What do you call....

Roasted squash, potatoes, and an onion & garlic stuffed roasted chicken?

In my books, we call it an easy supper tonight.

PS... Scooping the squash into a bowl, adding the roasted garlic and blending together? YUMMY!!!! :D

Well, I'm going into business...

With my home responsibilities, it is really difficult to juggle in a full-time job (or even a part-time one) into our crazy hectic schedules. My bosses can't fire me because I do a good job. At the same time they can't give me the hours I need because there is just not enough business during the hours I'm available to work. So I'll put up my own shingle.

I know. I know. Owning your own business is even more work than working for someone else. All the paperwork. Taxes. Employees - should I ever get big enough to need more than myself as an employee... At the same time, I can have the kids with me while I work once school is out - something that any other employer would seriously frown upon. I'd work more, but I'd be working on my schedule rather than someone else.

Plus, I've always had too much salesman in me to just stay behind the wall and hide as a cook. I am after all a chef. Ok, I haven't done my apprenticeship yet but it's all a matter of heart I say.

So here goes. If anyone is interested, I have cookies for sale. Fresh "homemade" cookies. I'm working on some recipes still, however I have nailed:

• Decorated Sugar Cookies
• Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oatmeal Cookies

I also make cookie lollipops for cookie bouquets.

Please contact me for a price list and to place an order.

Please forgive my camera, it doesn't do my cookies justice.

Now this is a puzzler....

A friend of mine has recently posted a lovely caramel sauce recipe on her blog. We use this kind of caramel on toast or as a cake filling or as a sauce for pouding chomeur... or... or... Thing is, where I live I can buy this product at my local grocery store. We even have a chocolate fudge version. When I mentioned this to Suzanne, she requested the recipe. Oops! My recipe consists of getting in the car and driving 10km to the store to pick some up... lol

Anybody have any ideas where I could start tweeking her recipe to make a chocolate version? My first thought is adding a rich cocoa to the brown sugar, but then I have to add more liquid to have the right consistancy. I have a feeling that melted chocolate would make it too dense also. hmmmm.... :s

I smell sweet treats coming up. Good thing the Holidays are just around the corner! ;)

When you're down three sous-chefs...

You get to make a nice key-lime ginger pie with your 5 year old sous-chef and learn things like "If you still wore size 6 you'd pop your underwear!"

The holiday plans begin...

Well, the American Thanksgiving is over now, and Advent is just around the corner. That means that Christmas and New Years will soon be upon us. It's time to start planning for the feasts that we'll share with friends and family. This week is the time to decide on a theme, how many side dishes, what kind of pies, which recipe to use for the main dish...


Personally, I've been researching the main dish recipe that I may well use. For years now, I've read about and heard about Turducken. I've not yet confirmed that massive dish as my main service. It looks interesting though. Just the idea of having a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a stuffed chicken. I must say that the idea is very intreguing to me. This cajun dish that has its roots in Louisianna is heavily influenced by the traditional dish "Ballotine de Dinde". Yet at the same time, it is completely different.


While both the Ballotine de Dinde and the Turducken start off with a serious deboning job, their assembly is somewhat different. Where a Turducken will have a variety of dressing and meat, a Ballotine de Dinde will be mostly seasoned whole turkey meat, ground chicken meat, and some slices of duck foie gras. Where a Turducken will often preserve the basic shape of a Turkey, a Ballotine will be rolled into a log shape by using a towel or some plastic wrap. Where a Turducken will be roasted, a Ballotine will often be boiled in some stock. Where a Turducken will be served hot, a Ballotine will often be served cold.

The principle idea though is the same. Debone the turkey then stuff it with a very savoury filling to end up with a very savoury dish. Considering that I do enjoy galantine (a derivative of a ballotine) I think that I may well consider making this dish. I'll tweek it to my liking, I'll play with the recipe and create what I hope will be a closer tie between the traditional french dish and the cajun dish that many know and enjoy.

I think I might have to start drinking coffee...

Especially if I knew that I would wake up to such a lovely cup!

Rosetta by Corey Diamond

Gastronomy on the wild side...

We went to the pet shop yesterday morning. Turns out we were in time for the animals breakfast. We saw the fish get their flakes, the rodents and birds get their seeds, the kittens and puppies their kibble... And the lizzards enjoying their live grasshoppers. You haven't lived until you've seen a Leopard Gecko lick his lips after swallowing a kicking grasshopper.... yick!

Mom's new toy...

It was my birthday yesterday, and I got some pretty cool stuff. Ok, so I had the red machines before, but the black stand mixer is new. I got to choose the colour of my machine too. Why did I choose black you ask? Doesn't the flour show up and isn't it a chore to keep clean? Yes, and I guess yes... But I chose it precisely because the flour shows up. If I can't see it, I can't keep it clean.













Now I'm playing though. Making all kinds of cool things with my new mixer. Cookies in preparation for the up-coming holidays. And what else could I make but my own rose birthday pound cake with rose buttercream icing? I was having loads of fun!














What's next? Why bread of course! :D

Post storm Sunday Meal

With the after effects of Hurricane Noel passed, it was time to look at what to have for a Sunday meal. Garlic roasted chicken with roasted pumpkin purée and baked potatoes sounded just about right.