A Little Heaven in a Jar

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….I don’t often make dessert but this recipe for cheesecake made in a slow cooker intrigued me

The original recipe comes from Chef Ricardo’s cookbook, Ricardo: Slow Cooker and was reprinted in the Life section of Saturday’s paper. I was drawn to the recipe for two reasons: 1. It is prepared in a slow cooker and 2. it is prepared in individual ramekins or small canning jars.

Since we were having the family over for Sunday lunch and Game Day, I decided to make the salad and dessert portions of the meal. The menu consisted of Orange, Avocado and Red Onion Salad, which I posted here, cornmeal and jalapeño muffins, beef enchiladas, Mexican rice and cheesecake in a jar.

Cheesecake with Strawberries and Graham Cracker Crumble in a Jar

Serves 4

1 pkg. (250g or 8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

75 mL (1/3 cup) sugar

1 egg

60 mL (1/4 cup) 35% cream

5 mL (1 tsp.) vanilla extract

Crumble

125 mL (1/2 cup) graham cracker crumbs

60 mL (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour

30 mL (2 tbsp) brown sugar

60 mL (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

Fruit Topping

250 mL (1 cup) diced strawberries or favourite fruit

15 mL (1 tbsp.) sugar or sweetener

Whipped Cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Place a clean cloth in the bottom of the slow cooker. I forgot and two of the jars broke as soon as I added the hot water.

2. In a food processor combine all the ingredients for the cheesecake (not the crumble or fruit) and puree until smooth.

3. Pour into clean ramekins or small canning jars and place in the slow cooker. Carefully pour hot water (not boiling) around the jars until the water reaches the half way mark on the jars.

4. Cover and cook on low heat for 90 minutes until firm and slightly puffed. Remove from the slow cooker and let cool. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours until completely chilled.

5. Crumble:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. In a bowl combine the dry ingredients and add the butter. Using your hands mix the mixture until crumbly. Drop onto the baking sheet. Bake, stirring twice during the baking process for about 15 minutes or until golden in colour. Let cool.

Strawberries:

Wash the strawberries and dice. Toss with the sugar or sweetener of your choice. Set aside to macerate.

When ready to serve, garnish each ramekin or jar with the graham cracker crumble, strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.

Enjoy!

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!

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!

Christmas Shopping On-Line

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..easy if you know what you want and don’t go for the first link

More and more I’ve been shopping on-line for Christmas presents. One of the reasons is that my adult children post everything they would like on-line with links as to where one can purchase the items. It really makes it easy but I have discovered a few glitches along the way.

First of all, when you’re ordering from Canada the free shipping claim is often null and void. By the time you pay the shipping you’re not saving very much money, if any. This is true for Amazon. com. The shipping charge was more than $16.00 for one item and the Canadian taxes hadn’t been added either. When I went to Amazon.ca the same item was initially a little bit more expensive but even with taxes in and no shipping charge the final price was cheaper than the American price. So Canadians beware.

Amazon.com and Amazon.ca are offering free shipping for a month on all items but after that you will be charged a $79.00 fee for the rest of the year. Personally I rarely shop on-line after Christmas so it doesn’t make sense to sign up for the free offer. If you’re willing to wait a few extra days for delivery you can get free shipping anyway. The lesson here is to read the small print.

If you use Paypal you can get a 5% discount back on all your purchases that you make for the next little while. I think its just from now until the first week in December but every little bit helps. I wish I could use Paypal for all my on-line purchases.

This year we used Elfster to organize our gift exchange. It’s been fun and it’s forced me to think about what I would really like for Christmas. At first I found it extremely difficult to write down what I wanted. I just couldn’t think of anything that fit within the $100.00 limit. I never have problems knowing what I’d like when I actually go shopping but the reality is that I probably don’t NEED anything. I did, however, come up with several items. Once I started I was on a roll and before I knew it I had nine items on my list. Some of them are over the limit but my husband doesn’t have to stick to the limit. The gift exchange doesn’t include significant others. I’m still responsible for getting my husband gifts and vice versa.

The best part of on-line shopping is having the parcels arrive at the door in a few days. It’s like Christmas opening the parcels, even though you know they’re for someone else. I think there’s some truth in the saying ‘It’s better to give than to receive’.

Cheers!

P.S. We’re finally having our gift exchange party tomorrow, even though we all know who we’re buying presents for. My husband is starting to feel better as he recovers from his shingles and is finally up to preparing his Gluewein and Goulash dinner.

Haiku Challenge – Day 4

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….wishing all my American friends a very happy Thanksgiving Day

The Thanksgiving Turkey

Crispy, golden skin

over succulent white meat

and chestnut stuffing

****

Dark meat or white meat

legs, wings and breasts to choose from

Heip yourself to all

****

Cranberries, carrots

sweet potato mash, gravy

Seconds, anyone?

****

Pumpkin pie with cream

the perfect ending before

a well deserved nap

*****

For more Haiku entries check out:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/challenge-haiku/

Persian Breakfast

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….celebrating my oldest daughter’s birthday

My daughter, A was away on her birthday last week, touring wine country in Prince Edward County. She did, however, want to celebrate with the family and she expressed an interest in having brunch at a very trendy Persian restaurant in the west end of Toronto. Tavoos doesn’t take reservations so they suggested that we arrive at 10:00 when the restaurant opened on Sunday so that we wouldn’t have to wait.

My sister was in town on the same day and she was hoping to spend some time with me so we invited her to join us at the restaurant. In total there were six of us in attendance. Arriving early turned out to be a very good idea because when we left the line-up went out the door.

This unique little restaurant is located on College Street just west of Dufferin. When you walk in you are greeted by a warm, inviting atmosphere with a very Persian decor. There are a couple of areas that are covered with exotic carpets and cushions and you can enjoy your meal sitting cross legged on the floor. Luckily, A requested the small room at the back of the restaurant with regular tables and chairs. I’m not so sure I could get up gracefully from the floor after sitting for any length of time.

The menu offered some very unusual breakfast selections. One of them was a soup made with a goats head and hoofs. We all passed on that item. A ordered the porridge with lamb which was quite delicious and surprisingly sweet. My sister played it safe and ordered a Mediterranean salad and the rest of us had Persian egg dishes. Traditionally the dishes are baked with the eggs sunny-side up on a spinach or onion potato base. With coffee and or tea and tip the total cost came in under $65.00 for our party of six. Pretty good for the city of Toronto.

After brunch we went back to A and J’s house. My sister hadn’t seen their home and it gave us more time together. Of course there was birthday cake and more coffee. We didn’t need to eat again until dinner time.

My sister with ‘my three girls’.

No Sleep is Catching up With Me

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….partly due to the time change

It’s been an interesting week. I’ve definitely not had enough sleep. Twice this week I’ve fallen asleep in the middle of my favourite shows. Both times I woke up during the credits of the show and I had to ask my husband how the show ended. I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore so when I do the shows are important to me. I couldn’t believe that I fell asleep before 9:00 at night. That should have been my first clue that I need more sleep.

The worst thing that happened this week is that I almost burned down my house. For some reason I decided it was a good idea to start making soup at 10:00. I set the stove on high and went downstairs to do another load of laundry. I decided to stay up and transfer the wash over to the dryer. My biggest mistake at this point was opening up my laptop to check my emails and read some of the blogs that I follow. I completely forgot about the soup.

As I started to transfer the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer my noise started to twitch. OMG! I darted up the stairs and ran into the smoke filled kitchen. I pulled the pot off the burner, opened all the windows, turned on the fan and then removed the pot from the stove and placed it on the deck. At this point the smoke detector went off. I opened the front door and the back door and more windows on the main floor.

Luckily the smoke cleared up quickly but I was surprised that my husband slept through all of this. The smell hung around for a couple of days. The next morning when my husband woke up he searched the house looking for the offending smell.

Today at work I had a melt down. When small things start to bug you, you know that there’s more to it. I’m missing my friend CR, the kids are very talkative and unfocused (too much Hallowe’en candy), the staff is under a lot of stress over their report cards, I’m trying to finish projects for the Remembrance Day assembly on Monday and I have to change up my displays in the hall.

Tonight I was able to finish my paperwork for the book fair and before I left I put up some new work from the grade five class. A step in the right direction. Tomorrow’s another day but I have to admit that thoughts of retirement entered my head today. Maybe four days without meat is affecting me. Some of my friends think that I should add some animal protein to my meals.

Cheers!

A rare Beatles video from 1968: I’m So Tired Demo

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.

Cranberry Festival in Bala

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. rain, hail and wisps of blue sky

The Cranberry Festival in Bala always falls after the Thanksgiving weekend. My friends L and B and I decided to drive to Bala on Sunday. The entire weekend was cloudy, rainy and cold all over southern Ontario. It was really a last minute decision to drive to Bala at all. We wondered if we had made a wise decision when hail started to hit the wind shield but in the distance we could see traces of blue sky.

The drive in was uneventful and traffic was light. In years past the flow of traffic would slow down to a crawl as cars and buses approached the town of Bala. We found a parking spot easily and with umbrellas in hand we started our walk through town. One of the first things I did was buy a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm. We checked out some of the vendors that were outside and then we made our way into the arena where more vendors were set up to sell their wares. We picked up some stocking stuffers for Christmas, sampled some yummy chocolate and tried on some trendy designer clothes.

When we headed outside the sun finally decided to make an appearance and it warmed up considerably. A vendor selling hot sauce looked at us as if he recognized us. He asked if we were teachers and if we’d ever taught at a middle school in Etobicoke. Well it turned out that all three of us had been at that school but it was our friend B whom he recognized. What a small world. He must have been one of her first students because he was already well into his late 40s or early 50s. He got very emotional at meeting her again after all these years and told her that she had made a huge difference in his life. Talk about making your day!

As we made our way back to the car we stopped and picked up some fresh produce from one of the stalls. Our bags were so heavy with our harvest vegetables and apples that we decided to take advantage of the school bus that transported visitors to and from the festival. When we unloaded our parcels we decided to go back to the church by the falls and have some lunch before heading back to Toronto.

Lunch was a bowl of homemade turkey soup for each of us and a Canadian bacon sandwich cut into three pieces. For dessert L bought one cranberry crepe (it was the cranberry festival after all) with chocolate sauce and whipped cream that we shared as well. We took a few more pictures of the falls and the rushing water and then walked back to the car. Just before we left Bala for good we made one more stop to purchase some more twigs with red berries. The urns outside L’s and B’s places will look very festive this Christmas with those red berries adorning a bouquet of evergreen boughs.

Thanks ladies, for a very enjoyable day!

A Mexican Delight

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..surprisingly healthy

On Sunday we celebrated my husband’s birthday with the family. Food is very important when we have family get togethers and K is usually the architect of our meals. Our daughter suggested we do a taco theme and K started searching for recipes. On our shopping trip on Saturday, pork shoulder, tortillas and banana leaves were purchased.

On Sunday while the pork was cooking inside the banana leaves and the rice and beans were thrown together K decided that we needed something else to round out the meal. I found a couple of Mexican side dishes that looked interesting and we decided on the Avocado, Orange and Red Onion Salad. I quickly did some last minute shopping to pick up some of the ingredients that we were missing and I bought a small birthday cake for K.

When I returned home, my daughter G and her husband were already there and A and her partner were on their way. G helped me slice the oranges while I prepared the avocado. The salad was simple to prepare. The orange and avocado slices were arranged on a platter with the slices overlapping each other. Then the red onion was sliced into thin rings and randomly arranged on top along with some cilantro leaves. The platter was drizzled with the juice of 1 lime and a couple of tablespoons of good olive oil. Not only was it a pretty salad and dead easy to prepare but it was also tasty and refreshing.

The recipe for this salad came from Delish.

Everyone assembled their own tacos with shredded pork, pickled red onion, cilantro sour cream, and Mexican fresh cheese.

The whole meal was surprisingly light and healthy tasting. Nothing was fried and everyone took as much or as little as they wanted. The two salads helped round out the meal and added some pretty colours to our plates. G made the pickled onions. They added a nice crunch to the taco. I’ll share the recipe in a future post. The green dip was simply sour cream and cilantro blended together in the Nutra Bullet. It could probably be made with yogurt if you want to reduce the fat content.

After dinner K blew out the candle on his birthday cake ( the number 3 has no significance…I couldn’t find any other candles).

Coffee was served and then the board game came out. We had a great time playing Ticket to Ride. K has wanted to have a regular game night for awhile now. All in all it was the perfect way to celebrate his birthday.