ANOTHER CHILI RECIPE

We are in the middle of a slight remodel in our kitchen, and the house is a mess. If you have ever done any kind of remodeling where drywall was removed and replaced you will know what I mean. Our drywall needed to go when we found out that the tiles on the back splash were attached with a kind of glue instead of the usual kind of thin set cement. The tiles came off, but they brought most of the drywall with it, so it had to be replaced. Our kitchen is torn up as a result of all this, and we thawed a bowl of Chili for dinner

Which brings me around to the newest recipe for Chili. This one is a bit different and has a slightly different flavour due to some things in chili that you might not expect. It has a southwest flavour, and is quite good. Anyway if you think it might be good to try, I offer you the recipe. It makes a lot so it needs a bigger pot or slow cooker which is what I use. It will freeze beautifully.

Beef & Italian Sausage Chili

8 oz light Italian sausage                         1 can reduced sodium beef broth

1 5.5 oz can tomato paste                        1 ½ cups chopped celery

1 cup medium salsa                                 1 ½ tbsp chili powder

2 tsp dried Italian seasoning                    1 ½ tsp ground cumin

1 ½ lbs lean ground beef                         1 cup chopped onions

2 tsp minced garlic                                  1 19 oz can diced tomatoes

1 19 oz can red kidney beans                  1 19 oz can navy beans or black beans

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Remove casing from sausage, break into small pieces and brown in skillet, and add beef, onions and garlic, brown together. Dump into slow cooker; add parsley at end just before serving.

We had a good bowl of it tonight with some fresh bread and it was very good. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

OKTOBERFEST

Last night, October 21, we had a great party in our clubhouse. It was arranged by our Social Committee as we have done for several years now.

It starts with a very nice Happy Hour that gets everybody in a relaxed state, and then we have dinner. Dinner this year was provided by Don's Catering, a company the committee has used in the past, with very good success. In fact others in our complex have used his services as well. Don's always provides a varied menu in keeping with the occasion, and this time was no exception. We had 4 salads, buns, veal schnitzel and European wieners and sauerkraut, 4 vegetables as well, all of which were delicious. There was not a complaint to be heard. There was enough to go around and still enough for those who needed seconds! A couple of delicious home made cakes were there for dessert along with ice cream. A great dinner in every way!

Once dinner was cleared out of he way, we were all treated to Jana & Danny, a musical duo that is always  entertaining. They have a knack of knowing the kind of music that will appeal to us seniors and it wasn't long before the floor was filled with dancers. Jana & Danny have performed for us in the past and have always provided excellent music and entertainment. Before striking out on their own, Jana & Danny had entertainment gigs with the cruise lines for a number of years.

After dinner there were several door prizes given out to Oktoberfest ticket buyers. A 50/50 draw was also held and this time it was won by "Lucky" Tony Choy. He won $88.00. Congratulations Tony. I could tell by the big smile on his face just how happy he was.

During the evening Joan Perigoe, (my wife) was called to the front of the room where she was totally surprised by an appreciation bouquet of flowers provided to her by the incoming committee. She was so surprised she forgot to express to the assembled group that the group should take a bow for making the old committee the success that it was. She has rectified this omission in our community newspaper the "Scuttlebutt".

This "dinner" is the most successful endeavour that the social committee puts on, and it is obvious why. I hope that the new committee continues the tradition.

More initials and the election

Alberta held its civic elections yesterday as we do every 3 years. I am very happy with the results for our city, For a change I didn't wast my vote on our new mayor or the local alderman! We now have the only Muslim Mayor in a major city in all of North America! How cool is that!

Recently you may have seen a new way to do CPR, that does not need a "mouth to mouth" activity. One only has to do chest compressions. Send someone to call 911 and you continue with the compressions. I have attached a short video showing just how easy it is. It is an important video in that you may just be able to save a life! The video can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/2fx8r59

If you are reading this you may be wondering just how complicated it is to do a BLOG, or weblog. I must say I was doubtful about the difficulty, since I had tried one a few years ago, and found it to be so much work I gave up on it. This is about as hard to do a drinking water! If you think being able to publish photos or video to the net, or creating a page for anyone to read might be something you would like to try, the following steps will have you doing a professional looking blog in less than 5 minutes AND it is FREE!
Open a Google page and look in the "even more" link. Look for Blogger. Open it and you will find that you are now in Blogspot. The only other thing you will need is a Google account, a user name and a password. Once you have that you are ready to start your own blog, the rest is done for you. You can change the template you use with a click. literally.

I have no use for Facebook, Twitter and the like. These are simply bogus, and you give up too much of your personal information. Not so with this blog. You can keep it any way you lie and allow only certain people to view your work, or you can allow a wider audience.

So, here's the deal, if you think this might be a fun way to send and receive information, pictures, videos, and web pages, look it up on Google and read what you can do right on the screen.

Have a great day!

Potpourri

"CLIMATE"
I have decided for all the good it will do that what we have in Calgary that passes for weather could be better described as "CLIMATE". For instance, last Wednesday it was some 72 F or 21 C, for those who are into the not so new system of temperature measurement. It was sunny and very nice. The following day we had 32 F or 0 C and it snowed, not a lot but it stuck around all day. This was not our first snow of the season but it was the first one to stick around. Nothing to do about it, other than complain.

MEN'S HEALTH
Over the past week or so, I got some video links from the Canadian Cancer Society that relate to men's health. The subject is deadly serious in that it deals with prostate, testicular and colon cancer. The 3 videos are funny and eye catching that convey this message. They are not long, and are on youtube. The material is graphic in nature, but at the same time is very important to men and to their loved ones. I have posted the links for you below. Turn on your sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlyF8BKMEYc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7NdoEtqd5Q&playnext=1&videos=HrKP_PtshYI&feature=mfu_in_order

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1GZg_FkNIc&playnext=1&videos=qdxkn2JwutI&feature=mfu_in_order

COOKING CHILI
Do you enjoy chili? I know I do. So much so I make our own. I use a couple of different recipes and I would like to share my oldest one with you. It is very simple to make, freezes well and warms nicely in the microwave for what is left over. You need a good sized pot or pan to cook it in, and I use a crock pot or slow cooker, for making mine. Let's get started!
You need:
1 Pound of LEAN ground beef.
1 2" onion chopped reasonably fine
1 regular size can of tomato sauce
1 large can of chopped tomatoes, (spiced is OK if you like)
1 14 oz can of red kidney beans
1 14 oz can of baked beans with tomato or molasses
1 small can of mushrooms (bits & pieces)
A few cloves of garlic as needed to taste. I use about 3 or four depending on the size.
Now we cook all this up. First add a tablespoon or so of olive oil if you have it to a skillet fry pan and brown the ground beef. Chop the onion up and add it to the beef until the onion clears.
When this is done spoon the fry pan into the slow cooker and start to add the rest of the ingredients to the mix.
Season the mixture with the garlic crushed or chopped fine, about a tablespoon of fresh chili powder, sprinkle on some ground black pepper. For me I like to add a sprinkle or so of Hy's Seasoning, a LIGHT sprinkle of red chili peppers, some Worcestershire Sauce (a dash or so to taste), Finally I add a shot or 2 of Tabasco. All of the add ins are optional for your own taste, since much of this can be added at the time of eating. Feel free to adjust the recipe to how you like it. Let the mixture simmer in the crock pot for about 4 hours on low heat. Delicious, and to make it even more so try eating it with hot baking powder biscuits.
Uneaten chili can be frozen in plastic containers for future enjoyment. This will make about 10 meals in total, nice on those cold wintry nights that are coming our way. See the first item! Enjoy!

Redwood National Park

If you have never seen these trees, it is hard to imagine the size. They go to over 350 feet high, higher than Niagara Falls! They go to 24 feet in diameter and are some 2000 years old! They are the second oldest living things on earth. A close relative the Giant Sequoia is older, heavier and bigger in diameter, but shorter. The sequoia is found a bit further inland and are a sight to see as well. They live to 3000 years old!


"Big Tree" note the people in foreground.



To access the park there is a section north and east of Crescent City called the Jedidiah Smith State Park on highway 199, in northern California but the major part is accessible from highway 101. The lower section is the National Park. If you are stying in Crescent City, go south on 101 until you come to Orick, and continue until you come to the Park Visitor center. This is about 50 miles from Crescent City. Pick up your guide and maps there. Be sure to take the walk to the "big tree", it is 24 feet across. Look too at the Ladybird Johnson area of the park. Highway 101 divides in the park and if you travelled south on one portion return on the other one.

You can of course go further south and witness the old tree that is still living, that has been cut out and one can drive through the tree. Another attraction south of Orick is the "tree house", a tree that people live in!

Trees in this narrow band on the coast are the last of the old original trees, and are protected by the park. There are the small areas south of the park that are protected as well, but are not part of the park system. Redwood trees are quick growing for the first few years and are grown for harvest to supply the outdoor wood market.

Along the way while driving through the park you will come across views of the beach's and sea stacks at times. Some roads off the main highway are "graded" gravel and are not suitable for trailers, they are poorly marked as well. You would be prudent if you took the time to check the road conditions at Orick before venturing off the main roads. The area around Crescent City has some excellent scenery from lookouts located near Crescent City. There is a working lighthouse at Crescent City too that offers tours. It is right beside the new motel mentioned below.

Accommodation in Crescent City is so-so, but there is a very nice new motel right on the water overlooking the Pacific. It is brand new and has a very good rating. The Best Western has pretty good food, and the rooms are OK if you don't take the ground floor. Those were quite dirty on our visit and some features in the room didn't work well. Their is an old motel a member of the "Choice" chain we stayed at in the past, but it is out of the way and is a strange configuration. It had been a Holiday Inn before they gave up on it. There is great food to be had on the wharf area and when dinner is done you can drive to the edge of the water and check out some more sea lions barking away.

Just north of Crescent City is a fairly large shopping center anchored by Wal-Mart. On the north end of the town there is a grocery supermarket that offers booze at incredibly low prices. They run a good $5.00 less than the liquor store in the same shopping mall! Try $25.00 for a 1.75 L of Quervo Gold!

One final note, there is a motel in Crescent City built entirely form the wood of just one redwood log! The doors are one piece of slab redwood, for example.