Happy Cooking Accidents

I started off looking through the How to Cook Everything app to find an easy dinner to make. I decided to look up arepas because my friend out west made some for breakfast recently. I was not able to enjoy her arepas, but she said when she comes to visit, she will make them for me. Anyway, surprisingly, I found a recipe in the Mark Bittman app. I was not excepting to find it, but there are recipes for almost everything.

Unfortunately, as per usual, I did not read the recipe carefully, and it turned out I started making deep fried corn fritters instead of arepas. The arepa recipe was a variation on the recipe I had found. I decided to work with what I had created, and morphed my meal into a combo fritter/corn pancake. I really try to avoid deep frying anything in my home.

My husband loved the meal. I served the pancakes with meatballs, salsa and raw veggies on the side. Even my notoriously picky children ate the corn pancakes, without syrup! My son tried the pancakes with the green bits (basil and coriander), but decided he liked the non-green ones. My daughter refused to eat the pancakes because there was stuff in them. She does not like things with things in them. Somehow she caved, took a bite, and she realized she actually liked them. Hooray!

My husband is convinced if I make these again I will never be able to reproduce the pleasure he experienced eating the corn pancakes. He said it would not matter if I used the exact same recipe, his expectations are already high, so nothing will match this initial surprise. I asked if I would have to wait some time for the memory to fade, and he said time would have no effect. This left me feeling down. Was he telling me never to make this meal again?

Apparently, he feels I should continue to strive to improve upon this meal. I suppose his sly way of saying to make this meal again.

SAVOURY CORN PANCAKES

Neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, as needed

¾ cup cornmeal, the fresher the better

½ cup all‐purpose flour (I used a mix of whole wheat and all purpose)

2 teaspoons baking powder

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup grated cheese

¾ cup milk, plus more if needed (it ended up being over 1 cup)

1 large egg

2 cups corn kernels, preferably just stripped from the cobs, but thawed frozen is acceptable (I used the kernels from one large cob)

Chopped fresh herbs (optional)

Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, cheese, and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Beat the milk and egg together, then pour the mixture into the dry ingredients, add enough milk to make a batter the consistency of pancake batter. Stir in the corn. If you want to make "plain" pancakes, add the herbs after you have cooked a few pancakes without.

Melt some butter or oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot enough, dropped two tablespoons worth of batter into the pan for each pancake. Cook as you would regular pancakes, flipping when they are golden.

Serve with salsa.

Oh, and this year's cherry tomatoes made a great Caprese salad with basil and fresh mozzarella cheese.

 

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Monster High

My daughter turned six years old this week, and for her birthday, my mother in law bought her a Monster High doll. I would not have bought her one myself, and her grandmother asked a girl, my daughter's age, which toy she would buy if she had a choice, and the choice was Monster High. For those of you not familiar to Monster High, the dolls are very leggy, and very skinny (skinnier than Barbie) with larger heads, eyes and lips. The faces are not as bad as the Bratz dolls, but the bodies are much skinnier.

Right now, most of my daughter's friends are crazy about My Little Pony. The cartoons are pretty funny (which explains the whole Bronie phenomenon), but as with many cartoons, the humour is above the heads of six year olds. My Little Pony seems to be cashing in in the Monster High craze. They have designed their Equestria Girls dolls to look a lot like the Monster High ones. My Little Pony toys are now fashion dolls. Who would have thought? I liked the idea that they are ponies. Making them leggy girls has taken away some of their innocence.

Bratz dolls have come up with a line called Bratzilla to mimic the monster theme. I have not taken a good look at this product as I am particularly unimpressed by Bratz. When they came up with a line of baby dolls with makeup, and pouty lips, I wanted nothing to do with them.

The Monster High marketing scheme is pretty good. I kind of like all the different kinds of "Monsters" they have created, usually based on a popular culture beastie. My daughter's doll is called Operetta, and she is the daughter of The Phantom of the Opera. They have funny profiles, taking into consideration the history of the monster or its parentage. Aside from the appearance of the dolls, it is a clever concept. I find myself wanting to get Skelita Calaveras because of my year spent in Mexico and my fascination with the Day of the Dead.

The appearance, leggy, skinny dolls in skimpy clothes is a problem for me, especially with my daughter being only six years old. I want her to stay young and innocent for as long as possible. Maybe the look of the dolls is so extreme that kids realize it is make believe. Barbies are more "normal" looking in comparison, but equally unrealistic as far as body shape. They could be more dangerous because girls might try to be like them. I doubt anyone is going to try to be a steam punk robot. (Really, that is kind of a cool character).

So, I let my daughter have her Monster High doll, without judgement. I will just monitor what she consumes as far as related media is concerned. We tend to watch French language only programs, so unless I find a DVD with the French track, she will not get to watch shows like Monster High and My Little Pony. I know there are French versions of these shows available, but I will wait until she is a little older. For now, we will stick with the innocent shows of miniTFO (kind of like French Treehouse), without commercials. It is bad enough that their father is exposing my children to Avengers, in French no less!

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Our Camping Trip, 2013. Pinery Provincial Park.

Last year was the first time we went camping with the kids. We decided on Whispering Pines at Santa's Village near Bracebridge because it was close to the amusement park, the town of Bracebridge, and the campsite has a pool and playground. It was quite a successful trip. Being close to civilization meant I was able to pop into town for things like a smaller air mattress, and food for supper. We also spent one of the three days exploring the parks of Bracebridge.

We have been going to Santa's Village for a few years, and my children are still young enough to enjoy their time there. However, I have been feeling of late that this amusement park is small, outdated and quite overpriced for a day trip from Sudbury. Camping last year was perfect because the amusement park was not our ultimate goal.

We saved on entrance costs because Fridays are two for one. We were already at Santa's Village the day we decided to go inside the park, so we did not have to wake at the crack of dawn, and drive for three hours. The pool and the playground at the campsite were just as fun for our kids as Santa's Village, and it was included with the camping fees. We also had the opportunity to rent a canoe.

This year we had a different camping experience. I did not feel like another year at Whispering Pines, but I still wanted a short camping experience for our family. I decided on Pinery Provincial Park, on the shores of Lake Huron. We were already in southern Ontario visiting my parents, so the drive to Pinery was only 2 1/2 hours from Oakville.

For a biologist/ecologist, this is a pretty amazing park. The succession happening on the dunes, the different habitats, all of the rare plants, it was quite interesting. On top of that, their visitor centre is extremely well set up and interactive.

There are displays, aquariums, a movie theatre and an outdoor amphitheatre. They have daily activities, for free, as well as programs in the evenings, and children's activities. You can rent bikes and paddle boats. If the weather is nice, there is a long shallow beach with kilometres of soft sand. Even if you do not camp there, it is worth a visit to the day use beaches when the weather is cooperating.

Unfortunately for us, the weather could have been better. We only ended up at the beach the first day, and it was not a sunny or particularly warm day. However, my kids still had a lot of fun playing in the sand with their Manitoban cousins as my parents had driven out for the day.

The next couple of days were cloudy, cool, and the wind started to pick up. It was quite spectacular, seeing the waves on the lake. It felt like being at the ocean. For a day and a half there was an underlying sound of waves roaring in the distance. Without the option of going to the beach, we had to find other things to do.

We ended up walking a lot. I was surprised how well my kids, aged 4 and 6, did with all the walking. We misjudged the distance to one trail, and missed a mushroom hike. I ended up running back to our campsite to get the van. The kids wanted to watch "tv" often, and at one point I had to drag my daughter out of the movie theatre because it was playing a cartoon, and we had somewhere to be. Otherwise, they seemed as fascinated by the insects, plants, and animals as we were.

When you only do a three night camping trip, it is a gamble whether or not you will have good weather. The day we left, the sky had cleared, and they were predicting warm, summer temperatures for the weekend. It was still a great experience. The campsite was well equipped with washrooms, and warm showers. Most of our neighbours were quiet, and we stayed dry during the rainstorm our last night.

I know my husband was not impressed that there was no play structure for our kids, but we had other things to keep them occupied. I had brought along some pages to paint by adding water. We also had some "board" games found in the kids' Pomme d'Api magazines. I forgot to bring scissors, so we could not play the games that were not already cut out, but this leaves something for the next trip. Really, they needed to get a little bored as well. They often came up with imaginative games to play around the campsite. Unfortunatley, the prevalence of poison ivy prevented them from exploring too much in the bushes, but it was a step in the right direction with regards to camping.

Next year, maybe we will head out East. Three of our friends went out to PEI this summer, and I have heard nothing but good things about it. Maybe we will plan an epic road trip for next summer.

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Playgrounds

It is summertime, and we are spending a lot of time visiting various playgrounds and splash pads. My kids used to look forward to playing at the playground near their grandparents' home in Oakville, but the play structure was totally revamped last month. It seems as though all of the parks in Oakville were overhauled, regardless of whether or not they needed to be. My kids miss the spiral slide from the old park. The new park is supposed to be handicap accessible, but they replaced the tunnel slide with three shorter bumping slides.

They put in a couple balancing toys, a wake board, and a skate board. My daughter barely weighs anything, so it was quite easy for her to balance. She also liked the climbing wall leading to a fireman's pole. In fact, she said she did not like other play structures as much when they did not have a pole.

There are other parks nearby with shorter spiral slides, but they are not within walking distance from Grandma and Grandpa's. My son was particularly amused with the bouncy bridge at one of the further parks. This park was good for when we, the parents, wanted to play some tennis because the park was close to the courts.

In Mississauga, just off of the Lakeshore, there is a very interesting park called Lakeside. They have the closest spray pad to us. At first, the spray pad looked boring because it was just a series of fountains coming out of a cement pad. However, the kids loved it. I always said a bidet would be a hit at home. My kids love water that spurts up. Plus, the fountains will go on together, following a programmed pattern. There is even a misty vent. My biggest gripe is that the other misty vent, the one the kids can contriol, is at the top of a flight of stairs. Not well thought out. Makes me wonder if someone has gotten seriously injured yet.

The play structure part of the park is quite fun. Lots of spinning things, and a first nations, exploration, musical theme going on. At first, I was leery about the large climbing merry go round, but as my husband pointed out, it requires cooperation on the part of the children, and encourages communication. Often, the kids would try to recruit an adult to turn the merry go round, but with ten kids trying to get into place, it got quite tedious. I let the kids figure it out for themselves, and they usually did.

I think I was having more fun on the other spinning structures than my kids. It was one of those parks where it felt like it was giving the children the chance to explore and try out things. It was not too sanitized, but was safe because the smaller kids could not get on the bigger structures. Having just listened to a podcast asking if playgrounds are too safe, it was neat to see some innovative ideas for new parks. Listen here to the Q podcast.

Our playground explorations concluded with a rec centre in Burlington. For $3, kids had access to a splash pad, a wading pool, a big pool, and a playground. Plus, there was a bigger playground outside the fenced in Nelson Park, and a BMX jumping area. It looked as though there were sports fields in the back too.

I wish Sudbury had shallow pools for younger kids, either indoor or outdoor, but something other than just sprays coming out of the ground. I suppose we have all our beaches around town, but there is no truly family oriented swimming area for us. I was extremely jealous of my friend in Edmonton. Their rec centre had an indoor playground, plus two pools. One for laps and diving, and a family pool that was very warm, with a lazy river, and a waterslide. Also, there was an even warmer mom and babies area. Amazing. Of course, Edmonton is much bigger than Sudbury, but Burlington is about the same size. We have no outdoor pools in Sudbury nor indoor playgrounds, unless you count McDonald's or Burger King.

Have you found any fun parks in your neighbourhood? Where do you live?

 

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Advertising to Kids

Last week, while we were visiting my friends in Edmonton, my daughter was exposed to more commercials than she had ever been exposed to, and it was kind of scary. My friend did not have Treehouse, and she only had three "kids" channels to choose from. YTV was not playing stuff I thought appropriate for my almost six year old daughter, so we opted for Retro Teletoon.

I am not sure who the target audience is for Retro Teletoon, but I do not think it is young children. Maybe they are trying to market to adults reliving their youth. Regardless, most of the ads were infomercials for products not geared to kids. After watching this channel with my daughter for a few minutes, she quickly told me I needed to buy several of the advertised products. Apparently, I need a No No hair removal gadget, and my husband can get one too. Our cat needs to have the Cat's Meow cat toy. I am surprised she did not encourage me to use the pay day loan service as well.

I was struck by how easily influenced my daughter was by such a brief exposure to these ads. My children do not normally watch TV with ads. At home, we watch DVDs, TFO and sometimes Treehouse. The channels we do watch only advertise their own shows. She also asked why I did not buy Frosted Flakes cereal. It must be good for us since the tiger is so sporty.

My friend took us to the library a few days into our visit and I was able to get her commercial free, french programming for a few days. I have been quite good at sheltering my children from most of the advertising frenzy geared toward children. My kids are mostly influenced by their fellow classmates and daycaremates. This exposure is plenty. My kids come home talking about products and TV shows we never watch at home. I still have no idea how my son knows about Skylanders.

I sometimes worry that I shelter them too much, but there is access to current media everywhere these days. I try to keep them watching French language shows, if at all possible. We almost always listen to French music, or Kindermusik, and their books are in French too. They are constantly bombarded by ads for toys through print, video games and movies, and I want to keep them sheltered as long as possible.

I am even quite strict on iPad use. I might be on my iPad every day, but until my kids are old enough to buy their own handheld devices, I will decide how often they play on mine. I will probably limit their access when they do buy their own too.

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Reminiscing with Good Friends

My daughter and I are rounding up a week long visit with some very dear friends of mine. The three of us met while teaching high school in Monterrey, Mexico, 12 years ago. It was an amazing experience and I count these two women as some of, if not the, best friends that I have. They are at the top of my contact list on Facebook, and we have managed to see each other almost every two years since we have been back in Canada. Considering I live in Sudbury and they live in Edmonton, I count this as impressive.

I was saying to one of the friends a sign of a good friendship is when you can stop talking about what you did in the past and enjoy each other's company in the present. Of course, after that, we got out the photo albums of our Mexican adventures and proceeded to reminisce, again. But, as the other friend said, no one else was there, and there is no one else can we talk to who will understand what we experienced.

Friendships are odd things. I have many people in my life I would consider good friends, but we do not see each other very often because we live so far apart. I grew up in Manitoba, therefore many of my high school friends are still there. We see each other about once a year. We tend to not relive the "good ole times" because they were so long ago, but whatever drew us together when we were younger is still there. We are able to spend time together, talk about our lives and let our kids play.

I see my university friends even more seldom. I went to UBC, and since I graduated, I have only been back three times. These friends rarely come out East to visit. We stay in touch mainly through Facebook. However, it is as though no time has passed when we do finally see each other. Most of these people know who I am, and love me for the good and the bad. I count myself fortunate to have travelled so much, and to have maintained these connections for such a long time.

I do not have many people near my home I would consider good friends. Last year a relationship, I had considered a family type relationship, fell apart. The women decided, over what seems like an overnight b$&&h session, that they no longer wanted me in their lives. It hurt me deeply because it was never clear exactly what it was that I had done. I still do not know what I did, and I was never given the opportunity to make up for my "failings".

It was made even more awkward because they live in our community, they were important at our wedding, and our children are still close. I do not like to talk about it a lot because I do not know how much they said to others. I also do not know how many of my circle of acquaintances know them. It made dealing with the loss difficult because I had no one to talk to about it.


My friends here in Edmonton were very supportive throughout the ordeal. In fact, they are a testament to a strong friendship because we have all put our feet in our mouths with regards to each other, but we still love each other. We are like sisters, and despite the time and distance we are able to pick up where we left off, as though the years have not passed.

We were fortunate to have two visits this year because the fourth member of our Mexican quartet got married in Toronto in May. Unfortunately, he has not been as easy to stay in contact with, being a doctor now and basically eschewing Facebook. Our reunion with him was not quite the same since he was busy with his wedding (the nerve!), but we have had some good visits after Mexico when I was pregnant with my kids. We can still have a super reunion one of these years, and maybe focus on our present selves instead of our crazy, young, Mexican selves. Not that those younger versions of us were bad, but I think we have grown a lot since then, and we still like our older selves.

We are all mothers now, and our girls play together (our sons too). We are all teachers and we commiserate with each other and cheer each other on in our careers. After 12 years, we are still the best of friends, and I am so glad for the opportunity to see them as often as I do. As my visit comes to an end, I look forward to the next time. We will stay in touch through Facebook and Skype, but nothing beats being in the same room as my chiquitas!

La silla is a "pinche" mountain! ¡Jejeje!

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To Air Condition or Not To Air Condition

For some people there is no question. They must think us crazy for not having air conditioning in the summer. Generally, though, we rarely have heat waves that last longer than a few days, and usually the humidity is not too bad. We are normally able to cool our house down in the evenings by opening up all the windows. The basement stays cooler than the rest of the house as well. As a last resort, we could just lie down on the tiled floor.

This morning, however, I was wishing for AC in our home, if only to decrease the humidity. Currently, it is 32C outside and with the humidity it feels like 42C. Our house had heated up to 28C last night, and only cooled down to 26C this morning. Most of the people I met along my morning run at 7am said, "It is too hot to be running!" "Better now than in the afternoon." said I.

We are supposed to have cooler temperatures come Saturday, and if we open up the whole house, basement included, we should be able to get back to a reasonable temperature in our home. That will be up to my husband this week, as I am going away. Once we get back to having cooler evenings, we should be fine.

Our biggest problem with heating up our home is the westward facing patio doors in our bedroom. We have no trees blocking these doors, so in the summer we have light coming into the house from 3pm until 9pm. In the seven years we have lived in the house I have tried several types of black out curtains with varying success. Last year we put UV blocking film on the glass. It cut down on the heat, but we still have light getting in and that is what warms up the room, and then the house. I wanted to get an automatic blind on the outside which would prevent light from entering through the window. I suppose another option would be a gazebo on the deck.

In Europe, houses have shutters on the outside of the house which stop light, and heat from getting in. I am not sure why we have not adopted this practice in North America. Maybe it is aesthetics. Our friends had hidden shutters that would automatically roll down and block all light from entering. Seals the house up like a vault.

I often think about how my next house should be oriented with respect to home energy efficiencies. Which side of the house should have all the windows to maximize heat gain in the winter, but not in the summer? If we had a deciduous tree in front of our patio doors, it too would greatly reduce how hot our home would be. Alas, these are all things I know for my next home, whenever that happens.

For now, we are hiding in the basement, playing at the splash pad, taking advantage of friends with pools, or going to the lake. In a few days, a cold front will be coming through, and we will no longer be jonesing for air conditioning. Maybe we'll hang out at the mall tomorrow.

This is what we need. Northern Solar Screen. Now, are these available for Canadians?

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Jerk Pork Tenderloin, Pineapple Avocado Salsa and Barbecued Potatoes

I am working my way through the summer edition of Food and Drink. Yesterday, I decided to make Jamaican Jerk pork tenderloin, along with some pineapple avocado salsa. My kids ate the potatoes, which is a start. I even omitted the pepper from the jerk spice marinade so they could try the meat, but they decided to be vegetarian last night. Now, we have enough leftovers for the rest of the week. I need to start freezing stuff.

I had all the ingredients on hand for the jerk marinade except for the pepper, so it worked out well. Everything was chopped up in my mini food processor, starting with the onion, then the garlic, liquids and spices. The weird thing was, after the meat was cooked, the marinade did not taste like much. It has lots of ingredients, and many of them are quite strong, aromatically (garlic, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and ginger). Most of the flavour comes from smelling the spices prior to eating. Our brain works very hard during the act of tasting. To find out more, check out the CBC Radio One program called Think About It, the Neurogastronomy episode.

Anyway, the supper was fairly easy to make once the meat was marinading. The pineapple salsa called for chopping up a full pineapple, but you could reduce your work by using a peeled and cored pineapple if you choose. The salsa is supposed to sit for at least an hour prior to eating, and the meat should marinate at least four hours ahead. Both can be prepared the day ahead for even better flavour, so not a spur of the moment recipe.

Jerk Pork

2 pork tenderloins, trimmed of fat

1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 large garlic cloves

Scant 1/4 cup each of vegetable oil, soy sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar

2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced with seeds

1 tbsp dried thyme

1/2 tbsp each ground cinnamon and allspice

1 tsp each ground nutmeg, craked black pepper and salt.

After trimming the fat and silver skins from the tenderloins, place the meat on a cutting board. Use a large fork to poke through the tenderloins. Make about 20 inserts throughout each tenderloin, ensuring that the fork goes through to the cutting board. Place the tenderloins in a large freezer bag or a shallow dish.

Put all the other ingredients in a food processor to make the marinade. Since I had a small chopper, I started with the onion, then garlic. I waited until the onion was chopped enough so there was room to add the remaining ingredients. Mix until everything is evenly ground.

Pour the marinade over the meat in the bag. Massage the marinade all over the meat. Remove as much of the air from the bag before sealing. Place the bag in a dish and let sit in the refrigerator for at least four hours, preferably 24 hours. If the meat is in a dish, cover the meat before putting it in the refrigerator. Turn the meat occasionally to distribute the marinade.

You can roast the pork on a foil lined baking sheet at 350F for 40 to 55 minutes. Alternately, you can wrap the tenderloins in foil and cook on the barbecue for 40 minutes. The internal temperature at the thickest part should read 155F. Remove the pork from heat and let sit for five minutes before cutting. You can serve it the next day, just wrap the whole tenderloin and refrigerate for up to one day.

Serve with Pineapple Avocado salsa.

Pineapple Avocado Salsa

1 fresh pineapple, peeled cored and chopped into bite sized pieces

1 large red or orange pepper, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

Juice of two large limes

2 tbsp olive oil

1tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp dried chili flakes or 1 to 2 tbsp finley chopped and seeded jalapeño pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 ripe, but firm Haas avocados

1 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Mix together the diced pineapple, red pepper and red onion. In a separate bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients (everything but the avocados and cilantro). Pour over the pineapple mixture and set aside for at least one hour before serving, stirring occasionally.

Just before serving, drain off the liquid. Dice the avocado and stir into salsa along with the chopped ciltantro.

Barbecued Potatoes

It is up to you to determine how many potatoes you want to bake. You can use mini or regular sized potatoes. Slice them, but not all the way through, so they kind of look like an accordion. Top them with butter (or some oil/fat), spices (I used no salted added Montreal Steak Spice), and salt if needed. Wrap in foil, and cook on the barbecue.

Like I said, this meal requires marinating time, but once everything is "stewing" it comes together quickly. It is a very tasty meal, and the combination of spices is perfect for hot summer dining.

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Mint. My Favourite Summer Herb.

Yes, I know, it grows like a weed. It will take over your entire garden if you are not careful, but I love the stuff. I have been taking advantage of all the chocolate mint I have growing in the yard. It has found its way into most of my recipes of late. The turkey mango salad and the wheatberry apple salad from my previous post, both called for mint. Today, I made another meal full of mint. Plus, there are the mojitos.

Dinner tonight had a bit of a Middle Eastern flair. Chicken kebabs, Persian rice, grilled zucchini and easy tzatziki. The recipes come from the Summer 2013 Food and Drink magazine, but I will give you the quick and easy versions.

CHICKEN KEBABS

1 package chicken thighs (6 to 8 thighs per pack)

1 lime

1 lemon

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup chopped mint

1/3 cup chopped coriander

Couple grinder twists of salt

Chop the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces, and put into a glass dish for marinading. Zest the lime, and sprinkle over the chicken. Squeeze the lime and the lemon juice onto the chicken. Mince or grate the garlic cloves, and add them, the chopped herbs, and the salt to the chicken. Marinade for 30 minutes at room temperature or leave in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Thread the chicken onto presoaked bamboo skewers. The kebabs can be grilled on a hot barbecue for 12 to 15 minutes, turning frequently.

Serve with tzatziki. I did not have time to make the full out version of homemade tzatziki, so I improvised. I mixed a couple tablespoons of greek yoghurt with garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning, a squirt of lime juice and some chopped up cucumber. You could add some fresh mint and dill if you have it on hand. It tasted like the premade dip.

PERSIAN RICE (The recipe calls for basmati rice, but we did not have any at home, so I substituted brown rice instead. It worked out well.)

1 cup Uncle Ben's brown rice

Pinch of saffron

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped coriander and/or mint

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried sultana raisins

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 clementine

1/2 a lime

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of salt

The original recipe calls for currants and pistachio nuts, but I had raisins and almonds in the house.

Cook the rice in two cups of water, with the pinch of saffron, until the rice is done and there is no more water in the pot. It should take about 20 minutes. Put the cooked rice into a serving dish and mix in the cinnamon, herbs, fruit and nuts.

In a separate bowl, zest the clementine, and squeeze in the juice. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime, the olive oil and the salt. Mix the dressing, and stir it into the rice.

You can serve the chicken kebabs on top the persian rice for a fancy presentation. The dishes are portable, and can be enjoyed at room temperature. Therefore, they are great for a picnic or to bring over to someone's house.

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Summer Lunch Menu

Since both my husband and I are teachers, we have the flexibility of entertaining other teacher families during the week. No need to wait for the weekend to make a lunch date. It also becomes easier to plan get togethers as the kids have soccer three times a week in the evenings. A lunch date will be over by the time we need to be heading out to the soccer fields.

I am always raving about the recipes from my favourite (free) magazine, Food and Drink, from the LCBO. This time, I found a couple sweet and savory salads from the turkey cookbook insert that came along with the magazine. Really, get togethers are an excuse for me to try new foods, and not worry about having leftovers for over a week. I am hoping we will be able to entertain a few more times this summer, but I could always try out new recipes when we are visiting my parents or my friends in Edmonton.

Both recipes have meat (turkey or chicken) in them, but could easily be made vegetarian. Both recipes also have similar ingredients (mint, coriander, citrus), so they complement each other. I served them deconstructed because my husband does not like cold meat, but our guests enjoyed the meal. Of course, my children did not try either salad, and opted for bread, cheese and hummus. I had a fruit and veggie tray on the side as well.

TURKEY MANGO SALAD

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

1 tsp (5mL) sesame oil

1 8-oz (227g) extra lean ground Ontario turkey

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp (25mL) fresh ginger, minced

1 tbsp (15mL) fish sauce (or sodium reduced soy sauce)

2 mangoes, peeled and chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

2 tbsp (25mL) fresh cilantro (or basil) chopped

2 tbsp (25mL) fresh mint, chopped

2 tbsp (25mL) lime juice

Pinch granulated sugar

Dash hot pepper sauce

In large nonstick skillet heat oil over medium-high heat and cook, turkey, garlic, ginger and fish sauce, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, blend mango, pepper, cilantro and mint. Add turkey mixture to bowl and stir. Drizzle with lime juice, sugar and hot sauce; stir to combine.

Makes 4-1 cup (250mL) servings.

I left the hot sauce on the side, not knowing how spicy our guests like their food. Plus, if it is not spicy enough, they can add more.

Unfortunately, I did not take a picture the day of the meal, so this does not do it justice. One of the mangoes was ripe, the other was green, but it was nice to have to contrast of the sweeter mango with the more tart, green one. Trinidadians make a dish called mango chow, that uses green mangoes, peppers and lemon juice, so I am partial to the flavour of green mangoes.

 

APPLE WHEATBERRY TURKEY SALAD

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 12 minutes

Makes: 7 cups (1.75 L) or 7-1 cup (250 mL) servings

1 cup (250 mL) wheat berries (hard or soft wheat kernels)

1 apple, cored and diced

1 orange, peeled and diced

2 green onions, chopped

5 tbsp (75 mL) each chopped cilantro

2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped fresh mint

1 cup (250 mL) orange juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pkg (about 400 g) Ontario turkey breast slices or tenders

2 tbsp (25 mL) canola oil

2 tbsp (25 mL) cider vinegar

2 tsp (10 mL) Dijon mustard

Pinch each salt and pepper

In large pot of boiling water, cook wheat berries partially covered for about 1 hour or until tender but still slightly chewy. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well and place in large bowl. Add apple, orange, green onion, mint and 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the cilantro; set aside.

Bring the orange juice, garlic and remaining cilantro to boil in a skillet. Add turkey, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, turning once or until no longer pink inside. Remove turkey from orange mixture and chop into bite size pieces. Add to wheatberries.

Bring remaining orange juice mixture to boil for about 2 minutes or until almost all the juice is evaporated. Whisk in oil, vinegar and mustard and pour over turkey and wheatberry mixture. Toss to coat evenly and stir in salt and pepper.

Tip: This salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Cook wheatberries ahead and drain and let cool completely. Place in resealable bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw before using in the recipe.

I used chicken breast instead of turkey, and served the chicken cut up on the side. This gave my husband the option to heat up his meat, and the guests could select as much meat to put on their salad as they would like. I did not have access to wheatberries, so I used barley instead. It did not require a full hour to cook. If you let it simmer in a broth for 45 minutes, you should be fine. I also served the dressing on the side.

When entertaining, make sure you are careful about serving drinks. Our guests brought their own beer, as we do not have a lot of alcohol in our home. They only had one each, and left a few hours after finishing them. I made some homemade watermelon iced tea (from David'sTea) which went along nicely with the mint and citrus flavours of the meal.

Looking forward to some more summer get togethers to try out new recipes!

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Homemade Ice Cream in 30 Minutes

Well, if you remember to freeze the container 16 to 24 hours in advance, and make your ice cream mixture at least 4 hours ahead of time. I got an ice cream maker for Christmas from my mother in law. It is not something I would have bought myself.

I have found enough recipes for homemade ice cream that do not specifically require an ice cream maker. You freeze the mixture, then whiz it in a food processor. I already have a food processor. Plus, my ice cream maker does not make a large quantity. It will produce a maximum of 2 and a half cups. I can finish that in two sittings. It is barely enough to feed my family of four. Lots of work for very litle return.

I suppose the appeal would be the ability to customize the flavour to your preference. You could also be sure to have wholesome ingredients, or make it dairy, gluten, soy...insert allergen... free. Plus, it is fun to make your own ice cream, sometimes. I actually prefer the quick and easy double ziplock method with ice and salt, or the double can method. Shake up the mixture for a few minutes. It is a much more interactive process than watching the plastic paddle circulate in the freezer bowl.

Speaking if which, the paddle started sticking quite early on when the ice cream mixture froze on the side of the bowl. There were a few splashes when the paddle unstuck itself. The ice cream mixture was leaking out down the side. At the end of 25 minutes of churming, as I was about to click the machine off, the paddle stuck for so long that the lid popped off. There is a reason they tell you to not leave the machine unattended. Luckily, I was able to shut it off before there was a huge mess.

I will be trying a frozen yoghurt recipe next, to use up the egg whites that did not end up in ice cream mixture. I mixed some lime, honey and margarita mix with some yoghurt, and you add some beaten egg whites after you have chilled the yoghurt mixture. Again, I think I would be more likely to make frozen yoghurt pops next time, instead of churning frozen yoghurt, but I had the egg whites, and the other ingredients. Plus, the freezer bowl is already frozen.

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So Little Patience

I try to be patient with my children. I try to give them plenty of warning and time to get ready in order not to be short with them. But, it routinely backfires. I try to talk to them calmly, but I often end up repeating myself so many times it just becomes noise. I have taken a multitude of parenting classes. I have tried many different discipline techniques. I find myself at my wits' end almost every day.

I love my children, and would not trade them for anything in the world...most of the time, but they are giving me a run for the money. My son hits my husband and me when he is frustrated. You would think, it is no big deal to be hit by a three year old, but he is strong, and somehow, he find the sweet spot when he takes a swing. I have almost dropped him. My husband has dropped him. He screams and kicks. He will never do what we want. He won't do the opposite either if we try it that way. With both of my children, the threes have been the worst.

I figure, they know how to express themselves, so it is not a matter of not being able to communicate their wants. They just do not want to do what we want them to do. Tantrums are their power. This is the only way they have to fight back. At three, they have not quite figured out if they listen and are well behaved, they will be rewarded. This is probably why my reward chart is not working. Actually, my almost six year old daughter has not really figured this out either.

My son refuses to sleep in his room. He also refuses to go to bed when he should. (He refuses to eat supper, get dressed, brush his teeth...you get the picture). I keep telling him if he sleeps in his own bed the whole night he will earn stars towards a reward, but he weighs the options, and decides that he would rather forgo a future toy for the immediate "pleasure" of sleeping anywhere other than in his bed. I have actually taken away one of the prizes he earned for a brief period of sleeping in his bed because he has stopped sleeping in his bed.

There is no reasoning with him either. Often, our last resort is to let him cry it out in his room until he falls asleep. Somehow, he has not figured out the child proof door knob. I try very, very hard not to get into a shouting match with him. He is a screamer and a yeller. I try to remain calm and quiet as much as possible, but he often outlasts me. I swear, we could use my children to get people to divulge their secrets. Torture by preschooler.

I know, this too shall pass. Every stage has its pleasures and its displeasures. It is tough being a parent. If I wanted an easy life, I would not have chosen to have children. The challenges usually lead to rewards, and there are moments when my children are laughing, smiling and singing that I truly do treasure. I just have to keep that in mind during the times when my kids are screaming and banging against their doors.

 

 

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Paying For Goals

This weekend is our children's soccer tournament. My son is in the U4 development program, so they just had a "festival". He was all suited up, but decided at the field he did not want to leave his sister's game. He did eventually go to his field, but sat and watched for half an hour before my husband decided to take him shopping.

My son loves kicking the ball around in the gym, or at home, but for some reason he is not into the organized soccer program. Last week, he got offended when his father chastised him for something, and I spent the whole hour following him around the field, trying to get him to do the skills. At least I am learning some soccer moves! He seems to show some natural ability, so it would be nice if he perks up later in the season.

My daughter is in her second season of soccer, in the U6 girls division. She has never had development, unfortunately, and has been relying on observation. Considering she is the youngest and least experienced player on her team, I think she is doing really well. Last year, the season was spent picking dandelions. This year, she is running all over the field, and keeping up with the front runners. I should say catching up. She is a little speed demon. However, she has no idea what to do with the ball when she gets it.

So far, her team has won every game in the tournament, but she is one of two girls who has yet to score. You should hear the parents (moms) encouraging her and the other girl whenever they get the ball. If the team is leading far enough ahead, the other parents will tell their girls to pass the ball to my daughter or the other scoreless player. She has tried, and had a few kicks on net, but her kicks are weak. She did awesome in goal yesterday, and I am proud she is showing an interest in the sport.

She has not been too thrilled about the constant game aspect of the tournament. The girls have played four games in two days. I took her to a birthday party in between two games yesterday, and she did not want to leave for a soccer game. It took a lot of convincing and a few tears to get her to the field on time. She did step up, and play well. Also, despite not wanting to play yet another game yesterday evening, she was an excellent goaltender.

I have not offered a bribe for her to get a goal. Other parents have done this for their children, and it just feels wrong to me. I might have to bribe my son to participate in the regular soccer program, but we seem to have to use incentives for him to do a lot of things. He still refuses to sleep in his own bed, let alone his own room. I do not think my daughter would be more likely to score even if I did bribe her. She is participating fairly well in the tournament.

It is raining this morning. My daughter is in a bit of denial that she has her final soccer match this morning. It will be interesting to see how much she enjoys playing in the rain. She was already growing weary of playing soccer after her second tournament game. We are now on game five. If she scores, we will all be happy and proud of her, but I am already impressed by how much she has improved over last year. Another bonus of this year's season is the addition of development classes on the weekend, so she can learn some soccer skills, like her brother, if we ever have time on the weekends!

 

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Falling Off The Writing Wagon

So, I have not been true to my goal of writing every other day of late. Mostly, this has been because I have not felt inspired to write. Many times, people write to rave or rant about something. My last rave was in praise of watermelon margaritas. I could write about how much I like mojitos too, but then people might get the wrong impression of me. I really do not drink very much.

I tend to rave about things I have cooked or events I have attended. Not that life has not been good lately. It has been pleasant, but uneventful. I just have not done or made anything spectacular or different in quite some time. I have not done anything I feel inspired to tell the world about.

I also do not feel much like ranting. People tend to rant about the same thing over and over. The same things that irritated me before are still irritating me now. I am always concerned about how people perceive and/or judge me, but I have already broached this subject. I do not need to revisit it.

Also, my life is going fairly well right now, and I do not feel the need to rant. Rants are reserved to people who have no other problems going on in their lives. Although, I personally do not have things going wrong in my life at the moment, I have enough friends dealing with loss right now, I do not feel I have the right to rant about petty things.

I will try to find inspiring things to write about his month, and see how well I do with adding entries to my blog. No one is reading anyway, so it is for my "piece of mind". I try to set a goal I could reach, and for a while, I was able to write almost every other day, aside for holiday times. I am no longer caring for my children solo or visiting my parents nor occupied more often socially. You would think I could come up with something. I will try better.

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Watermelon Margaritas

Recently, my friends and I attended the wedding of a mutual friend. We all lived together in Monterrey, Mexico, over ten years ago. This was the first time all four of us were together since we left Mexico to come back home in June 2002. Being together brought back a lot of memories. One of our traditions was attending two for one Margarita night at a bar called Nueva Luna. They had all sorts of flavours from strawberry to tamarind. I do not know if they had watermelon, but I found a tasty, and easy, recipe for watermelon margaritas in my latest Food and Drink magazine from the LCBO, and had to try it.

The recipe is from President's Choice Black Label brand because it uses their margarita mix as the base. Okay, so this might not be super family friendly, but sometimes mommies and daddies need to unwind. Enjoy this in moderation. You could also make it without the tequila and orange liqueur. Maybe add some orange zest or a dollop of orange marmalade to give a bit of the bitter orange flavour.

Watermelon margaritas using the Black Label margarita mix.

Cut up 1 1/2 cups of seedless watermelon. Freeze it for two hours. To a blender, add frozen watermelon, 1/8 cup tequila, 1/8cup orange liqueur, 1/4 cup of margarita mix and 3/4 cup ice cubes. Blend until smooth and slushie. This recipe makes two drinks, or one really big drink.

Now, officially, my favourite summer drink. If only I could figure out how to make a tamarind flavoured frozen drink, then I would be set.

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