I am in love with my Instant Pot

I have never usually been one for fancy gadgets, unless it was a farkle for my bike.  I don't normally get excited about appliances, but wait for it - I AM IN LOVE WITH MY INSTANT POT.

What is an Instant Pot you say?  It is a multi function cooker, it is basically an electric pressure cooker.  It will function as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice maker, steamer, and yogurt maker.  This gadget is gaining a cult-like following, several people I know have them and have been raving about them for months!  It cuts down the cooking time significantly, which is great for someone like me who is constantly busy doing stuff  or on bike adventures, teaching, or just plain busy.  Occasionally I forget to pull out stuff for supper and on those nights it's usually a free-for-all at may house and I generally give-up or give-in and we succumb to eating sandwiches or spaghetti or over cooked chicken because I nuked it to death to thaw it. 

I have been contemplating getting one, but decided I would float the idea as a potential Christmas present.  So now this is where it gets weird, I've  been hunting to find the best price and in my experience I have found all the good sales on electronics and small appliances happen in October.  I spotted the 8 quart Instant Pot on sale at our local Canadian Tire, and it was a good sale!  So I mentioned it to hubby and daughter.  Then I called hubby a couple of times and sniveled and pleaded my case (he is getting pretty tired of hearing about the Instant Pot).  So all I could do is hope! 

He was working on Saturday all day and as I was slogging through making another abysmal supper him and Scooterpie Jr came into the kitchen and said "Pretend it's Christmas.", when I turned around there was the Instant Pot!  Well I actually whooped and did a little happy dance.  I am so excited! 

On Sunday I decided to give this crazy thing a go, read all the instructions, and set it up! I was going to be adventuresome and try a pot roast with potatoes and carrots.  (I must admit to being a little overwhelmed and feeling a little trepidation, because my granny blew an old fashioned pressure cooker through her ceiling)  In the end my pot roast was fabulous and instead of taking close to 2-2 1/2  hours and many pots used, the actual cooking time for the roast was 50 minutes and 10 minutes for the veggies.  It usually takes a few minutes to vent the pressure cooker so all in all I would say 70 minutes.  The roast was tender, veggies cooked and it was yummy.

I liked cooking in it so much I decided to try some steel cut oats, they were amazing!  I am so excited about my kitchen Farkle!

Steelcut oats with dried cranberries.

Spam and we aren't talking the crappy canned lunch meat

Due to the amount of Spam being posted to the blog, the comment moderation has now been turned on.  That is all. 

Let the ADVENTURE begin

ScooterBob is on Vancouver Island.

What on earth is a 'Tiddler' - don't blush!

 

Relax you can stop blushing now!

 

A 'Tiddler' is a vintage bike 25 years or older and 250ccs and under.



 

 

 

 



This is my friend Jason on his vintage 1964, 2 stroke, 50cc, Suzuki N15.  The bike is a family heirloom with a very rusty patina and it is showing it's 53 years, it needs a little TLC and moto-botox! Finally something a little rustier than me! 

 

 

There is quite a story about this little bike, Jason's dad bought it new, he used to ride this little bike to university from Hope to Kelowna over Hope Princeton Highway 3.  Remember this bike is only 50ccs! The Hope Princeton is a very twisty windy mountain highway with lots of sheer cliffs and drops, but the scenery is spectacular!  If you aren't familiar with it, check out the link to google images

Hope Princeton Highway Route 3 



That is quite a daily commute for a 50cc bike!  Can you just imagine the whine of the motor and probably more than a few nervous moments.  I can picture Jason's dad as a young man riding this gnarly little Suzi over the might Hope Princeton. 

This little bike has had it's share of adventure, but sadly the adventure ended in 1969, Jason's pop lent the intrepid little Suzi to a friend and heaccidentally drove it off a 6 foot cliff and bent the bars. 

After her unfortunate accident she was relegated to moto hibernation in the barn and didn't see the light of day until 1980! Jason's Grandpa loaded the bike in a truck and hauled it to Victoria, where Jason took it with him from place to place in storage.

Finally in the winter of 2017 Suzi made a brief stop at my house and my hubby took a crack at getting it running.  Lots of parts were seized, corroded, and generally in bad shape.  My hub loves challenges when it comes to this type of stuff.  Through his dogged persistence and a little TLC he managed to get it to turn over and actually run.  He took things apart, cleaned them, and soaked a few things in pine sol (that's his magic potion).

Last Friday Jason dropped by surprisingly he was riding down the street with the whine and cough of the 2 stroke and a trail of smoke belching out the exhaust.  The mix was off and needed a little tweaking. It was also leaking a little gas and the spark plug gap was off. 

 

Check out the roachy rusty patina on this bike.  Jason is doing a partial restoration on the bike, but the rusty patina lends a certain charm.  Probably the biggest restoration is going to be the seat being recovered and possibly a few of the parts rechromed, but the paint is going to stay as it is at this point.  It is a cool looking little thing.  Jason is happily riding around and plans to hand it down to his kids when he is done, who know maybe they will decide to restore it a little more.   The last time this bike was insured and on the road was in 1969! All I can say is keep on running old lady you aren't looking too bad for 53 considering what she has been through!

Anniversary getaway! 28 years & counting

We are stopped at the Ellis River look-out on Highway 4. Take note of the fence in the background it is covered in locks.

My hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary with a bike trip to Tofino last weekend.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect, the road was clear and traffic was light!  The twisties were FABULOUS!!!!  We ride a lot together, but have never ridden to our favourite island destination and it was our first moto overnighter, which always leads to a packing dilemma when you are a packrat who always brings too much.  I worry that part of it to death, because Island weather is so unpredictable particularly up Tofino way, it truly is the Wet Coast. In any event I got it all sorted and packed into 1 bag in my side case, and I did cull out some stuff.  Hubby actually ended up bringing more stuff than me and was surprised at how light I was travelling.  Yay me!

 

The day dawned sunny and hot!  We were off on our adventure riding the beautiful narrow and twisty Highway 4.  This road is an adventure during peak summer travel time, lots of motorhomes, campers, trucks and trailers, and quite a lot of the drivers are not prepared at how twisty and narrow the road is and a lot of folks end up crossing the centre line when taking the corners, so you have to keep this in mind when travelling through there. 

There is a small fence ad people have taken to attaching locks and memorabilia to the fence.  I stood an read some of the messages, most a very touching commemorating an event, milestone or the life of a person.  We decided to add our own memento.

We added a lock with our initials and anniversary date, we did this together.  I have the keys for the lock as my keepsake. It was quite a touching moment.  Happy 28th anniversary honey! My life has never been boring and always full of adventure. 

This spot is so picturesque!  You can walk down and dangle your feet in the water if your inclined, but watch out for the drop off and swift current. It can also be a bit hairy trying to get back on the road or pulling into this place.   More adventures await us!

Our next stop was the Visitor Centre to snap a few pics.

Tofino is a funky little hamlet which is a fishing town, and have a vibrant art community and one that attracts free spirits. Most who follow my blog will have seen pictures from our previous vacations there. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at Long Beach for a quick amble on the beach. Long Beach pulls surfers to it like a magnet. 

We stayed at a lovely beachside resort Ocean Village.  They have the most charming A-frame cabins that are fully stocked and have gorgeous views.

It was time to settle in and have some snacks and then beach walk time! 

We went to Picnic Charcuterie for lovely meat and cheese.

Then it was off to our favourite eatery Red Can Gourmet, it is run by a former chef who was up at Whistler and has a few Michelin stars.  The carrot cake is the BEST I've ever eaten. They have  marvelous entrees and seafood chowder that is served with their heavenly baguette.  Tofino is a foodie paradise.

On Saturday we opted to have freshly made Gelato from Chocolate Tofino for dinner!  I had my favourite white chocolate raspberry.  To die for! We seem to do a lot of eating when we are in Tofino! It all gets balanced by the amount of exercise we do, we usually shun the car and walk everywhere and go kayaking or other adventurous activities.  We tried paddle boarding for the first time, and I left the camera at the room, I could foresee it being at the bottom of the ocean.  It turns out my balance on a paddle board isn't as stellar as it is on the bike.  I stood up 4 times and promptly fell 4 times, so decided to do it kneeling instead which worked well for me anyway.

After a full day of fun there were beautiful sunsets to watch while sitting on the beach with our favourite bevvies. 

I never get tired of this place. Its amazing how fast the time flew and we were soon packing up the bikes and getting ready for the 4 hour ride back home.  It was wickedly hot while we were on our trip and I think when we were going inland towards Port Alberni it must have been around 35 degrees Celsius, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it was a little toasty in all the gear. 

It was a great adventure and I think we will be doing a few more come vacation time!  I am getting used to the idea of travelling with less, I am going to look for some keen sandals that will replace my need for sneakers and flip flops, one less thing to carry.   As the sticker says "I survived Hwy 4" it can be a very interesting road to ride and can be a bit crazy at times.