wordless wednesday: a productive afternoon in the kitchen
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beef ribs with blueberry bbq sauce
Fall is here! You can feel the chill in the air and see the leaves changing colour. It really is a beautiful time of year.
I’m still holding on to summer though, and thinking about how we took advantage of all the summer fruits in our meals. We tried to use them in as many things as possible. Blueberries were used in one of my favourite recipes this summer – blueberry bbq sauce!
I think it was all the yummy BBQ I smelled but it was at the Stampede that I thought I wanted to incorporate blueberries into a bbq sauce. Hubby indulged me and we went right away to stock up on blueberries so that I could play in the kitchen. We also stocked up on ribs, thinking it may be a good vehicle for the sauce.
A little mix of sweet and savoury, this bbq sauce turned out better than I had imagined. It tasted really great in an ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich. It went amazingly with the big beefy ribs that were cooked in the slow cooker until they were tender and then finished off on the grill.
I froze some blueberries just so that I could enjoy this sauce later in the year.
Bluberry BBQ Sauce
1/2 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 TB coriander
1 TB cumin
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
Heat olive oil in a pan
over medium heat. Cook the onions and garlic until softened.Add blueberries, sugar, vinegar, ketchup and spices and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced. Let cool slightly and and then puree in a blender.
Slow Cooker Beef Ribs
Cut a rack of beef ribs into pieces. Smother each rib with the bbq sauce and place in a slow cooker. Add enough water to cover the ribs and let them cook on low for eight hours until the meat is almost falling off the bones. Glaze each rib with more bbq sauce and cook on the grill until they are nicely charred and the sauce is caramelized.
wordless wednesday: simple pleasures
win tickets to the calgary home and design show!
It’s that time of year again! Time for the Calgary Home and Design Show. This is a fun event for the whole family! Whether looking for ideas on how to decorate your new home or looking for ways to redesign and update your current one, the show is filled with loads of ideas. There are lots of talented designers and TV personalities with fun and original ideas.
There are also lots of cooking events, my favourite part! These include cooking challenges, Food Truck throwdowns and demos from our cities beloved foodies. When hunger hits, the Food Trucks will be there to fill our bellies.
Even Q likes to go to the show, especially on family day. This year, family day includes special performances from Peter the Puffin, kid-friendly cooking lessons from Crave Cupcakes, and a scavenger hunt. There’s also face painting and tattos, and so much fun for kids of all ages.
The show starts this Thursday and ends on Sunday. Times are:
Thursday, September 19: 4PM to 9PM; Friday, September 20: 12PM to 9PM; Saturday, September 21: 12PM to 9PM; Sunday, September 22: 10AM to 9PM.
Want to win tickets to the show? With so many ways to enter, it’s easy! Just write a comment, send me a tweet or leave a comment of Facebook. Deadline to enter is Wednesday at 6pm.
back to school with tickety toc
Q starting kindergarten seemed to be a milestone that was so far away and here we are. After meeting his teacher last week, he had his first real day today and he loved it. He even thanked us for putting him in school! Let’s hope this enthusiasm lasts over the years.
Time is just flying by so I know that our upcoming family trip that we have booked will come in no time. We are counting down the days until we take our first Disney cruise! Hubby and I have cruised before but we are looking forward to this fun adventure with Q. If you hear me mentioning all things Disney over the next little while, now you know why. There seem to be many tips and tricks and I spend countless hours researching them. There’s no doubt that I’m the one who’s most excited.
While tv time was once dedicated to Treehouse, we are now spending time watching the Disney channel and Q has found some new favourites – Special Agent Osso, Bananas in Pyjamas and Tickety Toc.
Tickety Toc follows the fast-paced adventures of many characters as they race against time to keep the clock ticking and chime in time. Tickety Toc explores concepts of teamwork, social responsibility and problem solving in a fun and engaging way.
For the first time in Canada, colorful new licensed long-sleeve tops and cozy sleepwear feature a range of unique designs and showcase the popular characters from the series. The full line of Tickety Toc apparel and sleepwear is now
exclusively available at Walmart stores nationwide, with select styles
available online at Walmart.ca. The high quality shirt was comfortable and Q had fun wearing it. Perfect for back to school.
Want to win a top for your little one? Enter here by leaving a comment about back to school. A winner will be chosen at random on Friday, September 13th at noon.
Disclosure – A Tickety Toc shirt was sent to me for review. The opinions on this blog are my own.
wordless wednesday: first day of kindergarten
cousins night out: brava bistro
I’m so lucky that I have a wonderful bunch of cousins that I can actually call my friends. Since life can get busy, we have started a monthly dinner for those of us in town – cousins night out. It’s a great chance to spend time with the ones we love while having a dinner out.
Since my cousin’s wedding was last month, everyone was in town! With nine cousins and seven spouses, our group of sixteen took over a long table at Brava Bistro for an amazing dinner.
Brava was very accommodating, fulfilling our desire to eat family style. It was perfect – by sharing, we were able to try many dishes and weren’t limited to just one – the best way to avoid food envy.
The appetizers and salads we sampled were delicious! The Prawn and Avocado salad was light and tasty while the Burrata and Tomato Salad was a great showcase for the creamy cheese.
Lobster was the star in both the Lobster Gnocchi and the Lobster Poutine. The poutine was my favourite of the night and I will definitely be going back for more.
Our mains were just as delicious and I was happy to be able to sample a little of everything. I really enjoyed the pasta dish, the Orecchiette Alfredo, which was creamy and garlicky.
Everyone loved the Beef Short Rib which was soft and tender. This was served with Mac and Cheese and Broccoflower.
The Atlantic Salmon was perfectly cooked and Crispy Cracklin Chicken was surprisingly juicy.
The night ended with sweet treats of Creme Brulee, Warm Gingerbread Cake and a Brownie Sundae. Delish!
It was a wonderful night with family. Can’t wait to go back!
3rd Annual Calgary Food Blogger Bake Sale
family, food and a fairy tale wedding
Wow, I think this has been the longest I have been away from my
dear blog. I have good reason though. We have been celebrating, for
almost two weeks, my little cousin’s wedding.
dear blog. I have good reason though. We have been celebrating, for
almost two weeks, my little cousin’s wedding.
It’s been an
amazing week! The wedding was beautiful and it was so wonderful to see A
and S so happy. My cousin got her fairy tale wedding, both of them
incorporating themselves into the details. His fave, Converse, were worn
by the ten kids that walked down the aisle. Her fave, everything
Disney, was seen throughout, like on the cake table and the candy table.
amazing week! The wedding was beautiful and it was so wonderful to see A
and S so happy. My cousin got her fairy tale wedding, both of them
incorporating themselves into the details. His fave, Converse, were worn
by the ten kids that walked down the aisle. Her fave, everything
Disney, was seen throughout, like on the cake table and the candy table.
The
best part was all the family time. My sister and her husband flew in
from Afghanistan, cousins came from Ontario and BC and we got to spend
some quality cousin time together.
best part was all the family time. My sister and her husband flew in
from Afghanistan, cousins came from Ontario and BC and we got to spend
some quality cousin time together.
Even better was that the second
generation of cousins got to spend time together and form the same close
ties that my cousins and I share. I am so blessed and lucky to have
these guys in my life.
generation of cousins got to spend time together and form the same close
ties that my cousins and I share. I am so blessed and lucky to have
these guys in my life.
Of course there was food! Lots of it! From
savoury to sweet, cultural to local, we filled our bellies at many
events over ten days. We even managed a dinner at Brava Bistro, more on
that to come.
savoury to sweet, cultural to local, we filled our bellies at many
events over ten days. We even managed a dinner at Brava Bistro, more on
that to come.
Congratulations A and S! Wishing you a happy ever after!