Soup season

The weather hasn't been all that chilly lately, but these long dark days have still triggered that synapse in my brain (stomach?) that makes me crave soup. There's something so satisfying about a warm bowl of soup, with the added pleasure of enjoying something homemade.

Last year, my plan was to attempt to make a soup a week. It must have been the sleep deprivation talking - I  was barely able to get fish sticks on the table or correctly place an order with Swiss Chalet, let alone cook something from scratch. This year, I'm going to be a bit more realistic: I will make soup whenever I can, mixing tried-and-true recipes with some new ones, based on what appeals to me in the moment and what ingredients I have handy.

Here are some of the favourite new and tried-and-true soups in our house:

• Beer Cheese Soup (from allrecipes.com)
• Best Ever Tomato Soup (from Indigo ... yes, Indigo)
• Cabbage Soup (from my Aunt Carol)
• Italian Meatball Zuppa (from my friend Catharine)
• Roasted Cauliflower and Aged Cheddar Soup (found on Pinterest, from the blog Daydream Kitchen)
• Roasted Parsnip and Pear Soup (from Leslie Beck's Heathly Kitchen cookbook)
• And the latest addition to the list, pictured above, Tomato Basil Soup (from the special Valerie Bertinelli insert my most recent issue of Cooking Light ... go figure)

I've also been leafing through all my cookbooks, random pages ripped from magazines, my Pinterest pins and the "Save This Recipe" folder in my Inbox and have flagged these recipes as ones that sound yummy:

• Spicy Thai Coconut Soup (found on Pinterest, from cookinglight.com)
• Weekday Hamburger (from The Soup Sisters Cookbook)
• Celeriac and Apple with Maple Cream (from The Soup Sisters Cookbook)
• Red Lentil Coconut Soup (found on Pinterest, from the blog Scaling Back)
• I'd also like to learn how to make homemade miso soup - I love it, but hate that those little packages have so much salt in them

Are you drooling yet? Me, too! Good thing I have some leftover tomato soup in the fridge ...

How to make the best tomato sauce

Step One. Buy a whole bunch of Roma tomatoes from a farmer's market. This step isn't completely necessary - apparently canned tomatoes work just fine - but I like the idea of buying fresh tomatoes in season and supporting local farmers.

Step Two. Prep the tomatoes. To peel them, cut a small X in the bottom of each tomato, place in boiling water for a minute then move them to cold water and when cool, peel off the skin. Let your daughter help with all these scary steps (knives and hot water!) - she's only six but she's such a big girl. When peeling the skins off, make sure you make funny faces at how goopy the bare tomatoes feel. Chop roughly and throw into a pot.

Step Three. Season. Add roasted garlic, fresh from the in-laws' cottage garden - yum. I also added some oregano, dried onion, salt and pepper. Don't forget the wisdom mom and dad passed on: add a spoonful of sugar to help cut the acidity of the tomatoes.

Step Four. Cook. For hours and hours and hours. Get pedicures and haircuts with your daughter while you wait.

Step Five. Mash, puree, squish or do whatever is required to get the sauce to the consistency you like. Then, enjoy a delicious bowl of pasta covered in homemade tomato sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese with the best family in the world.

Mmmm macarons

A few weeks ago, as I headed up to the cottage, I shared with you what was in my book bag. I did manage to find some time to read but unfortunately, none of the books were worth recommending.

Day After Night by Anita Diamant (which wasn't on the list but was the book I was reading when we left) was interesting historically - it's set in a British-run internment camp at the end of WWII - but I never got fully drawn in by the characters. The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok was a memoir about a woman (and her sister) and how they lived with their schizophrenic mother over the years, culminating in a bittersweet reunion and reconciliation on the mother's death bed. I find it hard to critique memoirs (it's someone's real life) but I couldn't help feeling like this book had been written as an assignment from the author's therapist because it felt a bit too factual and somehow lacking in emotion.

When we returned home, I dug into The Colour of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe. This book isn't quite 'chic lit' but it's close - a formulaic and predictable 'finding yourself' story with a happy ending. Set in Macao, China, it tells the story of Grace, who learns that she isn't able to have children while still grieving the loss of her estranged mother, and how the experience of opening her own cafe that serves macarons saved her sanity and her marriage. Etc. etc. etc.

Despite being a bit of a wash of a book, it did spark my interest in macarons, those tiny coloured french meringue-like pastries that come in all sorts of delicious-sounding flavours. Somehow, I've lived for 39 years and never tried a macaron. Even though I'm not a huge dessert fan, I worried that I'd been missing out on something important. So Mission Macaron was born.

I decided to visit Bobbette & Belle, a beautiful little french-style cafe in our end of the city. They had about 10 varieties of macarons available - I chose raspberry, cassis, salted caramel and vanilla for my mission.

People dedicate their lives to making and eating and writing about these unique little pastries, so I won't even begin to try to describe them in any detail. But darn they were good (cassis was my favourite). They're beautiful to look at, light and not too sweet, a perfect slightly crunchy, slightly chewy and slightly creamy texture, and the potential flavour combinations are pretty much endless. At $2 each they're not an everyday dessert, but they'd be perfect for a special occassion (like getting the kids out the door without a fight or an hour to yourself on a Sunday morning).

I can see how you could easily become obsessed with these little delights and I'm pretty sure these won't be the last macarons I ever eat. Mission accomplished.

August recipe: Cinnamon Crisps with Blackberries & Yogurt.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but I didn't share a recipe for July. My Cooking Light magazine left me uninspired and I decided not to force the issue. I was worried that the same thing would happen in August, until I stumbled on the recipe for Cinnamon Crisps with Blackberries and Yogurt - I thought the crisps part of the recipe sounded interesting and easy.

I couldn't find wonton or egg roll wrappers at the store (and couldn't be bothered to ask), so I used dumpling/perogy wrappers which were near the fresh pasta and they worked just fine, although they took a few minutes longer to get crispy and golden. And while I definitely like the idea of serving these with yogurt, we used them to fancy-up frozen yogurt with fresh Ontario peaches. Yum!

Cinnamon Crisps with Blackberries and Yogurt
8 wonton or egg roll wrappers, cut in half diagonally
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1 cup blackberries
4 teaspoons honey

1.  Preheat oven to 400.
2.  Arrange wonton wrappers in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; lightly coat wrappers with cooking spray. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over wrappers; bake at 400 for 3 minutes or until crisp and slightly browned. Set the wrappers aside to cool slightly.
3.  Layer 6 tablespoons yogurt, 1/4 cup berries, and 1 teaspoon honey into each of 4 bowls. Serve each with 4 wonton crisps.

Some new food favourites

In addition to being a place for me to vent and tell funny stories about my kids, this blog is all about sharing. So in that spirit, here are some favourite new food products I've discovered lately. Enjoy!

It's on my keener mom to-do list to get a waffle maker, but in the meantime, I've just been buying the frozen kind. We've tried a bunch of different brands and flavours and we finally hit a winner with Compliments Banana Waffles (available at Sobeys, Foodland, IGA, Fresh Co. and Price Chopper stores). These smell delicious while they're toasting and are a big hit with both kids - Ella just told me that I need to start buying two boxes a week.

Our new favourite salsa is Neal Brothers All Natural Corn Salsa. I think I got this jar in a Christmas gift box from work, but I've seen this brand around (sometimes in the organic section). It's packed with flavour and a little kick that's totally manageable (although it may be too hot for the kids). Believe me, you have no idea how blah your usual salsa tastes until you try this one!

I know all you loose-leaf tea snobs out there will laugh at me, but I'm pretty loyal to Tetley these days. In particular, their Green and White Tea lines, like the delicious naturally decaf Lychee Pear Green Tea. Yes, the cute packaging played a part in my purchase, but I also really enjoy the light flavours, which are a nice alternative when I want a cup of tea on these hot summer evenings.

Finally, I have to give a triple thumbs up to Tim Hortons' Raspberry Frozen Lemonade, which is perhaps the best thing that's been invented in a long time. Everyone in our family (yes, including Ryan) love these and we're now visiting Tim Hortons several times a week. Thank goodness their $1 price (for a small) means we don't feel guilty about our repeat visits.

June recipe: Chewy Coconut Granola Bars

Sorry about the delay posting this month's recipe from Cooking Light magazine. The theme of June's issue is summer cooking, which should have meant a ton of exciting recipes, but instead, I was left uninspired. Sure, I flagged a few recipes to try, but recently I've had no desire to make yet another stir fry or pasta, and with the weather being so nice I'm not in the mood to cook soup. So that left the Chewy Coconut Granola Bars. (For those who are keeping track, you're right: this is my second baking recipe in less than two weeks - may not happen again, ever.)

What interested me about this recipe is that it was taste-tested by the magazine's 11-year-old Kid in the Kitchen, Matisse Reid. She sounds like a pretty neat kid - she eats seafood and olives, loves to cook and has her own blog, Matisse's Kitchen, if you're interested in reading more about her culinary adventures.

These turned out ok. They were more cakey than I expected from a granola bar, and a bit dry. I've been wanting to make granola bars for a while now and these were a decent first attempt, but I think I'll try another recipe next time. Based on some of the reader comments and personal preferences, I made some adjustments to the recipe which I've noted in italics below. I also added in a sprinkle of ground flax, just because it's good for you, and some chocolate chips, because they're good for you, too!

Cooking Light's Chewy Coconut Granola Bars

Cooking spray
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2/3 cup)
1.6 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar (I only used 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole-grain granola
3/4 cup chopped dried mixed tropical fruit (I used dried apricots and cranberries)
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut (I just eyeballed this)

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2.  Coat a 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour.
3.  Weigh or lightly spoon 3 ounces all-purpose flour and 1.6 ounces whole-wheat flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine sugar, oil, milk, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in granola and fruit. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with coconut.
4.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Why I don't bake

It's no secret that I don't bake. I never contribute to the school bake sale, if you ask me to bring dessert to a dinner party it will most likely be ice cream, my book club is used to those little frozen eclairs when I host, and the annual Christmas cookie exchange at work used to make me sweaty and anxious.

But sometimes, especially if it's been a while since my last baking experiment, I forget my fears and get obsessed with the idea of baking. I envy people who effortlessly produce beautiful cakes, cookies and other goodies ... and sometimes I want to be just like them. I was in that kind of mood this past weekend when we were having dinner with friends and I decided to bake a cake. In the oven: a Grapefruit Pound Cake from Cooking Light. Thank goodness my family has a lot of patience.

My latest adventure in baking started off well but quickly went downhill when I realized I had forgotten an ingredient. Text to my husband: Can you pick up some cream cheese while you're out? And can you bring it home, like, NOW?

I then got bogged down by some of the measurements and instructions. 9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups) ... about 2 cups?? I thought the whole key to baking (and the reason many of my attempts fail) is that you have to be precise, so what the heck does about 2 cups mean. And how was I supposed to know what 6 ounces cream cheese looks like, when it's a 250 gram package. And is it okay if I have one large egg and one extra large egg, when the recipe calls for two large eggs? And isn't beat until light and fluffy a bit subjective - my light and fluffy might be different from your light and fluffy.

I was also reminded of the mess of baking. I can get a balanced, yummy, hot dinner on the table using only a cutting board, knife, frying pan and a wooden spoon. But by the time the cake made it into the oven, I had dirtied five measuring cups, three measuring spoons, two mixing bowls, two beaters, a spatula, three knives and countless spoons. And I hadn't even made the icing yet.

The good news is that the cake actually turned out (except the icing, but nobody really noticed) and even kind of looked like the picture in the magazine. I hope everyone enjoyed it because I've satisfied my latest urge to bake and it's going to be a while before the electric mixer comes out of the cupboard again.

A yummy frozen summer treat

Don't you just love it when a bunch of random ideas come together and turn into something even better-than-expected? Here's a perfect example ...

It started when I was trying to think of some new snacks for Ryan that weren't store bought and didn't involve me baking. Then I saw a picture on Amalah's blog of her little guy eating frozen yogurt chips/pieces. And then I remembered reading last summer about how delicious Liberté’s Méditerranée lemon yogourt was. Put it all together, shake for inspiration, and voila: frozen lemon yogurt drops!

I'll be honest, I got the instructions here, but they're so easy I think I could've figured it out myself. These are simple and delicious and healthy - what's not to like.

Step 1: Purchase yogourt. Any kind or flavour, I don't think it matters, although it sounds like a thicker yogurt is a little easier to work with. I chose Liberté’s Méditerranée lemon yogourt because I'd read that it was yummy and I thought lemon would be a refreshing flavour. I also made some with Ryan's Minigo yogourts (blueberry and vanilla flavours mixed together) that he will no longer eat.

Step 2: Take a baggie and cut off a very small corner. Spoon yogurt into the baggie, close and then squeeze out drops onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. This is the fun part!

Step 3: Freeze. I left mine in overnight but I'm guessing they only take a few hours to freeze.

Step 4: Enjoy. We sampled ours for breakfast the next morning and both Ella and I thought they were delicious ... Ryan, not so much, but what does he know? Just one word of warning: they they do start to melt quickly, so eat them fast!

A Thai thank you

Saturday night we had the pleasure of being treated to a home made Thai dinner. It was such a fun, delicious experience that I wanted to share it with you. Of course, there's a story-behind-the-story that makes this tale even yummier.

Before Christmas, my mom asked me what I was going to do with my maternity clothes. My answer: I dunno. I was definitely not going to be using them again, but I wasn't quite prepared to give them away and I was too lazy to bother trying to sell them. She told me about a woman she worked with - her son and daughter-in-law had just moved back to Canada from Thailand, were expecting their second child and didn't have a lot of money. And voila, the perfect home for my loved but no-longer-needed maternity clothes. The woman was so happy with her new wardrobe that she knit me a beautiful purple wool muffler ... which Ella wore every day this winter.

Several months later I asked if they'd be interested in some baby stuff. Their answer: for sure! So off went the baby car seat, bouncy chair, breast feeding pillow, playmat, bathtub and a bag of receiving blankets and baby toys. Once again, it was the perfect transaction - she was thrilled to receive all this baby gear, and I was ecstatic to get the stuff out of the house. This time, as a thank you, she wanted to cook us a Thai dinner. Which brings us to 6:00 pm this past Saturday when two boxes of hot, steaming food arrived at my parent's house: coconut soup, spring rolls, garlic pork, red beef curry and lots of other yummy stuff. It looked, smelled and tasted delicious - a true feast for the senses that we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Some learnings and observations from our Thai feast:

• great food and great company is one of the best combinations in the world
• never eat a whole Thai chili - they are HOT (right mom?!)
• even flavours you may not usually like taste delicious when you know it's home made
• Ryan loves spring rolls, go figure
• we have no idea what we'd serve if the roles were reversed and we were cooking a traditional Canadian dinner for someone ... tourtiere? poutine? hamburgers?
• a thank you from the heart means so much more than something store bought

Kob kun mak kaa, Kwan!

May recipe: Chicken & Broccoli Rice Bowl

For my birthday I got a subscription to Cooking Light magazine, which I love. In general, I find their recipes are easy (without being simplistic), tasty and acceptable to everyone in the family. I always read through every recipe, flag a bunch, and even get around to making a few. To incent myself to try more recipes, I'm committing to sharing one from each issue with you every month (at least until the subscription runs out).

The April issue was their Quick-Cooking Special and featured tons of fast and easy recipes. I particularly liked the Supermarket Shortcut Solutions article, where they used convenience grocery store items - pizza dough, fresh pasta, hummus, precooked brown rice and rotisserie chicken - to create 19 different quick dinners. My recipe of choice was Chicken and Broccoli Rice Bowl, which used one of those packages of precooked rice that just needs to be heated in the microwave for 90 seconds - a brilliant dinnertime invention, if you ask me. It also uses Velveeta which I've never bought before - I'm not sure if it has any redeeming nutritional value, but it was delicious in this recipe!

Cooking Light's Chicken & Broccoli Rice Bowl
3 cups small broccoli florets
1 (8.8-ounce) pouch precooked brown rice (such as Uncle Ben's)
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 ounces light processed cheese (such as Velveeta Light), cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted (I didn't use these)

1.  Steam broccoli 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.
2.  Heat rice according to directions.
3.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 4 minutes or until done, stirring occasionally. Add onions and cheese, stirring until cheese begins to melt. Stir in rice; fold in broccoli. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with almonds.

Bon appetit!

Glorious grapes

When I started this blog my plan was to write about interesting things, make insightful comments on the world around us and bring you information you couldn't find anywhere else. I was going to be wise and witty. And yet, less than 10 posts in, I'm writing about grapes.

But I just discovered this new grape that I can't stop thinking about (or eating) and I need to share it with you.

It all started last week when I made an emergency trip to our local Loblaws to get formula. As I was running through the produce section I noticed a sign for "pink grapes." I'm a bit of a sucker for pink fruit (like Pink Lady apples) so I took a closer look. They looked good, they tasted good, so I bought a bunch. Today, I went back and bought some more.

Seriously, these are the best grapes I've ever tasted. They're super juicy and soooo sweet, they almost taste like candy. They're nice and crisp so they pop in your mouth when you bite into them. They're the perfect size - not too big, not too small - and they even look pretty.

In an attempt to redeem this lame topic, I did a bit of research and found ... not much. It turns out that what I've stumbled on are Pink Muscat grapes and they're not new at all. There are many varieties of Muscat grapes and they're grown all over the world (yawn). The Pink Muscat grapes are in season now and while I did find a few references to people who eagerly await their arrival every spring, it's not like there's an official fan club or anything.

Now, if you're looking for fun facts about grapes in general, you're in luck. Thanks to Fresh For Kids I learned that grapes have been around for thousands of years - they've even found root stocks in China that date back to before the ice age. See, you do learn things on this blog.

Bottom line, go buy some pink grapes. Now. Right now. Goodbye!

Mmmmm, don't these look delicious.

My favourite muffins

I enjoy cooking and collecting recipes, so it shouldn't be surprising if every once in a while I share some of my favourite recipes with you on this blog. I thought I'd start with any easy one - Apple Cinnamon Muffins. Ella and I made them recently and they're delicious!

Step 1: Go to Loblaws (or one of its affiliates) and buy a box of President's Choice Organic Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix.

Step 2: Follow instructions to prepare and bake muffins (preferably with an eager young chef as your assistant).

Step 3: Enjoy.

You're welcome!