I’m on a Boat! by, m (& a)

We Made A(n eggless) Pie! by m

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter plus 2 tablespoons, cubed
• 1 cup cold lard, cubed
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 2 teaspoons lemon, juice
• ice water

Directions

1. I don’t have a food processor, but we mixed the shortening and butter by cutting up the butter and shortening into small pieces and adding to the flour and salt, then we took two butter knives and mixed  in a chopping motion like a whirlygig (mom’s word!), until there were fine crumbs and some bigger chunks.
2. In liquid measure, mix vinegar and enough ice water to make 2/3 cup (150 mL).
3. With motor running (aka, A’s arms), we added the vinegar & water mixture all at once; we mixed just until dough started to clump together. We didn’t let it form a dough ball; before we thought we’d mixed it enough, we stopped mixing and formed the dough into two discs.
4. We wrapped the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerated one for 30 minutes. The other half is in the freezer for next time.

*Remember! The less you mix it or squish it, the flakier your pastry will be. Take the time to chill it before you try rolling it out- it makes a really big difference.

For an apple pie, start with Macs (we could only find granny smith’s in our grocery store).  Peel and slice enough to mound up and over-fill the pie shell. Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Stir in 1/4 c flour mixed with 1/3 c sugar and a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon. Put it in the prepared pie shell, the top with another piece of pastry.

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes.

Here’s mom’s advice for the finishing touch: “If you want it to be brown and luscious looking on top, mix 2 tablespoons milk with 1 tsp sugar, stir to dissolve and brush it on top before it goes into the oven. Have some strips of foil ready to cover the edges of the pie if they are browning too quickly. Pie is done when you out a knife in the centre and you feel only….applesauce!”

Quinoa Adventures Part 3, by j

So I was going to wait until next week to post this so it wouldn’t seem like all I did today was cook.

But screw it. Thats exactly what I did today.

So here is my second quinoa recipe that I tried.

Quinoa Parmesan Bites! Slightly modified from this recipe.

It starts how every good quinoa recipe starts, by rinsing that quinoa. You may remember that I’m a big fan of rinsing quinoa. Since its a seed, quinoa has a bitter coating that stops birds and other animals from eating it. Most brands say that it is “pre rinsed” but that’s usually a damn lie. Rinse it again, and use your mitts to rinse the seeds. I even tried some, uncooked, and it didn’t taste bitter. It didn’t taste good either.

I cooked the quinoa in chicken stock again, and now I’m a convert, I will never go back to regular water. After cooking the seeds, I had to let them cool, and when they were cold, we went to town with some mixing.

It was really very easy. Just mix in everything. Bam.

I used a muffin tin that was well oiled, but don’t skimp on the cooking spray. My stuck very nicely in the pan. Grrr. For the second batch I used A’s fancy muffin tin liners.

Then I wanted a saucy sauce. So I made a honey Dijon dipping sauce out of these ingredients:

Yup. Honey Dijon sauce that has two ingredients. I read some suggestions that recommended some mayo in there. Ew.

And here’s the final product:

that

Recipe:

2.5 cups of cooked quinoa
3 eggs
2 tbsp of flour
1 cup of grated carrot
3 green onions
1/4 cup of parsley
3/4 cup of Parmesan, plus more on top of bites
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients, and fill greased muffin tins 3/4 the way full. Sprinkle Parmesan on. Top and bake for 20-30 minutes.

I found them a little bland, so I’d probably try to spice them up.

But very tasty.

Quinoa Adventures Part 2, by j

Day one of being the only sister not in FF. Yesterday A left on a jet plane for the great north (or about as north as you want to go) to visit M and FFD. And I’m here. Alone.

Sad, but for an exciting reason- I start my second internship (unpaid of course) tomorrow. Slightly nervous? Absolutely.

So to console myself I cleaned like I’ve never before. And I cooked up some quinoa. After reading about quinoa over at the lovely “The Muddy KItchen” and I was inspired.

And so I started a couple of attempts at quinoa.

So here’s the first attempt – Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Fresh Corn.

Why this recipe? I love black beans. A lot. There’s lime in it. Yum. And fresh corn is in season.

I will even go as far to say that this is the PERFECT SUMMER SALAD.

Why red quinoa? I don’t know, for kicks? It has a slightly “earthier” taste than its pale sister. When I read that I thought, “that’s just a fancy way of saying it tastes like dirt”. After cooking it up I can’t tell the difference.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of salt free chicken stock
1 can of black beans,drained
1 red pepper,diced
1/4 cup of cilantro, minced
1 1/4 cups of fresh corn
2 green onions, sliced

Dressing
Juice of two limes
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/4 cup of cilantro, minced
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup of olive oil

I cooked the red quinoa (after rinsing the heck out of it) in chicken stock. Sure, it then can’t be vegan. But I don’t care. Vegans are irritating. As a rule.

After that, we had to cook that fresh corn, which was interesting.

While the quinoa was cooking, I chopped everything else up:

Then I whisked all the dressing ingredients together.

After that, I added in the red quinoa to the veggies, and tossed in the dressing. The good part? You don’t have to wait for the quinoa to cool completely. Woot!

The original recipe also calls for avocado, but I didn’t see any avocados that weren’t hard enough to land someone unconscious if thrown. As well, if you don’t have fresh corn, don’t do the corn. It will not turn out.

Final tip? Cook your quinoa in chicken stock! It is sooooo much tastier. Yes, yes. I know, vegans. But again, who cares?

Serve it at room temp, and then put it in the fridge to have for the week!

Tada!

Enjoy the arty picture –

She’s got skills, by j

Tomorrow marks a big day for the oldest and youngest sisters. A and I are going to be having our last day of full time employment tomorrow. Whoa. We’ve been enjoying a summer of making the money (although A has been loving the full time work for one year) and we’re about to see our bank accounts shrink.

So time to celebrate, non?

Usually the office will get you a cake when you leave, but in A’s office she likes to be the one bringing tasty treats (that are egg/nut free).

So what’s her last treat for tomorrow?

RED VELVET CUPCAKES!!!

When A wakes me up tomorrow (which she now does with some irritation), I hope I do not have red velvet cupcake stains from gorging them down. That would be embarrassing.

Congrats A on your new post BA program! You’ve grown so much this past year- so profesh! So proud!

UPDATE: we were linked up to the Cupcake Post website! Thanks! Here’s the recipe that A used, from tattooed Québécois chef, Chuck Hughes. A substituted egg replacer for the eggs (perhaps we can cajole her into a blog post about how she manages using that?). Happy baking!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy, by m

Look! DIY fun that even I could do!

Keeping things smelling nice with this natural air freshener…

Making crayons…

I’ve tried this one with my students…but instead of peeling the crayons myself, I had them spend hours peeling broken crayons. Nobody wants to draw with the broken crayons anyways, and besides, how else was I to fill the hours spend in Kindergarten?

Dip dyeing more than A’s hair…

Chicken wire projects seem a propos for the countryside, no?

It’s business time…

OK, so I don’t have an airbrush gun to do ombre business cards, but maybe I could drag a crayola marker along the edges of my own stack? …a girl’s gotta start somewhere.

(p.s. click the pics for links to the tutorials)

Blogging the Collaborative Way, by m

Look, sisters! WordPress just published an article on how to set up a collaborative blog properly; separate sign ins, and the ability to publish under our own names (or pseudonyms).  Is this a route we might want to take?

xo,

m

http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/group-photoblogs/

An Argument for Fat, by m

One of my favourite parts of my summertime life of leisure is spending time in the kitchen (especially now that I have one).  I’m slowly expanding my culinary repertoire and am learning what I like and what I don’t.

For the past few years I’ve slowly been making the switch (along with many health-conscious and quality-conscious foodies) from low-fat, low calorie foods to their full-fat, Julia-Child-Approved counter parts.  I knew the pendulum was swinging that way, but it wasn’t until I picked up The LooneySpoons Collection (Janet & Greta Podleski’s latest cookbook) that somebody explained it clearly for me.

Janet and Greta are hometown heroines around South Western Ontario.  They’ve sold over 2 million copies of their low-fat cookbooks, scored their own Food Network show, and were even featured in People magazine.  They pulled their best-selling cookbooks from shelves a few years back, despite awesome sales, and describe their reasoning in the new book:

“Despite the overwhelmingly positive response [to our cookbooks], we made the tough decision a few years back to take both cookbooks out of print.  […] It bothered us that some of the nutrition information in our cookbooks was outdated and, in some cases, outright wrong (based on newer studies).  for example, back then, fats were classified as “evil” and we were encouraged by experts to drastically cut back on fat consumption, yet they didn’t make a distinction between what are now known as “good fats” (avocados, nuts, seeds, salmon, etc.) and “bad fats” (hydrogenated and trans fats).  We were advised to out ALL fats, which, of course, were replaced by carbs, mostly of the white, refined variety. [vii]”

I would add another thing we’ve replaced good fats with: additives.  Full-fat yogurt is delicious. Fat-free is full of aspartame, sucralose, and a bunch of other things I can’t pronounce.

So, as part of my back-to-fat transition, I’ve prepared a list of my…

Top 3 Favourite Ways to Bring Back the Fat*

1.  Dairy: FFD and I recently made the permanent change to real butter.  Hooray! (This is where Julia Child would be proud).  I also have always preferred regular Activia over fat-free.  And FFD is a believer in regular sour cream.   Which I don’t think I’d ever realllly tried before I moved in with him.  He also loves cheese (which makes me realize that “FFD” is also an acronym for Full Fat Dairy). The bottom line here: they taste like real food.  Also, who knew that so many real dairy products were solids, and not runny? (this reminds me of little A, because I know she sometimes strains her yogurt, which is weird).

I’ve even found a recipe to make my own butter (http://themuddykitchen.com/2012/06/15/my-big-fat-homemade-butter/ ). Can you imagine!? Homemade butter on homemade bread! To think! (Maybe if I’m gifted with courage and a KitchenAid mixer).

FFD

 

2. Oil:  I love Olive Oil! I like dipping bread in it.  I like making salad dressing with it.  I use it in my bread recipes. [As a side note, I’ve heard that it loses a lot of it’s health properties when you cook with it on the stove top (and even if you store it near a heat source), so I’ll try using butter in hot pans from now on.]

3.  Meat: I’m not afraid.  Bring on the red meat. Bring on the dark meat. Bring on the bacon! As far as I’m concerned, it translates to “Bring on the flavour”.  Ya!  You heard me! Everything in moderation and yada yada yada, but seriously, boneless skinless chicken thighs are a lot cheaper than breasts, and they’re not bad for you!  And how much more “back-to-nature” can you get than a steak on the BBQ?  It’s as if my paleolithic ancestors are calling to me! So throw caution to the wind, and eat meat (sometimes)!!

Me and my boyfriend

*Please note that none of this is based on much research other than daytime television health segments and quick Google searches. I just feel better eating things with labels that have words in them that I recognize.

Now back to refinishing furniture…

Job Hunting and Other Skills, by m

Today I had WHIMIS training at 8:30 AM at my new serving job.  Blech. And the worst part was, I showed up on time and they didn’t start the damn PowerPoint until 9AM.  If you’re going to ask me to be there so early, at least do me the courtesy of starting on time.

Then at 1PM, I had an interview to get on the supply teaching list for the Catholic board. I think it went well…for the most part (*edit*: I had originally posted a transcript here of the events in question, then removed them…if you’re curious, I can message you the embarrassing details privately, without offending anyone).

Then, at 3;45, I went for an interview at a local law firm.  I didn’t know what the job was for, I’d simply responded to an ad in the paper for a full-time position. When I arrived,  I was told to do a typing test and was then told that I have above-average typing skills . That’s about all I gleaned from the interview.  I still don’t understand what the job is.

I also found this cabinet in one of our sheds that I want to refinish!  I’ve never refinished anything, but I decided this is a good piece to start with because it was free and FFD didn’t even know it existed (so if I mess it up, he won’t notice it disappears, right?). He’s away for the night on a camping expedition, so I used several screw drivers incorrectly to dismount it from the shed wall, and then I threw it on the grass, and took enthusiastic ‘before’ pictures of it…it’s still outside in the grass, in case anyone is wondering.

I’m still amazed at how much one can get done in a single day in a small town!

Mish Mash: Summer Edition, by j

Well, hello there.  It has been another self imposed break for myself from blogging (little A it seems has taken a more severe hiatus).

What did you miss?  Not too much.  Just summer.

Some of us have been living it up, enjoying summer to its fullest potential, and others (like me) have been slogging through the southwestern Ontario heat to make the big bucks.

And yet again, we find ourselves at the end of August, looking at the tail end of summer wondering, what in the heck happened to the last two months.  It has been a fairly eventful summer, full of goodbyes/hellos/food/fun/family/work.

This is what you’ve missed from my life:

– Absolutley nothing.  As a student in mid-grad school I was given the opportuntity to work full time (rather than the .5 hour work week I had planned) this summer at the job.  Yea for my tuition bill, not so exciting for my summer.  Working hard 44 hour weeks makes me sleepy.  But that will be the end of my complaining- I have a job, and by Friday, I’ll have my fourth semester’s tuition in hand (Ha-llay-lu!).

Other than than that what have I been up to?

– an awesome weekend in Niagara with my favourite peeps

– an expensive trip to the Toronto Women’s Bookstore (woot!)

– corn shucking

– making killer fresh peach daquiris (any opportunity to get my aunt E drunken is an event that deserves copious amounts of run)

– kid-hanging-out-with-fun (except for the 6 year old who told me he wanted me to leave his house the other day…)

– dreaming about having my own apartment again (sidenote: I am totally appreciative of the gift of free living at my parents’ house…don’t read that as ungrateful…Dad, I’m looking at you)

– helped set up a blog here for a family member who will not be named (as she is not utlizing her wordpress tutorial I gave her).  We want snarky posts!

– book clubbin’ it up (“Best Laid Plans” by Terry Fallis last month…a hit)

– the Australians have descended (or ascended?  as they are on the bottom of the globe?)

– World Prisoner Justice Day in TO (heavy conference, but kind of amazing)

– M has been gone for almost two months!  Seems like yesterday she and FFD were broke down in Wawa.  I’m currently stewing over the fact that I am not leaving for Fort Fab next week with A.  She gets a whole week of vacay in a small northern town where they are mere minutes away from (what I hear) are the best long island ice teas west of Toronto.  Maybe that’s a good thing.  Because I do believes that FFD has only been around me when I have been inebriated.  My goal will be to remain stone cold sober then next time I see him.  The fact that I just wrote that being sober is “a goal” is perhaps a giant red flag that I will ignore.

– did I mention the 44 hour work weeks?

– dreaming of fall.  Yes, and I will not feel bad for it.  A and I had this convo last week.  We will not be silenced, you summer lovers.  We are lovers of fall.  HEAR US!  Don’t try and make us feel badly for loving crisp breezes, sweaters, hot apple cider and closed toe shoes.  We will not wane in our excited anticipation of the next couple of months!  So stop with your cries of “Just enjoy the sunshine, we’ll be in the snow before you know it” and chastizing us for not loving summer enough.  We’ve had just about enough of you.  STOP OPPRESSING US!

– started back at therapy…an expensive, but wonderful choice

Things that have not happened:

– those summer walks (although A and I did get a Saturday night stroll to the SuperStore at 10pm…living it up)

– one final mark from last semester has not popped up yet.  Are we surprised that it’s practicum related?  (Remember they’re kind of a hot mess)

– farmers’ marketing w/ dad, I could not say no to sleeping on Saturday mornings after a year of working at 9am on the weekend.  Although I will say I miss the free breakfast

– Toronto time, seems a waste when my fave Torontonian has left the Big Smoke for big stars up North!

Things to look forward to:

– starting my second internship next week!  Wahoo!  Eight months to go before I am a gen-u-ine MSW!

– fall, obvs.

– starting classes

– seeing my MSW peeps!  Living 1.5 hours away from school has its advantages, but a disadvantage?  Missing my people and our pub.

– high school bestie moving back to Ontario!  12 years is long enough, I command Newfoundland to return my beloved vegetarian!

– Oktoberfest…with bestie back in Ontario, I believe it is a sign that she is moving to the K-W area.

– my own home again.  currently salivating over the idea.  Sorry, dad.  This time around you will be invited more.  And I will make you meat dinners.  Despite the cost of animal protein.

Things that I am currently obsessed with:

– a food blog, “Joy the Baker”.  This only makes me dream of my own kitchen.  Although that’s ridiculous, as I live in a home with the nicest and most beautiful kitchen I’ve ever (and probably will ever) have.  But it’s not mine.

Tomato cobbler with blue cheese biscuits.  This needs to happen.

– Teagan and Sara.  Obvs.

– cider, I’ve decided that Alexander Keith’s is my new fave, sorry Strongbow

– Michele Landsberg’s new book “Writing the Revolution”.  Slogging through, but ultimately fascinating.  In my dreams I imagine that Michele and Stephen Lewis are my family.

– Top Chef.  Sorry dad, that’s where all that bandwidth went this month.  But seriously, I’m obsessed.  Taking a break from the watching.

– My friends.  Currently smashing as much time as I can with all those lovelies before school starts.  Started today off by a lovely visit with this little one and her mama.

–  Adoption. Kind of liking that thought.  For now.

– when her new album will be dropped.  Can’t. Stand. Anticipation.

– we (and by “we” I mean “me”) bought “The Hunger Games” during the late night SuperStore run.  A-mazing.