Easy Dinner - Thai Peanut Stir Fry Sauce

I made a new stir-fry sauce recently and knew it was a winner when William was asking me to make it again just a few days later.  I cobbled together several different recipes that I found on-line to make my own version of a Thai peanut sauce.  I made it once with chicken and once with tofu and both were good.  I always use a variety of different veggies, including some frozen Asian ones to make a stir fry, so that part always varies and sometimes I also add a tin of bamboo shoots or water chestnuts.  For me this was just the right amount of seasoning and heat, but then again I'm not very brave when it comes to spicy food.  

The sauce starts out looking like it is going all wrong 

and then it smooths out and looks great.

Here's the recipe for the sauce:

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup brown sugar or honey

1/4 cup soya sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp curry

1/2 tsp ground ginger 

1 tsp crushed red peppers

1/2 cup boiling water

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together and then add boiling water to help it blend and make it more liquidy.
2. Meanwhile cook the chicken/tofu with onions in a little oil until cooked through.
3.  Add a truck load of either chopped fresh or frozen Asian-type veggies or a mix of both.
4.  Add the sauce and cook on low heat stirring frequently until the veggies are cooked.

Enjoy!

A Walk in Waterloo

I've ended up with a lot of posts about our road-trip to Waterloo on the weekend, but we visited so many interesting places and I wanted to share them with you. 


The last thing we did on Saturday - after we had a bite to eat -

was go for a walk through a beautiful neighbourhood in Waterloo that my son Malcolm has been wanting to show me for the past four years.  It always seemed there was something else we needed to do when we visited him in Waterloo so we had not got around to going on the walk.   Malcolm is just finishing his last course of his undergraduate degree and will be graduating this month and moving when he gets married in May, so this really was our last chance.  Malcolm took us on a guided tour showing us his favourite sights. 


The subdivision was built in the 1960s and has mature trees and landscaping.  There was a lovely mix of house styles, including several modern homes.  This one was one of my favourites with all the big windows, the stacked stone walls, and 

the curved bank of windows opening on to a curved deck at the back. 

Here's another modern one that looks incredible with the stone wall, and vertical windows balanced by the dark horizontal wood siding.

Behind this house was a cute little shed in the backyard that would be so much fun to decorate. 

I loved the decks and fencing that some of the houses had.  This next one had a lovely arbour built over the deck with arched pieces incorporated into the ends.  I also loved their simple trellis-like shutters.

The house in the photo below looked like they had an architect completely re-work the front of the house.  I loved the little deck down the side of the house covered with an arbour.

It was a surprisingly hilly area, given that the university is just across the street and has a very flat terrain - I think the glacier left a big load here.  As a result of the steep landscape some of the properties had terraced rock walls,

and others had hills covered with trees and ground-cover, like myrtle, instead of grass as they are too steep to mow,

and others had beautiful rock gardens.

The area also had a meandering brook with some lovely little bridges,

and the first snowdrops I've seen this year (growing right beside a large patch of snow),

and the friendly neighbourhood cat who welcomed us.

It may seem quintessentially Canadian, but I've never seen it in a subdivision before - someone was tapping the maple trees to make maple syrup.

Do you see those blue buckets - they are for collecting the maple sap and it will be boiled down to make maple syrup.

It's a lovely neighbourhood - I can see why my son liked to go for walks there and I'm glad I got to see it before he moved.  Just in the nick of time.  Thanks for the tour Malcolm!

Linked to Good Life Wednesday at A Beach Cottage

Distinctly Charmed by Distinctly Tea

When we went to Waterloo on the weekend (which you can read about here and here), one of our other objectives was to visit my son's favourite tea store, Distinctly Tea.  There are only two locations of Distinctly Tea shops - in Stratford and in Waterloo - although I noticed a sign saying franchises were available so maybe more will be opening soon.  


What we love about this little shop is the variety of teas available,

the sweet displays (I loved the idea of filling clear tubes with shredded paper to add some colour - genius idea),

the tea accessories like tea pots, mugs, strainers, and more,

and the personal attention.  My son told me that several years ago he left a binder at the store and the cashier thought it was his so saved it for him - for six months - until he came back to the store.  Isn't that amazing!


One of the highlights for me was seeing tea from the Glenburn estate in Darjeeling, India that I will be visiting this summer (you can read about it here).  I love that it not only says Glenburn, but also monsoon, as that is the season when we will be there.

Look - an entire shelf filled with Glenburn Estate tea.

I bought some to try, naturally, along with some Canadian tea blends and Ontario honey to take to France for our friends that we will be staying with.  The Glenburn tea I bought for our French friends should have frequent flier points, having flown from India to Toronto and then to France.

Please note I am not benefiting from writing about Distinctly Tea in any way.  It is just a sweet little shop that you may want to visit if you are ever in Waterloo or Stratford, Ontario and happens to carry tea from the estate I will be going to in India - which is pretty darn exciting!

Waterloo Wedding Roadtrip

Malcolm and Christie's wedding is fast approaching so yesterday I went on a roadtrip to Waterloo to visit some of the wedding locations with my daughter Kate and her friend Gabriela, who is going to be the photographer at the wedding.  Gabriela is a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design in photography and does amazing work (you can see her photo blog here).  Our mission on the roadtrip was to take Gabriela to all the places that she would need to take photographs at the wedding so she could check out the lighting and the best angles for the pictures.  Unfortunately Christie was not able to join us as she is working like crazy on her end of term assignments.


The first stop was the church where the service will be held.  It is a fairly modern Anglican Church built in the 1960s, but also incorporates older elements like the vintage pews; organic elements like the wood ceiling; and artisan elements, like the stained glass windows and tapestries.

The stained glass windows were especially lovely and this one was declared the favourite by everyone there.

We had a full agenda and after some lunch went to the park where the formal photos will be taken.  Victoria Park is a gorgeous old park near the downtown with a river running through it and an old iron bridge going to an island, 

with a picturesque gazebo on it.

From which you can take photos like this one.  Won't the wedding pictures look great in this setting?

And by May there will be leaves on the trees, green grass, and flowers in the garden.  Waterloo still has some snow in the shady areas so the flowers are only just beginning to emerge from the ground.

At one end of the island there are a couple of very large willows overhanging the river.   Don't you just love weeping willows?  I have always thought they were so pretty.  This would also make a great spot for some of the photos - well maybe not posed like the first photo below, but more like the other two.

It is a beautiful park and will make a wonderful setting for the wedding photos rain or shine, thanks to the gazebo.  

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Just a reminder to enter my giveaway to win a 16x20 inch photo canvas - see details here.

Linked to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House

Doors on a Gothic Revival House

Today I saw this charming Gothic revival house when we went to Waterloo to visit Malcolm.  Although this little house really is in need of some TLC (tender loving care), it has remarkable details that just grabbed my attention, which of course meant I had to take some photos.     

Gothic revival is one of the most common architectural styles in Ontario before the 1930s, characterized by arched windows, gables, and ornate trim.

Not only does this house have wonderful trim, but someone has also painted the front door in one of my favourite colours.

Everyone squint now and imagine there is no storm door in front of the lovely wooden door.  Pretty, isn't it?

Love the dental moulding over the doorway.

Around the side there was a garage also ornamented with gorgeous trim which makes me think this house was from the early part of the 1900s when cars were being used.

Imagine putting this much work into trimming out a garage.

Beautiful colours and interesting patina, but sadly not the best way to care for a lovely historic home.

Linked to Friday Photo at Razmataz