You Do What You Gotta Do

Monday: Wild Mushroom Frittata with Fruit
Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers, Pea Pods, Cucumbers and Carrots
Wednesday: Chilled Noodle Salad with Mango

Thursday: Dhal with Naan and Kale Chips

Friday: Sushi
Saturday: Prawns with Bruschetta Pasta, Gorgonzola Salad and Apple Pie
Sunday: Dainty Sandwiches, Dainties, Fruit and Veggies
Dave's away this week, he left early Saturday morning and will be back late Wednesday night. I hope we survive! I'm sure we will, but we miss him!

Wild Mushroom Frittata with Fruit

"I'm not going to tell you something Mama, but Harper and I asked the sky for something today and you'll see what it is tomorrow. I'm not telling you what we wished for but it's white and it floats down and lands all fluffy." 

I wish I believed like they do...well not in snow for the 23rd of August but in wishing. I wish I believed that if I wished the sky for something there was a very strong possibility that it would grant me that wish the next day, if it wasn't too busy. Funny, I actually don't have anything for which I would wish.

Also, if it snows tomorrow, please don't send an angry mob after my children.

Recipe

Hmmmm...what's left in the fridge? Some wild mushrooms, eggs, feta and chives - sounds good.

6 eggs
Splash of milk
1 large handful of wild mushrooms, sliced
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
1/4 cup of feta cheese
chives

Heat a glugg of olive oil in a pan and saute the mushrooms until browned, adding the garlic in close to the end for a minute. Beat eggs together with milk. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and add another glugg of olive oil. Pour in the eggs and cook on medium low temperature until almost set, sprinkle the top with mushrooms, chives and feta and place under the broiler for a minute or two until eggs are completely set, cut in wedges and serve with fruit or a tossed green salad.

Black Bean Burgers with Pea Pods, Cucumbers and Carrots
The girls have begun to bicker like real siblings lately and I have to tell, you it's driving me crazy. They can't do anything without it needing to be "fair". For instance if I ask Harper to get the milk out of the fridge Hannah (or vice verse) freaks out because she wants to take it out, and it's not the same to give her another job she needs to put the milk back in and then take it out again...are you kidding me? We've also entered the world of tattling, Hannah is learning to only tell us if Harper is in danger, hurting someone else or about to write on a wall or something. So, today I hear them playing in the living room and I'm only half listening to Hannah giving Harper instructions about something and then I hear her say, "Why don't you stay up there and see if you like it or not." She then promptly walks to the kitchen and says, "Mom, Harper's on the table." I think we need to review the tattling rules, maybe entrapment as well.

Hannah did get her hair cut short today and needs to look in the mirror every half hour or so, it's so adorable.

Recipe 

I baked two things today and neither one of them turned out right, it's very annoying but by the time I was done it was very close to dinner time and so I just threw these together. They were quick, easy, and very tasty but if you're trying to follow a low sodium diet they're probably not the best choice, Hannah gave them a 10...but, she doesn't want them for her birthday dinner.

1 19 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package of Superburger mix
1 cup of Panko Crumbs
BBQ Sauce 

Buns

Mash black beans with a potato masher until pasty but still having some texture. Add the superburger mix, 1/4 cup of water and mix, add the panko crumbs (adjusting amount slightly if it's too wet or dry), making the mixture a little crumbly but still able to easily stick together. Form into 4 patties.

BBQ these for about 10 to 15 minutes a side, brushing with BBQ sauce.

Chilled Noodle Salad with Mango

Sometimes you just need to abort, no matter how low on toilet paper you may be.

I took the girls to St. Vital Park this afternoon. Hannah has recently learned how to do the monkey bars all the way across without dropping and so they spent all their time on the little play structure, her crossing the bars and Harper dragging her hand over those music things they have. I could actually see other parents cringing as she did it non stop (no I didn't stop her, that's what they're there for, if you can't ignore that noise, clearly you're children are too quiet). Anyway we had a great time and on the way home I stopped at Walmart, I despise the store to start, it's too big, always busy and I never know where to find anything, but they had our brand of toilet paper on half price. The minute we walked in the door I was totally blindsided by this little two year old screaming and crying about her hat that was left in the car. She was full on kicking her legs and flayling her arms. Now, I'm not saying that she doesn't ever throw tantrums but they're not normally in public, it really can catch you off guard. At first I was really embarrassed trying to coax her off the floor, because you know everyone is staring (and not even discreetly), thinking if I can get her up we can grab the toilet paper and go. Although suddenly the store seemed ten times the size and the checkout lines looked ginormous. Soon I realized that we would not be getting the toilet paper, I actually would have sooner used newspaper than try and get this little one through the store. But, I was still at a loss as to what to do, try to pick up her flayling body and risk putting my back out - wouldn't that be a scene - or wait it out. Eventually, she calmed enough to be scooped up in my arms and we all walked back to the car, heads held high, sometimes Walmart makes me feel that way too.

Recipe

The recipe for the mango salad can be found on this post. It's one of my favorites.

Dhal with Naan and Kale Chips

My Dad baked a bunch of rhubarb muffins and loaves this week and brought some over for us. I put the loaves in the freezer and let the girls have the muffins. I'm not sure how many there were but I've been letting them have two muffins a day all week. Dave came home late last night and didn't see the girls until this morning. Harper woke up this morning crawled out of bed and started heading downstairs, Dave got up after her and called her back (hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep), "Harper come back upstairs and you can play in your room for a little bit." Harper completely ignored him, continued down the stairs, pulled her stool up to the cupboard, took the muffins down, looked him straight in the eyes, "Momma said I could have a muffin for breakfast." She has been obsessed with these muffins, they are now gone and I'm slightly worried about her reaction tomorrow morning.

Recipe

I was sure that I'd made this recipe before and shared it with you but I couldn't find it anywhere on here so here it is again. I love Dhal, it's so easy, tasty and full of protein. We had this with some Kale chips, Kale is very full right now (lots of leafy, curly bits) and cheap, plus the girls love kale chips. The Dhal recipe is from maameemoomoo and I just added a little bit of curry instead of curry leaves.

170g split red lentils, rinsed
2 green chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 onion, finely chopped
450ml water
400g canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
4 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp curry powder

Put the lentils in a saucepan. Add the chilies, turmeric, onion and water and bring to boil. Partly cover the pan and simmer, without stirring for 30-35 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Stir in tomatoes.

Heat the ghee or vegetable oil in a small pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and fry over moderate heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add to the lentils and cook, stirring until thick. Season.

Served with naan and kale chips, both found in this post.

Sushi

Hannah has a very unique style. It often looks like she has just thrown on whatever is closest and when she realizes she's more than dressed she stops, others times she looks very carefully thought out. I have come to learn that every outfit is actually very carefully thought out. For instance, today she is wearing a light green T-shirt, light pink leggings and a black sequined skirt with flip flops, a sun hat and sun glasses (yes, even in the house), it's a little fancy for playing in the backyard but then...not. We went school clothes shopping today, I gave her the guidelines as to what she needed and told her she could pick out an extra outfit to wear on the first day of school, there may have been a slight metallic taste in my mouth from biting my tongue by the end of the trip. She chose shirts with Charlie Brown characters, a Hello Kitty backpack, bright purple yoga pants and a very sparkly/sequin shirt among other things. For her first day of school outfit she chose this really cute long sleeved purple dress with an entirely different purple flowered scarf, pink sparkly leg warmers and she was eyeing up these high top shoes but, we're going to do shoes another day. The crazy thing is all the things that she chose that made me cringe a little will end up being the things that I find the cutest on her. I kind of love her crazy style!

Recipe

We made sushi for supper, it's really great because the girls love to help make it and eat it. The instructions can be found on this post. Today we filled ours with different combinations of:

Smoked salmon

Crab

Cream cheese

Cucumber

Red Pepper

Orange Pepper

Yellow Pepper

Avocado

Prawns with Bruschetta Pasta, Roasted Beets with Walnut Gorgonzola Dressing and Apple Pie

Harper is very determined that she is big and will correct anyone who gets confused. This morning her and Dave were playing hide and seek, he was counting and Harper was hiding. When Dave started to look for her he said, "Now, where's my little girl hiding?" and immediately heard a little scratchy voice correct him, "BIG girl!"

When I took her to the grocery store and put her in the cart, she was complaining that she wanted to walk. I explained to her that soon she would be a little older and could walk, but right now she needed to be in the cart when we did big shops. Halfway through the grocery store she looked at me and said, "I older now, I want to walk." I suppose technically she wasn't wrong, but she still didn't get to walk.

Recipe

It was my Dad's birthday today and so we had dinner here with my mom and dad. My mom brought the prawns all nice and marinated with olive oil, garlic and fresh basil and I made pasta, salad and pie. I always make my dad apple pie with a cheddar cheese crust.

The salad recipe was from epicurious.

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds beets, trimmed and halved

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bunch arugula, well washed and torn apart

For Dressing:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese (I used 2oz and 1 oz of cream cheese because that's what I had on hand)

1/4 cup light or heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

To roast the beets: Place the beets, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a roasting pan and cook until the beets are tender, about 40 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and slice the beets.

Place the beets in a medium-sized mixing bowl and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

To make the Walnut Gorgonzola Dressing: Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and, when it is hot, add the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the walnuts and cook until they are browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and when the walnuts have cooled to room temperature, add the onion, basil, vinegar and salt.

Place the Gorgonzola cheese and cream in a blender or food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until smooth. Transfer to the bowl with the walnuts and mix to combine.

Divide the arugula between 4 to 6 plates and top with equal amounts of beets. Serve immediately with a large dollop of Walnut Gorgonzola Dressing.

I just chopped up tomatoes, basil and garlic and mixed it with a little olive oil and set it aside at room temperature. Do this earlier and let it sit awhile. I cooked up some fresh spaghettini and tossed it together, serving it with the grilled prawns (except we did them in the oven because our BBQ set on fire, at 350F for about 3 - 4 minutes a side) and bread.

Deep Dish Apple Pie:

For the crust I used an epicurious recipe and then just seasoned the apples on my own.

Crust:

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into

pieces

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

6 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded

2/3 cup (about) ice water

Blend flour and salt in processor. Add shortening and butter and cut in using several on/off turns. Add cheese and cut in until shortening and butter resemble small peas. With machine running, gradually blend in enough water until soft moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Filling:

2 - 21/2 lbs of Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored (I weighed these after they were peeled and cored)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 Tbsp flour

Mix all filling ingredients together and let sit at room temperature for a least half an hour.

Assemble.

Preheat oven to 400F

Divide dough into two balls, one slightly larger than the other and roll out the larger one to fit deep dish pie plate. Line pie plate with dough, being sure to leave a little to over hang and fill with filling dotting with 6 Tbsp of butter. Roll out second dough ball and gently place on top, pinching the top and bottom crusts together, cut off access dough. Slash the top crust to let steam escape.

Bake pie in middle of oven for 20 minutes and then turn oven down to 375F and bake for another 35 minutes, until crust is golden and inside is bubble, if edges are starting to get too dark take out and cover just the edges in foil, then return to oven and continue to bake.

Dainty Sandwiches, Dainties, Fruit and Veggies

I had the pleasure this afternoon of meeting one of the cutest babies I have ever met. Seriously, he was cute enough to make you forget how much work little babies can be and make you want one...for an afternoon at least. He was absolutely beautiful and strong, smiley and bright eyed. We had a baby shower for him at my  mom's and towards the end Dave brought the girls down and I have to tell you, there's nothing like a little baby to make your own children look GIANT!

We lounged around at my mom and dad's until seven grazing on dainty sandwiches, dainties, fruit and veggies...well, maybe a little less fruit and veggies and more dainties.

I hope the sun shines down on you this week!

There may have been a little dancing show this week too.



Subdued by the Flu

Monday: Falafel
Tuesday: Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Eggplant Balls
Wednesday: Mussels, Sweet Potato Fries, Garden Beans and Salad
Thursday: Migas and Fruit
Friday: Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza and Tomato and Artichoke Pizza
Saturday: Wild Mushroom Risotto with Pickerel
Sunday: Spicy Chickpea Stew with Corn on the Cob, Rocky Road Square and Vanilla Ice Cream

Falafel

The flu is continuing to run through my children and I'm quite certain that Harper will get the fever tonight, she seems to be two nights behind Hannah. We all got very little sleep last night with both girls waking often, Harper every 20 to 30 minutes, and Dave had to work late tonight. Remarkably we had a really good day today despite all the sickness and tiredness. We played a lot of Lego and read a lot of stories, played in the backyard and had a picnic and I still managed to get the back laundry area clean, sort through and reorganize the toys down here as well as get a few loads of laundry done. I was marveling to Dave at how well today went, how balanced I felt. Dave just shook his head and laughed because when he asked Hannah what she did today she said nothing, watched mom clean...seriously? Apparently we don't see the balance in the same way.

At dinner tonight Harper was in fine form. Hannah was trying to tell me something but every time she'd start to tell me Harper would yell, "Mommy, look at me, this is me sipping my water!" "Mommy, look at me, this is me chewing my food!" with very exaggerated head bobs and a lot of mmmmm noises and singing. "Mommy, look at me, this is me NOT playing with my straw!" Poor Hannah all she wanted to tell me was that she was not very hungry, she was very patient.

Recipe
We had falafel tonight which you can find in this post.

Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Eggplant Balls
Cozy blankets permanently parked on the couch, extra Kleenex boxes throughout the house, Charlotte's Web splayed open on the back of the couch, markers and half drawn pictures on the kitchen table, a half played game of memory on the floor in the family room and the sound of two little girls coughing in their sleep...the flu is still here. It was another sleepless night as Harper got the fever last night and Hannah continued to cough throughout the night. Today was another slow day around here full of quiet games, T.V. and lots of books. Hannah seems to be on the mend but her energy is still low and she is still coughing like crazy, Harper had the worst of it today. She was really so sad. She wondered around in a constant fragile state with tears and snot covering her face saying, "Pease you play membory with me?" We would play a couple times and then part way through the third game she's get distracted by nursing or a book and the whole thing would start over a few minutes later when she realized that she was no longer playing memory, poor Harper.

Recipe
I had an eggplant left from last week that needed to be cooked today and so I made the eggplant balls from MidwestVeg.com . I will definitely make them again, they added a nice texture and taste to the pasta but I would add a little more seasoning to them. I would add three times the amount of onion, another clove of garlic and maybe even a few red pepper flakes to the eggplant mixture the next time I make it. Here is the recipe unaltered.

Eggplant Balls:

1 large eggplant, peeled, diced

2 Tbsp onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven 375F.
Combine the panko, nutritional yeast, oregano, parsley and salt in a food processor. Pulse until fine and well combined. Dump into a medium-large mixing bowl and set aside.

In a large non-stick skillet saute the onion for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. Add to the breadcrumb mixture.

Using the same pan saute the eggplant for about 15 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool.

Dump the eggplant into food processor and process until smooth and sort of pasty. Add to breadcrumb/onion mixture. Add the egg and mix well. Form balls using a measured tablespoon and roll into balls. Place balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper lightly sprayed with cooking spray. I sprayed the tops of them as well. Bake for 20–25 minutes at 375° flipping half way through to ensure even browning.

Tomato Sauce
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp oregano
28 oz tin of whole tomatoes
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of spinach, chopped (optional)

In a sauce pan heat a good glugg of olive oil over medium low heat and saute garlic and oregano a minute or two, until fragrant add in the tin of tomatoes and let simmer on low for 25 minutes (leave the tomatoes whole). After the sauce has simmered break up the tomatoes (I use kitchen scissors right in the pot) and add the red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the spinach if using a couple minutes before serving.

I served the eggplant balls and sauce over some shell pasta - I think I would have used whole wheat rigatoni for this but, we only had white shells in the house and with the girls sick I couldn't venture out to get anything else.

Mussels, Sweet Potato Fries, Garden Beans and Salad
I was annoyed with Hannah today. It wasn't really her fault, she doesn't understand the complicatedness that makes up my brain. There are some things that just aren't logical, yet I still want them that way. Like how I teach Harper to say new words all the time, pronouncing them so that she can repeat them, but when Hannah tried to correct Harper's pronunciation of wove to love today I asked her to stop. "Why? She doesn't say it right and we need to help her learn how to say things...that's part of our job mooooom." Hmmm, how did she get so clever? I tried to explain the wanting my babies to stay little, while still wanting them to grow up strong...and then I looked at her puzzled little face and said, "You're right, it's our job to help her learn." So Hannah continued all day to try and teach Harper to say love instead of wove. I put Harper to bed tonight and when we finished reading stories I gave her a hug and kiss and told her I loved her and she turned to me, cuddled in and said, "I wove you mommy." Safe for another day.

Recipe
I love mussels and so do the rest of us. I made them for Father's Day dinner and it made me realize that they are simple, relatively cheap (compared to other fish or seafood - $6.99 for 900g) and a crowd pleaser - so why not make them more often? Dave worked late and didn't eat with us, when he came up from eating later in the evening he said, "Those were different than last time, weren't they?" I chuckled, "Yes, those were weekday mussels...there's no cream in weekday mussels." If you're looking for a more decadent mussel recipe try this one here, but these were very tasty and weekday safe.

Mussels

2 900g packages of mussels (these were already scrubbed and debearded), rinsed
1/2 small white onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 cup veggie stock or white wine (I used a combo of both)
olive oil

In a large soup pot heat a little olive oil and saute onion and celery for five minutes, add garlic and saute 30 seconds and then add fennel and saute another 30 seconds. Turn heat to high and add stock/wine and mussels, put the lid on and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, mussels should look mostly open when ready. Take out and serve, any mussels that did not open discard.

Sweet Potato Fries
3 sweet potatoes (I found some that were actually not giant, if you only find the giant ones, one would probably do just fine)
salt
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F.

Peel and cut sweet potatoes into thin fry like strips. Toss with olive oil and a little salt and lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet in one layer. Bake for about 20 minutes (depending on thickness of fries), flipping once halfway through.

I just steamed the garden beans and we ate them naked - mmmmm.

For the salad I tossed together some arugula, cherries, feta cheese, toasted pecans and drizzled a little balsamic and olive oil over it all.

Migas and Fruit

There are just so many questions in a day. There are the why questions which are endless, literally, I try to avoid these with the, "Why do you think?" but this sometimes backfires with an answer and then the question why to her answer which really just spirals out of control. There are very logical questions and also very clever questions where I can trace the reasoning, these always fascinate me. Then there are the questions that come out of nowhere and although I can kind of trace the reasoning they are just things that I would never, ever have though. Such as this evening, Hannah and I were continuing to read Charlotte's Web and Hannah asked me, "When cows get sick do they die?" I answered, "Probably sometimes, but I think that sometimes they can get better too, I think it depends how they are sick." to which she responded, "I mean if they're throwing up sick."...do cows throw up? I mean I know that they regurgitate and chew...or something but do they get sick and throw up? Why don't I know this...why would I know this? Later as we were having a little cuddle and I could feel her wipe her nose on her nightie I told her to go get a Kleenex, she asked me how I knew she'd used her nightie to which I responded I that I was her mom and I knew everything. Hannah thought about this for awhile and said, "Well, maybe half of everything, you actually didn't know about the cows."

Recipe
Have you ever heard of migas? I'd never heard of them, but I think that the original recipe would be really yummy, I altered it a little (mostly omitting the deep frying part and using milk instead of heavy cream) and it was still yummy, a nice alternative to egg burritos. I found the recipe from Scarletta Bakes.

8 large eggs

1/4 cup milk
1 cup yellow onion, diced (approximately one small yellow onion)
3/4 cup jalapeno, minced
3  Tbsp. garlic, fresh, minced
4- 5″ corn tortillas
Olive oil
1 1/2 cup plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup queso fresco, grated (you may substitute feta or any other sharp, salty cheese)
1 tsp. black pepper, ground
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cumin, ground

Preheat broiler

To prepare the corn strips, cut the tortillas in half and then slice them into thin strips (1/2 – 3/4″ wide). Coat a baking sheet with olive oil and lay strips on sheet in one layer, spraying the tops with oil. Broil in oven for a few minutes until crispy, flip and toast the other side as well.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk in milk, salt, pepper and cumin. Setl and whisk in milk, salt, pepper and cumin. Set the egg mixture aside.

Meanwhile, in another large sauté pan, warm a little olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion for approximately 3 minutes or until translucent and fragrant. Add the jalapeno and sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute. Pour in your egg mixture and cook, tossing and folding as you go, until the eggs are light, fluffy and cooked through. Add the tomatoes and tortilla strips and remove from heat.

Top with grated cheese and serve immediately, we added a little salsa verde on top mostly because we're obsessed.

We had some nice cold chopped up fruit with it.

Pear with Gorgonzola and Roasted Tomato with Artichoke Pizza
There's nothing like a grandparent to spoil you a little. Really, why shouldn't they? I know that I am often a little strict about what my kids eat, I have actually mellowed a little in the past couple of years and my parents and Dave's parents have respected this...for the most part. But really, there has to be some fun spoiling sometimes, that's one of the major bonuses of having grandchildren, I would imagine. Sometimes as a parent it's great too because you get to see the excitement of it all. Like Hannah's face today when I walked over to my parents to raid my mom's herb garden at 5:00 for dinner and my Dad's standing in the kitchen dishing up two bowls of ice cream saying, "Who would like a little ice cream?" (for the record I was never actually offered any...is that because I'm his child and not his grandchild. Does the rule still apply when you're 33? Maybe I should stop by my grandma's around 5:00 tomorrow). You should have seen the size of my little rule follower's (Hannah) eyes! I went out tonight and Dave and I passed as they we sitting down to dinner and I was heading out so when I got home tonight (after waking Dave because I forgot my key) he mentioned that the girls didn't really eat a lot of pizza, mmm...that's awfully strange.

Recipe
We went to this restaurant called Brooklynn's Bistro for my mom's birthday and we had these two really great pizzas. I tried to recreate them tonight for something a little different, I think the pear one was pretty close (although, honestly my memory is not that good), the other was good but not close to what we had - I know what I would do for next time though. I bought pizza whole wheat pizza dough and divided it in half to make the two pizzas.

Gorgonzola Pizza:

2 tsp margarine
3 Tbsp flour
1/3 cup milk
25 g Gorgonzola cheese (or more or less depending how strong you like it)
1 ripe pear, sliced thinly
2-3 Tbsp walnut pieces
Chives
Arugula

Preheat oven to 450F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then spray with olive oil.

In a sauce pan over medium heat melt margarine and then stir in flour. Whisk in milk and stir until thickened remove from heat and crumble in cheese stirring until melted.

Stretch out half of the pizza dough and then top with cheese sauce (you may not use all of it), you want a generous coating but not overflowing. Top with pear and walnut pieces and bake for about 10 minutes, crust will be done and the cheese will begin to brown on top here and there. Remove from oven and sprinkle with a few chopped chives and some arugula.

Artichoke Pizza:

6 tomatoes, halved
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
olive oil
salt
1/2 can of artichoke hearts, sliced (I used the ones in water but the ones in oil would be delicious)
handful of fresh basil and oregano
1 cup of Romano cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 200F.

Coat a pan or cookie sheet with olive oil and a little salt and then place the tomatoes cut side down on the sheet and tuck in the cloves of garlic around them. Roast for 6 to 8 hours. When ready peel the garlic and toss them in a blender or processor with your tomatoes, basil and oregano and blend until fairly smooth.

Preheat oven to 450F.

Spread the second half of the dough out and top with tomato mixture, artichoke hearts and cheese. Bake until crust is crisp and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Wild Mushroom Risotto with Pickerel
Harper had a meltdown this evening before supper. The kind that really just needs to happen, even when you fix the original thing that was wrong it doesn't fix it because she's too far in and really it's not about that. It's about being up early and tired, about Dave being away, about spending a great day at TinkerTown but not having enough energy to make it the last 45 minutes. It started with not wanting to clean up the markers, to wanting to clean up the markers (which were already cleaned up), to many, many other things and in the end she wanted to sit and eat dinner on my lap which we really discourage around here. She was beside herself, Hannah was sitting up on her chair eating her supper and she looked down at the mess of a puddle that was us on the floor and said, "Harper can sit on my lap and eat supper, I don't mind." man, she's cute! Eventually, Harper was all cried and cuddled out and came up to the table to eat her supper.

Recipe
Tonight at dinner Hannah says to Harper, trying to encourage her to eat her fish, "It's pickerel fish, that's fish made from pickles - it's super yummy!" I don't usually use a recipe to make risotto anymore but I found the second pancake blog where he had all these tips about making risotto so I thought I'd try it his way. It was good...well, I think it was pretty much the same as always but good. I didn't follow his tips exactly though, he suggests using carnaroli instead of arbrio rice which I am curious to try, but already had arbio in the cupboard. He also added in some butter at the end with the cheese which I'm sure makes it really good but maybe a little unnecessary?

3 cups of stock
olive oil

1 shallot, diced finely
2 cloves of garlic, diced finely
2/3 cup of arbrio rice
A splash of dry white wine
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
15 g dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated and chopped
2 handfuls of whatever fresh mushrooms you like (a mixture is good), sliced medium-thickness
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt & black pepper to taste

Pickerel fillets

Bring the stock to a simmer, and pour a small amount of the hot stock aside into a cup with the porcini mushrooms to rehydrate, 15 to 20 minutes.

In a large pan slowly cook the shallots and garlic with a pinch of salt until they soften. Add the rice and rehydrated mushrooms to the shallots and toast on a high heat for about a minute, stirring (don't let it brown). Splash in the white wine and simmer until the alcohol has cooked away (about 30 seconds). Add the liquid from the mushrooms, leaving any sediment in the bottom of the bowl and a small pinch of salt to the rice and reduce the heat to a moderate simmer. When that liquid has absorbed, give the rice a vigorous stir and add a ladle of stock. Repeat until the rice is just cooked (it should still have some bite) and a little more soupy than desired, then remove from the heat and leave covered for 3 minutes. Vigorously stir in the cheese and season to taste.

While resting the almost finished risotto, heat a good glugg of olive oil in a pan and fry the fresh mushrooms until browned on the outside. Remove from the heat, and add the parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper.

While the mushrooms are cooking heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the pickerel. Serve the risotto topped with mushrooms and fish.

Spicy Chickpea Stew with Corn on the Cob, Rocky Road Square and Vanilla Ice Cream
Hannah and I finished Charlotte's Web today. I was a little worried about how it was going to go over, we have actually read half the book a few times but then it kept getting forgotten and we'd start over again. We both sat on the couch and cried and cried while I tried to continue reading the final chapter...it was actually a really great moment together.

We went to my Mom and Dad's for supper and I do apologize because I thought that I had already posted this recipe but it's not here and I don't have it. I will get it and post it in next week's blog because it has become one of my major comfort foods since we became vegetarian. They make it a few times a year and I love it. I never make it myself because I feel like not having one of them make it, may take the comfort out of it for me.

I hope you have a wonderful week and the sun shines down on you (I can't believe that next time I post it will be August 28th!!!!!).

Good Byes, the Last Hurrah and the Let Down

We said our goodbyes to my sister, brother in law and niece last night. They’re on their way to visit my cousin in L.A. this morning for a few days and then continuing on their way home to Australia. The next planned visit together is Christmas 2012 with a ski trip either before or after. That’s 18 months away.It took me a long time to get use to living apart from my sister and now with the girls it's like I'm starting all over again. Ruby is going to be almost Hannah’s age the next time I see her. It’s really very crazy 3- 5 there’ll be such a huge change, so much missed it seems. Hannah will be almost 7!!!! I can’t even imagine, I know that the time often ends up passing so quickly and before we  know it we’ll be together again marvelling at how much the girls have all changed, this comforts and scares me all at the same time. I’m trying not to dwell too much because we are fortunate for the amount we are able to see them considering how far they live. It is always nice to get back to a regular routine once they’ve left for me and the girls (I think that I may be as affected by routine upset as a child can be). We’re heading out to the cottage today (not Dave, he has to work) for a couple more days of visiting with my aunt and uncle and cousin and then it’ll be back to the same old, same old.

On a culinary note we had Sunday dinner here last night and had a few really yummy things. My parents picked up this salmon stuffed with crab at Costco and we cooked it up (in the oven for 20 minutes, not the 25-30 it recommended – which would have been overdone) and they were very delicious. I also made a Caprice salad, corn on the cob, roasted veggies and fig and onion bruschetta from epicurious which I am going to recommend.

Figs:

1/2 cup dried black Mission figs, stemmed, halved

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons sugar

1 small bay leaf

1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Onion:

1 1/2 teaspoons butter

1 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium red onion, halved through core, cut lengthwise into ½-inch-thick strips

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon sugar

Coarse kosher salt

Ricotta:
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling 1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream Coarse kosher salt

8 1-inch-thick slices ciabatta bread (about 4 ½ x 2 inches)

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

For figs:

Place figs in small bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over; let soak 45 minutes. Drain figs; place in small saucepan. Add wine and next 3 ingredients; bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until figs are tender and liquid is syrupy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Add vinegar; cook 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat; cool.

For onion:

Melt butter with oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until beginning to soften and brown, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add vinegar and sugar, then sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Stir until vinegar has almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Cool. DO AHEAD: Figs and onion mixture can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

For ricotta:

Whisk ricotta, 1 tablespoon oil, and cream in medium bowl until fluffy. Season with coarse salt and pepper. Preheat broiler. Drizzle ciabatta with some olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Broil bread on both sides until toasted. Transfer to serving plate. Spread 2 tablespoons ricotta mixture on each bread slice. Spoon glazed figs with some of syrup over; top with onion mixture.

Shrimp Skewers, Couscous Salad, French Potato Salad, Garden Beans and Bread

I packed the girls up again and we headed out to the lake this afternoon. Dave’s back at work and I normally wouldn’t have left with all the excitement that we’ve had lately, but my aunt and uncle and cousin are visiting and I didn’t want to miss out on a good live-in visit. That’s really the best way to get a good visit isn’t it? You really find out what kind of space their in and are able to talk about things and nothing, there’s no pressure like say a dinner visit when you’re trying to get in all your visiting at once.

So here we are at the cottage and it feels exactly like fall. There are leaves down everywhere (I think because it’s been so hot and dry and then it was quite windy today) and the breeze is quite cool. I'm annoyed because I somehow forgot my running shoes and it is perfect weather for running (plus, there has been a lot of celebrating and visiting lately and I could do with a few good runs). I have to say the feeling of fall in the air makes me think of new school supplies, classroom desks, shoe scuffs on the polished school floors, warm soups and routine. All this gives me that warm fuzzy feeling all over and I’m good with the reminder that it is coming but I am hoping that the carefree days of summer are not yet gone as we still have some more playing to do.

Recipe

My mom made dinner tonight and it was delicious. She marinated the shrimp in some olive oil, garlic, cumin and some cilantro and then grilled them on the BBQ. I have to apologize, I have been really out of it with the picture taking and will try to get back at it this week. I did forget to take a picture tonight – which is really too bad because it did look so yummy.

The Potato Salad was from epicurious

2 pounds fingerling potatoes or other small waxy potatoes

1/2 cup or so extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup 1/4-inch slices of scallion, green and white parts

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, mashed and coarsely chopped (1 1/2 tsp)

1/3 cup white wine

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped chives

2 tablespoons or more coarsely chopped fresh green or purple basil, fresh tarragon, or parsley

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (coarse), plus more if needed

Scrub the potatoes and put them, whole, in a saucepan with water to cover by 1/2 inch. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook the potatoes gently until they are just tender and can be pierced with a sharp knife. Drain immediately and let cool slightly. (Scrape the skin from the cooked potatoes, if you want, as soon as they can be handled. For a decorative look with fingerlings, scrape off only a band of skin, about 1/2 inch thick, all around the long sides of the potato.)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small saute pan. When hot, add the scallions and the onion, toss to coat well, and cook for about a minute over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, toss to mix, and cook for just a few moments, then remove the pan from the heat.

Slice the potatoes while still warm, cutting them crosswise into 1/2-inch sections. Put the pieces in a large mixing bowl, pour the wine and 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil over them, and toss gently to distribute. Add the warm vegetables from the pan, mustard, chives, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper, and gently fold all together, mixing well but not crushing the potatoes. Taste the salad and add more seasonings as you like.

Serve the potatoes warm (no colder than room temperature). Arrange the large radicchio leaves, if you have them, in a close circle on the serving platter, with their curved insides up, to form a rough bowl. Spoon the potato salad inside the leaves, sprinkle chopped egg around the edges, and parsley over the top.

The Whole Bowl

This morning around eleven my aunt says to me, "Wanna start that puzzle (1000 pieces) we could do it before lunch?" Yeah, sure. We both knew that we wouldn't finish it by lunch and we also both knew that if we took it out of the box and started sorting the pieces, my dad would very soon be coaxed out of his chair and away from his book to join us. There is also a puzzle gene on that side of the family (along with the blueberry picking gene). So we sorted and flipped and started to piece together the picture. Soon we were joined by my cousin, Hannah helped as well here and there (all affected by the gene), we even enticed my mom (who has never been a big puzzler), the only one who escaped was my uncle, who is not a puzzler and was trying to finish a never ending book. The day was cool for summer and we all kind of retreated to our books, the girls and I headed off to the park for awhile but the puzzle seemed to bring everyone into the porch and around the table every now and then to join whomever was there searching for pieces and small victories. When my children were finally in bed asleep I was relieved, not because I was tired or they were cranky (although Harper was very tired and out of sorts by the end of the day), but because I could focus my full attention on the puzzle. As I write this and am getting ready to read a couple pages of my book and fall asleep I'm quite certain that I will dream of the little corner with part of a branch and a couple leaves and the piece that I've been searching for since this morning to fit there.

Recipe 

Tonight I made the whole bowls which can be found on this post. I also added corn from a couple of cobs that I had leftover and I didn't have any olives but I did have an olive tapenade which we had instead and it was just as good.

Leftovers

The puzzle is still not finished, the top of it; full of leaves, sky and bark is left. I have to tell you the progress is slow but the feeling of victory when you find a piece is much more satisfying. It's been left on the table in the porch at the cottage to be finished next time. We're not going out this weekend, we need some quiet home, family time but the puzzle is almost enticing me out...but not quite. This morning Hannah wanted to fly a kite, which is ironic because the past two days have been super windy and we never thought of it - today there was no wind out on the back road. It worked out really well though, because the cheap little dollar store kite that we had flies when you run fast enough and so that's what we did. Hannah, Harper and I spent about an hour running up and down the road taking turns making the kite fly and laughing. Hannah probably ran that road two or three times, running up and then back to us. It was so picturesque (yes, I forgot my camera). She was wearing a long skirt with a short dress over top, a floppy hat, and was running ahead down this dirt road surrounded by trees on either side of her with one hand up in the air holding onto the kite, the other holding on to her hat with fits of giggles escaping and floating back to us.

Recipe

By the time we got home from the lake it was 5:30 and so I have to say dinner was not a very exciting event. There were some leftovers from last night and that's what we had with a little cantalope on the side. I am looking forward to some new recipes and planning in the next week.

Fish, Veggie Bulgur with Broccoli

Hannah went to a birthday party today. This is the first non family member birthday party that she's ever been to and she was pretty excited. The party was for a friend of hers from her pre-school class and who will be in her kindergarten class next year. We went last week and got the gift and card, which Hannah wrapped and signed this morning. Hannah put on her fanciest dress (the one she wore for Christmas) and then Harper and I dropped her off at cartown - making her dress choice very appropriate...along with all the other adorable little girls in their party dresses. Cartown is set up in an arena and has roads, and pedestrian crossings and the kids drive in those (scary) motorized little vehicles (supervised though) and learn all about car safety and they stop and play games and sing songs too. It was great, Hannah had a great time and at the end they get a little driver's licence. So Harper and I pick her up at the end and we stop at the grocery store to get some bread and Hannah says to me as we're leaving, "Can I drive home, I have my licence now?" When I explained the difference between my licence and her licence, I think cartown may have lost a little of it's luster!

Recipe

I'm on the verge of new recipes but I still feel very scattered and disorganized, I need to use up what I can in the house first. I just so happened to find some abandoned fish in the freezer...I don't even think I can give you the recipe because it was not yummy. I think it may have been the kind of fish; I made it into packets and topped it with lime, tomatoes, cilantro and a little salsa verde but it actually just tasted like I was trying to hide the taste of the fish instead of enhance it. I think there was too much topping and the fish, which was sole...I think, wasn't...shark enough...meaty enough...whatever, able to handle the toppings. I did make some bulgur to go with it which I especially liked, Dave was so-so on it and the kids seem to like it, and I plan to add a few lentils to the leftovers and have it for lunch.

I used the bulgur recipe from Catherine Newman's burgers here, as a guide for this.

1 white onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 zucchini, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 cup bulgur

2 cups water

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Saute onion, green pepper and zucchini over medium heat until soft, add the garlic and saute a minute and then add the salt and cumin sauteing until fragrant (30 seconds). Add the bulgur and water, once water in boiling reduce heat to low and cover for 15 - 18 minutes until done, then add in the soy sauce and serve.

Pasta

There's always a little bit of a relief when all the company has gone as well as a let down and a bit of loneliness. I'm always ready to get back to a regular routine and some play time with my girls but it's always a bit of an adjustment to change gears. The girls feel it too, and today Hannah was visibly feeling the shift. She was just fragile all day and it wasn't really until the end of the day that I connected the dots. Life went back to normal for the rest of us Wednesday but because of Hannah's birthday party I think that her let down was a little delayed. It always seems so hard to get back to a normal routine emotionally but always so much better once you've settled in. No matter what, it is always disappointing to not have a very fun, beautiful little girl just down the street to play with.

Recipe

I made this very simple pasta, we didn't have any garlic and it was still very tasty but you could add garlic as well.



Someone couldn't wait for the picture to be taken!

1 cup of almonds, toasted and chopped

8 vine ripe tomatoes chopped

1 large handful of basil, ripped or chopped

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

olive oil

1 354 g package brown rice pasta, prepared according to package directions - it is very easy to over cook this pasta so time carefully

Cook the pasta and then toss all the ingredients together and serve.

Harper and Stanley.

Eggplant Burgers and Greek Salad

Ever since we had guests this summer with a very cute little pup named Stanley the girls have been very interested in their stuffed dogs. Hannah seems to have a love, total fear of relationship with dogs which is beginning to soften whereas Harper is scared of dogs who are as tall as her, others she's quite brave around. They have been tying belts and whatnot around their dogs and dragging them all over the house, taking them for walks, they've been feeding them and Hannah informed me that one even made a mess in the house. They are very cute - but also very aware that we are not getting a real dog...I actually think they're perfectly happy having this low maintenance variety.

Recipe

I got this recipe from An Opera Singer in the Kitchen, and I loved the flavor but I am not going to recommend it for a burger. I think that it would have been really good on it's own or on a bed of sauted spinach. I would also have it on a piece of toasted baguette or ciabatta maybe with a little pesto or tomato sauce. I considered substituting the cheddar for 1/3 cup Parmesan instead and then saw a recipe that is similar but uses nutritional yeast instead of cheese and I have one eggplant left so I think I will experiment with it a little next week.

2 small globe eggplants or 1 large, peeled and diced 1-inch cubes

(about 4 1/2 cups)

2 shallots, chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

1 cup shredded medium cheddar or Daiya vegan cheddar shreds

1 1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/4 teaspoon Tony's cajun seasoning ( or ¼ tsp salt and ¾ tsp black pepper)

6 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

Over medium heat, add 3 Tablespoons olive oil and sauté eggplant  and shallots until very soft. Add 3/4 of the eggplant mixture to food processor or high-powered blender and blend. Add blended eggplant to a bowl and add the rest of the eggplant from pan to the bowl (or if the pan was big enough do it all in there). Mix in the rest of the ingredients, except oil, and form into 6 patties. Place patties on a cookie sheet and flash cool them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Pull the patties out of the freezer. In a sauté pan, heat 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil and cook three patties until shimmering hot, fry each side of patty till dark brown, about 5 minutes each side. Repeat with the rest of the patties. Next time I would line a pan with parchment and spray and bake them at 400F, spraying and flipping halfway through.

For the Greek salad I just chopped up some tomato, cucumber, feta, red onion and olives and mixed all together with a little salt and pepper.

I know this is kind of here's Johnnyish but, she's
just so cute, hiding in the closet.

Tomato, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella Fritatta with Spinach Salad

Dave had to work yesterday so we had planned that we would head out to the Children's Garden at Assiniboine Park this morning and then swimming this afternoon. Hannah woke up at four this morning with a fever and so we stayed home. It wasn't a total write off while the Tylenol was working well Hannah joined in on a few rounds of hide and seek with Harper and I, while Dave installed two new toilets. I love playing hide and seek with a two year old, they're just so honest. "Are you hiding in the closet Harper?" "No, I over ere in under the table!" The game did get a little more serious when Hannah joined in, I was so use to Harper's slow counting to ten and then maybe to ten again and possibly again, when Hannah counted I barely had time to make it around the corner desperately looking for somewhere to tuck away. Three rounds was all Hannah was able to play and then I could see her moving much slower and we moved to building with little Lego. Hannah's fever continued to rise and she was soon resting on the couch watching some T.V. while I tried desperately (and to no avail) to entertain Harper and keep her from being lured onto the couch to watch as well. I hope tomorrow brings us good health!

Recipe
My parents headed out to the lake today and so we were on our own for Sunday dinner. I saw a picture of a fritatta the other day and it looked so good to me so that's what we had.

8 eggs. beaten
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
Fresh mozzarella
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Olive oil
Fresh Basil, chopped

Preheat broiler.

I don't have a good big fry pan and so I used 2 pans. Heat 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in an oven safe pan over medium heat and saute garlic for 30 second. Add the eggs to the pan and let cook until almost set, about 5 minutes. Once eggs are ready add tomatoes and cheese, place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the top of the eggs are cooked (only a couple of minutes), Sprinkle with fresh basil, slice and serve.

For the salad we had strawberries, mango, toasted sunflower seeds and spinach tossed with a drizzle of balsamic, maple syrup and olive oil.

I hope the sun shines down on you this week, I'm off to cuddle a sick little girl!