mmmm

So, pregnancy is apparently making me not update this very often.

Truth be told, I don't think it's the pregnancy, I think it's the impending Christmas.

You see, I'm hosting Christmas dinner, and I thought this was fantastic, until it started getting close. And I remembered that I had a 17 month old. And then I got pregnant, which made me tired. Always. Tired.

So, I'm starting to get quite panicked about Christmas dinner, and every time I go to post here, I think "I should probably finalize that menu and work out a timeline so I know what I can make ahead of time".

Then, instead of doing that, I stalk other blogs, stare off into space, and dream of what food I'm going to go out and buy for lunch.

Speaking of, does anyone know where I could buy some Welsh Rarebit.

Anyone?

All I want is some toast with cheese sauce.

Anyone?

Damn.

Quick update

God I've been tired.

So, so, so, so, so, so tired.

Sorry.

I've just been REALLY tired.

That's why there's been no updates.

Who updates blogs nowadays anyway?

Sigh.

So, updates to come tomorrow, including a crying Oliver is a snow suit, a crying Oliver with Santa, a crying Oliver with a cookie...

Wait, I'm starting to see a trend here. I'll break it up with a ridiculously happy and cute Oliver at home with me for a snow day. I've got some yeasted waffles too.

You must make/eat yeasted waffles.

You'll never go back.

Especially to eggos. Unless you're, like, in a rush.

I'll admit it.

I still stock eggos in the freezer.

But I really shouldn't.

I think I made something else too, there's a vague recollection of something cheesy and pasta-ish...manacotti maybe? With spinach I believe. Sounds about right. I didn't take a picture of it though. Because I suck. And I was stupid hungry and just slapped it on my plate and devoured it. The recipe is really great though, so I'll get it up too.

Back to why I'm even posting right now.

I'm nervous. Really ridiculously nervous for no reason in particular. Well, except that I'm a little bit nuts in a few different respects and that tends to allow me the headspace to worry for no reason in particular.

C'est la vie.

Today, at 12pm, in 1 hour and 51 minutes exactly, I'm having an ultrasound to check on our little baby number 2. Bo's meeting me there. I've had nothing out of the ordinary happen for the last two weeks, but even still, I'm so nervous. I just feel like something's going to be wrong.

I'm pretty sure I did this to myself the first time around with Oliver.

But I can't really remember.

So I keep telling myself that it's instinct, that there is something wrong.

Then I eat another au caramel.

Which isn't helping because I'm pregnant and should be eating only fruit, salad, and vegetables. And cheese, because a person can't not eat cheese.

I'll go back to doing that as soon as I get this ultrasound taken care of.

Besides, I'm only eating the au caramel's because Oliver's daycare lady mentioned them last night, which made me make Bo go and buy me some, which I now can't stop eating.

So it's all her fault.

I'm going to give my OB her number and let her deal with it.

I wonder if that will work.

I wonder if this is what they meant by "stream of consciousness" writing.

I'm pretty sure it is.

Fascinating being in my brain, isn't it?

Ok, anyway, after the ultrasound I have my first appointment with my OB at 1:30. I'm not worried about that though, more curious because I can't remember all the details of the last time around and I'm hoping she'll be able to jog my memory.

Fingers crossed.

Why... WHY

Why can't I stunt his growth?

Why does my boy insist on growing up so quickly, and doing such "kid" things?

What happened to my baby?

I miss my baby.

A couple of weeks ago he decided to start drinking from a straw. Now it's juice boxes, all on his own, without spilling a drop anywhere.

I can't take this.

It's too much.

*running off to google growth stunting*

One last thing... please ignore how exhausted he looks. My child does not sleep, not at day-care, not at home. He wakes up at 7, goes to bed at 11 and we can't break it. Lord how we'd love to, but we can. Bo and I literally do a happy dance when he finally crashes on night at 9 because we get to go to bed early.

Breakfast in the K house

Nov. 9, 2010

These are old. But they're great, so I had to play catch-up. I meant to post them a while ago but they just got lost on my computer, the abyss the it is.

Here's my guy, getting my other guy some much wanted milk.

And here's my guy yelling at me for taking the picture.

I think I'll just try licking the strawberry jam...

Aww man, it's getting in my nose... must try just the jam though.

I'm not sure I feel like strawberry jam after all.

If only there was a way to try another type of jam? Wait, there is!

Mom...

MOM...

Thanks for the black currant jam Mom, much better!

I think I'm getting a little too sleep to eat anything else Dad.

Mom, why doesn't Dad listen to me?

What do you mean he doesn't have to? He's the adult? He's DAD.

You're so silly Mommy.

I had to include this one too, it's from a few days before, late at night, when our little guy was quite tired but just would not go to sleep. Have I mentioned that I love this kid!

Have I mentioned that we REALLY need to get some sort of picture up above that cough. Groan.

Freaked out

Ok, so I'm a little freaked out.

I just noticed one of those weird things that you notice in life that just kinda confound you.

Yesterday I posted my dang it post about the brown butter fried gnocchi at 9:13am.

Today I posted the actual recipe for brown butter fried gnocchi at

9:13am

I hate this kind of weird stuff.

It always make me feel like someone's screwing with me just to see if I notice.

I do.

So stop.

Zucchini Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Apple Bread

I'm asking a favor today: Don't just me because I give this to Oliver for breakfast, and snack, and just whenever he wants it. Ignore the chocolate and focus on the fact that it's full of zucchini and applesauce. And it's delicious. So, so delicious!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 60 minutes
Makes: 2 (9" x 5") loafs

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter, melted
4 tbsp cocoa powder
3 eggs
2 c white sugar
½ c vegetable oil
½ c apple sauce
3½ - 4 c grated zucchini
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:


1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (hello Pam) two 9" x 5" loaf pans.

2. In a small dish, mix together the melted butter and 2 tbsp of the cocoa powder.

3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, grated zucchini, vanilla, cocoa powder and the cocoa powder butter mixture.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and chocolate chips so that the chips are well coated in flour. Stir the flour mixture in the zucchini mixture until well combined, then pour into the prepared loaf tins.

5. Bake for about an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes:


1 - You can also pour this into 4 of the smaller aluminum loaf pans you buy in the foil aisle at the grocery store, then freeze the cooked loafs. These smaller loafs take 40 minutes to bake.

2 - You can substitute the 2 tbsp melted butter and 2 tbsp of the cocoa powder for 2 unsweetened chocolate squares (1 oz each), melted. I just find it easier to use the cocoa powder and butter.

Tips & Tricks: By adding the chocolate chips to the dry ingredients and giving it a good stir to make sure they're well coated in flour, you stop them from sinking in the batter as the loafs bake!

I think

I think...

That today I would much rather be in bed then at work.

With Oliver perhaps.

Watching some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

And maybe we could go downstairs at some point and make a mess of something (you'd hardly notice with the state my house is currently in).

I think that we would make cookies, so that Bo could snack on them in the car one his way to and from London (not England) today.

Then I think Oliver would take a four hour nap.

And so would I.

And that's why I think this day would never actually be possible.

Gnocchi

Brown Butter Fried Gnocchi

Absolutely my new favorite side dish. Absolutely!

Prep Time: 5 minutes to get water boiling
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 as a side

Ingredients:


1 pkg gnocchi (just buy the shelf stable kind, it's great!)
3 - 4 tbsp butter
fleur de sel (or fresh ground sea salt)

Directions:


1. Get a pot of water boiling and add half the package of gnocchi. Cook according to directions (boil for about 3 minutes, until they start to float). Be careful not to over cook of they'll be too mushy. Remove the cooked gnocchi and repeat with the second batch.

2. While the first batch of gnocchi is boiling: In a frying pan over med-high heat melt the butter until starting to brown. First it will foam, then when the foam goes it'll start to brown and you'll see lots of little tiny brown bits form. Yumm.

3. Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan and fry, stirring frequently, until the outside is golden brown and crisp. Sprinkle with the slightly bit of salt. Enjoy!

Dang it.

I keep forgetting my pictures of brown butter fried gnocchi at home. This truly is a crime. Because they are delicious. So delicious I'm now making them as a side for Christmas dinner, even though to my ridiculously Canadian family that is the last thing you would see.

We're (meaning historically, before this year, my first year cooking) a Christmas dinner consisting of:

Turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts with a cream sauce, cauliflower with a cheese sauce, and Pillsbury crescent rolls. Oh yeah, the obligatory pickle tray too, can't forget that, Bo loves his pickled beats!

This year though, well, things are a changing. And they're starting with brown butter fried gnocchi.

Did I mention how fantastic they are? Crisp and nutty tasting on the outside, soft little pillows on the inside.

Bo's actually requested that I make them in lieu of potato chips on the weekend.

I'm totally down with this.

Tomorrow, I swear, tomorrow.

Arugh

I've got one of those horrendous colds today. The kind where you can't even thing about food, or plans, let alone put them onto paper (or a blog, whatever).

At this rate my grocery list for tomorrow is never going to get done.

At this rate, I'm ok with that.

Santa Claus Parade

Nov. 21, 2010

It's that time of year again in Toronto. When thousands of parents line the city streets with their kids, all so they can get a view of Santa on his first official trip out. We met Nana and Papa there, who despite my impecible directions on where to meet, which included repeated (at least 10) instructions as to what side of the street to park on, still got it wrong. You'll see why this is an issue in the pictures (hello crowds). For the record, they parked on the wrong side, and were literally 20 minutes crossing the street to meet us.

You know what else.

It was cold. Really bloody cold. Like, the last place on earth I wanted to be at that moment cold. And chucks, they aren't warm enough foot attire for such a day. Neither was my lack of mittens. Or hat. Or scarf.

Can you spot what is hilarious in this picture? Hint: it's the pigeons slowing making their way into the pet food store. OK, so that wasn't really a hit. Oh well.

Daddy and Oliver. Doesn't my screwy camera setting make it look nice and warm.

Camera's fixed, not so warm now. And look, Bo's waving to Nana and Papa. Who are across the street. On the wrong side. Sigh.

As usual, straight to Papa

And quite excited about everything that's going on.

Nana, Papa, and Oliver.

Love this.

The poor kids hat kept slipping over that right eye. At least he was warm though!

Yogi, waving at Oliver, making his life at that moment.

Oliver waving back.

Oliver and Nana, who was happy she finally got to hold him.

Hey guys, I think I see him, I do, I think I see him!

SANTA!!!

After the parade we were supposed to go to the Raptors game, but the parade ran really long, and with all the street closures, it game was over by the time we got there. We did stop for dinner on the way home though, at Kelseys.

Oliver decided to eat lemon and lime wedges. We couldn't get the camera fast enough for the first few bites.

But we got it in time for this one! Don't think that he stopped either, because he didn't. He is such a weird little boy. I love it.

Those eyes. My heart. Those eyes.

A Riddle For You

What happens when a pregnant woman posts her recipe for Chocolate Sheet Cake?


She daydreams.

She drools (at work no less)

She tries to talk herself out of what she's thinking about doing

She resigns herself to the fact that there will be no talking herself out of it

She fights in her mind about the merits of picking up Oliver first, then the pecans, or vice versa

She drools

She can actually taste the chocolate

She remembers that it's garbage night and she doesn't really have any time to waste

She remembers that she doesn't care that it's garbage night, because all she wants is chocolate cake.


Not that I know this from experience.
This is simply conjecture.

*drools*

Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake

Texas Sheet Cake

Can I put this under snacks? Because seriously, I could graze on it all. damn. day.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 10 (unless I'm there, then pretty much only me)

Ingredients:


Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups white sugar
¼ tsp salt
7 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup butter (16 tbsp or 2 sticks)
1 cup boiling water
½ cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
½ tbsp espresso powder (optional)

Frosting
1 cup finally chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
14 tbsp butter (1¾ stick)
6 tbsp cocoa powder
6 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
3½ cups confectioners sugar

Directions:


1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.

3. In a saucepan over med-high heat, melt the butter, then stir in the cocoa. Pour in the boiling water and boil, stirring for about a minute, then take it off the heat and pour it over the flour mixture. Give it a good stir.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla. Stir this into the chocolate flour mixture.

5. Poor into a sheet cake pan and bake for 20 minutes.

6. While the cake it baking, make the icing. In a sauce pan over med-high heat melt the butter, then stir in the cocoa powder, stir to combine, then take off the heat. Add the milk, vanilla and confectioners sugar, stirring well to combine. Stir in the pecans. Pour the icing over the hot cake.

TRICK: If you don't have buttermilk, simply put 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar into your measuring cup, then fill up with regular milk and give it a quick stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes and, presto, buttermilk!

NOTE: This cake does fit in a sheet pan (think for jelly rolls), but barely. Take your time with the icing, you'll have to scoop it back onto the cake as it approaches the edges. It's fine if some hits the counter though, because then you can just eat it yourself!

Credit where it's due: I originally got this recipe from http://thepioneerwoman.com then made a few of my own changes.

Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves: 8

Ingredients:


1 cup butter
2 leeks, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp corn starch
4 cups yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk

Directions:


1. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook leeks in butter until tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and softened, about 15 seconds.

2. Stir cornstarch into broth and pour broth into pot. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Add the cream and milk, reduce the heat, and simmer for at least 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

3. OPTIONAL -  Purée the mixture in your blender, or with an immersion blender. It all depends on if you like your soup smooth or chunky. I'm a smooth gal myself.

Breakfast Loafs

Breakfast Loafs (aka Breakfast Muffins)

I got the idea for this one last week from a poster on the bump. I couldn't find a recipe on-line, so I had to wing it, but was pleasantly surprised! This is another Oliver approved breakfast!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 (makes 8 mini loafs)

Ingredients:


1 box of chicken stove-top stuffing mix
1 pkg of frozen sausage mixture (it comes in a tube, no casing)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp old bay seasoning
¼ tsp black pepper
4 eggs
¾ cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 green onion, diced thinly (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:


1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease (hello Pam) a mini loaf tin pan or large muffin tin pan.

2. Make the stuffing as per the box directions. While the stuffing is resting, brown the sausage in a medium fry pan over med-high heat along with the Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, old bay seasoning and pepper. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and drain any excess fat.

3. In each loaf pan, place ¼ cup of the stuffing mixture, then top with ¼ cup of sausage. Crack an egg into 4 of the loaf pans and sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on top of the egg. Top each of the loafs with some grated cheddar cheese diced green onion.

4. Tent with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, poke the egg yolks (if you don't want them runny), and continue to bake for 5 more minutes, or until the eggs are completely cooked and the cheese is melted.

NOTE: Feel free to crack an egg on each of the loafs. With the egg, one loaf is a large enough serving for someone, as long as there's some fruit or something on the side. We each ate 1 loaf with egg, and 1 loaf without.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

I've spent a couple of weeks on this now, and finally have it to the point where I think it's perfect, there's nothing else to add or do to it (such a relief). I'll probably try to figure out how to freeze it at some point, but for now I can't stand not cracking into it as soon as it's out of the oven. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Bake Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:


3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1 can corn niblets
2 cups potatoes (white or yukon gold), peeled and cubed
½ cup celery, diced
4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup butter
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2/3 cup flour
½ tsp old bay seasoning
½ tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp celery seed
1 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream or ½ and ½ cream
2 packages of pillsburry pre-made pie crusts (4 crusts total)
1 egg, beaten

Directions:


1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. In a large saucepan, combine the chicken, carrots, peas, corn, potatoes, celery and chicken stock. Stir to ensure everything is covered with the stock. Cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain into a colander set over a bowl to retain the stock for later. Set the chicken mixture and stock aside.

3. In the same saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and then cook the onions until translucent and softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 15 seconds. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, old bay seasoning, poultry seasoning, garlic powder and celery seed. Whisk in the chicken broth, milk and cream in 4 batches, ensuring that the mixture is well combined between each addition. Simmer until starting to thicken, then remove from heat.

4. Roll two of the pie crusts together, creating a large rectangle. Fit the pie crust into a 9" x 13" baking dish, ensuring at least a ½" overhang all around. Brush the crust with the beaten egg, then pour the chicken and vegetable mixture into the crust. Evenly pour the sauce over the chicken mixture, and use a wooden spoon to move the filling around to make sure everything is covered.

5. Roll the last two pie crusts together, then top the dish, sealing and crimping the edges. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg and poke several small slits into the top crust to allow steam to escape.

6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Time to get our paint on

Nov. 20, 2010

Oliver likes to paint, and it used to be that almost every weekend I'd bust out the finger paints for him on Saturday morning. For the last few months though, he's been happy colouring with his Crayola's, and I've been happy not having to scrub paint out from under his fingernails.

I figured that was being pretty selfish though, so this Saturday I busted the paint back out.

I was regretting it as soon as I did it.

Come on Mom, you know that this isn't enough paint for me.

Alright, I'll start with this...but know that I'll need more!

What the...NOOOOOOOO. 

What Mama? Finger painting alone is so last month, head painting is the latest thing.

Look at that smirk. Look at it. He's plotting something again!

If only I could get out of this chair and over to the walls...

Hmmm... What could I do to get out of this chair...

By this point I'd just reserved myself to let what happens happen. Shudder.

I wonder if I could climb up that bookcase and reach the ceiling to paint it? Just call me Michaelangelo. 

Maybe I'll wait until later to try though... I'm getting a little tired from all this painting.

Shudder.

From here we went straight into a much needed bath, where the water turned a rainbow of colours. It was pretty great.