Monday's Mignardise Our Daily Dinner

Monday's Mignardise

chuckieb 8 years ago
Good Morning Everyone. Found a Food term starting with M that I'd not heard of before. Mignardise (pronounced (min-yard-EEEZ).Small, one-bite sweets or delicacies, generally presented with the check, as a thank you from the restaurant. The French called them "preciousnesses." They are usually very simple but elegant desserts. This parting gesture from the kitchen—usually an artful arrangement of confections like gemlike pâtes de fruits, or tiny macarons—is a tradition that dates back to 18th-century France. Miniature sweets were de rigueur then: Once pastry chefs had finished their work for the day in their brick ovens, they placed small treats inside to bake in the low, residual heat; the name mignardise comes from the Old French word for "precious" or "cute." Nowadays, chefs dazzle us with their stunning array of after dinner sweets: It's a chance for them to show off their skills, create a final impression that embodies the spirit of the restaurant, and more important, extend the pleasure of the meal.
Pass the Mignardise please! :)
Not sure what to do for dinner this evening. I'd wanted to BBQ some Hamburgers and try a new recipe for a Spooned Avocado with lime and smoked paprika. But they're calling for rain this afternoon and a thunderstorm overnight. My other option is
Indian Pea And Potato Pancakes
I'll have to run it by Jim and see what he thinks. :)
We may have a squirrel stuck in our eavestrough. :( Jim and I went out on the back deck to cover up the BBQ this morning and a squirrel was making a terrific racket. When we discovered the source it appears he's stuck in a downpipe. Crossing fingers he calms down and figures his way out. Shaking head.
Karen, did you find the source of your crunching noises in the sun room? What time does Wayne get back? Hope he enjoyed his Hot Tub. :)
Laurie, what were you up to this weekend?
Did you get around to making some carrot muffins Tina? Did you watch the Lightening Game? They TROUNCED Montreal. :)
How did the potato salad turn out Shona? How are your hands today?
Joce, what did you and Den do yesterday?
Marie, how'd the mowing go?
Michelle B., did you get a cooking class in this weekend? And....does a fresh, just picked banana taste different than the grocery store ones we get?
I'm guessing you've got the kids back Michelle. Looking forward to hearing how your weekend went.
Wishing everyone a great Monday. Mignardise all round!
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MissouriFarmWife 8 years ago said:

OK Janet, I gained ten pounds just looking at your pictures. Yum!
Poor squirrel - hope he gets out on his own, so you don't have to dismantle the drain pipe. They can bite when scared, but he would probably take off running.

The mystery sound is still there - being the curio in the living room, then migrated toward the door. I am wondering is something is in the wall. We had a chipmunk (sounded like an elephant) get inside the wall once, never did figure out how but it escaped unharmed. It could be that or a mouse -- they are devious little brats. The cats are not too fussed over the sound so obviously they don't smell it. I would like it evicted.

So far the sun room has not attracted any four legged critters, except for the gray squirrel who had a hissy fit when he couldn't get inside.

Have a nice day. I am off to feed horses and toss in some laundry.

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Good4U 8 years ago said:

Mignardise is a word I have never heard of before either, Janet. They sound like an elegant way to end a meal. I hope that poor squirrel frees itself from the down spout!

How are your hands today, Shona?

I hope you found the source of the weird crunching noises in your sun room, Karen. Maybe Wayne will want a hot tub now? :)

Den and I were very productive yesterday. All the garden beds are pretty much cleaned out and raked. I went to a garden center on Saturday and bought a few things and they had large bags of black mulch on for $3.50 a bag if you bought 10. My trunk is very large and deep and the young lad who loaded all of them into my truck was absolutely amazed they all fit in plus herbs and flowers on top to boot! I bought some chocolate mint and pineapple mint to try along with some oregano and lavender. When I was there I saw the nicest Baby Blue Spruce. When I got back home Den unloaded the car and we went back and bought the blue spruce for a corner in the backyard. We went back to the garden center again yesterday and bought a bunch of soil for planters and to refresh soil around existing plants. I also bought some Dianthus and a Rhododendron and a couple of other plants as well. Den dug a bunch of holes for me to put them all in and that will be my job this week. I was quite pleased I did so well yesterday and figured I would be sore and stiff today but I am not! YEAH! I still need to cut back my roses and spread some mulch around which isn't a big deal. I am actually hoping it rains today. The ground is dry and the grass and plants really need it. We are having chicken something tonight.

Wishing everyone a good Monday!

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Good4U 8 years ago said:

Oops! SP? Missed you there Karen:)

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mommyluvs2cook 8 years ago said:

Morning! I too have never heard of Mignardise Janet! How interesting! Ugh...hope the squirrel made it out :(

Good luck finding out what's in the wall Karen, hope it get's out soon!

Wow you have been very busy the past couple days Joce! Great purchases as well! So glad your not achy and sore :) We are supposed to be getting a lot of rain starting tomorrow.

We had a nice time Saturday night, it was a lot of fun. Picked up the kids yesterday and made it home in time to BBQ some jalapeno sausage, a foil packet of cabbage and a skewer of mushrooms. Baked some diced potatoes as well. Going to the hardship meeting today then I need to run by the bank. Michael has picket duty and Bri has dance classes so it will just be leftovers tonight. Have a great day everyone!!

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

THE SQUIRREL IS OUT! Silly thing. Went and knocked on the downspout and no chattering answered so he must have figured out an escape route. :)
When Jim and I were in the early stages of our married life we lived in an old apartment building. I was home one day by myself and there was this scratching, chewing sound coming up the exterior wall right where our floor met the wall. I was sure at any moment that some alien being would chew its way through and emerge to confront me. Using what I felt was my most potent deterrent I got a bottle of strong perfume and sprayed and sprayed at the crack between the floor and the wall. Took two doses and the sound went away and never came back. LOLOLOL. Thank you Calvin Klein! :)
Say 'hi' to the horses for me Karen. :) Good luck with the laundry.
I very much envy your trips to the Garden Centre Joce. I tend not to go to them until more near the end of the month since I don't plant my annuals until after the May 24th weekend. You guys got a ton done! Good price on the mulch! My lavender looks like it took a beating over the winter. I hope it revives. My oregano does very, very well and I just have regular mint but it's like a weed! :) Jim and I have never planted a rose. We were thinking about it.So pleased you're not hurting too much after all that. Yay!
Jim has voted for Indian pea and potato pancakes.

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

SP Michelle! Glad you had a good weekend. Interesting on the foil packet of cabbage. I might like that. Do you just add a bit of olive oil or something? I should try that. (What's a hardship meeting? I'm guessing it is something to do with the strike?)

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Cosmicmother 8 years ago said:

The French have a term for everything, don't they? Lol, ;) I never knew there was a name for the little treats, I guess that's why you get little candies with your check at most restaurants? I love the little Sambuca hard candies you get at most Italian shops! I'm so glad the squirrel is free, they are such silly animals. Haha, Calvin Klein!
I hope the mystery noise goes away Karen! That would drive me batty! Maybe you can borrow someone's mousing dog, maybe they can bark and scare it away? Our little dog Jersey is a great mouser, she chased all the moles away from under our deck. :)
My hands are much better, the two fingers on the left hand are a little sore if I touch them but I can grasp things now without flinching! The first time this happened to me was about 8 years ago. My hands were so sore from raking, my hands stiffened up and when I drove to pick up my son from school and I had to pull over because I couldn't grasp the steering wheel. The doctor thought I had rheumatoid arthritis, after tests he figured I just had regular arthritis. My hands were injured badly in a motor cycle accident when I was 17, and I had sever frost bite when I was 12. So it could be from either of those incidents as to why my hands have it? I know my Grandma's hands became deformed later in life, she had really bad osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. I've been taking calcium every night before bed for years, hoping I wont get it so bad. My mom has it now, mostly in her back. She did have to stop knitting recently too. I guess it runs in the family! :(
The Potato salad is great! One of the best I've made in a long time. I put eggs in it, which I don't normally do. And some crumbled bacon and a little cheddar cheese and a pickle. Just how Pete's mom makes it, so he was in heaven! He's been missing home quite a bit, a mommas boy lol ;) used this as a base recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/rockin-robins-classic-potato-salad/detail.aspx
SO glad you had some time away from the kids Michelle, it's always nice once in awhile. :)
Wow Joce, sounds like you had a busy weekend! I love all the flavours of mint they have now. We planted chocolate mint the other year, it was really good. The kids would pick a leaf and just eat it. :)
I don't know what to do with my garden, there are things coming out of the ground here now. But since I haven't lived here through the spring and summer yet I think I'll wait and see what we have here before I plant anything. I know we have rhubarb and strawberries. It also looks like lots of chives popping up. I noticed three onions coming, and dug down to see the bulbs. I don't know if they are ornamental or not. I am guessing ornamental because I didn't think regular onions would live in the ground and re-sprout??I'll have to look that up in my Veggie book! Alberta's hardiness zone is still a mystery to me!
Geez, didn't mean to ramble on here, lol, I'd better post before it disappears! Off to have breakfast, clean the house, walk the dogs, etc etc....Have a great day everyone!!

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

I love those Sambuca candies too Shona but I'd trade it in the blink of an eye for one of those Mignardise. :) Goodness at all the things that have happened to your poor hands! Nice on the potato salad. I've never tried bacon in mine but eggs are a must! :) I have some flowering onions in my side garden called Allium. They have gorgeous flowers on them when they bloom but right now they are just little green things sticking out of the ground. Good luck with all your jobs.

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mommyluvs2cook 8 years ago said:

So glad the squirrel is out Janet, yippee! Lol at getting rid of whatever it was in the wall Janet. I would have never thought of perfume..I probably would have sprayed some sort of cleaner or something. Yum on the Indian potato pancake! The hardship meeting is the thing I do once a week where I take my bills down and they cut me checks and give me gift cards. I've already went and got back...feels like I flew in there and flew out lol.

Wow what a pain going through this with your hands Shona :( Yes I definitely needed that time away from the kiddos...even if it was only for one night! That's neat on all of these things popping up in your new garden...I'd be giddy waiting to see what shows up lol :) I have never heard of ornamental onions? Why would anyone want those? Have a good rest of the day!!

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MissouriFarmWife 8 years ago said:

Glad the squirrel figured out an escape route, Janet! They are such goofball critters!

Cool on the night out minus kids, Michelle! Every parent needs a break!

Joce, if Wayne wants a hot tub he will have locate it on the other side of the house. The yard in front of the sun room is destined for a small garden.....that is if the guys ever get it ready! I have three rhubarb plants but he wants them planted where a dead tree needs to be cut down, so they are still in their pots on the porch. Along with the peppers and one tomato plant.

Shona, your little pooch would have a blast hunting moles. They are running rampant in the front yard. I think it is the abundance of crab grass that they like. Hahahaha. The yard is next on the agenda, probably next Spring.

The odd sound has quieted down this morning, but it could start up later. I don't know if it is actually creeping about in the wall, but we have had this happen once before several years ago. If the trap is sprung then it would be a recently-imported mouse, but it hasn't tripped so far. Oh, the joys of living in the country! Meanwhile my living room is now quiet.

The sun room is pretty well constructed, so mice have not found their way in. My patience is wearing out for the room to be painted so all the stuff cluttering my sun room / relaxing space / leave-me-alone area disappears. Wayne is not rushed about getting it done, of course, but it drives me up a wall. Once the guest room is painted furniture will be returned and NOTHING ELSE will be permitted to darken the guest room door! Ever! Aargh!

Drier has stopped, so I best toss in another load. See you later.

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

You'll be pleased to get the sun room all painted and re-organized Karen. We still need to paint the 'new office' but I think we'll just leave that project until winter again. It's too hard to stay inside when it's so nice out and it doesn't stay super nice for long so it's best to appreciate it when it's here.
Jim and I got quite a bit done outside this morning. I washed some windows and did a lot of raking. Jim got the rain barrel set back up and was re-painting our little bridge that crosses the stream at the side of the house.
We decided to go into town for lunch. Went to that Fusion place we go to often for all-you-can-eat Dim Sum. Very yummy. Very stuffed.
Grabbed a new rake at the hardware store. Bamboo rakes have been discontinued through Home Hardware, which is sad as I like them because they are made of natural materiel and they're nice and light so don't harm plants a lot if you're raking leaves off the top of them.
Also went to a new Olive Oil/Balsamic Vinegar shop that has opened up in our end of town. Got a bottle of Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic, a bottle of Milanese Gremolata Olive oil and jar of Daikon pickles made by a local lady using locally sourced products. Very excited! :)
I popped into the garden centre at Lowe's just to peek but didn't see anything that caught my fancy. My favourite garden centre in Kanata is "Make it green" and the Loblaw's at Centrum has a good one too.

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notyourmomma 8 years ago said:

Spent the day running between doctors and the bank. I'm exhausted. All of your garden work has me envious, my front garden is so sad.

I have a leftover burger and some chili tots. Doctor is not happy with my lack of appetite and extensive resting. She is happy I got the new bed. She wants me to try and walk more.

Hugs dear ODD friends. Today was tough at the bank and I'm a little weepy. Have a great evening. Kiss your loved ones. sleep Sweet.

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

Get a good sleep tonight Tina. Baby steps. Gentle hugs.

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MissouriFarmWife 8 years ago said:

the guest room is now about a quarter painted, Janet. The sunroom will soon hopefully be uncluttered of all the stuff that came from the guest room while we were painting. The walls in the guest room / library / den / whatever are more gray than I had thought it would be, but they are nice. I struggled around the window and when Wayne was done with the corners and closet he took the sponge-thingy and went over it again. Now we have the walls to finish and the trim.

Tina, you are in our prayers. Like Janet said, baby steps.

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