Share Your World – Week 12

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….are these questions getting harder or am I just too tired?

When I saw this week’s questions, nothing popped into my head right away. I really had to think about some of these questions.

What is your most favorite smell/scent?

This one wasn’t too difficult. I love the smell of cinnamon. I think it brings back memories of Christmas baking and mulled wine. Last week in Calgary my sisters and I went to a great spice store called The Silk Road Spice Merchant. Who knew there were so many different varieties of cinnamon? Well I didn’t and I discovered a very aromatic variety called Vietnamese “Saigon” Cinnamon. Heavenly!

How do you write: computer, longhand or other?

I do most of my writing on the computer. This would include lesson plans, e-mails, essays, blog posts, etc.. I do, however, use longhand when writing thank you cards, birthday cards and most cards in general.

Your favorite blog post that you have written? (add link)

This one is really hard. I’ve written over 600 posts in the last two years. How does one choose? I think I have to go way back when I wrote about one of my most memorable Christmases as a child. Here is the link.

What’s one of your favorite books from childhood?

Another difficult question. I don’t remember being a big reader as a child. I do remember liking non-fiction and books about random facts. I also liked children’s cookbooks. My first cookbook came from Carnation Milk and I think I made every single recipe in that book and not just once but several times.

Bonus question: I’m too tired to write more. It’s time to go to bed. Good night, all!

My Happiness File – Day 7

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. one step closer to getting my life organized

Being organized and having a place for everything makes me happy. Today I cleaned out every drawer in my dresser and filled a garbage bag with clothes that have gotten too big for me or I just don’t wear anymore. Even my husband let me bag some of his old clothes. Amazing!

We did a huge vegetable shopping today. I’m reading an interesting book that recommends you cook all your vegetables the day that you buy them and then they’re ready for the entire week. It was a lot of work but my fridge is now stocked with prepared side dishes for seven days. I roasted a head of cauliflower, 2 bunches of broccoli, 6 beets, 2 sweet potatoes, and 1 winter squash. I cleaned and steamed a bunch of kale, beet greens and dandelion leaves and with the stems, leaves and cores I made a pesto. Very satisfying. I love trying new things. The book is called An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler.

: Steamed greens

I bought my husband a new wooden cutting board today. Our old one had split in two and K really misses having a large wooden board to work from. When my husband is happy, I’m happy.

Cheers!

Food and Me – Part 2

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Mama Cormier

In my family food was very important. My dad always said that all one ever needed in life to be happy was “family and good food”. For me food symbolized Love. You ate all your food because it was prepared with love and to not eat it was wasteful and hurtful.

I remember a time when my middle sister did not want to eat her cheese sandwich. My parents were always worried about her weight and not because she was too heavy. Quite the opposite. They always thought she was too thin. They tried all kinds of approaches to get her to eat more. I vividly remember one evening when she wasn’t allowed to leave the dinner table until the sandwich was consumed. I’m not sure why I sat with her but I do remember trying to coax her to eat that sandwich. She absolutely refused. In the end I think she won out but the battle was far from over. My parents were so desperate that they sent her away to a farm for a week to fatten her up ( on the advice of our family doctor ). Nothing seemed to help. I think this constant battle convinced me that I needed to eat anything put in front of me in order to be the “good daughter”.

Don’t get me wrong, my middle sister was dearly loved by my parents and at times I was jealous of the constant attention they gave her. She was always the “cute one and the needy one”. I found other ways to get attention. Early on I was given lots of responsibility; one of the downsides of being the oldest child. I learned to cook when I was 8 years old and fondly remember my very first cookbook. It was the Carnation Milk Cookbook for Kids. I’m not sure if that was the exact title but I think I made every recipe in that book. It was my go to book. Years later my sister and I figured out that she was probably lactose intolerant and that’s why she wouldn’t eat that cheese sandwich. Nobody knew about those things back then. My poor sister had to suffer through all my milk laden recipes. Years later when my sister hit her teens she seemed to overcome her intolerance for milk products and started to enjoy cheeses and whipped cream. She however remained the “skinny sister” and even today my younger sister and I call her the “skinny one”.

I can’t believe I found a picture of my favourite cookbook as a child. I did get the title wrong, as you can see. WOW!