Golden Beets

Ok I'm going to sound a bit like Rachael Ray here.  But sometimes I go to the grocery store ( read Costco) and I see things that blow my mind and I HAVE to buy them.  Today's treasure?  GOLDEN BEETS.  I don't think I've ever had golden beets NOT in a restaurant.  And they were like only $4!
Brown Sugar Glazed Golden Beets
What You Need 6-8 golden beets 1 tbl margarine 4 tbls brown sugar 3 tbls orange or apple juice salt and pepper to taste 
First, boil the crap out of your beets.  Give 'em a good scrub and pop them in a sauce pan to boil.  I did about 30 minutes.  

Then you're going to "slip off the skins".  I've read a lot of beet recipes and they all say the same thing "slip off the skins"-they make it sound SO easy.  It wasn't. With a butter knife I kinda scraped/cut off some of the tougher skins, while using a paper towel to rub off some of the thinner ones.  It was a messy, time consuming process.  But I'd do it again because they're THAT good.

With my butter knife I roughly chopped  the beets into bite size pieces.  

Combine the butter, brown sugar and orange juice in a sauté pan and bring to a boil.  Then add in the beets and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated.

I dunno.  I guess I'm not very good at glazing because I cooked the crap outta those beets and the liquid didn't go anywhere.  Granted I was lazy and put everything back in the sauce pot instead of a pan.  Maybe that's the difference?   Didn't matter they were still delicious.

Stay tuned, because I have an awesome pork recipe that I made with these veggies.  A perfect combo!

Cream of Carrot Soup

This past weekend Ty was sick-actually sick.  Strep throat and the beginning of a tonsil infection.  So we had a very low key weekend.  And his sore throat allowed me to make one of my favourite soups.  My Aunty Dawn's Cream of Carrot soup!

Aunty Dawn is my Mum's youngest brother's wife.  I have known her for close to 20 years and is one of the craftiest ladies I know.  She inspires me to crank up my scrapbooking to the next level.  And this is her recipe!



Cream of Carrot Soup
1 medium onion, chopped 4 cups carrots, chopped 2 cups chicken stock 3 Tbls margarine 3 Tbls flour salt & pepper to taste 1 tsp curry powder 4 cups milk
Chop the onion and carrot and toss in a big pot.  

Add your chicken stock and cook the vegetables until softened.

Toss the veggie mixture into a blender or food processor and puree until no lumps remain

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour to create a roué.  Add in the curry powder (more or less depending on your personal preferences) and stir.  Add in the milk and stir until combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat the milk until boiling and thickened.

Add in the veggie puree and stir to combine.   Heat through and serve.

I had mine with croutons.   Sometimes cream soups are a little plain.

Fake It Fajitas

I am on my own most weekdays.  Mine and Tyler's schedules don't match up during the school year, with Ty working a regular 9am-5pm and I work 3pm-9pm most days.  Which means I'm on my own for breakfast and lunch (not to mention making dinner before I leave to teach most days so I have something to eat when I come home).
The other day I was really struggling for something to have for lunch.  Since we've returned from our honeymoon I haven't done a proper meal plan and grocery shop.  I'm scrounging and making due with what I have on hand.  I had a couple peppers, and onion and leftover soft taco shells from a taco kit.....  FAJITAS!   I thought about defrosting some ground beef, but I was too lazy!  Plus I knew I wouldn't use the whole pound of meat for my meal-it just wasn't worth it.
I heated some oil in a pan and dropped in the onions.  Let them soften a bit and then I threw in the peppers (green and orange).  I was worried about how I would make these veggies taste like a fajita, besides taco seasoning.  Beef bouillon!  Just one packet and some taco seasoning made all the difference.  

Once the veggies were tender crisp, I spooned them into the soft taco shells folded them up and went to town!

So the next time you're craving an easy (meat free) meal try these Fake it Fajitas.  Add some shredded cheese, salsa and/or sour cream for a complete fajita experience!

Cilantro & Ginger Tilapia

What's Tilapia you're probably wondering?  Well it's a mellow white fish that is sustainably farmed which means its easy to come across and you can eat it knowing you are doing your part for the Earth!  I came across this recipe through a friend, Amy (well technically she's my sister's friend, but I've commandeered her into being my friend too!)
Cilantro and Ginger Tilapia
What You'll Need 1 lb Tilapia (I used about 3 fillets) salt and pepper 3 cloves of garlic 1 inch fresh ginger 1 jalapeño pepper (optional) 1/3 cup cilantro 1/4 cup white wine 2 Tbl soy sauce 2 tsp sesame oil

Heat your oven to 475 F (hawt!)   Pat the fish dry and season with salt and pepper.  Lay the fish in a clear baking dish - I used a glass Pyrex baking dish.

Mince the garlic, jalapeño and chop the cilantro.  Put into a medium sized bowl.  The original recipe says to grate the ginger.  A lot of recipes say to grate the ginger.  I feel that grating the ginger is always such a disaster....so I minced it.  Pour in the sesame oil (my new favourite thing), soy sauce & white wine.  

Again the recipe says to blend this in a food processor.  I like chunks.  So I just whisk everything all together and let the flavours meld without pureeing in.
Pour the mixture over the fish.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish.  

To go with the fish I made a Fake Rice Pilaf!  I love fake things!  Start with your rice, mine is brown, and make it according to the package directions.  Do not add salt or butter!  Instead put in a teaspoon or two of vegetable or chicken stock with the rice.  Then I minced up a shallot, some matchstick carrots and celery. 

 Toss these in the pot half way through the cooking time of the rice.  Allow the rice to continue cooking until the water is absorbed and the vegetables are softened.  





Pour some of the sauce from the fish over your rice and enjoy!  

It's soooooo good.  I don't know if I love the jalapeno's - they add something that doesn't work with the over all asian flavours.  But that's totally your call!

Late Season Camping

So, I was a little preoccupied this summer with the whole 'getting married' thing.  It left very little time to do anything else.  I didn't finish teaching until late into June - BTW it rained ALL of June, or at least it felt like all of June!  Then it was July and I actually taught more than expected in July and then it was August!  And then I got married.
Now we're trying to get back into regular life (I realized we've only been home for 2 weeks!) and I decided we should go camping.  We haven't been camping in years...easily three.  So I researched where we should go.  I picked a campsite 4 hours away, Ty won with a site that was only 2.5 hours away.  We went to to E.C. Manning Provincial Park.  

On the road. A gorgeous drive!

We're here!

How to start an awesome fire!

Start with some newspaper and then gently stack your kindling alternating left to right and up and down.    Light the paper from underneath.  This is a fool proof way to start a fire and get it cracking! 

Ty looking very unimpressed with our tent.  And fair enough, it took us 2.5 hours to set it up.  That was my fault.  I tried about 20 different ways to put the poles in until Ty finally figured it out.

Setting up camp.  We're pretty basic as you can see.

Ty got me coming out of the tent as I transform into a lumberjack.  Yes, I'm Canadian.

A little beach time.  Ty had a lovely snooze.

The chipmunk who stole my graham cracker!  Well that's what I get for feeding them all afternoon.  He climbed right up onto the table and stole it right off my plate.  

Ty chills out.  What a handsome guy huh?

I got back at Ty for his sneaky pictures of me getting out of the tent.  It got chilly pretty quick, so we had to change into pants and hoodies.

Our picnic table.  I know it's cliche but I love my red and white checked tablecloth!

Another great way to start a fire.  The teepee version.

Ty demonstrates his incredible tightrope walking skills.

Homeward bound

White Bean Turkey Chilli

It's no surprise to anyone who reads my blog, or randomly stops by, that I love to cook.  I love to try new recipes because it allows me to think outside the box and find new favourites.  Luckily my husband will eat pretty much anything so I'm in the clear.  This week I tried a new chilli recipe.  Nothing beats my Dad's Chilli, but this was an experiment & I think that he would've wanted to try this recipe too!
White Bean Turkey Chilli 1 lb lean ground turkey 2 tbs olive oil 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 onion, diced 3 stalks of celery, chopped 2 cans of navy beans 1/4 cup fresh chopped jalapeños (about 2 peppers) 1 tbs cumin 1 can sweet corn 1 cup white wine 2 cups vegetable/chicken broth oregano chilli powder

Sauté garlic and add in ground turkey.  

Cook on medium heat while breaking up the meat.  This is going into the crockpot, so don't over cook it!   Remove from the skillet and put in the crock pot.  

Sauté the onion and celery until just softened-again this is going in the crock pot so don't over cook the veggies or else you're gonna end up with mush!  Add the veggies into the crock pot.   

Add in remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6 hours.

The original recipe didn't have how much broth, so I chose 2 cups.  Unfortunately, as with so many crock pot recipes, the liquid never evaporates or thickens, so we ended up with white bean turkey soup instead of chilli.  I'm not sure how to thicken up the liquid next time around-if you have any great ideas please let me know!

Crocheted Monkey Hat

While I was at the beach this weekend with my girlfriend Rachel and her little girl (and my god daughter!) Bella, Rachel mentioned she wanted to dress Bella up as a monkey for Halloween.  More specifically, Curious George.  And Rachel would go as The Man in the Yellow Hat!  

I loved the idea.   And I jumped on the chance to make a monkey hat for Bella!

I love this little girl.  I'm not close to becoming a mama (not sure I'll ever really feel ready) but being able to make cute baby crocheted projects makes me silly happy!  I already made a pair of crocheted Mary Janes for Bella (they still need buttons) and was eager to make this monkey hat.


I found the pattern originally on Ravelry (love-so many inspiring projects) but then I followed the links to the cute blog it was originally posted on.   I followed the 3-6 month pattern, since Bella is 4 months old right now, but will be 6 months by the time Halloween rolls around.  

Sans Ears

The pattern was easy to follow, although I will admit that I had to google half double crochet and half double crochet decrease :)  And I always have to google slip stitch.  I never remember slip stitch, mainly because I rarely use it. 

I can't wait to see how cute Bella is in this!
Party Party Party