Warm up appetites without soaring indoor heat

Keeping most of the heat out of the kitchen is the goal in homes during the summer months.

friend, will feed families and friends with little effort and without making the indoor temperature soar.

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TUNA, PASTA & BEAN SALAD

3 cups rotini pasta

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

4 green onions, chopped

2 sweet green peppers, chopped

1/2 cup black sliced olives

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 head leaf lettuce

Dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp. dried oregano salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup olive oil beans, onions, peppers and olives.

Mix dressing ingredients. Toss the pasta mix ture with half the dressing.

Mix in the tuna, tomatoes and remaining dress ing.

Spread lettuce on salad plates and top with ro tini and tuna mixture. Makes 6 servings.

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ZUCCHINI SOUP

5 tomatoes

2 cups brown rice

1 tbsp. butter garlic powder

2 quarts water der until golden.

Slice tomatoes and add to skillet and cook for about 10 minutes.

Pour in water, heat to boiling. Add rice and turn down heat. Simmer for at least one hour or longer. (Longer is better.)

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REFRIGERATOR OATMEAL COOKIES

1 1/2 cups quick oats

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup liquid honey

1/4 cup white or caramel chips

Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined place on sheet. Press down slightly to form cookie. Refrigerate for at least one hour to set. Serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parch ment paper.

Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net

Local Dairy Queens in Moose Jaw participating in 21st annual Miracle Treat Day August 10

On Thursday, August 10, Dairy Queen (DQ) is hosting the 21st annual Miracle Treat Day to support children in need.

All proceeds raised locally will support the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon, which is the closest children’s hospital to Moose Jaw.

Blizzard will go to our local hospital in Saskatchewan,” explained Ann Angeles, who is the Marketing Manager at the Main Street DQ location.

You can support the cause by purchasing any size of DQ Blizzard treat on August 10.

The fundraiser does not include all menu items, however. “If you are buying a sundae (as one example), this is not included,” Angeles explained.

Angeles said that local support has been outstanding. “After (the pandemic) it’s been really great, and (a lot of people have) been participating. We have lots of local businesses that participate every year.

“Moose Jaw is awesome when it comes to Miracle Treat Day,” she said.

Businesses who want to get involved can request a pre-ordering form for their staff. If the order is made

Blizzard can be made for the order. Otherwise, DQ prethe menu.

Local businesses can receive a Miracle Treat Day pre-ordering form by contacting Angeles. This will get you signed up for her mailing list, and each year she will email them out to all participants.

To add some fun for the children and adults who remain children at heart, the DQ locations will be decorated for the day, and you can have your picture taken to show further support.

“We do a photo booth, and whenever a business comes in to pick up their order, we ask them to step into the photo booth,” she said. “Everybody who wants totures will be posted online unless permission is given. Angeles said she’s looking forward to the event. “It’s pretty busy for us, but it’s worth it!”

Last year, in 2022, over three million visits to the 12 children’s hospitals across Canada were supported by the DQ Miracle Treat Day. This averages out to more than 8,000 visits supported each day.

Since the fundraiser began 21 years ago, the annual Miracle Treat Day has raised over $48 million from more than 600 participating DQ locations.

Both Moose Jaw Dairy Queen locations are participating in the event.

The Main Street DQ is located at 1711 Main Street North and can be reached at 306-692-8181. They are open 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

The Caribou Street DQ is located at 440 Caribou Street West and can be reached at 306-692-0019. Their hours are 3 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Retired police dog handler thanks residents for support after animal’s death

The handler of retired police trauma/facilities dog Kane is thanking the community for its support after the 10-yearold yellow Labrador retriever died recently of cancer.

The Moose Jaw Police Service announced on its Facebook page on July 14 that Kane had died, nearly two years after he and Donna Blondeau walked into retirement. He worked for the agency from 2015 to 2021, while she worked there for 33 years, including 27 seasons as Victim Services co-ordinator.

“How do I let people know how … grateful I am for their outpouring of messages and love and condolences? I don’t know how to do that,” an emotional Blondeau told the Express.

“I mean, you can’t send a giant card to Moose Jaw and say here (accept my thanks),” she continued, her voice breaking. “I do want people to know (my appreciation) because (the positive comments) brought me comfort to know that so many people cared. That is important to me.

“It’s been incredible, actually. And it’s been helpful and it’s gonna take me through this (because) it’s still pretty raw … . (Residents’) kindness won’t be forgotten by me.”

Kane had been ill the past few years, and while Blondeau knew something was wrong, it took doctors tosized throughout his body.

It’s unfortunate that the retired trauma/facilities dog died, but he did “an amazing job” and helped thousands of men, women and children everywhere, she added. The community’s online response to the dog’s death was heartwarming since nearly 600 people liked the police’s post and 71 left comments, said Blondeau. She received 101 likes and comments on her page, while a private group to which she belongs had 178 likes and comments.

“So it was overwhelming, to say the least. So I think what that tells me is that he did what we set out to do; he affected a lot of people,” she continued. “And a lot of these people, I have no idea who they were, but obviously (they knew us) through our travels all over the place.”

During their careers, Blondeau and Kane participated in regular conferences in Saskatoon and Elk Ridge, responders, met with cultural groups, and even provided comfort during the 2018 Humboldt Broncos’ memorial service.

Blondeau joked that everyone knew Kane while she just held his leash.

“Whatever ego I had before I got Kane, it took a backseat. Because let’s be honest here, babies and dogs take centre stage,” she said.

“And I was OK with that because I knew what he was capable of doing … (because) he had that (soothing) energy about him. To me, it was quite amazing. I’m still amazed by it.”

In Moose Jaw, Blondeau wrote a short book in early 2020 called “Kane’s Tale.” The book — freely distributed to 2,500 children in both school divisions — was designed to put kids at ease if they visited the police station and remind families that the canine was available if necessary.

The book was well-received, and while Blondeau and the police service planned to distribute it more widely, the pandemic struck. This prevented her and Kane from going to schools so kids could meet him if they hadn’t.

After retiring, the police service gave Blondeau the

“… after spending 24/7 with this dog, there was no way I was going to give him up after we had worked together for six-and-a-quarter years,” she added with a chuckle.