Friday Favourites - Henley Teapot

This is the best teapot ever. It doesn't drip, the tea stays hot, and it cleans up nicely.

We found this teapot about 12 years ago. My FIL was a big tea drinker, he had a pot at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was forever frustrated by teapots that dripped so Hubby and I went on a mission to find him a better teapot. Store after kitchen store led us to an out of the way tea shop. Back when there really were no out of the way tea shops.

After he tried it I became convinced. I had a pot for home and one for the office. My MIL still has and uses the original pot we bought. When I would go on mat leave at the office it was a bit of a contest to see who would get my teapot while I was away.

The Henley teapot comes in multiple sizes and even different enamel colours. I like mine big and stainless. Many online tea stores have them now. Even the big A does too. Prices vary, so double check the size you are buying and shop around.

To be totally honest, it isn't perfect. If you don't keep it clean by rinsing or washing after each pot of tea the seal for the spout starts leaking. And it gets very hot on the outside with the tea on the inside. (When making loose tea I have to leave the lid off while brewing or it becomes impossibly hot on that little ball.) I can forgive it these faults completely because I don't have tea drips everywhere. And I can put it on the table without a hot mat below it. Plus, it looks pretty snazzy.

Friday Favourites - Family Recipe Book

Way back when, in the months leading up to our wedding, I was blessed to have friends and family throw me many bridal showers. It was a lot of fun and amazing to feel so much love. One of the showers was food/cooking themed. We had a cooking class by a great local chef, drank wine and laughed, and they all shared with me a booklet of favourites recipes.

My recipe book is simple. Handwritten recipes on seemingly old fashioned recipe cards. Each one tucked into it's own slot in a photo album. No graphic design, no fear of getting things dirty. Handwriting to treasure (and decipher) and favourite recipes from their family or secrets that no one would share before then. Still, when I ask my Mom or my Mother In Law for a recipe they give it to me on a card to insert. Or I tuck their hand written notes into a sleeve.

When I'm bored with my own cooking, looking for a little extra comfort from the kitchen, or a memory overcomes my tastebuds, this is the book I pull from the shelf. I have almost 100 cookbooks, but this is my go to resource.

This morning I pulled it out to make cupcakes. Grandma Arkison's Wacky Cake was waiting for me. I should know this recipe by heart, and probably do, but I love to see my sister-in-law's writing and smile at the thought that this was a secret family recipe. (It's not, it is a standard, Depression era recipe.) And that day, at my bridal shower, I was let into the family when this recipe passed over to me.

Do you have a family recipe book?

Friday Favourites - The London Fog

I LOVE tea. Really love tea. Especially Earl Grey.

My tea ritual starts before I go to bed. I make sure the tea pot is rinsed out and the kettle full. That way all I have to do is hit the button on my electric kettle as soon as I get out of bed. While the kettle boils I usually check Instagram for the overnight feed and try not to munch on any cookies that might be leftover from the previous day's baking. When my tea is ready I settle in to catch up on the world and start my day's work on the computer. If I have writing to do I like to jump right in. Otherwise I sip and browse the world from my laptop.

All of this, implies that I am getting a quiet, lonely start to the morning. If I sleep in or have to get up and do things with the kids right away I do not make my tea. I love the ritual almost more than the caffeine so I wait. And if that moment never comes I do the next best thing at some point in the afternoon - I make a London Fog.

I discovered London Fogs years ago at some random coffee shop. Seeing as I don't drink coffee I am always aware of my other options. When the barista suggested a London Fog after I hesitated on the default hot chocolate, I nearly turned him down. But then he used the words vanilla and Earl Grey in the same sentence. And done.

That being said, I don't often order them when I'm out. The vast majority of places - chain or independent - make a London Fog with vanilla syrup. This results in a drink that is too sweet for my liking. Instead, I save my London Fogs for afternoons spent stitching or painting with the kids. For the random moments I get alone in the winter sun. For my leftover Earl Grey (sacrilege, I know).

Cheryl's London Fog

Equal parts Earl Grey and Milk
Vanilla Extract
Honey

Heat together the tea and milk. If you are using fresh tea, brew it like you want to drink it and combine with hot - never cold - milk. (I do not have a microwave, so I simply heat mine on the stovetop.)

For every cup you make add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of honey.

Sip and Enjoy.

Friday Favourites - Za'atar

Like all kids, mine love crackers. And crackers are expensive and filled with salt and preservatives. So, I picked up a book on making your own crackers. One recipe looked very promising but it called for this strange ingredient called Za'atar. Turns out Za'atar is a spice mix.

The most incredible spice mix ever to exist in the world of spice mixes.

Seriously, it is. It makes Herbs du Provence or any Italian seasoning look and taste like sand. Aromatic in the way that a Turkish spice bazaar must smell - exotic and slightly familiar and nearly overwhelming with pleasure.

Since its arrival in our house it has become my savoury Franks Red Hot - I put that *&$# on everything. Scrambled eggs, roasted veggies, tomato sauce, baked chicken, cheese balls, popcorn, in a grain salad, and yes, crackers and bread. If you've never had it you need to try it. Trust me.

I buy mine through Silk Road Spice Merchant, but you can also make your own blend.

Sunday Dinners

It's a Brisket kind of day. Well, to me, most Sundays in the winter are Brisket kind of days. Dinner that I can put in the oven and forget about. We can go sledding, curl up with a book, or even get some quilting in and I have to do nothing but boil and mash potatoes close to dinner time. Then, when we sit down to eat, it feels like I put a good effort in because we have this rich, comforting dinner.

For those of you who may not know, A Month of Sundays includes recipes for a full Sunday dinner. It was really important to me to have the recipes in the book. For one, food is an important aspect of my life. I love to cook, I put myself through school, in part, by cooking, and working as a food writer is how my books came to be. Food and writing about food is just a fundamental part of me.

Secondly, I strongly believe in the power of the family meal. Sitting down together, whether it is over something as simple as bread and cheese or as big as the Sunday dinner is one of the best ways to be as a family. In our house dinners are loud, messy, and sometimes frustrating, but it is the moment when we all take a breath and just be. And we do that together. The girls open up about their day, The Garbage Truck opens his mouth and shovels it all in, my Husband and I decompress a little together. Whether it is wine or milk, we drink in the company and the conversations.

Finally, food, good food, is just damn good. And taking the time to make good food is always worth it. Even if it means a little less quilting time on the weekends.

Our dining room table sees all our dinners. It is where I wrote both books, where I quilted everything until this past year. It is even where all three of our kids spent the first six months of their lives sleeping. My life really is ruled from the Dining Room Empire.

I nearly put a Brisket recipe in the book. This is the one I make often, the one my family asks for. And if they don't ask for it there is often a little involuntary jump and clapping of hands when they realize what we're having. Usually after the smell hits them when they come in the door. It is dead easy. Brisket is a cut of meat that needs to be braised - cooked long and low in liquids. At the end of the afternoon it is fall apart tender and full of flavour. If you have any sauce left after dinner use it for Monday leftovers on pasta, meat optional.

Maple Cider Brisket
Serves 4-6 (depending on appetite)

1 large onion
1tbsp bacon drippings or oil
5 cloves garlic
2 1/2 - 3 pounds beef brisket
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup tomato sauce or 1 large tomato chopped
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 water or broth
1 tbsp dijon mustard

Cut the onion in half then slice into strips. Heat the bacon drippings or oil in a large oven proof pan with a tight fitting lid, like a braiser or a dutch oven. (If you don't have a pan that fits the bill, use what you have and transfer everything to a baking dish that you can cover with foil.) Cook the onions for 5-6 minutes until soft and slightly golden.

While the onions are cooking finely chop 3 cloves of garlic. Thinly slice the remaining two cloves. Cut slits all over the brisket and poke the garlic slices into them. Season the brisket well with salt and pepper. Set the brisket aside for the time being.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the onions are soft, stir in the chopped garlic, oregano, and thyme. Cook for 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil.

Add the brisket to the sauce. Cover with the lid of  the pan and place in the oven. Braise for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 275 degrees F and continue to braise for 4 hours.

Let the meat rest 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with the sauce.

This is the last post for entering the giveaways which will come next week. Think books, fabric, and treats. 

Tell us your favourite dinner conversation topics. 

Friday Favourite - Molasses Butter

There are a ridiculous number of happy moments and miniature squeals of glee in my head on repeat since my latest trip to Nova Scotia. They keep me happy. One moment, one memory that I've acted on nearly daily since then is the molasses butter.

Never heard of it? Neither had I. Pictou Lodge served up little bowls of molasses butter with their biscuits instead of your average, boring bread basket. And it was awesome.

So awesome that I accosted the Chef Thomas one morning on his way into work and begged for some at my breakfast in an hour and he kindly obliged me. So awesome that I've made it three times in the 10 days I've been home. So awesome that it takes all your power to not eat it straight from the bowl with a shiny spoon.

I have no idea how they made it, but here is what I've been doing.

Molasses Butter

1/2 cup salted butter (unsalted if you prefer, but I like it better with salted)
1-2 TBSP Blackstrap molasses (use fancy if that is what you have, but you will probably want more molasses then)

Whip the butter. Add the molasses. Whip until evenly incorporated.

So far our favourite way is indeed on biscuits. But I can tell you that it tastes just fine on a muffin or some fresh bread. And, in case you were wondering, it makes a wicked grilled cheese sandwich. Substitute for regular butter on the outside of your sandwich. The edges caramelize and the molasses bring a depth of unreal flavour to the table.

Homemade With Love (Weekend Reads)

Both the joy and annoyance of knowing someone writing a book is the anticipation. As an author I know the work, struggle, and excitement of producing a book. The time lag between the emotions of writing and the actual publication. Then the revisiting those emotions. When you know someone else going through these things the empathy is strong. So is the joy when that book is given to the world.

Jennifer Perillo recently published her first book, Homemade with Love. A testament to her from-scratch cooking as much as it is to love. It is filled with both stories and good food, the kind that make you wish you had doughnut pans and a food processor and extra long arms to hug everyone. I've had the book for about a month now and have made at least a half dozen recipes (including the incredible Golden Vanilla Birthday Cake seen above and currently covering half my cake stand). All have worked wonderfully and tasted like they cared about me.

The book is, of course, tinged with both happiness and grief. This is the book Jennie always wanted to write. And then her husband suddenly died, plunging her and her girls into an unimaginable world. She writes of her grief in snippets in the book (more so on her blog, In Jennie's Kitchen). What you see in the book - even in the photography - is the light that comes from food, from making and sharing food cooked with love. And that light can shine through grief.

One day I hope to meet Jennie in person, to cook with her and laugh over wine. I have a feeling she has a lot to teach me - about honest motherhood, food, and dreaming big. We can talk writing and 5 year old girls. And I will toast her and this wonderful cookbook, one of my favourites in a long while.

Take some time today to laugh with your partner and share a piece of homemade cake.

Friday Favourite - Lotta Jansdotter Cake Stand

Behold the cake stand. Take note that it is empty. Very empty. It should not be empty. Yesterday was my birthday and there was no cake. I am about to go rectify that situation by baking my own cake. In the meantime, however, I can admire my favourite cake stand. So much Lotta Jansdotter goodness from Fishs Eddy. It almost makes up for no cake. Almost.

(Lest you think I am embroiled in a hug of self-pity, just know that I really just like cake. A lot.)

Sharp Knives, Boiling Oil (Weekend Reads)

Cooking with my kids is something I do almost daily. I started when they were toddlers, more or less as soon as they could stand beside me in the kitchen. We've included knives from the beginning, and so much more. I thought I was pretty great, cooking with them. I wrote about it many times, I spouted off advice to anyone who would listen. I thought I was a bit of a rock-star mom. Then I read Sharp Knives, Boiling Oil by Kim Foster.

If I am a rock star mom then Kim is the royal family, the Queen Mum. She makes potato chips from scratch and then volunteered to teach a preschool class in a Harlem public school how to cook. Then she lived to write about it.

And by teaching these kids to cook I don't mean she set about to mix up some chocolate chip cookies or press the button on the food processor to make hummus. She made dumplings and spring rolls, pastry, cheese, stocks for soups, and all this after starting with meatballs. She is equal parts brave and insane.

I love her so much.

Sharp Knives, Boiling Oil is her self-published e-book documenting her year with the kids in the Harlem public school. But it also about documenting her changing relationship with her oldest daughter and her own relationship with cooking and enjoying food.

Kim is honest, funny to the point of downright hysterical, and speaks what the rest of us only think when it comes to personal criticism and relationships. I would kill to drink wine with her if only to hear her voice. And get all the stories that didn't make the book.

This book also includes recipes and some intensely personal admissions. I literally laughed and cried - what a cliche - through the book. But I did and so will you. And then you will want to make Chocolate Kumquat Spring Rolls and sit around the table with your family and a roast chicken. Because that is what Kim does, she makes cooking and people real, so real that you need to become a part of it too. Just like the kids she worked with did.

Friday Favourite: Dido's Salsa

My Dad was world famous for his salsa. Well, locally famous. As in, all of our family and friends would beg for jars of his usually just the right amount of spicy and a bit smoky salsa. In a family such as ours it is no surprise that the recipe for pyrohy dough is a treasured possession. We'd be bad Ukrainians without it. But the salsa is what we all were afraid would get lost when he died.

As the end was becoming abundantly clear in my father's lung cancer we all gathered at my parent's house. I sat and spoke to my Dad about his salsa. We started with the first recipe, the first batch he ever made. He told me where he got his tomatoes and peppers. I photographed each ingredient as it was chopped so we would always know just how fine or chunky it should be. I photographed my Dad as he  stirred, sipped, and stammered through making salsa.

A week later he was admitted to the hospital and 6 weeks later he died.

Two weeks ago my Mom and I gathered to make a batch of salsa, only the second time we've done it since his death. Somehow it's fallen to me to be the guardian of the recipe. I don't mind at all. We do a good job with it, but of course it isn't the same. It lacks the smokiness - maybe that infiltrated from him and his nasty smoking habit. And I chopped things a bit finer this time because I wasn't paying as much attention. I could hear his criticism in my head as I stirred the peppers into the tomatoes. But we came out with jars and jars of salsa that we still call Dido's Salsa. I still top my scrambled eggs with it, my daughter fills her tortilla with it, it sits beside a plate of nachos when friends come over and they ask where we got it. It will always be Dido's Salsa, even when I chop the onions too fine.

Today is the 2nd anniversary of his death. The 4 am phone call from my brother. The sobs of my Mom as I woke her, the stupid red car stuck in a giant puddle on the way to the hospital, making tea while I called the funeral home, telling the girls in the midst of a date, the washing machine repairman who came and had no clue what had happened. It's all so vivid. Perhaps even more so this year as last year I was focused on the new baby.

My Dad was a man with many faults and our relationship was far, far, from perfect or even good. But he had a story and a heart in there somewhere. And damn, he made fine salsa.

Comfort Food at Breakfast (Recipe: Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce)

The past few weeks have been a blur of mediocre motherhood wrapped around work. I've been completely slammed with work - the work that is only supposed to be part-time and done around the kids' schedule. Um, yeah, no. Thank goodness for my husband's flexibility and support.

And frankly, thank goodness for good food. Even at my busiest I manage to get dinner on the table myself 95% of the time. That is what my freezer is for. Instead of saving food for when times are lean, I save food for when time is hard to find. And no matter what, I always start with a good breakfast. It seems cliche, but it really does help me get through. And the one day this week when I tried to edit patterns with nothing but tea in my belly I had a massive brain fart. Math plus an empty tummy equals mistakes.

Times like this also require comfort food. As much as I would love to live on chocolate and cookies washed down with a scotch, that isn't very nourishing. Nor is it good for my attempts to regain some health. Thankfully one of the most comforting things for me is this dish you see above: Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce.

(Really, anything in tomato sauce for me is comforting. My husband may indeed be correct that I am the descendent of Italian gypsies because tomato sauce is something I could eat every single day. Every day.)

A small pot on the stove with sauce simmering greets both my son and I as the girls do their morning run around. He knows it, I know it; breakfast is coming.

To that sauce - about 1/3 cup per egg - I crack in some eggs. Usually two for me and one for him. A smack of the lid to close the pot, allowing some steam to cook the white around the yolk of the egg. It only takes a few minutes. Enough time to toast some bread or maybe cook some greens to eat on the side. I'll use whatever tomato sauce we have - something full of chopped veggies or the simplest tomato butter sauce. Farm eggs, whole grain bread. Good food.

After the girls leave he and I settle in for a warm breakfast. I like my eggs just a bit runny while he takes his firmly poached. We get tomato sauce on our lips and smile. And then, only then, can we tackle the challenges of the day.

Ripe (Weekend Reads)

It's not just because we both have the same name. It's not because she is wickedly funny. It's not because I tested recipes for her book. You should get Ripe because it is just a damn good book.

This is my favourite cookbook from this year. Cheryl Sternman Rule is a great writer. The kind of writer I want to grow up and be someday. It makes the recipes in here a joy to simply read. She is a great cook, inspiring with a simplicity in her recipes that makes them very approachable. And did I mention that she is terribly funny?

One of the best things about this cookbook is that is arranged by colour. I know! How awesome is that? Unlike the typical and trendy seasonal arrangement, you can literally read and cook through the rainbow. This appeals to the quilter in me, obviously, but it also appeals to the Mama in me. My kids flip through it looking for something in a specific colour, just because they want to eat that colour. This is a far more appealing way to get kids interested in vegetables than by making goofy faces on their plates.

I was able to test a few recipes for Cheryl and they've easily become part of my regular repertoire, like the Smashed Cherries with Amaretti and Ricotta. I leave out the cookies and toss in more almonds and I have breakfast. Or dinner in the summer when it is too hot to cook. I've also made a dozen more recipes since getting the book. You need to try the Grapefruit Honey Sorbet. Seriously, this book is worth it just for that recipe.

I'd love to share a recipe from the book with you, but there is no way an adaptation can capture the humour and spirit that come with each entry. You just need to fill a bowl with something yummy, settle in for a good laugh and a growing appetite.

Old Cravings New Friends (Recipe: Coconut Cream)

After the birth of my second daughter I went through months of intense cravings. More so than even when I was pregnant. I wanted all things bitter and anything coconut I could find. I'm sure it all meant I was deficient in something, in addition to sleep. It lasted months. Then it drifted away. I didn't think about coconut much again until this past summer.

I've got a few friends who can't or won't eat dairy. Frankly, I hope this is something that never happens to me because I love a cold glass of milk. But one of them told me about this awesome alternative to whipping cream. I sat on it, letting it fester in the back of my head where food ideas grow like weeds until they crowd out the real thoughts.

There was a late summer party planned and a guest with a strong dairy allergy. I had a strawberry shortcake bar planned and thought it would be awful if he couldn't participate. And I didn't want him to feel singled out either. So I grabbed this idea and whipped up a batch of coconut cream. Then another, during the party.

It wasn't the little guy who can't eat dairy who ate it all and then some. It was the rest of us.

Creamy beyond belief, rich but not sweet. It keeps in the fridge without separated or deflating. Perfect just about anywhere you would want whipped cream. Like pumpkin pie, shortcakes, hot chocolate, on a bowl of raspberries, over a banana sundae, topping grilled pineapple, on a slice of pecan pie...

Coconut Cream
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

1 can coconut milk (do not use the low-fat kind)
1 tbsp icing sugar

Chill the can of coconut milk, unopened, in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Keep it upright and don't shake it.

When fully chilled open the can and scoop out the hardened cream on the top. It will be about 2/3 to 3/4 of the can. Set aside the milk at the bottom of the can, perhaps using it as a substitute for water when cooking rice.

Place the hardened cream in the bowl of a mixer. Whip for 1-2 minutes. Add in the icing sugar (a bit more if you prefer it sweeter) and whip until incorporated.

Serve immediately or place in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to eat.

The Apple Lover's Cookbook (Weekend Reads)

When my oldest daughter decides she likes something she develops obsessions. Not fads, but all-out her world revolves around them fixations on the topic. Like stripes, learning about the human anatomy (the insides, folks), tigers (see stripes obsession), and now, Bigfoot and apples.

Oh, the apples. I've endured tears when I wouldn't buy them over the summer in favour of peaches and sweet melons. She nearly lost her mind when her first teeth started losing their grip in her mouth and she thought she would never bite into an apple again. When she sees the apple stand at the market she pretty much acts like a lunatic, or ravenous dog, literally drooling over the apples.

Weird kid.

So when I saw The Apple Lover's Cookbook by Amy Traverso a while back I knew I had to get it for her. We've pored over the text, learning about the amazing variety of apples out there. We dream about apples our Canadian Prairies will never see. And she picks out recipes for me to try. So far we've tried Apple Brownies, this Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar Sage Crust, and the Classic Applesauce for the baby. And there are dozens more on the list for getting us through an apple obsessed winter.

I do like this book for a few reasons. One, for all the descriptions of the apples. So many varieties I've never even heard of, and not a Red Delicious in the bunch! Two, the recipes run the gamut from apple pie to apple gingersnap ice cream, from Welsh Rarebit to cocktails. I feel like I could cook a recipe from this book at least once a week and live in an apple scented heaven all winter.

Finally, the writing in this book is engaging, entertaining, and informative.  Yes, I read cookbooks. And bad writing, or none at all, does not grab me. The tone of the writer's voice is crisp, sweet, and refreshing, not unlike an apple.

Now, to find me a tree, a quilt, and a cup of hot apple cider to warm the rest of my weekend.

Avenue Magazine (Weekend Reads)

When we're home on a Sunday morning with nowhere to go the family always has a pretty lazy routine. Hubby sleeps in (made so much easier with a quiet room in the basement). Baby Boy plays on the floor and whines every time he spies his Mama. The girls colour. I flip through magazines. We all watch Bake with Anna Olson. Then I get pressured to spend the rest of my day baking. Um... okay.

This morning brought us hot cocoa made with almond milk and scones. I use many recipes for scones, but this morning I tried my friend Julie's recipe, with a swap for whole wheat flour from our grain CSA and using grated apples and cardamom instead of the chocolate and coconut. Oh so tender...

I also flipped through the latest issue of Avenue magazine, a local lifestyle magazine.

Speaking of both Julie and Avenue, I never told you about this great article she wrote about me for the last issue. That's me, in my Baba's apron, making pyrohy. And wow, you should go and congratulate Julie. Her latest cookbook, Spilling the Beans, just won the Taste Canada Food Writing Awards for best single subject cookbook! And that is a cookbook worthy of a Sunday morning.

Summer Party Salad (Recipe: Potato, Tomato, and Green Bean Salad)

It was time for a party.

I've avoided having people at the house for well over a year now. We are simply living in too much chaos. No matter how much I clean there is simply too much crap around, there is nowhere for anyone to be without staring at the detritus of our daily existence. And I find it infuriating. Oh, then there is that whole three kids and incontinent dog thing.

That being said, it was time we celebrated. Business is going well for Hubby. It was our 10th anniversary. The book is doing well. We're surrounded by a wonderful community of friends. Name the reason, we had an excuse for a party. So we invited our community of friends and all their kids over for a party. They deserved a solid thank-you for all the support, chearleading, and playdates they've given me over the last year. And I know that they don't care about the pile of laundry in the hallway or the ironing board in the dining room.

I made salads, a lot of salads. One of the salads I made was this potato, tomato, and green bean salad. It is a summer staple for our family. Really very simple, a good use of the CSA staple potatoes and the green beans from one of said friend's aunt's garden.

It was a glorious night that called for little cooking and loads of kidlets screaming while we parents drank beer. So I chopped, roasted some chickens, someone brought a poached salmon, and we ate. The kids ran around like maniacs and most likely caused my neighbour to drop the price on her house a little more. All the more room for kids and late nights with friends.

Potato, Tomato, and Green Bean Salad

2 shallots or 1/6 of a red onion

2 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar

6 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp grainy or Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

1 pint cherry tomatoes

12 small red skinned potatoes, cut in half or quarters
small bundle green beans

Finely chop the shallots or onions. Top with vinegar and let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Halve the cherry tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Trim the string end off the green beans.

Place the potatoes in a pot of cold water.  Bring to the boil. Once boiling, cook the potatoes for XXXX minutes.  Check your potatoes for doneness. They should be firm, with a fork wanting to not quite go through it easily. At this time, add the green beans. Cook for another 2 minutes. Drain and add to the tomatoes.

While the potatoes are cooking, finish the vinaigrette by adding the oil, mustard, and honey to the vinegar and shallots/onions.

As soon as you drain the potatoes and green beans toss with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with chopped fresh parsley if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Smooth Move (Recipe: Toasted Almond Ice Cream)

When we moved into our home nine years ago we joked that we needed a giant painting of an almond to represent our kitchen. The walls, appliances, floor, countertops, backsplash, and even the 80s reno of the 50s kitchen cabinets were all almond coloured. It was like cooking inside an almond. In nine years the only things that have changed are the appliances and the wall colour. Frankly, it still feels like we live in a almond.

Good thing I like nuts.

I promised to post this recipe after tweeting about it a few weeks back. I like my almond milk, often making it from scratch. I like it warm with a bit of honey in it before bed. I use it to make hot cocoa so that I feel like I'm having something slightly healthier. It is great for dunking with fresh chocolate chip cookies. In fact, it is this last combo that inspired this almond ice cream.

I played around and got a flavour for the almond ice cream which is tasty, smooth, and not saccharine. It is rich and full of almond flavour, not unlike my kitchen. We ate it straight, right off the spoon fresh out of the ice cream maker. I sandwiched it between the best chocolate chip cookies ever and shared it with our neighbours as a birthday treat. I even had a smidge of it next to the last slice of peach pie one morning. I also think it would make a great sundae with some in season peaches or cherries cooked a little bit for a sauce.

Of course, it would be nice of me to share a photo of said ice cream. And I would have. But Hubby was moving the deep freeze and we lost the ice cream. And the leftover ice cream sandwiches (And a tray of Saskatoon berries. Sigh). Alas, no pictures. Just those almonds.

Almond Ice Cream
Makes 4 cups

1 cup slivered or chopped almonds
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tonka Bean* (optional)
1/4 tsp Fleur de Sel
1/2 tsp almond extract
4 egg yolks

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Once to temperature toast the almonds on a baking sheet for 6 minutes. They should take on colour, but not get too brown.

While the almonds are toasting (but still keep an eye on them) combine the rest of the ingredients, save the egg yolks in a medium pot. When the almonds are toasted add them to the cream/milk mixture. Bring to a simmer on medium heat. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. Strain out the almonds. (You can chop the almonds and add them back in to the ice cream once it is churned if you like.)

Whisk together the 4 egg yolks in a bowl. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the warm cream/milk mixture and whisk. This tempers the eggs. Pour all of this back in the pot with the remaining cream/milk. Cook the custard over medium heat, watching constantly and stirring frequently until the custard is thick and cooked. It should coat the back of a spoon when dipped into the custard. Strain again through a fine sieve. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard and chill for 2-4 hours or overnight.

Churn in your ice cream maker, according to manufacturers' instructions.

*Tonka Bean is a hard pod that, when grated, adds a vanilla/almond like flavour to the dish at hand. Here, it accentuates the almond in the ice cream.

High Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel

In an effort to keep both myself and the girls focused - just a little - this summer I brought in the Summer Fun Jars. The idea comes from Merrilee at Mer Mag. Hers are vastly more pretty than ours are, and a brilliant use of Pinterest.  Function rules here with my impatient girls. Two jars: To Do and To Make. Six slips of paper in each. Sunday night pull to plan for the week.

This week our To Do draw was High Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel. A fancy dancy tea party, complete with tiaras, sparkly nail polish, high heels (for me), and a tower of treats. Plus, a change of scenery and an adventure through a castle.

(Future blogger? She's drawing our food.)

Making up a game because the Croquet set was nowhere to be found.

Grandma was lucky to join us for our trip.

Visiting (Recipe: Gooey Butter Cake)

Back in October I spent time with my SIL, some of her family, and my Mom. It was an evenly split group between Louisiana folks and Northerners (two Canadians and 1 New Yorker). That made for great conversations, good accents, and a whole lot of talk about food.

Even though I'd met DeeDee, my SIL's Mom many times before this was the first time I was in her home. And I knew it was home the second I arrived. The coffee table was covered with cookbooks and magazines. Literally stacked 5 deep in piles, with spillover littering the floor and every other flat surface. Definitely my kind of lady. A collector, not a hoarder.

Over the course of the 5 days we were there we shopped for a gold sequined dress (not for me), I attended Quilt Market, we ate - a lot, and as we sat and chatted I think I (and the others) flipped through most of the visible books. My favourite among the stack was Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from the Times-Picayune of New Orleans.

Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and massive losses of property the New Orleans newspaper, the Time-Picayune became a home for recipe swappers. Many of the recipes in Cooking Up a Storm were originally published in the paper. Most of the recipes are beloved of the people from the area and capture the taste and attitude of New Orleans. For my extended family who survived the Hurricane and the flooding I always feel drawn to any survival and celebration stories.

As we gathered in Houston and flipped through cookbooks we all kept coming back to this one. Full of recipes, it was one particular one that caught my eye: Gooey Butter Cake.

Gooey Butter Cake starts with a yeasted base topped with a whole bunch of sweetness and butter. Despite that combination it doesn't taste like bread, it isn't overly sweet, and the butter taste is one step below rich. In other words, the name of the recipe is deceiving. The taste, however, is quite good. We found the cake rich, a little bit gooey and a little bit dense. It actually wasn't that sweet, which made it pretty much perfect for a tea-time snack or, ahem, breakfast.

Many recipes actually call for a yellow cake base. I can't speak for that, other than it would, of course, be easier than making a yeasted base. I'm sticking with the original from the Times Picayune. (Even though the recipe is actually from St. Louis or thereabouts.) That has nothing to do with honouring the New Orleans links in my family, nothing at all.

Gooey Butter Cake

(Slightly adapted from Cooking Up a Storm)

Makes 2 cakes

Cake Base

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 package active dry yeast

2 1/3 - 2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

Filling

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup white corn syrup

2 large eggs

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Heat the milk and water with the butter over low heat until warm. The butter doesn’t have to melt, just be warm.

In large bowl mix together the yeast with ¾ cup of the flour, the sugar, and the salt. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add about ¼ cup more flour, or enough to make a thick batter. Add the egg. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes, scraping. Stir in enough additional flour so that the dough holds together and can be turned out., but is still sticky. Work in just enough flour to handle easily then knead for 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Grease and flour two 8'' square pans. Divide the dough equally into the pans and shape so it fits the pan, pressing it up the sides. It will rise slightly as you prepare the filling.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the butter and shortening until fluffy. Add 1/2 cup of the condensed milk and beat until light. Add the syrup and mix thoroughly. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until the batter is light and fluffy. Beat in the flour and remaining 1/4 cup condensed milk, alternating the flour and milk. Finally, add the vanilla and salt, mix well.

Pour the filling over the yeast dough and bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges.

It won't look fully cooked when you remove it from the oven, but it will set after cooling. Once completely cool sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.

2012

A new year. Blah, blah, blah about resolutions, reflections, and new beginnings. For me, the new year simply means a new calendar. One for the wall from Michelle Engel Bencsko and my favourite Moleskine. A good black pen and a sacred spot on the sideboard and I'm off the races. Well, in actuality I'm just closer to hopefully not forgetting something.

The last 10 days have been good for me. Both Hubby and I actually took a break. I was on the computer and sewing machine very little.We had loads of time to chat after we collapsed every night from the exhaustion of three little kids and Christmas (we had my nephew with us this year). We spent a lot of time talking about what we wanted to do with the time we will have in the coming months. So, yes, there was some reflection and resolutions.

I prefer to think of them as goals. Or maybe stretch targets. Or optimism slightly more realistic than fitting into my regular jeans by May.

...Balance promoting Sunday Morning Quilts with the pregnancy and birth of our third baby. All while staying sane.

...Find the sweet spot between motherhood and work on another major project.

...Finish a handwork project.

...At least two baby quilts, one for the dragon in my belly and one for my sister's peanut.

...Make bacon at home in order to keep up to the consumption of bacon and maple syrup of the girls.

...Survive our basement reno, hopefully without the ridiculously giant TV my husband wants.

And do it all with a smile, a laugh, a hug, and hopefully a little bit of style.