Valentine's Day Cookies. And Chocolate Frosting.

When Patrick was born on February 15th it didn't really hit me how close his birthday was to Valentine's Day until he turned one. Valentine's Day has never really been on my radar. It comes around every year, of course, but David and I have never made a big deal about Valentine's Day. We still don't but that doesn't change the fact that every February 13th I remember I need to send some kind of card/treat to school for 50 kids. This year I was actually on top of things and assembled 50 iPhone valentines in the days leading up to February 14th, thanks to this (I used Kit Kat bars as 'iPhones' since I couldn't find boxes of candy hearts). I was also leading a team meeting at work on February 14th and got it into my head that I should make Valentine cookies as a treat for the group. This is classic 'me'. Feeling a bit of pressure? Trying to juggle both Valentine's Day and birthday treats? Why not seek out another activity to make things that much more interesting? So I found me a simple recipe for Valentine's Day Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies, searched out my heart-shaped cookie cutter and got to it.

Kitchen Soundtrack

I use music to motivate me in all kinds of different ways. For example, I took up running a few years ago so I am always on the look out for good cardio songs. And in the mornings during my very short commute I tend to listen to CBC Radio Two because Julie Nesrallah's voice and her mix of 'classic classical' tunes is so soothing and calming after the rush and bustle of getting two little boys out the door for the day. I listen to a lot of classical music when I'm cooking too, but I tend to mix things up a bit depending on my mood and (don't laugh) what I'm cooking. So without further ado (not that you asked) I present my kitchen soundtrack.

Oven Baked Ribs

I actually thought I had already written this post. Could have sworn I had written it. But I haven't. I've been meaning to, since we ate these ribs for Sunday dinner at least a week ago. They were so good. I served them with scalloped potatoes (that were only average) and corn bread (which was fantastic, as usual). I dry rubbed them and sauced them. They made the house smell like a warm Southern Sunday afternoon. While they were cooking I listened to Dan Mangan over and over again. It was a good day.

Clam Chowder

While it hasn't been a particularly cold Winter it is one of the dampest I can remember. Damp, wet cold is so much worse than it's-been-snowing-for-months-and-there's-an-arctic-chill-in-the-air cold. Damp cold feels colder than it actually is and makes you feel less than Canadian when you realize it's only -1 and yet you're complaining about how so, so cold it is.

But really I'm here to talk about chowder. Clam chowder to be precise, which is just as good on a cold, damp day as it is on a cold snowy one. Did you know that January is National Soup Month? Not sure when this was decided or by whom but I'm always up to make soup. It happens to be one of my favourite things to do on the weekend. (The excitement this breeds around the house, as you can imagine, is palpable.)

What we ate for Christmas - Christmas morning

Christmas morning is one of my favourite mornings of the year. After the presents have been opened and everybody is basking in the glow of new toys, books and other diversions, I make pancakes for the kids and David puts on a pot of coffee. As much as I like making pancakes for the kiddos each December 25th they aren't my idea of the perfect Christmas morning breakfast. Last year I bought a stollen for the grown-ups but this year I really wanted something home-made. (Christmas morning seems to demand home-made.) While flipping through recipe books and scouring the Internet in the weeks leading up to Christmas I toyed with the idea of making stollen myself but something nagged at me that this wasn't the satisfying Christmas breakfast I was seeking. Then I found it. Or rather, we found it, as I had roped David into my quest: yeasted coffee cake with sweet cream cheese filling. Yes please!

Beef Tenderloin Mini Sandwiches Appetizer

I am very behind in documenting all of my kitchen capers. We are now all fully back to reality, i.e. back to school and work which has taken some adjustment after an extended hiatus from 'normal'. Plus I keep coming up with ways to keep myself busy. For example last week I decided I *must* re-paint all of the wood work on our main floor. This stems from having laid a new cork floor in our library/dining room just before Christmas. One home improvement project seems to lead to another which leads to another... So this weekend I have caulked and cleaned and painted along with cooked.

I still have a few blog-worthy food items from 2011 to share before moving on to 2012. One of the last new dishes I tried in 2011 were these awesome beef tenderloin mini sandwiches:

What we ate for Christmas - cookies

The boys love decorating a gingerbread house at Christmas but I, for all of my culinary aspirations and experiments, do not. I find it a fussy, unpleasant task that fills me with rage. Last year when I found myself getting out the glue gun in an effort to make our darn gingerbread house stay together (after four kinds of icing failed) I vowed never again. I felt bad banning the gingerbread house from our Christmas repertoire but not for long since my proposal to make gingerbread cookies instead - shaped ones that we can decorate and actually eat - went over very well. We never ate our gingerbread house creations (particularly those that I stuck together with toxic glue, obviously) so I wanted a recipe that would make some good looking and good tasting cookies. I turned to my trusty Joy of Cooking for this particular task knowing that on page 828 is a simple recipe for Gingerbread People that delivers both great looking and great tasting treats.