A Study of Gluten Free, Love and Little Ones

snowball + avalanche = 'the sky is falling the sky is falling'

2012-01-27T21:20:00.001-05:00

Do you remember this post about snowballs and avalanches?? Or more to it, the fact that one can become the other.....well maybe I am a little psychic (please pronounce it 'Pah-sigh-kick) because it is exactly what happened....can of worms....le sigh

Yes the article I was interviewed for went 'live' this week and like all things parenting - everyone served up passionate feelings....and then ordered more

Here it is
Immunizations - What's all the fuss?

I was surprisingly cooled out about the whole thing. I wasn't as bothered as everyone assumed I would be and thought I should be. Maybe I should have gotten all fired up? Maybe I am just too busy these day.... maybe and am trying to conserve my energy. I only finally made a comment when someone started taking personal potshots at me in their comment.....someone who must know me personally (I have an idea...ugg).....it all seemed so stupid and what they wrote even stupider (that's not a word...I know mom) I tried to leave the 'edge' at home. Tried not to get nasty or rude....I mean what is ever gained from that?....and just addressed what I felt should be and clear up what I felt was missing from the piece. The thing is that this might have all worked out for the best. Because as a result of my comment the author emailed me inviting me to write a follow up piece better explaining the stance of those who forgo vaccines. Considering the controversy and the passion in the comments I think it was a really classy thing to do. I have to give her huge kudos. Considering that she took more than a few bullets in the comments she has stepped out, rising above all of us. I love surprises...especially when people surprise me with good things. Stay tuned for the next installment of 'The Days of our 'HUGE PARENTING EGOS'

More Chicken Curry - Chicken do-Piaza

2012-01-24T14:32:00.002-05:00

I love curry.....I love curry....I love curry!!! I love everything about curry. I have mentioned in the past posts that I got the ultimate Indian cook book and I have been slowly working my way through it.

I have to admit that although all the recipes from this book have been amazing, this one was not one of my favourite. The whole spices are left in the sauce and as a result you are picking them out as you eat. I also found the sauce to be a bit flat and I ended up adding a cup or two of thick yogurt and a couple of tbsp of ground almonds to richen (I know thats not a word)it up. I still recommend it but it wasn't my favourite style of curry

2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces, skin removed
1 lg onion, coarsely chopped
1 inch cube of root ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 tbsps cooking oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4-1/2 tsp chili powder
1 small can of tomatoes
3/4 cup warm water
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cardamoms, split open on the top
4 whole cloves
2 dried bay leaves, crumbled
1 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
2 level tbsps ghee or unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Cut each chicken breast into 3 pieces. If you are using legs, separate leg from thigh. wash and dry on paper towel

Place the chopped onion, ginger and garlic in blender or food processor and puree to a smooth paste, add a little water if necessary to help the blades movement

Heat the oil over medium heat and add the blended ingredients. Stir and fry for 4-5 minutes

Add turmeric, coriander, cumin and chili powder. fry for 4-5 minutes stirring frequently. During this time, from the can of tomatoes, add 1 tbsp of juice at a time to prevent the spices from sticking to the pan. When you have used up all the tomato juice , add the chicken and fry it over medium-high heat until the chicken has changed colour.

Add the water, cinnamon, cardomom, cloves, bay leaves, salt and the whole tomatoes. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the chicken is tender and the sauce is fairly thick (about 25 minutes) Cook uncovered, if necessary, to thicken the sauce.

Heat the ghee or butter and fry the slices onion for 5 minutes. Add the onions along with the ghee to the chicken. Remove from heat and stir in the coriander leaves.

I served it with savory rice and raita

With some yogurt and ground almonds added

Adult serving

Kid serving - I made sure all the whole spices were removed and chopped up the chicken a bit. I also put the Raita right on top so they got cool yogurt with every spicy bit

Tired.......

2012-01-23T14:48:00.000-05:00

I am tired. I am not having a good week and it is making me tired. Being a mom is the best and hardest thing I have ever done but it is particularly hard when there are other challenges in your life that are using up all you have in patience and energy. I am trying to pull out every stop for them, making sure I never take out my day on them but there is little left for me when they are in bed for the night.

And there is no renewed energy from this weather......grey grey grey....rain and grey.....only making getting out of bed harder and smiles not as fast to come. I can only hope that the clip that my life has chosen to travel at these days makes the hardest months of winter fly by. I try to remember that I always hate this time of year, always fall into a funk and always pull through.

There is another volunteer position that I really want to take but I am unsure if I really have enough hours in my day to even consider it. Between mom'ing it, running the house, parent council, the work I do with TPOMBA, the monthly recipe column, writing and cooking here and writing and cooking for FEAST (the soon to be launched new Canadian Parenting website coming in feb, get excited!!) I am worried how I am going to keep it all together. The twins have decided that naps are for suckers recently so those hours during the day are gone and their time at school is so short it is but a blip before it is over. I am struggling to find time.....just time! to do all the things that are important to me.....and then maybe just maybe eek out a little time for me in there too.....if I dig around on this desk somewhere there is a groupon I bought for 10 yoga classes.........but if I start getting stressed about finding the time to go to yoga....the more I am going to need the yoga.....but maybe that's a good start.

Work to do

2012-01-18T23:41:00.000-05:00

There is so much work to do but I must, I must get over this cold first. I haven't been terribly sick but enough that it has been a great inconvenience to my already tight schedule. The only one perverse pleasure I have been getting from it is that it is a sneezey cold and I LOVE to sneeze. I don't hold it in and make a point of really enjoying them

The rest of this week is jammed with back to back deadlines, meetings, travel and appointments. I have got to get my crap together.

So I will leave you with cuteness....

My seal pup

The spoils of helping me bake a cheesecake

The coppers protecting me from 'naughty monsters'

Because every day these guys remind me that anything is possible

C is for Cookie and Cookie Pig

2012-01-17T13:59:00.000-05:00

That movie 'Yes Man' was on the other night. It is a ok'ish movie. It is Jim Carrey doing his best kind of 'Jim Carrey' and Zooey Deschanel doing her best 'Zooey Deschanel' which is always charming. It was good enough for me to sit through it and I don't waste my time on much.

Anyway the point of this long convoluted film review is---I liked the whole 'say yes to everything' concept. As you can see from past New Years resolutions that I am big on saying 'yes'. Some of the wonderful things of my life are because I said yes and didn't duck away in fear or laziness....have I ever mentioned how much I loath when decisions are made based on laziness? Fear I understand but laziness is just...well....lazy.

On a very small scale I said 'yes' to a challenge last night. I have a very pregnant friend (hi Megsxo) who was craving a cookie, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, I use to make before the need to go gluten free and who am I to deny her her pregnant fix?? The problem was I didn't have a gluten free recipe for the same cookie and I am no schmo that is going to bake a batch of cookies that I can't eat.

So I pulled out the old recipe and started doing some homework....After a bunch of complicated math equations, firming up my knowledge of chemistry, and a degree in Astrophysics this is what I came up with. I had no idea how it was going to turn out before baking them.....I like cookies that are crisp on the outside but have a chewy centre

Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat 350

Makes 25-30 medium size cookies

1 cup butter, soft

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

1 tsp instant coffee

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups rolled oats

Chocolate Chips!!!

Flour Blend

1 1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup oat flour (rolled oats blended in food processor until flour-like)

In a mixer or by hand (hope you have some endurance strength in your arms) cream together the butter and the two sugars until completely combined. Add the 2 eggs and vanilla and make sure they are creamed in.

In another bowl combine the flour mix, rolled oats, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and instant coffee.

On a slow speed slowly add the dry to the wet until a cookie dough has formed. At this point it is up to you the quantity of chocolate chips you want to use. I find most recipes call for entirely too much making it insufferably sweet. But I'm not the chocolate fan that most people are. I used semi-sweet chocolate chip and for this recipe I would recommend them. The dough is pretty sweet, I could've used dark chocolate.

Plop blobs of dough on cookie sheet. Bake until the edges are brown and crisp. If you like really crisp cookie bake until they are completely light brown. Be careful transferring them to the cooling rack when they are hot. The fall apart easily at this stage but once they have cooled a little they stay together fine.

I dare you to eat just one....preggy ate four even though she will claim it was 2 or 3. These turned out so much better than I could have imagined. I really thought this would be a work in progress through a few batches but this was totally nailed the first time. One of the nice perks of this recipe over the original is the lack of heaviness. When you ate some of the original recipe cookies we would all get heart burn....?? Seemed weird to me.....if you have to be gluten free or not, 'C IS for cookie' or in this case 'C is for Pig'

Perfect Roast Beef and how Mario Batali is my new bestie

2012-01-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

I am not the 'meat and patadoes' eater that Big Daddy or my stepdad are but I LERV a good roast beef on occasion. Roast to a perfect medium rare and served au jus with hot horseradish.

For a family event over the holidays I had reason to make not one but two roasts for an evening with a large group. Parties with large groups can be stressful at the best of times so I love the fact that this can be done earlier in the day and be left in the oven for hours while you get all the other little stuff done.

Now because I refused to buy garbage hormone antibiotic filled meat, I usually have to compromise on cut of meat because of sheer price. I, regrettably, forget the exact cut of these roasts but I will tell you that they aren't fancy at all. They were a round roast or something similar but they were not a POT roast. I always try to get roasts with a lot of fat marbled through the roast. The more fat the harder it is to fuck it up, the more flavourful and tender the meat. Don't think that you need to spend a million dollars to have a beautiful roast.

This is what I did....this time.

Preheat oven 200-225 degrees
One thing you are going to need is a really good meat thermometer.

I rubbed the outside of the roast with a really good dijon mustard and salt and peppered it well. I like using a slightly coarser salt, not table salt and not pickling salt but one that you can find that is in between.Then I tucked stocks of rosemary in and around the roast
*tip - If you can't find a medium grind salt buy a coarse salt and grind it up in your mortar and pestle until it is the consistency you are looking for.

The reason for cooking it at such a low heat is to render the fat and gently cook it but to not cook it too quickly. This keeps it tender. At a higher temperature the outside is going to heat and cook first before the inside even gets warm so often the outside is well done while in the inside is still bloody. At the lower heat no part of it cooks too fast or overcooks and if you monitor the temperature well you can have a roast that is cooked the way you like from side to side, end to end. I try to check the internal temperature every 30 mins (ish) after the first 2 hours.

Another thing that people tend to forget is to let the roast rest. And the roast will continue to cook while it is resting so it is important to remove the roast from the oven when it is somewhere from 5-10 degrees LESS than you want it to be cooked.

Here are the internal temperatures for the different levels of doneness. Once you remove the roast, cover it with tin foil and leave it for 10 minutes before carving. This allows the juices that have all collected near the surface of the meat to redistribute and for it to finish cooking.

Rare Medium Rare Medium Medium-Well

Beef Roast

120º

125º

130º

135º

140º

145º

150º

155º

Then enjoy -

Mine is a perfect medium rare

Now I don't think I need to point out the series of small holes through the surface of the meat. I had NEVER seen this before and started to panic....so I did what any average amateur 'chef' does....tweeted an expert. Yes I tweeted Chef Mario Batali the same picture.....wouldn't you?? And very quickly I got a response...from the chef himself!! Cause that's how I roll Bee-atches....This is the response I got

"@lifeastudy Never seen this hmmm. Call store and ask"

Geez thanks Chef.......

Other Mario Batali Twitter followers were quick to answer my question

"@Mariobatali @LifeaStudy mechanically tenderized. Ive seen this done on less desirable cuts sold as something else."

"That's fm a blade tenderizer RT @Mariobatali @LifeaStudy"

"@Mariobatali @LifeaStudy Jaccarding gone crazy?"

"@Mariobatali @LifeaStudy looks tenderized to me."

Besides getting my answer, deciding on changing butchers and knowing that the roast was edible and not full of now slowly roasted over a low heat worms, I finally realized the allure of Twitter! A friend once recommended Hoot Suite to manage all my fab hawt social media skillz but I found it all soooo overwhelmingly eye rolling but with her advice ringing through my head (xo Selena) I decided to make a go of it and now I am tweeting through Hoot Suite....which makes me wonder....does that mean I am 'Tooting'??

School's back in...back to lernin'

2012-01-11T10:29:00.001-05:00

We are now three days back into the school routine and it is already a fight to get them dressed in the morning. The kids LERV school but they have no sense of time or urgency. They are now, at the magical age of 4, more than able to dress themselves but if I was going to rely on that developmental stage to be true, they would never make it to school in time.....they would never make it in time to attend school. It would be time to pick them up from school by the time the last sock was pulled on properly and shoe on the correct foot.

So I have come to the conclusion that we leave them to their own devices on the weekends and holidays but on school days I help dress them. That way a weekend day with backward-inside-out underpants is common and enjoyed and we don't have to worry about dressing weather appropriately for school, which is a considerable concern in the cold Canadian winter (although that isn't true this year with barely below freezing weather)

I had an interesting school experience lately and would like to share.....

Recently, I was told by my daughter's teacher that Bea had had a bit of an altercation with one of the other students in the class which ended with Bea pushing the girl. Now this girl is a friend of ours and we have played with her often. When I spoke to Bea about it she said that this girl was picking on her which might very well be true....who knows! but that isn't the point.....I make a point of teaching them that they can only control their behavior and if someone is treating them badly to tell the person that they don't like it when they act that way, won't play with them if they do act that way and then walk away. They understand the concept and I have heard them say it to each other when one isn't being co-operative. I also know that some of this behavior is influenced by another student in the class that Bea thinks is 'super funny' but is really super obnoxious.

I told Bea that the next morning she was going to apologize or she wasn't going to school. Making it clear that school is a great gift that is to be respected and if you are going to act disrespectful, you can't go.

She seemed put out by this but also like any kid, was hoping there was an out. Maybe Mummy would forget by morning? The next morning we got up, got dressed etc like normal but over breakfast I reminded her what she had to do and then again while we walked to school. We always line up for Bea's class first and I pointed out the student she needed to speak to. Bea suddenly got very shy, she is not a shy child, and wouldn't do it. I told her we would have to go home if she didn't and still holding Gabe's hand I followed her class in as they made their way to her classroom (I was able to drop Gabe off in his class on the way as we walked past it). Her teacher asked me what was going on and I explained. Her teacher seemed surprised that I was being so strict about it but also respected what I was doing and let me interrupt the class (briefly) to see the consequences through. There is nothing like a little embarrassment to push your hand. Over a quiet sitting in a circle class I crouched down in front of Bea and explained again what she had to do and for the Super Obnoxious influence kid's ears, I explained in some detail about respect and control of your own behavior. I also said to Bea that this was her last chance or we were going home. She got up, apologized to her friend and hugged her. I then hugged her and told her loudly how proud I was and left.

As I left, her teacher pulled me aside and thanked me for making school a 'reward' for good behavior and that she was surprised by how much I stuck to my guns about the consequences of Bea's behavior. She said that most parents would've left it to the teacher to deal with the situation and done little to nothing about it. This surprised me.....the teacher is there is teach my kid....not raise them. It is my 'job' to reinforce the rules of school and a respect for learning and friendship while they are students AS WELL AS be a Mummy. If I don't back up their teachers, the teacher will never have control of the room and no one will every learn anything.

Why do you think parents have gotten so 'soft' on parenting??

Breakfast This Morning: Why Rice is Good for Every Meal

2012-01-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

The easiest of easy, filling gluten free breakfast -

I took the left over rice from dinner last nights dinner warmed it up, topped it with a little grated cheddar cheese and a couple of fried eggs. And I prefer using a gluten free tamari (soy sauce) instead of salt. Cook time about 5 minutes, filling, great use of left overs and totally delicious

Dinner Last Night - Gluten Free Homemade Pizza

2012-01-08T02:30:00.000-05:00

PIZZA! It is one of the simple meals that I miss.

I have tried a few different recipes for gluten free crust and I like this one the best. It is from Gluten-free girl and the Chef cook book and I really do think it is the best one so far. It is listed as a cracker recipe in their book but with some very minor changes it is an excellent pizza crust

The toppings are all mine. I started making this pizza long before I went 'gluten free' and the combination is a weird combination of two dishes - one being a pizza from il Fornello and the other being a pizza and salad I would often get together at Terroni.

Crust- Gluten free
makes two round pizza stone size pizzas or one cookie sheet size

1 cup corn starch
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp corn flour
3/4 cup potato starch
3/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 tbsp xanthan gum
1 tsp guar gum
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 3/4 cups warm water
1/4 olive oil
4 tsp dry active yeast
corn meal for sprinkling

Put the warm water, olice oil and yeast in a small bowl. Stir gently and let sit for a minute

Meanwhile, sift the cornstarch, corn flour, potato starch and sweet rice flour into a large bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer if you are going to use one) Add the xanthan gum, guar gum and salt.

Pour the yeasty water into the dry ingredients. With mixer on medium, whirl for a few minutes until dough comes together and feels soft and pliable. Set aside in a warm place and let it rise for 1 hour.

Start pre-heating the oven to 450 to 500 if you can. If you have a pizza stone, let it get good and hot. Gluten Free dough is stickier and not stretchy like regular dough so this kneads (see what I did there) to be rolled out between two pieces of parchment paper. You can make this as thick or thin as you like. Transfer to baking sheet or hot pizza stone and let cook until it just starts to brown. I like to use pastry weights if I am doing a large baking sheet pizza.

Take out the half cooked crust and dress up in your own pizza stylings. Here is my favourite combo

A bunch of herbs, basil, cilantro, parsley, thyme, finely minced and mixed into a few tbsps of Olive oil with 1 garlic clove finely minced and mixed in
1 bosc pear sliced
8-10 slices of prosciutto, crisped up in the oven before the crust went in
A knob of good blue cheese
Grated mozzarella (I am not including an amount because this really is about preference)
A couple hand fulls of arugula lightly dressed with a olive oil, balsamic and salt and paper dressing.
A hand full of toasted walnuts

Instead of a tomato base I lightly coat the crust with the herby garlicy oil then evenly lay out the prosciutto and pears, crumble the blue cheese evenly over, then the mozza and the walnuts. Shove this back in the oven and let it get bubbly and the cheese start to brown.

Eat topped with the arugula 'salad'

Dear Ovaries

2012-01-03T11:32:00.000-05:00

Dear Ovaries,

Fuck you!

Other than during IVF, which I know was rough, I was there, I have been nothing but good to you - I have spent very few years of my life on birth control, I was never a chemical drug user, and I don't eat hormone disrupting foods.

In return can you please be nicer to me. This whole cyst game is painful and rude. I am far too busy to spend days bent over in pain and we can't afford for Big Daddy to take numerous days off work to help me with the kids and escort me (see practically carry me) to the bathroom.

In return for this I promise to respect you more, remember that you honour me with my femininity and maybe give you a well deserved holiday by getting pregnant again.

Thank you in advance
Me

Now What? - A New Year

2012-01-01T12:51:00.002-05:00

I have never really been one for resolutions. I think every year I like to think I am but they are usually all forgotten by the 2nd. I don't quit them that fast.....I don't start them that fast.

New year is just a different date to write on cheques really....what year it is is all so ambiguous ....the randomness of when 'we' started counting. In China it is year 4708,4709 or 4648 depending on which calendar you follow.

One thing I do like about New Year is the general feeling that the whole world is taking a deep breath and looking forward, planning futures....there isn't much dread involved in New Years....unless you buy into the end of the world Mayan calendar....

Resolutions I do not make...not in the classic sense but I do have plans for the future.

I would like to (and really you could check my Might Life List too) do a million things but right now, right away I would like to tackle this year with these things in mind

Write more, dedicated times to do it
Find and be 'hired' for more writing gigs
Keep working on getting my health until control
Tackle some more complex or just never thought of before recipes ie. a friend mentioned homemade Baily's Irish Cream and I would like to do that, or making my own almond milk, homemade Vick's like Vapour Rub and laundry soap, maybe from this recipe from my friend Catherine
Have a bigger and better garden this year
Can MORE tomatoes - I did almost 3 bushels this past fall and there is no way we are going to make it to this years local tomato season forcing me to buy canned tomatoes
Learn some more gluten free baking. I am a pretty good GF cook but the baking aspect I haven't really touched. I would like to start baking my own bread (and save big $$$)and always have some muffins on the go
Read more - go to bed early so I have some reading time. I have been taking a homeopathic sleep aid and I can barely make it through 3 pages of a book before I am out cold. Although this is a HUGE improvement over 2 hours of reading before I fall asleep, I haven't been reading enough and can feel my brain drying out in my head (Cousin I am still reading your manuscript!!)
Listen to music more, with and without the kids....dance more
Work on having more patience
Focus more on the 'have' and less on what is missing, pay attention to how we are lucky/blessed and not what we need
Be brave and say yes more (this is one from last new years too and it made a huge difference to my life this year)

What's Mine, What's Yours and the Marriage of the Two

2011-12-29T14:00:00.000-05:00

I was raised by a single mom. I have a dad but he wasn't around a lot. They split up when I was two. I have little to no memory of them as a couple. I have memories of the house that we lived in when they were together but my dad lived there for a while after my mom and I left so I am not sure if the memories are of visits after the split.

All my grandparents were divorced too although my maternal grandfather had remarried before I was even born and was happily married until he died when I was 18. Of my aunts and uncle, all divorced but one. My point being that I have had very few role models on happy marriage....I am not sure what one looks like, smells like, how it functions! I was raised with role models who taught me how to take care of everything myself. Function best alone and depend on a coupling for almost nothing but companionship. Not lonely but more than capable to do it alone.

In other words....I have no fucking clue what I am doing! The first couple of blow out fights Big Daddy and I had I thought it was the end of our relationship. I figured he would leave but instead he carried on like nothing happened....we had a fight...that's all.

I am a woman, so I am inherently a problem solver/discusser/worrier. When we argue I want to figure out how to solve the problem so we don't argue about it anymore. I loathe having the same argument over and over and I will never just settle with the short end. I don't meant that I have to 'win' but I will never just accept some huge blaring defect as 'the way it is'. I am constantly trying to improve myself, as a mother, a friend, a writer, a wife and I expect everyone else to try do the same.

The problem with this sound logic is....how do you know whose luggage/issue/problem it is? when do you know if it is your *BS (luggage) that is causing the problem or theirs?? When do you know if it is yours to work on or theirs? Or if it is a communication issue and it is about HOW you talk to each other.

Now please no reason to get your feathers in a ruffle. There are no huge issues here in this house....just thinking about what 'makes' a happy marriage. We attended a bunch of friends and family gatherings over the holidays and I watch as different marrieds dealt with each other over the high stress holidays and was interested in what was acceptable for each of them.

Because even the happiest marriages are constantly being worked on...but is 'happy different for every couple? or have different couples just set the bar lower or higher for what a happy marriage is? What can you expect from your marriage? How much can you expect your partner? What is fair? And how different it is for everyone! What do you think 'makes' a happy marriage?

Dinner Last Night - Beef Bourguignon/Stew

2011-12-28T00:30:00.000-05:00

I was recently diagnosed with low iron....like painfully low iron. The kind of low iron that alarms the doctor when he reads the labs. The kind where he starts writing prescriptions, suddenly seems busy, looking at you concerned and sifts through all the other lab work you have had over the last few years. Low iron might be the answer or at least part of the answer to some on-going health issues I have had. That is a topic for a different post!! But now with this new piece of information it has given me a job to do. One of the great frustrations of having health issues is when you don't feel like there is anything you can do about it...when you start feeling like a victim. I am a strong believer in 'victim' being an attitude....but oh boy does feeling like shit all the time SUCK! So now I have a mission....an assignment, a job......iron iron IRON!!

There are two different kinds of iron - heme and non heme. Heme is a blood source (Meat) and non heme is a vegetable source. Both are excellent and valuable to good health but when your iron is as low as mine is/was they recommend Heme to get it up fast. The strange thing is...ever since I found out I have an iron issue....I have been craving red meat like crazy! It isn't something I want often....don't get me wrong, I love a good burger as much as the next guy (maybe not as much as Big Daddy) but we eat quite a few vegetarian meals here a week. We really aren't that 'meatcentric'. Now I want beef!! A hot beef injection!!........what? name the movie! I decided that some beef stew might help.

Remember in Julie & Julia how the Julie character talks about Julia Child's coveted Beef Bourguignon? It is true that it IS that good. But not really all that kid friendly and I like more broth than what is yielded in her recipe. My 'stew' is a much easier version with much the same taste spectrum. It is as rich a broth but more of it and mine has potatoes like a stew. Also I am not a fan of using flour as a thickener and not just for the gluten reasons but I don't like the floury taste it adds.

6 strips of good bacon, sliced into small strips (organic $2)
1 1/2-2 lbs stewing beef ($16, organic and I didn't get it on sale this time), patted dry and salt and pepper'd
4 carrots, peeled and sliced into bite size pieces (organic $1.50)
1 lb of mini potatoes, cut into quarters (organic $3)
2 yellow onions, diced (organic $2)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (organic $0.50)
1/2 bottle of full bodied red wine ($5.00)
2 tetra packs of beef stock (organic $6)
1 1/2 cups sweet peas (organic frozen $1.50)
2 tbsps or 1/2 can of tomato paste (organic $1.50)
1 tbsp dijon mustard (organic $0.25)
2 bay leafs, crumbled
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup of water
salt and pepper
TOTAL - $39.25, approx 6-8 servings depending on kids appetites, so between $6.54-$4.90 a serving.

Optional - mushrooms

This is one of the few dishes that I recommend doing all the mis en plas (prep) for before you start cooking because once you are cooking there is no stopping.

Over medium high heat brown your bacon in a large soup pot. Cook it until crispy letting much of the fat render out of the bacon. Remove to papertowel with a slotted spoon leaving the fat in the pot. Turn the heat up to high, you want the fat to start to smoke, then in batches brown the meat. If you cook too many pieces at a time it creates too much moisture in the pot and some of the meat will not brown but steam. They shouldn't touch each other. When browned remove with tongs to the plate with the bacon. When all the meat is browned, turn heat back down to medium high.

There should at this point still be some fat in the pot but if there is very little add a little oil. Now saute the onions and carrots. When they are softened and browned a little add the garlic. You add this last to ensure it doesn't burn and get bitter.

When the garlic starts to soften and you can really smell it add 1/2 the called for wine. I recommend half because you want to de-glaze the pan of all the crispy bits of meat stuck to it. The brown bottom also adds the dark rich colour to the broth that we know stews to have. Add back in the beef and bacon and the rest of the wine. Add the beef stock, water, mustard, tomato paste, the thyme and the bay leaf. Let this come to a simmer.

Let this slowly simmer for an hour or two.....or longer really. Stewing beef needs that slow simmer to soften and get melty. If it seems the broth is getting to thick and cooking down too much add in another cup of water. Add in the potatoes about an hour before you plan on serving it and let them cook in the low heat. Add in the peas for the last 15 minutes. Enjoy!

The wild seduction of FOOD

2011-12-18T15:27:00.003-05:00

I am blessed with amazing friends. I am surrounded by amazingly talented, funny, crazy, loving people. People who have traits that I wish I had - so I surround myself with them in hopes that I will somehow, through osmosis, leach some of this talent from them....thats not entirely true...I don't want them to have 'less' of it....so I am not really leaching it...but maybe like some Monsanto GMOd seed some of their 'ness' can blow over on to my willingly fertile fields and propagate.....WAIT! This took a sexual turn I wasn't intending.....

The point is, these amazing people (Christopher, Meaghan, Dana, Darlene and Jeanette)...we all have something in common....our love of FOOD! Our love of the beauty of a perfectly balanced meal, when sweet, salty, sour and hot all mingle perfectly.....when wine pairs make perfect marriages......when every ingredient doesn't just add it's flavour but makes the others better, just like a good friendship...another friendship over food.

This past weekend one of these friends took me out. He does this 3-4 times a year and SPOILS me rotten. He takes me out for the meals I am currently not in a position to afford but certainly deserve :-) and we always talk...talk about food and love and our love of food.....all while enjoying too much wine. And we laugh...a lot - laugh at our lives because we realize how lucky we are to be there eating this food and drinking wine with each others company.

I have happily embraced the word 'foodie' when describing myself. Like all other 'foodies' we wish there was a better word to describe our obsession. Instead of one that sounds like something we have been inflicted with and are taking the necessary medication to get over. But like any disease, we all fall into different parts of a spectrum. My dinner companion knows the technical, the science, the trends...how to make perfection. While I fall into the 'meal maker' category with a dash of health and the benefits of different food combinations, which I was introduced to by Jeanette. But mostly I sit soundly in feeding a family, meals that everyone will enjoy without the adults feeling like flavour has been compromised, no kids pushing it away and no diner being run out of your kitchen.

The thing is, the reason we are all so attracted to each other is because those of us inflicted with this disease know something the rest do not.....the joy of perfection.....we are the same people who eyes water or get excited over a perfectly executed piece of art, something painfully beautifully acted or anything done with absolute passion and focus. We are people who will read the same book again and again because it deserves that much attention and praise. We linger over these things, enjoy them and worship the 'gods' that created them.

This perfect meal with my dear friend got me fired up. After a year of learning Indian cooking (yes I realize I haven't posted much but I was learning so now you will see more) I am ready for the next challenge and maybe I will take you on this trip? I was sidelined temporarily by needing to go gluten free but now that I feel confident in that....just which thing is next

Rillette?
Pork belly?

There are so many thing to get excited about....that's one of the things I love about my obsession....you never run out of things to learn and get excited by....it is an on-going love affair where cheating is encouraged.

Homemade Chai

2011-12-06T14:41:00.000-05:00

Chai tea made it on the trend scene a few years back with Starbucks bringing out a Chai Tea Latte. I have to admit I loved that $5 cup of tea until they reformulated it. Now it is sweeter and almost thicker and cost over $5 if you want it with soy milk.......as much as I don't approve of soy as a beverage, cow milk gives me a stomach ache so it is my only Starbucks option. Considering I buy about 2 of them a year, almost always while we are at a hospital doctors appointment, I don't worry too much about the soy and its pseudo estrogen but I don't recommend it for daily drinking.

But I digress......since the reformulation I miss the old spicey one and I am not a fan of the premade tea bags you can buy. I find them flat and not very flavourful. So not only do I have the gift of an amazing friend (xoxJeanette) but she came back from India with the amazing gift of a home made Chai recipe. Chai is made in the streets in India and you can buy it cheaply from carts. Jeanette said it is very sugar sweet in India but they love their spices so it also packs a punch. I use this recipe all the time and have stained many a pot simmering Chai on the stove for days. This smells wonderful and there is a bit of Christmas in the smell which is why I am reminded to make some.

Chai Tea

2 regular tea bags
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
3 slices of fresh ginger
10-12 cloves
6-8 all spice balls
5-6 cardamon pods
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

*There are numerous health benefits to some of these spices

Add all the ingredients to a pot of about 10 cups of water. Let it all simmer on the stove for about 15-20 minutes. Then serve with a teaspoon of honey and a little milk or cream. The longer you let it simmer the spicier it will be. I make smaller pots without the tea bags or with a caffeine free tea for the kids. They like a little more honey and milk than I do but even all dressed up it still has less sugar than a cup of hot chocolate. So it is a great cold weather warm up. And because it is full of so many of the spices that go in those delicious Christmas cookies it is a great pairing.

**Strange cooking tip - keep fresh ginger in a zip lock bag in the freezer. Not only will it last and not dry out but you can cut pieces off as needed and it makes it super easy to grate into recipes that call for 'minced' ginger

Breakfast this Morning - Cheesey Potato Torta

2011-12-03T14:00:00.000-05:00

Now I am not sure if I can legally call this a Torta or not....so sue me. My only experience with Tortas is layers of bread but now with me being 'the gluten free' and gluten free bread being what it is.....well layers of bread this Torta was not going to be. Don't get me wrong...there are many perfectly good gluten free breads....but none of them are great. None of them are the ingredient to build a meal around....none of them are an 'anchor'

So I decided to make it with potato...besides I love the combination of eggs and potato.

Pre-heat oven to 350
3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled, sliced
8 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup grated cheese, best if it is a blend, one sharp and one creamy cheese or try feta
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp basil, fresh minced or pesto (scoll down to March 2011 article)
1/2 cup of sliced, diced vegetables (optional) sliced peppers, tomatoes etc
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

In a medium size pot bring potatoes to a boil in water. Parboil them until they are starting to have a little give if you prick them with a sharp knife. Then drain and let them steam dry

Whisk together the eggs and milk. I like to add salt, pepper and pesto to the eggs at this point so that they are evenly spread once cooked

Meanwhile, in an oven safe pan saute the onion and vegetables in 1 tbsp of the butter until they are soft. Remove pan from heat and remove onions and veg. In the still warm pan melt the other tbsp of butter and spread it around letting it coat the pan. Lay out the potatoes in the pan almost creating a 'crust' with the potatoes.

Sprinkle the cooked onion and veg back in on top of the potatoes, pour egg mixture over and top with cheese.

I used a ceramic pie plate

Put pan uncovered in the oven. Bake until middle is no longer runny. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving

I have a better finished picture somewhere. I will replace this when I find it

Dinner Last Night - Chili

2011-11-26T19:09:00.000-05:00

Not only did we recently have house guests but we are slowing rolling into winter too. This year has been a particularly slow roll with record breaking warm weather the last couple of weeks. It's not impossible for us to have had some snow at the end of November....this year I been walking the kids to school in a hoodie most days. Yes there have been a couple of COLD days but they are usually followed by an unseasonably warm one.

Now unseasonably warm does not mean T-shirt weather and it is still nippy at night so I have completely fallen into my winter cold comfort food cooking. This usually means richer, carbier and more often than not fattier....or creeeeemeeeeeier. 'Stick to your bones' as your Gramma would say. This was particularly true while our guest were here - making Shrimp and Corn Chowder one day and rich cheesey Potato Torta for breakfast the next morning.

Since they have left I have been trying to dial it back a bit (well within reason....i mean come on you have to still love the food) and make 'stick to your bones' food without it being stick to your butt food....

Chili doesn't have really fixed ingredients...I probably have a slightly different version every time I make it. This week black beans were on sale so this chili was with black beans instead of kidney beans and just as yummy

Chili

1 lb organic ground beef ($6)
2-3 carrots, peeled and diced ($0.50 organic)
2 cooking onions, diced ($1.50 organic)
3 cloves of garlic, minced ($0.25 organic)
3 tbsp olive oil ($0.25 organic)
2 jars or cans of whole tomatoes (used my home canned $2.00)
2 cans black beans or kidney beans ($3.00 organic)
1/2 can of tomato paste ($1.00 organic)
3-4 tbsp chili powder, I find the quantity in this completely depends on the quality of the spice, $0.25)
salt and pepper to taste
total-$ 14.75 for probably close to 8 bowls making it $1.84 per serving plus topping

Heat a large soup pot over a medium high heat. Saute the onion and carrots in the olive oil until they are soft. Add the garlic and left it start to soften but don't let it burn. Add the ground beef and stir it around to ensure it is evenly browned. Stir in the chili powder. Lower the heat to medium and let the chili powder completely combine, flavouring everything and even cooking a little before adding the tomatoes and tomato paste...maybe 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and let it all come to a simmer before turning the heat down to a low medium. Let this simmer for 45mins - 1 hr before serving. after about 30 minutes taste it and see if it needs salt and pepper or more chili powder.

I serve mine with grated cheese and a dollop of yogurt. Garlic toast or tortilla chips are nice too. Left overs can be used for making nachos

How a snowball starts an avalanche

2011-11-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

I have had this blog post title sitting in my drafts folder for months. I typed it with one subject in mind and then as I started to write realized it wasn't right. I have held on to it knowing that it would be appropriate at some point....loving the visual....but what was it for? A snowball starting an avalanche is not a positive experience and very much about loss of control. At least that's the feeling I always got from the image.

Maybe that's what I am feeling and why I have chosen to finally use this title. I was recently interviewed for an article about vaccines for a parenting magazine....I have no fear around my knowledge on the subject and I am confident on the info I provided. I also have not, for one second, had second thoughts on our choice.......but now my image, my 'street cred', how people view me is left in the hands of another writer (a very talented one at that). I do have a small fear that this snowball may in fact become an avalanche.

Early in my mothering days I vented to a good friend about how some friends of mine were responding to my choice to not vaccinate the twins. Some of the horribly abusive and unforgivable crap people will unthinkingly say
--you can read more about it in a two piece article I wrote for Modern Alternative Mama--
Part 1 - The Delicate Ego of the Modern Parent
Part 2 - The Delicate Ego of the Modern Parent

Her advice although excellent was not easy to take at the time. Like any new parent I was looking for thoughtful conversation and maybe some camaraderie in the challenges of being a parent to babies. That is not what I received..... Her advice was to keep our decision 'sacred'. That maybe it isn't something I discuss with friends or anyone for that matter. The hard part about this is that parenting, especially if you are a stay-at-home parent, is a social job. The play groups, playdates and drop in centers are social events. Well checks, vaccines, illness and feeding/sleep schedules are the main topic of conversation with mothers of babies. I needed (and need) a sense of community so to exclude myself from a common conversation was difficult. Especially when it is a conversation you want to have. I wanted to know other parents views, the research they had done and how they came to their decisions and how they felt about the results of the most recent study but that was never what happened. More often than not I left with my feelings hurt.

As the twins have gotten older, the more educated I got on the subject and as a result more confident in our choice, the less I need this sense of camaraderie. I will never be the same parent as someone else much like I have never wanted to be the same as someone else. And no matter how hard I try there is no 'safe' conversation to have on the subject without someone feeling judged. My reasons for not vaccinating become the reasons you are a horrible parent and vise versa. It is a dangerous game to play and (I will say it again) I do not attend every argument I am invited to. That being said.....being interviewed for this article could quite possibly open up a huge can-a-worms and turn this snowball into an avalanche. I will post links to it when it comes out but I may just be setting myself up to have my feelings hurt again.

quantity and quality

2011-11-21T18:00:00.001-05:00

I have been going to seminars and conventions and blogging workshops and marketing thingies and one of the things that has been said over and over when it comes to blogging is 'Quality over Quantity'.

I keep this mantra going in my head as days pass that I haven't posted hoping that my readers would prefer to wait and read something with *some value* than the endless ramblings of my over active brain, huge ego, low self esteem and need for approval. I could start writing posts about my relationships with my friends, the tv shows I watch, or the consistency of my most recent bowel movement and maybe in some land and in some circles that would be interesting....at least as some voyeuristic laughable joke to watch as someone self implodes into a puddle of narcissism. Not that I am not fully capable of being that writer, but I am not that type of blog reader and take no enjoyment in schadenfreude. From everything I have learned, those devoid of content are short lived and I plan (hope) to be here for the long haul. So I will not be that blogger either.

*I use the term 'some' very loosely....and 'value' even more loosely

So I apologize that I am not that regular (regardless of fibre intake) but promise to not inundate you with any of my senseless self absorbed BS (I will save that for my husband) Life is busy enough and I would prefer to spend it with my family and in my kitchen than read that so I refuse to contribute.

That being said, I am using the excuse of QUALITY over quantity for my lack lustre performance here and hope you can appreciate my goal or at least pretend to agree with my excuse. I hope as time passes that I will be able to 'create' quality more often but until then I won't waste your or my time.

Dinner Last Night - Spicy Shrimp & Corn Chowder

2011-11-18T10:04:00.001-05:00

I will start by admitting that this isn't the healthiest of meals, although all real food.....and it is really yummy and the perfect cold weather warm up feed up. I only make this maybe twice a year, always on cold days and I love that I can throw it together with ingredients that are almost always already in my pantry and freezer.

Ingredients
This is for a huge batch. You can cut this in half

2 lbs of 31-40 shrimp, deveined and peeled (My grocery store sells frozen bags for $10.99 but they often go on sale for 1/2 price or 2 for one. $10.99)
8 slices of bacon, cut up into lardons (about 1/2 a slab $4 organic)
2 398 ml cans of fresh corn (I did not get these on sale this time and they were $1.99 each - $4.00)
2 1/2 cups of whipping cream ($5.00 organic)
4 1/2 cups of chicken stock ($2.25 organic)
4 medium size potatoes, cubed ($2.00 organic)
2 medium yellow onions, diced ($2.00 organic)
3 cloves of garlic, minced ($0.50 organic)
3 limes, juice of all three, zest of one ($0.50)
Salt to taste...the amount will vary depending on how salty your stock is
1 tsp cayenne (optional but you will need some pepper so if you leave out the cayenne please add some fresh ground pepper)
1 tsp dried parsley
Total $ 31.24 for probably 3 dinners for 4 or $2.60 a serving

In a large bowl coat the shrimp with the juice from 2 1/2 limes and all the zest. Set aside but don't let it marinate for more than an hour.

In a large soup/stock pot over medium high heat brown and crisp up the bacon. Once nice and crispy remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain. Turn the heat down to medium, in the hot bacon fat add the onions and let them soften and sweeten but try not to let them brown then add the garlic. You really don't want the garlic to burn or brown or it will get bitter. Once it has softened add the chicken stock, cream, corn and potatoes. Let it all come to a simmer. Let the potatoes cook through. When you can easily squish one against the side of the pot it is time to add the cayenne and shrimp. Drain the shrimp of its marinade and discard it. Add the drained shrimp to the soup. Only let it cook long enough for the shrimp to be cooked. Over cooking it or letting it simmer on the stove will make the shrimp tough.

Serve with a little squeeze off fresh lime juice. It is particularly good with corn bread. If you add the cayenne it does have a bit of spice to it...a little heat but my kids ate this no problem.

Breakfast this Morning - Pumpkin Oatmeal

2011-11-12T11:48:00.001-05:00

Ever wonder what to do with all the leftover pumpkin after Halloween. In the immortal words of Weird Al 'Just Eat It'. Making pumpkin puree is relatively easy and it can be frozen for later use. I haven't 'done' my puree for the year yet. Big Daddy composted our jack-o-lanterns before I got a chance to get to them but I do have two small 'pie' pumpkins on my mantle as decoration at the moment....soon they will be so much better than pie.

How to Make Puree

Pre heat oven 400 degrees F.

Remove the stem and split the pumpkin in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds and fiber (try using a ice cream scoop. Save seeds for roasting.
Sprinkle the flesh with kosher salt and lay the halves, flesh side down, on a parchment paper-lined pan. Roast until a paring knife can be easily inserted and removed from the pumpkin, 30 to 45 minutes. Test in several places to ensure doneness.
Remove the pan to a cooling rack and cool the pumpkin for 1 hour. Scoop the roasted flesh of the pumpkin and process in a food processor until the flesh is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

I haven't done this yet so I am going to show the lazy way

I was craving pumpkin oatmeal and couldn't wait until I pulled my finger out and roasted up my pumpkins.....besides the cans went on sale after Thanksgiving :-)

So I have written in the past about 'how to' make oatmeal so I don't want to do that again. This time is just a little different. Along with the cinnamon I added a tiny bit of nutmeg. Then when it is cooked stir in a tablespoon or two of the pumpkin puree

We ate our with a little bit of honey and some almond milk. Nice little blast of vitamin A in the morning and easy enough to do before school. The kids call it Pumpkin PIE oatmeal.

Gluten Free Cheesecake

2011-11-07T20:26:00.004-05:00

I am not a huge junk food person....I think I have mentioned that before. I am not a fan of low quality anything. I am a terrible snob that way. It isn't a matter of price...in fact the cheaper the better. It is purely a matter of quality. You can keep all your shitty chocolate bars that are made mostly of carnuba wax, I don't want a tube of potato chips and no thanks to overly sweet baked goods filled with even sweeter jams. I like the taste of food not just the taste of the sugar or salt.

The problem is that quality usually means crazy expensive....think fast food restaurant. Super low-quality...super low prices. I can't afford fancy stores and restaurants so I have turned my kitchen into one of my favourite restaurants. Now I have control over quality and ingredients.....and like any good Virgo...I love that

I love really good cheese cake and only really ever had it as dessert in restaurants. I remember learning one recipe for it in my early twenties that involved using a pack of powdered Kool-Whip...I'm sorry...or is it Kol-Whip? or Cool-Whip? In any spelling it is an edible oil product and contains no dairy at all...no nutrients and is packed full of heart disease, free radicals and diabetes....yum

Yes this is a dessert, yes it has some sugar (less than a cup for the whole cake) but it is whole real foods. There is no ingredient you won't recognize or be unable to pronounce.

Gluten Free Cheesecake
preheat oven 350

The Crust

1/3 cup white sugar (I always by organic to ensure that it is from sugar cane not GMOd sugar beets)
1/2 cup Gluten Free Baking Mix**
1 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped. Put just under a cup of whole almonds in a food processor and process until no bigger than pea size pieces are left. Use 1/2 a cups worth
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small pats

**I use either Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking mix or a mix of my own. I mix equal parts Rice flour, Corn Starch and Sorghum flour with a pinch of baking powder, salt and xantham gum. This is not a combination that you would want to eat exclusively or bake as bread....this is used as a binding agent and is essentially undetectable as a flavour.

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add cold butter and crumble through the dry ingredients with your fingers. You can do this with the pastry blade in the processor but it is fast and easy with your hands and you don't have to be as careful about warming up the butter as you do when making a flour pastry crust. Keep crumbling until there are no bigger than pea size pieces of butter and the mixture stays together if some is squeezed in your hand.

Press into a spring form pan. It's easy and it easily sticks to the side of the pan. Once evenly pressed in put in the pre heated oven until it starts to turn brown.

Let it cool

Filling

3 250g blocks of cream cheese, room temperature and cut into dice size cubes
4 eggs
1/3 cup of sugar
zest of one lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract

With a mixer, whip eggs and sugar together until it is pale yellow and fluffy. On a medium high speed slowly add in the cream cheese letting it become almost completely incorporated before adding more. Once all the cream cheese in creamed in add the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Once they are mixed in turn the mixer up to high and let it all get whipped and completely combined. There maybe very small chunks of cream cheese but you want it as blended as you can. Pour into cooled shell and return to oven. Bake until firm and the top starts to brown. Approx 40 mins

I served it with the Strawberry Balsamic Sauce I made earlier this year. It is simple and rich and not too sweet. It is exactly the way I like cheese cake.

*I didn't do a 'how much did this meal cost' on this because it is a dessert and because bulk products like almonds and almond flour can vary greatly from one area to another and the time of year

Dinner Last Night : Butternut Squash Soup

2011-11-05T16:18:00.000-04:00

I like to cook local 'in season' as much as I can. In Canada, although I am almost as south as you can get in Canada, most of the winter months in local are root vegetables and squash. I have no objection to this and have found some wonderful ways to enjoy the crap out of some squash. You might remember The Spaghetti Squash dinner.

There are millions of different recipes for squash soup and some of them are lovely. Than there are a million of very strange, in some cases perfumey, in some cases oily or flavourless ones....this is one in the first category. This is inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe from 'Jamie At Home' that I was just too lazy to make properly. And it was delicious. I have since made it to his spec and didn't like the soup as much as when I made it my lazy way.....so maybe this is a 'Lazy Squash Soup'

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil (maybe $0.25 cents)
2 medium yellow onions, diced (I used organic so more expensive than most $2.00)
3 cloves of garlic, minced (maybe $0.50)
1 medium to large size butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (They are in season right now and I think I paid just over $3 for a pretty large organic one)
2-15 fresh sage leaves (free from my garden)
2 200 mL tetra packs of chicken stock ($3.00)
salt and pepper
Fresh Parmesan, grated (we are pretty generous with this so I would say we used about $4 worth of a good quality block)
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)

Total: $12.75/I would go so far as to say that this could be dinner twice and a lunch for a family of four. Especially if served with toast/bread and/or vegetables. So it could be as little as less than a dollar a serving for a fully organic healthy soup!!

Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Once the oil is hot, drop in the sage leaves. Let them fry for around 30 seconds or until they are crispy and have darkened in colour. Then quickly remove them with tongs or a slotted spoon to some paper towel.

In the pan you now have some yummy sage oil. With the heat still on add the onion and let it start to soften. Add the garlic and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Let cook until everything is soft and sweet. Add the squash and the chicken stock. (If this amount of liquid doesn't completely cover the squash add a cup or two of water but if you need more liquid than that use more stock. This is completely dependent on the size of your squash) Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat down to low and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

While the soup is cooking grate your Parmesan and crumble up sage leaves with your fingers. Mix them together

After 30 minutes, the squash should be soft (test this by trying to squish a cube against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon) Whiz it up using a hand blender. Serve with sagey parm sprinkled on top.

I love this soup and I love the sagey cheese even more.....this soup freezes beautifully and it is almost impossible to not make a huge amount at a time. If you have littler kids serve over left-over rice

48 Momths - The tale of two parties

2011-10-27T09:55:00.000-04:00

And then we were four.......

Dinner Last Night - Chicken Tortilla Soup

2011-10-26T10:59:00.001-04:00

It is strange to me that I have never made this before. It is exactly the kind of thing I love but for some reason I have just never made it. Even stranger, there are the millions of variations of essentially the same dish. I suppose they all have slightly different flavours but they are all called Chicken Tortilla Soup and have the same core ingredients - chicken, chicken broth, and tomatoes - but from there the ingredients run the gamut from black beans to Italian salad dressing? So keeping all these recipes in mind I made one up of my own. It went like this. (prices in brackets)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil (maybe $.25)
1 medium onion, diced (I buy organic so maybe $.50)
2 tablespoons minced garlic ($.25)
1 jalapeno, finely diced (free out of my garden)
6 cups chicken stock (1 1/2 organic tetra packs at $1.50 each = $2.25)
1 jar of my homemade canned tomatoes (I figured out they cost me about $1 each)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained ($1.49)
1 can of corn kernels, rinsed and drained(1.49)
6 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless ($7.49)
2 limes, juiced, plus wedges for garnish ($.99)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves ($.99)
4 (8-inch) corn tortillas, toasted, cut into thin strips (These are a gluten free sprouted corn tortilla. They aren't cheap but you don't eat many. The pack has 9 and we toasted 4-5, a pack is approx $4.00, we used $3.00 worth lets say)
1 avocado, pitted, sliced ($1.00)
1 cup shredded Monterrey cheese ($1.50)
1 cup thick set yogurt ($1.00)
2 tablespoons chilli powder ($.25)
1 tablespoon smoked paprika ($.10)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Total = $23.55/4 adult servings and 4 kids servings = $2.94/serving

Directions

In a large saucepan, over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Once the onions have softened add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for another minute. Pour the chicken broth, tomatoes, corn, beans, chilli powder and paprika into the pot and bring to a boil. Once at a boil lower heat to simmer and add your chicken. Cook the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes. Once chicken is cooked remove from pot. When cool enough to handle, shred or chop it up and add back into the soup. Add the juice of one lime and fresh cilantro to the pot. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then ladle into serving bowls. Top with a lime wedge, toasted tortilla strips, avocado slices, cheese and a blob of yogurt (I completely combined the yogurt into the soup for the kids. It calms any spicy and acid from the tomatoes) For the adults I made a side plate with toppings for everyone to 'self top'

Everyone really liked this. The kids asked for it for lunch the next day which is always a good sign and Big Daddy announced after dinner that he "would eat that again".

Kids bowl with yogurt mixed in

Something I am proud of

2011-10-24T13:40:00.003-04:00

Something I am very proud of and have always stuck to my guns about in the face of much criticism, judgment and push to do otherwise.

Gabe's is the same

We have never wavered on this decision or wondered if we should do otherwise. The more I learn the more resolute I am in our decision and nothing will change my mind. I get very honest and sincere questions about this choice and as a result I am going to make a page here with lots of reference materials, articles and medical journal links for your own perusal. I am offering up an opportunity to read and educate yourself on vaccines NOT picking a fight or looking to have one picked with me. When it comes to this subject I live by the rule "You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to" and if it's a fight you are looking for, you have come to the wrong place.

Almost Back to your Regularly Scheduled Programming

2011-10-23T12:15:00.002-04:00

Well maybe not quite yet but maybe I can see the forest through the trees? I am getting closer to being able to take a deep breath and be more in the moment (yes thank you Eckhart Tolle, Buddha and even Oprah for the idea) but in practice....well life has been far to busy to stop and smell much but my need for a chance to shower.

I know it sounds cliche but my life is getting in the way of my life. We have been so bloody busy that resentment is starting to build. With every invitation or obligation to attend another event I get mad and stressed. I don't like it when you start to live your life in 'reactionary mode'. That frantic kind of decision making that is based purely on getting it done and out of the way not with any thought or consideration. Nothing healthy can come from a life in this mode for any length of time.

We have been running on fumes since our return from our holiday down south. September was insane with an aunts visit, the kids starting school, a seminar, our wedding anniversary, Parent Association Meeting, TPOMBA meeting, Big Daddy's weekly hockey league starting up, 2 evening school events, School photo day, 2 kids birthday parties, 2 doctors appointments, 4 hair cuts (3 appointments), 3 play dates, me throwing my back out, a date night for us, a school bake sale to bake for, moving the kids into proper single beds from toddler beds and reorganizing their room, close to 20 hours of volunteer work for me and Big Daddy helping out a friend at an event all day. This is just what was added on to our regular day to day of meals, laundry, and work.

October hasn't slowed down with 2 kids birthday parties, 3 meetings, a convention, Gabe starting Fluency Treatment, 1 evening at the school event, 1 doctors appointment, Thanksgiving weekend away, getting Chicken Pox, trying to finish up the great furniture and stuff reorganize, the grandparents coming to stay for a week and now the twins fourth birthday next week...complete with not one but TWO parties for me to plan. This mingled with on-going work, housework, and the occasional need to bathe myself.

I am tired. Not the kind of tired where I need more sleep, I have been sleeping really well for the most part, but where I need to shut my brain off or put it in idle for a couple of days.

I maybe deluding myself about things slowing down after their birthday. I am trying to launch a new business so chances are slim that I will ever get to slow down and idle for many many years but I am hoping to get to the point where I can schedule things a bit more efficiently and know when and what time of day will be dedicated to writing and recipe development but for now......maybe I am living in the moment....a series of unplanned chaotic moments that I just have to learn to surrender to. Great, now I'll add 'learn to surrender' to my to do list.....fuck you Oprah.

Like Candy

2011-10-17T15:33:00.000-04:00

There are very few candy products that I like. Even as a child I would always choose chips or baked goods over candy. And there must be something genetically wrong with me because I am not a fan of chocolate. Not in the way that most women are. I only started to understand the addiction when I tried really high end chocolate from Switzerland.....other than that.....meh.

It goes without saying that we don't have any candy in the house. I do make desserts, I love baking. Usually gluten free and sugar free but full fat (healthy fats) and full on flavour. And I make ice cream. I will get to those recipes at some point but this is about candy....healthy candy

If I liked any candy as a kid, it was grape flavoured. And I always love love loved Welsh's Grape Juice. My mom would buy the frozen can and I would make a pitcher of it but with 3 cans of water instead of the called for 4 cans. I loved that slightly thick intense grape flavour. That grape juice is made with Concord grapes. When I found that out I asked mom to buy some concord grapes at the grocery store and I was disappointed to find out that not only do they have seeds but their skin is thick and hard to chew. The thing is I loved the flavour so much I ate them till I had a stomach ache.

I think it was when visiting with a friend that I first tried frozen grapes. It was a hot day and their mom pulled them out of the freezer for us to munch on. Just red seedless grapes but they had gotten extra sweet being frozen and the texture was unbelievable. It gave me the idea of freezing my much beloved Concords.

They are better than you can imagine. It was like eating a grape popcicle with a slightly chewer texture. I ate gallons of them. My fingers, lips, mouth and teeth turned purple, my stomach hurt and I don't think I had a solid poop for a week! But I loved them. Luckily for my guts, Concord grapes are only available in the fall but I look forward to buying them every year to freeze. This year when they came out I noticed a new bluey purple grape beside them on the shelf. It looked the same, maybe a bit smaller in size but they right colour for that grapejuice grape candy flavour I like so much. Coronation Grapes? Never heard of them....and they were organic (which most Concord grapes aren't) so I got some.

OMG!!! They are the seedless (almost seedless really, some have little mini seeds in them) thinner skinned sister to Concord grapes!! I have tried despretely to get them into the freezer so my kids can try how good a frozen grape can be (I felt up until now they were probably too much of a chocking hazard) but we keep eating them all. My lips are numb, my fingernails purple and my stomach hurts but I can't stop. I only eat other things because I know I should and reward myself for eating the other thing with some Coronation Grapes. The season will be over soon and I will have eaten my fair share.....who am I kidding....the city of Toronto's fair share!!...but hopefully there will be a little stash in the freezer...one that I haven't told the rest of the family about.....what's wrong with me?

The snack while I write this.

Frozen Grapes

I know it seems crazy to give a recipe for this but there is a slight trick to it. Rinse the grapes well but then let them dry well. De-stem them and throw them in a zip-lock bag. If they are really dry you don't have to worry about them freezing together into a huge lump which you really don't want. Let them freeze solid. You may need to break them up a little by crunching up the bag. For kids freeze seedless easy to eat grapes. I am not a big fan of how seedless green grapes freeze but try out a couple of different kinds and see what you like. BUT you HAVE to try frozen Coronation Grapes!!

*Frozen grapes are a wonderful feverish kid snack without the lowering the immune system sugar (did you know that as little as 1/4 tsp of sugar can lower your immune system for up to 48 hours? Makes you wonder why kids cold meds are so full of sugar)

THE POX!!

2011-10-15T10:01:00.003-04:00

I have a bunch of half written 'draft' posts I haven't had time to get to. I am MIA due to a chicken pox outbreak. On Thursday the school sent home a letter of warning. Public Health had received notice of a possible case of Chicken Pox in the twins' school. The same day, they sent Miss Bea home early with about 6 spots on her back. They looked like bug bites but as the day progressed she started getting a fever and then started vomiting, not often but about every 8-12 hours. We are now on day three of home sick kids. Bea seems to have a true case of them and other than the vomiting has a pretty classic case for her age group but Gabe has only really had a fever and chesty wet cough. Gabe's fever is now gone and Bea's is just a low grade today although yesterday she got pretty hot. She hasn't been eating but taking fluids. I am packing them full of Grapefruit Seed extract, vitamin D, vitamin C and sleep. I am hoping the worst of it is over.

I really thought that getting chicken pox would be more difficult. I mean getting the kids them, not having them, and I would actively have to seek it out. One month into school and here we are. I was also pleasantly surprised what a casual approach the city and school board have taken. I thought that like most virus' that Big Pharma have tried to get 'disease designation' there would be more of an uproar or fuss. Parents seemed to be meeting my expectations of 'outraged' when the rumours started on Tuesday blaming parents that don't vaccinate for CP but the school doesn't even have a policy of sending the kids home unless they are too sick to be there. The send home said:

"Staying home from school or daycare is not necessary if a child feels well enough. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends that a child with mild chicken pox who is able to participate normally in all activities should be allowed to return to school even if they still have a rash. Chicken pox is most contagious one to two days through coughing and sneezing before the rash appears. It is usually too late to prevent exposure to classmates and teachers"

I really appreciate the lack of fear mongering here. It was a nice surprise. I just hope that parents have the same reaction now that the letter has gone out.....I have yet to see them since the outbreak and not at all since my kids got them!!

I was also forwarded this interesting study about CP and death in children. This study shows that the deaths are actually from a drug reaction/interaction or complications from Chicken Pox not from the pox themselves. The conclusion is that if the parents had chosen to do nothing and let the CP ride it's course then these kids may not have died. That is a scary prospect!!

Cook Book, Food Book Heaven

2011-10-11T10:44:00.001-04:00

This summer when we headed down south I was sad to find out that the terrible US economy had claimed the life of Walden Books. Originally it's own chain but then sold to Walmart who merge it with Borders and now it is gone....

I always really liked Walden Books. There was one in the mall my grandmother would go to often and I would sometimes hang out in Walden while she picked something up in Belks or the like. They were smaller stores and you would get to know the people that worked there. They kept me well stocked in Sweet Valley High books in my Tween years.

Anyway I have to admit that I reaped the rewards of this death. I shopped there 3 times in the two weeks we were in North Carolina. The closing sale prices were out of control, so much cheaper than you can imagine.....75% off something already 75% off......so it goes without saying that I went crazy in the cook book section. I also picked up a few novels, like a new copy of the 7th and final book in the Harry Potter series which I lent to someone and never got back, but it was the prices on generally expensive cook books that made me squeal, and cry and more embarrassingly jump up and down in the store.

Here is some of the stash

Food Matters by Mark Bittman
Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver
Larousse Gastronomique
Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 2 by Julia Child & Simone Beck
The Art of Charcuterie by Jane Grigson

I also took home a couple of cook books from our house there. My grandfather was quite an amazing cook and like me collected cookbooks and recipes. He was the one who got me interested in cooking and food in the first place by assigning me jobs in the kitchen while he cooked. He made a beef stroganoff that made me appreciate mushrooms....something I abhor to this day (who wants to eat something that has the texture of bug bodies?) He got me to enjoy the flavour of them and now depending on the dish and if they are cook properly I love them (most people cook them wrong) The point is that he had the same love of food possibility that I have. The satisfaction that after a bad day you can come home a create something to feed and nourish your family. Knowing that all those cook books on your walls are filled with the possibility of great night, great meals, happiness and love.

So I stole some of the 'possibilities' from our house there.....I am currently the only real foodie in the family that would truly appreciate them and I was reading them while I was down there and I wasn't quite done. Besides a couple of them were being eaten by mice.....

*The Honey Kitchen edited by Dadant & Sons
*The Picayune Creole CookBook
*La Technique by Jacques Pepin

I went through most of the books there....seeing if I could find a page that had some evidence of use. Some oil stain or food covered finger print. I wanted to know which recipes my grandfather made, which ones he thought were good and worth making again. It made me miss him again...knowing how much there was left to learn from him....how much there was to admire. He was the one that created a strong sense of family in my family. He was the glue. He was the one who made sure that traditions were kept, celebrations were had and connections to far away cousins never lost. And he would cook. Grand meals for many many people. And never simple stuff, he always made real meals that involved a lot of time and love. I can only hope that my commitment to food and the feeling left from this commitment leave the same imprint that my grandfathers show of love did. I hope that it creates some glue and sense of strong family because my kids need that too

Dinner Last Night: Chicken Cacciatore

2011-10-07T19:15:00.000-04:00

I am much more of a warm/hot weather person than a cold weather person. I hate winter clothes and I LOATHE socks. There is only one aspect of cooler weather that I like.....the change in the menu. We go from eating grilled meats and salads like chick pea or watermelon to roasts, curries, baking and canning tomatoes. I love this change to warmer, spicier, comfort food.

This past weekend was my Father-in-Laws birthday. We were just finishing up two weeks of busy hell here with various crazy obligations every day along with the regular day to day do tos. I love being busy and really do believe that if you want something done ask a busy person to do it.....and I don't mean that I delegate everything because I almost always just do things myself....but that I am always amazed by how much we can accomplish even when we don't think we have time to do anything.

I had spent all of Friday night setting up a huge charity clothing sale for the twins group I belong to. (I love working on it. It is hard work but I love the ladies (hi Tamara!) and have so much fun doing it.) And again working with them running the sale early Saturday morning. I rushed from the sale to another kid's birthday party where Big Daddy and the kids already were, elbow deep in cake. We made it home in time for an early dinner and bed time. I woke up Sunday knowing that we were hosting lunch/dinner and a little birthday celebration for the FIL. It had already been a long weekend (but not in the extra day kinda way) and I can't say I was dying to get cooking or cleaning. Luckily Big Daddy had taken care of the dessert making some GF fudgy brownies. He also got some whipping cream and strawberries to top it off. So all I had to do was the lunch/dinner.

I make a point of stocking up on certain meats when they go on sale. Chicken thighs is one of those items. I am NOT a fan of dark meat usually but I can handle thighs because they are a nice mix of both light and dark meat, they mix beautifully into stews, soups and saucy chicken dishes without getting a tough over cooked texture like breasts can do. Our local organic butcher will often sell 6-8 thighs (depending on size) for approximately $15. You can get this much cheaper if you choose not to use organic.

(I have been thinking of adding to my recipes the relative costs....how to feed a family of four an all organic, high quality, gluten-free, whole foods diet as cheaply as possible....does that sound helpful? interesting? necessary? a waste of time? I will test it out with this recipe and see what the feed back is)

This meal, this Chicken Cacciatore is a gluten free version (some recipes lightly dust the chicken in flour), it is made with a cheaper cut of meat albeit not a lower quality one, it is the family friendly version (meaning meat is already off the bone and the dish is ready to serve the kids without any extra prep)

Here is what you need

3-4 tbsps Olive Oil (maybe 50 cents)
6-8 boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs, sliced into strips and salt and peppered ($15)
2 796 ml cans of Plum Tomatoes, one entire can and one drained of its liquid. (I used 2 jars of my own canned tomatoes. My end cost on these is about $1 each)
2 med Sweet Peppers, diced (I have been buying the local which are in season, approx $1.50)
1 lg Yellow Onion, diced (I always buy organic onions (google Dirty Dozen) so they are pretty pricey compared to regular $1.50)
4 cloves of Garlic (50 cents-ish)
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme (maybe 5 cents)
3 cups White or Brown Basmati Rice (I try to get brands of rice that I know don't use a GMO'd grain. I like Lundburg brand a lot but can only afford their non-organic on sale and their organic is out of the question. If using Lundburg $3.00, Organic Bulk $2.50 or regular, probably less than $1
7 cups Chicken Stock or Water (I prefer rice cooked in stock and because I will only use organic chicken anything this can be pretty pricey so I do a half and half thing. I used one 900 mL tetra pack of stock ($1.50)and topped up my liquid with water)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Cayenne optional

In a large pan over medium high heat saute the onions and peppers in 2 tbsps of the olive oil. Just as they soften add the garlic being careful no to let it burn. Once soft remove from pan. Add the remainder of the oil and add the chicken. Let the chicken sear and brown a little. This will save it from falling apart when the liquid is added in later. Once all the chicken has changed colour but without letting it cook through, add back in the onions, peppers and garlic and 1 cup of the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and add the tomatoes and thyme. From here let it simmer until the rice is ready.

First rinse rice well with cold water. Rice should always be washed before cooking. This washes away any non food, small rocks, dirt and starch. Wash until the water is relatively clear. I use a rice steamer so I can just add the rice and liquid (in this case 3 cups of rice, the remainder of the chicken stock, which was just less than 3 cups and 3 cups of water) and turn it on. If you are using a pot there is a great trick to perfect rice. Start the same with the rice and liquid in the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn the heat down as low as your burner will go. Make a tight seal with a piece of tin foil between your pot and the lid. Leave it like this for 20 minutes then turn the heat off and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and very carefully remove the tin foil and fluff rice with a fork.

Serve some rice topped with Chicken Cacciatore.

Now this fed 6 people very well.....for $25.00. This could have been dinner twice or a lunch and a dinner for our family of 4. A full organic/local/whole foods meal for $12.50

Noodles

2011-10-05T20:51:00.000-04:00

One of the first things you think when you 'go gluten free' is all the stuff you can't eat. And if you focus hard enough on that you can make the whole thing a nightmare. One of the fastest ways to make yourself unhappy is to try to replace all your old eats with gluten free versions. You are only going to be disappointed, miserable and hungry. There really are only a few things that I had to find a decent replacement for and noodles is one of them. I have two kids of course I need noodles in the house!!

So here is a 'how to' on rice noodles so you won't be disappointed, miserable and never hungry.

Don't try to make classically Italian dishes with the Asian style rice noodle. The Asian style is thin and usually made with a white rice. These need to be flash cooked and are never served swimming in a sauce like spaghetti. Find a nice, preferably organic brown rice noodle. I like the penne and rotini best. I find the spaghetti or long noodle version of these rice noodles pretty lame and have an alternate substitute for that...more on that later.

You want to cook these noodles in much more water than you would cook wheat noodles. They need to have some of their starch cooked out of them. I would say in half again the amount of water (so if you would cook the wheat version in 6 cups of water, then cook these in 9 cups) . Cook normally, letting the salted water boil before adding the noodles. Ignore the cooking times listed on the bag....I find they are all way longer than needed. Boil, stirring occasionally until when bitten the noodle has a soft texture but still firm in the middle. You want it to to undercooked enough that it makes your teeth stick together a little. At this point drain them and stop the cooking by rinsing them with cold water. If you don't rinse them they will cool in to a lump. You need to get the starch off. Finish the cooking and warm them up by tossing them in the sauce you are serving them in. Don't let them cook like this, just get them nice and hot. Then serve.

When cooked like this you will never miss wheat pasta. Now a year and a half gluten free I have a hard time remembering what the difference is.

Grilled vegetable pasta with tomatoes

Dinner Last Night - Fried Rice

2011-10-01T22:33:00.000-04:00

Have I already mentioned it but I threw my back out on Thursday afternoon?....while cleaning behind my toilet. Because cleaning your toilet isn't insulting enough.

The really tough part of this injury is that it has happened during a crazy busy couple of weeks in this house. A couple of doctors appointments, a court date, 2 kids birthday parties, a couple of play dates, a hair cut for me, Curriculum night at the kids school (that I volunteered to help out at and bake cupcakes to sell), Big Daddy's weekly hockey game, 2 meetings for me, two days of volunteer work with another group and Big Daddy helping a friend at an event one evening. As parents we haven't been home at the same time other than to sleep for going on two weeks. As soon as I get home from my obligation Daddy rushes out the door to his. We have been playing tag team super parents. Luckily we are near the end of that craziness and next weekend we are going away for a family Thanksgiving....please be relaxing!!

I just finished two days of volunteer work mostly bent to one side and avoiding certain movements. I managed pretty well and actually found the tail end of it when I was sitting the hardest part on my back. I went from my 7 am to 12:30 shift to meeting up with my family at a 3 year old's birthday party. By the time we got home (around 3) I couldn't imagine cooking up a big dinner so it became a 'do something fantastic with your leftovers....the left overs? Rice and green beans from the trout dinner a couple of days ago. I didn't have time to attempt a protein that wasn't super fast and I knew we had some shrimp in the freezer that needed to be eaten so I made fried rice!

Coconutty Shrimp Fried Rice

4-5 tbsps of Coconut oil, in this case you want the coconut flavour so get one that isn't very refined(I love Nutiva)
2 large carrots, peeled, quartered and sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium sweet pepper, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
Approximately 3-4 cups of cooked rice. (In this case I used a Basmati that I cooked in chicken stock) Best if it is a couple of days old and a little dry.
3 tbsps Soy sauce or to taste
1 lbs raw, shelled and de-veined shrimp
The juice of one lime

Put your shrimp in a bowl and squeeze most of the juice from one lime over the shrimp and set aside.
In a large pan or wok heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Once all melted add the onions, peppers, carrots, garlic and ginger and let it all simmer and soften.
When the vegetables are almost soft turn the heat up to medium high. Once hot add the shrimp and any liquid from the bottom of the bowl. Let the shrimp start to pink up but don't let them cook completely.
Add the rice, and incorporate everything but allowing the ingredients to fry up a little on the bottom of the pan before turning
Sprinkle on soy sauce and any remainder of lime juice.

You might notice that my fried rice is more about the ingredients than it is about rice. The coconutty slight lime flavoured shrimp with the sweet veg and salty soy. It is veg heavy, healthy fat and really yummy. This time I took a picture of Gabe's plate. He had two servings and I didn't have to do much to make sure we had a healthy dinner in about 20 minutes.....and you can do it with s steep lean to one side!

Dinner Tonight - Tomato Caper Trout

2011-09-30T16:00:00.000-04:00

I was lucky and was able to use tomatoes and herbs from my garden

I am re-using one of my own recipes....plagiarizing myself!!

I developed this recipe for my monthly column in The Bulletwin and I even posted it here once but the photo is terrible. In my on-going quest to make this a better source for yummy, healthy, family friendly recipes I am going to do this again (sort of...I mean I cooked it again and we are eating it again and I took photos again) but I didn't re-invent the recipe again.......that's just silly

Tomato Caper Trout

Preheat oven to 375°

2 lg Trout Fillets (approx 1 ½ to 2 lbs)
1 cup of sliced in half cherry tomatoes
2 diced shallots
2 sliced cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of capers (drained if in brine, rinsed if salted)
Zest from 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup Olive Oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon (approx 3 tbps)
A generous pinch of pepper
Optional: Chopped parsley or basil or both

Rinse, pat dry and put trout in an oven safe dish. Mix together all ingredients and pour over trout.

Bake until the flesh of the trout flakes when pressed on with the back of a fork. The kids love the trout. Gabe likes the tomatoes, Bea likes it plain, without the ‘sauce’. The trout has so much flavour from cooking with the tomatoes and capers that nothing is really needed on it but you can add a squeeze of lemon for the kids if desired. Serve with rice and a vegetable

Why I shouldn't be allowed in public

2011-09-29T18:48:00.000-04:00

This week I have had two ridiculous thing happen to me.....

Today I scrubbed the bathroom floor. Today I threw my back out while on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor. Today I crawled, crying, out of the bathroom to the living room rug barely clearing a spot on the floor of the toys to curl in the fetal position weeping. Then my guests arrived.

Tuesday was a beautiful but humid day. I strolled along trendy Queen St, my newly cut and styled hair blowing in the warm breeze. Hot, I took a nice long swig from my water bottle. Mouth still full I accidentally stepped on uneven ground turning my ankle. I quickly recovered (I have the reflexes of a minx) but in doing so choked on the water in my mouth spraying it a couple of feet while I bent over and coughed myself red in the face. Once I righted myself I discovered I had an audience of bugaboo'd moms and hipsters.

I think after the last two days there is no question to my coolness.

47 Momths

2011-09-27T22:07:00.000-04:00

Oh and to be almost four!!

This month was full of major changes including starting school! I knew I would never really be truly ready for this so I just made sure you guys were. I also made sure that we had some really special Mama time before our full day together time ended.

One day I took you on a Go Train ride. Just to Port Credit and back but you guys loved it. I packed a little picnic lunch and we stayed in Port Credit for a couple of hours to play in one of their parks. Gabe this is the look you had on your face for the entire train ride, there and back. Bea you were more interested in the snacks and if there is a bathroom on the train (there is). Gabe I was telling you how 'train engineers' drive the trains and you informed me that I was in fact wrong and that 'doctors and misters' drive the trains......I should tell Gampa Andy

We also thought it would be nice to move you into big kid beds. You have been in your toddler beds for the last year and a half and I think the super firm mattress wasn't feeling that cozy anymore for 40lbs turkeys. We already had Bea's bed (my old one from when I was a kid) but I started to shop around for one for Gabe. I really didn't want to just get you some Ikea crap that we will be replacing in a few years (thats right doctor Distructo) and then a friend reminded me to start looking at Kijiji and Craigs List. I found one in a couple of days that I loved, now we just needed a mattress. I decided it was a good time to truly move you into your room. I know it sounds crazy but until now I had your dresser down in the spare room because you guys did most of your changing downstairs and it made it easier for me. We had also removed most of the furniture and all lamps, art and breakable items out of your room when you guys found freedom and climbed out of your cribs. It wasn't long before you had broken almost everything in your room so we went down to the bare minimim. Over the last year we had slowly introduced stuff back in but still no lamp and we had removed the bulb from the ceiling light (you guys either wouldn't go to sleep and just play with the light or if one of you woke up you would turn the light on waking the other).

But now you are almost 4 year old big kids and it is time to have a real room with some of your stuff in it. Besides Daddy and I wanted to claim some grown up space back and have one corner of the house that we weren't falling over toys.

You guys are so easy going for these kinds of transitions. There really is only excitment and no fear of change and I really think you are sleeping better. (I am in the midst of writing a 'before' and 'after', with pictures of this change as soon as the room is totally complete)

And then school started

First day

Walking with Daddy to school

You guys had some amazing opinions about school starting

-Gabe you told Daddy on the first day of school morning that you will probably need a beer when you get home from school today because "it's a big day".
-Then while waiting to go in Bea pointed to the school and asked me "Are you sure this is a good idea?"


Covered in the paint from helping me paint your new dresser

I can't say that you had a great first day of school though - school was great and you guys loved it but then Bea got kicked in the eye in the school yard and Gabe came home and fell down the stairs. Day 2 I took a little girl with a bit of a black eye and a little boy covered in bruises and a huge egg on his head to school.

Septembers weather was wonderful and we stayed after school everyday to play with your new friends and I got to know some of the other parents. You guys being in school has done wonders for OUR social lives and I have made some great new freinds in the neighbourhood. I am also glad that there are some other parents in the 'hood now looking out for you.

September is also Mummy and Daddy's wedding anniversary and Daddy surprised Mummy with a specail anniversary present. He had sorted it all out that you two were going to spend the night at Uncle Terrys with Nokie and Cals because we were doing a wine tour in Niagara. I wasn't sure how this would go over. Sure you guys have slept at other houses but always with us and ususally with one of us putting you to bed but you guys had a blast!!! During the visit Nokie took video of Flora with Gabe. The lighting was low and it gave Flora creapy red eyes in the video. Nokie joked about a 'ghost dog' and Gabe added that she had 'blooding eyes'. The next week Miss Dover asked me what was going on at home that Gabe would be so obsessed with 'ghost dogs' and 'bleeding eyes'....Gabe, all your pictures at school had red eyes all week too.

September was also school photo day. I have to admit that I have been looking forward to this since you were born. I have a real soft spot for school photos. And just when I didn't think I could love you more.....we got these (I made a point of asking Miss Dover to make sure to remind Gabe to 'use both eyes' so we wouldn't have crossed eye boy pix but it took the photographer about 15 tries and they gave them all to us)

Bea got it right first try

Along with being the great loves of my life you guys make be proud everyday and for a myriad of crazy reasons. The most when you stand out for being self possessed and have strong personalities. I love that you both have some fire even if it is used against me sometimes. This month you decided it was a good idea to strip naked, get filthy and take turns peeing in the backyard at precisely the busiest moment of the open house happening next door. I guess you agree that the house is outrageously over priced. This is the type of 'naughty' behaviour that I will never stifle. You only get to be young once and I want you to enjoy every moment of it.

How we are bad parents: Bea-"why is is raining?" Daddy "it's all part of the hydrological cycle", Me "because you made God sad and he is crying.

Gabe you told me you are going to teach me how to drive. When I asked 'how do you drive?' you said "You honk and push buttons and turn the steering wheel" Oh boy are you going to drive like your Daddy.

I love you guys more than I can say
Mama

Breakfast this Morning - More Coconut Butter

2011-09-27T17:53:00.000-04:00

It is official that I am completely obsessed with the coconut butter. My life is revolving around finding more food vehicles to eat more of it.

What did I have for breakfast this morning you ask? Ok so you didn't ask but here you are

Yes they are store bought gluten free waffles, (oh kill me but we are still in the transition of trying to get the family fed breakfast and out the door in time for school) with coconut butter, peaches and strawberries with a drizzle of maple syrup. Truth is I couldn't shovel this in my mouth fast enough....or as my uncle says "It's the best thing I have ever put in my whole mouth"

The Rottenest of Cats

2011-09-26T17:34:00.000-04:00

I would like to introduce you to worst, most horrible, nasty monster ever....be afraid....very afraid

Mini the cat

I have had this cat since 1997 when the humane society said she was two years old. That makes her 16 years old. She looks just like a kitten, beats up the neighbourhood cats, eats like a pig, does tricks and destroys all my stuff.

My custom upholstered couch

She is ridiculous and I love her but the pet and children gods have decided that I am not allowed to have anything nice

Everybody's working for the weekend

2011-09-24T23:42:00.001-04:00

I am at a stage in life where the weekend can be the busiest part of my week. Rarely is there a weekend that Big Daddy doesn't work part of so when he is around we have to become super productive multi-taskers. Grocery shopping (I don't drive so this can only really happen with him) cleaning house, errands etc. Gone are the days of endless dinners at restaurants, drinks till closing time, after hours clubs, partying till sunrise, luxurious cab rides home, sleeping till noon to wake up in full make up and hung over sunglasses-wearing-brunches with friends.

People with these freedoms ask if I miss it. They are usually in their twenties and look at me with pity while they regal me with stories of the last time they got drunk and partied (last weekend or night) 'Every once and a while', I tell them. There are times I look back a those days fondly and wonder what on earth I did with all that spare time? How much time I wasted.......every once and a while I miss it. But not for one single moment do I want it back now! Sure one night of being 22 again...having my 22 year old body, energy, alcohol tolerance, and 'moves' back but only if it can be at the clubs and dance to the music of my 22 year old self. I didn't just get older and move on but the world moved on, music moved on and the locations of the clubs I loved have closed and reopened 10 times to younger and younger crowds.

Now my days are 'to do lists' and the race to cross as much off of them while still taking time to pay attention to my life, love my kids and honour my marriage. No I don't have the time I had then....because my life is full

Today while flying solo with the kids I started my fall canning. Today was a bushel of tomatoes. I had them all jarred and ready for boiling before noon.

I got 21 jars from the one bushel so I hope to get at least one more bushel done in the coming week. I can probably get a good portion of it done while the kids are in school this week. We are in the midst if two really hectic weeks so I am really going to have to push. So no late night dance parties for me.

How I Can Tomatoes

First I wash the tomatoes, cut out the stem and cut a 'X' in the bottom of them.
Then in batches I flash boil them, for about 15 seconds and then quickly cool them in a sink of cold water. The peels slip off easily. Put the peels in a colander and the now skinned tomato in large bowl.
I wash my jars in hot soapy water and instead of boiling them to sterilize I place them on a cookie sheet or in a roasting pan in a 200 degree oven letting them get good and hot.
Squash the peels in your hands getting every last bit of pulp out of them. And press them against the sides of the colander. Put this liquid in a pot and let simmer.
Take the hot jars out one at a time to pack. I jam as many tomatoes in as I can and top with the simmering juice. **There will be excess juice in the bottom of the bowl the tomatoes are in. Add this to the simmering pot too.** I add a basil leaf (from the garden) the hot snap lid and gently tighten the ring (to what is called 'finger tight')
The jars are then boiled in batches of 7 (that's what my canner holds) for 1 hour 20 minutes a batch

There is nothing better than home canned tomatoes

Breakfast this Morning: Coconut Butter

2011-09-22T10:39:00.001-04:00

Ok so there are a ~~few things~~ many things food related that I go crazy for. I am always trying to create the perfect balance of Hot Sour Salty Sweet....this is also the title of a remarkable cook book by Jeffery Alford that I highly recommend.....sweet is sweeter with a bit of salt, hot is tamed with a bit of sweet, salty is calmed with a dash of sour....it's the circle of life really...

So I read recently about Coconut Butter. Not only are the fats from coconut amazing for you inside and out...I have a whole page on the health benefits of coconut oil....but it has such a wonderful flavour that can be part of a hot, sour, salty or sweet dish. This makes it incredibly versatile. So I wanted to try this coconut butter thing.

It is pretty simple. Take flaked, shredded or finely shredded unsweetened coconut and put it in your food processor. Process it scrapping down the sides every couple of minutes. It will come together fairly quickly depending on the freshness of the coconut (mine wasn't that fresh so it took longer) and the size of the 'shred'. After a few minutes it will become pasty and then liquify and 'butterize' (yes that is a word!)

about 2 minutes in

about 4 minutes in

Final product - BUDDAH!

Going into this I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to use it for so I have waited before posted this for you. But then this morning I was inspired...how about ON OATMEAL!!

Now I don't think there is a font or text size that can express how good this was. We had cinnamon raisin oatmeal with coconut butter, a bit of honey and some almond milk. Truly one of the yummiest of oatmeals I have ever had....and I eat A LOT of oatmeal....see various posts on the subject

Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins

2011-09-21T14:19:00.000-04:00

There is one aspect of gluten-free baking that has eluded me. I can't seem to get a recipe made that doesn't have a slightly damp, gooey middle. Cakes are fine, breads are fine but muffins, pancakes and waffles are almost always a gross middle. It is more true the healthier the recipe. Everything turns out that is white rice flour and sugar but as soon as you get into the oat, almond, coconut flours there ends up a gooey slight snotty textured center. Big Daddy finds this really off putting and won't eat pancakes at all. Because I am the only one in the family that *has* to be gluten free I feel bad that they are 'suffering' at my expense-- Although I am glad that they all eat little to no gluten...better for everyone--

So one of my favourite food bloggers has recently gone gluten free (yay) and has been baking up a storm and writing about it. So I thought I would try one of her muffin recipes. I am desperate to make some decent muffins for the kids snack for school and not only do I want them to be gluten free, low or no sugar (with some other sweetening agent) but they have to be nut free because of school policy......

Here is her recipe with bold where I made changes

2 tbsp Coconut Flour
1/2 cup Oat Flour
1/2 cup Sweet Rice Flour
2 lg Eggs
1 med. Mashed Banana
1 cup Blueberries
1/2 cup Almond Milk
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Sucanat - I don't use sucanat, I used 1/3 cup of Blue Agave Syrup
3 tbsp Coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp Lemon Zest
2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Preheat oven 350
Grease pan
Combine flours, baking powder, sucanat & salt
Mash Banana
Whisk eggs in with banana, add milk and coconut oil
Add wet to dry and stir until combined
Stir in blueberries, lemon zest & juice
Scoop batter into pan and bake until a knife comes out clean.

Now because I added more liquid I added a tablespoon extra of oat flour. This recipe had the same strange gooey middle but the lemon zest/juice made this much more tolerable. The over all flavour is really nice, I like this combination of flours. There was just enough coconut taste without it being overwhelming mingled with lemon and blueberries. They are pretty dense without being tough. I would make these again but if they were for personal use I might add almond flour into the mix. If they are going to be dense I prefer one of the flour to 'honour' that. And the kids love them which makes it a win

Here they are

It reminds me....I have a recipe for raspberry coconut muffins...I'm going to do those next

Anniversary

2011-09-20T10:17:00.001-04:00

My husband and I aren't 'big dealers'. We don't make a big deal about stuff. We rarely celebrate our own birthdays with much flair (I make a bigger deal about his generally) and we almost never do much about our wedding anniversary (he was away camping on our first wedding anniversary while I was home super pregnant)

Some good friends of ours always 'do' something. They always take a moment to recognize the landmarks....they don't have kids....YET! (she is pregnant!!) But it made me think that maybe we should be not only taking the time to honour each other a little but to celebrate that we have made it this far. My way of making sure this happens was to tell Big Daddy that I want up to make a bigger deal about stuff. Not that it has to happen every year (in a big way) but that we make an effort to remind the other one that we love them. I told him that I needed it and that it would make me happy. He is pretty good about hearing requests like that and so this wedding anniversary he did.

He got my uncle and two cousins to take the kids for the night. Rented us eBikes (electric mopeds) in Niagara-on-the-Lake and took me on a wine tasting tour that he planned out. It was AMAZING!!! The bikes were kinda scary at first but once I got a hang of it....oh boy was it fun!!

My eBike hunk

We managed to go to four (maybe five) wineries and had tastings at all of them. We even bought a couple of bottles and two little mini ice wines. I love wine......

We then went for a nice dinner at one of the better restaurants in town (I ate a huge prime rib with more red wine) It was strange having a day to ourselves. It reminded me why I love him and how easily we got along before we had kids. I don't think I realized how much of a strain the kids have put on our marriage.....not that the marriage is in trouble or anything I don't want to give that impression at all.....but how much the attention to 'us' shifted to 'them' when they were born. And although it is exactly what is suppose to happen and completely natural it was nice to stop and face each other for a moment and think....oh yeah that's why I married this guy!

After dinner we loaded into the car and made the drive back into the city (about an hour and an half) and got a little gussied up for a party. Other friends of ours were celebrating their 10 year anniversary and had gotten babysitters for the night as well (this is sooooo rare for both of us) and were throwing a house party. The amazing thing was that most of our friends all have kids now and almost all of them got babysitters and were able to come. I took a couple of pictures from the night....the lighting sucked but the pictures are pretty good...these are just a few of the people there. I would have/should have taken more but I got distracted by more wine

Jamie and Tina

Some of the Daddys

Seph looking beautiful

Dotty looking glam

Curdled cream and Cat Barf

2011-09-20T09:26:00.004-04:00

We are now into week two of the kids starting school. Everyone kept asking me what I was I going to do with my free time. I knew I could fill it but with what? What was going to be my priority? An uninterrupted shower? A quiet breakfast? The kind of cleaning that is impossible to do with kids running around? Or write?...............the problem is, it really isn't that much time. The kids are in 'class' from 8:45 am until 11:15 and with the walking back and forth to and from the school it gives me just over 2 hours of 'free time'. Not a lot of time to accomplish much. I also find that in the rush to get out the door things are left for me to get to when I get back. I still have to clean up from breakfast, organize a snack/lunch for when we get home and finish whatever other steps there are to get us up for the day...feed the dog etc. By the time I do these things I usually have about an hour left to eat my own breakfast and go get them. So all these big plans I have had to finally get things done around here have been sadly delayed again......maybe until they are in full time school?

It doesn't help to move the day along when this morning I woke up to my cream having curdled and huge piles of cat barf all over the living room rug. I picked up some cream at the corner store on the way home from drop off and am now having my first cup of coffee. I figured the cat barf can wait until I am fully caffeinated....or maybe until they are in full time school?

Dinner Last Night: Fresh Tomato Pasta

2011-09-16T16:27:00.001-04:00

Tomatoes from my back yard

This is one of those dishes that is only worth making if you have some really beautiful tomatoes. Even better if you grew them yourself! I like this because it is so simple and so delicious and it always amazes me how perfectly garlic and tomatoes go together

You will need:
1 lg yellow onion peeled and diced
3-6 cloves of garlic minced
1-2 (depending on size) sweet peppers sliced
2 cups of fresh tomatoes diced
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 200 g container of mini or pearl bocconcini or equivalent in fresh cheese (optional)
A bunch of fresh basil, chopped
6 cups of cooked pasta

In a large skillet heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onions and peppers until soft but not mushy. Add the garlic and continue to cook until it has softened. Add the chicken stock and let it come to a simmer and then turn the heat down to a medium low.

Once your pasta is finished cooking add your diced tomatoes, quickly incorporate them and then gently do the same with the pasta. The idea is to not over cook your tomatoes. Toss in your basil and bocconcini (if using) and serve immediately. If you aren't using a soft cheese now you may want to sprinkle with a grated cheese like Parmesan. One of the truly great things about this meal is you can have it on the table in around 30 minutes.

Made with brown rice penne

What's in your cream??

2011-09-13T10:21:00.001-04:00

As far as health is concerned I am a strong believer in 'toxic load' What I mean by this is that we all do things that aren't particularly good for our health but are an absolute necessity in our lives. We live in a big city. We are exposed to endless pollutants, radio, cellular and wi-fi waves, noise pollution, air pollution, heavily treated water, lack of green space, lack of room to grow more of our food etc. But we have to live here right now, we don't have a choice. I hope that the choices that we have made lessen the toxic overload that living in the city exposes us to. Choices like,

Very little processed foods
If it isn't organic, it is local
We don't drink milk
We eat a lot of detoxifying/cleansing foods
We have a RO water system for our drinking water
I don't own any aluminum or stainless steal pots. I cook exclusively in cast iron, enameled cast iron or enameled stainless steal
We don't use any soaps, shampoos or beauty products that have crap in them...although I do admit to having a cheap mascara (but I wear make up maybe 4 times a month)
We grow as much veg in our city yard as we can
We are un-vaccinated. My children are completely, I was selectively vaccinated as a child and haven't had a shot of anything since, and my husband hasn't had any boosters.
We chose to have all non-toxic 'green' toys. Not only are they better for your children and the environment they are generally prettier to look at, smell nicer and almost never light up or make noise (I am very thanknful for this!!)

Here is how I see things:
What is in your cream? 'Half and Half' or 'Table Cream' should have milk and cream in it.....nothing else. Here is the label from regular grocery store bought cream

Sodium Citrate - A food additive salt, is a buffer that controls the acidity. It is an alkalizing agent to make the urine less acidic. It is used to treat kidney diseases like gout and stones......wait a minute!....what it really does is make the cream taste creamier with very little actual 'cream' in it.

Sodium Phosphate - Another food additive salt used as a emulsifier. Large doses of it are taken for bowel preps before a colonoscopy or abdominal surgery. I makes you poop!!
Carrageenan -Thickening, gelling, and stabilizing agent: Ice cream, jelly, chocolate milk, infant formula, cottage cheese.Carrageenan is an indigestible family of large molecules obtained from seaweed. Large amounts of carrageenan have harmed test animals’ colons; the small amounts in food are safe.
Dextrose - Sweetener: Bread, caramel, soda pop, cookies, many other foods. Dextrose is an important chemical in every living organism. A sugar, it is a source of sweetness in fruits and honey. Added to foods as a sweetener, it represents empty calories and contributes to tooth decay. Dextrose turns brown when heated and contributes to the color of bread crust and toast. Americans consume about 25 pounds per year of dextrose -- and a total of about 150 pounds per year of all refined sugars. It is considered not toxic, but test show large amounts may be unsafe or promote bad nutrition. I can't seem to find what is considered a 'large amount'.

And here are two different creams you can buy. One is organic and the other is from a local farm that does have some organic products but this is not one of them. They don't use food additives

This is a easy choice to make for your family. Organic or food additive free dairy products are available everywhere now. Yes they are a little more expensive but the truth is it's worth it. Besides everyone would benefit from cutting back on dairy...it really isn't as good for you as we are being sold and the stuff we are being sold isn't as good as dairy can be. What a change we could make to the dairy industry if we just all refused to buy the stuff full of crap and what a huge difference that would make to the health of our society. It is one choice that makes a big difference and you can vote with your dollars.

Last Nights Dinner: Spaghetti Squash

2011-09-09T20:56:00.001-04:00

I am a pretty big fan of squash in general but I have my favourites...Spaghetti and Butternut being easy winners. This week I decided to make one of my stand-by dishes I make when I am not feeling up to cooking up a storm or if I need something fast --Spaghetti Squash with Garlicky Tomato Sauce

The recipe for the sauce is available on another post so this is more about how to prepare the squash.

After three days this is how different they looked

I had a very strange experience this week. I lay prideful (arrogant) claims to being a total 'foodie'. I usually know what the odd vegetables are in ethnic grocery stores (although I love finding stuff I know nothing about) but this week I was totally fooled. I bought two organic spaghetti squashes at the local health food shop, I got them both out of the same bin, they looked the same but one was slightly larger and rounder then the other. Other than that they had totally the same appearance from the outside. Now over the last couple of days in the larder one of them had gotten paler and was now showing marks/scars on the skin of having been handled while the other stayed blemish free and pale yellow. I decided that they needed to be cooked and cut them open to find THIS!!

One of them is a spaghetti squash and the other is a bloody CANTALOUPE!! How was I fooled? The worst part? I HATE cantaloupe! The smell of it makes my stomach turn........and it couldn't possibly be from the fancy party 15 years ago that I didn't eat before going to where in my nervousness I downed too many Cosmo martinis while wolfing down prosciutto and melon and then spent the rest of the evening with my head in the toilet still in my pretty dress??..........naaaaah......I just don't like it.....

So spaghetti squash....cut it open and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Depending on the size you may want to cut it into quarters
Now I put these straight into a large pasta cooking pot, fill with water until the squash is completely covered, salt it and leave to boil...just like noodles. But there is something else you can do...you can make this dish JUST squash or a mix of squash and noodles. The way to do this is to fill the pot with a lot more water than just covering the squash and when the water is boiling add the noodles and cook normally. When the noodles are done dump the contents of the pot in a strainer, squash and all. You are going to want to put the squash a side and let steam dry. This helps remove the excess water from boiling it and avoid the squash from watering down your sauce.

Once it is reasonably dry (just not dripping) start shreding it with a fork

Then combine the shredded squash into the sauce. Once completely combined pour the entire contents into a lasagna dish and sprinkle with cheese. I like using mozzarella. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Or if you are combining it with noodles, add the shredded squash and noodles in with the sauce and then serve with a sprinkle of cheese

I have to admit I love how much my whole family loves this meal. We all clean our plates. I also love that as I write this my family is sitting watching a movie and polishing off the dreaded cantaloupe to get ride of the evidence

Simple Garlicky Spaghetti Sauce

2011-09-08T22:26:00.002-04:00

PASTA! Pasta has always been one of my happy meals....leaves me full and content...and there is something about it that feels like home to me. My mom and I ate a lot of pasta when I was a kid. Finding out I had to go gluten free wasn't bad until I realized that meant no pasta....then I cried. I have found ways around the noodle thing (there is a trick to cooking rice noodles so they are painful close to a wheat noodle texture but more on that later) and I can still enjoy my favourite sauces.

I make a lot of different kinds of tomato sauce. Ones packed full of vegetables and almost sweet, or the almost sea saltiness of good puntanesca, or in this case a perfect simple super garlicky sauce. This prepared in about 10 minutes. Then just let it simmer.

1/2 cup of good olive oil (no I am not kidding, I do mean 1/2 cup)
4-8 cloves of garlic, minced (depends on size, I have been lucky enough to get some really beautiful stiff neck organic lately with big potent cloves)
2 28 oz or 796ml good canned tomatoes or home jarred (the quality of the canned tomatoes can make or break this. Cheap canned tomatoes can taste acidic and almost tinny. It really is worth it to spend the money on good tomatoes, especially for this sauce that has very little other ingredients. I prefer tomatoes packed in pulp not juice.
a bunch of basil, thinly sliced
1/2-1 tsp cayenne or dried chillies (optional)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium sized sauce pan. Add the garlic and let it cook for a couple of minutes but don't let it brown (if you are using chillies this is the time to add them, let them cook in the oil and garlic for 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes)

Then add the tomatoes. I let the liquid dump out holding back the tomatoes which I then squish up well in my hand before letting them fall into the pot. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer and turn the heat down to maintain a light simmer. Nearing the end and before serving add the basil and cayenne if using

Optional - using a hand blender puree to make a smoother sauce

There are a million different uses for this sauce and I hope to introduce you to some of them over the coming weeks

Dinner Last Night - Curry

2011-09-06T22:17:00.004-04:00

We love Indian food in this house. The kids will happily eat a spicy curry and I love that most south Asian food is usually gluten free and there is no need for sub-par substitutions or obvious omissions. I love that you can have amazing vegetarian meals that never feels lacking. That all the herbs and spices are so good for you, all being immune boosters, anti-microbial, natural blood thinners, alkalizing, digestive aids, and warming. Generally a Indian inspired meal is pretty cheap too certainly once you have all the spices.

Last night I had my two aunts over for dinner unexpectedly and I wanted to make something good but it couldn't be prepare heavy or complicated so I went to my old stand by.....Curry. This time I decided to try something new so I went to one of my favourite cook books of all time - The Complete Indian Cookbook by Mridula Baljekar. This book was, and maybe still is one of the highest rated Indian cookbooks on the 'foodie chat room/boards/groups' BEEP BEEP BEEP Food Geek Alert!...Food Geek Alert!..sorry that was weird...why did that happen?

So as I was saying...the book is out of print so I searched it out, scoping out all the used book sellers on Amazon. It is such a desired book that sellers are trying to get $100 plus (up to $160 depending on the condition) Now I love to buy cook books and have considered selling one of my young on occasion for one but that is insanely expensive even for me. So I told Amazon to let me know if it was ever available for under $50 and in decent to excellent condition to let me know. It took around 4 months but there it was, $40 and in good condition and it has been worth every penny (I had to pay a little extra for shipping). I have tried many of the recipes and all of them have been excellent. Sure there are ones I like more than others--marry me murghi badami--but nothing has been bad or disappointing.

So last night I decided to try Chicken with Channa Dhal
1 cup/8 oz Channa chal or yellow split peas (I actually used red lentil because that is what I had on hand)
2 1/4 lbs chicken pieces (I used 12 organic thighs, this is a great way to 'afford' organic meat and thighs are great in stews, soaps and curries)

Make a paste of the following ingredients by adding 1/4 cup of water
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne or chili powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
I found this 'paste' thin and runny at first but it really thickened up by the time I needed it.

2 tbsp cooking oil
1 inch cube of ginger root, peeled and grated
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 fresh chilli pepper, finely chopped (I was lucky to use one from my garden this time)
1 1/4 tsps salt or to taste
Scant 2 cups warm water
3 tbsps ghee or unsalted butter (got to use my new ghee)
1 lg onion, finely sliced

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

1. Clean and wash the split peas and soak them in plenty of cold water for about 2 hours. Now because I used red lentils which are smaller and cook faster I rinsed them and let them soak for about 30 minutes)

2. Cut chicken into cubes and pat dry
3. In a heavy-based pan, heat the oil gently over low heat and fry the ginger, garlic and green chilli pepper for 1 minute

4. Add the spice paste, stir and fry for 2-3 minutes

5. Add the chicken, adjust heat to medium-high, stir and fry chicken until it changes colour (3-4 minutes)
6. Add the split peas, stir and fry for a further 3-4 minutes
7. Stir in the salt and add the water. Bring to a boil, cover the pan and simmer until the chicken and split peas are tender (35 to 40 minutes)

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the ghee or butter over medium heat and fry the onion until they are golden brown (8-10 minutes), stirring frequently
Add the onions to the chicken along with any remaining ghee in the pan. Add half of the coriander leaves leaves and stir until all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes

Serve with the remaining coriander leaves and tomato slices.

I served this dish with Savory Rice (included in recipe column recipes) and Raita

Cucumber Raita
1 medium size cucumber
1 tsp cumin seeds
2/3 cup thick set yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika

1. Peel the cucumber and cut lengthwise into two halves. Remove seeds, if necessary. Slice each half finely

2. Heat a small pan over low heat and dry roast the cumin seeds until they turn a shade darker. Allow the seeds to cool, then crush them with a rolling pin or with pestle and mortar.

3. Beat the yogurt until smooth. Stir in the cumin along with the salt.
4. Add the cucumber to the yogurt and mix thoroughly, coating cucumber well.
5. Sprinkle with paprika and serve

Bea took this picture for me

I don't have any pictures of the final meal....super lame I know but everyone was starving and the kids needed to eat and go to bed. This dish (the chicken channa dhal) was very good and the kids happily ate it spicy (it wasn't that spicy, more warm than hot) and all when mixed with the cooling cucumber raita. I would happily recommend this as a whole family friendly meal

**I noticed in getting the amazon link for this post that there is currently copies for sale in the $30ish dollar range..GET IT QUICK!!
.

How I was bitch-slapped by Ikea

2011-09-04T22:22:00.003-04:00

My husband and I thought that today would be a good day to go to Ikea (never in your wildest dreams is a long weekend day the time to go to Ikea but we like to delude ourselves on occasion) We didn't need much, some coat hangers and maybe a storage box or two but we knew the kids would love the ball room and with them just getting over colds I wasn't keen on them playing outside (it is wet and muddy from a big rain yesterday and last night) They have been miserable lately, not sleeping well and there has been a lot of whining and tears. Everyone on the mend, today was going to be different!! We left just after 1 pm.

So we get there around 1:30, and there is a line up to get into the parking lot....that should have been the first sign to turn around but no....we brave adventurers decided to forge ahead.....surprisingly we got a parking spot quickly (by stalking a shopper back to their car)

The kids ran towards the door yelling "ball room" and jumping with glee. The line up out the automatic doors of kids doing a similar dance was no deterrent, we continued on. 30 minutes filled with complaining and whining "ballroom" later we reached the front of the line. While Daddy filled out the paper work I read the list of rules in the wall

No running, hitting or pushing
No kids allowed that are NOT potty trained
Attendants can not be held responsible for the dosing of medicines
Socks must be worn in the ballroom at ALL TIMES

I look down...both my kids are in sandals.....in slow motion before any inner editor snaps my mouth shut......."Sshhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiittttt" embarrassingly loud enough for other parents, a bunch of kids and the ballroom attendants to hear. Daddy's head snapped around to look at me, a look of confusion on his face. Mortified I mutter apologies to everyone and then whisper to Daddy "look" and point to number 4. He reads it, sighs and rubs his eyes with exasperation. "There is no way they are going to walk away from this" he says. Their eyes were wide, almost panting with anticipation, chanting under their breath..."ballroom, ballroom, ballroom". "Yeah I know" I say to make it feel like more of a team sport but being the 'homemaker' in the relationship and therefore by proxy the 'shopper of home decor' I wanted play the 'every man for himself' card and run off to gather our few items leaving him to fend for himself with 'thing 1 and thing 2'. But, you know, I am a 'good wife' (of anything ever written in this blog, quotation marks around 'good wife' couldn't be more appropriate or true) "Here's the plan" I say "I will get them into the play center with the condition that you are getting socks for them" Daddy grabs the shred of possibility of saving the day and runs out. I get the kids into the play center telling the attendants that Daddy is just running out to the car. What he is really doing is getting in the car and driving down the road to a sports clothing store and buying socks and rushing back (yes we have already forgotten the line up into the parking lot and the extreme lack of parking)

So off Daddy runs while I hover around the play center making sure the kids are happy and I can leave them. After about 5 minutes I realize they are fine and I am just looking like a nervous parent so I wonder off shopping. I have the funny multi-coloured pager if they need me and we need coat hangers and a storage bin or two. Now the kids are only given 30 minutes of playtime in the play center on busy days so after 20 minutes and no word from Daddy I started to wonder. I called him to find out he was trying to find a parking spot. We were now tee minus 10 minutes of ball room time and still no socks. I tell him to call me when the socks have been dropped off, to find out where in the store I am and to ask them if the kids can stay longer. This all goes according to plan except the part where my multi-light pager starts going off to pick them up and I still haven't heard from him. I slowly start walking back against pedestrian shopping traffic to the play center dreading the melt down when I arrive.

When I get there, close to 10 minutes later, Daddy is standing there in the hero pose with two just released happy kids. We did it! But with the promise to bring them back after lunch so although almost NO shopping has been done yet and we have now been here for over an hour, lets cut through all the traffic to the restaurant and eat meatballs!

Daddy and the kids grab a table while I go and get the food. It takes me 10 minutes to track down one of those carts that holds 3 trays, an absolute necessity when 'cafeteria-ing' a family of four. I acquired one the same way we got the first parking spot, by stalking a family back to their table and forcing them to remove their trays, probably long before they were prepared to. I then make my way back to the line up for food. It didn't look bad until I got close enough to realize that the crowd I saw was actually cordoned off into a long double S with bank roping. 20 minutes later I make it to the beginning of the food counter. I work like an octopus making sure we not only have everything we need but more, cutlery - check, drinks - check, meatballs - check, vegetables - check, salad - check, more meatballs - check!! It takes me 40 minutes from the beginning to food on the table with delays at the cash when some one ahead of me in line loses a meatball onto the floor and the Asian couple right in front of me SLIPS ON THEM spilling some of their own food (seriously how do two people slip on one meatball??)

The kids and Daddy are all crying with hunger by the time I get to the table. We eat faster than we should barking out orders "close your mouth when you chew", "thats too big a bite", "no talking when your mouth is full" (this one said with full mouths) the stress of the day getting to us.

It was now just after 4, the store closes at 5. Daddy rushes the kids back down to the play center in hope that they can get another 30 minutes before closing. I rush through shopping trying to grab everything we came for with 5000 other shopping thinking they are going to accomplish the same thing. Slowly the less necessary things get crossed off my list and I am feeling hopeful for the day when Daddy calls saying the play center has a longer line then when we arrived and he is taking the kids out to the car. I start running toward the cash (knowing the line up is going to be crazy so near to closing time) and because we really are all sheep, so does most of the crowd around me. Suddenly I am in some weird chariots of fire moment except that I am the only one that know why we are running. I start to question myself. Was there some sort of sale announcement that I missed while on the phone? Or are we much closer to closing time than I think? I am swerving to miss other carts, ducking under rug displays, weaving in and out of aisles to miss the stopped crowds on the main road. I arrive near the cash out of breath with coat hangers still on my list. Two runners look around confused, one of them gives me a look that says 'fuck off'. I find the bin of hangers and slip easily into a cash out....and stand in line for 20 minutes! I call Daddy. They are in the car and have been trying to back out of their parking spot of 15 minutes with no luck. I can hear the kids yelling in the background. We try to make a plan to make exiting as slick as possible. His 'new' parking spot after getting socks was on the upper level of the parking lot. Instead of me heading up there, I am going to meet him at the bottom of the ramp. Seems simple enough.

I pay and start walking through the lower (street level) parking lot. There are still people trying to get into the store even though closing is only a few minutes away. I am walking on the left hand side against traffic with a row of parked car rear ends on my left. Someone has pulled to the side with their turn signal flashing obviously waiting for someone who is pulling out. They have pulled past the spot they want with the intention of backing in. I stand in between them and the parked cars letting the car pull out safely. The guy waiting pauses in backing up to let me walk past the parking spot but before I can take a step someone hastily pulls in stealing the spot and scraping his front bumper along the car parked on the drivers side. He then does a 37 point turn righting himself in the spot while me and the waiting parker (who has now gotten out of his car) stand there with our mouths open. The driver and his girl get out of the car like nothing happened but before they can walk away they need to walk passed me and waiting parker who has taken his camera phone out and is taking pictures of the damage and the parking spot stealers license plate. They start to have an altercation, I start walking knowing that Daddy is probably looking for me. I get to the ramp and call him. He is no where near getting down off the upper parking and we decide that I am going to stand like a prostitute on the island so I can jump, literally, into our moving car as he drives past. I stand there for 10 minutes.........waiting ....and do a heroic leap into the car whereby I manage to bash the end of the coat hangers into my face and say "oouch" loud enough to wake up the now napping kids.

Easy sick kids Dinner

2011-09-03T14:54:00.002-04:00

There are very few things that I will buy 'pre-made'. I try to make everything from scratch.....not to be a raving show off but I like to know what goes in our food and I love to cook so it means very little is 'processed' or 'ready-to-eat'....with one exception...Tomato Soup......I know, why don't you make your own? I tried once and it was terrible, acidic and slightly sour....what went wrong I can guess but it sent me right back to the store bought I love so much. I can claim that at least the brand I like is about as healthy as store bought can get.

Organic reduced fat milk
Filtered water
Organic tomato paste
Organic evaporated cane juice
Sea salt
Sodium citrate
Organic rice flour
Organic cheese flavor
Organic garlic powder
Organic onion powder
Organic white pepper

Not too bad...yes there is sodium citrate but we eat this maybe once a month. It is gluten-free which I need and I love how versatile it is. I have made this soup a million ways including adding Indian Rice, Coconut Thai Rice, or in this case a slightly Italian feel. Annnnnyywaaaayyy......

So my kids have colds....more my daughter than my son and I needed to pull off a relatively healthy, easy to make and one I knew they would eat with no hassle meal. So this is what I did.

First I diced up A LOT of garlic, like an entire head. I sauteed about a third of it in a little butter in a soup pot until garlic was soft and then added the soup (2 containers), a couple of grinds of pepper and a handful of chopped basil and parsley from my backyard. And let it warm up

In another pan I sauteed the rest of the garlic over medium high heat in more butter and once fragrant added sticks of zucchini and a pinch of salt

I let it all brown a little, turning it over occasionally so they all took turns on the bottom and were all nicey coated with the garlic butter. Then I put on the lid on, turned the heat down to low medium and then them soften and cook through.

I served it with a bit of toast (gluten free for me shown here) but laid low on the bread side of it to avoid the 'snot producers' (wheat) because there is already some (albeit a small amount) of dairy in the soup and loading them up on things that make snot before bed time is bad news. I was also hoping that the heavy on the garlic would help (garlic, especially fresh organic garlic is an anti-viral and anti-bacterial)

I had forgotten how much I like zucchini like this. We grill it in the summer time and now with the weather cooling down (not today!!, geez its hot out there) I am starting to shift back into in door cooking mode. It is one of the few reasons I like fall.

*leftovers - use the zucchini for a frittata!!

How mountains make you feel small and waterfalls make you feel alive

2011-09-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

One of the things I love about the mountains of North Carolina is how small it all makes me feel. I mean that in the good way. We went for a drive one of the afternoons we were there to look at the views of the mountains and to swim in the waterfalls (Oh boy is the water cold!!)

View from the Blue Ridge Parkway

You can't tell but this was about 3 stories tall

Kids with their Daddy in the icy water

I call it 'The Swimming Effect'

Product review - Moo Goo

2011-09-01T14:08:00.000-04:00

I belong to quite a few groups on FaceBook and have a few web sites that I visit often. One of the FaceBook groups that I belong to is 'Proud Parents of Unvaccinated Children'. Not only is it a great resource for vaccine information but as a group we help each other out with all health issues. As parents who have chosen to not vaccinate not only have we all done tons of research on vaccines but on health in general and are happy to share.

Anyway I digress, the point is that one day on the topic boards I noticed a conversation about Eczema, Psoriasis and Dermatitis. Being someone prone to skin stuff (like most red heads) I thought I would have a look. There are a few things I already know about skin health (especially dry skin issues like the above) Don't over cleanse, take fish oils, lots of vitamin D, lay off heavily perfumed shampoos and conditioners being a few. These were included as suggestions to help but one woman wrote "Moo Goo" and nothing else.

It peaked my interest so I started looking into it and found this place. I read their entire website and was really taken by their philosophy and the quality of their products. I searched for a North American distributer and emailed them to find out if there was an easier way to gets their products than order them from Queensland Australia. But no they are not yet available here so I place an order.

I ordered
2 Eczema and Psoriasis Balm
2 Milk Shampoo
2 Cream Conditioner
1 Fresh Cream Deodorant

With Shipping the order was $136.96 CAN and they included a generous tester for their new MSM Cream.

The package arrived while we were away on holiday so I have only been able to try the stuff for a couple of days but I am SO impressed that I needed to comment now. I have in the past tried to be a 'no poo' person, this should work considering my hair is pretty curly but the dry skin condition would get worse and my head would be even more itchy. I tried 'no poo' but with a bit of a 'cone' free conditioner and that helped. The scalp condition never got any better and certainly my hair felt great. These guys have so many rave review that I had to try it.

Now I have applied the cream three times and have washed my hair with the shampoo and conditioner once but already there is a marked difference. Not only does my scalp not itch half as much as it did my hair feels AMAZING. It is really soft and smooth feeling and smells great. I was amazed by how little of the product I need considering I have long very thick hair. The conditioner spread easily and left my hair slippery like a high-end silicone filled chemical hair product but without the heaviness.

The cream is amazing and rubs in almost completely even when applied to the scalp without leaving my hair greasy. Anyway I am sold and love all of it. I am going to pay close attention to how long the products last to see if they make financial sense but with such amazing results in just a couple of days we may have to include it in our budget at least until my thyroid stuff gets under control and hopefully sorts out what ever game my skin is playing.

Big thumbs up to Moo Goo

Who is your marketing person??

2011-08-31T10:08:00.000-04:00

Dear Gaylord Hotels and Resorts

I am sure your resorts are beautiful. And that your rooms are well appointed (and I assume well decorated). I would bet that all the food is thoughtfully made and totally on trend. And I will jump to the conclusion that no detail is missed..........but WHO ok'ed your marketing plan and logo???

really? A FLAMING 'G'!!

Two male characters including a 'bear' selling 'EXPERIENCE'

And are they laughing that you agreed to the 'blatantly obvious marketing plan' with no sense irony or do you have a wonderful sense of humour? And will you be surprised when your sales are mostly gay dads?

Home again home again clicky clack

2011-08-30T09:52:00.000-04:00

And the vacation is over....it was only to weeks but it felt as though we were gone for months. In some ways that is a really good thing....we are relaxed and have regained our senses of humour. But in other ways it is stressful. Reorganizing the finances for the month and getting ready for the weeks ahead with little to no run up time, getting food back in to the house, mountains of laundry and school starting in a week.......wait...

They start school next week

46 Momths

2011-08-27T12:10:00.000-04:00

Holiday!! Celebration!!

This is the first time in the history of having kids that we got to go away on a holiday!! Yes we have had week long trips to Grammy and Papa's house but this was away away. This was long drives, hotels, airplanes and different country away. This wasn't going out of town, this was going on an adventure!!

It started with a packing up the car and driving to Buffalo. Passports in hand......I don't think your passport pictures could be any cuter

I just wanna kiss those faces!!

From there we checked into a funny hotel. I say funny because it was full of fake plants, gilded gold crap and endless terrible figurines.....it was weird really....but clean and friendly....and had 2 weeks free parking for over night guests. There was a huge salt water fish tank in the lobby which you guys loved. It was full of brightly coloured fish including Nemo, Dory and "WORMFISH", a long skinny white, worm fish really, with black dots. It kinda freaked me out....like a swimming tape worm...blech

On the shuttle bus

The night in the hotel wasn't totally successful but also not a total bust. None of us slept very well. After a nap deprived, excitement fulled day leaving home we thought that you two would crash at the hotel but at 10 pm we were all laying in the dark watching cartoons. Finally you three fell asleep and I stayed up reading for a while which was a bad mistake because you guy were up by 6. Tired, delirious and looking forward to a long long day we went down for the 'continental' breakfast which you guys were way to excited to eat. Besides there was a machine that made you a mini pancake if you pushed the green pancake button!! And who can resist pushing a 'pancake button'? Even I had to have a couple of tries at the machine knowing full well that I wasn't going to eat any of the pancakes that came out the other side. A lot more pancakes were made then eaten....A LOT MORE...like 30ish. Once breakfast was done Big Daddy took you guys upstairs and I cleaned up our table, tried to repair the blinds and hid pancakes.

The excitement was too much and the rest of the morning before our 11 am shuttle to the airport went something like this - 3 temper tantrums before 8am, breaking the blinds in the hotel restaurant, didn't really eat your breakfast and 2 more tantrums by 8:30, flashing me getting out of the shower to hotel guests in the hall, unpacking the suitcase I just packed, loosing toys at the hotel (which I later found) hurting yourself on the luggage cart, one peed pair of pants, opening up suitcase that was just repacked to find clean pants, meltdown in lobby waiting for shuttle..........we then got to the airport and after the fiasco that is security now (although I have to say that the express lanes for people traveling with small children are FANTASTIC) shoes off x 4, belt off x 2, computer out, meds out that can't go through x-ray (I took a couple of emergency homeopathics), car seats partially dismantled, getting two 3 year olds through the x-ray machine in a timely fashion, shoes on x 4, belts on x 2, computer away, put car seats back together and wait for them to thoroughly inspect the meds before returning them to me.....this all with a line up of people behind us. We get to the gate to find out that our plane is going to be at least an hour delayed. Luckily there are a bunch of other kids on the flight so you guys make fast friends. In the end our flight was delayed by almost 2 hours making our connection really tight. When we arrived we found that our next flight was at the other end of the enormous airport so we ran and ran and ran and ran and missed the flight. delta put us on 'priority standby', whatever that means, for the next flight. We had two hours to waste. We were hot sweaty and had 4 suitcase, two car seats, a back pack and a purse to carry, We decided to go to the airport TGI Fridays.

Our napless day continued with the flight from Atlanta to Asheville, waiting forever for our one piece of checked luggage, an airport shuttle to the car rental site, a bit of a wait while they set us up in the car (we were very lucky and got a great upgrade), the installation of the car seats and then the hour and a half long drive up the mountain. It was after 10 pm when we finally left Asheville and were on the road. You kids were doing surprisingly ok but you could tell that the drive was going to be ugly. 20 minutes in you had had enough of traveling and exhausted tears started. We pulled into the driveway close to midnight and you were wailing. Gabe, you had peed and soaked your car seat I guess during one of the brief sleeps along the way. We cleaned you guys up and got you to bed. I could almost hear the crashing noise of you guys falling asleep. The rest of us weren't far behind.

It was a great holiday. Really busy but so much fun.

There are a few other things that happened this month that are worth mentioning

Bea you love stickers. If I give you a sheet of them you carefully peel them off and sticks them to a piece of paper...one by one..all right on top of each other until there is a thick stack which you carefully peel up and gently throws in the garbage....you are weird

Bea I gave you Daddys hermonica to play with one day. We got to listen to every breath you took for a week through that thing. You would only put it down to eat.

One day you told me that your cheeks were killing you, from smiling, and now you needsa little break.

You informed me one day while on holiday when I was in the tub that "you better wash your boobies first or Daddy will be mad".

Gabe, my little boy is growing up. Today you pooped, wiped your bum and flushed all by yourself. Picked out your clothes, dressed yourself (no underwear and shorts are on backwards but good enough) and called me an idiot (thank you toy story 3).

One day you were mad that I was laughing at you and you told me to 'stop smiling your face'

We talk occasionally to you about 'when you get bigger'. Today you told me about when I get smaller

As always I can't tell you enough how much you amaze me and how truly blessed I am to get to be your Mama

I love you more every day
Mama

The South (not deep)

2011-08-22T17:58:00.000-04:00

I LERV it here but sometimes the south is weird

Whether you are pro-vaccine or not, this doesn't instill me with a sense of 'health'

Family Vacations

2011-08-22T17:53:00.000-04:00

There are few things that run true for every parent but I think one that is universally agreed upon is: a vacation with little kids isn’t much of a vacation. Usually the only difference is that you aren’t working (which isn’t the case for me) and both parents are on duty which sometimes can be a vacation in of itself.

We are lucky in that this summer/family/mountain house is full to the brim with family that can occupy the kids for stretches of time leaving some time for me to stare off in to the distance and day dream. The sad part is there is so much work that needs to be done on the house that there is very little down time at all.

My strongest memories of this place are of my childhood summers here. My grandparents, Gramma and Papa, had long retired and would spend 4-6 months of the year at this house. By the time school was out and the ‘Royal grandchildren’ as they called us, had arrived they had already been here for two months cleaning up, painting and getting rid of any beasties that had decided that moving in under the livingroom for the winter was a good idea. Now with them gone and the maintenance of this place up to family that lives in Canada that can only spend a few weeks at a time……well….lets just say that it is hard to imagine how much there is to do and still find the time to ponder the clouds.

Last night after the kids were put to bed we all sat down and a discussion started of how important it is to hold on to this house….and if it is important. This house has been in the family for close to 120 years. 3 generations of kids have spent their summers here. We all have amazing memories here and would be heartbroken to let it go. But there is the consideration.......is it worth it? The house isn't cheap to maintain and with property values in the area going up so are the property taxes.

Currently the house is owned by my mom and her brother. I am due to inherit 1/2 of it (hopefully no time soon!) Do I see my future summers all being in North Carolina? Do I see this as the summer holiday location for my children? Will it be financially worth it? And there is always the question, when you own a vacation home it becomes the only place you vacation (unless you are very wealthy and we are not) Is this the only place we want to go?

And then there are a million moments that make me realize there isn't a chance that I would ever consider my future being any other way.

Big day, waiting for dinner

Bea, the bathroom opens to the porch

Guest Posting Part II

2011-08-22T17:33:00.000-04:00

The second part of my guest post The Delicate Ego of the Modern Parent went up on Saturday but I am currently living internet-free and will be for another week.

Here is a link to Part 2

Buddah

2011-08-18T13:20:00.000-04:00

I found this at the local market here. I have yet to taste it but I will let you know. It isn’t organic but look at the colour!! You know those cows are grass fed so it can’t be all bad. The truly amazing thing about this locally made butter is the price!

I love the local markets here. There is also an amazing maker of jams, jellies and preserves. This year a new jam was added to the list and 3 days into our vacation the 6 of us have eaten a whole jar and then some. Not only is it amazing tasting but look at the ingredients

Summer vacations of the past and future

2011-08-17T12:58:00.001-04:00

The driveway

The days of swimming at Smith Dock, catching fireflies, late night movies, shopping for cute dresses with my Gramma, playing with endless distant cousins and snacking on gold fish crackers and cokes on the porch are over. The summers of my childhood are gone.

Sadly my grandparents are no longer with us. Something I am heavily reminded of when I am here. I haven’t spent many summers here without them. Since they died I have to admit I haven’t spent much time here at all. My grandfather died when I was 18. Right around the age when the last thing you want to do IS vacation with your family. My grandmother lived for another 10 or 11 years but her health was declining and the trip to the family house was often too difficult. I was a college student who had to work summers to pay for college and probably entirely too cool to make the effort to come down anyway.

The side porch

I missed it ~ This creaky old family house that has a very particular smell. Something that is a mix of musty, citronella, fresh air and dried-on-the-clothes-line laundry. The slightly damp beds that are a little too soft and have lumpy pillows. You still sleep better and everything relaxes a bit.

I haven’t been here in 6 years. A summer of IVF followed by a high risk pregnancy and twins…..there was no room for big travel to a very un-childproof house. Now at almost 4 the kids can be trusted to not touch everything or run out to the road (not that there is much traffic to worry about). I love being here with them. I love knowing that this is the beginning of their summer tradition. I love that they will have the same memories (or at least similar ones) and I can hope that they will love it here as much as I do.

I checked to see if I could rip off someones wi-fi but there isn’t a single signal. Maybe that’s why we sleep so well. No constant electrical assault on our brains.

The Husband on the front porch

Things I never thought I would say but marriage and having kids has brought out the best in me

2011-08-14T09:19:00.001-04:00

"Please don't fart when I'm eating"
"NO no no no no no.....not on the carpet .ooooooooooookay and nevermind"
"Get your hands out of your bum"
"Wash your hands after touching that"
"The toilet is not a toy"
"Get your feet out of your brothers mouth"
"Nope you only wipe your own bum"
"no poo isn't a toy"
"that's not for eating"
"Leave the dogs bum/eye ball/tongue/ alone"
"That's right poo is yucky and no you don't eat it"
(why are so many of these about poo?)

--------
I will add to this has they happen....and no I will never clarify which ones were said to the kids and which ones to my husband :-)

Welcome

2011-08-13T11:21:00.002-04:00

Welcome readers from Modern Alternative Mama!! I hope you plan on sticking around and read about my life with twins, my kitchen and the challenges of being a thoughtful Mama.

For current readers, I have had another post go up here and we are going to have some new friends join us here. Everyone say hi.

Good. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming....

Oh and you can join in on the Facebook 'fan' page ('fan page'....really...makes me sound ridiculous) here where we talk about stuff.

Because I have no sense of time

2011-08-10T21:36:00.000-04:00

I realized yesterday that my 'summer hiatus' from my recipe column is over and my first one is due ....well today!!! I can procrastinate with the best of them but this isn't a case of that. This is me having no sense of time. This is me getting lost in the sunshine, long days, homemade popsicles and warm berries in the backyard.

Oh summer how fleeting you are.....how you tease

Dinner Last Night: The Grilled Veggie Sandwich

2011-08-06T08:00:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favouritest things in the whole world and I really could eat this everyday.

There are a million things you can do with grilled veggies and I highly recommend you get into it and I will post other recipes that use grilled veg because if you are going to go to the trouble (it's really not that much trouble) to grill them you should do up waaaay too many really......but here is one...dinner last night

Sliced and trimmed. Add a drizzle of olive oil and some s&p

Once the peppers are nicely grilled throw them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave for a few minutes. This steams them and makes it so the skins slip off easily

This is gluten free quinoa bread toasted with a generous spread of goat cheese all drizzled with reduced balsamic vinegar.

oh and corn chips (the salsa verde isn't in the picture)

Finding myself under the 'Mummy'

2011-08-05T22:59:00.001-04:00

I haven't been able to be here much. My life is getting in the way of having a life....heh heh. I think I am finally healthy again. I was never that sick but one of the many things about having kids is there is very little time to look after yourself when you do get sick so the illness tends to drag on and on. Once kids were in bed for the night, I was done, spent, exhausted and generally in bed not long after them. So not a lot of anything else has been getting accomplished. I have also been feeling a little ......thin.....lately. Not in the 'skinny' way (I haven't felt that in over 10 years) but in a pulled tight way. Not only is my body tired but my brain is too. I feel there are almost too many balls in the air, too many jobs and that I haven't been doing any of them very well.

I haven't felt like there is enough time in the day to accomplish everything I set out to do. I make lists and try to multi-task, but the kids suffer and don't end up getting the attention they need which makes them misbehave to ....wait for it.....try to get attention! I find this exhausting and have very little patience for this brand of naughty. It doesn't bring out the best Mommy in me.

Early in the year when it was time to sign them up for kindergarten I realized how completely unprepared emotionally I was for them to start school. Truth is I didn't feel they were ready either and started looking into the argument that boys should be held back a year in hopes that I would find something to support my panic about letting them 'go' and become kids instead of my babies. But I think I was more scared of what I would have to 'become' if I wasn't just a full-time mom. And now with school starting in a month I can't believe how ready they are and how much they need it and maybe I need to be brave. They need so much stimulation and want to learn and talk, and play, and run and jump and smash and make friends and scream and have attention and I am finding it harder and harder to fulfill all those needs without completely sacrificing me and what I need to feel sane. That and maybe just maybe I am ready to find myself under the 'mummy'

(And please no one comment that that is what being a parent is...'sacrificing yourself' and how dare I complain and try to make 'me time' because obviously you are not a parent or if you are you must be very tired and I hope you find yourself again one day.)

And maybe that is what I am doing....finding myself again. It is so easy to loose yourself in the mom role. And even easier when you have multiples!! Now that the kids are a little older there is a little time in the schedule to figure out who this new person, me as a mom, is in the world outside my home and close circle of friends. What else do I do? What is my contribution? What matters to me? And how do I want to make those things happen in my life? But there aren't enough hours in the day and we are all suffering a little from the lack of attention. We leave for a 2 week holiday in just over a week and come home to the kids starting school. I hope in all this change that life and the universe will direct me a little to what direction to face and I hope that those few hours of school everyday will give the kids what I can't seem to and find me some peace to figure out the pieces

45 Momths

2011-07-27T11:09:00.000-04:00

Dear my Loves,

We can celebrate that we love summer. What a fun challenging difference this summer is from the last. This one is much more about keeping you guys busy and wearing you out while last summer was more about small outings to preserve naps.

We have been to every park within walking distance (mine), had picnics, snacks, bike rides, games of 'it', temper tantrums, and melt downs in every one of them. We are enjoying summer.

Water Baby A

Water Baby B

Back in March when I was signing you guys up for school I had real second thoughts about whether you would be ready, whether I was ready to let you go and whether you two were ready to be separated. As the summer progresses, the more I realize how much you guys need school and some time away from each other.

Bea takes her own picture with the webcam

Bea you're more of a challenge than ever this summer and I can't wait for you to start school. Not because I want you away from me but because I think you need the stimulation more than ever. You are the craziest drama girl and as hard as it is to parent that sometimes (sometimes I just have to get out of your way) it makes for some really funny moments to.

You had to take off your over night diaper fast because apparently it was very uncomfortable or as you said "It's killin me.

One day you leaned back on the couch, put your hand on your forehead, sighed and said dramatically "mummy I need a break"

You wiped Gerties nose with a tissue. Saying it is yucky and all wet.

"no mummy I don't want to be a nice girl, I want to be a HAPPY girl"

While looking at a picture of a family with 4 kids you said "There is the Mummy, and the Daddy and those are all the sweethearts?"

Gabe you are such a weird little egg. Such a focused little dreamer. So busy.

To Mini (our cat) in a squeaky falsetto "ooooh lovely kitty, you're so silly and soft, soft like a pillow, a pillow wif feeeeeeet."

One morning "I wanna play wif cars not a widdle while BUT a big while"

There was one big expense this month that we love but still question how good an idea it was at your age. We bought a new stroller. You guys had met the maximum weight capacity for the old one and it is a hard and heavy stroller to push around with 80-90 pounds of kids in it. We decided it might be time to finally spurge on get the stroller/bike trailer that we had always wanted. Not only does it hold a lot more weight but it has more function for us at this stage. I would like to say that you guys are too old for a stroller but it's not true when your mom doesn't drive and runs errands with you in tow. It's not just about whether you guys can do the walking but who is going to carry all the stuff? Even trips to the park to play in the pool requires an enormous amount of stuff. A blanket, towels, snacks, drinks, dry clothes, sun block, a book for me, drinks etc. Even if I just throw that into the stroller while you guys walk it is helpful. It is also invaluable for getting tired kids home quick, a load of groceries or a kid that has decided they don't want to go home. We also thought it was a smart buy in the long run because it can be used for one when (and if) baby number three ever arrives. A bit big for one but I will still have two other kids and all the stuff that that entails. And oh boy do you guys love riding around in it as a bike trailer. One interesting bit of information.....at all your check ups over the years the doctors have always said that Gabe's head circumference is off the charts or in the 90th percentile. I thought you might have grown into your head as time goes by but when we bought you guys the helmets, Bea easily fit into the kids sizes while Gabe needed a 'youth' size.....at 3 1/2 you have a youth size head!!!

You two are the craziest, most nuts, biggest weirdos, most loved little people in the world and I wouldn't have it any other way

Love Mama

Dinner Last Night: Sick Soup

2011-07-26T15:26:00.000-04:00

I first wrote about this soup (see bottom of post) last year in the fall as cold and flu season was starting up. During the recipe development I made numerous pots of it and ending up freezing about 8 litres of it. Almost a year later we have eaten all of it and now with fighting a round of summer colds it called for a fresh pot.

This is by far the best 'sick soup' I have ever had. There is nothing in it that can contribute to mucus production (wheat, dairy or eggs) or stress your immune system. This is all supportive and very yummy to boot. I don't know if I have ever written the recipe out in full here and I did manage to take a picture.

Now here is how to make it

Get Well, Stay Well Soup

About an hour, including prep, of casual cooking and makes enough for 2 family of four meals. It freezes beautifully

3 tbsp EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) or unflavoured coconut oil

2 Cups Diced carrots, for soups I cut them into quarters lengthwise and then slice making ¼ moons.

2 Medium diced yellow onions or 3 leeks

4 Cloves minced garlic

1 Tbsp. Minced ginger

1 Cup Brown Rice (I like the nutty flavour and chewy texture of brown rice with this recipe and it holds together not getting mushy but brown basmati could also work. I’m not a huge fan of white rice and it is nutritionally poor. I don't recommend couscous because it can cintribute to mucus production but I do recommend quinoa. Add it pre-cook in the very end)

3 Cups Peeled Cubed Sweet Potatoes (1 lg or 2 medium potatoes)

8 cups Chicken Stock (2 946 mL Tetra pacs)

4 cups Water

2 Skinless/boneless chicken breasts

1 Tbsp Dried Parsley (or fresh is better)

1 Tsp Dried Thyme

½ A lemon juiced (and the zest is a nice option)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dried Chillies (optional for the adults)

Over medium heat in a large soup pot heat the olive oil and sauté the carrots and onions (or leeks) with a pinch of salt . Stirring until they are soft and the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Don’t let them brown. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté until you can smell them, usually about 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley and thyme and then add the chicken stock and water. Turn up the heat to Medium-Hi til it comes to a boil. Add the lemon zest and rice stirring for a minute or two so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom. Once it starts to simmer again turn the heat back down and put the lid on and let cook for 10 minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes and the whole rinsed chicken breasts. Let the whole pot simmer lid off till the chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes then pull them out and let them cool for a couple of minutes. For younger kids, dice or mince this chicken with a knife. For older kids and adults I recommend shredding it with two forks which is easy to do even if they are hot. Add the chicken back into the soup pot and let simmer until the rice is fully cooked (5-10 mins depending on your choice of grain) Once done add the lemon juice and the soup is done. I started serving this soup to the kids not as a soup but pulled out the contents with a slotted spoon. As they have gotten older and more proficient with a spoon they now eat it themselves. The adults can add more salt and pepper if they want. We like to add dried chilies to give it some kick. I feel better already!

To Do List: Monday July 25th 2011

2011-07-25T11:56:00.000-04:00

This is more a list of the things I won't accomplish today.

What is doing, undoing.....not getting done and getting framed

2011-07-25T10:50:00.003-04:00

So I have been busy...and slightly sick

My parents came to spend 5 days with us which is always super fun and super busy. But it also doesn't give me much time to sit down and write and what little time I did have I had to finish up a double bill article that will be posted in it's two parts sometime in the next month. Kate at Modern Alternative Mama is about to have baby #3 and is stocking up her posts from Contributing Writers for the first few weeks after the little one arrives. That's why there I don't have an exact date yet. Baby is due any minute.......good luck Kate!! I will post a link here as soon as they are up.

To intensify the week we are also fighting colds. It started a couple of days ago for the kids with runny noses and a bad case of the grumps. Sick kids are incredibly demanding and make getting anything else done almost impossible. So here, this place, has taken a back burner. Hopefully I can be back in full force in the next couple of days even though that now I am fighting 'the worlds silliest cold that never really happens'. I now am the one with the runny nose and a case of the grumps. It isn't a bad cold but it is a few days of feeling like you are about it get a bad cold and all you want to do is sleep.

So there we are and here I am not......

oh and I got framed! I have reached the age of reading glasses (oh dear)....

Just a webcam photo but getting a decent picture of yourself taken by you is almost impossible. That and I just woke up and have bedhead and no make up on...but check out my new 'geek sheek' shades!

To Do List: Tuesday July 19th 2011

2011-07-19T09:18:00.000-04:00

I have a feeling that after yesterdays sunstroke none of this list is getting done today but seeing Meaghan