Olympic Torch Relay

I know it's still a month until the opening ceremonies but we officially have Olympic Fever! The torch Relay  came  through town and we are so excited! The torch bearers were so thrilled and  honoured-you could feel their excitement and they were happy to take photos with everyone and share the experience! 

Countdown to a Merry Christmas...

Thought i'd give you a little tour..not much posting lately but lots of Christmas Activity. Merry Christmas  from our house to yours!

I will leave you with my warmest wishes for a fantastic Christmas and healthy, happy New Year!!   

Happy Thanksgiving my American friends!

I  am a loyal Canadian and I love our thanksgiving  but I have to admit I've always been a little jealous of American thanksgiving and all that accompanies it!
Have a great day my American friends!

Apples,Apples,Apples........

Remember how I talked about our lovely fall family outing to the apple farm?? Well i  realized something this weekend. My boys are a lot older now and much better pickers! We have been eating away at these apples and honestly it seems like we haven't even made a  dent in them. After noticing an interesting smell coming from my basement panty and realizing that one rotten apple could soon turn into an entire stinky bag I decided to take action!

Caleb and I got busy in the  kitchen(don't you love a 9 year old,pretty capable and yet still loves to spend time with Mom)   We decided to make applesauce and apple pie-pretty basic but I wanted Caleb to be able to actually  participate.  We had such a productive day-2 gorgeous pies and lots of applesauce even some for the freezer. Guess what.....those apple bags still don't look like they've gone down in size at all! Caleb's favourite part of the cooking was peeling the apples. Years ago we bought one of those handy apple peelers and even though I only use it about twice a year it's worth it. If you have kids even better. Even kids as young as 3 or 4 can do this job with a little help and they love it. Connell my 13 year old was at hockey during our cooking and he was mad when he came home that he didn't get to use the peeler!The one we use is from Starfrit but I know Pampered Chef has one too.

I use Martha Stewart's  Apple Pie recipe and it always turns out great. Her Food Processer Pasty recipe is a keeper!

The applesauce is simple and I must admit not really a recipe just a guide-it's the way my Mom always made it.

Applesauce
As many apples as you can  fit in your pot or want to do! Peeled and cored and chopped (big dice)
Water poured over the apples to just cover the bottom 1/2 or less of the apples
4 cinnamon sticks
Sugar to taste-i use brown and about 1 cup for 20 apples(we don't like it sweet)

Place on high heat until it comes to a boil and then simmer for about 2 hours-or you have to go out! Let cool and remove cinnamon sticks. Mash with a potato masher until all liquid is incorporated and you have a nice chunky thick  sauce. If you like your applesauce smooth use an immersion blender!

Done-told you it's not a recipe! This is so yummy  and there is something about using the cinnamon sticks instead of cinnamon that gives the apples such a  delicious flavour.  We eat this as a snack, over oatmeal in the morning and with pork or sausages.
The absolute taste of Fall!!

Halloween Wrap up

We've been busy here with volleyball season in full swing for #2, #1 doing drivers ed, working and  rugby and  all 3 with hockey practices and games! In the midst of this I had promised #3 a halloween party. Just a small group but I think   they had a great time. Mummy pizzas-english muffins with sauce and mozzarella cheese stringers, potion to drink and brownie skull cupcakes  and ear wax(marshmallows on either end of a  lollipop stick dipped in caramel) for dessert. They made a movie with the Xbox movie maker (scary of course) and a couple of crafts. They loved decorating small wooden coffins I found at Micheals. I found some body part chocolates for them to fill it and small skeletons-can you tell this was all boys therefore all gross and gory stuff!!

Loot bags Caramel apples and body parts !

 I found  the Halloween crowds a little thinner this year. Some are saying it is due to the H1N1 virus. It is so scary. All three boys were sick last month and I am hoping it went through our family  and we are done with it. I can't believe it is NOVEMBER!!! I have already started Christmas shopping -can you believe it?

  Love these peel off stickers I found reduced at winners. The picture isn't great but it says Scary and Spooky!  I can reuse these too!

The grim reaper aka #3

Carving concentration!

Table set for  the party-orangina bottles were a hit!

I don't know what face this is!

Halloween Decorating

 A gorgeous and relative to the last week, warm weekend!  I managed to drag my two youngest boys and my husband to see"Where the Wild things are" I thought it was really well done. I really couldn't imagine how they could make a feature length movie around the book but I was pleasantly surprised. The cinematography was stunning. That was a huge fave for all 3 boys when they were little and my husband  and I still know it by heart. That and "In the Night Kitchen". I really miss those days!

Love my red Maple, I can sit and stare at the colour for hours!

Gotta love the premade  Gingerbread kits -ready to decorate!

Our Ghost is a huge hit, we've had people stop and take his picture!

Thank goodness I still have #3 who is more than willing to still be  a "little guy" He and I spent a good part of the weekend preparing for Halloween and I thought I would share some of our decorating  with your today.

Turkey Recipe-yummm...

Ok so here it is my new favourite, not so top secret recipe for Turkey. I will admit I have borrowed liberally from the William Sonoma cookbook"Thanksgiving". The most important thing you need to do is buy yourself one more kitchen gadget! The injector!! I don't know what the official name is but that is what we call it around here. I found mine at Bed,Bath and Beyond and it was very reasonably priced-under $20.It looks like a giant needle.

I had no oranges in the house so used about 5 clementines.

The marinade I used for the turkey was orange/rosemary. Squeeze the juice from 3 oranges(or a few more clementines) after having zested them and set the zest aside. Finely chop  2 tblsp rosemary and add to the juice along with  about 1/4 cup of  olive oil. Mix this marinade well and then use the injector to inject this into the turkey in all the juicy meaty parts! No shortage of help with this task. My 16 and 13 year old boys actually fought over it and my 9 year old can't wait until he's old enough to inject!

Love my Nigella Lawson  citrus juicer.

Take the zest from the orange you set aside and mix with 1tblsp of finely chopped rosemary and 1 stick of softened butter.  It's best if this is done a few hours ahead of when you will be needing it so the flavours blend.

Zest waiting to be turned into Turkey massage butter!

I don't stuff my turkey with stuffing so I placed a handful of rosemary and what remained of the oranges inside the turkey and then patted the yummy rosemary butter all over the turkey. Baste the turkey the first few times with the remaining injector marinade. Roast at 325 until your meat thermometer registers 170 and then let it sit another 30minutes under foil before carving. I usually start it uncovered in the oven and then cover with foil when it looks yummy and brown! I never bother tieing the legs or anything like that.

This is  such a nice change from my usual apple cider/sage type of  marinade. I can't wait to use the injector in other roasts. We really noticed how juicy and flavourful the meat was.

YUM, almost makes me want to cook another turkey!

Giving Thanks..

Another week half-way through. Don't you love a long weekend? My kids have "special" lunches at school this week on Thursday and Friday so only 2 lunches  to make this week-yeah!
yes it really does take that little to make me happy...
Thought I would share a few pics from the weekend. It was cold! We did manage to squeeze in our annual apple picking at Willis fruit farm. We picked three big baskets. Mainly gala,snow and empire. I love Macs but they get too mushy if you are storing them. I can't wait to turn some of them into pie,crumble and applesauce. For now we have all been eating them like crazy!

YUM

Fruits of our labour

So  easy to pick this year..all that rain this summer??

Tiny nest in the apple tree!

Set for dinner.

Bought from a bakery I have to admit!

 Yesterday I thought I even felt a bit of snow. Since we are Canadian and celebrate Thanksgiving early in October I always hold off on the full blown Halloween decor until after turkey! I have grabbed some great deals this year which I will share with you tomorrow. We are having a little Halloween party here for #3 and we are trying to cook up some ideas-wow there are some creative gals out there!  What is your favourite Halloween  craft/baking/party idea?? 

My cooking inspiration this year.turkey was amazing I'll share the recipe soon!

Sailor looks cozy doesn't he!!

Tonight i am excited to curl up and watch my new favourite show--King of Crowns on TLC. I just love that show, LOVE Cyrus. Makes me laugh and fascinates me. LOVE all those southern gals! What's your guilty TV pleasure?? 

Thanksgiving!

already! It's hard to believe. Time has gone by so quickly since the boys went back to school. It's thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, always one of my favourite holidays. No pressure, no gifts to buy, just a focus on giving thanks for the many blessings we have. Of course we have hockey but hopefully the weather will co-operate and we will get in a nice hike and some apple picking. It's cold and rainy  now so I'm not so sure! I have a  lot of cooking to do so tonight I'm going to keep it simple with one of my standby's
Spicy Chicken Thighs-quick and easy and everyone loves them. The are also one of those crossover meals-good in any season. In the summer I do them on the grill but on a rainy day like today they are lovely under the broiler. I think this is originaly a cooking light recipe but I'm not sure!

Spicy Chicken Thighs
Cover a pan with foil, spread thighs out on top of foil. Sprinkle with cayenne(we like lots but use less or none at all depending on your family likes/dislikes) cumin, paprika, chili powder and garlic powder. I also add a wonderful sweet chili spice I have. Sprinkle on both sides of chicken and then spritz lightly with olive oil. Place under broiler on high for 5 minutes. Flip chicken over-broil other side for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and brush a mixture  of honey and cider vinegar over the chicken thighs. Broil one minute-watch closely. Remove from oven and devour!!
I serve these with sesame noodles(noodles with sesame oil,chili paste,hoison sauce,rice vinegar and soy sauce.) and green beans. VERY quick and delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving!