• Traditional Brioche Recipe

• Quick One-Loaf Brioche Recipe

Another use for stale bread I’ve recently encountered is in Panzanella, a summer salad that features stale bread cubes as the main ingredient. You’ll need some sturdy Italian bread, cut in cubes for this. Kyle Phillips, About.com Guide warns that regular spongy type bread (who buys that stuff anyway?) will turn into an unappealing paste. A slightly different take on the Panzanella theme is Linda Larsen‘s Chicken Panzanella, a baked Italian style casserole topped with stale focaccia bread and cheese. Not only does this recipe use up the stale bread, left over cooked chicken is one the ingredients.

While I love traditional bread pudding, savory bread pudding is something I’ve never thought of. But this eastern European dish can be made with rye or regular bread. I admit it doesn’t look appealing, but the ingredients are rich, certainly more so than traditional stuffing.

I try to avoid eating deep fried foods, so these exotic Shrimp Toasts wouldn’t be something I’d indulge in very often. They require slices of regular stale white bread but crustier varieties could be used. Another exotic dish using stale bread crumbs is Chicken Rfissa Medhoussa. Here the stale breadcrumbs sub in for couscous.

About.com readers share their uses for stale bread. There are enough recipes here that you’ll probably start leaving the bread bag open over night purposely. Incidentally, if you want stale bread and don’t have any, refrigerate the loaf or slices for a few hours. Out on the shelf homemade bread will go stale and mold much faster than store bought–which makes you wonder what goes into store bought bread that preserves it so long.

I don’t know what these are, but they are prolific and long blooming.

Favourite Falls trivia:

• Up to 2/3 of the water that could be flowing over the falls is diverted through pipes under the falls. Up to 85% can be diverted.
• The face of the falls has been manipulated over the years to suit power production and boost tourism.
• In the 1860s the falls were lit at night with flares. Viewing the falls under a full moon was an attraction.
• The wooden walk way on the American side is rebuilt every year and has been for the last 80 years. It is impossible to use power tools, so hammers and hand saws are the only tools used.
• Over 60 tight rope walkers have done stunts over the falls.
• There have been people who survived going over the falls with no apparatus (such as a barrel). All over the falls stunts have been done over the Horseshoe (Canadian side) Falls.
• The first electrical power generated by the falls powered 16 light bulbs on a city street.
• The Maid of the Mist boat are named after a Native American legend.

The Niagara Parks keeps extensive gardens worth seeing on their own. The rose gardens are wonderful and I’ve never seen such huge hostas as are grown here! The tourist attractions and stores on Clifton Hill are trashy, but thre are a few must see attractions. The Maid of the Mist is an awesome ride. The Butterfly Museum is a lot of fun and very interesting. Take your camera! Get out of the bustling and seriously tacky main tourist area and in either direction you’ll find manicured parks.

As tacky as the Clifton Hill area is we always end up walking through. Where else will you see Joan Rivers or the man with the world’s longest fingernails in wax? Why would you want too? I don’t know. Especially now that I’ve already paid my money to do it.

Down the road is Marineland. This is the only marine park in Ontario with Belugas and Orcas. As popular as this attraction is, I find the conditions the animals are kept in barely acceptable. The polar bears practically live under a thrill ride and the black bears are simply pathetic. The tanks were the Orcas are kept in is tiny, even though it has been improved with the building of Friendship Cove. Arctic Cove houses a proliferation of Belugas that seem to be reproducing at a remarkable rate despite the small size of their tank.

Accomodations range from yuck to lux. Make sure you research if you book ahead online. The last time I did, I ended up in a room that was barely bigger than the bed. The air conditioner was in the bathroom and the floor was carpeted in moths by morning because there was no weather stripping on the door.  Some of us have to learn the hard way, and have really stupid stories to tell due to our stoicim. Next time I’ll head for the BnBs in the beautiful historic homes just a few minutes away from the falls.

I also love historical photos. The Niagara Falls Public Library has amazing online collections.

When the flash on a  cheapy point and click camera makes close shots look too harsh, filtering the flash with a fingertip softens it a bit.
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I was having one of those days when I didn’t know whether stand, sit, lie down or stand on my head when I noticed to a tweet that led me to Dr. Graeme Teague’s website. I have to admit, it looked like the type of website that I would advise people to avoid. But I paid my $50 and downloaded the material. I noticed a slight improvement immediately after following the simple instructions. Within a week I had about about 50% reduction in pain using the just the basic recommendations. For some reason, I resisted using the advanced techniques, but when I did, I quickly–and I mean within minutes–reduced my pain by about 90%. For the first while, as my back was getting used to this new normal, I could literally turn the pain on and off like I was flipping a switch.

What I really like about this program, and what I feel was missing in the treatments I had tried before, was that the ‘why’ was addressed. The program thoroughly explains how to do easy, safe self-diagnostics, so you are tackling the root cause of the problem. All of the equipment needed is stuff you already have around the house. The instructions are clear, and videos demonstrate all of the steps. And the exercises are easy–no strenuous lifting or stretching. Truthfully, the exercises are so easy, it doesn’t feel like you’re doing much at all.

It’s been about two months since I began the X-Pain Method, and while I do have the odd day where I experience some back pain, I know exactly how to fix it and get instant relief. I have no pain running (I run in Vibram Five Fingers Barefoot Shoes) and I am able to ride much more comfortably, not worrying that the horse will jar me or that applying leg aids will be painful. This has definitely the best $50 I’ve spent in a long time.

The X-Pain Membership Program

back, pain, relief, treatment

Oddly enough, Simcoe’s wife’s name was Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim. Graves-Posthuma…odd…Anyway, apparently he was 31 and she was a 17 year old heiress when they married. They had nine children, the last of which was a boy.*

Many places in Ontario are named after (or by) Simcoe in addition to Simcoe County including Lake Simcoe which he named for his father. There is a town of Simcoe in Brant County, many Simcoe Streets, several hotels and schools, and Castle Frank subway station is built on the property where once stood Simcoe’s summer home, named after their son Francis. West Gwillimbury, in the southeast corner of Simcoe County and East Gwillimbury in York Region are named for Simcoe’s wife.

Appropriately, there is lots to do in Simcoe county and on Lake Simcoe every Simcoe Day. Kempenfest a huge arts and craft festival is held on the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Some sources say Simcoe named the bay after his father’s friend, although Kempenfelt himself never set foot in Upper Canada. Simcoe County is a mecca for vacationing tourists with many attractions.

Naming places was just one of the things that occupied Simcoe’s time. In addition to his military career he abolished slavery in Upper Canada, encouraged settlement of the province, and instituted British law in place of French. His Queen’s York Rangers still exist, and Simcoe uniformed them in green rather than red, believing they would be better camouflaged. He established York, later to become Toronto and began a road system to enable military travel. He attempted to build a university and schools, and rolled out the welcome mat for the Church of England. His wife left behind diaries that detailed life in Upper Canada at that time, and numerous paintings depicting the countryside. Simcoe died at age 54 in England. He was given the designation  or lord “posthumously”.

Happy Simcoe Day!

*Various numbers are cited.

References:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007405
http://www.tiny.ca/townhall/TOWNSHIPQUICKFACTS/index.htm
http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2659
http://www.uppercanadahistory.ca/simcoe/simcoe1.html

simcoe, county, lord, history

Only about an inch long, and has the whole plant to itself.

Photo: 2010 K. Blocksdorf

I didn’t want to waste the leftover tea, which had cooled. So I added lemon juice and sugar and mixed up a pitcher of mint-lemon tea. The result was delicious and I’ve been asked to make it again, which is a usually a good sign here.

The first pitcher I made with bottled lemon juice concentrate and sugar, the second I used lemonade concentrate. I far preferred the first batch, as I found the concentrate was too strong, overwhelming the mint. I want to get out to the market and get some fresh lemons so I can make real lemonade.

I’d like to take credit for this idea, but apparently it’s been around for a while. It actually has a name: Nane Limon, which I guess is Turkish for lemon mint tea….

I wouldn’t worry overly much about hunting down a recipe. I used a big handful of fresh mint and left it in the hot water until it cooled. I pulled the leaves out and then stirred in lemon juice and sugar to taste. Chill and serve with ice of course. A splash of gin or vodka might be nice too.

lemons, mint, herbs, lemonade, drinks

http://www.cityfarmer.org/petwaste.html

 http://www.ehow.com/how_2159337_design-septic-system-dog-shelter.html

 The most important thing to consider is the placement of your system, and remember not to use composted pet waste on lawns or food gardens.

Take one more ride in the cool grey morning
before the sun gives chase
to the setting moon
on a willing horse
barely above a whisper
say, ‘Go’
and muscles coil, stretch low
and take the earth in voracious strides
Hoofbeat, heartbeat, windbeat,
mane stung, tear stung eyes
and the smell of broken leaf, churned earth
sweat lathered, dew slathered.
The still and trembling morning
Breathes in silence, in awe
that two souls are in powerful alliance
for one more ride.