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stampede breakfast and leftover popcorn

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Wow, it’s been a crazy day! We started off our day at the Ismaili Stampede Breakfast. Hard to believe that this annual tradition is already in its 17th year! The crowd was addressed by Premier Redford, everyone’s favourite Mayor and Commander Hadfield. I think everyone was excited to see a real life astronaut!

We were served up some good Stampede grub, pancakes, but also some eggs and bharazi, an East African dish.

Although our week was just as crazy, we managed to squeeze in a movie. Q was so excited to see Despicable Me 2 and so we went with his cousins to the movies. How cute are those minions!

I love the movies! I always get some popcorn, because really, movies and popcorn go hand in hand. I always have so much leftover though and find myself snacking on it for days. While snacking on my salt and vinegar/white cheddar popcorn today, I was reminded of Julie’s recipe for Sriracha Caramel Popcorn. Of course, I had to make some and I’m so glad I did. The hint of heat hit you after you got the bit of sweet. It was just the snack I was looking for. Check out the recipe here.

raspberry cream cheese frosting

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Today’s my sister-in-law’s birthday – Happy Birthday R!! As much as she didn’t want to celebrate, we did convince her that cake was in order. Her cake of choice was one of my faves, red velvet. I decided to change up the frosting a little and use some of the great raspberries that we have been enjoying.

With the weather being nice and hot, and not really conducive to frosting, I kept the consistency perfect for spreading. For a stiffer icing that you can pipe, just add a little more icing sugar.

The icing was yummy and complemented the red velvet cupcakes perfectly. With lots leftover, it will be hard to not go dunking everything in it!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 block cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup raspberries, mashed with a fork
1 1/2 to 2 cups icing sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter together until nice and smooth. Add the raspberries and mix again. With your mixer on, slowly incorporate the icing sugar until you reach the desired consistency.

spicy ranch roasted red pepper dip

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While playing in the kitchen once again with the ranch dressings from Hidden Valley Ranch, I thought it would be fun to makeover one of our regulars – roasted red pepper dip.  The addition of the Spicy Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing added a punch and made the beloved dip even better! The dressing provided just the right amount of heat and tang.

Spicy Ranch Roasted Red Pepper Dip

1 red pepper
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 TB Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt
pepper
olive oil

Quarter the red pepper and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. At this point, you can remove the skin, but I prefer to leave it on.

In a blender, blend together the garlic and roasted red pepper. Add the Spicy Hidden Valley Ranch dressing along with the mayonnaise and blend a final time.

wasabi ranch glazed panko-crusted salmon

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The clean up in Calgary is underway and it has been amazing to see everyone chip in one way or another to get the city up and running. Despite the fact that the Stampede grounds were affected in a huge way with the flood, the Calgary Stampede will go ahead, “come hell or high water”. The greatest show on earth will go on!

I was excited to be asked to participate once again in Hidden Valley Ranch‘s Ranchify Recipe Challenge.  Last year, I submitted cheesy ranch fried pickles, spicy ranch shrimp kebabs, and cherry tomato ranch meatballs. I had fun creating recipes again this year, one of them being the wasabi ranch glazed panko-crusted salmon (whoa, that’s a mouthful!).  Ned Bell will be judging all the recipes and will demo the winning recipe at the Calgary Stampede.

Salmon is a great go-to, especially since Q eats it without complaining. Paired with a salad, it’s a quick and tasty meal.

The ranch dressing went really well with the wasabi and the soya sauce combined with the panko created a delicious Japanese-inspired meal. The salmon was moist and the wasabi ranch glaze added a huge amount of flavour. This will definitely be making the rounds again.

Wasabi Ranch Glazed Panko-Crusted Salmon

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 TB soya sauce
3 TB Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
1/4 tsp wasabi
salmon
Olive oil
Sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the dressing and the wasabi and put a layer of the mixture on the salmon filets.

Combine the panko with the zest, garlic and soya sauce.  Press the breadcrumbs on the salmon filets on top of the layer of ranch dressing.

Heat oil in an oven-ready pan. When hot, place the salmon filet, skin side down and sear until the skin is brown. Drizzle olive oil on top of the breadcrumbs and place in the oven until cooked.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with salad.
 

calgary flood

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It’s been so hard to believe what has been happening the last few days in my hometown of Calgary and other places in Alberta. The rivers raged and overflowed and I don’t think anyone could have guessed the destruction the flooding would cause.

We were the lucky ones, not directly being affected but thousands were not. Downtown was evacuated and many people were displaced.  Homes were lost, arenas were damaged, cars floated away, but through it all, the spirit of Calgary was not dampened.

  

It has been amazing to see all the people come together during this crisis. From our awesome mayor and the hardworking public servants to the generosity of so many, the response from the community has been amazing – THANK YOU!

happy birthday to my sister!

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It’s my sister’s birthday today! Wishing she was here so that we could celebrate her big day. Instead, my sister is living her dream, working in the developing world, trying to make a difference. 

Wishing my beautiful sister the happiest of birthdays!  Can’t wait to celebrate with you soon. Love you!


strawberry edamame salad

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Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful dads out there! Hope everyone had a great time celebrating the men in their lives. We had a family potluck and my job was salad and dessert.

Since we were initially going to have a picnic, I decided that cupcakes were the way to go. They’re portable and everyone could have their own. Although we skipped out on the picnic, I stuck with the original plan and made some mini coconut cupcakes.

I know some people think that being in charge of salad can be kind of boring. I think if it is, the salad is just not worth eating. It’s always fun to play with textures and tastes and make a salad that everyone goes back for.

I started with the greens, both spinach and baby romaine.  I also wanted to add a few of Q’s favourite things, so that he would be enticed to eat his veggies. One thing he can’t seem to get enough of, at the moment, is edamame. These were cooked for less than five minutes and cooled.  Added to the mix were crisp rings of sweet peppers, sweet slices of strawberries, tangy goat cheese and crispy fried onions.

I thought a balsamic dressing would be great to go with the strawberries and goat cheese. The tangy balsamic was cut with a bit of sweet honey and the salad went perfect with our Father’s Day meal of ribs, chicken, rice, corn and potatoes.

Balsamic Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp honey
salt
pepper

Combine and drizzle as needed.

end of the school year

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The school year has just flown by and it’s already Q’s last week of preschool.  Hard to believe he will be starting kindergarten in the Fall!

Last year, his first year of preschool, I had found this fabulous idea from Pinterest – have every teacher from preschool to grade twelve sign the encouraging Dr Seuss book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”. The book is inspirational and to have each teacher throughout the years write a special note to your child is just precious.  How terrific of a graduation gift is this!

I can’t remember where I found this note, but it’s one I printed out and clipped to the front of the book, letting teachers know the what and the why.

So far, the comments have been amazing and I know it will be a book that will be treasured.

This is what I did for teacher gifts, both last year and again this year. Anything personalized is always a hit.

 

To keep in touch with all his friends from school, I got inspired with this great idea from Becoming Martha with her Stay in Touch cards. I wanted to make cookies with a little note for all Q’s friends. After a crazy busy weekend though, the last thing I wanted to do was be in the kitchen.  Instead, I bought everyone smarties and attached a little note. Simple and quick but with a terrific treat.

What are some things you do for the end of the school year?