Photobook from Inkubook

After two months of on and off working on it, I finally finished my Cancun photobook.  Feel free to browse through by clicking on the arrows under the book.  After I get my book I'll give my final decision on the site.  I bought a variety of photobooks from various sites from Groupon over the past few months so now I have to use them.  Many of them give you a year to create your book.  Inkubook just four months and I bought two of them so one down, one to go by September 24th.  I was happy with the options available for designing the books.  A lot of page layouts, backgrounds, and fonts.

Create your own Photobooks with Inkubook.com!

Kayak and Lunch

We'd like to do "Kayak and Koffee" or "Kayak and Kocktails" but for today it was "Kayak and Lunch" (no alliteration).  Audrey, Lila, Mary Beth and I went kayaking over to the Bayside for lunch.  It was a beautiful day, a little breezy on the bay, but a perfect day for being outside.  I was glad I didn't have to work today.

 Look at how perfectly in sync Mary Beth and Lila were and I love the orange and yellow combination of the paddles.

This is how far away from them I was when I took the picture, you can't even see them. If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see them as a spec in the distance. 

 Audrey in her fast kayak

 We went down to check out the lily pads, not too many

 Here we are at lunch

And we were joined by a swan and her baby.

Amy's Tuna Mac

I made Amy's tuna mac for the first time this summer today.  I couldn't find the recipe so I wasn't sure whether I got all the ingredients, but after I made it and I wanted to figure out the PointsPlus value, I realized that I had posted it on Weight Watchers in my recipes last year.  And I remembered all the ingredients.
According to Amy the "key" ingredients are the specific pickles, Heinz Premium Dills.  I have never found them here, but we can get them in Pittsburgh when we go to visit Larry's daughter.  And Amy can get them from her brother in New Hampshire.  And the other necessity is Miracle Whip, not Mayo, but Miracle Whip.

Amy's Tuna Mac
Ingredients:
12 oz pasta cooked al dente
3 - 6 oz. cans tuna
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
3 cups chopped Heinz Dill pickles
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
Salt and Pepper to taste

 Chop, chop, chop and combine all the ingredients.

Before I added the Miracle Whip I took some out so it wouldn't be as fattening but much to my surprise, when I calculated the points, it turns out that Miracle Whip only has 1 PointsPlus per tablespoon. 

1 cup of pasta salad - 4 PointsPlus.

My Book is on Squidoo

Just out of curiosity, I googled myself this morning.  Just another way to spend time when I should be doing the more productive things I have on my list, more about that list some other time.  Actually, Larry and I went out for a walk this morning and were home before 8:00 AM so that was productive, but here it is after 11:00 and I can't say I've accomplished much since then except watch The Big C that I recorded last week and fix some greeting cards I made.  

Back to my topic - - in Google I found myself listed under the normal things that I signed up for - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and photo sites where I have pictures but to my surprise I found a link to my book, Letters to My Father on another site, Squidoo http://www.squidoo.com/saving-ww2-letters where the topic was about WWII letters

Boat Ride

We finally got out on the boat today.  First time for the summer and it's already July 9th.  Wouldn't you know it, the temperature, wind and water conditions were not what I would call ideal.  I had my fleece on because it was only around 72 and moving out on the lake made it feel a lot colder.  The wind was out of the NW so that's never warm and even though there weren't any white caps on the lake it was still choppy.

But, it was a beautiful bright sunny day with blue skies and no rain in sight.  We rode around the lake for awhile, got gas and toured the bay and then back to the dock.  It was hot at the dock (relatively).  While there I fixed a tear in the vinyl with some duct tape.  Doesn't look beautiful but at least it should keep it from getting bigger.

Kayaking

I started off the day at 6:30 doing outdoor Yoga with Audrey at the Y.  It was so nice out there watching the clouds go by and not as cold as I thought it would be even though it was only 63° when we went.

At 9:45 Mary Beth joined us and we drove out to Fairport to the Erie Canal Boat Company to use our Groupon for a half day of Kayaking.  We had sit on Kayaks that turned out to be pretty comfortable with good back support.  They were easy to use and we had perfect weather.  We had the Riviera by Jackson.

Once I got home I checked on google maps for the distance and we paddled 2.5 miles each way.  If we wanted to go to Shoen Place for lunch, which was a thought we had, we would have had to paddle 6.6 miles in each direction.  Although the Erie canal is  East-West it is anything but a straight line.  Our paddle took us South.

 Once we returned the boats we needed some nourishment and discovered Whatcha' Got Cookin' practically next door where we were able to sit outside alongside the canal and have some delicious sandwiches. Thanks to Audrey for the next pictures.

Happy Belated Birthday

I like to think I have artistic takent or more likely I like to wish I had artistic talent.
 
Back in February I had a Groupon for one of the Paint Your Own Pottery places around here, Glaze and Glass. It expired at the end of the month and we were going away then too so I rushed in there to do something. I decided to make a birthday plate for Larry. His birthday is in May so when I didn't have time to complete it that day they said I could leave it there and finish it when I came back from our trip. 

Well we got back in April and I never had a chance to go over there. Then we went away again in May. Finally the end of June I got over there and finished my plate and gave it to Larry today. Only a month and a half after his birthday. 

Blueberry Muffins

I had loads of blueberries so thought I would make some blueberry muffins.  I found a recipe that had great reviews and decided to make it.  The original recipe is at the AllRecipes Site http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/detail.aspx but I changed it a little and that's what I'm including here:

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons sugar or enough to cover

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 10 muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. 
3. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and milk. 
4. Mix this with flour mixture. 
5. Fold in blueberries.  
6. Fill muffin cups 2/3.
7. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.



The original recipe called for making 8 large muffins and they had a crumb topping.  I eliminated the crumb topping and increased the muffins to 10 and it was still 6 PointsPlus per muffin.  But they were good.  I ate one before I calculated the Points.

The Galloping Gourmet's Cauliflower with Carrot "Cheese" Sauce

Saw this on Rachael Ray this morning and definitely want to try it. I used to love watching The Galloping Gourmet back in the day. That's where I learned to make clarified butter which I would never use today.  http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/galloping-gourmets-cauliflower-carrot-cheese-sauce/

Ingredients

• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into ½-inch rounds (yield 1 ½ cups)
• 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch cayenne
• Pinch cumin
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Dusting of smoked paprika

Yields: Serves 4

Preparation

Steam cauliflower 18 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Set aside.

Cook the carrots in the evaporated milk and water, covered, in a medium saucepan, 10-15 minutes or until very soft. Place the carrots and cooking liquid, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice in a blender, and whiz for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and glossy. Add the salt, cayenne, and cumin, and whiz to mix.

Place the cauliflower in a small baking dish. Spoon the carrot sauce over the cauliflower and scatter the Parmesan cheese over the top. Brown under a preheated broiler 4 inches from heat and serve, garnished with a dusting of smoked paprika.

Per serving: 92 calories, 2 g fat, 1 g saturated fat (9% calories from saturated fat), 13 g carbohydrate, 6 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber, 356 mg sodium. Exchanges: 3 Vegetable, ½ fat

Graham Kerr, Growing at the Speed of Life – page 111

Meat Loaf and Chicken Salad

With a painful neck there isn't much to do that is any fun that doesn't involve creating more pain in my neck so I pretty much have been listening to books and doing some cooking.  I like to cook when I have a good book to listen to since I can multi-task.


I made Larry's favorite, meatloaf, so he could have it tonight while I went to work.  I'm not a meatloaf fan so it is always good for a night when I'm not home.

I used the recipe from a previous post but I never had a picture with it.
http://dinnerbook.blogspot.com/2010/06/better-meatloaf.html

Leftovers in an Omelet

I must be trying to get rid of everything in the refrigerator.  Tonight we couldn't decide what to have for dinner.  Was it going to be leftover pork tenderloin, AGAIN or another salad.  Then I thought, what about an omelet.  I took everything I could find and put it all together and we had a delicious omelet.

The ingredients I had on hand were:
Baby Portobello Mushrooms
Green onions
Red, Orange and Yellow Peppers
Zucchini

I sauteed all the ingredients first and then added beat up eggs mixed with some water.  When the eggs were almost set I added freshly shredded Parmegiano Reggiano and then sprinkled some Parmesan & Romano grated cheese over the top after the shredded was melted.

It was almost like a frittata but I didn't have any potatoes.  I'm so much better at creating things at the last minute than having to plan a meal.

Parker Visit

My neck was bothering me again after I pulled something playing golf last Monday so I wasn't fit for doing any kind of fun things outdoors. We finally bought some plants to put in pots outside and also got some sunflowers for in the house.

We went to visit Marge, Darren and Parker on the 4th.  He's one month old now.

Kitchen Sink Salad

When I was a kid my brother had a birthday party at Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor in the Bronx and we got the "kitchen sink" which served everyone. It had all the flavors and toppings you could want.  Here's a link to an article in the NY Times about the last remaining Jahn's location.

I felt like the salad we had for dinner tonight was like that too. Larry had his with leftover pork tenderloin and I had mine meatless.  They not only tasted delicious but I though looked good enough to eat.

Ingredients:
Greens (spinach & field greens)
Green onion
Tomato
Mushrooms
Nectarine
Strawberries
Blueberries
Pineapple
Goat Cheese
Sunflower seeds

Creativity

I'm totally amazed at the number of creative and talented people in the world and why I'm not one of them.  I want to create a new website and actually keep it active so I'm trying to think of a good title.  In doing so, I've been looking at other websites and blogs on the web.  So far I have killed an hour doing this, no wonder I never get anything done, and haven't a clue but have found some interesting websites in the process.

Dear Photographer is interesting http://dearphotograph.com/
People send in a picture from the past taken in front of the same scene in the present.  I don't know if I would be able to find my past from a picture now but it would be fun to try.

Here's another cute posting on a website: http://un-blog-evable.blogspot.com/2011/06/you-are-what-you-eat.html
Which led me to the creators website http://markmenjivar.com/you-are-what-you-eat/statement where you can see all the pics.
What would your refrigerator say about you?


Guess I should make some coffee now and start my day.  Think I'll take a picture of my refrigerator too :)

 Maybe I should have cleaned it and organized it first??