Baby Shower

Baby Blue

January 25, 2013

Happy Friday Everyone!!

This has been a very long week – I have been gearing up to take over teaching next week. I start my long practicum to becoming a teacher! I’ve slowly been taking over the class the last week, teaching most of the day. I have also began helping out with the girls basketball, which reminded me that I need to brush up on my rules of the game. Next week I will be teaching 80% with units and lesson plans that I have prepared myself, until April  – I’m a little nervous! But, I am also super excited. I get to be a kid again – I get to do all sorts of fun art projects (which means I get to create all the examples), and science experiments, and my favourite thing; reading. I am a book worm, and crazy about spelling. I love reading to my class. I’m also excited for teaching Gym and Math.

This weekend I’m having a girls night for all the girls in my program as a little last hurrah before we no longer have social lives! The consensus has been that we go to sleep and dream about teaching (maybe have a nightmare or two), wake up, try and teach, go home think about teaching and plan/do our prep to teach, then go to bed and do it all over again. I am definitely looking forward to the weekend!

This week was pretty good actually, it started off on a sweet note. One of the faculty members at our school had a baby over the holidays so we had a baby shower for him in the staff room. I’m beginning to realize the staff lunch room is going to be a problem – there is always sweets / treats / snacks being brought in for us. Sometimes It’s other teachers, sometimes its from the students (leftover from class treats), birthday, holidays, and parents even bring in or drop off food for teachers. Plus, I learned that when there are leftovers they go in the freezer. I wish I hadn’t have known about that, because frozen brownies during recess sound like a pretty good idea to me.

One of the reasons I was excited about the baby shower was because I could finally make something blue – all the baby showers I had been to over the last year had been for girls. I was prepared though with baby blue on hand for any surprises (I had full faith that Adam’s sister was going to have a boy. Needless to say I am very happy it was a girl! Who also happens to turn one NEXT month!! crazy how time flies)

So I decided to bring along some cupcakes for the shower. Nothing extra fancy, dark chocolate cake with swiss meringue buttercream with a tint of blue. I also realize I haven’t made any cupcakes on here in a while, so thought I needed some.

{Making the batter with my new love}

{Swiss Meringue, well, technically this is just the meringue part}

Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup hot water
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • vanilla
  • 1/4 cup apple sauce, or sour cream, or plain greek yogurt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2.  Line baking tins with cupcake liners.
  3. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth.
  4.  In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder.
  5. Melt butter, and add the sugar. Pour into a mixing bowl.
  6. With an electric stand mixer on medium-low beat until mixture is cooled, about 5 minutes.
  7. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  8. Add vanilla (as much as you like), then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined.
  9. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, and apple sauce or sour cream or plain yogurt, beating until just combined.
  10. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. I use a 1/4 measuring cup to do this or a pancake batter dispenser (works like a charm)
  11. Bake, about 18-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients:

  • 5 large egg whites, room temp.
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 sticks butter, chilled, cut into cubes

Directions: 

  1. In a metal mixing bowl, preferably from your stand mixer, place over a pot of simmering water, not boiling. Add sugar and egg whites. Be sure there is no yolk or oil in the egg whites, they will not whip properly otherwise. I do one egg at a time in separate bowls and then add them so that you don’t have to waste an entire bowl for one bad egg 😉
  2. Whisk constantly, until thermometer reads between 140-160 degrees F. If you do not have a thermometer, heat until sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot. This takes about about 10+ minutes.
  3. Transfer metal bowl back to stand mixer, with whisk attachment and whip until the egg whites are thick and glossy and cool. The bowl itself should be cool to the touch, again this takes about 10 minutes on high.
  4. Once the glossy thick texture is achieved, switch to a paddle attachment, and on medium add the chilled cubes of butter, one at a time, until fully incorporated.
  5. The texture will begin to change, to a heavier, silky texture. It may look curdled, but continue to mix and it will become smooth once again.
  6. Add in two-three drops of food colouring (of desired colour) and pipe ( I use ATECO #848)
Home

Let’s be organized, shall we?

January 20, 2013

Growing up I always thought “I’ll never be like my mother.” Not that there is anything wrong with my mother, I love her dearly and am grateful for all she does for me. However, growing up there was one thing in particular that I absolutely hated – her insane cleanliness.

But it was more than just cleanliness, it was an overwhelming need for things to be clean. When she was mad – she would clean. And a reason for her being mad may have been because something was not clean in the first place. (My brother and I could make a real mess sometimes) It was a vicious cycle – lol. Growing up, however, I  was made to do it all as well- I cleaned and scrubbed bathrooms, vacuumed the living room in such a way that the vacuum head left my mothers distinct pattern in the grain of the carpet (my family members will know this one!) – in a room that we were never allowed to step in unless company was over, might I add.

Yes, I had lysol’ed and Vim’ed every inch of our house growing up. I remember spending my Saturdays or Sundays with my mother cleaning out the drawers of the bathroom, organizing our hair products, sorting and arranging the cupboard pantry in the kitchen and re-stocking the linen closet so it was tidy. Heck, we even stood in the dirt and washed the entire outside of our house in TSP one summer before we painted  it (by the end we threw the ‘protective gloves’ to the side and were pretty much bathing in it, hey, we lived)

We laugh about it now, my mother and I, about her insane cleaning ways. I remember having some pretty good fights about not cleaning up. She hated beds that were not made in the morning. She’s still pretty ridiculous at times, my mom. Although I am all for her visiting and cleaning at the same time (Thanks mom). No one can clean / organize quite like my mother. Her love for the smell of a clean house cannot be beat.

However, just like my Zia probably said she would never be like my Nonna (the QUEEN of clean – seriously. She would come over to visit and end up cleaning our outside windows with newspaper and windex. You know that episode of Everybody Loves Raymond when Deborah can’t find a SPECK of dirt at Ray’s moms house? Nonna is THAT kind of clean) – Just like she said she wouldn’t be like my Nonna, and is probably on equal terms now in terms of a clean home, I fear I am well on my way to becoming my mother too. Sorry to my future children – I might get clean-angry.

I love clean. I love organizing, I love wiping things down – although I won’t go as far as laundry/dishes. Still my most hated things (perhaps a childhood nightmare due to the insanity lol), Thankfully Adam is an all star in both categories (Thank you!)

{The Before – A big fat mess. Things teetering on things, half falling out. Chaotic}

Since moving into the house it’s been trial and error as to where everything is going. So far the bedroom is still a work in progress, and the living room is on it’s way now that the couch and coffee table are in. However, the kitchen needed to be done now. Somehow moving into a larger kitchen = our stuff from the old house not even fitting. I may have just a feeeeewwww kitchen gadgets / items.. and they seem to be taking over. Thankfully a little DIY we are working on is going to help majorly in that department.

The #1 problem we were seeing right now was the large pantry. Large in the fact that it is soooo deep. It’s 13″ wide and 22″ deep. This just means that things get shoved right to the very back only never to be seen again. Try digging through two layers of cans to find some soup (turns out we had none – lots of canned tomatoes though). Once something is put at the back you really could not see it. Things were piled on top of things, on top of things. Something had to be done.

So – Last week I ventured out to get some organizational tools.

  • Baskets
  • Mason Jars
  • Spice Jars
  • Funnel (necessary to fill the jars)
{Jars = Love}
{Funnels are a must for jar filling – just don’t try to take an ‘action’ shot unless you want Quinoa all over the floor}
We looked in quite a few places for baskets that would fit perfectly, without having to leave a big wasted gap on either side. We checked out WalMart, Ikea, Home Depot, HomeSense, Winners, Canadian Tire, Superstore, and Michaels. After a second trip to the Dollar Store I found them. They fit perfectly width wise, and you can comfortably fit two per shelf with room in the back for larger items if you need, plus they were like $1. Win.
{I got two sizes – The Square ones are perfect for Oils + Glass bottles}
{The After – Organized heaven}
I also bought a flat of 1.9 L Mason Jars from Canadian Tire, and two flats of 1 L Mason Jars from Home Depot. I got a little “Put all the things in Jars” crazy – but I Love the look of them, and they really are so great for storing food items and easy for prep – just grab a jar and go.
Now everything is in it’s place, easily visible and easy to take out and put back. It makes food prep much easier, and next time Adam is looking for something to eat he won’t have to unpack a whole shelf load.

{A whole basket just for Pasta – I am Italian}

{I was all excited for glass spice jars, but for now they can all stay in their own containers}

{The cracker / rice cakes basket}

{My favourite shelf}

{The bottom shelf is buckling at it’s seams due to my hoarding of canned tomatoes. Whenever they are on sale, anywhere, I buy them. We also may have too many cans of coconut milk}

Yes, I am well on my way to becoming my mother. And I’m ok with that. However I probably won’t vacuum in consecutive patterns.

{Before and Afters make me happy}

Granola

Olive Oil Granola + blogger resolutions

January 15, 2013

This week I had a sort of blogger realization, like a late start on my new years resolution type thing. As I was trolling my usual daily obsessions (Fitnessista, Kath Eats, Cupcakes and Cashmere, House*Tweaking , Clean Eating Chelsey, to name a few.. trust me, there’s more, including a few new to me ones) I felt like I was cheating them. While I visit them daily, I fail to let them know I have visited, and appreciate their posts and content. Then I thought about my own blog. While I can see the visitor count on google analytics, you don’t always see the same thing in the ‘comment’ section. I love when I get comments because it means someone connected with what I was talking about, or were just happy to find a new recipe. While I always read these blogs I rarely actually comment or join in the discussion. Why? I don’t know. Maybe because I like just being ‘in the background’ and reading the comments that others write, instead of contributing myself. Though, sometimes I do feel like commenting but the platform is rather annoying (captcha = annoyance). Plus, there are so many friendships and connections that can be made through blogging, lots of which have already brought me to meeting some local favs like Alicia Fashionista, and  Smelly Danielly who I met last year after meeting in the blogisphere.

So, I guess my blogger resolution for this year is to contribute more. Instead of just reading through a post, or, worse, skimming it and simply ‘pinning’ the picture for a recipe to use later, I will actually contribute and leave a comment to add to the discussion, or simply to let them know I liked their post. More than once will I not even read the entire post, though I love looking at the pics and reading some captions. However, that blogger took the time to write it and I should take the time to read it. Just like this post – I’m hoping someone will actually read the whole thing, and not pull a move like I usually do… A little goes a long way when you’re just beginning a blog and are eagerly waiting for the  first comment – I remember those days of checking the analytics right at midnight each night. Hopefully in return I’ll also meet some new ‘commenters’ who might be a ‘ghost’ like myself.

I also made it a new goal to blog three times a week on a schedule (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and a Sunday post for a weekend re-cap. So far we’re 2/2 this week! Hopefully I will be able to stick to these goals and resolutions! With my long teaching practicum starting up I am already feeling the crunch! Hopefully some time management and prepping / planning will help with this!

Did you make any new years resolutions? or perhaps a resolution for your blog? maybe starting a blog??

Speaking of weekends, this past weekend our adorable little niece came by for a visit – and some cheerios. Uncle Adam is the typical uncle doing silly things and making weird faces (note below). We played in the kitchen for a bit and then took a nice, but chilly, walk around our new house and the neighbouring developments. She also was a mini-taste tester for the granola. Usually she wouldn’t be able to have any because she isn’t allowed Honey yet, but luckily this granola is honey-free. She also stole her first dried cranberry off the floor – babies have hawk eyes. I have heard of olive oil granola before but never made it myself. I like the idea of less sugar in granola as it tends to be quite high in sugar and overly sweet. I cut the sugar way back from 1/2 cup originally, and left out my usual love, the chocolate chip. This is simply delicious. I cut up a banana and a mandarin, topped with the granola and splashed with almond milk for breakfast and it was ah-mazing. Not overly sweet, but just enough to curb the sweet tooth that is still in over drive since the holiday binge.

Bulk sections are great for granola because you can get any sort of nuts/seeds you like in the exact amount you want. I threw in some quinoa flakes I found for the first time in the bulk foods section

I also love that you can get unsalted, raw nuts instead of buying those pre-packaged trail mixes that are overly salted and contain a lot more sugar. I leave the salt out of this one completely.

Olive Oil Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats, gluten free/wheat free
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup quinoa flakes
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup almonds
2 tbs brown sugar
dash of cinnamon
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup agave syrup
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped up

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, pumpkin seeds, coconut, quinoa flakes, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon. Add olive oil and agave. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown and well toasted and fragrant.

Remove from oven and stir.

Add in cranberries and apricots and mix again. Allow to cool completely and store in container.

This is delicious on its own, over yogurt, or in a bowl with fruit and a splash of almond milk (or other milk) for breakfast.

recipe adapted from NY times