this moment

Lemonade stands, balloon animals, a budding entrepreneur.

Inspired by soulemama

Sunday in the kitchen - the holiday Monday edition

"This is the awesomest day ever!" exclaimed Finn, grinning from ear to ear. "My dream has come true!" No, Christmas did not come early to our house, nor did it start raining gumballs, a wish this little ginger has prayed for for a really long time! So what has this kid so over-the-moon excited? The training wheels came off his bike today! And for this bike-riding family, we were equally as excited! It's been a long road getting Finn to ride his bike. Each spring, the bike came out of winter storage, all of us crossing our fingers that this would be the year he would do it. We begged, we pleaded, we encouraged. "Just try...please!" But if this six-year-old ginger is not ready to do something, even promising all the gumballs in the world could not get him to do it! Something changed this year. Our pleas for him to try just one more time were heard. He sat on the seat. He started to peddle. Before we knew it he was biking to the corner. Then around the block. Then begging his older brother to let him tag along on friend bike rides around the neighbourhood. We weren't sure what was going to happen last week when he blew a training wheel. Completely wore it right off. The safety net was gone. Was he ready for the next step? Would the bike get stored away for another year? There was only one thing to do - get the tools, take off the training wheels and see what happens. G had barely taken the tools out of the way before Finn, in all of his new-found biking confidence, hopped on the seat and took off down the street. Then he was off for a ride around the block. Then off for a ride uptown with G. "Can we ride our bikes to my ball game?" he excitedly asked. While thrilled to no end at this new enthusiasm for biking, I had to say no. The 20km ride to the town hosting the ball game is a little ambitious for this new rider (and for this old one too!). But I did promise this cold treat after the game - homemade popsicles!

Coconut milk popsicles

1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp rice syrup - or more to desired sweetness
Zest of 1 lemon
1 C blueberries
Mix milk, syrup and zest together before folding in berries. Pour into popsicle forms and freeze.

Sunday in the kitchen

I make the same mistake every year. My enthusiasm for starting my spring garden always trumps reason when it comes to seeding the zucchini. I always seem to forget that one plant alone provides enough zucchini for this family. Now we are overwhelmed. Zucchini in the morning, zucchini in the evening, zucchini at supper time. Isn't that how the song goes? If not, it should be because that's what it feels like. Using up that zucchini in stir fries, salads, and sweet zucchini loaf. Oh yes, sweet zucchini loaf - the perfect accompaniment to a perfect picnic with dear friends along the Elora Gorge where we explored the trails, enjoyed a bit of shopping, and met some unlikely adventurers along the way!

 

  

Zucchini Loaf
1/2 C dairy-free margarine
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C apple sauce
1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp warm water
1 small zucchini grated - about 1 C
2 C flour (for this recipe I used a blend of 1 1/4 C buckwheat flour and 1/4 arrowroot starch)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C oats
1/2 C pumpkin seeds
1/2 C chocolate chips
Beat together margarine and brown sugar. Add remaining wet ingredients and mix well. Mix in dry ingredients, followed by seeds and chocolate chips. Bake at 375F for about an hour, or until fork comes out clean. This recipe makes one large loaf or divide the batter up into a smaller loaf and muffins.

What will you do today?

Today I will seek refuge from the heat in the shade and cool of my house with a good book and perhaps a little afternoon cat nap. I will suddenly be startled awake by the squeals and laughter of two boys clearly up to something way too fun out in the backyard. I will marvel at their genius plans for staying cool - two tarps, one hose, one bucket full of water and lots of ammo (aka sponges) which together make for one awesome water sponge fighting game. What will you do today?

A garden grows

"I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

- Henry David Thoreau

this moment

Dirty feet, sleeping in...loving these lazy summer moments!

Inspired by soulemama

Sunday in the Kitchen

Summer is here, the weather has finally warmed and things are really starting to happen out in our garden! It was a slow start with a pretty cool spring, but with several hot and sunny days in a row, we are finally starting to enjoy the fruits of our labour. Although we really didn't have to do much to get those garlic scapes, above, that grow wild along the edge of our yard. Garlic scapes are the flower stalk of the garlic plant and are so yummy. They can be used in any way that you would use garlic, however they do have a much milder flavour than the bulbs. And now is the time to head out and pick them! I harvested this bunch that I blended up into a batch of pesto adapted from a basil pesto recipe I think was passed on many years ago from my mother-in-law.
Garlic Scape Pesto
1 C scapes chopped up
1/4 C parmesan cheese
1/4 C almonds
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1/8-1/4 C olive oil 
Place ingredients in food processor except for oil. Blend, adding oil as needed until you get the consistency you like. I like mine a little chunkier and less oily - I usually make pesto with my mortar and pestle, but find the scapes stringier and harder to crush up this way, so a food processor works best for this recipe. 


So you have your pesto, now what? Well, anytime I make pesto, I know it's going to be a pizza night! I love using pesto on pizza in place of the tomato sauce, and this recipe makes just enough to cover one pizza crust - my very favourite homemade pizza dough recipe can be found here. Roll out the dough (I'm lazy and just press it onto the pan), top with tomatoes, peppers, cheese, and whatever else strikes your fancy. Bake in a 400F oven until that crust is nice a brown and that cheese is nice and bubbly. So delish - go on and try it! Scapes won't be around much longer!