Limeonade

 

Its hot in Calgary this week. So hot!!  I kid you not, as I wrote that sentence a bead of sweat rolled down my back. While I'm sitting in my backyard enjoying my morning coffee, the kids are enjoying one of their favourite treats. Homemade Limeonade.

We have all been trying our best to stay cool and hydrated over the last couple of weeks but I have to be honest, I'm tired of water. So are they. We've had glasses of water filled with fruit, ice cubes and even carbonated with the soda stream. We're over water. 

Luckily we know how to whip up a quick Limeonade, served in a Mason Jar. Everything tastes better out of a Mason Jar. (This may or may not be a matter of opinion). Our family tip...add a bit of sea salt to that pitcher and serve it with ice. Salt may sound odd, but it changes the flavour of your drink in the best way possible. I add a bit salt to lots of sweet treats. Icing, cookies, hot chocolate. A little goes a long way. Salt carries the flavour. Salt makes your sweetness or tartness more pronounced. It deepens your chocolate or your vanilla flavour.  I'm going to go out on a limb here, and quote Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing."

HOMEMADE LIMEONADE 

3 limes

1.5 lemons

3/4 cup - 1 cup of sugar 

1/4 tsp of sea salt

2 L of water

If its me making the Limeonade, I add 3/4 of a cup of sugar, I like to cut back where I can. If its my daughter throwing the pitcher together she will swear that extra quarter of a cup is not optional. Regardless, add the  sugar, salt, lime and lemon juice to the bottom of the pitcher. Top up with 2L of water and stir. Call your friends!!!  For an adult option, add some vodka to your glass and rim it the way my little brother does, with a mix of sugar and pepper. Mmmm. 

Thanks for reading!! If you have any questions or concerns, or you just really liked this Big Idea, please feel free to comment below!!!  

Lunch Box Mac N' Cheese

 

I'm making lunch snacks for the kiddos today! These are quick, easy and generally, a crowd pleaser. They freeze amazingly well and your kids can eat them at any temperature. 

LUNCHBOX MAC N' CHEESE

 

You can add any amount of cheese to these mini casseroles.  The more cubed cheese, the cheesier!  I always use a strong cheese for a bolder flavour but honestly, use whatever you prefer. You'll be baking inside mammoth muffin tins, which I find, make a perfect size tiny casserole. They fit wonderfully inside a lunchbox. 

Preheat the oven to 325 F. 

 

Grease the mammoth muffin tins and begin adding uncooked noodles and cubes of cheese to the tins, in layers.  To increase the ease of clean up, you could always try making these inside muffin cups. 

 

Fill the tins, leaving about a centimetre of head space. 

 

Top each tin off with milk. Fill until most of the noodles are covered. 

 

Add salt and pepper to the tops of the casseroles. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 325 F. If you're like me and enjoy the top of your casserole browned; turn the oven on broil for 1 minute.  I always salt one last time after I remove from the oven. 

 

Allow the casseroles a few minutes to cool in the pan.  Use a knife to loosen the Mac N' Cheese and remove with a small spatula. 

 

Freeze, once the casseroles are cooled. Thaw the night before, in the fridge to place in a lunchbox. My kids are happy to eat these at room temperature. However, if they prefer them heated, place boiling water in a thermos with a lid; allow to sit for 10 minutes. Empty the thermos and dry. Heat one casserole in the microwave for 50 seconds and place in the warmed thermos. 

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions or concerns, or you just liked this big idea!!  Thanks for reading!

Lunchbox Snacks: Faux Bocconcini Salads

 

Quick thought for today!!!  I was buying some groceries for my kid's lunches. They totally love these bocconcini hors d'oeuvres and what a simple protein based snack to energize and fill them up!!  Ideal for a lunch box!

They found the bocconcini to be a tiny bit "plain." That's my daughter's word for..."it needs salt."  Next time I'll have to add some Serrano Ham.  For today, I gave in and salt and peppered. They didn't love them with basil but were pleased with spinach. 

Pat on the back...this mom is pleased to send a new option in the lunchbox!!

Thanks for reading!!  Comment below if you have any questions, or you just liked this big idea!!

Making Sourdough Bread: Practicing Patience

 Today is a bread making day. It's not quite ready yet. It's harder to make Sourdough in the winter, it's not quite warm enough to get a really good rise. Typically I whip my ingredients together in the evening and then bake in the morning. My dough didn't get quite high enough over night.  So I'm cheating. I turned my oven on to 350F and left my rising dough on the cooktop for 20 minutes. I'll begin the process of baking in half an hour or so. 

Though I cheat today, it's just because my day is fully scheduled. I need to bake now, or I run out of time. The nicest part of sourdough is sometimes you do run out of time and you really can just leave it lying on a counter to rise a little more. The bread will wait and you should too. Making a beautiful loaf is an exercise in patience.  This exercise will be rewarded with the most wonderful gift, a slice of fresh, warm bread. 

I make sourdough bread a few times a week. There are very few ingredients in sourdough and it's extremely good for your stomach. Sourdough has no manufactured yeast.  You trap yeast from the air in a sourdough starter. Making a sourdough starter is actually a super fun experiment. I made mine last spring with my son as a kitchen science experiment. Follow the link below, if you're interested in making your own starter here. 

https://homesteading.com/diy-recipe-sourdough-starter/amp/

I found that my starter actually took a bit longer to become active than the article expresses.  That may be related to climate or time of year. My recommendation is to be patient. Continue feeding and don't waste your time baking until your starter passes the "Float Test."  The float test brought me a serious amount of joy. You can check daily, as you are feeding your starter to see if your starter is ready to leven your bread. If it's ready to leven, a teaspoon of starter will float on the top of a glass of water. If it's not ready, it sinks to the bottom. 

 

 

If you happen to know someone that has a starter, ask them for a cup of it!  You can feed it at home and start baking your own bread.  Anyone that has a starter, will be happy to share. 

So...I just said you need to feed your starter. Freaky right?  Having a starter is like having a pet. A really giving, delicious pet. Mine is called Ramona. Isn't she beautiful? 

 

 

She pretty much looks like a bubbly pancake batter and she smells kind of sour. Not overwhelmingly sour but if you lean in close and take a whiff, you can't miss her familiar stench. She needs to be fed daily. Equal parts of Unbleached flour and filtered water. I typically do 1/2 cup of each but if I'm planning on doing a lot of baking, I increase to a full cup of filtered water and flour. This may sound like a lot of work but it's not, honestly and if you do find you don't have enough time to maintain your starter, put it in the fridge. Take it out, warm it up, scoop off the separated top and feed it once a week. After it's fed, put it back in the fridge if you don't have time to bake. It's a good pet. 

If you do have time, make this recipe. It makes two beautiful loaves.  Which you can eat fresh as soon as they're cooled, or toasted with breakfast, or thinly sliced on a charcuterie board.  You can also freeze the loaves in a large bread bag tied off with a twist tie and save them for later!

Sourdough Loaves

In the evening or first thing in the morning, combine these following ingredients in a glass bowl. (Sourdough hates stainless steel. A glass bowl is important). 

2 cups of Sourdough Starter

7 cups of Unbleached Flour

2 and 1/3 cups of Filtered Water (Brita is fine)

3 tsps of Granulated Sea Salt

1 tsp of Granulated Sugar (totally optional but my kids like the bread better if it's present). 

In a Glass Bowl, mix all ingredients by hand. They should come together quite quickly. I use my bare hands to fully blend ingredients. Once combined, set a timer for 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes, knead the dough inside the bowl for 1-2 minutes. Cover with Saran Wrap and leave it in a warm place for 8-12 hours. 

8-12 hours later, typically when I wake up for the day, your dough should look something like this...

 

Remove from your bowl to a floured surface, to begin processing. Remove gently, you want to keep as much air as possible inside your dough. It should look something like this...

 

Next, you need to stretch the dough out into a rectangle. Then, fold one side into the centre and repeat the process on the other side. 

 

After your dough has been folded, cut into two separate loaves. Shape, gently with your hands. 

 

 

Place inside parchment paper lined casserole dishes or Dutch Ovens.  Allow 30 minutes to rise. 

Before placing in a 450 F preheated oven, score the top of your bread. I love this snowflake pattern. Next, wet the inside of the lids and cover for the first portion of baking. 

 

 

The loaves need to bake for 30 minutes, covered in the 450 F oven.

 

After 30 minutes, remove the lids and continue baking for 20 minutes, lower the temperature to 425 F, for the final portion of baking. 

 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for half an hour on a wire rack. The cooling process is very important. Your bread is going to smell great.  Resist the temptation to cut into it! The 30 minutes of cooling is actually part of the baking process. It is going to guarantee you a chewy inside and a crispy crust. 

 

If you enjoyed this article, have any questions or you just liked this big idea, please comment below!  Thanks for reading!

Quiche / Omelette: Doing Two Things at Once

I'm a Mom of two.  Multitasking or doing two things at once is a necessary Mom Skill. This afternoon's food prep included making my lunch as well as prepping some mini quiches for the kid's lunch kits. An omelette for me and tiny, little egg pies for them!

Just recently, I discovered that my children love quiche. It needs to be a simple quiche, but they LOVE IT! I have been whipping up this recipe for my little darling's lunch boxes. 

The kids pack their own lunches, daily. I find providing them with a number of homemade, healthy options, leads to better choices. I love this recipe because it tastes good at any temperature and it freezes well!

 

To save a bit of time, I bought frozen unsweetened tart shells....thank you to the "No Name" employee / machine  that rolled out my pie crust and put it into convenient little baking containers. 

 

Mini Quiches and an Omelette for a Hungry Mom

5 eggs

10 unsweetened tart shells 

1 cup of milk 

1 cup of strong cheese

2 tbsps of flour

Sea salt

Pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 F

Remove 10 tart shells from package to thaw.  

Whisk together 5 eggs and 1 cup of milk. 

Add flour and mix well. 

Shred 1 cup of strong cheese, my kids love cheddar or gouda. Mixing cheeses is never a mistake! Today I used an Old Cheddar and some Parmesan Cheese. 

Add the shredded cheese to your egg mixture along with salt and pepper. 

Fill 10 tarts. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Melt butter in a frying pan and add the left over egg mixture to your pan, heated to medium. Cook appt 6 minutes and fold. Allow another 1-2 minutes per side. 

Voila! Omelette! 

 

By the time your omelette is consumed, the mini quiches will be ready. Allow them to cool on the counter before you refrigerate or freeze. 

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions or you just liked this big idea! Thanks for reading!

Chick Pea Addiction

Ok...we all have that one friend. The friend that makes you giggle whether or not she knows she's being funny. This friend of mine is hilarious. She has a witty, dry sense of humour and she is seriously one of the best cooks I know. 

This girlfriend of mine used to make a chick pea dip that she served with nachos. I would stand by the bowl and shovel it into my mouth, party after party. Anytime I was heading to her house, I knew I was going to be the embarrassing girl at the back of the room stuffing my face with chick peas. I have no defences against this dip or salad, as I now call it. I'm weak in it presence. Which is fine, because it's actually pretty healthy. 

Years ago, I begged her for the recipe. I now make it almost weekly. I serve it over spinach, arugula, eat it with nachos, throw it into a soup, mix it in with rice and use it as a side. It's delicious, simple to make and lasts all week in the refrigerator. You can keep it in a baking dish and reheat it again and again. Have I mentioned I love this dish? So delicious, so versatile!

 

Please comment below if you have any questions, or you just liked this big idea!

Let Love Grow: Making Your Own Wedding Favours

When planning a wedding, arguments tend to happen. I'm sure Wedding Favours have caused an argument...or two.  Wedding favours are an old tradition, a tradition, I'm sure many brides and grooms may decide to scrap. I like to think of Favours as a potential place to save some money and highlight your talents. Especially if you're ambitious and you can create something handmade on your own. A favour is a nice way to say thank you to each of your guests. Favours contribute to decor and I, personally, think it's lovely to leave a special event with a small momento. A small and useful momento is even better!

I made these for a friend's wedding this summer. They were quick, relatively inexpensive and a perfect gift from a gardener. Though my friend Sarah has many talents, gardening is one of the more obvious talents she possesses. Every summer she grows and harvests beautiful zucchinis, tomatoes, herbs, carrots, potatoes and onions. Her yard is highlighted by the lovely flowers growing in her flower beds and in her ceramic pots.  A personalized packet of wildflower seeds from a gardener and nature lover seemed like the best choice as a gift from my dear friend, Sarah. 

These Favours were small enough to be slipped into a purse. The intention for these seeds was for a wedding guest to later spread on their property, in a place that's special to them or on their favourite walk. As a wedding guest spreads the seeds, it was my hope that they would think of that special couple on their special day and "Let Love Grow."

I don't know if you've ever seen wildflower seeds before but my first thought for Favours was to either find or make vellum envelopes. Wildflower seeds are far less pretty than I anticipated...

Needless to say, I opted for the adorable yellow polka dotted paper Recollections brand envelopes that I found on sale at Michaels.  If  you were to use vellum, I'd recommend adding some dried lavender for interest sake. 

I decided to label the envelopes with the Bride and Groom's names, the wedding date and the "Let Love Grow" quote. I wanted the favours to look hand stamped and I wanted them on craft paper. I'm not a super techy kind of girl, the most simple way I've found to do this is to draw out multiple labels on a piece of white paper and then photocopy them onto craft cardstock.  I had a ton of Favours to make, photocopying was going to save me a lot of time!!

After I made the copies, I trimmed the labels, edged them with gold ink and glued the labels onto the envelopes. I then filled each envelope with a heaping tablespoon of seeds, sealed the envelopes and added a piece of decorative washi tape to the back, as an extra little detail and to prevent them from opening and growing a small garden in a guest's favourite handbag.  

 

These favours were extremely well received and looked adorable, featured as a part of the table decor. Thank you for reading!!  If you have any questions or you just liked this big idea, feel free to comment below! 

Homemade Tea Biscuits

There are many reasons to make homemade tea biscuits. I make them as a family tradition.

My son is a biscuit addict. We have them at least once a week. Usually Sunday breakfast. I serve biscuits with fruit, cheese and homemade jam. So delicious. 

Click here to find my absolute favourite Raspberry Jam Recipe.

My kids eat them in their lunches, as sandwiches, mini pizzas and have them for breakfast as egg sandwiches. If I'm serving biscuits, the kids are in!!

I'm pretty sure I have perfected the ancient art of biscuit making (If I do say so, myself). I used to make them with my grandmother, as a child. She whipped them up without ever looking at a recipe; almost daily. We would cut biscuits with a glass, I loved listening to the puff of air as it escaped and watching them fall out of the glass onto the counter top.  I loved the intoxicating smell of fresh biscuits and the melting warm butter as they were served my favourite way...with molasses. I didn't spend much time with my grandmother when I was young; these memories are as a result, forever cemented in my brain. 

I don't have her original recipe and I'm sure hers probably contained shortening or margarine, which I don't typically eat. The flavour in these tea biscuits are as close as I have managed to get. It's the process, I have discovered that makes a tea biscuit great, more so than the recipe. 

The trick to a flakey biscuit is folding.  As you roll your dough out, fold, roll again, fold, roll again, fold and roll again, as many times as you desire. This process will create layers in your biscuit. I can assure you...you want layers. 

Homemade Tea Biscuits 

4 cups of Unbleached Flour

3 tbsps of Baking Powder

1 tsp of Salt

1/2 tsp of Sugar

2/3 cup of Butter

2 cups of Milk

Place dry ingredients in a stand mixer, blend with the paddle attachment. 

Cube butter and add to the stand mixer. Blend until it resembles coarse crumbs. 

Create a well in the centre of the biscuit mix. 

Add two cups of milk and mix until just combined. 

Preheat your oven to 400° F

Pour mixture onto a heavily floured surface. It will be rather wet, knead for a moment as you incorporate some of the flour from your worktop. 

When your mixture is no longer sticking to your hands, begin rolling.  

Roll your dough to approximately 1 inch. Fold; then roll back to 1 inch. Repeat this process two or three times. 

When you're ready, cut your biscuits with a glass...or a biscuit cutter. 

A large glass will cut approximately 15 biscuits, a smaller cutter will give you closer to 24. 

Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Allow a few moments to cool before you dig in!!  Be sure to fully cool before freezing. They will last several days on the counter top, in an air tight container; unless you have a son like mine. We never have biscuits around the house for more than 48 hours! 

If you liked this big idea, try making them with someone you love. Feel free to comment below!!

What to do with Winter Bananas

I don't know what has happened with the bananas in my home town as of late, but they're coming off of the trucks spotty. My kids like green bananas. Yuck! Imagine, flavourless, hard, green bananas. They LOVE them.  Needless to say, it's been hard to provide my turkeys with their favourite snack. Upside...spotty...overripe bananas are on sale everywhere!

I love baking. So, I have been making muffins. Tons of them! Banana Muffins freeze so well and they're such a great hit in lunches. My bestie and I have been modifying our Banana Muffin recipe for years.  This is the option I make most often. I feel that the following recipe balances health, goodness and the level of kid happiness!

 

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

7-8 Ripe Bananas

1 1/2 cups of sugar 

2 eggs

1/4 cup of butter, melted

1/4 cup of coconut oil, melted

3 cups of flour 

1 tsp of baking soda 

1 tsp of baking powder 

1/2 tsp of salt

2 tsp of vanilla 

1/2 cup of oatmeal

1/2 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl (soda, baking powder, salt and flour).  I use unbleached flour but feel free to substitute whole wheat or try out a gluten free option...be careful make sure you use something that can be substituted cup for cup. Some flours require extra modification with wet ingredients. 

Mash bananas with sugar.  Feel free to substitute your favourite sweetener or reduce the sugar...it'll work out. 

Stir in eggs. 

Melt butter and coconut oil together in the microwave, stir into the mixture. 

Add vanilla.  

Blend in dry ingredients. 

Add oatmeal and if your kids have been behaving really well, chocolate chips. 

Fill muffin cups or greased muffin tins to 3/4. Makes 24 muffins or two loaves. 

For 24 muffins bake 20-22 minutes. Two loaves will take 45-50 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, cool for two minutes before removing from pans. Enjoy!

Cook times may vary depending upon altitude and appliances. 

If you liked this big idea feel free to comment at the bottom!