Incase you weren't sweet enough..

I completely forgot to add my baking to my epic blog post last night. Right now we're having a crazy thunder storm and I thought it would be the perfect time to sit down and write them out. I love the rain - especially storms. Right now the pitter patter is so much more than that. It's more like swish-swoosh. It's dark, loud and peaceful. I've been waiting for this for so long now; it's such a relief to finally get a big storm.

The baking I have done lately hasn't really been baking. More like throwing ingredients together and chilling them. Either way, delicious. :) I'd been having cravings for rice krispie squares, so I found a vegetarian way to make them without using real marshmallows. I admit to the fact that we are not always super strict with gelatin. When we go camping, we roast marshmallows. At school when the kids are offered a square for a friend's birthday and it had marshmallows, they have a small piece. Not the end of the world! However, I try to avoid it most of the time.

The other square is a recipe I got from my friend Amber ages ago. She had brought some to one of the potlucks we hosted and no one could stop eating it. In fact, we lovingly referred to it as crack. Haha. It's such a simple but addictive dessert!

Rice Krispie Square

3 tbsp margarine

7 oz jar marshmallow creme

6 cups rice krispies

In a large saucepan, melt the margarine and marshmallow creme together. Once it is smooth, remove from the heat and add the rice krispies. Mix well to combine.

Place in a greased 9x11 casserole dish and chill until set.

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Mars Bar Crack

3 Mars bars (I used two small and one king sized)

1/2 cup butter

3 cups rice krispies

270g milk chocolate chips

2 1/2 tbsp butter

In a medium saucepan, melt the Mars bars with 1/2 cup butter until smooth. Add the rice krispies.

Place in a greased 9x13 casserole dish.

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips with the 2 1/2 tbsp butter. Pour over the top of the Mars bar/rice krispie bottom.

Chill until set.

Rice and beans make a complete protein!

Tiernan went to his first audition for the Wizard of Oz with the Empire Theatre today. Before we got there this morning he was extremely nervous and a little distraught over not being able to wear his tiger eye necklace. When I left I was unsure how the day would go, but had faith in the lovely people who he was with.. and hoped he'd have a great day. When I went to pick him up afterwards I stood outside in the torturous heat with all the other parents, chit chatting while we waited for our children to come down and tell us about their adventures. When the door opened and I spotted Tiernan I felt a huge wave of relief come over me. He had the hugest grin on his face! He told me all about the other two Lollipop Guild boys, and sang me the songs again. Now he's super pumped to go to the next rehearsal. So exciting!

We had a house full of kids today, and I needed to have dinner ready for 4pm since Rhianna had her first night of dance camp (hooray for my lovely dance moms!), so I spent my afternoon in the kitchen creating while the kids ran around the house. I made a Southwestern Rice Casserole from my friend Jill (altered a bit), a buttered chickpea curry (altered a bit), and some parsnips and carrots in brown sugar and butter. Dessert was a puffed wheat square from How It All Vegan. Yummy!

Butter Chickpea Curry

4 medium potatoes, cubed

2 tbsp canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsp curry powder

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1 can condensed tomato soup

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low boil and cook until potatoes are tender.

In a wok, saute the onion in canola oil until tender. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the spices and salt and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato soup, coconut milk, chickpeas and cooked potatoes. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

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Southwestern Rice Casserole

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, chopped

4-5 cups cooked rice

1 1/4 cups coconut milk

1 tbsp cumin

1 1/2 tbsp chili powder

1 cup salsa

3 cups shredded Tex Mex cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

In a frying pan, saute the onion in oil. Cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the red pepper and cook until it's tender.

In a bowl stir together all of the ingredients until well blended.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Transfer ingredients to the dish. Cover and cook for 40-45 minutes.

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Puffed Wheat Square

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups puffed wheat cereal

2 cups chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and syrup until it's hot and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter. Once the peanut butter has melted, add the cereal and chocolate chips. Mix well. Pour into a 9x13 pan and chill for an hour before cutting.

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.

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.

This week is brought to you by the food: Rice!

This is a big week for my little dancers! Recital is this coming Sunday, so we spent Monday and Tuesday in Stirling for dress rehearsals. I took many photos and videos since there are no cameras allowed at recital itself. The kids are all amazing, and it was great for my two to get the opportunity to watch the other (and mostly older) kids do their numbers. If you're interested in any of the videos I took, they're up on my youtube channel.

Yesterday my oldest kitty turned 15 years old. Scooter is the sweetest, most Zen cat you will ever meet. I think back on our 15 years together and I can only think of once when I got annoyed with her - she pulled a cold glass of water down onto a sleeping me! Even then, she wasn't intentionally trying to irritate me. She just wanted a drink. My other two cats will actually try to get in trouble because they want something (typically food). So, my Scootie Wootie is my little Princess. She loves anything pink, she has the strangest hoarse cry unless she's hunting her toy mice, she still plays like a kitten, she's recently deaf, she loves drinking water and she always has to knead the air when you pet her. I couldn't ask for a better cat than my Pumpkin Eater. LOVE her so much.

Scooter had a little stroke last week. She started walking funny, lost balance, leaned into the wall, and looked dazed. I picked her up and she leaned her head over my shoulder and pressed in as hard as she could while breathing very heavily. It broke my heart, but she recovered just fine. She's back to her normal self, so now I will just keep my fingers crossed that she still has lots of life left in her. In the meantime, I enjoy every day I have with her. ♥ We made her a kitty cake last night (soft cat food with some cheese on top) and sang her happy birthday (kind of ironic since she's deaf). It's our little family tradition.

Keeping with the birthday theme, I made all the humans in our family a chocolate zucchini cake to celebrate. Oh yes, I did! I don't even remember where I got this recipe, but I've been making it for years now! It's definitely a family favourite.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk with 1 tsp lemon juice added (let it sit for a few minutes)

2 3/4 cup flour

4 tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix butter, vegetable oil, and sugar together. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk. Combine well. Add the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Stir in zucchini.

Grease a 9x13 pan. Pour in the batter. Top with mini chocolate chips.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Let it cool completely before icing. (I make a margarine, icing sugar, milk, cocoa powder icing that I've been making for as long as I can remember. I even remember making a little bowl of it for myself (or me and a friend) when I was living on my own because I was craving sugar. Haha!... bring back memories, Sarah?!)

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Dinners have been easy, repeats and not always blog worthy this week. They've also been full of rice. I'll share the recipe for the carrot feta risotto (can you tell I love risotto?) because it's not a new one, and you know if you revisit a recipe it's pretty good. The Hawaiian beans I made with them are not blog worthy though. Won't be making them again. They were edible.. but.. no one loved them. Both recipes came from Moosewood Cooks at Home.

Carrot Feta Risotto

5 cups vegetable stock

4 carrots, chopped into semi circles or into matchsticks

1 small onion, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 tbsp chopped fresh dill (you can use 1 tsp dried in a pinch)

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Bring the stock to a boil in a covered pot. Ease the carrots into the stock and lower the heat to very gently simmer.

In a large saucepan, saute the onions in oil for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the rice, and stir gently to coat in the oil. Add the dill. Ladle 1 cup of carrots and stock into the rice. Stir until the liquid is absorbed. Continue to do so with the remaining stock until it's all absorbed. Remove the rice from the heat, add the feta and lemon juice and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

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Tonight I made even more rice. This time I made a fried rice with this vegetable stir fry recipe I blogged about before. I had originally planned on making my friend Jill's vegetable spring rolls, but forgot to take the filo pastry out early enough. Instead I'll make them tomorrow for Fun Food Friday - with homemade pizza! Interesting combo, but it'll be delicious, I'm sure. My fried rice really doesn't have a recipe because it's so easy. I heat some toasted sesame oil in a pan and add my mushrooms (about 6 fairly big cremini mushrooms). Once they're cooked I remove the mushrooms and add a bit more sesame oil. I add my already cooked rice (I cook it the morning of so it's nice and cool by the time I need it.. freezing also works) and coat it in oil.. cook for a little bit. Add a bunch of Braggs (or soy sauce) until it looks right. Stir it up, cook for a bit. Add the mushrooms and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas and heat it through. Voila, easy rice!

A great smelling house is a happy house.

June is shaping up to be a really great month. Quite busy, yes, but also very promising. I'm probably most looking forward to Fishbowl Friday.. possibly Fridays. Bring it on; I am ready!

My house smelled lovely today. I made a delicious, pleasing to the nose and tummy feast. Dinner was spaghetti that I wrote about in this entry, a romaine lettuce, carrot, cucumber, sugar snap pea (how I love sugar snap peas!) salad and some fresh baked homemade baguettes. And then... we had dessert! I made a most scrumptious rhubarb crisp. I'm telling you - it smelled great in here!

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Baguettes

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp dry active yeast

2 tsp salt

2 cups warm water

oil for the bowl

Mix together the flour and salt in a bowl. In another large bowl, combine the yeast and warm water and leave it for 5 minutes. Mix in half of the flour/salt mixture. Mix until a dough forms. Cover with a damp towel and let it rise at room temperature for 3 hours. It will triple in size.

Gently add the rest of the flour/salt mixture and mix using your hands.

Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. It should be supple and elastic when you're done.

Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside; coating it with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour. It should double in size.

Preheat oven to 400.

Knead the dough again. Cut into 3 equal parts and form each piece into a long baguette. Place on a baking sheet and let it sit for 20 minutes.

Place a bowl of water into the oven. Bake the baguettes for about 25 minutes; removing the bowl of water after 15 minutes.

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Rhubarb Crisp

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup flour

3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp cinnamon

4 cups sliced rhubarb

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, melted butter and cinnamon. Mix until crumbly. Press half of the mixture into a greased 8x8 pan. Top with sliced rhubarb.

In a pot, combine the sugar, cornstarch, water and vanilla. Cook together until clear and pour over the rhubarb.

Top with remaining crumbly mixture. Bake for 45-55 minutes.

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While I was eating my dessert I casually asked the kids if they liked it... I looked up.. and this was what I saw! Both boys were licking their bowls clean. ;) Guess that answered my question!

Tiernan is 10, and the world's best cinnamon buns!

Today, my baby boy turned ten. This kid is incredible. He could win over anyone's heart. He has the kindest heart - for everyone he meets. He's so wise beyond his years and had been from day one. Tiernan was always a very serious child; you could tell he was always thinking deep thoughts. Ironically enough, he also has an awesome sense of humour - one much like my own. ;) He and I share so many inside jokes that have us laughing so hard we're crying. We really get each other, and I just love that about him. It's a pretty special relationship and I am thankful each and every day for my Sunshine.

As per tradition, the kids got to eat cupcakes for breakfast this morning. Sounds like a great way to start your day, hey?

Avery is still very sick, and we're thinking it's mono since it's going around their school. We're beginning to think that's what Tiernan had when he was sick in April. Apparently you can get pneumonia after having mono. The rest of the symptoms are spot on. Avery has been so tired all week, barely being able to make it out of bed or off the couch. He has wicked headaches, and no appetite. I took him out with me, briefly, on Friday and halfway through our very short trip he was throwing up. Of course this is a long weekend here in Canada, but I'll call our doctor in the morning to see if the office is open. If not, I'll take him in on Tuesday.

The point to that little story (besides updating on the state of my guy) was to explain that we had our little family party outside on the back porch instead of inside where there are likely higher concentrations of germs hanging around. I don't want to infect my parents with mono (or whatever else it is), and the day was perfect for sitting out there. We had our garden party over lunch hour, feasting on the meal Tiernan chose. He requested pepper jack soup, VBSTCs and corn on the cob. Everyone gobbled it up, and still had room for some rainbow cupcakes (well, except for Avery who ate a few bites of his sandwich and almost all of his corn on the cob.).

I was planning on making some more werewolf cupcakes for Tiernan's family birthday, but the last week has been painfully busy. I've been far from inspired in the kitchen, and too exhausted to make anything too exciting. Instead of the werewolves, I decided to make rainbow cupcakes, and Tiernan asked if we could add a layer of Smarties inside the batter.... what a great idea! They were delicious! The best was when they first came out of the oven and the Smarties' chocolate was all melty and warm - oh my!

She picked this dress out just for her big brother's birthday. :)

And my poor Avery. He was in tears this morning because he really wanted to be healthy for his little brother's birthday.

Birthday boy with his proud grandparents!

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As I mentioned earlier, I've been feeling uninspired in the kitchen this week. I haven't been cooking anything new, and instead going for quick and easy. Last night was Date Night In, though, and that calls for some inspiration. I whipped up some cinnamon buns for us to eat while we played Settlers of Catan, and I must say - they were the best cinnamon buns, ever! Hot from the oven... oh yes. Would you like that recipe? Oh, I bet you do.

Best Cinnamon Buns, Ever!

dough:

1 tsp cane sugar

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup cane sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups flour

topping:

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup cane sugar

1 cup pecans, chopped

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter

Dissolve 1 tsp sugar and yeast in the warm water, whisk, and set aside for about 10 minutes until frothy.

Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Remove from the heat and mix in 1/4 cup cane sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt. Stir until melted, and then cool to lukewarm.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, the milk mixture, the eggs and 1 1/2 cups flour. Use an electric mixer to combine. Slowly add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Continue mixing with dough hooks on an electric mixer. If it isn't smooth and elastic, turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough.

Oil a bowl, and coat the dough with the oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let it double in size, about an hour.

While the dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and mix until smooth. Pour it into a greased 9x13 pan and then sprinkle with half of the chopped pecans.

Melt the remaining butter and set aside. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and second half of the chopped pecans in a small bowl. Set aside.

Roll the dough into an 18x 14 rectangle. Brush the dough with half of the melted butter, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the butter. Roll the dough up from the longer side. Pinch the seam to seal. Cut the roll into 15 pieces, and place them into the prepared 9x13 pan. Brush the tops with the remaining half of the butter.

Cover the pan with the damp towel, and let it rise for one more hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

Bake the cinnamon buns (uncovered) for 25-30 minutes until they begin to go golden. When you remove them from the oven, immediately invert the pan onto a serving platter. Make sure to scrape out all the butter/sugar mixture from the bottom of the pan and spread it over top.

Enjoy!

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The best part about making those cinnamon buns? It felt so good to be back in the kitchen! I'm ready for the week ahead... I'm going to make some serious messes in there. Watch out, husband of mine. ;)

Black Bean Soup and Date Square

Today was not the first time I made this slow cooker soup. My friend Michelle sent me the recipe about a year ago and told me I'd love it. I put it on the menu, bought the ingredients and threw it together. Now one thing you may not know about me is that I often don't follow recipes to a tee. I like to change them up, and usually do. Sometimes unintentionally. The first time I made this soup I changed it up unintentionally. It was bad. So very bad. The recipe calls for a tablespoon of finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I, carelessly, read that as a can of peppers. A can! I can't even begin to tell you the kind of spice that soup had. I could not figure out how these friends of ours could handle that kind of spice! I love spice... I really do. But that was purely painful. My poor kids ate a few bites of that soup before I told them to stop. My husband forced himself to eat almost an entire bowl that night, but couldn't handle the leftovers. I sent an email to my friend asking her if it was supposed to be that spicy. I then figured it out. I used the whole dang can of peppers. She called me up and laughed at me. A lot. I also laughed at myself. It's been almost a year now, and I finally got over the nightmare that was the spicy black bean soup. I made it again today and it was delicious. The boys gobbled it up, Rhianna almost finished her bowl, and Kyle had a second helping. Phew! It's much better when you only add 1 tablespoon of chipotle peppers. I did change it up a tiny bit as I always do, but this time they were safe changes.

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (I used 2-14oz cans and 2-19oz cans)

6 cups vegetable stock

1 red pepper, chopped

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (for me it was 1 pepper)

3 tbsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 tbsp lime juice

sour cream

green onion, finely sliced

Saute onion in oil until softened.

Add the onion to the slow cooker. Then add the beans, vegetable stock, red pepper, garlic, chipotle pepper, cumin, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Add the lime juice and mix roughly with an immersion blender. Top each bowl of soup with sour cream and green onion.

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Yesterday I mentioned that I made a date square for my Mum for Mother's Day. This was my first time making the recipe from How it all Vegan!, and I definitely approved. Yummy! I'm glad I sent most of the slice home with her, though, because today I ate 3 pieces of it. So good!

Date Square

Filling:

1 cup water

2 cups pitted dates, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

Crust:

4 cups rolled oats

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup margarine

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water, if needed

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and add the dates and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer until the dates are soft and will mix easily with the water. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the margarine and oil, and stir together until well combined. If the crust is too dry, add the water (I definitely did).

Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Spread the date mixture over top. Sprinkle with remaining crust mixture.

Cook for 25-40 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and tender. The crust will harden as it cools, so cut it into slices before it gets to difficult.

I love being a mummy!

What a beautiful morning! I'm currently sitting in bed with my blinds and window open, listening to the birds singing and my wind chime gently jingling. The sky is clear blue, the breeze is gentle and whispers promises of a wonderful day. Inside my house I hear some busy little bees whipping up a surprise Mother's Day breakfast for me which will be served to me in bed. I may not know what it is, but I sure know that something smells delicious! This is our Mother's Day tradition every year. I sleep in (or at least lay in) until they bring me my breakfast in bed. Each child picks out one item for me to eat.. something they know I love. I still remember the year that I ended up with pancakes (Avery), chips and dip (Rhianna) and some fruit slices (Tiernan). It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. I get the feeling that this year will not bring any chips and dip. ;)

My sister Carole came by yesterday with her friend Audrey. I hadn't seen Audrey since Tiernan & Grayson celebrated their first birthdays! That was in 2002. Time flies, but she hasn't changed one iota. She's still sweet, quiet, kind and has a fantastic laugh. We took a walk down to the "cheese park" (as my kids love to call it) and Carole and Rhianna were able to have some bonding time on the swings. It's not often that an Auntie can bond with a niece or nephew since there are often cousins around. And let's face it... Cousins > Aunties. It's just the way it goes. I'm very glad they were able to come over.

Food was a disaster yesterday. It was one of those days where it seemed like I couldn't do anything right in the kitchen. I made a dish that I got from a friend of mine and I don't know what I did wrong, but it was definitely not a hit for us. I may try making it again, but tweaking it to our tastes. I was glad that my sister and her friend didn't end up staying for dinner once I was sitting down eating. Tiernan was the only one who really liked the meal. At least the cucumber salad and buns were really good, right? It was also Date Night In. We watched 127 Hours (OMG!) and ate the Fudgey Brownie I made from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. I didn't expect the brownie to be so... gooey, so I ended up over cooking it a bit. The edges were too crispy, but the centre was delicious. It wasn't what I would expect from a brownie, but tasty all the same.

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Fudgey Brownie

3/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp margarine

1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup chocolate chips, divided

1/4 cup baking cocoa

2 tbsp ground flaxseed

1/3 cup water

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.

In a small bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Heat 1/3 cup chocolate chips, margarine and cocoa over low heat (it suggests double boiler, but I just take time with it instead). Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix ground flaxseed with water with a handheld mixer for about 2 minutes until it's a little gooey. Add the chocolate mixture, and mix until combined. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat again. Add the dry ingredients, and beat until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips.

Pour into the baking dish. Cook for about 30-35 minutes. The crust should be flaky on the top. Don't overcook it like me!

Let it cool for 30 minutes on a cooling rack.

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And now I hear my busy bees coming with my breakfast in bed! Perfect timing.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MY MUMMY FRIENDS AND FAMILY.