Half Marathon

It's time to brag about Rachel again - yes my absentee-blogger sister- whom we cheered on in the Royal Victoria half marathon on Sunday. Just recovering from the flu, at one hour and 32 minutes, she still managed to pull in 51st place out of 3231 women. Though the biggest workout I got was the 3 block walk from the car, I got a bit uppity about the whole thing - '2 hours? Nice job coming out, but too bad we SMOKED you!' Ah, the royal we.

Since we were in Victoria I didn't do a lot of cooking, just a whole lot of eating. I've provided a few links to some of our old autum posts - I must say that we Reems girls do like our apples. Which is good as I have 2 big bags of Jonagolds from the Chilliwack Corn maze to deal with.

Acorn-Stuffed Squash
Apple Cake
Apple Walnut Bread
French Apple Cake
Roasted Veggies with Feta
Zucchini Pancakes

Birthday Pancakes

I seem to be hurtling through a strange time warp, it doesn't seem like a whole year ago that we celebrated Coby's first birthday. Yet here we are, with our 2-year-old monkey. I am putting an argument forward that Coby actually hit the twos about a month ago, she now likes to add a bit of spice to our lives (code: she's a screamer). Favourite expressions include: 'Mine', 'Coby's____', 'I do it', and of course 'No!' Finn summed it up quite nicely a few weeks ago "Coby thinks that the whole world is hers."

She really is a sweetheart who likes to play with little people, likes to cart around her little people, gives near-suffocating hugs to her baby brother, and can't hear a tune without breaking into enthusiastic dance. In true Reems fashion, birthday celebrations revolve around good eats. We started the day off with banana chocolate chip pancakes, moved onto cupcakes, and rounded the whole day off the festivities with good friends at a wiener roast at the Chilliwack corn maze.

It's time I share a Reems classic, the Peter Pancake. This recipe comes from the Crazy Plates authors, Janet and Greta Podleski. I use the recipe as more of a guide. You can play with the ratio of white and whole wheat flours. I also like to add some oatmeal to the recipe (and with the oatmeal an extra shot of milk). I sometimes sub yogurt for part of the milk, I sometimes use maple syrup or brown sugar instead of the honey. For birthdays and special days, say a grumpy toddler morning, a handful of chocolate chips really brings them to a celebratory level.

Banana Pancakes (based on Crazy Plates' Peter Pancakes)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp each baking soda and salt
1 3/4 cup buttermilk (I use regular milk and a shot of lemon juice)
2 T melted butter
1 egg
1 T honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mashed banana

1) Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl
2) In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients

Cook pancakes in a skillet or griddle over medium high-heat in a pan coated with butter or non-stick spray. Best served with maple syrup.

Blackberry Cream Puffs

Yes, it's been a busy 2 months. The blog break was unintentional, but after you miss a week or two it's hard to get back in the swing of blogging. It's a vicious cycle of guilt and avoidance- actually, fairly similar to life. Not that we don't have a nice list of valid excuses: Rachel has been busy moving and living the care-free life of a teacher on summer holidays. I've been busy having a baby and living the care-free life of the wife of a teacher on holidays.

If any of our readers are still out there, be rest assured that the the Reems girls are still eating. And cooking. And eating. Oh, and did I mention eating?

My latest offering is a west coast special- after 5 years in Calgary, far away from wild blackberry bushes, I am still reveling in the delight of these juicy morsels. Rachel and I come from a family of serious berry pickers. My earliest blackberry picking memories are with my grandfather; he knew all the off-the-map bushes and every summer produced ice cream buckets fully of black, juicy berries. His daughters, Joan and Wiena shared the picking gene, earning money picking strawberries at the neighbouring Slater's field. If I recall Reems folklore correctly, it was Guy (our dad) whose genes I share - he also tried his hand berry picking at Slater's one day, on a long ago summer - this ended badly, with he and his friends getting packed off after more eating than picking, and the final culmination of a berry throwing war. I can only imagine Joan and Wiena trying to distance themselves from such hooligans.

Finally, our picking dynasty falls to my sister and co-blogger, Rachel. She and our baby sister Carmen are both pickers of some repute, spending adolescent summers biking down the road post-paper route to pick raspberries on hot summer mornings. If my memory serves me it was Rachel who was the top picker in the field. Myself? I'm a liability to a picking party. I like to sample as I go, which makes for a delicious outing, but alas a slowly-filling bucket.

While I am taking credit for the divine inspiration to add blackberries to the whipped cream filling in cream puffs, I must aknowledge Dorrie Greenspan for the cream puff recipe found in her book, Around the French Table. And I must give credit to Rachel for tipping me off to Dorrie's latest book. I was initially intimidated by the mention of French in the title; however the recipes I've tried are do-able and delicious.

Blackberry Cream Puffs-
Makes about 24 medium-sized cream puffs

First make the Cream Puffs:

1/2 cup whole milk (I used 2 percent with a splash of half and half)

1/2 cup water

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs, at room temperature

Bring the milk, water, butter and salt to the boil in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. When the mixture is boiling rapidly, add the flour all at once, reduce the heat to medium and, without a second's hesitation, start stirring the mixture like mad with a wooden spoon. The dough will come together very quickly and a slight crust will form on the bottom of the pan, but you have to keep stirring - vigorously - another 2 to 3 minutes to dry the dough. At the end of this time, the dough will be very smooth.

Turn the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or, if you've still got some elbow grease left, you can continue by hand. One by one, add the eggs to the dough, beating until each egg is thoroughly incorporated. Don't be discouraged - as soon as you add the first egg, your lovely dough will separate. Keep working and by the time you add the third egg it will start coming together again. When all the eggs are incorporated, the dough will be thick and shiny and, when you lift some of it up it will fall back into the bowl in a ribbon. The dough will still be warm - it's supposed to be - and now is the time to use it.

Using about 1 heaping tablespoon of dough for each puff, drop the dough from the spoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each mound of dough.

Slide the baking sheets into the oven, bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the sheets from top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking until the puffs are golden and firm, another 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cream puffs to a cooling rack.

Keeping: You can spoon out the dough and either bake it immediately or freeze it. To freeze, spoon the dough in mounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. When the dough is completely frozen, remove the balls from the baking sheets and wrap them airtight. They can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months and don't need to be defrosted before baking.

Finally, when cool fill cut each puff open and fill with a dollop of whipped cream. Place 4 or 5 juicy blackberries on top of the cream. These need to be eaten soon after they are assembled. Any unfilled puffs will last over night but will need to be re-crisped in the oven the day of use.

Greek Chicken Meal Plan

I'm in my final two months of pregnancy - with two cranky monkeys ready to greet me after a day of daycare excitement, the last thing I want to do after a day of work is cook a big meal. I realize I shouldn't be complaining - I only work half time, and today is my Friday. On Tuesdays I rarely rise beyond a quick stir fry, or calling in my back-up dinner strategy - Mike making tacos. Today may appear like an exception to that rule - but it's a trick. This is a quick and easy meal plan.

Greek Chicken Meal Plan

1) Walk in the door - instead of heading for couch you need to go directly to the kitchen. This will require husband back-up support for childcare, or in lieu of, a cartoon will due in a pinch.

2) Dump your chicken in a bowl and sprinkle on some salt and pepper, dried oregano, a few tablespoons of lemon juice, and if you have the energy, some minced garlic. You can use whatever chicken cuts you want, today I cooked little drumsticks, I can't tell you what weight - maybe 8 drumettes.

3) Put some rice onto cook. I add a scoop of msg-free powdered chicken base for some flavour. This is not a time for brown rice, we're talking about a time-factor.

4) Put chicken on the barbie

5) Take some asparagus and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. When you go to flip your chicken over add the asparagus to the grill.

5) Make your yogurt sauce. This is a flexible sauce, you can add or subtract ingredients as you like. Today mine included: about 1 cup yogurt, 1 T lemon juice, 1 T olive oil, 1 chopped fresh dill, 1 T chopped chives, a sprig of fresh oregano, and aprox 1/4 cup crumbled feta. Finally add salt and pepper to taste. Chop extra fresh herbs (if using) to sprinkle on your rice. You could also take this time to make a quick salad if you have the inclination.

6) When your chicken is grilled almost to perfection take half the sauce and put a tablespoon or so on each piece. Leave on the grill for a last few minutes and then using your brand new silicon tongs (sorry, that was me), pile your chicken and asparagus on a platter.

7) Sprinkle the remaining chopped herbs on your rice and serve along with the chicken, asparagus, reserved half of the sauce, and your salad. I like to add a scoop of sauce onto my rice, though you can also give your chicken an extra douse.

The chicken was so good that after 6 months of abstaining, Coby rekindled a love for poultry.

You might correctly surmised that my herb garden has been planted; you can substitute dried herbs, but I love fresh dill in the sauce.

Brown Rice Yam Rolls

Well, I am a deep-fry virgin no longer. I dunked my battered yams into that sizzling oil like a seasoned veteran. Somewhere mid-fry, I realized the irony of trying to increase the health of the sushi with brown rice, while stuffing it full of yam tempura. The yam rolls were delicious - however, due to the extra fiddling I think that tempura will be making only special appearances in my sushi roll line-up. The brown rice sushi was great - health notwithstanding, I loved the flavour and texture, and will definitely be making this swap in the future (I forgot to tell Mike about the brown rice and I don't think he noticed).

I do have a thanks to give: a big shout out goes to my elastic-waist maternity pants- I think I ate the baby's weight in sushi tonight. Of course, you can't make yam tempura without some sampling.

Brown Rice Sushi

I don't have a recipe per se, there are many guides to making sushi a la google. However, here are some tips.

I used this method to make the yam tempura.

For the brown sushi rice I cooked 2 cups of calrose brown rice, which I find has a stickier grain, and added sushi vinegar and salt to taste (sushi vinegar is just rice vinegar, sugar, and salt).

Just before you roll your sushi it's time to cut up your other filling options. Tonight I sliced avocado and cucumber to go along with the yam. For other sushi dinners I mix and match lots of different fillings: matchsticks of carrot, egg omelet cut into strips, crab, shrimp, smoked salmon, thinly julienned red peppers - you can be as creative as you want. I have to confess I have never used raw fish, I love it at restaurants but I'm too nervous at home.

Again, if you've never made sushi before just google the directions for how to put it all together, there are lots of good step-by-step photographs out there. Here's what I do:

It's time to roll baby! Place your nori sheet on the mat, then spread over enough rice to cover the sheet up to about an inch from one edge. Press the rice onto the nori with water-moistened fingers, and also wet the rice-less edge. Put your fillings a few inches up from the bottom of the mat and roll up toward the moistened edge. You want to be give the mat a good squeeze as you go so that your sushi is nice and compact. Next slice. I like to keep my pieces thin - particularly as we have small mouths around the table. I have a fabulous serrated bread knife that Mike gifted me a few years ago and it slices a clean piece of sushi.

Finally serve with soy sauce to dip. I love pickled ginger on the side, and it lasts forever in your fridge. If you like wasabi it will also last indefinitely in the fridge - you can also buy it in powdered form and add water to make a paste as you need it.

One final question for all those more experienced deep-fryers - how to dispose of the leftover oil?

Grape Nuts Cereal

I love cereal; not only for it's sweetness, crunch, or thirst-quenching milk, I also dig the strange variety, the oddity of shapes and colours. Is this food? I've wondered upon seeing a string of various coloured Fruit Loops around a child's neck. My Fruit Loop necklaces never lasted long. I was invariably left with a soggy string. As a kid, I also dug the boxes. At breakfast, you could barricade your face, and suck back cereal while reading about magnifying glasses that could be ordered with box tops, or the specs of a sports hero who ate Corn Flakes EVERY day.

The trouble is, cereal isn't really very good for you. The list of ingredients is typically populated by words I cannot pronounce or define. Plus, cereal never tastes as good as I remember. Perhaps it's the additives or the long-shelf life, but the flavor is...off. Fortunately, I found out you can make cereal. Actually cereal. Not just granola. I found this recipe for cereal in the More With Less Cookbook. I love the Mennonites.

This cereal is actually delicious. It's crunchy and a little bit sweet and made with all whole-wheat flour. We devoured it.

Grape Nuts Cereal (Adapted from the More with Less Cookbook)

3 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the ingredients together in a large bowl. Grease two cookie sheets and spread half of the mixture over each sheet. You want to spread it out as much as possible.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let the giant crackers cool of ten minutes, then brake them into irregular pieces (large shards is good). Then bake them again, lowering the heat to 250 degrees for another 20 minutes or until they are crisp.

Let cool and then whir the pieces in a food processor.

Enjoy with milk.

Quinoa Chocolate Cake

First off, for the curious, yes I did wake up at 2:30 am to watch the festivities and hats last week. I didn't stay up for the whole wedding, just long enough to see the bride make it the altar, from there I trusted Prince William to take care of the rest. And yes I did enjoy a scone at 3 am, and then at 7 am and then later at... those Royal scones were delicious. I'm not going to wait for another royal event to make another batch.

Quinoa has been nagging me for awhile. I've been hearing the buzz about quinoa - the health benefits and high protein content, but I hadn't gone out and tried any recipes myself. Well, Joan took care of that by gifting me with the quinoa cookbook. I started off with the quinoa pizza dough and then attempted the chocolate cake, which Joan has been giving rave reviews.

According to my fellow blogger, Rachel, the quinoa chocolate cake has been making the rounds in Victoria, ever since this recipe was featured in the Times Colonist. I felt it was my duty as a proud Chilliwack-ian to see what we were missing (note to those in the 'Wack - while I haven't looked around for quinoa at other grocery stores, Superstore carries it bulk in the natural foods aisle).

Kylie and Ty, some of my regular Reems Eats taste-testers was over for tea, and it was time to try out the chocolate cake. I made it in two 9 inch pans, though it was supposed to be in 8 inch, because that's what I had, so it resulted in a slightly lower cake, but it was lovely and moist.

This is a gluten-free recipe

Moist Chocolate Cake
from Quinoa 365, the Everyday Superfood by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming

2/3 cup white or golden quinoa
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two 8-inch round or square cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.

Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Add 2 cups of cooked quinoa and the butter and continue to blend until smooth.

Combine sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add the contents of the blender and mix well. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake on the centre rack for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan before serving. Frost if desired.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze for up to a month.

Special Thanks to my neighbour Laura for coming up with the remainder of the cocoa after I realized mid-recipe that I was a half cup short.

Royal Oat Currant Scones

I'm not ruling out a 3am tryst with Will and Kate tomorrow morning - I'm not setting my alarm, but if I happen to wake up during the wee hours, I might just have to get a quick sneak peak in. What I can guarantee is a more timely wedding recap over leftover oat currant scones with raspberry jam and tea for breakfast.

Without an ounce of English blood in me, I have still always been a royals fan, or more specifically a Princess Diana fan. Many royal weddings were staged through my childhood - Rachel, you'll recall the dress-up box dress that was my bridal couture - white polyester with a red v-neck collar. Poor Brent was forced to marry his big sister on multiple occasions.

So in honour of this Royal occasion, I give you a good British tea treat- oat and currant scones. These are indeed 'fab' and need only a good smear of butter, but the raspberry jam took them over the top. I had pictured a slightly more serene lunch of scones and tea today - however, Coby received her second time out this week, and unfortunately it occurred mid-scone. After devouring her piece of cheese, she had moved onto her brother's. His refusal was met with a firm chomp of his finger. Definitely not royal behaviour.

Oat and Currant Scones
adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

1) Combine:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour, regular or white whole wheat (I used white whole wheat)
1/4 cup sugar (I used brown)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup salt

2) Cut in (until resembles bread crumbs):
1/2 cup butter

3) Add:
1/3 cup currants (or raisins)
1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats

4) Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and then add to the dry ingredients:
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (I added 1/2 T lemon juice to regular milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract

5) When the dough is evenly moistened (I needed to add an extra tablespoon of milk to my dough as it was a tad dry), pat the dough into a large circle and cut into 8 wedges. These make a good sized breakfast scone, you could also divide the dough in half and make two circles, each with 6 wedges for a smaller tea-sized scone. Ensure the scones are aprox 1 inch apart on your baking sheet.

6) Brush the tops with milk or cream and sprinkle with course sugar.

7) Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown, take a few minutes off for smaller scones.

These are best warm, though I can assure you I will be enjoying my scone leftovers while watching the pageantry tomorrow morning.

Basil Tomato Sauce with Meatballs and Pasta

When Mooch and I was kids, we loved foil-wrapped Easter eggs, the ones that are three parts wax, one part chocolate. The parents threw them about the house before we woke with the sun on Easter morning. Neon straw baskets in hand, we combatively hunted eggs. Racing our three siblings, jostling for position, we attacked the eggs, all the while stalking the big one: The bunny. Dang, those hollow, food-colouring scalloped bunnies were good.

This story is meant as a sidetrack. I dangle the chocolate bunny as a distraction. I didn't cook with whole grains this week. Not one lousy thing. (Haley and I are on mission to cook with whole grains and post our recipes during the months of May and June). I made chocolate hot cross buns. I poached a chicken. Bulgar, barley, couscous and kumet played hooky from my plate.

I did make meatballs and tomato sauce. (Mooch will remember that I abhorred this dish as a child but have seen the error of my ways, reformed, and embrace it adoringly.)

Basil Tomato Sauce with Meatballs and Pasta

For the sauce

one and a half cups finely chopped onions

5 garlic cloves, minced (more if you'd like)

1 tsp hot red pepper flakes (optional)

2 large cans of whole tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

a handful of chopped basil

a spoon of sugar

a shot of red wine (not necessary but dang good)

salt and pepper to taste

Put a glug of olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. When the oil warms, add the onions, garlic, and hot red pepper flakes and lower the heat. Cook over low, stirring occasionally for ten minutes. Add the tomatoes, paste, and basil. Use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to break up the tomatoes so they are no longer whole but sauce-like. Add the wine and a little sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and the meatballs. Simmer for one to two hours. You can get away with forty five minutes. Add the salt and pepper to taste.

For the Meatballs

1 piece of bread

1/2 a cup milk

1 pound ground beef

1/4 cup minced onions
2 cloves of garlic, minced

a handful of parsley, minced (you can sub green onions or a herb of your choice)

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.

Soak the bread in the milk. Wring it out a place it in a wide bowl. Add the beef, onions, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix until just combined (over-mixing will create dry meatballs). Place the meatballs in roaster or on a cookie sheet and bake for ten minutes.

Cook your noodles according to the package directions. I often use shells or linguine.

Monday Salad

Oh Monday, how I wish we could just get along. You don't make it easy to bounce out of bed and wrestle clothes onto two little monkeys. You don't make going to work very fun when I haven't had a chance to read the paper, or even make a cup of coffee. Oh Monday, the best thing we have going for us is our shared love of chocolate, and crawling into bed at 8pm with a book and a big pile of pillows. I guess we're meeting half way.

One thing that makes Mondays a little friendlier is a lovely salad waiting for your lunch. A salad that was lovingly prepared on the weekend and will allow you an extra piece of leftover chocolate cake for dessert. This salad is great because it lasts in your fridge for a few days and tastes delicious and virtuous every time.

Haley's Barley Salad
This could be made using quinoa, or any other type of grain in place of the barley.

1) Cook 2/3 cup pot or pearl barley- cook in 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt. Cover, bring to a boil. Then stir and turn down to low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the grains still have a slight 'chew'. Set aside to cool before adding the rest of your ingredients

2) Chop veggie add-ins of your choice: For this particular salad I used red pepper, green onion, and olives. Tomatoes, avocado, or cucumber are options, but should be added just before eating, not if you plan to save this salad for a few days like I do.

3) Other add ins: I add chick peas and crumbled feta cheese or chevre. Fresh herbs such as basil and cilantro are also nice additions, but I admit I usually just have them on hand in the summer.

4) Toss the barley and additions with your vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette: I combine 4 T olive oil (or canola) with 4 T wine vinegar and 1 tsp dijon mustard. Then add salt and pepper to taste. You may need more or less vinaigrette depending on your veggie quantities.

Spelt Carrot Muffins

Poor Haley! (Read the sad story that is Haley's last post)

I'm confused. Haley's not supposed to fall ill. She is unfailingly hearty. While I sniffled my way through childhood, often home with an upset tummy or a cough, Haley maintained a flawless attendance record. She poo-pooed colds. She never got cramps. Childbirth? 'Sure it hurts...' she said.

Poor Haley. Get better Haley!

And hearty thanks to all her friends in the Wack who are bringing her casseroles and minding her babies.

Anyways, it's whole-grain month. I made carrot muffins. These muffins are from Kim Boyce's book, "Good to the Grain," and taste exactly like muffins should. Not too sweet but wholesomely delicious. Confession: I replaced some of the sugar with agave syrup.

Spelt Carrot Muffins

Topping (this is half the amount of topping Kim uses. I thought it sufficient.)

1/4 cup spelt flour

1.5 Tbsp brown sugar

pinch kosher salt

1.5 Tbsp butter

Dry 1 cup spelt

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 cup natural cane sugar

1 tsp all spice

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups corsely grated carrot (use the food processor:)

Wet

1/4 cup melted and cooled butter

1/4 cup agave syrup

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

For the topping: Mix the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

For the muffins: Sift the dry together. Mix the wet together and fold into the dry. Scoop into a greased muffin tin (makes nine). Top with the topping, pressing the topping gently into the batter.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

La!

Invalids and Moon Cakes

Where have we been for the past month? While Rachel took her annual sojourn down to the Baja as a missions-cook, my absence started off with a bad chicken salad sandwich. What started as a lovely lunch out with my children and in-laws, spiraled downwards as all but one of our party came down with a nasty case of salmonella poisoning (Chief/Grandpa wisely stayed away from the chicken salad, opting for the safer and consequence-free pastrami). Of course, it took us a week of symptoms, indescribable on a food-blog, for us to realize that this was not a common GI bug. And of course, Mike was off to Belize with a plane-full of high-school students leaving me solo with two sick little monkeys. We breathed a sigh of relief as health seemed to re-appear in our household, only for me to be struck down by the after-effects of a case of salmonella, onto round 2. It took one excruciatingly painful swollen knee, several ER drainings, and a total inability to weight-bear before I was diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis. With the miracle of modern medicine, aka a cortisone injection, I seem to be on the road to recovery.

Now, this has had two consequences: The first is that Mike has become more aware of my local rock star status, well amongst the 80 + crowd. As an occupational therapist, most people, including my husband aren't totally sure of what it is I do. Despite a few stabs at explanations, most people find it easier to file away in their minds that I'm a nurse. Finn knows that I work at the hospital, but I'm honest with myself: When Mike asks me how my day was, my family doesn't really care that 92 year-old Violet can once again use the toilet independently; or that Reginald thinks that the microwave is a washing machine (actually, Finn would like that). So when Mike took my doctors script into the Red Cross to get me a pair of crutches he was unprepared for the reaction that greeted this request-

Haley Campbell?

THE Haley Campbell, the OT?

These crutches are for Haley Campbell?

Hey guys! - Haley Campbell needs crutches (chuckles all around).

Yes, I am the queen of raised toilet seats and safety frames.

The other consequence of being an invalid for a few days, is the realization of our community. Suddenly we have a freezer full of casseroles and childcare offers. Auntie Wiena spent a morning cleaning my floors. It's a good feeling that after living in Chilliwack for two and a half years we have friends and a church community that quickly steps up and provides us support when we need it.

So while I'm getting back into the kitchen, and gearing up to pepper you with our next exciting food theme (whole grains), I am going to leave you with this recipe from Anne, who made us a lovely meal this week with these cupcakes for dessert. Mike, who professes to not be a sweets guy, was quite firm in his insistence that I get this recipe!

A huge thank you for all of you who brought us meals or who watched our kiddies last week!

Moon Cupcakes
(She didn't specify how many this makes, but I'm guessing 1 dozen)

Beat Well: 8 oz cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/3 c sugar, dash salt
Add 1 c mini choc chips

Separate Bowl: 1 1/2 c flour,1 c sugar, 1/4 c cocoa, 1 t. baking soda, 1 c cold water, 1/3 c oil, 1 t. vinegar

Use mixer and beat- don't over beat.

Put this mixture in bottom of cupcake liner.

Fill to 1/3 level.

Then put cream cheese mixture over this in liner.

Bake 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Waffles

Time change Sunday is always marked by an air of confusion for the Chilliwack Campbells. Mike and I spend the early morning of the change debating whether to ignore the children bouncing on top of us, and to lounge just another 5 minutes, or whether to adopt the new time and Carpe Diem. We generally opt for the ignoring of children (well, as long as possible), and the rest of the day is spent questioning the correct time.

Today the choice was made for us by our brilliant new clock radio. Unbeknownst to us, it was very much aware of the time change - so while we thought we were still on old time, we were actually on the correct new time. Mike and I were both stumbling around, feeling bleary for about an hour or so, before we realized that the time change had been made for us. I fully expect to arrive home tomorrow and find this clock radio folding my laundry, or maybe plotting global domination. Anyway, the silver lining was the gift of an extra hour we had planned to have lost to sleep - an hour used to make waffles, eat waffles, make coffee, drink coffee, make messes, make more messes - you get the idea.

This waffle recipe comes from A Real American Breakfast. The authors, the Jamisons, and I have reconciled, and while I took a few liberties, the results were delicious. These were sweet potato waffles - a recipe not for the faint of dishwasher. Many bowls were dirtied in the process of making these waffles. The upside was that they tasted fabulous, and I was able to trick Coby into eating a vegetable besides a tomato or avacado (both of whose vegetable status is under debate).

Sweet Potato Waffles
Adapted from A Real American Breakfast, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison

Serves 4 - I doubled this recipe and it made enough waffles for several days of breakfasts!

11/3 cup all purpose flour - I used whole wheat pastry flour and they were light and airy
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1 1/2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potato (2 small, or 1 lrg potato)
2/3 cup sour cream - I used 3 % yogurt with good results
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup veg oil or melted butter
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup brown sugar

Stir the dry ingredients together. In another bowl stir the sweet potatoes, sour cream, milk, oil, egg yolks and brown sugar. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just to combine. The batter should be thick but spoonable. If it seems too thick add a bit of milk - waffles are forgiving.

Beat the egg whites with a mixer in ANOTHER bowl until stiff and then fold into the batter.

Cook the waffles on your preheated waffle iron. The directions say to grease your iron, but mine is non-stick and they turned out fine without the greasing.

Cook until brown and crisp. Serve with maple syrup and butter.

Apple sauce is another nice accompaniment - I find I can trick my youngsters into thinking they have loads of syrup on pancakes and waffles with the addition of apple sauce or blueberry sauce.

Ginger Rhubarb Compote

For the last two weeks I've pretended to be a body builder. Every morning I log onto his computer and nod to his body builder wife. In the screen saver she flexes her bicep (or tricep?). Every morning, I'm sufficiently impressed.

The body builder is an English teacher. He is huge and bald and realllly nice. The kids don't know this. They live in awe and fear of his presence. He stands over their desks, flexes, and they work.

While impersonating the body builder, I tried this. Flex: nothing. A snicker.

The body builder runs a ship-shape ship. I wondered if he had a sense of humor as a teacher. The students weren't sure. He does in real life. You see, I know the body builder. In addition to being realllly nice, he's kinda funny.

I liked being the body builder--reading All Quiet on the Western Front, drilling students on expository writing, expounding on the use of the semi-colon. I'm not sure I measured up to his standard. "It seems so empty in here" a grade twelve boy said, looking over me. But I had fun trying.

Somewhere between the papers and the lectures I made rhubarb ginger compote. This was just as worthwhile as pretending to be the body builder.

Ginger Rhubarb Compote

Adapted from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book

4 cups rhubarb chopped in 1 inch pieces

1 inch piece ginger

1 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

Put the rhubarb, ginger, and 1/4 cup water in a pot. Simmer over medium heat until the rhubarb is just tender. This should only take a few minutes. Be careful as you don't want the rhubarb turning mushy and breaking up.

Remove the rhubarb from the pot and set aside.

Combine the sugar and remaining water in the pot. Simmer over medium until the sugar is dissolved. Add the rhubarb and cook for two minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool before serving.

This is really tasty over oatmeal and topped with yogurt.

Apple Blueberry Crisp for Breakfast..

Well, the Jamisons and I are on the outs. I have had a recent string of flops from A Real American Breakfast. After my first sub-par waffle results I attributed the fault to myself; however, after a lack-luster bran muffin recipe, I'm putting part of the blame with the authors, the lovely, yet sweet-goods challenged Jamisons. On both occasions I should have gone with my cook's intuition. Both recipes had some steps that I protested as I baked, but being the dutiful cookbook reviewer that I am, I followed the directions as a holy grail. That's not to say the book is a bust. I just think that I need to stick with their more savory dishes.

The blogging timing for such disasters, however, was serendipitous. I had just made my go-to dessert for the Heartland Book Clubbers, and my friend Louise requested a Reems Eats post. How could I refuse the woman who arrived early and helped me in a last-minute toy and shoe clean-up effort? The same woman who claims to enjoy making pipe cleaner crafts with my 3-year-old? I couldn't, so here is my all-purpose crisp recipe.

I've posted a version of this before. I have to confess that I don't follow a recipe for the dessert that Reems's affectionately refer to simply as 'crisp.' So I did make a second crisp this week, in part, but not just because I wanted to nail down accurate ingredient quantities. No, you can never have enough crisp. My favourite bowl of crisp? The leftover breakfast bowl that I always manage to hide for myself.

Blueberry Apple Crisp was a good accompaniment to our discussion of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, not quite as appropriate as a potato peel pie might have been, but I'm fairly sure it was tastier.

Blueberry Apple Crisp
(for a 9 inch dish or similar casserole - I usually double this for reasons I've already discussed)

Combine filling ingredients in 9 inch pyrex dish or casserole:

4 apples - peel and sliced thinly (for an all apple version, double this number)
2 cups blueberries
2 T flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar (could also use honey or maple syrup)

In a separate bowl combine the topping ingredients:

1/3 melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (2/3 if you have a really sweet tooth)
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup quick oats
2/3 cup old fashioned oats (could just double the quick oats and leave these out, but I like the texture from the two varieties)

If you use unsalted butter add a pinch of salt.

Combine the topping ingredients until crumbly.

Sprinkle evenly on top of fruit filling.

Bake crisp for 40 min at 350 degrees.

Top with vanilla ice cream for your warm dessert crisp. For your next morning breakfast crisp, a cup of tea alongside will do nicely.

OK, I feel that I should apologize for the photos - my only hope for half-way decent food photos is to take them in natural light, but alas this was an evening job.

Breakfast BLT

My thick Alberta skin has been officially shed, now in our third year back on the coast, I greet any temperature near zero as a reason to hunker down with hot cocoa and a stack of books. However, times have changed, what with my busy schedule of kick-the-balloon-with-your-foot-pass with Finn, and dog-watching at the window with Coby, reading-time is now snatched in furtive bites. I spent a portion of today trying to be invisible, fearing that even breathing might remind nicely playing children that I was a present and available mother. Yes, attachment parenting at its finest.

We were sampling the Breakfast Sandwiches chapter of A Real American Breakfast on this chilly Saturday, and I am now declaring these sandwiches mandatory to assuage any longings for Spring.

Breakfast BLT
Adapted from A Real American Breakfast, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison

Herb Mayo:
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 minced fresh chives, basil, or a combination (instead I used a few teaspoons of leftover pesto)

4 english muffins
12 thick slices of bacon, halved and cooked crisp
4 thick slices red-ripe beefsteak tomato
salt to taste
4 fried eggs.

Prepare the mayo by mixing together the ingredients.
Split and toast the English muffins. Spread each half with a liberal T of the mayo. Arrange the lettuce on top of the muffin bottoms. Pile on equal portions of tomato and bacon. Top with fried eggs and crown with remaining muffin tops.
Confession: Coby spent the day in her PJs.

Maple Custard

Morning people write breakfast cookbooks, I've decided. People who pop like toast out of bed. People who sing before they brush their teeth. People who don't hide behind the newspaper or the cereal box but are capable of carrying a conversation before draining the first cup of coffee.

I am often mistaken for a morning person. With good reason, too, for I am that annoying soul you see running past your window on a drizzly Saturday morning just after seven. Or my feet are hitting the carpet at eight and I'm thinking of bran muffins...I'm reaching for the bowl.

The truth is, for all the mornings I am Jekyll, I am Hyde.

Hyde growls in the morning. He paws through the house, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. His brain is sore and blurry as he brews coffee, forgetting to add the beans, or puts the milk in the cupboard. And his shirt is on inside out. He hasn't noticed. But a colleague will at ten o'clock in the staff room.

One morning, he left for work at seven thirty and the door wide open behind him. It was winter. The spouse was not impressed.

Hyde still likes breakfast.

Maple custard is the perfect Hyde breakfast. It's smooth, warm, comforting, and delicious. Let's just say it calms the beast.

Maple Custard

four servings

from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book

1 cup milk (or half cream, half milk)

4 eggs

1/2 cup maple syrup

Butter four custard cups. Put a shallow baking pan, half filled with water, in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Beat the ingredients together and divide between the four cups. Put the cups in the hot water bath and bake for 20 minutes, or until the custard is barely set. Serve in the cup, or run a knife around the edges of the cups and turn the custards out.

Oatmeal Cake

Well, I don't have any food porn to offer - honestly Rach, I became a tad flushed when I read your last post; and I swear that since then, my heart beats a bit faster when I reach for the egg carton.

This post comes belated, Mike and I just returned from another weekend away in Seattle, this was in part to attend his belated birthday Decemberists concert, as well as an effort to pack in some time away before baby dictates our schedule (translate: 'my' schedule). The concert was good, the sleep-ins were good, the food was good, and the unusual Seattle sunshine all made for a lovely weekend. On return to our little monkeys, the happiness continued when I found a few pieces of oatmeal cake left in the fridge.

This is a cake that can be eaten at breakfast time, or can be nibbled on with a cup of tea to get you over that mid-afternoon slump. I can't claim that this cake was a revelation to me. I have a similar Lazy Daisy recipe that I make courtesy of More With Less. However, I liked the sound of nut-coconut-oatmeal topping for this particular cake. While tasty, I don't think this new cake differed dramatically from my original recipe, though the topping was a nice variation from my usual straight coconut variation.

Oatmeal Cake
(Source: A Real American Breakfast, by Cheryl Jamison & Bill Jamison)

Cake:
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cup boiling water
11/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 baking soda
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup evaporated milk (I used regular milk with great results)
4 T butter (I used 3 T, it was all I had left, and the topping still tasted great)
1/2 cup brown sugar (1/3 for the less sweet tooth)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cups shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I skipped the walnuts and doubled the pecans)

Pour the boiling water over the oats. Set aside. Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer cream together the butter and the sugars. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Alternately beat in the flour and the oat mixture in thirds. Beat until only just combined. Spoon the batter into a prepared pan.

Bake for 32 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then run a knife around the edge and unlatch the springform rim. Transfer the cake (still on the springform base) to a baking sheet. While I followed these directions, next time I will just leave the cake in the springform and put the topping directly on.

Prepare the topping by combining the milk, the butter, and the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. I heated these ingredients together in the microwave Remove from the heat and stir in the oatmeal, nuts, and coconut.

Spoon the topping evenly over the top of the cake. Heat the broiler. Broil the cake on the baking sheet several inches below the heat source for about two minutes, until the topping darkens a shade or two and gets a bit brown and crunchy in spots. Watch it carefully so that you crisp it but don't burn it.

Eggs Benny Loves Bea

Psssssst. Love.

Huh?

Love.

What?

Love.

Who??

LOVE.

How?

Like This:

Two eggs slipped into a bubble bath. Towel dried. Enrobed in silky sauce. Bedded on toast. Bite by bite—Hold it. Stop right there. That’s all you need to know. And yes, it was very romantic.

My bruh ha ha (guy, lover, main squeeze) loves bennies. L-O-V-E-S bennies., but only eats them in restaurants. Why? Because I don’t make bennies. And I still don’t. But this Valentines I introduced him to a new chick, Eggs Beatrice.

She’s swanky, Beatrice is. A little simpler than Ben with her base of toast, but comfortable with a few pieces of ham nestled beneath her goods.

I found this recipe for Eggs Beatrice in my study of Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. Marion describes Eggs Beatrice as a “lighter and more delicate version of Eggs Benedict” (p.146). Her description is apt, of course. Marion has a simple way of stating things perfectly and honestly.

The recipe involves three main steps:

1. Making the hollandaise

2. Toasting the bread and ham

3. Poaching the Eggs

Eggs Beatrice for Two

Modified from Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book

Making the Hollandaise

You can make this sauce in the blender. I don’t have a blender. I have a food processor. The bowl of a food processor is too big for this sauce. Instead, I used an immersion blender and a narrow bowl with high sides. If you are horrified by the richness of this sauce, remember, you only use a portion of it for your Eggs Bea. I put 2 Tbsps of sauce on each Eggs Bea.

1 egg yolk

1 Tbsp boiling water

½ cup butter, melted and hot

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

Put the yolk in the bowl. Blend it with an immersion blender (or make the sauce in your blender). Add the water and blend. Then, very slowly, dribble by dribble, add the hot butter while blending. Add the lemon juice and some salt. Taste and season.

Cover the bowl. Don’t worry if it cools a little. No one will notice as your eggs will be nice and hot.

Toasting Eggs and Ham, I am

Put 2 pieces of bread in the toaster and the ham in a pan on low. The ham should just warm up a little.

Poaching the Eggs

I love Marion’s tip for poaching eggs! Marion says to boil the eggs in shell for thirty seconds before poaching. This causes the yolks to cook a little so the eggs hold together perfectly when entering the pan. Although, I still insist on cracking the eggs into a small vessel such as a cup or ladle and sliding them into the hot water. Brave Marion just cracks them right into the pan.

2 eggs

1-2 tsp cider vinegar

In a smaller saucepan, heat enough water to cover the eggs. When the water boils, add the eggs for thirty seconds. Remove.

In a wide sauce pan, or deep frying pan, heat the vinegar and enough water to cover the eggs. Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat so that the boil slows to just barely a simmer. Crack one egg into a cup or a ladle and slip it into the water. Repeat with remaining egg. Let the eggs poach for 2 minutes and you should have a firm white with a runny yolk inside. Keep an eye on the pan as you may need to increase the heat to keep the slow simmer consistent.

Remove from the water with a slotted spoon.

Assemble:

Put one toast on a plate. Cover with ham top with egg. Cover with 2-3 Tbsp of hollandaise sauce. Repeat.

Note: For big eaters, poach two eggs per toast.

Brown-Butter Scramble with Avocado

I approached our latest challenge with some trepidation; the idea of tackling one cookbook had excited me when Rachel proposed our new blog challenge, but the actual reality of selecting and executing a recipe was surprisingly scary. I'm still grappling with the root cause of this fear- I have a big, beautiful cookbook, The American Breakfast, full of glossy photos and yummy-sounding recipes, but still the anxiety was there.

While my breakfast philosophy aligns more with Rachel and Marion (see previous post), the Jamisons have dug their heels in and share the whole range of American breakfast tradition. My latest self analysis (staying safely in the zone of food neuroses) has made me realize that I have a definite breakfast comfort zone - a daily bowl of oatmeal and blueberries, getting a little crazier on the weekends with pancakes, scones, and muffins. These are baked goods that I can produce with only one eye open, usually with the help of a scattering a handful of dried cereal on baby's highchair tray to keep her hunger at bay. This demand for new recipe creativity - exotic sausages and complicated hollandaise sauces- at such an early hour seemed daunting.

So I need to confess, my first contribution was made as a lunchtime enterprise. No, actually, that's not true. My first try was a breakfast attempt - but I have deemed it not postable, I tried making the Jamison's variation of a Dutch Baby pancake - hoping for glorious airy deliciousness. The pancake was suitably puffy, but had the taste and texture closer to an omelet than a pancake. I don't blame this entirely on their recipe, I am going to give it one more attempt. But in the meantime I needed to produce a post-worthy creation. My next attempt, the brown-buttered eggs and avocado were scrumptious. Browning butter, swirling in eggs - adding copious amounts of avocado - just easy enough, and exotic enough, for me to tackle before nap time.

Brown-Butter Scramble With Avocado
(Source: A Real American Breakfast, Cheryl Alters Jamison & Bill Jamison)

6 large eggs
3 T whipping cream or half and half (I used half and half)
2 minced garlic cloves, roasted in a dry skillet until soft
Splash of hot sauce (Optional)
Salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste
4 T unsalted butter
2 medium avocados, cut into bite-sized chunks

Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the cream, garlic, hot sauce (if desired), and salt and pepper. Whisk just long enough to combine, you should still see large bubbles. Set aside.

Warm the butter in an 8 to 10 inch skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter turns from pale yellow to light nutty brown, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour in the egg mixture. Cook, frequently stirring up from the bottom with a spatula, until the eggs form soft curds and are lightly set but still look a little runny, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not overcook. Fold in the avocados and remove from the heat. Stir an additional time or two to cook through before serving immediately.

Options: You can add 2 to 3 slices crumbled bacon, or perhaps some grated cheese.

Crumpets and Coffee

Marion Cunningham is a morning person. If you’re not sure who Marion Cunningham is, allow me to introduce her.

Marion is wholesome.

Her picture tells me this. Imagine: side part over a broad forehead,bibbed dress, braided necklace, smile that crinkles the eyes. Here recipes also tell me this. Consider: oatmeal custard, welsh rabbit with beer, cinnamon butter puffs, Creek Bank potatoes, date raisin condiment. Those are just a few.

Marion Cunningham is kind. She bakes for people. Period.

Marion Cunningham is my guru. She will remain my guru for the next two months.

Haley and I have decided to explore various ingredients, cooking styles, flavours, and meals as we blog. For the months of February and March, we will focus on breakfast. Our study goes this way: Haley will jump, leap, dive (actually) into the big beautiful book titled, “A Real American Breakfast.” I will wander through a slimmer volume, Marion Cunningham’s “The Breakfast Book.” As you can imagine, I’m already quite taken with Marion. I also like her opinions on breakfast.

Here are a few:

Breakfast…involves no alcohol and usually consists of grains, dairy products, fruits, and maybe eggs or a little meat or fish.
I agree. Alcohol at breakfast? Marion and I perish the thought.

Gathering at the table for breakfast allows us to weave our lives with others--and that should be a daily pleasure.
Very nice.

I…love eggs…I can only eat one hard-boiled egg, but if I’m soft-boiling them I do it by twos, mash them up in a bowl, sprinkle salt over them and a little bit of pepper, and eat them with toast--and that suffices for hours.
Marion knows her mind, which I love. And pays intense attention to detail, another excellent trait in a guru. Besides, I could use a breakfast that suffices for hours. I'm usually starving by nine.

Lead, Marion I will follow.

Crumpets is the first place Marion led. I thought, I want to try the English Muffins! But Marion explained that crumpets were the ones with all those nice little holes. This is because of the baking soda.

Marion also says that you must split and toast the muffins, even hot off the griddle, and spread them with butter or jam or honey.

Marion was right. Yum.

Crumpets
Interpreted from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book
one dozen round crumpets

1 package dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ cups milk, warmed
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
¼ cup warm water

Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a large bowl. Add the sugar, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the milk, flour, and salt. Beat until smooth. Cover the bowl and let stand for one hour. Stir down. Dissolve the baking soda in the remaining ¼ cup water and stir into the batter. Cover and let rest for 30 min.

Heat a pan, or two pans, (I used a large griddle) and grease some 3 inch rings (Marion says you can use tuna tins with the tops and bottoms removed. I used 2-inch high canning jar lids.) When the griddle is hot, place the rings on it and fill each with three tablespoons of batter. Lower the heat and cook slowly until the crumpets have lost their shine, and are dull and holey. This takes about ten minutes. (Marion says not to flip the crumpets over but to just cook them on one side. I did flip my crumpets and I thought it finished them nicely.)

Toast, slather, and eat.

Banana Pops

Rach -

It's only a matter of time before we develop webbed feet and gills over here in Chillwack. As the rain comes down the kiddies and I have turned to kitchen pursuits, dance parties, and indoor playgroups to maintain our sanity. Yesterday we made your latest bread offering, and I am already adding it to our regular rotation. I was out of maple syrup so I swapped honey with fabulous results.

Finn and I have developed a new treat - banana pops. This is a child-friendly, though definitely not mess-free, activity.

To make 4 pops:
(this only makes enough for 2 people - it's impossible to have only one each)

1) Cut 2 bananas in half. Insert a popsicle stick or a popsicle holder into the cut sides.

2) Melt 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of natural peanut butter together in the microwave.

3) Dip/spread bananas in the chocolate-peanut butter mixture.

4) Roll in coconut (could also use chopped nuts or crushed cereal)

5) Freeze on parchment - I use silicon liners.

6) Barricade the freezer from yourself and any little ones - better yet, spend 20 minutes getting everyone in to rain gear, 15 minutes splashing in puddles, and another 10 minutes changing into dry socks and pants. The pops won't be quite frozen solid yet but at that this point you won't care.

Right, Rach, talking about myself again. I'm sure Caleb can get on his own rain gear.

Back to Food..

Rach-

Sorry about the long absence. As you know, December, typically a favourite month of mine, was a rough time. Food lost its appeal. Smells hit me with a staggeringly nauseating force. Chocolates and treats remained untouched- an entire box of Purdys is languishing in our pantry. As you know, I'm pregnant again. Fortunately, food and I are reconnecting. We're both playing coy - I'm being a bit fussy, and my pantry is still sending out some pouty neglect vibes - but no one said that the road to reconciliation was easy.

With the worst behind me, and finally after an ultrasound yesterday, a due date confirmed (August 1), I'm ready to get back to some normalcy. I'm back in the kitchen. This week was the week of the chicken enchilada. I made a giant batch on a Tuesday, and Finn munched through that Pyrex dish for multiple meals afterward. Chicken Enchiladas are another recipe that I can't actually provide you with a recipe for. No, this is another 'method' meal. My filling is never the same, and my sauce is rarely either, but they never fail to taste fabulous. The photo doesn't convey the true glory of this meal. I've made a few blog-worthy dishes in the past few weeks but somehow managing to get a photo is another story. This shot was captured mid-devour.

1 - You need chicken. For a 9 by 13 casserole dish, which I can squeeze about 8 good sized enchiladas into, you need to have about two to three cups of shredded or finely chopped chicken. You can use leftover roast chicken or just cook up a few chicken breasts. I like save time and make this dinner with leftover chicken, so I usually just plan a chicken meal and cook extras earlier in the week. You can use a bit more chicken if you want just chicken in your filling, or less if you like to add lots of extras.

2 - Filling time. Next, you need to look through your fridge and see what veggies you have on hand. On this occasion I finely chopped: one good sized onion, one red pepper, and a few cloves of garlic. I sauteed these over medium heat in a tsp of canola oil and then when they were cooked I added a cup of leftover rice, the shredded chicken and a cup of salsa. I added salt and pepper, a dash of cumin and a dash of chipolte powder (chili powder would work too). I also added about 3 ounces of cream cheese (optional) and stirred this over the medium heat until the cream cheese was melted. I then added aprox 1/3 cup of water to keep the mixture moist. Black beans, corn, and olives would be other filling ideas.

3-Prepare the enchilada sauce. I combined one cup of salsa, one cup of tomato sauce, one cup of chicken stock (water would substitute) and one cup of sour cream. I seasoned with another dash of cumin, and chipotle. The sour cream is optional. Basically you want a tomato sauce with a runny consistency. This is going to soften up your tortillas and make them melt in your mouth. Pour enough sauce into a large baking casserole to cover the bottom.

4- Assembly time - Put about half a cup of filling onto one tortilla with a sprinkle of shredded cheese. Roll each tortilla and place seam-side down in the sauce. When all your tortilla rolls are nice and snug in your dish then pour over your remaining sauce. Cover the pan and then bake these for 45 min at 300 degrees. Take the cover off for the last 10 minutes and then sprinkle them with shredded cheese.

5 - Enjoy! Serve with sour cream, salsa, and or guacamole.

Sorry to those friends who I should have informed personally about our latest addition - Third child neglect is already becoming a reality..