Shared Links

I haven't been too present here lately; fighting a head cold and just trying to get through the week with all it's commitments and responsibilities that will not wait for me to catch-up!
This post is a bit of a cheater!  A few shared links to things I would like to make, drink, read, get to when I am on the mend.

Sparkling White Cranberry Sangria sounds appealing right now!  Could this double as a "hot toddy" curative do you think? In How to Drink, Victoria Moore describes the toddy as "...the vitamin C for health, the honey to sooth and the alcohol to numb!"  I think Victoria is on to something here :D

I would like to make these delicious Winter Gingerbread Blondies!  I love gingerbread spices and these bars sound like the perfect mash-up of gooey and spicy, festive inspiration!

I enjoy reading a good memoir.  Some memorable past reads have been Curtains: Adventures of An Undertaker in Training, by Tom Jokinen and You Better Not Cry, by Augusten Burroughs.  I would like to pick up a copy of Life From Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family and Forgiveness, by Sasha Martin when time allows. One reviewer likens it to "... the Glass Castle, but with more food."

Party season is right around the corner and there are some great appetizer ideas on this Buzzfeed post, 21 Insanely Easy Appetizers Guaranteed to Please Your Party Guests.  Check it out.

Pesto Spotlight

I always have a jar of pesto in the fridge.  My favourite ready-made brand (in the absence of any homemade  of course)  is Classico Basil Pesto.

Ten uses that go beyond tossing with hot pasta!

1. Add a spoonful to your eggs for a simple but delicious addition of herbs and a little cheese to your morning scramble.

2. Turn this scone recipe from sweet to savoury with a spoonful of pesto and enjoy with a big bowl of soup or chili.

3. Add to your soups and sauces.  Tastes great in chicken soup or tomato sauce when fresh basil and herbs are not available.

4. Replace the butter on your steamed veggies with a spoonful of pesto.

5. Add to fluffy mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, scalloped potatoes, any potatoes!

6. Spread inside your grilled cheese.

 7. Toss with diced tomatoes and pile on slices of baguette topped with cheese and lightly broiled for a quick appetizer.

8. Mix some into your melted butter and drizzle on top of air popped popcorn.

9. Use to make a simple salad dressing:

2 tablespoons of pesto, 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of a lemon whisked together OR this creamy copycat recipe.

10. Add a little grated lemon zest to some pesto and brush on shrimp, chicken or salmon before grilling.

Sheet Pan Supper

Sheet pan suppers make a nice, hearty meal that comes together quickly and needs very little attention once everything is chopped and in the oven. This Sausage and Veggie Bake, included at the end of my "Chili to the Rescue" post, was in the "Eight Meals in 30 Minutes" feature on Family Bites.
You can make as much or as little as you need.  I usually fill my biggest rimmed baking sheet to feed the five of us for dinner, with leftovers.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Peel and chop 8-10 cups of vegetables.  I used small, new potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, brussel sprouts, red onions, and an entire head of garlic cloves, but whatever you like or have on hand will do.
Toss the whole lot with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a tablespoon or two of grainy mustard (optional). Spread the vegetables evenly in a single layer over the pan - careful not to overcrowd as they will steam instead of roast if they are piled on top of one another.  Lay the sausages ( I used 10) on top of your vegetables and bake for 30 minutes. At this time remove your pan from the oven and place your sausages on another plate so you can toss your vegetables.  Lay the sausages back on top of the veggies and pierce the skins to allow the juices to drip down over everything.  Return the pan to the oven for another 30 minutes or until the sausages are cooked and the vegetables are nicely roasted with caramelized edges.
Notes: 
Cut the vegetables roughly the same size to ensure even cooking.
If you are using a mix of root and other vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms, be aware they will cook more quickly than their heartier counterparts.
The roasted cloves of garlic taste fantastic spread on a warm hunk of baguette.

If you like this recipe, there are many sheet pan supper recipes out there.  I would like to try this one next with perhaps some drumsticks and thighs and there are these sheet pan fajitas which look easy and delicious Or check out this book for more inspiration.

Cluck! Pizza it is!

Like myself, Mabel still enjoys a good picture book.  The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza, by Philemon Sturges and illustrated by Amy Walrod, was always one of her favourites.  Emily's too.
I thought of this book tonight as I wanted to make dinner without going to the store...AGAIN, but each time I went to the cupboard with a new idea of what to make, I was missing an essential ingredient! "Cluck!"
The little red hen would like to make pizza and each time she goes to her cupboard, she too is missing an essential ingredient. Unlike myself, the hen ventures out for all the missing ingredients one-by-one and each time she returns home with a fantastic assortment of "other stuff".  The anticipation of what she will bring home next, along with the very creative cut paper illustrations and insertion of a little adult humor, make this picture book a really fun read for everyone. So many enduring visual touches, from her dolphin-safe tuna to her bunny slippers, and the cup of "chickweed tea" she sips while she patiently waits for her pizza to bake...  ...Can't help but love her polka-dot platform shoes and fashion-forward teal scarf knotted at her neck as she heads out to the market to retrieve anything but pickled eggplant!
I too decided to make pizza tonight and similarly had no help from my peeps to get it on the table, but I took a page out of this twist on the classic moral tale and I still shared my pizza!  I wonder if they will help me clean up...??

Spicy Italian Sausage, Kale and Sweet Pepper Pizza
2-3 Spicy Italian sausages removed from their casings and crumbled
large onion
several handfuls of kale/spinach
I keep a bag of New Star cooking greens in my freezer for smoothies, sauces, pizza, curries
sweet red pepper
hot banana peppers (optional)
pizza sauce
parmesan
mozarella
Suraj Garlic Naan bread (makes a perfect individual pizza crust)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees (lower if your oven runs hot)
Saute your sausage, onion and greens in a little olive oil until fully cooked and set aside.
Dice more onion, sweet peppers and grate your cheeses.
Spread your sauce on the naan, add your toppings and top with a little parmesan then mozzarella.
Put on your bunny slippers and sip a cup of chickweed tea while baking your pizzas at 425 degrees for about 14 minutes.
Share with the people...yes even if they did not help make the pizza :D
Continue to enjoy your hard work while they clean up the kitchen for you.

Mason Jar Breakfast

I love breakfast.  First fuel of the day. This is my new favourite; mason jar yogurt parfait? sundae? ...delicious!  A few simple ingredients and minimal prep will take your breakfast to the next level.  Not a morning person?  Pop on the lid and take it with you for a perfectly portable mid-morning snack.

I used an 8 oz widemouthed mason jar, but any shape or size will do.  Save old jam or condiment jars and re-purpose them for your portable breakfasts!
Measurements are not important here.  Simply spoon some fresh or frozen fruit in the bottom of your jar.  Top with the yogurt of your choice. I used natural, Balkan yogurt.  Drizzle with honey, maple syrup, jam, or other sweetener of your choice (optional, but delicious!) Top with chopped nuts, seeds (we love hemp seeds), coconut, dried fruit, and a sprinkle of granola and enjoy!  If you are going to tote and eat later, put your toppings in a separate container to add just before eating to ensure maximum crunchiness.

If you like oatmeal, a much healthier and tastier version than the packaged instant variety can also be made in your mason jar the night before. It's a simple 1:1 ratio of oats to liquid.
I use 1/3 cup rolled oats or quick oats (not instant);  increase to 1/2 cup for bigger appetites
1/3 cup milk or almond/nut milk
Swirl in your sweetener of choice: brown sugar, maple syrup, leftover cranberry sauce or honey.
Shake in your spices: cinnamon, cardamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, chai; spice cupboard's the limit!
Stir, pop on the lid and refrigerate overnight.
When you are ready to enjoy, warm slightly and top with more milk, fresh or dried fruits, nuts or seeds
My favourite combinations: 
* Blueberry/banana topped with cardamon, hemp seeds and almonds with maple syrup for sweetness
* Leftover cranberry sauce swirled into the oats and milk topped with walnuts and orange zest or
* Plain Jane with just a little cinnamon, raisins and brown sugar

Eggs are also simple, healthy fuel.  I try to have hard-boiled eggs on hand for an easy grab-and-go or to add to my DIY Starbucks Protein Bistro Box.  Seriously, people, you too can do this!  Get a fancy, schmancy bento box here or create your own version with a reusable sandwich container and a few silicone muffin liners comme ca and load up with some fresh fruit, cheese, Pita Break minis or lavash, nut butter, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, whatever!
Need one more reason to pull out the mason jars?! A wide-mouthed mason jar makes the perfect scrambled egg or circular egg for egg Mcmuffins.  Simply crack an egg into a buttered mason jar, season with salt and pepper.  Add an optional splash of cream or milk. Whisk with a fork and microwave (without the metal lid!) on high for approximately one minute.  Slide onto your toasted English muffin with a slice of cheese and done.
No microwave?  No problem.  Simply put a cracked egg in a buttered mason jar with the lid on.  Set the jar in a pan of boiling water that reaches 3/4 of the way up the sides of the jar and boil for about 8 minutes.
For more breakfast inspiration, watch Buzzfeed's, "What the world eats for breakfast" here.

More Monkeys!

More monkey business!  First I brought you PicMonkey, some online photo editing goodness (if you haven't already checked it out read about it here ) and now I bring you Wize Monkey!!
I just received my pre-order of Wize Monkey Coffee Leaf Tea and assorted samples. Carefully packed with a handwritten thank-you note, some samples of Mango Party and Minty Marvel teas (not yet released) and a coffee leaf cookie baked by Max's (one of the founders) mom!.
Coffee leaf tea is not a coffee substitute, but rather a tea made from the leaves of the coffee plant. The infusion has less then half the amount of caffeine in a cup of green tea (or roughly the same amount of caffeine in a cup of decaf coffee) and 20% more antioxidants than green tea. The really cool part is, by cultivating the leaves for tea, coffee farmers now have year round work instead of the very short 3 month growing season of coffee beans resulting in sustainable and continual work for farmers and their families.

Read more about this new venture here.  I steeped Armando's Original Blend as pictured above. Loved it!  If you are a tea drinker, it is the ultimate taste mash-up of a green, black and herbal tasting tea all mixed into one taste experience! Very pleasant, distinct tasting infusion.
I really hope Wize Monkey takes off.  Love the taste, love the nutritional benefits, love the sustainable model.  From the time of order, I received several updates (loved the photo of the arrival of tea leaves to the warehouse!) from the company as to where the tea was in terms of processing, arrival to Vancouver, packaging and delivery and it arrived to me responsibly packaged with very little waste in a fun, informative box with facts, a picture of Armando the farmer, brewing and nutritional information.  Wizeley done Monkeys :D