HOSTAS

ROASTED ACORN SQUASH

 Fall is one of my favourite seasons.....with all the colourful leaves changing and the nice crisp cool air.
Acorn Squash are a winter squash......when shopping for them look for some that feel heavy and have no blemishes or soft spots......and are quite firm.
What I love about these Acorn Squash is they keep for weeks or even a couple of months if you store them in a cool and dry place....and are one of my families favourites. Thanks to my husband he cut these up for me cause they are so hard to cut and made this recipe.....

Sweet Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash Wedges

(adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

2 whole ACORN SQUASH, cut into 8 wedges each

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

salt to taste

1 stick of butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Brown sugar (slightly packed). but I packed mine

2 Tbsp. Rosemary, fresh and minced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place wedges in a baking dish and drizzle with Olive Oil......

Sprinkle lightly with salt to taste.

Roast in a 350-degrees oven for 20 minutes.

Combine butter, brown sugar, salt, and rosemary in a bowl and mix into a paste.

Remove squash from oven and smear the paste mixture all over the squash wedges....Return to the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes, till nicely browned and caramelized

Halfway through roasting. your paste will become a sauce.

Brush sauce over the top of the squash and continue roasting till done.

Serve in a baking dish....drizzling more sauce at the end,,,,and enjoy!!!!

Turkish Evil Blue Eye..... (Boncuk)

Turkish Evil Blue Eye

CHRISTMAS WINDOW DECORATIONS

These Department store (The Bay in Toronto) windows bring me memories and a Christmas tradition ever since I was a kid.......Every year my parents would put us in the car and we would drive into downtown Toronto into the business section.  The windows were amazing and looked so realistic especially when you are a young age......I always waited every year and was overly excited as we would drive down that Sunday night to see those decorated windows. They change them yearly....... As I got older  my friends and I would just take the Subway and go ourselves on a Saturday afternoon and while there shop away.

Then I started the tradition with my daughter and now that she's older she goes herself.....  these days just my husband and I drive out to take a look.

 Wearing The Hudson's Bay jackets......

 Love the little Elves working away......

 Almost midnight.....

 Christmas Carolers.....

 Wouldn't mind having that tree in my home....

 little mice...so cute.

 Santa Claus having dinner before his tradition of delivering presents.

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...COLOSSEUM, ITALY

Clicky on pictures to make bigger.

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OVEN ROASTED CORN ON THE COB

 Yummy and most delicious 

"OVEN ROASTED CORN ON THE COB"

I love corn cooked anyway you can serve it.........this recipe I've been using for years and usually make it when I have company over..... it is smothered with butter so that's why I don't make this too often even though it is my favourite...but once in a while this way is delicious. 
Sometimes when we leave the city we stop at road side kiosks along the road where farmers will sell their freshly picked locally grown corn......this year being busy with our flooded basement and lots of renovations going on we really have not ventured outside the city. 
On Saturday mornings we have this really nice Market in the city near my home that all the farmers from around the Niagara area bring all their fresh fruits and veggies...so we pick up a few cobs of corn there. We know it's local and not shipped from another continent.


Crank up (preheat) your oven to 400 degrees Faren.

Season the corn with whatever seasonings you like.....I sometimes do seasoned salt or just plain sea salt and pepper and the odd time might sprinkle some (a tiny bit) of garlic powder and /or onion powder, but not toooo much. Then I slather it with unsalted butter all around. 

I take my jelly roll pan or cookie sheet and cover it with foil. Roast for about 45 minutes. Turning a few times to make sure it is roasted evenly around.

Another healthier way I do is just rub some Olive Oil on it along with salt and pepper and a bit of cayenne pepper and some barbecue seasonings on the corn....and wrap up each individually with foil and roast for 20 to 25 min.

Whichever way you roast it enjoy!!!!

PARIS CAFE.....Ruby Tuesday.

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Linking to;
http://rubytuesdaytoo.blogspot.ca/

EFES TURKEY CERAMICS...BLUES

 While on our way to see Ephesus one of the wonders of the Ancient World in Turkey.....we always stop at this ceramic place with gorgeous BLUE plates, mugs, platters, etc............ They are an amazing work of art all of their ceramic items. I just like to go and look around the place, is quite big with thousands of pieces......they let you take pics outside but not inside. I noticed the prices are quite sky high and usually we pick up pieces at other smaller establishments at a lower price ...but just to go and look around here is amazing. Then we visit one of the Coffee houses down the street and enjoy a Turkish glass of tea (cay). Love sitting outside those cafes and just watching the people go about their daily lives.
BLUE street signs........

 Cini - Kasi : Turkish tiles have a very long history, going as far back as the 8 th century A.D. "Cini" which has an important place in traditional Turkish art, derives from middle Asia with seljuks to Anatolia.Cini became a very important part on architecture for both Anatolian seljuks and Ottoman Empire and it had classified as "KASI"  products show the beauty of the lifestyle of Palaces to mansions, from fountains to caravan series.

 This ceramic man wearing a beautiful BLUE apron was demonstrating to the public on how the ceramics are formed and made.....he mentioned that he was the 4th generation making these ceramics and might be the last in his family for none of his sons are interested....or want to learn and carr the craft on.

 This was our guide....

 Two workers busy painting pieces that are going to be fired.

 This was just a piece they were showing the different steps on how they proceed to make their ceramics.

 These were just some pieces which had some scratches, chipped or just something broken off and were selling them as it....when I looked at the prices WOW they sure don't discount very much....and hey who wants a chipped piece at a high price.

 This is one of Turkey's famous paintings "THE TORTOISE TRAINER" by Osman Hamdi Bey (1906). At auction in 2004 this painting was sold in Istanbul for 3.5 million dollars to a museum. They made it beautifully with ceramic tiles.

Beautiful BLUE tile work which was on the outside of the building
.

 Embedded into the cement walkway.

This is a plate with BLUE colours I bought a few years ago when I was there in Turkey....wrapped it up nicely and put it into my suitcase carefully and when I came home it was broken into about 27 pieces......well I glued it myself and you can't even tell......looks perfect.


Thanks for stopping by.....visit:  

 smilingsally.blogspot.com for some Monday Blues.