sunday sweets // 06

My husband and mother-in-law both have gluten intolerances so when I saw this recipe I couldn't wait to try it out. The recipe is gluten free, sugar free and depending on whether you use ghee or oil it could also be dairy free. My version isn't sugar free because I did a maple glaze on top, which didn't quite turn out right - but was still very yummy!

slowing life down

My little boy is growing up so fast, it seems impossible that he will be 6 months old soon. You always hear people saying "treasure these moments, they grow up too quickly." How true this is and yet so hard to do some days - with the laundry, the cooking, the dishes, the dog needing a walk, the errands to run and etc. the day will fly by before I realize that I haven't had a chance to just sit and watch or laugh and play with him. Thankfully this entire weekend has not been like one of those days, we have had our fair share of playing in the grass and laughing together and this boy sure knows how to make his Mamma laugh.

sunday sweets // 05

I managed to stay away from fruit completely for this week's Sunday Sweets but I got so caught up enjoying the beautiful sunny weather that we are having that I almost forgot to make something at all! These are some quick cookies that were supposed to be more like a biscuit as shown in the recipe here, but I wanted something a little more sweet than savory so I added dark chocolate chunks and chopped hazelnuts. The end result was more of a regular cookie than biscuit as mentioned, but still very yummy!

In other news, my wonderful husband bought me a Nikon D7000 and it is an amazing camera, but a whole lotta camera! I am going to have to spend quite a bit of time getting used to it and learning how to use it.

sunday sweets // 04

I tried to make something that wasn't fruit based this time around, I really did, but it just didn't happen. It is a bit heavier than any of the other desserts I have made so far. Again, I am going to blame the weather on this one - I think with the warmer weather the fruity flavours are what I want.

A great base recipe and much more simple than I thought it would be to make ice cream without the machine. I plan to try differnt flavour combinations, possibly strawberry and basil? Or something with ginger? Yum!

I found the recipe for this ice cream here.

the best sandwich ever!

This is a sandwich that I created while I was pregnant. I probably ate it if not every single day, then every second day of my last trimester. It is now my go to lunch and sometimes light dinner option. I am sure there other varations on the same, but this is how I like it:

Ingredients

• Gluten Free Toast (I used Udi Chia & Millet Bread)
• Mayo
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Arugula or Spinach
• Tomato
• Avocado
• Old Cheddar or Goat Cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• Hot Sauce

Method

Toast the bread, spread with mayo and a couple of drops of vinegar. Layer on spinach or arugula, then avocado, cheese and tomato. Top off with salt & pepper and some hot sauce.

The great thing about this sandwich is you can add and subtract pretty much anything. No tomato? No problem, just don't add it. Throw a poached or fried egg on top of the avocado. No spinach? No worries, go without. I think the only thing you absolutely need is a good bread and the avocado, the rest is up to you! I do caution you though, if you make the sanwich as described above it will require probably 90% of your attention while consuming as it is a big sandwich and a bit messy, but so very good!

creamy asparagus soup

Asparagus is a quintessential Spring vegetable, one who's taste is bursting with the flavours of the wonderful season. I made this creamy soup from this recipe with a few small changes; I used brown rice flour instead of regular flour, added cilantro, used light cream instead of milk and didn't do the fancy garnish. It was easy, very tasty and definitely one that I will make again.

The bread is leftover from earlier this week, it is made from almond meal, flax meal and coconut flour. I followed this recipe and added some orange zest and the juice of an orange which gave it a subtle orange flavour. I think it will be a very good base bread for playing with all different kinds of combinations. There are some really great gluten free breakfast ideas on the same post where this recipe can be found.

sunday sweets // 03

This is a recipe that my Mother-In-Law first made a couple of years ago, I will have to find out where she got it from. The original recipe uses lemon instead of orange but since my last two Sunday Sweets were lemon based, I figured I should mix it up a bit. Next week I am going to get really crazy and try to move away from citrus fruits completely!

This is a fast, easy recipe and is also pretty versatile, I have made it using lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange. The lemon and orange variations are definitely my favourite.

Everything that I have baked in this new oven has had to be in for quite a bit longer than the recipe suggests, so the cooking time above is just an estimate - I ended up baking these for about 35 minutes.

april

1. Ari missing her Dad | 2. Finally found a post-pregnancy suitable swimsuit | 3. Bring on the sun! | 4. Spring flowers | 5. + 6. Cutest pajamas ever; a present from Aunty Kelsey & Uncle Bryan's trip to Phoenix

sunday sweets // 02

I am not sure what the reason, but I seem to have a thing for lemons right now. I am going to blame it on the warmer weather. Anything lemon based reminds me of lazy, sunny, Summer days and that is what I am longing for right now.

This is definitely a cake that I will be making again. It was somehow dense & moist, light & fluffy, as well as syrupy sweet and lemony sour all at once.

The cake was served with the creme fraiche, I just forgot to photograph it with the cake!

The recipe for the creme fraiche can be found here and the lemon cake recipe can be found here.

beet and ricotta pasta

I love beets, the earthy flavour, the bright red juice and of course all of the health benefits that come from eating just a few of them.

A very good dish, but I feel like I might need to give this recipe a second chance - my food processor broke half way through and I forgot all about the sundried tomatoes. The pasta was very tasty even with the extra chunky sauce and the missing tomatoes; the combination of the earthy beets and the crunch of the walnuts was fantastic.

sunday sweets // 01

This little lemon meringue pie recipe from the Stonesoup blog uses 5 ingredients, was super easy and very tasty! I added almonds in the crust with the gluten free graham crackers and had to cook them for almost double the amount of suggested time, but they turned out great. 

mother's day

 

This will be my first Mother's Day and here are some things I am wishing for!!

Sources: diaper bag | bangles | stationery | face cream | pillow | watering can | bowl

a birthday gift

My Mom's birthday is today and this year I wanted to make her a special gift that would remind her of her grandson - she lives around 900 km away and isn't able to visit nearly as much as she would like. I often try to send her a daily picture of her adorable grandbaby but she has been hinting at a "brag" book for some time now.

I compiled some of my favourite pictures, adhered them to a handmade-paper book, wrapped it up in a big bow with a hand written note and sent it off. Happy Birthday Mom!!

wishing i was here...

A photo I took in 2009 while my Husband and I were on our honeymoon in Greece. If I can't be here,  some Spring-like weather would be nice rather than all of this snow!

01 [craft/diy] circle mobile

I think a nursery is just one of those things that for me will never be quite complete, I will always be adding new things and changing it up.

This project was one that I did way back in November while I was still pregnant and putting the nursery together. I was inspired by this garland but being the thrifty person that I am I figured I could easily make something similar myself. This project was a tiny bit more tedious than I had expected but it turned out amazing and I think it was well worth all of the work. It can very easily be customized by changing the shape of the punch and the type of papers used.

Supplies:

• embroidery hoop or metal hoop of desired size
• fancy paper (I used ten sheets of 12" x 12" scrap book paper, two of each pattern)
• punch (I used a 2" circle punch)
• small hole punch or needle
• 10 mm jump rings (I used about 150 for this project)
• needle nose pliers

Instructions:

1. Begin punching the circles out of the paper, try to get 32 from the two sheets combined.

2. Figure out the schematic of how you would like the circles to hang. For each pattern or colour of paper I went with links of 11, 9, 7 & 5. Separate each link into a separate pile and begin punching or poking holes in the top and bottom of each, except the very last circle which will only need a hole on the top.

3. With the needle nose pliers open the jump rings, thread the prepared circles and close the rings tightly. Continue until all of the links are complete.

4. Attach all of the links to the embroidery hoop with either the jump rings or fishing wire and hang!

In the end I used the mobile as a chandelier rather than hanging it above the crib as space didn't really allow for it. I am hoping (fingers-crossed) that I will be getting a fancy digital slr camera soon and once I do I will take pictures of the entire nursery.

four months old

My baby turned 4 months old a couple of days ago. I live for making him smile and giggle, it is probably my absolute favourite thing in the world. His laughter is contagious and his smile is absolutely captivating.

Some things that I don't want to forget about this time in his life include:

Bathtime which I am pretty sure is his favourite part of the day, splashing and laughing the entire time.

When he surprises himself by rolling over! Especially when he is supposed to be napping.

The way he looks for his Daddy when he hears his voice and then the giant grin when he finally spots him.

Every day and every month I am more and more thankful for the wonderful little boy that we have. Each day is an adventure, not always grand, but I know that I will cherish all of these moments forever.

spring in northern alberta

 Blistery Spring morning in northern Alberta.