Food Mamma

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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?

world partnership walk

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This Sunday, head on down to Prince’s Island for the annual World Partnership Walk. This walk has been around for almost thirty years and it’s a tradition in many households, like mine. This walk has grown over the years and it’s so great to now have my son participate. He’s collecting funds this year and if you’d like to make a donation, we would be most grateful.

Funds raised at this walk go directly to fund international development projects. What makes this different than other fundraisers? 100% of funds raised by the World Partnership Walk go directly to the projects – not one cent is spent on administration!

Click here to check out the many activities happening at the event. After the walk, there are some awesome food vendors which include some of Calgary’s awesome food trucks. Check out the menu below.

Hope to see you there!

fibre 1 almond & cluster delight cereal…and a box for you!

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Having an energetic four year old means I need to ensure he has the proper breakfast to keep him going during the day. As much as I try and tempt him with eggs, his first choice is always cereal. I always try to look for cereal that is nutritious but will get him excited. With 40% of your daily-recommended intake of fibre in one bowl, I was happy to find that the new Fibre 1 Almond & Cluster Delight Cereal kept both him and his mamma happy.

The sweet cereal was tasty and filling and the flakes had quite the crunch. My favourite were the almond-filled clusters and the slivered almonds – I am a bit of a nut freak. It was perfect with milk but also great to take on the go for a quick snack for Q…and me!

Want to try a box for yourself? Head on over to the Life Made Delicious Facebook page where, until June 25th, you can order a coupon for a free box. If you prefer, you can choose a coupon for one box of Honey Nut Cheerios Hearty Oat Crunch. The coupon will be redeemable for one day only, July 16th.  While you’re on their Facebook page, be sure to check out the other great products that they have launched such as Nature Valley, Fibre 1 bars, Golden Grahams OR Cinnamon Toast Crunch treats. The coupon for these tasty treat can be redeemed on July 23rd.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Fibre
1 Almond & Cluster Delight Cereal blogger campaign by Mom Central
Canada on behalf of General Mills. I received compensation as a thank
you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on
this blog are my own.

playing with spices: cumin

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This month, we are playing with cumin. Cumin can be used in its seed form or ground into a powder. It’s a versatile spice in that it is used in a range of cuisines, from Indian and Middle Eastern to Mexican and Spanish.

The seed is derived from a plant in the parsley family. The seed itself is often mistaken for caraway seeds or fennel.  It is a warm spice with a distinctive flavour.

Cumin is used a lot in our house. It is key to many curries and of course for chili.  Hubby’s favourite use of cumin is in a salted lassi. Although I prefer the sweet kind, he loves the cumin spiced creamy drink.

Salted Lassi

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch salt
ice

Place the yogurt and water in a glass.  Crush the cumin seeds in your hand and add to the glass along with salt. Add ice and serve.

koob the kabob factory

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Since hubby’s been working in Mission for the past year, I have often been jealous of the places he is able to frequent so easily for lunch. There are so many great restaurants on 4th Street and I was happy to finally try out Koob, a place he frequents often.

Koob serves up meat kabobs in a pita, topped with fresh veggies and sauces. The delish ‘Koobwich’ is generously filled and then grilled.The owners and the staff at Koob are super friendly and the service was great.

You get a choice of meat (chicken, beef or lamb) or you can go veggie if you wish. The meat is grilled on an open flame while you choose the toppings for your pita. I think I had the whole lot with fresh veggies such as basil tomatoes and sumac onions.

These veggies are then topped with sauces of your choice, many of them made in-house. With the large variety they had, it was hard to choose. I settled on the Koob aioli and the garlic. Both were excellent choices.

My choice of lamb was a great one. The meat was well seasoned and was delicious. Q’s new favourite thing is lamb and he definitely approved. Healthy and tasty – next time I’m stuck for dinner, I know what I’ll be asking hubby to bring home.

Koob The Kabob Factory on Urbanspoon

panang curry

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With all my posts of various Thai restaurants we have been to, it’s no secret that we love it. Today, I had a craving for Panang but decided it would be a good thing to know how to make it from scratch. I found a simple recipe and made a few changes to make it on the mild side so we could all enjoy it.

Q and I had a fun time at the Asian market picking up the items we needed for the paste. He learned all about kumquats and guava and he picked up treats for himself. He was quite the helper, crushing up some peanuts to top the flavourful curry.

This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit via Epicurious. I substituted the dried chilies with a red bell pepper and added fragrant ingredients like lemon grass and kaffir leaves.  The pungent aroma of the paste filled the kitchen and mellowed when it hit the coconut milk.

To make the curry, I adapted a recipe from Rachel Cooks Thai. I used chicken instead of beef and added the veggies we had in our fridge. Served with a bowlful of delicious coconut rice, it was a satisfying and comforting meal. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s leftovers!

Panang Curry Paste
Adapted from Bon Appetit via Epicurious

1 red pepper, cut into chunks
2 fresh lemongrass stalks, thinly sliced
3 TB roasted peanuts
6 dried kaffir leaves
1 large shallot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 TB crushed ginger
1 serrano chile, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Process until a paste forms, adding a small amount of water if necessary.

Panang Curry
Adapted from Rachel Cooks Thai

1 can coconut milk
3 TB panang curry paste
3 chicken breasts, cubed
1 red pepper
2 carrots, sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar

Scoop the top 1/3 cup of thicker coconut milk off the top of a newly opened can and into a large pan. Heat the coconut milk over medium heat until it starts to boil and separate.

Add the curry paste and stir into the coconut milk until its well incorporated. Then add your chicken and veggies and coat them with the curry paste.

Add the rest of the coconut milk and let the chicken cook.

Once the chicken and veggies are cooked, add the kaffir lime leaves and season with fish sauce and sugar.

Top with cilantro peanuts and serve with coconut rice.

paya for mother’s day

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On Saturday, hubby and I headed to Banff for the Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival. It was a lovely day to go and we enjoyed some amazing food. Lamb, Scallops, Plantain, Chocolate Dipped Baklava, Seafood Risotto – it was amazing!

The next morning Q came running into my room with a bag full of presents, some things he had bought me, some he had picked out from his toy collection. He has the biggest heart ever!

We had invited our families over for a Mother’s Day brunch. This year, I wanted to do something different, something a little Indian. I figured it would be a nice surprise and a slight change from the eggs we were considering doing.

I decided on paya, a favourite for both moms.  Paya is an Indian/Pakistani dish made with goat trotters.  The flavourful broth is eaten with french bread and then the marrow from the bones is eaten.  I find that people either love it or hate it. Hubby didn’t want me to work too hard but this was the easiest of meals. I tossed everything into a slow cooker the night before and it was ready to go in time for brunch. The meal was a success and it was minimal effort for a lot of praise.

Paya

2 pounds goat trotters
3 medium onions, blended
3 cinnamon sticks
10 black peppercorn
5 cardamom pods
5 cloves
2 TB salt
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp chili powder (or more if desired)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
cilantro

Wash the trotters really well and place in a slow cooker.  Add the onions and spices, except for the paprika and cover with enough water.  Let cook for 8 to 10 hours on low.  Right before serving, add the paprika, enough to get the desired colour. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with french bread.