Foodie Fridays - One Day Late!

The contest is nearing to a close. This is the penultimate week for entering videos, and for this round of entree week I've made a Beef Stroganoff. I heart this stuff. Next week, the final week, is dessert week. I'm a lame dessert maker, so I may opt to not submit a video next week. That means that this may very well be your last chance to hear me say my cheesy closing lines of "I hope you try it. I hope you love it. Happy Cooking."

Oy. I needed a creative assistant to tell me to stop saying that! ;-)

Here we are: Enjoy! (it truly is DELICIOUS!! and dead simple)

Foodie Fridays - Two Days Late

The latest Real Women of Philadelphia contest entry. Please laugh at my lame joke in the opening segment. Please? ;-)

And you really, really, really should make these. So.stinkin'.delicious. There were 24 little pieces which was supposed to be 12 servings. We fought over the last couple!!

YUM!!

I've been holding out on you...

So about this Philadelphia Cream Cheese Contest: I'm still playing along, although much more reluctantly of late. It is a good thing I have a type-A daughter to push me along on these things, because I am way too phlegmatic to keep up with something like this for a full.eight.weeks.

Actually, that sounds much more cranky than I mean it to sound. I love cooking. I love good food. I love hanging out with my daughter (and her siblings who do the lighting for her) in the kitchen. I do not love having my video taken, but I'm growing up about even that.

So here are the latest two videos we've done, with one more coming this week. We have done 6 out of 8 weeks of submitting videos. Each week they pick 2 videos to be the finalists who will go to Toronto in July. I've clearly not been picked yet ;-) I fully do not expect that I ever will be picked. This is the tricky part for the kids. They think I hung the moon and so it is astounding to them that any other woman could be selected over me! (oy. They need a bit more of a realistic opinion of me, I'm afraid! Ha!) I'm trying to explain to the girls that the kind of "Real Woman of Philadelphia" that I am demands that life be easy. Simple prep; simple ingredients; Simply delicious.
Some of these other women are geniuses and they are cooking with lobster and truffles and fiddleheads. Ya. I can not compete with that! Thoroughly inspiring, nevertheless. And clearly well-earning their spots as finalists.

Without my delaying the inevitable any further, here is a dessert and my second appetizer. Enjoy!

Foodie Fridays - One Day Late!

Better late than never! When I fed this one to my family our wee 3 year old man gave me the big thumb's up (literally) and said, "Momma! You make good quiche."

Real men do so eat quiche ;-)



(notice how my camerawoman/editor is getting better and better each time? Particularly since she had to edit out a few noisy kids in the background, and several mistakes by the chef *ahem* It was her idea to have me out on the porch and her idea to watch the timer count down. She is really starting to think creatively about how else she can tell the story through angles and editing and lighting. I love that kid!)

Foodie Fridays - Two Days Late

Better late than never, I always say. To make up for the delay, I'll give you a little two-for-one recipe video extravaganza!

(oh dear.)

Just focus on the recipes, people. This is some good, good cooking!

Foodie Fridays

Well, now. A friend of mine introduced me to this contest that was running. It involved two of my favourite things: the potential to be cooking show host and Philadelphia Cream Cheese as a secret ingredient in your favourite recipe. What's a gal to do? Of course I had to enter the contest. Sadly, the contest also involved one of my most unfavourite things: being on video.

Oy.

However, because I am trying to be a good mom to my daughter, and trying to give her some experience doing a thing she loves, I signed up. You see, my eldest has a knack with a video camera and editing software. And where she still has things to learn, she is diligently studying. And practicing. On me. Like this.

There is no public voting on these videos, so there is no benefit to me in having you watch this (really. NO benefit) except that you get to see my 12 year old's handiwork. Not bad, eh? I just stood there and spoke. She did all the rest of it. Not too shabby, if you ask me.

I do believe that I may have posted this recipe in the past, but now you get the visual to go with it. Oh man. And just so you know, I'm going to refrain from any comments on my role in the video itself except for this one thing. I know, I know, I know that what I meant to say was "We go through a pot of soup pretty quickLY". Quickly. Quickly. Argh. Adverbs. It's not that complicated.




And here is the link to the contest where you can see all the other fabulous contestants do their thing. How fun is that?

Heard at My House

Setting: 3 year old boy. Gorgeous. Sitting beside me on the couch while I read a story to him and his sister.

Did I mention he is sucking his toes?

Me: "Buddy. Don't suck on your toes. That's kind of yucky."

Him: "No, Momma. They not yucky. They yummy. And delicious."


(mental note to self: Maybe I should stop telling him that he looks good enough to eat.)

Heard at My House--The Violent Vegetable Edition

Setting: Eating supper with the family. Menu? Chicken, Toasted Quinoa Pilaf, and steamed Brocolli.

4 year old daughter: If I shoved this brocolli in my eye would I die?

Daddy: Um. No.

Daughter: What would happen to me?

Daddy: You'd probably say "ouch" and take it out of your eye.

Daughter: And then would I have to go to the Doctor?

Daddy: Not likely.

Mommy: How far in are we talking about shoving it?

Daughter: But I wouldn't die?

Daddy: No.

Daughter: Okay.

(Mental note: See? Veggies are good for you.)

Foodie Fridays- Iron Man Edition

Over the years I have been proven to not be an Iron Man. I don't mean those athletes of superhuman strength and endurance that can swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then still run a full 26.2 miles marathon in less than the maximum allowed 17 hours. No, no. Clearly, I am not one of those.

I simply mean that over the years, my blood has spoken against me and stated my weakness that I am low in iron. It isn't a big deal. It is not "an issue". It has not been the thing that has prohibited my being a high performance anything. No. I just go through phases when I am a little more fatigued than normal, and a little more lightheaded than normal. That's all.

So what's a girl to do? Well one easy thing is to take a good iron supplement. For quick results, I've always liked Floradix or Floravital. Tastes good: works quickly. But for a more long-lasting, store-building-up kind of supplement, I go for the little green pills: Ferrous Gluconate. But don't listen to me about these thigs. Go talk to you doctor.

What I can tell you that I do as a general rule of thumb is to up the iron content in my menu. I know, I know, the richest dietary source of iron is Beef Liver. This will not be a post on how to cook Beef Liver. Just sayin'.

But here is the deal: While meat is clearly an excellent source of Iron (the Heme kind), don't forget to count the high iron foods in the vegetable world (the Non-Heme kind). For ideal absorption of the irons (Heme and Non-Heme) you should eat them together. So don't think you are getting the best iron by eating a steak if you aren't eating some leafy green vegetables with it. And don't think that only eating kidney beans is best. Throw some ground beef into your chili for maximum benefit.

Also, a trick with any iron intake is to make sure there is Vitamin C to go along with it to help your body absorb it. And also, to make sure there isn't a lot of caffeine to go along with it, because that will hinder the absorbtion. So if you drink a coffee with your Beef Liver, the iron ain't gonna help you as much as you hope.

So say you are wanting to eat less meat, but are worried about iron. Let's look at a completely "Non-Heme" iron day and see if we can get enough iron. Well, here might be a typical day's worth of food in my house and the approximate iron counts. "They" say that as a primarily vegetarian woman in my 30's I should be getting 33mg of iron a day. Let's see if we get there.

Let's say for breakfast I have a bowl (1 cup) of oatmeal (10 mg) with a banana cut up on it (.31mg) and a cup of blueberries thrown in (.41mg). I drink a little OJ with it for the vitamin C.

For lunch I have one of my favourite soups. In my bowl there is a cup of lentils (6.6mg) and 1/2 cup spinach (3.2mg) and a whole lot of tomatoes (at least .33mg) but they are there more for the vitamin C then the iron. I will probably have 2 slices of whole wheat bread as well (1.8mg)

Then for supper, I might have a vegetable stir-fry. 1 cup of Brown rice (1.0mg) 1 cup broccoli (1.2mg), 1 cup of bok choy (1.77 mg), a handful of snowpeas (2.46mg) and 1/2 cup tofu (3.4mg) with a handful of sliced almonds on top for crunch (1.05mg)

Grand total? 33.53mg. We did it! We met the vegetarian's daily recommended amount. If you are a woman who does eat meat frequently you only need 18mg of iron a day. Not too shabby.

Plus, think about all the other fabulous benefits to those foods! Low fat, high fibre, phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals...and DELICIOUS!!!

Now don't get me wrong. I would not turn away a piece of grilled chicken from my stirfry or a meat ball from my soup, but if you are looking to eat less meat more often but worry about the nutritional consequences, worry no more. I won't even bother to calculate out how much protein this day had. Or how few calories :-)

So enjoy your Beef Liver. I'll have an extra serving of Vegetarian Chili. (and then I'll have roast beef tomorrow just because it tastes good!) ;-)





(Awkward Disclaimer: Of course, just like I am not a doctor, I am also not a nutritionist. So if you are unduly fatigued or lightheaded or anemic, please go see your doctor. I can give you recipes for yummy, iron rich food: that's all!) :-)

Foodie Fridays

I'm not a cheapskate. Okay, well, maybe a little. I like to think I'm frugal, not stingy. So when I find a good deal on food that stretches the budget, but also tastes delicious and isn't radically unhealthy, I get pretty excited.

I would love to be one of those coupon ladies. You know, you lucky American readers of mine, you seem to have a 4 for 1 coupon plus a double coupon day at any store you like! (insert jealous sigh here) Unfortunately though, it does seem that most of those coupons are for Pop Tarts and marshmellow cream which don't count as food in my books and aren't really on my weekly menu. Alas, perhaps Coupon menu planning wouldn't work for me anyhow.

But I digress. Thanks to Martha Stewart's magazine cover this month, I've been drooling over the thought of roast chicken. There are myriad ways to roast a chicken and every one looks better than the last. My bright idea was to buy two roasters this week and cook them simultaneously, thus ensuring a meal plus leftovers.

Twas not to be, fair reader. It was not to be. You see, I got looking at recipes and realized that a 3 pound chicken is expected to feed only 4 people. That would never do. Now we aren't really 'big meat eaters' so I figured the two chickens I meant to cook would do us a meal with maybe enough leftovers to add to a pot of soup. Not bad. Off to the local supermarket I went in search of the plumpest, cheapest chickens I could find.

Well, the cheapest two ended up being the ONLY two left in the store and they were going to cost me nearly $20! This did not sound like a deal, but I had it in my mind that it would be worth it.

But then....OH BUT THEN I rounded the corner and found the turkey section. Dear lovely overlooked-at-Christmas Turkeys, I am so glad to have found you! I put back my chickens and selected a $22 turkey that was nearly 2 pounds more than the two chickens combined and brought it home to my happy kitchen.

Last night I roasted the turkey. I rubbed pesto butter under and on top of the skin, and placed a juiced lemon in the cavity (if you don't juice it first it makes for an overly lemony gravy. Not interested in that. So juice that baby and save the juice for something else.) For supper last night we had a typical roast turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes. Yum.

Then, as I was cutting up the rest of the meat for our leftover meals I decided that I would make a turkey pot pie casserole with the leftover gravy and a few cups of cut up turkey and some frozen vegetables. I assembled it and put it directly in to the freezer for some night I don't have time to prepare a meal.

Then, I made a stunning broth out of the bones etc. and used another few cups of meat and the broth in the best turkey noodle soup of my life! (Recipe to follow!) It was enough for lunch today (with a few of the kids eating more than one bowl) with more left over for tomorrow.

Then, there are still another 3-4 cups of meat that I intend to make a pasta dish later this month.

I don't know about you, but feeding 9 people at least 5 meals out of one $22 turkey sounds like a pretty good deal! Imagine if the turkey had been on sale?! (My eyes will be watching the flyers a little more closely for them now).

Anyhow, I just needed to share with you that happiness of my grocery shopping. I know some of you will relate to my glee over the whole matter :-)

Now for the soup recipe! (Brace yourself for a whole lot of non-specifics!)

For the Broth:
Turkey bones, skin etc.
Enough water to cover
1-2 tbsp peppercorns
2-3 tsp dried dill
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 carrots scrubbed (not peeled) and cut into thirds

Bring to boil. Then simmer for 2 hours or more. (Less time works too, but the flavour won't be as concentrated. More time works better if you have the time to spare)

Strain, discarding solids. Use immediately, or freeze for another day.

For the Soup:
3-4 cups cut up cooked turkey
1 red onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
a good sized shake of Epicure pesto seasoning (or a couple spoonfuls of prepared pesto)
a good shake of celery seed (I would have used fresh celery, but I didn't have it)
2-3 cups cooked penne (or other noodle as you like)
Broth to cover ingredients in pot (add water from the cooked pasta if necesary)

Saute the carrot and onion in a splash of oil. Add turkey, seasonings and broth. Bring to a boil. Then simmer until carrots and onion are cooked. Add noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste. Try to restrain yourself from eating 3 bowls at one sitting. :-) (Will freeze well).

Yum! What do you do with leftover turkey?

Building Family Traditions

Sometime near or on December first, our family gets the house ready for Christmas. It has become known as “Tree Day” and it is one of the highlights of our year.

It isn’t anything fancy, really. We go out and buy a fresh tree. Sometimes, we don’t even all go and pick it out together. Most times, my husband goes out, by himself, and with very little pomp and circumstance, brings home a tree. Nothing remarkable about that.

Then we pull out our ornaments and put them on the tree. Now, some families have an ornament for every year that each child has lived, and special ones from special relatives, and memory ornaments of people who have passed on, and some have the crafty ones the kids made when they were little.

We don’t have those.

We have fairly normal, basic, gold and cream ornaments and some ribbon that we wind around the branches. Nothing remarkable about that.

While we are doing the tree, we are listening to Christmas music and eating ‘Christmas foods’. The foods are typically snacky appetizer types that we graze on while we decorate. Chips. Salsa. Cheese. Crackers. Nothing particularly remarkable about that either.

But you know what? This year, my 9 year old said, “I think I like this day almost better than Christmas morning.”

Now that’s remarkable. Why do you think that is?


Please read the rest of my latest Heart of the Matter article here.

Foodie Fridays

In case you weren't aware, Christmas is coming. Rapidly. Like, very, very soon. And as we all know, Christmas has 2 challenges: First, to buy the perfect gift for the people on your lists; Second, to not gain 30 pounds. Can I get an "amen"?

So, in the middle of all your eating and baking and feasting, you may want something a little lighter to eat. Yet, it has to be simple, because who has time to fuss over breakfast?

A long time ago, I shared my family's favourite breakfast muffin recipe. Well, today, I am going to share my second favourite breakfast muffin recipe. You can't feel bad about eating a muffin that has no oil and no sugar added. Especially when it is still sweet and cakey and sticky and yummy. Okay, so here goes:

Totally Apple-icious Muffins (okay, that's a lame name, but it works!)

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2-3 apples, not peeled, diced
2 tbsp baking powder
pinch of cinnamon (optional)
pinch of nutmeg (optional)
pinch of cloves (optional)
pinch of salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
2 cups apple juice

Mix the dry ingredients (and apples) in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In the well, mix the wet ingredients. Combine all together to moisten, without over-stirring.

Scoop into muffin tins (greased, if need be) and bake at 375F for 17 minutes.

That's it! It makes about 20 muffins (sometimes more, sometimes less depending on how much your flour absorbs the liquid).

If you want to get fancy, add a cup of chopped nuts, or sprinkle the tops with brown sugar before baking. These make very moist, cakey muffins. I really like them. Hope you do too!

Honing Hospitality

The tables were set up in the basement and were covered with the longest tablecloth we could find. All of us were there. All 15 of us. Aunts. Uncles. Cousins. This was a big deal because it meant that my family had made the trek between two provinces to be at Grandma's house for Christmas. The food was SO good, like always. The chatter around the table was loud and continual. And we all ended the meal significantly more full than we intended. This was good. There was just nothing like my Grandma Mary's turkey, dressing, and gravy.

Nothing like it, except, for my mom's. Her Thanksgivings and Christmases were legendary. Equally long table, at least as many guests, and the flavours and textures just as satifsying as Grandma's. And delicious. And comfortably predictable. My mom would toss the bread crumbs with some of this and some of that, and one more shake of something else until it smelled just like *that*, and I knew that she had reached dressing perfection again for another year. And once, when my grandparents made the inter-provincial trek to our house, my Grandpa gave my mom the best compliment ever: "This is just as good as Mary's". My mom had a couple of tears in her eyes when she told me what Grandpa had said. And now I knew I had two women to match up to. I wanted to cook as well, and host as well, as my Mom and my Grandma. But, boy, was that bar highly raised.

Fast forward to my first year of marriage. There's our one bedroom apartment. There's my squashy little galley kitchen and squashier dining "room" in builder's beige. The table is set just so with all of our pretty wedding gifts and my Mom and Dad are bringing Grandma over to see "Barb and Chris' first home". The budget was pretty slim in those days. What can I serve to these two women who I absolutely adore, and whose opinion of me (and my domestic skills) really, really matters to me? It needs to be something simple, something economical (clearly!), something familiar for Grandma (no Thai or tofu that day), and something that looks fairly foolproof.

I pick the menu. I follow the recipe, and then tweak it so I like it. Main course; side dishes; mom will bring dessert. After ensuring it is all hot at the same time, after making sure there is plenty, after making sure Grandma is comfortable, after making sure we all eat enough, we clear the table, wash the dishes, drink our coffee and have a great visit.

And then.

My Mom and Dad drive Grandma home. As soon as she gets home, Mom calls me. "Honey. I just wanted to tell you what a lovely time we had at your place. You and Chris are doing such a nice job of setting up your home. It was really lovely. But I also want to tell you that Grandma commented on the main course you made. She says she likes how you do it better than how she does it, and could she have your recipe."

I gasp slightly. Before I recover fully, my Mom states the obvious for emphasis, "That's quite the compliment."

Here I was: a young married woman who grew up having dreams of having her own cooking show on TV (really!), and who grew up LOVING the comfy home-life, and appreciating the gift of company, and benefitting from the blessing of hospitality. For me to hear my Grandma ask for my recipe was certainly a great encouragement in the right direction.

Who knew then, mere months into my marriage, that I would be now cooking for 9 people everyday, plus the friends and family that we have the chance to have over on occassion. I thank the Lord for my home, and my family, and for the love of cooking. And for the Mom and Grandma who both set an incredible example, and encouraged me in my pursuit of the same.

It is amazing how one little comment of my Grandma's, likely off the cuff and not intended to be as pivotal as it was, could buoy up my heart and give me such confidence. Sometimes that's all it takes for one moment to direct your story.

The Compassion Blog is inviting you to share your story too. Follow this link to find out all the details. You can also read Shaun Groves' plea for your story, as well as his own story of how a well-time word can change a life. What's your story? Leave a comment below or consider blogging it. If you blog your story please leave a link in the comments here, or on the Compassion Blog, so that we can be encouraged by your tale.

Foodie Fridays

If you put up with me and my love of squash, perhaps you will tolerate a little affection towards the ever humble Sweet Potato. No? Really?

I know, you probably like Sweet Potato fries, and maybe you will tolerate a mashed thing at Thanksgiving, but how else do you eat Sweet Potato?

I have two little thoughts for you. This will be quick!

Number 1: If you make a mashed Sweet Potato casserole, please tell me you put a topping on it. If you don't, you should. This isn't rocket science, so don't think I'm a Domestic Diva over this recipe. Get some Pecan halves and arranged them in artful rows and columns. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar. Drizzle melted butter over all. Done. If you put whipped cream on the table beside it people with think it is dessert. Yum!

Number 2: If arranging pecans is not your style, (and really, who has time to peel, chop, and mash sweet potatoes anyway?), then try this: Remember my post on Fan Potatoes? Well the real name for that technique (unless I'm crazy mistaken) is "Hassleback Potatoes" from a name of a town in Sweden. The theory is that you slice your potato in to a fan shape, stick some garlic slices in the cuts, then roll it in butter, crisp them in a cast iron pan on the stove top, then bake them until you are ready to crawl into the oven beside them just to be close to their inherent deliciousness. My version was much more simple, but equally divine.

Now, try doing it with sweet potatoes. Cut them like a fan, coat them in oil(no garlic today) and then bake until soft in the middle and crisping on top. Then, OH THEN, drizzle the tops generously with real maple syrup, and toss some pecans on top if you have them, and bake another 10 minutes to caramelize.

My kids are not Sweet Potato fans. Correction: they weren't Sweet Potato fans until I made these Hassleback Maple Syrup Sweet Potatoes. Try it. You'll like it.

Heard At My House

"Hey Mom! I actually just ate ALL my Brussels sprouts...with*out* gagging!"


[Mental Note: We've come a long way from the days when the kids called them "Special Sprouts".}

Foodie Fridays

Oh dear, happy Autumn! How I lovest thou! Thou art so cool and lovely and colourful and gratitudinal and, most importantly, suitable for my prefered wardrobe options.

I do heart the fall. I'm not gonna lie. Is there anything nicer than not having to wear shorts? Is there anything nicer than not having to worry about getting invited to a pool party? Is there anything nicer than not feeling like you are two degrees from meltdown? Sigh. Happy, happy, autumn.

I really like the fall for lots of reasons that are more significant than my silly ones above. The crunch of the leaves under my feet on a good walk; the brisk air that makes me glad I'm wearing a cozy sweater; the need for a blanket and a cup of tea during read-aloud time with the kids: there is nothing like it.

And the food. Oh the glorious food! Don't get me wrong, I really like a good salad and BBQ, but OH for a good pot of soup. Yes! to a big pot of chili bubbling away on the stove. Hurray for using the crockpot because it makes food yummy and not because it is too hot to turn on the oven.

Think about pumpkins and onions and peppers and rutabega and parsnips and carrots....sigh. And squash. Dear, humble squash. Don't you know how great you are? And how varied! Acorn, pepper, spaghetti, butternut....and there are more! But who needs more? These gourds should never be relegated to *only* decoration (although my counter top looks awfully nice right now with 5 of these bad boys artfully arranged on it).

I know, you are thinking you don't like squash. Really? really? I know for those of you who do think you like squash, you are imagining acorn squash heaped with butter and brown sugar (ain't nothin' wrong with that). But I will show you a greater way.

You know I love soup. Now you know I love squash. So guess how much I like today's recipe. Woot! And it is crazy simple. Ready?

Barbara's Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped roughly, seeds discarded (6 cups or 2 pounds-ish) (You can peel it with an actual vegetable peeler or do what I do and just slide a big knife down the length of the squash very close to the surface. Also, look for a thick neck as opposed to a full bottom. The bottom is full of seeds: the neck has the flesh)

Curry Powder to taste
1 Onion, chopped roughly
Water or Chicken Broth (enough to cover the squash in the pot)

Heat some oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Saute the onion and the squash until just starting to brown slightly. Add curry and stir a bit longer (the flavour of curry powder releases in oil better than water so be sure to add the curry first). Then add the water or broth to just cover the squash. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the squash is well-cooked (approx. 25 minutes). Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender, or in a food processor. Salt and Pepper to taste.

That's it! This amount should serve 6-8. I like to double this or more because it is a hit around here, and it does freeze well too. To sweeten the deal for your kids (literally) throw a couple of chopped apples in to the pot too. It is super yummy this way as well! Garnish with a blob of sour cream and chives to be all fancy-fancy.

Yum!

Please try this. Squash are ridiculously cheap and fresh right now. Give it a go and let me know what you think.

Foodie Fridays

My husband loves me. But he's not a liar. And he's not a flatterer. So when he compliments me, I believe he means it and not that he is still viewing me through some Newly-wed Rose-coloured glasses.

And he says I make killer soups. He says I should write a cook book about soups. He says I could make money on my soups.

I heart that guy.

If you come to my house for lunch sometime for a 'thing' (you know, a baby dedication, birthday party, Thanksgiving Sunday lunch... a 'thing') you may find that I serve what I call, my "Soup Buffet". There will be 3 pots of soup, assorted breads, assorted garnishes for the soups and lots of clean bowls and spoons so you can try them all! It is really one of my favourite things to cook. Soup is so simple, yet when done well it can be surprisingly complex and exciting and satisfying! (can you tell I haven't had lunch yet...I'm hungry!)

So, today, for the first time, if I'm not mistaken, I will share with you one of my favourite soups! Because even in a heat wave, a pot of soup simmering on the stove is a beautiful thing.

Bits of Bite-Sized Broccoli Soup

2 large heads broccoli, in small florets (peel the stems and chop them up too!)
2 celery stalks with leaves, diced small
4 small carrots, diced small
1 large onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, diced small
Half a head of cauliflower, diced small
a handful each of fresh basil, thyme, and oregano (or 1/4 tsp each dried)
Chicken broth, or water (approx. 6 cups)

In large stock pot, heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (or vegetable oil). Saute the carrots, celery, and onion until softening. Add garlic and saute until it smells so good you want to eat it already! :-) (approx. 1-2 minutes: don't let the garlic burn.)

Add broccoli, cauliflower, and potato and herbs. Stir to mix well. Pour in broth and/or water just enough to barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Then turn down and let simmer 20 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.

In a food processor or blender, puree approximately half of the soup, then return to the pot. Add salt to taste. If it is too thick, add more broth, or even some milk (or soy milk). If it is too thin...um...well, dip your bread into it :-)

This is just plain yummy. Little kids even seem to like it as the bites of veggies seem to fit well in their mouths and not overwhelm them. This will make a fair number of servings and it freezes pretty well.

Also, sometimes, we grate half a pound of cheese into the pot too... :-)

Tomato-Plant Tenacity

We are gardeners. I can say that now, because we actually have a garden in our backyard and we actually work in it. That makes us gardeners. We have a beautifully designed garden with plots that are big enough to hold many plants, but that are small enough to manage. The garden has good drainage, good soil, and lots of sun. It is well-watered and weeded thanks to my first-born who may indeed have a green thumb. All in all, it has the makings of being a productive little bit of land. I can’t say we are good at gardening yet. Only time will tell, and at the time of this writing the jury is still out. There are lots of leaves and flowers, but not much fruit yet. However, it is only early July as I’m typing, so we’ll have to wait for the real harvest time to prove our worth.

But that lovely set of plots is not even the object of my attention and affection today. You see, in our enthusiasm for this new garden (or was it our lack of faith in our ability to keep things alive?) we bought a lot of tomato plants. A lot. Like, 25. They were tiny, and we figured some of them wouldn’t make it (we were right!) and we figured I really did want to can a lot of tomatoes if they all survived. And so we planted many, many tomatoes in the garden proper. But there were two more that just didn’t fit anywhere.

Or so we thought.

My husband stuck two in to our flowerbeds. Good idea. They get a little less sun there but they will be watered, and the thought was that if something died in the real garden we could transplant over one of these out of the flowerbeds. Good plan.

However, the other day, my seven-year old daughter decided to help weed the garden. And she yanked out “this really HUGE weed!” Um….oops. That was the tomato plant. See the flowers on it? See that it is, in fact, growing in a tomato cage? My eldest quickly tried to salvage the thing by replanting it as best as she could and watered it some more, but it looked pretty sickly. Especially disastrous was that this un-rooting happened at the beginning of a crazy heat wave in our neck of the woods. Even the well-established plants were suffering under the taxing heat. Surely this little guy with his roots all broken would never make it.


Please read the rest of my latest Heart Of the Matter Online Article here.

Foodie Fridays

This week is audience participation time. Don't be frightened. It will be really easy!

I was talking to my eldest girly here about what I should post for Foodie Friday. This being delicious summer time I was thinking about all the fantastic salads and BBQ's awaiting us. Is there any easier way to cook? While my man is grilling up some yummy anything on the BBQ, I put together what is the freshest and ripest from the garden and call it "Salad".

I'm of the school of thought that salad shouldn't be complicated. It hardly needs a recipe. There are very few veggies that go poorly together, so you can't really lose. However, I also am a big fan of putting together just the right flavours and textures to make a brilliant plateful of salady goodness. Soup and salad: my two favourite things in the world to dream up.

So here is my request of you: please leave a comment for all our benefit with your favourite salad recipe or favourite salad ingredients (if you don't have a real recipe per se). Also, for 'bonus points' leave us a comment about your favourite thing on the BBQ. If you can be specific about name brands of products, please do!

I'll start: One of my favourite things on the barbie is Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches. Slice an eggplant in to "not too thick, not too thin" slices lengthwise, brush with olive oil sprinkle with fresh basil and grill on both sides until it is browning, softened and gorgeous. Beside that, grill some sliced, sweet onion rounds. Then make into a glorious sandwich by layering the eggplant, onions, a good mustard and maybe a thin slice of perfect tomato on rye bread. Seriously. Yum.

Salad? I love that broccoli salad. You know the one: broccoli, cauliflower, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, old cheddar, bacon bits, in a light mayo dressing. So.good.

Your turn! Can't wait to read your responses! Yay for Bar-B-Q season!

Foodie Fridays

I know, I know. You've all been starving as your diliquent blogging friend has delayed in posting a new Foodie Friday item. Well, today's is worth the wait. Truthfully, it is even worth the "weight"...you might need to restrain yourself from overeating some of these babies. :-)

In some respects, I am shocked it has taken me this long to post this one. However, I may be hesitating to let you in on this culinary secret because my knowledge in this area gives me the title "Best Mom in the Whole World!" and if I let you in on it then I need to share the title too....I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

Well, okay. Just because you asked :-)

What I am talking about today is something we call "Corks and Screws". All you need is a 10 pound bag of potatoes (if you are us!), a couple of cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, some good oil, and (this is the secret part!) YOUR APPLE PEELER/CORER!!!

What? Did she say "Apple Peeler/Corer"? Oh yes, yes I did.

You take your potatoes, stick them on the corer. Don't worry if they are wonky-shaped potatoes. If they don't get fully peeled it actually tastes better. Crank it up just like you would for apples except look at the delicious spiral cut fries you just made! But don't forget about the "core" of the potato. He is delicious too!

So the spiraly part is the "screw" and the core is the "cork".

Now toss the screws and corks, separately, in a wee bit of olive oil, lay them(screws and corks separately) in as single-a-layer as possible on your parchment lined sheets and bake in a 400F - 425F oven for 20-35 minutes or until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and gorgeously brown all over. (It may take longer if your oven is over-full with 10 pounds of potatoes. It takes a while for the hot air to get around all 4 of my cookie sheets!

Serve with ketchup and vinegar.

To further jazz these babies up, you can toss them with your favourite spice mix. We've done an "herbes de provence mix" which was insanely good. We've also done a chili flavour, and just a good coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper. I've never tried, but I bet you could also skip the oil and spices and toss the Corks and Screws with Italian Salad Dressing. Easy Breezy. SO GOOD!!!

Do watch that you don't use too much oil when you toss, or do use a really high-smoking point oil. I've heard that some people have smoked out their kitchens on more than one occassion. :-) *ahem*

My kids ask for this so often. Yum yum yum.

Enjoy!