Right now I am loving this time of year.  Do I love the cooler temperatures?  Honestly, No.
Do I love working and hustling with kids back in school?  Honestly, No.
Do I love that it's getting dark earlier and earlier?  Honestly, No.
Do I love... ok, ok.  You get the idea.
At this time of year, I'm loving eating!


This is the second fall now that I have decided to run the Toronto Marathon.  Full disclosure here:  I'm not running the full 42 km marathon ok?  I'm running the half, 21.1 km (yeah that extra .1 is definitely worth writing - trust me.  By the time you get to that point in the race you are totally feeling that stupid .1) However, despite not training for the full monty I DO get to train.  Right now I could probably eat just about anything and at the worst not gain any weight and at best, keep right on burning stupid amounts of calories.  The training has been ramping up since the middle of August for me but it's only the last 4 weeks that have gotten intense enough to really make a difference in my metabolism.  In truth, I don't take advantage of it as much as I could/should... whatever but I ran 20 k today.  It's my last long run before the race and I came home ready to eat.
Nothing was made though so I hustled through showering and stuff and got this pasta readied as quickly as possible.

As long as you have the ingredients, this is honestly quite easy.  It won't take you forever and is hearty and satisfying.  However, I love creamy, baked pastas.  I love hot italian sausage and I love it even more when combined with chard for some reason.


Baked Pasta with Sausage and Chard
serves 6

5 cups al dente pasta (rotini or penne work best)
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 small green, red or yellow pepper, sliced thin
1 small zucchini, halved and sliced thin
1 bunch of chard (about 4 cups), stems removed and coarsely chopped
2 lbs of hot italian sausage, casings removed and cut into large chunks
1 450ml container of ricotta
1/2 cup parmesan - plus extra for topping
1 vegetable bouillion cube
juice and zest of half a lemon
3 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar
dash of pepper sauce
1/2 cup herbs, diced (parsley, basil, oregano, chive, rosemary - mix it up)
1/2 cup goat cheese, in large chunks

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large, heated pot/dutch oven, add some oil and cook the onion, pepper, zucchini (and garlic if you want to throw some in) until wilted.  Add in the chard and cook until the chard wilts and reduces.  Add in the italian sausage and let it cook with the veggies.  Once the sausage looks cooked through (a few minutes) add in the bouillion cube to dissolve in the juices.  Add in the ricotta and mix well.  Add in the Parmesan, lemon juice and zest, salt, sugar, herbs and pepper sauce and mix well.  Check the tastes and adjust if needed.


In a large baking dish pour in the cooked pasta and the cubed goat cheese and mix up.  Add in the chard sauce and mix well.  Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the top and bake for about 20 - 25 min.

Sometimes I write a post that is in some way connected to the food that I'm cooking or baking.  Today though I can't think of an inspired connection at all.  I wanted to make these scones.  They sounded interesting in a magazine and so I tried them.


On a completely unrelated note, I had to fill out a 'Goals for this Year' Evaluation at work.  I don't know about you but I take these things very seriously.  I looked at the page for days.  I pondered what I felt I was good at, what I felt I needed to improve on and how I could do that.  I thought a lot about what I thought was good and what needed improvement within the work environment.  I just can't do it lightly.
I discovered that it's a really hard thing to answer honestly.  I contemplate not just how I really feel but how the person reading it (presumably my boss) will respond.  Then I thought about my perpetual worry that I'm not doing a good enough job.  My resulting need to then over-work myself to prove to anybody looking on that I am worthy of the job.  I thought about how that itself might prevent me from doing my best because I'm distracted with this worry and self doubt.  Then I thought about how little we tend to self-evaluate.  Well, in any meaningful way that is.



It was hard writing my thoughts out for someone else to read but it was also really good to write those things down.  To articulate them beyond some vague, unconnected thoughts.  I haven't journaled in a long while but I can definitely see the value in writing down what it is running through your head.
Like I said, totally unrelated to making these scones.  The scones I made in 30 min. after work yesterday and they were a yummy accompaniment to dinner and today's lunch boxes.


The moral of todays blog post:
Enjoy the scones and write some crap down in a journal.


Cheddar and Sweet Corn Scones from BBC Good Food magazine
makes about 12

2 large fresh corn cobs OR 1 1/2 cup of canned or frozen corn
350 g or 3 2/3 cup of self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne and paprika
few thyme sprigs (optional)
dash of salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
175 g or 2 cups aged cheddar, grated
175 ml milk plus a little extra for brushing
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the corn.  Boil for about 4 min. and drain.  Set aside.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or lightly flour it.
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, mustard powder, cayenne, paprika and salt.  Mix well.
Rub or cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
Add in most of the cheese and all the corn.  Mix well.
Mix together the milk and lemon juice.  Add to the flour mixture and mix just until it forms a sticky dough. Don't overwork the dough.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured flat surface and knead just a few times.  Divide the dough into twelve equal portions, keeping the shape rough and fairly flat on the top.


Place on the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with a little milk.  Place a little cheese on top of each as well.
Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes or until golden on top.  The scone should sound hollow if you tap the bottom.

It's officially Fall.
P.S.  I know that I'm behind the times by a few days.
It feels like it's officially fall.  It's gotten cool.  It's become rainy and cloudy.  Now it starts to get dark at 7:30 p.m. and that's just going to keep getting earlier and earlier.  It's almost Thanksgiving here in CAN. And I can feel myself falling into a bit of a slump.  Yup,  it is Fall.

Fall is soup.
As you all know I am constantly trying to find healthy, tasty lunch things to send with Kid #1 to school.  She's not a huge soup fan but A)  I'm getting a little tired of making the same lunch recipe every week and B)  She really like the chicken noodle soup that I made last week.  So, I decided that soup needs to be on the lunch menu again this week.


I like Moosewood Cookbook.  One of the most meaningful (for me it was meaningful) gifts that I've ever given was my Moosewood Cookbook that I'd all marked up and folded page tops and commented in... I think that giving or receiving gifts like that are beyond awesome.  It was hard to give it away and I missed it a lot but I never regretted doing it.  Moosewood is one of those cookbooks that I go back to over and over.  Every section is good.  Soup, sauces, main course, salads, desserts... all of it I've used.  This soup is one that I've made before and although I've never held to it exactly (who does that? Really?), it is truly inspired.
Serve this with a dollop of sour cream on the top and it's a dream.  Creamy and satisfying.  I'm going to try making some kind of corn muffin thing to serve this with.


Hungarian Mushroom Soup adapted from Moosewood Cookbook
serves 6 small portions

2 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 - 2 lbs mushrooms sliced (I used button and shitake)
1 tsp salt
2 - 3 tsp dried dill or 3 tbsp fresh dill minced
1 tbsp mild paprika
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp flour
3 cups broth (can be vegetable - that's what I used)
1 cup milk
fresh parsley for the top.

Melt the butter in a kettle or Dutch oven.
Add in the onion and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add in the mushrooms, salt, dill and paprika.
Stir well and cover for about 15 minutes.  Stir occasionally.
Stir in the lemon juice.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir constantly for about 5 minutes while everything firms up.  Add in the broth, mix and cover for another 10 minutes or so.  Stir often.
Stir in the milk.  Add pepper and salt to taste.  Check tastes.

Optional: Whisk in 1/2 cup sour cream and heat VERY gently.  Don't boil!!!
Serve with freshly minced parsley.

Well, it's behind me.  Another birthday has passed.  I celebrated it in style at the new restaurant called 'Earth' here in T.O.  Beautiful meal.  I love that the food is sourced locally, is organic and that waste is kept at a minimum.  They try to use all parts of the animal.  We splashed out with an '04 Barolo - hello!  I have to tell you that it was a whole birthday present in and of itself.  The most beautiful red wine I have ever had BAR NONE.

My friend KT treated me to some goodies from Williams Sonoma that I can't wait to dig into.  We actually dug into the vanilla beans already.  We had to open the container and smell that vanilla bean goodness.  Beautiful.


Then D treated me to these bad boys...


Oh Yeah - now that is Birthday Divadom.  Heavenly.  These earrings are da'Bomb, yes.  As soon as you see something in that light blue bag it just gets your heart racing.  To open it and find these earrings inside... well.  Awesome.  They are like liquid silver.  Yum, I could eat them.  I always know that I love something enough to buy it if I want to eat it.  D treated me like an absolute queen.

Now birthday is over.  I'm only a Diva for a day after all.  It doesn't last for long with me.


I got some tofu in the food box this week and I just had to throw together this stir fry.  Sometimes nothing satisfies me like some firm tofu in some kind of soy sauce thing does.  It's got something to do with how firm tofu feels in my teeth.  I don't know exactly but I needed it this week.  I'm going to be putting this stuff in my lunch kit this week and eating it cold.  Tastes good hot or cold AND it's pretty easy.  Hardest part?  Slicing up the veggies... 10 minutes maybe.


Wanda's tofu stir-fry
serves 6

3 tbsp sesame oil
1 block (about 1 lb) firm tofu, chopped into 1 inch squares
2 small eggplant, sliced into 1 inch rectangles
1 onion, sliced thin
1 green or red pepper, sliced thin
1 small zucchini, julienned
2 large garlic cloves, crushed/minced
4 - 5 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp black bean sauce
splash of teriyaki sauce, cider vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
crushed red chilli peppers to taste

Seriously, heat a wok over medium heat.  Make sure that it's quite hot.  Throw in the sesame oil.  Add in the veggies and toss well.  Throw in the garlic and toss well.  Add in the tofu and let it cook down a bit with the veggies.

Once the veggies cook down and soften a bit, add in the soy sauce, black bean sauce, teriyaki sauce, cider vinegar and brown sugar.  Mix well.  Throw in some dried chilli peppers to taste.
Eat alone or with rice or noodles or whatever you feel.

Here's the thing.  It's my birthday.  Yeah... it is really.  September 27th, make sure you write it down.  I get kinda funny around my birthday.  You see, even though I'm a singer, a classical singer,  a soprano in fact,  I'm not a Diva.

Most of the time.

When it comes to my birthday though.  That's a different story.  It's a Diva explosion and I don't know what else to call it.  I want it all.

Here's my logic.  Christmas?  Meh, not my birthday so I don't really care about getting presents and besides we're all buying presents for everybody so when it gets spread thin like that I just think why bother.  Go big or go home.  Diva, right?  Mother's Day... again, not a big deal.  I've got to share this day with every other mother out there AND who are we kidding, do I really need a big present that day?  NO.  Anniversary... duh, sharing that with my husband and again presents?  Really???
I think that as a group we're addicted to presents and buying crap.  I don't need it... until it's my birthday.


I need something extraordinary on my birthday.  I'll let you know what the pressie is at the end of the day.  However, my Diva explosion also extends to the birthday dinner (it had better be good) and the birthday cake.  IE.  If I ever got one of those sheet cake things from the grocery store.  Yeah, You know what talking about.  The ones with the too-sugary, fluorescent icing, crappy flowers and tasteless cake.  Yeah that stuff.  If I ever got that for my birthday I wouldn't even eat it.  Life is too short and calories are too precious people.  So, not wanting to make my own cake (Diva), I decided to make these instead.


Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies from Martha Stewart Cookies
makes about 3 dozen

3 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
2 cups sugar
2 lg eggs
2 cups buttermilk at room temp.
2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
1 1/2 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp.
1 1/2 cup icing sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or silicon baking sheets
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.  Mix until well combined.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients until well combined.


Drop by 1 1/2 tbsp measurements onto the cookie sheets (does anybody really measure that?) until the batter is all used up.  Bake for about 8 minutes or until set (ie. when you touch the top of the cookie it's soft but not wet) - it says to rotate these puppies half way through baking - so I did.
Cool completely on a wire rack.


Filling:
Beat together the peanut butter and butter until well combined and smooth.  Add in the icing sugar and mix well.  Keep on beating and mixing the stuff just to make sure that you get your workout for the day - unless of course you have an electric mixer or stand mixer in which case you won't feel a thing.  Beat till smooth and fluffy.

Spread 1 heaping tbsp of filling onto the flat side of one cookie and sandwich it with the flat side of another cookie.  Keep on going until they are all connected with a partner.  Pray that you baked an even number of cookies OR just ice the left over one and pop it in your mouth.... that's not what I did or anything.

It's the second full week of school.  I've already forgotten what it was like to leave my watch off and let the day pass.  I've already forgotten what it was like to have saturday to stay in pj's and watch movies if we wanted to.  AND.  We've already gotten colds, sore throats, runny nose, coughing... the whole lot.
As much as I hate to admit it, this chicken soup thing has something goin' on.  My experiences with chicken noodle soup have been few and far between.  They've also been particularly unpleasant.  I will easily admit to someone that life is too short to spend it eating tasteless things like chicken broth/noodle soup.

However, I will also admit that it's damn good for helping you feel better when you are suffering with a cold.  I don't even know why exactly.  It's probably all the veggies in it and the fact that it's hot.  Either way, there it is.  Chicken Noodle Soup is somehow soothing.
So with two kiddies coughing and sniffling through the day I decided to do something positive for them and get some homemade soup into their bellies.


Problem is I don't really know what the a*s I'm doing.  How hard can it be right.  Broth.  Chicken.  Veggies.  Noodles.  How do I keep the noodles from getting goopy and gross?  Use egg noodles.  I got this ridiculously huge bulb of garlic in this weeks food box.


Seriously, one of these puppies is like 3 regular ones.  I had to cut it up just to get it in the press!  Also, I thought that sauteing the veggies for a bit might help the flavour a little bit.  And you know what?  It kinda did make a difference.  I can see why this roasted veg soup thing is a hit.  I get it now people.  Doesn't take me long.
At the end of the day, we had some nice chicken noodle soup nice and warm in the bowl.



Chicken Noodle Soup
makes 8 - 10 cups

5 chicken legs (let's say 3 lbs?)
2 tbsp of oil
3 small to medium carrots, diced small
3 small to medium potatoes, diced small
1 onion, diced small
1 big, stupid huge garlic clove or 3 regular sized cloves, crushed or minced
2 cups broad egg noodles
3 bouillion cubes (which is all I had this time) plus 8 cups of water OR 8 cups of broth
1/2 cup mixed herbs, diced (I left a whole rosemary sprig and marjoram branch in too)
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
dash or two of Worcestershire sauce
lick or two of cream (optional)

Heat a large soup pot (dutch oven) over medium heat.  Add the oil and lightly saute the onion, carrot and potato for about 5 minutes.  Add in the garlic and the chicken legs and cook with the veggies.  I sauteed everything until the chicken began to look like the outside was getting cooked.  I then took out the chicken and sliced it off the bones.  I put the bones back in though while the soup was simmering (Yum).  Once the chicken is off the bone and the veggies are looking cooked I added the stock/bouillion-water (could easily use some wine here folks), Worcestershire, Bay leaves and let that simmer for about 10 minutes.  Then add in the herbs, check the taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Simmer for another hour or so.  Add a little cream into the soup if you want or add a little in the bowl when you serve it.

It's true.
I'm buggin.  I'm trippin'.
Here's the thing, I used to hate stuff like this.  I used to think that making recipes like this were like ordering salad at a restaurant.  Hmmmm, I feel like that deserves some explanation but don't quite know how to just yet.
It's my food box day people.  This is a big deal this week because I now also have a bit of dough in the bank.  The food box this week is bulging.  Yeah!!!  Finally.



I've been so wanting to make this stuff.  Like I said, it's been taking over my life.  I want it hot.  I want it cold.  I want it for school lunch.  I want it for breakfast.  I even bought some special noodles for the dish.  These things are supposed to be more authentic.


They look like noodles, they taste like regular noodles to me as well but what the hell, I feel somehow better off for using them.
After my bean salad stuff last week I'm pretty sick of bean salad and my family is relieved that I'm cutting back a bit on the beans - if you know what I mean.  So, I'm pretty stoked to be taking this stuff to work for my lunch this week.

Some things that I love about this recipe.
I love the peanut butter/spicy thing.  It's just so getting to me right now.


I love that I can throw so many veggies into this and it will always work out.
I love how far you can stretch a pound of meat.
I love that you can leave meat out entirely if you want.


I love that it uses noodles.
I could go on but I think that you all get the idea by now and are probably wondering about my sanity and possibly the safety of my family.


Wanda's Spicy Noodle Stir Fry
serves 4 - 6

1 onion, sliced thin
2 cups mushrooms (I used Shitake and button)
4 - 6 cups of assorted veg., prepped and ready for stir frying
(I used bok choy, zucchini, broccoli and carrots - the zucchini and bok choy really cook down)
1 very large clove of garlic or 3 regular sized cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb stir fry beef, pork or chicken

2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp sesame oil
6 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
splash of Teriyaki sauce if you have
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (ie. no sugar added stuff)
pepper sauce to taste and/or crushed red chili peppers
1/2 cup toastes sesame seeds (I didn't have any but I so wish that I did)

4 cups cooked noodles (I used Udon noodles but spaghetti/linguini are fine in a pinch)

Heat a wok over med/high heat.  Add in the oil and sesame oil.  Turn down the heat a bit.  Add in the onion, mushrooms and veggies.  Stir fry the veggies until they begin to cook.  Add in the garlic and the meat.  Continue to fry until the veggies become almost but not quite cooked through - they should still have some crunch and brightness to them.

Add in the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, teriyaki and mix well into the veggies.  Add in the peanut butter.  Check the tastes and adjust if needed.  Add in the pepper sauce and/or chili's and the toasted sesame seeds.