monsters in my kitchen

not fired

2011-04-13T18:37:00.001-07:00

not fired, originally uploaded by D apostrophe.

i like this piece mostly because of it's movement. it looks like it could run up to you, offer to carry something and then skuddle off. what's it for? what makes it so familiar? it's based off a fossil of a sea sponge. extinct now but once a simple organism that covered our sea floor. it makes me question our own position on this planet.

I've moved!

2008-10-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well, if you happen to find yourself wandering back hear to see what the monsters are up to, I'm happy to tell you we've moved. During the last 6 months or so, I've been fairly busy with making dolls and have finally figured out a new online home for them. I plan on using the new site for posting recipes once in awhile as well as my creative pursuits so please come on by, it would be lovely to see you there again!

www.pupapupa.com

ummmm...

2008-07-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

blog? what blog?

The monsters in my kitchen have been especially busy these days and have basically left the kitchen for the great outdoors! With the arrival of summer, preparing meals has become a special challenge of "lets see how quickly and easily I can feed the family." Saying that, I plan on posting some of quick fall backs... grilled cheese anyone anyone?

I have also been using every spare moment to work on creating my "pupa pupa" line of dolls and other fun things for kids. Recently, the dolls have been placed in one of my favorite stores. Hurray! Come late September I will be participating in my first trade show for moms and kids and I'm a little nervous, I'm not sure what to expect. I have also been working hard on a commission for a large painting that has been so much fun creating.

My little girl turned 4 on June 26th. All day I am blessed with her little, squeaky voice constantly asking questions, singing, and of course a fair amount of whining! For her birthday I cooked up a storm for about 40 of the Mr.'s Italian relatives. They can be some tough customers but everyone left happy and definitely stuffed.

It's been hard finding the right balance of being creative and making sure I spend quality time with the kids but with early bed times, I'm managing pretty well. I'm not sure what I'd do if the boys suddenly started giving up their naps. (shudder)

So many projects... I'm grateful for the chance to act on some of them!

So friends, I may slack a little on the sharing of recipes and ideas but check back once in awhile, I'm sure the monsters will allow me to get busy in the kitchen soon!

inspired by

2008-05-25T17:17:00.001-07:00

inspired by, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

the Mr. and I did a little Target shopping and bought an old fashioned ice cream maker a few weeks ago. How did I ever survive without one! This weeks flavour is blueberry inspired by all the bloom'n lilacs. I'm going to be a little lazy and provide the link to the recipe I used. I did add a little chambord and it comes across nicely. Love the colour.

mothers day portrait

2008-05-12T09:28:00.001-07:00

mothers day portrait, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

I wanted to somehow mark the day in my memory and so locked myself in bathroom after we went out for lunch. Without getting all gushy, I just can't believe how much I love being a mom.
Plus, it's not often I wear mascara or a dress..

my heart has wings

2008-05-11T17:08:00.001-07:00

has wings, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

Happy Mother's day.
What more could any mom want...

sock creatures/bean bags

2008-05-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

This was really fun for my nearly 4 year old. The boys (2 1/2) got into it a little but they sure enjoyed throwing them around when we finished. I took as many pictures as I could while trying to keep scissors/needle from impaling children but I think it's pretty explanatory!

a few old kid socks
some kind of dried beans, peas or rice (whatever you have the most of, I used split yellow peas)
fabric scraps for eyes (I used felt)
toilet paper roll or cut up a paper towel roll
needle/ thread

cut out eyes

I let d help me sew it on and I have to say she did really well and the smile on her face after she did it was amazing. At one point she says to me "we are makers, right mom?" "yes my sweet, we are."

the boys loved this.. all those split peas in a bowl... your guess, peas stayed in bowl while boys neatly placed into sock or peas were dumped then scattered around family room floor MANY times and I'm still picking peas off feet.

dumped

eventually filled (when the boys got bored of this d and I poured them into sock.)

fold off one end of roll and put into sock folded side first. (some peas get caught inside and it aslo makes a fun music maker)

tie off sock with string or if it's long enough into a knot

presto! a little creature to love!

a little parting shot of j during his time out after totally going bezerk with the peas for the umpteenth time.

The kids mostly ran around shaking their 'guys' but we also did some throwing-aim games and then one that we made up that is not unlike botchie-ball.

Love you Mr.

2008-05-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

I'm going to gush a little...
In light of all my artistic endeavors happening from the furnace room of our house, the Mr. very graciously cleared out his home office (with the amazing floor to ceiling windows and the view of sweeping willow trees) for me to use as my very own artistic valhalla. Now all my paint, sew, dreaming can happen in one freshly painted white space dedicated to my imagination. SO Mr., thank-you from the bottom of my heart for lifting my spirits and understanding what makes me the best mom, wife and person... Your support means so much to me. I can't begin to describe how great it feels to have such a space to create in after years of tiny walls and frustration. Love you. amore. d'

Ricotta Balls (snicker)

2008-04-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ohh, these were yum. What I like about them is they are not too fatty (what- frying things in oil is not fatty?) O.k, yeah frying in oil makes things fatty but I figure if you use a decent canola oil and make sure the oil is nice in hot it only really cooks the outside and oil doesn't seep into the food so much. So I wouldn't make them everyday but I sure want too. And I'd like to try out all kinds of variations say, orange peel and white chocolate or almond and cherry... ricotta seems like the perfect conduit of flavour, and then you get deep fried golden ricotta, forget-about-it!

O.k. folks, I lost the original but with the power of memory I'm going to try and remember how it goes as I did make them a few times. and you will too once you taste them!

enough oil to fill a deep heavy bottomed pan about 2 inches (I like canola oil)
1 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/2 cup soft ricotta
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon lemon zest (about half a lemon)
icing sugar to dust

mix flour and baking soda, pinch of salt, lemon zest. In separate bowl mix ricotta with eggs. Fold into dry mixture. Form 'blobs' and carefully drop into v hot oil, in batches, working quickly to turn over when brown. When done place on paper towel to catch extra oil then dust generously with icing sugar. These are best eaten right away. I did them for a tea party and placed in warm oven on cookie sheet until we were ready to devour.

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T10:26:00.001-07:00

Happy Earth Day!, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

have a happy- earthy day!
Going to attempt some earth related activities with kids this aft. and enjoy the beautiful day.

cheesy chicken breasts

2008-04-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

The kids really love this and it's quick to prepare. I originally got the recipe from "Apples for Jam" and I'm not going to copy it out word for word as it's so simple. I like to slice the chicken breasts in half (can be tricky so use a sharp knife) and use thin pieces so it will cook quickly. After pieces are washed and cut dust lightly with some flour and salt if you like, then place in a hot pan with a little hot oil. Place lid on and let brown a couple minutes and flip. Pour a little milk in pan (about 4 tablespoons) turn heat down a little and place lid over. Leave for a few minutes. Slice some cheddar (we love white aged) and place on top of chicken, put lid back on until done. Should only take a few more minutes. I usually serve this with rice and peas. Picky eaters everywhere like this one as it covers the 'all white' prerequisites!

*note to self; a non stick frying pan would sure be easier to wash up*

making sundays

2008-04-17T17:40:00.001-07:00

bf's making sundays, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

An old picture but I'm exhausted these days with all the great weather we've been having we have been outside all day exploring. These sundays were banana splits with lots of yummy raspberries, a little chocolate sauce and of course sparkles. To make a quick chocolate sauce I just melted some chocolate chips and added a little cream. The girls made these on a playdate when D's pal came over.

SERIOUS lemon ice cream cake

2008-04-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Joy!

Yes folks, this cake deserves capitals, it is totally serious. I can't wait for the chance to make it again! I made this cake for Joy's birthday (our nanny) and it was devoured by us all! Instead of writing out the recipe, I'm going the lazy route and providing a link to it at epicurious. You will love it, I promise! The only change I made was a graham crust.

Just going to take the chance to say how lucky and thankful we are to have Joy helping us out. Thank-you Joy!

worship

2008-04-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

ahh those silly monsters! they came across this 'golden god' and have been meditating to it ever since!

I hope they won't get too upset when we eat it...

Scary Comment

2008-04-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty new to blogger world and I'm pretty sure there are only a few of you reading about my kitchen adventures but today I got a freaky comment that went something like this;

Zololkis left a comment please click here

and then the word here a link

I clicked it and it brought me to some crazy page with some crazy pop-ups saying it was downloading some virus protector so I freaked out and turned off my computer. I changed all my settings for any online accounts and hope that it won't amount to much. I've been trying to report it and having problems but I wanted to warn ANYONE about this and it totally sucks. hard. So beware friends!

'shroom soup

2008-04-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

My picky toddler likes mushrooms believe it or not. (must be the butter I usually cook them in!) This goes well with some bread for them to dip into the soup for those who aren't as handy with a spoon. Bibs highly recommended, including one for yourself. I've made mushroom soup with elaborate recipes before and this is the simplified version.

slug of olive oil
1 large red onion (I just like red the best but you can use whatever is handy)
bag of mushrooms (I usually use cremini but will mix it up depending on what I have)
dried mushrooms (rarely do I use them, I once bought some from Whole Foods and didn't realize until I got home that I paid $80 for a package! "who do you think you are, Ivanka Trump?" thankfully the Mr. returned them for me but will never let me live it down!)
3 tablespoons butter
4-5 cups organic chicken/veggie stock
thyme (dried but will use fresh in the summer!)

this is the stock I use- I go thru ALOT of it and it also comes in vegetable as well.

Using a high sided pot, saute you sliced onions in a little olive oil until transparent around edges on low heat about 8 minutes. Melt your butter than add 'shrooms stirring with wooden spoon so mushrooms all get a little time on bottom of pan browning. Sprinkle in your thyme. Stir every couple of minutes for about 8 minutes- I also like to gently break up my shrooms a little as I stir to speed it up. Next add your stock, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Let it simmer for at least 5 minutes. At this point I blend it, you could add cream if you like or leave it as is and of course season. Ever since I picked up a Magic Bullet I've been loving it. Mostly I use it grind my coffee beans but for soups it's great. I once burned my arms blending hot soup and I don't want to mention the mess I had to get off the ceiling! Some people use a little handheld job to blend but I must say the seal tight bullet is awesome. I can't blend it all at the same time so I do it in 2-3 batches. I like this soup a bit chunky anyways.. To serve I like a little goat cheese sprinkled on top. This is easy and yum, can usually get it on the table in 30 min sometimes less.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

2008-04-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those rainy, damp, cold days that leaves you hankering for some stew and in my case, some kind of delicious, gooey dessert. Jamie's Dinners is turning out to be a well used cookbook for me so I turned to it again for some ideas and had to try out his Sticky Toffee Pudding. I remember as a kid having a Sunday dinner at some family friends house and they served this chocolate cake type thing with a warm gooey sauce over it and I always remembered it. Hear goes..

8 oz fresh dates pitted (I used dried figs)
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon self rising flour
1/4 teaspoon ground mixed apple pie spices (yr guess is as good as mine! I used a little ginger and nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon ovaltine (didn't have this so I used ground chocolate for hot choc)
2 tablespoon natural plain yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt)

for the toffee sauce
8 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

preheat oven to 350
Put dates/figs in bowl with baking soda and cover with 1 cup boiling water, let stand a couple minutes, let soften and drain. Whizz the dates in food processor untill you have a pure (I used my Magic Bullet) Cream butter and sugar until pale using wood spoon, add eggs, flour, pie spices, cinnamon and Ovaltine. Mix together well, then fold int eh yogurt and your pureed dates. Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake for 35 minutes.

While pudding is baking, make the sauce by putting the butter, sugar, and cream in a pan over low heat until the sugar disolves and the sauce has thickened and darkened in colour.

yum :)

draw the bridge!

2008-03-28T16:18:00.001-07:00

draw the bridge!, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

it's been awhile since we've seen the monsters. They are a little rough around the edges having been 'actively' played with. (ears banged off, eyes picked out, chipped..) Had a bunch of cardboard so Deja and I made a castle for them. We also made a big castle for the kids to play in but it was destroyed within 2 minutes by the destructo twins. Poor Deja just stood there trying not to scream. Deja and I plan on decorating the castle quietly while the boys nap so they won't get there hands on it.

Easter Cake

2008-03-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

I gotta give a shout out to Niegella.. her repetoire of cakes is truley amazing and when I'm stuck for a recipe I know I can count on my "How to be Domestic Goddess" or "Feast" cookbook for something yummy. This cake was no exception. The recipe called for dark chocolate which I didn't have any of and being easter and all I 'borrowed' the kids lindt milk chocolate bunnies. Since I used a good quality chocolate it turned out great and I was happy with the lightness. The marshmellows go against everything I look for in a food but that hot pink and those little ears were irresistible. (plus I threw most of them away)

for the cake
250 g (or one cup) best quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter
6 eggs: 2 whole; 4 seperated
3/4 cup caster sugar (this is not icing sugar, it's sugar that has been wizzed in a blender but to be honest I just use reg. sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the topping
1/2 cup best quality dark chocolate, chopped
250 ml (1 cup) whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
decoration (Nigella used little chocolate easter eggs)

preheat 350. Line 23cm springform pan with baking parchment, do not grease sides.
Melt the 250 g chocolate with the butter in a double boiler or microwave (I use microwave but set heat to 4 and let it go for a minute at a time always stirring after each minute) set aside to let cool. Whisk 4 egg whites until firm, then gradually add 7 tablespoons of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding shape but not stiff. Set aside, and in another bowl whisk 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 5 tablespoons sugar, the vanilla extract, and then gently fold into chocolate mixture. Lighten the mixture with some of the egg whites (just a dollop) and stir briskly, then fold in the rest of the egg whites in 3 portions.

Pour into prepared tin and bake for 35- 40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and center is no longer wobbly. Cool cake in tin on wire rack- the middle will sink in, this is what gives the cake it's nest like appearance.

To finish the cake, carefully remove it from tin and place on cake pan or plate, if bits fall off just patch it back on. For topping, melt the chocolate and set aside to cool while you whip the cream. Whip it until it;s still soft, add the vanilla and then fold in the melted chocolate. Fill the crater of cake with the chocolatey cream using a spatula then arrange whatever decoration you choose!

organic bounty

2008-03-20T17:33:00.001-07:00

organic bounty, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

My good friend Jo turned me onto these guys. (a wise women!) Every couple of weeks they deliver a big bunch of fruits and veggies of whatever is fresh and good looking so it's kind of exciting to see what I'm going to get. You can also custom order your delivery but then what fun would that be?
wanigan

Queen of Beef Stew (I declare)

2008-03-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

Beef stew is definitely one of the favorites around hear and I never make it the same way twice, it all depends on what's near death in the fridge. I mean what's fresh, seasonal and available. This one was with butternut squash, carrots, celery, a few potatoes and a tomato base. Other times I'll do potatoes and mushroom base. Sneaking in cauliflower and other veggies is always a good move. Even some pureed spinach wouldn't turn this dish into a green nightmare ((wink)). What I love about beef stew is preparing it in the morning and then throwing it in the stove at low heat. By lunch time the whole house smells glorious and the boys are climbing into their highchairs demanding lunch. There is always enough left over for dinner and I keep my creuset warm and serve brown rice with it later. No one ever complains of eating this twice in one day, in fact, I think my husband probably stands in fridge and eats it for breakfast the next day.

I included this photo to show how to easily peel a squash. I don't even want to get into how difficult it used to be for me to peel a squash before I discovered this technique!

olive oil
knob butter (he he)
1 onion peeled, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 pounds of stewing beef cubed
sea salt
flour to dust
2 handfuls of baby carrots
2 stalks celery
a butternut squash peeled, deseeded and cubed
1 pound potatoes
1/2 small tin of tomato puree
2 cups beef or veg stock
1/2 bottle red wine (if you have some! if not I just increase the stock by about 3 cups)

Preheat oven to 300. Saute your onion in oil and butter until it is translucent around edges- low heat so you don't burn! Add garlic and saute a couple minutes. Next add your roughly chopped veggies and mix. Lightly dust your beef with flour and salt and add to pot with stock, wine, tomato puree. Bring to a boil and then place lid on top, cook in oven until tender. This usually takes a couple hours. You can test it by taking out a piece of meat and mash with fork, if it falls apart it's ready then you can turn oven down to 225 until your ready to gobble it up. Sooooo good with bread.

some other suggestions are yams (any root veg), Jerusalem artichokes, parsnips, mushrooms, zuchinni...
..and, when I use mushrooms I don't use tomato paste.

Jamie Oliver suggests mixing lemon zest, finely chopped garlic, chopped rosemary and sprinkle over stew before eating. umm, never tried this but sounds good! The other suggestion I discovered is that it's not necessary to brown the beef. This cuts the prep time down ALOT.

story time

2008-03-11T18:00:00.001-07:00

a favorite way to pass the time is story time. sometimes we act out our fav stories and at other times I'll roll out some paper and draw the story as we tell it together. the kids love guessing what I'm drawing as I go and grabbing crayons and helping out. This story we hung up so numerous times a day the boys will go over to it, point to the wolf disguised as grandma and declare "gandma!"

You don't have to be a great drawer to do this with your kids, they don't care how it turns out!

sometimes I don't know what I'm doing

2008-03-06T16:51:00.001-08:00

'come and get it!!'

what was I thinking, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

oh boy.
So, I made this awesome chicken, portabello mushroom, bacon, brandy thing for dinner and at the last minute I thought "spinach would taste great with this!" Well.. it sure didn't look appetizing. (puree spinach definentley not the way to go..) However, I've discovered a little trick with the kids, they will pretty much have a taste of anything offered off the wood cooking spoon so I give them a little taste and then at dinner its not so strange. I'm going to blame Jessica Sienfeld and her sneaky cooking ways for the demise of this dish. It did taste good though.

revised bread pudding

2008-03-03T09:54:00.001-08:00

For the last month or so I have been baking all our whole wheat bread (a future post to come!) Sound ambitious? It's actually been all right, I've just had to be organized about it and having a mixer with dough hook makes it simple. Anyhoo, I decided to try a bread pudding recipe of my own out with some left over bread and it was a success! I used the recipe I posted before with a few changes and an addition of an oatmeal crust and cut up apple so it was a cross between apple crisp and bread pudding. Yum.

1/2 loaf whole wheat bread (the loafs I make are huge)
2 large apples cored and cut into chunks (could use raisins, cranberries or whatever fruit you've got hanging around)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean and it was amazing, when I tried this without, the vanilla extract was a little much)
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease with butter 3-quart casserole dish.
Butter both sides of bread slices, place on tin foil, and put into oven. Toast slices on both sides. (must admit I didn;t butter vut I did skice bead and toast a little.)
If using, place raisins in bowl of hot water to plump. Cover, soak for 20 minutes, and drain.
Combine sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Mix well. Let this mixture get to room temp or gently heat.
Break up toasted bread, and put in casserole dish. Add apple. Pour egg mixture over bread, and stir. It's a good idea to let this soak in while you go about the topping. Give it a good stir before you add topping mixture.

for topping
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick cook oats
pinch salt

cream butter with sugar then add flour oats and salt mixing until its a course, pebbly mixture. Don't over mix. Sprinkle the topping over bread pudding and bake in oven at 350 for 40 minutes.

3 minute dinner

2008-03-02T11:19:00.000-08:00

This is my cheat dinner. Cook the pasta in some boiling organic chicken stock and add frozen peas and corn at the last minute. A little parma and your done. Easy Peasy.

sticky situation

2008-02-12T18:42:00.001-08:00

found loli's with vitamen C and echinacea. gave them to the boys in super market so they'd stop taking their shirts off (don't ask). They carried them around taking the occasional lick and declaring 'yum!' untill dinner time- about 2 hours. yuch.

Butternut Squash Soup

2008-02-10T20:07:00.001-08:00

There are many days when I feel like I'm not the best mom around.
-the kids have watched more than one Disney flick.
-lunch is only one colour and it came from a box.
-we are all wearing our pj's for said lunch.
-kinda yelled when boys dumped their food all over table then start rubbing plates on their heads.
-my child is the only one flayling around on the floor and whailing at nursery school pick-up.

And then there are days that are so long and so hard but I'm doing it and doing it well. Like today. Makes the other days slip away and gives me the confidence to keep putting my best forward. Reasons why today rocked;
-alone with all 3 kids for whole day
-kept my patience while dealing with all three kids fighting over momma for most of day. (by fighting I mean clinging to me crying and pushing other children that are crying and trying to cling.
-we all had a healthy breakfast
-we were washed and out of pj's by 9am
-healthy, homemade lunch with homemade bread
-while boys napped, Deja and I sat quietly on couch talking about alphabet and she concentrated for half an hour.
-made a succesful, delicious soup without aid of recipe books (hence title of post)
-fun trip to Lowes where I purchased enough light bulbs (18) to replace all the hologen lights that have burnt out months ago. Nagging husband didn't work.
-tucked all children into bed, happy, tummies full by 7pm, dishes done by 8.

Butternut Squash Soup (origional recipe by moi)

1 red onion
2 tblspn butter
glug olive oil
4 apples
1 lrg butternut squash
1 teaspoon ground cumin
5 cups veggi or chicken stock

Caralmize the chopped onions in the butter and olive oil. (saute onions stirring often over medium heat. When they start to turn brown (after about 15 minutes) stir every minute or so. When they are dark brown they are done. the whole thing takes about 20 minutes.) Add chopped up cored apple, don't worry about peeling. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add peeled and chunks of butternut and cumin. Pour in about 4-5 cups of organic chicken or veg stock. Bring to a simmer then clap on the lid- at this point it was in the afternoon and we had to go out so I put my "le cruset" in the oven that was on at 225. I let it roast for about 4 hours. If your not going to do that you could let it simmer with lid half on for at least 45 minutes. Closer to dinner I let the soup cool a little and blended it in blender (you could use a hand blender too.) Heat it back up if you have to and season it too your liking!

I also toasted the seeds from the quash and used as a garnish and convinced Deja they were just like chips- a little sea salt goes along way. Now- feeding soup to toddlers can be pretty annoying so what I usually do is tear up large chunks of bread and put in shallow bowl of soup. Crackers they can dip are also good. Regardless, it was a bit of a mess but they do have to learn sometime.

Pita Snacks

2008-01-30T17:28:00.000-08:00

When I want to make a quick hot snack for the kids usually it's some kind of cheese melt. These ones are done on tortilla wraps but you could use whatever you've got hanging around. I did one with brie and pear (my fav) you could also add a little jam to satisfy a sweet tooth. One with tomato, parma, a little olive oil and salt and the other with red pepper and mozzarela. Put the top grill on in the oven and place them right under for about 4 minutes- I like using my pizza tray. In my experience, kids will eat anything with melted cheese on it.

Red Lentil Stew

2008-01-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

Using a good basic knowledge for soup and stew making, you can find room to make up new recipes depending on what you have hanging around the fridge. I try to use alot of legumes and lentils as they are so good for us. This stew was easy and pretty quick to make as I used small red lentils which don't require soaking over night and cook within a half hour or so. It doesn't look like much (looks mushy and kinda yuch) but once the kids tried a bite they loved it. It's getting that first bite in that's hard so pull out your bag of tricks!

1 large red onion (I like the flavour of r onion the best, but you could use other)
clove of garlic
couple of tomatoes
two handfuls of carrots (I used baby carrots sliced length ways)
two handfuls of french green beans with ends snipped
cup of frozen corn
bag of red lentils
3 chorizzo sausage (I get a really yummy kind that is not spicy. you could use ground turkey, beef, chunks of chicken or just skip the meat)
about 5 cups of organic chicken stock
touch of cinnamon

If your using meat, brown it first in the pot your doing your stew in, after its browned put on a plate and set aside. For the sausage, I cut open the casing and brown the filling, breaking up with spoon while stirring. Chop up the onion and garlic and let simmer in a little olive oil on low. (you can also use a little of the excess fat left from browning meat.) Its important not to burn them as it will really effect the flavour. I like to put on low and place lid part way on to let them sweat a little, cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Chop up tomato and add to onion mixture, cook untill tomato has pretty much disolved, breaking it up with your wooden spoon while stirring. At this point I add the carrots and sprinkle of cinnamon (and celery if you have.) and let cook a little, about 5 minutes. Rinse your lentils in a large bowl and then add them to stew, stirring it in. Turn heat up a bit and add your chicken stock and meat, bringing it to a boil and then let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring once in awhile. About 5 minutes before you want to serve it add your corn and beans so they won't be over cooked and nice and crunchy.

I cook alot with my 'le creuset' and find it easy to get most of it ready while the kiddies nap and then pop it in the oven on low for most of the afternoon and then dinner is done. You can do this with any pot really and also a slow cooker if you have one. Get everything simmered and together on the stove top and when your at the part were you bring the mixture to a boil that's when you can pop lid on and into the oven or slow cooker.

Home Sweet Home

2008-01-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

One of the monsters found a home over the holidays. It's too bad I have to chuck it (it is almost February after all) but a little bird keeps picking away at it and there are'nt any more shelves high enough anymore!

Pasta Peas!

2008-01-18T04:58:00.001-08:00

Pasta Carbonara and Spring Peas
This recipe has been scooped from Jamie OLiver's "Jamie's Dinners" cookbook. An easy recipe that everyone loves.
1 lb pasta (Jamie says farfalle, I use whatever I have around)
1 egg
7 tablespoons heavy cream
sea salt and ground black pepper (i find the bacon leaves it salty enough)
12 slices of pancetta or bacon, roughly sliced
couple sprigs mint (if you have some!)
couple handfuls of fresh grated pamesan cheese

Bring large pan of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Whisk the egg, the cream and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Cook your bacon or pancetta untill crisp in a second pan and set aside.

When the pasta is nearly cooked, add the peas for last minute and half. When cooked, drain and save a little of the cooking water. Add pasta to bacon and stir in most of the mint (finely sliced).

Now add the egg and cream mixture to pasta. Make sure you add while the pasta is still hot so that the heat of the pasta will cook the egg but not so they resemble scrambeled eggs. Should give you a silky smooth sauce. Toss together and loosen with reserved cooking water if you have to. Season and sprinkle with parma. Serve right away.

Paper Bag Puppets

2008-01-17T18:02:00.002-08:00

These were fun to make! (and easy) We stuffed paper bags with crumpled up newspaper to make heads, tied off at the neck, then decorated them from my dollar-store-craft-stash. The fun part was then having a puppet show. I did the first puppet show to give them an idea of story telling then sat back and watched the show!

Pasta Art

2008-01-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

Not super crafty but we were really stretching for something to do today and the brain needed something easy to pull together. Deja had fun sorting it all then lining them up to make trains, meanwhile, the boys enjoyed trying to eat the pasta but soon discovered that this was not the normal pasta we offer them. I started out helping the kids squeeze the glue onto page but was a little frustrating for them so I then put glue in a plastic cup and gave them popsicle sticks to spread glue and that made things alot easier.

Simmered Greens with Cornmeal Dumplings

2008-01-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

There has been alot of postings of desserty things lately so I thought I'd give the sweet tooth a rest and move onto some greens.. This recipe is also from the above mentioned Gourmet magazine featured as a Southern dish. I'm going to copy it out how it appears in the mag but when I tried it out I skipped the bacon, making it a quicker dish to prepare and it was still very yummy.

1 piece (1 pound) slab bacon (? umm... I'm sure reg thick bacon would be fine)
3 qt water
3 lb mixed greens such as collard, mustard, and turnip
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk (I used 2%)

Score bacon 2 or three times (do not cut all the way through) then simmer in water in a large pot covered for an hour.
Discard any coarse stems from greens and coarsley chop leaves. Add greens, couple tsp's of salt and one of pepper to bacon and cooked uncovered, stirring occasionaly for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cornmeal, brwn sugar, baking powder and pinch of salt, then blend in butter well with finger tips. Stir in milk until just combined. Let dough stand 5 minutes. With wet hands, roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls.
Gently place dumplings on top of greens. Cook, covered and undisturbed, over low heat untill greens are very tender and silky and dumplings are puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Discard bacon, season.

Buttermilk Cookies

2008-01-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

This recipe I scooped from Gourmet Magazine in their Jan. '08 Special 'Southern Cooking' edition. There are ALOT of amazing recipes included and I'll post a few I've tried and loved. This is definently a keeper, delivering a cookie soft and fluffy on the inside and just slightley crispy on the out. The glaze is also easy and gives you a cookie you'll be proud to serve!

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used 1 vanilla pod, sliced and seeds scraped out)
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

preheat oven to 350 f, butter 2 large baking sheets
Whisk together flour, zest, baking soda and salt.
Beat together butter and sugar in large bowl untill pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. (using the vanilla bean gave me ever so subbtle black flecks in my my cookie which I love) Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture untill smooth.
Drop level tablespoon of dough about 1 1/2" apart on baking sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time, untill cookies are puffed and golden on the edges, 12 to 15 minutes per batch. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute then transfer to racks.
Glaze cookies: Wisk together all glaze ingredients and brush on top of warm cookies. (the whole 'brush' on thing didn't work out for me, instead I used 2 small spoons and blobbled about a 1/2 tsp of glaze onto each cookie.) Let stand untill cookies are cooled and glaze is set (of course trying a few out to make sure they are good<.>

The first time I made these I totally missed the lemon zest, b soda and salt and they turned out great. I could eat these all day, they are light and melt in your mouth delicious. The vanilla seed gives it a grown up elegance. So get out there and grab yourself some buttermilk and try them out. I'll post some ideas of things to do with all that left over buttermilk later....

Bread Pudding

2008-01-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

I like this recipe as it seems a little more low fat than others I've come across. One thing I'd like to add is to get your egg and milk to at least room temp before you pour over bread. You could heat them up very slightly over low heat. I also let the bread sit for at least 10 min with egg mixture to soak up before putting into oven. I don't like it to crunchy on top so I loosley put a piece of foil on top and then took it off for the last 10 minutes.

1 loaf stale sliced white bread (I like using a baguette)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 cup golden raisins (you could also use cut up apple, cranberries...)
1 cup sugar (I use half and use a raw sugar)
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean and it was amazing, when I tried this without, the vanilla extract was a little much)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease with butter 3-quart casserole dish.
Butter both sides of bread slices, place on tin foil, and put into oven. Toast slices on both sides.
If using, place raisins in bowl of hot water to plump. Cover, soak for 20 minutes, and drain.
Combine sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Mix well.
Break up toasted bread, and put in casserole dish. Add drained raisins. Pour egg mixture over bread, and stir.
Bake 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

monkey bars

2007-12-23T06:09:00.001-08:00

This is one of those recipes that whenever I make them, whoever tries one NEEDS the recipe. They are SO good and easy to make. I origionaly got the recipe from my American friend Pam (thank-you Pam!) The only thing that can be tricky is making sure you stir the butter sugar mixture and it doesn't burn- I usually let it boil for 2 min as I cook on gas but you want to make sure the brown sugar is comletley melted in with the butter. Place in oven in the middle as well. I usually stash them in freezer and treat myself to a little square with a cup of tea at the end of day. enjoy!

1 sleeve premium plus saltine crackers (35)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 bag semi sweet mini chocolate morsels

preheat oven to 400 f
Line 10x15" jelly roll pan (American for cookie sheet with lip <.>) with aluminum foil- butter foil (VERY important!)
Cover foil with single layer of crackers.
Heat butter and sugar- boil 3 minutes while stirring constantly!
Pour hot mixture over crackers- Bake for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and immediately cover with choc. chips- spread as quickly as they melt. (resist urge to place back in oven to encourage melting chips, they will melt on their own!)
Cool slightly and put in fridge. Once they are chilled you can break into pieces.
~store in fridge or freezer~

rice krispy squares!

2007-12-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

Used the recipe from the box. (why mess with a good thing right?) Kids had alot of fun helping making them and then we decorated them afterwards. I forgot how yummy rice krspie squares are~ I ate like 4 of them, couldn't stop myself...

ahh run!

2007-11-19T18:39:00.001-08:00

the monsters can get pretty territorial about the kitchen

sweet potato gnocchi

2007-11-14T15:55:00.001-08:00

sweet potato gnocchi, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

this is so yum. the recipe is from my favorite foody site, epicurious. the kids had alot of fun helping me roll the dough.

2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over with fork

1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish
Preparation

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.

Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves.

chili with a cornbread topping

2007-11-07T08:00:00.001-08:00

chili with a cornbread topping, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

I'm sure everyone has their own way to make chilli so I won't go into too much about the actual chilli. For me it's all about the cornbread topping- I love this. I just got a 'le creuset' so I am looking forward to making the chilli in it, then simply pouring cornbread batter on top and thowing the whole thing in oven. Previously I did the chilli in a pot them transfered to a casserole then poured the cornbread on top then baked.

the chili
First I saute a few large onions and a couple cloves of garlic in some olive oil. (don't all great recipes start this way?) Alot of the times when I'm chopping more than one onion I just throw it all in food processor. It's nice to have onions chopped into small bits as the toddlers in my house recognize them and then won't eat it. ("mamma, it's diiirrrr-ty!) Add a bit of cumin, ground coriander, and dried chilies- I always add a tiny bit as it doesn't seem like chilli if there isn't a bit of heat and its a good way to introduce a little spice to the kids. Depending on whats living/hanging in the veggie crisper I'll chop up some other veggies and add at this time (carrots, celery, red/green pepper, califlower, zuchinni and how could I gorget to mention corn! a little sweet and a bit of crunch- I know this is a bit for fetched for chilli but I like to bump up veggi content when I can.) While this is all browning I get busy with a can opener and open a few large cans of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of kidney beans (this changes depending on what I have, chickpeas, white beans, black beans... it's also good to rinse as you wash off the salty briney goo) can of tomatoe paste and dump it all in. Add a little ketchup and water untill the sauce is a deep red colour then while stirring, bring it all to a boil then turn down to a simmer partially covered for at least 40 minutes. (I found a recipe that suggested sprinkeling cocoa in mixture when its at a boil- not bad!) I usually make chilli vegi, or sometimes I'll do ground turkey/ If doing meat I usually brown it after the onion part.

the cornbread
this recipe is a Nigella one. I don't make chilli anymore without making this to go with it. It's so yummy and with a little guacamole and sour cream a complete meal. Sorry about the wierd cup sizes but the conversions are a little wacky.

1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2.8 cups cornmeal
4 tablespoons plain flour
6 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
750 ml buttermilk
4 eggs
2 teaspoon honey
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cups cheddar cheese, coursley grated

combine the salt, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, honey, and oil mix well then stir it into dry mixture making a vivid yellow batter. Pour over top of chilli to cover. Sprinkle cheese on top of cornbread then bake in oven for 30 minutes (@375) untill it's risen a bit and golden. Let cool before digging in. I also like to serve with an extra sprinkle of sharp cheddar, and some cool sour cream and some tortilla chips.

The kids love this, even the extra picky 3 yr old. They are a little stinky afterwards but then, so am I...

sushi

2007-11-07T07:51:00.001-08:00

sushi, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

most requested snack at our house. cream cheese with cucumber and carrot strips wrapped in whole wheat tortilla. can be done with hummus and red peppers, avacado, scrambled egg, oh the possiblities! (usually whatever you have kicking around in the veggie crisper)

mmmm molasses spice cookies

2007-11-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

3 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

preheat oven 350
melt butter then add sugar and molasses to butter. Beat in eggs and mix well. Sift all dry ingredients together and then add the wet to dry. Bake for 10 minutes. If the batter is too runny, I usually put the whole bowl in frigde or stick it outside if it's cold enough. I like to let these cool on tray for a few minutes before attempting to move them. These cookies are seriously yummy. They puff up a bit but are not too bready and maintain a really great softness. A friend served them at a kid's Halloween party and I stalked her untill she gave up the recipe! Thanks Pam! This is really the perfect autumn cookie.

Risotto

2007-10-18T20:01:00.001-07:00

Risotto, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

This recipe is from my newly aquired "Apples for Jam" recipe book. It's a great book and has alot of recipes that I'll add to my regular cooking. I love that it uses stuff I allready have on hand so I'm not running around trying to find some kind of elusive herb that is "essential" to a dish. It's organized by colour which is a little wierd but I kind of like it. The book also makes me want to drop everything and move to the Italian countryside while my children ramble about in open fields playing fairies as I rattle about in our century old villa, state of the art kitchen of course, imagining what yummy things I will prepare next to fill up my family. Sounds good right? Sigh.

2 3/4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 french shallots (I used 1 small white onion)
1.4 cups risotto rice
1/2 cup white wine (I made it without and it was great)
4 cups hot vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
3 tablespoons grated parmesan
about 8 fresh sage leaves if you have them
4 eggs at room temperature

In a heavy bottom pan suitable for risotto, heat half the butter and 2 tblsp olive oil. Saute onion untill golden then add rice, stirring so that all of the rice gets coated and starts to go a little translucent on the corners. Add wine and after it evaporates
add all the broth with a few grinds of nutmeg and salt if required. Simmer uncovered on high heat about 15 min, or untill rice has absorbed the liquid stirring often. Make sure to try rice to see of it's cooked. If it needs more liquid add hot water. Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter and some parmesan. Leave with lid on so that the steam will continue to cook while you do the eggs.

Heat some oil in a nonstick pan and quickly fry the sage until crisp, remove. Then continue to fry your eggs, untill golden on outside. I don't like my yolk overly runny so I usually cook mine with a lid on pan. Serve egg on top of rice with a sprinkle of parmesan and salt/pepper if needed. And the sage leaves.

This mostly white dish is pretty popular with the toddler set. If it was up to my 3 year old she would be on an all-white diet, with the occasional allowance for red tomato sauce. This was fast and yummy, great for a quick hot lunch.

apple spice muffins

2007-10-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

These are seriously good.

apple spice muffin, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown flour
1 1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn ground all spice
1/4 tspn grated nutmeg
1/4 tspn salt
2 large eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup applesauce
1 cup pecans/walnuts (optional)
topping; 2 tblspn sugar
1/4 tspn. cinnamon/allspice/nutmeg

preheat oven 400
Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl until well combined, then add butter a little at a time, whisking untill mixture is creamy. Stir in applesauce, then fold into flour mixture untill flour is moistened. Stir in nuts if using. Scoop into awaitong muffin tins, sprinkle topping on and then bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.

Using fresh ground nutmeg really kicks up the flavour. If you have some ground flaxseed, bran or wheat germ around sneak it in, if I do I usually add less flour so they are not too dry, or a little more apple sauce. If there is time, I like to make the applesauce, it really is simple to do and I'll usually make extra for the kids. I found that making the applesauce a little chunky gave me the best muffins. I even managed to can some apple sauce this year. If this is all a little too domestic sounding too you, by all means any unsweetened applesauce will do. I love useing the mini- silicone muffin trays, they are the perfect size for little hands. I always double this recipe as they move fast.

out of the kitchen and into the bathroom

2007-09-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

I've had an idea to do our powder room and finally got all the pieces together to finish it. It turned out great and so I thought I'd share how I did it- it wasn't that hard. I found a bunch of vintage style maps at a local paper store that are inexpensive and I love the colours so the idea was to paste them all over. First I used that blue sticky tack stuff and placed the maps on the wall how I wanted them to give me an idea on how I wanted it to look.

Then, using a clear (goes on milky, dries clear) wallpaper paste I rolled an even coat of the glue on the back of the map with a mini roller. Using a damp cloth remove any excess glue from your work surface so it doesn't get onto the front of whatever it is your gluing.

After the glue has been rolled on, your going to need to bookend the map so that the glue has a chance to activate. When I say bookend I mean fold the map in half lightley with the glue sides touching eachother. Try and match the corners so that they are touching. (most often I had problems with the edges curling up when I'd stick it to wall but I found I'd avoid this by making sure edges were laying onto eachother.)
Leave the paper bookended for at least 3 minutes. During the wait I'd roll another map. You can kind of tell its ready by when you peel the paper back a bit it would appear tacky.

Once its ready, open up the map and take it to wall and carefully place one corner where its going. Sometimes its helpful to mark on wall using pencil. Start in one corner and then using a flat, thick sponge you can slowly and carefully smooth out the map making sure you don't crinkle it. (They sell sponges specifically for this purpose.)

and voila!

finished powder room, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

bathroom2, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

bath4, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

I painted the wood work a HOT pink (bemjamen moore's pink peony) and I love the colour. I still need to add some finishing touches but geez its hard to take a picture of such a tiny room! I'd like to either hang an old globe for a pendant light or find a hot air balloon to hang.. we'll see. You could apply a clear coat of varnish over all but I'm not going to as its not around the sink so I'm not worried about splashes. Although I might want to when I start to potty train the boys. (yikes)
If your going to attempt this- I'm hear for you!

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

2007-09-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

This has been my favorite brownie recipe so far. It's REALLY chocolate-y and worth the extra chocolate! Great served with icecream (natch) and some fresh fruit.

1 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter cut into cubes
6 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbs vanilla
4 eggs 1 cup chopped, toasted pecans (optional)

preheat oven 350 f
line 13x9 inch metal baking pan with foil, let excess to overhang. Lightly grease foil.
combine flour, cocoa and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Melt butter and chocolate in a deep saucepan over low heat, stirring untill smooth. Let cool slightly. Whisk in eggs one at a time untill well blended. Stir in pecans (if using). Pour into prepared pan, spreading batter to corners.
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or untill test knife comes out with just a few crumbs attached. Do not over bake (as I have a tendancy to) Let cool in pan on wire rack.
Serve immediately or wrap in foil and store at room temp for a few days.
To freeze, wrap in saran then foil, can freeze up to 2 months.

picture to follow....

Banana bread/muffins

2007-08-04T04:59:00.000-07:00

If your like me you may have a freezer full of black bananas waiting for a time when you've got a little time and some energy. Everytime I go to make banana muffins I usually look around for a recipe online as a rough guide line and change it up so they are healthier treats for the kids. SO last time I made them, I attempeted to make my own recipe and was pretty happy with the results. I'm going to leave the recipe as I made it (huge) but of course you can half it as well. I like doing lots at a time with the intention of freezing some but these boys of mine love them and so rarely a freezer dothe muffins see!

8 ripe bananas
1 cup butter (can't lose the butter)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tspn vanilla
1 3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup brown flour
1/4 cup bran (or wheat germ, use all if you've got it!)
1/4 cup ground linseed
2 tspn (scant) baking soda
2 tspn (scant) baking powder
chocolate chips (optional, sometimes I'll do half with and I like to use the mini chocolate chips, just enough choc to make it kind of desserty)
coconut (optional as well, usually I'll add coconut when doing a loaf)

Preheat oven at 375
cream butter and sugars untill well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beat in. Keep beating and add the milk and vanilla. combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix together. Add dry to wet mix untill all combined. Add mushed up ripe bananas and any other embeleshments (nuts, choc chips, coconut...)
for muffins bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. I like to make mini muffins and these take 15-20 minutes. They are done when browned on top and a toothpick or knife comes out clean when poked. If doing a loaf bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes

hide!

2007-07-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

hiding out from "those girls"

Snippets from the berry patch

2007-07-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

jam

2007-07-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

Allright, I'm no expert on jam making as this has been my first attempt. I trawled the internet for some ideas on how to go about it and morfed a few together to make the whole procedure easy. After making 50 some odd jars with pretty good results I have to say it's not as hard as it may seem. It has also been pretty satisfying. The whole experience was pretty fun actually from taking all the kids out to the berry patch to stirring bubbling pots of auromatic fruit. I'm going to include my recipe but if any of you readers want to add tips or ideas PLEASE do!

8 cups of berries (first I made strawberry then raspberry)
8 cups sugar
2 tblspoons lemon juice (optional, you could also flavour with vanilla or almond, whatever really!)

Put a few small plates in freezer to do jel test. You also may want put your largest pot (I used our stock pot) filled part way with water on the fire to boil for sterlizing your jars.

Place fruit in a large heavy bottomed pot, bring to a boil while mashing with potato masher for one minute then add sugar and half a packet of powdered certo. Let cook at a low rolling boil for about 15 minutes while stirring constantley so fruit doesn't burn. After about 10 min you should check the jam to see if its jelled by taking out the cold plate, drop a spoonfull of jam on plate and if you can push it around in a formed blob its done. Line up your sterilized, warm jars and ladle jam in, leaving 1/4 inch jar on top. Make sure you clean the lips of the jars with a clean cloth before you put lids on or you won't get a proper seal. To seal the jars your going to want to make a water bath so what I did was put some tea towls on the bottom of my stock pot, kept the water at a rolling boil and placed (carefully) the jars in pot with at least 2 inches of water above them. I left them in for about 10-15 min. The next morning I was pleased (and suprised) to find my little jars had all sealed properly. (que pumping fist into air).

8 cups of fruit made about 8 little jars. Alot of jam recipes made the point to stress the importance of not doubeling and to do the jam in batches so fruit cooks evenly, blah, blah. I found working with 8 cups pretty workable. I did make raspberry syrup but only got one lrge jar from 8 cups of fruit and straining out the seeds was a pain. Next time I try a syrup I'm going to use something without so many seeds. If anyone out there knows anything about making syrup....

Pancakes

2007-07-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

STOP right there- this is it, the pancake recipe that'll make you banish all instant pancake mixes, and even want to make them for dinner. At least I think so and I've tried out ALOT of recipes. One of the things I love about it is it makes a nice thick pancake that you can cook fruit into, making it even healthier for the kiddies. AND its really easy and uses stuff you usually have in the kitchen.

3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar (the origional recipe called for a full cup, I suppose you could eliminate it totally too, I chose somewhere in between...)
4 tblspn butter (melted)
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup brown flour (feel free to play around with the white to brown flour ratio)
1/4 cup of wheat germ or ground flax seed maybe bran (have'nt tried that one yet!) basically any nutrient-boosters you may have around to sneak in on the kids.
1 cup milk
1 tblspoon baking powder
pinch salt

whisk egg, sugar and butter in med bowl.
add flour and milk alternating in 3 additions.
whisk in b. powder and salt.
laddle onto skillet, place fruit on uncooked side before flipping.

enjoy!!

AHHH, girls!!!

2007-07-03T15:37:00.001-07:00

a little update on what those monsters are up to...

Makin' Shakers!

2007-06-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

So this blog is supposed to also have craft ideas of things to do with the wee monsters running around yr kitchens and I've been a bit deliquent in that department. Anyway, with all this heat we've got to do more planned activities inside instead of me trying to work on projects and the monsters getting reckless. So today we made shakers!

These bottles were fun and even the boys really enjoyed making them. We put rocks, sand, feathers, foam stickers, split peas (boys really enjoyed trying to eat them). The dry ones were great music makers and then we made some wet ones with a little water, dish soap, sand and food colouring. Once shaken up they made great coloured bubbles and were lots of fun. Oh- make sure you tape up the tops with some kind of packing tape so your not spending all your time cleaning up. The best part of this activity was marching around the kitchen with our new music maker singing all 10 verses of "the ants go marching".

Deja's 3rd Birthday Cake

2007-06-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

So, I know the bar has been raised pretty high when it comes to birthday cakes and I for one have been much to tired/busy to bother trying to reach it. These cakes may look complicated but alas dear friends, hate to admit it but they were dead easy and tasted amazing. I thought two would be enough for the huge crowd we had over (around 60) because normally not everyone eats cake right? Wrong, everybody (well mostly everybody) had to try some and I'm sorry to those who went home without.

Hear is the big secret;

In my opinion, angle food cake is pointless to make from scratch and I love the Robin Hood brand and so does my sister. I did make the sauce to be drizzeld on and it was super easy, I'll tell you how! Angel food cake takes about 50 min to bake so there's lots of time to make a quick sauce.

In a sauce pan cut up about 2 cups of strawberries or whatever fruit your using. If fresh add a little water and I like to add a complimentary liqueur for extra flavour like limioncella with strawberries, chambord with blueberries or raspberries. If you don't haave any kicking around no worries, you could add some lemon zest or play around a bit with what you have, just as long as there;s not too much liquid. One time I added lemonade with strawberries and no water and it turned out quite nice. It's not necessary to but it sure does punch up the flavour, also if not adding a liqueur, you might want to add a tblespn or two of sugar, just keep trying it as you go. You could also use frozen fruit. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 15 minutes. Let cool then blend (either in a blender or use a hand blender). Put back on stove, bring to a simmer and let simmer on low heat for about 15 min again. And of course, lots of whip cream! In no time everyone will be uuing and awing over a cake that hardly messed up any pots.

Back yard mural

2007-06-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

almost done....

hamster madness

2007-06-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

I made a whole army of these to give away on Deja's birthday. I can get a little carried away...

"Mom?"

2007-06-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

gobble, gobble

2007-06-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes, Yum

2007-06-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

Simple White Cake

I like to pride myself with making nutrious meals for the kids but every once in a while a girls gotta eat cake. White fluffy delicious carb filled cake. I have played around with alot of cupcake recipes and this is a pretty great standard recipe. There's even room for experimentation. Great for cupcakes or for a layer cake. And it's easy.

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter (mmm butter)
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour (I used cake flour because I had it but if there's none around then don't worry, normal flour will do.)
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven 350
Prepare pans (makes one 9" pan and only 12 cupcakes, good idea to double as you'll eat at least 3 as soon as they are cool enough!)
Cream sugar and butter.
Beat in eggs one at a time (an electric hand mixer is great as it gets everything light and fluffy)
Stir in vanilla and almond extract (hear's where you can change the flavour around a bit. maybe orange and vanilla, lemon, just vanilla, anise, cherry... whatever you can find a pure extract in as it will be more potent than using say orange juice. I really liked the almond/vanilla combo.)
Sift together flour and baking powder
Alternate adding milk and flour mixture to batter, mix well
Bake 30-40 min for pan, cupcakes 20-25 min
Cake is done when it springs back from touch.

booz'n it

2007-05-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

Tuna Casserole

2007-04-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

Tuna casserole
This is a great recipe I origionally found on Epicurious- I have made some mod's. The first time you make it you might feel like, "why am I going to all this trouble and messing all these pots for tuna frigg'n casserole!" It's worth it! I make it ALL the time and have got the prep time down. This is a great base for other kinds of casseroles, chicken, salmon, whole wheat pasta, fresh herbs, whatever! This is the perfect meal on a gloomy day and will leave you feeling full and loved! A big hug really. Sometimes I'll prepare it in the morning, wrap it, and then throw it in the oven just before dinner. The kids all eat this everytime.

1 large onion, chopped (finely chopped if you've got picky eaters! Also, I like the red onions)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick (4 cups)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 heads of broc or a bunch of frozen peas or zuchinni or califlower... you get the idea
2 cans tuna in olive oil, drained (use packed in water for less fat)
6 oz dried curly egg noodles (about 3 1/4 cups) I usually just use a pack of whatever
4 oz coarsely grated Cheddar (1 cup)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
Cook noodles in a big pot of salted water. I always throw a steamer on top of the boiling water with the broc.

Cook onion in 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with a pinch of salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to moderately high and add mushrooms, then sauté, until mushrooms begin to give off liquid, about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce and continue to sauté mushrooms, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Remove from heat.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat and whisk in flour, then cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add broth in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Whisk in milk and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Add to mushroom mixture, and veggies. Flake tuna into sauce and stir gently. Season sauce with salt and pepper. (I find the soy sauce is enough salt)

Put the cooked noodles into baking dish and pour sauce evenly over and stir gently to combine.
Spread cheese over mixture. A half cheddar/parmesean mixture is good too.
(or you could do a bread crumb topping; toss together bread crumbs and cheese in a bowl. Drizzle with oil and toss again, then sprinkle evenly over casserole.)

Bake until topping is crisp and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 30 minutes.
I don't like my noodles to get too crispy so I loosley tent the casserole with tin foil and remove for last 10 min.

farm land

2007-04-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

one...

2007-04-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

"so, tell me what happened to your other horn?"

2007-04-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

mmm, cake

2007-04-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

Lemon Meringue Cake
This is an amazing lemon cake that kicks butt over lemon meringue pie. I scooped and converted this recipe from Nigella who makes you use yr brain by not including conversion tables in her cookbooks. Thanks Nigella, thanks for making it SO easy. And- my sister, if your reading this, I don't want to know how many spelling mistakes I have made- I know how terrible my spelling is allready!!
3/4 cup really soft unsalted butter
4 eggs separated
1 1/4 cup sugar plus 1 tspn sugar
1/5 cup regular flour
1 ounce cornflour
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
zest of 1 lemon (fairly fine)
4 tspn lemon juice (pretty much from 1 lemon)
2 tspn milk
1/2 tspn cream of tartar (good to have this around, need it when making playdough)
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup lemon curd (recipe to follow or buy that lemon powder stuff you use for lemon m. pie)

Preheat to 400 f. Butter 2 8" round cake pans (square would work and so would 9" I would think.)
Mix egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar, the butter, flour, cornflour, baking powder, soda, and lemon in a food processor. Add lemon juice and milk and process again. -Nigella LOVES her processor but if it's not handy for you, I think a good hand mixer would work just as well.

Divide mixture into cake pans. It's a pretty thin layer but not to worry, spread smooth with spatula.
Whisk egg whites and crm tartar untill peaks form (please use a hand mixer or you'll kill yrself) then slowly whisk in 3/4 cup of sugar. Divide whisked whites between the two cakes- on one cake, smooth the meringue flat. On the other use the back of a metal spoon and make peaks. Sprinkle 1 tspn sugar over the peaks. Bake in oven 20-25 minutes.
Test the flat topped cake with cake-tester. (o.k- does anyone actually know what this is? toothpick, small sharp knife, whatever I can find... that's what I normally use) If it's clean, it's done. Remove and let cake cool completely in thier pans on a wire rack.

At this point I was filled with complete pride that I had actually pulled something out of the oven that looked so glorious. (Cue soprano opera music.) My mountains were perfection. You know when you toast marshmellows and there's that perfect stage they get too, that just right toasty almondy, laté colour. That colour it gets to just before you plunge it back into the coals for a "touch" more and the whole thing melts, falls apart, burns, gets covered in grass/dirt/gravel/coals/yuch. Just before that. I've learned my lesson, many a time and so I resisted putting it back into the oven for "a bit more colour" as I would suggest to any of you would be cake makers.

I made the lemon curd at this point which was surprisingly easy.
Un-mould and put the flat topped cake meringue down onto yr cake plate. Whisk the crm and set aside- not to thick. Spread lemon curd onto the sponge of the first waiting cake, then the cream and then the beutious, mountainous cake, peak side up- of course. I had some curd left over so, very carefully, I held up the top cake and was able to spread a light layer of lemony goodness on the bottom.

Lemon Curd
finely grated zest and juice from 2 unwaxed lemons
2 lrg eggs
2lrg egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Beat eggs, egg yolks, and sugar together
Melt butter (heavy based pan). Once melted stir in sugar/egg mixture and lemon juice and zest. Keep cooking gently, stir untill thickened. (does not have to be spoon-stand-up-straight thick.)
Let cool before use on cake.

I poured the left over whip cream into the pan and ate it all. By myself.

Fish Soup

2007-04-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Fish Friday Soup
Make a veg stock. Chop up a few onions, stalks of celery, carrots- or just throw it all in a food processor and let it do the chopping. Saute vegies in olive oil untill soft, at this point I added a few diced tomatoes, saute untill you can't see them anymore. Add about 4 cups of water and white wine if you've got some kicking around. Add seasoning- a couple of bay leaves, peppercorns, lemon, whatever eles you fancy. Bring to a boil then down to a simmer for approx 40 min. Turn off and let veggies steep a bit. Strain all the veggies out and throw. With the broth you have left, add whatever fish you've decided on and bring back to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for no longer than 20 min. When I made it I used shrimp, clams, chunks of salmon and baby bok choy. As I was feeding kids I also added noodles- they'll eat anything involving noodles. Noodles and cheese.

Homemade Finger Paint

2007-03-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Finger Paint Recipe
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups cold water
2 cups boiling water
Food Coloring
Instructions:
Mix the 2 cups of flour with the 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the 2 1/2 cups of cold water; stir until smooth. Gradually add this mixture to the 2 cups of boiling water. Boil until the mixture becomes smooth and thick. Add the food coloring until you get the desired color.

they meet

2007-03-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

2007-03-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Another monster has shown up...

Potatoe and Leek Soup

2007-03-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

SO EASY potatoe and leek soup
Cook about 6 med. potatoes in a large pot using chicken broth instead of water (there are some great organic, low sodium broths out there in the carton, watch out for chicken broths with msg) - enough broth so that it just covers the potatoes. I don't peel the potatoes, just dig out the eyes. The hardest part about this recipe is cleaning and slicing the leeks. I usually slice the leeks length ways (I don't use the drk green stalks although my m.i.l. totally disagrees with me and thinks I'm being wasteful. Mna do I love to bug her.) Soak them in a salad bowl with cold water for a few minutes, swish and rinse. Finely slice the leeks (about 3 stalks) and then saute them with about 3 tblspns of butter. Once the potatoes are cooked, turn off to let cool so you can blend. I hate to admit this but I once gave myself burns all the way up my arms by trying to puree hot soup in my blender. Thankfully this was before I had monsters running around in my kitchen. Ouch. Not to mention the mess I made all over the ceiling and walls. So now I blend soups in my food processor or, even better by using a hand mixer. After potatoes are mush add leeks and bring back to a simmer. This is when you can fix the consistency and season. Add more chicken broth if too thick or simmer to burn of liquid if you find it too runny. All my kids liked this one, so good with toast or a bit of cheese melted on top. Leeks are yummy.

2007-03-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

TODAY I HEARD A SOUND...