Sushi and her sister are up for adoption – they’re both about 3 years old and a Chinese Shar-Pei/Mix.  They’re shy, yet charming and work well with patient owners who have a relaxed lifestyle.

For more information about Sushi or any other animals at the shelter, you can contact the Leeds & Grenville Ontario SPCA.
800 Centennial Road, Brockville
Phone: (613) 345-5520
http://www.leedsgrenville.ontariospca.ca/2-leedsgrenvilleadopt.shtml

http://soundcloud.com/ryanvallyd/interview-with-muchmusic-vj

Tibby is a 5 year old tabby, who is still very playful.  She’s considered a “personal assistant” type in that she’ll hang around and be a good companion.  She’ll blend right into your home, but it’s probably best if she gets all your attention and you don’t have other cats.

For more information about Tibby or any other animals at the shelter, you can contact the Leeds & Grenville Ontario SPCA.
800 Centennial Road, Brockville
Phone: (613) 345-5520
http://www.leedsgrenville.ontariospca.ca/2-leedsgrenvilleadopt.shtml

We keep flirting with the warm sunny weather, but so far, it has only been a day here and a day there, and after a few tries at grilling in the pouring rain, or snow as we had in late April, we start to do things to help us push in summer, at least in our own minds anyway.

I’m going to give you my salsa recipe today! It’s a light, fresh, delicious snack, very easy and inexpensive to make, and I think that it’s better than any salsa you’ll find in a jar, taste wise and good for you wise, and you’ll be able to actually pronounce the name of every item in this dish.

To make about 2 cups (500 ml) of salsa, you’ll need:

3 ripe tomatoes (don’t put tomatoes in the fridge – they should be kept and served at room temperature)

½ of a large SWEET onion

½ of a jalapeno pepper (use ¼ of it and leave any seeds out if you don’t like it hot. Add the whole pepper in if you like it hot)

1/3 of a red pepper

1/3 of an orange or yellow pepper

1/3 of a green pepper

*you can just use one whole pepper of any colour if you don’t like the variety, or you don’t have the three pepper combo on hand*

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

¼ cup of white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Start by dicing up the tomatoes, onions and peppers very small. Really chop the tomatoes up, almost juice them up a bit. Add everything together into a bowl. Chop the stem ends off of the cilantro, right up to where the leaves start on the stems. Chop of the bunch of cilantro very fine. It will almost look like chopped green oatmeal when you’ve chopped it enough. Add that in to the mix and stir.

Finally, add the lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. You can serve this right away, but it’s even better after it has sat in the fridge overnight, allowing the flavours to really combine and mellow a bit. Use this as a garnish for just about anything, in an omelette, or just to dip tortilla chips into. All fresh ingredients, no fillers or preservatives that you can’t pronounce the name of, and when you serve it to

your guests, they will be extra impressed that you made homemade salsa!

The Leeds & Grenville SPCA has had NINE puppies dropped off – they don’t have much background on them, but they’re a lab-boxer mix and range in colours like the two in the photo.  They’re only six weeks old and are looking for good homes!  They’ll be available for adoption in about two weeks.

For more information about these puppies or any other animals at the shelter, you can contact the Leeds & Grenville Ontario SPCA.
800 Centennial Road, Brockville
Phone: (613) 345-5520
http://www.leedsgrenville.ontariospca.ca/2-leedsgrenvilleadopt.shtml

Darrelle and Blaze also were kind enough to perform the hit single “Fine”.

You can listen to the full audio below!

http://soundcloud.com/ryanvallyd/darrelle-london-interview

Check out Darrelle’s new EP ‘Eat a Peach’ on iTunes & on her website.

http://www.darrellelondon.com/

Baxter is a loving 5 month old terrier mix.  He’s lively and still in “puppy” mode, looking for a good home.

For more information about Baxter or any other animals at the shelter, you can contact the Leeds & Grenville Ontario SPCA.
800 Centennial Road, Brockville
Phone: (613) 345-5520
http://www.leedsgrenville.ontariospca.ca/2-leedsgrenvilleadopt.shtml

Boneless skinless chicken breasts. They are the darling of the grocery store chicken aisle. They get the biggest, most prominent display case, and people just can’t seem to get enough of them. But sometimes you can get into a boneless skinless chicken breast funk. You can only BBQ them so often, and if you don’t cook them exactly right, they are tougher than shoe leather.

Today’s recipe can be used with chicken breasts, but they are even better if you use thighs or drums. The dark meat. The part of the chicken with the most flavour! It’s a completely different take on chicken and I guarantee you that no BBQ sauce is required.

You’ll need:

About a dozen chicken thighs or drums

1 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup of bread crumbs (you can even use crushed saltines in this recipe for extra crunch)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

½ cup flour

2 eggs

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Start by removing the zest from your lime and save it for later. Put all of your chicken into a baking dish, and cover the pieces with lime juice. Get it in the fridge and let it bathe in the glorious lime juice for a good three hours or better.

When it is time to get rolling for supper, get your oven on and up to 400 F. In a big bowl, add the coconut, the crumbs, spices and lime zest and mix it up well. Put the flour into a second bowl and beat the eggs up into a third bowl. Coat each chicken piece in the flour first, then dip them into the egg, then coat it well with the coconut mixture.

If you can line your pan with parchment first, the chicken will turn out even better, but if you don’t have any parchment, just get the chicken back into the pan and cook them until the internal temperature of the chicken is about 175 F. It will take about 40 minutes in the oven to get it there. If you are not familiar with parchment or cooking with it, it looks a lot like waxed paper (but there is no wax). You find it in the section of the supermarket where the plastic wrap and aluminum foil is. It makes a great, non-stick surface for baking.

Don’t let the words lime, coconut and chicken scare you, especially all of the “meat and potatoes” people in your family. Cook these up nice and crispy, and they’ll be asking for more!

Squeeze is a brown/black short haired domestic cat, just over a year old.  She loves to help you with chores and work, and then relax when you’re done.

For more information about Prince or any other animals at the shelter, you can contact the Leeds & Grenville Ontario SPCA.
800 Centennial Road, Brockville
Phone: (613) 345-5520
http://www.leedsgrenville.ontariospca.ca/2-leedsgrenvilleadopt.shtml

To make enough wings for 4 people, here is what you’ll need. Double or triple the recipe as needed.

The Sauce:

Start with 1 ¼ cups of warm water

1 ¼ cups of soya sauce

2 tbsp of minced garlic

1 tbsp ground ginger, or 1 ¼ tbsp. fresh chopped ginger

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

½ cup honey (save until the end of cooking)

36 chicken wings – helpful if they are already split into the flat and drumette

1 green onion, chopped, for garnish

1 tbsp sesame seeds also for garnish

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl (minus the honey). Put all of your wings into a large bowl or pan and marinate them in 2/3 of the sauce for at least four hour, overnight is even better if you have the time! Reserve the other 1/ of the sauce in a clean container in the fridge for finishing later.

When you are ready to cook the wings, budget yourself about 40-45 minute for cooking. Pre-heat your oven to 375 F and make sure it is up to temperature before you begin. Line some baking sheets with parchment, or use a non-stick baking pan. There is so much sugar in these wings that if you try and use a glass or non-treated pan, half of your wings are liable to weld themselves to the baking pan! Parchment is a great thing to have in your kitchen, and you just need to tear it off the roll in sheets like waxed paper. Set the wings on the lined pans, and get them into the oven. About half way through, flip them over so that the other side has a chance to crisp up a bit. Keep your eye on things as you approach the 45 minute mark, again, sugar burns, and after 45 minutes, they may well have had enough.

In the final minutes of oven time, take out your reserved sauce, add in the honey, and bring to a low boil for 30 seconds in a pot on the stove. Remove the wings from the oven into a big bowl, coat them with the sauce, and plate them up on a nice platter. Garnish with the chopped green onion and sesame seeds. The wings will be extra tender, and an explosion of flavour in every bite! Be careful though, if you make these wings for too many people, they are going to want you to make them all the time.