I told myself that I wouldn't do this.  You know... the whole baking thing.  We've just had Hallowe'en.  We need more sweets like we need a hole in the head, right.?  But then I had this apple sauce left over from the muffins that I made last week... remember?  Nobody seemed to be eating the stuff and I guess that I could have frozen it... whatever.  I made cake.
Speaking of Hallowe'en... the kids had fun this year.  I'm really glad that they did.  I don't like Hallowe'en.   'Why' you ask?  'It's such fun to dress up and the kids enjoy it so much...' you might add.  It's not for religious reasons or anything.  It doesn't scare me or upset me.  I just think that any occasion that demands that I walk outside at night at the end of October (HELLo - it was FREEZING in T.O.) should bring a little bit better pay-off.  Let's see I could be at home but I have to be out toting my kids from house to house so that they can collect candy and show off their awesome costumes (seriously awesome Peeps) and what I get for it is... freezing hands, sore shoulders (from shrugging in the cold) and  a mini snickers bar.  Not good enough!!!  Just sayin'  If I lived in, oh I don't know, California, the West Indies, South of France... then it might be just fine.


So, here is the cake that I told myself I wouldn't make this week.  I wouldn't be surprised if I were you to see more crap show up before the week is out - I could surprise myself though.  My neighbours are going to start really liking living next door to me.  We can't eat the stuff.  Thank goodness I have friends like KT out there to help me out too.
The cake is lush and cream cheese icing makes an appearance again too.  I thought that it would be fun to jazz it up this time with a little cinnamon.  I also felt a little lame for using the same icing again so I guilted myself into changing it up just a little bit (that's really dumb, I know).  Basically, there is no way that you can screw this thing up and because it's all fruity you might even feel like it's not that bad for you... hell of a lot better than mini snickers bars (who eats mini's anyway!)

I thought that this looked a bit like Pacman

Apple Sauce Cake (scarfed from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen)
makes a 9 inch square cake

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp (dash really) ground cloves
1 stick  - 1/4 cup - 4 oz unsalted butter at room temp.
1 cup brown sugar (you can use light brown)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional)

Icing

4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened but not melted
2 - 2 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour and 9 inch square baking tin.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves (Jeez, that was a mouthful) in a bowl together and set aside.


In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and continue to beat until lighter and fluffier (!).  Add in the vanilla and the applesauce and mix well.  Add the flour mixture to the egg/butter mixture and mix until thoroughly incorporated.


Add the toasted walnuts if you are adding.
Pour the batter (which is on the thick and goupy side - just so you know) into the prepared cake tin and bake for 35 - 40 min.  Until a tester comes out clean.  Cool for a bit in the pan and then transfer to a rack to cool.  Ice the cake once it's completely cooled.

Icing:
Beat together the cream cheese and butter until the mixture is creamy.  Add in the sifted icing sugar and combine until all is well blended.  Add in the cinnamon and mix until blended.

Here is what I wore to bike to work today:
socks and understuff
close fitting biking pants
pants on top of the biking pants
turtle neck
jacket
scarf
mittens
helmet

Yup.  It was -2 degrees C when I left today.  Mmmmm cold.  So cold that when you're biking and the wind blows that your eyes tear up and the tears run down your face.   Emotional.  I'm determined to keep going though.  I'm not going to stop until there is snow and ice on the roads.  I'm not alone out there either which is heartening, especially in November at -2 degrees!
I always have to work to find things to keep me stoked about winter.  It's hard for me 'cause honestly... well, it's hard.  There are some things though, I'll think of them eventually.
I do like winter foods though.  And not just 'cause I like how they taste.  Truth be told, I don't like how they taste sometimes.  It's really about the challenge.  Knowing I need to find ways of preparing these veggies that will be interesting enough and palatable enough for the kids to eat.  All the while feeling good that I'm using local and seasonal produce as much as possible.  One of this weeks challenges:  Cabbage.


It gets a bad rap sometimes.  Kinda boring, kinda gas inducing, kinda squeaky... you know.  I can't just keep making cabbage rolls either, tasty though they may be.  So I got to thinking about this mock cabbage roll thing that my Mom used to make.  All the ingredients of cabbage rolls but just plunked into a pot and cooked together.  I'm not describing it very appetizingly but it was good.  That made me wonder if I could just come up with a really tasty cabbage stew.
So here's what I did:

1.  Slice 1/2 a large cabbage (about 4 - 5 cups) into 1 inch wide slices.   Slice 2 medium sized red or orange peppers.  Dice 2 medium sized carrots.  Slice 1 large onion.


2.  Heat a large pot and begin to saute the veggies in some oil or pork fat (sounds gross but just save anything that you might have from cooking bacon) over med/low heat.  Keep this going for about 10 min.  Stir when needed but turn the heat down if anything starts to stick.

3.  Take the wrappers off about 1 1/2 lbs of hot italian sausage and chop them into little meatball sizes.  Throw them into the pot and let them slowly heat through.  Add in a couple of diced garlic cloves.  Cook for another 10 minutes or so.

4.  Add in about 400 ml of diced tomato and about 2 - 3 tbsp of tomato paste.  If you have some bouillion hanging around then throw that in too.  Add a couple of tbsp of sugar or honey, dash of salt and maybe some basil as well.


5.  Check tastes and continue to simmer at low heat for another 30 - 40 minutes.  The longer you simmer, the softer and sweeter the veggies become.


6.  Serve with rice or all by it's little lonesome.

Ok.  So this recipe turned out nothing like I had originally envisioned it.  That's weird and kinda funny.  I thought about making a roasted veg thing with lots of eggplant and peppers.  Sounds good, right?  This kind of vaguely tomato sauce with mushy roasted veg and spices.  Still sounds good to me... I'll probably keep on trying.
Here's the problem though.  Something else occurred I have no idea how I got here...

Everything was going well.  I was dicing up the eggplant and getting the peppers ready.  I had these little sweet orange peppers  - they were orange and so cute.


But then I remember thinking that there probably weren't enough and maybe I should add some more veggies to round things out.  Then I was rummaging through the fridge and then... well... there were mushrooms and onions and zucchini and then I had some tomato to roast (the last of the stuff from the garden!)

... then this happened.


 Like I said, I don't really know for sure.  Sometimes I have these experiences.  You arrive somewhere and you're not sure quite how you got there - the details are a little foggy, ya know?

Don't worry I'm ok.  It turned out well as it goes.  It's just a strange thing to look at something that you just prepared and realize that you're not sure how it got there.  I still want to make another sauce with roasted eggplant and sundried tomato.


Roasted Veg Pasta Sauce
serves about 6

1 medium eggplant cut into 1 inch stripes (or cubes)
2 - 3 red or orange peppers cut into largish chunks
1 small zucchini, cut into strips
2 cups button mushrooms, halved
1 medium onion cut into large chunks
3 - 4 medium tomato, cut into quarters
olive oil to coat
salt
1 bunch (about 4 cups) spinach, washed and cut into small pieces
300 gr. goat cheese, in large chunks
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 - 3 tbsp basil, parsley, oregano (more if using fresh)
2 tbsp sugar
dash of cream of milk as needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat all the veggies (save the spinach - don't roast that) with olive oil.  Place the veggies (except the spinach) onto baking sheets making sure not to pile them, spread them out to they are one layer deep.  Sprinkle with salt and roast for about 35 min.  The veggies should be soft and a little browned.  Once the veggies have cooled enough to touch them, cut them up into smaller pieces.
In a large Dutch oven saute the veggies together with the spinach.  Let the spinach get wilted.  Add in the goat cheese and let it melt into the veggies.  Add in the herbs and sugar.  Add the parmesan and a little cream or milk to thin out the sauce as needed.  Check the tastes (add a little something peppery if you'd like ;-)
Mix with cooked pasta and serve with a little more parmesan on the side.

My food box.
I love it.  It's organic stuff and it gets delivered to my door.  They source as locally as possible which means that things come seasonally.  The 'season' right now is all about squash and roots and the like.  These are things that I don't honestly know that much about.  Truth be told, this is the first squash soup that I've ever made.


In the 70's we weren't really thinking about seasonal food, local food, organic food and all that.  Hmmm, what were we thinking about in the 70's - there's a question.  I didn't grow up with a whole lot of squash aside from acorn.  I don't exactly know why acorn as opposed to the other stuff but hey, we would have acorn squash roasted with butter and sugar inside.  It tasted good.  Aside from that I've had nothing to go on and not a lot of experience eating it elsewhere.  I didn't even know how many kinds of squash there were out there.

So, I've nothing to lose here and everything to gain.  As it goes, this soup is nice.  It's easy.  You can use just about any squash you like, including acorn!  And you can pretty much spice it up any way you like... you know... go with curry, go with chili, go with herb.  It's pretty flexible for a soup.



Roasted Squash Soup
makes about 6 - 7 cups

2 med/small squash (I used delicata)
butter
1 lg leek, sliced thin
2 small carrots, chopped
1 lg stalk of celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
5 cups of broth or bouillion mix
2 tbsp thyme
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Halve the squash.  Scoop out the insides (keep the seeds to roast if you like) and butter the cut side.  Place cut side down on a roasting sheet and roast for about 25 - 30 min or until they're soft and looking roasted.

Remove from oven and cool slightly.
In a large, heated Dutch oven add a hefty scoop of butter.  Add in the leek, carrot and celery and saute for a few minutes - until the leek begins to wilt a bit.  Add in the garlic and saute for another few minutes.   Scoop out the cooked insides of the squash and add to the mixture.  Mix well.  Add in the broth and simmer at low heat.  Add in the herbs and salt just to taste.
Once the soup is looking soft then give it a whiz in the blender (be careful when whizzing hot stuff) or use a hand blender (don't have one anymore ;-( until it's nice and smooth.


I like to serve this with a little sour cream or heavy cream and some chili peppers on top.  But that's me.  You serve it any old way you like....

I've been doing this blog now for almost one year.  I know.  A 130ish posts in and still going strong.  I don't know how many people actually read the blog or just drop by for a quick peak but I appreciate every single viewing.  I got some cool information the other day.
Here's the thing.  My BFF KT has just started her own blog.  She is dealing with the healthcare system in a big way after discovering a BCC (Basal Cell Carcinoma) on her back.  Sometimes the healthcare system, even in Canada, can be challenging.  So as a young, technologically savvy woman with lots to say to encourage others through something similar... She has started a blog.  Well, I found out that a friend of hers was reading her blog and then linked to my blog.  He is a young priest who has just started  at a parish in Ontario.  He used to run and bike quite avidly.  In fact, I distinctly remember having conversation with him just a short time ago about winter biking.  Well, as a result of years of seminary and then starting up in a new parish he has gotten out of the biking/running habit.  It seems that after reading my blog about all my stupid escapades around preparing for the half marathon, running and biking to work, kissing pavement on occasion and the lot, he has gotten inspired to get back to doing it himself again!

Now that is something that I hadn't expected.  Ok, maybe once in a while you might crack a smile at some of the dumb crap that I write about, once in a while you might look at a picture and think, 'That looks kinda good, I'm gonna try it' but I never expected that by writing a food blog I might inspire someone to get back to working it out!  I'm flattered and kinda on a high because of it right now.  You just never know what sharing your crap will do...


Cupcakes - yeah.  I just read a great post from Dana Treat about these incredible sounding cupcakes - no those I gotta try (and I told her so).  These ones, they're not gonna change your life or anything, but you know what?  They are really kinda nice with a cuppa on a fall afternoon, especially if you've just done a little working it out ;-)


Apple Sauce Cupcakes (King Arthur Flour website)
makes 12 cupcakes

3 oz. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
2 lg eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 1/2 cup apple sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line 12 muffin cups with liners or whatever you normally use.
Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.  Mix and set aside.
In a large bowl beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and beat until well mixed and liquid(y).


Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Mix well until everything is incorporated.
Add in the apple sauce and mix until thoroughly combined.
Fill the 12 muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake for about 22 - 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.


Cool completely.
Ice with cream cheese icing if you wish or just have 'em plain.

Cream Cheese icing

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 - 3 cups icing sugar

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.

It's a mouthful... I know.   Just deciding what to call these things took a few minutes out of my life.  Really it might just be easier to tell you what's not in these cookies rather than what is.  In all seriousness, the cookies are quite simple and when you look at the ingredients list it's quite straight forward and short.  I just came up with a ridiculously convoluted name is all.  These cookies are off the chain.  Really.  I ate two of them in one go.  Serious.  You HAVE to use good quality white and dark chocolate though - it will make all the difference.


Now, I have to stop here and explain something.  I have two of the best kids in the world.  They are great.  Great personalities, adequately precocious, adorable/beautiful... you get the picture.  However, historically they haven't always been the easiest to feed.  Kid #1 used to refuse almost everything remotely related to 'real'.  It took until her 7th or 8th year to get past the fussing over each meal.  Ugh!  We had fights... I know you're not supposed to, whatever, we had fights, OK?  Kid #2 is now 4 yrs old and has somehow inherited the same wonderful disgust for anything green, or red, or orange.  We've had fights.  I've threatened to take him to the hospital (because one gets sick when one doesn't eat), to the doctor, no tv, no games... you name it.  He is beginning to get better but I think that the only thing that is really working here is bribery.  I know that you are probably thinking that I'm sub-par at parenting (hell, sometimes I'm right there with ya) but whatever.  Bribery works!  I bribe him with treats after he eats his food.

Wanda:
'Kid #2, if you eat all of your (insert disgusting sounding vegetable or food product) then you can have a cookie/brownie/piece of cake/etc.'
Kid #2:
'Ok Mommy but it doesn't look good.  It tastes funny'
Wanda:
'Don't you want the cookie/brownie/piece of cake/etc. though Kid #2?'

... and so it goes.  It must seems strange reading this kind of confession but oddly enough, for me, it's feeling very cathartic.  I'm probably doing it all very badly BUT Kid #2 is actually eating his veggies.
This cookie recipe is just the kind of thing that is going to get us through yet another week of parent/child bliss.
Enjoy.

Chocolate White/Dark Chunk Espresso Cookies adapted from King Arthur Flour website
makes about 2 doz. med sized cookies

1/2 cup butter melted or nearly melted
1 cup brown sugar
2 lg eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp espresso powder
1 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
100 g (1 lg bar) white chocolate, chopped into chunks
100 g dark chocolate (I used a bar infused with espresso pieces as well), in chunks
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or a silicon sheet.
In a large bowl sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the butter and sugar until light, fluffy and well blended.  Add in the eggs and mix well.  Add in the vanilla and espresso powder and mix thoroughly.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Mix well, the dough will be quite stiff.
Add in the chopped chocolates and the nuts.  Stir until mixed.
Drop in large tablespoons onto the cookie sheet.  I could fit about 12 - 14 on one sheet.  They don't spread that much.
Bake for about 10 min.  Don't over bake though.
Cool on a baking rack and eat with some tea or a big glass of milk... After you've eaten all of your veggies of course!

There are times when I wish that I were a superhero.  I think about it regularly.   How awesome would it be to be like WonderWoman.  She was awesome.  She had this cool Lasso thing that would make you tell only the truth if it caught you.  She rode around in this invisible plane (the best).  She had this cool spinny thing goin' on.  She would spin and move her head in this funny way.   There were a lot of attempts to copy it in my bathroom mirror.  It was cool.  She was beautiful too.  Who wouldn't want that figure and those dope white and red boots.
Here's the reality though.  I work too much.  My house is too messy.  When I should be cleaning I'm usually:
Biking
Running
Reading
'Yoga'ing (!)
Cooking
Baking
Playing a game with my kids
Blogging
Even though my name is Wanda and I've been called 'WandaWoman' more times than I could ever count... I'm not WonderWoman.  She didn't have kids and I can't remember what her job was (although I know she had one - some army thing I think).  I never saw her have to cook her own food or clean up after herself.  She never seemed to have stupid deadlines or meetings or parent/teacher night or dance class.


So,what's this superhero stuff all about, you ask?
I didn't make my own Tortillas.
Yes my Peeps.  These things kind of get to me.  I bought the tortillas... from a store.  I couldn't even find organic ones.  Ugh.  In my other reality (don't know if you watch Fringe or not but there could be two universes!) maybe I'm that WonderWoman/Mom/wife/athlete who can do all the stuff that has to get done and still make homemade Tortillas every time she needs them.


I did make my own Tomatillo salsa but it was easy and so, in my mind, doesn't count that much.
Were these Burritos still really tasty?... Yup!
Are they worth making even if you don't have homemade tortilla's?... Yup!
Am I being ridiculous?.......


Burritos
serves 6 - 8

Rice:

1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 can of black beans
1 small onion, diced
1/2 diced pepper
1/2 diced zucchini
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
salt to taste

Beef:

1 1/2 lbs beef chuck
1 med. tomato diced
1 small onion diced
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcerstershire sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp chipotle powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt to taste
water

3 - 4 cups shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack)
Salsa (I used my green stuff ;-)
8 large tortilla shells

Rice:
Heat a large pot and add about 2 tbsp of oil for frying.  Over medium heat, add in the veggies and cook for a few minutes - until soft.  Add in the spices and beans and cook for a couple of minutes together with the veggies.  Add in the rice and mix well.  Check the taste and add salt as needed.  Set aside.
Beef:
In a large heated pot, add some oil for frying.  Add in the onion and cook for a few minutes until soft.  Add in the garlic and the pork.  Swish around a little bit.  After a few minutes, add in the soy sauce, Worcestershire, sugar, chipotle powder and smoked paprika.  Add about a 1/2 cup of water.  Cover and simmer over low heat for about an hour.  Add more water if needed (check regularly).  With forks, pull apart the beef bits until they look shredded.  Check the tastes and adjust as needed.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place a large spoonful of the rice mixture in a tortilla shell.  Add a little bit of the beef mixture on top.  (I place all this stuff in a long row).  Add a couple of tbsp's of salsa and then some cheese.  Roll up the tortilla and place in a large baking sheet.  Continue this until everything is used up.  Save a little cheese for the top.  If you wish, add a little salsa on top of all the finished tortilla's and then cover with cheese.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  Just until the cheese is bubbly.
Serve with more salsa.