First post of September!
Often the weather around here turns even hotter after Labour Day weekend, which is so hard for all the children back at school, however the last few days have been cool and “fallish”. I do love the fall but it’s a bit soon to suddenly have to be closing windows and putting on sweaters, oh well maybe we’ll experience Indian Summer next month.
With the Harvest decorations in place I have been launching into all the CTM work that needs to happen as the seasons change.
Since the feedback packages have been taken care of, I am now putting together a package to send to a list of new possible locations. These are mostly places who were contacted over the past year and have asked for information for 2020.It will be great if even a few of these places decide to apply. 😊
Next Saturday afternoon our annual Praise & Thanksgiving Gathering will be taking place at First Filipino Baptist Church so this week has also included some work on the PowerPoint for that event. This coming Friday I plan to make a big batch of caramel popcorn for the refreshment time, although as it is scheduled to end at 6pm I think most people will be anxious to head home for dinner. Fortunately my boarder Steven is able to care for Thomason that afternoon, which is a big weight of my mind as I am still not leaving him alone at home for more than half an hour at a time. With several meetings scheduled over the next couple of weeks I have been trying to find someone willing to sit with him but so far no one I know is free at the needed times.
We have had more rain over the week and it is nice to see the grass and plants turn green again after the very dry summer we had. Yesterday I actually mowed the lawn since it had finally grown a bit. 😊
Today is a “Bake & Blog” Saturday so I should be heading to the kitchen to prep some of the baking. I also want to make a pot of carrot soup for our dinner tonight. Thomason will be very happy to “help” with that task since, like all our previous Labs, he LOVES carrots!
This morning we headed out extra early for our perambulation as I discovered the new “Biologique” bakery nearby opens at 8am and sells lovely organic chocolatines, which make a perfect accompaniment to our traditional Saturday lunch of lattés and a platter of fresh fruits. Soon after 8 am the place was already packed but they have lots of servers on hand so I was able to quickly make my purchase, which was super important as Thomason was tied outside to a fire hydrant! Actually he did quite well and when I went to untie him he had a dog “friend” tied next to him and both of them appeared quite calm- that was a big relief!!
So before I head for the kitchen let’s finish off with a recipe.
Last evening we had a Southeast Asian meal- Shrimp and Mango Kebabs, Cucumber Raita, Steamed Brown rice, Sliced peaches and Ginger Shortbread, with Saigon Chai.
The kebabs were really tasty, here is the recipe: –
Shrimp & Mango Kebabs
- 12 large raw shrimp
- 1 medium zucchini, cut in ¾ “rounds
- 1 red pepper, cut in 1” squares
- 1 mango, cubed
- ¼ cup plain yoghurt
- ½ a white onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- ½ tsp. each turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala.
- ¼ tsp. cayenne
- 1 tsp. vegetable oil
Place the yoghurt, onion, garlic oil and spices in the bowl of a food processor and purée. Divide the marinade between two lidded containers. Add the shrimp to one container and the mango and vegetables to the other. Toss the pieces well to coat them, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile soak 6 wooden skewers. When ready to cook, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high. Thread the shrimp and veggies on the skewers and sear the kebabs for 3-4 minutes on each side, until the shrimp is pink and the vegetables are slightly charred. Serve immediately with Cucumber Raita and brown rice. Serves 2. Easily doubled.
Cucumber Raita
- 1 small cucumber, grated and with excess moisture squeezed out
- ½ tsp. each salt and pepper
- ½ tsp. cumin
- a small handful of chopped fresh mint leaves
- ½ cup plain whole milk yoghurt
- 1 tsp. lemon juice.
Fold all the ingredients together and divide between two small bowls for serving.