27.7.11

Haikus of My Summer So Far


Crap, it's summer break
Too many kids, too much time
September please come now

Crafts, parks, bikes, splash pads
I can do this, it won't beat me
Am I Supermom?

Burgers on the grill
Ketchup, mustard, relish, bun
Cold beer, I need some

Water and sunscreen
Cheese sticks, crackers, apples, lunch
Ferries, Centreville

Summer is fleeting
Precious time with my wee kids
It all goes too fast

Buttery Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
1/3 cup butter
2 tbsp fresh minced rosemary
sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until 3/4 cooked. Drain and set aside. On stove top, melt butter and add rosemary. Heat gently for 3-5 minutes. Toss potatoes with butter mixture and wrap in foil. Place on BBQ on medium/high heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.


14.7.11

Cancer Free Cobbler


I recently dropped off some food, including a peach and blackberry cobbler, at my friend's house. Her mom was going through chemo and she was worried. It's a scenario I know well. There's the diagnosis, the worry, the treatment, the sickness, and the ever present waiting. You are always waiting for more news, hoping it's good, anything but bad. The last thing you want to do is concern yourself with the mundane task of making dinner.

My friend got good news the other day. Her mom's treatment was a success. Some think it was the chemo, but my bet is with the cobbler.

Cancer Free Cobbler

2 lbs peaches, peeled, pitted and cubed
1 cup of blackberries
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt

1 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
1/3 cup yoghurt

Preheat oven to 425 F, and place rack on lower level. Toss peaches and blackberries in sugar and let sit for 30 minutes. Drain fruit and save juice. Whisk 1/4 cup of juice with corn starch, lemon, and salt, and mix with fruit. Place fruit mixture in a greased glass pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
With a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add butter and pulse until grainy. Transfer to a bowl and mix in yoghurt. Form six dough balls and place on fruit mixture. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 20 minutes, and let cool 20 minutes. Enjoy.
Sorry about my lack of a cobbler photo but it was eaten too quickly.

6.7.11

Miss Chatelaine


I just subscribed to a year of Chatelaine magazine. Well, truth be told, it is on my To Do List. I have been intending to subscribe for at least 6 months now. It seems to take me a little while to
get my chores done. I'm good at reading mags, just not subscribing to them in a timely fashion. We can't all be perfect now can we?

My Chatelaine love has been my dirty little secret for some time now. I always thought it was a fairly lame magazine. Too boring and too mainstream for me. I was always an avid reader of Bitch and Bust magazine, but since kids I haven't had the brain power to get through an article without losing track of what they are talking about. Of course, it's possible that's due to my early onset of Alzheimer's. It's not an official diagnosis but I'm expecting one any day now, I just keep forgetting to call my doctor.

One of my best friends was over the other day. She's a very hip lady. I was passing on some of my books and magazines to her. She very politely declined the Chatelaine. She was surprised by my love and as an awkward amends she told me she had just gotten her 70 year old mother a subscription. It didn't make me feel like a very cool cat. It was either that or my lame use of forties jazz slang.

These are the things I love about Chateleine magazine and am not afraid to admit; 1) the recipes that I will never try 2) the workouts that I love to plan for but never do 3) the book suggestions that I will never remember when I'm at a bookstore. So in summary, it is plainly obvious to me and all my readers that the boring and mainstream Chatelaine magazine is a perfect match for me.

I am thinking of legally changing my name from Alysa to Miss Chatelaine. Please address me as such when I see you next.

Gluten and Dairy Free Quiche with my friend Bacon and my acquaintance Broccoli
(I was unable to come up with a catchier name)

8 eggs, beaten
1 cup of plain soy milk
5-7 new potatoes
3 or more slices of bacon, diced and fried until slightly crispy
1 head of broccoli, cut into fine pieces
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl combine eggs and soy milk. Set aside. Slice potatoes an 1/8 thick and boil until 3/4 cooked. Grease an 8"x 8" pan, and throw all the ingredients in it. Bake at 375 F for 30 to 40 minutes.