Sweet Treats!

Summer has arrived and that means potlucks and visitors. I have some favorite 'go-to' recipes but always like to try something new, especially if I can use fresh fruit.

I was looking for a new recipe to use some of our raspberries for a potluck dessert and came upon a recipe  for 'Raspberry Pretzel Salad'.

I remember having a Raspberry Pretzel 'Salad' either when I lived in Utah or visited family in Idaho and Utah. Can't quite remember where or when - but I do remember how good it was. While I know this kind of salad is quite common among our Mormon family members, serving this as a salad seems odd in Canada!

I was excited to find the recipe and it was a big hit at our potluck supper. I took a couple of different recipes and combined them - and used whipped cream instead of cool whip - if I am splurging - it better be real whipped cream! Enjoy!

Raspberry Pretzel Dessert

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups crushed pretzels
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, melted

Press into 9X13 inch pan and bake at 325 for 5 -6 minutes. Cool.

 Middle Layer:

• 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
• ½ c sugar
• 3 cups whipped cream (measure after whipping about 1 500ml carton)

Cream together cream cheese and sugar. Then add whipped cream. Spread on top of cooled crust.

Top layer:

• 6 oz pkg. raspberry jello
• 2 cups boiling water
• 3 cups fresh raspberries

Pour boiling water into jello and stir until dissolved. Add raspberries and mix well. Place in refrigerator until it is thickened. Then pour on top of middle layer. Refrigerate until firmly set.

Summer is finally here!

I was making supper tonight and was thinking that one of the things I like best about summer is that we can eat outside on our deck. Not to mention all the fresh vegies and the smell of the BBQ. I guess that is three things I really like about summer.

I love sitting on our deck, enjoying dinner and taking in the neighbourhood - the kids on their bikes, neighbours walking their dogs and the smell of other BBQs.

I made two new salads this week - the soba noodle salad was leftover from Tuesday and tonight I made a radish salad - thankfully Robb and Brenda had an excess of radishes they were willing to share!

Here is the recipe for the noodle salad - I found a few on the web - but they all had something Barry didn't like, so I combined a few recipes and tweaked it a bit to get a salad both Barry and I would enjoy (and he did except he said less vinegar next time )

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rice-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 4 tablespoons safflower oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 12 ounces soba noodles
• 1 english cucumber, peeled and julienned
• 1 medium carrot, julienned
• 3green onions, thinly sliced on the bias

                                     

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together vinegar, ginger, soya sauce and lime juice. Slowly whisk in oils until well combined; season with salt and pepper. Set dressing aside.
2. Fill a medium pot of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add noodles and cook according to the package directions, until al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Transfer noodles to a large bowl and add cucumber, carrot and green onions. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine.
4. Drizzle with dressing; you may not need to use all the dressing.

Radish Salad

3 bunches of large radishes, scrubbed, trimmed and very thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

2 - 3 tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil, or more to taste

a generous pinch of coarse salt

Drizzle lemon over the radishes, then add the olive oil and a pinch of the salt. Toss, taste, and adjust.

Let the salad sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. The radishes will give off some liquid, which will combine with the lemon juice and oil to make the dressing (note: the dressing is a pretty pink).

 Looking forward to trying some other new recipes - now the sun is here, we should have lots of fresh vegies to eat.

Man's Best Friend ...

Or in our case, our family's best friend - our daschund, Mikey. Today was a hard day for our family - over the weekend, Mikey let us know that he was getting tired after almost 17 years as a member of our family and tonight we are experiencing our first night with no little buddy hogging the couch or needing to go out.

Mikey as a puppy

I have had a dog since I was 5 or 6 years old and for Megan and Katie, they have never known a time when we didn't have a dog. Barry didn't have one growing up - but when he married me, he didn't just get a spouse, he got a dog too.

Since then we have had several dogs - Piute, Tim-Bit and then Mikey. Barry often referred to him as 'his son' since we didn't have any boys and Mikey evened the score slightly in a family of mostly girls.

Mikey was the runt of his litter - and when Tim-Bit died leaving a litter of puppies, we had to take care of them all - and had a special attachment to the littlest one - Mikey.

Katie bottle feeding Mikey

He needed to be bottle fed - which we all took turns doing. And he always seemed to need a little extra cuddling - and even started pawing at my neck to comfort himself. This continued throughout his life - always needing a little extra attention!

He was a character - he put up with being dressed in festive holiday attire on more than one occassion and even had a little leather harley hat. He was always active - scaling the rocks or jumping off of them - and always with more than one ball close at hand.

He could sit up on his haunches longer than any of our other dogs and he had more nicknames than most - mogoat, Sir Farts Alot, little buddy, boo boo kitten, little pisser to name a few.

He loved to play - we could throw the ball for hours and in the winter, he loved to play the 'artic fox' game with Barry with the towel. Not sure who had more fun playing - Barry or Mikey!

Barry and Mikey playing the 'artic fox' game

Barry would try to sneak his ball and Mikey would guard it - and when the day was over, if Barry picked him up to take him downstairs, Mikey would always growl in fun - he never did that for me.

For me, I will miss him in the garden - he was my garden buddy - digging and rolling in the grass - spending the day outside with me and as he got older, he was content to have a nap while I worked. He was always happy to see me after work - whose day wouldn't get better after that. And he always knew when I came home - no matter how late. I think he heard the garage door opener.

Mikey December 2011 - Photo by Meg

So little buddy - it is with sad hearts we said goodbye to you - but we have to remember and say thank you for the almost 17 years of memories you left us. So many good times - won't look at my hollyhocks without thinking of you 'chopping' them down because they had your ball.

Bye buddy...you helped make our house a home.

Mango Chutney

There is so much to do in the summer and usually by fall, I am finished with canning and preserving -- I don't want to see another tomato or pepper!

But last week, I saw a sale on mangoes at the local store - and decided the price was too good to pass up. I did enjoy them fresh - but also made a new chutney. It tastes good - I had a bit left that didn't fit into the jars (so sad!) and tried it on a mini Breton cracker with some Island Farms Victoria Cream Cheese - it was so good! I think it might taste even better after a few weeks and would be pretty good with some baked brie. Who knows - this might be my chutney entry for the fair this year!

 Mango Chutney
(recipe from The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving) 

• 3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped                                                 
• 2 large mangoes, peeled and chopped                                                 
• 1/2 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) golden raisins
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) white vinegar
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) finely chopped peeled gingerroot
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
• 2 tsp (10 mL) curry powder
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) each: nutmeg, cinnamon and salt

Combine apples, mangoes, red pepper, sugar, onion, raisins, vinegar, and gingerroot in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, and boil gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until fruit is tender and mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice, curry powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt; boil gently for 5 minutes. Prepare jars, fill and process for 10 minutes (small jars)

Valentine's Day Cookies

My family would say that there is always a good reason to make cookies - it doesn't have to be a special occassion - but there is nothing like a holiday to inspire some baking fun.

 

 I remember when M & K were in school, I always loved helping them do valentines - and it was even better if they needed cookies or cupcakes for their class - an excuse to bake something with a holiday theme!

 

I miss baking for all the fun occassions as school, so with Barry away and Valentine's Day around the corner, I thought I would make some heart-shaped sugar cookies and decorate them.

 

 

 

I used a recipe I have had for a while - it came out of a Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookie magazine - and always turns out. I made the dough one night, baked them the next morning and with Katie's help, decorated them another night. 

 

Now they are all ready to go - I have some pretty special people that deserve a tasty Valentine's treat.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1  tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 c. flour

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours or until easy to handle.

 

Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll each half of the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough with a floured heart shaped cookie cutter. Place cutouts 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven about 8 minutes or until edges are set. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool.

Ice  with butter frosting (great recipe on the back of the Rogers Icing Sugar bag!)

Decorate with sprinkles or heart candies.

Makes about 36 cookies.

 

Preserving our family memories

I spend almost every Wednesday night scrapbooking at Doodles with my mom and a great group of 'scrap sisters'. Occasionally I also spend a day (like today!) or as a special treat, a whole weekend preserving the memories our family makes on pages for our albums.

The albums vary - Barry has his career albums grouped by posting; there is a set of albums filled with memories of the girl"s time with the band; there are albums about our trip to Cuba, Stanley the Bear, Barry's adventures with Jasper towing and our Christmas albums.

But I think the albums the family most often checks to see if there are new pages are the one just about us - what we do throughout the year, where we live, people we love, friends, birthdays and traditions.

I love to scrapbook - and since I stopped scrapping chronologically and started scrapping as a picture brought back memories or a creative idea hit, I have enjoyed it a lot more.

So here's to 2012 - and a year filled with preserving more memories - at my own rate and without any pressure to be creative. After all, in 60 years, I don't think my great-grandchildren are going to marvel at my creativity - they will just be thankful I took the time to document our family so they can have a glimpse into our lives.

Sometimes you have to forget about the to-do-list

Today was one of the those days. I had great intentions of using the weekend to finish putting away all the Christmas stuff and get the house back to normal -  do the laundry, change the bed - the never-ending chores that make it nice to be at home:)

And while I did manage to make a dent in the list - a fortunate thing happened. I decided to start reading one of the books I was lucky enough to get for Christmas. Not fortunate for the to-do-list (I have always chose reading over chores since I was 9 0r 10 reading Nancy Drew) but fortunate for me.

The book I picked up was Garth Stein's 'The Art of Racing in the Rain'. Now having an ageing dog - this might not have been a good choice - just like choosing to watch 'Marley and Me' a few weeks ago - but this book made me laugh out loud - even read a few paragraphs to Barry - and it made me smile - and yes, I even had to get some kleenex out towards the end.

If you haven't read this book yet - you can borrow my copy - it is a must read for anyone who believes dogs can actually communicate and that they have an important part in a family. I am quite certain even Mikey has thoughts like Enzo!

Warning - if you have unfinished chores - you might want to finish them before you start reading! And thanks Mom and Dad for the book - I can blame the unfinished to-do-list on you:)

Gingerbread 101

In 2010, my brother Ken and his family and Barry's mom Bernie came out to spend Christmas with the family. I tried to think of something new and creative for us to all do - that didn't require any athletic ability or special equipment. Walking through the stores - it hit me! We should do a team gingerbread house challenge! We did - it was lots of fun. Jackie and Jess won the 1st Gingerbread House challenge - and so began a new tradition.



Barry and I with our 2011 Gingerbread House

 In 2011, we didn't have out-of-town family visit so we had fewer 'entries' but all were very creative and original. Megan and Will did a gingerbread 'barn' complete with a silo, farm animals and strawberry patch.

Megan and Will with 'the farm'!

Mom and Dad did a more traditional house, complete with a 'teddy bear lane' made with Dad's cinnamon gummy bears from Sweet's in Salt Lake. They also used up all of the original kit ingredients.



Dad and Mom with 'teddy bear lane'



After the work was done, our top secret judges carefully evaluated the entries and declared that there were two winners in the 2011 Gingerbread House Challenge. Most Original Gingerbread House went to Megan and Will,

while Katie and Clint won Most Creative Gingerbread House (the rice krispie trees put it over the top.

Katie and Clint with their 'Winter Cabin'

 Barry was a little disappointed that his 'triage teepee' complete with gummy infantry men didn't win. Oh well, there is always next year! I guess we all better start getting some new ideas - top secret of course. Don't want to give away our plans to our competitors!

Reflection

 A few days before Christmas, something happened that made me spend some time over the holidays really looking at my life. What really matters to me. Have I grown as a person? Do I work hard on sustaining my relationships with family and friends? Do I work hard to make a positive difference in our community? Do I have integrity and a good work ethic? Do I place as much importance on those who love me and who I love as I do to total strangers or false friends? Am I doing what I need to continue to grow and learn?

As I thought about it, I realized that I have been so busy trying to make up for the past, that I haven't taken time to see that I am not the same person I was 15 years ago and that perhaps, it is time for me to see me as my family and true friends do - doing my best everyday while valuing my family and friends and doing what I can to make a positive contribution to the community I live in. Time to be as kind to myself as I am to others. Time to forgive myself.

While I have grown and learned from the past, it is time to let it go and move on. Continue to support my family and community; work on the relationships I value; take the opportunities that present themselves to continue to learn and grow; most of all, never take my family and true friends for granted.

So 2012 will be a year of change for me - no resolutions - rather a committment to continue to blog the things that matter - family, friends, home - and now, gratitude.

I learned those few days before Christmas that I should be grateful for the lessons learned and the love that surrounds and supports me. I am blessed.