Carrot Coconut Soup

This week I have gone baby crazy! Not only in food for mama's but treats for the babes, my sewing machine has been pretty busy. I have added to my baby tag blanket repertoire, I've added double thick swaddling blankets and burp clothes. The best thing about sewing baby stuff is that it's usually small and can be completed in a day and they make the cutest baby fabric!
Here is the recipe for the carrot coconut soup recipe I posted about this week. It's a great recipe for people with food allergies as it contains no gluten, no dairy, and is vegetarian!


Carrot Coconut Soup
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
6 cups carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly chopped ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 15 ounce can full fat coconut milk


Heat the oil in large pot and add the onions. Saute for about 7 minutes. Stir in the ginger, curry powder, and chili flakes, cook 1 minute. Add in the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes.
Pour in the stock and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and cover, cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the carrots are soft.
Puree the soup in a blender or using an immersion blender (stick blender). Season with salt and pepper.

Sunday afternoon snapshot

The Generals

Tonight I finally made it to one of my Uncle's hockey games and what I time I had! He plays hockey pretty regularly but it's taken me a while to get to a game but after tonight I think I will definitely be back (and not just because I got fed).
I have never watched such a relaxed hockey game, no shouting or fighting, just good ol' hockey. I kept looking for the coach but couldn't seem him, when I asked my Uncle later how they know when to go on or off the ice, he said they just get off when their tired! I like that.
The game was pretty close but The Generals lost in the last 3 minutes, we were a little disappointed, but had a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

We are cheering for #6!

Dinner!

Our "The Generals Lost" faces

Food for new Mommas

Friends of ours just had a baby yesterday, she was a little over due so I was totally ready with my "new baby" food prep. I remember at my Great Grandma's funeral a woman talked about how my Great Grandma always brought food over to her house every time she had a baby. Well, today I channeled her while making some treats for the two new Mommas!

A pile of burritos!

Soup is always a good way to go, especially since it's winter (despite the temperature!). My go to is a simple Carrot Ginger Soup. For a quick lunch or supper I whipped up some burritos for the freezer. And of course a sweet treat, one of my faves...lemon poppy seed cookies! Over the next couple of days I'll be posting these recipes for you to cook for yourself and be comforted or share with your friends and family!

Freezer Friendly Burritos
These are so easy to make and they can be customized to fit your tastes.

1 pkg flour tortillas, I usually use whole wheat but you can use any kind (spinach, tomato, white)
1 jar of your favorite salsa, from the store or home made
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice, cooked (I usually throw in a can of diced tomatoes and cook the rice in a stock)
1 1/2 cups refried beans, canned or homemade
A protein, this could be anything (beef, pork, chicken, black beans...), about a pound
Grated cheese

1. Cook your protein, I usually throw in some onions and garlic as well as some chili powder and ground cumin. I also will add veggies, like chopped peppers or corn.
2. Layer your fillings onto your burrito, wrap them up with tin foil, and put them in the freezer.
3. When you are ready to eat one there are two options...
          1. In the oven: Leave the foil on and put them in at 375F for 35-45 min, flipping over halfway        through.
          2. In the microwave: Remove the foil and place the burrito on a plate. Cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Baby, it's COLD!

I awoke this morning to someone singing down the hall "COLDY, COLDY, COLDY!" and boy is it ever! Annie Rose came home from school today shivering, but with perfect timing as I had just pulled out some pitas from the oven. Then she sat an warmed herself as the pitas popped! Nothing like a 500F oven to warm you!

This weather gives us the perfect opportunity to stay home and be cozy. I hope for you all that you have time this evening to snuggle up and enjoy a MB winters night.

Sibling Dinner

The other night my brothers (affectionately known as "bruvs", love + brothers = bruv) and I had dinner together, just the 3 of us. It's rare that this happens, and despite the fact that Si hadn't slept in 24 hours, it was just perfect. We had one of my favorite kinds of meals...which is any meal that has most of the food groups. I LOVE complete meals. And most often it is the way I cook, maybe it is engrained in me from culinary school, the fact that a plate should have a protein, vegetable, and starch. Whatever the reason it fulfils me!

We ate oven roasted ribs (from Zinn farms, to die for), smashed potatoes, caesar salad and baked beans. So satisfying.
As I mentioned the ribs were from Zinn farms, if you haven't hopped on that band wagon I'd do so now...not to be pushy but this pork is delish. I rubbed them in dijon on a spice mixture and then roasted them for 3 hours. Fall of the bone yummy. Whether you are using Zinn farms ribs or ribs from the grocery store, please make this recipe at your earliest convenience and be satisfied too!

Oven Roasted Spare Ribs

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Serves 6 to 8 (depending on the size of your ribs)

6 tablespoons brown sugar

6 tablespoons paprika

3 tablespoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

1/2 cup dijon mustard

3 slabs pork spareribs (or 4 slabs baby back ribs)

your favorite bbq sauce, optional

Preheat the oven to 25oF. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Mix together the sugar and spices.

Brush both sides of each slab of ribs with the mustard. Rub in the spice mixture.

Lay the ribs on the foil lined sheet. Roast for 2-3 hours for spare ribs, and 1 1/2 to 2 hours for baby back ribs. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before enjoying!

We ate these ribs without bbq sauce, but if you prefer your ribs saucy then once they are cooked brush one side with bbq sauce and broil till bubbly, flip and repeat.

Another recommendation

Apparently when I find something new and awesome I like to share it with people...I'm sure you're not surprised! I appreciate when people recommend good things or places so here I am sharing some of my new favorite things. I've even set up a label for these "good ideas", you will notice a list of them on the left hand of the page.

Today's good thing is candles! Specifically Hartmont candles, made by a woman from Carman MB using all Canadian products and sold at The Forks. I came across the Hartmont Candle Company shop 2 weeks ago and have returned 3 times since then. At first I thought it was just a franchise owned by someone far away and mass produced in a factory. But after some investigating I found out that no, these candles were not produced in a factory but right in Manitoba. The scents are delicious and not "fakey" and the candles burn wonderfully.

My family is getting pretty tired of me going on and on about them (I can just see Nathalie and Annie Rose reading this post and rolling their eyes!) but it is exciting to see a small business (that started in a home) thrive and produce such a good product!

My latest purchases were a lemon meringue candle, a cinnamon heart candle, and an irish cream candle!

I also picked up on of the lip balms, paraben free and in crazy flavors (pizza and bacon!?!?). I am usually a plain ol' peppermint Burt's Bees lip balm girl but I have changed alliances now! Not only are they yummy flavors (I wasn't so adventurous as to get the pizza flavor but I did get the pumpkin cheesecake!) but they feel great on your lips.

You can find Hartmont Candles on the main floor of Johnson's Terminal at The Forks. I highly recommend going...you can't been natural, Manitoba made products!

Check out the website.

Have any of you readers heard of Hartmont Candles before?

A recipe!

This is a recipe for one of the appetizers I made for Zach's birthday party...I don't have a picture of it as I was too busy cooking and eating them! Just trust me and make them!

Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie

Serves 8

1 pound white button mushrooms, stems removed

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

1 wedge of brie

Preheat the oven to 350F

Heat up a pan with a few tablespoons of oil. Add the mushroom caps and toss to coat in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and let them cook for a minute. Remove the caps from the pan and place them upside down in a baking dish.

Into the same pan, add the garlic, parsley, and green onions. Saute 1 minute.

Cut the brie into small pieces and place 1 piece in each mushrooms cap. Sprinkle the caps with the parsley/garlic mixture.

Bake the mushroom caps for 15 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before placing on a serving platter.

Try it, you won't be disappointed!

Zach turns 23...almost!

Zach's Birthday is tomorrow but we had a celebration for him last night...its been a few years since I've been around for his birthday and I was glad I was here this year.

We celebrated with a HUGE bowl of Carbonara Pasta (bacon, eggs, parmesan, parsley)...

And a drenched in booze but not too sweet dessert....pistachio and poached pear tart

It was fun to create, fun to enjoy, and fun to celebrate one of my favourite humans!

A recommendation

For the past 6 years I have cooked Christmas dinner for my family, you can tell how far I've come by looking back at my stress level during past Christmas dinners! I am happy to say that 2011's was the smoothest and least tiring of all six years. I had great help this year from Zach and Stacey and was able to stay awake past 8:30!

I usually try do something else other than the classic turkey, my Granny has that meal down and I don't want to mess with delicious perfection, so we do turkey for Christmas Eve and something else for Christmas Day. This year Zach sourced us out some local pork from a farm in Springstein Manitoba. They raise berkshire pigs, which are a heritage breed and are prized for their flavor and tenderness. So we ordered 4 pork butts to roast on Christmas day...best decision ever. It was so darn good!

My parents raised us mostly vegetarian, except for our own chickens and occasionally my Grandpa's beef, and even when we began eating more of it we never really ate pork. Well, that is about to change! Last week I went back to the Zinn Farms website and ordered a family pack (a mixture of a bunch of their pork products) to try them out. Within a few days it was delivered right to my door! It pretty much made my day...

I highly recommend ordering your pork (they also sell chickens, goats, and rabbits) from the Zinn family. Not only is it delicious but you are also supporting a small family farm.

Happy Pigs = Nutritious and delicious pork = Happy Me (or you!)

Weird Weather...

What is up with the weather here!?!? So freaky...I keep reminding myself that we are in the first week of January because it feels like April outside. And while I know its wrong for the weather to be this warm I have been enjoying being outside without getting a frozen bum. And playing outside lasts way longer...

January 1st, 2012

Here we are in 2012...happy to be here? I am. Everything is closed, its blustery outside and so I have stayed in my PJs all day! I have with me in the same house my brothers and Mama, we have evolved into a pod that really is perfect for each other...with little bits of quiet and play, oh and eating! Its pretty great. Today I made portzelky (pronounced par-cel-tche), another delicious treat from my Mennonite heritage, they are essentially raisin fritters covered in powdered sugar. They are also called New Years Cookies and so of course I had to seize my one chance a year to make them!

I felt like I was channeling my two Great-Grandma's as I made them, pretty neat. If I wasn't in my PJ's and felt like venturing out into the world it would be to deliver these to friends...but that wasn't in the cards so the four of us had a fried dough hay-day!

Today was also special because our Mom cooked dinner for us!

Big deal? Uh, yeah! She is a pretty busy gal and time for cooking isn't high on the list of desires, so for her to make us supper is a gift! What a great way to start the year.

How did you celebrate the beginning of a new year?

See you tomorrow....yes that means that maybe I'll finally be back to regular posts! :)