This is time. Not coming up to Christmas. Certainly not January through March. It's this time of year. From the end of March until the end of the school year is the time that seems to slip through my fingers. I can't keep up with the date or which weekend is which because they are flying by so quickly. Before I know it the end of March has turned into the first week of June and spring has gone bye bye and I've somehow missed it all. The seasonal garden centre near my house is closing up shop and I haven't even gotten a chance to get in there let along put as much as a trowel into the ground. The rhubarb is as good as gone and I think that there might have been a long weekend and a wedding anniversary tucked in there but I can't quite remember.
I'm not sure why it happens. Could be in part due to the time change that we are forced to participate in twice a year (One guess as to which side of that argument I fall on) Might be that the days are getting longer - but one would think that might cause time to slow down a bit. Could also be that just when I want more time to stop and smell the roses that aren't quite out yet that's when everything else kicks into high gear. Concert season looms. The yearly concert tour is imminent. Events and gala appearances are piling up. Kids are gearing up for the end of the school year (and this will be our first  set of high school exams!) And let's not forget the many shows on netflix that I have waiting in my cue - haven't even touched those yet. Kid #1 and I are still working through season two of Gilmore Girls and it's taken us months to get that far.


Then there is this recipe. I was so happy that for one evening I had the house to myself. By 'evening' I mean two hours after 7pm. In that time I got the recipe out of the oven, seasoned properly, adequately photo'd and entire recipe entered as a draft. So much accomplished... and that was three weeks ago. THREE. I cringe and whither a little on the inside when I think about it for long.
As such, I've decided that Easter weekend will also be a second thanksgiving weekend for me because I need to remind myself of the things that are good and that will sustain me through the frenetic pace of the next 8 weeks.
1. Winter is gone. Even though it doesn't exactly always feel like it, it is gone. The temperatures will get better and better.
2. After months of mourning I have discovered (to quote the title here) that there is a god who cares about humanity. Here is my proof
3. Music still inspires me. Thank you D'Angelo, Kendrick Lamar, Hey Rosetta, SIA, Die Antwoord and Mafikizolo.
4. Cadbury mini eggs are no longer seasonal.
5. Nickel Brook Headstock IPA exists and is a beautiful thing.  Best part: it is available near me at a place that also serves great food.
6. I can run outside again without four layers on.
7. It is virtually impossible to destroy pork and beans.
What more can be said? I'm sure I will think of other things to be thankful for but the general theme will be unchanged. Happy Eastergiving.


My version of Pork and Beans
serves 6 - 8

2 - 3 lb pork roast
1 medium onion
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 med fennel bulb
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/4 cup navy beans, dry
2 boullion cubes
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaf
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp worcestershire
2 - 3 tbsp soy sauce
2 - 3 cups water
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
pepper sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 300°F
Heat a heavy bottomed/oven friendly dutch oven over medium/low heat.
Add about 3 tbsp of oil.
Add the veggies (except for the garlic) and turn the heat down a little. Heat for about 10 min, stirring to keep from sticking. add in the garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the boullion cubes, salt, bay leaf, brown sugar, worcestershire, soy sauce and water. Mix well.
Add the navy beans and mix, making sure that the water completely covers the beans with about a half inch of liquid extra.
Add the pork roast.
Roast covered for about 3 hours, checking every hour that the water is good and it's not going dry.
After 3 hours remove from oven and check the beans for doneness (are they soft) and the pork as well (it should be more than enough time). If it needs more time then put it back in for another 30 minutes at 250°F and check again.
Once everything is done, remove the pork from the bean mixture.
Add the tomato paste, molasses and apple cider vinegar to the beans and mix well. Check taste and add salt or more molasses if necessary (and a little pepper sauce in there as well ;-)
Cut the pork roast into large pieces (or large chunks if it is just falling apart like mine) and place back in with the beans.
Serve with mashed potato, crusty break or nothing at all.

It's really quite ridiculous that I'm even posting a recipe like this.  I bet you have thought of making this in some incarnation or another about a million times.  You've probably  gone through with it and actually prepared the thing maybe about a thousand times.  It's so easy and basic that I feel kinda silly but the truth is that it's all I've got.  Another truth is that I really need to break the ice, break the silence, break the break and pump something out.
Our house being in total chaos - and the large part of that chaos being the kitchen - for the entire summer has just derailed me.  My summer was sanding and staining and taping and painting and trying to find some sanity while not being able to make a morning coffee.  The good news is that the kitchen is done.  I can now make my morning coffee.  I only make it on the weekends though because I truly believe that morning coffee is a ritual that is sacred enough not to be rushed.  Rushed is the only way that morning coffee will happen throughout the workweek.

Is there anyone out there without a potato somewhere in their kitchen?

This recipe is easy enough that you can use whatever veggies you have in your house, you will pretty much be guaranteed to have the other ingredients just about all of the time and lastly, you really have to try hard to screw it up.  Even though I'm back in my kitchen it doesn't feel like my kitchen quite yet - although I'm getting there. Generally, I'm going with some easy, quick and comfortable recipes.  When I'm not making this kind of thing, I'm pretty much either snacking on toast, chips or going out for something.
And this brings me to the story portion of this post.  Last week, on labour day monday to be exact, I took the kids out in a fit of starving, exhausted, desperation.  We went to The Wren (a fantastic little spot about 10 min's walk from my front door with great food and a fantastic craft beer selection).  I happen to read this blog on a regular basis and the blogger also frequents The Wren so every time I'm there I always kinda scan the place just out of interest to see if she might be there.  So I'm sitting with my two kids trying to be sane and sip my beer when who sits down at the large table right beside me but the Yum Yum Factor Lady (at least that what I call her in my head).  I tell the kids while trying to be inconspicuous.  Kid #2 is 8 and hungry and couldn't give a rip and probably didn't even hear what I was going on about.  Kid #1 is riveted and tells me I should say something.  She also tells me that if she can text Misha Collins (?) and some other actor guy that is super important to her about something or other.... well then I can certainly walk up to someone (now I did make the point here that in person and on line are two very different things) and tell them that I like their work.  Truthfully, I felt weird about it but I thought about how I would feel if someone walked up to me and told me that they really liked my blog.  I would be thrilled (I think) and flattered (definitely) and not weirded out at all (unless they proceeded to do something weird or confusing).  So I strategized with kid #1.  She took kid #2 outside once we were done and I - very naturally, politely and casually - interrupted the Yum Yum Factor Lady's meal by telling her how much I loved her blog.  I think that she was happy and asked to take a picture with me.  Kids #1 and #2 stared very conspicuously through the front window.  If you want to see the picture go here (she looks sassy and cool in the hat - I'm the other one)
The moral of this story:
1. Tell people when you like them, their work or their hat.
2. Post more shit on the blog so that maybe someday someone out there will feel inspired enough to introduce themselves to me if they see me somewhere.
3. Go to The Wren.

Still playing with (ie. screwing up) a 35mm camera lens which was an Awesome Gift from D.  My pictures are not happy.

Fridge Frittata
serves 4

3 - 4 med potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices (very approximate)
1 red or yellow pepper, coarsely diced
1/2 cup onion, coarsely diced
2 lg cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups milk
4 egg whites (you can simply add 3 extra eggs if you don't have egg whites from ice cream hanging around)
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp each - dried basil, marjoram and parsley
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp pepper sauce (optional)
1 1/2 cups cheddar, shredded
1 med tomato, sliced into 1/3 inch slices

Preheat oven to 375°F
Boil potatoes for about 6 minutes, drain and set aside
Heat a large caste iron (i.e. something big that can go straight to the oven) skillet over medium heat.
Add some oil or fat.
Throw in the pepper, onion and garlic.  Cool for about 4 minutes and turn the heat off.
In a large bowl combine the milk, egg whites, egg, salt, herbs, worcestershire, soy sauce and pepper sauce.  Whisk until fully combined and set aside.
Mix the drained potatoes with the cooked vegetables until they are mixed up well.
Sprinkle the cheese over it all.
Pour the milk mixture over that (it should cover everything)
Place the tomato slices on top and push them down just a little.
Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.  The middle should not be liquid.
Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Yay Me.  I think that this may be the first week in many many many where I have managed to get two posts out.  I'm feeling a little self congratulatory about it and may even make up some kind of award for myself.  On second thought, maybe I will wait until my track record starts to become consistently better before going the award route.  And with that, off we go on what promises to be one of my most scattered posts to date.
 For mother's day/anniversary (which happened on the same day this year) D gave me a new camera lense which I love and am getting used to whenever I have time to play around with it.  I'm looking forward to some hikes, portraits and lots of food shots with this lens.  I have gotten a little time to play though and done a couple of head shots for D who was doing a show this week that required such things.
In other news:
1.  Our house is all over the place right now.  We have finally organized ourselves enough to fund a reno and fix project and have taken the plunge.  What this means is that I have 50% of a kitchen (which will probably become 0% very soon), that our front stairs have no flooring on them and that our backyard space is a combination of rotting deck (that is soon to get ripped out), drywall and dead cabinets.  We are purging like crazy (easy to do) and trying not to get frustrated (hard to do).


2.  Our kids have applied, auditioned, gotten letters, been put on waiting lists and finally have both gotten into schools of their first choice.  The relief I feel about this is palpable and when they were on waiting lists for one reason or another I felt a real sense of failure as a parent.  My reaction surprised me and I haven't taken time to pull it apart yet.
3.  D is having a crazy May.  I am having a crazy May and it just fuels my i-hate-december-and-may thing.  The problem is that this crazy that's been going on doesn't exactly look like it's letting up any time soon.  TIRED.  Silver lining - refer to #, sentence 2.  $$$

This has to be my worst photo on this blog... and who would do this to a cake BTW?  A seven year old apparently.

4.  I haven't baked in a long time - except for today when I was asked by kid #2 for a cake to celebrate his school acceptance (please refer to item #1).  I haven't calculated how long exactly but it's a long time for me - over a month for sure.  Feels weird... when I have time to think about it.  I also haven't gotten my bike out yet.  This is very very weird and it has to end.  I took my bike in for the annual tune up today.
5.  I had an interesting conversation with a colleague about how I am doing (or not doing) and what some strategies might be to feel better about myself.  My non-work life is angst ridden and changing all the time which is guess is normal and healthy.  Parenting is stressing me out... I'm learning to deal with it.
6.  It's a good thing that I remembered to pull this out of the fridge, heat a bowl up and take some pictures of it the day after I made it because very very shortly after that it was gone.  Of course that's a good thing because it means that it tasted good.  Even better is that this is good for you (I'm going to studiously avoid using 'healthy').  There is meat in here but you could definitely leave it out and add in more beans without losing much.  I get more buy in with kids when the meat is present.  If the meat doesn't buy you anything then go for a meatless version.

Playing with the new lens and nailing the background focus totally.

7.  You may be wondering why you haven't seen these wonderful, life changing pictures of the fiddlehead ragu.  Turns out, after all of my self congratulation, that my sd card got compromised.  So I have some lovely reno shots, a shot of basil and some of the cake that kid #2 asked for (refer to item #2).  Well that's funny.  After going back to bed and crying into my pillow for a while, D suggested I post the recipe anyway because it was so good.  The flattery worked and even though you are seeing tools, basil and a cake this is a really good recipe that you should try and if you think to take pictures send them to me please.

Fiddleheads, Sausage and Bean ragu
serves 6 - 8

1/2 cup onion, diced
2 med carrots, coarsely sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb sausage, uncooked and cut into slices
1 1/2 boullion cubes
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 1/2 (approx) cups fiddleheads, stem tips removed
2 - 3 cups spinach, stems remove and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
400 ml (1 small can) cannellini beans, half drained
1/3 cup water (optional)
1/2 tsp pepper sauce (optional)

Heat a heavy bottomed dutch oven or pot (I used a caste iron thing) over medium heat.
Once heated, turn the heat down to med/low and add about 2 tbsp of oil or fat.
Add in the onion and carrot.  Cook for about 7 min or until the onion is starting to caramelize.
Add in the garlic and sausage and cook together for another 5 minutes.
Add in the bouillon cubes, oregano, basil, soy sauce, ketchup and worcestershire sauce.  Mix and cook together for another 5 minutes to let the flavours mingle.
Add in the fiddleheads, cumin and salt.  Mix well
Add the half drained cannellini beans and the spinach.  Mix well and cover, turning down the heat to low.  Uncover after about 20 minutes.  If it looks a little dry add in some of the water.
Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes more.
Check the tastes and adjust if necessary.  Add a little pepper sauce.

Serve with mashed potato or rice.

It seems like yesterday that I was running around Italy with 180 boys.  It wasn't yesterday though, it was last April.  Seven whole months ago.  It seems like yesterday though because I've been running around small town Ontario for the last two days with 180 boys.  Italy vs Small Town Ontario?  I won't comment.
We just finished a very short, whirl-wind tour to kick off our 2013 Christmas Concert Season.  You forget the pain of tour so quickly when it's over and then it hits you so quickly once you are back in the saddle again.  The exhaustion.  The lack of food.  The constant running.  The long hours.  The stress of concert after concert.  The tour becomes your life for that period of time.  You forget that you used to like breakfast and reading the paper.  You forget that eating could be a pleasant experience.  You forget that the internet is a real thing and that news is still happening somewhere.
In the 48 hours while I was away Kid #1 got her first 'Will you go out with me' request (which she declined but they are still friends apparently) and handed in her high school applications, Kid #2 had a play date and skipped Karate class and D played a dance class for a Canadian dance Icon.  That's just the news at our address - the stuff I missed within the walls of the little place we call home.  Just imagine what else happened out there.
When it comes to food on tour it's usually pretty depressing and the last 48 hours have done nothing to lift my mood.  Day one presented pizza, apples and granola bars for lunch and dinner was lasagna, salad and a bun.  Day two brought us pizza for lunch (no apple, no granola bar) and lasagna, salad and a bun for dinner.  I'm sensing a theme here.  I know that it's hard to successfully feed 200 people on a budget but it's like the two churches (in different towns no less) got the same deal or something.  Day one I ate 4 apples and two cartons of chocolate milk, 1 salad and half a bun with two bites of lasagna thrown in there before I gave up.  Day two: 1 salad and a bun with two bites of lasagna before giving up.
Lessons learned from this tour:
1. Most boys under the age of 30 are more concerned with how much food there is rather than what that food tastes like.
2. If given the choice between church coffee and church tea, always choose tea.


This soup is neither pizza nor lasagna and although it tasted great nobody was jazzed about eating it except kid #2 (oddly) I think that a couple of days alone with my tour menu would fix them all right up.


Roasted Celeriac and Fennel with Kale and White Beans Soup
serves 8

1 med sized celeriac (celery root), peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
2 small fennel bulbs, thickly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, whole and still in the skin
grease or oil to coat
1 leek, washed and thinly sliced
2 cups kale (I used lacinato/black kale), torn or sliced into rough slices
1 can (about 1 cup) white beans (cannellini or navy bean), drained and rinsed
4 cups good broth (I used leftover turkey broth - surprise surprise)
1 tbsp parsley, oregano, marjoram
1 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350°F
On a baking sheet, spread out the celeriac chunks, fennel and garlic.  Toss everything in some oil or grease.  Spread out evenly on the baking sheet and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Roast for about 35 - 40 min or until everything is soft and golden brown.
Remove from oven and set aside.
Heat a large soup pot or dutch oven over med/low heat.  Add a little oil or butter (about 1-2 tbsp) and the leeks.  Let them cook over low heat for about 7 - 8 minutes.  Remove the casing from the roasted garlic and add the roasted veggies to the leeks.  Stir to mix.  Add about half of the broth and heat through.
In a blender or using an immersion blender, blitz everything until it is a smooth consistency.  (Pour back into the pot if you took it out to blend) Add the rest of the broth and stir to heat through.  Add the herbs, nutmeg and salt.  Mix well.  Check the taste.
Add in the kale, beans and parmesan and heat through until the parmesan has melted in.
Add about 1/2 cup of milk - more if you would like it a little thinner.
Check the taste and adjust (like by adding pepper sauce) if necessary.

I wrote in one of my recent posts about how difficult it was for me to talk about myself.  The immense trust that I need to feel in order to open up and how much easier it is to listen to other people and sympathize, offer advice or just simply listen.  I was struck again this week with it all when I received a request from a website called recipes.ca.
Recipes.ca is a site dedicated to canadians and their recipes.  You can join and add your own recipes, search for others and review the ones you've tried.  I add all of my recipes to the site and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it and even having my recipes featured.  Last week they contacted me about being a featured cook, a 'foodstar' in fact.  Being the diva that I am [not], I said 'yes' and 'thank you' and 'flattered' and got handed [read: sent] a list of questions that I had to fill out.  Frozen.  In my tracks.  I am completely and utterly paralyzed.
I read the questions and to be honest they are pretty standard.  But I might want to be funny here and there or think of something super cool or come up with something truly unique... like... what?  What's my favourite kitchen gadget?  What?  I don't know.  My perfect meal?  god, really?  I haven't ever thought about that.  Should the answer be Mother Theresa or something?  I feel like maybe there's a magic answer that I'm missing.
I haven't even started to type out my answers.  I have to send them a message and tell them I'm still working on it.  That I haven't forgotten about them.  Here's the kicker though - after I've typed out all my super awesome, insightful, witty, intelligent answers then I have to submit my favourite recipe.  Like I have a favourite recipe.  My favourite recipe is whatever one I'm making today.  Seriously.  I need to retool that in my brain as my 'go-to' recipe or something.  It's just not going to make sense for me otherwise and then I'll get totally stuck on that too.


This is segueing rather awkwardly to this stroganoff recipe.  In fact, the recipe has nothing to do with any of the recipes.ca stuff except I made it today.  You might know me well enough by now to know that I have a habit of loading veggies where they might not otherwise be.  Hence the addition of beets.  The beets should be golden or chiogga beets unless you want the stroganoff to be a deep red instead of a lovely dark orange colour.  I did not add tomato to this recipe because once I tasted it without the tomato paste I thought it was more than fine without it.  The lemon was essential for me and we all thought that having the stroganoff with crusty garlic bread was a novelty [read: kid #2 pretty much only ate the garlic bread].

The outdoor dinner: complete with towels for placemats (everything else is in the laundry) and stroganoff on the right.  p.s. radishes do, in fact, taste pretty good with cheese and bread

Beef and Beet Stroganoff adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine
serves 4 - 6

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups golden beets, ends cut off, peeled where necessary (where little roots are growing) and diced into 1 inch cubes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb Beef tips or stewing beef, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
4 cups mushrooms (I used button b/c that's what I had but cremini or wild would work well), thinly sliced
3 tbsp flour or corn starch
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp paprika
3/4 cup beef or vegetable broth (low sodium if possible)
1/4 cup sherry or white wine (optional: you can use extra broth instead)
1/4 cup cream
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
squeeze of lemon juice

2 tbsp fresh dill, coarsely chopped
sour cream for dolloping
Crusty Bread

Heat a heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium heat.  Add about 2 - 3 tbsp of butter or oil.  Add the onion and beets and cook for about 5 minutes.  Turn the heat down to medium low and continue to cook for another 8 minutes or until the beets are just beginning to soften.
Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 3 - 4 minutes.  Add in the beef and mushrooms and continue to cook until the meet browns.
Add in the beef and mushrooms and continue to cook until the meat browns.
Add the flour or corn starch, salt, sugar and paprika and mix well.
Add in about a 1/4 cup broth to the pot to keep things from sticking.  Make sure the scrape the bottom of the pot so that everything that's sticking comes off and the flavour is retained.
Add the sherry, cream and Worcestershire. Stir well and check the taste.  Add the squeeze of lemon juice.  Simmer at very low heat for about 25 minutes or until the beets are completely soft.
Remove to a serving dish and sprinkle with fresh dill.
Dollop each serving with a little sour cream.
Serve with egg noodles or crusty garlic bread.

A funny thing has been happening to me.  I lost weight... in Italy.  Italy is now a place where everyone goes expecting to gain weight now thanks to 'Eat, Pray, Love'.  I've been trying to figure out why exactly because it's a noticeable amount of weight.  Here's my run-down:
I didn't sleep much (that's supposed to make me gain pounds not lose them)
I had my gross morning tea (apple cider vinegar and honey - good for the gall bladder) way before eating unlike at home where I drank and ate simultaneously.
I completely lost my chocolate tooth.
I worked out anywhere between 20 minutes and 40 per day (mostly 20 min) which is less than my usual.
I drank beer and/or wine almost everyday. (again, shouldn't that make me gain pounds?)
My meals were regular but sometimes I didn't get to eat everything on my plate (but we're talking 3 courses at least)
I walked quite a bit but not a lot.
Each meal (with the exception of breakfast) contained pasta and bread of some sort.
In short, there is really nothing here that yells WEIGHT LOSS in all of the normally prescribed ways one might think.  If anything, according to almost all the advice out there I should have gained weight.  Once I came back to Canada and realised what was happening (i.e. 'where the hell did my tummy go') I started racking my brain for the magic formula.  How could I keep this going? (It has continued but again I'm not sure why) Then I would feel stupid and guilty and angry that it even mattered to me because I don't want to be all 'OMG size totally doesn't matter' when it comes to other people and all 'OMG I can't fit into a size ___ anymore' when it comes to me.  That's lame.  All the same, something was changing here and I'm curious to find out why.
Then I started reading one of my favourite blogs.  She talks a lot about her crazy food/eating journey and how jacked up it has been and how much she's working on making better terms for her.  For her mind body and for her food.  She is learning to eat again.  In fact, a lot of people out there are getting really sick of diets or no carbs or salads all the time or whatever.  People are starting to just eat real food again and maybe they're losing weight, maybe they're not.  What I seem to be finding though is that they are feeling better.  Eating real food as they want it (not junk - let's be clear) including bread or pasta or rice or ice cream and getting lots of rest makes people feel better.
I'm thinking about all of this.  It flies in the face of just about everything I've ever been told to do when trying to maintain a 'healthy' weight.  The overriding message for me seems to be this:
Change is good.  Doing and/or eating the same stuff eventually just becomes something your body gets used to and then adapts to.  Keep changing it up and add variety.  Don't count calories every single day.  Let yourself loose a little and indulge once in a while.
Sleep is good.  Sleep is great.  Get lots of sleep.
Exercise is good but don't kill yourself.  Again, change it up.  Take lots of rests in there too.  I don't feel like I need to exercise vigorously 6 - 7 days a week.  It doesn't help me.  Working out 5 days a week with 2 of those days being rigorous might be just fine.


I've experimented with this salad throughout the work week.  Not because I thought it would continue my strange slim down but because it appealed.  I saw one of my office mates walk in with a quinoa salad last week that cost her about 7$.  I figured I could make it pretty easily or at least some kind of facsimile.  It's a great salad, simple and refreshing, but I have to admit that I'm kinda hungry about 2 hours later.  Maybe I should eat it with a burger.

I think that these salad pictures pretty much suck so I'm leaving you with this picture of my lilacs about to bust open.  That doesn't suck.

Quinoa Salad with Kale, Beets, Carrots and Feta adapted from BBC Food Magazine
serves 4 - 6

1 cup quinoa, uncooked
2 regular sized beets, peeled and diced
3 regular sized carrots in bite sized pieces
1 1/2 cup cucumber, cut into large chunks
1 1/2 cup red or yellow pepper, cut into large chunks
1/2 cup chives, coarsely chopped
3 - 4 tbsp lemon juice
4 - 5 tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
pinch pepper
pinch sugar
1 cup feta, broken into small chunks
4 - 5 cups kale or leaf lettuce, coarsely chopped

Cook the quinoa (using the 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa ratio) in simmering water for about 8 - 10 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
Boil the beets for about 15 minutes or until almost completely soft. Drain and set aside.
Boil the carrots for about 10 minutes or until almost completely soft.  Drain and set aside.
In a small container combine the cucumber, peppers, chives, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and sugar together.  Stir to mix and set aside.
At this point if you are having the salad at a later date (like later in the day or the next day) then you can cover everything and put it in the fridge.
When ready to eat...
Place the chopped kale or lettuce on a large platter.
Top with generous amounts of quinoa (you don't have to use all if you don't want to).
Sprinkle liberally with beets and carrots.
Add the cucumber and peppers mixture on top of that.
Top the entire thing with the feta chunks.
Serve
I made mine for lunches so I just combine it daily in a container... worked well.

.... And Cue May.
Just like that you get back from Italy and barely settled back into life and then it's May and life spins away from you.  Not two weeks ago I hadn't dreamed of signing up for coaching track and field (Let's just fill in some blanks here.  I didn't exactly know what I was signing up for.  I've only recently learned that I will be on the track at 7:15 a.m. on Monday morning.  People will pay for that one... they don't know it yet but they will pay), after school choir rehearsals hadn't started and the after school cooking club that I volunteer with was still on 'Italy Tour' hiatus.  Now all of that has changed... AND it's May.  May brings with it spring concert season.  The first one starts tomorrow for me (yes - I'm doing a concert people - this is not a choir) and the last one is at the beginning of June.  May is still dwarfed by Christmas for concerts but just barely and when you consider that there is a Mother's Day and an anniversary or two thrown in there that tips the balance ever so slightly.
The silver lining to all of this is that it's now bearable to be outside in Toronto.  I had two lunches outside this week - count 'em... TWO.  I was outside in short sleeves and I don't have to wear a jacket in morning when I ride to work.  It feels like summer vacation is around the corner even thought it's really not.  Sitting outside eating lunch, watching the world walk by and taking maybe about 10 minutes longer than you should is proof that summer vacation mode it hitting hard.  Walking a little bit further for that morning coffee is further proof.
There is a kind of nervous energy that takes me over at this time of year.  It's hard to explain but it's almost a compulsion.  I can go and go.  I don't need to sleep as much.  Eating doesn't seem as important as going unless it involves a patio and a beer.  I just want to be moving and/or outside.  However, we need to eat.  I can't spend every day on a patio and my kids will certainly not get well fed on patio food though it would be fun to see how far we could run with it.  I managed to settle myself enough and eek out enough time to make this quiche which I'd been eyeing for a while.


Quiche is weird.  It is satisfying in a odd way but leaves me wanting more often than not.  I can't figure out why that is.  I don't know if any of us truly love it around here but at the very least there were no outright protests.  Kid #2 did not indulge but we didn't press it either.  The sweet potato crust added something new and exciting [!] to the quiche repertoire but at the end of the day it's still quiche.  If quiche is your thing then you're gonna love this stuff.  If you are interested in adding more sweet potato to your diet for some reason (Health I'm guessing) then this might be just the thing to jazz your weekend cooking.  If none of this has quickened your heartbeat at all then hard luck - I'll make something else and hang it up here and you can see what you think.  


Sweet Potato Crust Quiche adapted from FarmGirl Gourmet
makes 1 quiche

3 cups (a little more is ok too) sweet potato, pealed and shredded
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 egg
salt and pepper

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp dijon
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 cups cheddar shredded

4 cups veggies(cooked ones work well)/ham mix (I used roasted leeks, roasted red peppers, roasted tomatoes and ham)

Preheat the oven to 450°F
Butter a 9 inch springform pan.
Place the shredded sweet potato into a large square of cheese cloth (you could use an old dish cloth too but don't expect it to get clean again) and squeeze out a significant amount of liquid - not sure how much to tell you but the sweet potato should feel a lot drier than it did before you started.
Place the sweet potato in a bowl and add the flour.  Mix until everything is coated with flour.  In a small bowl whisk the egg and salt and pepper together.  Add to the sweet potato and mix until coated.
Pour the sweet potato mixture into the prepared pan and press in until it's running up the sides evenly and is uniform in thickness.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until it's just becoming firm to the touch.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and milk until fully combined and just becoming slightly frothy.
Add in the salt, nutmeg, paprika, dijon and cayenne and mix well.
Add in the cheddar.
Place the veggies and meat onto the crust.  Pour the egg/cheese mixture over the top of everything.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Reduce the oven to 350° F and bake for another 30 minutes or until the centre is firm and not liquidy anymore.  Crust should be nicely browned at the top.

I hate apologies but I feel that I must apologize for what must feel to you like yet another mindless-fluff-post from me.  I'm getting to serious things I promise.  I'm reacquainting myself with how I feel about the world.  I'm reading again and that's always a good sign.  I've been getting more than 4 hrs sleep a night since I've been back and that's a good thing too.  Despite that though, between all the crazy shit going on in the world and my own semi-permanent 'fuzz', the week has felt scattered and off at best.  Nothing has stayed in my brain long enough to congeal into something even close to custard or jello let alone concrete.  So again, you are going to get some fluffy, random, scattered, possibly weird, hopefully mildly amusing thoughts.
This is the first thing that I downloaded upon arriving back in Canada... and I mean I downloaded it in the airport.  Serious.  (I had a conversation with someone while away about music.  Yet another person who only listens to music to drown out white noise in the car on the way to work.  What?  I can't even begin to understand - I will try)
This is the second and by far the best for me.  It's blowing me away right now... all of it.
These songs got me through some very strange bus rides through Italy and some beautiful views.
Some of my Hero's (They would must certainly cringe at my vocabulary) are going to be speaking at this conference that I'm going to.  I'm beyond excited.  It's like they're rock stars to me.  And I'm weird.
Oh really?  For #$%@ sake.


I can't find word to express how much doing this on my lunch hour helped me get through the rest of the day and, in fact, the whole week.
In case you were wondering, not only did D and Kid #1 and #2 manage just fine without me around, D and I have subsequently had a conversation about me backing off more at home and giving him some more space with the kids and in the kitchen.  Shizam.  I took the opportunity to go out for a drink after work the very next day.
I seriously need to update my favourite blogs because honestly there is nothing that this blogger writes that I couldn't get behind 100% right now and this blogger makes me laugh out loud often.
I saw this 'salad' and nearly fell off my chair.  I have to make it... but not as salad.
I've always suspected this about cupcakes.  Haven't you?  There is something so rightly wrong about them.  They're aw'some'ful... I kinda want one right now.  But not really because....
Oddly, since I left Canada up to now - even now - I've been watching my sugar and chocolate appetite decline significantly.  I don't know why but I'm rolling with it.  If I don't feel like eating sugar or chocolate then I don't eat it.  This may be temporary or not.  Who cares.  What I do feel like eating are eggs.  I ate eggs almost exclusively when I got back.  Two meals a day.  Eggs with toast.  Eggs have to be sunny side up and the yolks have to be runny.  The eggs must be sprinkled with a little salt.  Today I ate eggs (sunny side up of course) over spinach with a little cheese and some tomatillo salsa that I made last summer.  I'm swapping out chocolate for eggs.


In my attempts to stretch a dollar and sneak lentils into a meal without D noticing - which incidentally did not work because as soon as he tasted it D said 'This tastes beany' (jeez) - I created this twist on my usual Cottage Pie or Shepherd's Pie or whatever the hell you want to call it because there is some kind of rule out there about what you are supposed to call it when it's pork or beef or lamb or lentils or tofu.  I don't care... I thought it tasted good - maybe only slightly beany.


Lentil and Pork Cottage Pie
serves 4 - 6

1 cup Puy Lentils (the tiny dark ones)
4 cups water
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp honey
1 veggie boullion cube
1 lg clove garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp ketchup
1 lb ground pork
1 med/small onion, diced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup corn
1 cup peas (you could use frozen green beans or something if peas aren't your thing)

For the Mash Topping:
5 -6 sm potatoes (3 - 4 if using med/lg) cubed
2 cups celeriac, cubed
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cheddar or fontina cheese, shredded
1 tsp salt

Day before:
Combine the lentils, water, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, honey, veggie bouillon, garlic and ketchup together in a heavy bottomed sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 1 hr.  Cool and leave in fridge overnight to marinate.
Next day:  Warm them up again and then throw them into a blender or use an immersion blender to puree them to the texture of goop - oatmeal kinda goop... not sure what other word I would use here.
Simultaneously:
1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F
2.  Throw the potatoes and celeriac into a large pot of water and bring to a boil for about 10 - 12 minutes (or until softened)... then drain.  Mash well and add in the butter, milk, cheese (reserve a little cheese to sprinkle on top of the casserole at the end) and salt.  Check the tastes, adjust and set aside.
3.  Heat a heavy bottomed dutch oven or caste iron (oven proof) casserole dish over med. heat.  Once heated add about 3 tbsp of oil or lard and throw in the onion, garlic and carrot.  Cook together for about 5 minutes and then add in the ground pork.  Cook together for another 5 minutes and then turn the heat down to med/low.  Add in the ketchup and the pureed lentil mixture.  Check the tastes and adjust if necessary (maybe a little salt or add a little water if it's too thick for example).  On top of the meat/lentil mixture place the corn and peas.  On top of the corn and peas spoon the potato/celeriac mixture so that it totally covers everything underneath.  Sprinkle with a little cheese on the top.
Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until you see that the meat mixture is bubbling up the sides a little and the top is turning golden.
Cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Things you learn when in Rome with 180 Boys:

1.  Food tastes amazing (no matter what it is) when all of those boys are in bed.


2.  You can see up to six sights in Rome and squeeze gelato into a 1hr 15 minute cab ride if that's all the time you've got.

3.  A uniform consisting of only 4 shirts for 12 days of travel makes for interesting odour combinations.

4.  Lines consisting of more than 6 people are impossible.  IMPOSSIBLE.

5.  Gelato does not universally taste good (see number 1).

6.  People who think it's fun to get out their decibel meter App during dinner are annoying.

7.  Sometimes yoga pants are necessary for survival.


8.  Even if you are at the Vatican Tourist shop, boys will find the only toy car in the place and fight over it.

9.  No matter what wonderful sights the boys get to see, their favourite will always be seeing the eagle killing a mouse at the side of the road.

10.  It is possible to need some distance from your best friend 'penne' once in a while.

11.  There are definitely moments when the only way to keep your sanity is to just start laughing.  It prevents crying, or sometimes facilitates it but it's always better to be laugh/crying than just crying.

12.  Sometimes, even though you ask everyday for boys to brush your teeth, they still don't tell you until Day 8 that they left their toothbrush at home.

13.  It's all fun and games until someone loses a passport.

14.  Even though they tell you it looks like cat food, if they're hungry enough boys will eat foie gras.

This is all of us.  Boys Gr's 5 - 12 and Chaperones.  Yikes.

There were many times that I indulged heavily in number 11 and number 7 - although I always had this twinge of 'I've-totally-given-up-now' - and the jury is out as to how long penne and I might be on the 'outs'.  I made this curry before I left because I knew that I wouldn't be eating any curry while I was away and because it's one of the easiest and most satisfying things I could think of doing.


Beef Curry adapted from Naparima Girls High School Cookbook
serves 6 - 8

2 lbs beef (stewing beef or leftover roast), cubed
1 med. onion, sliced
2 cups carrots, thickly sliced
1 cup turnip, cubed (optional - opt for more potato if you don't have the turnip)
2 - 3 cups potato, cubed (about 3 med/lg potatoes)
3 - 4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 1/2 tbsp mixed herbs (parsley, chive, oregano, mint, thyme, marjoram - stay away from tarragon or dill)
2 1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp west indian curry powder (or curry powder of your choice)
2 - 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
4 cups good quality beef stock
pepper sauce to taste


Use a large, heavy bottomed dutch oven and heat over medium heat.
Add about 3 - 4 tbsp of oil or grease to the dish.
Add in the onion, carrots, turnip and potato and let it cook in the oil for about 5 minutes.  Stir frequently to prevent sticking or burning.
Add in the meat and the garlic and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl add the mixed herbs, salt, curry powder, worcestershire sauce and soy sauce together until it forms a paste (add a little water if needed)
Add the paste to the meat and veggies and mix well.  Turn the heat down to med/low and add in the beef stock and the honey.  Stir until well mixed.  Cover and simmer for about an hour over low heat.
Check the tastes and adjust (i.e. add pepper sauce) if necessary.

I'm totally distracted by lots and lots of things in my life.  At the moment my big distraction is that I have no one to go to a concert with me.  I'm gutted.  I desperately want to go and see Kate Nash who is in town next week.  I sent a call out to my cyberworld friends and sadly, have gotten no response.  D is not into K enough to go to the show although, to be fair, we haven't talked about it yet.  Kate is definitely just weird enough to be just a smidge inaccessible to most pop-loving north americans but not weird enough to make it into the super fringe crowd.  Her music speaks to me.  She seems unafraid to be a 'hysterical' female.  I'm itching to go and it's my March Break week... do I go by myself... it's pretty late in the night... I'd feel weird standing there alone...
Then I thought about how far the tables have turned... and in the weirdest way.  When I was in university I was the girl that didn't go out.  I stayed home.  I put my favourite CD in the disk player and plugged in the headphones.  I would lie on the couch and get lost in the sound.  I would read.  I would go to church.  I would grab the local and free newspaper and read about what was going on... I would never do it.  My friends would ask me to do stuff... I wouldn't.  Sometimes I would go to a movie - usually either while I was supposed to be in class (ie. during the day) or at midnight (I wasn't afraid of the movie theatre... just of some movies).  Mostly I went to friends places for dinner if I did anything at all.  Once.  ONCE!  My friend dragged me kicking and screaming (and terrified on the inside) to a Bare Naked Ladies concert.  It was fun but I felt lost, I didn't know what to do.
It's taken me many years to be okay with not knowing what to do, to stop worrying about whether I looked the part and to actually let myself want to do something.  I am now at the stage of life when most of us slow down - kids, work, home - and yet now I feel finally ready to get out there and do somethings.  Let me be clear, I still don't want to do a lot.  I'm not and probably never will be much of a party person.  But there are some things that I just want to do.


It's weird how life does that to you.  Just when you feel good about yourself and you're ready to put it out there you discover that your boat just set off from dock and you're scrambling to find another solution.  I don't know if you've ever found yourself in that situation.  Wondering how it is in your circle of friends or in your family that you are the only one who's giving a crap about some special thing or whatever.  Thing is, I'm one week away from a great show and I've got no date.  Should I consider hiring someone?  Do I ask someone to go who doesn't know KN at all - then I have to explain her or feel all apologetic when she's not what they expected.  Do I just not go?  I can get her music online after all... it's not the end of the world right?
While contemplating my dilemma I made these muffins.  Muffins are still weird for me because I feel like they are cupcake's boring cousin except... they're not.  Aside from not rising as much as I might have preferred in a perfect muffin world, these were great.  I sat with a cup of coffee (which I'm drinking again for those with an interest) and let the carrot muffin pieces in my mouth lull my into a false sense of 'ok'.


Whole Grain Carrot Muffins adapted from Good to the Grain
makes about 8 - 10 medium sized muffins

Streusel: (I only used about half of this for the muffins - the other half can go in the freezer for next time)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp spelt flour
2 tbsp oat bran (I used quick oats instead)
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp (or so) cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Muffins:

1 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup oat bran (I used a mixture of bran and quick oats 'cause that's what I had)

1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups carrots, shredded
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 egg

Combine the streusel ingredients in a bowl and using your fingers, pinch together the ingredients until they form a crumbly texture.  Do this quickly and then set aside in the fridge until needed.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a muffin tin with about 10 liners and set aside.
Combine the flours, oat bran, both sugars, allspice, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg together.  Mix just until combined.  Add the shredded carrots and mix until the carrots are mixed and coated with the dry ingredients.
In another bowl combine the buttermilk, melted butter and egg together and whisk until the ingredients are combined and just a little frothy.  Add to the flour mixture and stir together just until everything has incorporated to form a wet batter.
Fill each muffin cup just to the brim with the batter.  Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel on top of each muffin (about 2 tbsp or so, if you can manage it).
Bake for about 32 - 35 minutes, turning half way through baking.
Cool slightly before removing from the pan.
Keeps for about 2 days.

I know that what you are supposed to do is post all of the links that you wish people would read on Friday.  That way, when everyone is not working (on the weekend) they can check out all of the cool ass links that you've been reading yourself ('cause you're a cool ass person).  This is the correct order of things.  The way the blogiverse is supposed to work.  Except it doesn't work for me.  During the week I'm not reading online.  I'm working.  If I'm not working then I'm drinking ('cause it's late already and the kids are in bed).  If I'm not drinking then I'm reading - not online but in my bed... 'cause I'm tired and 'cause I actually read books still.  This being both my reality and my dilemma, I find myself not catching up on anything online until the weekend when I can catch up with all the links that every other blog known to the western world has posted.
Another thing that you are not supposed to do is post a crap load of links along with a recipe.  I guess that the thinking is that we readers need things to be compartmentalized for us.  It's easier to take in all of those links when there is not also a recipe to deal with.  It muddy's up the pictures as well (which are optional with a 'link' post.  Here I've even gone and messed that up.  The blogiverse may kick my cool ass for doing things this way and I'm ok with that.  I've got to send it out the way I get it.  I have the weekend time not just to read but to cook so I'm throwing them both your way.  I'm guessing that you're gonna be able to tackle it.

Holy Sugar - Can I just tell that I laughed and then nearly cried when I read this.  I just get his angle.

Then I read this article and it put a more political slant on the whole parenting 'over-kill' that we live in.

This girl loves every single one of her pounds.  She still runs.  She does it because she loves feeling good.

Here is an example of what is possible when we say no to GMO's and all the crap that comes with them.  Will we all starve?

Ah.. I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said.  I thought that you just suggested that we SELL expired food to poor people.  Oh wait... you did just say that out loud.


And then there is the side dish that has been served with a kick ass roasted chicken, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy.  The poor turnip and I are working at our relationship.  We've been negligent recently but if nothing else we are motivated to change.  We have agreed not to stop trying until we've found something that works for both of us.  This dish has been a positive step in our work together.


Turnip and Kale Soufflé adapted from Saveur
serves 6 - 8 as a side dish

2 1/2 - 3 cups turnip (peeled and diced), boiled 8 - 10 minutes in salted water and then mashed
3 1/2 cups kale or spinach greens, stems removed and leaves finely chopped
5 eggs, separated
5 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter an 8 inch round baking dish and set aside.
Have the mashed turnip ready (mine was still warm which turns out perfectly).
Using a mixer (hand or standing, doesn't matter) whip the egg whites until they are about tripled in size and form hard peaks.  Set aside
Heat a large pot over medium/low heat.  Add the butter until the butter melts.  Add in the flour and whisk until it forms a thick paste.  Add the cream and remove from the heat.  Whisk until it forms a slightly less thick paste but shouldn't be clumpy.
Add in the greens and the mashed turnip.  Mix everything well.  Add in the egg yolks, salt, nutmeg and parmesan.  Mix well.
Gently begin to mix in the egg whites.  Start with a smallish amount and gently fold in.  Continue to fold in the whites gradually until the egg whites have been entirely incorporated.  The mixture should be about double it's original size.
Pour into the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle the top with a little extra parmesan and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until the middle of the soufflé feels almost completely firm when you press on it and the top should be golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.

The house is quiet.  Amazingly, Blessedly quiet.  I've been longing for quiet lately.  It's a craving in my gut.  I can't think of a time in my life when the noise of life has felt like such a heavy weight to bear.  At 6:30 p.m. last evening I went to my room - like a teenager.  I went there by myself.  I curled up in bed and read some.  Then my eyes felt heavy and I let myself doze a little.  After that I read some more.  I didn't feel like eating more than I felt like staying put.  So I stayed put.  Every time the door to my room opened the noise felt deafening, jarring.  I didn't want to interact. No questions, thank you very much, because I'll feel coerced to answer.  No music.  No voices from a computer screen or tv coming at me.  I even turned a fan on in my room so that I couldn't hear anything from the floor below.  I stayed in my room until 8:30 a.m. this morning.
I'm not sure if I'm an extrovert or an introvert and to be quite frank, I don't care.  I get impatient with labels (I'm remembering, back in the early nineties, a friend of mine peddling and pushing personality tests like doing it would get me into heaven) because I think that it can prevent us from truly listening to our 'self' and to what we need at any given time.  It can also excuse a hell of a lot of behaviour that we should in all honesty seek to change.  So this weekend I'm an introvert.  Next weekend or even tomorrow, I might be an extrovert.  Maybe not today but on another day and in a moment of gritty honesty I would tell you that I'm some of both and that I think we all are.  I would also add that it's probably really important that we are all some combination of both.  Can we allow this duality to exist within our 'self' (I'm not sure why I'm putting that word into quotes but it seems like the right thing to do at this moment).


Admittedly, I'm not comfortable with duality.  We've been socially conditioned for generations now to avoid it.  All black or white.  Not a blend and never both.  It's wrong politically.  It's wrong religiously. It's wrong morally... and all that.  I'm working on relearning those ideas.  I'm working on feeling okay about how much I squirm when faced with it.  I'm working on embracing the idea of needing that duality.  We need to have both right and left in our society and in ourselves.  We need each other.  We need the happy and the sad, the good and the bad.  It gives us the depths of feeling, emotion and appreciation that connect us together.  We need *ahem* the black and the white.  And we need the quiet and the loud. Today I'm happily hugging up the quiet.  We're drinking each other in with gusto.


There are certain constants for me though and the desire to get my hands dirty both outside in the garden and inside the kitchen doesn't change.  Whatever the emotional place I'm in, the getting of my hands dirty feeds it in the best of ways.  Given that my sweet potatoes were nearly on the outs and that I had been meaning to make something like this for a long time, today was the the perfect day to dive into the project.  These definitely make a winter meal and would go beautifully with some kind of braised meat.  I choose to serve mine with some winter greens and bacon.  The greens are definitely a must, the bacon definitely optional.  I've cooked up enough for all of us to have a taste and then I put the rest (uncooked) into the freezer.  I still didn't feel much like eating today but I did down some of these and I'm the better for it.


Sweet Potato Gnocchi adapted from Aida Mollencamp
serves 6 - 8

3 med sized sweet potatoes, halved
2 med/sm russet potatoes, halved
oil of choice
2 tsp + a sprinkling of salt
dash or two of pepper
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup whole wheat (or Red Fife) flour
1 - 1 1/2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour

Heat oven to 350°F.
Rub the halved sweet potato and regular potatoes with oil, sprinkle with salt and roast on a roasting pan for about 30 minutes or until soft.  Remove from oven and cool.  Scoop the insides of the sweet potatoes and potatoes into a bowl.  Mash with a masher, forks or a hand blender (that's what I used).
Add in the 2 tsp of salt and a dash or two of pepper.  Mix and add the parmesan cheese, beaten egg, the whole wheat flour and about 3/4 - 1 cup of all purpose flour.  Mix well.  If the dough is still damp but doesn't stick to your hand then it's fine and you don't need to add any more flour.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Form the dough into a square(ish) kind of shape and slice into about 8 logs.  Flour your hands and roll the log out until it's about 1/2 - 3/4 inch in diameter.  Slice into about 1 1/2 inch long pieces.  You can roll each piece with the fork tines or leave them as is.
[At this point you can place the pieces on a cookie sheet and freeze.  Once the pieces are frozen then you can put them into freezer bags - you might want to do this if you won't be eating them all at one time.  Once the gnocchi are cooked they don't keep.
You can also refrigerate for a few hours and bring to room temperature before cooking. ]
Bring a med/large pot of water to a boil.  Once boiling add a dash of salt.  Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and simmer for about 6 minutes.  The gnocchi will resemble the texture of dumplings at this point.
Have sauce ready.
Remove gnocchi from the simmering water with a slotted spoon and toss in the sauce that's ready.
Pour the gnocchi onto a plate and sprinkle with a little more parmesan cheese.
Serve.

Brown Butter Sauce
will do about half of the gnocchi

1/4 cup butter
1/8 - 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
12 (or so) fresh sage leaves

Heat a heavy bottomed sauce pan over med heat.  Add the butter and onion.  Continue to simmer the butter over medium heat.  Add the sage leaves for about 2 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon.  Once the butter starts to turn brown then turn the heat down.
Toss with the gnocchi and add in the sage leaves.