Sunday's Best with an Asian Flare

Seriously, I get tired of always having the same thing and sometimes I just want to change things up... So meet the Bok choy stirfry!

I saw these cute little bok choy in the store and thought... OK, I am gonna buy you guys and make a nice little stirfry. I placed some peanut oil in first, cut and washed the bok choy and then added in other ingredients with an Asian flare- some ginger, garlic, sesame oil and hoisin sauce. It turned out great, we just had troubles cutting the stringy leaves/stems a little.

I baked a nice pork tenderloin in the oven to go with it- with most of the same Asian flavours as a baste and served a little basmati. It was delicious!

The Best Homemade Bruschetta

I made this old recipe (which I hadn't done for about 10 years) and let me tell you....I think my husband fell in love with me all over again.

TA DA! The best homemade bruschetta in the world (according to Brent).

This is basically all you'll need: Tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and baguette.

Here's the assembly.... just pre-toast the baguette, mix all the ingredients and place on the bread.

Sprinkle with parmesan and place in the oven on broil for a few minutes.

Here's the recipe for you... old fashioned and hand-written. Place the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Cut 3/4 of a baguette on a diagonal and place in the oven to toast slightly. Rub with a glove of garlic when they come out. Brush the top of the bread with olive oil, then place the tomato mixture on top, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and broil for a few minutes until the cheese becomes brown and melted.

Beauty Guru Birthday Party

My dear daughter wanted to have an 'End of School Year/Early Birthday Party' (as her Bday is late in August and school friends are always vacationing)... So I conceded, and helped her throw a fabulous girly-girl celebration. She is all into beauty and learning about makeup and all that... so she wanted to have a Beauty Guru Birthday Party. So what kind of cake do you get for a beauty guru party???

Well, you get THIS ONE! A Blizzard Cake with pink writing and pretty little nail polish and lipstick made of sugary icing!!! Cute, eh?

So is this cute Mom.... A beauty guru can't live on ice cream cake alone, so I had my sweet Mom come over and help and do watermelon cutouts so that we could skewer them and make pretty 'healthy' snacks.

Ask my Mom, she had fun using cookie cutters to make these pretty heart and star shapes. Maybe next time though, we would use metal cookies cutters- not plastic.

See how pretty they are all assembled. I used a quarter watermelon as my base and made a pretty bouquet of skewered melon shapes. It looked so nice and they were much appreciated by the 'dancing party' friends.

Here's something else a beauty guru party must include. Instead of a 'Pin the tail on the donkey', you play 'Put the cell phone in the beauty gurus hand'.

Here's the fun craft we did... decorate your pretty sun visor. Beaty gurus can't get too much sun you know!

Decorate with some party cups and party umbrella straws.

Fun loot bags with nail polish, little lip balms, nail files, hand sanitizer and a few little candies for fun.  Melanie and her friend did makeup move-overs for her friends, I did nails with polka dot designs... just like these fun loot bags.

Melanie had so much fun, and all her friends were so happy to come and celebrate- let me tell you, she got lots of beauty products!

Here's my special little girl with her party cake and candles... having all her beauty guru wishes come true. Love you Melanie.

How to sneak in fish...

Make an awesome stirfry that'll knock their socks off ... the fussy family members' socks off that is!

 Brent and Melanie don't like fish, but I wanted to have them try it .... again... see if I could change their minds.

So I made a great noodle and veggie stirfry to go with it to show them that it can be fun! All I did was take a bag of broccoli slaw, sliced some sweet peppers and stir-fried in sesame oil, hoisin sauce, garlic and hot red curry paste, once done, just tossed it with some chopped peanuts and cilantro.

After checking out Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals, I was inspired by his amazing meals... so I bought these quick cooking egg noodles and tossed the saucy veggies with it.

Ok, now, on to the fish. I bought them some sole and breaded them with a mixture of flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs with some salt and pepper so they would come out crispy...

...here you have a piece before it went into an oven. I had high hopes, it looks like chicken, Brent enjoyed it, but Melanie took a bite and went 'yuk, fishy'... oh well, you can't win all the battles.

But here's my beauty fish moment. I made some salmon with just a little teriyaki marinade and the lovely noodles!

Asian Peanut Chicken

So I love peanuts and I love peanut butter. So when I can pear it up with my other favourite ingredients... MANGO, COCONUT MILK and CILANTRO...you know it's gonna be a fantastic meal!

... and when this fantastic stirfry contains colourful sweet peppers, you know my family it going to devour it.

So what you need to do first is to prepare your ingredients for the sauce.

Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup peanuts
3 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup sliced mango
1/2 cup light coconut milk
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp light soya sauce
garlic (pressed) and chili peppers to taste

Cut 3 chicken breast in chunks and place in your wok with the canola oil.  Place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Chops your peppers and whatever other veggies you might like and toss them in the wok. Add your sauce mixture and let the flavours meld together (making sure your chicken is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes).

Top of with my favourite- CILANTRO!

Et voila! Delicious over a bed of basmati rice. Crowd pleaser for sure!

Where off to see the Wizard...

Well thanks to my lovely sister... we all went to see the Wizard of Oz play. Thanks so much Julie.

Julie got a great deal and took my mother, my daughter and me to see the Wizard of Oz for a combination of Mother's day and birthday celebrations.

Here we are... approaching the theatre on Yonge street which is looking more and more like New York City!

So excited, ya, I made them pose....

Melanie walking up to the theatre on the yellow brick road.

The Ruby Red slippers.... not the real ones.

Posing in a Ruby Red slipper.... not the real one!

Waiting for the show to start... Julie's so excited with her Programme in hand! Me... I was just excited that I could fit in the seats!!!!

Thanks so much for the great adventure Julie- Melanie's first 'real' play and Mom for the poster and Toto for Melanie... oh, and the delicious ribs afterwards. We are truly grateful for such a great time!

The Crisp with a Tropical Twist- Pineapple Crisp

There is just no getting around the loveliness of a 'Crisp'... and what do you do in summertime?

Well, you break out the tropical flavours and get ready to enjoy some spectacular tastes!

I am so proud of Melanie, with only a little guidance from me, she basically put this delicious desert together.  Here's the ingredients we used:

-1 fresh pineapple cut into chunks

Topping ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of oatmeal
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 3 tbsp shredded coconut
- 3 tbsp chopped pecans
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix all together in a separate bowl.

Very easy... right? Just take your dish and place your pineapple on the bottom, sprinkle with the topping ingredients.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, serve with some vanilla frozen yogurt for some tropical summer fun!

Birthday surprise... you've come a long way baby!

Well a few weeks ago I celebrated a little birthday... Brent was at home in the basement, recovering from his foot surgery so I knew it would be a 'stay at home' celebration when I got home from work (which I was looking forward too!)... but my sneaky friends dropped off a birthday bag filled with wonderful surprises that I have only dreamed of!

When Melanie got home from school before I did, she found this lovely gift bag on our front door step and as soon as I got home, she said 'You have a surprise Mom', well this is what I had to extreme pleasure of opening up.

 MY DREAM IN A BAG... I have always dreamed of going to Paris, so my friends  gave me the loveliest books and guides and agenda and a big Eiffel Tower - all screaming PARIS... In preparation for my eventual trip, they know I will make it there someday... and I was so overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness, kindness absolute surprise that I cried like a little baby, reborn again today, on my birthday!

...but then I read the sweet card that accompanied the presents and I was struck by an even more deeply moving and touching message. It means the world to me to see the way in which my 'transformation' has touched them so that they felt compelled to drive all the way to my home and 'honour' me with these wonderous enchantment of gifts. Jenny, Szossy and Georgia B.  you guys are more awesome than words can say... and when I write my book.... watch for your names in the front, you know where the acknowledgements go!

You know, it has been quite a ride and emotional trip shedding all this weight, changing the way I eat, breath, exercise... and trying to bring my family along. Just recently I visited my endocrinologist and after looking at my blood work she took me off more diabetes and blood pressure medicine. I am practically 'medicine' free. I am thrilled to be taking a half dosage of blood pressure medicine and only 1 dose of a diabetes medicine who she said I could 'ween' myself off of as I see how my blood sugars are! AMAZING!

It's hard with Brent being unable to walk/work for most of this year so far, and recently having returned home after a 3 week stay at the hospital. Mine and Melanie's healthy eating and exercising was put to the side as we wanted to visit him everyday. But what this has showed me is that there can be some set backs in your weight loss efforts, but if you continue with general guidelines of eating/exercising (wheeling Brent around the hospital for 1 hour is exercise!) then good things do happen... less medicines, and a renewed strength to get back on track.

... and another side-effect from this change in our home...Melanie has 'showed up' like I couldn't imagine. Taking on more responsibility, helping out when she can. For my birthday, she walked to our neighbourhood bakery and picked up my favourite cupcake treat, touched my heart! Thanks Brent and Melanie for making me feel so loved. P.S. love the Spa gift certificate!

My first Quinoa

It's been a while, my husband's health, crazy running around... now he is back home and recovering and we need to focus back on eating at home and planning meals. It's amazing what you take for granted (like a normal dinner time), when it's taken away from you. So now, we are back enjoying some healthy nutritious things and making meal time wholesome and good.

So I present to you my first ever Quinoa salad. I found a recipe that included tons of veggies.

You know that Quinoa is a wonder food! It has so much protein and fibre, just check out a 3/4 cup portion.

148 calories, 5.4g protein, 3.5g fiber

Here's the recipe I worked with. Delicious and quite lemony fresh.

Quinoa Colour Salad

(Courtesy of : Michael Smith, http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/quinoa-colour-salad/recipe.html?dishid=8553)

Yield : 6

Ingredients

    1 cup quinoa

    2 cups water

    pinch salt

    1 carrot, peeled and grated

    1 red pepper, seeded and diced

    1 cucumber, washed and sliced

    3 green onions, sliced thinly

    1 bunch parsley, chopped

    The zest and juice of 1 lemon

    1/4 cup olive oil

    Salt and pepper

Directions:

Rinse the quinoa well in cold running water. This will easily rinse away the natural bitter coating on the seeds. Drain and toss into a small pot. Add the water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover with a tight fitting lid, turn the heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.    
Meanwhile get all the colorful veggies ready. Toss them into a bowl and when the quinoa is done, add it as well. Add the lemon and olive oil, toss well, season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

Beautifully served with a roasted chicken and sauteed haricot vert.

Cilantro Love

What do you do with leftover fresh roll fixin's?

THIS!!!!
I shared with you some fresh roll recipe a few weeks ago, now it's time for sharing with you what I do with the leftover ingredients.  You'll have the following leftover:
- bean sprouts
-shredded carrots
-cucumber
-fresh cilantro (Ohhhh, how I love you)

Mix it all together with a light Asian dressing and some chopped mango and chopped peanuts and you have amazing leftovers!

Strawberry Cupcakes- celebrating Canada Day with a double dose of Strawberries

I love cupcakes, hey did you know that??? Of course, right? So let me wish you a Happy Canada day with a 'red' inspired cupcake recipe!

Here is my little attempt at a little piece of heaven, spruced up with some fancy cupcake papers.

The Best Strawberry Cupcakes

http://pleaseyourmaninthekitchen.blogspot.ca/2013/04/the-best-strawberry-cupcakes.html

This recipe makes 18 cupcakes,

Preheat the oven to 350.

Prepare your muffin/cupcake tins by filling with paper liners.

In mixing bowl combine:

2 Cup Flour

1.5 Cups Sugar

1/2 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

Mix on low speed for 30 seconds then add:

¾ cup Softened Butter

2/3 Cup Strawberry Puree

Mix to blend then beat to light and fluffy for about 3 minutes.

In another bowl whisk together:

4 Egg Whites

1/4 Cup Milk

In 2 separate additions add to cake batter. Blend after each addition until incorporated and wipe down sides of bowl. Split batter into prepared cupcake tins. Bake for about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

With an electric mixer beat together equal parts:

8 oz Cream Cheese

1/4 cup strawberry puree

1/4 cup Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Beat until light and fluffy.

Top with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Here's  how they look coming out of the oven.

And look at them all iced up looking fancy with their red hats. Just like little Canada Day Celebrants. Proud to be celebrating Canada Day with the red Ontario strawberries!