Ok so I had GREAT plans for dinner.... I was going to make an omelette but instead of folding it over with the contents inside I was going to mix everything together - cook it in the pan and have a Quiche-ish omelette that I could easily slice into SLICES!! For whatever reason I just can't seem to conquer the steel frying pan. The quiche disaster stuck and we ended up with scrambled eggs. They tasted great but really were not too pretty to look at.
I threw out my non-stick pans a year or two ago amidst fears that they were going to do us some grievous bodily harm. Or you know - poison us or whatever the threat was. So yes - I now have stainless steel pans that give me plenty of frustration!!
If anyone has any tips to using these effectively please do share!
The Little Diva and I had a super day. We went to a play group this morning and she got to play with a little girl her own size - it was SUPER CUTE watching them take turns on the slide. We came home and she had a 2 hour nap!! She was such a happy little bunny when she woke up and had a blast on our walk with her little friend and her mommy! It was such a lovely day today. The snow had all melted by the time we went for our walk and it was actually still 10 degrees at 7pm! Can you believe it?
In other news I attended my second Pilate's class tonight. I totally enjoyed it but can already feel that my abs might be a little vocal in their hatred toward me tomorrow morning. Ouch!
On to February tomorrow - this year is already flying by!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Day 35 - 30 Day Muffins
Ok so the recipe I used today has been a part of my recipe repertoire
for as long as I can remember. My mom used to make them quite often
when we were kids too. I have no idea where the recipe originally came
from, but it is definitely a keeper. I only made one "tweak' to the
recipe today. The reason for my tweak is because our household is not
entirely a giant fan of cooked raisins. So instead of the cup of raisins
I put in half a cup of hemp hearts and half a cup of sunflower seeds.
The hemp hearts gave the muffins a lovely nutty flavour. Oh and I
sprinkled oatmeal on the raw muffin mix but that's really more a
"decoration" that a recipe tweak! Also I know the mixing instructions
are a little detailed but I just threw everything into my kitchen aid
and mixed well.... I'm not sure how this effected the end product but
they were delicious so I'm likely to do that again.... :) Ok so yer
perhaps that was more than one tweak....Anywho without further ado here
are the yummy fibre filled muffins!
Ingredients:
2 extra large eggs
250ml soft brown sugar
125ml oil
500ml milk
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
5ml salt
2 Cups Bran
1 Cup Raisins
1 Cup coconut
Method to the madness:
Grease muffin pans (I made 18 huge
muffins by filling the tins to the brim. The original recipe calls to
fill them 3/4 - that should apparently yield 30 muffins).
Sift flour, salt and bicarb together. Beat eggs until pale yellow - gradually add sugar beating well. Add oil while beating.
Add milk and dry ingredients alternately. Mix well. Stir in bran, raisins and coconut.
Spoon into muffin trays and bake at 390 degrees F for 15 - 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
This muffin mix can apparently be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a month so you can bake them as you need them. I feel a little icky about keeping batter for that long so to be honest I've never done it. I just bake the whole batch and freeze the muffins for later munching.
Ingredients:
2 extra large eggs
250ml soft brown sugar
125ml oil
500ml milk
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
5ml salt
2 Cups Bran
1 Cup Raisins
1 Cup coconut
Method to the madness:
Grease muffin pans (I made 18 huge
muffins by filling the tins to the brim. The original recipe calls to
fill them 3/4 - that should apparently yield 30 muffins).Sift flour, salt and bicarb together. Beat eggs until pale yellow - gradually add sugar beating well. Add oil while beating.
Add milk and dry ingredients alternately. Mix well. Stir in bran, raisins and coconut.
Spoon into muffin trays and bake at 390 degrees F for 15 - 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
This muffin mix can apparently be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a month so you can bake them as you need them. I feel a little icky about keeping batter for that long so to be honest I've never done it. I just bake the whole batch and freeze the muffins for later munching.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Day 34 - CORA'S!!!
Our little family had another relaxed day - definitely a good way to spend the weekend. The closest thing I have to a recipe for you today is the following instruction: DRIVE TO CORA'S FOR BREAKFAST!
We had a delicious meal there this morning. The little Diva was in her element. She was SUPER impressed when our server brought her some crayons in a cup and a picture to colour. She got to pour the crayons out, put them back in the cup, scribble a little and repeat the process. There were crayons on the floor, in her highchair, on the table and even a few in the cup!
She also discovered that it was super fun to stack the little milk and cream containers. These too ended up in various corners of the restaurant. Then there was the toast that Daddy shared with her - oooh and the jam containers that she was able to stack over and over again! She was also super impressed with the fruit from my plate - she got apples, grapes and banana's and even ate some of them before spreading the rest. She was NOT impressed with my buckwheat pancakes - although she did eat the majority of my cheese!! She sure loves her cheese.
We also came prepared with chocolate cookies and milk. The Little Diva ate her porridge before we left for the restaurant but I was still surprised by home much she managed to squeeze in. When she got tired of stacking things and nibbling on things we were able to distract her with some stickers. She LOVES stickers. They end up stuck to her, to daddy, to mommy, and everywhere in between. I'm waiting for the day I spot a forlorn, sticker covered cat hiding under the bed!!
Just before we were done eating the Little Diva pipes up in a teeny weeny little voice and says, "PEEEEEEZ, PEEEEEEEEEZ, PEEEEEEEEZ". We finally figured out she was pointing at the ketchup. As soon as she had a squirt of it on her plate and a piece of toast to dunk in it she was happy again. Just so you know - she didn't actually eat the toast - it was merely a dunking tool that she licked the ketchup off of!
Until tomorrow - sweet dream :)
We had a delicious meal there this morning. The little Diva was in her element. She was SUPER impressed when our server brought her some crayons in a cup and a picture to colour. She got to pour the crayons out, put them back in the cup, scribble a little and repeat the process. There were crayons on the floor, in her highchair, on the table and even a few in the cup!
She also discovered that it was super fun to stack the little milk and cream containers. These too ended up in various corners of the restaurant. Then there was the toast that Daddy shared with her - oooh and the jam containers that she was able to stack over and over again! She was also super impressed with the fruit from my plate - she got apples, grapes and banana's and even ate some of them before spreading the rest. She was NOT impressed with my buckwheat pancakes - although she did eat the majority of my cheese!! She sure loves her cheese.
We also came prepared with chocolate cookies and milk. The Little Diva ate her porridge before we left for the restaurant but I was still surprised by home much she managed to squeeze in. When she got tired of stacking things and nibbling on things we were able to distract her with some stickers. She LOVES stickers. They end up stuck to her, to daddy, to mommy, and everywhere in between. I'm waiting for the day I spot a forlorn, sticker covered cat hiding under the bed!!
Just before we were done eating the Little Diva pipes up in a teeny weeny little voice and says, "PEEEEEEZ, PEEEEEEEEEZ, PEEEEEEEEZ". We finally figured out she was pointing at the ketchup. As soon as she had a squirt of it on her plate and a piece of toast to dunk in it she was happy again. Just so you know - she didn't actually eat the toast - it was merely a dunking tool that she licked the ketchup off of!
Until tomorrow - sweet dream :)
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Day 33 - Asian Sesame Salmon!
Whew - so I'm cutting it close today. It is already 11:17pm! EEk - no way I want to destroy a 33 day streak. So here goes:
We had a lovely day today. The Little Diva was clearly feeling better so I'm hoping her teeth will give her a little break! Part of me wishes they would all just come out and get it over with and another part of me wishes they'd give her a little break every now and then. It's so hard to see your little one dealing with teeth pain! But it's all for a good cause - she'll be able to munch through steak in no time at all :D
So I decided I wanted to make Salmon for supper. I had to quickly grab a few groceries this afternoon and I decided to pick up A "Club House Recipe Inspirations" pack for Asian Sesame Salmon. I don't want to get myself in trouble so I'm not going to type out their recipe. The best part of these kits is that you have the recipe for future reference and if you have the ingredients you can just measure it out yourself! In addition to the pack you had to have the Salmon, Soy Sauce and green onions. I used white onions and it turned out GREAT! I grilled my fish once their time limit of 30 minutes ran out. I find it makes the sauce a little thicker and oh so yummy - you just have to watch it. The bigger the dish the quicker the liquid is bound to cook off.
I have a pineapple sitting in my fridge that I really should have used up today so I may just try an Upside-down Pineapple Cake tomorrow :) Until them - wishing you all Happy Kitchens!
We had a lovely day today. The Little Diva was clearly feeling better so I'm hoping her teeth will give her a little break! Part of me wishes they would all just come out and get it over with and another part of me wishes they'd give her a little break every now and then. It's so hard to see your little one dealing with teeth pain! But it's all for a good cause - she'll be able to munch through steak in no time at all :D
So I decided I wanted to make Salmon for supper. I had to quickly grab a few groceries this afternoon and I decided to pick up A "Club House Recipe Inspirations" pack for Asian Sesame Salmon. I don't want to get myself in trouble so I'm not going to type out their recipe. The best part of these kits is that you have the recipe for future reference and if you have the ingredients you can just measure it out yourself! In addition to the pack you had to have the Salmon, Soy Sauce and green onions. I used white onions and it turned out GREAT! I grilled my fish once their time limit of 30 minutes ran out. I find it makes the sauce a little thicker and oh so yummy - you just have to watch it. The bigger the dish the quicker the liquid is bound to cook off.
I have a pineapple sitting in my fridge that I really should have used up today so I may just try an Upside-down Pineapple Cake tomorrow :) Until them - wishing you all Happy Kitchens!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Day 32 - Avo on Toast!
The Little Diva and I spent a wonderful day hanging out with Granny and Misty! We had a yummy lunch that I had to share - I didn't personally build it - but I have in the past and will again soon as I have ripe Avocado's.
Ingredients:
Toast
Ripe Avocado
Salt and Pepper
What ya do:
Slice open the Avo and remove the pit and peel. Pop the avo in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread this over warm toast and enjoy! I will add a photo when I make this later this week :)
Sweet dreams to all!
Ingredients:
Toast
Ripe Avocado
Salt and Pepper
What ya do:
Slice open the Avo and remove the pit and peel. Pop the avo in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread this over warm toast and enjoy! I will add a photo when I make this later this week :)
Sweet dreams to all!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Day 31 - Garlic toast!
Hmmm.... where to start. How about with the recipe. I made lamb and veggies again tonight. I didn't want to make rice, quinoa or couscous so I decided to make garlic toast. It's really easy to do...
Ingredients:
Bread
Butter
Garlic cloves
Parsley
Salt and pepper
What ya do:
You grab a nice dollop of butter and if it's not soft you pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. Next you need to chop up a few cloves of garlic. I used 2 cloves for 3 slices of bread. The amount you use is really based on your garlic preference! Chop or crush the garlic and add it to the soft butter with a pinch of parsley, salt and black pepper. Mix this up and spread on your bread. Pop it in the toaster oven and when its reached the desired crispiness take it out and enjoy!!
It's been another long day so I'm going to call it a night. The Little Diva and I are hanging out with Granny tomorrow and we are both looking forward to seeing her and her kitty! Night night to all :)
Ingredients:
Bread
Butter
Garlic cloves
Parsley
Salt and pepper
What ya do:
You grab a nice dollop of butter and if it's not soft you pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. Next you need to chop up a few cloves of garlic. I used 2 cloves for 3 slices of bread. The amount you use is really based on your garlic preference! Chop or crush the garlic and add it to the soft butter with a pinch of parsley, salt and black pepper. Mix this up and spread on your bread. Pop it in the toaster oven and when its reached the desired crispiness take it out and enjoy!!
It's been another long day so I'm going to call it a night. The Little Diva and I are hanging out with Granny tomorrow and we are both looking forward to seeing her and her kitty! Night night to all :)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Day 30 - A use for Blueberry Special K!!
okey dokey - so this isn't going to be too long. The Little Diva and I had a LONG day. A Very VERY long and VERY trying day. Have I mentioned how much I hate teeth? hhehe So yes the poor girl is teething up a storm - she's pretty cranky and ever so slightly difficult... which translates into a day of extreme patience trying for your truly. I'll admit it - I am NOT the most patient individual on the planet. I have a short supply of "zen-like" qualities and an over abundance of "short-fuse" qualities! I think I'm getting better in my old age (lol ok really I haven't even hit 30 yet so I'll quit pretending I think I'm old!) but a day of the crankies still takes a toll on me.
I am truly grateful that the little Diva had fun at her Dadoos and Dadda's tonight - they definitely did an awesome job of distracting her from her jerky teeth which are hacking their way through her gums. I am grateful too that she's now fast asleep in her own bed. I've got the dishwasher on and finally able to have a breather and a moment to write my daily blog.
I do have to mention what happened this morning too though - The little Diva and I were playing downstairs and she happened to be looking out of the window when 3 squirrels thought it would be funny to prance around on our back fence! Their dance steps seemed to say, "come get us - aren't we cute and cuddly looking?"
The Little Diva was ADAMANT that they were "teet teets" and she wanted one. Try as I might I could not convince her that they were not, in fact, birds and that mommy was NOT going outside to wrangle a squirrel simply because she wanted to inspect one up close! She was persistent - all through lunch she twisted and contorted her body to point out the "teet teets". The whining grew and intensified!! I was on the verge of putting her in her play pen so I could quickly run down and catch a squirrel. She's nothing if not persistent with her demands! I had even almost convinced myself that I actually stood a real chance of catching a squirrel. Perhaps I could poke one out of a tree with a broom and catch it in a laundry basket....
Anywho - I didn't stalk the neighborhood squirrels and we both managed to avoid a complete and utter meltdown. I'm hoping tomorrow goes better - I'm thinking a trip to a play group is in order!
Hmmm... recipe for the day. My sis-in-law "N" requested more rusks and so I complied! I recently bought some Blueberry Special K and neither the hubby nor I are not big fans. I used this in the recipe instead of using plain bran and they turned out awesomely! If you'd like your rusks to have a light blueberry flavour you need to make them with blueberry Special K! The recipe is a few posts down :)
Till tomorrow - sweet dreams :)
I am truly grateful that the little Diva had fun at her Dadoos and Dadda's tonight - they definitely did an awesome job of distracting her from her jerky teeth which are hacking their way through her gums. I am grateful too that she's now fast asleep in her own bed. I've got the dishwasher on and finally able to have a breather and a moment to write my daily blog.
I do have to mention what happened this morning too though - The little Diva and I were playing downstairs and she happened to be looking out of the window when 3 squirrels thought it would be funny to prance around on our back fence! Their dance steps seemed to say, "come get us - aren't we cute and cuddly looking?"
The Little Diva was ADAMANT that they were "teet teets" and she wanted one. Try as I might I could not convince her that they were not, in fact, birds and that mommy was NOT going outside to wrangle a squirrel simply because she wanted to inspect one up close! She was persistent - all through lunch she twisted and contorted her body to point out the "teet teets". The whining grew and intensified!! I was on the verge of putting her in her play pen so I could quickly run down and catch a squirrel. She's nothing if not persistent with her demands! I had even almost convinced myself that I actually stood a real chance of catching a squirrel. Perhaps I could poke one out of a tree with a broom and catch it in a laundry basket....
Anywho - I didn't stalk the neighborhood squirrels and we both managed to avoid a complete and utter meltdown. I'm hoping tomorrow goes better - I'm thinking a trip to a play group is in order!
Hmmm... recipe for the day. My sis-in-law "N" requested more rusks and so I complied! I recently bought some Blueberry Special K and neither the hubby nor I are not big fans. I used this in the recipe instead of using plain bran and they turned out awesomely! If you'd like your rusks to have a light blueberry flavour you need to make them with blueberry Special K! The recipe is a few posts down :)
Till tomorrow - sweet dreams :)
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Day 29 - Try Quinoa tomorrow!!
So it's official - Pilates CAN and DOES hurt... lol I am well aware that I will be feeling most, if not all, of my core muscles as well as my arm and leg muscles tomorrow. I have to admit that it wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was definitely good! I am totally looking forward to my class next week and fully intend to get my butt on our treadmill for the rest of this week too.
Hmmm so yes - I ended my day with Pilates. The Little Diva and I had a blast at the play group this morning and then came home for a nap. The poor girl woke up completely unhappy an hour later and I ended up rocking her for another 30minutes so that she could sleep - I couldn't put her back in her crib regardless of which tricks I tried. We eventually snuggled in our bed and watched some TV. She's definitely working on another tooth or two and was very restless last night as well. I'm really hoping her teeth let her get some rest tonight.
And with that being said I really need to get some sleep myself. So the recipe idea for the day is Quinoa - you need to make this as a substitute for rice and couscous at some point. I think it's delicious and I make it fairly often. I simply make ours in a rice cooker - add the amount of water stipulated on the packaging and then I crumble a half cube of stock into the water. It tastes divine!
Happy cooking and baking - till next time :)
Hmmm so yes - I ended my day with Pilates. The Little Diva and I had a blast at the play group this morning and then came home for a nap. The poor girl woke up completely unhappy an hour later and I ended up rocking her for another 30minutes so that she could sleep - I couldn't put her back in her crib regardless of which tricks I tried. We eventually snuggled in our bed and watched some TV. She's definitely working on another tooth or two and was very restless last night as well. I'm really hoping her teeth let her get some rest tonight.
And with that being said I really need to get some sleep myself. So the recipe idea for the day is Quinoa - you need to make this as a substitute for rice and couscous at some point. I think it's delicious and I make it fairly often. I simply make ours in a rice cooker - add the amount of water stipulated on the packaging and then I crumble a half cube of stock into the water. It tastes divine!
Happy cooking and baking - till next time :)
Monday, January 23, 2012
Day 28 - Flourless Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies
So... Hmmm what did I do today.... Well for starters I baked! (Yay!). I FINALLY tried a flour-less peanut butter cookie recipe. My little sister will be so proud. I tweaked the recipe slightly (lol when don't I tweak?!) to include some fiber in the form of oats, some vanilla essence and instead of using 1 cup of white sugar I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar. The little Diva was thoroughly impressed with these cookies:
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 egg
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Mix all of the ingredients together. Roll into balls and flatten slightly on a parchment paper covered baking tray. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool. 
These had a slight fudgy taste - I would LOVE to make some South African fudge - but having that much sugary goodness in my house is not a good idea - will have to wait for family gathering where I can share it :D
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Day 27 - Beans on toast!
Ok so yes today's "recipe" isn't really much of a recipe - sort of on par with yesterday's leftovers. BUT it is the weekend!! I didn't do too much inspiring cooking or baking - somehow I manage to squeeze these in more often during the week. Umm so yes... nothing too exciting happened today. We had a lovely lazy Sunday.
The Little Diva and I made a bunch of footprints in the back yard. She was quite excited to explore the poor frozen stems of the plants in the garden. Mr. Kitty joined us for a romp in the snow and I figured when he started scratching at the door to go in it was about time we did too!
Hmmm what else? Oh right we did have to do a quick stop at the grocery store. UGH - I just realized the little Diva was reading a book when we entered the grocery store and I'm not too sure it made it out of the grocery store. SIGH. I'll have to scour the car and hope that by some miracle it actually did end up back in there. The store was pretty packed so really I would have thought at least one person would have noticed a book go flying.... even if I didn't. She was eating a granola bar - so I was watching her like a hawk. I am so terrified of her choking - she coughs once while eating and my heart rate elevates. I always knew I'd be a paranoid parent - I just didn't full grasp how crazy some of my concerns would be. I have, for instance, actually worried about picture frames falling off the wall and hitting her..... yup -I'm a legitimate worry-wart!
Ok enough about the worrying. I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill today. I plan to keep up the exercise regime. I read somewhere that posting plans to stick to a diet or exercise plan etc. on a blog can be a HUGE motivator to stick to it. Apparently I'll feel guilty to for leading my fans on if I don't keep at it?...So yup - YOU PEOPLE out there are now partly responsible for encouraging me to KEEP IT UP! I have also actually signed up for a Pilates class this week. I'm pretty terrified - not gonna lie - it's been AGES since I followed any kind of group exercise thing and I'm wondering just how well my "keeping up" skills have held up. Wish me luck!
So - to the recipe. You need a can of baked beans, some bread and fresh cut up veggies. Open the beans and warm them. Toast the bread. Serve the warm beans over the toast and enjoy the side of raw veggies. If you want this to be even yummier you can add some grated cheese over the beans - YUMMERS.
The Little Diva and I made a bunch of footprints in the back yard. She was quite excited to explore the poor frozen stems of the plants in the garden. Mr. Kitty joined us for a romp in the snow and I figured when he started scratching at the door to go in it was about time we did too!
Hmmm what else? Oh right we did have to do a quick stop at the grocery store. UGH - I just realized the little Diva was reading a book when we entered the grocery store and I'm not too sure it made it out of the grocery store. SIGH. I'll have to scour the car and hope that by some miracle it actually did end up back in there. The store was pretty packed so really I would have thought at least one person would have noticed a book go flying.... even if I didn't. She was eating a granola bar - so I was watching her like a hawk. I am so terrified of her choking - she coughs once while eating and my heart rate elevates. I always knew I'd be a paranoid parent - I just didn't full grasp how crazy some of my concerns would be. I have, for instance, actually worried about picture frames falling off the wall and hitting her..... yup -I'm a legitimate worry-wart!
Ok enough about the worrying. I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill today. I plan to keep up the exercise regime. I read somewhere that posting plans to stick to a diet or exercise plan etc. on a blog can be a HUGE motivator to stick to it. Apparently I'll feel guilty to for leading my fans on if I don't keep at it?...So yup - YOU PEOPLE out there are now partly responsible for encouraging me to KEEP IT UP! I have also actually signed up for a Pilates class this week. I'm pretty terrified - not gonna lie - it's been AGES since I followed any kind of group exercise thing and I'm wondering just how well my "keeping up" skills have held up. Wish me luck!
So - to the recipe. You need a can of baked beans, some bread and fresh cut up veggies. Open the beans and warm them. Toast the bread. Serve the warm beans over the toast and enjoy the side of raw veggies. If you want this to be even yummier you can add some grated cheese over the beans - YUMMERS.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Day 26 - Scrambled Eggs + leftovers = YUM!
okey dokey - so today was a pretty low key day. I did some shopping while the Little Diva slept and daddy kept guard. When I came home we had junk food for lunch - SHOCK HORROR!! But yes - every now and then we do break out healthy diet and indulge in some not so healthy food. I picked up some Wendy's on the way home and while we ate our burgers the little Diva learned the finer art of dipping fries in ketchup!
We spent the rest of the day just hanging out with the Little Diva. She is getting cuter by the day and her vocabulary is growing by the minute. Her latest trick when things aren't going her way is to tell us, "Is sad"... and then she attempts to pull the "sad" face from one of her books. It is hysterical and I get a sense that she's going to live up to her "diva" title if she continues with the dramatics! Either way it is adorable and we're having fun watching her do it.
Supper wasn't a lavish affair - we ate enough calories at lunch time. hehe I made scrambled eggs, toast and topped that with a little of the sausage and tomato and onion I cooked up last night. I made "hotdogs" last night. I put that in inverted comma's because what I made was the South African version. I cooked some boerewors (If you have access to a South African you NEED to get them to expose you to this) which is a divine sausage. I served it on hotdog buns and topped it with cooked tomato and onion. You simply place equal parts of chopped up onion and tomato in a pot - add salt and pepper and cook till nice and tender. We had veggies on the side. YUMMERS.
With that being typed I'm going to get myself into relaxation mode. I trust everyone is enjoying their weekend!
We spent the rest of the day just hanging out with the Little Diva. She is getting cuter by the day and her vocabulary is growing by the minute. Her latest trick when things aren't going her way is to tell us, "Is sad"... and then she attempts to pull the "sad" face from one of her books. It is hysterical and I get a sense that she's going to live up to her "diva" title if she continues with the dramatics! Either way it is adorable and we're having fun watching her do it.
Supper wasn't a lavish affair - we ate enough calories at lunch time. hehe I made scrambled eggs, toast and topped that with a little of the sausage and tomato and onion I cooked up last night. I made "hotdogs" last night. I put that in inverted comma's because what I made was the South African version. I cooked some boerewors (If you have access to a South African you NEED to get them to expose you to this) which is a divine sausage. I served it on hotdog buns and topped it with cooked tomato and onion. You simply place equal parts of chopped up onion and tomato in a pot - add salt and pepper and cook till nice and tender. We had veggies on the side. YUMMERS.
With that being typed I'm going to get myself into relaxation mode. I trust everyone is enjoying their weekend!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Day 25 - Blueberry Muffins
We had a lovely day with Granny today. The Little Diva tried out her winter boots and they were a HUGE hit. She sprinted across the front lawn and granny had to keep up with her. It was definitely cute and we all had a good giggle! I know she's going to want to play out there every chance she gets. I just have to work on her keeping on her gloves!! Her fingers are WAY too adorable for frostbite. I am a HUGE fan of fresh air so we will use duct tape if we have to. Fresh air boosts the spirit and also works wonders on nap time :)
So I made these this morning for Granny's visit and they turned out as yummy as they did a week ago. Yup I still had squishy blueberries that needed using :D I did tweak the crumble on these muffins and also used Buttermilk instead of milk. Here is the original recipe "click".
And here is the text version with my tweaks for those who aren't "link clickers".
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough buttermilk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 way to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. I pushed the crumbs in a little with my fingers - I think it keeps them from falling off during baking!
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork/fingers, until it looks like crumbs and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.
Enjoy!
So I made these this morning for Granny's visit and they turned out as yummy as they did a week ago. Yup I still had squishy blueberries that needed using :D I did tweak the crumble on these muffins and also used Buttermilk instead of milk. Here is the original recipe "click".
And here is the text version with my tweaks for those who aren't "link clickers".
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough buttermilk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 way to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. I pushed the crumbs in a little with my fingers - I think it keeps them from falling off during baking!
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork/fingers, until it looks like crumbs and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.
Enjoy!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Day 24 - Corn Muffins/Cupcakes
So I wasn't in the mood to really cook tonight so I thought I'd quickly whip up a couple of corn muffins and defrost some soup. I just did a quick Google search and came up with this recipe. It originally called for 1 cup of sugar and I only used 3/4 cup. If I make these again I will only use 1/2 cup. They were pretty sweet and I'd call them cupcakes rather than muffins. I even thought that frosting might make these worthy of a birthday treat! Or serve them warm with maple syrup.... obviously with less sugar in them though! Yum... they didn't quite go with the soup but on their own they were pretty awesome. I also substituted margarine for shortening and buttermilk for milk. So here is the butchered version of the recipe I used:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup margarine room temperature/melted
1 cup buttermilk
What to do:
Mix the dry ingredients together. Then mix in the margarine, eggs and buttermilk until smooth. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until one of those cake poker things comes out clean! Enjoy em :)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup margarine room temperature/melted
1 cup buttermilk
What to do:
Mix the dry ingredients together. Then mix in the margarine, eggs and buttermilk until smooth. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until one of those cake poker things comes out clean! Enjoy em :)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Day 23 - Bran Buttermilk Rusks
Day 23 - hmmm where to start. The Little Diva and I went on a quest this morning to purchase cat food and snow boots. The snow boots were for her and not the cats. I can imagine putting boots on my cats would result in a trip to the ER for yours truly. When I was a student I shared a VERY, VERY, VERY tiny basement apartment (we called it "the shoebox") with a good friend of mine and of course my cat - JubJub. I thought I was doing him a favour by purchasing him a leash so that we could spend some time outdoors... stretch our legs, get some fresh air and all that. "All that" translated into a SCREAMING cat on top of my head with his claws firmly wedged in what I could only imagine was my brain. So yes - the boots were not for the cats.
The little Diva is super impressed with her purple boots and if it actually snows this winter we will definitely have to test them out. She hung on to her new boots all through Walmart and I had to pry them from her just long enough for the cashier to scan them.
Ok enough babbling about shopping. Here is the latest recipe. I tend to change the ingredients in these rusks every time I make them. You really just need to ensure you have enough cups of "fibery things" to add up to the total. You can use nuts, cereals, coconut etc. I also always half the recipe otherwise it is too big for my kitchen aid to mix. Here it is:
Ingredients:
3 cups White Flour (or wholewheat)
1 Cup of Bran
1 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1 Cup All Bran Flakes
1/2 Cup Coconut
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tbsp Cream of Tartar
1/2 Tbsp Baking Powder
250g Margarine
5ml Bicarbonate of Soda
45ml Milk
1 Cup Buttermilk
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a pyrex dish 25X33
inches. Mix all dry ingredients except bicarb of soda together. Mix in
the margarine until it resembles bread crumbs. Mix milk and bicarb
together and add to the dry ingredients along with the milk. Mix well
and spoon into prepared dish/tin. Bake for about an hour or until a
skewer comes out clean. Turn onto wire racks and allow to cool
completely. Slice or break into pieces and place onto baking trays. Dry
these out in the oven at 200 degrees. Mine took about 3 hours. I just
checked them every hour for the first hour and then every half hour
after that. They need to be completely dry. Enjoy these badboys with
coffee.... you can dunk or crunch - I like to do both :D
The little Diva is super impressed with her purple boots and if it actually snows this winter we will definitely have to test them out. She hung on to her new boots all through Walmart and I had to pry them from her just long enough for the cashier to scan them.
Ok enough babbling about shopping. Here is the latest recipe. I tend to change the ingredients in these rusks every time I make them. You really just need to ensure you have enough cups of "fibery things" to add up to the total. You can use nuts, cereals, coconut etc. I also always half the recipe otherwise it is too big for my kitchen aid to mix. Here it is:
1 Cup of Bran
1 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1 Cup All Bran Flakes
1/2 Cup Coconut
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tbsp Cream of Tartar
1/2 Tbsp Baking Powder250g Margarine
45ml Milk
1 Cup Buttermilk
What to do:
 |
| Enjoy with a cuppa tea or coffee etc! |
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Day 22 - Blueberry (or plain) pancakes!
So I know an anonymous friend from Holland asked for a flop proof pancakes recipe... I'm not sure if that was pancakes as in griddle cakes or crepes. In South Africa we call "crepes" pancakes and pancakes are called flapjacks... I'm not sure why - perhaps I'll google it later :D
Anywho I found this recipe online several years ago and make it every so often as a breakfast treat. I found that mixing blueberries into the batter made more of a mess that in was worth so I just pop blueberries right into the pancakes as they begin to sizzle. It makes them look ever so perfect and I can add as many or few as I like! I cute them in half this time round because I was pretty confident that the little Diva wouldn't be a fan of the cooked blueberries and I was right. She made a big deal of spitting them out - it was pretty funny - she did enjoy the pancakes once she got her initial protest in!
Anywho the recipe is really simple and here it is:
Ingredients:
1 Cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk
1 tsp olive oil
Enough blueberries to make ya happy
What to do:
Mix dry ingredients together. Beat egg and add to the dry ingredients along with the milk and the olive oil. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry 1/4 cupfuls of the batter. Once they begin to bubble and brown on the bottom you can flip them. Cook until lightly browned on both sides. Don't let the pan get too hot - I tend to move the temperature up and down as I cook them. Enjoy the pancakes with real maple syrup or jam - YUMMY!
Anywho I found this recipe online several years ago and make it every so often as a breakfast treat. I found that mixing blueberries into the batter made more of a mess that in was worth so I just pop blueberries right into the pancakes as they begin to sizzle. It makes them look ever so perfect and I can add as many or few as I like! I cute them in half this time round because I was pretty confident that the little Diva wouldn't be a fan of the cooked blueberries and I was right. She made a big deal of spitting them out - it was pretty funny - she did enjoy the pancakes once she got her initial protest in!
Anywho the recipe is really simple and here it is:Ingredients:
1 Cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk
1 tsp olive oil
Enough blueberries to make ya happyWhat to do:
Mix dry ingredients together. Beat egg and add to the dry ingredients along with the milk and the olive oil. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry 1/4 cupfuls of the batter. Once they begin to bubble and brown on the bottom you can flip them. Cook until lightly browned on both sides. Don't let the pan get too hot - I tend to move the temperature up and down as I cook them. Enjoy the pancakes with real maple syrup or jam - YUMMY!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Day 21 - Keep moving, nothing exciting to see here...
Ok, Ok, YES perhaps the title of this post is a tad uninspiring. I had planned to bake a batch of South African Rusks today - but alas I didn't have buttermilk (this is only partly true - I do indeed have buttermilk but I'm ashamed to admit just when it expired - the worst part of this acknowledgement is the fact that the carton is STILL in my fridge - I was scared to dump it down the sink and my green bin was already sitting on the curb).
I then thought perhaps I'll make pancakes for breakfast and get to mention that in today's post, but alas I need eggs. I will be going out tomorrow to restock some staples so stay tuned - the little Diva and I might just have blueberry pancakes for lunch :D
If the mood strikes and the little Diva naps well I may still make my rusks tomorrow. For those of you without a South African influence in your lives - rusks are sort of like the South African equivalent of biscotti - only more substantial! Stay tuned for photos.
The Little Diva and I had a lovely walk with one of her little friends from the NICU and his mom this morning. It's so great to get to catch up and compare notes :D Also wonderful to see how far both of our little ones have come - such little cuties! They are both definitely growing up WAY too fast. Near the end of our walk The Little Diva started to wave and say "Bye Bye". In addition to the squirming and protesting this was a definite sign it was time to take the sleepy head to bed.
I got a bunch of filing done while she slept and we had a good afternoon. Oh and before I forget - the Little Diva is VERY impressed with the cookies. Every now and then she runs into a slightly larger chunk of raisin and this does get spat out with gusto... but on a whole they were a hit and she asked for them several times today.
Supper wasn't too exciting - I made Chicken, veggies and rice. The Chicken had a Montreal spice on it - the vote is in and apparently Montreal is delicious :D Hopefully I'll have more of a recipe to share tomorrow - until then - keep happy and all that!
I then thought perhaps I'll make pancakes for breakfast and get to mention that in today's post, but alas I need eggs. I will be going out tomorrow to restock some staples so stay tuned - the little Diva and I might just have blueberry pancakes for lunch :D
If the mood strikes and the little Diva naps well I may still make my rusks tomorrow. For those of you without a South African influence in your lives - rusks are sort of like the South African equivalent of biscotti - only more substantial! Stay tuned for photos.
The Little Diva and I had a lovely walk with one of her little friends from the NICU and his mom this morning. It's so great to get to catch up and compare notes :D Also wonderful to see how far both of our little ones have come - such little cuties! They are both definitely growing up WAY too fast. Near the end of our walk The Little Diva started to wave and say "Bye Bye". In addition to the squirming and protesting this was a definite sign it was time to take the sleepy head to bed.
I got a bunch of filing done while she slept and we had a good afternoon. Oh and before I forget - the Little Diva is VERY impressed with the cookies. Every now and then she runs into a slightly larger chunk of raisin and this does get spat out with gusto... but on a whole they were a hit and she asked for them several times today.
Supper wasn't too exciting - I made Chicken, veggies and rice. The Chicken had a Montreal spice on it - the vote is in and apparently Montreal is delicious :D Hopefully I'll have more of a recipe to share tomorrow - until then - keep happy and all that!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Day 20 - Baby Oatmeal and Raisin Cookes!
Wow - I CANNOT believe that I've hit day 20 already! For starters I'm in awe that I've made it this far without skipping a day - cause lets face it - I am by nature a procrastinator. I made peace with this many years ago and I and my blood pressure have an understanding - he will continue to creep up as I approach a deadline and then I will swoop in at the last minute to get whatever it is that needs to be done - DONE. I avoid my head blowing up due to stress and my blood pressure relaxes until the next approaching deadline (yes lets all just pretend it makes sense that my "blood pressure" is a "he").
Moving on, I'm also a little flabbergasted (now how's that for a word) at how fast 20 days have just blown by. I really need to fit in more relaxing time so that it doesn't seem like we're all speeding through life! Deep breathing and all that... I have already decided that I need to spend some time playing in the snow (if it sticks around) and I picked up a gorgeous pink princess snow suit for the little Diva today! I just need to find her a pair of boots and we're good to do some exploring. If anyone has spotted any in stores in Canada - please do point me in their direction. I'm not totally against aimless mall/store wandering but if it gets too much colder the Little Diva will object to being dragged around.
Ok so where are we at... right ... so the Little Diva has this routine where she will eat like a horse for 3 or 4 days in a row and then she'll have 2 days where I wonder how much food actually made it to her belly. These days usually consist of her asking for one single food item every time I try to feed her. Try as I may she doesn't quite grasp the concept that "Cheerios" are not considered a complete food! Anyway, even on these "off" days she is usually up for cookies and so I baked a batch tonight... they have some baby cereal in them to boost the iron and calories and I went even further and added an egg and a minigo yogurt. My additions were mostly in part because I was distracted mid-baking and had to hide the batter in the fridge. When I went to make the cookies the batter was too cold and hard to drop spoonfuls on parchment paper and so I made it wetter. Here is the recipe - my additions are in blue so feel free not to add them :) The cookies are nice and "cakey" and I"ll let you know what the Little Diva thinks of them after snack time tomorrow morning!
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Margarine
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 Infant Rice cereal
(I used Milupa Wheat cereal - Yogurt & Raspberry)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup rasins finely chopped
Set oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream together Margarine and sugar. Add egg and yogurt and mix well. Add flour, oats, rice cereal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla, raisins and cinnamon and mix well. Drop dough by tablespoon (15ml) and flatten with a fork (I used parchment paper on my trays but I'm sure greasing them will work well too). Bake for 8-9 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on trays for 5 minutes before moving to racks to cool completely. Enjoy!
Moving on, I'm also a little flabbergasted (now how's that for a word) at how fast 20 days have just blown by. I really need to fit in more relaxing time so that it doesn't seem like we're all speeding through life! Deep breathing and all that... I have already decided that I need to spend some time playing in the snow (if it sticks around) and I picked up a gorgeous pink princess snow suit for the little Diva today! I just need to find her a pair of boots and we're good to do some exploring. If anyone has spotted any in stores in Canada - please do point me in their direction. I'm not totally against aimless mall/store wandering but if it gets too much colder the Little Diva will object to being dragged around.
Ok so where are we at... right ... so the Little Diva has this routine where she will eat like a horse for 3 or 4 days in a row and then she'll have 2 days where I wonder how much food actually made it to her belly. These days usually consist of her asking for one single food item every time I try to feed her. Try as I may she doesn't quite grasp the concept that "Cheerios" are not considered a complete food! Anyway, even on these "off" days she is usually up for cookies and so I baked a batch tonight... they have some baby cereal in them to boost the iron and calories and I went even further and added an egg and a minigo yogurt. My additions were mostly in part because I was distracted mid-baking and had to hide the batter in the fridge. When I went to make the cookies the batter was too cold and hard to drop spoonfuls on parchment paper and so I made it wetter. Here is the recipe - my additions are in blue so feel free not to add them :) The cookies are nice and "cakey" and I"ll let you know what the Little Diva thinks of them after snack time tomorrow morning!
 |
| a slightly blurred look at the finished product! |
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Margarine
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 Vanilla Flavored minigo yogurt1/2 Cup Flour
1 Cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 Infant Rice cereal
(I used Milupa Wheat cereal - Yogurt & Raspberry)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup rasins finely chopped
Set oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream together Margarine and sugar. Add egg and yogurt and mix well. Add flour, oats, rice cereal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla, raisins and cinnamon and mix well. Drop dough by tablespoon (15ml) and flatten with a fork (I used parchment paper on my trays but I'm sure greasing them will work well too). Bake for 8-9 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on trays for 5 minutes before moving to racks to cool completely. Enjoy!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Day 19 - Spring Cleaning is NOT a recipe...
Ok so here's the deal - the hubby and I are in "spring cleaning" mode - yup we are aware that is is only January but considering it has only snowed twice this winter so far it really does feel more like Spring! We sorted documents - moved things to the basement that had been collecting dust in random corners upstairs and I performed a transplant on both of our Roombas.
The little guy on the main floor turns on at 9am every morning and cleans up the mess from the previous day. The mess generally consists of cheerios, puffs and cookie crumbs. The number of cheerios varies daily and is affected by two things 1 - whether or not the Little Diva was able to thwart her "non-spill bowl" the day before and 2 - whether or not Mr. Kitty was in the mood for Cheerios.
The Roomba downstairs recently began making a strange clicking noise. I'm going to go ahead and call it the Roomba equivalent of hiccups. He sounded quite distressed - whirring around, sucking and clicking. The hubby did some research online and turns out the poor guy is a tad sick - the kind of sick that requires replacement parts. The kind of sick that isn't immediately remedied!
We really enjoy not having to sweep daily and I therefore performed the delicate surgery. We now have a healthy Roomba on the main-floor while his buddy relaxes upstairs. We couldn't risk being ankle deep in cheerios by the end of the week.... Plus the little Diva was SUPER entertained to see the Roomba up and running again after several days of having to watch Mommy or Daddy sweep... guess we're just not as entertaining?
Anywho so yes - busy busy busy! I didn't do any new and exciting cooking today. Breakfast consisted of raisin bran (step 1 - add bran to bowl, step 2 - add desired amount of milk, Step 3 - consume! This better count as a recipe :D), lunch was a delish Chicken Sandwich and Supper consisted of fish, veggies and rice... All in all though it was a VERY productive day and although there are still a few things to sort out - I am confident we will be done before Spring!
Night night to all - seriously though - any recipe suggestions??
The little guy on the main floor turns on at 9am every morning and cleans up the mess from the previous day. The mess generally consists of cheerios, puffs and cookie crumbs. The number of cheerios varies daily and is affected by two things 1 - whether or not the Little Diva was able to thwart her "non-spill bowl" the day before and 2 - whether or not Mr. Kitty was in the mood for Cheerios.
The Roomba downstairs recently began making a strange clicking noise. I'm going to go ahead and call it the Roomba equivalent of hiccups. He sounded quite distressed - whirring around, sucking and clicking. The hubby did some research online and turns out the poor guy is a tad sick - the kind of sick that requires replacement parts. The kind of sick that isn't immediately remedied!
We really enjoy not having to sweep daily and I therefore performed the delicate surgery. We now have a healthy Roomba on the main-floor while his buddy relaxes upstairs. We couldn't risk being ankle deep in cheerios by the end of the week.... Plus the little Diva was SUPER entertained to see the Roomba up and running again after several days of having to watch Mommy or Daddy sweep... guess we're just not as entertaining?
Anywho so yes - busy busy busy! I didn't do any new and exciting cooking today. Breakfast consisted of raisin bran (step 1 - add bran to bowl, step 2 - add desired amount of milk, Step 3 - consume! This better count as a recipe :D), lunch was a delish Chicken Sandwich and Supper consisted of fish, veggies and rice... All in all though it was a VERY productive day and although there are still a few things to sort out - I am confident we will be done before Spring!
Night night to all - seriously though - any recipe suggestions??
Friday, January 13, 2012
Day 18 - Slow cooker Chilli!
I only recently got introduced to the world of slow cookers (Oh goodie delayed gratification) but have to admit I'm already a fan! Thank you to my sister for leaving her slow cooker here when she moved back to South Africa. My tummy owes you one!
There is just something extra yummy about food that's been cooked that long.... mmmm tender yummyness. I have one rule though - if I have tried the recipe once and it turned out great I will at very least double the recipe the following time. I figure if I'm going to cook something for 8 hours I am going to make it WORTH my while. Also how great is it to have ready to go meals in the freezer for those - "just can't find the time to cook" moments. I considered tripling the beef chilli recipe but there was no way it would actually fit.... the prospect of cleaning chilli off the shelf and floor didn't really appeal to me. Anywho here is the recipe in it's singular form:
Ingredients:
15ml oil
250g onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
360g beef mince
3tbsp corn starch
200g red/green or yellow peppers, diced
480g tomatoes finely chopped or pureed
500ml water
2 beef stock cubes
2 bay leaves
5 ml chilli powder or to taste
1 tsp sweet basil
1tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
500g Kidney Beans
What to do:
Heat oil in a pan and add all of the vegetables. Mix in the corn starch and spices. Stir and fry these for about 5 minutes - I added the water as well to keep the corn starch from gelling too much. Transfer the veggies to the slow cooker and add the meat , beans and stock cubes. Stir well - set the slow cooker to high and cook for 8 hours. Enjoy :)
There is just something extra yummy about food that's been cooked that long.... mmmm tender yummyness. I have one rule though - if I have tried the recipe once and it turned out great I will at very least double the recipe the following time. I figure if I'm going to cook something for 8 hours I am going to make it WORTH my while. Also how great is it to have ready to go meals in the freezer for those - "just can't find the time to cook" moments. I considered tripling the beef chilli recipe but there was no way it would actually fit.... the prospect of cleaning chilli off the shelf and floor didn't really appeal to me. Anywho here is the recipe in it's singular form:
Ingredients:
15ml oil
250g onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
360g beef mince
3tbsp corn starch
200g red/green or yellow peppers, diced
480g tomatoes finely chopped or pureed
500ml water
2 beef stock cubes
2 bay leaves
5 ml chilli powder or to taste
1 tsp sweet basil
1tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
500g Kidney Beans
What to do:
Heat oil in a pan and add all of the vegetables. Mix in the corn starch and spices. Stir and fry these for about 5 minutes - I added the water as well to keep the corn starch from gelling too much. Transfer the veggies to the slow cooker and add the meat , beans and stock cubes. Stir well - set the slow cooker to high and cook for 8 hours. Enjoy :)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Day 17 - Gotta LOVE LAMB!
The little Diva is battling molars on her left side now. The poor girl woke up this morning at 3am and needed a cuddle in our bed to get back to sleep. She's been pretty crabby so it was a day of lots of picking up, dancing round the kitchen and all manner of distraction! As I've said before - I'm SUPER glad I don't have to grow new teeth as an adult! Our household is pretty sleepy today and I'm hoping we all sleep better tonight.
I was able to distract the Little Diva long enough (with Treehouse and Thomas) this evening to cook lamb shoulder chops for supper. I placed them (2) in an oven proof dish with a large onion sliced up. I liberally sprinkled them with salt, pepper and a rosemary spice mix. I cooked them for 35minutes and then grilled them for 15 to bring out the flavour. I served them with rice and veggies and boy was it ever yummers!!
I'm looking forward to my sis-in-law and her 2 kiddies visiting tomorrow - if they're lucky I may have enough time in the morning to whip up something yummy before they get here. I need things to blog about so it's a win win situation :D If they're even luckier I may have time to vacuum before thy get here!!
I'm sorry this post isn't longer but I need some coffee, apple crumble and time to unwind before bedtime! Night night to all :)
I was able to distract the Little Diva long enough (with Treehouse and Thomas) this evening to cook lamb shoulder chops for supper. I placed them (2) in an oven proof dish with a large onion sliced up. I liberally sprinkled them with salt, pepper and a rosemary spice mix. I cooked them for 35minutes and then grilled them for 15 to bring out the flavour. I served them with rice and veggies and boy was it ever yummers!!
I'm looking forward to my sis-in-law and her 2 kiddies visiting tomorrow - if they're lucky I may have enough time in the morning to whip up something yummy before they get here. I need things to blog about so it's a win win situation :D If they're even luckier I may have time to vacuum before thy get here!!
I'm sorry this post isn't longer but I need some coffee, apple crumble and time to unwind before bedtime! Night night to all :)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
DAY 16 - My Gluten Free Apple Crumble!
I took the little Diva for an eye exam today - we had to wait an hour and a half before we actually got seen. Yep we had an appointment. I understand that emergency cases get seen first regardless of appointment etc. and yes if I was in an emergency situation I'd be super happy they saw me first but it is EVER so hard to keep thinking these positive thoughts when your little Diva is BORED out of her mind and does NOT want to sit on your lap or do anything that doesn't include spinning in the middle of the room waving her took. The spinning leads to dizziness, tripping and falling and also to a rather tense mommy muttering under her breath about how she so doesn't love doctors or waiting rooms or sick people or dirty floors that diva's want to play on!!
We FINALLY got to see her doctor - the actual visit took all of 5 minutes. I thought we were in the clear - we had avoided a complete meltdown (on both the mommy and diva fronts). Then the doc put on his head gear (I realize I have no idea what the technical term is for the hat-less hat that optometrists wear is) and looked like some kind of demented diamond miner. The little Diva CRIED, SCREAMED and then I had to hold her flailing arms so that the optical miner could pry open her eyelids and peek at her eyeballs. Thankfully that was over in less than a minute and my little Diva clung to me as we hastily made out way of the building and back home. For the record her eyes are great and I won't have to put her through that trauma again until she's 3!
So lets move onto baking...
Have you ever gone to the store and bought a bag of delicious shiny apples only to recoil in horror when you look at them a day or two after you got them home? No? Just me then... ok well - on with my story... so Yes - I took a look at my apples this morning and they looked like they had been dropped from a plane and then kicked around by a group of 5 year old kids hopped up on buckets of candy.
The only logical thing to do was to bake an apple crumble! I'm working hard on not wasting food - so this was a perfect opportunity to put this plan into action. Along the "no wasting" line - I'm also trying to buy more local veggies which is turning out to be pretty damn hard - mostly because I walk into a store thinking, "I need mushrooms, cucumbers and peppers" and walk out thinking, "Damn I forgot to check where these items where actually grown!" Anywho I'm confident that with time I will get better with this and if not then perhaps I have bigger things to worry about - for instance "mommy brain". I'm not sure if I'm technically still allowed to use this excuse because the little diva is almost 19 months old already - perhaps I should have adapted by now. Oh well!
Anywho so back to the apple crumble. Tonight was our "visit Dadoos and Dadda" night so I developed a gluten free crumble. Here, without too much further ado is my recipe:
Ingredients:
700g cored, peeled and chopped apples
1 cup coffee
1/2 cup raisins
30ml white sugar
5ml cinamon
2.5ml nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts
60g earth balance butter
6 tbsp (90ml) dark brown sugar
150ml Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour
6 tbsp (90ml) Almond Flour
What to do:
Put the raisins and coffee in a pot and boil over medium heat for 5 - 10 minutes this ensures that the raisins will be nice and plump with great flavour. Drain the raisins and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the apples, white sugar, cinamon, nutmeg and walnuts. Mix well and press into a greased 20x28 pyrex dish.
Next combine the butter, flour, dark brown sugar and almond flour. Using your hands quickly mix into a crumb consistence. I found this was a little difficult to do - make sure the butter is well chilled and work quickly - it can be done! Once this consistency has been reached - sprinkle this over the apple mixture.
I topped mine with a sprinkle of cinamon and put in the oven at 390 for 30 minutes. It turned out deliciously - we didn't serve it with cream or ice-cream but I'm sure it will go well with either! Just make sure that all of your individual ingredients are gluten free if you intend to serve it to someone with gluten allergies!!
Happy baking :)
We FINALLY got to see her doctor - the actual visit took all of 5 minutes. I thought we were in the clear - we had avoided a complete meltdown (on both the mommy and diva fronts). Then the doc put on his head gear (I realize I have no idea what the technical term is for the hat-less hat that optometrists wear is) and looked like some kind of demented diamond miner. The little Diva CRIED, SCREAMED and then I had to hold her flailing arms so that the optical miner could pry open her eyelids and peek at her eyeballs. Thankfully that was over in less than a minute and my little Diva clung to me as we hastily made out way of the building and back home. For the record her eyes are great and I won't have to put her through that trauma again until she's 3!
So lets move onto baking...
Have you ever gone to the store and bought a bag of delicious shiny apples only to recoil in horror when you look at them a day or two after you got them home? No? Just me then... ok well - on with my story... so Yes - I took a look at my apples this morning and they looked like they had been dropped from a plane and then kicked around by a group of 5 year old kids hopped up on buckets of candy.
The only logical thing to do was to bake an apple crumble! I'm working hard on not wasting food - so this was a perfect opportunity to put this plan into action. Along the "no wasting" line - I'm also trying to buy more local veggies which is turning out to be pretty damn hard - mostly because I walk into a store thinking, "I need mushrooms, cucumbers and peppers" and walk out thinking, "Damn I forgot to check where these items where actually grown!" Anywho I'm confident that with time I will get better with this and if not then perhaps I have bigger things to worry about - for instance "mommy brain". I'm not sure if I'm technically still allowed to use this excuse because the little diva is almost 19 months old already - perhaps I should have adapted by now. Oh well!
Anywho so back to the apple crumble. Tonight was our "visit Dadoos and Dadda" night so I developed a gluten free crumble. Here, without too much further ado is my recipe:
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| transported and ready to taste! |
Ingredients:
700g cored, peeled and chopped apples
1 cup coffee
1/2 cup raisins
30ml white sugar
5ml cinamon
2.5ml nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts
60g earth balance butter
6 tbsp (90ml) dark brown sugar
150ml Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour
6 tbsp (90ml) Almond Flour
What to do:
Put the raisins and coffee in a pot and boil over medium heat for 5 - 10 minutes this ensures that the raisins will be nice and plump with great flavour. Drain the raisins and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the apples, white sugar, cinamon, nutmeg and walnuts. Mix well and press into a greased 20x28 pyrex dish.
 |
| Yummers! |
I topped mine with a sprinkle of cinamon and put in the oven at 390 for 30 minutes. It turned out deliciously - we didn't serve it with cream or ice-cream but I'm sure it will go well with either! Just make sure that all of your individual ingredients are gluten free if you intend to serve it to someone with gluten allergies!!
Happy baking :)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Day 15 - Macaroni Cheese & Vegetables
I made a healthy version of Mac and Cheese today! I have to admit it turned out better than I expected. It's from a diet book so I was a little skeptical :) Hope you try and enjoy it!
Ingredients:
140g raw macaroni
100g onion sliced (I used green and regular)
50 g carrots I grated mine
50g celery chopped
100g mushrooms chopped
100g asparagus chopped
50g broccoli chopped
1 egg
2 egg whites
60ml skim milk
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp Italian spice
freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
120g low fat Mozzarella cheese
40g Parmesan cheese grated
20g breadcrumbs
What ya do:
Cook the macaroni and steam the veggies. The recipe said "until almost done" but I cooked mine both properly. In a pot over low heat whisk together the milk, eggs, salt, pepper, spices and 70g of the mozzarella cheese and all of the Parmesan cheese. Add the pasta and veggies and cook for 2-3 minutes - the mix will begin to thicken as the egg cooks and the cheese melts. Spoon the mix into an ovenproof dish. Combine the crumbs and the remaining mozzarella and sprinkle this over the macaroni. Bake in a preheated oven at 385 for 20minutes. The top should be crisp and golden - serve hot and enjoy :D
Ingredients:
140g raw macaroni
100g onion sliced (I used green and regular)
50 g carrots I grated mine
50g celery chopped
100g mushrooms chopped
100g asparagus chopped
50g broccoli chopped
1 egg
2 egg whites
60ml skim milk
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp Italian spice
freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
120g low fat Mozzarella cheese
40g Parmesan cheese grated
20g breadcrumbs
What ya do:
Cook the macaroni and steam the veggies. The recipe said "until almost done" but I cooked mine both properly. In a pot over low heat whisk together the milk, eggs, salt, pepper, spices and 70g of the mozzarella cheese and all of the Parmesan cheese. Add the pasta and veggies and cook for 2-3 minutes - the mix will begin to thicken as the egg cooks and the cheese melts. Spoon the mix into an ovenproof dish. Combine the crumbs and the remaining mozzarella and sprinkle this over the macaroni. Bake in a preheated oven at 385 for 20minutes. The top should be crisp and golden - serve hot and enjoy :D
Monday, January 9, 2012
Day 14 - UGH the fish conundrum!
So it has come to my attention (again) that consuming fish might not be as healthy for you as you may think. SIGH.
I
HATE fear mongering, but I especially hate the kind of fear mongering
that has a ring of truth to it. So yes - we need to be careful about the
mercury levels in our fish. The bigger predatory fishes are apparently
awash in this terrifying substance.The information I found on Health
Canada's website was from 2007. I can't help but think that this might
be a wee bit outdated. But for what it is worth HC says that the general population can eat up to 150g a week of the large predatory fish that fall into the "watch
for mercury" group. Those women who are pregnant, trying to become
pregnant or breastfeeding are only allowed 150g per month and children
between 5 and 11 can have 125g per month. Children between 1 and 4 years
of age have a maximum allowance of 75g per month.
So which are the offensive fish you ask? Health Canada says these guys:
fresh and frozen tuna
shark
swordfish
escolar
marlin
orange roughy
Health Canada does have rules in place that have maximum amounts of
mercury that fish is allowed to contain in order to be sold in Canada.
Although this makes me feel a little better I'm not exactly excited by
the prospect of any mercury in my fish.
Further reading had me understanding that Albacore Tuna (canned)
has it's own allowable amounts per month as it's mercury levels are
generally higher. Light Tuna however does not contain Albacore and
apparently has mercury levels way below what Health Canada allows. So YAY to that - at least we haven't been eating the really scary one!
Health Canada suggests that we should eat two 75g servings of
fish per week. They suggest fish that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids
such as salmon, herring, sardines, char, Atlantic mackerel and rainbow
trout. These guys also apparently tend to be low in mercury.
Ok
so after reading that I decided to check out "Eat Right Ontario's"
website as well. They had similar information and advice. They listed
the same "top offenders" as the Health Canada Website. Once again Light
Tuna was considered safer. They suggested the following fish (etc) as
healthier alternatives:
Salmon
Anchovy
Char
Herring
Atlantic mackerel
Pollok (Boston bluefish)
Smelt
Rainbow trout
Lake whitefish
Shrimp
Clam
Mussel
Oyster
Cod
Haddock
Halibut
Sole
Scallops and Squid
Snapper
Perch
Bass
Tilapia
After reading all that I ran into this website. ARGH...
so in addition to the mercury levels this website points out which fish
are in danger of being wiped out due to over fishing etc. So add FEAR
and GUILT to the list of reasons you shouldn't eat fish! I'd become a
vegetarian but I'm sure there are reasons not to eat certain veggies
over and above all the toxins they spray on them!!! Why does everything
have to be scary.....
So yes - I haven't exactly left you with a recipe tonight. Rather
I've given you a tonne of information and troubling thoughts about the
fishy things we eat. I'm not sure if we should run screaming from every
body of water we see or not.... Oh well - I'm super sleepy and wondering
which fish I should try now.... suggestions anyone?
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Day 13 - More New Canadians and Some Maple Goodness!!
My Mom and Dad are becoming Canadian Citizens tomorrow!!! YAY!!! I'm so happy for them!! My citizenship ceremony was truly a memorable moment for me. I am super happy and proud to call myself a Canadian Citizen. So I figured I needed to make something Canadian to take for tea/coffee afterwards. The obvious ingredient that came up was MAPLE SYRUP. So I did some Googling and decided to make some Maple cookies. I used a recipe I found online and halved it. I added a few things and put walnuts in half of my batter and left the other half smooth so that the Little Diva could have these without choking on the nuts! Turns out both her and the hubby are bigger fans of the nut free ones. Hope you like them as much as we do :)
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup margerine softened
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup REAL maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking soda
1/4pinch of salt
2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cups walnuts if desired
1/3 cup mixed brown sugar and white for decoration
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg, syrup and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, spices and nuts if you are using them. Mix well. Shape the batter into 1 inch balls and roll in the white and brown sugar mixture. place them on parchment paper on your cookie trays about 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie slightly with a fork and bake for 9 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
The mixed sugar makes these cookies extra sparkly - they look like maple jewels and taste fantastic - at least we think so!
Ingredients:
 |
| Cookies waiting to go in the oven! |
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup REAL maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking soda
1/4pinch of salt
2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cups walnuts if desired
1/3 cup mixed brown sugar and white for decoration
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg, syrup and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, spices and nuts if you are using them. Mix well. Shape the batter into 1 inch balls and roll in the white and brown sugar mixture. place them on parchment paper on your cookie trays about 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie slightly with a fork and bake for 9 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
The mixed sugar makes these cookies extra sparkly - they look like maple jewels and taste fantastic - at least we think so!
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| sparkly Maple Cookies! |
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Day 12 - Toast with Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jam
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| Late night snack - toast with peanut butter and raspberry jam :) |
I can't believe how quickly she's growing up. I have to admit it does freak me out just a wee bit - because I remember when my niece was just as small as my little goober and it seriously feels like it was a few months, not years, ago!!
..Sigh... I sometimes feel like someone has hit the fastforward button on life. I'm all for slowing down and enjoying the moments - but much like the eejits who stop in the middle of the isle in malls you're likely to get bumped into and even shoved a little when you do this.
So how's about we take several steps to the left or the right before slowing down. Enough steps to still technically be in the mall but not so few as to still be in the path of crazed shoppers! Ok so enough with that analogy - lets all try to "be alive in the moment"... you know "smell the roses"... "notice the breeze"... "take time to play"... whatever it is you need to do to feel alive and real - go and do it before the moment has passed!!!! Unless of course doing that makes you rush through something else that you should be savouring...Try not to rush through life - let your children be children. They grow up way too fast as it is. I'm dreading having to teach the Little Diva about how dangerous the world really is... ugh... I'm not a fan of fear mongering. BUT more on that later...
So yes - I hoped you enjoyed that little bit of philosophical muttering because the recipe I'm leaving you with today is less than inspiring! After the wonderful afternoon, great company and delicious food and snacks we were not looking to have a big supper. We had a late night snack of toast. Mine - as you can see in the photo - had peanut butter and raspberry jam. YUMMERS is all I can say about this mix and if you have never tried it you need to stop what you're doing and TRY IT RIGHT NOW!! Unless of course you have a peanut allergy - I do not want to be held even "slightly" responsible for that kind of insanity!
Sweet dreams until tomorrow - when I might just share a delicious slow cooker chilli recipe with ya'all!!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Day 11 - Lemon Crinkle cookies!
Hello there fellow blog readers etc. it has officially been "one of those days" today and I don't have much in the way of inspiring things to type but I will share the following recipe. I made it as part of my Christmas baking for 2011 and I was really happy with how they turned out! The recipe comes from here and was apparently a winning recipe for a Mormon magazine. All I can say is YUMMERS! Please see the recipe below if you don't want to open the link.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen
Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
 |
| My attempt at this recipe was definitely a success even if they didn't look the same! |
Makes 2-3 dozen
Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Day 10 - attempting to recreate a Tuscan Chicken Sandwich!
So every now and then I will eat something at a restaurant and decide that I HAVE to recreate it. My hubby has been going on about the Tuscan Chicken Sandwich at Moxies for a while now and I finally got to try it. The Sandwich is described as follows: open faced, with green olive tapenade, pesto and feta cheese on focaccia bread.
Anywho this thing is freaking yummy and my recipe didn't quite pan out so if I were you I'd get my ass to Moxies and try it for myself!
Here is my attempt. I grilled the chicken breast in the oven with an olive and rosemary spice (I'm thinking a garlic based one would have been better)
I put a heaped teaspoon of tapenade and pesto on the bread. I used red pesto but I'm thinking perhaps I needed green - either way I need to try the real sandwich again :P
I then added some sliced cucumber, the chicken breast and I topped that with crumbled feta and a twist or two of black pepper corns!
It was super yummy but not 100% right. I also think I needed to add some fresh cilantro... but that could be in the green pesto - I'm not really sure!
The Little Diva and I went on a quest this afternoon to find my niece an apple snail (apparently you can eat these :| lol) for her birthday! We are super happy with the one we found and can't WAIT to gift wrap and give it to her. We are pretty confident the chubby yellow guy will get along famously with her chubby goldfish. The Little Diva had a blast at the pet store. The birds were a huge hit this afternoon and she excitedly pointed and told me "teet teet teeeet!!"
Anywho this thing is freaking yummy and my recipe didn't quite pan out so if I were you I'd get my ass to Moxies and try it for myself!
I put a heaped teaspoon of tapenade and pesto on the bread. I used red pesto but I'm thinking perhaps I needed green - either way I need to try the real sandwich again :P
I then added some sliced cucumber, the chicken breast and I topped that with crumbled feta and a twist or two of black pepper corns!
It was super yummy but not 100% right. I also think I needed to add some fresh cilantro... but that could be in the green pesto - I'm not really sure!
The Little Diva and I went on a quest this afternoon to find my niece an apple snail (apparently you can eat these :| lol) for her birthday! We are super happy with the one we found and can't WAIT to gift wrap and give it to her. We are pretty confident the chubby yellow guy will get along famously with her chubby goldfish. The Little Diva had a blast at the pet store. The birds were a huge hit this afternoon and she excitedly pointed and told me "teet teet teeeet!!"Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Day 9 - It smells like a giant fart - but wow is it ever yummy!
Ok so now that I have you attention with my umm... "attention grabbing" title let me first tell you about my day! The Little Diva and I drove Gah (aka Grany, aka mom, aka Mommers) to go pick up her new baby kitten. It was a pretty speedy but scenic drive - we got a little delayed cleaning lunch off of the Little Diva. Also there was the small matter of chasing her around for the purpose of removing her milk, water, banana, puffs, cookie, sweet potato and chicken covered clothes to switch them for dry ones. So the scenic route was taken at a speedy pace - there were a few strange places we drove past that I'm tempted to return to JUST to see what the heck they were. One of the yards for instance had about a billion Christmas decorations and I couldn't figure out if they were just some eccentric goofs way of artistically expressing his or her eccentricity or if they were selling stuff - oh well not a biggie!
We had a great time meeting the little Kitty's mom and other kitty housemates. They are all Ragdoll cats and are absolutely GORGEOUS! AND snugly - boy are they ever snugly! The Little Diva was so gently with her petting of the cats that I couldn't help but wonder why she reserves her "SUPER PATS" for out cats. Perhaps she's seen them playing with her little stuffed farm animals.... I had to wrestle three baby pigs from Mr. Kitty this afternoon...
Anywho I was glad that she was a fan of Gah's new kitty. I think they're going to be great pals. That is as long as the kitty doesn't sneeze too much. The poor Little Diva sobbed for what seemed like a lifetime when said cute cuddly kitten sneeze twice - really loudly and right in her face. She was also a little heartbroken when she realized that the kitten had followed us back to Gah's house. I guess she's not too keen on sharing Gah with the new little bundle of fluff.
We got home just before 6 and thanks to falling asleep in the car on the way home the Little Diva was a handful to get to bed. She gave up her second nap during the day months ago and part of me wonders if she actually still needs one. She naps for between an hour and fifteen minutes to two hours any time from 10 - 12pm. By the time 4:30 pm rolls around she's yawning again! Maybe I'll try the second nap tomorrow - I'm just concerned I'll still have a wired Diva bouncing off the walls at midnight if I do :)
Ok so back to the title. You all NEED to make this soup! Click the word "soup" over there to the left and follow the instructions. I made this soup for a family lunch at my mommer's house and bought double the amount of broccoli required to double the recipe!! Yup I had a hard time trying to imagine what "5 cups of broccoli" looked like. I figured the store owners wouldn't take kindly to me hacking up the broccoli in-store and measuring it out before I bought it and so I over did it.... anywho the whole reason for this giant tangent is that I actually made a second pot of this soup and popped it in the freezer for those last minute meal plans.
This soups is absolutely yummy... but be warned - your house WILL SMELL LIKE A GIANT FART while it is cooking... My sister informed me that "fart is not a yummy flavour"...
and on that note I will bid you a good night and I will type some more tomorrow! Until then keep reading and baking and cooking and seriously.... any requests can be sent my way - I can't guarantee that I'll share the end result but I'm willing to give new recipes a shot :D
We had a great time meeting the little Kitty's mom and other kitty housemates. They are all Ragdoll cats and are absolutely GORGEOUS! AND snugly - boy are they ever snugly! The Little Diva was so gently with her petting of the cats that I couldn't help but wonder why she reserves her "SUPER PATS" for out cats. Perhaps she's seen them playing with her little stuffed farm animals.... I had to wrestle three baby pigs from Mr. Kitty this afternoon...
Anywho I was glad that she was a fan of Gah's new kitty. I think they're going to be great pals. That is as long as the kitty doesn't sneeze too much. The poor Little Diva sobbed for what seemed like a lifetime when said cute cuddly kitten sneeze twice - really loudly and right in her face. She was also a little heartbroken when she realized that the kitten had followed us back to Gah's house. I guess she's not too keen on sharing Gah with the new little bundle of fluff.
We got home just before 6 and thanks to falling asleep in the car on the way home the Little Diva was a handful to get to bed. She gave up her second nap during the day months ago and part of me wonders if she actually still needs one. She naps for between an hour and fifteen minutes to two hours any time from 10 - 12pm. By the time 4:30 pm rolls around she's yawning again! Maybe I'll try the second nap tomorrow - I'm just concerned I'll still have a wired Diva bouncing off the walls at midnight if I do :)
Ok so back to the title. You all NEED to make this soup! Click the word "soup" over there to the left and follow the instructions. I made this soup for a family lunch at my mommer's house and bought double the amount of broccoli required to double the recipe!! Yup I had a hard time trying to imagine what "5 cups of broccoli" looked like. I figured the store owners wouldn't take kindly to me hacking up the broccoli in-store and measuring it out before I bought it and so I over did it.... anywho the whole reason for this giant tangent is that I actually made a second pot of this soup and popped it in the freezer for those last minute meal plans.
This soups is absolutely yummy... but be warned - your house WILL SMELL LIKE A GIANT FART while it is cooking... My sister informed me that "fart is not a yummy flavour"...
and on that note I will bid you a good night and I will type some more tomorrow! Until then keep reading and baking and cooking and seriously.... any requests can be sent my way - I can't guarantee that I'll share the end result but I'm willing to give new recipes a shot :D
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Day 8 - Double Chocolate Mocha Biscotti
Hmmm.... so with all the sleepless nights we've been having lately I thought I needed to unwind a little with some baking. I waited until the Little Diva was fast asleep and whipped up a batch of these. My sister is Gluten and Lactose intolerant and pointed me to this website (elana's pantry). There are many lovely recipes here and I have made these Biscotti 3 times already. I did make mine a little differently this time - I added some pecans and some ground flax seeds. I only included the coffee the very first time I made the recipe and I do think they are a lot better without it. Of course other people might not agree with me - my non-coffee drinking sister loved these!
Anywho here we go with the text version of the recipe and some photos :) The original recipe can be found on elana's pantry at this link.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
15 ml arrowroot powder (you can get this at bulkbarn)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup manuka honey
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecan pieces
15 ml ground flax seeds
Method:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. It's not that easy to mix but it can be done and I'm sure it will work as well in a mixer.
Roll the dough into 2 or 4 logs and bake on greased foil or parchment paper at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to coll for 1 hour.
Cut logs into diagonal slices with a sharp serated knife and lay these slices on a baking sheet. Cook them for a further 12-15 mintes at 300 degrees.
Remove from oven and allow the biscotti to cool before removing from the tray. They will be really soft before they cool and crisp up!
Once they are cool you can enjoy them with your favourite coffee, tea or just as they are....
Anywho here we go with the text version of the recipe and some photos :) The original recipe can be found on elana's pantry at this link.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
15 ml arrowroot powder (you can get this at bulkbarn)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup manuka honey
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecan pieces
15 ml ground flax seeds
Method:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. It's not that easy to mix but it can be done and I'm sure it will work as well in a mixer.
Roll the dough into 2 or 4 logs and bake on greased foil or parchment paper at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to coll for 1 hour.
Cut logs into diagonal slices with a sharp serated knife and lay these slices on a baking sheet. Cook them for a further 12-15 mintes at 300 degrees.
Remove from oven and allow the biscotti to cool before removing from the tray. They will be really soft before they cool and crisp up!
Once they are cool you can enjoy them with your favourite coffee, tea or just as they are....
Monday, January 2, 2012
DAY 7 - Indian Style Oatmeal!
Okey dokey so we all know that oatmeal is a good old stick-to-yer-bones way to start your day...BUT some of us - and I'm not pointing any fingers - don't much care for good old oatmeal's goey boringnes. I believe the word "GRUEL" was used to describe my first attempt at this healthy breakfast. On my quest to make our diet healthier and more "lower the cholesterol" oriented I came up with the following twist on a tried and trusted breakfast! Apparently it's a winner but how about you try it for yourself :D
Ingredients:
Oatmeal (In whichever form you usually buy it)
pinch of saffron
pinch of cardamon
crushed pistachios (I didn't have these this morning)
Honey
What ya gotta do:
Prepare your oatmeal as per the package instructions. Once it is cooking in the pot you can add a pinch of saffron and a liberal pinch of cardamon. Once the oatmeal is ready - pop some in a bowl and drizzle over some honey and sprinkle with some pistachios (I didn't add these this morning but I should have)!
Sit down with some coffee or tea and ENJOY your breakfast :D
Ingredients:Oatmeal (In whichever form you usually buy it)
pinch of saffron
pinch of cardamon
crushed pistachios (I didn't have these this morning)
Honey
What ya gotta do:
Prepare your oatmeal as per the package instructions. Once it is cooking in the pot you can add a pinch of saffron and a liberal pinch of cardamon. Once the oatmeal is ready - pop some in a bowl and drizzle over some honey and sprinkle with some pistachios (I didn't add these this morning but I should have)!
Sit down with some coffee or tea and ENJOY your breakfast :D
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Day 6 - Best way to eat asparagus!
Today was a pretty busy one. We didn't get much sleep last night - the little Diva was up from 11:30pm to 3:30am - the poor little gal barfed around 1am and after a bath, a floor scrubbing and some snuggles we were finally able to get her back to sleep. We think she just overdid the munching on old years eve. Too many new foods didn't agree with her little tummy! She was up and happy this morning asking for milk and "num nums" though so everything is back to normal.
I'm pretty wiped so I'm not going to say too much more tonight. I've added the recipe for my favourite way to make asparagus (I sometimes use zucchini as well but didn't have any tonight). We often have this with fish or chicken and a side of rice, quinoa, couscous or garlic bread. I hope you like it too!
Ingredients:
5ml olive oil
I bunch fresh asparagus
1 tomato
1 onion
1 pepper (any colour)
2 cloves garlic
Salt, pepper and spices of your choice
Method:
I find the best way to trim asparagus is to grab it in the middle and as close to the bottom as possible. Bend the bottom toward the middle until it snaps by itself. Sometime more snaps off than other times - but you definitely don't end up with chewy spears! Discard the ends.
Line a tray with foil and spread lightly with olive oil. spread out the spears on the tray. Wash and cut up the onions, tomato, pepper and garlic. Spread these over the asparagus spears. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and spices of your choice. I use the club house vegetable spice.
Bake at 425 for 20 to 30 minutes, and enjoy as a side :D
I'm pretty wiped so I'm not going to say too much more tonight. I've added the recipe for my favourite way to make asparagus (I sometimes use zucchini as well but didn't have any tonight). We often have this with fish or chicken and a side of rice, quinoa, couscous or garlic bread. I hope you like it too!
 |
| Before cooking |
5ml olive oil
I bunch fresh asparagus
1 tomato
1 onion
1 pepper (any colour)
2 cloves garlic
Salt, pepper and spices of your choice
Method:
 |
| Cooked and ready to eat yummers! |
Line a tray with foil and spread lightly with olive oil. spread out the spears on the tray. Wash and cut up the onions, tomato, pepper and garlic. Spread these over the asparagus spears. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and spices of your choice. I use the club house vegetable spice.
Bake at 425 for 20 to 30 minutes, and enjoy as a side :D
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