Employment

I have not been gainfully employed for some time now. I know, I know I've been doing very important work here at home. That ain't gonna buy me a new pair of shoes now is it? It's coming up to 7 years at home. What skills could I possibly have left? Well I do rock at multitasking and have excellent customer service skills. What more do I need? That should get me several high paying gigs. Oh I forgot to mention I am very good at slack-assing, dog walking, choosing fun over chores, and jumping in the car with the kids for impromptu road trips.

I wish I was one of those people who honed a skill for a decade before staying home. Then I'd at least have something to fall back on. I'll be starting from scratch. So if you know the perfect job for me, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you. And if you are hiring, please replace slack-assing with ass slapping when you read above. I don't want you to get the wrong impression of me.

Lemon Rosemary Potatoes

In this gluten free world I'm living in, I am trying to find some love for the potato. I think I've found a little here.

20 new potatoes
1/4 cup of butter (or more if you love your butter)
the juice of two lemons
2 sprigs of rosemary
sea salt and fresh pepper

Boil your potatoes until tender. While potatoes are cooking, melt your butter in a pan. Add rosemary until it softens a little. This should only take a few minutes. When potatoes are cooked, drain them and toss them in a bowl with the rosemary butter. Add salt and pepper and pour on lemon juice. Toss again and serve warm.

Farmers

There is a farmer's market up the street from me every Monday. I just love it. It may not be the cheapest place to shop but it is the freshest and pretty darn tasty too. If bacon says no, I may ask the farmer's market to marry me. No it's official, I will ask him to marry me. I'll make him a ring out of bacon which will not only make bacon feel like a fool for rejecting me, but also make my offer irresistible.

There is a very cool program called FarmStart that helps farmers start small scale farms. A few of them at our market participate in this program. They are urban farmers. They live in Toronto and commute less than a hour to Brampton to farm their land. Through FarmStart they are able to rent land for very little, which enables them to actually make a living by farming. One of the biggest pitfalls for farmers is the debt they incur due to the land they need to buy. This way they can learn their trade and do what most of them love to do.

It certainly got us thinking. I've already contacted them to see if we can rent land simply to grow food for our family. We were denied, but I have a feeling that FarmStart or a similar program lies somewhere in our future. We will have to wait and see.

This is a recipe that one of the Brampton farmers gave me when I bought fenugreek from him. If you can find fresh fenugreek, make this dish. It is divine.

Methi Aloo

2 large bunches of Fenugreek
3 potatoes, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 medium white onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed red peppers
2 tsp oil
1/4 to 1/2 cups of water

Remove fenugreek leaves from stem and discard the stems. Heat oil in pan, add onions and cook until soft. Add potatoes and water and cover pan for 5-7 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Add tomatoes, fenugreek, salt and red peppers and cook until all water has evaporated. Serve hot with pita or naan bread.

good intentions.

I had every good intention of making at least a portion of my Easter dinner in advance, to share with you here.

Sadly, that isn't what happened, but I can tell you that the fabulous ham recipe I am using can be found here, and I am making these potatoes. There will also be green beans, possibly a salad, and whatever remains of this morning's chocolate haul for dessert.

Now, a glass of bubbly and we're off to join Alysa's family to hunt for eggs.

Happy Easter!