Dog On A Root

- jim Young 20080519 Note: Much of the information found in this article was taken from an email sent to me from my friend Don Gillies.) I just got back from celebrating the annual Lionel Conacher May “2-4” Weekend with some very good friends at Severn Heaven. Now you may be thinking that I am referring to the Victoria Day Weekend and I guess technically you’re right. But really - just what is the relevance of Canadians celebrating the birth of an old fuddy duddy of a Queen who inspired the “Victorian Era”? Is it in Queen Victoria’s honour that our provincial parks ban alcohol on this weekend? Where’s the fun in that? What could be more uniquely Canadian than the May “2-4” Weekend - the first long weekend of the coming summer after our sometimes cold and harsh Canadian Winters? So why aren’t we celebrating this weekend in honour of a Canadian instead of an old and long dead English Monarch? And when we look for a Canadian who truly represents the Canadian Spirit – w...

- jim Young 20200517 Fish In Milk My mother used to make this Fish In Milk dish when I was young. It was all but forgotten until I thought  about it one day and decided to make it from memory. This is my version of it here. I later came across my mother's version which is pretty much the same with the exception that she added 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup. I'm guessing the reason that I didn't remember that being in the recipe is that my mother hid it from me, guessing correctly, that I wouldn't have eaten it had I known that was one of the ingredients. Now I will prepare it sometimes with the Cream of Mushroom Soup and sometimes without it. Both versions are equally good. Prep Time: 15 min. Cook Time: 45 min. Total Time: 1 hour Serves: 2 Stuff Required: 2 fillets of fish (if frozen, do not thaw) 3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 cooking onion milk 3 tbsp margarine salt pepper Do This : Preheat the oven to 400° F...

- jim Young 20200507 “Who was that masked man?” - President Ulysses S. Grant in the movie “The Legend Of The Lone Ranger” (1981) Under normal circumstances I am not a big believer in the use of hand sanitizers (see Are Hand Sanitizers Weakening Our Immune System? ) or any methods of isolation, self imposed or otherwise, intended to keep us germ free on a daily basis. But these are not normal circumstances and until the world returns to some kind of normalcy, whatever that may be, exceptions need to be made. The coronavirus pandemic that has brought the world to its knees has created both confusion and dissension among friends and neighbours with varying opinions on how to best battle Covid-19. One of these battles involves the use of face masks worn in public. Social Media is littered with memes encouraging the use of face masks. Many, however, resist this method of protection and I suspect much of it has more to do with vanity than anything else, although some people...

You can throw this recipe together in just a few minutes and then let it cook most of the day for a wholesome and delicious meal the whole family will enjoy. Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 6 ½ hours + biscuit baking time Total Time: 6 hours, 40 minutes + biscuit baking time Serves: 8 Stuff Required: 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed 1 cup carrots, round slices 1 cup celery, chopped 1 small onion, diced 1 can corn, drained (or 1 bag frozen corn) 1 bag (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, green beans) 2 10.5-oz condensed cream of chicken soup 1 cup milk 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp dried thyme ½ tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1 tube biscuit dough Do This: Put cubed chicken into a greased 6-quart slow cooker, then top with cut vegetables. Pour over chicken soup and milk, then sprinkle in garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine well. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours. Add in frozen vegetables. Stir and...

- jim Young 20200503 “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” - Chiffon Margarine Ad (1972) Maybe we’re going about this all wrong. Maybe we should just open up our doors, set everybody free and go back to normal, pretending that nothing is going on. Ignore the problem. That’s what most people seem to want anyway and hey - we’re all about democracy aren’t we? The majority rules. Even if those that are actively protesting against the lockdowns don’t actually make up the majority - add to that number, all those that would just go along with it and I’m pretty sure you’ll have a quorum. Nothing’s going on. Everything is fine just the way it is. That’s how we’re handling climate change isn’t it? Covi-19? Faggedaboutit! It’s just a virus. Ebola, Hantavirus, West Nile, Swine Flu even SARs - they were all just a big nothing. They went away and Covid-19 will too. What exactly is a virus anyway? It’s just a tiny, insignificant living thing that’s nothing more than a pain ...