More soup...

I know it's rather predictable but in my defence it was the perfect day for making soup today. We were basically snowed in all day thanks to a band of snow squalls moving through the area. So while I hunkered down in the kitchen with some sweet potatoes and carrots my kids hunkered down in the family room with a DVD from the Library on things that explode. Win-win.

Soup's on

It's that time of year again. The time of year when Sundays are spent in the kitchen making everything from cookies to cabbage rolls. In other words, the best time of the year. I've missed being in the kitchen! Not that Summer wasn't wonderful. We had lots of new adventures in our household over the past four months. Some welcome (like flying to Banff and putting in a pool) some not (like breaking my foot). So with all of the 'new' going on around here, it's nice to know that my Sundays in the kitchen endure. They are the best way to wind down a weekend and start up a new week. Especially when I have soup on the menu.

Donuts

This Summer when we went to Banff, we were so excited to get from Calgary to our ultimate destination that we bolted from the airport to our rental car and down the Trans Canada highway with nary a thought for lunch. It wasn't until we were near Canmore that we realized we were all hungry. At that point it had started to rain, there was traffic and few options for sustenance; as much as we wanted food we also just wanted to get to Banff. So we pulled into a Tim Hortons and grabbed some donuts. They did the trick. We got to Banff in good time in fairly good humour, hunger pangs temporarily sated, the sun came out and we spent the next four days having a great time exploring Western Canada.

The morning we were due to depart we decided to splurge and have brunch in the Bow Valley Grill. It was a fantastic spread, and included an assortment of fresh, home-made donuts which the kids devoured, noting that while Tim's donuts were good these donuts were a-mazing. I filed away their enthusiastic response, hoping that they might be interested in trying to make donuts at home. When I suggested we try it one Sunday morning they were game, since they could still taste the cinnamon sugar and remember happy, sticky fingers from our Bow Valley brunch.

Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese

On our recent Spring vacation on the Disney Dream, Daniel ate a whole lot of macaroni and cheese. It was classic Disney mac and cheese. (A familiar mac and cheese given the amount of time we've vacationed at Disney through the years.) It's advertised as creamy and boy, is it ever. So creamy that at times it's like eating cheese soup with a bit of macaroni thrown in as an afterthought.

Both of the boys have made it clear over the years that they don't really like my home-made macaroni and cheese. (I don't know why, because it's delicious. But apparently it's not creamy enough.) I'm always on the look-out for a new macaroni and cheese recipe that might wean them off KD, which is the only mac and cheese they'll eat at home. So a mac and cheese recipe advertised as creamy definitely catches my attention since apparently that's what my current recipe lacks - creaminess. I was craving mac and cheese earlier this week when the weather turned a bit chilly, and this was the first recipe I came across that included the word 'creamy' and whose required ingredients I had on hand. I was so hopeful for this recipe. It required zero effort to make and it certainly looked the part (i.e. very, very creamy). And yet, sadly, it was rejected. Only by the boys. I ate it quite happily and had the leftovers for lunch the next day. It's my new go-to stovetop mac and cheese. Despite being dismissed (not for lack of creaminess. This time we claimed an after-taste. I dispute this finding.) I will make this recipe again. I have a feeling that with time, this could be a winner.

Muffins - Banana Chocolate Chip, Honey Oat, Mini Chocolate Chip....

For a few weeks now I've been making muffins on Sunday. It all started with a banana chocolate chip muffin recipe I pinned from Food and Wine magazine. These made everyone happy at our house. (Of course, anything with 1 1/2 sticks of melted butter is likely to be enjoyed around here.) This weekend I made Honey-Oat muffins which were excellent hot out of the oven. Today being Mother's Day I was told to stay out of the kitchen during dinner, but I managed to sneak in a mini-muffin making session, whipping up a batch of chocolate chip muffins for dessert. I made them in my mini-muffin pan which turned out to be an excellent decision, because I could justify eating a handful. The banana chocolate chip and regular chocolate chip are definitely recipes worth remembering!

Banana Pudding

So I did that thing again, where I obsess for weeks over making home made (fill in the blank) for no good reason at all other than I just want to, even though I could buy a mix or a cup or a jar of (fill in the blank) for less. This time it was banana pudding. I blame the cookbook I borrowed from the library back in the darkest, coldest days of Winter. It was full of things that sounded delicious, and banana pudding stood out for some reason. Now that the sun is shining and warm breezes are blowing through the kitchen on the weekend, it felt like a good time to finally conquer banana pudding.

Chicken and Cashew Stir-Fry with Ginger-Scented Rice

For some reason, I always have trouble with jasmine rice. It isn't as forgiving as my old-reliable Uncle Ben's. I can't turn my back on it for a minute or it sticks and burns to the bottom of the pot. So I guess it's a good thing we've started eating early on Sundays because I had time to make a second pot of rice after scorching the first batch. Burned rice has an unpleasant smell. My family was kind enough to point this out to me as I chipped rice off the bottom of my pot in hopes of scrubbing it clean enough to try again. Because you can't have stir-fry without rice. (Although you could have it with noodles. Next time I'll try noodles.) Actually, once I managed to cook the rice properly it was really good. The first batch used up most of my fresh ginger so it wasn't quite as ginger-scented as it might have been, but it worked well with the chicken and cashew stir-fry. And the hardest part of that dish was cutting up the chicken, which I delegated.

Chocolate Chip and Banana Muffins

Easter is sneaking up on us very early this year. One can't even be fooled by the weather into thinking Easter is near, given that Spring still appears undecided about exactly when it will make an appearance. I know it's going to be Easter soon, though, since Easter treats are everywhere I look. Mostly the tiny packaged chocolate kind (Easter - it's the new Halloween!).

Given that Easter is next week it's clearly time once again for hot cross buns. It's difficult when the majority of your household loves hot cross buns but one lone (but still very important) individual does not. He doesn't get the least bit excited when the the kitchen takes on a yeasty, cinnamon-scented perfume. The drizzle of icing that frosts the buns with neat little crosses also ceases to excite him in the way it does the rest of us. Knowing that he wouldn't be interested in the ritual of the first hot cross buns of Spring I decided to make Patrick his own special treat to enjoy - Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins.

Peanut Butter Gingersnaps

I really expected that these would go over big at my house. We love our gingersnaps and we're pretty sweet on peanut butter anything. So I was surprised when they were met with...indifference. The boys liked these cookies, but they didn't necessarily love them. I think they are quite brilliant. Neither flavour dominates, and they are chewy but firm. I think they'll make a return appearance to the cookie jar.

Gnocchi

March Break has arrived in all its wet, wet glory. I should be happy to see grass and sunshine and hear birds singing while I walk to work, but my palate hasn't adjusted. This weekend our Sunday dinner came down to one of two choices: Rockwell Bake (basically turkey strata) or gnocchi. Yup, my body is still craving cold weather meals, despite this (likely brief) respite from Winter weather. I decided to go with making gnocchi, since I've had my eye on Smitten Kitchen's recipe since receiving the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for my birthday. I was once intimidated by gnocchi (well, all home-made pasta, actually) but there is something about SK that gives me confidence to accept new culinary challenges. So Sunday I discovered just how easy it is to make gnocchi.

Mahogany Beef Stew with Red Wine and Hoisin Sauce

Stew is one of those dishes that I struggle with, because it never tastes quite as good as I think it should.  But David loves a good stew, particularly in the heart of Canadian Winter, so it is always on the menu a few times in the early months of the year. I've decided the secret is cutting up an actual roast for stew meat rather than buying the pre-cut cubes that are labelled as 'stewing beef' in the meat section. Or at least, that's what we tried with this particular recipe and it was one of the best stews I've had in a long time. As with other stews I've known and loved, this one is even better the next day if you can manage leftovers.

We're moving in to Spring soon; I actually made this dish weeks ago at the height of the worst of our Winter, which in truth hasn't been all that bad this year. We had a few weekends in a row of conditions that were pretty perfect for tubing / tobogganing and we made the most of it. Then we came inside and had stew.

Chocolate Frosting

This little cake was the result of one of those Sunday afternoons where cake seems like it will fix things. Now, I know cake won't finish my performance review (due at work this week), clean the crusted toothpaste off the taps in the bathroom, fold the laundry or teach my kids cursive. But the hour I spent making this cake (particularly the icing) made things feel a bit more manageable. Everything seems more manageable when the house smells like warm vanilla goodness and there are beaters waiting to be licked clean of chocolate frosting.

Curried Parsnip Soup

Well, you can hardly be surprised that another dish featuring curry should appear after my entry on Curried Cauliflower and Apple soup. I've got a whole bottle of curry powder to use up. And this time, parsnips in the crisper. I love parsnips. I know they don't look like much, but cooked properly they are delicious. I really enjoyed them in this soup, which I adapted into 'cream of' curried parsnip soup.

Curried Cream of Cauliflower and Apple Soup

It's national soup month! It's really cold outside! I have half a cauliflower in my crisper calling out for attention! The perfect storm.

I wasn't sure I was going to like Curried Cream of Cauliflower and Apple Soup, since it involves curry. Curry is hit or miss for me; more frequently a miss. I think what swayed me to try this recipe was the inclusion of apple and the fact that the soup was the consistency of a thin cream rather than a thick porridge. I don't mind a thick soup but was in the mood for something lighter.

Thin Bread and Wheat Thins

Every January I tell myself I'm going to dial back on the carbohydrates. After a December filled with cookies and toffee and caramel corn one doesn't need potatoes and bread and crackers. And then the cold weather comes and my body cries out for carbs. Demands, them really. Macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes...bread. And crackers. What's a girl to do? This girl gives in and heads to the kitchen.

Christmas Eats

Just when it seems like your husband is impossible to buy for at Christmas, you come up with the perfect gift. The gift of beef. A couple of weeks ago I decided to order a beef tenderloin for our family of four Christmas dinner (the Sunday before December 25th). Saucy came through with a lovely cut from Metzger's. I dialled up a recipe on Epicurious: Herb and Spice-Roasted Beef Tenderloin with with Red-Wine Shallot Sauce. The verdict? See above. Next year, all my husband wants for Christmas is beef tenderloin.

Smitten

I was pleased to be gifted the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for my birthday this year. I've already dived in and cooked up three recipes from this cookbook since receiving it in early December. And every time I flip through I find myself mentally filing away the next recipe I want to try. Since we were all caked out by the time David's birthday rolled around, I tried out the Brownie Roll Out Cookies as a substitute. They were definitely worthy. Then came Christmas Eve day; a great day (and eve) at our house. Everyone on holiday, no where to go, nothing in particular that needed to be done. I was skimming through Smitten Kitchen and decided that it wasn't enough that we have gingerbread, sugar cookies, two kinds of snack mix, caramel corn and fudge in the house. We needed toffee! And happily I had all of the ingredients needed to make Coffee Toffee.

Spaghetti Tacos

I can't quite remember when it happened, but sometime this year my kids discovered iCarly. First on Netflix, then on YTV. It's a pretty goofy show, and while I don't always love some of the messaging it isn't the worst show they've watched. Fairly early on in the series I remember hearing about spaghetti tacos. This is a meal served to the iCarly gang every once in a while....a dinner option that, much like the show, seems a bit goofy. Then last week both of my boys asked if we could have spaghetti tacos for dinner. And since I like to encourage them to try new foods I said "sure" and set out to find a suitable recipe.

Pumpkin Gingersnaps

Wow. These cookies are such a good idea. I love traditional gingersnaps. I have a go-to recipe for gingersnaps that has never failed me. But today I also had a couple of cups of pumpkin left over from making pumpkin muffins and I wasn't in the mood for pumpkin bread or pumpkin scones or pumpkin soup. These are not things I can sell around my house. But cookies....cookies always sell. So. Pumpkin Gingersnap cookies. So simple yet so effective!

Black Label Chicken Parmesan

This past Saturday I was gifted with a big bag of PC Black Label food products. Which came in very handy Sunday night when I was faced with deciding on dinner. I had my eye on the big box of Fiorelli pasta that was in my bag but wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, since I wasn't on grocery duty this weekend and wasn't sure what I had to work with. Then I spied a jar of Black Label Marinara sauce in the pantry that David happened to pick up, having been inspired by our gift bag bounty. Rustling through the fridge I found some chicken breasts while the freezer yielded up some grated mozzarella cheese. A quick Google search later and I decided on Baked Chicken Parmesan, using my bottled marinara and Fiorelli pasta.