Farewell, little buddy.

Today we brought Stonewall to a wildlife rehabilitation centre called Sandy Pines just outside of Deseronto. I spoke to the coordinator this afternoon, and she suggested that the best place for him would be with her at the centre. It's too cold for him outside right now, so I brought him into the kitchen for the day and he so sweetly snuggled up in the towels enjoying the warmth. The centre we took him to was amazing. When I pulled in I immediately got a great feeling from it. There were animals everywhere looking happy and healthy. The two girls who were working there seemed caring and capable. One of them walked out with a baby raccoon in her arms and was feeding it a bottle. I'd never seen a baby raccoon before! They were not at all afraid of Stonewall, and scooped him out to hold him. Eventually she placed him in a tuque and kept it near her body for extra heat. I felt safe leaving him there, and it made me less sad to leave. Tiernan was the most heartbroken, telling me he wished I would have taken Stony there during the day while he was at school because he hates goodbyes in person. He cried his heart out, but seemed to calm down when we explained to him that it was okay to be sad, but that we would have to say goodbye eventually anyway. This is his best chance at a normal, happy, healthy squirrel life.

I think I'm going to call the director and see if I can volunteer with them. I didn't want to leave today, at all! I've been ooohing and ahhhing over the website, and cried my eyes out about all the good they do. I really want to be a part of this beautiful, nonprofit place.

Dinner plans changed for tonight. It was going to be West African Peanut Soup and Harvest Herb Bread (which I would have loved), but because of our trip out to Sandy Pines, my very sick eldest son (who slept the entire day away), Tiernan's Tap class and a rebate cheque that I really wasn't expecting, we opted for take out. We let the kids have Burger King, and Kyle and I got Montana's. It was so very good, and the best part is... there are leftovers for my lunch tomorrow! I love that. Something to look forward to. :)

Sometimes you just need comfort food!

As I mentioned earlier, we caught Stonewall! It took him quite a while to relax in the cage, but he is now curled up and sleeping in a bed that Kyle made for him (out of the Erdinger box you see in the photo). It's pretty cold out there right now, and very rainy. I worry about him being by himself, but we haven't seen Shadow around at all today. I'm not sure if that's because he's too cold and small - smaller than Stonewall, so he's sleeping the cold and rainy days away. Or, he could have been caught by some cat or crow. It's also possible that he got too cold overnight. Or maybe Stonewall is warning him away from our yard after having been caught. I wish I knew the answer to where he is. I keep hoping he'll show up and I'll put him in the cage with his brother (or sister... whichever the case may be). Tonight Stonewall will be spending the night in our garage in the cage. Apparently it's better to keep them somewhere that still feels the change in temperature so that they can get used to it. I worry about him, though.

On my dinner menu I had a Thai Salad from a Moosewood cookbook that I don't have (but found online). My friend Kim mentioned it recently and I just had to have it. She was right about the garlic in it! Very strong, but oh so good! I'm glad Kyle ate it along with me or I wouldn't be getting any kisses for the rest of the night. ;) Anyway, back to the menu. I was planning on making it with the tofu it called for and serving it with a side of leftover potato chips. Instead, I had an emotional weekend and was craving comfort food like you wouldn't believe! I wanted creamy and heavy and warm. I fought the urge to go out and eat... and was quite cranky about it. And then I remembered that I had a container of whipping cream that I bought to go with the fudge brownie, but ended up opting for ice cream instead. And what's my favourite thing to do with whipping cream? Fettucine Alfredo, of course! This is the same way we've been making it since we were living in Paris in 1998/99. It's so easy to make, and everyone in the family loves it.

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Thai Salad Dressing

6 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 cup boiling water

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp crushed red chilies

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Mix the peanut butter in the boiling water until it's dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

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Fettucini Alfredo

1 box fettucini noodles (we usually use spinach, but used cracked black pepper today since that's all we had)

6 tbsp butter

6-8 cloves garlic, minced (amount depending on size)

350 ml whipping cream

salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the whipping cream and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature, add salt and pepper to taste and simmer until the pasta is finished, stirring often.

Once the pasta has been cooked and drained, return to the pot. Add the whipping cream mixture. Cover the pot with a lid and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it thickens a little bit.

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And now I'm off to watch the season finale of Survivor with the family!

My Saturday... squirrels and food - shocker!

I typically love Saturdays, especially now that we have more down time to have our own adventures. Yesterday we had the kids' bowling wind up - ten pin bowling, plaques and pizza. It was fun for all who came. I'm going to miss everyone from the alley - they became such a regular part of our Saturdays! It was also date night last night. Kyle and I watched an episode of Glee, rented 'Unstoppable' (loved it, and found myself screaming at the television on multiple occasions) and ate the yummiest homemade potato chips (from The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook) and onion dip. Not boring old onion dip from a container.. or made with the chemical laden boxed onion soup mix. This was real caramelized onions... and it tasted better than any onion dip I've ever had before. It's not exactly a light dip with the cream cheese, mayo and sour cream, but how many dips can claim they are truly light? I found the recipe on Eat Me, Delicious, and almost kept it same. I decided I didn't need to oil, though... it has enough fat in it! It worked wonderfully. Yummy!

Unfortunately, yesterday had a terrible feeling lingering above it all day long. In the morning, as I was eating my breakfast, I heard a sound that made me leap from my chair and exclaim, "The babies!". I ran out the back door to see the two baby squirrels I was just visiting with were still there... but there were three crows circling overhead crying out a horrible sound. The babies seemed pretty safe for the time being. I ran to tell Kyle about the crows, and he came up while I ran upstairs to get dressed. My plan was to run out and scare the crows off. I had just gotten into my bedroom when I heard him curse and say "The crows got two of them!" I admit that I did not handle this in the most mature manner. I flipped out. I cried. I screamed. I got mad at Kyle (and feel awful about it!). I cried some more. I couldn't breathe. The two babies the crows got were in my neighbour's driveway. They weren't the ones who were in our backyard feasting on seeds, they were the other two in the litter. I assume they were trying to get up to, or down from, their nest since it's in the tree in front of my neighbour's yard. One of the babies was still twitching, and Avery wanted to run out and save it. How heartbreaking! Kyle gathered the bodies in a box, and took them out to the woods at the end of our street. I cried some more. I stood in the backyard in the pouring rain, prepared to chase any crows away. I, with the help of my mother and husband, came up with a plan for saving the remaining two squirrels. In the Fall I got a big cage from the local Humane Society. Kyle pulled it out of our shed and we tried to coax them into the cage with food, but that didn't work. Then I pulled out the kids' nets and tried to catch them that way. I was successful at trapping them, but they both managed to get away. I could barely sleep last night knowing they were on their own. I am determined today to get them to a safe place. I will then call a wildlife rehabilitator and see if they can help me deal with this in the right way. I feel so much for these babies - they're defenseless, having not been taught the squirrel rules yet. I really don't want to fail them; they deserve a fighting chance. Wish me luck today!

Edited to add! Guess what we just did? We caught Stonewall!!! Well, my hero husband caught him! I could not be happier that we finally have him in a safe place. He has some of the rat food, and we plan on buying more food later. We also have water and a bed in there (complete with towels) as well as a bunch of sticks he can chew up. I've been reading that a lot of items from nature should be left in the cage, so we have plans to gather some. Happy, happy, happy! One down, one more to go!

For dinner last night I made a slow cooker Dal from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. I served it with basmati rice, naan bread and some samosas I made from Vegan with a Vengeance. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Dal - it was pretty bland for me, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy it. Kyle and Avery both added Rooster Sauce to add some heat. I love, love, loved the samosas. They were just little things, but so very satisfying.

Dal

2 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, cut into pieces

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 tsp peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1 1/2 cups dried lentils, washed and picked over

1-15oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups water

salt and freshly ground pepper

Pour the oil into the slow cooker, and turn the heat the high.

Puree the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor until smooth. Place them in the slow cooker and put the lid on.

Stir in the spices (but not salt and pepper) and cook, stirring for 30 seconds.

Turn the setting to low and add the lentils, kidney beans and water. Cook for 6-8 hours. Add salt and pepper before serving.

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Samosas

dough:

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

about 3 cups all purpose flour (I only used 2 1/2 cups!)

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

filling:

3 medium sized russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tbsp vegetable oil plus more for brushing

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 yellow onion, very finely chopped

1 cup carrots, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh ginger root, minced

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

juice of 1 lemon

3/4 cup frozen peas, water run over them to remove any freezer ice

Boil the potatoes in water for about 20-25 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

To make the dough:

Pour the wet ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add two cups of the flour, turmeric, baking powder and salt. Begin kneading the mixture, adding more flour gradually until a smooth not sticky dough is formed, about 10 minutes.

Set dough aside and cover with a wet cloth. Begin preparing the filling.

To prepare the filling:

In a large skillet (I used our wok) over medium heat, add the oil, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. The seeds with begin to pop. Allow them to pop for 1 minute, but be careful not to get hit by these popping seeds. Add the carrots and onions and saute for 7-10 minutes until the onions begin to brown. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, salt, and lemon juice and saute a minute more. Add the potatoes and mash it all together. Heat it through, and then add the peas and mix well. Set aside.

Divide the dough in half and roll it out thinly. Using a cookie cutter, or a glass upside down, cut 3 to 4 inch circles out of the dough. Place about a 1 or 1 1/2 tsp of the potato mixture into each dough circle and fold it over so it becomes a half circle. The recipe says to wet the dough with water around the edges to make it stick, but mine didn't need it. Continue with the rest of the dough.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the samosas onto the tray, and lightly brush oil on both sides of them.

Cook about 12 minutes on one side, flip them, and cook another 8 minutes. Allow them to cool about 5 minutes before serving.

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Oven Baked Potato Chips

3 Yukon Gold potatoes

salt

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.

Wash the potatoes and then slice them paper thin (very important!). Put them into a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes to remove some of the starch. Lay them out on a towel, and dry the slices completely.

Place them onto the prepared baking trays, taking care not to overlap any of them.

Cook them for 10 minutes on one side, flip them all, and cook another 1o minutes on the other side. They should be starting to brown and be crisp. Serve them right away as they are best eaten this way.

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Pan Fried Onion Dip

2 yellow onions, cut in half, and then sliced into 1/8 inch half rounds

4 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 oz cream cheese, left on the counter for 15 minutes to half an hour

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Heat the butter over medium heat, and cook the onions, cayenne, salt and freshly ground black pepper for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature and continue to cook for another 20 minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onion to cool.

Mix the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise with an electric mixer. Blend well until there are no lumps. Add the onion and mix well.

Flour tortillas... and more squirrel talk!

I know, more squirrel talk! I imagine there will be a lot of squirrel talk for the next week or two. I'm obsessed! Today there were three babies hanging out in my backyard. I worry about them because they obviously haven't been taught about the rules of being a squirrel. They lay around in the sun in the middle of the grass, not even blinking when I walk out to see them. I worry about neighbourhood cats and big birds and any other animals who may prey on the little guys. Kyle made a makeshift house for them that we sort of shoved as far under the hedge as we could. We put old towels in there, and hope they figure out it'll give them protection and shelter from the rainy week ahead. I've already seen changes in them, though, so I have my fingers crossed that their instincts will kick in and keep them safe. They're just starting to climb now, and it's so cute to watch them.

I love this one!

The littlest guy, who we've named Acorn, was sunbathing and napping right out in the open!

I made flour tortillas for the first time today and they were a huge hit! I didn't realize it was so simple, but this is definitely the way I'll do it from now on. I pretty much love making anything that requires me to knead dough. It's so therapeutic! At any rate, I made these so we could have the kids' wish for Fun Food Friday - tacos. I used the taco method I wrote about here.

Flour Tortillas

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup very hot water

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the shortening, and use a pastry cutter to mix it in until it's crumbly. Add the hot water, and combine well.

Put the dough on a lightly floured counter. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise for 15-20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 16 balls. Roll them in your hands until they are smooth. Roll them out with a rolling pin on a clean counter.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Do not add oil of any kind! Dry fry them for one minute on one side, flip it, one minute on the other side and then flip it again for a final minute on the first side.

Meditteranean sandwiches and baby squirrels!

Finally! Blogger is working again. It felt like an eternity that it was down.

It's been quite the couple of days in my backyard. Since I got the feeder it's become quite the little animal sanctuary. All kinds of birds seem to flock here to hang out. It's incredible, and I am definitely not complaining. Yesterday I found the most amazing, beautiful and oh-so-sad thing while I was putting laundry on the line outside. This little guy in the picture to the right came out from under the hedge looking quite shaky and weak. He is obviously too young to be away from his mama, so I can only guess that something terrible happened to her. He wasn't very afraid of me, and had no energy to run when I walked over to him. I stuck a dish of seed under the hedge, and sure enough, the little guy (who we have named Stonewall) jumped on and started feasting. In the afternoon, another little guy came out from the hedge with the same shaky legs, only he was black (and we have named him Shadow). Unlike Stonewall, this one is a lot more timid with humans and made some really sweet protective sounds when I went to put the dish near him. THEN.. in the evening Kyle walked outside the front door with our dog Tibbs, and two more little black squirrels came running up to Tibbs! Not only that, but when Kyle and Avery went to take a bike ride down to the YMCA, these two little ones chased them down our driveway, and then headed down the road towards them. I feel so bad for these little orphans! I have told the kids that we can't befriend them since it really isn't good for their future. We will be putting out some seed and water for the next week or two until they seem stronger and more capable of living on their own. The two babies who chased Kyle and Avery on their bikes are off on an adventure already, down a different street. I miss them already! The other two were seen in our yard this morning, looking a bit stronger.

Isn't this little one sweet? He's the timid guy who was making adorable sounds.

Dinner was simple and delicious yesterday. I made a Mediterranean sandwich on focaccia bread with a side of canned baked beans. I got the sandwich from The Essential Vegetarian, but altered it a bit.

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Mediterranean Sandwiches

1 focaccia loaf

(you can make your own or buy one... I was going to bake one, but with the squirrel chaos, I ended up buying one)

1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly

1 green pepper, sliced very thinly

2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, crushed, divided

3 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup medium cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350. Line an oven tray with aluminum foil.

Combine the sliced onion, green pepper, red pepper, basil and 2 cloves of garlic in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine, cover and set aside.

Mix the olive oil with the remaining 3 cloves of garlic. Slice the focaccia in half with a serrated knife and brush the bottom half with the olive oil and garlic mixture.

Pile the veggies on top of the oil brushed focaccia, and top with the grated cheddar. Add the top half of the focaccia and place on the prepared baking tray.

Cook for about 15 minutes, until cheese melts.

Vegetable Studel.

I am quickly becoming one of those bird watching people. When I wake up in the morning I quickly check to see if anyone is visiting my feeder. When I have a few minutes to spare, I sit on the porch with my camera to see if I can find some new birds out there. I get downright giddy when I do discover a new one. You should have seen me when I saw my first (and so far only) cardinal perched on my feeder. I was running around jumping through the house with excitement. Then when these little goldfinches (as seen in the photograph) came I had a repeat performance. Happily, these little tweeters come to my feeder often.. at least a half dozen times a day (that I notice). They have the most beautiful song! My feeder makes me smile. A lot.

Dinner tonight was not a failure (unlike yesterday!)! It was a new recipe that I found in my Essential Vegetarian cookbook, and it turned out fantastic. I tweaked it a bit... of course... and every single one of us felt it was a hit. I love it when that happens. I see many different options for changing it up, too. I was going to make a caesar salad with this, but the day got away from me, so we settled for watermelon on the side. It was the perfect addition because it was pretty hot and muggy out.

Vegetable Strudel

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, cut into strips

1 green pepper, cup into strips

2 medium zucchini, sliced

6 cloves garlic, minced

6 sheets filo pastry, thawed

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup basil leaves, finely sliced

3/4 cup old cheddar cheese, grated

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a wok and fry the onion until it's tender (3-5 minutes). Add the red pepper, the green pepper, the zucchini and the garlic, and cook with the onion for another 5 minutes until soft. Set wok aside so the vegetables will cool.

Place one sheet of filo pastry on the counter and brush with the melted butter. Layer with another filo sheet, and brush it with butter. Continue until all the the filo is stacked up. Place the vegetables on one half of the filo pastry, leaving 2 inches at each end. Add the basil leaves and cheese. Fold the filo ends in to the middle (I used a bit of butter on the ends, too) and then fold the pastry over. Place it seam side down on your prepared baking sheet. Spread with remaining butter, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes until it's golden brown. Serve immediately.

My Mother's Day, in many photos.

My Mother's Day was fantastic from start to finish. I took about a million photos to remember each moment with, and here are some of them. :)

As I mentioned earlier, I got breakfast in bed. It was amazingly good.. you could just taste the love that went into it. There is nothing sweeter than having your children and husband make something especially for you. I enjoyed every bite I had, and even those that I shared with a certain little someone or two (coughRhiannacoughTiernancough) or even three (Scootie cat 'shared' my toast with me.. she loves margarine and she's too sweet to say no to, so she licked a slice). I even enjoyed the bites that were ruined by the orange juice flood after Kyle accidently knocked my glass over onto my plate. Haha! I may not have eaten those bites, but I appreciated every single one of them.

Nothing beats the company I had in bed while I ate it either. ♥

I got some beautiful handmade cards from all three kids. This is the front of the one from Ave. Avery is not one to enjoy card making, so for him to go ahead and make one without being prompted? That means the world to me. He doesn't enjoy drawing or spelling... he'd rather be out playing sports. I LOVE that he drew the two of us holding hands since he really doesn't do that with me anymore.

Awww. What a sweet boy he is. He may be full on into the almost teen years (hello, eye rolling!), but he's still a really good kid.

I love Tiernan's attention to detail! The rainbow's colours, the height between us, the words 'red' and 'blue' being written in those colours, the heart instead of an 'o' in love. He's so thoughtful. I also love that he signed the back with 'love, TBone'. :D

Rhianna, in true Rhianna form, made me two cards. She made one at school (as well as the cutest CD photo), and then came home and made one more. This is the inside of the one she made me at home. So sweet! I love the little cut out hearts and extra messages.

This is the front of Rhianna's school card. How I wish I had lips like that! ;)

The letter she wrote for me on the inside brought tears to my eyes. Heck, all of the cards did that. I'm a big ol' sap.

And my most amazing husband gave me the most beautiful card I've ever seen. A perfectly beautiful card, and a perfectly beautiful day.

After breakfast and morning chores, I helped Rhianna with her school project of a map of her neighbourhood while I baked some date square for my Mum. She loves date square (as do I.. and all my kids I later came to find out!), but never makes it because my Dad can't stand it. Seemed like a perfect Mother's Day surprise. :) I meant to take a picture of a slice and put up the recipe on here, but blanked out. I'll add it to tomorrow's blog post.

We sat outside on the back porch for hours watching the birds. Okay, the kids sat for a while, but then went to ride bikes. Kyle and I on the other hand? We enjoyed every second on our porch. I was taking pictures of robins (and morning doves and crows and chickadees...)... but more importantly....

... I was waiting for birds to find my new bird feeder that Kyle and the kids bought me for Mother's Day!!! Oh, I am one happy woman. :) If I ever go missing you'll likely find me on my back porch. I love birds so much, and could watch them all day long. When this little sparrow landed and I managed to get a photo (or 15!), I was giddy!

One more bird picture because I can't resist. This grackle was fun to observe. He stood on my neighbour's chimney keeping watch and communicating with all the other grackles in the area. Very, very cool to listen to their wide array of calls.

My parents came over and Kyle cooked up his specialty - crepes! Oh my, you have not lived until you have eaten Kyle's crepes. Everyone loves them. People try them, and then they keep coming back for more. They really are that good. Anyway, we ate crepes, and then we headed to the 'cheese park' for a little while. I figured it was fitting to get a picture of me with my own mama. :)

After my folks left, the kids went into their rooms for some quiet reading time so Kyle and I could watch the latest Doctor Who episode, and then we brought the kids out of bed to watch the two hour season finale of the Amazing Race. What a way to cap off my day!

And because without this guy....

... or this guy....

... or these two, I wouldn't have been a Mummy in the first place. So a big thank you for being so wonderful, for making my job so easy, and for all your love you show me. Today was awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better day. I love you!