Halloween Helpers

The Quatchis were eager to give out candy to the wee ones this Halloween! About 25 kids knocked on our door, which doesn't seem like a lot, but is normal for our neighbourhood. We overcompensated with the amount of candy we bought. Please swing by so we're not eating it all ourselves!

Happy Halloween!

Road Trip with Mini Q

Mini Q joined me on a road trip to Ithaca. I was visiting a few friends that I met in China two summers ago. These friends have met Q before but not Mini Q. Q stayed home this time around to hold down the fort. Mini Q was excited to go on his own adventure!

Here's Mini Q crossing the border. We were just approaching the Canada-US divide at this time. Don't worry, I wasn't driving while taking this photo. It was stop and go, stop and go, all the way to the gates.

Cornell is very picturesque! The setting was exceptional with the rolling hills, the leaves changing colour, and the lake below. I was impressed.

Mini Q checking out the famous clock tower.

Inside the A.D. White Library (Uris Library) - the oldest library on campus. It's also opened 24/7.

Gearing up for spicy hot pot. We ate for two hours! I was in a food coma afterwards.

On the way home, my friend took me for a tour of his school - the University of Buffalo. This is North campus.

 

Mini Q (and Alex's hand) with the school's official mascot. Naturally, it's a buffalo.

Mini Q made some new friends! We then had buffalo wings for dinner. I've had buffalo wings before - my first time in Buffalo. They were messy as all get out (hence, no photos of Mini Q - my fingers were too sticky), but they were worth it. Yes, they were definitely worth it.

Thanks Shuai, Yufei, and Alex for a great weekend! It was a long overdue reunion. I'm happy we made it happen!

Keeping in touch

While I was in Asia this past summer, I made a lot of great friends. One of them is from New Zealand. Even though he's across the globe, we still manage to keep in touch fairly regularly. I always look forward to our bi-weekly Skype dates. We usually talk for hours on end.

Q and Mini Q also made a good friend while in Taiwan and HK - Cabbie! They really enjoy Skyping with her, and can't wait to see her again one day.

Big shout out to our NZ friends! Wo men xiang ni men!

Getting our bake on with blueberry cake

The Quatchis are really getting the hang of this baking gig. We've been in the kitchen a lot lately. 'Tis a good thing too because we're behind in our monthly baking.

My mum had a bunch of ripe blueberries that she wanted me to use. I found the following recipe and thought, ooooohhh, this is gonna be a good one!

Melt In Your Mouth Blueberry Cake

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup milk

2 egg whites

1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.

Cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Separate eggs and reserve the whites. Add egg yolks to the sugar mixture; beat until creamy.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and baking powder; add alternately with milk to egg yolk mixture. Coat berries with 1 tablespoon flour and add to batter.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake for about 50 minutes.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Aberfoyle Antique Market!