Jan 6 - One of those things that makes you go hmmm.....

Conditions at 5:25 am - clear skies and -9' but no wind
Expected later - sunny and -4' - perfect weather for cross country skiing (if only we were that lucky)

I opened up my blog this morning at 5:20 am  Atlantic time (4:20 Ontario time) and someone from Kitchener had viewed it 40 minutes before that! Whoever it was, must have  a really SERIOUS case of insomnia to be reading my drivel at 3:45 in the morning. Hopefully it was what they needed to put them to sleep! (I'm sure it would have that affect on lots of people).

Last night I talked to Patti about flights to Toronto and she's going to book it today. I'll let Lloyd know once it's booked so he can perhaps plan to pick me up at the airport.   I think I'll fly out on Friday late afternoon and I talked to Brenda and she's going to go in later and pick up my car for me (we're not allowed to leave them on the lot overnight anymore). Anyway, while I was chatting to her, Meghan(2) asked to talk to me. She wanted to report on what she did with her money and I was quite surprised. If you recall, I gave each of the older kids a $100 bill. With that they were to donate $25 to any charity they chose, put $25 in the bank and the remaining $50 was for them to spend on whatever they chose. Apparently a large part of Meghan's road trip to Ottawa was trying to decide what to do with her charity portion. Patti says she would make a decision, then write a letter to me in her journal, then change her mind, and have to do another letter to me. She went through that process several times before making up her mind, but at least it kept her occupied for a large chunk of the trip.
The end result was quite surprising. She informed me last night that she is donating $20 to the local food bank, $20 to the World Wildlife Foundation and $60 is going in the bank, leaving her with $10 for herself. Well, actually she only has $5 for herself because she owes Patti $5 for something she asked her to buy for her at the museum. I suggested to her that she was only required to donate $25 to charity but she said that's what she wanted to do. Well done, Meghan. I'm very proud of the choices that you've made. I look forward to hearing what James is doing with his. There was some mention over Christmas that he needed a music stand for his guitar practicing at home and we suggested that might be a good use of his portion of his Christmas money, but we'll see.

A little recipe to share this morning with Meghan(1). It landed in my email yesterday from the Kraft Kitchens and I gave it a try last night.It was really very good. I love chili and this vegetarian version was great.

Two-Bean Vegetarian Chili

6 servings, 2 cups (500 mL) each

What You Need

1-1/2 cups long-grain brown rice, uncooked

2 Tbsp. Kraft Calorie-Wise Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (I had balsamic dressing but an Italian or any other type of vinaigrette dressing would work here)

2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped ( I didn't have any, but it was fine without)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (28 fl oz/796 mL) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained  (I only had whole tomatoes so I chopped them up )

1 can (14 fl oz/ 398 mL) no-salt-added red kidney beans, rinsed

1 can (14 fl oz/ 398 mL) no-salt-added white kidney beans, rinsed ( I substituted a can of chick peas as that's what I had)

1/2 cup Kraft BarBQ Sauce

3 Tbsp. chili powder

1 cup frozen corn

1-1/2 cups Kraft Tex Mex Light Shredded Cheese

Make It

COOK rice as directed on package. Meanwhile, heat dressing in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add vegetables and garlic; cook and stir 6 to 8 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
ADD next 5 ingredients; stir. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 30 min., stirring regularly.
STIR in corn; cook 5 min. Serve over rice; top with cheese

I didn't actually cook any rice, I just ate the chili in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream on tip and sprinkled with shredded cheddar. It was very tasty and I'm looking forward to having some again tonight.

Enjoy - I know I did!