FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Welcome! My favourite time of the year and also one of my favourite past times . . . . . . . . . . . COOKING! If you look at my personal profile, you will see collecting old cook books is one of my favourite things.

Because I work full time, I like to put my all in cooking on the weekends. It helps when you have a husband who so appreciates food. He is a skinny thing but somehow manages to pack it away.

Keep checking out this site because I will continue to publish some recipes, some of which are my personal recipes. I will identify these to you. Some will be my mom's recipes and some will be that my sisters have passed on to me. My mother is from Quebec so some recipes are of the french Quebecoise tradition.

French Quebecoise Tradition - Le Reveillon

There are six children in our family . . . four girls and two boys. When we were growing up, mom and dad used to do the "Santa" thing where you wake up in the morning and Santa had come by in the night. After none of us believed in Christmas anymore, mom and dad started "Le Reveillon" tradition. Celebrations go on during the night. We used to open our presents at midnight. We used to eat our big meal in the night. We used to go to bed in the morning instead. My mom really enjoyed these special times because it reminded her of when she was a little girl.

My first recipe to share will be a beverage which is usually what we start with at a gathering (celebration). It is very good, festive and even thirst quenching.

CRANBERRY ORANGE BLISS PUNCH

Ingredients:
1 pouch (13.4 g) crystal light tangerine grapefruit low calorie drink mix
3 cups cold water
2 cups orange juice
2 cans (355 ml each) club soda
2 cups frozen cranberries


Directions:
Dissolve drink kmix in water and orange juice
Add club soda and cranberries just before serving

Adults:
Stir in 1 cup champagne or white wine to add flare to this delicious punch.

Subsitute:
Subsitute crystal light strawberry-orange banada calorie drink mix for crystal light tangerine grapefruit calorie drink mix. Enjoy!

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Following the beverages theme, here is another most favorite drink that is traditional during the holidays.

Exquisite Egg Nog

4 eggs separated

1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup brandy (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups homogenized milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

Nutmeg

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and light. Gradually beat in sweeteened ondensed milk, brandy, vanilla, milk and salt. In a small bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks; gently fold into sweetened condensed milk mixture. Chill. Pour into chilled bowl or serving cups. Garnish with a dollop of fresh whipped cream topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Yum Yum!

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Now here is a site for you to visit and start your own cook book collection! The recipes in this book are for those who go out for dinner and wish they could try the same recipe at home.

Click Here!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

WELCOME!

Welcome! It's the most wonderful time of year! This has got to be my most favourite season. My three daughters live in Toronto. At Christmas Time, they come home and what celebration it is! We don't have a lot but somehow for Christmas, we all get very spoiled.

The biggest gift we give each other is our company. We spend time together, have some cheer, play Family Fued (tradition), we play Ramoly and just spend time together. We admire the tree and the presents under it.

When I was a kid, we had two traditions. When we were really small, Santa came in the night and we up in the morning with presents from Santa. When we grew up and didn't believe in Santa anymore, we reverted to my mom's french Quebec tradition by doing le "Reveillon".

When my children grew up and didn't believe in Santa anymore, I tried to revert to my french Quebec tradition of le "Reveillon". NOT!!!

They still like getting up in the morning and doing the Santa the Santa thing. My children are 35, 23 and 20.

I am a member of the Community Choir and we practice from September to December and put on a Christmas Concert. The only entry fee is a donation to the bank.

Go to Amazon and check out their wares. There will be more to come on Amazon. See you again soon!

Check Out These Presents!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/homepage.html/103-9195236-4269437

MUSIC, iPODS, DOWNLOADS AND MORE

From Music Note - MP3 Downloads

This site has a one time fee only which is the most beneficial of three scenarios. This is what I have experienced:

1) DOWNLOADS ARE FREE - The potential for virus and glitches in your computer increase. I found that when I downloaded free music with no fee at all, strange things would happen to my computer. It's not that there were virus but when I went to listen to the music after it was downloaded there was garbage on the song.

2) SIGNING FOR FREE DOWNLOADS - You find out after that there are additional charges ..... it's like the proverbial bottomless pit.

3) THE BEST ONE - A One time very minimal fee and that's it and there are many more options. The potential downloads you have are endless.

Click below and explore!
http://www.mp3musiq.com/





From Music Note - My iPod downloads

The next best thing since sliced bread! How much do you and I spend on music, movies? How many times do we miss sports, TV shows because of time constraints? Put away your check book and relax!

Just download the software and within seconds you are good to go. How about that favourite television series? There are some that you could just watch over and over again and never get tired of them.

Hmm . . . I can watch all three CSI series and Law & Order over and over. I can watch movies like Dirty Dancing, Shall We Dance and Fame over and over again. I can watch Harry Potter and Ice Age and all the Shreks. I can listen to my favourite tunes and pick the ones that suit my mood at the time.

My husband can watch The Leafs win (and lose). He can watch hockey past and present games, world series and the Jays, all golf tournaments and still never tire of them. He can watch Deadwood if it conflicts with his hockey.

iPods are expensive but worth it. After that expense, isn't it comforting to know you are not going to have to fork out additional money to enjoy the iPod you just purchased?

Feed Your iPod!

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MUSIC, IPODS, DOWNLOADS AND MORE

I enjoy all genres of music and I have had an immense interest in music ever since I was a little girl and I used to sit on the swing and sing to my audience "the trees" (we lived in the country). I am the youngest girl of four and have played vinyl (78, 45, LP's). I played 8 Tracks, cassettes, CD's, etc. I like watching music videos and share my love of music with my children. My husband also enjoys music, being the baby boomer that he is. I am a member of the Community Choir and we practice for months and months before we give a Christmas Concert for the community.

My first guitar was blue and the first song I learned to play was "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean". Three guitars later, I now have a small "Fender" accoustic and also an electric guitar. I am not fantastic but I have been told "they" can tell what I am playing (lol).

Welcome to my Music Parlour and check out these free downloads!

I checked out this site. It actually has a one time fee and then you have unlimited access to download music, movies, maps, etc. I have had free downloads with other sites before but found that there is a potential for virus. I also used to download a song and when I listened to it, it was NOT the song I had downloaded but a song composed to deter people from free downloads. The one time fee is minimal . . . less than $50.00. This is very convenient for me since the closest music store is two hours away. Enjoy this. It's worth it. Christmas is coming and some of these would be good gifts.

Click Here!