My Twin Babies Turned 32 Yesterday

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….a hectic but fun day

The day started early with a visit to Sherway Mall to look for a winter parka for Az and a birthday present for my son. I had already purchased his sister’s present long before Christmas but we didn’t know what B needed or wanted so I waited until his arrival to Canada to find out.

It turns out that B really needed new shoes. It was his lucky day. Between his fiancé, Az and me, he ended up with three new pairs of shoes, 2 casual and one dressy. We also found a warm and stylish winter parka for Az, which will come in very handy when they go to Montreal later this week. It’s always colder in Montreal.

After our shopping spree we headed to Costco for gas and groceries. Az wanted to prepare an Iranian feast for us and what better time than for a birthday celebration. We were expecting 10 people for dinner and even though they had picked up a load of groceries at the Iranian grocery store (who knew) we still still needed a few extra items to round out the meal. One of the things we bought was a birthday cheesecake for B and G. I know that’s not very Iranian but it’s a bit of a birthday tradition in our house. Turns out that more desserts were brought by others and I have a lot of cake left over.

The girls hard at work.

Once we got home Az and our daughter, G started to cook and cook and cook. When Az told me that 1 kg of rice wasn’t enough, I was shocked so when I picked up our other daughter, A, her partner J and our son-in-law we made another stop at a store to purchase more basmati.

The green olives were the best I’ve ever eaten. They were purchased at the Iranian market. The marinade included ground walnuts and it became a great dipping sauce as well.

When all the guests arrived the place was buzzing with activity. I noticed that Az was not happy with one of her dished and was quite upset. I tasted it and I thought it tasted wonderful. I passed it around to a few more guests to sample and they all agreed that she needed to serve it. Ignorance is bliss. It really did taste devine but I’m sure if it had turned out the way she wanted it would have been better but we didn’t have anything to compare it to. The whole meal was an explosion of taste in the mouth. I’m sure I could never recreate it on my own but our daughter G has a little more experience and hopefully I don’t have to wait for another visit from B and Az before we can experience this meal again.

: Prepping the eggplant for the dip

: A very large sheet of Iranian flat bread

: The birthday boy with one of his good friends

: The eggplant dip…..

: …..served with the flat bread, torn into small pieces and toasted

: Potato pancakes with a mint yogurt sauce

: Green salad with pomegranate seeds

: A baked rice dish with a lovely crust all around….

: …..filled with lamb and a side of fesenjoon (ground walnuts with chicken)

: The Birthday girl with her husband

Of course there was way too much food, especially desserts. My husband is hoping we don’t have to go grocery shopping for awhile. My fridge is jam packed with leftovers and the cheesecake is sitting outside in a cooler bag on the deck where it is frozen solid.

Thank goodness there aren’t anymore major birthdays now until the summer. My waistline can’t afford more days like this.

Cheers!

Dinner With Life Long Friends

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..not my oldest friends but friends for the rest of my life

Many years ago, a group of us worked together at the same school. After eight years, one by one, members of our group started to venture out and took positions at other schools. Our friendship, however, was so special that we never let separation from the work place interfere with our special bond. Eventually all of us left the school where we first met each other. We decided that we needed to get together on a regular basis so for the last 17 years we’ve come together for dinner several times a year. We’ve also made trips to Bala for the Cranberry festival, attended gala fundraising dinners and gone to concerts.

One of our favourite evenings happens just before Christmas when our good friend L hosts our special Christmas dinner where she does all the cooking. Such a lovely treat. Our friend K, also celebrates her birthday at the same time so we have two reasons to get together.

L and her mom spend days setting the table, decorating the living room and prepping the food for this special dinner. L does most of the cooking but her mom makes the desserts, usually a traditional English trifle made completely from scratch. Everything is fresh and beautifully made and healthy.

Dinner consisted of grilled tomatoes, roasted beets, green beans, steamed spinach, and roasted chicken. Colourful and delicious!

Of course the best part of dinner was spending time with good friends and getting caught up on the news in everyone’s life. Our friend C was given a cute fascinator from the the One of a Kind Show that she showed off at dinner and L insisted that we wear the paper hats from our Christmas crackers.

Before the evening ended we arranged to meet again in a week for dessert at C’s place so that we could see her new renovation. The parties never seem to end.

Cheers!

Planting Tulips in December

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….temperatures warmed up enough to get a shovel in the ground

Sunday, December 1st…the first advent of the Christmas season and I’m in the garden planting tulip bulbs. About three weeks ago a parent at school kindly gifted me 40 tulip bulbs and advised me to plant them that weekend. I told her I had problems with squirrels digging up all my bulbs in the past so she also brought me a small bag of hen poop. Apparently they don’t like the smell. We’ll see.

Unfortunately I didn’t get the bulbs in the ground when the weather was warmer and the soil was still soft. Life just got in the way. Last weekend when I had some time I pulled out the trowel and almost broke it when I tried to turn the soil. It was so cold that the ground was frozen solid. Winter had arrived early.

This past weekend we were having the kids over for our annual pre-Christmas goulash and mulled wine party. I wanted to start decorating the house to get in the festive mood so I pulled out the outdoor lights. After testing each string and hauling the ladder out from the garage I started to drape the yew in front of the house. I noticed that the ground was pretty muddy so I decided to take advantage of the conditions and get my bulbs into the ground.

So there I stood in the drizzling rain, bent over and digging holes in the garden. My neighbours must have thought that I was crazy. Once all the bulbs were in the ground I continued to decorate the tree with the outdoor lights. It was still raining as I was literally tossing the strings over the branches. I made several trips into the house and I noticed that I was tracking in a lot of mud.

With only a couple of hours left before the kids arrived I got out the pail and mop and washed the floors, cleaned the mud from my shoes and set the table for our meal. I then drove up to the liquor store to buy the wine for our mulled wine or gluewine as we call it. My husband was in charge of making the goulash.

When the kids arrived we enjoyed some appetizers and cups of mulled wine while the spaetzle cooked. I underestimated the amount of German noodles that I needed to cook but there was more than enough of the goulash to go around. Everything was delicious. After dinner our son-in-law brought out the board game we bought him for his birthday and we all learned how to play Small World: Underworld from Days of Wonder. When the rules were being explained to us I really didn’t think I’d get the hang of it but once we started to play I was on a roll. In the end I tied for second place. My son-in-law, the game board master, was impressed with my standing.

Less than three weeks of school left before we’re off for the holidays. The Hundertwasser projects are coming along nicely and hopefully I’ll be able to post some of the finished projects in the next day or so. I’d better get off to bed. I have to get up early for more basketball practises. We play in the semi-finals next week. Till later.

Cheers!

Day Light Savings – Part 2

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..the downside is that it gets dark earlier

The day seemed exceptionally long but now I’m tired and it’s only 7:00 pm. When I leave work it will be dark outside and it will continue to get darker till December 21st.

There’s always a lot of discussion around whether we need daylight savings time. In the United States, Hawaii and Arizona don’t change the clocks and in Canada, Saskatchewan has opted out of using it. It does play havoc with the body’s internal clock and it takes about a week for some people to adjust.

I think I’m tired because I had a lot on my plate. I got out this morning for a short walk with Lucy. We put our patio furniture away and I cleaned up some of the weeds from the garden. I dusted and vacuumed the living room, cleaned out the jam cupboard, cleaned the fridge, cleaned the bird cage, vacuumed the upstairs, stripped the beds and did four loads of laundry.

I tried a new recipe tonight, cauliflower couscous. My husband and I are trying to eat less meat. I checked out a few recipes on the internet and then gathered up the ingredients I had on hand. After a few modifications I came up with my own version of this tasty dish. If you’re trying to cut down on carbohydrates or need a gluten free recipe you’ll find that this recipe covers both bases.

Carol’s Cauliflower Couscous

1 medium size cauliflower

1 sprig of rosemary

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds

3 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 red apple, skin on, diced

handful of finely chopped chives or green onions

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

pepper to taste or a splash of your favourite hot sauce

1. In a food processor place the cauliflower flowerets and pulse till the cauliflower resembles couscous.

2. In a flat bottom saucepan pour just enough water to cover the bottom with a sprig of rosemary and 1 tsp of salt.

3. Bring the water to a boil and add the cauliflower couscous. Cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. After 5 minutes remove the couscous from the pan and spread onto a baking dish to cool.

5. Add oil to the pan and toast the chopped almonds for a few minutes. Add the celery and cook for another 5 minutes till the celery softens.

6. Add the garlic, chopped apple, chives, vinegar and parsley. Continue to cook just to warm the mixture and season to your liking.

7. Serve warm or cold.

Baking in the BBQ

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..and wheat free doesn’t mean carb free

After reading Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD, one quickly realizes that eating gluten and wheat free foods doesn’t guarantee weight loss. There are more and more gluten free products on the market than ever, especially in the snacking and bakery sections of the grocery store. If you were to read the ingredient lists you would discover that many of these products are high in sugars, fats and alternative starches and the calorie count is high for what you’re getting.

I was feeling somewhat liberated when I found gluten free flour at Costco and I was somewhat disappointed when I couldn’t find a gluten free banana bread recipe in Dr. Davis’ book. After using a regular recipe and substituting the gluten free flour for regular flour it started to dawn on me that I don’t normally eat bananas, let alone banana bread, even though I love both. I’ve always known that bananas are high in carbs and the bread goes without saying. It was when I added the 2 cups of sugar, the 1 1/2 cups of butter and 6 cups of flour that I started to question what I was doing.

So why was I baking banana bread when I’m still trying to lose weight? It just so happened that we were going to celebrate my friend D’s birthday on Sunday and she suggested that we bake something special. Besides she had some sour milk that needed to be used and I had some very ripe bananas. I went through my cottage cookbooks and lo and behold I found a recipe that used both those ingredients.

As you know from previous posts I don’t have electricity and I do the bulk of my cooking on the BBQ, including any baking that I might do. Over the years D and I have developed a knack for baking muffins, cakes and breads in the great outdoors. One of the tricks is to use smaller pans so that dough cooks through to the middle in a shorter length of time. The bread in the bundt pan was finished first, or so we thought. If you look closely at the cut slices you can see that the middle is a little too soft.

The two breads in the loaf pan took a little longer but were a better texture. One of the differences with using gluten free flour is that the bread was much denser than a normal banana bread and for some reason tasted much sweeter. If I were to do this again (for my friends who are truly gluten intolerant) I would definitely add less sugar and maybe even experiment with some kind of substitute that isn’t aspartame or saccharin. I’ve heard that applesauce is a good replacement for sugar in some baking recipes.

I had one and a half slices of the bread on D’s birthday and I ate one slice for breakfast the next morning. I’ve always found that if I’m going to eat carbs it’s best in the morning and then avoid them for the rest of the day. Maybe I should clarify that when I say carbs I mean breads, pasta and primarily flour products. I still eat lots of healthy carbs in the way of vegetables, some fruit and dairy products along with lean protein and healthy fats.

I’m going to have to read the Wheat Belly book a little closer and try to figure out how to fit it into my daily diet without increasing my carb intake. Maybe some of you have a gluten free, wheat free recipe, low in carbs, fat and sugar that I could try. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The following pictures are of D and D’s birthday/anniversary dinner that they kindly invited me to. Afterwards we relaxed around a beautiful bonfire as the sun set over Christian Island.

Delicious lamb, fresh tomatoes, green salad with avocados and Ontario corn on the cob. Yum!

Happy Birthday, D!

The Full Irish Breakfast

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….still suffering from jet lag but this breakfast keeps me going for a good part of the day

On Friday, when we arrived in Dublin, we got a taxi and drove to my husband’s cousin’s home near Phoenix Park. Our plane arrived at 9:30 in the morning and unfortunately we had next to no sleep on the plane because passengers near the front decided to party all night long. It was the noisiest flight that I’ve ever experienced. It was going to be a very long day.

Fortunately, our hostess, P, made us feel right at home and quietly and almost effortlessly made us a great full Irish breakfast. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this protein heavy breakfast, let me describe it for you. It consists of the following meat: black pudding, white pudding, sausage, and ham or bacon. Of course there are eggs.

This breakfast kept us going but by 2:00 in the afternoon I had to take a nap. Kevin lasted a little longer but he crawled into bed soon after. We got a few hours of sleep and then we stayed up till 11:00.

The next morning we were up at 4:40. We just couldn’t sleep any longer, even though we were still tired. I think we were a little bonkers. While P slept, we drank 2 pots of tea and ate a couple of slices of soda bread. When we figured out that there was no alarm system we went out into the garden and did a few exercises. Still restless, we decided to go for a walk through Phoenix Park.

The walk is just what we needed. We went for about 5.7 km. When we got back to the house, P made us our second full Irish breakfast. What a life! We’re still experiencing jet lag and I’m hoping after a good night’s sleep tonight I won’t be dozing off in the middle of the afternoon or at the table during meals.

My Son…..The Next Jamie Oliver?

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…….you decide

My son lives in the Netherlands, so whenever he posts anything on Facebook I have to check it out. Today I came across a video that he posted on YouTube. I’m not sure what he’s cooking but he does seem to have a flair for the flambé.

My entire family seems to have the cooking gene. My father loved to cook and for a short time he and my mother had their own catering business. For 17 years I taught Family Studies and demonstrated cooking techniques to my young students. When our youngest daughter expressed an interest in becoming a chef my husband supported her by cooking along side her and together they experimented with new recipes and techniques. Even after she decided that cooking was not what she wanted to pursue as a career, my husband continued to play in the kitchen and to this day he still prepares most of our meals.

Even though she decided not to cook for a living, my daughter and her husband are both foodies and they love to entertain and prepare elaborate and interesting dishes for family and friends. My oldest daughter is also very capable in the kitchen and both her and her partner have prepared some memorable meals and enjoy competing in cook-offs that J’s family hosts on a regular basis.

Our son has lived on his own for quite awhile and is basically a self-taught cook. He has shared some very tasty dishes with us when he visits and he isn’t afraid to try new and sometimes ‘dangerous’ cooking techniques, as you will see in the video. Take note of the paper towel roll behind the stove….could have been a bit of a disaster. As my husband said upon viewing the video, “That is so B…..”

Deep frying the turkey.

My husband stirring the tomato sauce that we eventually canned.

My Irish soda bread.

G preparing her homemade pasta.

A feast at my oldest daughter’s and partner’s home.

Celebrating Easter With a Beautiful Table, Great Food and Family

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. the only day we could get most of the family together was for Good Friday

When your children grow up and leave the nest to begin their lives with their own partners getting together for the holidays can sometimes be difficult. Our children now have two families to consider when planning where their time will be spent for celebrations. This year Easter Sunday coincided with a special anniversary and a baby shower was being hosted on Saturday. Consequently the only day that suited everyone involved was Good Friday.

I’ve been down for the count all week with a viral respiratory infection and have spent much of my time searching for easy fun ways to decorate our table for our Easter lunch. I didn’t have to go far or search too long before I found inspiration in the form of paper tulip dishes that would greet each guest as they sat down to eat. The idea came from my daughter’s wedding blog over at Uschi and Kay

For instructions go to:

DIY Paper Tulip Dish

For the other table decorations my inspiration came from Kate’s Creative Space. This woman’s creativity blows me away. I love her blog.

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it before but my husband is a great cook and he planned, shopped and prepared the entire meal by himself. Last night he prepared the Ham, Peas and Rice Stuffed Phyllo Logs and Fresh Strawberry Pie. Today he continued prepping the Melon and Grape Salad with Basil Yogurt, baked the logs and prepared the Asparagus and Fresh Beans.

At the end of the day each of my daughters took home one of the mini daffodil plants, the paper tulip dish and a slew of chocolate and candy Easter Eggs. It was a lovely day. We had a few laughs, we talked to our son in Rotterdam via Skype, we sat on the deck and I didn’t cough too much. Happy, happy, happy!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. this bread made everyone happy today

Happiness Files – Day 8

I was prepared to add raisin and currents to my bread today until I read that traditional Irish soda bread has only 5 ingredients: flour, baking soda, sugar, salt and buttermilk

4 cups (1000 mL) all-purpose flour

1tablespoon (15 mL) sugar

1 tsp. (5 mL) salt

1 tsp. (5 mL) baking soda

2 cups (500 mL) buttermilk

1. Thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Nothing is worse than biting into a clump of baking soda. Make a well in the middle.

2. Pour the buttermilk into the centre and then using your hands move the flour into the liquid and mix together until all the ingredients come together.

3. Using your hands gently knead the dough a couple of times until you form a nice smooth ball.

4. Place the loaf on a lightly greased cookie sheet and with a sharp knife cut a deep cross through the middle of the loaf.

5. Bake the bread in a 425 degree oven for 35 minutes. Cool on a rack.

6. Slice and serve with butter.

Dinner today consisted of a beet, wilted greens, and feta salad. I used the beets and steamed greens that I prepared last night. I added feta cheese, a splash of olive oil and freshly ground pepper and salt. I felt like I was in a fancy restaurant enjoying a gourmet salad.

The main course was the Guinness Irish stew and a dollop of champ (mashed potatoes with sliced green onions) that my husband made. It was amazing.

Before dessert we took the dogs, Lucy and Frances, for a nice long walk to help burn some of the calories from the stew and make room our fresh berries and cream and hot steaming coffee.

Here are 5 more reasons why I had a happy day today. Bringing people who love each other together to enjoy a meal, regardless of the occasion, is always a happy moment. Sharing food with people who appreciate your efforts is very rewarding. Hope you had a lovely day, whether you were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or just enjoying a regular Sunday.

Kevin enjoying a Guinness with his Irish stew.

Cheers!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. starting the day with a ‘full Irish’ breakfast

When my husband and I were on our road trip last Thursday we found a great little market that sold foods from the UK. K was over the moon when he found rashers of Irish bacon and black pudding. Here’s how we started St. Patrick’s Day:

Fried eggs, rashers of bacon, fried black pudding and grilled tomato (done in the bacon fat) and to top it off a cup of Barry’s tea. As my husband likes to call it “a heart attack on a plate”. You definitely don’t want to make this a daily addition to your diet.

As I write this the Irish stew is simmering on the stove and the potatoes are peeled and ready to be cooked and made into a mash. When I get off the computer I’m going start the Irish Soda bread. It has to be traditional, so no raisins or currents, eggs, whiskey or sugary icing … just flour, salt, baking soda and buttermilk. I’ll share the recipe later.

The family is coming over today to celebrate the day. Guinness, Irish beer and cider are cooling on the deck outside. Getting ready gives me peace of mind knowing that all this hard work is going to be appreciated and devoured by people I love. Happiness moment number one!

Found this great quote on Jay Mug

http://www.jaymug.com/post/32340854083/doing-what-you-like-is-freedom-liking-what-you-do

“There are only two kinds of people in the world, The Irish and those who wish they were.”

“May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out.”

Have a great day! Cheers!