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me-love-mini-meat-loaves

2012-02-03T05:28:00.003-05:00

I've never been a big meatloaf fan but my husband loves it. I've tried on numerous occasions to make a good one, most of the time ending up with something that tastes too beefy. That's why when I found a recipe in C is for Cooking (the Sesame Street cookbook) for Cookie Monster's Me-Love-Mini-Meat-Loaves, I thought it would surely be a good one if it is recommended for kids.

The meatloaf recipe is a blend of lean ground beef and pork, oats and shredded carrot & onion. This extra step of shredding the vegetables is a great one. It keeps the meatloaf moist and therefore creating a uniform loaf. I didn't over mix or pack the meatloaf down because I feared a loaf that might turn out too dense.

Here is our finished meatloaf. Although we followed the recipe for the meatloaf as instructed, we took several liberties after it was complete. First we made it into a traditional large loaf (where the recipe indicates to make mini loaves). This was simply because we wanted it to stay moist. Secondly, we added at TON of chili sauce on top. I can't stress to you how important that step is. As the loaf baked it reduced and thickened eventually creating a slightly caramelized sauce on top. We used Willies Chili Sauce (found in Ontario), which we don't use often, but it's like a sweet salsa with zip. Super delish if you can find it. But if not just blend ketchup with chili sauce and you're set.

One thing that I really disliked about this meatloaf is how long it took to bake. My goodness, it went into the oven at 400 and stayed there for an hour and a half! Well, the best things come to those who wait, but this dinner is less than ideal for mid-week working families. Looks like Cookie was onto something making mini loaves...

This dinner was super tasty. And, if you can manage to let this dinner sit and cool, it is so delicious at almost room temperature (not sure why, but the flavours come together nicely).

greek-style mini lamb burgers

2012-02-01T06:17:00.000-05:00

We first tried lamb at home while cooking through Everyday Food Fresh Flavour Fast. Since then we've been eating more and more of it. I've also noticed in the past two years it become more and more accessible in the grocery stores. We made these Greek-Style Mini Lamb Burgers from Great Food Fast which is also a recipe for homemade tzatziki.

And they were good, not great. I doubt I'd make them again simply because our ground lamb rendered a shocking amount of fat. The leftover in the pan was about equal to cooking bacon - no kidding. So, if we ever choose ground lamb again I'm thinking we'll just grind it ourselves so we can control the amount of fat that goes into our food. Anyways, I probably would have enjoyed it just as much with falafels in place of the burgers.

breakfast quinoa

2012-01-30T04:58:00.000-05:00

Owen's been asking for rice for just about every meal lately. This past Saturday morning I figured I'd beat him to the punch and decided to make him something similar with this Breakfast Quinoa.

It's basically just a rework on oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon and blueberries. It is really tasty. I haven't looked into if it's nutritionally superior to oatmeal, but in my mind I'll say it is. So, it is not any quicker to make and doesn't have that gooey soft texture we've all grown to love with oatmeal. What it does have on its side is that it's great warm or cool. Typically we'll just toss out extra uneaten portions of oatmeal, but this breakfast quinoa retains its texture and can reheat well. I even used all the leftovers for some Sunday morning blueberry Quinoa Cakes. What a protein-packed weekend!

gnocchi with broccoli pesto

2012-01-27T10:26:00.001-05:00

There was an interesting recipe published in this January's issue of Everyday Food for Pasta with White Beans and Broccoli Pesto. We used the pesto portion of the recipe and paired it with gnocchi last night.

The seasoning on this pesto is spot-on with a nice lemon and garlic flavour. We love the texture of this pesto because it has body and substance. The thing that really turned Nuno off pesto was how pungent it tends to be - this recipe eliminates that. Because it doesn't call for pine nuts, it's a very economical pesto to make. The broccoli/potato pairing is really nice, I doubt we'd ever try the recipe the way it was initially intended to be eaten. The tender gnocchi dumplings absorb a lot of the pesto which we liked a lot. Owen loved it, so it's an all around winner. DELICIOUS!

potato and onion frittata and bell pepper sautee

2012-01-25T06:09:00.001-05:00

If you couldn't tell by the pork loin & black eyed pea salad and iceberg wedges, I spent most of last week making meals that I was hoping wouldn't look or smell appetizing. My husband was doing a cleanse. Bless his heart, fasting from food is something I am unable to conceive for myself, but is a yearly thing for him. He rocked it and had amazing results, I'm so proud of him. Anyways, this Potato & Onion Frittata from Fresh Flavour Fast was something I thought he'd be disinterested in because of the whole breakfast for dinner thing. Turns out it was so fantastic I just had to make it a second time this week so he could experience it!

It doesn't look like much but not only smells amazing, it tastes fantastic. It seems like a total mess when you make it. There were many moments I felt frustrated and was just about to throw it out, but it somehow works out every time. The rosemary and parsley add such a wonderful flavour, I can't imagine a more delicious frittata.

The Bell Pepper Sautee also from Fresh Flavour Fast is a perfect accompaniment to this frittata. Delicious eaten together! I love this dinner. It's light, inexpensive, flavourful & healthy.

broiled pork with black eyed pea salad

2012-01-24T15:23:00.005-05:00

Here is our Broiled Pork with Black Eyed Pea Salad from Everyday Food Light. And it's bad...

Just horrible! Even Owen, who's never met an avocado he didn't love, couldn't eat it. If this is eating light - count me out!

The only consolation is that the leftover tenderloin made for great next day Cuban Quesadillas.

applesauce cake

2012-01-23T14:12:00.001-05:00

Owen received a book titled "Owen" for his birthday this year.

Upon Owen's introduction we learn he loves, "Ice cream, peanut butter and applesauce cake". For applesauce cake to be listed so nonchalantly along with these other childhood staples I felt for a moment as though I hadn't quite fulfilled my motherly expectations by not knowing how to make one. That's when I stumbled upon Anna Olson's recipe for Applesauce Coffee Cake in my Another Cup of Sugar cookbook. Well, there isn't anything more delicious than a streusel topping, so it didn't take long for me to bake up my first ever Applesauce Cake!

And, wow, what a stunner! This loaf is great in the same way banana bread is. Besides what sets it apart (doesn't require any fresh produce - which is great), I'm treating it like a banana bread and eating it as a breakfast & dessert. It has the familiar applesauce taste but a coffee cake dessert-like quality. The house became so fragrant with spices while baking I can image it's perfect for those apple picking days before Thanksgiving.

I love loaves and muffins that don't require room temperature butter that needs to be beaten. I need simplicity when I bake at a moments notice (i.e. during naps) this recipe required ingredients I already had right on hand. This Applesauce Coffee Cake not only fits the bill, it exceeds any other dessert loaf I've made before.

beef & orange stirfry

2012-01-20T14:42:00.002-05:00

This is Great Food Fast's Beef and Orange Stir-Fry. I looked forward to this dinner all day because this recipe calls for RIBEYE! I had a marbled masterpiece of a meat slab that was 2 inches thick. Once I tackled slicing the steak there was the tedious process of dealing with the oranges. Slicing the peels off the oranges with a paring knife is no fun. While making this dinner, at no point did it indicate to season with salt & pepper. Almost every recipe does so this puzzled me and I ended up seasoning to taste once it was complete.

Here is the finished dinner. Everything was fantastic except the oranges. They started to break down immedietly and weren't very tasty anyways. I don't really eat oranges, and even though all the pith was removed they were still bitter. This would be way, way better with steamed broccoli.

iceberg wedges with thousand island dressing

2012-01-19T08:40:00.001-05:00

This is Great Food Fast's Iceberg Wedges with Thousand Island Dressing. Or as it tastes - a deconstructed Big Mac.

I've only had one Big Mac in my life, but, I swear this tastes very similar. Sure, there isn't any meat (do they even use 'meat?'), cheese, tomato and faux buttery flavoured bun. But it really is tasty albeit a little odd to sit down to a huge wedge of lettuce and chow down with a knife and fork. I actually used a steak knife on this because the serrated edge helped slice through the layers. This recipe is really just one for a homemade Thousand Island dressing, but it's killer. After a couple days now I've single handedly polished off an entire head of lettuce. This oh so retro salad is quite addictive, but I'm sure next week the novelty will have worn off.

my morning coffee

2012-01-18T10:18:00.002-05:00

I'm really into New Year's Resolutions. I've made many and kept some of the most challenging ones. To start yoga, to start working out, to learn to cook and make homemade dinners, to keep up this blog, to stop my daily Starbucks habit (ie. save $). The way I made that last one work was to learn to make a fantastic cup of coffee at home. Here's my daily ritual.

It starts with the beans. I'm really into this Mapled Mocha Java that I buy 5 lb vacuum sealed. Buying in bulk is the most economical way to purchase quality beans.

Once I open the bag I weigh 1lb of beans into ziploc bags and freeze immediately. Then as I need them I pull them out and store them in airtight containers.

Every morning I grind the beans fresh. I can eyeball the ratio, but if you're just learning the ratio this tool will always give you the perfect cup. Once scoop per cup of water.

This tool is so basic, but along with boiled water it's all you need for one single cup of great coffee.

But I need way more than one cup daily, and this Cuisinart DCC-1200 Brew Central 12 cup programmable coffee maker is the best I've ever owned. Use cold water when brewing fresh coffee through a coffee maker.

There is a built-in water filter and a setting to brew small coffee batches (because have you ever tried to brew 3 cups on a 12 cup machine? It never works out!)

I'm no coffee somalier (if I were, I'm sure I'd know the proper term for it). So I hesitate to blog and come across like 'this is the right way' to make coffee. It's just what I like and found works for us through lots of trial & error.

So, what's my New Year's Resolution this year? Well, I'm giving my previous years failed resolution another go. It's to watch more TV. I keep finding myself in social situations where people go on and on about all these great shows like Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire. I feel like I'm really missing out on quality television and it bums me out. So I've got to find a way of making time to let myself relax and unwind - and stay awake. Believe it or not, it's a challenge for me.

mushroom ragout

2012-01-17T05:16:00.001-05:00

We decided to make Great Food Fast's Mushroom Ragout the other night.

I used a mix of mostly crimini mushrooms along with shiitake and button. I also used fresh and dried thyme so I expected some big flavours to come through. However, it was really lacking and needs to be amped up quite a bit. If we choose to make this again I'd probably find a way of working in beef broth, wine or cream into this recipe. We ended up finely grated parmigiano reggiano upon serving and that certainly helped. Luckily, the ragout's flavour improved the second day. This would be so delicious over polenta.

lentil soup

2012-01-16T07:12:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately there isn't a way to make this dinner of Lentil Soup sound or look delicious. You'll just have to trust me when I say this is a fantastic soup! Definitely the best one we've made from Great Food Fast.

It is so rich and full flavoured. I followed the recipe exactly but also added celery salt while sauteeing the onions and carrots. We ate this for dinner on the first snowfall and there wasn't anything more comforting. Owen just loved it. He kept talking about this soup for days after we ate it. The other big bonuses is how economical and easy it is to make. It can be made in a pinch because all the ingredients are pantry & freezer staples.

winter 2012 playlist

2012-01-13T12:19:00.002-05:00

I've put together a second playlist for download.

The Aislers Set – Mission Bells (2003)
Guided By Voices – Don’t Stop Now (1996)
Built To Spill – In The Morning (1996)
Olivia Tremor Control – A New Day (1999)
The Byrds – Lady Friend (1967)
Teenage Fanclub – Discolite (1995)
Essex Green – Cardinal Points (2006)
Butterglory – Edward Brown (1995)
The Acid House Kings – 7 Days (2005)
California Snow Story – Brook Lune (2007)
Jens Lekman – Black Cab (2003)
The Radio Dept. – Where Damage Isn’t Already Done (2004)
Wild Nothing – Chinatown (2010)
Trembling Blue Stars – Idyllwild (2007)
Ride – Sennen (1990)

It can be a challenge to choose songs in compiling a playlist. The way I listen to music is through entire albums which means the songs are more complete, have context and play off each other. When you remove it from its place, many songs can somehow lose something. But on the other hand, some bands sound fantastic right up against each other. Like of how Teenage Fanclub can sit right up against The Byrds and blend nicely. Then there are bands like the Byrds where it's hard to choose just one song because they are a great 'single' band. I don't know how many Byrds songs I removed from this list before deciding on 'Lady Friend'. There is something about David Crosby's voice that gets me. Now I'm music monologuing...

Anyways, if you choose to download you can expect to hear lots of indie jems... Some pop, rock, chamber, swedish & shoegaze. Lots of hooks and harmonies. Hope you all enjoy!

Click here to download

couscous salad with roasted vegetables & chickpeas

2012-01-12T10:11:00.002-05:00

Of all the recipes I wanted to try in Everyday Food Light, I was really looking forward to this Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables & Chickpeas . We’re on a real kick with couscous & chickpeas so I thought this combo would be a real winner. The other thing I like is to be able to time-bake food in the oven so that it’s ready when we get home - so this recipe suited us perfectly. Along with a tray of cauliflower and carrots, I also roasted a couple trays of sweet potatoes & red onions so that we could make this Roasted Sweet Potato Salsa again.

Here’s the finished dinner and we weren’t all that impressed. It was OK but I combined concepts from this dinner and the Roasted Sweet Potato Salsa to make the most delicious salad/lunch you can imagine.

I’ll share this recipe:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small

1 red onion, diced small

2 plum tomatoes, diced small

¼ cup lime juice

Fresh cilantro, small handful, chopped

1 cup cooked coucous

1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed & cooked till tender

1 avocado, diced small

Spread sweet potatoes & red onion on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with s&p. Roast at 450 for 20 minutes and cool to room temp.

Mix cooled vegetables with remaining ingredients. Just before serving add avocado and taste for final seasoning.

ham struffed chicken with broccoli

2012-01-11T10:42:00.002-05:00

One recipe I’d always wanted to try to make from scratch is a homemade chicken cordon-bleu. While flipping through the new Everyday Food Light book I stumbled upon Ham Stuffed Chicken with Broccoli and assumed that it was exactly what I was after. Turns out this recipe doesn’t include cheese, which I had initially wanted. But we made this dinner exactly as the recipe instructed (except using fresh sage instead of dried and fresh broccoli instead of frozen) and it was truly outstanding.

The result is a very nice moist chicken and stuffing. Incredibly quick & easy and was perfect for a Sunday night dinner. It certainly didn’t need (and we didn’t miss) the cheese element I had hoped for. What a great start to experimenting with the new Everyday Food Light book. This dinner didn’t taste light – it was just delicious.

roasted cornish hens with grapes

2012-01-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

Seafood, alfredo and cornish hens are three special meals my mom often made to celebrate New Years. That's why I thought it was perfect timing to make the Roasted Cornish Hens with Grapes.

As pretentious as saying you're eating cornish hens for dinner may sound, they are WAY easier and faster than cooking a whole chicken. The meat is more tender and sweeter in flavour. They really should be more popular than they are. The grapes and shallots blend to taste like a sweeter roasted shallot which is nice.

grandpa

2012-01-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

We said goodbye to my Grandpa this past weekend. He outlived all of his friends and 11 other siblings so to honour him the burial was attended by close relatives followed by "an Irish wake". Although we didn't live up to past Butler wakes which found my great aunts dancing Irish jigs, we all shared memories over piles of family photos, tons of catered food and bottles of wine.

I've been reflecting all week on the time I had with Grandpa Butler and no matter which memory I draw from they are all fond and bring a smile to my face. He was an understated, stand-up man with an incomparable sense of humor. How lucky were we to have had him with us to the age of 88.

looking back on the tastes of 2011

2012-01-03T20:51:00.005-05:00

My family is on the mend from a stomach bug so there won't be much food blogging for the next little while. I can't imagine even stepping foot inside the grocery store, let alone cooking anything. Besides, I never did much say good-bye to 2011 and hello to a New Year on here, so I thought I'd reflect on my most memorable food discoveries of this past year. This list was devised to include new food and flavour combinations I discovered in 2011, food trends I jumped on, cooking and baking life to-do's checked off and recipes we continually go back to enjoy (and probably will for years to come).

1. First up is the Warm Quinoa and Spinach Salad. I love this salad and reworked it based on a version I ordered at the Rivoli for dinner in the summer. Their version now has me substituting mesclun mix for spinach and goat cheese for feta. Add parsley and a little bit of finely diced red pepper if there is any lying around.

2. Cobb Salad, a to-do that I wish I'd only discovered sooner. I should also note that this is the year I went nuts-o for blue cheese.

3. Eggs with/on Pasta. Whether it's a carbonara or a poached egg over spring vegetables on pasta, I just love how this now completes a day making it possible to eat eggs for any meal.

4. Fritters. They started with banana, then we got hooked on corn. But fritters can be made with so many different ingredients including zucchini and chopped herbs. Sweet or savoury they are an excuse to eat a pancake as a side.

5. Bacon Jam, a decadent treat that is a versatile condiment anyone who eats meat can't resist.

6. Chocolate-Mint Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches are the best and easiest tasty treat. I've even simplified it in recent months to scooping Chocolate-Mint Chip Ice Cream with Oreo Thinsation Cookies and making sandwiches from two Oatmeal Bear Paw Cookies with Vanilla Ice Cream.

7. Chocolate/Raspberry Pavlova - is a revelation. One of the best desserts I've ever eaten... and I made it!

8. Whoopie Pies, trendy but fun. I love them because they up the cake to frosting ratio, which works for me.

My food to-do list for 2012 is to make a show stopping Croque Monsieur, cook through Everyday Food Light and blog much more about kid's recipes based on this wonderful cookbook Aunt Katie gave called C is for Cooking.

I've flipped through it and it sounds great for making kid-friendly food and involving them in the kitchen.

curry chicken

2012-01-02T12:21:00.000-05:00

This is the other night's Curry Chicken from Great Food Fast.

It was simple enough to prepare but did not deliver. I've had really great curry chicken before and this one just does not cut it. The thing that bothered me the most was eating potatoes and rice in the same meal. It really was not appetizing at all. To give it a bit of a boost I added golden raisins which was pretty necessary. It could also use a bit of yogurt to make it creamier. But we've got to find a better recipe for curry chicken or it's take-out from now on.

everyday food light

2011-12-29T10:42:00.004-05:00

A new Everyday Food book was released on the 27th of December called Everyday Food Light. I was surprised that there was a gimmick behind the latest book. This indicated two things to me - they expect to continue the series(!) and broaden their readership. One major food/diet trend is the New Year's weight loss, so I'm sure this book might appeal to a whole new group of people - those with New Years resolutions to eat more homemade and healthy food. And this book will definitely deliver. I've flipped through it and come across some of my absolute favorite recent recipes which include the Lighter Chef's Salad, Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad, Spring Vegetable Couscous with Chicken, Chicken with Cornmeal Dumplings, Cilantro Lime Rice and Leek, Bacon and Pea Risotto. I'm pleased to see more shrimp recipes because we all really enjoy dinners which include seafood.

Now, just a little bit on food and diet. I've been 140 pounds and 100 pounds in the past 5 years. Since I've been one extreme and the other I can tell you what works for me. I like to be the size I am (between the two) and to maintain a healthy happy weight I've found there are three main factors at work. The first and most important is portion control. In the larger days I'd take second helpings on dinners. I had just learned to cook, successfully, and loved everything I made so thought nothing of going back for more. Not a good idea if you're looking to keep weight off. The second is to be aware of fat in your diet. This one is simple and this Everyday Food Light book pretty much takes care of this part of diet awareness. I don't eat very much processed & packaged foods, which is one thing that will tip you way over on fat intake without realizing it. Finally, I enjoy a good work out and exercise is a good thing if you enjoy it. I need it because it keeps me more alert, energetic for the day and um... regular. So now that you know much more about me, probably more than you ever wanted to, I hope you continue reading as we eat our way through the Everyday Food Light book. And I might just let you know if we see any weight loss happening because after a week of bacon jam and cookies I think a detox is well in order around these parts.

christmas gift baskets

2011-12-29T10:15:00.001-05:00

Growing up, the first sign that Christmas was coming was the arrival of gift baskets. Contractors always sent the most amazing array of chocolates, cheeses, wines, liquors & nuts. I remember as a kid finding it difficult to appreciate these baskets, but now that I've made my own life I realize what an amazing gesture they were and miss them terribly. So I decided to make my own for gift giving. I gave them to people who were hosting Christmas gatherings and have an appreciation for homemade food.

Here is a basket a gave to my in-laws. The wine is from one of our favourite local wineries, Stonechurch which is a sweet Riesling / Gewurztraminer blend that goes over well with those who say they don't like wine. Cheese, Crackers & Tea. I included my summer apricot jam (Anna Olson's recipe), fig jam and bacon jam. Bacon Jam just rocks around the holidays! It fit into just about every meal for us in the past week. We had it spread on our egg in a basket and on waffles some mornings for breakfast and it makes the most perfect left over turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce. Yep, we're livin' large around the holidays.

post holiday rundown

2011-12-28T08:47:00.001-05:00

What a Christmas this year was. This is the first year Owen is aware and able to anticipate in the holiday. He enjoyed meeting & talking about Santa and attempting to make his own Frosty the snowmen with his collection of rubber balls. He sang Christmas carols like Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Jingle Bells.

Christmas morning Owen only had enough attention span to get through his stocking.

Here we are enjoying Avo & Avo's nativity. Actually, that's me attempting to teach Owen to keep the rocks and pine cones out of his mouth.

Our holiday included driving over 500 kms from one side of Southern Ontario to the other, visiting with over 50 friends and family. Owen wished everyone "Merry Chris-ke-mas" and thanked everyone for his gifts (of which he was truly spoiled to bits). It was so much fun but there just didn't seem to be enough time throughout the holiday.

I'd say this photo sums it up best - we're exhausted!

merry christmas

2011-12-25T07:36:00.000-05:00

From my family to yours, Happy Holidays!

christmas cookies - yum!

2011-12-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday and I feel pretty lucky to be born close to Christmas. I always take my birthday off work and do things I enjoy which usually includes spending time with those I love, wrapping gifts, eating and baking... lots and lots of baking.

Here is the great assortment Christmas cookies this year. I made these gift tags and tin lids for gift giving so everyone knew which cookies are which.

My holiday baking plan was to make all the doughs ahead of time, keep them in the fridge & freezer and bake everything two days before Christmas.

Worked like a charm! Every single batch of every cookie turned out perfect. I'm really happy with the taste of everything. Most recipes are from the Martha Stewart Cookies book except the Chocolate Orange Biscotti.

Here we are 4 pounds of butter, one bag of sugar and one bag of powdered sugar later. I polished off my stash of pure vanilla, pecans from Georgia and a 10 kg bag of flour. It was too much fun!

steak and onion sandwiches

2011-12-22T21:47:00.001-05:00

With the leftover steak from the previous night's Steak au Poivre we had this quick Steak and Onion Sandwich from Great Food Fast.

These are delicious! I initially wanted to add provolone and mushrooms to it, but after making the recipe I wouldn't change a thing. With this sandwich, the simpler the better!

steak au poivre

2011-12-22T05:29:00.001-05:00

This month's issue of Everyday Food features a recipe for Steak au Poivre. This is basically a New York Strip Steak encrusted in crushed black peppercorns. It really sounded classy, and for a couple who rarely dines out since the baby arrived, this seemed like a wonderful luxury.

So I spent more than I'd usually spend on these steaks and they weren't the best cut. I'd make this again with a rib eye steak. This recipe also yields entirely too much sauce. We ended up with a cup of it when you only need enough to drizzle over. Lastly, it's very difficult to crush peppercorns it looks like we might have to invest in a spice grinder.

creamy parsnip soup

2011-12-20T13:56:00.000-05:00

Here is the other night's Creamy Parsnip Soup. I was looking forward to this one because the ingredient list was quite interesting. I never would have matched parsnips with apples, leeks and potatoes. There is a bit of prep work involved in this, but it didn't require anything more than simmering the ingredients until tender.

Once complete it had a certain overwhelming odd flavour. The granny smith apples imparted a very strong tartness to the soup which I just couldn't finish. This recipe would probably be a lot better using sweet apples.

butternut squash soup

2011-12-18T13:41:00.003-05:00

We made Everyday Food Great Food Fast's Butternut Squash soup the other night.

And it wasn't great. My biggest beef with this recipe is that it indicates to slice your peeled fresh ginger and simmer it along with the other vegetables. This step went against my inclinations (which is to always grate fresh ginger), but I trusted it enough to go ahead. Well, the fibrous ginger root did not break down even after pureeing leaving what looked like bull mastiff hairs in the soup. It was so off-putting. Beyond that, the orange juice flavour was too strong and I like having a bit of spice in my soup. I also like butternut squash soup to have a bit of a sour note, so I added a lot of sour cream (yogurt would be great too). The flavours on this one just don't work for me. However, the garnish of Spicy Pumpkin Seeds were delicious! I'm still snacking on them days later.

braised chicken and mushrooms with creamy polenta

2011-12-16T06:42:00.002-05:00

This is Braised Chicken and Mushrooms with Creamy Polenta from Great Food Fast and Roasted Cauliflower from Fresh Flavour Fast.

Over and over again I've been attempting to convince Nuno to try polenta again. Last year he bought a tube of prepared polenta and we all decided we didn't like it with its strange battery-acid taste. But this recipe is from-scratch and I thought it was worth trying again. The only way Nuno agreed was when I told him I'd roast cauliflower as well so if he didn't eat the polenta it was still a complete meal.

The polenta was very easy to make and it cooked at the same temperature and time as the Roasted Cauliflower with paprika. The chicken breast was, of course, simple to prepare and the mushroom sauce was easy too. When it came taste test time - sigh, it was total bliss! The flavours are very authentic Italian and I have to compare it to something I'd love to eat at my favourite Italian restaurant. Although everything is delicious on its own, it is heavenly together and in combination. The polenta absorbs some of the mushroom sauce and is so creamy it really made us do a 180 on the idea of polenta. This is a keeper and I know we'll eat this again and again.

moroccan chicken couscous

2011-12-14T07:04:00.002-05:00

What a surprise, this Moroccan Chicken Couscous from Great Food Fast is one incredible dinner. The idea of eating boiled chicken and vegetables (you don't even brown the outside first!) was not appealing at all. This dinner could potentially been bad on so many levels, but it's absolutely delicious. The couscous absorbs the sauce and I love the combination of chickpeas and couscous together. There are many spices that go into this fragrant dinner. The veggies were perfectly cooked - yes, even the boiled zucchini was perfect. I'm so glad we nailed it!

The zucchini eventually got soggy and we had to toss it later that night, but the rest of the ingredients held up and lasted us over 2 meals (we eventually had to trash the rest because it went so far). This dish really is so economical. Owen had second and even third helpings asking for more "couscous" which he sounds so adorable saying. Real keeper.

new guilty pleasure products

2011-12-13T06:33:00.005-05:00

I've recently come across several new & exciting food related items in stores which I just have to share.

First off is Cinnabon Raisin Swirl bread. We always have cinnamon raisin swirl bread in our freezer because it's such a delicious breakfast (or anytime of day) treat. Sunmaid is the brand found in most grocery stores, but Cinnabon has recently jumped into the market matching Sunmaid's price and is actually less fat/calories/sugar with the added bonus of that unmistakable Cinnabon flavour.

Just in time for the holiday season, Chex Mix is now available in Canada! This still doesn't make up for the fact that Chex only distributes their Rice and Honey flavours of cereal and not their delicious Corn variety. What is up with that? Chex ships their overstock north of the border? Ah well, I'm not sure if Chex Mix is here to stay or if this is strictly a seasonal offering, but get the Chocolate Turtle Chex while you can.

nuno's birthday dinner

2011-12-12T05:34:00.005-05:00

Today is Nuno's birthday and last night I made him his special birthday dinner. He's really into seafood so I made him Coconut Shrimp.

I pulled out the deep fryer for this dinner, so you know it's a party if we're fryin'. The coconut shrimp was salt & peppered, dipped in egg whites, then coated in a crumb of blitzed panko and sweetened coconut. It took a bit of time, but was fun. Using a deep fryer was great because it controlled the temperature and helped prevent splatter (especially with a unpredictable toddler running around). I made a dipping sauce as a side with a blend of apricot jam, dijon mustard with salt & pepper while Owen had sweet & sour sauce. These really worked out great and were totally delicious! I think this will be a special occasion dinner in the future for sure.

Nuno's our go-to guy for birthday cakes, but he got a comforting home-cooked dessert instead with this Berries with Cinnamon Dumplings. This was a dessert that Owen could help make. I gave him all the dry ingredients for him to put in the bowl and stir. Once the dumpling topping was in the pan, Owen's quite used to licking the bowl and spoon, but dumplings aren't like batter, so it wasn't tasty for him at all. He had to wait till the dessert was done for the pay-off. I hope the sparkler made up for the wait.

Happy Birthday Nuno!

Lot's of love,

Erin

chocolate-mint wafer cookies

2011-12-10T11:23:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year - time for holiday baking! It seemed a little early, but last week was Owen's daycare Christmas Bake Sale. These Chocolate-Mint Wafers from Everyday Food December 2007 issue are my first batch of cookies.

I chose dark chocolate for the outside coating, but might mix half semi sweet next time around to take the intensity down. But these are delicious. They are very similar the chocolate mint Girl Guide cookies but the interior has a more brownie texture and taste.

baked penne with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes

2011-12-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

I needed to make it up after the previous night's fail. With the left over chicken I made this Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes from the March 2009 issue of Everyday Food magazine.

We make this many times in the fall and winter months because it's just about the most comforting and warming dinners you can imagine. Want to be a dinner hero? Well, this is the dinner that just about anyone will love, children and adults alike. It's not the easiest to make because you must make a roux and if you're not up for a bit of elbow grease, forget it. But it's well worth the effort because it makes several batches which you can freeze. Or, if you're having a large group over, then this meal is enough to go around. I made it once for my parents and this is the one recipe my dad now very often makes. Vegetarians could simply use a mix of mushrooms in place of chicken and it would be outstanding I'm sure.

A couple revisions I made this time around that I'll probably stick with is to use cremini mushrooms because the flavour is so much better than button mushrooms. And Pennine Rigate, which is a smaller type of penne and works great for a baked pasta.

roasted chicken and vegetables

2011-12-08T15:30:00.003-05:00

We’re on such a winning streak with dinner lately I decided to take a chance on a vegetable I’ve always hated - acorn squash! The texture, smell and taste have always made my stomach turn, but I’m always willing to revisit something again every few years to see if things have changed. So I made Roasted Chicken with Vegetables from Everyday Food Great Food Fast. It was straightforward enough to prepare and I was convinced it was a winner.

Sadly enough, it was not. Despite accidentally forgetting to add the red onion, I doubt that could have saved this one. Not only could I not stomach it, Owen rightfully refused to eat it and Nuno didn’t enjoy it either. The cremini mushrooms were just about the only thing good about this meal. Yes, nothing has changed, acorn squash still retains every single aversive property I remember as a child.

pasta with prosciutto and peas

2011-12-07T06:40:00.002-05:00

This is Pasta with Prosciutto and Peas from Great Food Fast.

We love this flavour combination, especially for risotto. The ratio of ingredients is spot-on in this recipe and it really is delicious but I doubt I'd ever have it in linguine again. Ingredients like peas tend to roll to the bottom of the bowl and pairing it with linguine doesn't help things.That's why it works so much better for a risotto. Tasting all the delicious ingredients in one bite has become very important to me since Owen came along. To help, I pull out my handy kitchen shears and go to town on dinners like these for him. But it really is a delicious dinner and if you haven't tried it I really don't think you've lived until you've had parmesan, lemon, prosciutto and peas together.

glazed pork tenderloin with pineapple

2011-12-05T20:23:00.000-05:00

The other night I made Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple from Great Food Fast.

We love hoisin sauce but it's not very often you come across recipes that call for it. But this one uses hoisin and fresh ginger to create a really nice depth of flavour. Pork was perfectly cooked, nice and sweet. To round things out I sliced red potatoes with Italian seasoning and pepper and timed them to bake in the oven so they were ready when we got home. All three of us loved this dinner.

recipe to riches review

2011-12-05T01:22:00.004-05:00

I'm not much of a TV watcher but there is a new show here in Canada on the Food Network called Recipe to Riches. It features homecooks entering their most prized recipe into a contest to win $250,000 and have their recipe become a President's Choice food product. Sweet! Every week there are three contestants who enter their recipe into a batch-up challenge to attempt to translate it to the mass market. The first part of the show is like the first few episodes of American Idol where judges ridicule and praise. The final winner of each episode has their recipe available in all Weston/Loblaw supermarkets. I've been making every attempt to tune in to this show because it is pretty cool to see a cross section of Canadians share their culinary stories. I know, for me, my favourite recipes are ones that have been in families for generations and the stories behind them. It took a 'tax-free' Saturday to lure me into Zehers this weekend where I purchased two of the winning contestants products. The first was Grandma Glo's Lemon Pudding and the second is The Smart Cookie.

Superficially, what is with this packaging? It's horrid! The illustrations are so gawdy. Strictly from a designer perspective they really are super unattractive.

Now for the taste-test. Grandma Glo's Luscious Lemon Pudding is easy to bake and is simply to-die-for. This soft warm pudding cake is everything I love in a dessert. Anyone who enjoys lemon desserts must try this. It tastes homemade and is just outstanding.

The Gluten-Free Smart Cookies, well, they are another story. They are light and crispy, which can be nice, but they are so sicky sweet they are almost inedible. The love the coconut flavour coming through, but you are hit with too much sugar & spice making them too intense. I'm not quite sure I'll try all the contestants entries because I'm more of a 'make it yourself' type.

This Wednesday Recipe To Riches is having a marathon back to back of all episodes (on Food Network Canada which is now on free preview for those who do not subscribe). The winner will be determined by nationwide vote beginning that same day.

chicken stir-fry wraps

2011-12-03T10:16:00.001-05:00

These Chicken Stir-Fry Wraps from Everyday Food Great Food Fast were our third night with chicken and I had to wonder if we were getting a little redundant. But luckily this meal was so tasty it didn't feel boring at all. We had leftover white rice from the previous nights chicken fried rice and that really rounded out this dinner. I never snapped a photo, but the addition of rice along with the chicken stir fry was quite necessary.

Nuno and I ate ours wrapped Boston lettuce leaves while Owen had a bowl of rice topped with the chicken stir-fry. We were surprised with how delicious it is to wrap the filling in lettuce. I assumed it was a diet take on what should have been tortillas. But it was so much better with the lettuce because it was more similar to a spring roll. The contrast of the cool lettuce leaf and the warm chicken filling was incredible.

chicken fried rice

2011-12-02T07:31:00.005-05:00

Back when I was cooking through Everyday Food Fresh Flavour Fast I made Shiitake Fried Rice. All I could think was that I much prefer my own Chicken Fried Rice. As much as I love veggies, I like my chicken fried rice very basic. This is the dinner we make when we don't know what to make because most of the ingredients are pantry/freezer staples. However, this Chicken Fried Rice takes a bit of planning and prep. The best way to make this recipe work is to cook your rice the day before and to use left-over chicken. This week I baked an extra boneless skinless chicken breast with the previous night's dinner specifically for the fried rice.

Chicken Fried Rice

4 eggs, beaten

1 tsp butter

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 small white onion, diced

1 1/2 c cooked chicken, diced

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp dried chili flakes

2 scallions, thinly sliced

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp lime juice or rice wine vinegar

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tsp sesame seeds (we used black last night)

Heat wok over medium heat. Melt butter and cook eggs for omelette with salt & pepper. Remove from pan, slice and set aside.

Heat vegetable and sesame oil in wok over medium high heat and cook garlic, ginger and onion for 2 minutes. Add chicken and cooked rice until heated through. Add scallions and dried chili and combine. Combine soy and lime juice and taste for seasoning. Add egg and finish with sprinkled sesame seeds.

We usually just eyeball the amount of rice so I always adjust the seasoning once it's complete. It's best to let it sit for a few minutes once complete and it is even better the next day as leftovers.

chicken with cranberry sauce and white bean mash

2011-11-30T06:08:00.003-05:00

As a mom you really get to know what flies with your kids. Owen always tells me about how much he loves 'magic beans'. Yes, I'm sure his daycare is thankful for this love of 'magic beans'. He also loves chicken, so I found this recipe which incorporated his two faves in this Chicken with Cranberry Sauce with White Bean Mash from Everyday Food Great Food Fast.

I didn't expect much, but was so pleasantly surprised with this recipe. Chicken bone-in, skin-on isn't what most people choose to buy these days, but the flavour is so incredible! It made this dinner so luxurious, this entire dinner is at-home restaurant quality. We had it for a Monday night dinner but it really works better for a Friday or Saturday night to impress. We all LOVED it and I'd recommend it to anyone to try because not only is it simple and delicious, it's also very festive for this time of year.

key lime pie

2011-11-29T07:00:00.004-05:00

In celebration of my mother's birthday I made her this Key Lime Pie for her dessert.

While in Florida I always indulge in Key Lime Pie, but I wanted to try and make it when I returned back to Canada. I returned home from Florida with a bag of key limes (native to where we vacationed). These limes are quite a bit smaller than the limes we find here in Canada. They are the size of ping pong balls, full of seeds and quite unyielding.

Only because of my Hello Kitty electric citrus juicer was I able to deal with these limes. I used Bobby Flay's recipe from the Key Lime Pie episode of Throwdown. I'd say this is a very easy recipe once you manage the juice from the limes. It was so incredible, I honestly can't taste a difference between the delicious pies from Florida vs. this one.

:::

We made it out to the HandMade Market's Christmas Craft Show. On Shop Small Business Saturday this worked perfectly into our weekend plan.

This was held again in the Good Earth Winery and Cooking School.

I expected an outdoor market like previous shows, but given the time of year, it was good to see they kept everyone covered inside a tent. There were a great number of artisans and I had amazing Christmas shopping success here.

And Owen loved being here as long as he was outside of the tent. Being here really got us into the holiday spirit.

party decor and details

2011-11-26T12:58:00.007-05:00

Welcome and come in to see all the rest of Owen's second birthday party details.

Our inspiration for this party came from our repeated viewings of Yo Gabba Gabba. And as much as we tried to exercise restraint, Nuno and I are always brimming with ideas. So much so that we find it VERY difficult to know our limitations.

But we have fun doing things like this, so I'm sure it shows.

For Owen's birthday we had a party with all of his friends from my group of mom friends. This was a party separate from the family & close friends party to be held afterward. We offered food, games and activities geared towards 2 year olds. Parties with 2 years olds don't always need structure, but we did want everyone to have a memorable experience so we offered up a couple of games.

The first game was a pin the unibrow on Broobee. Naturally, the kids weren't blind-folded. We asked the kids where they thought Brobee's eyebrows should go and had a bit of success with this game. Owen rocked it as if he'd been a ringer, but he saw it for the first time with all the other kids.

The other game we played was an animal dance card game which was a game that appeared on the episode 'Animals'. Nuno created the animal dance cards and the kids were to dance in the style of the animal shown on the card. We just played along with the segment on TV.

We printed of piles off colouring sheets with decorative frame borders printed on them. This was inspired by the Yo Gabba Gabba segments Mark Mothersbaugh hosts where his illustrations come to life.

The loot bags were modeled after each of the five characters from Yo Gabba Gabba.

Inside the kids received a magic ball friend, Owen's second birthday magnet, Animal Dance Cards, President's Choice Banana Penguin Soft Cookie and Yo Gabba Gabba Stickers.

The kids all wore Brobee Spikes which were head bands crafted with three trimmed red party hats on top.

Owen was just adorable on his birthday. He was quite the party animal running around and having fun with his cousin Ronan. He thanked everyone personally for their gifts and gave lots of big hugs.

party eats

2011-11-23T12:39:00.007-05:00

I had to devote a whole entry strictly to party food. For the family and friends party we had loads of appetizers, party trays of pizza and a chili buffet which is pretty standard party fare. But for the kid's party we wanted to serve snacks that could be eaten by both parents and toddlers alike. I wanted as much homemade and healthy food as possible for this part of the party but it really proves difficult to accomplish when you work full time. But we were happy with how it all turned out. Here's the spread mid-party:

It's pretty standard at kids parties to find kolbassa, crackers & cheese and fruit & veggie trays. I've bought prepared trays in the past, but made them myself this time around because I'm picky about which fruits and veggies work for toddlers. Along with trays we had:
Cucumber and Cream Cheese blended with Tzatziki Tea Sandwiches
Skipjack Tuna and Cream Cheese Pinwheels (my own rework on this recipe which appeared in the current What's Cooking by Kraft magazine for Holiday 2011)
Pitas with Hummus & Tzatziki
Corn Fritters with Ketchup
Cinnamon & Sugar Crisps
And for desserts there were 2 different kinds of ice cream sandwiches I made these using Oreo and Chips Ahoy Thinsations. Oreo & Mint Chip Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip & Vanilla.

We created a mini cake for the kid's party. One of my absolute favourite cakes is this Cordon Rose Banana Cake from The Cake Bible. I think it's a cake perfectly suited for children so I made this cake with a chocolate butter cream filling with fondant. We decorated it like Muno with one eye and red Smarties for his bumps.

This year we decided to use menu item cards as part of the spread. We learned from Owen’s birthday last year when a mystery pocket containing shrimp slipped into the mouth of an allergic party goer. To alleviate any more food policing it was simple enough to print off our menu plan. It was helpful for our vegetarian guests. It also was a great visual aid for us as we worked through one item to the next preventing us from forgetting anything.

owen's second birthday cake

2011-11-21T07:16:00.003-05:00

Owen's second birthday was a total blast. I'd like to share some party details. To start: Owen's birthday cake.

The cake theme was Yo Gabba Gabba's Birthday episode.

In the episode, Brobee reminisces about his second birthday where he enjoyed a bowl of spaghetti.

Thus, this was our inspiration for Owen's cake.

Brobee was 4 layers of vanilla cake with vanilla butter cream filling.

The stump in Brobeeland is chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream filling.

The bowl of spaghetti is fondant through an exturder. The meatballs are Tim Horton's chocolate Timbits. The volume in the bowl is trimmed cake from the Brobee and stump.

Owen wasn't quite sure how to blow out his candles, but he knows how to sing Happy Birthday. And most importantly he knew it was his celebration.

And he loved his cake. In true fashion Owen goes for the biggest piece first.

tortilla and black bean pie

2011-11-17T07:56:00.001-05:00

Last night we had the Tortilla and Black Bean Pie from Everyday Food Great Food Fast. We tried this one several years ago (at the peak of our Mexican food craze) and we didn't really like it. But I thought I'd give it another go with some revisions. First, I like pinto beans much more than black beans for Mexican and I also added lime and fresh cilantro to the mix.

And those revisions didn't make a whole lot of difference to this meal. It's just not that great. I found it dry so I added a whole lot more salsa to every bite. For all the effort it is to make the filling, it's worth it to just add rice and make a bunch of burritos and freeze the leftovers.

owen is two today

2011-11-14T10:44:00.002-05:00

Two years ago Owen arrived and enriched our lives in every possible way. I'm so in love and amazed by him daily. How he counts to ten and names every colour and shape, how he tells us how he's feeling with words, how he sings songs and loves to hear guitars, how he runs around carefree, how he draws and uses his imagination. He's funny, goofy, fearless, opinionated and loving.

He's our beautiful boy and he's getting big.

florida 2011

2011-11-13T12:46:00.003-05:00

We're back from our family vacation to Florida. I'm still teetering on exhaustion and exhilaration from this trip. We are now gearing up for Owen's birthday so I'm a little too busy to give much of a recap at the moment, but hope to later this week. For now I'll share some highlights in photos.

lo mein with pork

2011-11-11T11:15:00.000-05:00

Another recipe that looked great in this month's issue of Everyday Food was Lo Mein with Pork.

Like any stirfry type of meal, there is quite a lot of prep required even if the cooking time is quick. Grating 9 garlic cloves (yes, nine!) and a huge piece of ginger was time consuming enough, but what really gets me are the snow peas. I hate steming and deveining snow peas. This may sound just short of ordering take-out, but if pre-stemmed and deveined snow peas were sold in stores, I'd certainly PAY to have that task completed.

This was a nice dinner that tasted like a healthier version of take-out. I think chicken might taste even better than pork, so if we make it again I'd substitute. This dinner made so much we were still trying to finish it the next day. So Nuno had the genius idea of adding siracha sauce. This dish needs an element of heat behind it, so next time I might add some chili flakes during the garlic & ginger saute step.

roasted sweet potato salsa

2011-11-09T06:53:00.001-05:00

Again with the November Everyday Food issue. Everyday Food started a new column in this issue called Family Fuel which offers recipes for healthy family dishes. This recipe really matched my family because Owen is such a little avocado fiend, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Here it is and I'm still trying to figure out what to call it. I think the publication calls it a salsa and it really is like a winter salsa. There are roasted sweet potatoes with red onions (which I timed to bake and cool in the oven in the middle of the day so that step was complete when I got home). Then you add fresh tomato, cilantro, lime and avocado. So quick and easy. It was a bit of a stretch on my part thinking this was a dinner because we really should have at least doubled the recipe. We had this with a side of Paradise bread from the supermarket. I love it to bits and honestly can't wait for an excuse to make it again and try it all sorts of new ways (as a pizza topping, over couscous, over arugula as a salad).

creamy shiitake (crimini) alfredo

2011-11-07T06:05:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have those days where nothing will do unless you're eating a plate full of creamy pasta? Well, I do and in desperation I made a dinner from, again, the November issue of Everyday Food magazine.

The recipe is for Creamy Shiitake Pasta but I really took a lot of liberties on this one. Instead of shiitakes I used crimini mushrooms (just as delicious, on sale last week and came pre-sliced). For the first time ever we didn't have fusilli in the house, but had 4 bags of penne, so Crimini Penne it was! Garlic, shallots, cream and white wine and only a few minutes until this delicious late Saturday night dinner was all but gone. It is so, so good!

spicy enchiladas with pumpkin sauce

2011-11-03T05:17:00.002-04:00

This Halloween has been fun in a whole new way. It's been a total blast enjoying Halloween right along with Owen we are all sad to see it come to a close. But I'm thinking after today it will be all too soon before I see another can of pumpkin puree. What is great about buying pumpkin puree is that the cans are so large that once one is open you can usually get two different recipes out of one single can. With the leftover pumpkin from the Pumpkin-Spice Muffins we decided to make the Spicy Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce from Everyday Food Great Food Fast.

This recipe indicates you should expect to get 8 enchiladas, but I only managed 4 - which was OK because we couldn't possibly have eaten more than one each. The white cheddar is a perfect compliment to the spicy pumpkin sauce. I found that this recipe was a little heavy-handed on the salt and we could probably get away with half the recommended amount. We rarely eat enchiladas, or any Mexican anymore, but since Owen's able to eat everything we eat, I think enchiladas are a great way to get him going on spicy food. Spicy Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce is a great recipe to make early in the morning and heat later in the day. Works perfect before trick-or-treating and we might have just started a new family tradition.

If you can manage to get the sugar saturated kids to bed, then this is the beer you want to relax with. This is Southern Tier's Pumking ale and it's, hands down, the best beer I've ever tasted. There are a lot of Autumnal brews out there, most of which are good, but this one is great! Southern Tier is my favourite brewery. I wish they were closer to take a tour again, but they are practically near the Pennsylvania border, so the next best think is to pick up growlers at Consumer's Beverage.

what a hoot halloween owl costume

2011-10-31T21:09:00.002-04:00

Does looking at kid's in Halloween costumes ever get old? Well, for some it does, but not for me. Especially when your kid loves wearing the costume you began planning a month before Halloween.

The nice thing about planning and making your own costume is that your two year old learns about Halloween costumes and tells everyone what he is dressing up as. Owen also practiced a convincing 'hoot, hoot' over the last couple weeks. This costume was the brain-child of Parenting Magazine, but without templates and their ever-so-brief instructions, we ended up having to somehow 'make it work' without having any costume-making skills.

This was constructed out of an old turtle neck of mine and a hacked up taupe men's shirt for the layered feathers. The wings are felt with the cuffs of the men's shirt reattached. The hood are the arms of my old turtle neck reconstructed. The eyes are layered white fur trim, copper scouring pads and buttons Nuno made at work. The beak a finger from a black dish glove. Most of the work on this costume was my wonderful and talented husband who can visualize anything and bring it to life.

This entire costume is no-sew and believe it or not, fabric glue held this all together for a Halloween Party with friends Sunday afternoon,

a day at day care with a costume parade,

and the final trick-or-treat around the neighbourhood.

He didn't poop (as in tire :) or chicken out to trick-or-treat at this creepy grim reaper's house. Yep, Owen loves Halloween just as much as his parents.

pumpkin-spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

2011-10-30T13:36:00.006-04:00

Owen's all about pumpkins - from visiting the pumpkin farm to carving jack-o-lanterns, he can't get enough pumpkin fun. The November issue of Everyday Food has a recipe for Pumpkin-Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting which I though he'd really enjoy baking as well as eating. Owen's been my little baking apprentice for a while now helping me every other Saturday morning baking Raisin Bran Muffins together. He was only too eager to help with Pumpkin Cupcakes.

He helps by dumping measured ingredients.

And stir them together. He even asked to crack an egg, which turned into a mess on the counter top, but it was still fun.

Then he lined the cupcake tray and finished things by licking the beaters and spatula.

And here are the finished cupcakes. Owen did a great job helping out. These cupcakes are very moist and light. The cream cheese frosting was a bit of a trick on our treat because it split again (similar to the Red Velvet Cupcakes from last year). I think it's because I use light cream cheese, which might make a difference in structure even if the flavour is the same as regular.

pumpkin-chocolate whoopie pies

2011-10-28T06:06:00.005-04:00

I love when Owen's daycare announces they are holding fundraising bake sales. So many delicious desserts pop into my head, most of which contain nuts, so I have to immediately cancel out the majority of my favourites. But this month's issue of Everyday Food magazine featured a Pumpkin-Chocolate Whoopie Pie recipe. And how I love my pumpkin desserts paired with chocolate!

I've toiled for hours in the kitchen and lost sleep painstakingly baking away on weeknights before bake sales. Luckily, this is not one of those recipes. These whoopie pies were so easy and fun to make. The pumpkin cake is moist & fragrant and the chocolate filling is fudgy. And I know whoopie pies are super food trendy right now, but they are very sturdy making them perfect for bake sales! Most people enjoy them in sandwich form, but when no one is looking I like to eat mine the way I eat my Oreo's - by pulling them apart and licking off the filling. How do you eat your whoopie pies?

birthday invites

2011-10-27T05:33:00.003-04:00

Owen's birthday invites are in the mail now. This year the party's theme is, big surprise here...

Yo Gabba Gabba!

We are planning two parties again this year. First is the one for the kids, then a second immediately after for our family and close friends. What we learned from last years experience was to host our party a week after we return from Florida. That way we aren't scrambling to put a party together hours after walking off a plane. I'm really looking forward to the big day!

turkey potpies

2011-10-26T20:51:00.000-04:00

We came home this weekend with a huge take-out container of leftover turkey from a thanksgiving celebration at my in-laws. I decided to make the recipe featured on the cover of this month's issue of Everyday Food, Turkey and Mashed Potato Potpies.

The filling was per the recipe, but since we didn't return home with any mashed potatoes I used a leftover piece of puff pastry, which is more traditional for a potpie anyways. This filling is insanely delicious! I think this is the best potpie we've ever had (the addition of bacon will do that). It was very rich and the combination of cremini mushrooms and peas is a perfect filling.

vegetable egg scramble with feta

2011-10-25T13:19:00.001-04:00

The recently published November issue of Everyday Food magazine looks incredible! I find that there aren't always recipes that interest me in every issue, but that can not be said for this one in particular. There doesn't quite seem to be enough time for me to try the number of recipes I'm dying to experiment with.

This past Saturday morning I tried the Vegetable Egg Scramble with Feta from this issue.

I'm not big on omelets and wouldn't go out of my way to ever make one with bell peppers or tomatoes in my life again. But this recipe takes the idea of an omelet and amps it up to something so much more tasty (albeit not as pretty). I know people always try and hide veggies so kids will eat them, but in this the vegetables are so delicious you forget that you are eating something so healthy. This recipe calls for zucchini, tomato, red onion and baby spinach and if you cook them just right they are wonderful in this. We were afraid that eating huge hunks of red onion might be too overpowering, but they were so mild and sweet they were one of the tastiest elements of this dish. Each bite is different and interesting. Owen loved it but picked out the spinach. I have to agree with him on this. The spinach wilts and becomes tough. If we have this again I think I'll treat it more like a herb and chop it into small pieces.

october & november 2011 playlist

2011-10-21T06:31:00.004-04:00

Recently my iPod went kaput. This is a big deal because I’ve had it for 8 years and so much of our iTunes collection was on it (which has since been deleted just for the sake of hard drive space on the Mac). So I’ve had to delve into my closet of high school and college albums to upload once again, which has been a lot of fun.

I love revisiting music and getting reacquainted with the classics. I always wanted to find a way of including more music into this blog so I’m hoping to keep a playlist coming up every couple of months for download. You can expect to hear indie from the 1990's and early 2000’s. I might throw on some of my other favs which include stuff from the 60's like the Byrds & Mama’s and Papas etc.

The first playlist for October and November 2011 is one I’ve been enjoying for a little while now. There are many mid-90’s Merge albums that I wore out in high school. I listened to these albums through most of the eras, but can’t claim to have for the final two tracks. The Replacements & Galaxie 500 are artists I discovered in high school who's music still resonate to this day.

East River Pipe - Make a Deal With The City (1995)

Butterglory – Demons and Avalanches (1995)

Trembling Blue Stars – November Starlings (2007)

Cat’s Miaow – Portland, Oregon (1997)

Club 8 – All Dressed Up and Shy (1996)

The Radio Dept. – Always a Relief (2006)

Guv’ner – Difficulty in Openness (1998)

Modest Mouse – Grey Ice Water (1999)

Pavement – Loretta’s Scars (1992)

Henry’s Dress – Feathers (1994)

Spent – The Quarter Conspiracy (1996)

Teenage Fanclub – Born Under A Good Sign (2005)

The Replacements – Unsatisfied (1984)

Galaxie 500 – Tugboat (1988)

Click here to download

coconut shrimp soup

2011-10-20T14:22:00.000-04:00

Last night we had Everyday Food Great Food Fast’s Coconut Shrimp Soup.

And as you can tell it didn’t quite turn out very soup-like. Substituting spaghettini for angel hair pasta sure makes a difference along with doubling the amount of pasta. But what did it matter because I almost like eating coconut shrimp noodles better than a soup anyways. It was easier for Owen to enjoy (which he did with the addition of edamames). The flavours in this recipe are SO nice. From the moment you heat the ginger, garlic and peppers you just know this will be a delicious meal. And we all love anything sweet or savory with coconut.
One thing we noticed was that you need to add A LOT of salt. I must have added at least ½ tsp to my serving alone. But once it was seasoned properly it was absoultely delicious.

roasted salmon with lentils

2011-10-19T05:29:00.001-04:00

Roasted Salmon with Lentils from Great Food Fast wasn't one of those meals you anticipate coming home to after 9-5. What I was anticipating was a total rejection from Owen. It's not the prettiest dish, especially sitting in a bright turqouise bowl. What I was looking forward to how simple and quick it is to make.

This dinner is relatively quick, extremely inexpensive and healthy. It was very balanced in flavour with the dijon flavour coming through just right. It really was nice. But the big surprise was that Owen ate it! He thought it was just fine. I guess he's just at the age where he tries everything without question and lets the flavour determine if it's OK to eat or not. We're pretty lucky that if Owen is hungry he'll try anything. He may not like everything he eats, but he'll try it.

seasonal salads

2011-10-17T22:07:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple salads that I consider to be best eaten seasonally. First is a Cantaloupe and Bocconcini Salad with Mint from Great Food Fast that I made not too long ago.

It's so fresh, bright and delicious it tastes just like summer. It's like an entire meal of those little hors d'oeuvres of prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe. This is my favourite salad to eat in warm weather.

Then there is this Arugula, Beet and Goat Cheese Salad from Great Food Fast that we had tonight which is the perfect salad for cooler temperatures.

It's quite similar to the Orange, Beet and Arugula Salad from Fresh Flavour Fast but I almost like this one better. It's the same orange/beet flavour combination, but the goat cheese and walnuts make it eat like a dinner. I also did something that I never thought I'd do, I bought canned beets. Hey, the recipe said to use them (in fact, I just recently learned they even sold them canned!). And after tasting them I'm not sure I'll ever go to the trouble of roasting or boiling beets again. All the work is done for you and there isn't any difference in taste. So delicious!

spinach and prosciutto lasagna

2011-10-13T21:08:00.000-04:00

I grew up in a family that always had to travel far to reunite for holidays. We're the lone rangers here in Niagara and for most holidays it is usually easier for us to celebrate on Sunday instead of the designated holiday Monday for Thanksgiving. Since the main food focus was Sunday's Thanksgiving, I never gave much thought to what to have the next day and with all the stores closed. I had to dig deep to come up with Monday night's dinner. Luckily I came across this Spinach and Prosciutto Lasagna from Everyday Food October 2008.

Very often items like mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan and prosciutto go on sale so we always have these ingredients on hand. On a whim I added a layer of Thanksgiving's leftover Cauliflower Gratin (which worked great!). This was a quick assembly in the morning then we spent the rest of the day at the zoo to return home to a finished lasagna. I programed the oven to begin and end baking the lasagna (all the ingredients in this lasagna stand up to sitting out all day). Owen's latest word on an enthusiastic "Lasagna!". It was a total success and I'm inspired to start finding more recipes to take advantage of the programed bake in the oven because nothing is nicer than walk in the door to a finished meal.

thanksgiving

2011-10-11T05:54:00.005-04:00

We had our Thanksgiving celebration here in Niagara this year. It was hosted at my parent's house and my mother was so kind to let me plan the menu. Through some trial and error over the years I felt like we had an ideal Thanksgiving dinner planned. My mother prepared the most perfectly cooked turkey with stuffing, gravy (a gigantic Pyrex bowl of it!), mashed potatoes, coleslaw, roasted vegetable tray of carrots, fennel, shallots & garlic and a crudite tray.

Owen contributed a craft to each place setting which were these cute turkey hand print cut-out napkin rings.

I helped round out the menu with several items. This Cranberry Pomegranate Relish was savory and slightly tart. I was a little nervous about it because I don't typically eat cranberry sauce so I wasn't sure if the seasoning needed to be altered. Luckily everyone who tried it said it was great.

I think this Cauliflower Gratin is an essential Thanksgiving side. I made it for Thanksgiving 5 years ago and felt like it needed to be brought back to our table.

And desserts! This Rustic Apple Tart is from Everyday Food Great Food Fast and is as easy as pie. Wait, pie is super complicated! It's easier than any Thanksgiving dessert should really be. The only revision I made to this was the addition of apple pie spice, which I really think this dessert needs. These are the apples we picked the other weekend from Froot-To-Go. Very light and nice after a huge Thanksgiving Dinner.

The other two desserts were a Chocolate Pumpkin Tart (an old favourite from Thanksgiving's past) and my sister-in-law brought the most to-die-for Apple Coffee Cakes. They were the size of Owen's head! No, but they were huge that I had to stow one away for breakfast the next morning. So tender and delicious! I hope she shares this recipe.

One last photo of the two cousins having fun. "Hey Buddy!" is what Owen says to Ronan. I'm not sure where he got that from but it's funny none the less. The two played with blocks, coloured on giant rolls of paper and pretended to be frogs! There was no need for football on TV when you have these cuties entertaining!

yo gabba gabba live in b-lo

2011-10-08T17:32:00.001-04:00

I don't keep much of a secret of how we all as a family love Yo Gabba Gabba. This week we took Owen to his first ever live show at the University of Buffalo Centre for the Arts to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live.

Owen was totally thrilled when he realized he was going to see, "Muno". This cut-out is as close as we came to meeting Muno, but our seats were very close to the stage.

It was actually the perfect spot because any closer you probably would have strained to see the entire stage.

Bright lights, cannons shooting off confetti and loud music were all things that I wasn't sure how Owen would deal with, but he was delighted by it all. He watched with wonder through the entire performance.

There were some great appearances including Biz Markie!

And we weren't expecting to see Leslie Hall on tour with them.

Probably the thing that really surprised me was how dressed up everyone was. I guess it isn't much of a surprise to see kids dressed up as baby DJ Lance Rock and homemade outfits to suit their favourite characters. But half the parents were dressed up as well! These are our type of people! Usually we are the ones arriving in public places unashamed to be dressed up. But here, we looked pretty conservative.

Then we finished our night out with dinner at Duff's. This place is famous for Buffalo wings and gained notoriety when President Obama came here for lunch. They offer a limited menu of wings and fries. We ordered a combo of 20 wings, fries and beer for $20. Owen even tried a medium wing!

panang curry

2011-10-06T10:08:00.000-04:00

Back when I was cooking through Everyday Food Fresh Flavour Fast we tried the Steamed Eggplant and Mushrooms with Peanut Sauce. I remember tasting the sauce and finding it similar to my favourite Thai restaurant dinner of Panang Curry. We've attempted to make Panang Curry at home in the past with ingredients from the Thai supermarket which included kaffir lime leaves and fish sauce, but it might have just been too authentic because it just wasn't to our tastes. This past weekend being so rainy and cold was ideal for spending leisurely time having fun in the kitchen. So I decided to do my best to recreate Panang Chicken Curry. My goodness, it's so creamy and rich it really turned out delicious. We all loved it and I know we'll be eating this all fall & winter.

Panang Curry

3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons finely grated, peeled, fresh ginger

1 to 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar

salt to taste

8 chicken thighs, cut into large chunks

1 can coconut milk

3 tbsp Thai red curry paste

4 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths and thinly sliced lengthwise

1 cup cooked rice (for serving, optional)

Whisk peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, grated ginger, brown sugar and salt and set aside.

Cook chicken thighs in a large non-stick skillet with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Once cooked through remove from pan and set aside. Heat coconut in skillet until heated through. Add curry paste until fully incorporated. Add peanut butter mixture to pan and mix until combined. Add chicken just to reheat through.

Serve over rice with scallion for garnish. We didn't do it here, but chopped peanuts would also be a nice garnish as well.

macaroni and cheese

2011-10-04T04:55:00.009-04:00

One more kid-friendly dinner post here:

OK, I might take it back saying that Spaghetti Carbonara is more delicious than Macaroni & Cheese. I guess I've never made a good one... till last night! This is the Macaroni and Cheese recipe from Everyday Food Great Food Fast and it's insanely delicious. Like 3 helpings delicious!

I've tried many different mac & cheese recipes all which were total flops. I even tried to convince myself that Nigella Lawson's quick mac & cheese was good - but it's not. To make a good mac and cheese you must be willing to mess up the kitchen a little, put a bit of effort into it and a lot of time. I made this on a Monday night after work - well, that won't happen again. It was close to an hour and a half before it even hit the oven (then bakes for another half an hour). But then again, I was probably a little pokey taking my time and enjoying the entire process. Regardless, this is better off being made on a weekend and I can assure you, it's worth all the effort because you have enough to last at least 2 meals out of one single recipe (feeding 2 adults & one toddler).

It's rich, creamy and the ham & cheese flavour is so complimentary. I love that you can buy thick slices of cured bone-in ham at the grocery store now which work perfect for a recipe like this. I followed this recipe exactly, even to the very measurement here, (I often just eyeball seasoning measurements) and it really was a total pay off because it's beyond heavenly. So glad I discovered this recipe at the beginning of fall because I look forward to enjoying this for the next 6 months! Did I just say that - half a year of comfort food to come?!

sloppy joe's

2011-10-03T10:05:00.000-04:00

On the topic of feeding kids, Sloppy Joe's... Never made them before, never had them before but now that we have a kid it's probably a good idea to learn how to make them. So it was great to get the chance to give the Sloppy Joe's recipe from Everyday Food Great Food Fast.

And they really are quite good. Very sweet probably because of the ketchup, but with the addition of chipotle sauce on the side that is remedied quite nicely.

chicken nuggets

2011-10-01T14:37:00.004-04:00

Chicken nuggets are kind of a parents worst nightmare. You basically resign yourself to feeding your kid a mystery chicken meat sprinkled with preservatives and deep fried. But kid's love them. I decided to take matters into my own hands and make homemade chicken nuggets for Owen.

We first used Chuck Hughes' recipe for Chicken Nuggets, but found they were too strong of a lemon flavour. Although they were super tasty deep fried, they were much too moist having boiling juices drip everywhere. So we refined the recipe to taste and it's so good I am not only excited about archiving it, I am thrilled to share it.

Here's how to make them. First make the breading by blitzing panko bread crumbs with 2 tbsp butter, 3 garlic cloves, s&p in the food processor. Set aside in a shallow dish.

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 egg
1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic Tabasco

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
All above ingredients go into the food processor and blitz a few pulses attempting to keep a chunky texture to the meat.

Form into small nuggets and spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze till solid. Take frozen nuggets and coat in breading.

1/2 cup of flour w/ s&p in shallow dish, 2 beaten eggs into a second dish and final dish of panko breading mixture. Coat nuggets in flour, egg, then panko. From here they can be frozen for up to a month or are ready to bake at 450 for 20 minutes, turning once.

Nuno made several dipping sauces to have on the side from items we had in the fridge and pantry. First is a blue cheese and ranch mix. The second is a honey, mustard and orange marmalade blend. The third is a sweet and sour sauce using strained sweet chili spring roll sauce mixed with ketchup (Owen's favourite!) All these sauces are excellent.

I've never enjoyed chicken nuggets so much in my life and I'm so happy that Owen loves them too!

spaghetti carbonara

2011-09-30T12:29:00.002-04:00

If you wanted to taste everything that is wonderful about this world; the flavour would be Spaghetti Carbonara from Everyday Food Great Food Fast.

I don't think it's right to hype up macaroni and cheese when something like this exists. It's an easier, quicker and more inexpensive comfort food. I also love how it could really be made at a moments notice because the ingredients are items you probably already have on hand.

french macaroons

2011-09-28T12:18:00.008-04:00

Today marks another at home sick day with Owen. So welcome to another addition of What Do I Have Time To Bake During A Nap? This time around I decided to try making French Macaroons. They are notoriously temperamental to make and I don't have the skill, time or patience for it. So while perusing the aisles of Bulk Barn I stumbled upon a French Macaroon mix which I was all too curious to try.

You simply measure your dry mix, hydrate with water and beat the hell out of it. I added a little red food colouring so my macaroons would turn pink. I then piped them onto parchment and baked as instructed. They turned out homemade looking with cracked imperfections but they are still quite nice. I decided to use raspberry jam as filling to fulfill the pink flavour. They are sweet and chewy. I will probably try these again with the addition of cocoa and a chocolate ganache filling... yum!

Now that I know I can make French food at home, I'm taking them with me to my sister-in-law's as a treat before we meet Laura Calder. The host of the show French Food at Home is having a book signing at Springridge Farms later today and we were fortunate enough to have scored tickets to the event. Stick around and I'll be blogging all about it shortly.

apple picking

2011-09-27T13:27:00.001-04:00

It's important to me that Owen learns about where his food comes from. He goes grocery shopping with me regularly and for walks to the Farmer's Market downtown with his daycare. But the most fun is to get out there and pick your own fresh produce. This weekend we were invited to go apple picking with my in-laws and we had such a great time!

I love family outings berry picking, but apple picking is a whole new experience. I'm still learning which apples are in season, how to identify each of them and which are good for baking and which are good for eating.

We went to Froot-To-Go in Waterdown. This place is a huge orchard with plenty of dwarf trees for little hands to pick off. We picked Empires and Courtland apples.

Here's Owen and his big cousin Ronan.

Owen has a bit of a hero complex with his cousin Ronan.

I'm hoping to use some of our pickings in an apple tart as part of our Thanksgiving dinner, which I'm really looking forward to hosting at our home this year.

spiderman cake

2011-09-25T08:03:00.004-04:00

Here's the latest cake Nuno and I made. Again I baked and Nuno brought it to life!

This cake is 2 layers of chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream filling and fondant icing. It was created for my sister Katie's boyfriend Mouth's birthday.

While shopping for Halloween costume items at the dollar store Nuno stumbled up the most perfect plates and napkins to suit the cake.

This is our first cake that wasn't sculpted, which was nice, but still brought on it's own set of new learning experiences. Namely piping. Sure Nuno can draw with any pencil, crayon, charcoal and wacom with ease, but piping, that's a new challenge.

I love the way it turned out so bright and colourful just like a comic cover. After this experience I think I'm going to have to sit and practice piping because I can tell this skill is one you get good at through monotonous & repetitive attempts.

lamb chops with mint-pepper sauce and steamed zucchini with scallions

2011-09-23T07:29:00.001-04:00

Here is our dinner of Lamb Chops with Mint-Pepper Sauce and a side of Steamed Zucchini with Scallions from Everyday Food Great Food Fast.

There isn't much to say about this other than it was a great Greek dinner. I basically ended up eating it the way Owen did by cutting the meat and zucchini in to small pieces and topping with the sauce. It looked like a psychedelic mash teetering on the very definition of food. But visuals aside, all the flavours really work beautifully together.

almond-apricot chicken with mint pesto

2011-09-21T06:29:00.002-04:00

This dinner of Almond-Apricot Chicken with Mint Pesto from Everyday Food Great Food Fast was my flex dinner that's been in limbo for over a month now. This just means that every bit of this dinner requires pantry and freezer items so we could eat it when we didn't have any fresh meat & produce around (I made the pesto a few weeks ago and kept it frozen in a 'babycube' - yep, those little containers are useful beyond the 'solids' weaning stage).

The chicken breasts were stuffed with a combination of goat cheese, dried apricots and sliced almonds. They were then dredged in Wondra (flour), egg then a breadcrumb/sliced almond combination. It feels very chef-y to brown the stuffed breasts in a cast-iron skillet and transfer to the oven to finish cooking.

There was a mint pesto suggested as an accompaniment. It made so much pesto I decided to create a side to make the most of it. This is just Israeli couscous and peas mixed with the pesto. I made it mostly for Owen, but we all really enjoyed it because mint and peas are a classic combination. You could always use a small pasta such as orzo in place of the couscous.

We all loved this dinner. The chicken was so incredibly moist and the stuffing was tangy and rich. I'm not sure how or why, but the mint pesto was lovely with it. Owen loved everything as well.

otc and grilled cheese

2011-09-18T21:15:00.006-04:00

We saw Olivia Tremor Control at Lee's this past Friday night. I have a really great bootleg of their show in '99 at the Opera House which was a performance I always felt sad to have missed because the recording is so fantastic. Luckily, the band has officially reunited which means I got to see the last E6 band I never had a chance to see live. And they put on an outstanding show.

They played a combination of Olivia Tremor Control, Sunshine Fix and Circulatory System songs which all blend together well since all three bands share members anyways. We also got a small sample of their new stuff which really was incredible. I can't wait until they release their new album. It's really thrilling to think that the magic is definitely still there.

Owen was returned back to us on Saturday with a cold so we changed our Saturday plans to stay home and help him rest up and recuperate. There really isn't much we can do for him and I know having a cold doesn't sound like a big deal, but in typical Owen fashion he's dealing with a fever accompanied with his bug.

We did manage to get out for a family treat to the Gorilla Cheese Truck which was parked at Fielding Estate Winery all weekend. The event was in association with the Grape Festival which is happening over the next couple of weekends here in Niagara.

You are encouraged to bring your own picnic blanket and enjoy a snack along with your wine tasting.

Even with the live music and a gorgeous escapement view Owen wasn't feeling 100%. So he had an OG sandwich.

Stringy Cheese!

This food truck makes a mean grilled cheese and we loved all of our sandwiches.

tandoori-style chicken burgers

2011-09-16T17:37:00.000-04:00

It’s been years since we’ve purchased ground chicken, but these Tandoori-Style Chicken Burgers from Great Food Fast seemed interesting.

The spice blend is more middle-eastern flavoured than Indian and tastes similar to a falafel. Because it was made with meat instead of ground chickpeas it is so much more tender and juicy. It was a nice texture compared to the gritty falafels we’ve grown accustom to. This was served with a cumin sour cream, cucumber slices and coriander in pitas. If we make these again I’d probably stick to ground turkey since we like the flavour better.

greek salad with seasoned flatbread

2011-09-14T05:27:00.005-04:00

Who needs to use a recipe to make a Greek Salad? My mom's been making a great one since I was young and now I make the same one which I consider to be perfect. But we decided to give this Greek Salad with Seasoned Flatbread a whirl anyway.

What a throwdown this salad is. This is what I consider to be a perfected version of a greek salad. I ran out of red wine vinegar after making the Shrimp Gazpacho, so I used balsamic instead. But it really was great with that revision. The addition of the seasoned flatbread is a great idea. We used the dressing and spread it over pitas along with sprinkled oregano s&p.

I'm so glad we tried this recipe because it tastes quite different than any greek salad I've ever had before. That's the great thing about cooking from recipes. There are people who are so expert in the kitchen they claim to never use recipes. Ah, I'm not one of them but am very proud of you if you are. The way I see it chef's are paid to invent recipes. Magazines like Everyday Food exist to simplify those recipes for home-cooks. As a household of two full time working parents I like to have some insurance that what we are having for dinner is tried-tested-and-true (which is how most of the Everyday Food recipes are). This gives us the opportunity to have lots of variety in our diet and experiment with different foods instead of having that same dinner over and over again. And I think having a varied diet helps to raise children who aren't such picky eaters.

Here Owen enjoying his pita with hummus and cucumbers. He loves to ask for his "Pitahhhh!"

chicken parmigiana

2011-09-12T05:21:00.001-04:00

Chicken Parmigina is the dinner every college student decides to make when they need a 'nice dinner to impress'. I made it for Nuno once to treat him back when we were students. It's pretty simple as far as ingredients and technique and I'm not sure there are too many people who could turn it away. Plus it looks like you went to a lot of effort.

I've made many different chicken parms in the past and have managed to burn it and over-cook the chicken. But to find a recipe for Chicken Parmigiana in Great Food Fast was a nice little switch-up for us since its been years since we've made it.

And this one is the absolute best one we've ever made. It's truly perfected here and we'll probably stick to this one anytime we decide to have it again. It's a dinner that Owen loved as well so as we approach fall this is a great dinner for kids. If there were any leftovers this would have made an awesome next-day sandwich.

labour day away

2011-09-10T15:15:00.005-04:00

After trying all summer we finally found our way to Sarnia to visit my grandparents last weekend. They can't get down to Niagara to visit us, so we make every effort to see them when we can, which really isn't often enough.

My grandma has a tomato plant she asked Owen to help her with. He was asked to pick the red tomatoes for us. And he had lots of fun picking that once the red ones were gone he looked at us then went for the green.

Who knew the concept of tiding up could leave such an impression. Owen thought that after picking the tomatoes they had to go back into the planter. But we assured him they are to eat and he decided to dig right in.

The day before we arrived my grandmother made several batches of fresh peach jam. As we were leaving she sent us home with a few jars. She must have known that one of Owen's favourite breakfast options is jam on toast, pancakes, waffles, english muffins... I'm enjoying peach jam in a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Inspired by the grilled cheese sandwiches in Montreal, I had the bakery thinly slices my sourdough loaf and it's made the most wonderful sandwiches this week.

watercress, endive and grilled-peach salad and shrimp gazpacho

2011-09-09T13:33:00.007-04:00

Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it to blog about recipe duds. I was about to all but forget about these two dinners from this past week but then thought it makes sense to archive it anyways just in case my sieve of a mind forgets.

First up is Watercress, Endive and Grilled-Peach Salad.

This seems potentially good using fresh peaches and arugula instead of watercress (sorry, does anyone eat watercress?). But all these flavours didn’t match or compliment. It was just a random mix of ingredients that would have tasted better eaten separately.

Then there is this total flop – Shrimp Gazpacho.

My goodness this was hard to choke down. Tastes similar to a cocktail sauce in soup form without the horseradish flavour. I used fresh field tomatoes and it still didn’t help. Nuno and I were both craving carbs in the worst way after only a couple spoonfuls of this dinner! So I grabbed the closest thing and ate half a bag of Owen’s Goldfish crackers which were so much more satisfying than this soup. And that’s saying a lot because I swore I’d never eat these crackers, but desperation set in and I was weak.

storybook gardens

2011-09-05T18:56:00.007-04:00

I have a list of things I want to show and experience with Owen and this long weekend we crossed one off the list.

As a kid I remember loving Storybook Gardens in London Ontario. It really was exactly as I remember and possibly better because they've improved on the charm that I remember as a child.

Cheshire cat wishing well which steams after you make your wish.

Two Portuguese boys posing in front of a windmill.

Inside a whale!

If you dare venture deep enough you'll discover Moby Dick has swallowed a treasure chest and buoy.

The frogs were one of Owen's favourites. We almost couldn't drag him away.

This Splash-pad wasn't around when I was small.

Splash-pads are a parents saving grace on hot days like this past Saturday.

The equipment here was the nicest we've ever seen made for children of all ages.

He kept returning to the seal. Little did he know he was in store for the real deal.

Two adorable seals we caught just in time for feeding. Along with an otter and a snake show, Owen got to meet many animals he'd never seen before which was pretty cool.

Steering the pirate ship!

This was the first time Owen is old enough to climb up rope ladders and play in tunneled play gyms. He's a real big guy able to play amongst kids much older than him.

This boot has been around since I was a kid. I remember loving it as did Owen.

A little home Owen-sized left him enchanted and he might have just set up camp there if it wasn't for...

"HUMPTY!!!"

Owen had a major freak out (think Beatles circa 1965) when he spotted "Humpty" in the distance. He has Humpty Dumpty mural on his nursery wall, so he could not believe his eyes when he spotted the real guy! We had to hold him back from jumping in on other families photos and we soon learned that he isn't the most patient toddler when it comes to meeting your hero.

Luckily Owen got lots of meet and greet time with this adorable bouncing humpty (who sits on two springs and wobbles back and forth).

Owen's first midway ride - a soaring elephant. Made me super dizzy and glad this place doesn't serve any midway fare.

Storybook Gardens is great because it's free for children 2 and under, inexpensive for adults, has free parking, in and out privileges, allows outside food and drink in, has many beautiful green picnic spots and wasn't busy. I only wish we lived closer.

creamy fettuccine with asparagus

2011-09-04T12:44:00.002-04:00

This is Creamy Fettuccine with Asparagus from Great Food Fast.

This has a basic goat cheese sauce with grainy dijon. The recipe made enough for two nights and the second we poached eggs on top. We are quite often adding eggs to pastas like this because egg yolks make cream sauces creamier, add protein to meatless dishes and go well with ingredients such as asparagus, dill and dijon.

tostadas salsa verde

2011-09-01T08:49:00.001-04:00

This is our Tostadas Salsa Verde from Great Food Fast. It is great and it's fast therefore anyone who thinks they can't have a healthy meal on the table with limited effort must meet this dinner.

It doesn't get any easier using shredded rotisserie chicken for this. Along with the chicken there is just iceberg lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa verde. Sounds simple and it is! We toasted the tortillas on the barbeque, but that's not a necessary step.

Chicken and salsa verde are a great match that have a very distinct flavour in combination which we like. If you're looking for something similar, this Chicken, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Burrito recipe from Everyday Food March 2007 was a staple for us 3 years ago and it's also very good.

peach clafouti

2011-08-29T12:43:00.004-04:00

I can tell the end of summer is drawing near because now is my favourite time for Niagara farm stand peaches! They've been in season for a few months, but the early ones are small, less juicy, difficult to peel and cling to the stone.

These beauties are as delicious as they look. That is why when I had to stay home with a sick Owen last week (another sign of the end of summer) I decided to treat us all to a Peach Clafouti. I'll only bake on at-home sick days if: 1. the ingredients are already in the house and 2. it can be completed in the window of a nap. So this Peach Clafouti fit the bill perfectly.

This clafouti was published in the July/August issue of Everyday Food magazine and I love its simplicity. Even a non-baker could swing this. Like most desserts with peaches, you really have to check it after the suggested baking time is complete. Juicy peaches keep desserts (cakes especially) moist and require longer baking times. This clafouti took twice as long to bake as instructed.
It tastes like eating a vanilla cake batter flavoured custard. One of my favourtie things about baking is licking the beaters and spatula for cookies and cakes (I swear the batter is almost sometimes better then the end result!). If you're the same then this dessert is for you. It's homey and comforting especially for a sick toddler.

On Owen's sick-at-home day he only wanted to colour the 'sun and moon'.

And spend over an hour leisurely playing in the bath. For a kid who loves to get clean in the bath, you wouldn't know it by some of his filthy habits which include licking the soles of his shoes and the floor of Food Basics! As a parent you can only wash their hands so many times before a dirty thumb sneaks into the mouth.

peach and blue cheese salad

2011-08-28T09:28:00.001-04:00

I mentioned about how Nuno and I ate at a restaurant called Garde-Manger while in Montreal. This is where the television show "Chuck's Day Off" takes place (on Food Network Canada and Cooking Channel USA). I have to admit, I never watched an episode of the show before going there for dinner. I just liked that it was a block away from our hotel and it had very good reviews. But now that I'm home I decided to tune into an episode and Chuck Hugh's recipes look outstanding! The way they present the restaurant on the show as a bustling hip hangout with beautiful people is really how this restaurant is!

So upon my first viewing I couldn't resist trying this Peach and Blue Cheese Salad. He had me at blue cheese!

This salad is fantastic! While eating it I kept thinking about how happy I'd be if I'd ordered this in a restaurant. But, no, I made this at home all with ingredients I had around. Bravo Chuck, bravo!

stuffed hot peppers, buffalo-style

2011-08-27T08:19:00.004-04:00

Buffalo is a hidden food gem! After going to the food city of Montreal I've come to realize people who love food should trip to Buffalo as well. I can honestly say there are actually too many places I'd love to eat at and just not enough time. One item I've discovered over the past year is their infamous stuffed hot peppers. So I decided to make my own version of Buffalo's Famous Stuffed Peppers.

There wasn't really a recipe for this, I just did my best to decode the flavours. First I sauteed garlic and onion in butter until soft. Add breadcrumbs and a little Italian seasoning, Franks Hot Sauce and crispy proscutto. Once heated through, I blitzed everything in the food processor with Parmesan & Emmenthaler cheese (romano & pepper jack could work in substitution).

We used a couple Cubanelle Peppers (mild & sweet for Owen) along with the traditional Hungarian Hot Peppers. The peppers were first baked for 10 minutes, cooled, then stuffed. A final bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes just before serving and they turned out perfect! Topping of fresh tomato and sprinkle of parmesan and these looked exactly like what you'd find in WNY.

I also made a side of Corn Fritters. I was initially going to use the recipe in Great Food Fast, but decided to use Jiffy Corn Muffin mix instead. The recipe is essentially the same thing and I had to try out my first ever box I picked up at Wegmans last week. Along with the mix you add fresh corn, an egg and some milk to a pancake-like consistency. They fry up just like pancakes and they are absolutely delicious! Great for kids.

This was an awesome American-inspired dinner that was a real treat. I'm sure we'll have both these recipes again but unless your dining with small children, I'd suggest sticking to banana peppers because the heat is what makes the stuffed peppers wonderful.

best beef burgers and beer

2011-08-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

This is our go at the Best Beef Burger recipe from Great Food Fast. It is a very simple burger of ground chuck, worcestershire and dijon.

We had this with a side of potato salad. With the rendered bacon fat we fried onions with a little cider vinegar and sugar and topped them on our burgers.

And to put it all over-the-top in indulgence we rounded things out with a glass of beer. We enjoyed Niagara College Teaching Brewery's Chopp Brazilian Lager. This is my favourite of all their brews so far. It's so refreshing for summer drinking. Unfortunately for a limited time because it's one of their current specialty brews.Guess we'll have to give Brahma a second try if were looking for something similar in the future.

tomato and grilled-bread salad

2011-08-23T05:14:00.003-04:00

Here's a recipe that didn't seem appealing from Everyday Food Great Food Fast for a Tomato and Grilled-Bread Salad. But I always wanted to say I knew how to make 'Panzanella' so we had it for dinner the other night.

And it's great! It tastes like a more rustic bruschetta. The reason this tastes better is because you grill (or in our case barbecue) slices of day old country loaf. Just another great way to eat fresh tomatoes because if you're anything like me we must get as many meals out of farm stand tomatoes before we are left with the mealy, watery grocery store tomatoes for the rest of the year.

Besides tomatoes this salad includes fresh cucumbers, basil and red wine vinegar. All the flavours work very well together but once it's mixed there's no turning back. You must eat it straight away or you're left with soggy bread.

phantom gourmet

2011-08-22T09:28:00.004-04:00

Lousy restaurants beware! My husband and I are possibly your worst enemy. Nuno has taken to leaving reviews on the website Yelp.com Nuno and I have eaten at about 90% of the restaurants in St. Catharines so I'm sure we're qualified to give a reasonable restaurant review.

He posted yesterday about our experience after a particularly rank breakfast at a diner just up the Welland Canal Parkway called The Good Eats Diner. We really could have used a fair warning. All signs pointed to this place as having great greasy spoon potential (we were hoping at best like Silks and at worst The Lancer or Opa and Oma's). With all the cars parked outside we assumed it was at least acceptable. Well, here's his review:

If you've ever wondered how anyone could possibly flub such simple breakfast fare as eggs over easy, home fries and pancakes, than The Good Eats Diner is for you! Otherwise, I feel it's my civic duty to prevent anyone else from making the same mistake that I did this morning by setting foot in The Good Eats Diner at the Homer bridge.

For starters, this location was pretty filthy and we had to wipe down the surfaces ourselves before sitting at the table. The eggs over easy were over cooked and they brought out white toast when we ordered whole wheat. Also, for a bare bones diner with no flare, little menu variety and absolutely no skill in meal execution, charging extra for rye bread and onions on your home fries is a joke. The home fries were dry, undercooked potato with an unmistakably familiar taste of, well, undercooked potato. The pancakes were monsterous and sloppy in presentation with lumpy, uneven edges. They were too thick, far too dense (who even wants dense pancakes?) and had a horrid, baking soda taste that instantly made me question whether they were poured from a box of dollar store variety, mix. The offending pancakes bore no trace of dairy or eggs which would have imparted at least a little sheen, lightness and flavor and to top it off, the surfaces were speckled with pitch black, charred flakes that were either old batter from a dirty pan/griddle or teflon from a dirty pan/griddle.

The other offenses that Good Eats are guilty of include; refilling defaced Heinz ketchup bottles with runny, vinegary, off-brand tomato-flavoured red sauce, serving the single worst cup of diner coffee I've ever had - so bad that for the first time in my life, I refused a refill - supplying only 1 thin napkin with the 'meal' and worst of all, the gross misuse of the words, "Good", "Eats" and "Diner" in their name! They should simply be called, "The".

Lastly, I don't mean to mislead anyone who enjoys 1 star dining. I really wanted to give them a zero star rating but yelp doesn't give that option.

Ah, this review cracks me up. It already has two users rating this review as 'funny'. Way to go Nuno! We need you to perform more of your 'civic duty' and keep the hilarious reviews coming!!

I've set this all up to look like we are the ultimate food snobs. Don't worry, inviting us for dinner won't land you on a negative Yelp review. We almost always love what we eat when visiting friends and family. The simple act of the invitation of having us over and spending time is of value to us. I'd say we are probably the least judgemental of dinner guests because we know the kind of effort it takes to put on a nice dinner and aren't pain-in-the-asses with food restrictions or aversions. We just have an issue with paying money for food prepared poorly.

spaghetti with oven-roasted tomatoes

2011-08-21T10:13:00.000-04:00

This is Linguine with Grilled Tomatoes... or as I made it Spaghetti with Oven Roasted Tomatoes.

This is another from Everyday Food Great Food Fast but I took it off in my own direction. This recipe asks for you to barbecue the tomatoes. Oven roasting brings out their natural sweetness of tomatoes and if you haven't tried it yet you really must. Right now Roma tomatoes are in bounty and cheap (!). Nothing burns me up more than paying $4.00 for only a few of them in the middle of winter. So we loaded up on bags of them and I oven roasted them with olive oil, coriander and s&p. One hour later they were ready to be stored and used later for the quickest dinner of all time.

We had whole wheat spaghetti with this to add a little nutty flavour. I'm picky about whole wheat spaghetti and will only have it with certain sauces and it works very well with this one. A bit of fresh thyme, parmesan and more olive oil and s&p and dinner is served. So delish!

she's my little rock and roll

2011-08-19T05:16:00.008-04:00

Ever since the internet and downloading killed indie music for me I started focusing on listening to rock and roll from the 60's and 70's. The one defining band of my late twenties and into my thirties is the Rolling Stones. I grew up listening to my mom's Beatles records but somewhere along the line I found myself on the dark side with a passion for the Stones (much to her dismay).

To say you're a fan of the Stones appears generally uncool. I sometimes wonder if people assume you just Googled "What is Rock and Roll" the other day. Oh well, there is a very good reason they ARE - not arguably here - truly, the greatest rock and roll band. There wasn't a single day from 2007 to 2010 that I didn't listen to them on a daily basis. Their songs are so steeped in my life through the years I got thinking about what some of their music has meant to me over the past years.

Get Off My Cloud - dancing to this song at Blow-Up (a brit-pop dance night at the El Mocambo) in 1999 made me realize how much I liked the Stones and need to hear more of them. The rough sound of the album Flowers reminds me of what it was like to begin listening to the Stones.

Exile on Main Street - listened to this album daily for the year of 2008 with good reason. This album stands the test of time with an amazing story behind what it took to record it. The best rock album of all time.

Loving Cup - had to have this song played at my wedding reception.

Angie - first trimester in my pregnancy being so hormonal letting all the lyrics read like a Harlequin novel. This came on the radio one day and I had to pull over and sob at the side of the road. *rolls eyes*

Wild Horses - If pregnancy hormones weren't bad, nothing compared to the sentimality and attachment I felt being a new mom. Although it's essentially written about Anita Pallenberg, this song was about Keith not wanting to leave Marlon to tour with the band. This song meant so much to me in the first three months of Owen's life.

Gimmie Shelter - This is a crazy good song that never grows old with me. I wish I lived in the days when Let It Bleed was just released and could have seen them preform it live. But when I need some rock an roll in my life and I wish I could get out and see live music I just pop in the documentary Gimme Shelter and it hits the right spot.

Sticky Fingers - This album is only slightly better than Let It Bleed. It has Sway and Can't You Hear Me Knocking on it. Nuff said!

Goat's Head Soup - I just discovered this album within the past 4 years. I avoided it because I assumed it wasn't any good but it is definitely right up there with Let it Bleed and Sticky Fingers.

Satisfaction - my absolute favourite song of all time. This song is the cure-all for shitty moods and anytime it comes on I instantly feel better. Even the DEVO cover is great.

Now Owen walks around wearing Rolling Stones shirts. I also wear a Stones shirt with their logo and Owen loves to see it on me. He names off "Lips, Tongue, Stars." By no stretch are we blasting sing-alongs to Starfucker or Some Girls (although when those songs come on my iPod I still chuckle). We listened to Rolling Stones Rock-A-Bye Baby in the first year and these days I sing You Can't Always Get What You Want and Satisfaction to him.

Who do I love more, Mick or Keith? I gave up trying to decide.

grasshopper sundaes

2011-08-17T07:42:00.003-04:00

I love when a recipe is so easy that you can make it right away whenever the craving hits. This Grasshopper Sundae from Everyday Food Great Food Fast is my new go-to summer treat.

I've been eating these for weeks but I never had the discipline to snap a photo before diving right in. Not that I need to explain, but I will anyways. This is two Mr. Christie chocolate wafer cookies with mint chip ice cream topped with a chocolate sauce and a sprig of mint. It might not sound like much but it packs a great flavour, in my opinion, superior to an ice cream cone. Here's why, the wafers are dark chocolate and provide a nice contrast to ice cream. That's why I think this works great as an ice cream sandwich using any other light ice cream flavour. It's also great because the wafers are the exact size of one scoop of ice cream providing portion control... if that's your thing.

turkey cobb salad

2011-08-16T05:17:00.000-04:00

Everytime I think I've discovered my favourite salad, I try a new one and proclaim, "No, this is my favourite." So there is a new one in contention here and it's Everyday Food Great Food Fast's Turkey Cobb Salad.

To have come this far along in recipe experimentation and have not made a cobb salad yet still surprises me. So this is our first and without much experience I made alterations to the recipe based on my personal tastes. First off, we didn't include bacon (hey, after Montreal we had to cut out a few things to get back on track). Secondly I made my own dressing with the leftover buttermilk from the previous night's chicken, mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, dijon and s&p (all ingredients eyeballed).

With fresh field tomatoes, Boston lettuce, cubed deli turkey, hard boiled eggs, avocado and the star of the salad - Blue Cheese, this is a fantastic salad. With all the revisions I made to this recipe I wouldn't make it any other way in the future.

slaws - the good and bad

2011-08-15T05:21:00.003-04:00

Since our recent success with potato salad I placed a lot of faith in experimenting with Everyday Food's Slaws.

First up was the Bok Choy, Carrot and Apple Slaw from Everyday Food Great Food Fast we had alongside Turkey Burgers (these same burgers from the other week).

And it's not very good at all. Raw baby bok choy is too tough to eat. It didn't sound appetizing from the get-go, so I should have known better. Ah well.

We decided to make the Carrot -Cumin Slaw with Buttermilk Baked Chicken from Everyday Food Great Food Fast.

This slaw is a huge an improvement. It's only minutes to make when you use a food processor to shred the carrots and cabbage. A very nice side to buttermilk baked chicken, which is a total keeper of a recipe. It tastes like a more natural and flavourful Shake and Bake (sorry, that's my only point of reference here since that's how I grew up eating drumsticks). But the coating was light and crispy and you certainly don't feel like you're missing out since it's not deep fried.

pancake weekends

2011-08-14T09:38:00.002-04:00

We are totally missing out on a cottage weekend in Grand Bend right now. Nuno's busy with storyboard work so we had to stay home. We were planning on making a great brunch for everyone which included Montreal bagels, Jimmy Dean sausages and wild blueberry buttermilk pancakes (using our cottage blueberries from the other week). To help ease the pain of not being able to enjoy this weekend like we had hoped I made the wild blueberry buttermilk pancakes for just the 3 of us. I used this recipe I blogged about before and they turned out perfect. Then I got so sad thinking of the cottage a wave of inspiration fell on me to make Smores pancakes.

I took half the pancake batter and added graham cracker crumbs. Then dropped several chocolate chips to the pancakes as they were grilling. A final dollop of marshmallow Fluff and here are our Smores Griddlecakes!!

I kid you not, this is a keeper. They turned out absolutely fantastic and I have a feeling we'll be making these down the road for overnight guests. The pancakes fluffed up and stayed light with the addition of the graham crackers, but they certainly didn't seem like pancakes anymore. We're calling them griddle cakes but they work as a dessert similar to a Whoopie Pie. My gosh, they are good. Eating these takes some of the sting away from not being on the beach right now.

how big is owen? this big!

2011-08-13T10:24:00.001-04:00

Our longest time away from Owen was our trip to Montreal. How'd he do? Having Nuno and I away didn't seem to bother him one bit. What a great relief it is that Owen's such a cool little guy. I'm still kinda shocked by all the changes we saw upon our return. He learned to say Outside "zoutzide", Owl "wowl" and "My Guy" along to the Mary Well's song.

A huge step is his constant experimentation of repeating words and sentences back to us, such as naming off every colour in his crayola box. And then there's the not so desirable words that come back to haunt you. I had a frustrating moment with Hot Tot's incessant barking and asked her, "Why must you be so nasty?" Three guesses what came from Owen's mouth after hearing that? "Nasty!"

I thought I'd share a little bit of our lives with Owen caught on iPod in the past 2 weeks.

Owen's been into stickers for a while. Aunt Katie brought Owen some Yo Gabba Gabba stickers the other day and they are quite the hit. He sings the character's names as he places the stickers on whatever surface he pleases.

Owen's taken to dressing himself in the morning. Here's his first attempt.

Owen enjoys time at Nana and Papa's house and gets so pumped up sometimes he feels the need to entertain (especially when Aunt Katie is home too!)

you knew it was coming... bagels!

2011-08-12T05:14:00.001-04:00

And what final entry about Montreal would be complete without mention of bagels? Every tour book lays it out for you - the choice between Fairmount or St. Viateur. And what a struggle it is.

First we stumbled upon Fairmount just by strolling around. So I stopped in for a chocolate bagel. This bagel had a dried fruit and nut flavour to it which I wasn't expecting. There was a lot of variety here so if you're into interesting bagel variations this would be your stop.

The very last thing we did in Montreal was trek out to St. Viateur just hours before hopping on our plane back home.

That was so we could take our 4 dozen bagels and freeze them hours later. This plan seemed fool-proof, that was before Porter left our luggage behind in Montreal. Luckily it was only 12 hours later our baggage arrived at our doorstep and the bagels were no worse for wear. And with all the effort we went to, one bite and it's so worth it!

What a trip, what a city, what an experience! And we're going back next year!