Better Late than Never

I'm late this week, I'm sorry. I ran this 10 K race Sunday (and am told I can use that as an excuse for everything this week) and honestly after I ate too much for Sunday dinner I can home, put the kids to bed and became the laziest person ever. I fell asleep on the couch watching T.V. and then half woke up to drag myself up to bed!

Weekly Menu
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Perogies and Spinach
Wednesday: Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches on Naan with Edamame Beans
Thursday: Rice Wraps
Friday: Provencal Cod Burgers, Corn on the Cob and Roasted Veggies
Saturday: Tortilla Soup
Sunday: Breaded Pickerel, Brown Rice and Barley, Mixed Veggies, Salad, Bread with Strawberries and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Weekly Pantry List
Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, yeast, fresh garlic, cumin, chili, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, instant cornmeal, flour, mayonnaise, grainy mustard, 1 egg.

Weekly Grocery List
1 lb of shrimp
1 lb cod fillet
Parmesan cheese
Swiss cheese
sour cream
Perogies*
2 bunches of spinach
corn on cob
2 zucchini
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 onions
arugula
5 tomatoes
1 jalapeno chili
fresh ginger
fresh mint
fresh cilantro
fresh basil
2 large carrots
1 cucumber
4 portobello mushrooms
mushrooms (a few for the grilled veggies)
edamame beans
1 can black beans
veggie stock
tomato paste (need 1 Tbsp)
MASA flour or corn tortillas (need four 6 inch)
rice wraps
bean thread noodles
pizza sauce
buns/focassia or another bread of choice for cod burgers

Leftovers
Do you ever have those days that are just a total write off? You start the day with every intention of getting things done and playing in the yard with your kids and yet as the day goes on you slowly lose your drive. Maybe, you go for coffee with your mom, aunts, cousins and grandma in the morning and let your children run wild in someone else's backyard. Perhaps you feed them lunch and then you pick up your book and just read a couple pages. You may even start to put the overflowing baskets of laundry away, but then your book calls to you. When your oldest wants to use all three of her half hour T.V. cards while the little one is sleeping,  you think about trying to persuade her not to, reminding her that then she'll be out for the whole week, but then out of the corner of your eye you spot your book. Once the little one wakes up you put your book down and all go outside. But, perhaps the kids are happily playing beach party in the sandbox and there's this swing and you can see your book just innocently sitting on the table through the window and you think maybe just a few pages...or more. It might even be time to make supper but the book is so good and the children are still happy and you have lots of dribs and drabs in the fridge that you really should just use up and be done with it, so you keep reading just a little while longer. Once dinner is finished and you've put the kids to bed you were planing on going for a run but your book happened to have found it's way onto the bed...and well there's only seventy pages left. Your oldest may even come in and want you to tuck her in again but that would mean putting the book down, and so you let her crawl into bed with you...just this once and no talking, mostly because it interrupts your reading. Does that ever happen to you? No, me neither - how lazy do you think I am? But, if it had happened it might have been this book, and this might have been what the picture of my children playing beach party would have looked like and we may have had leftover baked beans, chili (from the freezer), broccoli and egg casserole for dinner...if it had happened.

 

 

Perogies and Spinach

I love my life, I really do, year round. But, something happens this time of year that makes me love it a little more. It's the funniest thing because I forget every year that it's going to happen. It creeps up on me and makes my heart flutter and then this amazing wave of peaceful contentedness will washes over me starting from my heart and spreading all the way to the top of my head and down to the tips of my fingers and toes. I breath it in and even though I forgot it was missing, I suddenly can't get enough of it. It actually melts away any stress, tension or frustration I may be feeling...it even melts guilt, and that is hard to do! I found it tonight while I was putting Harper to bed and she had crawled up on me and fell asleep on my chest. She smelled like sunshine! I laid with her and drank her in. It happened today, the girls were in and out of the yard playing as if it was another room of the house. They no longer need to be washed down when they come in and the smell of the outdoor air, the sand, the earth and the sun stays on them even though they are snugly in their PJ's. It is my absolute favorite!

Recipe

2 1/2 dozen perogies

olive oil

1 large white onion, chopped

2 bunches of spinach, stems removed

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

balsamic vinegar

 Heat olive oil in a large skillet and cook onion. Cook the perogies in a large pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes, until they float, using a slotted spoon transfer perogies to the skillet with the onions and toss until golden. Meanwhile in a pan heat a little olive oil and add garlic and saute for 30 seconds; add the spinach and cook until wilted mixing in the oil and garlic. Once spinach is done (only takes a couple minutes) add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Serve it up and dig in! 

 

Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches on Naan with Edamame Beans

I had a plan of working in the yard today while the kids played but then the roofers came to fix the leak in the roof and there were nails and shingles flying (I may be slightly exaggerating) and so I decided it was not a good day to play in our yard. We headed down to the little park at the end of the street instead. I love this park, it's no better than any other park (in fact there are many other parks in the area with lots more to do) I love it because I played at it as a little girl. It stood between our street and my aunt and uncle's street, I use to walk up to it with my sister and meet my cousins where we would spend hours swinging on the tire swing. My sister and cousins loved to spin and spin, while I was always a little scared of it and mostly watched, getting the odd gentle ride from time to time. The tire swing is now gone and the whole play structure is different but there is still a large pathway around the entire park where people ride, jog and walk their dogs. I love that my girls will grow up playing here.

When we went today there were three teenage girls (13 or 14 years old) that stopped and played on their way home from school. Hannah was fascinated and you could see her wanting to be right in the middle of them. As the girls climbed on the monkey bars and swung on the swings, they chatted about all the things they use to love doing at the park (you know, when they were kids). Hannah listened to every word they said and constantly chose the activity that was right in the middle of where they were. It was really very interesting to watch because children are not at all suttle she would just stare at them, listening (I actually also have this problem, I'm nosy and when I eavesdrop I tend to actually look at the people talking - it's unsettling I'm sure). I was grateful because they were nice girls, they didn't pay any attention to her, but they didn't give sideways glances and scough and laugh at the attention she was giving them - which she may not have noticed but would have made me cry.

 

Recipe
I wanted to grill these on the BBQ but we were out of gas for ours so I did them in the oven. This amount makes about 6.

 

Naan Bread (recipe here or store bought)

4 portobello mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 large avocado
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 small tin of pizza sauce
12 slices of Swiss cheese
1 onion, sliced

 

Preheat oven to 350F or grill. Mix together olive oil, vinegar and 3 of the cloves of garlic. Place the mushrooms in a pan and generously brush both sides with oil/vinegar mix (if grilling keep on side to brush as you go) and then grill or bake until cooked through, 20 minutes in oven, flipping halfway through.

In a bowl mash avocado and mix with lime juice, 1 clove of garlic and a little salt to taste.

Cook onion over low heat with a little olive oil and balsamic until caramelized.

Once the mushrooms are ready slice into 1/2 inch strips. Lay out naan bread and spread one half with avocado, pizza sauce, and then top with mushroom, onion and Swiss cheese and fold over. Place the sandwich back in the oven or on the grill to warm and melt cheese (you have to wrap in foil for the grill depending on how full they are).

I steamed a couple of packs of edamame beans to go with the sandwiches and it was a great outdoor meal!

Rice Wraps with Shrimp
Another beautiful day, I'll stop talking about the weather and the freedom of spring soon. I think that when you live in a climate like Winnipeg, where the winters can be so cold and feel so long, there's this amazement when spring comes that life can be this good. It feels like everyday of warmth and sunshine is a gift that needs to be enjoyed because it could snow tomorrow. Soon the realization will set in that it is now spring (cross my fingers, I don't want to jinx anything) and this weather is here to stay. In contrast you'll hear me marvel about about how wonderful the dawn of summer, spring and fall are here as well. I guess I really love the turn of season but there's something extra magical about spring.

 

Dave took part of the afternoon off today and joined us in the yard, I LOVE IT when that happens. We raked, dug up some roots and ate dinner outside. We had gone and bought new sand for the sandbox today and the girls were hard at work spreading it all around the yard. We let them play a little into bedtime tonight because it just felt like such a free day with Dave home early and they were having so much fun. We watched them set a up a game where one would sit on the little picnic table and cheer, "Go Hannah, go! or Go, Harper go!" while the other would go down the slide, and then hoola hoop twice, it was hilarious and went on for 25 minutes.

 

Recipe 
The recipe for the rice wraps can be found here. I didn't use tofu this time, I used shrimp instead. I cook them the same way as I do the tofu, it's a nice change.

 

Provencal Cod Burgers, Corn on the Cob and Roasted Veggies
What is it about little girls and water? My friend says her boys did not have the same fascination with it but her little girl does. They love to play in water, not just in the bath but they seem to find a need for it in everything they play. When the snow first started melting and we were able to shed our winter boots and jackets for rain boots and spring jackets jackets, Hannah asked me (and has asked everyday since), "Mama, can we bring out my little pool now?" So yesterday it was so nice out we brought out the water table for the kids to play in. They loved it, splashing in it and carrying it around the yard, making all kinds of pretend potions and squealing that happy squeal that kids make. Seriously, we have all kinds of outdoor toys but, I think we could have saved some money and just filled up a bucket of water for them back there. That was fun water play opposed to how we found them today, up in Harper's room with the bed, floor and one of her drawers covered in water, they had only been up there playing for about 5 minutes!

Recipe
This recipe comes from a recipe book I have The Burger Book. My burgers did fall apart when I was cooking them, they still tasted fine they were just a little crumbly, I think that if you want them to stay together you need to use more oil. We ate these just with some roasted garlic mayonnaise and arugula and I found them a little bland. I think that they need some tomato and a little grainy mustard*.

1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups instant cornmeal
1 lb/450 g cod fillet, skinned
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 oz/55 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 -2 Tbsp olive oil
5-6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350F, place garlic on a piece of foil and drizzle with a touch of olive oil and then wrap and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until soft. Once soft, let cool and then squeeze out into a bowl, mash with a fork and add the mayonnaise, mix until combined.

Place water in a large pan and bring to a boil. Slowly pour in the cornmeal in a steady stream and cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until thick. Let cool for about 10 minutes.

Place the cornmeal, fish, basil, cheese, and salt and pepper in a food processor and , using the pulse button, blend together. Shape into 4-6 burgers, then coat in the flour. Cover and let chill for 1 hour.

Heat a heavy-bottom skillet and add 1 Tbsp of the oil. When hot, add the burgers and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through, adding extra oil if necessary. Serve either on a bun or on a nice slice of focassia or any other bread you prefer.

Roasted Veggies
Cut up peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini and toss with a little olive oil and put in a grilling basket on the BBQ or in a pan in the oven at 400F and roast until tender.

Corn
Either you can shuck the corn and put in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes or you can trim any loose bits off and cook it on the BBQ.

* Today we had the leftover burgers for lunch with the grilled veggies, garlic mayo, grainy mustard and tomatoes on a bun and it was delicious.

Tortilla Soup
It's raining, it's pouring the old man is snoring...It's very dreary today, makes me move in slow motion and want to eat constantly, I think out of boredom and comfort. I really don't have much to say about the day, time seemed to stand still all day yet here we are at the end of the day already. Dave and Hannah went to the community center tonight to meet her soccer team, the season starts Tuesday. She will be playing Tuesday and Thursday nights this year, it seems like a lot to me. This year they are suppose to be learning some rules and they will have goalies which I think will be good. Last year it was really cute to watch them scramble up the field, often the wrong way, kicking the ball and sometimes even aiming for the net. I think that Hannah is ready to learn some rules this year, she's very interested in the rules of games. It's actually amazing to me, she'll watch the hockey playoffs with Dave and ask him dozens of questions and he patiently answers every question and she listens to all the explanations and asks follow up questions. I hope her coach is ready for all her questions!

Recipe

This recipe comes from epicurious.

Olive oil 

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

4 cups canned vegetable broth

4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

4 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas*, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed, drained

2/3 cup chopped zucchini

1 1/2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeno chili

 

Heat a little olive oil in a soup pot. Add onion and garlic; cover and cook over medium-low heat until almost tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cumin and chili powder. Add broth and 2 tablespoons cilantro; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Add tortillas, tomatoes, beans, zucchini and jalapeno to soup. Cover; simmer until zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro.

*They finally have MASA flour at the grocery store again, so I made mine instead of buying them. They really are a lot better than the store bought ones. They are very easy you can follow the instructions on the flour. Hannah is our tortilla maker!

 

 

Breaded Pickerel, Brown Rice and Barley, Mixed Veggies, Salad, Bread with Strawberries and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well I woke up (along with the rest of the province) to a white wonderland! I wasn't kidding about being in denial of spring, and I am sorry that I announced that spring was really here because, clearly Mother Nature does not like me to be right. It was really depressing to wake up to the snow but even more distressing since I was running in a half marathon relay today with a few friends and it was cold and slippery with high winds! But, we still ventured out in the cold and ran! It was the first time that most of us had ever run 10 km and we did it even though it was cold, the snow was pelting down in our eyes and the wind was whipping at our faces even trying to push us over at some points. I did it without stopping in an hour and 10 minutes and it felt really good, I'm even considering running a half marathon now...Except for the fact that my hips are very sore today and I'm hobbling around a little bit. It makes me a little sad, I normally run four miles four or five times a week and so really didn't anticipate being sore from an extra 2 1/2 miles. I'm blaming it on the icy conditions but I think it may just be the extra time. At any rate, every time I need to get up and walk it hurts, I needed to get a sweater from upstairs and actually sat and waited until my teeth started chattering before forcing myself up the stairs. Here's hoping I can move better tomorrow.

 

We had a delicious dinner of pickerel at my parents!

 

I hope you have a wonderful week and stop to think about your mom on Sunday. I think that we often live our lives assuming that our moms know how grateful we are and how much we love and appreciate but, it is a wonderful thing to hear.