Getting ready for fall chaos

This fall I'm getting ready to a) go back to work, b) send the kids back to school and c) trying to figure out how to have be an efficient household engineer (i.e. chef, housekeeper, nurse, landscaper, taxi driver, counsellor, mother, wife, friend, neighbour, community member etc etc)
To that end, I'm on the search for fabulous slow-cooker and make ahead recipes that I can put in my freezer (a la "Big Cook") so that, come September I'm not beholden to the frozen pizza aisle of the grocery store.

Today I'm going to marry my love of curries with the harvest starting to come in, and try out this slow-cooker Aloo Gobi recipe, using a MONSTER head of cauliflower I found at the farmers market last weekend.
The leftovers will go in my freezer to make a couple of foreseeable future dinners a little more colourful...fingers crossed it tastes good!!!

Food & wine | Recipe: Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes | Seattle Times Newspaper

Best Banana Bread Recipe I've ever found

I have a confession to make - I don't like bananas.  Well that's not entirely true, I like bananas, but only if they are barely ripe, without a single blemish or bruise on their skin or pulp, UNLESS - they are baked into banana bread.  I LOVE Banana Bread!
Unfortunately, I have never been able to find a good enough banana bread recipe to meet my  unattainably high standards, until now.
To me, a perfect banana bread has to be: moist and absolutely not crumbly; a little bit crunchy; and, bananay-sweet but not sugary sweet (given my strong feelings against plain mushy, bruised bananas, there's an irony there somewhere I know).
I gave up trying to make banana bread several years ago, because I was tired of being disappointed after trying out new recipes and then being stuck with a loaf of sub par banana bread.  Then, the other day I noticed another recipe for banana bread on the side of a granola bag... feeling ambitious, brave and a little reckless even, I decided to delve once more into the world of baking and give it a try and I'M SO GLAD I DID!!!!

I started to feel optimistic when the warm banana-y smell started wafting through my kitchen.
Even more so when the tinger on my timer tanged and I pulled a wonderfully tall, golden loaf out of my oven... and absolutely over the moon when I cut into it.
The banana bread loaf came out perfect!!!!  Moist and fruity with a crunchy top crust like I've never tried before.  This first loaf was devoured by my family in no time, and I've since made it 2 more times (slipping in some healthy wheatgerm and wheatbran into the mix - evil mother that I am - mwahahahaha).  It slices very well, and makes for a healthy breakfast, lunch and after school snack.

Being as I can't imagine I'm the only person in the world who has struggled to find the perfect banana bread recipe, I've decided to share my find:
  (taken from the side of a bag of Rogers Hazelnut and Honey 5 Grain Granola)
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp bkg powder
1 tsp bkg soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed banana
1 1/4 cup granola

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in one bowl, set aside.
Beat together oil, sugar and eggs, in another bowl and stir in mashed bananas, mix well.
Add dry ingredients and stir until just mixed
Gently stir in 1 c granola
Turn batter into a greased 8.5x"4.5" (1.5L) loaf pan
Top with remaining granola and press it in gently
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes
Cool 10  minutes in pan then remove to rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 loaf.

I doubled this recipe the second time I made it with no problems.
I also added about a half cup of both wheatgerm and wheat bran to the flour mixture with no problem.

YUM YUM YUM!!!!

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-indulgence #14 (part 3)

My final self-indulgence was champagne and wild hibiscus - how's that for decadence - (thanks Mom) at my surprise birthday party (thanks to my dear husband Ken and good friends Jen and Sandra for organizing the shin-dig, and to everyone who came out!!)....

This final treat was a perfect end to a wonderful couple of weeks.  The wild hibiscus flowers are actually wild sorrel blossoms, preserved in a sweet syrup.  They can be used in a bunch of different ways, but I think the most beautiful way - by far is in champagne.  The blossoms taste a bit like apple, and add a lovely pink hue to the champagne.

sigh....... I guess this technically brings us to the end of the 14 days of self-indulgence, counting down to my 40th Birthday....it's been a fun exercise!!!
You know what - I'm going to keep at it.  I think it's ok to be a little self-indulgent every now and then ....This exercise in little self-indulgences has been all about looking after my inner-self and, calories-aside, my outer-self thanks me.  I find myself feeling more energized, envigorated and motivated than I have in a long time.
Life has gotten surprisingly busy, from shuttling kids back and forth to school and extra curriculars; to running errands and managing playdates; to doing laundry and keeping house; trying to prepare healthy snacks and meals; nursing owies and illnesses; paying the bills and trying to start a business...
The day-to-day craziness of life, nevermind caring for a family, can make it difficult to forget that if we want to be whole and balanced individuals, we need to take care of ourselves too - both our bodies and our minds. 
I am at peace with getting older.  I find I know myself better than I did when I was younger, and I like who I have become.  I continue to learn and grow everyday, and I'm excited for my future.... what better place to be at at the dawn of ones 40s?

Thank you for coming on this journey with me :)  I look forward to continuing to keep track of little bits of everything and nothing in particular right here in my blog about everything Dayna-ish... I'm having more fun blogging than I thought I would!! Feel free to follow if you wish... and even better, feel free to share your favourite things with me too :)

TTFN

As Always,  Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #14 (part 2)

Rrrrrred Velvet!

......Following our trip into the cheese shop, mom and I headed over to Crave Cupcakes, and I finally tasted my first ever Red Velvet Cupcake. 

Now, the first time I ever heard the term "Red Velvet" used in relation to food was on season 1 of "The Apprentice", when the challenge was for each team to create and market a new flavour of ice cream.  One of the flavours was called Red Velvet - and I instantly fell in love with the name... without actually realizing what it was.






In my mind, I had pictured Red Velvet to be a lot more sophisticated dessert than that!!



Later I did a bit of research and learned that traditional Red Velvet is really nothing more chocolate cake with a TON of red food colouring added, and topped with a cream cheese icing... apart from the icing, I thought - what a let down....
Nevertheless - I began a quest to find the perfect (in my mind) red velvet recipe.... alas, my family doesn't eat a lot of dessert, so I never actually tried to make anything red velvety, until this past Valentine's Day.  My in-laws were visiting from Ontario and we invited some friends over for Valentines Dinner to visit with them... because we had so many people dining with us, and because it was a special occasion, I decided to finally attempt my first ever red velvet ... and my first ever cheesecake.

Dessert was supposed to look like this

.

... it didn't

Well - it was an unmitigated disaster!!!!  After 6 hours of preparation and baking, my decadent "red velvet cheesecake" was the colour of a bandaid (despite 2 big bottles of red liquid food colouring), and a mushy gushy mess that had almost doubled in size, overflowing my springform pan, spilling into the water bath, in big, goopy bandaid pink clumps that looked more curdled than creamy.  In all fairness to the myrecipes.com website though - I probably shouldn't have doubled the recipe) ..... in the end except for the crust, the whole thing ended up in the garbage.  Thank goodness, I have good friends and forgiving relatives, and we all have a sense of humour -  because otherwise I would have curled up in a corner and hid, it was that bad...

Still, I remained enamoured by the name "Red Velvet" and held out hope that one day I would experience true red velvet, and that it would live up to the name and the culinary fantasy I had built around it..... SO when I learned that Crave Cupcakes makes a mean "Red Velvet Elvis" cupcake and realized that there was a Crave Cupcakes across the parking lot from Springbank Cheese Co, what could I do but INDULGE!!! (It was my actual birthday afterall)

My Mom and I walked into the store and together we oohed and aahed all of the wonderful flavours of cupcakes, but really that was just for show on my part - I already knew what I was going to have.
So we bought our cupcakes, went outside to sit in the sun and sink our teeth into the decadence, and after all these years, waiting to finally tasted a piece of real, honest to goodness red velvet cake my verdict was..................................................................................
.......................................................................................m'eh.

It's true - Red Velvet really is just plain old chocolate cake with a ton of red food colouring and a rich cream cheese icing - that's it.


huh - I guess that's one more thing crossed off my bucket list.


Anyways - that rather anti-climactic cupcake has NOT stopped my quest for a perfect dessert deserving of the "Red Velvet" Moniker, only now, I guess I'll have to invent my ideal red velvet recipe(s) myself!!!
I wonder - do I dare post my experiments??  Stay tuned to find out.


Meanwhile, I'm going to wrap up this post and carry it on to part 3 of my self-indulgent birthday update....

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #10

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM a hug in a mug

London Fog

I'm such a tea-granny in my old age - but not for just any old red rose/tetley tea.  Nope,  I like variety in my mug, and generally speaking not of the sweet herbal kind.
In fact I'm such a tea-oholic that I was a member of the Natur'el Tea of the Month Club for a couple of years.  I have a little tea shrine in my kitchen cupboard that overflows with all kinds of tea, from all over the world - Mates from South America, Green, White and Black Teas from all over Asia, and Rooibos from South Africa... not to mention a few local blends made from prairie herbs like chamomile, rosehips and sage.

This morning, while out running errands, I stopped by a little gift shop in Nanton called "Because I Said So...".  The owner, Pam, not only carries a wonderful and eclectic selection of greeting cards and gifts, she also keeps the kettle on in a tiny wee coffee/tea corner. Her menu is small but perfect, so I indulged - and I must say, Pam makes a wicked London Fog!!!

London Fog is a tea latte, made from Earl Grey tea and vanilla, steeped in steaming hot milk.  It's very easy to make at home, using a just a simple food blender, if you don't have an expresso maker, or milk steamer.

MY RECIPE:
I make London Fog at home by heating a mug of 2% milk in the microwave or on the stove, then letting a bag of Earl Grey tea steep in it until the milk begins to turn tea-colour, and I can smell the tea.
Then I stir in either a bit of Torani vanilla syrup, OR vanilla flavouring with a bit of honey or sugar to taste and throw it all into my blender.  Blending it fast enough creates a lovely froth, very similar to steamed milk froth.
As soon as I'm done blending, I pour it right back into my mug, curl up in a sunbeam on the couch, and ENJOY!!!

Hopefully this is just the first of several self-indulgences today - I have some catching up to do :)

As always, Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #9

Halvah

This is a simple self-indulgence, after last night's decadence and another call out to a childhood memory.

When I was a little girl, my parents would take us down to explore the Byward Market in Ottawa every weekend.
I remember we would wander for what felt like hours around all the little shops and vendors booths, bringing home fresh pocket bread (giant pita pockets), deli meats, funny fruits (that's probably where I tasted my first pomegranate - hey they were exotic back in the 70s!!) and other tasty treasures.  I remember a magical combination of smells - from fresh flowers and fish, to bakery sweets and stinky cheeses...

My favourite memory of the culinary treasures we brought home from the market is of Halvah, and although it is often hard to find in small town grocery stores - it remains a favourite indulgence of mine... one that I try to remember to splurge on about once a year.

Halva is a type of sweet.  It is one of the worlds oldest candies, with the earliest references date as far back as the year 3000 B.C.   The word halvah means literally 'sweetmeat'.   There are tons of different types of halva served across North Africa, the Middle East and into Asia.  When I was in India many many years ago, they served a sweet called halwa that was quite gelatinous and NOT at all what I was expecting.  My favourite type is sesame based and originates in Turkey (I think).

Wonder of wonders I recently found Halva in the Nanton IGA's deli department, in fact they even had 2 different flavours - chocolate and vanilla!  Of course I bought both, and have been holding on to them for a special occasion...like today :)

To be honest, I have never been sure how to eat it properly - I don't know if it is supposed to be used as an ingredient in another recipe or if it should be served with something else.  I've always just cut mine into pieces and enjoyed it as is - sometimes with a tall glass of milk.

Ever the kitchen-experimenter, I just decided to search for a halvah recipe to see if i can make it on my own.  I think I found the perfect one on the Tasty Recipes Blog.  I'm going to bookmark it and try it out sometime -

Then when I'm feeling particularly bored and ambitious, I might try to take on something like the White Chocolate and Halvah Cheesecake recipe I just found on Godiva.com..... mmmmmmmmmmm it must be getting close to dinner time, clearly I'm hungry!!!!

Ok - on that note, I'm going to grab another slice of heaven... I mean Halva.

ttfn!
As Always, Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #7 (UPDATED POST)

GOBLOOS!!!

When I was a little girl, living in Ottawa, we had some family friends who were from India.  Every now and then, we would go over to visit them for a playdate and dinner.  Unfortunately, I've only managed to hold on to a couple of bizzare memories of those dates:
1) I remember Monika and Susan had a really fun puzzle with unusual shapes mixed in with the traditional puzzle shapes (i.e. cats, stars, boats, people etc); and

Gobloos (aka gulab jamun, aka the BEST dessert ever!!!)

2) I remember gobloos... gobloos were what I called the little balls of fried dough soaked in sweet cardomom and rosewater syrup that Mrs. Chadha always served.
Anyways, we moved away when I was 9, and I never saw the Chadhas again - but I never forgot those gobloos.  It wasn't until many years later, while travelling in India, that I learned this isn't the correct name for the dish.  They are actually called Gulab Jamun.  (Imagine how cool I sounded asking if there were "gobloos" on the menu in every restaurant I went into for the first 3 weeks of my trip - the looks this crazy backpacker got were priceless!!!)

This evening, I went over to my friend Jen H's house with a couple of other girlfriends, for indulgence #7 - an indian feast and a movie.  When she was planning the evening, and asked what we should have on our menu, OF COURSE I had to include Gulab Jamuns.

Channa Masala

The rest of the meal was a combination of take-out (raita, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala and aloo gobi), store bought (Papaddum and Punjabi mix) and homemade (I've got my slow-cooker simmering up a bunch of channa masala as I write this).... all some of my favourite foods, rounded off with a bottle of PKNT Gold Carmenere but it's the Gobloos that finished off the meal perfectly in my mind....

After dinner we curled up with an appropriately themed girly movie - Bride and Prejudice.  It was a very light-hearted Hollywood-Bollywood crossover - probably not a movie I'd recommend to everybody, but a perfect compliment to a curry dinner girls night.

So I must say a BIG THANK YOU to Jen, Sandra and Annette, for the fabulous evening.  We had such a nice time that we talked about doing it again - next time experimenting with another type of international cuisine..... I think if we can get our acts together to dine like this on a regular basis we should call ourselves the "Nanton International Cuisine Epicure Girls" (N.I.C.E. Girls for short)... what do you think???

As Always, Dayna

P.S. The PKNT Gold Carmenere was so good, it has to qualify a self-indulgence (#8).... I"ll post about it separately....

Recipe for my magical vanilla matcha - a Saturday morning indulgence

I love tea - all makes and types of it (well - except most herbals, but if that makes me a tea-snob, so be it.)
Today, I want to make note of my matcha* magic.

A couple of years ago, I came across a little teashop in Banff that sold a wonderful matcha blend called: Vanilla Cloud Matcha, made by Domo** (www.domotea.com).  It's kind of like a Starbucks green tea latte, but a gazillion times better.  I fell in love, stocked up and indulged.  Unfortunately, my stash ran out, and when I went to replenish, I found out that it is indefinitely out of stock - SO, rather than go into withdrawal, I went to Chinatown.

There I found a big bag of plain powdered green tea, and started experimenting to find my own version of the Vanilla Cloud Matcha recipe that I could fall back on.  I succeeded satisfactorily, and the following "recipe" has become my Saturday morning treat; my Sunday Afternoon curled up with a good book escape; my early morning rushing off to work nutritious caffeine hit; and the "special tea" treat I make for my kids whenever I'm in a particularly good (and generous mood).

Dayna's Magical Vanilla Matcha (a hug-in-a-mug like no other):

 (note: I usually guesstimate quantities - so play around until you find proportions that are right for you)

1 Large Mug - that you can hug your hands around
1 T powdered milk
1/2 to 1 tsp powdered green tea (less tea = more creamy drink.... d'uh)
1 T white sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla flavour
Mix all of the above together with 1/4 cup boiling water in the bottom of your mug (this helps to dissolve the tea powder.)
Fill mug with hot milk (can use skim, 2%, homo, rice, almond or soy milk)
Top with a pinch of cinnamon.
ENJOY!!!

I actually make this recipe up in bulk quantities, so i can just go and grab a cup on a whim, without having to get out all the measuring spoons.

Optional: If you have a milk steamer, USE IT.  If not, you can put the whole concoction in a blender and whip it up before drinking it

Other Suggestions:
1) Replace the vanilla with cocoa powder to taste (Domo tea called this Chocolate Ecstasy).  This is a nice option, but personally I prefer my hot cocoa a little richer - as in pure 100% cocoa and a touch of sugar without any other flavour distractions.

In the inspired words of Dora's Backpack..... "yumyumyumyumyum delicioso!!!"

As Always, Dayna


* P.S. According to the wisdom of Wikipedia:  Matcha (抹茶^?, pronounced [mat.tɕa]^[1]) refers to finely-milled Japanese green tea. The cultural activity called the Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. In modern times, matcha has also come to be used to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream and a variety of wagashi (Japanese confectionery).

**P.P.S. Incidentally Domo Tea still makes delicious teas that you can order through their website.  They were recently featured on CBC's Dragon's Den: http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/pitches/domo-tea.html

Trying something new...

Well - here it is, 8:45am Tuesday - the day after Valentines Day.  A beautiful and surprisingly warm February morning.... gotta love chinooks - at least when they don't come with migraines!!

One kid is off to school, the other is home with a cold.... probably not bad enough to keep her away from school, but what the heck, she's only in kindergarten, and her grandparents (who are visiting from Ontario) will be leaving in a day or two, so consider this bonding time for them.

I can't really tell you why I've finally decided to start a personal blog - today of all days.  I've been thinking about it for some time, but never having been much of a journaller, I don't know if I'm really ready to commit to this medium, so we'll see how it goes.

I think I want to use this space to record whatever inspires me, or catches my attention at any given time.

I envision posting :
- recipes I discover (in my random quest to find the perfect red velvet anything.... for no other reason than I like how the name rolls off my tongue...RRRRrrrrred Velllllvvvett;
- links to places, videos, photos and podcasts that captivate me (I LOVE www.ted.com and CBC Radio Podcasts);
- crafts and other projects that I'm working on (or more realistically - adding to my list of things I wish to do whenever I find time);
- thoughts about movies I've seen (or want to see);
- books I've read (or am reading);
- music that I lose myself with;
- newly discovered (and old comfort) favourite foods and beverages (I'm an epicurean wannabe... mmmmm goatcheese);
- favourite things (that I would buy all my friends a la Oprah, should I ever win the lottery)
- other ways I'd spend my lottery jackpot winnings (if I ever bothered to regularly buy and check my tickets);
and,
- just general musings on life, the universe and everything... as I muddle along on this third planet from the sun.

..... so having said all that, let my blogging begin!!!