randomly yummy

When we had dinner guests yesterday, I knew I wanted to try some new appetizers. So I embarked on a little internet searching and happened upon the McCormick Seasonings Website. With little more than Brie and a loaf of sourdough bread, our guests were raving about the Bloomin Brie Bowl from the website. The only change we made was adding chopped sun dried tomatoes to the mix, but it worked. Loved this and have to make it again! Definitely a website worth checking out!

spring flowers and pies on the windowsill

Tulips are my most favourite-est flower and I'm so happy that The Tulip festival has started! We're having great weather this weekend so I can't wait to get the kids out to see it!

We're still food obsessed here and the Mr. is getting a reputation for making fabulous risotto. This is his roasted red pepper and bacon risotto bubbling away. Spicy!

Some of our summer herbs are planted and happily growing.

My first Lemon Meringue Pie is cooling. I can't wait to try it!

With the prospect of all of us going to school in the fall we have so much we want to cram into this summer. The kids have theme summer camps, we're cottaging, visiting with friends, taking mini trips and exploring our own city. We are hoping that this can be the year we are all biking so we can start taking rides thru the city and on the trails.
Every year we try to get more out of our growing season and this year my husband and the kids have become worm farmers, (yes, you heard me right) hoping to add lots of healthy worms and compost to our organic garden. We are also hoping to increase our garden and incorporate more grown foods into our meals.

sweet tooth

Continuing with my 'if we can make it, we do' spree. I've been seeing recipes for home made mints all over the net recently and it was time to try my hand at making them. This is an easy no-bake cream cheese recipe which can be frozen for up to 3 months. That's my kind of cooking!
Recipe can be found here.

hello hello

Well, hello.
Here's a little of what we've been up to lately. We've gone 'home-made'. If we can make it, we are. So here we have a new home made spaghetti sauce.

This Pizza Sauce is from AllRecipes.Com

Rolling pasta thru the Kitchen-aid pasta maker.

More home-mades to come. Happy Wednesday!

cookie love

I made these yesterday and there isn't even one left to take a picture of. If you don't know what to do when faced with a house full of preschoolers these will make you a superstar! Not only were they good, they look great and are easy peasy! Check out the fabulous V and Co. for the how to:)

sunday morning

This is my breakfast this morning. Bacon and egg cooked in phyllo pastry with a little whole grain mustard and cheddar cheese. So yummy. We will be making these again.
We also used our phyllo pastry to whip up some mini quiche with sauteed onions, hot peppers and bacon, topped with cheddar cheese. Also voted yummy by our panel of judges. Happy Sunday everyone( :

snow day

This was our second snow day so far this year and we knew just what to do with it. We now have a lovely assortment of cupcakes in our freezer for the next time we need a little pick me up. (that is if we dare to eat them... fruit loops on icing get sort of gross)

After the sugar high they had a nice time running it off in the snow:)

mix master me

Well I guess it was my year. Not only did I get my camera, but I got my mixer too. So I made these:
Others got things like these:
And husbands got playstation games and a week off to play them. It was a great Christmas for all. And I only gained two pounds.. far better than last year, and with a mixer no less.

Happy New Years to you. I wish you health and happiness in 2011. xoxo

J's mini cupcakes

I'm taking these cupcakes to preschool in the morning. I kinda wish I was duty parent just to see them all sing Happy Birthday.

J's birthday is this weekend.

3 years old. I can't believe it's been three years since I had a baby.

Three years our family has been complete.

Now that J's three we no longer have a high chair, bibs, infant seat, rocker, crib, bouncer or exersaucer. No play-yard, wraps, slings, bottles and baby foods. We no longer buy diapers and change tiny sheets and blankets. Wow.

There is a part of me that wishes I could have these years forever. I can pick my kids up, cuddle them and fix all of their problems. I can surprise them with treats and new adventures every day. I am their favourite person and the one they call when they are upset. Their perspective on the world is endearing and beautiful. I already know how much I will miss these years.

On the other hand its a miracle to see them grow each day. To see the progression of a childs artwork, to see them think through complex problems. To see there reaction to new social norms. When I see my son tell a joke and laugh I am fascinated by his intelligence, his vocabulary and the energy, interest and dedication he has to learning new things everyday. When my daughter comes home from school speaking a new language I am stunned by the ease with which she picks this up.

I just need to soak in every minute. And a cupcake now and then to wash it down.

halloween is almost here!

I love finding wonderful new ways to celebrate and decorate for Halloween. These Monster brownies from Amanda's Cookin' are a wonderful new addition to our festivities. Click Amanda's blog for the link.

harvest

We had a small garden this year, so the kids could learn about the growing of food.

We have several herbs, the carrots I posted a while back, some peppers and lots and lots of tomatoes. It was really fun and we hope to make the garden even bigger next year and grow zuchini, cucumbers, potatoes and loads of peppers. Here's a shot of our cherry tomatoes.

spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

These cupcakes are decidedly the best cupcakes that have come out of my kitchen thus far. The cream cheese frosting was, (yes was, they are all long gone) not too sweet and very light so it complemented the spice cake cupcakes perfectly.

The recipe is so simple too!

1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup icing sugar

Use mixer on medium till smooth. Yum!

remember me?

Its been a jam-packed fun and busy month. Which is why we haven't spoken. Sorry about that.

Getting back into the swing of things probably won't happen till school begins in a few weeks but here is a 'back-to-school' idea that I'm loving.

The always wonderful and incredibly organized Wendy of Wendolonia has planned all your lunches, recommends lunch boxes and provides examples of great packed lunches. If you check her out you are bound to love her as much as I do.

what Jamie Oliver has done to us

When we started watching Jamie Oliver we were just thrilled to see this Steve Irwin type brit so excited about food.

Now that we've watched most of his shows and most of Gordon Ramsay's shows we're starting to get excited about food in our house as well. More than ever, we want to buy local and make as much as we can ourselves. So far that has resulted in a few more homemade dinners, some bread machine bread and now our new spaghetti sauce.

We've been living in our neighborhood for roughly 10 years only just decided that we should be using our local bakery for most of our breads & buns. So imagine my disappointment when I discovered that last month they closed there doors.

In our house we've decided that due to the recent recession/financial crisis it helps our economy to buy local and we benefit from the freshness and lack of chemicals that are necessary in foods that need to stay ripe and fresh by artificial means.

So we're on a mission to discover our local bakery and outdoor market. We're checking to see where our grocery store produce is coming from. We visited our local nursery to buy fresh herbs and seasonal vegetables. It's amazing what you can grow even if you are in the smallest of apartments. Herbs, tomato plants, strawberries, potatoes, peppers and more can be grown in pots and hanging baskets. Many farms now offer delivery runs of seasonal vegetables right to your door.

Ok.. ranting over.. Now I'm off to scout out bakeries. Wish me luck.

fondant

As you may recall. I used fondant for the first time this year when doing my husbands 'cat' birthday cake. I love the flexibility of fondant and the taste was okay. I have since wanted to try marshmallow fondant as I hear its far better. Well looks like my opportunity is here! The Crafty Crow which is always posting the best stuff has just posted a marshmallow fondant tutorial! Yay! Click here to follow the link.

Picky Eaters

I have 2 picky eaters.

2 picky eaters that more than likely got it from me. I have a complete fruit aversion as well as a strong dislike for many veggies and seafood. Why? Oh I've never completely figured it out myself.. but maybe someday over a bottle of wine.. (which I'm also complete opposed to) I might sort it out. It's probably too late to save me, but I need to do what I can to save the kids from a life of picky eating.

So far it's going fairly well. Both kids seem willing to eat more than I was at their age and my husband is quite positive and makes food fun for the kids. It's also helps that my husband and I are both involved in meal making and grocery shopping and try to involve our children too.

My favourite tool of the moment is the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution. This show is the latest in a string of Chef Jamie Oliver's shows dedicated to teaching people how to cook. Jamie is quite chef and quite a guy, focused on ridding whole countries of processed foods.

One of the tools Jamie employs with children when trying to show them the value of real healthy foods is the "I Tried Some New' stickers. I love it! And so does the wonderful and talented Wendy of Wendolonia. Click the link to download your own 'I tried something new' stickers. She has 3 choices for you- kittens, robots and pink stars!

home made chocolate bars

Put whatever you are doing down.. and run to the nearest grocery store!! (okay, perhaps your car is faster) I found recipes for Chocolate bars!! Ahhhh!

Snickers Bars

Snickers Bar recipe can be found here.

Kit Kat Bars

Get the Kit Kat tutorial from Grandma's Desserts here. If your thing is Twix check out this site. Oh, you're a 3 Musketeers junky? I guess this is more your speed. Now I gotta go. Got some shopping to do if I want to win Mommy of the Year tomorrow.

easter cupcakes

Yay bunnies! Hippity hop to Bakerella for the how to!

roarrrrrrr!

A couple weeks ago I asked E what she wanted to give Daddy for his birthday and she responded with this:



E: 'A big stuffed animal so he has something to sleep with'. (errrr.. where does she think I sleep?)

Me: 'Ummm.. I don't think Daddy needs a stuffed animal.. what else could you get him?'

E: 'A PS4.. so he can play the Fantastic 4 and he'd really like that game'

Me: 'Ummm.. they don't make PS4's yet pumpkin, and I don't think their is a Fantastic 4 game out there. What else?'

E: 'What about a cake that looks like Fletchie?' (that would be our 9 year old Orange Tabby)

Me: 'Okay.. well.. what about a lion? I have a lion cake pan.. that's a cat isn't it?'

E: 'Yeah! Daddy likes lions!'

Me: 'Okay, that's what you can do E, you can help mommy make a Lion Cake for Daddy's birthday - good idea!' (Whew!)



So.. I took this opportunity to try Fondant for the first time.. with ridiculous results. That cake did taste quite yummy though.

Notice the green icing? I do. I meant to do chocolate instead and then lazied out since E had already gone to bed and I'd been on my feet for far too long.. so ready made green cookie icing won. What a ridiculous lion.

I want to make this cake

just sayin'