From spicy to sweet.

What a day, but I am happy to report, I made it through. Our busy Saturdays will soon be over.. what are we going to do with ourselves then? Oh, that's right! Relax, work on the house, work on the yard and go exploring. Oh yes, indeed!

Highlights from today:

-It was absolutely glorious weather. The sun was so bright and warm and everyone was smiling from ear to ear. Gorgeous!

-Rhianna got bowler of the year for the Peewees at our bowling alley.

-We had time for bike rides and playing in the yard.

-Some of my plants are sprouting and all my bushes and trees have buds. I even have one tiny little pink flower open.

-Avery played an INCREDIBLE game of soccer with the rest of his team (Go, Red!) and made it to the final match! That's from being in fifth place out of six. Yahoooo!

-A delicious slow cooker dinner of Jamaican Red Bean Stew (Kyle's favourite) ready for us to eat after our long day.

-A trip to Zwicks Park to play and walk down by the water in the last light of the day. It was breathtaking out there, and we discovered the perfect place to have a picnic. And loons! There were loons!

-DATE NIGHT IN! We're going to eat some Apple Ginger Crisp and finally watch 'Black Swan'. Saturdays evenings are the best.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now for the scrumptious recipes of the day. I originally got the Jamaican Red Bean Stew from Savvy and changed it to our liking. I served it with a big chunk of organic sourdough bread (store bought) and a spinach/carrot/sugar snap peas/broccoli sprout salad with a Honey Ginger dressing that I got from the Rebar cookbook. This was our first time trying this dressing and it was so good. Very fresh and light. It complimented the sweet and spicy stew perfectly. Yummy. And for our Date Night snack - Ginger Apple Crisp from Moosewood's Book of Desserts. I changed the recipe up a bit, so I'll put my version on here. Kyle got my apple peeler/corer/slicer up and running for the first time and let me tell you - it is pure awesomeness! Love it.

Jamaican Red Bean Stew

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups baby carrots, sliced

3 green onions, sliced

1 sweet potato, diced into small cubes

15oz can diced tomatoes, drained

3 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can unsweetened coconut milk, well mixed (shake it!)

2 cups vegetable broth

Pour the oil into the slow cooker and set it on high. Add the garlic and put the lid on to cook.

Add the carrots, scallions, sweet potato and tomatoes. Stir in the curry powder, thyme, red pepper flakes, allspice, salt and pepper. Add the beans, coconut milk and broth. Mix well.

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. (Don't forget to change it to low after having it on high with the garlic.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Honey Ginger Dressing

45g ginger root, minced

2 tbsp fresh ginger juice (I used a juicer, but if you don't have one, use a garlic press)

2 tbsp honey

5 tbsp rice vinegar

1/8 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable oil

Add all of the ingredients except for the oil to a food processor and process until smooth. Add the oil and slowly mix.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginger Apple Crisp

Fruit Layer:

6 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin

cane sugar (a few tbsps)

juice from one lemon

Topping:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 ground ginger

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup ginger snap cookie crumbs (take the cookies, put them in a ziplock and crush them with a rolling pin until they become crumbs)

Preheat oven to 350.

Layer the apples in a non-oiled 9x13 pan. Mix with the lemon juice and sprinkle with cane sugar.

Melt the butter and place it in a large bowl. Add the honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Stir well to combine.

Add the rolled oats and ginger snap cookie crumbs to the large bowl. Stir well.

Add the crumb/oat mixture to the top of the apples. Tap it down. Cook for 35-45 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm with some vanilla ice cream.