An Ocean Adventure

I have only 3 work days this week and then it's off to Calgary to celebrate Christina and Kirk's wedding and have a visit with my in-laws. I am so so excited for the trip!
Cory and I had a great weekend. It was quite nice out and we managed to plan a day trip to a place called Deep Cove. It' s basically in North Vancouver, about 45 min from our place. It's a nice little village with a small beach, some kitschy little shops and a few places to eat. We went for a nice walk, had lunch a great restaurant called "Arms Reach" (complete with blankets on the patio and an ocean view) then went for an ice cream.
We finished off our day by taking an adventure. We rented a double kayak for 2 hours and set off to explore the cove and surrounding islands. It was the first time either of us had kayaked and we were both a little nervous, but it was actually not too difficult and quite peaceful. We will definitely be doing this again!
Cory didn't have on sun screen and he didn't have a hat. As usual. So he is sunburned. As usual.

Another great weekend...

I woke up today and the rain has returned. That being said we had a beautiful weekend. I think it was around 21 degrees and sunny! We spent some time down in White Rock on Sunday. We got an ice cream cone and went for a walk on the beach. The tide was out (for some reason every time we go, it's in...) so we had to walk about half a mile out to the ocean, but once we got there, I dipped my feet in for a few minutes. It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon. Nice to feel some sand between my toes!

In other news, my brother got a car over the weekend. It's a '99 VW Golf (I think.) I must say that it is a major step up from our first collective "ride." Ah good old Blue. Duck tape and all. I have a special place in my heart for Blue and all the adventures it took us on. A little scary for my little brother to be driving though....

Congrats to Julie and John who moved into their new place over the weekend! I can not wait to see it! Also a big "way to go" to Julie who landed herself a job to keep her busy over the summer. Apparently all it takes in a quick round of 4 interviews!

During my cooking adventures this weekend I made the BEST roast chicken of my life. Honestly.

It was Cinnamon Curry Roasted Chicken with Tomato Yogurt Sauce from The Oprah Magazine Cookbook. Served it with Cumin roasted Carrots and some Couscous.

For the chicken:
1 small roasting chicken
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 head of garlic (6 cloves peeled and 6 unpeeled)
2 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp salt
2 shallots (unpeeled and quartered)
3 cinnamon sticks
1 cup chicken stock
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Rinse and pat dry chicken.
Put first 7 spices in a frying pan and "toast" spices for 45 seconds.

Finely chop 6 cloves of garlic. Mix with grated ginger and olive oil. Rub generously over chicken.
Sprinkle chicken with salt. Rub spice blend all over chicken.

Put shallots, 6 cloves unpeeled garlic and cinnamon sticks in chicken cavity.

Roast for 30 min. Baste with 1/2 cup chicken stock. Roast another 20 min. Baste with rest of chicken stock. Continue to roast for about 1 more hour, or until chicken is done.

For the Sauce:
Drippings from roasted chicken
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Transfer roast drippings to a sauce pan. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat. Add yogurt slowly, whisking constantly. Add tomatoes and cilantro. Serve with chicken.


I know that the chicken looks burnt. It's not. That's the color of all those glorious spices after a good baking in the oven. Fear not.



Tomato Yogurt Sauce. Yummy!And a little Chocolate Torte I made this weekend as well. To die for. Needless to say I will be bringing some of this to work. All things in moderation.

Bread with salty things in it. Sounds good to me.

I've been feeling super inspired this week in the kitchen. Hence all the new recipe trying. Clearly I need to get out more.
Bacon and Olive Aperitif Cake (but it's really a bread...)
from Laura Calder's French Taste

I tried this recipe this morning and it is wonderful. Same idea as your basic banana bread or lemon loaf, but savory. You don't need to eat anything with it, not even butter. It is so good on it's own.

1 & 1/4 cup flour
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup olive oil (or other cooking oil)
2/3 cup olives, pitted and chopped (green or black)
4 slices of bacon, cut up and cooked, not too crisp though.
handful of shredded cheese, gruyere or chedder
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees, butter and flour a loaf pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder salt and pepper in the bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add in eggs, milk and oil. Mix until just smooth. Add in bacon, olives, cheese and rosemary. Mix until combined. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 45 min.

Tastes great right out of the oven or room temp.

Hummus and vache qui what?

Although I hate to take away from the fact that today really is Kelsey's day, (see post below,)
I must show you my lunch because it was so very yummy.

Half Moon Hummus (from Joy of Cooking)

In a food processor, combine:
2 cups of canned chick peas (1 big can), rinsed and drained
2/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste) * find it with the organic nut butters at grocery stores
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic1/4 cup pitted black olives (strange I know, but adds something so awesome!!)
1 tsp salt and pepper

Wizz it up until it's super smooth. Stir in some chopped fresh parsley and enjoy with pita or crudites*. (* fancy way to sat raw veggies...)
"Vache qui rit" Soup (from Laura Caulder's French Taste)

Sounds fancy right? Wrong. Vache qui rit means "laughing cow"in french. As in "Laughing Cow Cheese." The best part is, you can serve to others and call it by the french name. People will think your a genius and spent all day preparing it. You will know however that you can make it in less time then it takes to heat up a bowl of canned soup. This recipe is basically 3 ingredients. I tried it today and it is awesome!

In a pot combine:
2 cups chicken broth
2 chopped zucchini (skin on)
1 finely chopped onion
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 min with the lid on.

Add 4 pieces of laughing cow cheese.

Puree using a regular or immersion blender until very smooth.
Thin with a little milk if you like.
I'm telling you. Tastes gourmet. Healthy. So fast and simple.

Happy Birthday Kels!

Happy 27th Lady! Hope you have a great day and can't wait to see you in a couple weeks.

Super Easy Wanton Soup for Lunch

Happy Wednesday!

I wanted to share a super easy wanton soup recipe that I made this morning. I've made Asian-style meatballs before and Asian-style soups. This is a mixture of the two, simplified.

Trust me, it's simple.

Get yourself some "wanton wrappers" from the grocery store. They come in little square packages, usually with the tofu at the grocery store. Everything else is pretty standard and you probably have it in your fridge.

Wanton Soup
For the Wantons:
-1 pkg ground meat (I use chicken, but pork is good too)
-Pack of Wanton wrappers (you'll only use about 40, but they keep in the fridge for months)
-2 Green Onions, chopped
-2 tbsp soya sauce
-1 tsp sesame oil
-little bit of ginger
-garlic or garlic salt
Lay out the wanton wrappers on a large platter or cutting board. Get a small bowl of water to sip your fingers into. Mix all ingredients (except the wrappers...) in a bowl. Place a small amount (less than you'd think) of the meat mixture on the wantons. Use your fingers to dab some water around the edges of the wrappers and seal tightly.
For the Soup:-1 quart of chicken stock (or beef or veg stock. whatever..)
-2 tbsp soya sauce-2 cloves garlic, just cut in half (you will be fishing these out)
-tsp coriander seeds or fresh cilantro (you will also take these out before eating.

Bring some stock to a boil. Add in the soya sauce, garlic halves and coriander. Simmer for 10 min. Strain out the garlic and coriander. Return to stove and bring back to a boil. Add wantons (6 or so per person) and simmer for 5-6 min.

Top with fresh chopped green onion and slivered carrots.

**The wantons freeze really great, so make a whole bunch! Just throw them in a freezer bag in layers separated by parchment paper. You can also steam them and serve with some soya sauce for another meal!

The Queen of Hearts...

Monday was "tart day" at my house. I've been making Crustless Quiches in french onion soup bowls weekly for some time and I thought it was time to finally step it up. Th evolution is as follows.

I bought a FANTASTIC new cookbook on the weekend which I immediately read cover to cover. I can hardly wait to try more recipes from it, because they all sound amazing. The book is "French Taste: Elegant Everyday Eating" by Laura Calder (host of Food Network's French Food at Home.) The book is a wonderful read, and the recipes are actually quite straightforward and are not too fussy.
SO. I went and picked myself up a 9" tart/quiche pan and began my journey.
I decided to make a bacon and onion quiche (basic recipe from my head/experience) and the Lemon Tart from Laura's book. This involved making 2 different tart recipes, a savory pastry and a cookie pastry. Both were quite wasy, and although I had moments of doubt, both tuned out very well.
Here is one of the recipes. In an attempt not to overwhelm, I'll put the other one in later this week. (*but there are pics of both for your viewing pleasure.) Lemon Tart - so so yummy!
Quiche with Walnut Chevre Salad
Bacon and Onion Quiche in a Savory Tart

For the tart (makes 2 9" shells*): *2nd disk of pastry can be frozen for later!
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter
1 egg

Mix four and salt together in a large bowl. Cut the butter into little chunks then add to flour, pinching with your fingers until it forms fine crumbs. (You want the butter to stay cold so work quickly.)

Make a well in the middle and add the egg. Quickly mix it with your fingers until it forms sort of a dough.

Divide the dough in 2, wrap in plastic and put in the fridge for a half hour.

After it has chilled, roll it out the best you can and put into the tart shell. (It will fall apart a bit, no worries, just patch it up and make sure it covers the whole thing evenly.) Chill for another half hour.

Now you need to "blind bake" the tart so it doesn't get mushy. Line the tart shell with a piece of parchment paper. Fill the paper with dried beans or rice to weight it down. (Once you bake the beans or rice you won't be able to cook with them, FYI) Bake at 400 degrees for 12 min. Then take out the parchment and beans, brush tart with some egg yolk and bake at 350 degrees for 12 min more.

Tart is done. phew.

For the Quiche

4 strips bacon, sliced (cooked and fat drained)
1/2 onion, sliced (caramelized and cooled)
3 eggs
2 cups milk or cream
salt
pepper
1/2 cup Gruyere or Cheddar Cheese (optional)

Spread cooked bacon and onion on the bottom of the prepared tart shell. Sprinkle cheese if using.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour into the tart shell until it comes up almost to the top of the shell.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min, until egg mixture is set and the top is golden.


Feel free to change around the quiche ingredients as you like. Another favorite of ours in sauteed leek and mushrooms with cheddar.

Make it. Try it. I dare you!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm spending the day with my Mom today. What a treat to actually be here for Mother's Day for the first time a 7 years! We are all just hanging out in the backyard enjoying the sun. It's a beautiful day. I've even got sunscreen on! We are refilling the pool and getting ready for the summer. That's definitly something I really enjoy about living here. 4 Star resort with pool just down the street :)

To Kathy. Happy Mother's Day. Cory and I are missing you today!

To Kelsey. Happy 2nd Mother's Day. I hope Justin and Charlie make this a very special day for you!

To Tanya. Happy Mother-to-be Day. Next year on this day you'll have little one rolling around giggling.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

**crossing my fingers for success for Julie in the summer job hunt too**

To those that really matter...

If you're reading this now, you matter to me. I'm missing you all out here in the Lower Mainland and it makes a big difference to me to feel like I'm a part of your lives.

I'd like to use this blog to stay connected. I've been very inspired by Kelsey's Blog( thewetschfamily.blogspot.com) which makes me feel like I know a little part of the current life of her and her little girl, who even though I haven't seen for a while, I think about every day.

I hope to fill you in on all the things that are going on with me and hopefully feel more connected to all the big moments that are happening in your lives. Moving, getting married, babies, what you had for dinner last night. I want to be there for it all.

Since I'm a major cooking girl these days, I'll also post my favorite new recipes and maybe we can share in some new food together too.

Add this to your favorites and I promise I'll update as often as I can.

Love and miss you all!