In My Kitchen

Apple Muffins

2007-04-18T14:38:00.000-04:00

In spite of Baby K's viral bronchiolitis (mentioned on Facebook if you need a reprise!), I have had the opportunity to do some baking. Yesterday, I made Apple Muffins I used whole wheat all purpose flour and 1.5 tablespoons of baking powder in stead of whole wheat cake and pastry flour - I couldn't find any in the grocery store. Even with the change, the muffins turned out moist and cake-like. They are very sweet and tastey. (I added a bit more brown sugar and cinnamon to the topping.) I highly recommend giving these muffins a try.

I bought Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta at Costco on the weekend. I am a big fan of pasta - we eat it about twice a week at my house - so I was thrilled to see this book come out. In general find Giada De Laurentiis' recipes to be accessible. (C has issues with her boobs handging out on her TV show, but that is neither here nor there.) So far, I've tried the Rigatoni with Sausage and Peppers. It's a quick and hearty recipe to prepare, which is fantastic for a week night. It also makes for yummy leftovers. I checked the Food Network website to see if the recipe has been posted online but I couldn't find it. Maybe it will appear further along in the season? Otherwise, you will have to buy the book! I'll be trying more recipes as the weeks go by. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Lasagne

2007-04-04T18:05:00.000-04:00

That's the kind of help I got last week when I made lasagne for dinner...

Sweet Potato

2007-03-28T20:05:00.000-04:00

We are still trying new baby foods around here. This week we are onto oat cereal and sweet potato. K is still unsure about food. Sometimes she gobbles it up, sometimes she plays with it. I know she is interested in food and drink. She can't keep her eyes off of my glasses of water or cups of coffee. She also enjoyed the smell of the lasagne I made last night - I put a fork of it right to her face. Tonight she kept grabbing the spoon I used to feed her oat cereal... She kept missing her mouth, so I took back control of the spoon! As you can see from the photo, K can get quite messy at mealtime.

Rice

2007-03-23T11:28:00.000-04:00

Baby K has moved on to the rice cereal. I don't think she is a fan of it - she plays with it more than anything. As you can see, most of it ends up on her face. I am wondering if I should try another grain cereal...

Baby K has been quite busy rolling from back to front, doing crunches on mommy's tummy, and hopping in her jumperoo. Tummy time has become fun for Baby K in the last 6 weeks. She likes to wiggle her bum and push up on her arms for brief moments.

Yes, I have been cooking and baking without proper blog updates. I'm not sure what's up with me!

Last night, I had a craving for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies... It's an easy recipe:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 325F

2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 cup brown suger
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the above. Bake for 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen large cookies.

Jumpin'

2007-02-14T20:52:00.001-05:00

As promised, a clip of Baby K in her jumperoo!

Bad Blogger

2007-02-13T19:38:00.000-05:00

Yes, I promised a post... But, I caught another cold! I swear! Sore throat, sore ears... I see my GP tomorrow. I hope she gives me antibiotics and a nice strong cough medicine with narcotics! (I'm all for prescription meds. The homeopathic cough medicine my aunt gave me is doing nothing.)

I am still waiting for Baby K's baptism photos from KS. And, I do have footage to post of Baby K in her new jumperoo but I am currently recharging the camera batteries.

Damn Annoying

2007-02-09T23:52:00.000-05:00

Ugh! I spent half a hour this afternoon writing up a post. Baby K woke up, so I saved it as a draft and POOF! Gone into the oblivion.

I'll rewrite the damn thing tomorrow. Off to bed...

Leftovers

2007-01-09T18:56:00.000-05:00

Baby K here.

My mommy made too much beef bourguignon last night for dinner, so there were leftovers. Daddy and Grandpa hate leftovers and vegetables. They are very picky. I won't be so picky when I grow up. Mommy decided to make beef burritos with the leftovers. Mommy took the meat, vegetables, and sauce from last night and put it in the food processor. Then she browned some pork. She mixed the beef and pork with cheese and put them in tortillas. She put more cheese on top and then baked the burritos in the oven in a greased casserole dish at 400 for 15 minutes. Mommy also made guacamole by using 3 ripe avocados, 2 plum tomatoes, lemon juice, onion powder, and garlic salt. It all smelled pretty good, so I cried in frustration for a while. I want teeth so I can eat Mommy's cooking.

Daddy was born in Montreal, so he is a Montreal Canadiens fan. He keeps dressing me in Montreal Canadiens gear. He keeps forgetting that I was born in Toronto, which makes me a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. I cry about this every time there's a hockey game on, but he still doesn't seem to get it. GO LEAFS GO!

Chicken Fingers and Fries

2007-01-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

After 3 hours at a walk-in clinic to check and see if Baby K's cold had progressed to her lungs (which it hadn't, luckily), I decided to take out the deep fryer and make home-made chicken fingers and fries. I breaded the chicken cutlet slices, yukon gold potatoes, and sweet potatoes with bread crumbs, parmesan, oregano, basil, and parsley and then fried them. YUMMY! Even more yummy was the dipping sauce I made with light mayo, dijon mustard, and maple syrup.

Lactose Free

2007-01-06T18:08:00.000-05:00

Finally! I found an inexpensive source for Baby K's lactose free formula. I had almost given up on keeping Baby K on Similac LF. For about two months, I hunted all over Toronto for stores that either carried ample stock of the powder version of the formula or would be willing to order cases of the product for me. It got to the point where I was trying to switch Baby K to Enfamil Lactose Free... but Baby K wasn't too fond of the taste. Then, C and I went to Walmart in the 'hood and there on the shelf in the Baby section were 9 cans of the powder formula. (Trumpet please.) You know I bought all 9 cans.

Chocolate

2006-12-26T19:50:00.000-05:00

My dear friend A was in town from DC for a visit and met Baby K for the first time. To celebrate, I served risotto, sausages, and grilled chicken with a dry but sweet Hardy's rieseling. For dessert, I made Nigella Lawson's dense chocolate loaf cake, topped with Haagen Dazs raspberry sorbet. (I made a double batch of the dense chocolate loaf cake so I could make Nigella's Chocolate Cherry Trifle - chocolate cake, topped with cherry jam and cherry brandy, topped with home-made chocolate custard and whipped cream... I loved the trifle but my Dad thought it was a bit rich.)

Turkey

2006-12-25T19:42:00.000-05:00

B, C's Mom, prepared our turkey dinner for Christmas Day. We had a small turkey with lots of stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. I made a gratin and asparagus with parmesan. It was all quite scrumptuous. After our turkey dinner with all the fixings, I wanted to get some more Baby K first Christmas photos. I especially wanted a Baby K photo with my Dad. My Dad hates having his picture taken, so it was a bit of a challenge. But, here is it is - A and Baby K.

Seafood

2006-12-24T22:30:00.000-05:00

Wigilia is the Polish Christmas Eve. Wigilia is traditionally a meatless meal, so in keeping with Polish custom, we had snapper, salmon, shrimp, and scallops for dinner, I also made a cream of mushroom soup with dried mushrooms imported from Poland. Yum, yum, yum!

We went to Christmas Mass, where Krystyna behaved like a little angel, until she spat up on the front of my top.

Family tradition also dictates opening gifts on Christmas Eve. As you can see, Krystyna is more interested in the presents than taking pictures!

Quiche

2006-12-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

Baby K and I had brunch with R, M, and ECBCP at E's place today. E made a yummy quiche, bruschetta, and gingerbread cake.

We also exchanged some early Christmas gifts...

E made lovely crocheted blankets for Baby K and ECBCP.

Thank-you E for the lovely meal and thank-you E, R, M, and ECBCP for the wonderful gifts!

Almond Thumbprint Cookies

2006-12-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

The flu and bronchitis are finally done with! I've begun my Christmas baking - almond thumbprint cookies with cranberry-merlot jelly. I had hoped to bring some to E's brunch tomorrow, but C and A ate them all! I hope to bake some more to take to work next week and to send to C's school. Also on the agenda are shortbread and chocolate chip cookies.

Baby K, C and I attended an infant and child first aid class today. We got a lot of helpful guidance on what to do about choking, burns, cuts, broken limbs and accidental poisonings. (All very terrifying to think about...)

We also went to Sherway to do some Christmas shopping. Baby K was very attracted to the lights and sounds at the mall.

It appears Baby K has colic. For the last week or so, she has been in a vicious mood in the evenings. She will go from completely calm and content to crying hysterically. See the photo posted? That was taken 5 minutes before a hysterical fit. Dr. D says colic often appears at 2 months... it should go away around 3-5 months. Gawd, 2 months of this???

More Ginger Ale

2006-12-04T17:33:00.000-05:00

Well, I caught C's cold and have been coughing away. I'll be around more when I feel better. (Lemur, Baby K really wants you to come out and play!)

Ginger Ale and Gravol

2006-11-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

It's been fun times in the M-M household. C and A have a bad case of the flu so they have been worshipping the porcelain god. Baby K and I have been trying to hide from their germs.

KS and I went to the Gourmet Food and Wine Show yesterday - before A showed any flu symptoms whatsoever. I sampled lots of yummy wines and cheeses. I'll have to go through the sample cards I collected and let you know about my favourites... I'll post them as soon as I get them organized!

Starvation

2006-11-21T19:10:00.000-05:00

Baby K here. My mommy and daddy don't feed me enough. I beg, I cry, I scream, but they don't listen! What is a six week old to do?

Christmas Goodies

2006-11-20T19:30:00.000-05:00

Wow. I've been bad by not posting for a few days. Shame on me!

On Saturday, MC, RP, JS, AK, JP, and G? came over to hang with Baby K. It was a fun night feasting on Chinese food and lots of festive goodies. RP shared some Wensleydale cheese with cranberries. AK brought red and green rice krispie squares and candy cane fudge crackle ice cream. I hoped to have my tree and decorations available so we could decorate but we didn't get the tree out of the storage area yet. I guess everyone will have to come over again for a tree-trimming party!

These hints of Christmas have me thinking about all of the holiday baking and cooking I would like to do. I've been stocking up on baking supplies like chocolate, almonds, walnuts, dried cranberries, marinated cherries, shredded coconut and various types of sugar. When I visited Cosco today, I was pleased to see large bottles of Madagascar vanilla at a reasonable price. (I will pick some up as soon as I run out of my supply of real vanilla.) I also saw huge containers of dried forest mushrooms, which will come in handy for the cream of mushroom soup I make for Christmas Eve.

On Sunday, C, Baby K and I went to Ajax to see our friends AP and NT and their children K, E, and A. It's was A's fourth birthday and AP went with a Christmas theme. A must have been a very good girl this year, as Santa made a surprise visit to the party. All the children got to sit with Santa and share their Christmas wishes. Baby K visited with Santa too - but stayed asleep when she sat on his lap! Oh well, maybe she will open her eyes when she sees Santa next Christmas!

Lactose-Free

2006-11-14T18:50:00.000-05:00

Well, the lactose-free formula seems to be doing the trick for Baby K. The diaper rash is almost gone, as is the spitting up. Baby K still seems to experience some uncomfortable cramping but it is infrequent. It often takes infant digestive systems until the third month of life to adjust.

My friend KS and I took Baby K to Sherway Gardens yesterday for some Christmas shopping. Baby K kept looking around the place in absolute wonder - I think it will be easy to turn her into a shopaholic! She seemed particularly interested in the bags at the new Coach store.

I am still finding time to try new recipes. Last night I made chicken marsala with wild mushrooms and penne. It was very decadent as the recipe called for cream. I would normally save a recipe like that for the weekend but it was a special occasion. We were celebrating KS's 30th birthday. Happy 30th Birthday KS!

Today, I made a shrimp and sausage gumbo, based on this recipe. To accompany the gumbo, I made cheddar corn bread. C and I really enjoyed both dishes, so I will likely make them again in the future. (They were also very quick and easy to prepare!)

Dairy, Soy, or Lactose-Free

2006-11-08T19:29:00.000-05:00

It's been fun around here the last couple of days. Baby K has been experiencing some intestinal discomfort and so we have been experimenting with formula. Baby K has been on a regular, dairy-based, iron-fortified formula since she was about 2 days old. The last week or so, however, she has been very gasy and poopy. It got to the point where the poopiness was causing a diaper rash from hell. (Red, raw, bloody, and requiring prescription diaper rash cream.) So, Dr. D, our GP, suggested that we try a soy-based formula. Well, Baby K was having none of that soy crap! The poopiness also got very watery. We went back to Dr. D today and she thought Baby K either had a virus or was having lactose issues. Since Baby K didn't have a fever and was still taking in food, she suggested we try a lactose-free version of our formula. Hopefully, this will do the trick and Baby K will have less poopiness happening. Less poopiness means a less sore arse, which will make mommy and Baby K very happy.

I was also relieved when Dr. D said that this potential lactose sensitivity will probably pass when she is older... we eat a lot of dairy in this house. If Baby K couldn't eat dairy, we would have to auction her off on eBay.

Even with the ongoing poopiness, I have made the effort to cook dinner. I picked up this recipe Beef Macaroni and Cheese from Paula's Home Cooking on the Food Network. I substituted the beef for pork as we had beef the other night and it was still delicious!

Meat and Potatoes

2006-11-06T18:41:00.000-05:00

Well, dinner went well. I made a Polish-style beef stew - you can find the recipe in the book Polish Heritage Cookery. I also made a mashed potato gratin, which you can find in this month's issue of Cooking Light.
It was all very yummy!

Wine and Cheese

2006-11-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

The photo you see this morning is of Baby K after breakfast. Baby K is a bit of an impatient little girl. Apparently, no matter how fast I move to give her a meal, it is NOT fast enough. The glare you see here is her unhappiness with the service. Maybe I should give her a Suggestion and Comment Form to fill out?

Before the arrival of Baby K, C and I would spend Saturday mornings doing grocery shopping. We would usually go to St. Lawrence Market and pick up steaks or seafood to grill. (Our BBQ is in operation year-round). We would also pick up seasonal produce and of course, bagels from St. Urbain Bagel. Unfortunately, we have yet to get Baby K down to St. Lawrence but we are training her for this activity by taking her shopping close to home. The last few weekends, Baby K has accompanied us to Bloor West Village. Bloor West Village has lovely fruit and vegetable stores; meat and fish markets; gourmet food shops; and of course, European-style cafes. Baby K usually sleeps through the entire culinary adventure, which C and I tend to limit to two hours. C and I however were feeling brave enough to push Baby K's limits by keeping her out for more than a couple of hours. We decided to have lunch at the Sweet Gallery. Lunch. In a busy public place. With a three week old!!!

Baby K remained peacefully asleep while I munched on ham and cheese on a croissant and C devoured a schnitzel on a bun. Of course, every time she moved or sighed, we looked at each other as if to say, "Cheque please!" But, Baby K remained blissfully unaware of her surroundings, giving mommy and daddy time to pick up some Napoleans and custard squares for our enjoyment at home. (Yum! Custard!)

After lunching at Sweet Gallery, C and I were feeling confident about Baby K's ability to handle one more stop-over, so we popped into the Cheese Boutique for some very creamy brie and English cheddar with whiskey to go with a bottle of wine we planned to open that weekend. Needless to say, I felt like I was in heaven being surrounded by so many cheeses, as it had been at least 10 months since I had eaten unpasteurized cheese!

I did have a glass of wine with my cheese this weekend. (Of course, I pumped some breastmilk for Baby K before having the wine.) I can't tell you how exciting it is to be able to look at the Vintages catalogues and know that I can actually pick up the occasional bottle of wine again! (I really enjoyed being pregnant and am wholly prepared to do it again soon but I did miss my wine and cheese...)

Now, what to do with the Banrock Station Shiraz 2002 C and I didn't finish this weekend? I think some beef stew and mashed potato gratin may be in order. I'll let you know how it goes...

Pumpkin

2006-11-04T10:55:00.000-05:00

Apparently, I am making other new moms look bad. Why? Because I still have the time to cook and bake - even with a three week old little girl. Cooking and baking keeps me sane. I am a bit of a control-freak and with a newborn at home, the only thing right now I am able to control is what I put into a dish - either savoury or sweet.

Now that I am home on maternity leave, I get to spend countless hours with the Food Channel on, which of course inspires me to make something new. I am very fortunate to have my retired father live with me, as he gives me an hour or two every day when baby K is asleep to step out and pick up some groceries. Everyone wins with this arrangement. I get some air and groceries... my hubby and daddy get something yummy to eat, and baby K gets to sit and watch mommy at work in the kitchen.

Baby K will bake her first cake by age 3.

Speaking of which, I did bake something with pumpkin this week - mini pumpkin cheesecakes for Halloween. You can find the recipe on the Williams Sonoma website...