A delicious meal made by my man!

Apparently my kids are ready for back to school. While I was at work, Kyle was doing the stay-at-home-dad thing, and the kids gave him a run for his money. It was a busy errand running day, and our lovely children were on edge and arguing over silly little things. By the time I got home, I think Kyle was D-O-N-E! They've since calmed down after eating a big meal, doing the dinner dishes and sitting down in their jammies to watch a show with me. Hopefully the rest of the weekend is smooth sailing. Especially now that it looks like we won't be able to do the things we had planned due to weather.

Look who got a haircut! However, contrary to how it looks, he is not strangling our Mirri cat. :)

Kyle had our dinner mostly done by the time I got off work, and it was very yummy! He made the Chickpea Sensation Patties, Potato Squashers, Thick & Rich Gravy (all from Eat, Drink, Be Vegan) and a caesar salad (Surprise! We love caesar salads around here.). Mmm.

Chickpea Sensation Patties

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1/8 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

2 cloves garlic, quartered

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce (vegetarian friendly)

2 tbsp soy sauce

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups cooked short grain brown rice

3/4 cup + 1 tbsp oats

Saute the onion, celery, salt and pepper in oil for 7-10 minutes, until soft. Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree the chickpeas, garlic, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, thyme and salt until well blended. Add sauteed veggies and puree some more. Add 1 cup rice and puree. Add the second cup of rice, and pulse a bit, leaving a good texture.

Transfer to a bowl and add the oats. Mix well, cover, and chill for 30 minutes to firm it up. Form into patties with moist hands and cook on an indoor grill until browned. (The recipe suggested frying them in some olive oil, which we opted against. In retrospect, it might have been better that way because they were a bit too dry done on the grill.)

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Potato Squashers

5-7 medium sized red or Yukon gold potatoes

olive oil

coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pierce potatoes with a knife, place on the baking sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and increase heat to 450. Squash each potato with a wooden spoon making each into an uneven round. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Cook for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven, flip them, and drizzle the other side with some olive oil. Return to oven and cook another 12-15 minutes.

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Thick and Rich Gravy

1 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp mild miso

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp arrowroot powder

2 tbsp tahini

1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp black strap molasses

1/2-3/4 tsp agave nectar

2 tbsp olive oil

Place all of the ingredients into a pot, and, using an immersion blender, puree together. Heat the gravy to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes to thicken. Taste and add more vinegar if needed.

Garden Burgers, Family Love and Exhaustion.

My brother and sister-in-law came for a visit this week, and it was fantastic. We enjoyed a meal of miso-ginger-coconut stir fry with a side of teriyaki tofu and cinnamon buns for dessert. I went with the meal because it's a family favourite in this house. Unfortunately, you should never just double the recipe for the stir fry. It wasn't nearly as good as "normal". Oh well, everyone still gobbled it up, so no big deal. :)

Having family or friends out here is always so wonderful, but once they leave we're always left feeling like Canada is just too darn big! We enjoy the company while they're here though. It worked out timing wise because they were able to come to Avery's very last soccer game in his tournament, went to go see Tiernan in Oz at the Empire, and even got to have Rhianna perform her Classic Cruisers dance in our living room. :)

Check out the beautiful double rainbow we spotted one night while the kids were bike riding! ♥

I finally made something new for dinner tonight! This is a huge shocker! We've been surviving on quick foods this week. August is starting to really kick my arse. I'm so very tired. I hate admitting to that, but it's true. I'm only human after all! There has been so much shuffling of kids to and from theatres, dance studios, play dates and soccer games. There have been so many little errands to run to buy things for performances and the beginning of the school year. I think I'm finally finished on both counts! This weekend coming up I work Friday evening, Saturday all day (followed by the closing show for Oz!), all day Sunday, and all day Monday. Not to mention the five more Oz shows and the Classic Cruisers performance in Marmora. Next week I plan to take a day to do nothing. At all. If you stop by, expect pjs. Actually, consider yourself lucky if I even answer the door. Haha!

Anyway, back to tonight's dinner. I made some yummy Garden Burgers from Quinoa 365 The Everyday Superfood (and really didn't change much at all), yam fries, veggies with dip and Rainier cherries (best cherries in the world!). I made the entire dinner while talking to Laura on the phone, too. I've got skillz! ;)

Garden Burgers

1/4 cup quinoa

1/4 cup lentils (I used green)

1 1/2 cups water

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 - 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

19 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup finely diced celery

3/4 cup finely diced onion

1 cup finely diced bell pepper (I used orange)

1/4 tsp black pepper

Put the water, quinoa and lentils in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 20-23 minutes until the lentils and quinoa are tender. Remove from heat.

Mix together the lentils, quinoa, walnuts, bread crumbs, chickpeas, celery, onion, bell pepper and black pepper. Mash lightly. Add more bread crumbs and a bit of water until it becomes easier to form into patties. Put the patties on a plate, and chill for 1/2 hour.

Cook on a pre-heated indoor grill until they start to brown and are heated through.

Consider yourself updated! ;)

Coming into the month of August, I knew it was going to be a doozy. What I didn't really realize was just how exhausted it would make me. I feel like I'm constantly on the go! Tiernan is busy with rehearsals, Rhianna is busy with her dance camp, Avery's busy wrapping up his soccer season and delivering papers, I'm busy with cleaning the dance studio, chauffering kids, running errands, and working, Kyle's busy with his work, his contract work and his podcast editing, and on the rare day that we don't have anything we make sure to go out as a family and do something fun, relaxing and memorable. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound since I really enjoy being busy, but I do admit to sleeping in until 10:30am once!

On Sunday we found ourselves with no rehearsals, no work for me, no dance camp, and no papers to deliver. I looked at the calendar and saw this blank white space. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen! We decided to jump in the van and take a drive out to Presqu'ile Provincial Park for a picnic of cheese buns, coleslaw, yogurt and brownies. We found ourselves a picnic table near the lake and settled in. The weather was incredible! There are finally some cooler days this week and that day was gorgeous! The skies were very overcast and the air was warm, but not kill-me-now-hot, and you could hear the roar of thunder throughout the whole time we were there.. There were storms going on all around us, but where we sat at the picnic table there was no rain at all. It was like the rain held out until we were finished eating, exploring the water and lounging. When we finally decided it was time to go, the skies opened up and dumped buckets upon buckets of rain onto our van. I love the sound of the raindrops hitting the metal roof. So beautiful!

After visiting the Park, we headed off to pop in at my parents' house for a surprise visit. Luckily they were at home and we settled in for a while watching home movies from just before and just after Rhianna was born. It was great! This coming Sunday is another blank slate for our family. I can't wait for our family time. I am so blessed with these kids of mine and my loving and supportive husband. No matter where our path takes us, I know we'll be just fine because we'll be together.

♥ My two men. ♥

Dinners have been made for the past week, they just haven't been blogged about. Some of the dinners have been repeats. When I worked all day on Saturday, Kyle was in charge of dinner, so I had planned on him making some vegetarian reubens and a caesar salad using creamy garlic dressing. He did a fantastic job and we all gobbled it up! This is one of those times that I am so thankful that I have this blog - it allows my husband to just look recipes up instead of me trying to find the recipes for him in cookbooks, or my own notebooks. :) Another night we had Make Your Own Grilled Cheese night which was a total hit for our kids! I put out a few different cheeses - old cheddar, mozzarella and smoked cheddar, along with some thinly sliced apples, ketchup (for my ketchup loving daughter!), and then I whipped up some aioli sauce and some pesto sauce. It was a lot of fun! On our free day, the kids treated our whole little family to dinner at Montana's! Aww, they are the sweetest. And it was delicious! In the meantime, here are some of the recipes we had this month so far...

I know it's a terrible picture - I was too lazy to get my flash that night! ;) This is the aioli sauce I made on Make Your Own Grilled Cheese night. Tiernan LOVED this, and couldn't get enough of it.

Aioli Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, and chill for at least 15 minutes.

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For Make Your Own Grilled Cheese night, I also made a quick pesto sauce which we all spread on our bread before grilling them. It was a huge hit since everyone enjoyed the pesto!

Pesto

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup walnuts

2 cloves garlic

1/8 cup parmesan cheese

1/6 cup olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

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I got this white bean burger recipe from my friend Jill's blog. I altered it very slightly, and although they were good, none of my kids liked them. :/ I may try them again with red kidney beans instead, but we'll see. I served these with our family's favourite potatoes. Here's my version of the burgers.

White Kidney Bean Burgers

3 tbsps butter

2 onions, sliced

1 head of garlic, roasted

2 cans white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp fresh sage leaves, torn

1 tsp thyme

2 tbsp ground flax seed + 2 tbsp water, mixed into a paste

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

salt and pepper, to taste

juice from 1/2 lemon

Caramelize the sliced onions in the butter for about 30 minutes or more.

Once the onions are cooked, pulse together the onions, garlic, spices, flax paste and half the kidney beans. Mix the bean paste mixture with the rest of the beans in a large bowl. Add the bread, lemon juice and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook on an indoor grill until crispy on the outside and heated through.

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Date Night In food was positively scrumptious! One of the perks of my job is that when it's slow, I can read the books in the store. This means I get to read cookbooks if I want. I come prepared and bring in a notepad to copy down any recipes that catch my attention. This recipe is one of the ones I jotted down at work. :) It's from the book Grazing, and it's a definite keeper! And yes, it's not the exact recipe - did a bit of tweaking.

Cheesy Black Bean Dip

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tsp canola oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 lime, juiced

1 1/4 cups Tex Mex cheese

Mash the beans until chunky. Heat the oil, and saute the onion for 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, saute 30 seconds. Add the beans, salsa, cumin and chili. Cook 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in lime juice and cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Serve warm.

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Last night I made a yummy spaghetti and meatball dinner with some cheddar swirl bread (recipe to follow). Avery, as he sat down at the table, exclaimed, "THANK YOU for making the best meal EVER in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!" Haha, that boy. The sauce was basically the same as this one, with a few changes.

Spaghetti and Meatballs Sauce

4 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

28oz can crushed tomatoes

large can tomato paste

1 cup sherry

4 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried chopped red chilies

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 package frozen veggie "meatballs"

Cook the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and parsley and cook another minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, the sherry and the spices, salt, pepper and brown sugar. Mix well, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the "meatballs" and cook another 15-20 minutes until the "meatballs" are well heated.

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Smoked Cheddar Swirl Bread

I made a delicious smoked cheddar swirl bread to go with the spaghetti last night. There is nothing quite like fresh bread, let me tell you! If I had time I'd make fresh bread every single day! I used the recipe for Cheddar-Sriracha Swirl bread and followed it to a tee, aside from changing the Sriracha sauce and cheddar for some smoked cheddar. I see many ways I could change this recipe up to have different tastes... mmm mm mmmmm!

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.

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.

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 BBQ dinner without a BBQ.

This long weekend has been the perfect medicine to help re-energize me after last week. I'm feeling back to normal again, and looking forward to the week ahead. I'm also loving that it's only a three day school week! I miss the kids when they're at school. Today was just beautiful out. Warm, but not disgustingly so. There was a big thunderstorm while we sat at the dining room table playing World Wildlife Fund's Photo Safari together. Ironically enough we were answering questions about lightening when it started. Today was the kind of day that screams, "Let's have a BBQ!" The only problem is... we don't have a BBQ. I wasn't about to let that stop me, though. Instead, I cooked up a meal that tasted like it came from the BBQ. I made some Botanical Burgers from the Rebar cookbook that were delicious, but quite soft. None of us let that bother us, though. The only change I made to the recipe was substituting more of the beets, carrots and turnips in lieu of the zucchini because my zucchini went bad on me. It still turned out great! With that I whipped up some roasted potatoes that I sort of threw together and they were addictive. On the side I had some boiled corn on the cob, and some asparagus. A perfect meal for a perfect day. :)

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Botanical Burgers

2 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup grated turnip

1 cup grated beets

1 cup grated zucchini, water squeezed out

2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried dill weed

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup mashed potatoes

1 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 cup hazelnuts, roasted

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp tarragon

2 tbsp parsley

fresh bread crumbs (optional)

Heat oil in a wide bottomed pan and saute onion until transparent. Add the grated vegetables, salt, pepper and dill weed. Stir thoroughly and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Transfer to a large bowl and let it cool.

Place cooled vegetables, rice and hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely combined. Transfer to a large bowl and add the mashed potatoes, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, tarragon and parsley. Season to taste. If the burgers are not holding together add some bread crumbs (I added 1/3 cup). Shape into patties.

Heat some olive oil in a large pan, and cook both sides until browned.

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Roasted Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

1.5 lbs yellow baby potatoes

3 tbsp olive oil

7 cloves garlic, minced

some fresh rosemary, minced

(I snipped a couple of shoots off the side of my rosemary plant, and used all of those leaves)

coarse salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400.

Wash the baby potatoes, and then cut them in half. Mix the cut potatoes, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss to coat the potatoes.

Place potatoes on a baking sheet, turning each potato cut side down. Cook them in the oven for about 20 minutes until tender.

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As for Avery, he seems a teeny bit better today. I called the doctor's office, but of course it wasn't open since it's Victoria Day. Hopefully I can get ahold of them first thing in the morning and I can get him in then. I have my fingers crossed that he'll be even healthier by morning!

Chili Burgers, Tex Mex Spuds and Thunderstorms.

My cat, Solange, turned twelve years old today! Solange is a our "middle cat". She is super loving, very snuggly, completely feline-like (sounds strange since she's, well... a cat, but she's the most typical of our cats), and she's a bit of a brat. We sung Happy Birthday to her numerous times, and she enjoyed a lovely salmon "cake". Yes, really. We're crazy animal folks around here! ;)

In other news, we had a beautiful thunderstorm this evening. Our family has a deep love for these storms, and within an instant we're all out on the covered porch to listen to the rain and thunder, as well as feel the crisp wind on our faces. The forecast calls for another thunderstorm tonight, and another tomorrow as well. We can only hope. I love the rain more than most, but lately it's been too much... even for me! However, give me a powerful thunderstorm and I'm back to happy again.

I had dinner put together by noon today. I love when that happens. I made the Creamy Feta salad dressing before taking Rhianna and Avery to the bus stop this morning. I didn't much like the dressing, though, so no sharing that recipe! After I got back I made the Tex Mex Stuffed Potatoes (a recipe I got originally from my friend Cara), and the Chili Burgers (from Moosewood's Low Fat cookbook). I'm a huge kidney bean fan, so these were high up there on my favourites. I admit that I still like the Black Bean Burger recipe more, though.

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Chili Burgers

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup grated carrot

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 15-oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in oil on med-low for about 5 minutes until soft. Add carrots, chili powder and cumin, and cook on low for 5 minutes.

Mash the kidney beans in a large bowl. Add the sauteed vegetables, mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, oats, salt & pepper. Combine well.

With moist hands, form into burger patties. Add a bit of oil to a heavy skillet. Cook the patties on each side for 6-8 minutes, until browned.

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Tex Mex Spuds

6 russet potatoes

1/4 cup Ranch dressing

5 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups Tex Mex cheese

1 red pepper, chopped

extra Tex Mex cheese for the tops

Pierce potatoes with a fork and microwave on high for 4 minutes per potato.

Preheat oven to 350.

Cut each potatoes lengthwise, scoop out centres and leave the shells 1/4 inch thick. Mash potatoes with dressing, green onions and Tex Mex cheese. Fill shells with mixture. Top with some chopped red peppers and some more cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through.

Night night, sleep tight.

Wow, am I ever exhausted. Weekends can be so tiring sometimes, and this is one of those times. I'm thinking a book, my bed and ... sometime super soon (alliteration.. squeal!) would be perfect. Hopefully my weakness/lightheadedness/headache/tummy ache is only from being spent rather than anything else. Crossing my fingers.

My friend Tanya took the boys for a playdate today so they wouldn't have to tag along to Campbellford with us for the Family Two Step tournament that Rhianna and my Mum were in. It was nice not to have to worry about them while we cheered the bowlers on, and I know the boys loved every minute of it. Thanks again, Tanya! Mum and Rhianna had a really fun time, and bowled really well, but didn't leave with a medal this time. They had some pretty serious competition out there since all these kids were bowling with parents/grandparents/uncles/aunts etc, and in some cases these people were good. I would not want to face off against them, that's for sure! These two really held their own, though, and I'm proud of them. What a great memory for Rhianna to have. :)

For dinner tonight I made a rice dish that I used to make all the time a few years back. It's great because you can just stick it in the slow cooker, so there wasn't much preparing for me to do after we got home. I was going to make lentil burgers with it, but changed my mind last minute since we got home later than I expected and I didn't have time to soak the lentils for 2 hours. So, I went with another burger recipe I had on my menu for another day - Jamaican veggie burgers. This was my first time making them, and for me they were very ehhhh. Edible. Decent. But not my favourite. Kyle and the kids raved about them, though. Maybe I felt there was too much rice at dinner? I'm not sure. I just wasn't as much a fan as everyone else. These burgers were also pretty crumbly which drives me bananas. I did enjoy the bite the jalapeno gave, though. I also served the same salad as yesterday with the same leftover honey ginger dressing. Dessert was leftover apple crisp, also from yesterday.

Jamaican Veggie Burgers

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger root

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tsp allspice

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cooked long grain brown rice

2 1/2 cups bread crumbs

Heat oil in skillet. Cook onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add the jalapeno, and cook until tender. Add to a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir to combine.

Wet hands and form into patties.

Cook on a large indoor grill until browned (the original recipe called for frying in oil... maybe that would have turned out better).

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Wild Rice Casserole

2 onions, chopped

3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

2-6oz packages of dry instant long grain and wild rice mix

2 1/2 cups water

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup butter

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 lb sliced mushrooms

Add everything to a slowcooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or high for 2-4 hours.