Hello 2014!

Holidays are over and there just seems to be this little undercurrent of

relief/sadness/frustration/shock/"now-what?" 

... running through the house.  Maybe it's how quickly the holidays fly past with the constant stream of family and friends, entertaining and party-going.  Not that I would actually change anything because I absolutely adore Christmas, but I kinda feel like it's a lot of hype....maybe too much build-up that the experience can't possibly compare with the pre-holiday excitement.

Maybe it's because I'm exhausted.

......this too shall pass.

Dinner tonight was a trial recreation of a beautiful potato leek soup that my friend Janice concocted.

It didn't turn out exactly as the original, however the variation with carrots adopted from one of my fav cookbooks of all time resulted in a totally yum-i-licious creamy concoction. Janet and Greta have a version of this recipe in their Crazy Plates cookbook

On another note, I have not exercised in a few weeks......hence the soup.  I am a bad bad pseudo healthy person at present.....gone is the running and protein + veg dinners.....HELLO red wine!  ....and chocolate.   Ok, I know that I cannot continue to eat as I have the last 2 weeks, however it was a heck of a lotta fun!  ....except there may be a little snugness to my pants at present.

On that note, New Years resolution #1........

Quiet please...

I will endeavour to eat.  To become friends with the food I place in my body and stop beating myself up whenever I indulge in something purely for the pleasure of it.  I will eat for nutrition and I will eat for energy...but I will also eat for pleasure and enjoy both the creating of the dish and the consumption of it.  

Ok and another little bit....maybe a resolution...maybe not?  

I want to let go of crazy.  Not fun crazy or wild crazy.....the crazy that enters your life when you allow a self-indulgent person to continually make selfish choices that place you in situations surrounding you with drama.

I say "you", but it's not you, it's me.  I want to end the drama.  It might mean making some changes in the relationships to the people that are closest to me, but life is too short to be consumed by the bad decisions of others.  I want to laugh more and celebrate happiness more.  Perhaps re-committing myself to my book of joy....my gratitude journal....

....that is perhaps a good place to start.

Busy, busy....

Things have been a wee bit crazy of late but I do have a few things to share.

First, the birthday cake I made for my son and mom's birthdays.....double chocolate with tiny merringues to decorate! ...... as requested by my son.

He definitely wants what he wants.....lol.  So when he said "layer cake" in chocolate with chocolate icing and little meringues....I didn't bat an eye.  But, when he asked if I could make it 3 tiers high...I suggested that it was too much cake.  Whew! 

I found the cake recipe here and I used the icing recipe that goes with it.  I actually cut the pieces in the same size as the meringues....about 1" - 1.25" thick and it was MORE than enough.  The cake is very rich and very moist and almost resembles a brownie. 

To offset the cake, we ate one off my favorites, sushi....

...and I've just found the perfect French baguette ......Yuuuuummm!!!!!

Try this recipe here....it is fantastic!!!!!

Happy creating!

Happy Easter!

I've just completed my first {successful} cheesecake and I couldn't have chosen a better flavour!

Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake..... "YUMMMMM" ( said in a high singy voice)

Here's mine.....

The recipe is from All Recipes which is my very most favourite food site!  I hve been using this for years and assumed more people knew about this site, but I wanted to share just in case some people hadn't used it yet....great resource!  At the top of the page there's a box, and you search based on a search term like "beef and barley soup", or underneath that you will see "ingredient" and you can search based on ingredients that you want to include.  Then when the results of your search come up, you can sort it by relevance, rating, etc...I like rating 'cause then I get the very best of the best!

Anyways, back to the cheesecake...I made this and it really takes quite a while....  Read the reviews for tips on how to refrigerate the layers before adding the next layer, and on baking instuctions to avoid those nasty cracks!  I scaled this recipe (another neat little function that the website offers) for 50% more and this made a nice thick 9.5" cheesecake.  My 12 dinner guests ate this Friday and then some again on Saturday then we had a couple of pieces on Sunday...then another 4 pieces were served last night....and there's still more!!!!  I cut it in about a 1" - 1.5" sections cause it's crazy rich and oh soooooo delish!

 ...and you can find the recipe here.

Cheers!

Pad Thai!!!!

Dinner was aweeeesome (said in a high singing voice) if I do say so myself! I have used the same recipe for over 15 years ....just with small personal variations in the amount of tamarind, fish sauce and peanuts. Yum!!!!

Email me if you want the recipe!

Cheers!

Happy Valentines! .... Yesterday

Last night's Valentines celebration was wonderful! It was a simple dinner of baked mozzarella wrapped in wontons and served with an avocado dipping sauce and some little cucumber sandwiches to start. Then we had French onion soup, broiled tilapia with a dill butter and black rice and we finished with chocolate mousse and chocolate dipped strawberries. Yum!

What a fun little dinner party and the boys were so happy to be included!

Cheers!
XO

Uninspired to Cook....

Well hello snowday.....again. One boy wants to go to school anyways , and surprise surprise, the other doesn't. This is the kinda day that i just want to curl up in front of the fireplace and drink some serious hot chocolate.

I haven't been inspired to create anything fabulous for dinner in over a week! I think I'm using up all my creativity tearing paper and rolling spirals into flowers. So tonight's dinner was a standby that I know I can count on. Vegetarian spaghetti.... Whole wheat noodles for the boys and spaghetti squash as a base for me.

Vegetarian Spagetti Sauce

1 package of ground tofu
3-4 zucchini - washed and finely chopped
3 carrots - washed and finely chopped
chopped onion
fresh garlic - finely chopped
dried basil
2 28oz cans of tomatoes - ground or whole
olive oil
S & P

Scramble fry the tofu lightlly in a bit of olive oil and add the onion, garlic, zucchini and carrots.  Season with the basil s & p to taste and add the tomatoes.  Simmer in your crock pot as long or as little as you like.

If you REALLY need the meat, then just cut it back and add a bit instead of all that.  If it's too runny, add a can of paste and allow it to incorporate well before serving.  If you don't have a mushroom-hater in your house like I do in mine, chop those babies up and get 'em in there too!



As an after thought.......I actually added some noodles to mine as well because I read somewhere that a highly restrictive carbohydrate diet can lead to unpredictable mood swings and irritability.

Can't have that now, can we?

PULLED PORK

This is a favorite for my boys that I've progressively changed over the years. Simple, a little spicy, but delish!

1 large pork shoulder, or roast, or whatever you have
chili powder
garlic powder
your favorite barbeque sauce
1-2 onions (chopped)
1-2 apples (peeled and chopped)

Place pork in slow cooker on high with no water, and season liberally...and I mean LIBERALLY with garlic and chili. Let it roast most of the day, or at least 6 hours until you can easily pull it with 2 forks.

Meanwhile prep your sauce....in a saucepan, saute the apples and onion, then add about 3 cups of sauce (more or less to suit the size of your roast) and approximately 1/4 cup of chili powder. Allow this to simmer until things have softened nicely.

Then drain off liquid (fat) from the pork and start pulling. I will leave it to your discretion if you trim off the fatty bits you find, but I generally do especially if they are large. When the pork is completely pulled, pour in the sauce and mix. Then allow it to stew in the crock for another hour or so on low. YUM! I serve this on a whole wheat honey bun and the kids love it....but the Costco buns work great as well!

Salad Rolls with Hoisin Dipping Sauce

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup water
6 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 can tomato paste (may be substituted with 1 cup ground tomatoes)
2 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce ( may adjust if you prefer it less hot)
1 tsp sugar

• combine ingredients in saucepan and warm until just at a simmer.
• remove from heat and transfer to bowl to cool.

Rolls:
1/10 pkg rice noodles soaked in water (I use really thin brown rice noodles)
1/2 cucumber (cut into thin strips)
1/4 red pepper (cut into thin strips)
1 cup lettuce (diced small) (nappa cabbage can be used as substitute)
1/4 cup cilantro (diced)
8 cashews (chopped)
rice papers

To create the rolls:

• follow the instructions on your rice paper package to soften the paper
• (I wet the paper and they lay between 2 damp clean dishcloths until soft)
• lay all items together in the paper to the side closest to you and roll 1 full turn
• fold in both sides and roll remainder of way to create your roll filled with yummy stuff

Serve rolls with cooled dipping sauce...perfect for a summery day!

Crispy Tilapia with Avocado Sauce

4 tilapia fillets
8 ounces of totilla chips (crushed)
1/4 cup salsa
2 tbsp chipotle peppers in sauce (gound)
1 tbsp lime juice
1 avocado
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 tbsp lime juice
1-2 tbsp milk

• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• combine the salsa, chipotle and lime juice together.
• dredge the fillets in this mixture, then coat in the crushed tortilla chips and lay on a baking sheet
• bake for 15-20 minutes.
• while fish bakes, blend the avocado, milk, sourcream and lime juice together until smooth and consistency of a thick dressing
• serve sauce over fish

Chicken with Citrus Salsa

4 chicken breasts - grilled with cajun spice

4 nectarines (diced)
1 red onion (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 grapefruit (diced) (optional)
1-2 mangos (diced)
1/4 cup cilantro (diced) (or more to taste)
1.5 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice (or more to taste)
hot pepper flakes
salt and pepper

mix ingredients and allow to sit chilled for about 30 minutes before serving.
top chicken with salsa and enjoy!

Banana Muffins

In an attempt to make my muffin recipe more heart healthy and calorie conscious, I played around with some ingredients and got this....

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick rolled oats
1/2 cup flax seed (ground)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder (heaping)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 egg whites
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 bananas mashed
6 pitted prunes diced (optional)

preheat oven to 350 degrees
mix wet ingredients with sugar
mix dry ingredients with chocolate chips
add dry to wet and combine without overmixing.
pour into lightly greased (or pam sprayed) mini muffin tins
bake for 20 minutes or until desired doneness

Chicken Salsa Soup

(this creation was an "ooopppppps....wow that's good" moment)

1 cup lentils
1 can black beans
1 onion
2 grilled chicken breasts - cut or shredded
2 carrots - diced finely
10 cups of water & 5 low sodium chicken boullion pouches OR 3 cartons of low sodium chicken stock
1 c ground tomatoes
1 1/2 c salsa
1.5 tbsp chili powder


simmer together for an hour
serve with grated cheese (optional)
top with cilantro (optional)

Breakfast Oatmeal

(compliments of my oh-so-smart OLDER brother)

5 cups quick rolled oats
2/3 cup flax seed (ground)
1 cup bran buds
1 tbsp (heaping) baking powder
1 cup granola (optional)
1 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup cranberries
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 cup skim milk
generous sprinkle of cinnamon

preheat oven to 350
mix all dry ingredients together
add last three ingredients and stir well
place in 9 x 13 baking dish (do not pack down)
bake for 45 min - 1 hour
serve with yogurt, skim milk, maple syrup or a combination of these
refridgerate remaining for leftovers the next day...YUM!

My husband and I eat this all week..it's a super easy breakfast solution that my kids love if I omit the almonds!

Vegetarian Chili

(don't tell anyone and they'll never know the difference!)

1 package of ground tofu (mexican flavour is best)
1 packet of low sodium beef boullion flavouring (sprinkled on the tofu)
1 cup black beans (soaked in water overnight)
1 cup adzuki beans (soaked in water overnight)
1 cup mung beans (soaked in water overnight)
2 peppers of your choice (chopped) ( I prefer red, orange or yellow)
1 large onion (chopped)
4 cups ground tomatoes
1 can tomato paste (optional)
1 cup of frozen corn
1 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp black pepper
additional chili powder to taste

Sautee tofu, onions, garlic and spices together.
Add beans and stir.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 6 hours (can be placed in crock pot on high).
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serve alone or with toasted pita.