Again, I am not a Babe. Again.

Ugh. 2 months in a row I've not baked the bread of my Bread Baking Babes. I'm not going to let it hit 3.

Please check out the Babes (listed over on the LEFT now) and see what they thought of this months bread - Yeasted Sprouted Wheat Bread from Lynn at Cookie Baker Lynn. It seems like a really interesting bread, and I hope we get lots of Buddies that try it.

Now, 2 pieces of news about the Bread Baking Babes.

First, we've committed ourselves to a schedule. So every month we'll be posting about the bread on the 16th, and every month buddies have until the 29th. Very sensible.

Second, we've grown! Please say a big hello to our 4 new Babes -
Elizabeth from blog from OUR kitchen
Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms
Astrid from Paulchens FoodBlog
Susan from Wild Yeast

We're getting bigger, better and funner!

Happy Friday

The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook

A few years ago a book came out that grabbed the interest of people (me included) looking to drop a few pounds - French Women Don't Get Fat. The book, which offered tips on how to eat well - very well - and be a healthy weight was a sensation. Finally after a few years wait Mirelle Guiliano is back with a companion book of recipes, The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook.

Sadly for me, I am still in the position I was a few years ago, still chubby (but a little less though!), and still looking for advice and tips to shed these dammed extra pounds. After quite a while of gaining and losing the same weight over and over again, it finally dawned on me what my biggest problem is. I like to cook. I like to eat. And while I want to lose weight and be healthy, I don't want be stuck on a restrictive diet, eating the same 2 or 3 things over and over again. Because I'll rebel. Big time.

If you're a dork like me, or just interested in really good food that is also good for you, you'll want to see this book.

This book is about eating well, about eating healthfully. About not starving yourself and not sacrificing the good things in life. The author is passionate about food and her recipes are delicious proof.

I love the design of the book - the illustrations are charming, and the writing is witty and easygoing. It has the feel that the author is sitting in the chair next to you, sharing tips over coffee.

For my review I tried 3 recipes:

Asparagus with yogurt dressing


Chicken en Croute Fiona Style


Sweet and Sour Carrot Salad



There is no other way for me to express how I felt about these recipes, other than to say OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. The dishes were delicious. The recipes were easy to prepare and the instructions were clear. Did I mention they were delicious? These recipes are all healthful with natural unprocessed ingredients.

I would recommend this book to well, everyone, for the simple delicious recipes. There is something in here for all palates, whether dieting or not.

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.

Gazzzzzzzzzzpacho!

It's getting hot in here.....so make some gaz-pach-o!


2 green onions, trimmed and sliced
1 red bell pepper
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 cups V8 or tomato juice
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
lime juice
hot sauce

Place the onions, half the bell pepper, half the cucumber, 1 cup of juice and the garlic in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and pour into a bowl. Finely dice the remaining bell pepper and cucumber and add to the bowl with the other cup of V8. Season to taste with salt and pepper, W sauce, lime juice and hot sauce. Cover and chill a few hours before serving.

Fix It and Forget It Cookbook

The Fix It and Forget It Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good - newly revised and updated - contains 700 recipes for your slow cooker, from breads to drinks to appetizers, mains and more.

As someone who has very little imagination when it comes to my slow cooker a book like this is a great addition to my kitchen. With so many recipes you are bound to find recipes that appeal.

This is a no frills cookbook. There are no photos of finished dishes, no rambling chapter or recipe introductions. Recipes come 2 to 3 to a page. Each recipe comes with serving amounts, prep times, cooking times, and what size of crock pot is ideal. Most have serving suggestions, and some have variations to change up the dish.

The book is peppered (hee hee) with tips and tricks for cooking with crock pots.

I've made 4 recipes from the book so far:

page 208 Sausage Bean Quickie - sausages, beans, and pineapple with a cooking time of 1 to 10 hours. Nice and simple. Delicious.

page 197 One Dish Chicken Supper - this was my favorite! It's like a turkey dinner in a crock pot. Chicken breasts are cooked with cream of mushroom, chicken or celery soup and stove top stuffing. If you ever want a Christmassy dinner without the fuss, make this.

page 40 Taco Soup with Whole Tomatos - another winner. Southwest flavors - beans, corn, onions - without standing over the stove all day.

page 169 Pizza in a Pot - we took the advice of the serving suggestion for this one and served this sausage-y cheesy dish over noodles. Filling and hearty.

The servings in all the recipes are very generous. The taco soup serves 4, I got 8 servings out of it. Ditto with the chicken supper. But when it's a good meal, leftovers are very welcome.

Some people may complain that this book relies heavily on processed food - cream soups, gravy mix, velveeta. Yes, there are plenty of recipes that call for such convenient ingredients. But there are plenty that don't. (Personally, I am fond of occasional sauces made with canned cream of mushroom soup.) Many many recipes are full of healthy wholesome ingredients, and most have no added oil.

I would wholeheartedly recommend the Fix It and Forget It Cookbook for anyone who owns a crock pot. And if you don't, pick one up while you're out buying this book.

Happy Canada Day, and grocery shop June 30

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians! In BC and Ontario we don't have much to celebrate, as the HST kicks in today, costing us all more money in taxes. You know, just what we need in a recession. And to bring it in on Canada Day? What a kick in the arse.

Moving on! I finally remembered to take a grocery shop photo again.


This is yet another mish mash, I have meals planned for today, last nights dinner, and one more dinner, and the rest is just what it is. We've got -
salsa, eggos, plums, organic frozen peas for the baby, bacon, ground chicken, bell peppers, cucumber, cottage cheese, chips (for Canada Day), ice cream, sushi, juice, steak, hash browns, tomatos, onions, relish, strawberries, sausages, fresh basil, and steak spice.

Our freezer is just jam packed of I don't know what, so I want to work on eating some of the frozen fruit and veggies in there.

Total for the above $88.86. The store I went to doesn't show you your savings on the bill, which sucks.

I'm planning on trying 3 or 4 new recipes today. Hopefully of course they will all turn out, and if they do I'll be sharing with you soon.

Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer

My parents instilled a love of reading in me when I was young. Books were a big part of my life. I loved going to the library (still do) and I welcomed the gift of a new book with as much enthusiasm as a toy. I hope that we'll be able to help Paxton discover this too.

His bookshelf is already quite full of books, from baby books gifted by friends and family, to hand me down books that my parents saved from my childhood, to books Scott and I have bought from the secondhand stores, books we remember loving as a kid.

One new book on his shelf is Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer by John Grisham. I have read a few Grisham books, including The Firm, which if you haven't read it, or have only seen the movie, go read this book! So exciting. This is his first young adult book, and I was interested to see if he'd be able to take his adult world of law and make it somewhat kid friendly. Of course he can.

Theodore is like any other 13 year old....except he dispenses legal advice to his fellow classmates and is unexpectedly drawn into the trial of a man accused of murdering his wife. The great thing about the book is that it doesn't get cutesy but also doesn't get overly scary. Theo has the fantasy parents and uncle that we all dream about at that age - indulgent, staying out of the way, but always have your back - which makes his lawyer and detective work go that much more smoothly.

Theodore Boone is a fun book and I could see this appealing to kids in the 9 and up range. There is lots of explanation of what lawyers do and how trials work which I imagine would be interesting to kids as well. The only complaint I have about the book is the ending which I found very abrupt. I don't know if that is because there's a sequel coming or if I was so involved I wanted more.

Salt Potatos

These were the most delicious potatos I've had in a long time, and certainly the simplest. Little nugget potatos boiled until tender in very salty water. When drained, salt crystallizes on the potato skins, leaving them perfectly seasoned. These potatos don't need anything else added to them.


Salt potatos
altered very very slightly from Food Network Magazine

1 1/2 pounds small nugget potatos, washed well
4 cups water
1 cup salt

Place all ingredients in a pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatos are tender, 20 minutes or so. Drain potatos and let stand for a few minutes so the skins can dry.

Bread Baking Babes - I'm not here this month

Years ago we were planning a trip out of town with some friends of ours who had a kid. She was a stay at home Mom and offered to do some of the initial legwork and enquieries for the trip. Weeks went by, and I remember I turned to Scott and said "Why is it taking so long? She's at home all day!"

HA!

It's been a long time since I've baked any bread. I miss it. Sadly it will be even longer as I wasn't able to bake this months bread - Korni from Lien.

Please head over to the list of Bread Baking Babes in the sidebar and check out their takes on this unusual bread.

Cheers.

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.

One Week Job Project

After graduating from college Sean Aiken was trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. Inspired by his father's advice to find something he was passionate about, Sean set out on a one year voyage to discover what he wanted to do. He worked a different job every week for a year - 52 jobs in 52 weeks.

Sean, in his mid-20's and from British Columbia (woot!), comes across as a easygoing, likable guy. His casual writing style made me feel like he was sitting in the room with me, chatting away. He is honest in his writing, sharing with us not only his experiences on the various jobs he tried, but also his frustrations with his undertaking, illness in his family, and finding and trying to maintain love while on his journey.

Between his first job as a bungee jump master and his last as mayor of his hometown Sean was a radio dj, advertising executive, fashion buyer, and park ranger (in Hawaii, no less!), to name a few. Some jobs he liked, some were not his cup of tea, but in all jobs Sean stayed positive and honest, even when it was a struggle. My one complaint about the book is that some of the weeks/jobs had very little written about them, little explanation about the job and Sean's experience. As someone who will most likely never be a framer, veterinary assistant or an innkeeper I found this to be disappointing. Some jobs were talked up way more than others.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and interesting and the journey that Sean shares is unique.
And inspired by Seans job in week 19 - Brewmaster - here's a recipe for beer battered onion rings.


1 cup flour
1 can beer
1/2 tsp salt
onions, peeled and sliced as thin or thick as you like your rings
oil

Whisk the flour and beer and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside to rest while you prepare your onions and heat the oil. Heat your oil in a fryer (as much oil as instructed by your fryer) or a couple of inches in a pan to 350'.
When your oil is hot, dip the onion rings, a few at a time, into the batter and carefully add to the oil. Cook until golden brown, turning to brown both sides.
Remove the onions from the oil and drain on paper towels or newspaper. Season with more salt if desired, and serve while hot.

What's going on

I visited Vancouver and Calgary recently and was lucky enough to eat Vietnamese food in both cities. It's my very favorite as you may know. Still nothing here that compares so I will have to continue to try to make my own, like this and this. I have started reading The Little Saigon Cookbook from cover to cover and have tried 2 recipes so far - Grilled Beef Slices with Chile, Lemongrass and Honey, and last night I made Chicken with Ginger and Garlic Rice. Both were excellent and easy to make. I will be cooking more out of this soon.

__________________

Paxton had his 6 month checkup and was given the all clear to start eating actual food. My baby is all grown up! I made the decision before he was born to make my own baby food and then as if she read my mind Ilva sent a book called Cooking for Baby as a gift when Paxton was born. I love the book, it has great advice and simple recipes. A couple of nights ago I prepared 3 recipes - pureed apples, pureed zucchini, and rice cereal. Paxton had a couple of spoons of pureed apples that night and seemed puzzled. Here he is in his highchair enjoying his first big boy meal. Sniff. I think I have something in my eye.


__________________


In addition to the Vietnamese cookbook and re-reading the Cooking for Baby book again, I've got 2 more baby food books to read, AND I've got 3 books to tell you about, hopefully soon.

__________________


I sort of half-heartedly followed the Kitchen Cure Spring 2010 on my own. I thought I did pretty well, got my counters and walls clean(er), washed my cabinet doors, and got more organized. I tossed out broken stuff, packed up a couple of boxes for the thrift store, and also got my pantry organized. I forgot to take a before picture though.


________________

I have so many things to tell you about - food I've made, more things I've eaten for the first time (to add to my life list). I have ideas for posts, theme weeks. I want to share information on where I live. I just need to find the time and brain space. Time is moving so fast. I want it to stop, I want it to keep going. I can't wait to see what's ahead.

argh.

I clicked on a saved bookmark in my computer this morning for a recipe I wanted to make for lunch. Website no longer exists. Tried another one, maybe for dinner next week. Website open to members only. How about this one? Page does not exist.

This is why I have 15 (and counting) notebooks of stuff off the internet.

RIP, awesome waffle recipe I really liked and will never be able to make again.

Bread Baking Babes - Tunisian Spicy Breads

This month our hosting Babe is my fellow Canadian Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. She picked a spicy bread for our spicy group - Tunisian Spicy Breads from from Savory Baking from the Mediterranean by Anissa Helou.


This is a quick, savory, fiery little bread made with semolina and filled with a spicy filling of onion, tomato, peppers and harissa. The dough, which requires very little rising time, is rolled out, cut into rounds and the filling is sandwiched between 2 pieces of dough.


Traditionally these breads are pan fried, but Natashya gave us the option to pan fry or bake them. Since I'm trying to cut back on fat, I baked mine.


Thanks Natashya for a great bread this month! Please visit her blog Living in the Kitchen with Puppies for the recipe.

If you'd like to bake along this month as a Bread Baking Buddy, you've got until May 24 to get your post to Natashya.

Please visit the other Babes, listed over on the right, to see what they thought of the bread.

English Muffin with Guacamole

A few months ago I shared with you a couple of fast breakfasts I like to make. Here's another one that I forgot to post at that time.

This one I think I like more than the quick egg sandwich. It's even easier and vegetarian. A toasted english muffin (or bagel!) smeared with guacamole, topped with sliced tomato and sprinkled with cheese, then popped back under the heat to melt the cheese. Heavenly.


PS - make your own guacamole! So easy and you can't fudge it up.

chicken fried steak

Here's what I can tell you about this plate of food:
It's chicken fried steak, mashed potatos, green beans and gravy. It was delicious. It was sort of time consuming, but overall easy to make.

Here's what I can't tell you: the freaking recipe.

I swear, my brain has gone to complete mush since the end of November. I cobbled the CFS recipe together from a few sources, trying to remember what I liked about the one chicken fried steak I'd had before. A good 5 or more years ago. I did a good job and was very happy with the results. However my notes are gone. Again. Dam-mit.

homemade sausage rolls - so easy

All right, now none of these photos are pretty, but you should be used to that on this here blog by now.

I used to have a weakness for sausage rolls - at a previous job there was a deli in the bottom of our building and a co-worker and I would split one every couple of months or so. Side of mustard, please.

After I left that job I never really gave them much thought, but a few months ago I was rummaging in the freezer for something and found a pack of ground pork I'd bought while pregnant expressly for the purpose of making sausage rolls. I found my Jamie Oliver recipe and got to work.

Now the recipe calls for sausage meat and I had pork, so I just jeujed it up a little more. Then I did a piss poor job of rolling out the dough, and laid the filling down the middle.


Rolled them up and cut into lengths. Brushed them with egg wash.


And bake until golden and cooked through.


These are DELICIOUS, probably the best sausage roll I've ever had. Give 'em a try.

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.

Grocery Shop, May 3

My Mom and I went to a neighbourhood garage sale on the weekend and I pulled these magazines out of a box marked "Free".


2 are from the 70's and the rest are 83-85, and pretty much all the ads are for booze or cigarettes. Hey, if you need a recipe for Kipper Pate or Partridge Bourguignonne, give me a shout.

I actually had a plan when I went shopping this weekend. I'm trying to drop more than a few pounds and so I've cobbled together some sensible meals for the week. Please send good thoughts and low calorie and fat recipes my way.


I bought: asparagus, cheese, tortillas, edamame, green beans, egg whites, pears, potatos, lettuce, chicken, salsa, zucchini, steak, corn, turkey sausage, watermelon and yogurt.

I was a little worried how much this was all going to cost, it looked like a lot of food and some of it was pricey (chicken $7.99, salsa $4.99) but it was a reasonable $52.31. The receipts show you at the bottom how much you've saved with your savings card. I forgot to post it in the other grocery posts I've done, but this week I saved a whopping $14.43!

Bread Baking Buddies for Potato Bread with Chives

Thanks to all of you who joined us Babes in baking the Potato Bread with Chives this month, thus becoming Bread Baking Buddies.



Nicole at Bread Butter and Buns


Gosia at Majology


Donatella from Il Cucchiaio D'Oro




Elle from Bread Bakers Dog


Andreas from Delta Kitchen


Kelly from A Messy Kitchen


Andrea from Family and Food


I'd also like to send a huge THANK YOU out to Lien, our BBBabe who blogs at Notitie van Lien who very graciously makes both the BBB and Buddy badges every month. Thank you Lien!