Tuesday 28 April 2015

She made an Awesome Trifle But .......

My mother in law , Iris, was a great lady.
If we needed a comforting roast beef dinner with all the fixins she was your girl.
She tried really really hard to serve us something different occasionally.
My memories of her "quick" quiche will stay with me forever.

"Its great , Susan," I hear her say, " you just throw everything in a bowl . Pour it in a pan and bake."
Now by pouring everything in a bowl she meant --- milk, eggs, cheese, and  Bisquik.
It was the most disgusting quiche I have ever eaten and yes we ate it.

At Christmas she made a terrific trifle with a wee (dram) of assistance from my father in law , Arthur,

So when she offered me her recipe for Pumpkin Muffins
I was a wee bit resistant.
Well with full apologies to her it has become my most loved recipe for muffins /loaf.

1 and a half cups of flour
1 cup white sugar
1 and a half teaspoons of baking powder
one half teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
2 teasppoons of ground ginger

one half cup veg oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree

Mix together.
Plop into muffin cups and bake at 350 approx. 20 to 25 mins
Alternately plop into loaf pan and bake at 350 for approx. 1 hour

Of course its even better fresh out of the oven slathered in butter



Now here is the best part you can change up your fruit puree with mashed banana, course apple sauce, soaked bran cereal (1cup cereal in 1 cup milk -- leave for about half an hour and drain) or 1 cup prepared oatmeal, Change your spices if you want -- add  or take away. 

Other additions -- chopped nuts, chopped candied ginger for the pumpkin,  Chocolate chips for the banana. Raisins or craisins for the cereal. Grated orange zest and craisins for the oatmeal.


It really is a recipe for the keeper list.
Let us know if you try it out....



ciao fornow
susan

Sunday 26 April 2015

Another Day Another Daphne

It seems every day she wakes up bigger, with more hair and ready to show off another new and exciting skill. 

I was sitting at our dining table writing a list when I looked down and Daphne was standing holding onto a chair. 

Standing! Pleased as punch! 

Glad we got our front gate up already. Now that she's crawling AND pulling up she can't be stopped!


 

I didn't manage to catch her standing all the way up, but trust me! She can! 

Once she's pulled up she's taken a liking to letting go and seeing how long she can stand unassisted. Each time is a little longer. 

It's hard to believe that my little bald 7 pound newborn will one day let go of that chair and charge feet first into the world.

I love every minute of it....except at 3am...I don't love that.

--Siobhan xo

Thursday 23 April 2015

Baked Parmesan Zucchini Bites

I needed a quick side dish to go with a curry I was making the other day and I saw someone post a recipe similar to this on a blog somewhere...why can't I ever remember where? I get inspiration from lots of websites and blogs but I never follow a recipe exactly. So once I understand the basic concept I'm done with the site...and then later I realize I should keep them to give credit where it is due.

Anyway, on with the show... 

It's just baked zucchini but it's topped with parmesan cheese.


I had two small zucchini so mine we're bit sized but I think I preferred it that way. So I cut those into coins. Pretty thin...although they was nothing uniform about the knife work this evening so they were all different sizes.


Laid them all out on a baking sheet with parchment paper on it.

 Top them with pepper...


And a hefty pinch of parmesan cheese. 

I'm always happy to add these fast/multi-purpose recipes to my arsenal. The goal is always to get as many veggies into us as possible without too much work.


Then I baked them at 425 for 20 minutes...or until all the cheese is melted and golden.


What a glorious thing melted cheese is. Tell me one thing you could put it on that wouldn't improve it. Ok, fine, there might be a few things...


In this situation there is nothing better than these golden tops.

The parm melts off the sides of the coin and creates a crunchy cheese ring around each piece. 

It truly tastes decadent.


The perfect side to my tofu curry and brown rice. Perfect for snacking. Perfect for hors d'oeuvre. 

I think it would be great with garlic salt instead of just pepper. With feta or cheddar or mozzarella. 

And you're not allowed to feel guilty about the cheese because of the zucchini. Also, it's just a really fast and easy recipe that tastes good and could satisfy a crowd.


-- Siobhan xo

Monday 20 April 2015

Spring Cleaning

Call me LAME I can take it....
I enjoy spring cleaning.
The smell of fresh air wafting thru the house.
Vinegar and lemon are my favourite fragrances at this time of year.


Well maybe the sweet smell of my new candle melts ---- ginger lime.
Sparkly baseboards and uncluttered cupboards make me happy...
Nothing quite as satisfying as taking a brand new denture toothbrush and
 a baking soda slurry to brighten up the bathroom grout..
Of course my girls --- altho do not like all the hub bub of this cleaning ritual --- love the open windows ...
They are pooped by the end of the day after chattering incessantly at the Grackels and Starlings that have invaded the bird feeders right now


Don't get me started on clotheslines full of flapping freshly laundered sheets ........
And then ending the day with a wee knitting project on the beach.....


Or maybe just a cup of tea on the deck





Uh oh I think I need to think of spring cleaning my stash (not a pic of my personal stash but pretty darn close )










ciao for now ---
susan

Friday 17 April 2015

Victory and Green Jackets

So this past weekend was the Masters Weekend


Now I am not I repeat am not a golfer but HB is pretty avid.
So he had a brilliant idea of having Siobhan (the other half of P and PD) Will, and Miss D
for supper.



I am always up for a theme party.
Even better we were able to have a self imposed long weekend.


Will took Monday off so they were here for 2 nights!!

Saturday we ate pizza and watched our Ottawa Senators win their game to sneak into the Stanley Cup playoffs.


Us hockey fans are pretty stoked as this team was kissing the bottom of the barrel but after a coaching change and stand in goalie ( who has surprised EVERYONE) they are on their way.....

Sunday after a light breakfast @ 44 we took a wee walk down our lil downtown


Being Sunday and us being a small town no shops were open
But our lovely café The Good Food Company was
Miss D enjoyed watching all the people and REALLY enjoyed listening to all the conversations



We enjoyed delicious coffees and some at the table enjoyed  a bigger breakfast

Once we got home it was such a gloriously warm and sunny day we pulled the chairs to the patio and had our John Daly's there ( 1 and a half ounces of vodka equal parts iced tea and lemonade topped with lots of ice)


Of course it all tastes better in a mason jar .... I think I have found my cocktail glasses for summer ....


Even Miss D enjoyed a bit of outside time in her "baby jail"



Our Masters meal

Grilled turkey Burgers ... with green salad tossed with walnut oil and balsamic .... shoestring fries



Turkey Burgers
ground turkey
1 egg
small handful of bread crumbs
1/3 cup or up to you chopped sun dried tomatoes
same amount of crumbled feta
salt and pepper

And Siobhan made these awesome lemon cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing topped with a raspberry.




And Miss D has discovered Mum Mums..... From the excitement that happens when she sees them I think she likes them..




ciao for now...
susan

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Stupid Easy Mixed Berry Puffed Pancake

Good Morning all!

I hope all your days are starting out magically! My day has been full of meal planning, baby cuddles and swiffering. Oh, the glamour! 

Typically when I do my meal planning I only plan for dinners. Will eats leftovers for lunch and we're lucky to have time to jam a banana in ourselves in the morning. 



I know I know, "breakfast is the most important meal of the day"...If you can arrange to come hold my baby every morning I'll be sure to eat a gourmet breakfast every day ;)

But when it comes to desserts I don't even bother.  I am not what I would describe as a dessert person, well I wasn't at all until I got pregnant and for some reason dessert still keeps arriving at my face. It's rude to turn it away, no?

So the other day I saw this really easy recipe on the What's Up Mom's YouTube channel for a puffed apple pancake. It seemed too easy, lol, so I had to try it.

I am not, I repeat NOT, a fan of hot/warm fruit desserts...but I thought if I switched the apples for mixed berries and cooled it before serving it might be downright edible. Apples would be good as well, I suppose, I just didn't have any on hand.




It's a pretty basic pancake recipe poured into a hot cast iron dish that already has sizzling melted butter and berries in it. The same kinda way you make a yorkshire pudding.







It comes out all puffed up and sizzling...


And slowly falls into this masterpiece.


Served with some yogurt mixed with honey and cinnamon and sprinkled with brown sugar.





Someone had seconds...shocker!



I'm sure you could make this with peaches, banana, mango, pineapples. I'm going to have to make this again. 

It would be great if you had company for breakfast as it makes a lot but is not very labour intensive. Or served warm with vanilla ice cream for dessert...if you're into that warm dessert thing. 



Tasty!

-- Siobhan xo

Saturday 11 April 2015

Ready for Sunshine!!!

I think we're all ready for a little bit of sun and heat. Especially in the area we live in here at P&PD.

We may or may not be getting ready to take a wee vacay to somewhere sunny. And someone I know has been super spoiled by Nona and Bapa and is now SUPER DUPER prepared for vacay AND summer!


Yup, you guessed it. It was not I who was spoiled. 
Why can't adult clothes come in easy to buy sizes like 29-31 adult??


She got shorts, dresses, bathing suits, onesies, pants and tops! I had laundry to do anyway so I layed all her new stuff out (what a haul, eh) to take all the tags off and D decided she needed to inspect everything. 


And boy did she. I think everything got the seal/stamp/drool of approval! 


My favorite purchase by Nona! This is from Joe Fresh and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen!! I'm not a fan of those super pink and girly bathing suits nor do I like the idea of her wearing a two piece. And gah, shes so cute in it! All those leg rolls!!!


Nona also got some sunscreen for her! Gotta protect that delicate skin.


Daphne approves of this only as a chew toy.


She also got a super cute little sun hat. Can't be too careful with a baby in the sun. Especially by the water...we may or may not be close to water soon.


See? It covers her whole face. No sun can get her!!!


And this amazing headband that matched one of the dresses she got. But let's be honest, what DOESN'T this go with. Exactly.



She played with the clothes for almost 40 minutes.


Apparently it was hard work!


"Is it my turn?"

Yes of course, MacGuffin...it's always your turn.


--Siobhan xo