn't stand the volume on the TV. I laid back down as the SU busied himself with getting ready for work.

By the time he left I was in agony.

I've been getting migraines all my life, the earliest one I remember I was 7 or 8. Usually I have warning signs and I can head them off but not on this day, it came out of the blue, I had no warning signs at all.

Left alone in my pain, I pulled all the blinds closed, shut off the TV, shut off the computer, my phone, tried to lay very still on the sofa - then the screaming started.

OMG can these people not control their child????

We have a neighbour that leaves their child/ren with the grandmother during the day as both parents work. I believe the grandmother let's the child/ren run in the halls to burn off energy. Well yesterday he/she/they started wailing. WAILING!!!

Christ!!

If I opened my door, I probably would kill someone so I tried one of my old remedies, I don't know why this works for me (and it doesn't always but does sometimes), I filled a hot bath and submerged my head, leaving only my nose above water. For some reason, this seems to ease the pain for me but not yesterday.

I soaked for nearly 30 minutes in hot steamy water, keeping my head submerged most of that time. By the time I got out the migraine was not any better but the damn kid(s) had shut up. Quiet resumed.

I tried to doze on the sofa (after taking more Tylenol) but was not able to as the pain just got worse and worse. After about an hour, I decided that even though I'd had 4 Tylenol in 4 hours, that I would take Excedrin for Migraine. They don't sell this in Canada, so I have to get it in the States (or have someone get it for me), as such my supply is limited and I try to not take them unless I absolutely need to. Yesterday I absolutely needed too.

It was now approaching 6 and I'd been in pain since noon and feeling miserable. The sun outside was mocking me with it's brightness and warmth. I had planned to spend a day with my notebook at a park or the Bluffs writing and being inspired by being outside in the beautiful weather. Sadly I was in bed.

After taking the Excedrin, which almost always works for me, I curled up in bed with the room as dark as I could get it and lay very still. And mercy of mercies I slept. Sleep is the cure all for my migraines. If I can get to sleep, I will almost always wake up pain free. Almost always.

The SU came home from work around 10, he'd texted me several times but I was out. When he got home he was confused as to where I was and poked his head into the room, where he spotted me just beginning to stir.

It was good when I first woke up, I was pain free. Of course, I hadn't moved yet. I've had that happen before where I'll be still and have no pain but as soon as move - bamn! pain. Luckily yesterday was not one of those days. I was tired, drained, worn out but pain free.

I spent a couple of hours with the SU, he ate, I had no appetite but forced a few mouthfuls of Fetta (an Arabian dish of bread, rice and chicken) down but that was all could manage. I began to feel a dull ache behind my eyes again and though shit will this never end.

At 2, we both tried to go to bed, as the SU had to be up for work this AM at 9. I couldn't sleep at all and ended up getting up and staying up for most of the night.

It's now Saturday afternoon, outside the temperature is in the mid 20s C (high 70s low 80sF) and the sun is blasting down, it looks great out. I'm still headachey though, and somewhat sensitive to the light, so I'm not venturing out today which is killing me.

Pain on this scale is hard to deal with. When I was diagnosed in my late teens with Migraines, they told me that the bright side is that they would happen less often and become less intense as I grew older. While the less often part has become true, I think they're more intense, if anything. Or perhaps just as intense as they ever where but as I don't get them as frequently as I less acclimated to the level of pain.

Don't know. It's just something I'll have to cope with and not much to do about it.

It's Recipe Sharing Sunday but first this message

It's been a quiet week. Not much happening on the job front, although I did get a good lead from a friend and I've applied, we'll see if anything comes of that.

The SU was invited to a First Communion ceremony for the daughter of a co-worker and friend of his. The SU is a Muslim so, of course, he'd never been to one before. I'm not catholic but have family members that are, so I've been to a couple of them over the years.

We purchased a small silver cross as a gift for the young lady (she is only 7) and headed out Saturday for the ceremony. The family made a huge deal over the event, which I guess it is for those of the faith. The Communion mass was followed by a small gathering of about 150 people to help the young lady celebrate her First Communion. And her father spared no expense. The food was top notch. The family is of East Indian descent so the food was an Indian buffet, the DJ played great music all evening, the booze was free and plentiful and the company outstanding.

We forgot our camera though, we just not photo people I guess.

We met a lovely couple, also Indian, that it turns out live only around the corner from us. We had some great conversations with them through the evening. They have lived such lives so far, growing up in India, living 17 years in Saudi Arabia (so the SU and they had much to discuss) and then after sending their 2 sons to North America to study, they followed so the family could be closer together.

Overall we had a great evening and really enjoyed the festivities. We were even given a small gift as we left the party (each guest was given a momento) which was completely unexpected.

A big Thank You to our hosts and congratulations to a lovely young lady.

Recipe Time

I've though about which recipe to share this week. Something complicated? Something simple? Something versatile (gotta love versatility - especially in a man but that's a different topic all together).

In the end I decided on a simple Hummus Recipe.

Hummus is a chick pea dip or spread that is used throught the Mediterranean and Middle East. Each region has their own version of this simple staple. The version I am sharing today is generally how the SU and I would prepare it for breakfast. A simple Middle Eastern breakfast is often boiled eggs, Hummus and fresh Pita (at least it was in the SU's home - can't speak for the entire Middle East, of course).

Hummus is also a very flexible dip, in that it can be tweaked in so many ways, add hot peppers to make it spicey, add roasted red pepper for a sweeter peppery taste, add more or less garlic, fresh herbs, dress it up or dress it down, it's versatility is almost endless. The chickpeas in Hummus can be either canned or dried. The version used here uses canned.

Here is our Basic Hummus recipe

1 19 (20?) ounce can of Chick Peas
2 cloves of garlic (use more or less depending on your taste)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon of Lemon rind
2 tbsp Tahini sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Empty the chick peas into a pot (with the liquid - some recipes recommend not using the liquid but we find that it's just fine to do so). Bring to a boil and cook until the chickpeas are heated through and tender (only a few minutes for the canned chick peas - longer for dried).

Remove from heat and allow to cool a few minutes and then empty the pot into the bowl of a food processor.

Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini and lemon rind. Add a pinch of Salt and Pepper at this time. Blend until desired consistancy. Some prefer the Hummus to be completely smooth, others prefer a bit of texture. Try both to see which you would prefer.

If you want thicker Hummus, add another tbsp of Tahini paste. Careful though as the Hummus will thicken as it cools (somewhat).

Taste the hummus and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to your taste, pulse for a few seconds on the food processor to mix in the salt and pepper.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with a vegetable tray or with sliced pita.

sunny days

I'm still unemployed but spring has truly sprung and with it comes warm sunny days.

Today it's about 70F and sunny in Toronto. A nice breeze, that can be a little strong at times, is blowing across the city. A good day to get out of the house and enjoy some outdoor activities.

So I grabbed a light jacket, which it turns out I didn't need, and headed out but was undecided on where to go.

First option: The beach. Toronto has extensive beaches as we spread widely along the shores of Lake Ontario. One of the longest stretches is not too far from my house. Kew Gardens or Woodbine beach feature a long boardwalk, jogging tracks, volleyball courts, rocky outcrops and man made piers that extend into the water. Not that it is warm enough to swim yet. The park system is extensive and there are plenty of places to sit, both in shade or sun.

Second Option: The Bluffs are a region of in Scarborough region of Toronto which feature small cliffs that rise high over the waters edge. Fronted by parks, and hiking paths both at the top and along the base of the bluffs it is an excellent area for exploring and taking in some fantastic views.



Option 3: The local Park. Over the last 2 years a new park was constructed just down the block from our condo. We've only been there once or twice but it's a pleasant little park, with a few benches (frankly needs a few more), expansive lawns (I guess they expect people to sit on the grass), 2 soccer fields (one with tiers benches or stands), a playground area for smaller tykes and a ball court for the older kids.

I choose door number 3 today and set out in black jeans, puma sneaks, a short sleeve shirt and a light jacket. With me I took my book, my ipod, my phone and sunglasses. All I needed for todays outing.

The weather was amazing, the breeze kept me from overheating and read quiet a bit of my book while sitting on the soocer field stands, as the few benches were all occupied and I did not wish to sit on the grass at this time.

I started to get a little pink after about an hour and half of reading in the full sun.

Tomorrow is forecast to be a duplicate of today. Woohoo.

job interviews

You know how you can sometimes just tell?

A couple of weeks back I took part in a phone interview and was subsequently told that one other person and I were being invited to in-person interviews. Great 50-50 chance, I'll take those odds.

The interview was delayed, in fact, I thought they changed their mind or something but I finally got my appointment.

I did my research, showed up early, engaged the receptionist in pleasant chit chat. This particular interview was a 2 person panel, interviewing me. The HR person and the individual that would have been my manager.

This person could not have been any less involved or dis-interested in the process. She might as well not even have shown up. She was unresponsive to questions, except to correct what the HR person had told me in the previous phone interview. She sat there like a sleepy frump.

Right away, I just knew I wasn't getting this job. And that affects your energy level during the interview.

I assume she either did not like me on sight or may have already seen the other candidate and was predisposed to that individual. Whatever the case was, she did not like me. This job required two basic skill sets, both of which I have. The one skill set was General Accounting knowledge. I started my career working in Accounting positions and have a strong foundation in that area but haven't really used it in 10 years or more (other then to train accounting modules). The other aspect was training in which my experience is extensive and current.

And yet the reason I was not considered, as given by her, was that I lacked training experience, they were more then happy with my accounting knowledge. WTF??? I was not given a chance to rebutt her reasons.

So I didn't get the job and it's back to the drawing board for me.

My frustration levels mount as the economy sinks.

Decisions regarding the sale of our condo will have to be made soon. Very very soon.

Recipe sharing Sunday

I'm going to start posting some recipes that the SU and I have been working on, where the recipes are our original creations we will note that, where they are sourced from someplace or someone else that will be noted (and the proper accreditation given, if I can remember where I got the original). In any case we will have changed the original recipe or instructions to suit our needs and the revised recipe is what will be posted here.

For my first posting, I'm offering of a classic, yet simple dessert that requires only a few minutes of prep time and is tasty, flavourful and always a hit This first recipe was found online sometime ago. I'm do not remember where, however, so I can not quote a source directly. We have changed the cooking instructions as we found the original to be a bit vague and added some notes and serving suggestions as well but the ingredients list is the same as the original.

If you try this recipe, please give me some feedback on how successful it was for you.

Here is your Simple Chocolate Soufflé

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1/3 cup of Sugar
5 Ounces of semi-sweet Chocolate
3 Egg Yolks
5 Egg Whites
A pinch of Salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Lightly butter one large souffle dish or 6 small ramekins
   
3. Melt the chocolate over hot water (in a double boiler) and set aside to cool
4. Place all 5 egg whites in a mixing bowl, add the pinch of salt and whisk (using a hand mixer or table mixer) until soft peaks form
5. Add 1/3 cup of Sugar gradually while continuing to whisk
6. Add the egg yolks (one at a time) into the cooled, melted chocolate -- it is important to have allowed the chocolate to cool so as not to cook the egg yolks
7. Scoop about a cup (one or two rubber spatulas worth) of the egg whites into the chocolate and fold carefully
8. Add the mix to the remaining egg whites
9. Fold gently until well mixed, working fast but carefully so as not to deflate the egg whites

For 1 Large Souffle dish

10. Bake in the middle of the oven until crusted on top and practically cooked in the middle, approximately 25-35 minutes

For 6 Small Souffle dishes

11. Place the 6 small ramekins (soufflé dishes) on a cookie sheet, divide the mix equally among the six ramekins evenly
12. Bake in the middle of the oven until crusted on top and practically cooked in the middle, approximately 18-25 minutes

Note:

Oven temps and cooking times vary greatly depending on where you are, you know your own oven, judge the cooking times accordingly and check them without opening the oven too often. You will have to open to check them eventually, though. The top should be firm and spongy while the inside is moist (use a small fork or toothpick to check for doneness).

For my own oven, I don’t even check the small ramekins until the 20 minute mark. You may want to check as early as 15 minutes in (20 minutes in for the large soufflé), the first time you make them at least – after that you should know, make a note on the recipe for yourself.

Be careful not to overcook the soufflé

The Soufflé will rise beautifully while cooking but collapse, somewhat, on resting – this is normal.

Variations

1. Flavour the chocolate with orange extract for a delicious fruity flavor
2. Add a shot of Baileys (or liqueur of choice) to flavour the chocolate - do not add too much

Serving Suggestions

For the large Soufflé, scoop a serving on a dessert plate

For the small Soufflé, serve directly in the ramekin

Top with sliced fruit (Strawberries or other fresh berries, Bananas, Kiwis)

Top with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream (or other flavours that won’t compete with the chocolate)

Add a dollop of whipped cream

Combine all of the Toppings above and serve with them all

job interviews

Off the top, let me just say that I dislike phone interviews. In person you can read body language, gage facial expressions to your responses, see when you've made a misstep and cover. On the phone you have no clues, unless you hear something the interviewers voice.

Today I had a phone interview. I got the interview via a headhunter. They cold called me. Alright but the position sounded good, in my field, money was excellent and it's downtown, so far all aces. The agent (for the HH) sends me the job description and says he can't emphasize enough how important it is to these people that I be prepared, "so visit their website and do some research," he says. Which I did based on the job description he sent me.

The interview came this morning and it started fine but then I asked a few key questions, to demonstrate that I had researched and knew something of the position only to find out that that position is another project all together what I would be doing was this other thing.

DAMN!!!!

I mean really. So I did the best I could do to cover, mentioned that the HH must have sent me the wrong thing (the HH and the interviewer are old friends). The interview lasted about 35 minutes but was only supposed to be 10 or 15. Long is good I think. It means they were interested, I believe.

He did say he would recommend me to the team lead and if the lead was interested I'd be invited for an in person interview. Tomorrow I'm calling the HH to complain and to see if he had any follow up.

GRRRRR!!!!

New toys

So as we're thinking of selling the ole homestead we're doing minor changes that we've put off. One of those was to replace the shower head in the guest bathroom, as it leaked.

To that end, the SU and I headed to the Home Depot on Saturday.

Wait let me start at the beginning.

Spring is here and as the weather has warmed the SU has gotten the green thumb itch, which is all fine, except that we live in a condo and don't a green space to play in. As we have a Home Depot right across the road, we often wander into their garden centre (hey it's close and we don't have a car - don't judge).

About a week and a half ago, we were walking into Home Depot and noticed a sign for a job fair. Now I know that the Home Depot head office (the Canadian Head office anyway) has a Training Department for the various stores, so I thought, if I applied and got something part time, it wouldn't impede my regular job search and might lead to a full time position in their training department. So I noted the date but not the time and planned to attend.

On the day of the job fair, I couldn't remember the time but convinced myself that it was starting at 1, so I showered, primped and shaved and headed there at one. Big mistake.

It had started at 11. By the time I got there the line was so long that they had halted taking any further applications as they had too many people.

I was mad at myself so since shopping, like eating, is one of my de-stressers I decided to wander around the store. It was then I happened upon the shower heads.

As I said we're talking about selling, if I don't find a job, and if we do there are small fixes we need to do before we put it on the market. So I took note of the model and price and the next time the SU and I went to the garden centre I showed him the one I wanted. We also looked new faucets for the kitchen and a new range hood.

We bought the shower head. A nice rain shower head with a long hose which is really convenient as we can take out plants into the bathroom and pull this right down to water them.

The first shower I took under the "natarul" rain fall I hated. I felt there wasn't enough water pressure. The second shower I just relaxed and really enjoyed it. Now I'm loving my new toy. (sorry no shower pics - nobody wants to see that).

I'm glad we bought, we didn't go top of the line but we didn't cheap out either, it's a nice head and fits well in out bathroom. The condo has pretty small bathrooms, the guest one is slightly larger then the master bath but they're functional.

In other news, I have had a head hunter cold call me about a job. No gaurantees and I won't go into details yet, until I at least get an interview but it was nice, it made me feel good after so much silence on the job front and it's a very good opportunity. So fingers crossed it works out.

I'm remaining upbeat and the changes I discussed with the head hunter for my resume and cover letter are, I think pretty good. So I have a renewed sense of purpose and a kick ass cover letter that I can tailor easily.

Need some luck and a break or two.

Ciao.

Eating my stress away

The last few months have been very stressful what with losing my job and then the diagnoses of possibly, maybe, might be something malignant but we don't know yet.

Everybody has different ways of dealing with stress. I tend to over eat and the binge of choice for me is JAM, almost any flavour will do thank you very much.

Hi my name is Don and I am a JAM addict.

I do not mean to make light of those with drug and alcohol addictions but for me JAM is my drug of choice. I kid you not. And by JAM I mean sugared fruit, boiled and sealed in jars. Spreadable on toast or just eaten right out of the jar with a spoon, with or without peanut butter.

I finally admitted to this addiction about 6 years ago, and stopped buying Jam because of it. I would go through a jar in like a day, maybe 2, certainly not longer then that and I don't mean a small jar. It was, honestly, just better not to have it around.

This was tough when I lived with my brothers, as they both loved PB&J sandwiches as well so they wanted to have Jam in the house all the time, however, things have been easier since moving in with the SU. He's not really into Jams so it hasn't been difficult not keeping it in the house.

When I first got the diagnoses, we had Marmalade in the fridge (for overnight guests). Marmalade is kinda of safe as I don't really like the orange flavour of it, however, even that wasn't a deterrent. I started eating that. And worse, hiding the fact that I was eating it by burying the jar back in the fridge so the SU wouldn't notice it and then replacing it when it got low.

Then I lost my job. Well to hell with marmalade. I bought raspberry (my personal fav) and 4 fruit jam, and strawberry jam. I've gone through loafs of bread and many jars of jam in the 2 months since then. As the diagnoses continued to move along and narrow to a possible cancer related illness the stress level just went up as did the jam consumption.

After the last results, when the malignancy was mentioned, I binged again eating PB&J for days. Some days that's all I ate. Anybody watch the Big Brother shows on CBS? When they used to put the losing food challenge members on PBJ for a week? hell I'd have thrown the comp, that is not a punishment for me.

Again, after the malignancy was indicated I kinda lost all motivation, I ate and stopped working out, stopped job searching and ate.

Now the good news is the final diagnoses is in and that it's not a malignant parotid neoplasm but only a polyp that will likely go away on it's own. The specialist was very nice and reassuring, just indicated that I continue to watch the area and if I get noticeable swelling to come see him again but he doubts that I will.

The damage is done though. I have half a jar of raspberry jam left. I've gained 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks.

Today I must rededicate myself to avoiding my addiction. People with serious drug and alcohol addictions are probably reading this and scoffing, thinking I'm making fun of them but I can honestly say this is as much a crutch for me as their addiciton is for them.

I got back on the WII Fit this morning and I'm going to continue to work out every day, I need to get the Jam out of the house and not buy more. The SU knows about my addiction (which is why I hid the marmalade I mentioned earlier) but I've been hiding other jams from him too. He doesn't know about the jar that is currently half empty. He would mention it, especially the rate that it's decreasing but he hasn't, so he hasn't spotted it.

So my first step is to come clean to him tonight when he gets home from work. And then dump the jam that's left, just get it out of the house. Second to get active again, via the WII Fit and just by taking advantage of this warm March sunny weather and getting out and walking, hiking something. The area of Toronto we live in, is close to the Scarborough Bluffs park system, there are trails both at the top of the bluff and along the base right at the water line. I could walk down to the bluffs park in 10 minutes. We've been there twice in 3 years.

Today there is a job fair at Home Depot. I think I'll walk over there and see what they have available. It is not my career of choice but if they have something part time and I'm able to get it, it will be something to get me active, to get out of the house and to help motivate me to do other things.

A clean bill of health, a warm sunny day (well warm sunny weekend really) to look forward to. It's time to get out of my funk and break my cycle of stress and mild depression.

Malignant is such an ugly word

In early December I noticed what I thought was swelling on the left side of my throat. I was convinced I felt it. I had the SU feel for it but he felt nothing but not convinced I headed off to the doctor to have him check it out. You see my father died from cancer that started in his throat and we were warned to be on the watch for similar cancers, so I don't want to take a chance.

However, the doctor doesn't feel anything either. Just to be sure though, and given my family history, he sent me for an Ultrasound.

A few days after the Ultrasound, much quicker then I'd anticipated, I get a call to come in and see the doctor as soon as I can.

It seems that the left side is completely clean, no problem at all but the Ultrasound indicates that there is an "undefined" mass on the right side attached to the Parotid gland (one of the Salivary glands). More testing is needed to determine what that mass might be.

In January I went for a CT-Scan to get a better view of the mass. It took a while to get the results back, and I think they were misplaced for a while but I finally got the results in late February. The usual time period for results is 3-4 weeks, mine took 6.

While the CT-Scan still cannot definitively say what the mass is, it is indicative of a Parotid Neoplasm, which may be malignant. More testing is needed and certainly a biopsy is indicated to determine malignancy. I know they're being careful and looking out for me but if they can't tell what it is, I think it's irresponsible to be throwing words like malignant around. It certainly scared the SU, well both of us really.

The next step, the biopsy, is scheduled for Thursday of this week, I think. I'm seeing the ENT guy at least on Thursday.

We're stressing, of course. We're trying not too but we are.

The possible diagnoses raises lots of questions. Should I continue to look for a job? If it turns out to something, even if it's a benign mass, I'm still facing surgery to remove it, add to that recovery time, kemo treatments if they're needed. It does not seem the best time to be starting a new job.

And yet I cannot continue to own my home and pay my bills unless I have a job that pays a decent salary. And if I was lucky enough to land such a job in the next couple of weeks? Would I be able to keep it having to take time off for surgery and cancer treatments? I think not.

Where to we go from here? We're not sure. Nothing is sure until we see the doctor this week.

I'm married to Ugly Betty

So the SU has bad teeth. He needs his overbite corrected and because he hasn't been able to afford, his teeth have been pretty damaged. Almost to the point of needing to pull them.

However, he managed to get into a dental school program and they are fixing his teeth for him, at about half the cost of doing it commercially.

Yesterday we went to have his braces put on. The SU is almost 40. He's not too happy about having them at his age but the alternative (pulling teeth and getting dentures) was less appealing so he's got the braces.

They told him smooth food only for the first 4-5 days, nothing he has to chew and nothing too hot or too cold. Last night for dinner we made lentil soup, cooked until the lentil was pretty much dissolved.

The braces were supposed to be clear in the front and they are not the bright shiny metal that I've seen in some mouths but they're still visible. He's very self-conscious about it. It really doesn't help when I tell him I'm married to Ugly Betty. They'll be on for 2 1/2 years.

I've never gotten a blow job from a guy with braces before. Do I need to worry about getting anything caught? pinched? hmmm.

Keep reading for future updates about that very subject. Ummm Yeah, sure.

Condo board foolishness

Last night we had several of my family members over for dinner. Included among them was one of my brothers. He and I lived together our entire lives until I moved in with the SU so we're close.

A few years back, my sister was given as a pup a very small toy Pom but she wasn't able to take care of the dog properly so asked if we could take her. We agreed and Casey has been with us since then.

I say us but really she is with my brother full time. The condo we live in is a No Pet building. In Ontario, tenets in rental apartments cannot be denied the right to own or have pets but Condos are not covered but that ruling. Since condos are private buildings, or communities, it's up to the community to set the standards (in this case the condo board).

So no pets.

That, as it turns out is fine with the SU and I. We find that while we do miss having the dog around, even the cat for that matter, we do not miss the mess, the shed hair, the food on the floor, the kitty litter smell. So no biggie for us not to have a pet.

Other owners in the condo building have cats, some have birds.

What does all this have to do with a family dinner? Well since my sister was going to be there, my brother decided to bring Casey so sis could see her. Not something the SU or I mind.

This morning we get a letter from the Management Office, tapped to our door. Saying that a member of the staff had noticed someone entering our unit with a dog at 4am on Wed the 26th of February.

Several things wrong with that statement. Wed was the 25th, first off. My sister stayed over and was in bed by 11:30. My brother left, with the dog around 11. The SU and I were in bed by a little after 12. So who, I wondered witnessed anyone coming or going with a dog at 4AM???

The SU is a hot blooded Arab/Italian cross and he wanted to phone the office and go off on them about this letter. In the letter it pointed that the building does not allow any pets, of any kind at all. So dogs are definitely not to be permitted.

As I mentioned we know that other owners have pets (cats and birds) so we wonder what the hell the issue is with a dog, especially a dog that is half the size of an average cat.

The board does have the right to set these kind of policies with regard to owners having pets, but we don't see the issue with a visitor, who is not staying the longer then an evening bringing a pet along for an afternoon or evening.

We're very tired of this building's management. We've had run ins with them since we first moved in. They have very poor management style, the office manager is probably one of the snootiest woman I've ever met, very pretentious and filled (overfilled really) with her own sense of importance. When I begin working again, if we haven't already sold this place before hand, we'll begin saving immediately for a house and get out of here as soon as we can. Of course, we can't buy a house in an historic neighbourhood or in a place with a strong neighbourhood oversight committee.

In some areas they are restricted houses from having outside cloths lines, as it makes the neighbourhood look run down. At the same time they want people to use dryers less and save the environment.

I guess it's crap wherever you go or can be.

Wedding guest and Oscar night

So the wedding wasn't truly horrible. It was a simple affair, in a local hall. I think it was all done on a budget but it didn't suffer for that. It could have easily gone the way of the trailer trash set but instead it had a simple elegance to it. The bride was stunning, and the groom was a very sexy bear type who looked very hot with his shaved head and tux.

Our table consisted of the SU, myself and a coworker of his (sans date), her cousin (also a friend and former co-worker of the bride) and the cousins husband.

Woof!!! The husband was hot. He sat beside me at the table and had a habit of leaning back and adjusting either his package or his belt. I can certainly tell you it was very very distracting.
Both he and the wife were very nice people and we ended up having a really good time chatting with them. The husband wasn't too keen on dancing either (as I am not) so he and I spend most of the evening in conversation.

At one point he got up to go to the bathroom and I almost followed him. Just to check him out but I'd only had one beer and a cooler, so wasn't nearly drunk enough to be a slutty bear.

I behaved.

The only thing I found strange is that way the meal was served. It was served family style. Platters of food were placed in the middle of each table for all to share. I've never been at a wedding, well a North American wedding, that served the meal that way. I have been to a couple of Chinese wedding feasts and that is how they serve the meal.

Anyway, it just seemed a strange way to do it. The food, however, was excellent, started with a salad, followed by a pasta course, then the main meal consisting of Roast beef (served with bread stuffing???) and 3 veggies with gravy on the side. The beef was done very nicely and although it was well done, it was still very tender.

We left just as the bride and groom were heading to the airport to fly out for their honeymoon.

We came home and crashed, I slept solidly for about 7 hours (which is highly unusual for me.

Sunday we didn't do much. The SU wanted to try a recipe for Chicken Biryani that he'd been given, he went shopping for materials and I played Zelda on the WII.

Sunday night we watched the Oscars. At the risk of having to turn in my gay card, I don't usually enjoy the Oscars (or any award show for that matter) but I really enjoyed last nights show. While I've read 1 or 2 disparaging reviews of Jackman's hosting abilities I thought he did a fine job.

I really enjoyed the actor awards, how they brought 5 previous winners to introduce the nominees. I liked that the stage was smaller and more intimate then in previous years.
The kept it moving along with a good pace without seeming to rush the winners speeches (one or two times, I think the music started to come up).

Overall, I can't comment on the Slumdog win as I haven't seen the movie yet but was happy to see Milk recognized, as I did see and enjoyed it alot.

It's Monday morning now and it's back to the job search, calling headhunters today and trying to get a few appointments to get my name out there.

Luck is needed.