We're on a break!

Sorry my friends, but I need some time away from the computer. I'll see you next month!

What I Ate - Day FIVE!

Breakfast -


Toast (from homemade bread) with cream cheese, apple.

Lunch - was leftover sweet and sour pork.

Dinner -

Lettuce, tomato, bell pepper, black beans, green chiles, corn, chicken, salsa.

What I Ate - Day Four

This was one of those days that goes by in a flash. One minute it's the morning and we're heading out to do a couple of errands and the next thing I know it's 6pm and I've destroyed the kitchen making a new batch of baby food.

Breakfast -

2 low fat Eggo waffles (who knew they came in low fat??) with blueberries and maple syrup.



Lunch - forgot to take a photo. Think it's pretty good I made it to day 4 before I forgot. Veggie wrap (lettuce, cheese, tomato, onions, peppers, avocado) with watermelon and broccoli.

Dinner -

Homemade sweet and sour pork over rice. Edamame on the side.

What I Ate - Day Three

We are moving slow around here today, the baby hardly slept last night and I feel like a zombie this morning. Of course I have a thousand things I wanted to accomplish today, but I think all I will get done is sitting on the floor with the baby.


Breakfast - scrambled egg and egg whites with feta cheese and salsa, 1/2 a sunflower seed bun, watermelon.

Lunch/snack


I can't believe it's already 3:45. The baby just fell asleep, so I'm going to eat a toasted bagel with hot sauce and cheese and tomato, then try to get some stuff done. I've got 2 loaves of bread in the oven, and some muffins made but I didn't get the soup made that was supposed to be lunch. I'm going to go sit and relax for a few minutes and then make the soup for dinner. What a day.

Dinner


I only got one soup made, so it was cauliflower soup and roast beef sandwiches. The sandwich is on today's homemade bread, thankyouverymuch. Apple slices as well.

What I Ate - Day Two

Breakfast - Green tea.



Lunch - went to a corn roast/bbq in a parking lot. Had a half cob of corn and half a smokie with onions. My hands were too buttery to take a photo of the corn.



Dinner - maui ribs, grilled fingerling potato slices, grilled corn.

Dinner was pretty disappointing, the maui ribs I bought at the butcher today were TOUGH. We ate them, but Scott said afterwards he would have been happy with the corn and potatos only. I agreed, but I hate wasting money and food. There is one piece of ribs left, who knows if it will get eaten, or sit in the fridge until it's time to toss it out.
I have no menu plan so far this week, fyi.

What I Ate - Day One

Oh you lucky people you. I don't know what you've done to deserve it, but for the next 7 days I'll be posting photos of everything I eat. No, no, you don't have to thank me.

Breakfast -

Whole wheat bagel with low fat herb and garlic cream cheese, cucumber, tomato and hot sauce. Skim milk.

Lunch

Frozen veggie dumplings.

Dinner

Quesadilla with chicken, onion, artichoke and cheese with salsa, leftover noodles and strawberries.

Bread Baking Babes - Sweet Portuguese Bread

I'm back in the bread making saddle again. We had a rainy cooler day here so I was able to get into the kitchen to make this months bread - Sweet Portuguese Bread from Tanna at My Kitchen in Half Cups. This is a bread that Tanna came up with for her neighbor whose Mother used to make this bread when she was young.
What a rich bread, with eggs, butter and brown sugar. Oh, and some ground flax added for health. :)
This was a great bread to play with. The dough was lovely and fragrant from the sugar and lemon. Tanna suggested we customize the sweetness of our bread - from 30 to 100 grams of sugar. Tanna preferred 30. I went with 70 which was very nice; when I made it again I might try a little more.

The only problem I had was with the shaping. I guess I didn't press in hard enough with my rolling pin. After the final rise you could hardly see the lines. Scott wanted me to slash them in with a knife but I didn't (and I should have), so the loaves came out basically smooth on top. To disguise that I brushed them with butter and sprinkled with more sugar.





This is truly a delicious bread! Delicious toast and even more wonderful French Toast. Yum yum. Yes, I think I'll be making this again, scorching temperatures or not.

***Edited to add***

I did make the bread again, I wanted to see if I could do a better job with the design. Although the dough got off to a great start, it hardly rose in the oven, leaving us with 2 loaves of bread barely a couple of inches high. I went with less sugar the second time, as I wanted to use them as "multi purpose" loaves of bread. Oddly in addition to the shortness of the bread, they were also very dry. Strange, considering I baked them less time than the recipe calls for.

The design came out a little more pronounced though. No pictures, cause I'm bummed about the height.

If you'd like to be a Buddy, make the bread, and send your post to Tanna by August 29.

Recipe here, at Tannas.

Grocery Shop, August 14

Technically a farmers market shop.

From my favorite stand, Thistle Farms.
Organic zucchini, organic squash, organic red fingerling potatos, organic green beans, organic onions.

$15

The 2 squashes and beans are for the baby. This morning I am cooking up more food to freeze for him - the above as well as some frozen organic peas. I was going to split the potatos between him and us but I think I'll keep them for us - they look so delicious!

Maple Leaf Prime Pork Recipe Contest

Now here's something I've never done before - enter a recipe contest! The very nice people at Maple Leaf are holding a contest for Western Canada bloggers and food lovers and you (the people) are the judges!

Starting August 11, visit Maple Leaf's Prime Pork Facebook page here to see all the recipes using Maple Leaf Prime Pork. You can vote once a day between now and October 15. And voters in Western Canada will be eligible to receive a 50% off coupon for Maple Leaf Prime Pork! So vote, and vote often for me for your favorite.


Pork Skewers with Almond Butter Satay Sauce and Coconut Pineapple Rice

Serves 4-6

I made this sauce with almond butter for those who can't have peanuts. If you prefer, use peanut butter in place of the almond butter.

1 (Maple Leaf Prime) pork tenderloin

Marinade
1 tb finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp soy sauce
3 tb brown sugar
1/2 tsp hot chile flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp curry powder
2 tb vegetable oil

Almond Butter Satay Sauce
1/2 cup almond butter
2 tb soy sauce
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tb brown sugar
2 tb hot water
1 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (chile garlic sauce)
1 tb lemon juice

Coconut Pineapple Rice
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/4 cups water
2 tb chopped chives (or finely chopped green onions)
1/2 cup diced pineapple

Cut the tenderloin into slices 1/2 inch thick. Flatten slightly with a meat mallet. Stir together all marinade ingredients in a large bowl, add the pork and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Mix together all the satay sauce ingredients. Thin with additional water if necessary. Set aside.

Make the rice: combine the rice, coconut milk and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the chives and pineapple, cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

While the rice is cooking preheat a grill or broiler. Thread pork onto skewers if desired. Grill or broil on both sides until just cooked through.

Serve pork skewers on top of coconut rice with satay sauce on the side.