Sunday Dinner - Chicken Poppers, Green Beans and Homemade Ice Cream

The hot weather lately has turned Sunday Dinners into mostly no cook affairs -salads, raw veggies, breads, maybe some rotisserie chicken or sliced meat.

I am NOT in any way looking forward to Fall or Winter, and this Summer has somewhat completely sucked and cooking has fallen by the wayside, along with most things representing an orderly life.

I managed to pull it together long enough to make a tasty Sunday dinner of chicken, green beans, fried potatos and ice cream for dessert.

I've had my eye on these sweet potato chicken poppers and they were easy and delicious.  Even The Girl liked them, and the list of food that she likes is very short.

These  Chinese dry fried green beans were also tasty and after we convinced The Boy to try them because green veggies rock, he ate a big helping.

For dessert I attempted to cross something off my mighty life list - make ice cream at home.  When I added this to my list I assumed that one day I would buy an ice cream maker, but that most likely won't ever happen.  I'd seen a few posts this summer about 2 ingredient ice cream that doesn't require an ice cream maker.  You mix a can of condensed milk with whipped cream and freeze it. 
I added some vanilla and a pinch of salt, and mixed in some raspberries from the backyard.  There weren't quite as many berries to pick as I'd hoped, so it wasn't as rasperry-ish as I'd hoped.  The recipe said it would be ready to eat in 5 to 6 hours, and when I checked it right before bedtime at hour 5 it was too soupy to be eaten, so we had to wait until the next night to try it. 

Honestly, it was ok, but I don't know that I would make it again.  Most of it is still sitting in the freezer, and I'm guessing I'll be tossing it out soon. 

Life List - Make a pie with fruit from our garden

Our rhubarb and mint plants are the only things in our garden you can count on to grow - besides the weeds of course.  Every year the rhubarb explodes seemingly overnight and I give away bags and bags of it.  This year I put some in the kitchen at work with a sign that said "Free" and ran away.  Hee.

I have made lots of crisps and crumbles over the years but I rarely make pies because I am not good at making pie dough.  I hate it.  And it hates me.  Thank goodness I picked a pie with only one crust.

This rhubarb crumble pie was pretty tasty, and while I thought it was too lemony, others didn't even taste the lemon.  So there you go.

I also made Nigella's Irish Tarte Tatin which was not my favorite - too doughy.

Mighty Life List - Let's Get Crafty - Photo holder

This is a super fun, pretty easy craft that I can take nearly no credit for at all.

In the Fall The Mister and I were in the big name craft store, and I saw this photo frame 

that had clips for photos, which I thought was a really neat idea.  It was an ideal gift for 

The Grandparents, I thought, so easy to switch out photos!  

But the price tag nearly knocked me over.  I showed it to 

The Mister, and said - do you think we could make something like this?  

So we did.

We wanted to make one for us and one for The Grandparents, so The Mister 

went to the building store and bought a length of 2x4.  We figured out how long 

we wanted the frame, so we could hang 3 photos either portrait or landscape.  

He cut them into the lengths we wanted and 

sanded them smooth and slightly rounded the edges.  

He wanted to try a paint technique where you put a color of paint on, 

then once it's dry you paint over it with white, then when THAT'S dry, 

you sand it so the undercolor shows through in areas.  So he did that and the kids

 helped  and there was only a medium sized mess to clean up afterwards.

Next we tracked down some Crocodile clips to hang the photos.  

The Mister attached 3 to each frame, again spacing out as best we could so that 

you could hang photos either way, portrait or landscape.

The Mister attached a photo hanger to the back of each, and voila!  

A very pretty, beachy photo holder that can be changed up easily.

Life List - Bonfire Beach Party

Mighty Life List - Let's Get Crafty - Make a T Shirt Grocery Bag

This was a cheap T shirt that was not (ahem) fitting me well. 

Too short and very unflattering. 

So it was time to go! 

I cut the back of the neck off to match the front. 

Since the sleeves were very short, I left them. 

It makes for thicker handles, but I am ok with that.

Turn the shirt inside out and cut the bottom into strips.  

I discover that none of our scissors are very sharp.

Start tying the strips together, back to front.  

Then, side to side.  And doubled knotted. 

 It got pretty confusing to keep the strips in 

an orderly fashion, but I did the best I could.

 

A bag!

I turned it right side out and peeked inside.  

I could see light from two fairly big gaps, 

so I did some extra knots over those areas.

Here`s the bag loaded with some light bulbs.  

I wouldn`t load this up with anything heavy, 

but for light jobs, it`s perfect!

See the tutorial here at Hello Glow.

Mighty Life List - Make Towel Animals - Attempt Two - Monkey

Here`s where the instructions are for the crab and monkey (and more)  - Make Towel Animals

Life List - Sunrise at the Beach

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Mighty Life List - Let's Get Crafty - Twig Snowflakes

Back in the Fall The Boy and I went for a walk to collect some twigs for a Christmas project - 

Twig Snowflakes. I can't find the website that I got my original idea from anymore, 

but if you do a google search you will be overwhelmed with choices. 

Anyhoo, we found a bunch - thin and long were what I wanted the most of, 

and one weekend morning while everyone was still sleeping, I make a bunch. 

It was super easy and fun and I felt a bit Martha-y afterwards. 

Look - a bunch of sticks! 

I wanted my snowflakes to be delicate, so I used the thinnest branches.  

The website that I got my inspiration from had used thin wire to bind the twigs together.

The wire that The Mister had was too thick and I am not co-ordinated, so it didn't go well.  

I was 3 minutes away from giving up when I realized I could glue them instead of using wire.

Goodbye wire!

I used 4 twigs per snowflake, and glued in levels, on both sides with a hot glue gun.  

It took hardly no time at all.

The only thing I wish I had done but hadn't was to buy some twine to tie around the middle.  I used thread on some, which was ok but not amazing, and I left some plain.  I think some thicker red or white, or green or striped twine around the middle would have been super cute.

I attached some string to the top of each and hung them in our window.  

I loved it! 

Mighty Life List - Make Towel Animals - Attempt One - Crab

I think I needed an in-between size of towel - my hand towel wasn`t quite big 

enough to get the detail I wanted, but my next size up was way too big.

No one is going to hire me for towel animal related business,
but oh well, I`m fine with it.  Looks like a crab to me!

Life list - Go Fly A Kite

Update on my Mighty Life List

Back in 2009/2010 I wrote some posts about my dream life list, inspired
by Maggie at Mighty Girl.

I kept it updated for a while, but frankly, none of the ``big stuff`` like buying a camper or going to the Smithsonian to see Julia Child`s kitchen was or is ever going to happen.  

So I plugged along at a few of the manageable ones, like giving blood 

(which I still do!  And you should too!), made a Pavlova, 

but it petered out quickly because, as I said, many were unattainable,

 and some were vague, with no realistic way to complete (cook new recipes every week - for how long before I can say it`s completed?). 

This Fall while we were at the Farmers Market, The Boy saw a few vendors selling ground cherries.  I`d seen them before but had no idea what they tasted like or what you would do with them, so at first I said no when he asked if we could get some.  

He asked and asked, and I soon figured, gosh, if my kid is asking me to buy him FRUIT, is this really something I should say no to???

So we bought a container and they were ok - a bit like a tomato, but a very light flavor.  

The Boy soon lost interest in them, and it fell to the grownups to finish them off, 

but hey, we tried something new!

This morning I updated my list, and crossed off things I have done, 

and things I have done enough of to cross them off. 

Make one new recipe a week - I`ve been cooking from my cookbooks on Instagram for a year and a half now and have cut my book collection by half and tried tons of new recipes.  Done!

Cook at least 10 recipes out of all my books.  

Goes hand in hand with the one above.  I`m calling it done.

Fly a kite successfully.  Done!  Proof coming soon.

Try Absinthe - removed from the list as I don`t drink any more. 

Watch the sunrise from a beach.  Done!  Photo to follow.

Be able to donate to worthy causes - Not even remembering that this was on my list, I signed up last month for payroll deductions for a local organization.  It`s a very small amount, but I`m doing it.

Forgive and Forget - I was so terribly hurt by the person I wrote this about. 

 I hardly ever think about her anymore.  Go me. 

Have a family portrait taken - thank goodness for cameras with timers. 

Have a header designed for my blog - this one got crossed off twice - a reader designed 

me one from the kindness of her heart back in 2010, 

and then when I came back to blogging last year, I designed one myself.

Add the baby to the family tattoo on my arm.  The gang is all there. 

Volunteer at a mission or church kitchen to serve a holiday meal - what a great day that was.

Have a margarita tasting - heh.  Removed.

Have a bonfire on the beach - Done!  

Make a handmade toy for The Boy - The Mister did this one, so we`re crossing it off.  

Look at that - 12 things off the list!  That`s a total of 18 of the 110 things on my list.  I`ll never get to Spain, or have my house cleaned professionally, or go the the Great Wall - although I know someone who was there this year and saw photos of her on it - does that count????, or fly First Class, or visit New Orleans, but I can make some stuff out of paper, and go to the Icefields, and play cards, right?  

Right.

My Mighty Life List

Mighty Life List - Dragon Fruit

Sweet and mellow with a crunch like a kiwi fruit.  Yum.

Mighty Life List - Sticky Rice Ball

I'm trying 10 new foods a year for my life list.  When we were in Calgary we went to Chinatown and I spotted these Mini Green Tea Red Bean Sticky Rice Balls (whew!  what a name!).  

I hate to say it, but I did not like this.  At all. The red beans, I just didn't like them.  Couldn't even swallow my bite.  

Oh well, they can't all be winners.

bites

Last month at my fathers request I made him and my mom my pork skewers with almond butter sauce, the recipe I have entered in the Maple Leaf contest.

You still have time to vote for me! Go to facebook, and visit the Maple Leaf page. You have to "like" the page, and then click on the red box that says Vote Now, and then you can click on (MY) any recipe you like, and then click on the "like" button.

That'd be super. Thanks.

___________________________

I have some really excellent cookbook reviews coming up this month and next month, but I want to tell you right now about one that I bought myself - Balls!: Round the World Fare for All Occasions by Angela Murrills. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It has, as it states on the cover "Over 100 Ball-istic recipes" for every kind of meatball, fruitball, riceball, dessertball, fishball, and pretty much anything round that you could think of. We've tried the French Meatball and Onion Soup (which was amazing), the Gehaktballen (Dutch Meatballs) (very very nice), Boules Provencales (tasty), Bistro "Steak" with Oven Fries (delicious), and Grapes Glaces (refreshing). I've got many many more of the recipes marked, and when Fall arrives (it is so gorgeous right now! And how many parenthesis am I using here???) we'll give some more of them a try. Check out this book, you'll love it.

___________________________

Last month I crossed something off my Life List - I gave blood.

I tried to do that in the spring, but because I'd given birth just a few months before I was not eligible. Then I got a little freaked out and avoided making an appointment for the rest of spring/all summer when I could have given. But they called me last month and I stopped being a weenie and went and did it.

It was a piece of cake. And I'll be doing it again and again for sure. Free cookies!

___________________________

If you happen to be in the BC area, here's 3 things you might like. First, in Vernon - Davison Orchard, about an hour away from Kamloops (where I live). We went last month for the first time and enjoyed it. Paxton is a little too young for the kid activities, but we had a nice walk and a delicious lunch which included apple pie and fresh apple juice, and the most delicious turkey and spinach sandwich. Then we bought a bunch of apples and tomatos and delicious rye bread and went home. Paxton enjoyed the tomato container.

Also last month we went with my parents to the annual autumn feast at Thistle Farms. It was a beautiful setting and the food was lovely. I hope to go back again.

And last, the Salmon Run has started up at Adams River. This is an annual occurrence, which I've mentioned before. This is the biggest run in about 100 years, with millions and millions of salmon swimming home to spawn before they die. We've seen them swimming up the Thompson River, right at the park downtown, which is something we haven't seen in other years. We haven't gone to Adams River yet, probably in a couple of weeks, but I'll share photos and more info with you then.

Happy Sunday!

Mighty Life List - Make a Pavlova

Some people may have scratched their heads if they'd seen number 39 on my life list - make a pavlova. Because it turns out that a pavlova is easy. Ridiculously easy. It's just egg whites and sugar! Which I knew, but I didn't KNOW. If you know what I mean. No?

Anyhoo, I found this recipe in a recent Food Network Magazine, a Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova from Nigella Lawson.





It was, as I said, insanely easy. And also quite delicious. If I were to make this again (and I might, but first I want to try her pavlova with passionfruit) I would bake it slightly less, maybe 5 to 10 minutes. I also cut back on the whipping cream by half; that just seemed like way too much.

Mighty Life List - Sour Lime

I found these kalamansi aka sour limes in Vancouver. So cute, I couldn't resist.

Kalamansi are teeny tiny little citrus fruits.

On the inside they look like seedy oranges. Boy, are they sour. I tried squeezing one into water. Not so great. We tried rum and coke with a splash of the juice. Not too bad. But it worked best in a stir fry, with noodles and veggies and garlic and ginger. So delicious.

Mighty Life List - Lotus Root

Here's my second post for number 108 on my Mighty Life List - Try 10 foods I've never had before.

Lotus Root!

Lotus root comes from the Lotus, a water lily which is used in Asian cooking. The root has a red-brown peel that must be removed before cooking. Lotus root can be found fresh, canned and dried. It has a crisp texture and mild flavor.

We took a couple of trips to Vancouver last month, and I came across pickled lotus root in an Asian grocery store.


The slices were pickled with a sweet and spicy edge and were really refreshing. I've avoided dishes that had lotus root in the in the past (fear of the unknown!) but I won't any more, quite delicious.

Mighty Life List - Dandelion Greens

As I mentioned in my last post, number 108 on my Mighty Life List is to try 10 foods I've never had before.

I picked up the first one on Sunday, Dandelion Greens. Organic Dandelion Greens.


These have never really appealed to me to be honest because I have heard they are quite bitter. But I saw them and figured why not?

Dandelion greens are really quite good for you. They are high in Vitamins A, C and K and are a source of Calcium and Iron. Suggested uses are as a leaf in salads, or boiled, sauteed or steamed.

Vicki from A Work in Progress kindly shared her recipe for them, and it goes like this:

Boil the greens in salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes (I got interrupted and mine boiled more like 7 minutes). Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze with your hands to remove water.


Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add garlic (I used 5 cloves) and a pinch of hot pepper flakes. Cook until the garlic is fragrant. Add the greens, stir and cook until the greens are heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Vicki suggests topping with some parmesan cheese which I forgot to do. I wish I had. I will next time.

These were pretty good! There was a slight bitterness to them, but I really liked the garlic and peppers. I ate these with some leftover mishmash foods, but I could see this going really well with some pasta (again as suggested by Vicki) or a steak or pork chop.

the kindness of strangers and my mighty life list

I received the most amazing email yesterday.

Jen, a lovely soul and the author of Chaotic Chef and waiting is fullness, had come across my Mighty Life List. On my list (#75) is to have a header designed for my blog.
Jen made a header for my blog. How kind is that?

I still can't believe it. Isn't it beautiful? I LOVE it and am beyond thrilled.

I am touched by her generosity more than I can say. Thank you again Jen.

Please head over to her post here where she makes designing a header sound so easy.

First thing crossed off my list!

Mighty Life List - 3 things for March

The other day Maggie from Mighty Girl added a few more items to her Life List. I had a few more things on paper that I hadn't added to the list, thinking that the list couldn't have more than 100 things on it which is silly. It's my list, I can add as much as I want! So I've added a few more. You can visit my list here if you'd like.

And then today Maggie announced she'll be crossing off 3 more items from her list this month and challenged us to do the same.

I can't lie, I've been feeling pretty blue the past while and can't seem to shake it. It's a variety of things, some logical and some not. A couple of times last month I re-read my Life List, thinking why did I bother, that many of the items most likely won't ever get crossed off. And while it's true that some of them are long shots, that's no way to think. And live. So I'm taking Maggie up on her challenge.

In March I will cross off the following 3 items off my Mighty Life List -

14 Give blood Update - I am not able to give blood until the summer, says Red Cross
62 Learn to make towel animals
75 Have a header made for my blog - Done! March 6, thanks to Jen.
103 Make paper

I will update as they get crossed off.

How about you? What's on your list? What will you cross off this month?