Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Looking for spring bulbs and then....................

There are 2 very good garden centers in the Kitchener area; one Belgian Nursery and one Grand River Garden village.
They both had tempting flyer's in the newspaper and I just had to check out both.
Looking for spring bulbs .
Belgian was a bit of a disappointment just did not find what I was looking for, did not have a good selection plus their prices were somewhat higher.
At Grand River Garden village, success;
I found a mix called Wine

and Roses
These tulips are for the front garden to replace the ones that did not come true to colour this spring .
Could not pass up the cheery yellow of
King Alfred Daffodils either , they will be used for naturalizing in the back garden.
THEN...................
I wandered into the plant and perennial section,cause there were BIG, GIANT, HUMONGOUS signs stating 60% off Fall Sale.
How could I not check it out?
Here are my finds:
A small Seviceberry tree to entice birds to the back garden.

Japanese tree peony, Rimpoh , a deep red colour;

Baptisia, Purple smoke;
Clematis, Lincoln Star, raspberry pink with dark pink stripe;
Gallardia , Sunburst Yellow;
Woo Hoo what a great bargain! Love the fall , can hardly wait to get home and plant them!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Cookies by request

Oatmeal cookies were requested today but of course they had to be turned into ice cream sandwiches...... a special few were reserved , filled with date filling and frozen......
Prep:
Ready for the oven:

Giant Oatmeal ice cream sandwich cookies:

Date Triblies:

Used a basic oatmeal cookie recipe from Quaker oats.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Rainy, Windy Autumn Monday


This is the view out the front door... forecasting a very windy, rainy couple of days..........Girls are off to school after a nice Sunday .
Brittany made applesauce using the apples she picked on Saturday.
These are Cortlands

Brittany prepping the apples

Cooking and yes the skins are still on, so all the goodness goes into the sauce.

Finished product skins, removed, cinnamon and nutmeg added, Brittany is very happy with her applesauce.

What am I going to do today, laundry lots of laundry, some housework and then playtime in Rosanne's craft room using a new stamp I bought and make up some cards..

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Sunday Morning? Breakfast

Wanted to make something special for the girls on Sunday morning, knowing teenagers would be sleeping in... til who knows when?.... needed something partly ready..........
Decided to try Jamie Oliver's book again even tho my first recipe King of Puddings from his book was a disaster , partly because I did not follow the recipe exactly I think!
Made Banana Honey Yeast bread from Jamie Oliver's book; Happy Days with the Naked chef.
I halved this recipe! (my measurements in brackets)
otherwise this would make so much......I have left the recipe as Jamie did it except I made it in a bowl , he made it on a table using the well technique, not for me! way too messy tho would be fun if one had kids to help with this......love some of his terminology.
6-8 cups bread flour(4 cups)
2 cups warm water banana mixture(1 cup)
8 TBSP runny honey divided in half( 4 TBSP. honey)
3 pkgs dry yeast( used 2 pkgs)
2 tablespoons sugar(1 TBSP sugar)
2 level tablespoons sea salt(1 TBSP sea salt)
6 very ripe bananas(2- 3 bananas)
extra flour for dusting
Put the flour into a large bowl.
Using 6(3) bananas Peel your bananas then purée them in a blender. Pour it into a measuring cup, then top up with water until you have 2(1) cups.
Pour half your water into the well, then add your yeast, sugar,add half the honey and salt and stir with a fork.
Continue to add the flour in until you get a stodgy, porridgey consistency – then add the remaining water. Continue to mix until it's stodgy again, then you can be more aggressive, bringing in all the flour, making the mix less sticky. Flour your hands and pat and push the dough together with all the remaining flour. With a bit of elbow grease, simply push, fold, slap and roll the dough around, over and over, for 4 or 5 minutes until you have a silky and elastic dough.
Oil the top of your dough. Put it in a bowl, cover with cling film, and allow it to prove for about half an hour until doubled in size – ideally in a warm, moist, draught-free place. This will improve the flavour and texture of your dough and it's always exciting to know that the old yeast has kicked into action.
Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the air out for 30 seconds by bashing it and squashing it. You can now shape it,divide the dough into 12 balls, pack these next to each other in a flour-dusted baking pan 13x9 where they will prove together .
and leave it to prove for a second time for 30 minutes to an hour until it has doubled in size once more.Before putting in the oven drizzle generously with the rest of the honey so that the top of the bread will caramelize, going nice and golden. Bake in your preheated oven at 375ºF5 for 20 minutes.
Jamie says" Allow to cool for a little while, but it's best served still warm with lots of butter and a glass of milk for breakfast while you read the paper.
Also fantastic used in bread and butter pudding or simply heated up with a bit of ice cream."
Also returned to my favourite cookbook to make Ina Garten's Breakfast Fruit Crunch from Barefoot Contessa at Home.
Doubled this recipe and added 1/2 cup cranberries.
1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons good honey
Vanilla yogurt
Fresh fruit of choice, blueberries , raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, whatever you have on hand.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, oil, and honey together in a large bowl until they are completely combined. Pour onto a sheet pan and bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring once.Store in air tight container.
Using vanilla yogurt layer with fruit of choice into tall glasses.
Over all rate this a good breakfast; the bread tastes very bananay ( is that even a word ) but is too heavy for my liking..I agree about it making a fantastic bread pudding..... maybe later this week if I make bread pudding would add some cinnamon , raisins and nutmeg. The Crunch is fantastic........ Love it, love it, love it!tho calorie wise with the oil not low cal........
Brittany loved it all!
Brianne also!


Saturday, September 26, 2009

Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Baked Potatoes


My granddaughters are very busy , one with homecoming this weekend at University and one hosting her best friend for supper after a busy secondary school week, lots of homework., after a jam session on Rock Band Jessica and Brittany
are heading off to a sleepover at Jessica's then Saturday morning a trip to pick apples at an Apple farm!
I see apple dishes in my future.
With both girls coming and going find I am
on the look out for healthy dishes to make that the girls will eat ; in the fridge a huge head of broccoli to use.
Thank goodness both my granddaughters love broccoli...........way to go to their Mom!
Brianne also loves potatoes..They both love cheese.
Seems like this recipe I found in the Kraft What's Cooking magazine should do the trick.....with some adjustments..

4 Large Baking Potatoes
2 C Chopped Broccoli Florets
1 C Water,salted
1 C Cheddar Cheese, Finely Shredded
1/2 C Sour Cream
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
Wash and pierce potatoes all over with fork. Bake in microwave for approx. 12 minutes (or use oven set at 450 for about 45 minutes).
2. While potatoes are baking.
Cook broccoli in water to tender crisp.Drain.
3. Carefully cut in half the cooked potatoes
Scoop out insides of potatoes using a spoon and add to bowl (be sure to leave enough flesh inside to maintain structure of skin--about 1/4 inch).
Combine scooped out potato, sour cream salt and pepper broccoli and cheese,
stir to combine.
5. Evenly divide mixture among potato shells and stuff, molding excess on top of potatoes (the final result will probably double the height of the potato).
Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until potatoes are thoroughly heated.
Because my granddaughters don't like mushrooms , onions ( can you believe that!) these additions I left out but think the potatoes would be magnificent with these included..
2 bacon slices ,cooked crisp,crumbled
1 cup presliced mushrooms, lightly sauteed
1/2 cup chopped onion lightly sauteed
Enjoy!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Celebrating

Brock's 16th birthday was celebrated at Elmhurst Inn , a Victorian Gothic home that was built in 1872, as the residence of the James Harris family for nearly a century.We had a private room so were able to make as much noise as we wanted.The food was so good, we dined on everything from Prime rib to pork tenderloin with apple to chicken fromage, accompanied with homemade seeded bread topped with herbed cream cheese , the renown cheddar and ale soup and Caesar salad.........
Brianne and Brittany entering Elmhurst;

Brock and his Death by Chocolate cake .

Brock opening his laptop gift;

Sherry and Brittany;
Willie and Brayden
Great Grandmother and Brock
Great time!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Happy Birthday Brock!

Brock is 16 today!
A very eagerly anticipated Drivers Licence is in his future!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Peach Blueberry Crumbles and Oven Baked Meatballs

With teenagers to feed I am trying to keep them well fed....so I am scouring Rosanne's cookbooks to find things to tempt them.
AS many as I go thru I return to Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa At Home nearly every time.
What ever recipe I try in this book turns out as the pictures show and everyone loves the dish.....
Had to use up the last 6 of this seasons Red haven peaches and blueberries were in the fridge.
Loved the idea of individual servings...used some of Rosanne's pretty dishes...
Recipe:
6-8 peaches , peeled ,pitted,cut in thick slices
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 TBSP. lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup blueberries
After cutting peaches , add lemon zest and juice, mix well.
Add remaining above ingredients to peaches and lemon juice mix, toss well.
Crumble:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter , cold, diced.
Combine crumble ingredients using fingers to mix to a crumbly mix.
Into greased ramkins spoon fruit mixture, top with crumble mixture.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Found this recipe at Recipzaar , been wanting to try it for a while. I hate frying meatballs on the stove and the mess it makes..... this method seems heaven sent.
Ready for oven;
Oven baked meatballsThe only change I made was to add fresh chopped parsley to the mixture.
Used these meatballs on spaghetti with tomato sauce , they are moist flavourful and enough left over to freeze for another meal.

How good is that!