Don Mills Diva Recipes and Reviews

How to be a permanent POS

2009-07-31T10:50:00.011-04:00

I was a phone hog as a teenager.

I spent hours on the phone planning where we were going and what we were going to do, but mostly just idly chattering.

But idle chatter or not, the thought of someone listening in would have made me shudder. I always kept my voice low so that my incessant yattering would be inaudible to prying ears. When my parents got call waiting (mostly due to their frustration with the inability to receive their own calls), I became a master of the phone juggle.

My son reminds me of a lot of myself, especially when he is simultaneously MSNing to at least 2 dozen friends while listening to his IPod and playing a video game to which he flips back when I pass by.

"POS" is what the kids type in to tip off other IM friends that there is a "parent over shoulder" and they should watch what they zing back and forth. The few times Jordan has let me sit in on a session, I was quite shocked.

Yes, I am sometimes shocked by the crassness of what is said in the anonymity of the Internet, but I am also shocked by the spelling or lack thereof. How are any members of this instant message generation ever going to learn how to spell correctly? And do they actually know who all these people really are? Am I just sounding old?

I hope I am just sounding like a concerned parent.

A few weeks back I was introduced to a program that allows you to be a permanent "POS".
OnlineFamily.Norton monitors where you kids are going on the computer and, depending on the parameters set, will notify you with an email.

Like most parents, I am concerned and sometimes worried about what my kids are doing on the net. With Norton you can set the amount of time they spend on line each week, who they talk to, and what information they're sharing with others.

Norton, and I, don't recommend that you set these parameters in a sneaky fashion but rather talk about it before downloading the free copy.

I certainly believe that open dialogue is key and that setting house rules as a family unit is paramount. Never once over the last two months that we have been operating with the system did my kids seem to mind.

Better yet, seeing what they Googled and the sites they visited gave me insight into some of the things that they were interested in.

For instance, I had no idea my daughter loved Chow Chows so much.

Who knew?

Download your free copy of OnlineFamily.Norton and see what you find out!

The secret to a perfect pie

2009-06-09T22:03:00.011-04:00

There are times when I am completely blown away by a product. And unexpectedly, to boot.

Yes, it is June but I am hard at work on Christmas Dinner for our dear readers at Canadian Family Magazine (yes, we do work 6 months in advance). In an attempt to keep recipes simple for during that busy time of year, I decided to pick up the Pillsbury rolled pie crusts that caught my eye as I was scooting by the refrigerator section of the grocery store. They were for a recipe that was already getting unwieldy, so I thought this would be perfect. But I had pretty low expectations.

I must explain. I come from a long line of pie bakers. Buying a pre-made crust is just not in my genetic make-up. My mom’s pie is simply revered. Whenever she is asked over to anyone’s for dinner, they sneak in a request for a pie. She blushes, usually obliges and everyone raves.

But I believe the filling is the key to my mom’s premier pies. She spends most of the summer picking berries and stuffing her freezing with them for the sole purpose of pies. But my mom is busy with friends and her 15 grandchildren, so sometimes the crust doesn’t get the attention it desires. Maybe too much water or stretching it too thin to make two pies where one would have been perfect.

Which leads me to why I am so excited about how wonderful these pie crusts are.

They are dead simple to use, even for someone who has never made a pie. It is like some pastry god has already perfectly rolled the crust up onto your rolling pin and you simply unroll it into the pie plate and press gently in, fill and then top with the second pie crust. The pie I made is savoury so it is brushed with egg wash.

The pie looked promising out of the oven and as I cut into it, I honestly couldn’t believe the amazing shatter factor. You know that ultimate flake that comes from a well made crust when shatters on contact? This crust has it in spades. So although I would like to keep this little secret to myself, I just couldn’t. It is too good not to spread the word.

Maybe a call to mom is in order. It's not like she's going to read this: although she is a good pie maker, this new fangled Internet thing is something she finds too much work to figure out. She would rather make pie.

Light my fire

2009-06-01T07:00:00.007-04:00

Okay, now that I have you over here let me start by saying that there will be no salacious details shared with regards to DMD's martial relations and any attempts to increase the quality or quantity thereof...

So, now that that is out of the way...remember that little trip to Las Vegas that Rob and I took over the Easter weekend?

Well, the thing is, we needed that trip.

It wasn't perfect timing, falling as it did, just four weeks after the death of his mom and smack dab in the middle of trying to sell our house.

But after the difficulties of the last year or two, we needed an opportunity to reconnect and try and restart some of the passion and excitement that marked our earlier years together. Because while passion and excitement obviously waxes and wanes over the years, I think it's also what gets you through the rough spots.

So, when Eden Fantasys offered me an opportunity to test drive one of its adults-only Romantic Gift Sets I jumped at the chance to take one along to Vegas in hopes that it would be a fun way to re-light our...ahem...spark.

And it was.

But not so much because of the actual contents of the kit. Most of what it contained isn't exactly stuff I would want to spend money on: the candles were meh, the rose petals were hokey, the champagne glasses (one had broken in transit) were plastic and cheap and the massage oil was, well, typical massage oil - kinda fun but also kinda smelly and really messy.

But using the kit was fun because it made us laugh a little and it made us make an effort and really - no matter what kind of sundry devices and toys you manage to whip out - most of the time a few laughs and a bit of effort are all an otherwise loving couple really needs to reconnect.

Though a hot heart doesn't hurt!

What's a hot heart, you ask?

This, my friends, is a hot heart.

While I know that picture doesn't exactly inspire lustful thoughts, the hot heart was included in our package and it was really cool and I actually, kinda, sorta, fell a little bit in love with it!

It is a soft, plastic heart-shaped massager filled with gooey stuff that heats up in a most delightful fashion when you rub it on the body.

The hot heart, my friends, is hawt.

And also apparently reusable. Although we have yet to break it out again since our return from Vegas, just the prospect of one day getting another massage from the hawt, hot heart has a tendency to make this diva feel a whole lot more loving in general.

And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Taste of Thailand pad Thai

2009-05-19T20:37:00.002-04:00

Pad Thai is my ultimate fast, (mostly) pantry food. Rice noodles, fish sauce, lime and ketchup. Yep, I like my pad Thai with ketchup.

Over at Canadian Family we were sent a Red Velvet Cake from Heinz to try out. Verdict: Delicious. Believe me, there is no shame in ketchup. You can also link through to other recipes in which I have unabashedly used ketchup with great results.

Although some pad Thai experts like Pim decry the use of ketchup here, I stand firm. And even though I met Pim at the IACP conference last year in New Orleans and loved her, I also firmly believe that if you are going to get others to cook along with you, one unique ingredient per recipe should be it. In pad Thai’s case, this would be the fish sauce.

Fish sauce is a popular Southeast Asian ingredient made from salted and fermented fish or anchovies. If you are not familiar with this ingredient you are probably having a little bit of a gag reaction at the thought. Do not let that stop you from actually buying some and making this recipe. It is essential.

Fish sauce is usually found along with the soy sauce in what some mainstream grocery stores ubiquitously call the International Aisle. The problem is they may only carry one particular brand. I suggest that you try to hit an Asian grocery store that will have some variety.

My favourite brand is Three Crabs that is made from anchovies (no crabs here although there are three on the label). Being Vietnamese, it is called nuoc mam, whereas fish sauce from Thailand is nam pla. My main advice is this: buy the more expensive brand because it is worth it. I pay about $5 for a large bottle, steering clear of the $1.99 specials. You can taste the difference.

The rest of the ingredients can be found in most grocery stores. The thin rice stick noodles are the noodles used in pad Thai. They come in 500-gram packages. I prefer them to the thicker noodle, but it is up to you. A full package will feed about 8 people. Soak the noodles you need in warm water for about a half hour before using.

Make the sauce in advance with the ratio of one part ketchup, one part fish sauce, one part sugar and one part lime juice. Mix together until sugar has dissolved. Add some chilli flakes or chilli oil to your taste. You need about 1/3 cup of sauce per portion of noodles so if you are making a big batch using the full package of noodles make about 2 generous cups sauce.

Mince three cloves of garlic, dice 250 grams firm tofu (1/2 pkg) whisk two eggs together, rinse 3 to 4 cups bean sprouts then chop the 4 green onions, 1/2 bunch cilantro and 1/4 cup roasted peanuts.

The key to success here is to do the pad Thai in batches. Have all your ingredients ready sitting on the counter next to you. Do one or two servings at a time. Heat a large wok with some oil. Cook a bit of garlic and tofu until fragrant and lightly coloured add a big handful of drained noodles and toss around. Add a bit of whisked egg and toss to coat the noodles. Add 1/3 cup fish sauce mix and toss around then add a handful of bean sprouts and green onion.

If your noodles are not soft enough, add a splash of water, and oil as well if stuff starts to stick. You are doing a noodle stir fry so you have to keep stuff moving or else the noodles will ball up and be awful (hence the reason to do small batches).

I like to add cilantro and peanuts right at the end. Serve with a slice of lime and pass the chilli oil for people to spice it up if they want to.

Although I could just eat pad Thai, I usually pair it with a protein and vegetables or salad. Sort of maintaining the zone philosophy of a one third each of carbs, protein and veg. I find even if you have the protein within the pad Thai, I eat way too many noodles on my way to the protein, but it is up to you. If you want to combine the noodles with shrimp or chicken, add them when you first start with the garlic and hit them with a bit of sauce.

I roasted some salmon that I doused with lime, garlic, salt and pepper. At 425F, it took about the same time as a batch of pad Thai.

Although my husband pairs mayonnaise with his salmon (and just about everything), I draw the line at additional condiments with mine, not even ketchup.

Well Hello Spring Pasta

2009-05-13T18:48:00.002-04:00

I love this time of year.

I eagerly wait for the first fresh, seasonal food to grow. It begs creativity. I feel myself become more invigorated as the days warm and feel full of vibrant life.

Although my Diva sister-in-law is very much a city girl, her Dad taught her a few tricks growing up in a small town and one of them is foraging.

I am in awe. The last time I went foraging went something like this:

I returned from a walk in the woods around our cottage and spread the mushrooms out for final inspection. A call was placed to the Don Mills Diva's father; a forager, fisherman and all-around good guy. He advised me to stay away from mushrooms exhibiting colour and slime. He concurred I had a puffball on my hands after I sliced it in half to make sure it was solid. He was baffled by the oyster mushroom discovery, claiming he had never found any and couldn’t help.

He ended the call by saying he was really busy the following week and would not be able to fit in any funerals.

ECK! Did I dare?

I only dared once and was scared silly that I had poisoned my family for the next 48 hours: no, I am not a confident forager.

Having been trained by one of the best, the Diva hasn’t these fears. In around Kelly’s hometown there are a few spots teeming with a bounty of ramps (wild leeks) and morels (wild mushrooms) which she confidently identifies and, I assume, forces Rob to dig up. (editor's note: you assumed right, sister)

A weekend visit up to her parents' house a few weeks back yielded me the happy recipient of two unassuming grocery store bags heavy with their finds.

This recipe combines the holy trinity of spring: fiddleheads, morels and ramps. The fresh cheese I buy is found in a container and seems to tie everything together. If you are at the St Lawrence Farmers Market in Toronto, ask Monteforte’s Ruth Klassen if she has any fresh cheese. If she does buy it- it is outstanding and would be perfect here.

And hey, if you don’t have a foraging Diva in your life, you can pick up fiddleheads, ramps and morels at farmers markets as well. Just do it soon, the season is short.

Well Hello Spring Pasta
with Fiddleheads, Morels, Ramps, Tomatoes and Fresh Cheese

1. Clean fiddleheads and ramps. Chop ramps in half then roughly chop stem ends. Cut the leaves in thin slices. Sauté in butter a handful of cleaned, chopped morels, fiddleheads and chopped ramps ends.
2. Add 8 oz of spaghetti to a large saucepan of salted boiling water. Cook for 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain reserving ¼ cup of pasta water.
3. Toss pasta with 8 oz fresh cheese cut or torn into bite sized chunks, 2 pints (about 2 1/2 cups) roughly chopped assorted tomatoes* and cut ramp leaves. Toss in sautéed stuff.
4. Drizzle is 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and reserved water if needed. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
5. Serve immediately with a simple tossed salad on the side.
Makes 6 servings.

Cook's Tips

*Having a variety of tomatoes in this pasta adds extra visual interest. A combination of yellow, red and orange cherry tomatoes cut in quarters is a favourite. Tear drop and heirloom tomatoes are worth the work to find when they are in season.

Green Eggs for Dinner

2009-05-07T07:21:00.004-04:00

Just when I thought I was at wit's end making dinner at the end of the day...Voila!

I came up with what I think is a brilliant idea.

Okay, so I am not the first in the world to make a frittata, but I thought I would share this. Sorry about the bad picture, but it is really so yummy. It is also dead simple and quantities can be adjusted to suit the number of eaters.

And the best thing? Most ingredients are ones you have on hand, or at least will once you make this killer Chimichurri sauce that I first made for this May’s Canadian Family issue. Check it out at www.canadianfamily.ca This recipe combines Argentinean style sauce with a Spanish tapas favourite which is why this recipe is called…..

Spanentinean Frittata For Two

1 medium sized peeled Yukon gold potato
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 eggs
2 tbsp chimichurri sauce
salt & pepper
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Slice potato thinly. Transfer to bowl; cover with plastic wrap and microwave 3 to 5 minutes or until tender.
3. Uncover potatoes and whisk in onion, eggs and chimichurri sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat a splash of olive oil 8-inch over proof fry pan over medium high heat. Pour in egg mixture.
5. Transfer to oven and bake 15 minute or until eggs are set in middle. For easy clean up, serve right from the pan.

If you have more eaters, double recipe and increase pan size to 12 inches and baking time to 20 minutes.

Enjoy frittata with a salad and feel really healthy eating your greens.

My favourite Green Sauce otherwise known as Chimichurri

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 medium shallot, peeled
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup parsley leaves, packed
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, packed
1/4 cup mint leaves, packed
1-2 tbsp chicken stock, water or olive oil, if needed to thin

1. Combine oil, vinegar, juice, garlic, salt and pepper in blender; blend until almost smooth.
2. Divide the herbs into thirds; blend one third until incorporated. Add remaining herbs in 2 more additions, pureeing until almost smooth after each addition. Thin out if needed with chicken stock or water. Chimichurri can be made 3 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Salt snob

2009-05-05T07:13:00.001-04:00

I admit it: I’m a salt snob.

I look with disdain at the ordinary salt shaker gracing most restaurant tables. It may as well be road salt given its full-on assault on the senses.

I checked my cupboard recently and counted eight different types of salt. Here is the low down on each of them.

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.
This is our everyday salt. Its lovely pinchable flakes and subtle flavour makes it a hands-down winner. At about $5 for a large box, it's also a bargain! Check out my Canadian Family recipe for chicken baked in a salt crust and give it a try because the chicken is so moist and tender.

Fleur de Sel
Fleur De Sel de Guérande is known as “the caviar of salts” and is acclaimed by many chefs as the best of all sea salts. The delicate flavour and moist texture make this the ideal finishing salt.

Salish Himalayan de Guérande
Himalayan Pink Salt is harvested from ancient sea salt deposits deep in the Himalayan Mountains. Gives lasting minerally (in a good way) flavour. We love it on popcorn!

Salish Sea Salt
Salish Sea salt is cold-smoked over red alderwood for 24 hours. Salish gives food a delicious essence of smoke flavour. Try on salmon, red meat or baked potatoes.

Oak Smoked Fleur de Sel
Oak smoked fleur de Sel is cold-smoked over oak wine barrels that have been used for years to age fine Chardonnay wine. Use as a finishing salt on salads, veggies, meat...almost any dish on which you want a smoky kicker.

Hawaiian Sea Salt
Hawaiian Sea Salt is the traditional salt used in Hawaii to season and preserve. It contains purified Alae clay which is high in minerals and gives the salt a mild taste. Try mixing the coarse salt with herbs and use as a spice rub; it seals in the natural moisture of meats.

Cyprus Mediterranean Salt
Cyprus Mediterranean Flake Salt is a unique pyramid shaped crystal. The texture and mild taste make this a versatile salt for use in cooking, baking and garnishing.

New Zealand Organic Sea Salt
New Zealand Organic Sea Salt is harvested from the deep, clear waters of New Zealand's North and South Islands. Our second choice for everyday salt.

Salt is the single most effective way to enhance the flavour of virtually everything you eat. Sprinkle one of the finishing salts on a favourite dish and it should add some new flavour or texture. Think of it as inexpensive indulgence to spice up your life.

Go ahead, toss the traditional salt shaker and be a salt snob.

What's missing in Cuba

2009-04-20T19:33:00.003-04:00

We just got back from a week of basking in Cuban sun.

I went to Cuba once before with my good friend Andrea for spring break my last year of high school only a few short years ago (I wish) and I swore I would never go back.

It wasn’t a political statement and it wasn't because of the company or the lack of great beaches.

It was the food.

Even with my unsophisticated teen-aged palate, I had never tasted such bland food. I think Andrea and I pretty much survived on plantain chips at the bar and cashews we brought from home. Even the food on the plane trip home tasted like a gourmet feast.

This time around our family was in search of an inexpensive beach holiday on which we could re-connect and relax together. Cuba seemed to match all of our criteria, but could we survive a week on chips and nuts?

It turns out that not only was the beach was glorious and the company wonderful; some of the meals were downright spectacular.

Aboard a catamaran on a snorkeling trip to Playa Bonita, we had one of the best lunches of the week. Fresh fish, seafood and this killer paella was spread out before us in a rustic, open air building in the middle of an uninhabited beach.

My lack of Spanish prevented me from getting the actual recipe from the lone gentleman who whipped up the feast, but this easy version I made once we were home, was very close.

Playa Bonita Paella

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 lb chorizo sausage, cut into small slices
1 large onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz size)
2 cups short grain rice
1 lb small clams in their shell
1/2 lb squid cut into thin slices
1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves

1. Heat olive oil in a very large saucepan. Sauté the chorizo sausage. Remove from pan and reserve.
2. Add onions, peppers and garlic to pan and sauté until soft.
3. Pour in stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the rice and reduce temperature to medium low. Stir in chorizo and simmer on the stove for 20 minutes.
4. Add clams, squid, shrimp and peas. Cover and cook another 10 minutes or until clams have opened and squid and shrimp are cooked.
5. Stir in parsley, taste and season with salt and pepper before serving.

Now if only I could find a way to recreate this at home...

Opa makes dinner

2009-03-26T22:12:00.001-04:00

One of my kids' favourite meals that Oma used to make was chicken goulash. It was made in a typical European way, except Henny made it with a far greater portion of sauce than I think was usual. She did this so the kids could mix the whole thing into the mashed potatoes that she always served with the goulash. They loved it.

Karl surprised us last night when he came over for dinner. He brought with him a somewhat streamlined version of Oma’s goulash and...Opa had one more surprise: spatzle. I love spatzle and think it is perfect with goulash so I offered up my spatzle maker...

Opa was not impressed: he scoffed and said something that indicated he believed my spatzle maker to be a pile of *#%@ and proceeded to make us hand-thrown spatzle. He used a soup spoon, dipped it in cold water to prevent the spatzle from sticking to it, scooped up some dough and dropped the balls into the boiling water.

After dinner I asked him for the recipe. He again scoffed and said it was simple. When I pressed for measurements, he was even more vague. I figure he is either plagued by bad memory or is keeping his spatzle recipe a closely-guarded secret. So here is my version of Opa's spatzle.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk

Stir together the flour and salt. Combine eggs and milk; stir into the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the spatzle maker and slide the cutting tool back and forth over a large pot (with a diameter of at least 20 cm or 8 inches) of boiling, salted water.

Take care to let the extruded pieces of dough fall into the slightly bubbling water and let them cook for approximately 2-3 minutes. Generally, spatzle swimming on the surface are sufficiently cooked and may be gathered with a large slotted spoon, drained and placed into a serving dish. Karl’s larger spatzle took about 8 minutes to cook.

Oma’s Chicken Goulash

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
3 tbsp flour (she used potato flour to make this gluten free)
1 1/3 cups chicken stock or more if needed
1/4 cup tomato paste

Cut chicken into 3/4-inch chunks. In Dutch oven, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; fry chicken, in batches, until browned outside and no longer pink inside, about 4 minutes. Remove to bowl.

Add remaining oil to pan. Add onion, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in stock and tomato paste; cook, stirring often, until thickened enough to coat back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pan. Stir until heated through.

Serve with mashed potatoes or spatzle.

Miss Congeniality Cabbage Soup

2009-03-10T22:43:00.005-04:00

There is a slight problem with the recipe that I am about to share: it is not good looking.

Being part of a very visual profession, I know that the quickest way to get a recipe killed is for it to look bad. A few years ago we were doing slow cooker food for a story for Wish Magazine. The chicken tagine tasted fabulous, was easy to prepare and featured ingredients most people have on hand. In other words, a perfect recipe for busy Wish readers. Its fatal flaw was that it wasn’t fashion-model-fabulous looking.

Chicken tagine never graced the pages of the magazine.

So with that in mind, I beg you to make this recipe. It has all the hallmarks of a recipe to suit 2009; it is cheap, easy and good for you. It is dead simple to make and I really must give credit to Grant Van Gameren, chef/co-owner at The Black Hoof. This is a man with a real affection for turning nothing into something really quite fabulous. He serves cabbage soup with bone marrow which is really fabulous.

He also writes a blog called Charcuterie Sundays that you should check out if you want insight into how an innovative chef thinks. He has a general description of how to make cabbage soup and I mostly followed it, but then couldn’t resist cooking up some bacon, chopping it fine and adding it at the end. A few crisp, crumbled bacon pieces would have been a nice garnish but my daughter ate them before I could stop her. I sprinkled nutmeg on it instead which is exactly what Grant does.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium head of green cabbage, cored and finely sliced
1 onion, peeled and chopped
10 whole cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups white wine
water
4 slices cooked crisp bacon
butter
nutmeg

1. Sauté cabbage, onion, garlic, salt and sugar over medium low heat until cabbage is limp and translucent, about 15 minutes. Reduce temperature if it starts to brown.
2. Increase temperature and deglaze with wine. Add enough water to cover cabbage. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce temperature to maintain a good simmer.
3. Continue to simmer at least four hours. Yes: this is slow cooking stove-top style.
4. Add 3 pieces of chopped bacon. Puree soup with immersion blender. Add a few tablespoons of butter to ramp up silkiness.
5. Serve top a few crumbled pieces of bacon and a sprinkle of nutmeg

Diva's favorite new beauty products

2009-03-07T20:07:00.004-05:00

It's not secret that my physical appearance hasn't exactly been a priority lately.

I have a mother-in-law who is ill, a husband who is working 70 hours a week, a demanding full-time job and a preschooler who is attempting to perfect his tantrum by way of constant practice: I need all the help I can get.

Luckily I've received a few products for review to help ensure that I appear a little more polished on the outside than I feel on the inside.

Check out this little beauty...

This, my friends, is the Cadillac of toothbrushes, the Oral B Triumph. (Insert heavenly choir here).

I have written before about my paranoia that my mouth is becoming less and less fresh as I get older: this brush has gone a long way towards alleviating that fear. The little display timer really motivates you to properly brush each quadrant of your mouth for 30 seconds (a total of two minutes) and as a result my mouth feels like I just came from the dentist after each brushing.

This kind of cleaning doesn't come cheap (it retails for $120 plus) and I'm not sure that my Irish peasant stock would have allowed me to splurge had I not been sent one to review, but OH MY LORD now that I have it I am addicted to it. I had never even used an electric toothbrush before and I can't believe the difference. My teeth are noticeably whiter and my mouth just feels sooo much cleaner.

If this kind of brush isn't in your budget, you might want to consider asking for one for a birthday or Christmas gift: I know once this one breaks down (hopefully many years from now!) I'll be finding a way to get my hands on another. After all, once you've ridden in a Cadillac the view from a Kia just doesn't cut it.

Another favorite find is a fancy new product from L'Oreal - Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. It's double-barreled: you brush on lash conditioner and thickener from one end and the actual mascara from the other. Given that I generally fly out the door within 30 minutes of waking, at first I wasn't sure I wanted to take the extra time to apply two distinct coats but it leaves my lashes so long and thick I don't mind. I can actually create a small breeze when I batt them. And the best part? It comes off really easy with just water.

If you're interested in trying this mascara visit www.beautytubes.ca and enter the special code FZCU for a $5 discount.

My last find is a lusciously delicious skin shielding lotion and sunblock from Skin MD Natural. It's one in a new line of products that, rather than penetrate, help turn the top layer of skin into a protective shield. From their web site: "Shielding lotion is a lotion that forms a protective barrier on the skin and keeps out irritants and chemicals. It also allows the natural oils and moisture to remain in the skin."

I used it as a moisturizer/ sunblock on our recent trip to Key West and I was really pleased with it. It's not greasy at all and you only need a tiny bit to make your skin feel soft and plump: very nice and definitely something I would use again.

Now if only someone could invent a product that would keep an obstinate three-year-old from screaming throughout his supposed nap time, thereby preventing his mom from catching up on her much needed beauty sleep.

Anyone, anyone...?

Spring chicken

2009-02-25T21:24:00.005-05:00

Oh, thoughts of spring spilled out onto our dinner plates a few nights ago!

Bright green and golden yellow shone brightly at we sat down to enjoy what could have been a boring chicken dinner. Boneless, skinless breasts of chicken are not my favourite piece of meat. I find them rather tasteless and often dry.

But they are convenient, which is why chicken breast recipes are popular with the readers of Canadian Family Magazine. In fact, they are far more popular than any other recipes we post. So I am currently working on developing chicken recipes. Here is one variation that riffs on an Argentinean style of beef served with their signature “green” sauce.

Just a few notes about ingredients you may not be familiar with:

Smoked Sweet Paprika adds a smoky, sweet essence and some fantastic colour to the chicken. If you are in Toronto, Pasquale Bros. has a few varieties in stock or go to Anna Olsen’s website www.olsonfoodsandbakery.com and buy online. This is a must stock spice; paprika with real flavour. Buy and try.

Ancho chile powder is made from dried poblano chiles. I like it because it is not too hot but packs a nuanced balance like a great red wine. I think, combined with the smoke paprika, they are a perfect duo.

The bright yellow beets were roasted unpeeled until tender with their green tops trimmed leaving a one-inch end (to keep the sweet juices trapped inside) for about one hour. When they are cool enough to hold, just push off the skin with your hands. If it is not coming off easily, they are not cooked. I sliced then tossed in some olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Yum.

1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (6 oz each or larger breasts cut in half)
1 tsp olive oil

1 Combine sugar, spices, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub mix into chicken and let rest while you prepare sauce.
2 Pre-heat cast iron pan or barbeque to high. Lightly rub olive oil on chicken.
3 Start with chicken “good side” down and cook for 5 minutes. Turn over and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until cooked through.
4 Remove chicken from pan when done and tent with foil to rest. When serving, drizzle with chimichurri sauce.

Chimichurri sauce
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 medium shallot, peeled
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup parsley leaves, packed
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, packed
1/4 cup mint leaves, packed

1 Combine oil, vinegar, juice, garlic, salt and pepper in blender; blend until almost smooth.
2 Divide the herbs into thirds; blend one third until incorporated. Add remaining herbs in 2 more additions, pureeing until almost smooth after each addition. Thin out if needed with additional oil if needed. Cover and chill. Makes four servings.

The Healing Power of Congee

2009-02-05T22:47:00.001-05:00

Many of you know that my dear mother-in-law is not well.

I have been bringing her food in hopes of keeping her energy and spirits up. When she got home from the hospital a month ago, I suggested that she try congee. Congee is a rice-based dish that looks somewhat like a thick, white soup. There is a very good congee place right near her house, but my MIL is allergic to gluten and was terrified that unidentified ingredients (mainly soy and fish sauce) would contaminate the good-for-her rice dish.

So I made and bought over a big pot of congee. Spiked with her gluten-free soy sauce (anyone know where you can get gluten-free fish sauce?) it was a soothing, easy-to-digest meal. She kept taking about how it was the only thing she has eaten this month that didn’t make her feel awful.

Just imagine that for one moment….eating usually brings joy or at least satisfaction. Imagine it bringing pain….

After a painful procedure the other day that left her feeling particularly weak, I made another huge pot. I made the stock particularly rich with tons of ginger, garlic, onions, carrots and a mixture of chicken & fatty pork bones.

Congee is one of those things that you can add in whatever you fancy. I like to spike it with chilli oil, cilantro leaves and a few raw peanuts, but that's just me.

Here is my basic congee recipe that I made for Hennie: add additional stock or water if it gets too thick for your liking.

10 cups stock
1 1/2 cups glutinous rice (don’t worry it is not that kind of gluten- it means it's sticky)
1/2 lb pork tenderloin
1 acorn squash, cut in half and cooked in the microwave until tender
3 cups baby bok choy or spinach, chopped
1/4 cup chopped chives
Fish and soy sauce to season

1. Bring stock to a boil. Add rice and stir. Bring back to boil then simmer. Simmer for 1/2 hour or until rice is very tender and the rice is splitting.
2. Slice pork into thin slices then again into slivers. Add to pot. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Scoop out baked squash and add to pot then stir in boy choy and chives.4. Taste and add fish and soy sauce or salt.

Recession busting pepperoni and 3-cheese bake

2009-02-03T21:04:00.010-05:00

Egg recipes are simple, healthy, mostly pantry-based and they taste great.

And better yet? Eggs are a great ingredient for tight budgets and tight belts. At only 16 cents and 70 jam-packed-with-protein-calories each, eggs are super value all around.

Once you get the technique of this egg dish down pat, you can mix it up. Just remember to pre-cook any vegetables with high water content or else it will be soggy city.

Make it gluten-free with a quick substitution of brown rice flour for wheat flour. My apologies to lactose-free folks out there: it's the cheese that makes this dish sublime!

6 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp each: baking powder & salt
1 cup each: cottage cheese & grated mozzarella cheese, divided
6 sundried tomatoes, sliced into slivers, divided
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
3 bocconcini ball cut into 15 slices (about 2 oz)
18 pepperoni slices

1 Pre-heat oven to 350F
2 Beat eggs well. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, cottage cheese, 3/4 of mozzarella, half of the tomatoes and basil.
3 Pour eggs into a greased 9” glass pie plate. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella. Top with bocconcini, pepperoni, remaining tomatoes and basil.
4 Bake for 35 minutes or until golden and firmly set when tested with a toothpick.

Makes 6 servings.

Not Guilty

2009-01-25T22:08:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to:

Christophers Heart
Leanne
3boys247

You have all won a copy of Not Guilty - My Guide to Working Hard, Raising Kids and Laughing Through the Chaos by Debbie Travis. Be sure to shoot an e-mail to donmillsdiva@hotmail.com with your address and I'll make sure they're sent off to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Mickey knows cake

2009-01-23T22:17:00.003-05:00

(posted by LeeAnne)

Remember when I went to Disney world and brought back that fabulous soup recipe from Boma?

Well, that's not the only great recipe I managed to get their chefs to reveal. While I was there I got to wondering how a visitor with allergies would survive at Walt Disney World: it turns out very well, thank you very much.

The chefs at Boma are allergy savvy and know the scoop. While there, the flourless chocolate cake caught my eye. Although our dairy-free readers may want to make some substitutions, I recommend anyone who is gluten-free check this one out.

It is not too sweet and ever so moist (I know, how could it not be with 9 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of butter!!!!) without any frosting. It's also simple: other than almond flour (ground almonds) most ingredients are probably already in your pantry

Boma’s Flourless Chocolate Cake (adapted)

1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups + 2 tbsp sugar
9 eggs
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 lb almond flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Cream butter and sugar together.
2. Beat in eggs one at a time.
3. Melt chocolate and add to mixture.
4. Mix in almond flour and baking powder.
5. Grease a 10” square baking pan. Bake in a pre-heated 300F oven for 70 minutes.
6. Let cool completely in pan before unmolding.

Not Guilty!

2009-01-16T08:15:00.006-05:00

(by LeeAnne)

Women spend so much of their lives feeling guilty.

Guilty about working outside the house, guilty about not working outside the house. Over scheduling, under scheduling. It just doesn’t matter: we feel guilty.

But Debbie Travis, star and creator of The Painted House, a 14-season, 200- episode, world-wide phenomenon has a new book that advises women to cut out the guilt.

Not Guilty - My Guide to Working Hard, Raising Kids and Laughing Through the Chaos is part memoir and part how to succeed in business, but mostly just Travis relaying how she made it through with lots of chutzpah, tantrums (hers) and laughter.

Travis tells how, as a bored young mother, she started decorative painting, a trend that was popular in the UK but hadn’t yet hit North American soil. Her home became her canvas and clients start to ask for her services. Travis loved it but her husband wasn’t so sure. “Can’t you just buy wall paper like some normal person?” he pleads in frustration.

But continue she did. Painting led to workshops, then to video and, her biggest leap, to television. Working with her husband she created The Painted House and spun off books, newspaper columns and eventually, a product line.

Not Guilty is full of self-depreciating stories about Travis, her husband and two boys. Full of sage advice and always told for maximum humour, Travis is like your hilarious best friend regaling you with stories, such as the time she came home from work and found her boys sending their two miniature rabbits down the stairs in frying pans as if they were going down a toboggan run.

Never one to mince words, even with her kids, she screams, “What the hell are you doing!?”

“Mom, they’re happy, look at their little mouths,” they replied.

“That’s not a smile, that’s gravity!”

After declaring her sons will never, ever have another pet, Travis puts the miniature rabbits on the deck in a laundry basket.

Within five minutes, raccoons had eaten them.

Stories about her kids and her business ventures are woven together throughout the book. One of my favourites involves her sitting on the edge of a boardroom table with her team discussing a successful design event the previous night, only to look down and see a bulge in her right pant leg.

As she talks, she reaches down and pulls out the offending lump, which turns out to be her “knickers” from the last time she wore the pants. She laughs, but recalls her style interns could barely contain their absolute horror.

Unfortunately I can relate!

I was heading into a fancy restaurant to meet a client once when a sock somehow worked its way out of my pant leg. Just as I approached the table to shake hands with my client, the host came running up to me and handed me the dirty sock.

Great! I laughed (sort of) and tucked the offender in my purse as the client eyed me with suspicion and chose to wave hello instead of shake my hand. Opps. Guilty. Again.

I also enjoyed reading about the time Travis finds out her son has paid someone in his class to do his homework. When busted, her son declares, “But you said, “Hire the best.” So I hired Charles Wong, He’s the best. He even goes to school on weekends.”

Although she gave her son a stern glare Travis reveals that she and her husband privately laughed their heads off later that night.

If you have kids and are trying desperately to achieve that elusive life/work balance, thumbing through Not Guilty is a welcome respite. Travis ends the book with a top ten list for avoiding guilt. Number one is to treat you kids like a paint job. It’s all in the preparation. Take the time to sand and prime well and results will be as good as perfect. Don’t worry about the cracks or blotches-they will just add character.

These days the only thing that Travis feels guilty about is the amount of energy she spent feeling free-floating maternal guilt.

And I couldn’t agree more: what a waste of time.

Don Mills Diva is giving away a copy of Debbie Travis’s Not Guilty-My Guide to Working Hard, Raising Kids and Laughing Through the Chaos to three lucky Canadian (only, sorry!) readers. Leave a comment below to win. Comments will be closed Friday January 23rd at midnight and the winners announced shortly thereafter.

Day After New Year's Day Dinner

2009-01-06T20:24:00.013-05:00

(by LeeAnne)

As many faithful readers will know, my mother-in-law left my house on Christmas Day and went directly to the hospital. My parents and brother were also there that night. I had told them Henny hadn’t been feeling well lately, but they immediately were alarmed by her loss of weight and, more importantly, her loss of zeal.

Gradual decline is much more difficult to see, but that night they helped us all see clearly that we needed to act.

And so we acted.

Henny was discharged on New Year's Eve and I started the new year by bringing her a big pot of homemade chicken soup and her favourite gluten-free grain loaf (I will post that recipe soon!). With a grim diagnosis and more questions than answers, I wasn’t sure what other way I could nourish her.

And you know how I love to make soup. My husband, daughter and I ate soup and bread around the table together with Henny and Karl. After dinner, I cleaned out the fridge and noticed a pair of cryovaced Brome Lake duck legs were sitting all alone on a shelf in the fridge. Henny had picked them up on Christmas Eve, never had a chance to cook them and now didn’t feel like duck. I gladly took them home and this is what I made the next day.

Braised Duck Legs with Baby Mixed Potatoes

2 duck legs
11/2 cups chicken stock
1 lb baby potatoes
Salt and pepper

Season duck legs well with salt and pepper. Using a fork pierce the skin of the legs to help release fat and make the skin crispy.

In a cast iron skillet over high heat sear duck legs skin side down for 5 minutes or until nicely golden brown and fat has been rendered. Turn and brown over side for another 3 minutes. Although you can drain the rendered fat at this point, I like to keep it in because it adds incredible flavour to the potatoes.

Add potatoes and enough chicken stock until the duck legs are half submerged in stock. Bring to a boil and transfer to preheated 350F oven and bake for 40 minutes or until legs are crispy brown, potatoes are soft and internal temperature reaches 170F.

I served this with steamed broccoli although spinach would be great with this dish as well.

A taste of Walt Disney World right at home

2008-12-19T18:52:00.000-05:00

Navigating Walt Disney World is complicated.

Do you hit Toy Story first or Rocking Roller Coaster? Test Track or Soaring? Expedition Everest or the Safari? We recently returned from a family reunion of sorts where 25 people (!) ranging in ages from eight months to 69 years old rendezvoused at Walt Disney World.

Talk about complicated! Thankfully, the one place almost everyone was happy was dinner.

Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge was one of our favourites. Boma is a buffet, but you won’t find any steam tables with languishing, dried-out food here. Everything is cooked fresh in small batches so it’s as if you ordered everything on the menu- the hard part is choosing where to dig in.

With it diverse food offerings and great setting, surrounded by a savanna with roaming giraffes, Boma should not be missed. It is African-themed, but the culinary delights are internationally influenced. Go if you like high quality food in a great atmosphere.

I loved the watermelon rind salad and the Mulligatawny soup. The soup was so wonderful that I asked the chef for the recipe. And guess what? He gave it to me!

If you can’t jet off to Disney, have a little taste of Boma at home.

Boma’s Mulligatawny Soup (slightly adapted)
Makes 8 servings

Mulligatawny is a mixture that originates with the Tamils of southern India (see what I mean about not African, but really international?) It is such a great soup at this time of year. It's spicy and slightly exotic, but based on chicken broth, garlic and onions and somehow these ordinary ingredients seem to sing in it. I think the apples are the secret ingredient that makes this soup extraordinary.

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup each: chopped celery, carrots and onion
1 tbsp curry powder & minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups diced chicken breast pieces
1/2 cup 35% whipping cream
2 tbsp milk
1 cup each: chopped red and green pepper
2 tbsp each: honey and hot sauce
1 1/2 cups diced apple (cored and peeled- about 2 small)
2 tbsp chopped parsley

1. Melt butter and whisk in flour to make thickening roux.
2. Sauté celery, carrots and onion in oil in large pot over medium heat until tender but not coloured. Add curry, chicken stock and pieces.
3. Whisk in roux, cream and milk and bring to a boil then immediately reduce to a simmer to thicken.
3. Add peppers, honey and hot sauce about 10 minutes prior to serving. Add apples and parsley at the last minute. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

And the Gargoyles go to...

2008-12-11T21:34:00.007-05:00

Can you forgive me for not thinking of a clever way to announce the names of the following lucky readers who have won their very own copy of Andrew Davidson's The Gargoyle, just in time for Christmas?

I'm going to go ahead and assume that you can AND that you'll join me in congratulating:

The Reluctant Housewife
Janet
Julia

Thanks to everyone for reading and for entering. Winners should e-mail their mailing addresses to donmillsdiva@hotmail.com and I'll ask the folks at Random House to send out your book!

Believing in the extraordinary

2008-12-05T07:30:00.002-05:00

A truly extraordinary book makes you believe things your logical mind knows are impossible.

A truly extraordinary book is a rare find. I used plow my way through dozens and dozens of books in search of one so magical that I would happily spend days lost in its thrall. But since Graham's birth and the resultant time crunch, I have discovered few.

And I have missed it.

I have missed the way in which an extraordinary book makes the world seem more exotic and full of possibility. I have missed being awestruck by the evocative power of a masterful wordsmith and the unfettered imagination of a gifted storyteller.

I have missed books like The Gargoyle.

The Gargoyle starts when the caustic protagonist, a morally bankrupt porn star, swerves to avoid a vision of fiery arrows and plunges his car into a ravine where it is consumed in flames. After awakening in a hospital abandoned by friends, financially bankrupt and essentially transformed into a human gargoyle by virtue of extensive and excruciating burns, he bides time and plots his suicide.

Until something extraordinary happens.

A beautiful, heavily-tattooed psychiatric patient and sculptress (of gargoyles, no less!) visits his bedside and claims to have been his lover some 700 years ago. Is she mad? At first the unnamed narrator thinks so . But eventually she draws him into her world and out of his despair with uncanny, historically- accurate accounts of their life together and mesmerizing tales of undying love from around the world and throughout the ages.

The Gargoyle is the debut novel by Andrew Davidson, a previously unknown Canadian who spent seven years crafting it full of illusions to myths and fables and great literature from the Bible to Dante's Inferno. It was the subject of a heavily-publicized bidding war for publishing rights and has received massive amounts of press since its release this past summer.

And for good reason.

It is impossible to characterize The Gargoyle. It could accurately be described as a mystery, a horror, a medical primer, a historical tome and a Gothic love story. Though at times overwrought, it is nonetheless one of the richest and most satisfying books I have ever discovered: truly extraordinary.

*********************************************

The Gargoyle is published by Random House Canada and would make a treasured Christmas gift for any book-lovers on your list. I also have three free copies to give away to Canadian readers only (sorry to my American friends). Leave a comment below to win. I'll close comments next Wednesday and publish the winners' names shortly after.

The easiest Thanksgiving dinner you'll ever make!

2008-11-24T22:00:00.002-05:00

Call it getting by with a little help from my friends: nobody needs to know their names are Uncle Ben and Betty Crocker.

Tackle these recipes the traditional way and it’s an all day affair or sneak in a few simple fakes and presto: you have extra time to play with your children, go for a walk, visit a friend or just relax. Print out the shopping list and get ready to save time and eat well.

Wondering why a girl in Toronto would be fussing with Thanksgiving in November? We're celebrating American Thanksgiving this year because our son is going to school in Lake Placid and is home for the holiday. So we are thankful and eating turkey together with family and friends this week just like millions of other across the border. Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!

Game Plan: Since most people have only one oven, big holiday meals can prove problematic. The key to success is balance stove top cooking with oven required items.

Oven Roasted Turkey Breast with Maple Thyme Glaze
If a big turkey is overwhelming, cook the breast only. It cooks in about an hour and there's no tricky carving. The simple glaze elevates it to something special. Time saved = 4 hours

2 1.5 to 2 lb split bone-in turkey breasts (the whole breast but cut into two parts)
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 ½ tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried
1 tbsp canola oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Combine butter and maple syrup in a microwavable bowl and micro for 90 seconds or until butter has melted and syrup has boiled and thickened. Add thyme.
3. Place turkey on a roasting pan. Brush turkey with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook in preheated oven.
4. Baste turkey with maple mixture after 50 minutes. Continue to cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until an internal thermometer reads 165F. The timing can vary due to the amount of time the oven door is opened and close so a thermometer is highly recommended. Remove turkey from oven then baste once more. Tent turkey with foil to rest for at least 10 minutes. Use roasting pan to make gravy.

Stove-top Cider Gravy
Traditional gravy takes at least 20 minutes, ours 3. Time saved = 17 minutes

3 cups apple cider
2 packages poultry gravy mix

1. Add cider to roasting pan to loosen any baked on bits.
2. Whisk in mix and move roasting pan to stove element set to medium high. Bring to a boil then reduce temperature to low. Add additional cider if gravy is too thick.

Sausage, Apple & Cranberry Stuffing (stove-top & oven baked)
This stuffing may come from a box, but it sure doesn’t taste like it. Sausages, tart apples and cranberries make it an instant favourite. Spend your time prepping the embellishments, not mountains of dried bread. Traditional stuffing takes up to 45 minutes to prepare, ours: 10 minutes. Time saved = 35 minutes

3/4 lb sausages (Italian or garlic and herb)
2 Granny smith apples, cored and diced but not peeled
1/4 cup butter
2 cups water
1 cup dried cranberries
2 boxes stuffing mix (120 g Uncle Ben’s Stuffing Mix)

1. Squeeze sausage from casing and cook in a large pot over medium heat. Break up sausage into small pieces while it cooks. Add apples during last few minutes of cooking.
2. Add butter and seasoning packages, if separated, and water to pot. Increase temperature to high and stir to combine. Add cranberries and dried stuffing mix. Combine then transfer to large greased baking pan or casserole container. Can be prepared in advance up to this point and refrigerated until ready to bake. Cover and bake in a preheated oven for 60 minutes.

Garlic Mashed Potato Bake (stove-top & oven baked with stuffing)
Two convenience products in one dish elevate each other to new heights. The hash browns add a chunky texture to otherwise boring mashed potatoes. Although pre-cooking the hash browns adds a step, the creamier finished product is worth it. Green or yellow onions can be used in place of leeks.

1 package frozen hash brown potatoes (680 gr)
1/4 cup butter, divided
1 cup chopped leeks
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 package dried mashed potato mix (113 gr Idahoan Butter and Herb is good)
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup goat cheese
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
pinch ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper

1. In a pot of boiling water, cook frozen hash browns 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In same pot, cook leeks and garlic in 1 tbsp butter over medium heat until softened and translucent. Add water and milk then bring to a boil. Stir in potato mix and drained hash browns. Turn off heat.
3. Mix in remaining butter, sour cream and goat cheese. If mixture looks to stiff, add more milk. Stir in nutmeg, salt and pepper.
4. Transfer to a greased glass lasagna pan (9 x 13). Bake for 60 minutes in a preheated 350 F oven or until golden brown around edges and on top. Broil for the last five minutes to brown up if needed. Leave broiler on if making brussel sprouts.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon
Pretend that you have a sous chef who has pre-trimmed and blanched your brussel sprouts when you start this recipe. At that point you are simply warming vegetables and garnishing with crisp bacon. Time saved = 20 minutes

1 kg frozen brussel sprouts, defrosted and drained
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp olive oil
8 slices pre-cooked bacon, chopped
2 tbsp cider vinegar
salt and pepper

1. In an baking pan large enough to hold sprouts in one layer, broil sprouts in chicken stock 5” from heat source until warmed through and stock has almost evaporated, about 6 minutes.
2. Add olive oil and toss. Sprinkle bacon over top and continue to broil until bacon is crisp and brussel sprouts are browned on the edges, about 8 minutes. Shake pan after 4 minutes to prevent one side from burning.
3. Carefully add vinegar (it will bubble when it hits the hot pan). Swirl around to coat sprouts and bacon. Season with salt (check first because bacon adds saltiness) and freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.

Stove-top Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Puree
I love butternut squash but cutting and peeling sometimes turns into a wresting match with sharp objects: case in point. A simple fake uses diced squash and canned sweet potato. The roasted red chile paste adds a smoky note to this sweet dish. Look for the small jar in the Asian food section of your grocery store. Time saved= 25 minutes

1 kg frozen, diced butternut squash
1 can sweet potato (597 ml), drained
1/4 cup butter + 1tbsp for finishing
1 tsp each: vanilla and salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp each: cinnamon and cumin
1/4 tsp roasted red chilli paste pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar, to taste

1. Cook frozen squash in steamer insert over boiling water for 5 minutes or until defrosted. Drain well and transfer to a large pot. Add sweet potatoes and mash. Over low heat, add remaining ingredients except sugar and stir well.
2. Sprinkle brown sugar and small pieces of reserved butter over top so it can melt in. Cover pot and keep warm until ready to serve. Taste and add further seasoning if needed.

Pear Upside Down Cake
For best results use two 9” diameter round cake pan. Plan to bake this cake while you are eating dinner so that you can serve it immediately. Scratch cake easily takes 25 minutes to pull together, ours only 7 minutes from start to finish. Time saved = 18 minutes

1/3 cup butter + extra for buttering pan
11/4 cups brown sugar
2 cans Bartlett pear halves or slices (398 ml/14 oz)
1 box lemon cake mix*
3 tbsp cornmeal
* ingredients plus 3 eggs, 1 to 1 1/4 cups water and 1/3 cups oil

1. Melt butter in microwave. Add brown sugar and microwave 90 seconds or until bubbly and brown sugar has dissolved.
2. Pour half of the syrup in each buttered cake pan. Tilt pan to distribute evenly. Don’t worry if it doesn’t completely cover pan bottom. Arrange fruit cut side down in a pretty pattern. Slice extra thick pieces so entire pan has fruit on it.
3. When preparing cake mix add 3 tbsp of cornmeal prior to adding wet ingredients indicated on the box.
3. Pour half of the cake mix (2 1/4 cups in each pan) over fruit.
4. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes clean when inserted into the center of the cake and the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan.
5. Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen. Use a larger (10” minimum) plate held on top of the cake pan. Flip the pan over and gently remove the cake pan. Serve immediately.

Shopping List
2 x 1 1/2lb bone in turkey breasts (called split breasts)
maple syrup
fresh thyme
apple cider
2 package poultry gravy mix
1 lb Italian sausages
3 granny smith apples
2 boxes stuffing mix (120 gram is usual size)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 package frozen hash brown potatoes (680 gr)
2 leeks
minced garlic
1 package mashed potato mix (4 serving size)
sour cream
goat cheese
Asiago cheese
nutmeg
1 kg frozen diced butternut squash
1 can sweet potato (597 ml), often incorrectly referred to as yams
brown sugar
cinnamon
cumin
toasted walnuts
1 kg frozen Brussels sprouts
chicken stock
1 package precooked bacon
cider vinegar
2 cans Bartlett pear halves
1 box lemon cake mix
cornmeal

Four ingredient squash soup

2008-11-21T22:05:00.005-05:00

I have been on a soup kick lately, probably due to the cold weather, being able to see my breath when I run in the morning and gasp, snow! Soup on the brain led me to plan a soup party for our skiing friends a few weeks back.

Six soups simmered on the stove for guests to help themselves. Some just wanted to try one or two; a few wanted a “flight of soups” and tried all six! It was such a relaxed and fun party with everyone jammed into our kitchen sipping soup. One of the soups simmering was squash soup. Bright orange and studded with bacon, it was a big hit.

I picked up a very green turban squash at the local farmers market a week or so beforehand. It was really interesting looking- the most pronounced turban shape I had ever seen. Turban (or buttercup squash) is extremely flavourful and sweet-much more pronounced than butternut squash. Look for it in the fall when squash varieties are abundant. Turban is one of my favourites for cooking and roasting the squash before adding to the soup intensifies the flavour even more.

The most difficult part of this soup was trying to cut the hard shelled squash in half so I could scoop out the seeds and roast it. Although I managed without cutting off my left hand, be very careful when attacking the turban squash.

1 large squash, cut in half and seeded (about 3 lbs)
4 slices of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups chicken stock

1 Preheat oven to 375 F.
2 Lightly oil sheet pan. Place squash cut side down and bake for 45 minutes or until squash is tender.
3 While the squash is baking, cook bacon until crisp in a large pot. Crumble and set aside.
4 In same pot over medium heat, sauté onion in bacon fat until translucent.
5 When squash is cool enough to handle, scrape flesh from skin and mash then add to pot.
6 Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring to combine.
7 Reduce heat to simmer. Use an immersion blender to puree until desired smoothness.
8 Add crumbled bacon. You also can thin out with more stock or milk if needed but I find it is usually just perfect.

Putting a postive spin on the holidays

2008-11-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

I don't think there will ever be another Doctor Seuss.

He is the unchallenged master of rhythm - all types of rhythm - and when another author attempts to write in a similar fashion, it's natural, if admittedly unfair, to draw comparisons. It's not easy to make words trickle off the tongue in a manner that will enthrall young readers and unfortunately that was abundantly clear when I settled in to read three books the Parent Bloggers Network recently provided for me.

All Hallows Eve, Winter's Eve and Christmas Eve, from Positive Spin Press, are illustrated and written by husband and wife team Lisa Sterlazza Johnson and Tucker Johnson. They are holiday-themed books which introduce children to the myths and stories behind Halloween, Christmas and a number of other holidays around the world by way of a charming little fairy named Eve.

It's an absolutely wonderful concept, the illustations are beautiful and there are certainly times when the rhythms, written in the anapaest style a la The Night Before Christmas - are lovely. But there are also times, quite a few times, when the rhyming is so forced it difficult to read the stories in the lyrical style in which they are intended to be read.

The books are recommended for children aged four and up or children from 2.5 years of age who are used to being read to. Graham has just turned three and he is a voracious reader but as valiantly as I tried I couldn't seem to hold his interest with the stories.

Perhaps he will enjoy them more when he is a little older, but I do think the awkward phrasing and some of the convoluted stories - particularly in the Winter's Eve book - were definitely a factor in his disinterest.

I have never made a conscious effort to seek out books that tackle explanations of holidays and traditions for children and I have heard from people with older children that appropriate stories of this nature are few and fair between. If that's the case, these tales from Positive Spin Press may well be excellent alternatives to what's currently available.

Insider's Report marks 25 years of revolutionary food

2008-11-13T22:04:00.009-05:00

Two very important events in my life occurred in 1983: I got my driver’s license and the first President's Choice Insider’s Report was published. Both were revolutionary.

My driver’s license gave me my personal freedom, but the Insider’s Report rocked the world of the staid (or quite frankly boring) grocery industry with much greater impact. Marketing genius Dave Nichol turned “no name” private label products into innovative, must-try grocery items. He and his team travelled the world to find new tastes and sold them to Canadians by telling stories about their travels and explaining why they were must-try products.

I can only assume in the early days there were a few dissenters from corporate accounting, making snide remarks about Nichol and his band of foodies as they racked up Air Miles at their expense. Maybe they didn’t believe that good stories sell product. Nobody doubts now the power of the much-copied Insider’s Report.

The 25th Anniversary Insider’s Report was launched November 11th in Toronto. Martin Jamieson, Executive Vice President, Loblaws Brands, introduced the Report and 145 products were showcased.

We sampled the delectable wild Pacific salmon wellingtons made with Alaskan Pacific salmon certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. The salmon was tasty but the proportion of salmon to flaky pastry was a little off in my opinion.

The Insider's Report has introduced 18 lasagnas over the years but now they think they have perfected the dish with the PC Our Best Ever Meat Lasagna. Chock-a-block with a combination of beef and spicy sausage, a béchamel and then a garlic rapini layer I thought it sounded pretty standard, except for the unusual rapini. But the thing that brought it up to amazing, was the super thin sheets of pasta.

I don't have an aversion to carbs, but in some of the past President's Choice (and other) lasagnas, the sheets of pasta were so thick you needed a steak knife to cut them. With this one, that was not the case. And when product developer Sita Kacker waxed poetically about her lasagna, I was convinced it must contain an entire day’s worth of calories, but not so. At 440 calories, it is not outrageous and worth it.

If you are a fan of the PC Dulce de Leche in the jar, you're in luck: just for the holidays you can get it on top of a cheesecake. PC took their creamy New York-style cheesecake topped it off with tantalizing Dulce de Leche caramel crème sauce. I love the Dulce de Leche on other things but cheesecake just isn’t my bag. It was good and everyone was raving so if you like cheesecake, stock up before it is gone.

We also tasted the Veneto Pumpkin Triangoli that was served with brown butter and sage on a stick for easy eating. The sweet pumpkin filling is combined with crushed ameretti cookies which really cranks up the sweetness but when combined with a savoury sauce they are a knock out. Buy and try, your guests will love them.

And finally, if you take one thing from this years Insider’s Report and run with it, hands down, it has to be the Dark Chocolate Covered Caramels with Sea Salt.

They have Dave Nichol’s stamp all over them. Here's the Insider story: “We happened into a sweet shop or confetteria last December (ok, so I am so there already with them…) and we were surprised to find salted chocolates were the “in” gift.”

And now they will be your “in” gift one year later thanks to the Insider’s Report - that is, if you can stop yourself from eating these dangerously delicious caramels yourself. I am warning you, they are that good and at $5.99, a small indulgence that you can only get at stores that carry President’s Choice products.

Chalk up one more revolutionary year for the Insider's Report. As for me? I still have my driver's license, but 25 years later I've got wrinkles to boot!

Eebee's Adventures Winner

2008-11-12T21:31:00.005-05:00

Elmo says Ellyn!

Shoot me an e-mail with your address Ellyn and I'll get the folks at eebee to send out your books. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Amazing baby

2008-11-06T08:00:00.005-05:00

Forget about how cute your kid is.

The next time your little one struggles to master a milestone, look past the adorableness of their efforts and really consider the finer details of the science behind how the mind and body are developing.

Amazing, isn't it?

I have written before about how I am spellbound by the technical perfection I see evidenced in my son's growth. I find the complex systems that come together with such precision to allow him to master speech and movement and a million other things both incredibly moving and endlessly enthralling.

And I think that's why I have been similarly enthralled by Amazing Baby by Desmond Morris, a new book that explains the scientific side of a baby's development and illustrates its explanations with more than 250 photos of such heartbreaking beauty, I was left fully convinced of the miraculous nature of life.

Dr. Desmond Morris is an internationally acclaimed zoologist who published The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal in 1967. In Amazing Baby he explains how biology, physics, genes and other factors come together to produce a baby and then goes on to chronicle each stage of its development from in the womb to the first two years of life.

Amazing Baby is an extraordinary book, so rich and full and satisfying you could lose yourself in it for hours. I was desperately torn on whether to keep my copy or give it away to a friend who is about to have her first child.

In the end, I decided I'll have to share it - I can't think of a better way to introduce to my friend the way in which science and nature are about to work in perfect harmony to produce pure magic in her life.

* This review of Amazing Baby was done for the Parent Bloggers Network*

Eebee's Adventure Series

2008-10-30T22:23:00.002-04:00

When Graham was a baby I spent hours and hours reading to him, watching intently to see if he showed any interest at all in the pictures and stories that I took great pains to animate.

He didn't really. I know he enjoyed our time together but I think any enthusiasm he showed was a reaction to the sound of my voice or our closeness and the attention being paid him, as opposed to any of the wide array of books that we worked our way through.

When he reached the age of one or so it became difficult to continue reading together. There was no way Graham was sitting still unless I could hold his attention, and words on a page were not cutting it. Anxious to keep on reading I tried out a ton of big, clunky, interactive books designed for young toddlers, but none of them held his interest.

It's too bad I wasn't asked to review books from eebee's adventures series back then.

A few months ago the folks at eebee's asked me to take a look at their series of interactive cloth books which are designed to help babies and young toddlers explore words, sounds, textures and imaginative play, as well as exercise their fine motor skills.

That might sound like a tall order for a series of books but eebee's adventure series are actually books and toys all rolled into one.

For example, eebee's Laundry Time, which recently won a National Parenting Publications Award, has activities for the young reader on every page, including taking towels out of the laundry bag and putting them into the washer, spinning the peek-a-boo washing-machine wheel, hanging eebee’s pajamas on the line and putting them away in the drawers.

All of the books in the series are similarly cool and much more interesting and carefully designed than any of the books I tried to interest Graham in when he was at that in-between age... too young to appreciate a story or characters, too old to be content sitting still and listening to my voice. I really think any parent with an older baby or young toddler will enjoy reading and playing with them together.

You can learn more about eebee's adventure series of books and other eebee products at www.eebee.com. You can also win a series of books just by leaving a comment below - I'll have Graham pick the winner's name out of a hat next weekend.

Good luck!

Kicking it old school with Moo and Beans

2008-10-27T00:01:00.003-04:00

The thing I have against a lot of television shows and videos aimed at young children is that they're just too good.

And by good I mean slick. A part of me feels nervous about carefully crafted dialogue, seamless pacing and flashy production values. I'm not sure if it's because I fear Graham's developing brain doesn't stand a chance against the onslaught or if I'm simply nostalgic for the bumpy charm and hokeyness of some of the productions I remember loving in the 1970s.

Whatever the reason, when I agreed to review the DVD My Baby A to Z - Come Explore Shapes With Me I fell hard for a couple of guys named Moo and Beans and immediately hoped their homespun antics would strike a chord with Graham.

My Baby A to Z is designed to teach children their shapes and the hosts are Moo and Beans - Monkey and Tiger puppets respectively. Along with their friends they bop around in front of scenes of simple animation and real video, strings in full sight, dancing with awkward abandon to funky base lines, in search of a variety of shapes.

I was happy to see that Graham loved them as much as I did. After just a few minutes he was shouting shapes at the television and jumping on the couch trying to imitate the child actors who also appear on screen and encourage children to make themselves into the shapes.

After the DVD was over I took a minute and asked Graham to try and find some of the new shapes he'd learned in objects around the room and he did so enthusiastically.

I feel strangely gratified that a program which (obviously deliberately and cleverly) employs a less slick and more retro approach is still able to stimulate my son: parents these days are lead to believe this generation of children have attention spans so short they need state-of-the-art bells and whistles to help them learn.

My Baby A to Z proves that they don't. It proves that solid concepts, goofy engaging characters and a phat, funky bass line does the job very nicely, thank-you-very-much.

*I reviewed My Baby A to Z - Come Explore Shapes With Me for the Parent Bloggers Network which has 20 free copies to give away to lucky readers. Click here for more details on that. You can also order it from the My Baby A to Z web site and put in the special Don Mills Diva discount code - F65RQW5J - for a 20% discount off the $19.99 selling price. The DVD is also available here on Amazon.*

Creamy, dairy-free salmon chowder

2008-10-09T19:59:00.001-04:00

There seems to be a direct correlation between food that appeals to me and the weather. As soon as the wind feels crisper, I immediately want to simmer things on the stove until the kitchen steams up. I love sitting together at the table over a bowl of lovely chowder or a bowl full of cassoulet.

In September I started my annual empty-out-the-freezer project and hauled out the skeleton of a giant Pacific salmon I had filleted it after it had a starring role in a photo shoot I was working on. The beast was 11 pounds so you can imagine the size of its carcass occupying my freezer.

I threw in some shrimp shells, carrot, celery and onions in a pot with the chopped fish bones and covered with water. As a testament to my lacking fish filleting skills, there was quite a bit of salmon still around the bones. About 10 minutes into the simmer, I pulled the salmon meat from the bones and set it aside. I thought I would make some sort of soup, maybe salmon chowder.

Last weekend we had my in-laws over for dinner. In addition to being celiac, my mother-in-law is also lactose intolerant. My plan for using the stock in creamy fish chowder now seemed a little cruel until I remembered a recipe I created for September’s Canadian Family magazine.

In a moment of culinary genius (I think!) I added instant potato flakes to a corn chowder to thicken it up quickly. Voila! It seems it is possible make creamy chowder and still keep my mother-in-law's tummy happy.

Check it out!

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 head fennel, trimmed and diced, reserve fonds for garnish
2 celery stalks, chopped
6 cups fish stock
1 cup potato flakes
1 cup salmon pulled from bones, optional
salt and pepper
a splash of Pernod, optional

1. Sauté vegetables in large pot until softened.
2. Add fish stock and stir in potato flakes. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Add reserved salmon.
3. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Add Pernod if using.
4. Serve sprinkled with chopped fennel fonds.

Very chocolatey dairy, wheat and egg-free cupcakes

2008-09-30T21:27:00.003-04:00

I really hate including the word “free” in recipe titles.

It just sounds so negative - like glass-half-empty thinking. What would be a more positive recipe title be? Full of Delicious Chocolatey Flavour Cupcakes? Or maybe Chocolate Bursts of Flavour Cupcakes?

At any rate, Saturday was my dear friend’s son's second birthday. For something different, the little guy blew out candles that sat in a giant cupcake cake, consisting of cupcakes set on a 5-tier cake stand! It was spectacular!

Well, for almost everyone.

One little girl stared longingly at the cupcakes knowing that she couldn't eat even one. Not only was she gluten intolerant, she couldn’t tolerate diary.

So this recipe is for her. And you can enjoy it too.

I did ice the cupcakes with butter cream which, as its name suggests, has butter in it, but you can substitute margarine combined with a bit of vegetable shortening to add body to the icing.

This recipe makes two dozen mini cupcakes or 12 regular sized beauties.

1/2 cup each: vegetable oil, honey, applesauce and water
3/4 cup garfava bean flour
1/4 cup each: potato starch and arrowroot
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp each: baking soda and xantham gum
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. In a bowl stir oil, honey, applesauce, vanilla and water together.
3. In another bowl combine remaining ingredients together.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until combined.
5. Spoon batter into greased or lined pans. If you want to make small mini cupcakes, you will need to prepare a third pan.
6. Bake 12 minutes for mini cupcakes and 20 minutes for regular sized or until a tester comes clean.
7. Cool on a rack and ice if desired.

Eat Well Save More

2008-09-29T21:46:00.010-04:00

I think most moms find fall a rather expensive time of year.

There are back to school expenses and fall wardrobe upgrades and, at least in my case, increased food costs as I begin my annual cold weather bulk-up.

Luckily this year I got a little help in that department from the generous folks at Loblaws who sent me over a food basket featuring some of the grocery items they slashed prices on as part of the recent Eat Well Save More promotion at their family of stores.

You may have noticed the Eat Well Save More logo throughout September on items such as Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail, Tostitos, Diana's BBQ Sauce, Kraft Salad Dressings and Jello. Graham and I certainly enjoyed the basket - only minutes after it arrived he was scarfing down chips and chugging cranberry cocktail like it was practically free.

Oh wait, it was free.

And luckily for me, the prices remained reduced for several weeks as Graham has developed a serious addiction to cranberry cocktail.

Either that or he's just joining mommy in her annual cold weather bulk up.

Helping you fight big oil

2008-09-20T20:05:00.002-04:00

Don't you hate it when you're enjoying a yummy banana muffin and you notice an oil slick on the napkin it's sitting on?

Yuck! These muffins are moist but not full of fat. Better yet, they are completely dairy free. Turn these into to gluten-free muffins by replacing flour with equal parts of Bette Hagman’s 4-Bean Mix and adding 1 tsp xanthan gum.

These delicious muffins turned out square 'cause I used my amazing Calphalon dessert bar pan that makes single serving desserts like cheese cakes or petit fours. I'll make sure to put up another recipe showcasing this versatile pan, so you can wow your friends at your next “girl’s night in”.

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp each: baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 cups flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 12 muffin tin lightly with oil.
2. Combine eggs, sugar, oil, applesauce and bananas together in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl stir dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and mix until combined.
4. Divide batter between muffin cups.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Bette Hagman’s 4-Bean Mix (Makes 9 cups)
2 cups Garfava bean flour
1 cup sorghum flour
3 cups cornstarch
3 cups tapioca flour

A cub bear tries to prettify herself: fails

2008-09-18T07:40:00.004-04:00

It's a fact that the older I get, the more maintenance I require to look my best.

But it's also a fact that the age at which I need to spend more time on my appearance - uh, NOW! - just happens to coincide with an incredibly busy time in my life.

So it's no wonder I'm always looking for a quick beauty fix and was instantly intrigued when the folks at Whitening Listerine Quick Dissolveing Strips contacted me and asked to review their product.

What could be easier than tooth-whitening strips you just put on and leave? No timing the removal, no messy clean-up afterwards. I could just pop them on before I went to bed and wake up with gorgeous, whiter teeth.

Easy as pie, right?

Yeah, not so much.

I did use the whitening strips as directed for two weeks and at the end of that time period my teeth did appear to be slightly whiter and brighter than when I started.

But the problem was getting the darn things on my teeth in first place. The very thing that makes these whitening strips so appealing - they dissolve! - makes them very difficult to deal with. If your fingers are even just a little moist they will get sticky and be rendered useless before you can get them positioned properly.

I ruined several strips just trying to get them out of the packaging and several more trying to get them on - imagine placing tiny pieces on saran wrap on your teeth and you start to get the idea.

This was the resulting debris from my very first attempt to use the strips:

It's not a pretty sight.

The folks at Whitening Listerine Quick Dissolving Strips very generously provided me with lots of samples, so the wasted ones didn't constitute a financial loss for me, but if had paid for them I would have been pissed.

In a nutshell: I think dissolving whitening strips are fantastic idea, but the execution and the packaging needs some work.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that my father often compares my skill and grace to that of a cub bear: if you are a careful and meticulous sort, wrangling these strips may not present a problem at all.

In either case, more information and fantastic money-saving coupons for Whitening Listerine Quick Dissolving Strips are available on this web site.

Never fear, gluten-free pizza is here

2008-08-31T21:10:00.002-04:00

Don’t be scared.

Yeast does not bite. Toss aside all those silly notions that baking with yeast is difficult. It is not. Remember to check your yeast expiry date (it is on the back of the package or jar) and store yeast in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. It is that simple. Now reward yourself with a slice of hot slice of zza.

Brown rice flour and potato starch don’t have as much protein as wheat flour so that’s why we up the protein with the addition of dried milk, egg whites, gelatine and egg replacer. If you have been craving a pizza with a great crust-just go for it and let me know how it turns out. This recipe makes crust for 3-10” pizza’s.

1/2 cup egg whites from a carton or 4 whites from whole eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 3/4 cup brown rice flour
1 1/4 cup potato starch (not flour)
1/3 cup dry buttermilk powder-dairy-free but not nut-free folks can sub ground almonds or diary and nut-free girls can use same amount of flax meal
1 tbsp each: xanthan gum & egg replacer
1 tsp each: salt & gelatine
2 tbsp sugar
1 package (2 1/2 tsp) Quick rise yeast

1. Combine the egg whites, oil, vinegar and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or bowl if you are mixing by hand.
2. Mix together remaining ingredients in another bowl.
3. Gradually combine the dry ingredients into the wet on low speed.
4. Increase speed to high. If you need additional water (if it is a dry day or you live in a desert climate) add one or two splashes and mix in. Mix for 2 minutes. If you are doing this by hand, start in a bowl with a big wooden spoon. The dough should look like a really thick pancake batter
5. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. On a silicone mat* (or parchment sprayed with a little oil) lined sheet pans, use plastic wrap laid over the dough and pat it out into a 10” diameter disk.
6. Let rise 15-20 minutes (no fear here-we are not looking for height). Pre-bake bases for 10 minutes then top with sauce and your favourite pizza toppings and bake for 10-12 minutes until bubbling and the cheese has melted and browned. You can do the second baking directly on the oven racks if you wish.

I dressed our pizza with tomato sauce, prosciutto, Asiago cheese and then topped the baked zza with baby Arugula. Yum

Only cooking for one? Pre-bake the remaining two crusts wrap and freeze for a quick person pizza dinner.

Silicone mats used in baking to provide a nonstick surface without fat or parchment paper. Silicone mats contain a glass weave that reinforces the silicone. Silpat is a popular French brand that comes in a variety of sizes to fit all pan shapes.

****** I got an e-mail last week from a reader and fellow blogger Kelly who writes over at Dash of Chaos. Kelly is an independent rep for Epicure Selections which offers a huge variety of spices and dips that are 99% gluten-free. If you're looking to spice up your pizza or anything else in your kitchen check out her web site - www.kellydash.com ********

I will not be broken

2008-08-28T22:42:00.000-04:00

I have never actually stepped on a land mine.

Unlike Jerry White I have never been physically been blown apart just when I least expected it.

But emotional blasts? Ah yes, I've survived a few. Like everyone else, I've had to confront my fair share and as I have slugged my way through I'm always reminded of the old saying "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

Jerry White not only agrees with that statement, he wrote a book detailing how you can actually make the old proverb your truth. White is the author of I Will Not be Broken, 5 Steps to Overcoming A Life Crisis: I agreed to write a plug for his book because I think his work with American military veterans is an inspiration and I think sometimes we all need to be reminded of how to turn lemons into lemonade.

In 1984 Jerry White was a young college student backpacking around Israel when he stepped on a land mine. He lost his leg and nearly his life but he did not lose his spirit.

He was inspired by his experience to work to ban land mines and to co-found Survivor Corps, an organization that uses peer support to help survivors of armed conflict, including Iraq veterans, overcome their injuries, rebuild their lives and rejoin their communities.

Over the last two decades working with disaster and conflict survivors White has been able to pinpoint exactly how people may effectively take their horrible defining incidents and turn them into strengths. He even has a five step program:

1. Face facts
2. Choose life
3. Reach up
4. Get Moving
5. Give Back

I Will Not Be Broken features words of wisdom and experience from the likes of Lance Armstrong, Nelson Mandela and the late Princess Diana. It's an inspiring yet practical book which provides a road map for dealing with loss and putting your life back together again after tragedy.

The post where we both learn something

2008-08-22T07:00:00.001-04:00

Did you even know there was such a thing as "sight words"?

I didn't.

Despite the fact that my mother was a kindergarten teacher for 40 years, I had never even heard the term.

For my fellow cave dwellers, sight words - of, and, he and you, for example- are words that don't follow basic decoding rules and must be memorized by new readers. Kids who learn early to memorize these words - also called instant, star and high frequency words - find learning to read much less frustrating.

I only learned of this whole concept when the Parent Bloggers Network offered me a chance to review a DVD designed to help teach kids how to memorize sight words. Rob and I have been reading to Graham on a regular basis since he was a baby but I've never really considered the logistics involved in him learning to read for himself, so I thought perhaps it might be a good idea to give it a shot.

Graham and I tested out Meet the Sight Words 1, the first in a series of three DVDs which feature the words being read over and over while morphing from big block letters into animated characters. For example, he becomes a castle from which knights and horses ride and balloons (always a favorite around here) are released.

The first time I put on the DVD, as much as I tried to cheer lead, Graham was not engaged at all. The second time, after bribing him to stay put with some popcorn, he actually sat through nearly half an hour of it and was engrossed enough that I was able to slip into the bathroom.

"What are you watching?' I asked him upon my return.

"It's and mommy," he cried in reply. "Look mommy, it's and."

And is a start.

Later that night I pointed out and in one his bedtime stories. He didn't recognize the word right away, but once I prompted him he remembered it.

And that is a start.

I'm definitely going to throw on the Meet the Sight Words 1 DVD again but I think I'll wait for a month or so. The series is recommended for ages 15 months to six years so, at not yet three, Graham's still at the young end of the age range.

I don't intend to push anything on him, but I think the repetition and the animated characters will help him memorize his sight words and I now realize this is an important step in learning to read.

Even though I didn't know there was such a thing as sight words just a month ago.

Gluten-free crispy honey almond bars

2008-08-20T22:01:00.004-04:00

I know- the recipe doesn’t sound like it could possibly work.

No eggs, no flour, no butter, no typical bar-like ingredients. But believe me, these are great. Sorry all you nut-free people, the almonds are not optional. Also, you must let these bars cool completely in the pan before cutting or else they can crumble. If you want to speed things up, stash pan in the fridge until cool.

1 cup crispy rice cereal
1/2 cup each: almond slices & ground almonds (unblanched, if you can find them)
1/4 cup ground flax
1 cup dry skim milk powder
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line an 8-9” square pan with parchment or foil and spray well with vegetable oil.
3. Toss cereal, almonds, flax and milk powder in a bowl.
4. Drizzle honey and oil over and mix well until all ingredients are completely incorporated. Add chocolate chips.
5. Pour dough into pan and press ingredient evenly down in pan.
6. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until lightly golden and set.
7. Leave in bars pan until completely cool. Cut into squares and serve or wrap individually and have a treat on the go.

Easy wheat-free lemon almond cake

2008-08-16T19:30:00.000-04:00

Not too sweet, this texture-filled cake is perfect to top with berries or as a treat to eat with coffee. Wrap some up for an on-the-go snack.

Not only are almonds are good for you - filled with cholesterol-lowering HDL and packed with vitamin E and calcium - they taste great too.

You can make a glaze for this cake with juice from another lemon and icing sugar mixed together. Add a little Amaretto as well, if you have some hiding in your liquor cabinet.

1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup each: brown and white sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups ground blanched almonds (sometimes called almond flour)
1 tsp baking powder
2 lemons, juice and zest-reserving some zest to garnish (about 1/3 cups juice)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease an 8” cake pan (a removable bottom is really handy) and line with parchment or use a bundt pan. Get the grease into all cracks for easy removal.
3. Beat butter, sugar and honey together. Beat in eggs, mixing after each one.
4. Add cornmeal, almonds and baking powder and stir to combine.
5. Stir in juice and zest then pour batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a tester inserted into the cake comes clean.

Dark Summit winner announced

2008-08-14T21:41:00.012-04:00

Forget random.org - what's the fun in that?

First Graham and I wrote all the commentors' names on little sheets of paper, then we folded them all up and put them in a big pile.

And then he picked one.

And then, because the last give-away taught me that little names on little pieces of paper do not photograph well, Graham and I copied the winner's name in big easy-to-read letters.

Congratulations Vic! E-mail your address to me at donmillsdiva@hotmail.com and I'll get the folks at Random House Canada to send out your copy of Dark Summit by Nick Heil.

Best-ever gluten-free brownies

2008-08-11T21:02:00.000-04:00

If you can't eat wheat or you're the type who wants to try something new? Say hello to teff, the Ethiopian wonder crop.

Teff is a whole grain, packed with fiber and protein-complete with all 8 essential amino acids. Since many gluten free flours have low fiber levels, teff is a great addition to any wheat free pantry.These brownies are more cake-like then chewy. I think this lets the chocolate shine, so this is the time to break out the really good chocolate such as Ghirardelli cocoa powder and its 60% cocoa bittersweet chips.

If you are Toronto based, head over to McCall’s baking supply shop on Bloor Street in Etobicoke. http://www.mccalls.ca/ If not, troll the internet or head to your favourite bake supply shop. http://www.ghirardelli.com/ Teff flour (ground teff) can usually be found at stores that carry Bob’s Red Mill products such as Loblaws or bulk stores. You can also check out Bob’s website (yes, there really is a Bob). http://www.bobsredmill.com/.

If you can only find the whole teff grains, get out your trusty coffee mill and grind away - it will add a slight mocha flavour to your brownies but that would probably taste pretty good.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup teff flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9” square pan with cooking spray or butter.
3. In a medium sized glass bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the chocolate chips and microwave for another 30-45 seconds. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar until smooth.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
5. Stir in the vanilla.
6. In a small bowl combine flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.
7. Stir in the flour mixture into chocolate mixture until smooth.
8. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until it feels slightly firm. Do not over bake. Remove from the oven and cool completely in pan.

Serve with ice cream or sprinkle with icing sugar.

Where humanity and hubris intersect

2008-08-07T15:46:00.002-04:00

I have always been intrigued by Nepal and specifically by Mount Everest.

In June of 2001 Rob and I were on our way to a travel agency to discuss a flight to Kathmandu and a trek to Everest base camp when we heard over the car radio that Nepal's Crown Prince Diprendra had shot and killed his parents and seven other members of royal family before committing suicide during a dinner party.

Plan B was formulated on our (correct) assumption that the murders would throw the country into political turmoil and instead in October 2001 we trekked in the Andes Mountains in Peru where we hiked a 4,200 metre peak (13, 780 ft) and, incidentally, got engaged.

A trip to Everest remains a distant dream for both of us and when I say Everest, I mean Everest base camp, which at 5,208 metres (17, 090 ft) is the highest I would ever attempt to climb, remembering as I do the nausea, headaches and fatigue we experienced as a result of oxygen deprivation in Peru.

Everest stands 8,848 metres (29, 029 feet). Anything above 8,000 metres is considered the death zone: a place where the brain swells, blood vessels leak and fluid accumulates in the lungs. I am both fascinated and horrified by human compulsion to summit Everest and so when Random House offered me a review copy of Nick Heil's Dark Summit, The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Climbing Season, I jumped at it.

Dark Summit is a detailed account of the 2006 season during which 10 climbers lost their lives attempting to conquer Everest. One of them, an Englishman named David Sharp, lay dying near the top while 40 other climbers walked past him on the way to the summit.

Nick Heil is a measured and restrained storyteller but he nonetheless manages to clearly show how the commercialism at the roof of the world encourages naked ambition over compassionate humanity.

He writes of the aftermath of that deadly season:

"Beyond the lurid spectacle of men and women suffering slow deaths at high altitude was the suggestion that the modern circus on Everest had exposed something essential about who we are as human beings...because Everest was such a grand stage, one on which players performed so close to the limits of self-preservation, it had the unique ability to magnify...basic drives and behaviours."

Heil, a former senior editor at Outside magazine, is guilty of being almost too detailed as he moves the reader through the cast of characters, from various teams and expeditions, who assembled at Everest base camp that spring. The writing is sharp and crisp, but it is still difficult to keep everyone straight: it is clear Heil has taken pains to be exhaustive lest Dark Summit be seen as just another one of the shrill and judgemental voices that flooded the media once the 2006 death toll became apparent.

Dark Summit really shines in the last few chapters when he uses his considerable gift for writing to best effect by indulging his inner philosopher. He asks, but refuses to answer, difficult questions of many people - the mostly affluent climbers, the commercial operators on the mountain, the people and governments of China and Nepal and even people like me who romanticize the achievements of early mountaineers like George Mallory and Andrew Irvine and, of course, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Fans of Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer's book about the deadly 1996 season on Everest, will be similarly enthralled by Dark Summit. Long after the final page has been read climbers and non-climbers alike are likely to find themselves pondering, as I did, the mystique of a mountain where human achievement and hubris intersect with deadly results on such a regular basis.

Leave a comment to win your very own copy of Dark Summit. I'll close comments Thursday, August 14th at 6 p.m. and announce the winner on Friday the 15th.

Salmon grilled in banana leaves

2008-07-29T23:36:00.004-04:00

Banana leaves and maple syrup give this grilled salmon a sweet, Asian flair.

Banana leaves are usually in the freezer section of an Asian grocery store. They keep the fish moist. Serve fish with jasmine rice and a quick stir fry of snow peas.

Banana leaves
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp freshly squeeze orange juice + zest
4 5 oz pieces of salmon fillet, skin removed
1 2 –inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and julienne

1. Combine maple syrup, soy sauce, cumin and orange juice. Pour into a sealable bag. Add salmon pieces then press air out of bag and seal. Refrigerate one hour or up to six.
2. Using one 12-inch square of banana leaf, place salmon in the middle of the top one third of the leaf. Top with some ginger and orange zest and wrap completely in banana leaf. Tie with a string to secure.
3. Grill in pre-heated barbeque over high heat for 8- 10 minutes depending on thickness of fillets.
4. Serve and cut open banana leaf at the table to let the aroma steam out.

Grilled Chicken with Pesto Mayonnaise

2008-07-24T23:00:00.009-04:00

Sure, anyone can throw some chicken on the grill, but the accompanying pesto mayonnaise makes this dish really special.

And if you're feeling fancy you can even jazz up the chicken with a filling. Cut a pocket in the middle of the thickest part of the chicken breast and fill with two sundried tomatoes (the ones in oil) and a teaspoon each of goat cheese and pesto. Secure with a toothpick. Proceed with recipe as written but cook a few minutes longer.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, patted dry
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup each of pesto and mayonnaise

1. Preheat barbeque to high.
2. Toss chicken in a bowl with garlic and oil to coat then season with salt and pepper. This is a good job for young helpers.
3. Grill chicken about 6 minutes per side or until completely cooked. Reduce heat slightly if you are getting flare-ups. The breast should feel firm at its thickest part.
4. Stir pesto and mayonnaise together in a bowl.
5. Serve chicken immediately with a large dollop of pesto mayonnaise.
Makes 4 servings.

Grilled Haloumi with White Corn and Apple Salsa

2008-07-14T21:28:00.013-04:00

This is an easy-to-make appetizer that is sure to impress guests. Haloumi is a white cheese from Cyprus with a pleasant, refreshing taste and a very firm texture. It is made with goat's or sheep's milk or a combination of the two. It is usually grilled (Saganaki anyone?) until a golden crust has formed on both sides and eaten hot. Haloumi cheese may be purchased at any cheese shop and is great for vegetarian meals - kebabs on the BBQ or fried to perfection.

Make 12 appetizers
Prep time: 10 minutes
On the table: 15 minutes

1 tart apple, peeled, cored and finely diced (1/8” sized), approximately 1 cup
1/2 cup defrosted frozen white corn
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
2 Thai bird chilli peppers, seeded and finely sliced
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp ouzo
1 tbsp olive oil + extra for brushing on cheese
12 oz haloumi, cut into 1/4” slices

1. Combine diced apple, corn, onion and peppers in a bowl. Toss with lime juice, ouzo and oil. Season lightly with salt and white pepper.
2. Lightly brush each side of the cheese with olive oil.
3. Using a non-stick grill pan over high heat, cook the haloumi slices 1 minute per side or until golden.
4. Spoon one tablespoon of salsa on top of cheese and serve immediately.

Lamb chops with gremolata

2008-07-07T21:50:00.007-04:00

Why not give steaks and chicken the night off and try something a little different?

Look for frozen lamb chops when they are on sale at the grocery store and stash a few in your freezer. Marinate the lamb in some lemon juice and olive oil only if you can do it in advance; otherwise go straight to the gremolata.

Gremolata is a traditional Italian accompaniment which typically contains garlic, parsley and grated lemon peel, some of the ingredients that I always keep on hand.

I like to serve this with a simple dish of orzo (rice-shaped pasta) that cooks fast. I boil 3 cups of chicken stock, add orzo and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes or until it is tender. Crumble in some goat cheese, a squeeze of lemon and it is a perfect duo with the lamb. A pre-washed package of mixed greens with your favourite bottled vinaigrette brings it all together in less than 20 minutes.

1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 lb lamb loin chops

1. Combine lemon juice with garlic, olive oil and parsley in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Season lamb with salt and pepper.
3. Pre-heat grill to high heat.
4. Cook chops for about 5 minutes per side or until medium-rare**. Cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with gremolata.

* Lamb chops can vary in thickness. Most common supermarket thickness is 1 inch. For thicker chops, more grilling time will be necessary.
** Lamb will be medium-rare if you remove from the heat at 140 F and let rest to redistribute the internal juices.

La petite winner est...

2008-06-29T18:00:00.003-04:00

Before I announce the winner of a hardcover copy of Petite Anglaise by Catherine Sanderson I'd like to clear up a few things:

!. Yes, Graham was absolutely thrilled to be entrusted with the chore of picking the name of the lucky reader.

2. No, I didn't realize until just now that you can't actually read the name written on the paper.

3. Yes, those are the remnants of Graham's dinner clinging to his face.

Alrighty then, without further ado...

Congratulations LaskiGal!

E-mail me with your address and I'll ship your book right away...

Photography by design

2008-06-26T12:45:00.002-04:00

I have always gotten by with a little help from my friends.

I admit my photography skills leave something to be desired, but I know they are improving thanks to two of my very talented friends.

There is OHMommy ,of course, who is running periodic photography challenges, complete with her best tips.

And then there’s a friend I met in the local mom’s group I was almost too cool (or too scared?) to join waaay back when our sons were both mere infants. (That's her second son up top)

I noticed Kelly MacDonald right away and quickly sought her friendship. And why not? She was engaging and stylish, with a quick wit and an intriguing background in the arts.

One day, I figured, she could probably teach me a thing or two.

Well that day has arrived, my friends.

Kelly has just started her own photography business, with a twist. She has married her photography skills to her visual arts background to produce stylized children’s photos featuring saturated colors and labor intensive post production work.

AND she’s offering a discount and her best tips to all my friends, including YOU.

“They are so many great photographers out there right now, I just want to deliver something a little different,” Kelly says.

“My photographs are pretty punchy – saturated colors, close crops and never a posed smile. With a background in visual arts and design driving me, I tend towards a more artistic look.”

Dashing my fervent hopes for regular play dates, Kelly moved from Toronto last year and now resides in Woodstock Ontario with her husband and sons Quincy, three, and Theo, one. She books leisurely photo sessions that allow her to spend hours with children and their families.

“It’s about the complete experience – the one-on-one attention for a couple of hours. I know how to relate to kids, what they like to do and talk about. I work around naptimes and snack times and I expect diaper changes and accidents,” she says.

“Kids basically rule my shoots – I’m just going along wherever they lead me. I do find that my style changes to suit the child I’m shooting. A quiet, introvert may not suit a bold look.”

Kelly says that, in addition to spending a lot of time in post-production, a lot of the time a professional photographer can bring out a different side of a child than mom can.

“Parents tend to be too worried about getting the perfect smile or catching their good side, making sure their clothes are neat and their hair perfect.”

But she does offer these tips for amateur photographers:

“Go down to their level – be it on your knees or your belly – get down. Let them be themselves - capture them when they're busy being them - you want to remember how you saw them every day not on one occasion in their Sunday best, sitting and smiling how they were told. And don't be afraid to get close - you want to remember their faces, expressions etc., not the flowers behind them in your garden.”

Advice I will definitely be taking to heart.

You can check out more of Kelly’s stunning work at the web site for Kelly MacDonald Photography. She is offering a 15% discount on session fees and products to readers of Don Mills Diva until August 31st.

Flaxseed hermit cookies

2008-06-24T07:00:00.001-04:00

Prep & cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes 28 cookies

These delicious cookies are guilt-free as flax is a super-good source of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and cranberries are chock-full of antioxidants. Junior chefs like LeeAnne's daughter below can help by mixing and spooning cookie mixture onto baking pans. You can store flax meal in your freezer to maintain freshness.

1/2 cup each: butter and packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned style oatmeal
1/3 cups flax meal
1/2 tsp each: baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and combined. Beat in eggs, and then add molasses and vanilla.
3. In separate bowl combine flour, oatmeal, flax, soda, spices and salt. Mix into creamed mixture, thoroughly combining. Stir in cranberries and chocolate chips.

4. Drop tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto prepared pan. Leave about one and half inches between balls to accommodate spreading.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm to the touch. Let cookies cool on baking sheet a few minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Make ahead tip: Double the recipe and safe half for later. An easy method is to freeze individual cookie balls on a baking sheet then once frozen, toss the balls into a freezer bag. Pop frozen cookies onto a sheet pan and bake. Or freeze baked cookies and put frozen cookies into lunch bags as needed.

The blog as veil: a cautionary tale

2008-06-19T22:30:00.002-04:00

How well do you know me?

And is it Kelly you know or is it the Don Mills Diva?

Are they the same person or is one an alter-ego, a character, constructed to appeal to, or provoke a reaction from, my readers?

Would it surprise you to hear me confess that the latter question is one I have asked myself on more than one occasion?

There are so many, many things about blogging that fascinate me and foremost among them is the notion that a blog might provide a space in which a person can construct an alternate identity.

That’s probably why I have spent the last several days obsessively reading Catherine Sanderson’s book Petite Anglaise to the detriment of pretty much everything else in my life.

Petite Anglaise is also the name of a blog that Sanderson has written since 2005 to document her life as an English ex-pat working and raising her toddler daughter in Paris. In Petite Anglaise the book, she provides an unflinching account of the events that lead her to leave her child’s father for one of her blog’s commenters and how the increasing popularity of her blog started to inform the way she viewed herself and ultimately conducted her life.

Even if you are not a blogger or particularly interested in the world of blogging, Petite Anglaise is a juicy read. Thanks to the breezy writing, the details about Sanderson’s day-to-day life as a working mom in Paris and the scandalous nature of her romantic entanglement, the book is likely to ratchet up the best-sellers list as this summer’s guilty pleasure.

But for me and for thousands of other bloggers, Petite Anglaise is also a cautionary tale about what can happen when the identity we construct in the blogosphere starts to seem more interesting and relevant than one we inhabit in real life.

There are people who claim they present themselves on their blog exactly as they appear in real life. I say that’s impossible. Even bloggers who strive to write with an authentic voice are still choosing the words and photos they feel best reflect who they are, and their perception of who they are might be different from that of others.

I’d be lying if I told you that Kelly was as articulate as the Don Mills Diva: she’s not. The words I write here have been carefully chosen and arranged for maximum effect and I make no apologies for that. What is skillful writing, after all, if not the ability to choose and arrange words in a pleasing and effective fashion?

I do try and resist the urge to buff and polish my alter-ego to a degree that would make her unrecognizable to my friends and family, but obviously the temptation is there. I’m constantly asking myself whether I would be so empathic or sarcastic or cheeky if I were discussing something, rather than writing about it.

While Sanderson frequently admits to making her alter ego – Petite Anglaise – appear more engaging and together than the woman behind the blog, she resists that tendency in the book, something I found ironic, and incredibly brave. She doesn’t sugarcoat the fact that the intoxicating quality of her love affair was heightened by thousands of blog readers cheering her on. She doesn’t gloss over how quickly she was seduced by the attention or how the escapism of blogging led her to make choices that wreaked havoc on people in her life, particularly the father of her child.

But the fact that Sanderson allows herself to come across so poorly in the book suggests that she has learned a lesson about the dangers of presenting yourself as a character, no matter how lonely and unappreciated you feel.

And the fact that Sanderson was so very lonely and unappreciated when she started her blog saves her from being entirely unlikable. Most parents will find themselves nodding in recognition when she details how she and her partner, exhausted by the demands of parenting, descend into a mire of bickering and petty desperation.

What I also find particularly fascinating about the whole sequence of events outlined in Petite Anglaise is that visitors to Sanderson’s blog can poke around in her archives and read the original exchanges that lead to the climatic events in the book: they are the literary equivalent of DVD extras and after I finished the book I found myself attacking her archives with the same fervor I applied to her book.

Petite Anglaise is available in bookstores across Europe and North America. At its Toronto launch a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to snag an extra copy for a lucky reader. Leave a comment to enter to win your own copy. I’ll close comments June 26th at midnight and announce a winner shortly after.

Super Salmon Tacos

2008-06-15T16:36:00.007-04:00

Prep & cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 4 servings

Who says super nutritious can’t be super fun and delicious? These tangy “fried” tacos with deconstructed mango salsa feature salmon and avocado which are both chock-full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Junior chefs can help with coating the fish in bread crumbs and picking off coriander leaves.

1/2 barbeque sauce or ketchup
1 cup bread crumbs
1 lb skinless salmon, cut into 1/2- inch strips (about 8 strips)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp lime juice, (1/2 lime)

1. Preheat oven to broil.
2. Pour barbeque sauce into a shallow bowl.
3. Spread bead crumbs on a plate.
4. Dip fish into sauce then roll in bread crumbs to coat.
5. Place on lighted greased sheet pan. Spray fish lightly with oil extra crisping.
6. Broil just prior to serving for 3 minutes a side or until fish is crisped and golden brown.
7. While fish is cooking, mix together yogurt and lime juice to drizzle over top of taco filling.
8. Break up fish strips into chunks and divide between warmed tacos. Set rest of add-in in bowls for passing at the table.

Mango Salsa Add-Ins:
1 each: avocado & small mango, peeled, pitted and diced and combined in a bowl, drizzle with lime juice from remaining half to prevent avocado from browning
1/4 cup coriander leaves
2 green onions, finely sliced
8 hard or soft taco shells

Also, last week a reader Oz asked Recipe Diva LeeAnne to recommend a non-cow's milk cheese that melts well. LeeAnne replies: "I would look at some great sheep's milk cheese to add to the mac and cheese. Two of my favourites are Manchego and any Pecorino varieties. Manchego is a Spanish sheep's milk cheese with a dark waxed covering that looks like it has a basket weave design pressed into it. The taste of Manchego changes from a little bit bland to a sharp nuttiness as it ages. It would go well with the sweetness of the squash. There are many varieties of Pecorino which literally translates from Italian as "little sheep". Pecorino Romano is a fabulous hard grating cheese with tons of flavour. Mixing a younger Pecorino with some aged cheese will give you a nice melting blend."

Feel free to send your food and recipe query to LeeAnne at recipegirl@rogers.com

Soon he'll have his own blog

2008-06-12T18:44:00.002-04:00

I’ve always been somewhat irritated by the term Slacker Mom being used to describe mothers who are loathe to enroll their children in a plethora of enriching activities.

But I can’t deny that I am loathe to enroll my child in a plethora of enriching activities.

I’ve never managed to get my butt to a mommy-and-me music class, I don’t own any flashcards and I never bothered with baby sign language because it just sounded like too much effort.

And so it was guilt, truthfully, that had me agreeing to try out the Early Start Active Reading Method when a representative contacted me a few weeks back.

Because while I may not always be ahead of the game when it comes to creating my very own toddler genius, I have always been passionate about reading and writing and I am committed to passing that passion along to Graham.

Graham loves his books, really loves them. The bottom shelf of our bookcase is all his and he loves to empty it and sit on the floor for ages thumbing through his favorite stories. He is read to every night before bedtime and usually at least once during the day. He’s been filling in sentences and pointing out details on the pages since he was two.

When My First Slide-Out Book of Colors arrived in the mail my first thought was that it was too young, too babyish for Graham: after all, he can already identify most of his colors. I read it to him once, carefully, thinking I would probably offer it as a give-away for someone with a younger child.

But Graham had other ideas.

When time came for his bedtime stories that night, he snatched up the book and insisted I read it to him again. And again. We read it six times and about halfway through the fifth, I realized the book was already too gummed up, and too valuable, to give away.

What I like about the book (which has been a favorite for four nights running now) is that each page provides ideas for asking questions about the objects pictured. What Graham likes about the book is that each page has a tab that pulls out, adding colors to the pictures. His fascination with pulling the tabs allows me to linger on each page and question him about the colors, the pictures and the letters each pictured object starts with.

And he is answering, which is wonderful. With only a little prompting he told me last night that green starts with g and so does grass and so does his name. He also confirmed that the banana was yellow, that banana starts with b and so does bath (where, incidentally, we were headed after we finished the book).

It’s really gratifying to see Graham respond so well to the book and I appreciate that the learning feels organic, as opposed to being the result of me quizzing him: I feel strongly that I never want to be the kind of mom who is constantly trying to drill and grill her child into intellectual superiority.

Even if that does make me a slacker mom.

You can find out more about the Early Start Active Reading Method by visiting www.earlystartchild.com. It is a new company and the books are just becoming available now but I expect they will be everywhere before long. Shoot them an e-mail through the web site to enquire about ordering books and when and where they will be available in stores

Super Mac and Cheese

2008-06-09T17:45:00.000-04:00

Prep & cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 6 servings

This macaroni might not actually be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but the addition of nutritious butternut squash qualifies it for super-food status for moms and kids alike.

Serve it with last week’s healthy, mini turkey meat loaves and kids will be so pumped they’ll feel like heroes. Junior chefs can help by making the cheese sauce and mixing pasta and sauce altogether.

300 gr. whole wheat with flax cork screw (rotini) pasta (4 1/2 cups)
2 cups frozen diced butternut squash
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (7 oz)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Bring of large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions adding the squash in the last three minutes of cooking time. Drain well and return to pot.
2. Melt butter in microwave in a medium sized glass bowl. Whisk in flour then stock. Microwave 3-5 minutes, whisking every 60 seconds until sauce has reached the consistency of pudding.
3. Stir in cheddar cheese and microwave another 60 seconds or until cheese has melted smoothly into sauce.
4. Stir sauce into pasta and squash, add parmesan cheese if using and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Cleaning without chemicals

2008-06-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

I have always thought that cleaning products were a necessary evil.

And when I say evil I mean exactly that because I, more than most people, know how dangerous they can be.

My adult niece was a young toddler when another baby around her age pulled a common household disinfectant out from under the kitchen sink at her babysitter’s house and sprayed it in her eye.

Both of them were too young to understand or explain what happened and by the time my niece got proper medical attention it was too late. Her eye was so badly damaged it had to be removed.

To ensure this never happens to someone you love, you can, should, and probably do, lock up your cleaning products. But even if you manage to keep them out of your child’s reach you can’t deny their environmental impact: chemical cleaners not only ultimately enter our water systems, they leave a residue that lingers on household surfaces. Many scientists are now questioning whether these residues are linked to everything from cancer to the increasing rates of childhood asthma and autism.

A necessary evil?

Absolutely not, says Judy Benson-Jones.

Judy contacted me a few months back hoping to spread the word about a revolutionary cleaning system that replaces chemicals with micro fibre technology. It’s called Enjo and as soon as I looked into it, the science geek in me was immediately intrigued.

It actually took me a while to wrap my head around how Enjo works, but essentially it’s a mechanical rather than a chemical cleaning system. You clean with nothing but water, using gloves and cloths that look quite ordinary but are actually composed of thousands of microscopically small fibres: the fibres are so tiny they can actually disinfect by removing up to100% of invisible bacteria as opposed to chemicals which kill it.

It sounds crazy but it's true!

Judy gave me a bathroom glove and drying cloth to try out and when I did it honestly freaked me out a bit. I put on the glove and wet it and gave my (admittedly grimy and soap-stained) counter a once over. All the grime and stains lifted the same way they do when I really scrub, but I wasn’t scrubbing – I was just gently wiping. I did the rest of the room and I dried everything afterwards with the cloth (which has a 2,500 thread count) and the joint was as clean and shiny as I have ever seen it.

Total cleaning time? About five minutes – swear to God.

The Enjo system, which uses color-coded cloths and gloves for different rooms of your home, is quite new, but appears to be taking the world by storm. It was pioneered in Austria in 1990 and is now sold by representatives (not in stores) on five continents. In 2006 it won a Gold Award at the Eco Products International Fair in Singapore where it was heralded as an innovative product that contributes towards environmental sustainability, while being economically viable.

What that means straight up is that, in addition to protecting your child, you save money because you never have to buy any cleaning products and you save the earth because neither cleaning chemicals nor the plastic bottles they come in, end up in landfill.

If the Enjo system intrigues you and you live in the Toronto area, please drop Judy Benson-Jones a line at jbjones@enjo-canada.com. She can tell you more about it and even help you host an in-home demo or party. You can also visit the Enjo web site for more information and to find a representative in your area.

Turkey Veggie Mini Meat Loaves & Apricot Glaze

2008-06-02T06:55:00.000-04:00

So many superfoods!

Whole grain shredded wheat, zucchini and lean ground turkey make these meat loaves a triple threat. Your Junior Chef can flex super muscles grating, crushing and even mixing the meat loaf.

Prep and cooking time total only 45 minutes leaving you lots of time to in indulge in a glass of wine - my personal favorite superfood. Makes four servings.

3 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp mustard
1 lb ground turkey
1 small zucchini (5oz), grated on smallest hole on box grater (about 3/4 cup)
1 onion, grated, (1/2 cup)
1 tsp finely minced garlic (jarred)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cups crushed shredded wheat (2 muffets crushed)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray sized medium sized 8-muffin tin lightly with oil. (just over one-third cup capacity in each muffin holder). Mix together jam and mustard in small bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Divide meat into tin. Bake for 25 minutes then generously spread jam mixture on top of each meat loaf. Continue to bake another 10 minutes.

To pump up the nutritional value even more you can serve these bad boys with whole wheat pasta Super Mac and Cheese, which - wouldn't ya know it - will be our featured recipe next week.

See you then - happy cooking!