Totally tubular!

I am on a mission to learn a new knitting trick.

This is where youtube rocks.

I am learning how to do a tubular cast on for a hat I want to make myself.  With the weather turning... I want a nice hat for me.  Then if the boys want a new hat - so be it.  Then maybe some socks, and some dishcloths again. I haven't knitted since I finished my last baby blanket... I think I am now starting to miss it again.  The hat is called "Columbia Gorge" and I found the pattern on www.whiletheyplaydesigns.com.

Maybe 2016 will be the year that I actually knit myself the St. Brigid sweater that I have been coveting for fifteen years. I think it will be an epic project that will likely take me at least a year to knit.. but I suspect that once done, this will be one that I will wear forever.  Literally.  I am still wearing the Irish sweater that I bought in Blarney in 1995... so I really don't rule this out.

I think I am distracting myself from learning this new task. I am blogging, cruising through sweater patterns, and patting the cat instead of learning how to do this cast on technique. The joys of teaching this old dog new tricks.

Sinful Quinoa Chocolate Cake

I lurve this cake.

I also lurve that it is gluten free, and not made with quinoa flour.  If you are looking to try something new that will literally blow you away, try this recipe.

My lovely Auntie makes this for us, and it has been amazing every single time.  I love her much, and with this cake, I think I love her even more!!! I love that everyone can eat it, and that it is made with whole quinoa and not quinoa flour (which is worth it's weight in gold).

Moist Chocolate {Quinoa} Cake

originally from Quinoa 365

Made from quinoa and more like a brownie, this cake is gluten-free and completely delicious.

There are a few variations on how to frost and how to make a ganache for the middle, I will leave that part up to your desire.  

ingredients

• 2/3 c. (150 ml) white or golden quinoa
• 1 1/3 c. (340 ml) water
• 1/3 c. (90 ml) milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. (170 g) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 c. (375 ml) white or cane sugar
• 1 c. (250 ml) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. (7.5 ml) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml) baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml) salt

directions

• 1
  Preparation:
• 2
  Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.
• 3
  Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease two 8-inch (20-cm) round or square cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• 4
  Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Add 2 cups (500 ml) of cooked quinoa and the butter and blend until smooth.
• 5
  Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add the contents of the blender and mix well.
• 6
  Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake on the centre oven rack for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• 7
  Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan before serving. Frost if desired. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month. Serves 8 to 16.

Brine that bird.

Last year was the first year that we ever "brined" a turkey.  I was truly skeptical.  Screw with tradition? Soak your turkey in water, salt, sugar, and a few other things to add a little taste?  Last year, it was hard to do until we tasted the final product.

So, for Thanksgiving this year, we went ahead and bought a free run, fresh, organic (happy bird) turkey and brined it for 2 days.

It was amazing.  The meat was falling off of the bone.  

We had a 20 pound fresh turkey, which I left in the fridge until my brine was ready.  I used Morton's fine kosher salt in my brine.

Recipe, more or less to brine a turkey.

Use a large canner or whatever container will fit your size turkey (don't use a garbage bag, think of that unhealthy plastic).

In a pan on the stove, I used a cup of salt, a cup of sugar, and about 3-4 cups of water.  I brought this to a boil, and then mixed it with 2 - 2.5 gallons of water in the canner.  To this I added fresh ground pepper, 2 sliced lemons, 2 sliced oranges, and some fresh rosemary.  Once we were back to "cold" water temperature, you add the cleaned out turkey (remove the giblets, etc).  

Let it brine for 1 - 2 days.

Recipe for our stuffing

Bags of bread crumbs

melted butter

some milk or cream

couple of beaten eggs

salt

pepper

poultry seasoning

sage

celery 

onion

I am terrible with proper recipes.  I just eyeball and taste, and use my hands to get the consistency that I want. I am not an "exact" cook, but I think that what I make tastes pretty good.  

We cooked it at 325 for about 5 hours stuffed.  Covered for the first half, and then we removed the cover.   Stuck some butter on the top to melt in, and ground more pepper on the bird. 

It was an awesome turkey.  We even used a gluten-free flour (Bobs' brand) to make the gravy and it was also really good.  

Turkey is one of those things that it is worth spending the money and getting a fresh, free run happy bird.  You don't find the turkey hangover is so bad, and the folks that usually have problems with turkey tend to find that they don't have issues with a healthier bird.

We had a few of our dinners early.  Tried for a large family gathering and it was a reasonable size, so with out leftovers, we invited some of the family we have chosen for a dinner the next night.   Next weekend I suspect we will break completely with tradition and perhaps go for a salmon just to keep it interesting.

Bacon Jam, and a rainy saturday

The beach BBQ we were going to attend got canned because of our ongoing terrible weather. It really, truly rained hard today. The kids have been climbing the walls because they have either been cooped up inside, or stuck in a car running errands. Not a lot of fun for a vacation week in July.

In true Kazzy-style, knowing the best way to get C-man to sleep is to tire him out, the three of us went to the park in the middle of the downpour for a walk. We were completely soaked. The boys were happy, hence, I was happy. They ran, jumped, and tried to swim in puddles. They terrorized the geese, stopped for a few ducklings, and pushed the rain from their faces. Home for a shower, soup, and then a nap (for one of them). B requested to make some cookies, so that we did too. Looking for a recipe I ended up sorting and getting rid of a huge bag of paper to recycle. I try to stay on top of it, but it is amazing how fast paper accumulates.

Once I cleared the kitchen of my cookie making mess, my hubby was inspired to try out the following recipe... It has bacon in it, can you go wrong?

Thank you to dinnerwithjulie.com for this husband friendly recipe. When you are cooking it down, watch the temperature so you don't overcook that sugar!

Bacon Jam

1 lb good-quality bacon
1 small onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup coffee
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 Tbsp. grainy mustard (optional)

Roughly chop the bacon and cook it in a heavy pot; transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon, draining off most of the drippings. Saute the onion and garlic cloves in the rest for 5 minutes, until soft and starting to turn golden. Return the bacon to the pan, add the brown sugar, coffee, maple syrup, vinegar and mustard and cook over medium heat for half an hour, or until deep golden and thickened to the consistency of jam. If you like, cool and pulse in the food processor for a finer texture. Serve warm or cold.

frozen in time

I have been meaning once again to capture some thoughts, but it seems that when I have been sitting down in front of my white screen, not a lot of comprehension or inspiration has been happening.

So, I regress in to some random thoughts.

I hope that I unconsciously allow for change in my life and that I don't pigeon-hole people in to one role in my life, and who they are going to be as a person in my life, for their lifetime. I got the sense from an old friend recently that they had no clue who I was in the present moment, nor did they really seem all that aware of the fact that their notions of me are about 10 years old, and even that is a bit generous. I guess I want people to see who I am becoming, and not just who I have been.

This goes back to that post I had linked to a while ago - why write someone off today when you don't know what their true potential is?

I am more today than I was yesterday, and by tomorrow, I hope that I am a little more than I was today - whether it be something learned, or a moment that takes your breath away, and just having lived another day with some kind of story to tell for it.

I still hate paying for parking.

I am reading a book called Committed, and I think I enjoy it more than their first book (which has really become a bestseller) but I am not quite sure how much I like it. Parts I am really enjoying, and parts make me reflect, and other parts are too self-deprecating making sure that their reader does not give the author more authority than they can lay claim too - I guess too many qualifications at times for a biographical book that is from their own (limited) point of view, education, and experience... I do get it you aren't an expert, or an anthropologist or a sociologist... and that you are on your own path of self discovery ... check! let's move on already...

We had a pretty cool play date this morning, and this afternoon we made some pretty yellow play dough. Brandon has never played with play dough and I really wanted him to experience it, especially since there is so much you can do with it creatively and with your hands... What a satisfying thing to do! Like so many other things that seem so much harder before you try to do it yourself... it was really easy to make. This is the recipe I followed:

Play Dough Recipe:

1 cup white flour ( I used whole wheat)
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice section)
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food coloring

Mix first 4 ingredients in a pan. Add water and mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 – 5 minutes. Dough will become difficult to stir and form a “clump”. Remove from stove and knead for 5 minutes–add food coloring during kneading process. Play dough will keep for a long time stored in a covered plastic container or plastic sandwich bag. This makes a good amount of play dough.

Pork and Root beer?

Pork and root beer you say? I am intrigued, to say the least.

So I have hauled out the old slow cooker, got us some root beer, a bottle of my favourite Guinness infused BBQ sauce, and I am about to turn it on. Up until now I have been using a seasoning packet, which calls for the addition of ketchup, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. It has been consistently good. This will be a good sayonara to the (old) crock-pot before it's much better replacement arrives.

However, this recipe is blissfully simple, and on my fav recipe site, it was getting rav reviews. Plus it is made with root beer! Sounds like pretty low risk to me...

It is a gorgeous day out there, and a simple dinner where the bulk of the work is already done is perfect. We will serve this up with some warm buns, coleslaw, and some homemade french fries.

I have my fingers crossed that this recipe rocks....

A different kind of pulled pork...

Ingredients -

• 1 (3 pound) pork loin, roast, boneless shoulder (depends on what you want to spend)
  
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce

The How to -

1. Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over warm buns.

Christmas Baking

My last post got me thinking, that and my current streak of domesticity...

What do you do for Christmas baking? I will reveal the selfish part of this, I am looking for some new ideas. The Chocolate Crinkles are new for me, and yes, will be added to my repertoire. A twist on those is to add peppermint instead of vanilla and you have a whole new, fabulous cookie.

I usually do some shortbread, butter and mincemeat tarts, some sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, haystacks... but I think it is good to branch out, add a few new tricks to the old recipe bag. Any suggestions? Definitely open to them!

Life repeats itself with slight twists

It's funny looking back in to your own personal history of posts and seeing where you were at a year ago, two years ago, etc.

Last December our lives were chaos. It was a Fall of mixed blessings, and the best thing to come from everything was our little guy named Connor and ultimately Brandon turning a few corners and moving forward in his life and gaining much, much more mobility. This year has not been about as much change - yes, we have welcomed another child, but I think as a family we have had some more time to just get used to life as we know it, now. I am not sure if that makes sense, but during my first maternity leave, so much happened - this time around, things are happening at a different pace, we are not first time parents, and I can speak for myself, I am enjoying the journey a little more.

I am not altogether sure what this week will bring. I feel the urge to make some lists and figure out what needs to get done in the next few weeks. We don't have a lot of things on the go, we aren't terribly booked up, and it is kind of nice to feel like we can just allow the coming weeks to unravel as they will.

The weather this week is supposed to be outstanding. My goal will be to get out and enjoy it - although I think that will mean a lot of layers for all of us. I can hear the gusting wind and there is a real bite in the air.

Amazing though, you post pretty much every day for a month, achieve your goal, and then drop off of the wagon. Us humans are so goal oriented, it is funny.

I discovered another evil cookie recipe.

Chocolate Crinkles. Totally addictive.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. I like to use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Pumpkin Script.

The cookies are pretty good. Definitely not the same texture as a chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie, but it tastes pretty good. They are different, and sometimes different is good especially since the rotation of staples around here is oatmeal chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, ginger, peanut butter, the occasional banana bread, and then rice crispy squares. I am definitely open to suggestions - now that I know how to do sugar cookies well, they come out for holidays, as will the gingerbread cookies in the coming weeks.

I think they do need the icing to kick them up the extra notch, but all in all, a good adventure and I think we will make them again.

Funny, I almost think you need to be feeling a little adventurous sometimes when it comes to cooking or baking. But when you think about it, what are the risks? A bad meal? Oh well. A bad batch of cookies you don't make again? Once again, oh well. I am not sure why it has taken me so many years to just get beyond the tried and true and strike out in new directions.