Good Morning Muesli

It is snowing buckets here.  This morning I wanted nothing more than to cuddle back up in my duvet and go to sleep until the snow melts.  Of course, that wasn't exactly an option. 

At least I had a yummy breakfast waiting for me.  Mr. Emily had just made a big batch of muesli, and it did make my morning a little bit better.  We don't eat muesli very often, but the Mr. had just gone to a whole foods store, saw the price of the muesli, and thought "I could make that at home for cheaper."  So he did.  And now I have a renewed love of the Swiss breakfast food.  Be warned: this is not a meal that you can eat quickly.  There is a lot of chewing involved.  Or as Dr. Seuss would probably say, "If you like to chew, this breakfast is for you!"

Want to make your own?  Here's the recipe:

Good Morning Muesli

 4 cups rolled or flaked grains (we used a mix of oats, rye, barley and triticale)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped apricots
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds

1. Mix together and store in an airtight container.
2. Serve cold topped with milk or yogurt and fresh fruit.

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving friends!  In the 11 years since I've lived away from Canada, I've always hosted or organized some sort of Thanksgiving celebration.  Typically, I would host a dinner and invite other Canadians to share it with me.  This year Thanksgiving crept up and surprised me.  I didn't realize it was Thanksgiving weekend until yesterday.  I didn't have enough time to round up any fellow Canadians, and I don't eat meat, but I tried anyways to cook something appropriately themed.

Today's Menu:

roasted sweet potatoes with fresh rosemary and kosher salt

mashed baby red and yukon gold potatoes with roasted garlic

spinach and butter lettuce salad with roasted beets and toasted pecans

oven poached salmon with fresh ground pepper and lemon

sage and cranberry crusty bread

The bread was the show stopper, although the potatoes with roasted garlic were also amazing.  My friend Lynnette taught me how to make this bread last week, and I've already made three loaves.

 
I have never made bread this beautiful before, and I bake bread often.  It's a no-knead bread similar to the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, or Jim Lahey's of Sullivan Street Bakery, but I prefer it to both.  Pretty, right?

Dessert was noticeably absent from my menu since I'm taking inspiration from Emily and limiting my sugar to just one day a week (Sunday).  With all the other yummy food I made, and the bread in particular, I didn't even miss the sweets.    

What was on your table this Thanksgiving?  And more importantly, what are you most thankful for?  My family, my religion, and my friends top my very long list.  And by the way, thanks for reading!  Emily and I are having a nice time blogging here, and we love that you share this space with us.      

Healthy Raspberry Peach Crumble

For the month of September, I attempted a refined sugar free diet.  I say attempted because I wasn't vigilant with every food, and mainly tried to avoid sweet treats with loads of sugar in them.  I also let my hair down a few times and enjoyed treats on three specific occasions over the month.  I liked this way of living and think I will continue.  My theory is that sugar is not evil, it should just be limited and reserved for special occasions.

I have a major sweet tooth, so I had to work a bit harder to get my sugar fix this past month.  I ate a lot of fruit, but had a few other baked staples that I will continue to make.  This Oatmeal-Raisin Breakfast Cookie recipe is awesome, and this Simple Gourmet Granola is a staple at my house. 

Since October 1st was the first time I was allowed a sugary treat, I indulged and made dessert.  I made a Raspberry Peach Crumble, something that is still healthy enough, I ate the leftovers for breakfast.  I could have made it last month had I substituted the sugar in the topping for maple syrup.  I served it with ice cream, but I think it would taste awesome with a creamy thick yogurt.

 

 

Raspberry Peach Crumble

(from the Usborne Healthy Cookbook)

 

 

Topping:

 

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

4 T butter

1/2 c. ground almonds

1/4 c. brown sugar

2/3 c. oats

 

Filling:

 

 

14 oz. canned peaches with 4 T of juice reserved

2 c. raspberries

 

 

1. Mix the topping together.

2. Mix the fruit in a 9x9 pan.  Pour 4 T of peach juice over the fruit.

3. Spread the crumble over the fruit.

4. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

 

 



(Wacky) Chocolate Cake

We are in the thick of birthday season at my house and I have been baking a lot of cakes.  I've also been eating a lot of cake.  It was my birthday, my two boys got a year older, and I also made cake for two friends.  All in the last month.  It's my new 'cake a week' diet.  Incidentally Emily and Mr. Emily are doing 'Sugar-Free September'.  Good thing we live so far away from each other so I can't tempt them with my delicious and beautiful cakes.  Are you jealous that I have my own personal cake decorator?  Mr. Carlee always does the finishing touches on our cakes after I've assembled them and put on the main frosting - we have a good thing going on. 

Can I share my new favourite cake recipe?  Maybe you are all familiar with this type of recipe, but I just learned about the beauty of the chocolate 'wacky' cake this year from my friend Kelly. 

This is a great basic cake recipe.  I love that it is made entirely with stuff I always have in my pantry.  The recipe dates from the earlier (some things I read said the Depression and others WW11) when ingredients like butter, eggs, and milk were expensive and out of reach for lots of families.  There is no dairy or eggs, so it's great for vegans, and those with egg allergies.  Not so great for those people with loads of will-power and their 'Sugar-Free September', but you can't please everyone.

The last few times I've made chocolate frosting I've just sort of winged it.  For me this works since I have an idea of the taste and texture I want, and I know more or less how to get there.  I prefer to use cocoa powder for frosting over actual chocolate.  My reasoning for this is that I have an easier time  making a stiffer frosting without it being overly sweet.  And it's cheaper, so in my books it's a win.  

We had a hard time getting a good picture of the texture because the cake is so dark.  My apologies for not being a better food photographer.

Wacky Chocolate Cake

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup cocoa (I use Hersey's Special Dark)

2 TBSP vinegar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup + 2 TBSP oil

2 cups cold water

1. Sift the first five ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.  The original recipe that I use calls for only 5 TBSP of cocoa, but I add more because I like it dark.   
2. Make three indentations into the mixture.  Into the first hole pour the vanilla, into the second, vinegar, into the oil into the third.  
3. Pour 2 cups of cold water over the mixture.  I've also tried replacing some of the water with milk, buttermilk, or sour cream.  All are delicious and give it a slightly different taste.  Which is good when you are making a cake every week during Birthday Season.  
4. Beat until smooth.  
5. Spray your pans with Pam with Flour and pour in the cake batter.   
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan.  When using two round cake pans, bake it at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Reducing the heat makes the cakes bake flatter and means you have to trim off less when you are leveling and stacking your layers.  
7. Pull the cakes out of the oven when a toothpick comes out clean. 
8. Cool for at least 10 minutes before turning your cakes onto a wire cooling rack.  

Winging It Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
5 cups icing (powdered) sugar

1. Cream butter and cream cheese until evenly mixed and fluffy.
2. Add vanilla.
3. Add sugar. If you need some white icing for decorating your cake, add the sugar first and then save some in a little ziplock bag (if you are not fancy and do not have piping bags). 
4. Add cocoa.  If you want it less chocolaty, start with less cocoa and add sugar and cocoa until you are happy with the taste and texture.  I find this type of frosting to be very forgiving.  It's hard to go wrong with butter, cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa.   
5. Frost your cake.  If your icing seems a bit too soft, chill it for a bit in the fridge.  You don't want it too cold and stiff or it will tear your cake (although if you are using frozen cakes this is not really a problem).  

Isn't my son sweet?  He was so bashful when we were all singing Happy Birthday too him.  Thankfully we have a break before the birthdays start up again around here.  I LOVE this cake, but I'm ready to go back to eating cookies for awhile.  

Greek Red Lentil Soup

Hello again friends!  I'm just popping in again to share a favourite recipe with everyone.  I love to eat soup, but sometimes I have a hard time selling it on the whole family.  My husband is a pretty good sport, but he doesn't love smooth soups, and sometimes the little people will only eat a few spoonfuls.  But not so with this super delicious Greek Red Lentil Soup.  Mr. Carlee loves it, and says that unlike other soups where he get's bored of eating it after one bowl, he can keep eating and eating this kind.  And the best news is that the ultra-picky two-year old will eat it.  And ask for seconds. 

I was introduced to this recipe by my younger sister Kim, when she made it for our family a few years ago during our Christmas vacation.  It's from a fabulous cookbook, Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook.  I know we are kind of leaving the cookbook era, but this is one cookbook that I love and use all the time.  If I'm ever looking for something tasty to eat, I flip through this one and choose something.  It's kind of hippy/girl food, with lots of vegetarian and vegan options.  Just my kind of food. 

Since this recipe is published in a cookbook that I love and want to support, I'm not going to type up the recipe here.  But, I found it typed up on a few different websites.  Here is a version that is easy to read. 

This soup is so good with a hot loaf of my easy to make whole wheat bread.  And although soup is nice to eat in the winter, I love it just as much on a rainy spring day (or any day for that matter).  Oh, and other good news, is that it's healthy and really inexpensive to make.   Red lentils are so cheap you can splurge on the fresh herbs (especially the rosemary) without feeling guilty.     

My Family Recipe Book

A few years ago, Mr. Emily decided to make a Family Recipe Book.  He spent hours going through cook books and my messy recipe file folder, typing up our family's favourite recipes.  I thought that this was a COMPLETE waste of time.  We already had them all written down!  I knew exactly which place to go to to get what I wanted.  I was quite annoyed at the fact that he was wasting time typing up recipes, and that he was forcing me to choose which ones I wanted to have included.

Well, fast-forward a few years - I love our Family Recipe Book!  Other than the Internet for new ideas, it is the only place I go to when searching for a recipe.  I might as well get rid of the rest of my cook books, for all that I use them.  I love having all of my recipes in one place, and another added bonus of having them all typed up, is that they are ready to email to friends, and are saved online, so can be accessed from anywhere.  Thank-you, Mr. Emily!  It actually wasn't a waste of time!

Every other year, the recipe book gets an overhaul.  Recipes that aren't used are deleted, and new favourites typed up and added in.  Between editions, I hand write my favourite new recipes in the margins and on back-sides of the pages.  I also love being able to write notes to myself about specific recipes: how to modify them, what I've tried, and warnings or tips. 

So, what about you?  How do you organize your favourite recipes?  Do you do it online?  Do you have a folder, a recipe book collection, or just one favourite book?  I'd love to hear what you do!

Bunny Buns

In just a few hours, my family is headed out of town for the long weekend.  (Yay for long weekends!  And yay for actually living within driving distance of family for the first time in ten years!)

I wanted to write a quick post to wish you all a happy Easter, and to share a bit more of what we've been up to this week.  I had grand plans of making matching Easter dresses for my girls.  Since Carlee finally has her own girl to sew for this Easter, I thought I should take on the project for my own kids myself.  I cut out the fabric for one of the dresses, and that's about as far as I got.  Oh well, they'll be finished someday, or not. 

One thing that I did actually get around to completing this week was to make a batch of Bunny Buns.  Bunny Buns are simply dinner rolls or buns, shaped like bunnies.  My four year old had so much fun rolling out the dough, making shapes and adding eyes and other features.

I used my favourite dinner roll recipe, and when it came time to shape them, we made bunny shapes instead.  We added raisins and cloves for eyes, nose, ears, etc, and then baked them as normal.

They are best straight out of the oven with a bit of honey butter.  Yum! 

The Easter Bunny already visited our house this morning, bringing a few small candies and some dollar store trinkets.  We plan to do more egg dying this weekend, and visit some baby chicks and bunnies as well.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

The other day I woke up craving a specific kind of muffin.  It was also a kind of muffin that I had never had before, but I imagined it would be good.  I wanted a muffin that was full of blueberries, oatmeal, and other healthy stuff.  I wanted a muffin that I wouldn't feel guilty about eating for breakfast.  Well, thank-goodness for the Internet!  Is there anything that doesn't exist in that great big world?

I found my dream recipe on The Eat Clean Diet website.  I changed my version a little to make it slightly less clean, but still pretty virtuous.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

slightly adapted from eatcleandiet.com

3 bananas, mashed

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 cups oats

2 cups frozen blueberries (or fresh!)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease or line muffin tins.

2. Mix bananas, milk, sugar and eggs together.

3. Mix baking powder and oats together and add to wet mixture.

4. Add blueberries and stir until just mixed.

5. Spoon into muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes.  (Note: These muffins don't rise very much, so you can fill your tins pretty full.)

6. Enjoy!

I imagine that these muffins would last a few days in an airtight container, but at my house, they didn't last more than a few hours.



Chimol

It feels like winter will never end.  Does any one else have that feeling?  Maybe it's because I just moved to Alberta from Ontario where now the winter is a bit longer and a bit colder.  To trick myself into thinking that winter is over, I have been eating summer food.  You know, like barbecuing when it is -40 outside.

One of my favorite summer foods is chimol, a recipe I got from my friends Amanda and Fernando.  Fernando is from El Salvador, where chimol is a staple.  Chimol is made of radishes, tomatoes and cilantro.  It is often eaten with meat, but I love it as a fresh salsa.  (It tastes great with Carlee's sweet potato burritos.)  Chimol tastes just like summer to me, because I made it all the time in the summer when my tomatoes and radishes were in full force.  Even if you are not a radish fan (which I am not!), I urge you to try it, you won't be disappointed!

Chimol

1 Tomato, chopped

7 Small Radishes, chopped
Some Red onion, to taste
Some Cilantro, slightly chopped
Some Salt and Pepper
2 Limes

1. Chop and mix ingredients together
2. Refrigerate first, or serve immediately

Microwave Popcorn

 

In the last month, I've heard a little internet buzz about making microwave popcorn.  I am pretty sure that I was the last person on earth to finally try making some, but just in case you are actually the last person, here is how you do it. 

Find a paper bag.  The best size to use is the medium size that you get from the bakery when you buy a pastry (mine measures about 14" x 7").  The lunch size is just a little too small, and the grocery store size is a bit big (although you could totally still use it).  But do yourself a favour a buy a pastry from your local bakery so you'll have the perfect bag.  And you only need one bag.  I've used mine a handful of times and it still works great.   

Dump 1/4 cup of regular popping corn into your bag and fold down the top.

 

Put it into your microwave and push the 'popcorn' button.  If your microwave doesn't have one, like my parent's model from the early 80's that still works, cook on high until the popping slows down (more than 3 seconds between pops).   

And that is it.  The result is perfectly popped, light and fluffy popcorn.

I feel a little like I've been lied to by the makers of store-bought microwave popcorn.  I used to think that you needed a special bag, or that the 'oil' was necessary, but it turns out that all you need is regular popping corn and a paper bag.

The only thing missing is the chemical taste from whatever they add, and for me this is the best part.  Now you are free to salt, butter, flavour, or just eat your popcorn plain. 

Have you tried doing this yet? 

Roasted Sweet Potato Burritos

Thanks to Emily, my fridge has the same two printables.  I've been trying to get my life a little more organized since I have less "free" time now that I also have a little baby to take care of.  I dread meal planning, but I love not having to decide what to make at 4 pm every day, so Emily's chart is great for me.

I made a meal last week that is a favourite of mine, and I wanted to share it with you.  This is a recipe that I more or less made up, but I have seen others that are similar.  It's really yummy, and if you love sweet potatoes like I do, I'm sure you will also love it.  If you aren't a mushroom fan, it would be fine to leave them out.     

Roasted Sweet Potato Burritos

 

Ingredients:
2 medium yams, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package of mushrooms, quartered
2 cans of black beans (about 3 cups of cooked beans)
2 TBSP olive oil
2 tsp chili powder (or more if you like it spicy)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 TBSP maple syrup (optional, but oh so good)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (also optional, and also good)

Shredded green cabbage, cilantro, sour cream (plain yogurt), and hot sauce to garnish.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Chop your veggies, and throw them into a roasting pan.  Add the spices, and oil, and toss to combine.

 

3. Cover and roast for about 20 minutes until the veggies are soft.
4. Add black beans.  Stir gently to combine.  Top with cheese and return to oven until the cheese is melted.
5. To serve, place sweet potato mixture on a warm tortilla.  Garnish with shredded green cabbage, cilantro, sour cream (I use plain yogurt), and hot sauce. 

When I'm feeling ambitious, I make this flour tortilla recipe.  I typically use 1 cup of whole wheat flour instead of all white.  It's not low fat mind you, but very tasty.  Other wise I use small corn tortillas.  Either way it's yummy and filling, and like most vegetarian recipes, pretty cheap to make.  My husband, who isn't a vegetarian, thinks this would be even better with chicken.  I'd love to hear if anyone tries it that way.

Honey Sunshine Muffins

This coming weekend, my little sister is getting married!  Yay!  My brother and his family are flying into town tonight, and then Carlee and her baby come on Thursday.  On Thursday night, there will be 16 (!)people sleeping at my house, on their way to the wedding for the weekend. 

To prepare for all of those people in my house, I have tried to think of some yummy and healthy food items to have on hand.  This will mostly consist of fruit and vegetables, but I also wanted to have some other food items around too.  This afternoon, I made a batch of my favourite muffins, and am sharing the recipe now.

Honey Sunshine Muffins are long-standing favourite at my house.  (We actually call them Monique's Muffins, in honour of my sister-in-law, who the recipe comes from.  I just learned the "real name" a few weeks ago.)  They are loaded with fruits and veggies, have 100% whole-wheat flour, and no refined sugars.  I always tried to keep these on hand when I had a new baby, as a muffin is the perfect meal to eat while breast-feeding. 

The recipe is a bit labour-intensive, but so worth, I promise!

Honey Sunshine Muffins

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbl. Cinnamon

1/2 Cup Honey
2 Cups Carrots, grated
1/2 Cup Apple Sauce
1 Apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 Banana, mashed
1/2 Cup Oil
3 Eggs
1 Cup Raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Mix dry ingredients together.
3. Mix wet ingredients together.
4. Combine, and stir until just mixed.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Oven Baked Caramel Popcorn

Here is a recipe that is simple and oh-so-satifying.  It is also a recipe that you can't mess up.  (Unless, of course, you use vinegar instead of white corn-syrup.  But who would do that?  Ah-hem...  Okay, I did that one time, and it was not my finest moment.)

Whenever I bring this caramel corn to a potluck, it gets gobbled up, and everyone asks for the recipe.  I am always happy to oblige.  I often make a quick no-bake caramel corn, but when you have the extra time, baking it in the oven is worth it, if only for the fact that it won't stick to your teeth.  Make this and your teeth will thank you, but more importantly, so will your stomach.   

Oven Baked Carmel Popcorn

15 Cups Air Popped Popcorn

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Butter

1/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1. Preheat oven to 200º.
2. Place popcorn in large roasting pan or 2 ungreased 9 x 13 pans.
3. Heat brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt in saucepan over medium heat.
4. Stir occasionally until bubbly.
5. Cook 5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.
7. Pour sugar mixture over popcorn and toss until evenly coated.
8. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
9. Spread out and let cool.

Perfect Pies

I know you are all long past thinking about Thanksgiving and all the food you ate last week, but I wanted to share with you some of my favourite holiday dessert recipes, and the most fabulous pie crust that I inherited from my friend Becca.  Thanksgiving might be over, but Christmas is coming, and I personally love to eat pie just as much in December as November (and October for that matter since I still always cook a Canadian Thanksgiving feast as well).

Last week, at the Thanksgiving meal we shared with my some of Mr. Carlee's family members (parents, brother, and sister's family), I was in charge of the desserts.  I'm a vegetarian, so I get a free pass on making the turkey, and while I was involved with making a lot of the other dishes on the table, I handled all the desserts mostly by myself.  This year I made a chocolate pecan pie, a pumpkin pie (from a fresh roasted pumpkin), an apple pie, a pumpkin cheesecake, and a few oreo truffles (I will be sharing the 'recipe' later, since these are the easiest and most addicting holiday treats).

 

My favourite every year is always the chocolate pecan pie served with a nice pile of fresh whipped cream.  I use this recipe from Marta Stewart (I also use her pumpkin pie and cheesecake recipes), but I just bake it in a pie plate instead of a tart pan.  I also think that it must be served chilled, because the chocolate is insanely good this way.  Oh, and do yourself a favour, and buy nice chocolate to make this.  I like Ghiradelli's 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chips, but you can use whatever you like best. 

And now onto the pie crust.  My mother will die when she sees how thick my crusts are (she is a women that only likes thin pie crusts) but I really like to taste the crust if it's light, buttery, and flaky.  This recipe is all of that.  I use it for fruit pies, but it's also awesome for quiche (even with the sugar).  As an aside, isn't is funny how there are somethings that you want made just like your mother made them, and others that you do completely differently? 

Deluxe Flaky Pie Crust (via my friend Becca)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4" pieces (keep it in the freezer until you need it)

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/3 cup plus 1TBSP ice water

1. Mix dry ingredients together. 
2. If using a food processor, pulse carefully until butter is in coarse pea-sized crumbles.  I personally like to use a pastry knife even though it takes longer, since I think it gives me more control over the butter pieces.  And I hate washing the food processor, so win-win.   
3. Add shortening, and pulse several more times. 
4. Drizzle ice cold water over the mixture and pulse until it is just barely evenly moistened.  Depending on factors like the humidity and other things, you may need slightly more or less water.  Too much water will make your crust too doughy and ultimately tough.
5. Divide the dough in half (or thirds if you want a thinner crust), form them into disks about 6" across, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour.  If I can, I make the crust the night before I'm baking pies.  The dough can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 6 months; thaw completely in your fridge before rolling.

 A Few General Pie Crust Tips

• For the most part, the more you work your dough, the worse it gets.  To get a nice flaky crust you want to flatten your butter pieces, not obliterate them. 
• When I'm making quiche or baked custard pies, I like to parbake my crusts.  To minimize crust shrinkage (it's going to happen at least a little), make sure your pie crust is cold (I put mine in the fridge for about 30 minutes after rolling it out) before it goes in the oven.  
• To keep the bottom crust from bubbling up when you are parbaking (or completely baking) a crust, I like to cover it with a piece of parchment paper and then fill the bottom with dried beans (keep the beans just for this purpose).  Another possibility is to rest another, slightly smaller, pie plate inside of your crust (with a layer of parchment paper in between).  You can also buy pie weights, but this also works well. 
• I like to save my pie scraps (after trimming around the edge of you pan) and dust them with white sugar and cinammon.  Bake them in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes for a tasty snack.
• To get a nice looking top, you can brush with a combination of cream, egg, milk, and sprinkle with sugar.  
• If you find your pie top is getting too brown, loosely tent the whole pie with a big piece of foil.  If you are only having problems with the edges, cover the edges with strips of foil.
• When you are transferring your crust from your rolling surface to your pan, I like to fold my crust in quarters, before plopping it on.  This helps me get the center of the crust in the middle of the pan.  If you are cutting symmetrical designs into the top crust, it's also really easy to do when it's folded this way.  

Any pie tips you would like to share?  Are you thin or thick pie crust lovers?  And what is your favourite pie?  As much as I love the previously mentioned chocolate pecan,  I would take a fresh peach pie over it any day.   
 

Real Gingerbread Houses

Last year my family all got together for Christmas in a rented cabin in Upstate New York.  We had 11 adults and 5 little kids squeezed together.  It was so much fun - probably my favourite Christmas to date.  Some of the highlights of our week was the amazing food that we all cooked, and the fact that we were all actually together.  At the end of the week, when everyone was asked what they liked best about our Christmas, I think the unanimous answer was Gingerbread Houses.

Growing up, I think I remember putting together a gingerbread house from a kit or graham crackers here and there, but it was never the highlight of my Christmas.  When I married Mr. Emily however, I inherited the tradition of complex and labour intensive gingerbread houses done "the real way."  Let me tell you, it is a lot of work, but it is so much fun to make the shapes, build the houses, and decorate them in elaborate ways.  Gingerbread house building is not just for kids.

Last year, my family made a camping scene (complete with outhouse), an A-frame house (which the kids were allowed to COVER with candies) and a traditional house with a picket fence.  It was a really fun activity to do together as a family. 

Click through for the recipes for the dough, icing, and melted sugar glue (which holds the houses together better than icing ever could).

Easy Pesto Pasta



When this meal was first served to me, I immediately thought: "Wow!  Delicious!"  Then I when I realized how easy it was to make, I thought "Oh!  Why don't I ever make this dish?"  Well, now I do.  All the time.  And if you don't make it now, you should, because you'll love it.

The beauty of the Pesto Pasta is 1) It seems a whole lot fancier than pasta with tomato sauce, 2) It is flexible in terms of what you actually put in it, and 3) It's perfect for those who don't like "red sauce," like my 4-year-old.  Oh yeah, and did I mention that it was easy?  I think I may have.

Easy Pesto Pasta

4 cups cooked pasta noodles (rotini and penne are my favourites)

pesto, to taste (I usually use about 3 tablespoons)

3/4 cup feta cheese

1 cup protein (eg. chunks of chicken, chickpeas, fried tofu)

2 cups sauteed veggies (I like peppers and zucchini)

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions.

2. While noodles are cooking, saute veggies, and cook protein if needed.  Cut up cheese and tomatoes.

3. Toss everything together with pesto. 

Ta-da!  Your easy dinner is served.

Cranberry Pound Cake

This year at my extended family's Thanksgiving Dinner, my aunt brought the most delicious cranberry cake.  Lucky for most of you, in Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated at the beginning of October.  This means that you can still make this divine cake for your Thanksgiving dinner.  Or any old day, because it is so good.

Cranberry Pound Cake                

6 Tbsp. butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups evaporated milk
4 cups flour
6 tsp. bk. powder
2 tsp. salt
4 cups whole cranberries

1. Cream together the butter and sugar. 
2. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to the wet, alternately with the milk.  Your batter will be thick.
3. Add the cranberries and pour into a greased angel food cake pan.
4. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350 F.
5. To serve, drizzle sauce over cake slices.

Sauce

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
¾ cups heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla
few drops red food colouring

1. Mix all ingredients in a heavy saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add vanilla and a few drops red food coloring.

Enjoy!