An epic fail becomes an epic win!

This weekend had been full of rich, delicious, delightful food. MMmmm.

I was supposed to make some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (adapted a bit from Vegan with a Vengeance) on Friday night, but as I went to measure out my cane sugar I was 1/4 cup short. That was enough to make me decide I should wait and make them the next day. Haha. So after getting our three paper routes done (last day for one of those routes!) and taking a little nap (love!), I whipped them up so they were cool enough to enjoy when we got back from our library and work (mine) visits.

Dinner last night was so amazingly good. I made the Lentil Mushroom Sliders from Chez Cayenne with only a couple of small changes, along with a Mediterranean Pepper Salad that I found on Eat Me, Delicious that I only tweaked slightly, and some yam fries. Can you say yum? Yeah, I thought so.

Since it was date night in, I decided to use up the leftover canned pumpkin I had from the muffins and made a Chocolate Pumpkin Pudding Cake from Vegan Dad that I'd been meaning to try for months now. The kids gobbled up all the leftovers for dessert after dinner tonight. Haha.

Tonight I started out making a pasta I found in a Vegetarian Times magazine, but it was an epic fail, so I completely morphed it into something incredibly satisfying. The kids couldn't get enough of it, and Tiernan named it Pasta Sauciola. :) We had the pasta with a piece of whole wheat toast and some leafy greens.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 cup pureed pumpkin (fresh or from a can)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp molasses

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a dozen muffin cups (it made 18 for me) with cooking spray.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves. In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin, milk, vegetable oil and molasses. Mix the two together and combine it well. Add the chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups two thirds full. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

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Lentil Mushroom Sliders

2 tbsps olive oil

1 cup onion, finely diced

4 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup green lentils, washed

2 cups vegetable broth, divided

1/2 cup quinoa

1/3 cup walnuts

2/3 cup rolled oats

2 tbsp ground flax seed

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sage

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp salt

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Stir in the lentils and one cup of vegetable broth. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are tender.

In a small saucepan, heat the second cup of vegetable broth with the quinoa. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat, cover and cook 15 minutes until quinoa soaks up the broth.

Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until they become powdery (works best with frozen walnuts). Transfer to a medium sized bowl and add the oats, flax seed, soy sauce, spices and salt. When the quinoa has been cooked, add that to the bowl as well.

When the lentils are cooked, pulse gently in a food processor leaving it quite chunky. Add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Form the mixture into small slider sized patties and cook on an indoor grill.

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Mediterranean Pepper Salad

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup cold water

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/2 red onion, diced finely

3 bell peppers, diced (I used orange, red and green)

3 roma tomatoes, diced

3 baby cucumbers, diced

1/4 lb feta cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

In a glass measuring cup, mix together the vinegar, cold water, salt and sugar. Leave it out for a bit until the salt and sugar dissolves. Cut up the red onion and put it in the dressing to soften and sweeten.

Chop up the rest of the veggies, and put them in a bowl. Add the feta cheese. Remove the onions from the dressing and add to the bowl. Now add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of dressing over the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

It can be served immediately, or chilled for a while to let the flavours mingle.

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Chocolate Pumpkin Pudding Cake

1 cup flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup cane sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup pureed cooked pumpkin

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Get a few cups of water boiling.

In one bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.

In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, milk, oil. Mix the two bowls together. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Place in an 8x8 pan sprayed with cooking oil.

Mix together the brown sugar, cane sugar and cocoa powder. Pour it over the top of the pan. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over the top, but do not stir. Add the vanilla.

Cook for 40-45 minutes until the top is cracked and firm. Let it cool for a bit before serving.

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Pasta Sauciola

450g spaghetti, split in two thirds

cooking spray

4 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups water

1 large can tomato paste

1 tsp red chilies

1/8 tsp saffron threads

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

4 oz cremini mushrooms

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

5 cups spinach, roughly chopped

4 oz cream cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and add the spaghetti noodles. Spray top lightly with cooking spray. Cook the spaghetti noodles for 5-7 minutes, shaking the tray a couple of times to toast evenly.

In a medium sized saucepan, bring water, vegetable broth, tomato paste, chilies, saffron, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer, keeping it warm.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes, until browned. Add the garlic and stir another 30 seconds. Add 3 cups of broth, and cook until the liquid has absorbed. Add the rest of the broth mixture, the chickpeas and the spinach. Cover, and cook until most of the liquid has absorbed, and the spaghetti is cooked. Add some more broth if needed. Add the cream cheese and mozzarella cheese, and stir until thoroughly melted.

It's Friday, and I'm in love.

You know what I really love? I love when I add a couple of new easy recipes to my menu, try them out, and decide they're both keepers! Oh yes, indeed. Both recipes were adapted from my old Vegetarian Times magazines (can you tell I'm on a VT kick?). On Thursday I made a Southeast Asian Peanut Noodles and served it with a side of veggie spring rolls. The noodles were great, and everyone gobbled them up. The kids did drink a lot of water with them, though, since they have a bit of a kick. ;) Tonight I made some Provolone-White Bean-Basil-Mayo Paninis which I thought would be kind of an ehh dish. I know, I know, why make them then? I figured it was worth making once, and I needed something quick and easy and fun. It turns out that we loved them! Nice.

Southeast Asian Peanut Noodles

1 package pad thai rice noodles

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (I used a vegetarian stir fry sauce)

3 tbsp creamy peanut butter

1/4 tsp chili sauce

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 big chunk ginger, minced

4 cups snow peas, trimmed and halved

1 block firm tofu, cubed and seasoned (I marinated mine in a General Tao sauce that I had kicking around in my fridge)

1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and use a fork to separate them. Remove the pot from the heat, cover and let stand for 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter, teriyaki sauce, chili sauce and a splash or two of hot water.

In a wok, heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Add the peas and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 1 minute. Add the sauce and cook for 2 minutes. Add the noodles, stir until well coated and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Place in bowls and add the peanuts on top.

Provolone-White Bean-Basil-Mayo Paninis

1 loaf french bread, sliced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup fresh basil, chopped finely

1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed well

5 slices provolone cheese, cut into shreds

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

Mix together the mayo and basil in a small bowl.

In a wok, heat the oil and add the onion. Cook until soft.

In a medium sized bowl mix together the beans, the provolone cheese and the red onion.

Spread some mayo on the slices of bread. Top with the bean and cheese mixture and put another slice of bread on top. Toast on an indoor grill.

Oh simple summer suppers. :)

This was one of those days where I didn't feel much like spending a large amount of time in the kitchen. I was headachey, I had a house full of children, and it was humid. Luckily, I had a simple dinner on the menu! I love it when that happens. I'd made this before, but it had been a while. I'm not sure why, though, because it's so fresh and tasty... yum. :)

Baguette with Roasted Red Pepper Spread

1-2 whole wheat baguettes, cut in half

(the spread is enough for two baguettes, so I bought two with the intention of having it again for lunch tomorrow)

8oz spreadable cream cheese

7oz jar of roasted red peppers, well drained and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 mini cucumbers, chopped

romaine lettuce leaves

mixed greens

Mix together the cream cheese, roasted red pepper, and garlic until well blended. Spread it over the bottom half of the baguette. Top it with some of the chopped cucumber. Place some romaine lettuce leaves and mixed greens on the top half of the baguette. Put it together, cut it up, and dig in!

Missing an ingredient kind of day.

The kids all had dentist appointments this morning (I still have three cavity free kids, hooray!), followed by three paper routes to deliver, a grocery store to visit, a post office to pick something up at and the library for some relaxing time. By the time I got home and was ready to start making dinner, it was getting late. That's when I realized I was missing an ingredient for tonight's meal as well as tomorrow's (and tomorrow is grocery shop day for the next week). Sooo... I winged it. Threw together some ingredients to make a pasta dish, marinated my tofu in some sweet ginger chili sauce and put a handful of baby carrots on the side... dinner, done! :)

Pasta with Zucchini

1 big bag penne noodles

4 small zucchini, sliced

300g ricotta

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp Mrs Dash

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Cook pasta according to package directions. Add the zucchini for the last minute of cooking time.

Drain pasta and put it back into the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix it up well, and serve.

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Headed out to Sandbanks Provincial Park yesterday. It was beautiful!

When did they get so big??

All ready to go for ice cream at Slickers in Bloomfield! Best ice cream, everrrr! :)

Date Night In with a Cashew and Mushroom Pate.

It feels like I'm never cooking new blog-able food anymore! It's kind of sad. It's been so terribly hot here lately that cooking meals that require the oven or effort sounds painful. Since I last updated we had caesar salad one day, taco salad another day, and then tonight... my husband made crepes! Oh, how I love crepe night. I worked my first full shift on my own today. I opened and closed the store and I have to say I really kind of enjoyed it. I missed my family, but it was fun to organize books, tidy books and leaf through (mostly cook)books. I'm a list person... I make soooo many lists. I have so many notebooks for various different things. One is for shopping lists, one is for menu planning, one is for recipes, one is for budgeting, one is for trip planning, one is for to do lists... you get the idea. I love lists. Working in a bookstore is like bliss for me! The paperwork, the filing of books... I can't get enough of it!

At any rate, it was strange to be gone all day from my kids. I called home at one slow point and it was so nice when I got to hear all the kids emphatically yell "Hi Mummy!" through the phone. Awww, I love them so. It was also really nice to have Kyle making dinner for me for a change. I didn't have to do anything! But of course, I did decide to make our date night food. :) We're cuddling up to watch some Lost and the movie 'Charlie Saint Cloud' while chowing down on some Cashew and Mushroom Pate that I found in my June 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine.

I'm so lucky, I get two men to share my date night with. :)

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Cashew and Mushroom Pate

1/2 cup cashews

1 1/2 tbsp margarine

4 cups mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp sherry

2 tsp chunky peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350.

Roast the cashews on a baking sheet for 7-10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.

In a wok, melt the margarine, and add the mushrooms, garlic, onion and spices. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the mushrooms are golden and the liquid has evaporated. Add the sherry and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the mushroom mixture, peanut butter and cashews to a food processor and mix until smooth. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.

Burger time!

Phew! So happy to be home with nothing to do. Sitting here, cuddling up with my kids and watching some SYTYCD is absolute bliss! Today was a tad bit harried to say the least.

I made dinner early today, and then just kept it in the fridge so Kyle could heat it up for himself and the kids. I made Black Bean and Walnut Burgers from the May/June 2006 edition of Vegetarian Times, a caesar salad and corn on the cob. This was my first time making these burgers and I loved them! I think I like these black bean burgers a little bit better, but these were similar and yummy. Just a teeny bit crumblier when cooked. When I got home everyone had eaten already and it was so strange to sit there eating by myself. My daughter is a sweetheart though, and kept me company by singing songs and playing the bongos for me. :)

Black Bean and Walnut Burgers

2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tsp cumin

3 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup chopped red onion

3 tbsp frozen corn

1/3 cup cornmeal

Puree 2 1/2 cups beans in a food processor with the spices until smooth. Add rice, walnuts, onion, corn and remaining beans, and pulse 2 or 3 times to mix. Mixture should be stiff, but not dry. Add a teeny bit of water if needed (2-3 tbsp). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the mixture into patties, dip in cornmeal, and chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

The recipe suggests frying these, but we used our indoor grill so we didn't have to use oil.

Back in the kitchen... (enter sigh of relief)

The past few days have been different, to say the least. I started training for a casual part time job, and was in every day of the weekend. This meant no kitchen time.. at all. I think I started going into withdrawal on the second day in. How strange to be away from my family, and not able to be creative in the kitchen. I was finally able to get back in there today, thankfully! The boys headed over to visit with some friends today, so Rhianna and I had a date afternoon. We delivered our papers, played a board game, baked some cookies and threw together a dinner. Rhianna chose the Spice-Spiked Chocolate Chunk Cookies from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes, and they turned out really good! Then I decided I needed to clear out our pantry and fridge before I go grocery shopping. I had two cans of cream of mushroom soup and some macaroni in the cold room pantry, and along with some veggies, milk, spices and cheese.. and it became dinner. :) It was nothing earth shattering, but was happily eaten by all.

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Spice-Spiked Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup, plus extra sugar, divided

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate bar

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the milk, molasses, vanilla and chopped chocolate bar. Add in the baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Mix well. Add the flour and stir until well combined.

Make tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough, roll them in the extra sugar, and press down slightly on the baking sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes.

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Empty Out The Fridge And Pantry Pasta!

1 box whole wheat macaroni noodles

2 tbsp olive oil

4 mini onions, chopped

7 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup milk

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp sage

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup fresh peas

parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the macaroni noodles according to package directions.

In a pan, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook until soft. Add the peppers and garlic. Continue to cook until they're tender. Once they're cooked, add the soup, milk and cheddar cheese. Stir until it's melted and smooth. Add the spices and peas and stir until peas are cooked.

Mix the cooked pasta with the sauce, and put it in a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with parmesan cheese and cook for about 20 minutes until it's heated through and the parmesan has melted.

A light feast for a(nother!) very hot day.

What a very long day! The kids and I spent the entire morning running errands. First it was a stop to drop something off with someone, followed by a trip to the gas station (grrrr... 1.319/ litre!), then the library to drop some books and DVDs off & get some new ones (yay for discs 5, 6 and 7 of Lost season 1!), followed by a stop at the theatre to pick up our Harry Potter tickets for tomorrow (what a pain THAT was) and lastly picking up some bread at the grocery store. After a quick lunch of sandwiches, we all headed out to deliver flyers. No, not a few flyers. Nope! We had to deliver a good 150 flyers, plus the regular papers. Not only did we have to deliver 150 flyers, but we had to deliver them in three different areas. AND it was at least mid-thirties (celcius) with the humidex. Can you say hot, sweaty, tired kids? They held up pretty well considering, but there were definitely a few moments. Ironically enough they were closer to the beginning. Strange kids! At one point in our travels we were approached by an elderly man who reamed me out telling me I shouldn't be forcing the kids to work and I'd better be paying them, yadda yadda. Wasn't expecting that. Why is it that people judge so freely when they know absolutely nothing about the situation? It's so sad.

Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of time to breathe, never mind to make dinner by the time we got home and had showers. I had dry fried some tofu and marinated it in our very favourite marinade (!!!!) in the morning, so I threw together some mango summer rolls and Thai dipping sauce (from Vegan with a Vengeance) to go with it. We enjoyed our light feast while playing a family game of the Game of Life (haha.. again...) and now we're sitting down for some SYTYCD. All in all, a good day. The best part of the day? It's Kyle's Friday! He has tomorrow and Monday off! Yahhoooo!

Mango Summer Rolls

1 mango, peeled and sliced into matchsticks

1 cup bean sprouts

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

4 oz very thin rice noodles

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, very finely chopped

20 rice paper wrappers

Thai dipping sauce (recipe to follow)

Boil a medium pot of water. Once it started to boil, turn the heat off and put the noodles in. Let them soak for 10 minutes before taking them out and rinsing thoroughly in cold water.

Have a small pot of hot water ready on the counter along with a cutting board. Place a rice paper wrapper into the pot for 30 seconds to a minute until it's soft. Take it out, place it on the cutting board and start filling it. Add some rice noodles, some peanuts, cilantro leaves, a few bean sprouts and mango. Roll it up, making sure to fold the edges in. Keep chilled until ready to eat.

Thai Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 tsp Asian chile oil

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts

1 1/2 tsp sugar

Mix together in a small bowl and chill until ready to eat.

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If you have never tried this dipping sauce from The Ginger People, run out to your local grocery store and get some! Seriously! I'm addicted to this stuff. Kyle and I used to be able to get it in Winnipeg, and then they stopped making for some reason. Can you say SAD? When I was at our local store last week I almost squealed out loud when I saw this sauce sitting on the shelf! It's so freaking good! I love all of The Ginger People sauces, but this is BY FAR my favourite! Mmmm. I opted for this sauce with my summer rolls. ;)

Fun food days are the best!

We were supposed to head out to visit some friends today, but Rhianna wasn't feeling too hot so we had changed our plans to have a home day. Hopefully we can reschedule with these friends for next week! We puttered around the house cleaning, doing laundry, and playing The Game of Life twice. I love that game! I have a feeling we'll be playing it a whole lot... so glad that Tiernan got it for Rhianna for her birthday. You know what I LOVE about my kids? I love that they don't think twice about having two female (or male) peg people marry each other and have a family (as seen in the photo). It makes me so proud I tear up. ♥

Remember how I mentioned that Avery got a newspaper route for our local paper? He's been loving it, and I've been very impressed with how responsible he is with it. Thursday is a big day because he has flyers to deliver as well (not to mention collecting), so Tiernan and Rhianna help him out and he pays the two of them. The one bit I haven't mentioned is that I was asked to fill in as a sub when needed... and wowzers, it's busy in the summer! We've been doing another paper route all week, and we will have a third set of flyers to deliver tomorrow. That's going to take a while! Next week I start up two more subbing routes for two weeks. Can't complain - a bit of extra cash to save up is always a good thing!

Can you tell that Rhirhi's feeing much better? ;)

Dinner was one of those easy peasy fun food days. The kids were delighted! I think Kyle may have been more excited than anyone else, though. Haha! As I'm sure you can tell from the photo, we had nachos! I just cooked a few bell peppers (one red, one green, one orange, one yellow) in a bit of olive oil with some Old El Paso taco seasoning, put it on some tortilla chips, added some grated smoked cheddar and microwaved it for just under a minute until the cheese had melted. Simple and yummy. (And with freshly baked peanut butter cookies for dessert you just can't go wrong!)

Happy Hump Day, friends!

Mushroom Fettucine & Spinach Salad

I have been cooking with a lot of sherry lately, and I have to say that I just love the flavour it adds to certain dishes. I buy actual sherry vs. the cooking sherry, so it's a bonus since we can also drink it. ;)

Tonight I made a Rachael Ray pasta dish (with sherry!) and a spinach salad that I got from my friend Jill's blog (who got it from a friend of ours, Amanda).

Mushroom Tetrazzini

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 lb white mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tbsp fresh thyme)

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

5-6 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup sherry

1 cup cream

1/2 freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup peas (I used some I got at the farmer's market - yum!)

1 box fettucine noodles

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and oil together and add the mushrooms and thyme. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the mushroom are golden. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the sherry and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cream and nutmeg. Add 1/2 cup of starchy water from the cooking pasta and the peas. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes until the peas are cooked. Stir in the parmesan and noodles and toss to coat.

Spinach Salad

4-5 cups of spinach

1/2 cup sliced dried apricots

1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup feta cheese (but we didn't have any so I used mozza)

dressing:

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp poppy seeds

salt and pepper, to taste

Blend the lemon juice, honey, olive oil, poppy seeds and salt and pepper in a food processor. Pour over the rest of the ingredients and toss to mix.

Mexican Bean Wraps and Borani

I'm going to jump right into my recipes today because it was a very Monday sort of day. Enough about that, it's not worth my time! Tonight's dinner was Mexican Bean Wraps. I can't remember where I got the recipe way back when, but I've tweaked it a bit. I've made these before and they're always a hit with all three kids (surprising since there are tomatoes in it.. but they disappear into the sauce). Just a head's up, though... these wraps taste better than they look. ;)

Mexican Bean Wraps

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced thinly

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp tomato paste

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

14 oz can of chopped tomatoes with the juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 small green pepper, sliced

1 small red pepper, sliced

10 small flour tortillas (I usually use whole wheat, but had white today)

lots of cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350.

Fry the onion in 2 tbsp oil for about 10 minutes until it's tender. Add the garlic and spiced, and stir to coat. Add the tomato paste, kidney beans, and tomatoes in their juice. Cook for about 10 minutes (or more) until the juice has reduced. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a separate pan, fry the peppers in 1 tbsp oil until it's tender. Set aside.

Take half of the bean mixture and place it in a bowl. Use an immersion blender to blend it into a paste. Add the peppers to the other half of the bean mixture.

Spread some bean paste over each of the tortilla wraps. Add some of the pepper/bean mixture on top of that. Top with cheese and roll the tortillas up.

Place the tortillas on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10-20 minutes until it is heated through and just starting to brown at the edges.

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After dinner we watched the Top 22 perform on So You Think You Can Dance Canada as a family. I made a dip called Borani (which I got from a Moosewood cookbook years ago) and brought it out for during the show. It was served with pretzels. :)

Borani

10 oz fresh spinach, well rinsed, stemmed and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp minced fresh dill

1/3 cup grated feta cheese

2 tbsp plain yogurt

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a covered saucepan, cook the still damp spinach for a few minutes over medium heat, stirring a couple of times. Once it's limp, but still bright green, remove it from the pan and squeeze out any excess moisture. Set it aside.

Saute the onions, green onions and garlic in the olive oil. When the onions are translucent, stir in the spinach and dill and heat for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon and pressing out any extra moisture, transfer spinach mixture to a bowl. Stir in the feta, yogurt, salt and pepper.

Refrigerate for 1 hour and serve.

Date nights, appetizers, breakfast for supper, birthday lunches and decorating cupcakes!

This weekend, like most weekends, has been busy. It's been worth it, though. I live for weekends! Having our whole family together... exploring, visiting, playing, or just doing nothing.

Friday night found Rhianna and I on our own since Kyle took the boys to Goodsell Collectibles to play some Friday Night Magic. Originally Rhi and I were just going to hang out at home, but then I read (on Facebook - what did we ever do without Facebook??) that the Kelly's Irish Dancers were performing at the Waterfront and Ethnic Festival. Awesome! We got there as quickly as we could and headed over to the pavillion just in time. We bumped into Tiernan's teacher from the past year which was a nice surprise - I adore her! The kids dancing were incredible. I love, love, love Irish dancing. I also love Celtic music... it's so comforting for me. Rhianna really wanted to join this dance school on top of the dancing she's already doing with Angela Maracle Studios, but the lessons clash with her Acro class so it's a no-go for now. Maybe next year. She took some Irish dancing when she was super small and was complimented back then for her toe points so I'd like to see how she'd do now. :)

After the Irish dancers finished we wandered around the rest of the festival together. I had told the kids there would be no rides this year because the wrist bands are way too much money when you have three kids. Buuuuuuuttttt.... since Rhianna and I were on a date and it was her birthday weekend.... ;) I bought her enough tickets to go on two rides. We fleeted from ride to ride, measuring to see which ones she was tall enough for this year. She was happy to find out she was tall enough to go on almost all of the rides of her own (except for that darn hang-glider that she has so desperately wanted to go on for two years now! She is *so* close, too.). She chose Zero Gravity (as seen in this picture.. that's her with the yellow shirt and striped skirt) and a Cobra roller coaster. Seeing that smile on her face was so worthwhile! She gave me many hugs and thank yous and told her this birthday weekend was the best ever. Awww. She bought herself some mini donuts and I treated her to a game where she was guaranteed prize. After we got home we cuddled together with a glass of rootbeer, a big blanket and some game shows. It was a perfect date night!

Saturday was mostly a get things done sort of day. We've been having some issues with tiny little ants coming into the house so we needed to deep clean our kitchen (where they were coming in). As per the advice of a friend, we moved all of the food out of our kitchen and it's now in boxes in our basement. Convenient? No. But necessary? Yes. Luckily they hadn't spoiled any of our food! We found a few on the outside of our clover honey, but that's all they touched in our pantry. Under the pantry, though... we found a red sucker... in a package... half eaten by the ants! There was probably a good 20 or so ants stuck in the package! It was so gross. Since clearing that out, along with the rest of our food, we've had far fewer ants in the house. I have my fingers crossed that this is going to work. After our de-ant-ing, we cleaned the house, bathed the dog and then I settled in to watch 'The Blue Butterfly' with the kids while Kyle took a much needed nap.

For dinner I made waffles, mango smoothies and chocolate waffles. The kids were delighted! What kids don't love breakfast for dinner? :) I got the recipe for the waffles from The Garden of Vegan years back, and we like them so much we don't really try other recipes. I did, however, decide to try a new recipe that I found in my September 2010 edition of Vegetarian Times magazine. Dessert waffles! I found them a bit too sweet - I can't handle anything that's too chocolatey (weird, I know!). The kids sure enjoyed them, though! The boys pretty much wolfed them down the minute they hit their plates. How the heck are we going to feed them as they continue to grow? Ahhh!

Nummy Yummy Waffles

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1 1/4 cups soy milk

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Grind the oat flakes in a food processor until coarse. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Spoon into a well oiled, hot waffle iron. Repeat until the batter is gone.

Mango Smoothies

(enough to feed my family of five)

1 bag frozen mangoes

milk - read for amounts

4 tbsp yogurt

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp flax seed

Empty the bag of frozen mangoes into a blender. Add milk until you reach the 750 ml mark. Add the yogurt, honey and flax seed. Blend until smooth. If it's still to thick, add a bit more milk. Continue until the desired consistency is reached.

Double Chocolate Waffles

chocolate sauce:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp unsweetened soy milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

waffles:

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp vegan chocolate chips

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

icing sugar, for dusting

To make the sauce, whisk together the cocoa powder, maple syrup, soy milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Lower heat, but keep warm.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Let it stand for 10 minutes.

Combine cocoa powder and chocolate chips in a bowl. Whisk in a 1/4 cup of boiling water into the mixture, and blend until smooth. Whisk soy milk mixture into the chocolate mixture. Whisk in brown sugar, oil and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture.

Cook on a pre-heated, well oiled waffle iron. Once they are cooked, top with a tbsp of the chocolate sauce and dust it with icing sugar.

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Saturday night also brought us an unexpected date night in. Our internet connection has been terrible and sketchy lately. We're going to have to call Bell to come out and make a house call because I'm pretty sure our router is on its last limbs. Oh well, looking on the bright side is always a good idea - Kyle couldn't do any of his contract work OR his podcast. Instead we feasted on some spinach and artichoke cups that I got from my 3 in 1 Vegetarian cookbook (and altered slightly) and watched many episodes of Lost together. So addicted! Kyle really liked the appetizer that I made, but I was a bit iffy. I loved the inside of it, but would have preferred it without the wonton shells. I just ate them by dipping some pretzels in and leaving the shells. Ha!

Spinach-Artichoke Party Cups

non-stick cooking spray

24 3-inch wonton wrappers

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

5 oz baby spinach, wilted in a pan

1 cup grated monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 300. Spray the cups of a mini muffin tin lightly with cooking spray. Press 1 wonton wrapper into each mini cup, and lightly spray with oil. Cook for about 9 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Remove the shells from the pan and place on a rack to cool.

Combine the artichoke hearts, spinach, cheeses, mayo, and garlic in a medium bowl and mix well.

Fill each wonton cup with the cheese mixture. Place the filled cups onto a baking sheet. Bake about 7 minutes until heated through. Serve immediately.

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Today my beautiful Rhianna turned eight years old! I still remember very vividly when Avery turned eight and I couldn't believe I had a child who was already eight years old. And now here I am with my baby at eight! How did this happen? She's an incredible little girl, though. She never ceases to amaze me with her determination and capabilities. Everyone who meets her falls in love with her. The more you get to know her - the more you'll fall in love! Her smile lights up the world. Her laugh makes my heart sing. I don't even know what life was like before her. I love that little girl so much!

We headed out to visit my parents and hold her family birthday out there. Rhianna had requested a barbeque for her birthday and seeing as we don't have one, we opted to use theirs. :) Lunch was delicious, the cupcakes she requested were a hit (and perfect for a BBQ!) and she felt like the princess she should feel like on her birthday. She got some great gifts, and we had fun testing out her new karaoke machine!

Lunch at Rhianna's request consisted of portobello mushroom burgers (altered from the July/August 2009 edition of Vegetarian Times), BBQd potatoes (a la Kyle - baked in the microwave until soft, sliced in half, butter spread on, and sprinkled with Montreal steak spice and seasoning salt and then BBQd), corn on the cob and fruit salad with all of Rhianna's favourite fruits.

Smoky Portobello Burgers

9 small portobello mushrooms, stems removed

olive oil

1/4 cup light brown sugar

5 tbsp sweet paprika

2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp coarse sea salt

3 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 medium vidalia onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 cup prepared bbq sauce

1 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese

hamburger buns

Toss mushrooms in a bowl with some olive oil (enough to coat) and the brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, celery seed and cayenne pepper. Let it sit for a while.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add the onions, rosemary and thyme. Cook, slowly, for 30 minutes until onions have caramelized and are golden, soft and sweet. Remove from heat.

Heat the BBQ and coat the grill with oil. Cook the mushrooms, stem side down, and brush the tops with BBQ sauce. Cook 3 minutes until tender. Flip and grill another 3 minutes. Add the smoked cheese to the centre of each mushroom and cook for another 30 seconds.

Toast the buns on the BBQ, put some barbeque sauce on the bottom bun, add a mushroom, some caramelized onions and the top bun. Enjoy!

A delicious fruit salad of Rhianna's favourites - watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew melon, Bing cherries and purple grapes. :)

These are the cupcakes that I whipped as per Rhianna's request! Corn on the cob! :) How perfect are these for a BBQ birthday? They looked so cute and were so simple to make - bonus! :)

A few more photos because I just can't help myself...

Candles all lit - eight little candles, and a number 8 for good luck!

I hope all your wishes come true, baby girl. Now and always.

A goodbye, some pasta and a little bit of Mexican.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye (for now!) to my cousin Derek and his wife Marion yesterday. I really don't like goodbyes in the slightest. I'm going to miss having them around. They're so easy going, kind, sweet and with the best accents, ever! Now who's going to say the typical Northern Irish "Aye" for me? Or "uh-hah" in that oh-so-cute Scottish way? Sometimes this world is just too big.

We got together a couple more times before they had to leave. They were able to come out for another one of Avery's soccer games which meant I got to hear Derek coach from the sidelines. I'm going to miss that! We also took a drive out to Presqu'ile Provincial Park... in a fully loaded van! Me, Tiernan, Rhianna, Tibbs, Derek, Marion, Mum and Dad. Kyle was working and Avery was at his soccer camp, so we were all able to fit and my parents didn't have to pay for a park pass. ;)

The weather could have been better - it was the one overcast and cool day of this week (of course). It didn't stop us, though! The scenery is breathtaking with a blue sky, but it's still pretty darn beautiful with a grey sky. It also didn't stop me, Tiernan, Marion and my Mum from dipping our toes into Lake Ontario. I cannot go near the lake and not kick off my socks and/or shoes. There's just something about the water that makes me feel alive.

I made fajitas the other day for dinner, but didn't upload the photo or "recipe" (if you can call it that). It's nothing too exciting, but still a big hit. Sometimes simple is just what you need.

Veggie Fajitas

whole wheat tortilla wraps

2 tbsp olive oil

2 small onions, sliced

500g cremini mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 bell peppers of any colour, sliced into strips

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

pinch cayenne pepper

pinch white pepper

toppings:

salsa

sour cream

cheddar cheese, grated

In a wok, heat the oil and add the onions and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are browning and the onions are soft and sweet. Add the garlic and bell peppers. Add the spices and stir to coat. Cook until the peppers are tender.

Place the tortilla wraps on a plate and heat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Fill the wraps with the vegetable mixture and top with salsa, sour cream and cheddar cheese.

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Tonight was supposed to be a completely different recipe than what I ended up making! I was famished, and the light meal I had planned just wasn't going to cut it. Instead I took a meal I had planned for this weekend and made it instead. Works for me. I made a pasta recipe that I got from my friend Cara years ago that I believe she got from a Kraft cookbook magazine. With it I made a caesar salad with this creamy garlic dressing and some cheesy garlic bread.

Creamy Fusili

pasta:

1 box fusili

1 jar pasta sauce

2 cups frozen veggies of your choice

1/2 cup cream cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

topping:

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook pasta according to package directions (to al dente).

Meanwhile, heat the pasta sauce, veggies, cream cheese and mozzarella cheese in a saucepan until the cheese is melted.

Drain the pasta and mix together with the sauce mixture. Place in a lasagna, sprayed with cooking spray.

Melt the butter and mix it together with the bread crumbs and cup of cheese. Sprinkle this over the top of the pasta.

Cook for 30-35 minutes until it starts to brown.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

5 tbsp softened butter

2 tsp olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

heavy sprinkling freshly ground black pepper

1 Italian loaf or French baguette

mozzarella cheese, grated

In a small bowl, mix together the butter, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.

Cut open the loaf of bread and spread the garlic butter evenly over it. Broil in the oven for about 5 minutes - watch it closely so it doesn't burn. When the bread is starting to brown, remove it from the oven and sprinkle it with mozza cheese. Broil again for about 3 minutes.