Hello New Home

By On · In Everyday Living, Hiking · 10 Comments

I haven’t been much good at keeping up with my blogging throughout the move so here’s a quick recap. Please click on any of the pictures to see them bigger or for more of a description.

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We’ve been in our new home for about a month now and starting to get more settled. Although we’re still missing our friends and community in Prince Rupert, Hazelton is feeling pretty darn good. Small town suits me, I think.

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Our new house isn’t my dream home but it’s more than adequate and very comfortable! Lily and Leif each have their own rooms now which they’re pleased about. If only I had a garden (I might be able to build one) and less lawn to mow! We have friendly neighbours who we’re looking forward to continuing to get to know and we’re already feeling a part of the community as a whole.

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On Canada Day we went to enjoy the festivities and chuckled a bit at two block parade. We could see the parade forming up and the whole thing was over in minutes and yet everyone eagerly awaited it’s arrival.

Anticipation

The local RCMP, minor hockey, the book bus and local native dancers were just a few in the parade.

Safety Bear and the local RCMP

Minor Hockey Go Carts Book Bus

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The dancers put on quite the show. The drumming and singing and dancing was incredible. The sound is powerful and stories they tell in the dancing is brilliant. I love the inclusive nature of these performances. Young and old, people of all shapes and sizes dance together and some from the crowd are often pulled in to join! A little girl about four years old came out to the crowd and asked me to join her to dance.

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From my house I can see and/or walk to Cam’s work, the community bakery, the post office (where our mail is delivered), the community bank, a playground, tennis courts, a corner store and the weekly farmer’s market. It’s nice to go days and days without getting in a vehicle.

Going for a walk behind our house. Bug Shirts Kep

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We have walking and hiking trails behind our home and bug shirts to make the trails more enjoyable during the time of day the bugs are biting the worst. Very close to home are waterfalls and a pool at the top of the falls for the dog to swim in. Perfect way to cool off at the end of the day. It’s pretty darn cold though so we haven’t taken much of a plunge yet.

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I have to say that I’m really happy. I love it here. Living by the ocean was an incredible adventure but my heart belongs in the mountains.

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Mini Apple Sour Cream Pies

By On · In Kitchen Cupboard, Vegetarian · 8 Comments

One of my favourite aspects of moving from an island on the wet coast has been moving closer to dirt. There is so much land here and it often just goes unnoticed. At least I feel like I’m the only one in awe of all the land around here after coming from a place of rock and muskeg. I had to truck my garden soil in from a hour and half inland when I lived in Prince Rupert, after all.

Mini Apple Sour Cream Pies

All this dirt means there are farms here and farmer’s markets! The Smithers farmers market is incredible. It’s grown into something so beautiful since I first visited it when Lily was just an infant. Our local farmer’s market is smaller but still fantastic with the local produce, preserves, plants, baking, sweets and even locally grown and milled flour. It’s also in walking distance from my house.

Riding to the farmer's market

It was the locally grown and milled flour that inspired me to make these mini apple pies. I’ve made them from time to time but they were especially delicious with this fresh flour added to them. I’m not sure I can go back to the regular grocery store flour!

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They aren’t super hard to make, although one might think they are with the lengthy recipe below. Here’s what I did:

Mini Apple Sour Cream Pies

Crust

  • 1/2 cup cold Unsalted Butter, cubed into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour (or a combination of whole wheat and all purpose)
  • 1/2 tbsp Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 cup Almond Milk (or another kind of milk)
  1. Put the cubed butter in the freezer to chill for about 15 minutes. Measure out the almond milk and pop it in the freezer for a few minutes too.
  2. Mix together the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor with the dough blade in place. Take the cold butter from the freezer and process it with the flour mixture until lumpy.
  3. While the machine is processing, add the cold almond milk. Once the dough has come together, wrap the dough well in wax paper in disc shape and put in the fridge for an hour (or while you are making the pie filling). (It can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.)

Filling

  • 3 cups Granny Smith Apples, chopped (I used the red apples I had on hand)
  • 1 cup Sour Cream
  • 2 tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1/2 cup Demerara Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground Ginger
  • 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
  • dash of Salt
  • 1 Egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp Vanilla

Topping

  • 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 cup Demerara Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp cold Butter
  • 3 tbsp Walnuts, chopped
  1. Preheat oven to 375 ‘F and liberally grease a muffin tin.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the apples, sour cream, flour, sugars, spices, egg and vanilla. Mix until combined. Set aside.
  3. In another bowl, make the topping by mixing the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Using a your fingers or a pastry knife cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add in the walnuts. Set aside.
  4. Take the dough from the fridge and roll it out. Using a wide mouth mason jar or other, cut out circles in the pie crust. Press the circles into the prepared muffin tins and carefully press down on the bottom and sides. You want the crust to cover all the sides of the muffin tin and the bottom. Set aside.
  5. Carefully scoop the filling into the prepared crusts in the muffin cavities.  Scoop about one tbsp or so of topping over the apple mixture.
  6. Bake pies for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until crust is golden and topping is golden brown.
  7. Serve with whipped cream.

Mini Apple Sour Cream Pies

365

By On · In Everyday Living, Photography · 5 Comments

I started a 365 photo project on the first of January this year and have been plugging along taking a photo every day, even if that meant taking my forgotten photo at 11:56pm. It hasn’t always been easy to remember and frankly, in those early, still winter, grey days I wasn’t always feeling inspired. That’s the whole point though of the project, to push yourself to be creative; to not let the light or other conditions get in the way of capturing something cool.

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Still, I’ve taken a few photos that weren’t more than a quick snap. I was sick for a couple weeks and I can’t hold back a yawn when looking back at those particular shots. I just couldn’t be bothered to do more.

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I’m about 170ish days in and it’s going great! (A little further than that actually but I’m still catching up on uploading, editing and sharing my images on Flickr.)

I thought I’d share some of the images so far… Please click on any to see them bigger or if you are interested in the story behind the image.

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106.365 109.365 111.365 113.365 94.365 116.365 118:365 Good Morning!

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119.365 125.365 126.365 Intense for my little man! 127.365 129.365 139.365 141.365

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Thai Green Curry

By On · In Kitchen Cupboard, Vegetarian · 2 Comments

Two posts in one day! I’m so terribly behind in my blogging, so I’m catching up when I can. Hope you don’t mind. xx

This is another recipe I tweaked from Jamie’s Food Revolution. I made this Thai Green Curry with chicken and broccoli instead of shrimp and asparagus. I’ll likely make this dish a million times with all kinds of variations. It’s SO good. Tofu would make a great addition.

Here’s what I did:

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Thai Green Curry

  • 2 stalks Lemongrass
  • 4 Scallions
  • 3 fresh Green Chiles (I used Garlic Chili Paste)
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • a thumb sized piece of Ginger
  • a large bunch of Cilantro
  • 1 tsp Coriander Seeds
  • 3 tbsp Tamari
  • 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
  • 8 Kaffir Lime Leaves
  1. Trim the lemongrass stalks. Peel back and discard the outer leaves. Crush the stalks by hitting them with something like a mallet or heavy measuring cup. Roughly chopped and put in a food processor. 
  2. Add roughly chopped scallions, chiles, garlic, ginger, all but a few sprigs of the cilantro, including the stalks, and coriander seeds. Process.
  3. Add the tamari and fish sauce and process until a smooth paste. Set aside, along with the lime leaves.
  • 1 tbsp Peanut or Veg Oil
  • 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
  • 2 Chicken Breasts, sliced in strips
  • 2 large bunches Broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 can Coconut Milk
  • Snow Peas
  • Lime
  1. Heat a wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add the oils and then carefully add the strips of chicken. Cook carefully tossing for a couple minutes.
  2. Add the broccoli and toss.
  3. Add the curry paste you just made and the lime leaves.
  4. Pour over the coconut milk and snow peas. Give all a good stir and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
  5. Carefully taste and adjust seasonings, perhaps adding tamari and juice from one lime.
  6. Serve on rice or quinoa with leftover sprigs of cilantro.

Beef and Guinness Stew

By On · In Kitchen Cupboard · 2 Comments

It’s a meaty kind of week here. I’d been lured by the promise of extra airmiles if I purchased my usual no antibiotic or hormone beef at the grocery store. Thirty extra airmiles with each purchase!

It wasn’t just the airmiles though. I also have a new cookbook in my collection: Jamie’s Food Revolution. It’s not just filled with meat recipes but most of the recipes call for some meat or other. Many of these simple and homey recipes can easily be adjusted so swapping tofu for some of the meat isn’t too hard. While I kept the meat in each recipe I made this week, I didn’t follow any of them exactly. I worked with what I had on hand and was super happy with the results.

This recipe is actually one of four variations Jamie suggests from his basic stew recipe. I’d doubled his recipe to make enough for my family’s meal and leftovers. This is easily halved. Here’s what I did:

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Beef and Guinness Stew

  • 4 stalks Celery, roughly chopped
  • 3 Onions, roughly chopped
  • 4 Carrots, roughly chopped
  • 6 Bay Leaves
  • 2 lbs Stewing Beef, cubed
  • 2 heaping tbsps All Purpose Flour
  • 4 cups Guinness (or brown ale or stout) (2 cans?)
  • 1 28oz can Diced Tomatoes
  • Salt and Pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 350’F.
  2. Heat a dutch oven on top of the stove over medium heat. Add a couple splashes of olive oil, celery, onions, carrots and bay leaves and fry for 10 minutes.
  3. Add the meat and flour and toss.
  4. Add the Guinness, diced tomatoes, a couple tsps of salt and a grind or two of pepper. Stir.
  5. Bring to a boil and put in the oven with the lid on. Alternatively, if you want to cook on the stove top, lower heat and simmer with the lid on. Cook either way for 3 hours, removing the lid for the last half hour. Add a splash of water if it’s looking dry.
  6. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  7. Remove the bay leaves before serving on basmati rice (or quinoa if you forget to make the rice and need something fast, like I did.)

Lentil and Kale Soup

By On · In Kitchen Cupboard, Vegetarian · Add Comment

This recipe is from Jamie’s Food Revolution, although I made a few changes to suit what I had in my home at the time. We all love this soup. The flavours are deep and delicious.

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  • Olive Oil
  • 3 Carrots, roughly chopped
  • 2 Celery Stalks, roughly chopped
  • 2 medium Onions, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 2 cups hot Veg Stock (I use my bouillon base with boiling water)
  • a thumb sized piece of Ginger, finely sliced
  • 1- 2 tsp of Garlic Chili Paste
  • Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 2 cups Red Lentils
  • 1 bunch Kale, roughly or finely chopped
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 cup Natural Yogurt (optional)
  1. In a pot over medium heat, sauté the carrots, celery, onions and garlic for about 10 – 15 minutes with the pot lid askew or until the onion is lightly golden.
  2. Add the hot stock, ginger, garlic chili paste, cherry tomatoes and lentils. Stir, bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or the lentils are cooked.
  3. Add the kale and cook a further minute.
  4. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of yogurt.