Family Feedbag

Strawberry Jam

2013-06-18T06:30:00.002-07:00

Strawberry stains are back in my life and I have no complaints about it. Strawberries, or as my youngest son calls them "strawbooies," have been smearing faces in our backyard for a couple weeks now. The kids pluck the warm, ripe berries in the afternoon sunshine leaving their chins and forearms dripping with red juice. Despite the stains, their appetite for fresh berries eases my frustration about their rejection of vegetables, especially by my youngest kiddo, at the dinner table.

But my backyard berries weren't going to be enough when a new project came my way last week. Chef Heidi Fink, who also writes the blog Lip Smacking, asked if I would like to participate in some demonstrations she was organizing this summer on the new Chef's Stage at Moss Street Market, a local farmers market. I quickly found myself lined up to be the first presenter, making fresh strawberry jam three times in two hours from a flat of local berries. Gulp! But I did and it was lovely and I enjoyed chatting with folks about their fond memories of canning with grannies and great aunts while they enjoyed a sampling of the warm, fresh jam.

This recipe makes what I think is the ideal strawberry jam - not too thick and not too loose, mid-sweet, and cooked no more than 10 minutes to retain that vibrant colour and heavenly fresh strawberry flavour. I use pectin in this recipe to get that ideal texture, colour and flavour. But if you want to make a strawberry jam with no added pectin, I have a recipe for that too. However, it results in a darker strawberry jam and requires a longer cooking time.

To prepare:

I boil my clean jars for 10 minutes, then leave them in hot water until ready to be filled with hot jam.
The sealing discs and ring bands are brought to a boil in a small saucepan then left in hot water until ready for use.

Here's how I make it:

makes enough to fill at least 5 half pint/250 ml mason jars

3 1/2 cups crushed strawberries (about 2 lbs washed and dried, hulled, and lightly mashed with a potato masher)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 57 g/2 oz package of regular pectin crystals

4 cups granulated white sugar

I stir together the crushed berries, lemon juice and pectin crystals in my largest stock pot and bring to a hard boil over highest heat, stirring occasionally. Once at a hard boil for 2-3 minutes, I add the sugar and bring it back up to a hard, foamy boil over highest heat (the entire surface of the jam should be foamy and bubbling hard in order to activate the pectin). Once at that hard foamy boil is reached, I keep it there for one minute, then remove the jam from the heat. For about five minutes, I gently stir the jam while skimming as much of the foamy scum off the surface as I can (this results in a clearer, less cloudy jam).

I ladle the hot jam into my hot jars, leaving a 1/4-inch of headspace, then wipe the jar rims clean with a wet paper towel. The discs are secured in place with the bands just until finger tight, and my jars are lowered into the rack of my already-boiling water bath canner, resting 1-2 inches below the water surface. The jars are processed (boiled) for 15 minutes (start counting when it comes back to a full boil), then removed from the canner to a tea towel on the kitchen counter to form their seal and cool for 12-24 hours. The jars of jam store on my canning shelves for up to a year.

What's your ideal strawberry jam? Do you have memories of canning with grannies and great aunts? Leave a comment and share your stories.

Grilled turkey & mushroom skewers with peanut sauce

2013-06-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

This is a sponsored post. My love of turkey and mushrooms is pure free will.

Nearly every memory I have of eating food off a stick is a good one. Whether it was a stick from the woods for a campfire or one of those flat and slightly too thin corn dog sticks or a cube of cheese on a toothpick at a party, the tasty scale was enhanced by the non-requirement of utensils. Yup, somewhere in the human mind stick equals yum. The popsicle company people know what I'm talking about. So do the candy apple people. And while we lick that golden ooey goodness off our fingers around the campfire, the marshmallow company bigwigs are laughing all the way to the bank. "Fools," they laugh, "Don't they know it's just sugar?" Ka-ching. Yes, stick equals yum.

So, when I was asked by the Turkey Farmers of Canada and Mushrooms Canada to contribute two recipes to their summer grilling e-cookbooks, food on a stick easily came to mind. The recipe I'm featuring this week is tender chunks of turkey breast and cremini mushrooms grilled on wooden skewers (which is just a fancy word for stick, really) and coated in a silky peanut sauce, which can only lead to good times around the summer barbie. The recipe is easy. The gorgeous sauce is divided in two so half of it can be used during grilling and the other half is warmed in a saucepan and drizzled over the grilled skewers or used for dipping. With some grilled veggies and hot sticky rice, it's a real stick-to-your-ribs summer dinner.

I want you to have this recipe. But I want you to have all the other turkey and mushroom grilling recipes too. And you can because these two e-cookbooks are totally FREE!

Get the Tasty Turkey e-cookbook here.

Get the Mushrooms Canada e-cookbook here.

All the recipes in these e-cookbooks are the work of ten food bloggers throughout Canada, and the signature style of each blogger really comes through. There's so much creativity on each page that there's really no excuse for boring barbecues this summer.

What's your favourite food on a stick? How do you like to cook turkey and mushrooms on the grill? Leave a comment and go download the FREE e-cookbooks!

Bannock: my authentic Canadian food memory

2013-06-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

This post is part of The Canadian Food Experience Project; a commitment by food bloggers/writers across Canada to post on a common monthly topic in celebration of Canadian food culture. This month's task is to write about a first authentic Canadian food memory.

Every time I hear the beat of an Aboriginal drum I think, "Oh boy, here we go." Not because I don't like it but because I do. My eyes well up. Every. Single. Time. Which is really inconvenient when you're a news reporter (like I used to be) or a media relations professional (like I was after I stopped being a reporter) because at cultural and government news conferences where Aboriginal drummers and dancers occasionally perform, you need to be apart from the experience and not part of it. There's something about the boom of the drum and the wail of voices that glues my feet to the ground, forcing me to swallow the lump in my throat while looking down at my notes to hide the mist in my eyes. I admire that man in his feathers and his leathers. I admire his sureness of self-identity, his connection to tradition, and the rawness of his artistry.

On a cold day in 2006 I drove my car onto the Tsawwassen reserve, which stretches along the waterfront of the Lower Mainland south of Vancouver, and found the distinctive longhouse where I was to prepare for a big news conference. The Tsawwassen First Nation was welcoming the provincial and federal governments to initial the Tsawwassen Treaty, the first urban treaty in British Columbia. A large fire was being stoked in the centre of the longhouse, filling the air with smoke and setting the scene for the historic moment. The ceremony started with drumming and dancing and, of course, my misty eyes. After the ceremony, as the ink and my eyes dried, everyone celebrated with a buffet-style feast. Always on duty, I shied away from sampling the incredible offerings - salmon and vegetables and something called bannock, which I had embarrassingly never heard of before. But when one of the cooks heard me say that she insisted I try some. She excitedly offered me a sampling of the fried bread, telling me a little more about it. Every family has a favourite way of making it, she said. It's either enjoyed as is or served with savoury dishes and sometimes it goes in the dessert direction with the addition of sugar and cinnamon. She was sharing with me one of the foundations of her food culture. I felt good inside that day, and only partly because of the fried bread.

When I thought about what kind of bannock recipe I wanted to share in this post, my mind started dreaming up savoury cheese bannocks and sweetened dried fruit bannocks. But I decided instead to go back to the source. I contacted the Tsawwassen First Nation and told them I was looking for an authentic Tsawwassen recipe that I could share here. I was generously sent a copy of a recipe which I'm told is from a recipe collection called 'Feasting with Tsawwassen.' In the end, I couldn't help giving it a little of my own flair with the addition of some fresh herbs from my back yard. I also cut the recipe in half to suit a family of four.

Here's how I made it:
serves 4

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp chopped fresh chives
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
1 tbsp salt
lukewarm water (up to 1 cup)
cooking oil (enough to fill a frying pan 1/2-inch deep - bacon fat, suet, lard, vegetable shortening and vegetable oil are all options. I used canola oil.)

In a large mixing bowl, I whisked together the flour, baking powder, herbs, sugar and salt. Using a wooden spoon, I gently stirred in the water until the flour was incorporated into the dough, being careful not to over mix. I heat the oil over medium heat (it shouldn't be smoking) and divided the dough into four tennis ball sized pieces. Each ball was flatted to about 1/2-inch thickness with my fingers. The pieces of dough were fried in the hot oil, one or two in the pan at a time, for 3-4 minutes. Then, using two spatulas, I carefully flipped them over to fry another 3-4 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. I let the bannock drain on a dinner plate lined with paper towel until cool enough to eat.

I want to thank Andrew Bak at the Tsawwassen First Nation for generously sending me the recipe. He tells me there will be a bannock cook off at the Tsawwassen celebrations for National Aboriginal Day, which is coming up on June 21st, 2013.

For more information about The Canadian Food Experience Project, visit founder Valerie Lugonja's blog A Canadian Foodie or follow along on the Facebook page.

Do you have an interesting bannock recipe or story to share? Leave a comment and tell me all about it.

12 homemade ways to use jam

2013-06-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Turning juicy fresh fruit into a sweet jammy mess is one of the most pleasurable ways I spend an afternoon in the kitchen. A big pot of fruit and sugar bubbling away on the stove forces me to slow down and appreciate the moment, filling hot jars one at a time with sticky goodness. But all those jewel-toned jams stored in mason jars don't just go on toast. There are plenty of other delicious ways - both sweet and savoury - to make use of all that strawberry, peach, cherry, orange and blueberry jam.

Here are 12 homemade ways I use jam in my kitchen:

1. Salad dressings
A couple heaping teaspoons of jam shaken in a jar with 1/4 cup of oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar makes a simple and delicious vinaigrette. Try raspberry jam shaken with canola oil and red wine vinegar for a bright raspberry vinaigrette. Or apricot with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a robust balsamic apricot vinaigrette, and so on.

2. Stir fry
Balance out saltiness or bitterness in a stir fry with a little sweetness. Try a 1/4 cup of orange or lemon marmalade, mixed with an equal part of water, swirled around in the hot wok with tender pieces of chicken.

3. Sweeten smoothies
A dollop of any flavour of jam nicely balances any smoothie made with tart fruits or bitter vegetables. You just have to decide if you can live with jam in your healthy smoothie.

4. DIY fruit-bottom yogurt
Try a spoonful of jam stirred into a bowl of plain yogurt. That's all commercial fruit-flavoured yogurts are anyway. Add some granola or chopped nuts and you're in dessert territory.

5. Popsicles
Now that you've made your own fruit-bottom yogurt, put some in popsicle molds and freeze to enjoy creamy jam pops.

6. Grilling marinades
A delicious marinade usually has a touch of sweetness. A tablespoon of jam mixed with 1 cup of red wine, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary and a 1/4 cup of soy sauce makes for a well-balanced marinade.

7. Tart fillings
Make simple tart shells and fill half-way with jam before baking. Try any flavour of jam in these Jam-filled Sweet Tarts.

8. Peekaboo cookies
Spread jam between simple shortbread cookies with the tops cut out. Get a jewel-like effect with these Peekaboo Jam Cookies.

9. Pancakes & waffles
Have no fear when the maple syrup runs out. Spoon some jam on top of those pancakes and waffles and no one's complaining. Go one step further and spoon some jam into the batter.

10. Barbecue sauce
Every good grilling sauce needs some sweetness. Instead of honey or brown sugar, try stirring a heaping spoonful of jam into 1 cup of crushed tomatoes, 1/4 cup of vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and your favourite grilling spices. But don't go overboard on the jam. Too much sugar in a BBQ sauce can lead to burning on the grill.

11. Liven up oatmeal
Boring oatmeal is a crime. Try cooking oats along with chopped fresh or dried fruit and top with a dollop of jam. That's a good morning.

12. Cocktails
Add a spoonful of jam to a cocktail shaker with ice, a shot of rum, fresh mint leaves and sparkling water. Shake and strain into a pretty glass and summer is all yours.

How do you use jam creatively in your kitchen?

Peekaboo jam cookies

2013-05-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

True story: I made it to my mid-thirties without ever being asked to contribute something to a bake sale. Some may see that as lucky, but people who like to bake are often people who like to help. We're nurturers. So it was with enthusiasm last week that I answered the call to bring something yummy from home for a fundraising garage sale organized by parents at my son's school. Okay, I may have been one of the parents responsible for putting out that call for goodies, but the important thing is that I did it. Right? Right.

I kinda left the decision of what to bake until the night before, which is sooner than I prepare school lunches so nothing to feel bad about there, and settled on shortbread. Everyone loves shortbread. But in an attempt to make them extra buyable (I'm making that a word), I decided to sandwich some homemade jam between the rounds of shortbread and dust the tops with icing sugar. They may look fancy, but they're actually incredibly simple and fun to assemble. I even cut out the cookies with common household items. No fancy tools required.

If you want to learn how to make jam, my canning classes in Victoria are coming up soon. Check my classes page for info and come spend some time with me in the kitchen. Then you'll be making these peekaboo jam cookies with your own homemade jam in no time.

Here's how I made them:

makes one dozen

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup jam (any kind)

1 tbsp icing sugar

While my oven preheated to 350 degrees (F), I started by creaming the butter and the sugar. The vanilla was blended in next. Then the flour was added gradually, mixing well between additions. I brought the dough together into a ball with my hands and transferred it to a floured surface. The dough was rolled with a floured rolling pin to about 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch circular cookie cutter (I used a children's drinking cup), I cut out 12 cookies and transferred them to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a 1-inch circular cookie cutter (I used a plastic bottle cap), I cut a circle from the centre of each cookie to form rings. Adding the small circles back into the dough ball, I rolled out again to about 1/8-inch thickness and cut another 12 cookies, this time leaving them whole, and transferred them to another parchment-lined baking sheet. The circle and ring cookies were baked 10-12 minutes just until starting to turn golden around the bottom edges. Once cooled completely, the full circles were smeared with a heaping teaspoon of jam each, and the rings were dusted with the icing sugar through a fine mesh sieve. To assemble, each jam circle was topped with a dusted ring.

Mr. Feedbag was bummed that all my peekaboo jam cookies sold at the bake sale, so I made some more for him at home. Now he's bummed that all these cookies are in the house when he's trying to eat healthy and train for a bicycle event in September. Careful what you wish for because I'll make it! Like I said, I'm a baker/nurturer.

How do you feel about bake sales? Love 'em or hate 'em? Do you have a go-to bake sale item? Leave a comment and share your bake sale thoughts!

Grilled honey mustard meatballs

2013-05-24T07:36:00.001-07:00

I feel like for a while there people were getting a little over-excited about fancy food. It was as though good food was defined by its use of unusual ingredients or level of preparation difficulty. Cooking at home no longer required simple pans and wholesome ingredients, it required expensive new gadgets and a dictionary. All that made for entertaining television, but at home in the family kitchen it made for impossible ideals.

I think we're moving away from that now. I think there's a return to simplicity in our appetites and in our home kitchens. We're craving fresh food that is seasoned and cooked well. Sometimes that means we're willing to spend a few hours braising something slowly on a Sunday afternoon, and sometimes we want to get a fresh and delicious meal on the table quickly on a weeknight. That's what this seven-ingredient recipe is about for me. Quick and flavourful meatballs cooked on a hot grill, then drenched in a tangy honey mustard sauce. It's good, honest food that anyone can make, and it's that simplicity that makes it the sort of food that I think is truly worth getting excited about.

Here's how I made it:

makes 16-18 meatballs

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

3 spring onions, chopped

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup liquid honey

1/3 cup prepared yellow mustard

I combined the beef, two thirds of the spring onions (setting aside one third for garnish), bread crumbs, egg and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using my hands, I mixed the meatball mixture until well combined, then rolled into two-inch meatballs. On a preheated, greased grill on high heat, I cooked the meatballs 5-6 minutes, then rotated them once, cooking another 5-6 minutes until fully cooked through. Meanwhile, the honey and mustard were stirred together in a small saucepan and brought to a bubble over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. To serve, the meatballs were placed in a serving dish and the sauce was poured over top. The reserved spring onion was sprinkled on as a garnish.

I'm on a bit of a grilling kick lately, so watch for new recipes and photos with grill marks from me this summer. Nothing too complicated though. Just simple, good food.

How important is simplicity in your kitchen? What is the simplest dinner dish you make?

Cumin-scented mango chutney

2013-05-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, my family has been having a love affair with condiments. As a kid, the refrigerator door was always heavy with jars. Even when the main fridge shelves got a little low between trips to the grocery store, the door had an abundant collection of spreadable things, pickled things, dipping things and more salad dressings than any trendy-at-the-time salad bar could match. While one mustard might be enough for most families, our family had at least four - one grainy, one Dijon, one honeyed, and one jar of your standard yellow mustard. Barbecues were quite the scene. Half the contents of the fridge door would occupy the middle of the dinner table as our knives and forks clinked in and out of jars, trying to get at the goodies inside. As my brother and I got older we would tease my parents about their condiment obsession, which continues to this day (the obsession and the teasing). But, truth be told, I'm starting to think the condiment obsession is genetic and has been passed down to me. Chutneys, barbecue sauces, dipping sauces, jams, jellies, relishes, pickles - I make them all. It's just another one of those things that confirms I'm slowly turning into my parents.

This small batch mango chutney is bright in colour and in flavour. Scented with whole cumin and mustard seeds, the result is a sweet and tangy chutney that is as much at home with some butter chicken as it is on a cheese-topped cracker. I've given instructions for canning it, but if you eat a lot of chutney in your home and you don't want to can it, you could just store the whole batch in the fridge for up to three months.

To prepare:

I boiled my clean jars in the boiling water canner for 10 minutes, then left them in hot water until ready to be filled with hot chutney.
The sealing discs and ring bands were brought to a boil in a small saucepan then left in hot water until ready for use.

Here's how I made it:
makes 5 half pint/250 ml jars

2 cups diced onion
1 tbsp cumin seed
6 cups diced mango (about 4 large mangoes, peeled, pitted and diced)
3 cups red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1 tbsp mustard seed
1 tsp grated fresh ginger root

I warmed a large pot over medium heat, then added the onions, cooking for a couple minutes while stirring frequently just until they began to release some moisture. I added the cumin seeds to toast a little and stirred frequently while the onions cooked a couple minutes longer, without browning. The remaining ingredients were added and the mixture was brought to a boil over high heat. The chutney boiled on high heat for 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.

I ladled the hot chutney into my hot jars, leaving a 1/4-inch of headspace, then wiped the jar rims clean with a wet paper towel. The discs were secured in place with the bands just until finger tight, and my jars were lowered into the rack of my already-boiling water bath canner, resting 1-2 inches below the water surface. The jars were processed (boiled hard) for 15 minutes, then removed from the canner to a towel on the kitchen counter to form their seal and cool for 12-24 hours.

I absolutely loved this chutney spooned on turkey burgers. It now has a home on my fridge shelves as the cycle of obsessive condiment use passes down from generation to generation.

Did you grow up in a condiment family? What lives on the shelves of YOUR fridge door? Leave a comment and your condiment confessions.

Garlic pepper coleslaw with mint & toasted pine nuts

2013-05-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

Barbecue season. I've lived in places where those two words are met with relief and celebration after living through month after frozen month of winter. I'd dig out my shorts and sandals and spend the first few sunny days of the season sitting on a lawn chair with my face turned toward the sun, eyes closed, and daydreaming about the beach trips and barbecue parties to come. Where I live now, on the southern end of Vancouver Island, barbecue season is more loosely defined. Grilling outdoors can be done all year round, and, although 'barbecue season' is a term used commonly by retailers to sell patio furniture and tiki torches in the warmer months, grilled chicken and steaks can end up on our dinner table any month of the year.

When it comes to a great meal, I love contrasts in flavour, temperature and texture. So, for me, one of the best companions for a tender piece of meat cooked on a hot grill is a cold and crunchy coleslaw. This recipe has plenty of garlic and cracked black pepper in the tangy vinaigrette. Then it gets some extra crunch from lightly toasted pine nuts and extra zip and colour from fresh mint leaves from the garden.

Here's how I made it:

makes 6-8 servings

1/2 cup raw pine nuts

2 lbs green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 14 cups)

1 large carrot, peeled and julienned (about 1 cup)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp liquid honey

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

about 30 fresh mint leaves

To toast the pine nuts, I warmed a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. The pine nuts were added to the skillet and tossed frequently for two minutes until lightly toasted, then transferred to a dinner plate to cool. The cabbage and carrot were combined in a large salad bowl. In a glass jar with a lid, I combined the oil, vinegar, garlic, pepper, and salt and shook well. I poured the vinaigrette over the cabbage and carrot and tossed to coat. The coleslaw was stored in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before meal time (it can even be made 2-3 days in advance). To serve, I tossed the mint leaves into the coleslaw and sprinkled each serving with the toasted pine nuts.

Bring on the grilling!

When is barbecue season where you live? Do you grill all year long? Leave a comment and tell me what your favourite barbecue season salad is.

8 reasons vinegar is my new kitchen cleaner

2013-05-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Anyone who's been in my kitchen knows, even if they're too kind to say it, that my kitchen could use a little more cleaning a little more often. The crumb-covered cutting board from breakfast is still sitting there by the toaster, the dishwasher needs emptying to make room for the dirty dishes blocking the coffee maker, and a few too many non-kitchen items like small toys and unopened mail are hanging around. I'm trying to change that. I'm trying to spend a little more time each day leaving the kitchen the way I want to find it when I'm ready to cook: clear of clutter and properly cleaned.

I know me, and I know if I'm going to be successful at something it has to be enjoyable. That's why I've made the switch to cleaning with an easily-mixed vinegar and water solution in a cute spray bottle (turquoise, of course. Thank you, IKEA!). That bottle now lives by my kitchen sink with a mixture of water and pickling vinegar inside it. Why pickling vinegar? Because it's stronger than plain white distilled vinegar. While distilled vinegar is about 5 per cent acetic acid, pickling vinegar is about 7 per cent acetic acid, which means I can make it go further.

Here are 8 reasons I'm enjoying the switch to cleaning with vinegar:

It's cheap. Bottles of cleaning solutions can add up over time. A spray bottle of vinegar and water costs pennies.
It saves space. A large jug of vinegar can take up valuable kitchen space, sure, but I already use it in my kitchen for other uses like salad dressings, marinades and, of course, pickling. This is me just using what I've already got.
Vinegar is naturally antibacterial. Vinegar effectively kills most bacteria, molds and germs for everyday cleaning.
It works great. The surfaces of my kitchen look just as great after being cleaned with vinegar than they did cleaned with other solutions.
It's safe around food. I used to move the bread, the sugar bowl, and other consumable items off the counter when I cleaned with chemical solutions. With vinegar, I don't need to be so careful.
It's safe around kids. I'm more concerned about my kids getting getting their hands on a bottle full of chemicals that a bottle of vinegar and water. That's one less safety thing to worry about.
It's compost friendly. Our city recently switched to a kitchen scraps program, which means we need to produce less garbage and separate our compostables. I can't put paper towels soaked in chemicals into the green bin, but paper towels with a little vinegar and water on them are totally fine.
Vinegar smells nice. Okay, maybe this one depends on the individual. But I make a lot of pickles and I love the fresh and tangy smell of vinegar.

The vinegar and water solution is easy to prepare. Here's how I make it:

1/3 cup pickling vinegar (7% acid)
1 cup cold water

Using a funnel, I pour both ingredients into my spray bottle. To clean, I spray surfaces and wipe clean with a paper towel or dry cloth.

Do you use any natural cleaners? What's your go to kitchen cleaning solution?

Strawberry rhubarb crumble (not rhubarb strawberry)

2013-05-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

Strawberry rhubarb is always said in that order. Strawberry. Rhubarb. Never rhubarb strawberry. Goodness knows why, but I think we can all agree it just doesn't sound right the other way. It's not the only food pair that has a set order. Pepper and salt? Nope, it's like my ears are allergic to that. I need an extra second to compute. When food pairs are said in the right order there's no confusion. I don't take sugar and milk in my tea, but I do take milk and sugar, even if I don't necessarily add them in that order (cuz I don't). Here are some other food pairs I can think of that just don't sound right when said in the reverse order:

Chips and fish
Butter and bread
Jelly and peanut butter
Potatoes and meat

Can you think of any others? The order of food pairs was on my mind as I made this strawberry rhubarb crumble with spring's first harvest of rhubarb from my kitchen garden. Those tart stalks are chopped and, combined with chopped strawberries, tossed with sugar right in the baking dish. A simple crumble is sprinkled over top before going into the oven to bake until golden and bubbly. There's absolutely no confusion here, just a simple and scrumptious dessert. Strawberry. Rhubarb.

Here's how I made it:
makes 4-6 servings

1 1/2 lbs rhubarb stalks, chopped into 1/2-inch chunks (about 5 1/2 cups)
1/2 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 1/4 cups oats (either rolled or quick-cooking)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

While my oven preheated to 375 degrees (F), I added the chunks of strawberries and rhubarb to my 9 x 9 baking dish. The sugar and flour were mixed in a small dish then tossed with the strawberries and rhubarb right in the baking dish to evenly coat. In a large mixing bowl, I combined the butter, oats, brown sugar and salt and blended with a hand pastry blender until evenly crumbly (a fork and a strong arm would work just as nicely). The crumble was sprinkled evenly over the strawberry rhubarb mixture, then the dish was popped in the oven for 45-50 minutes until the filling was bubbling and the crumble topping was golden.

Can you think of any other food pairs that are always said in the same order?

A reader makes his first apple pie and FREAKS OUT!

2013-05-03T16:59:00.001-07:00

There are moments as a blogger when I wonder if it's all just a bit silly. The hours and the energy I put into developing and writing recipes and putting my thoughts into text and sharing it here, does it really matter? Should I be doing something more productive? Imagine how clean my house would be if I spent more time on housework and less time with this food blog silliness on the computer. But then something like Roland happens.

I was getting my hair cut recently when one of the stylists told me I just had to see the videos on her phone of her friend, Roland, making one of my recipes - his very first apple pie. To see someone so psyched about pie, and to know my silly blog played a small role in that, well... that's pretty special.

And, just like that, silly is really okay with me. In fact, maybe silly is exactly what makes life so wonderful. So, to all the bloggers and the writers and the photographers and the artists, keep doing your thing and putting it out there. It matters.

When's the last time you had as much fun as Roland in the kitchen? What can you do to start making kitchen time more fun?

Love Your Lentils & win a day with Chef Michael Smith

2013-05-02T10:47:00.001-07:00

This post is sponsored. My love of lentils is pure free will.

May is Love Your Lentils month and Lentils Canada is hosting a recipe contest to get people talking about and using lentils regularly in their own home kitchens. The contest is divided into two categories - one for Canadian food bloggers and one for Canadian home cooks - and the winners from each category, plus one recipe voter, will win a trip to the heart of lentil country to spend a day with TV's ultimate family man in the kitchen, Chef Michael Smith. I know! When I heard that I knew I'd be submitting one of my own recipes.

The details are simple. For food bloggers, submit an original lentil recipe and a photo to LoveYourLentils.ca. For home cooks, submit one of Chef Michael Smith's lentil recipes with your own twist on it and submit it with a photo to LoveYourLentils.ca.

You can find all the contest details here. For a little encouragement, I'd like to add a couple of my own unofficial contest rules:

Loving your lentils is not restricted to the month of May. Participants may have a history of loving lentils before May 2013 may continue to love lentils come June and in perpetuity.
Participants are not required to be the exclusive lover of lentils in their home. Canadian food bloggers and Canadian home cooks who have spouses, children and other family members who also love lentils are eligible to enter the contest. In fact, it is encouraged.

As for the recipe I'm entering in the month-long contest, the photo above might have given it away. It's a no-cook recipe for lentil rice wraps with sweet chili dipping sauce. I absolutely love those peppery, nutty green lentils rolled up inside delicate rice wrappers, along with chopped avocado, red pepper and slivers of snow peas. They're dunked in a super quick three-ingredient dipping sauce that's sweet, sour and spicy. So fresh and delicious. Vote for my recipe here!

So, go enter your recipes! Be sure to come back and let me know if you do so I can ~~scope out my competition~~ cheer you on.

How much do you Love Your Lentils? How would you spend a day with Chef Michael Smith?

May flowers on Feedbag Farm

2013-05-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

April's showers have done their work and now the blossoms are out in our backyard kitchen garden. I'm not referring to the tulips and the bluebells, though they are out too, but the dainty pale pink and white blossoms that are the beginnings of juicy, brightly-coloured fruits to come over the coming months. I've been watching each day as those petals appear, telling me so much about the growing season ahead. I can already tell which fruits we'll be eating a lot, and which plants may be less fruitful. Here's what the blooms are telling me:

Apples - I'm sad that the blossoms on our apple tree are so few this spring. I see the bees working away on the few branches that have blossoms, so that's positive. But it may be a slow year for apples.

Pears - While the apple tree is sparse, the pear tree is loaded with white blossoms. It's shaping up to be the best year yet for pears since we moved into this old house.

Blueberries - The bushes have their lovely bell-shaped flowers, telling me we'll be plucking plenty of blueberries this summer. The kids will be happy.

Limes - I may be making mojitos direct from Feedbag Farm this year! Tightly-cupped white blooms have formed on the lime tree I bought last year and have been tending to in the greenhouse. The mint in the herb garden is also growing nicely, so I'll be muddling plenty and enjoying both with white rum.

Calamondins - The blossoms are out on this other greenhouse tree that produces small fruit similar in flavour to a lime but similar in appearance to an orange. It takes a year from blossom to harvest with these, though, so I'll be waiting a while.

Strawberries - There are two varieties of strawberries in the garden. Both have cheery white blossoms and will be the first to produce fruit in the garden come June.

Raspberries - This will be the first year we get raspberries on Feedbag Farm. Despite the fact that they grow fast and plentiful for most folks, our attempts the last couple years didn't take. This spring we have new growth and blossoms.

Rhubarb - Okay, so rhubarb doesn't blossom. It's not even a fruit. But I've already made my first harvest! Watch soon for a new recipe using gorgeous spring rhubarb.

What are your spring blossoms telling you about the growing season ahead? What will you grow this year? Will you be starting your very first kitchen garden? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Pan fried pork chops with angry apricot sauce

2013-04-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

I've tried to like country music. Really, I've tried. As a child of the 70s and 80s I was raised on a regular diet of cowboy vinyl from Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs and Willy Nelson. But it didn't stick. Sure, I thought the Dixie Chicks were pretty cool for a while there in 2002 or so (okay, I still kinda dig the Chicks), but most of the country genre remains a foreign concept to me. I know there are those of you out there who live and breathe country, who identify with the emotional themes and the mustached stars and the whole pick-up truck on a dusty road thing. Good on you. Maybe I'm missing a certain genetic predisposition to all things country and cowboy, and maybe I wish I understood it all better and had an appreciation for that guitar thing you play sitting down. But when it comes to cowboy food? Well, now you're talkin' a language I can understand. And, other than a steak off a searing hot grill, ain't nothin' more cowboy to me than a pan fried pork chop.

These pork chops with angry apricot sauce are quick and simple to make and offer a real slap to the taste buds. Sweet with heat, I'd say, and the sauce is prepared right in the pan. After the chops are lifted out, in go some chopped dried apricots, red wine, cider vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and fiery cayenne pepper to kick their heels together in the pan for mere moments before getting poured over those golden brown chops. Howdy, dinner.

Here's how I made it:
makes 4 servings

2 lbs boneless pork loin chops
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup cider vinegar
12 dried apricots, roughly chopped
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

While my large non-stick skillet warmed over medium-high heat, I dried the pork chops by patting both sides with paper towel. Once the pan was searing hot, I pressed the pork chops into the skillet and let them cook 5-6 minutes until nicely browned on the bottom (if the chops are stuck to the pan that means it's too early to flip). I seasoned the chops with the salt and pepper then flipped them over, cooking another 5-6 minutes until browned on the other side and cooked through (no longer pink inside). Then I removed the chops to a plate to rest while I prepared the sauce.

With the heat still at medium-high, I added the wine, vinegar, apricots, brown sugar, soy sauce and cayenne to the pan and brought the mixture to a bubble for a minute or two while stirring with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan. Drippings from the rested chops were poured into the sauce, then the chops were arranged on a platter and the sauce poured over top to serve (shown garnished with fresh cilantro).

Okay, I confess I listened to Landslide from the Dixie Chicks' album Home on repeat while writing this whole post. So, who knows. Maybe there's hope yet for me and country music.

What says cowboy cookin' for you? What's it gonna take for me to 'get' the whole country music thing? Leave a comment, y'all.

7 things I do when alone in the kitchen

2013-04-23T11:38:00.002-07:00

Like any home cook, I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. Between me and the two kids during the day and feeding all four of us dinner at night, that's a lot of hours spent peeling, chopping, stirring and generally fueling four people's lives. While much of that time is spent focused on the task, sometimes my mind, and behaviour, gets a little sidetracked. So, it's confession time. Here are seven things I do while alone in the kitchen. Don't judge me. You might even do some of these too.

1. Speak in foreign accents

I don't know why I do this. It's bad enough that I talk to myself, I guess, but I'm fairly certain most people engage in a little self chat at some point in their day. The accents vary, based on whatever media I've been sponging up. My love of Coronation Street means I'm often in Manchester mode. Occasionally I go slightly German, maybe a southern tongue while rolling out a pecan pie. Whatever suits.

2. Lip sync

Accuracy is of little to no importance with this one. Who's gonna know if I lipped "Licky boom boom now" or "licky boom boom down?" No one, that's who. And it's a meaningless lyric anyway (really, I met Snow once and I asked him). The only thing that matters is that I'm lost in the music and the moment and the sound of the radio is drowning out the wail of toy police cars being bashed together by happy little boys in the next room.

3. Dance

Again, it doesn't matter if I do it well (see above). But, for the record, I do it well.

4. Pull my &%@ bangs up

Not for hygiene reasons or anything. Just because I can't stand my bangs tickling my eyes or my nose when I'm cooking. Can't. Stand. It. I'm like that about turtle necks too. Don't tickle my neck, clothes. Just don't. So my bangs, which are always in some state of growing out or being newly trimmed, get pulled back and secured with whatever clip I can find in the bathroom or at the bottom of my purse. It normally doesn't look too cute. Just a clip on top of my head. And it's like I can breathe again.

5. Take photos that never get used

I'll see something pretty in the process of cooking and feel the need to capture it. Yup, totally self-indulgent. Sometimes I photograph meals that never make it to the blog, but the photos are still sitting there on my camera's memory card like a little reminder of past food flops. I really ought to delete and move on. But I'll never stop taking photos.

6. Be a nosy neighbour
Who's that man knocking next door? Why is that woman parking her car there? Why are my neighbour's apple trees blooming earlier than mine? Call it a sort of neighbourhood watch service.

7. Spot stuff that needs doing, then do nothing
The pantry has stuff that's probably expired. The fridge needs cleaning. I should make tomorrow's lunches now. The dishwasher needs to be emptied. The garbage is overflowing. And on and on. Oh, hey I love this song! Dance.

How many of these can you relate to? What weird and wonderful things do you do when alone in your kitchen?

Chicken thighs in lemon & spring onion sauce

2013-04-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

Home cooks usually know which of their neighbours love to cook. They're the people you go to when you're an egg short or in need of a third overripe banana to make up one cup mashed. They're the people who are a good bet to have random ingredients like sun dried tomatoes or fresh basil on hand, and they are usually thrilled to be useful to another home cook. Striding back down their front steps toward your own home kitchen there's the sense of an unspoken pledge that you'll gladly return the favour the next time your recipe rescuer needs rescuing themselves.

Some of my best inspiration comes from my neighbours. The moms talk about homemade popcorn flavourings and favourite local bakeries, the gardeners chat about what veggies they're planting this spring, and this week the single dad across the street invited me to go through some of his older cookbooks and culinary magazines before he got rid of them. Among my favourite neighbourhood cooks is the woman next door who has been baking off our backyard apple tree for years longer than we've lived in this old house. She's always up for a chat about what she's baking or what she's preserving in her canning pot. Last year she gave me a jar of lemon marmalade and told me she likes to put some in the pan when she's cooking chicken. I think about that every now and then when I spread marmalade on toast, so that's where the inspiration for this dish came from.

It starts with chicken thighs browned in a large, deep pan. Then a sweet and tangy marmalade-like sauce is prepared right in the pan using lemon juice, thinly sliced lemon peel, sugar and chopped spring onions, before popping the whole pan in the oven to finish cooking. Served with oven-roasted potatoes, I'm filing this under cheery springtime comfort food.

Here's how I made it:
makes 4 servings

4 lemons or enough to get 3/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup warm water
a splash of olive oil
3 - 3 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, bone-in/skin-on (about 10 thighs)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup chopped green onions

While my oven preheated to 400 degrees (F), I cut the end off one of the lemons and stood it on the flat end. Using a sharp knife, I cut off the yellow peel in strips. The strips were then cut into thin slices. That lemon and the remaining lemons were then juiced until I had 3/4 cup of juice. In a medium mixing bowl, I stirred the cornstarch into the juice until fully dissolved, then added the sugar, warm water and strips of peel, and set the sauce aside.

In a large, deep oven-safe pan, I heat the olive oil on the stove over medium-high heat until hot (the chicken should sizzle when it hits the pan). I added the chicken thighs, skin down, and cooked for 6-7 minutes until nicely browned. I seasoned the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper, then flipped the pieces over, cooking another two minutes. The chopped green onion was sprinkled over the chicken, then the sauce was poured into the pan. Turning the heat to high, I brought the sauce up to a hard boil, then the skillet was transferred to the oven to finish cooking, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

This would make a nice potluck dish with some rice or roasted potatoes, for those other times when neighbours get together.

Do the home cooks in your neighbourhood help each other out? Or are you unsure whether to ask for an egg?

A home cook comes home

2013-04-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

It's funny how other people waiting at the airport gate for a flight home have a way of looking like people from your city. The signs are there in how they dress and the familiarity of their carry-on luggage. Even a sort of regional attitude is recognized in their behaviour toward each other. Flying home to Vancouver Island means the men wear their hair a little longer and prefer backpacks over brief cases, shoes for children are optional or even discouraged by non-conformist parents, and at least one traveler is tie-dyed.

Being far from home is fun. It's an adventure in weather and hotel shampoo bottles. There are strange license plates on cars and even stranger channels on TV. For someone like me who's in the kitchen several times a day at home it's also an adventure in food. It feels luxurious to have someone else cook for me and serve me wine over my shoulder, even if I do feel downright out-of-place where white tablecloths are involved. Buffet style is even better. I love the choice. The opportunity to eat scrambled eggs and granola with yogurt in the same meal is a frivolous pleasure. Then the dirty dishes are left behind for someone else to deal with.

Yet, despite the luxury and convenience of being fed so well, there was a certain relief in returning home to Victoria yesterday from the first-ever Food Bloggers of Canada conference north of Toronto as a guest of KitchenAid Canada. I was coming home to my family whom I had missed, and I was returning to my cozy home kitchen. After an inspiring weekend of talking about food and listening to people talk about food and photographing food, I really just needed to cook some food. There was an itch that needed scratching by way of hot pans and a pantry full of potential. I craved the ritual of making the daily meals that bring routine and nourishment into our family home. So I did. I didn't try to replicate the succulent prime rib I had enjoyed Friday night or the stuffed mushrooms I had munched on while sipping a bubbly rosé. I made the sort of food that's right at home in my kitchen: banana pancakes, crispy bacon and toast with homemade strawberry jam. Because that's what my home tastes like. Comfy and casual. It's the sort of food I daydream about at a busy airport gate while waiting to come home.

Do you miss cooking when you go away? Which dishes best reflect the feel and familiarity of your home kitchen?

Apple, pear & cherry smoothie

2013-04-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

There was a time when smoothies were relegated to the breakfast table. They were thought of as a sort of meal replacement by people who jazzercised and wore shoulder pads. What the fruit?! Well, no more. Thanks to the popularity of smoothie bars (and good sense) these blended fruit beverages have enjoyed a sort of coming-of-age as a snack in their own right. Snack time, lunch time, any time is a good time for a smoothie. And there are few times in the kitchen when flavour, health and pure food enjoyment come together so effortlessly.

This smoothie combines sweet ripened pears with tangy pressed apple juice and plump pitted cherries. I wrote this recipe for some organic tree fruit partners in the U.S. Pacific Northwest who are headed to Toronto later this month for a trade show. They want to proudly offer the flavours of organic apples, pears and cherries from their booth. I'd say the three fruits shine equally in this smoothie, with creamy yogurt and a splash of pure vanilla rounding out the brightness of the fruit. The best part is they're happy to have me share the recipe with you here too.

Here's how I made it:

makes 4 servings

2 cups organic pears, cored and chopped (skins on)

1 cup organic cherries, pitted

1 cup organic apple juice

1/2 cup organic plain yogurt

1 1/2 cups crushed ice

1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract

I combined all the ingredients in the blender and blended until smooth.

Now, who's ready to jazzercise? Work it.

What goes into your favourite smoothie?

Sweet chili pulled pork

2013-04-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

Pulled pork is like a marriage. It's not quite right if it doesn't get a little saucy. These tender pieces of pulled pork hit the mark, smothered in plenty of sweet chili sauce reminiscent of the sauce from my sweet chili BBQ chicken recipe. It's zingy. It's sweet. It's got a bit of heat humming in the background. Everything a pulled pork, or a marriage, should be.

The prep is easy and the cooking is hands-off. It starts with a pork shoulder drenched in sauce and slow-cooked in the oven for hours. The result is a tender cut of meat that easily falls apart when pulled by two lucky forks. Piled onto a bun with some crunchy veggies tucked in underneath, there's a whole lot to love in every messy bite.

Here's how I made it:
serves 6-8

4 lb pork shoulder roast
1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup malt vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cayenne

I started by placing the pork in a deep roasting pan. The remaining ingredients were mixed together in a large mixing bowl then poured over the roast, ensuring the surface of the roast was fully coated. The roasting pan was covered in foil and placed in a 325 degree (F) oven for 4 1/2 hours. Once removed from the oven, I used two forks to shred the pork into pieces.

The other good thing about making pulled pork on a grey Sunday afternoon? Mr. Feedbag thinks I'm awesome right now. Saucy!

How do you like to make pulled pork? What do you make because your spouse LOVES it? Leave a comment and share your recipe links!

White chocolate pecan pie

2013-04-02T12:35:00.003-07:00

The seamless transition is remarkable. One minute I'm thinking I'm going to start living healthier right now. And then something like this pops into my head - Hey, you know what I should make for the blog? Another PIE. Yeah, that would be awesome. No wonder my healthy ideas don't last. Oh well. What can you do. Pie is good.

If you're a serious pie lover like me, you'll love this white chocolate pecan pie. The crust is rich and flaky and the filling is like an ooey gooey caramelized nutty heaven... with white chocolate. That's what makes this pie so great. It's like pecan pie (yeah we know that's good) with WHITE CHOCOLATE. Woah. No way.

Yes, friends. Yes way.

Here's how I made it:

PASTRY

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 egg

1 tbsp white vinegar

FILLING

3 eggs

2/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup liquid honey

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (warm, not hot)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups pecan halves

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

To make the pastry, I combined the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand pastry blender, I cut the butter into the flour mixture until evenly crumbly. In a small bowl, I beat the egg with the white vinegar, then stirred the wet mixture into the crumbled mixture with a fork just until the dough came together. I formed the dough into a ball and rolled it out on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin until slightly larger than my pie plate. The rolled pastry was lifted into my pie plate and the edges were tucked under and fluted.

To make the filling, I beat the eggs and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then I added the honey, melted butter, cinnamon and salt, and beat to combine. The pecan halves and white chocolate chips were layered in my pie shell, and the filling was poured over top.

The pie plate was placed on a baking sheet and baked at 350 degrees (F) for 50-55 minutes until the centre was puffed up and no longer wiggly. I allowed it to cool for at least an hour before cutting to allow time for the filling to set.

I can find all kinds of ways to justify this pie. I've signed up to start playing on a soccer team at the end of this month. That means I can eat whatever I want right now. No? Well, okay fine. I'll blame it on you then. All you pie lovers out there with your Pinterest obsessions, you made me blog this pie! No? That didn't work either. Okay, fine, I made this pie because I thought it would be delicious and it was. So there.

Are you trying to live healthier but making pie too? Tell me how your plans for living healthier clash with your plans for eating yummy food.

Mixing it up! A conference with KitchenAid

2013-03-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

I had known for some time that there was going to be a first-ever national conference of the Food Bloggers of Canada this spring. I wanted to be there. I mean, these are people who totally get having to lick sauce off your lens cap, people who understand that sometimes dinner gets made at noon because it's too dark for decent photos at five, people who buy dented old spoons at thrift shops because shiny new ones mean seeing yourself reflected and contorted with a camera where your face should be in every soup shot. These are my people! And they were getting together in one place, for one weekend, to learn together and feed off each other's passion for blogging about food. Just one little thing: The conference was to be in Ontario, about 3,300 kilometres and a long flight away from where I live on Vancouver Island. I decided I was just going to have to miss it. There'd be other conferences, I told myself. I could always follow along online and try to not let the envy get to me. It was fine. Really (plastered-on grin).

Then I got the e-mail. KitchenAid, the conference's official appliance sponsor, wanted to invite me to attend as their guest! Uhhhmmm, for real?! I was thrilled at the opportunity to connect with a company I adore and with other food bloggers at the same time. Not surprisingly, it took me mere seconds to hit reply and let them know I was in. Well, okay, I may have shouted parts of the e-mail at Mr. Feedbag and done a little dance first.

I don't partner with a lot of brands, so when I do I like to make sure it's a brand that I am genuinely passionate about. KitchenAid is at the top of that list. My sturdy KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer is my most beloved tool in my kitchen, and my oh-so-important dishwasher is also a KitchenAid. Remember the time I tried to get all my turquoise kitchen gear in it? Yup. I'm thoroughly loco for KitchenAid. And, yes, turquoise too.

So, I'm preparing to fly out to Ontario and the gorgeous-looking Hockley Valley Resort in mid-April to mix it up with KitchenAid and other Canadian food bloggers! I can't wait to see some faces I've met before and make friends with some new faces. I mean, these are my people (genuine grin)!

I can't wait to share all the fun with you too! So make sure you're following along on my Facebook page and my Twitter profile to hear all about it.

Blueberry banana oatmeal

2013-03-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

A cozy breakfast enjoyed by the morning light of the kitchen window is a lovely thing. That's especially true when it involves blueberries and bananas and memories of four fun days of spring break family activities in Vancouver. We arrived home on the Island yesterday happy and exhausted, and as much as I loved the restaurant breakfasts we were treated to while away, cozy kitchen breakfasts are back on the menu this week as we return to frugal family living.

Oatmeal is a go-to breakfast for me. Simple and healthy, it keeps me going for hours. I like to use quick cooking oats for their, well, quick-cookingness, and they're never alone in my breakfast bowl. Chopped fruit, nuts and other goodies I can find go in the saucepan too and the result is anything but plain and ordinary. Other oatmeal recipes I've shared on the blog include apple pie oatmeal, honey nut oatmeal and banana coconut oatmeal. New combinations are fun to think up, and some brown sugar, yogurt or a splash of milk are the usual companions.

Here's how I made it:
serves two children or one hungry adult

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 banana, chopped
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
1 heaping tbsp plain yogurt (optional)
1 heaping tsp brown sugar (optional)

I started by bringing the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. I added the oats, chopped banana and blueberries and lowered the heat to medium, cooking for 3-4 minutes while stirring often. Then the oatmeal was spooned into bowls and topped with the yogurt and brown sugar.

I'm glad there's another week of spring break and family time ahead this week. No rushing little ones off to school first thing in the morning, which means plenty of time for cozy kitchen breakfasts.

Are you getting some extra family time for spring break? Are cozy kitchen breakfasts part of your routine?

Toasted almond baked apple

2013-03-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

If there was a goddess of snacking, she'd eat this. It starts with a single apple sliced in half, cored and stuffed with chocolate, then baked in a hot oven until the apple is tender and the chocolate is melted. Once transferred to a plate, the apple gets dressed up with a dollop of cold Greek yogurt, toasted sliced almonds and a drizzle of golden honey. It's creamy, crunchy, cool and warm all at once.

I wrote this recipe after receiving some information from the Almond Board of California. Call me a fork dork, but I love hearing from these kinds of industry groups because they're so proud of their product and want everyone else to like it as much as they do. Well, it doesn't take a lot of convincing to get me to like almonds. I have long adored them as a snack and in many of their forms - whole, sliced, slivered, chopped, ground, almond butter, and almond milk. Then there's the toasting! A toasted almond is a beautiful thing, so that's what crowns this five-ingredient, two serving snack. Grab a knife and fork and dig in.

Here's how I made it:
makes 2 snack or dessert servings

1 large apple (any variety)
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 heaping tbsp Greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup sliced raw almonds
2 tbsp liquid honey

While my oven preheated to 400 degrees (F), I sliced the apple in half vertically and scooped out the core. To help them balance on my baking sheet, I sliced a small circle off the back of each apple half. The chocolate chips were stuffed into the apple centres, then I popped them in the oven on the baking sheet for 20 minutes. After transferring the baked apple halves to individual serving plates to cool slightly, I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the almonds in a single layer. I popped them into the 400 degree (F) oven for 3-4 minutes, watching carefully so they didn't burn. The apple halves were quickly topped with a heaping tablespoon each of yogurt, a sprinkling of half the toasted almonds and a drizzling of half the liquid honey.

Yup, the goddess of snacking would approve.

How do you like to use almonds in your kitchen?

Mushroom & rosemary soup

2013-03-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is late winter comfort food for me. A big bowl of warm and silky mushroom soup and some fresh bakery bread is a meal in itself. Insert the obligatory mushroomy words like umami and earthy here, but the fresh rosemary in this soup definitely shines through as Best Herb in a Supporting Role. The combination is a longtime favourite of mine, and I've used it previously in this recipe for pork chops with rosemary and mushroom cream sauce that I wrote for Mushrooms Canada.

For me, the key to good mushroom soup is in not rushing. I cook the mushrooms until they release their moisture. Once the moisture evaporates, I cook a few minutes longer to get the mushrooms even darker and richer in flavour. Most soup-making is similar, really. The best soups are all about what happens before the liquid is added.

Here's how I made it:
makes 4-5 servings

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 cups unsalted or low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
3 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
pea shoots for garnish (optional)

I melted the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, then added the mushrooms, onion, garlic and rosemary and cooked until the moisture in the mushrooms was released and evaporated. I continued to cook a few minutes longer to help the mushrooms darken further. The flour was stirred in to thoroughly coat the mixture, then I added the stock, water and soy sauce and brought the soup up to a boil over high heat. Once bubbling, I lowered the heat to medium-low and allowed the soup to simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. The cream was stirred in with just a few minutes left in the simmering time. The pea shoots were used as garnish at serving.

As gorgeous as a homemade soup is, I confess I love a small stack of soda crackers crumbled into the bowl!

How do you like to use mushrooms? Do you have a favourite herb to combine them with? Leave a comment and share your recipes!

40 Foodies Under 40 (and the home cook)

2013-03-01T13:21:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to blurt this out for a while now and it still feels as exciting as the day I found out. Western Living Magazine has named me to its annual list of 40 Foodies Under 40. Me. In my little family kitchen with my cheap knives and my stained wooden spoons. I've seen it in print and I still can't quite believe it. They've even included one of my recipes, beautifully photographed for the glossy pages.

When I first found out I had been nominated I was incredibly flattered but not all that confident my name would end up on the final list. I mean, I'm a food blogger. Not a chef. Not a professional putting in the time and the money to make a restaurant or a bakery or a winery be the best it can be. Sure, I teach cooking classes, but even then I'm always a little surprised when people actually turn up to learn something about home cooking from me. I mean, isn't someone suddenly going to realize I'm just a home cook? A mom with two kids to feed who often get in the way of me doing it? Isn't someone in chef's whites going to point at me and let everyone in on the fact that I'm just fumbling around in the kitchen with a basic camera and no clue?

But I realize no one will do that because people are generally nice. And that makes me think that perhaps I should be nicer to myself. In fact, maybe as home cooks we should all feel a little more entitled to be proud of what we do, what we cook and the role we play in our homes. A fabulous slow-cooked lamb stew and a warm and flaky apple pie don't just make themselves. It takes patience and skill to get these things right. We read, we watch, and we read some more. We get pretty good at these things because we practice them, over and again, for the people we love. We're nurturing relationships, softening sorrows and celebrating life's big moments with the food that we cook in our home kitchens. That truly is something worth being proud of.

So, I'm thrilled to be on this incredible list. Score one for the home cooks.

Leave a comment: What makes you feel proud of yourself in the kitchen?