Sweet Sweet Summertime

It's here... the last week of school! That means a husband at home for the summer, a shorter work week for me, and long lazy summer afternoons free of preschool and full of beachcombing, sprinkler-diving and popsicle eating!

At the end of May, I was lucky enough to qualify for a scholarship at the beautiful Hollyhock Wellness Retreat, where I spent 3 amazing nights with a group of 8 beautiful, amazing and talented women for the Mama Renew Retreat. The environment was rustic, magical and invigorating...








During last year's retreat, I created the prayer flags that still adorn my doorway - a shout out for energy, commitment and (lots of) patience.



This year, I came home rested, inspired and, well, RENEWED. My intent for the year is to BLOOM, and so I've been working hard to put the things in place to make it happen.



The first thing on my list was to share the experience with my husband, so after a teeny bit of persuading (clothing-optional beachfront hot tub! fresh raw oysters on the beach!), Jason and I decided to take the financial plunge for our 5th year wedding anniversary to attend the 5-night Couples Retreat at Hollyhock. So after cashing in a few RRSPs (sorry, retirement) and talking Grandma Wolff into taking our kids AND dog (thanks Grandma!), we are on our way! We were told to bring massage oil for one of the workshops - I can't wait!

The second thing on my list was to hire a housekeeper to come in for a few hours every few weeks. It's in the works for September. Luxury? Maybe. But I can't wait!

As you can see, the things on my list are all pretty great.

The last thing, but certainly not least, was to get into my craft room a bit more. With the huge pile of fabric from Grammelina and her underutilized overlock machine, I've managed to craft a few of these great reversible pinafores for the girls from the Sew Baby pattern (thanks SouleMama).



A few more for Fall are in the works, and I got crafty with some old Ikea fabric and double-sided interfacing on the French corduroy, so soft!




Also, less fun, but certainly much-needed were a new set of chair covers for my kitchen using some recycled upholstery material. Thank GOD my old Bernina put up with me through these...



And of course, there's always gardening. For now... Garlic scape pesto. Brand new Yukon Golds run amok. Vivid green broccoli and sweet sweet peas.



And a sign of things to come! Homemade tomato sauce.



Blueberry muffins.



Roasted red peppers.



Basil pesto.



And cheese, thanks to Sarah S. for her goat cheese inspiration on the ferry to Hollyhock! This is the most action my husband's climbing equipment has seen in years, and it certainly did the trick to hang the cheese perfectly, right over the sink drain! So yummy!



Did I tell you that we've become cabinkeepers for a family that's relocated for a few years? It's on Valdes, the island where Jason and I started our relationship, honeymooned, hunted successfully... so dear to our relationship and so exciting to bring our family there!






Happy Summer to you all!

Busy House

There's been so much going on that I haven't had time to write about it. Birthdays, weddings, gardens... so much to craft!

Last bit of sprouting broccoli (what a treat!) and first bunch of radishes to add to the abundant salad greens... kale, chard, spinach, and many many lettuces are happily greening up the garden plots!





Easter - eggs, cookies, chocolates and tons of fun!




The girls' birthday party was a ton of fun, and I managed to finish the birthday sweaters and the flag banner just in time!





My sister-in-law, Andrea's, wedding to her beau Rod called for a wedding quilt! I tried my hand at mitre-ing the borders - works well with a stripey fabric, and wasn't as hard as I thought it would be...




The girls have been busy too with summery activities - sidewalk-chalking the front of the house and painting their toes (sandal season!) with Crayola washables... pretty!




What's up next? With loads of fabric gifted from Grammelina's immense stash, I hope to be making a few things for myself and the girls. First up are reversible cotton pinafore dresses for the gruesome twosome, and a shift for myself out of bright orange silk! And I STILL have to finish the green sweater I started in Feb...

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary - How Does YOUR Garlic Grow?

Spring is upon us... the cherry blossoms are out in full force and my seed order that arrived in January is beckoning!

The overwintering crops are looking good - the Purple Sprouting Broccoli is sprouting tasty loonie-size heads of deliciousness, the garlic is going strong and the kale is a veritable forest!




This afternoon on an outing at the Robson park community garden (I'm a looky-loo!) I saw that amidst the largest stalks of kale, someone had planted their garlic and it was growing like gangbusters! Our very first crop of garlic had to be uprooted during the Great Ruptured Waterline Fiasco of 2010, so I was brainstorming where they would find home, sweet home. Kale grows rather abundantly in our garden, and so I decided to thin out the kale forest into a more manageable kale orchard, interspersing the garlic. I have no idea if this will work, but am willing to try!



Last year's potato crops were also very successful (who can't grow a potato?) and I decided to up the ante this year. I may have gone a little overboard though - instead of 14 plants like last year, I'm doing about 50, including Yukon Golds, Red Chieftains and Seiglindes! Right now they are happily chitting on the art room windowsill...



And last but certainly not least - under the grow lights we have 3 types of tomatoes (20 plants in all), two types of peppers (16 plants in all), 2 types of broccoli (16 plants in all), peas and leeks! Here you can see the tomatoes reaching for some rays. I am SO SO happy to not have these on my kitchen counter this year!



Next weekend I hope to get out into the greenhouse to start my lettuces, herbs, marigolds and nasturtiums. We're getting some more dirt and taking over more of our front yard, since the grass was kinda ruined from the Waterline debacle. Who needs a front lawn anyways? Radishes, parsnips and beets - oh my!

After a few hours of gardening in the rain this afternoon, I came back inside to this little scene. Silly family!



In other news, Keira has recently entered a new phase of crazy. Now she's carrying around multiple blankies, even during the daytime, and sucking her thumb like mad. Most nights we find her curled up on the floor, sound alseep beside the strip of light coming underneath the door to their room. Naps during the daytime are getting fewer and fewer... they aren't kidding when they say that every kid is unique! But her particular brand of unique is slowly driving me crazy. I'm hoping it's just her second set of molars coming in but who knows??




It's a good thing they're cute!

Meal Plan for the Work Week

I love to cook. In fact, one of the few things that outweighs my love of cooking is my love of eating! It's a darned good thing I teach fitness for a living...

When I took an instructor's course for Postpartum Nutrition, one of the skills I walked away with (and have used the most!) is meal planning. That means sitting down each week, planning out the dinners (and lunchables) so that we make the best use of time and money, we determine who's cooking which night, and of course, we get a bit of variety! From the week's menu (which is displayed on the family whiteboard so that ingredients aren't accidentally eaten) the shopping list is created, so nothing is forgetten... sometimes if I really like the plan I'll write it down and store it for future use.

I like the idea of patterns too. Friday is ALWAYS leftover homemade pizza night. I use the crock pot once a week. We try to do one non-meat-centric meal. And I always try to make 'planned-overs', where the leftovers from one night are recycled into a new meal the following night(s).

One of my very favourite planned-over meal plans is based on the delicious Maple Hill Specialty Chickens I receive from my food co-op at a HUGE savings. I love these birds - so tasty and non-medicated to boot! To cover 4 dinners (2 adults and 2 picky kids), a few lunches and still put something in the freezer, I modified a shorter meal plan that I read about in Bon Appetit that started with one chicken and stretched it out for a week...

Roast Chicken (in the crockpot) with Roasted Root Veggies and Gnocchi
Cheesy Chicken & Mushroom Lasagne
Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas with Baked Rice
Leek & Shiitake Mushroom Risotto
Chicken, Kale & Chickpea Soup

Carmen loves to help with the chicken in the morning, putting it on the LOW setting all day in the crockpot - she is a whiz at dusting thyme, Pimenton de la Vera (thanks Auntie Meaghan!) and salt & pepper, then stuffing half an onion 'in the chicken's bum', according to her! A bit of water and VOILA! Done.



At about 5pm (before I head out to teach Prenatal Fitness Fusion!) she helps me peel parsnips that we are STILL finding in our garden, as well as yams and carrots. While the water for gnocchi is boiling, we set the veggies, seasoned with rosemary and olive oil, to roast at 425F for 20 mins. I've recently tried making my own ricotta gnocchi (inspired by Soule Mama), but you can buy it from the store and it's still pretty good!



Making pan gravy is a bit indulgent, but SO YUMMY! First, drain the juices from the crockpot into a liquid measuring cup - it's important that they are still hot. Put a tablespoon of butter in a saucepan and let melt on medium heat. With a whisk, stir in about 3 tablespoons of flour so it's crumbly. Then continue stirring as you add the juices a teeny bit by bit, whisking the lumps out as you go. Eventually you'll have an empty measuring cup and a full pan of gravy!





After dinner that night, I pull the remaining meat off the bones and separate into two bigger piles for the lasagne and the enchiladas, and a tiny pile for the soup. I put the bones and skin and the roasted onion into a pot of water (about 10 cups) with a splash of white vinegar, and boil it for stock. I need 5 cups for the risotto and the rest for the soup.

The lasagne and risotto recipes are pulled from Epicurious, and they are FAB. I usually do some substitutions, using homo milk instead of cream, less salt, etc. to make them a bit healthier. I also skip the truffle oil in the risotto, and only sometimes have shiitakes on hand, so often just use white and crimini mushrooms. Still tastes great! The lasagne I put into two casserole dishes - one for dinner, and one for the freezer.

The enchiladas are simple. I get a stack of whole wheat tortillas and a can of black beans, a bit of shredded mozzarella, cheddar & jack cheese (if I have it) and fill each tortilla first with some beans, then cheese, then shredded roast chicken. Roll 'em up, stuff them in a casserole dish. In a saucepan, heat one can of tomato sauce (from my summer canning session!) and some chili powder, cumin & salt to taste. Pour this over the casserole, reserving a little bit. On top, a bit more shredded cheese. In a matching casserole, I put 3 cups of cooked brown rice mixed with the remaining sauce and covered with a bit more cheese. Cook them in the oven at the same time at 350F until things look bubbly and smell yummy. I like to serve them with shredded lettuce or spinach and a dollop of plain yogurt. Kids love 'em too.





Lastly, but certainly not least, the soup. This is by far my favourite way to use the prolific kale that grows year-round in our garden. Stock, chicken, chopped kale and a can of drained chickpeas. Throw it in the pot, add thyme & more Pimenton de la Vera (or not) salt & pepper... so yummy with fresh bread! Makes a great hearty lunch too.





Dinner at our house doesn't always look like this... for instance, tonight the girls and I shared a $10 frozen dim sum feast from Gah Lok on Fraser because I was too tired to do anything else! But it is nice when time is on my side, I have the energy, and my fridge is full of the ingredients I need!

In other news - this is what I have on my 3.75mm circulars right now! I'm doing the short-sleeved version in a similar green merino from the local Unwinding Yarns. So excited, although I've said a million times I don't like to knit THAT small...



Happy eating!