lisa-s.ca

The Hamster & The Dandelions

Lisa — Sun, 16 May 2010 01:58:18 +0000

Once upon a time, a few days ago actually, a hamster named Speedy wandered outside. After a few minutes he was ready to explore the grassy terrain. As he was wandering, he spotted some dandelions. Curious as to what the yellow flowers were he moved towards one and took it in his hands.

Since it wasn’t looking to bad so he decided to explore further.

And, oh, maybe he’d have a bite just to see how it tasted.

It was very good, but he wondered if they all taste so good, so he had to try another one.

The dandelions certainly were good, but now he was full and filthy so he washed up and continued on his way.

The end.

I took some pictures of my hamster this week because some people (who know who they are) wanted me to update my blog and take more pictures. I decided to turn it into a story because it’s more interesting. Unfortunately, I’m not very creative writing inclined so it’s not a very good story, but I suppose it’s more interesting than me pointing out that my hamster is eating dandelions four times.

Strange Fruits

Lisa — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:57:12 +0000

About a week ago, my dad brought some fruit home from a meeting they had at work, and none of us have (or had) any idea what they were (including my Dad). I’m wondering if anyone knows what these are?

You have to open them up to see the actual fruit, which looks something like a small cherry tomato (but it isn’t!).

So, do you know what these are?

Irish Soda Bread

Lisa — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:41:12 +0000

I made this bread for the local fair at the beginning of October and have made it several times since because our family enjoys it. It’s nice because it tastes like “normal” bread but it’s really quick to make since there’s no rising time. Between when you start and when it’s finished cooking is only about an hour. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of it, but I thought I’d share the recipe anyway.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (or substitute, see below)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Combine butter, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. (I usually melt the butter then add the other ingredients.)
Stir in the buttermilk to make a soft dough.
Knead 8-10 times. (I just flour my hands and do this in the bowl, but you could dump it on a floured surface if you want.)
Form into a round loaf and cut an X about 1/4 inch deep on the top with a floured bread knife.
Bake on a cookie sheet for 35 to 45 minutes, until golden brown.
Tastes good warm or cooled. We just take chunks off the loaf rather than slicing it.

Buttermilk Substitute

Add one tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring container (more than 1 cup). Add milk so that the total volume of lemon juice and milk is one cup. Swirl around to mix together and let sit for about 5 minutes.