Linaloo

Christening the crockpot

I finally bought a slow cooker this weekend.  I'm pretty anti kitchen gadgets, mainly because I've always lived in houses with teeny kitchens so couldn't possibly justify a cupboard full of equipment that gets used once in a blue moon.  Now I have a larger kitchen I've still been hesitant about a slow cooker without reason really, but the idea of soups and casseroles waiting for us when coming home from work and various children's activities this winter convinced me to finally go for it.  

While browsing online for recipes, I came across Stephanie O'Dea's blog - A Year of Slow Cooking, her record of using her slow cooker every day last year. An amazing resource (she's also has a book due out in a couple of weeks) and perfect for the uninitiated.  I had no idea how many things you could use a slow cooker for -  yogurt, playdough, soap, shrinky dinks...!!

Apple sauce (with lots of cinnamon) was the first recipe on my list to try.  A big hit with everyone.  I can't wait to try out some more seasonal dishes. 

L'automne est arrive

I can't help speaking in franglais these days.  L'automne est arrive is the name of the book my daughter brought home to read last night.  Very apt, as the weather and our weekend both had a definite autumnal feel to them.  We went to our wonderful neighbourhood annual corn roast on Saturday, where they served eat as much as you like corn and chili (little did they know how much my lot can eat). I love our little community, it's very tight knit and friendly.

And on Sunday my tomato canning marathon began.  Fourteen hours of blanching, peeling, mincing, sterilising, pouring and processing.  And now a bit of waiting.  Apparently the longer you wait the better it tastes.  It was a long day, but fun and hopefully worth all the effort.

 

And whilst I'm in the mood for all things fallish, I'm off to make spicy sweet potato and butternut squash soup for dinner!    

des tomates

  

48 mason jars (36 of which were given to me by my son's daycare owner) washed and dried.

4 bushels of tomatoes bought at the local market, washed and drying on newspaper (the picture above is about just over a bushel - in case you're wondering how many tomatoes that is).

12 hours of canning planned this weekend with a friend. 

She's done it before. I'm new at this kind of thing and foolishly excited.  Wish me luck!

Maple Snickerdoodles 69/365

Baking today with Tommy.

My cookies generally taste fine, but aesthetically they've always looked like little rock cakes rather than flat which irks me somewhat. I've wondered whether its baking powder vs baking soda (no self raising flour here) or not enough fat perhaps? I've never got to the bottom of this yet. Any ideas?

Problem solved with these maple snickerdoodles. Pure sugar and fat. Tasty and beautiful.

 

Nesting

 

 

 

That top picture was taken 2 years ago on a preschool apple picking trip, not long after we arrived in Canada.  Just love those chubby little hands.  I'm definitely feeling that fall thing in the air this weekend.  September always seems to bring out my nesting instinct,  I'm all about baking, cleaning and cosying up the house in preparation for cooler weather and more indoor time.  Thimbleina was asking for apple recipes recently - this one is perfect for lunch boxes or snacks.

Apple Muffins

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup milk

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup of fresh apple diced

1 cup flour (I use half white, half wholemeal)

Put the rolled oats in a small bowl, cover with milk and let stand for 10 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  In a seperate bowl, beat oil, sugar and egg well.  Add the rolled oats to the egg mixture, stir to combine and add to dry ingredients.  Stir in the diced apples.  Fill muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes at 375F.   I also added a slice of apple dipped in brown sugar and cinnamon to decorate.

Weetabix Honey Muffins

I've been meaning to find a recipe using Weetabix for a while. It's my favourite cereal ever and I remember eating it every day for breakfast without fail for years as a child. These muffins are pretty healthy and tasty too.

Makes 12 Muffins

1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
5 Organic Weetabix Biscuits, crushed
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 Tbsp. honey

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or use paper baking cups.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the Organic Weetabix and sugar.

3. Mix the yogurt and milk together in a bowl and beat in the egg, melted butter and honey.

4. Mix wet ingredients into dry, mixing only until just combined.

5. Scoop batter into muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until the muffins have risen and are golden brown. Turn out onto a rack to cool or serve warm for breakfast with yogurt and fruit or at snack time with coffee, tea or milk.

Thanks for all your words of encouragement re the macro project. I really don't have many tips to pass on about photography apart from some obvious ones:

Good lighting is a must (my flash photography looks horrid).
If you take hundreds of pictures - at least one will be okay!
Snap from lots of different angles.
Oh and photoshop is a bad photographer's best friend!

Wittle chickies

Easter nests for Ruby's preschool friends. Yummy. That good old favourite chocolate cornflake "cakes". I have to find somewhere locally that sells golden syrup - I never realised it was such a "British" ingredient.

Tuesday morning

I bake with the children quite often. At 3, 4 (and 35) this can be quite a messy, time consuming event and I definitely have to be in the right frame of mind. More often than not I stick to muffins. One does the wet ingredients, the other's on dry. But there's always a fight about the bowl licking at the end.

Today we made banana crumb using this recipe. It's our favourite muffin recipe. In attempt to be vaguely healthy we used whole wheat flour and half the amount of sugar recommended.

Pumpkin Leftovers?

Here's a totally AMAZING recipe from one of the members of my craft group (her own creation):

Spicy Upside Down Pumpkin Tart

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as an appetizer

Ingredients
300g butter puff pastry (homemade or store bought)
350g pumpkin (peeled, deseeded and cut into 1 inch cubes)
2 apples
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 chilli
Fresh ginger
40g sugar
Fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste
25g butter
120g goats cheese (we used goat feta)

Directions
Peel and cut apples, spinkle with the lemon juice.
Caramalize sugar in an oven dish and add the butter, pumpkin, apples and spices.
Cook for about 10 minutes.
Cover with the pastry dough and bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes.
Carefully transfer it, pumpkin side up, to a plate and sprinkle with the cheese.

Enjoy your weekend!

Tuesday Treasures - Beans on Toast

I'm ill. These are saved especially for such emergencies.

They're imported from England and cost a ridiculous $4 a can. But sometimes, nothing else will do.