Goodnight Sweet Pig

I happened upon the sweetest little bedtime, counting story! Goodnight Sweet Pig, written by award winning author Linda Bailey and illustrated by Josee Masse.  This raucous, bedtime romp is beautifully illustrated with so much detail on each page, we find something new each time we read it! Poor Hamlette just wants to go to sleep, but before she is resting comfortably in bed, she is bombarded with 9 other naughty pigs and all the mischief they bring with them.  A really fun read that all the little people in my life can expect to get a copy of soon! Many clever Shakespearean references for the adults and a simple, sweet rhyming text for the kiddos.  I loved this book!

These "fun-fetti" sugar cookies are the perfect bedtime snack to accompany this book! I was searching for a recipe for sugar cookie bars to make for school lunches and came across this mash-up between a sugar cookie and iced birthday cupcake all rolled into one.  Seriously the happiest looking cookie ever!  It's kind of like all the goodness of carefully cut out and iced sugar cookies with a little less effort. These smell amazing and you can't go wrong with cookie batter that contains a half cup of sprinkles... ever!
These can be made ahead, rolled into balls and frozen to bake later, but I'm not sure why you wouldn't just bake them right now! The recipe can be found right here and I did not tweak them one bit.  I do think the secret is to ensure the dough is chilled so the cookies do not spread out on the pan while baking.  I baked mine a bit longer then 8 minutes; about 10 minutes I think.

Muffin Mania

Does anyone remember the Muffin Mania Cookbook popular in the 80's that sold over 500 000 copies?!  It was written by two sisters from Kitchener and was an instant success.
Mom, do you still have your original copy?  I hear well-loved, dogeared copies are selling for upwards of 100 dollars online! Not that I would EVER suggest selling this vintage gem! Making muffins from this particular cookbook is one of my earliest, childhood baking memories.  The book was re-released in 2008 with an updated cover, all the original Muffin Mania recipes and some healthy tips and substitutions.

There is much debate as to whether or not muffins are a healthy snack.  Certainly a muffin you bake yourself does not contain any hidden ingredients and you can control the amount of fat, sugar, and fiber as well as the size so your homemade variety is a superior snack option to it's super-sized, drive-though counterpart.  Sometimes you want a treat and a cake-like, chocolate-studded muffin is what you are after and that's okay! but if you are looking for a healthy snack, portable breakfast or after work-out fuel, this high fiber muffin recipe originally posted here is a great recipe to add to your repertoire of healthy go-to snacks.  I made a few tweeks to the original recipe; my version below as follows:

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Cereal
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain Balkan yogurt
1 banana mashed
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3/4 cups finely shredded carrot
2 tablespoons coconut oil melted (or oil of choice)
1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
small apple, cored and diced small (optional but really good!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all your wet ingredients including the mashed banana and stir in your cereal allowing the mixture to soften for about 15 minutes. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil and stir.  Mix in the carrot, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and diced apple.  Spoon the batter into a greased muffin tin and sprinkle with oats or seeds if you like.  I made this batch of muffins nut-free for school, but some finely chopped nuts are a healthy addition of good fats and protein if allergy is not a concern.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.
These freeze really well and because they are lower in fat and preservative-free, go stale rather quickly.  I typically leave a few out and freeze the rest to grab and go as needed.  A muffin left out on the counter or packed in your bag for later in the day defrosts quite quickly and will taste as fresh as the  day you made it.

Lovely Ladies

We are loving many things this weekend; one of them being this graphic novel, Roller Girl , by Victoria Jamieson.  A sweet coming of age story about friendship and change, growing up and growing apart, coming into your awesomeness even when it's difficult to get there and of course ROLLER DERBY!
Jamieson has created a fantastic, free downloadable e-book about creating graphic novels and in it she includes some of her inspiration and interviews for the book.  Fellow book nerds check it out!
Love the artwork, love the message can't help but love Astrid (a.k.a Asteroid!).
Check out this "book bout" featuring other favourite female book characters and what their derby names might be. Brilliant post for some excellent reading material and a spirited battle of book titles!

Finding these lovely ladies this morning!  We have had a bumper crop of raspberries and did not expect the sweet surprise at this point in the season.

We didn't get very many, but the carrots we did pull were delicious and colourful despite some of the extra off-shoots!

Chicken Soup for the Soul

The first day of fall seems like the perfect day to make soup, A big pot of homemade chicken soup comes together quite quickly with some leftover roast chicken and some pre-made stock.  If you don't have any stock lurking about your freezer, you could use bouillon (typically 1 cube per two cups of water).
Amounts are pretty loose here if you like more or less of something feel free to change it up however suits your tastes.






2 carrots, chopped
3 leafy celery stalks, chopped
a large onion, chopped
small handful of fresh parsley or other fresh herbs
olive oil
leftover shredded, roast chicken (a cup or two)
6-8 cups homemade stock
1 cup of rice or noodles (I used a half cup rice and a 1/2 cup alphabet noodles)
big spoonful basil pesto
salt and pepper to taste

Saute your chopped vegetables and herbs in some olive oil until fragrant and beginning to soften.  Add your broth, chicken and rice or noodles and simmer until your vegetables are cooked and your pasta or grains are cooked to your desired tenderness.  Add a spoonful of pesto and some salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
If you like your soup really thick, use less stock or add more if you love to slurp lots of broth.  Egg noodles work really well here too.

Other things I'm loving today:

This rainbow chard from our garden.  It has been super tricky to harvest this year.  Lots of chard growing, but the finches (so beautiful it's hard not to share with them!) seem to be getting to it first.  They perch on the leaves and peck holes in it; not sure if they are actually eating the leaves or bugs on the leaves or both! Does anyone know what yellow finches eat?

This is some ornamental cabbage I have growing in a planter out front.  Love the deep purple veins and curly leaves.  A lovely little plant.

Chai this!

If you like Chai tea lattes, try this simple recipe for Chai concentrate made with condensed milk and spices.

The original recipe can be found here.  There are several out there, but they are all basically the same with varying combinations of spices.  Feel free to experiment with the amount and type of spices you prefer to suit your tastes. I used:

I 300ml can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 teaspoon each cinnamon and ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg

a couple good grinds of black pepper (optional)

OR 5-7 teaspoons masala tea spice mix 

Simply pour the condensed milk into a clean jar, mix spices into the milk with a small whisk or fork and done!

Enjoy by brewing a a strong cup of black tea and swirling in a tablespoon or two once fully steeped until completely melted and creamy looking.   If you want to get really fancy, froth some milk mason jar technique is quick and very ingenious if you don't own a milk frother.  Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and enjoy a chai tea latte any ol time without leaving the comfort of your home.  This concentrate can be stored in the fridge for up to 6 months (unlikely to last that long though!) 

Might taste good in a bowl of steamy oatmeal or unsweetened greek yogurt.

Smile

'Smiley face' heirloom tomato August 2014

This yellow, heirloom tomato with some sort of scarring reminiscent of a giant smiley face was a happy find when we harvested our tomatoes last summer.  I thought it would be a great picture to post today to accompany this TED talk featured on KARMATUBE this week about the Hidden Power of Smiling.

Mom's bean salad is on the menu tonight. You can't go wrong with a recipe from your childhood.  My mom never strayed from her vinaigrette for this salad and it always had lots of celery seed, but depending on what she had on hand, the extras may vary. Add according to your tastes or what is in the fridge. Amounts are flexible.  A simple, but healthy, colourful, protein packed side. Keeps nicely in the fridge; great to have on hand for a quick snack or easily portable lunch.

One can of mixed beans, drained and rinsed

a small red onion finely chopped (or green, or yellow or whatever!)

grated carrot

finely diced sweet or green pepper

fresh green or yellow beans or canned if you prefer

any fresh herbs you like (basil, parsley chives) 

Dressing:

1/8 cup oil (I used olive oil)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 tsp celery seed

a squirt of grainy mustard

Simply whisk dressing ingredients together and set aside.  Combine beans and vegetables. Pour dressing over top, mix and done!

'Beautiful Bread'

There is some debate as to the origins of the word scone.  Some say it comes from the 'Stone of Destiny' where the Kings of Scotland were crowned; some say it comes from the dutch word 'schoonbrot' which means beautiful bread.  What ever it's word origins, cranberry, lemon scones seemed like a good thing to make this morning.

Julie Van Rosendaal has a recipe for biscuits in her Starting Out cookbook that includes a variation for scones.  I pretty much followed her recipe this morning.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup cold butter
grated lemon rind
1 cup of frozen cranberries

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Add the grated lemon rind.  Cut in the 1/2 cup of cold butter (cold butter and a hot oven is the key to beautiful, fluffy scones!) until crumbly.  Add the cranberries and milk and stir just to combine.  Pat dough into a circle about 2 and half inches thick and cut into 8 wedges.  Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with sugar.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and enjoy your 'beautiful bread'!

Of course you can change this up and add other berries, orange rind, chocolate or more savoury additions such as rosemary, cheese, hot peppers or olives that lend themselves well to a big bowl of chili or soup.

Colourful Forms

Today's goodness comes in many colourful forms. Winged creatures, amazing picture books, produce and of course food!

I took this photo this morning on one of our newly opened sunflowers.  I am happy to say, the bee population continues to flourish in our garden this year.

This little ladybug was hiding in the leaves of a sunflower not yet opened.

I am loving this book Mark brought home, Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress written by Christine Baldacchino and beautifully illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant.

We had a Morris.  For the first several years of his life, his big sister was his pint sized idol.  He loved to go to the grocery store in her colourful sundresses with a barrette clipped across his bangs.  He loved to paint his toenails, and he wanted to wear a bathing suit with "a top on it" like Emily's when he went to the pool. He would forgo a new bike helmet every time Emily was ready for an upgrade if it meant he was the new owner of her coveted pink Barbie helmet speckled with flowers.

Our Morris is off to high school this year.  He grew up beautifully, has friends, is kind and creative.  Sadly, we will never see him play dress up in his sister's sundresses or run barefoot with his painted toes again (insert a sniffle or too here), but I gather if he has a family of his own, we will watch his children play freely because he was also allowed to imagine without judgement.

A lovely book.

These peppers and a jar or homemade salsa inspired dinner tonight.  Red Beans and Rice posted on Everybody Likes Sandwiches.

  Another simple dinner idea that is quicker to prep then ordering a take-out meal.

  I didn't tweek this recipe too much. I didn't have celery so I left it out and I usually use double the salsa when I make this recipe.

 It can be served over rice, spaghetti squash or roasted sweet potatoes, stuffed in a flour tortilla or taco shell.  If you want to get fancy, top with fresh avocado, lettuce and tomatoes.

Just for Fun

Do you remember your first box of crayons?  The familiar childhood scent only second perhaps to playdough.  Mine was a box of 64 with the built-in sharpener at the back (you know the one!) that my grandpa bought for me and my two sisters to share. I remember carefully arranging them from darkest to lightest and taping any broken ones before putting them back in their box.  My favourite colour was periwinkle.  Marketed for their carefree return to simpler times and stress relief, adult colouring books currently rank among Amazon's top selling titles. I still look for any excuse to colour with little people. Apparently now we no longer need an excuse; it's cool again even for adults. Check out this site for oodles of free printable adult colouring pages.  For more fun, Take this quiz and test your crayon colour knowledge.

Digging in

Despite the very fall like temperatures this weekend, I will continue to dig in my heels and hang on to summer until the last piece of produce has been plucked from our garden!
Roasted Tomato sauce seemed like an excellent use for a basket of various ripening tomatoes. Super easy to make and the result is another pretty much tastes-like-summer-in-a-bowl kind of thing.

 The original recipe can be found here.  I washed and chopped 4 generous cups of tomatoes and tossed them with olive oil and salt and pepper on a baking sheet with a large chopped onion and about 6 cloves of garlic.  I sprinkled the whole lot with dried red chili peppers and roasted everything in a 425 degree oven for about 40 minutes.  Once cooled a bit, I put the roasted vegetables in my blender with two tablespoons of olive oil and a very generous handful of basil (also still hanging on in the garden) and blended everything until smooth.  That's it. Use as is or warm and spoon over cooked pasta. If you don't eat pasta, spoon it over roasted spaghetti squash.  Makes a superior spread for homemade pizza or dip for garlic toast.  Thinned with a little chicken or vegetable stock and warmed, it would make a delicious tomato soup with a few crusty croutons floating on top.
Have no fear, when summer does finally leave us for fall, this dish can be created in the form of a one pot wonder found here.  Mark and I have both made this in about 10 minutes (maybe 15 with prep time) and it is really delicious.  I made the following tweeks to the original recipe and it worked beautifully: I used a 19oz can of petite cut diced tomatoes, 375g of linguine, a full tsp of red pepper flakes and do not scrimp on the onion or garlic.  A really fast, fresh tasting meal with a few pantry staples when you are at a loss for what to make for supper.  Comes together quicker then you could dial for and pick up take-out. Fresh basil is optimal, but a generous spoonful of basil pesto would likely do the trick in a pinch here too.

Has anyone ever heard of Food Huggers?! I found these today at Winners and they are the most ingenious little things!

Also sold at Fenigo.  So cool.  You can use them on glass jars too of which I always have a few kicking around without their matching lids.

Back-to-School

I have noticed that my posts don't go out on the same day they are written.  I hope I have timed today's (Tuesday!) to arrive to you Tuesday morning.  This post is a celebration of the fantastic summer we have had; beautiful weather, bountiful garden, slower pace and time to recharge without busy schedules to keep.

In an attempt to preserve the last day of summer holidays, I made Nasturtium Pesto with some of this season's bounty from our garden. The leaves, flowers, stems and seeds of the plant are all edible and make a peppery, if you could taste summer-in-a-jar it would taste like this pesto!
The Nasturtium is an amazing plant.  Not only is it completely edible, but it grows easily even in poor soil, it's flowers are rich in vitamin C and iron and it is medicinally known by herbalists to be effective in treating respiratory illnesses and infection. This tiny, garden superhero is also a protective companion plant to grow nestled amongst your vegetables as it releases an air-borne chemical that repels insects that might otherwise harm the plant and others all while still attracting both hummingbirds and bees!
The original recipe can be found here.  Mine after various tweeks below.

Gather, wash and dry:
4 cups of nasturtium leaves
2 cups of nasturtium flowers
a sprig each of basil and parsley and place in your blender with:
1 cup of walnuts (substitute roasted pepitas if you have a nut allergy)
1 cup of parmesan
6 cloves of garlic and
1 1/2 cups olive oil add salt and pepper to taste and a little splash or two of Tabasco if you like.
Blend until smooth.  Will keep in the fridge in a glass jar for about 2 weeks.  I also poured some in small round containers to freeze, pop out and store in a Ziplock for later use when the winter blues hit!

Today's post would not be complete without a shout out to all the amazing teachers we know and love. I hope you can feel the good vibes going out to you this morning! Sending love and light your way today as you begin another year of learning with your students. "It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy and creative expression in knowledge." Albert Einstein

We have all had those deeply affecting teachers who have influenced us in such an indelible way that it becomes part of who we are and how we in turn influence others... For more inspiration, watch this TED talk shared with me by one of  those very teachers.  It is no surprise to me that she uses this as her mantra to fuel the start of each school year anew. For the "legacy of relationships" you and others like you leave the world... Thank-you "for seeing the awesome" Happy first day of school!

Wedded Bliss

Guanaquita Mojito

Today we are celebrating out 19th wedding anniversary. (Insert confetti falling from the heavens here!)  We have been together for 25 years; more years together then apart.
We don't exchange anniversary gifts, but we do usually try to celebrate using the traditional or modern anniversary gift guide in some sort of creative way.  There is no traditional anniversary gift for 19 years of wedded bliss.  The modern gift is bronze and the alternative gift is chili powder!  Last night I brushed on some sunless bronzer and we had dinner at The Guanaquita Restaurant where we hoped to find a menu item that may contain chili powder!
Dinner did not disappoint! We both enjoyed a mojito; fresh lime, muddled mint, RUM; can't really go wrong here.

I had the Guanaquita Platter.  An assortment of menu items on one plate. Chicken tamal, beef and black bean tostada, pork and cheese pupusa with curtido (cabbage slaw) and a beef and vegetable pastelito. Mark had the Chicken Enchiladas (and samplings from my platter!). Everything was incredibly delicious.  If you love to try new foods, I highly recommend this Salvadorean restaurant.
We ate outside on the cutest little balcony.  Not a fancy decor, but the food was really good, the mojito was the perfect accompaniment and while eaten with someone you love, it really didn't matter how fancy our surroundings were.

Purple Playdough

Today at Mabel's request we made purple playdough. There are a number of homemade recipes out there; this is the one we use and it works well every time.  It makes a nice, smooth, pliable dough that is not sticky and smells great!
We stirred:
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar (this helps the playdough last longer) and a box of grape Jello into a pot and added:
1 cup water and
1 tablespoon oil
combine over medium high heat (careful not to burn) and stir the dough until it starts to pull away from the sides of the pot and form a ball.
When cool enough to handle, knead until smooth and store in an airtight container when you are done creating.
Check out this site for some free printable playdough mats you can print and laminate.  Head on over to Mental floss for 10 fun facts about playdough!  Do you remember Play-doh Drill and Fill?!!

Comfort Food

Lemon Basil Shrimp Risotto

Yesterday I made risotto.  I was craving comfort food and came up with Chicken Potpie Risotto.

I didn't take a picture of it, but the above is a variation I made earlier in the summer.  This is another fairly simple and forgiving recipe that you can change according to your tastes and ingredients on hand.  It really is nothing more then arborio rice, broth and a few add-ins that can all be cooked in one pot.

In a nice big pot, saute a diced onion and a clove or two of garlic.  Then toss in your vegetables. I was going for a chicken potpie taste so I threw in a big handful each of finely diced carrot and celery along with my onions and garlic and a big spoonful of pesto. Saute until starting to soften. Add 2 cups of arborio rice to your vegetables and mix round.  At this point if you wanted to add about a half a cup of wine you could.  It is delicious, but not essential.  Then you are going to add your broth ladle by ladle, stirring until absorbed and you have the consistency you like for your rice.  I usually warm about 6 cups of broth on a back burner and ladle it in, allow it to absorb while stirring and repeat.  When the rice is almost done, throw in some leftover roast chicken and a handful of peas and green onion.  Cook everything till soft, but not mushy and add a splash of cream stirring until warmed through.  Top with shredded parmesan if you like.  I didn't have any and it was still awfully tasty.

This was really good.  Warm and hearty and reminiscent of a roast chicken dinner or potpie, but in a fraction of the time and with only one pot to clean. Okay, two if we count the broth simmering.