1. Fresh Tomato & Herb Bread: I’m thinking this will make a lovely companion to any soup or stew as the cold weather cranks up in the next few months. I’m putting it on today’s list in September because I want time to test this recipe and make a few batches to bake up and freeze so I don’t have to worry about wanting a few slices with dinner randomly at a moment’s notice. My mouth is watering just thinking about how it’s going to taste.

2. Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-ups: Now this is solely for the husband. Everything about it has his name written all over it. From the bread (check), to the cinnamon (check and check) to the filling (swoon), he will be pleased. Definitely!

3. Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala): Kevin, from Closet Cooking, has this tasty and comfort looking spicy chickpea stew I really want to make and eat this very instant. Love this kind of stew over rice! This plays nicely into my chickpea addiction, so… Yeah, you just know I’m going to make a whole vat of this stuff to hoover back.

4. Homemade Goldfish Crackers: This is a no-brainer, right? Some days I come home from work in this zombie vegetable state, and the cooking just does not get done. Dinner? Eat air. Thirsty? Lick your lips. It’s brutal some nights around here. If it weren’t for snack foods like these crackers, my husband might waste away. 😉 (Ok, not really, but he would eat these every night for dinner if they were kicking around.)

5. Chicken Teriyaki Sushi Balls: I have some ground pork left over from this week, so I may use them in these sushi balls. I may not, but I may. We’ll see if I’ve found another use for the pork by then or not. I have everything to make these right now but some defrosted chicken. These look like they’d be a great brunch item. I’d need a great dip for them, though. That shouldn’t be too hard to whip up.

(stroking chin) Hmm…

Ooooh, it’s Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious? I’m not, but I always support those who are, because I want to feel a part of something. I have a sad little life like that. 😉

So, work is work. We’re gelling together as a team nicely after four weeks, which is good because the large crowds haven’t died down. At all. It’s kinda scary when you look up.

What’s new, you ask? Well, I managed to burn my hand at work while on a break yesterday. I was trying to pour hot water from the dispenser into my tea cup when I misjudged where the invisible internal spout was on this newer dispenser machine (on older models, the spout hangs down so it’s visible and you don’t have to guess) and the scalding water dropped down on my hand instead of down into my waiting cup that was positioned about two inches away. Oops. Imagine my surprise. It doesn’t look so bad now, and it only hurts in the small area that got hit the longest which is where I have a bit of bruising and swelling.

I figure the burn will all be healed by Sunday or Monday – just in time to do it all over again? 😉 The good news is this will NOT affect my Weekend 5 list. Woot. So, here we go:

1. Sesame Chicken Kebabs: These will be done on Sunday since I have not one lick of chicken in the house right now. We’re planning a Costco run on Sunday AM to grab more. I really like the idea of ground chicken on sticks rolled in sesame seeds for some strange reason. I’m weird like that. Bonus: I’m thrilled to find another food blogger with the Brachydactyly Type D (cosmetic) gene mutation in his or her thumb(s) like I have. I wonder if this person is a member of the Facebook group? Or, perhaps s/he isn’t even aware his or her thumbs are different from others and is somewhat loved and is considered special by the others in our small circle??

2. Healthy Fettucine Alfredo: I don’t use Alfredo sauce much because I usually don’t like the taste of commercial white sauces. They’re… caulky. Also, I don’t think they’re as heart smart or calorie friendly as basic tomato sauce. And truth be told, I much prefer a lovely basil pesto, but the husband won’t have anything to do with pesto. He’s anti-pesto. Have you ever heard of anything so silly? Anyway, the use of a vegetable to make this sauce has me intrigued enough to try it. I wonder if the husband will suspect?

3. Caramel & Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies: For brevity, I condensed the name of this blogger’s cookie. I don’t have all day for a name that long, y’know? 😉 (That sounds mean, doesn’t it?) These look great. Again, this will be for the inlaws more than for us. The husband isn’t big on caramel anything, but he might try one or two if he’s curious enough because he does adore his peanut butter so. And I really adore Fall themed oatmeal cookies. Win-win.

4. Fresh Tomato & Herb Bread: I’m thinking this will make a lovely companion to any soup or stew as the cold weather cranks up in the next few months. I’m putting it on today’s list in September because I want time to test this recipe and make a few batches to bake up and freeze so I don’t have to worry about wanting a few slices with dinner randomly at a moment’s notice. My mouth is watering just thinking about how it’s going to taste.

5. Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-ups: Now this is solely for the husband. Everything about it has his name written all over it. From the bread (check), to the cinnamon (check and check) to the filling (swoon), he will be pleased. Definitely!

 I decided to make the green beans for dinner on Friday night since I had the day off and lots of time to work on them, but as a side to the frittata. The frittata was the main attraction. I loved it. So tasty. I recommend this recipe.

The beans, however, were… ok. I liked the taste of them enough, but my gripe is with the amount of work that goes into deep frying them. I’m not a fan of deep frying at home. I really have to be into the food going into the hot oil to set this up and babysit it at the stove top. Perhaps it’s something you’re into, but not me. And the batter fought with me, so it was frustrating. I’ll give this one a pass, but if you’re interested and don’t mind the labour intensive work, go for it.

Tonight for dinner, I decided to try my hand at making the noodle burger ‘buns’. It was really easy to make and fry up, but I made them too big and that lead to sloppy buns, lots of extra food and a plate of bits and bobs on the plate as I wiped my hands off over and over. The issue with making the spaghetti buns instead of the ramen noodles is that’s all we tasted – despite using jalapeno-lime aoili sauce, turkey burgers and lots of roasted peppers.

My SIL’s birthday is on Tuesday, so I baked up the apples I bought the other day. I left the skins off because she doesn’t like them, and I left out the pecans because she’s allergic to nuts, but other than that, it’s the same dish. The recipe was quite straightforward and easy to throw together quickly and to dress up any way you like once it comes out of the oven.

I topped ours with fresh whipped cream and drizzles of homemade caramel sauce. Everyone liked the taste and textures, but the apples themselves were slippery and hard to cut with a spoon alone, so serve this dessert with a fork and knife. I’m recommending this as a lovely, simple apple dessert, perfect for the fall and last minute bakes.

I made the salt, but I have yet to use it, so I’ll let you know how that turns out another time.

Wow, it’s been so long. I’m sorry. I have two jobs now, and this week marked the end of training on the second one, and my schedule during the week finally stabilized, so I am back! Let’s do this, kids.

I have a few things that caught my eye that I’ve been waiting all week to make. Hopefully that husband, and all of you, will enjoy my picks and decide to give them a whirl in your own kitchens this weekend

1. Copy Cat TGIF’s Green Bean Fries: I have some beans I want to use up before they go bad, and before the recycle guys pick up our green bin contents (the ends of the beans) in the morning, so I’m going to make a batch of these to go with tonight’s dinner efforts. (See #2.)

2. Zucchini-Tomato Frittata: I have very limited energy after a long week at work. Coincidentally, I also have eggs and tomatoes in my fridge that are set to expire very soon, so this easy dinner idea is a great use of materials and the meager cooking effort I’m willing to put forth tonight. Ugh.

3. Spaghetti Bun Burger: Ever since Jay from @TheAimlessCook vlogged his version of the ramen noodle burger ‘bun’, I have been trying to decide if I want to give this a go. I’m not a big fan of ramen noodles but I bought some packets nonetheless the other day, so this weekend seems like a great time to try out his method. And in the future, I can alway sub out the ramen for homemade spaghetti noodles if I end up liking the texture. I may not. We’ll see.

4. Seasoned Salt: Ever since I started using liquid smoke, I have been thinking about smoked salt. I have imagined all the various uses to justify baking salt with liquid smoke. It’s going to happen. This weekend. Perfectly timed for Fall cooking, of course. 🙂

5. Baked Apples: Bought some love apples today because they were pretty, and on sale. I have been going back and forth for a few hours, pouring over my Pinterest board, before finally setting on baked apples. It seemed like the right dessert to ease us into that kind of baking. And I know my husband loves this dish, so there’s that…

So, yeah… the Weekend 5 recap. I totally forgot about this till today. OOPS. My bad. Also, I just realised all of the photos I took are on my iFone, and I left that in the car, which the husband is currently using while out on back-to-back service calls, so those will have to be added this afternoon. Sorry.

Okay, here are my thoughts first:

1. The dill pickles from last week should be done fermenting. I will wait to open them when we make our burgers for dinner. I’m sure they will be delicious. Woot!

The happily unfussy apple cake was quick to assemble and bake, meaning this would be a great dessert for kids to make with minimal supervision. Overall, I liked the texture and choice of ingredients, but for me lacked enough flavour. I think amping up the cinnamon is what needs to happen here given how much cake this recipe yields. The scant 1/2 teaspoon was simply not enough. Since the Fall weather is just starting and that means lots of apples, I will get to play around with the cinnamon increment to figure it out soon enough. Overall, this is a great little recipe to try at home as a weeknight dessert.

The mushroom rice dish has a very straightforward cooking method, and I appreciate recipes like that. However, there weren’t any seasonings included beyond a bit of S&P, and this is purely my bias but I didn’t like the inclusion of the wine to the dish. (I also don’t like coq au vin if that makes you feel better.) This is recipe I wanted to like a lot, but didn’t. Even with fresh grated parm cheese on top. (!!!) I will have to take another kick at it very soon with some seasonings. I can easily imagine this side being a staple in our home with our winter meat dishes. I’m not giving up on it. I think it’s 75% good, but I want it to be 100% great, so I’m going to retool it to my liking. I will post the final version soon.

The gnocchi and zucchini ribbon dish was nice to make and eat, but it would have been a bit better if I had pan fried the gnocchi first instead of boiling it. I’m not a fan of soft, mushy gnocchi, and after boiling it to perfection then adding it to the pan to cook longer, it does tend to go mushy. Overall, this is a great little dish that’s got heart and legs. I was full for almost four hours after eating a small bowlful. And the husband was into it. It could use a bit of pow, though; I’m thinking perhaps the inclusion of some red pepper flakes or something similar, or maybe a splash of vinegar in the pan with the vegetables? In any case, this is as a lovely comfort dish that can be changed up as the seasons bleed into each other by switching seasonal produce to suit the weather and mood. Keeper.

5. I had high hopes for the sour cream and bacon potato salad, but it fell flat for me. I’m not really sure why. I haven’t had time to deconstruct the recipe and cooking method to figure it out since I was busy making a Beef Wellington at the same time. I can tell you my MIL and SIL loved this salad which I found odd because I thought for sure my MIL was going to turn her nose up at it after I tasted my first mouthful. She’s not one to eat salads that don’t measure up to hers, but she went back for seconds. Huh. And I thought at one point perhaps it was just me, but the husband thought it was lackluster as well, so who knows. {shrugs}

6. Today I’m finally getting around to making the fig jam after securing some lovely figs. Finally!

We love gnocchi in this house. It’s delicious in every dish I’ve tried it in. You can’t go wrong with these soft, warm pillows of potato goodness. Often I will fry gnocchi to get a nice crispy feel to them as part of a breakfast hash with a vegetable medley. So earthy. This Gnocchi & Zucchini Ribbons in Parsley Brown Butter dish from EatingWell.com looks amazing in simplicity, in taste and in colour. This should be quite good. We’re looking forward to this one

I have 3 apples in the fridge that need to be used up, but 3 is not enough to make a pie with or even a few hand pies, so this cute Apple Pie Breakfast Cake from HowSweetItIs.com looks like it will be a perfect use for my apples. Yum!Most of you know that I love to roast my own peppers at home. It’s cheaper, and it’s healthier for me. I have a lot of weird issues with preservatives, so I like to control my own food preparation when possible. And it’s completely possible with roasted peppers. Here is a lovely Roasted Red Pepper Dip from MarthaStewart.com that I have my eye on. I really like this idea. I want to see if it’s something the husband will be into as well. He’s picky. 🙂
I also have 4 potatoes in my pantry I have to use up, so I’m thinking a small batch of this mouth watering Sour Cream & Bacon Potato Salad from Creative-Culinary.com needs to be made this weekend. Ooh-la-la! 😀And finally, I can’t resist any recipe calling for the use of our beloved Jasmine rice. We can’t. It’s a fact. Look it up. Weak in the knees? Yup. Drooling? Oh, yeah. See? So I tripped over this little creamy rice dish on Pinterest the other day, and I have been thinking about it ever since. This Mushroom Parmesan Rice from TickledRed.com may be the perfect side dish for the pot roast I’m making this weekend. Hmm…

So, that’s what I’m making at home this weekend. What about all of you? Let me know in the comments, please.

I am curious about where everyone’ head and stomach is at right now at this odd time in the summer where it’s unseasonably cold. Almost Fall-ish. I was thinking about stew last night, too. Eek. 🙂

Morning, everyone. It’s early, and quiet here in the house.

The boy is still in bed, and I’m wide awake, sipping on my avocado milk smoothie – thinking about this blog post.

I was busier this weekend than I thought I was going to be, but since it’s a long weekend for us, technically I still have one more day to make the last two items on my Weekend 5 list. 🙂 So far I have managed to make the chai, the kimchi and the lemon curd. All very tasty, all very easy. I highly recommend the lemon curd. It was especially tasty.

The chai was great, but as usual, I found myself without one ingredient that I thought I had but couldn’t find or didn’t remember using up already. In the case of the chai, it was the black tea. The key ingredient. {forehead smack} So, being resourceful, I used Earl Grey tea bags instead. The recipe calls for 4-5 black tea bags, but since I didn’t want the bergamot from the Early Grey dominating my chai super pack of flavour, I only steeped three tea bags.

And then I couldn’t find my star of anise pods (are they pods or just dried flower rings?) and the bag of cardamom pods went AWOL on me, so I cheated and used a bit of anise extract and dry cardamom. Into the pot they went, to swirl around with the water and cinnamon stick. Both swap outs worked nicely, and not much was lost from the tea when I strained it over the cup into my mug, so I win.

I started the kimchi last Thursday night after dinner since the brining of the cabbage was to take 4 hours. I left it go for 6 hours to really soften the leaves. But, by the time I was done straining and draining the water out of the leaves, chopping it into bite sizes and mixing it up with the hot chili pepper paste, it was after midnight when the jar was placed into the fridge, so I’m going to say it was made Friday on schedule with the rest of the Weekend 5 tries. 😉 I can cheat like that, right? Right.

The lemon curd was very easy to make. More so than I remember with store bought lemon curd pre-done packets from my childhood. Huh. And the recipe called for using up the last three of my slightly aging lemons, so this was good timing.

The tartness of this curd won’t make your mouth pucker, but it is strong enough for you to taste it in, say, a blintz or a crepe with fresh whipped cream and some sweet ripe fruit. The flavour stands out, but it doesn’t overwhelm – and that’s exactly what you’re looking for. That’s the kind of curd that’s far more versatile than the overly tart, overly sugary, and overly processed kind I remember from my childhood used in pies. Blech.

The pickles will be done this morning, and after a quick trip to the grocery store across the street for items I could have sworn I already had on hand but can’t find in my pantry (isn’t that the most frustrating?), there will also be fig jam being made in my kitchen.

{happy clap}

Okay, time to get dressed and head out. Those pickles are going to make themselves!

I’m starting a new category idea here today. Sue, from SuzeMuse.com got me thinking when she recently started her 5 Things To Think About posts, so in that spirit, every Friday I will post a list of 5 things I want to putter around in my kitchen making on weekends when it costs us less money in hydro to run the stove and several small appliances.

Digression: We are trying to consume less of everything these days: less food, less store bought goods, less gas, etc., but specifically less in resources like water and electricity. Matt Damon is onto something with his clean Water.org campaign, by the way. 🙂

Okay, back to the topic at hand!

Here’s my first list. Are you in? Get into it!

Auntie Stacey’s Weekend 5:

[ Fig Jam With Cardamom from Food52.com ]

 [ Lemon Curd from scratch from Food52.com ]

[ Homemade Kimchi from Food, Blog & The Dog ]

[ Comforting Chai from ASpicyPerspective.com ]

[ Fabulous 1-Jar Dill Pickles from Yummy Supper ]

What are all of you making this weekend? Will you try anything from my Weekend 5 list? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear about your kitchen adventures. Perhaps some of your ideas can make it to one of my future lists. That would be fun!