The Kitchen Post

Things are good around the kitchen these days. The season is changing ever so slowly but there is light early in the morning when we get up and it lingers just a little bit longer in the evenings too. I can feel it inside myself and I'll bet you can too. I am not ready to give up warming, comfort foods quite yet though. We are still buried under more snow than I can remember having in recent years and it is still going down to the -20C range at nights so Spring is still far away here in Saskatchewan. A little while back I made these Pumpkin scones. Even though I know scones is pronounced "sconz" I always say scones with a long o. Either way you say it this is a really simple, delicious recipe. I didn't do the double glaze as I don't like sweet food and they were plenty sweet enough. You should try them. Maybe tomorrow for breakfast with your coffee?

 

I finally figured out why my bread always had a crack at one side. Actually, Paul figured it out. 10 years as a Safeway Bakery Manager might have had something to do with it. He told me he thought I should shape the dough into three loaves instead of two as he figured the outside baked too fast and when the inside baked and rose it split the crust. I heeded his advice and he was absolutely right! Now I have 3 lighter loaves, which I totally prefer to the two more dense loaves. To say I was pleased about this may be an understatement. See for yourself.

And as you can further see, I still have trouble sizing the loaves equally. Perhaps I can use my kitchen scale? Good idea, no?

And speaking of warming foods, there really is no food more warming than Indian curries. I just love them. The myriad of spices used are fragrant and colorful and oh so tasty! And because curries don't photograph well, or shall I say, I don't photograph curries well I just took pictures of the spices before they got all cooked up together. This Indian Butter Chicken recipe in the slow cooker is so easy and good. Best part is you only cook the chicken for the last 40 minutes or so, and in that way the chicken stays moist and not rubbery. I like to throw this in the slow cooker on a busy Monday or on a day we head to the city. That way I'll be guaranteed a beautiful healthy meal is waiting when we get home.

 

Another thing that makes me so happy in the kitchen is when I can avoid wasting precious food. That is one downfall about not having a grocery store nearby. I tend to over buy so I won't have to run to the city very often. And when I have yogurt that is about to expire, of course I freeze it in popsicles for Athena. She thinks she may be the only kid to get a popsicle for breakfast. Maybe she is right? I don't know if the probiotics survive freezing or not. I pretend they do and give them to her anyway.

 

And as healthily as I like to think we eat, sometimes on a Saturday, my lunch looks like this.
Not very often but if we have a big breakfast I am not hungry for lunch. Hey, a lot of people I know eat popcorn for meals!

And little Miss A has been offering more and more to help with the cooking. This vanilla pudding was quickly turned into chocolate when she became chef. It is such a good recipe that I want to share it with you here.

Organic strawberries have been back in the market lately and someone couldn't be happier. There are certain things I WON'T buy unless they are organic. Strawberries are one of them. The others are apples, celery, carrots, any type of berries, pears, and  peaches. We call them "poison" if they aren't organic. Paul thinks I'm silly.

Tonight in the kitchen I'll be making Broiled Thai Tilapia. Again, all those great aromatic spices and coconut milk and lots of chopped cilantro on top. Simple, flavourful and healthy.

 

 

Of course cooking is not all that happens in this kitchen of mine. There is always a whole lot of kitty loving going on. Sunbeams, kittens and little girls always seem to go so well together. Don't they?