Warm Brownies Cold Night

The temperature keeps dropping here in the great white North and this means ski pants, extra sweaters, jammies, and warm brownies with ice cream. Ice cream? What the?
(Okay, now that I've finished writing, the temps have warmed to only -20 Celsius.)

Yes. That's right. Prairie dwellers still require the occasional ice cream or a slurpee or two, even in the dead of winter. Perhaps if our insides are cooled down, the outside temp doesn't feel as cold? Who knows? People around here tend to be extremely proud about being able to withstand the cold temperatures. Me on the other hand, I will bundle up to the point of no return. I walk to work. Even in -45 Celsius. Not happily. But I do. For some reason work just expects me to be there, no matter the temperature. Weird. I will confide this: sometimes my co-workers laugh at me. I don't mind though. Because I just say no when they come see me to borrow a sweater! FOOLS!

Anyhow, I do believe I mentioned brownies at some point. These particular brownies were of the gluten free variety. I bought a bag of coconut flour the other week and have used to coat chicken wings and to make brownies. The brownie recipe is right on the back of the bag.

Gluten free brownies

1/3 cup butter (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
(I added a good handful of shredded coconut too!)

Pre heat oven to 350 F and line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment.

Melt butter or coconut oil and mix in cocoa powder until smooth. I did this in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in the cocoa mixture.

Now add the coconut flour and mix until it is no longer lumpy. You will be surprised at how much the flour seems to expand and thicken the egg mixture!

Now add the chocolate chips and coconut, if using.

Pour into the parchment lined baking pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and what ever sauces float your boat (or snowmobile).

I found some cherries in the freezer so I thawed those with a tablespoon or 2 of sugar to make a syrup....soooooooo delish!

Preparing For The Big Game

Helloooooo football fans and welcome to the Little Kitchen. I am so glad you dropped by today! I had the amazing opportunity this morning to be on CTV Morning Winnipeg this morning to talk about snacks for the Grey Cup.  For my readers South of the border, the Grey Cup is our Superbowl and this year the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in the final game.  They will be playing the BC Lions this Sunday in the season finale game!

Here is the link to the segment from CTV Morning Live: Click here to get to the CTV Morning live website, then click on "Grey cup snack attack" to see the clip.

I promised the links to the recipes I used on the show this morning and here they are:

Pulled pork:  This you can assemble the day ahead and plug the slow cooker in the morning of the big game.  When it falls apart, it is done! If you don't want pork, use chicken thighs or a chuck roast in the slow cooker with your favourite BBQ sauce instead. For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Pulled pork sammie with coleslaw!

Chicken Wings: Make these beauties the day before and heat them up before game time. provide hot sauce and bbq sauce on the side for dipping! For a printable version click here.

Hummus: The recipe ont his page is for the Hot Wing flavoured hummus. It is truly divine! Again, make it ahead of time and relax during the game! Serve with veggies and pita wedges. You can find a printable version of a hummus recipe here.  For a spicier version, called Buffalo Wing Hummus, click here.

Crispy wings baked in the oven

Jalapeno bundles: These are a favourite, easy to make ahead of time and bake just before the game. They are also wrapped in bacon....need I say more? You can find a prinatble version of this recipe by clicking here.

Jalapenos wrapped in bacon....

Brownies: This link has the basic brownie recipe on it. For the footballs shapes, I quadrupled the recipe, coole and iced the brownies (use store bought) then cut them out with a football shaped cookie cutter. The white lines were made with the store bought white icing that is already in the tube...just squeeze and draw! For a printable version of the full recipe, with icing, click here.

Some game day tips:

Plan ahead. Think about what you can make, when you can make it, and when to heat it up. You want to enjoy the game with family and friends, not spend the entire game in the kitchen!

Throw fancy out the window.  Keep it simple for the big game. Finger foods are essential. People want to eat, chat, and watch the game not fuss with cutlery.

Make use of the help...precut veggies, premade icing, shredded cheese. Who says you have to do it all yourself?

Make use of things such as tin foil and parchment paper to line your baking sheets. It makes clean up so much easier!

Two words: Paper plates.

Happy game day everyone!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Summer Lovin', : Little Cabin in The Woods - Canoe Capers and a S'mores Pudding Cup

I am ashamed to admit that I have had this post almost completely written for a while...a long while....in fact, an embarrassingly long while. With the thoughts of Christmas and the ever impending snowfall, I find myself dreaming back to the lazy days of summer at the Little Cabin. Without further ado, or to much prattling on, I give you, Little Cabin in The Woods:

There has been some excitement out in the woods this year!! After some shopping around and a huge sale at Canadian Tire, The Little Cabin finally got a new canoe!  Our old canoe inadvertently got destroyed by some workers who needed space.  The circa 1970s fibreglass canoe was still embedded in the ice and snow but the workers needed it moved so they pried it out thus ripping off the hand crafted wood gunwales and tearing out the yoke and one of the seats.  It really is a sad sight, this lovely old canoe in such a state.

The new canoe next to the old canoe

We however were craving some time on the water....we went in with my sister and my dad to get this beauty.  It was carefully strapped to the roof of my little Calibre....we were on our way to the Woods when a gust of wind came up and promptly removed the canoe from the roof....yes, there was plenty of cussing.  A call to my dad to bring us some fresh rope and his canoe knowledge.....and we were back on the road.  This new canoe amazingly bounced off the highway and is completely fine, except for a few scratches! (The canoe was hereby named "SS Fell Off The Effing Roof")

Once we got the baby into the water, everything just seemed right.  Calm, relaxing, and just plain fun.  Nothing beats an early morning paddle on a calm lake.

The Boy and I out on the lake

I even offere a paddle up coffe service for morning paddlers!!

Nephew loved the canoe too!

And away they go!!

Of course we paddled at sunrise, at mid-day, and at sunset but I am not brave enough to take my camera out on the lake so unfortunately I do not have pictures of the fabulous sun set the Boy and I paddled out to watch...completely gorgeous.  My summer just isn't complete without at least one sunset!! While the Little Cabin is lake front, we don't get a clear view of the sunset so we do have to either get out on the water or down the road to the beach to see the sunset.

We did get down to the the beach to watch a sunset. See....

That is enough chatter about canoes....what did we eat? Well, on this particular weekend, I made some brownies, and some vanilla pudding....I found some graham crackers and marshmallow....

S'mores Pudding cups

• Pudding of your choice. (I used vanilla)
• graham crackers, some broken up
• brownie of your choice, broken up
• marshmallows

This is so easy:
alternate layers of graham pieces with pudding and brownie chunks.  Top with a marshmallow and a whole cracker.

Dig in!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.

May The Weekend Be Long: Little Cabin in the Woods

"And just where have you been young lady?"

" Out"

"What kind of answer is that?"

"Ummmmm....well...."

"Well? What to you have to say for yourself?"

Okay, okay, I am so sorry I have been somewhat MIA lately.  Baseball season has officially started and it keeps us busy. I have been cooking and baking but just no time to write. When I am at the cabin I still like to cook and bake but with no Internet (just the data on my blackberry), I don't post while out in the woods.  Now add the demon cold from hell on the top of the pile and well, I am sick so I needed to sleep more.  Without further ado, I give  you:

Little Cabin in The Woods Part I: May Long Weekend

We just had a glorious long weekend here yet I am not posting anything until Thursday...I developed one heck of a  demon cold while at the cabin this weekend.  This cold has completely knocked me on my butt....but enough about the cold and back to the long weekend.  We decided last minute to make the trek out to the cabin.  The weather wasn't supposed to be all that nice and our thought on the matter was that we would rather be rained in at the cabin than rained in in the city worrying about the yard work we weren't doing.

We packed up and left Friday after work, that way we were there already in the morning when we woke up! 

Friday night, I made popcorn the old fashioned way, on the stop top! We watched a movie and chillaxed.

To make popcorn on the stove:

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pot...make sure to heat it first!  Now add enough kernels of popping corn  to cover the bottom.  Once it starts popping, slam a lid on and start shaking the pot around.  Shaking the pot around keeps the kernels moving so they don't burn.

You can add melted butter if you wish but with oil from the popping, you may find you just want to add some salt





Yes, it did rain on Saturday but that left me with plenty of time to start reading Cleo Coyle's "The Decaffeinated Corpse".  The boys played card games, read and even went for their run in the rain.
Hubby and I drove into a small town not too far away to pick up groceries.   Despite the higher cost I think it was worth it for our sanity to do this.  I wouldn't want to stop at the Superstore on the Friday before the long weekend, that would have been nuts!

Our first official cabin supper on Saturday was burgers and dogs with salad, corn on the cob, and potatoes. It really was a meal fit for everyone!

The spread!

Yes, R2-D2 travels with us...he carries the pepper!

The roasted beets! Peel, wrap in foil with some oil, salt, pepper, toss of grill until done!!

Sunday the weather warmed up and the sun came out. We put the dock back in the water, went for a short hike to see the petroforms, and sat on the dock and read our books. (The Boy also fished off the dock for a while).

The boy dons the chest waders with his Mets shirt!

The frame is in and the water is COLD!!

Getting the frame attached to the platform

Apparently I don't take enough photos of the Boy!

Weighing down the frame so it matches the end piece for easy attaching!

Ahhhh....an nice evening shot...reading chairs still in place!

It really was a relaxing weekend, even with the demon cold from hell.

A quick hike at the Bannock Point Petroforms proved interesting. It is always neat to go see the ancient rock formations, the cloth offerings, and the scenery is nice as well.

Turtle formation

 It really was our lucky day...we spotted this guy walking around and then sitting in the woods as tough he was keeping an eye on these ancient grounds!

Hello Mr. Fox, so glad to came by to say hi!

Sunday evening I baked some brownies....S'mores brownies to be exact. I took them over next door as it was Kerri's (from Kerri on the Prairies birthday on Saturday...a bit late but better late than never!

Happy birthday Kerri!

 The neat thing about baking at the cabin is that either I have to improvise or I get to use tools I don't have at home!

S'mores Brownies

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Butter a 9inch square baking pan.  Line with parchment.  (The parchment helps for easy removal to cut the brownies later.) At the cabin I had no parchment so I made sure to oil up the cast iron skillet I used!

Line the pan with graham crackers, breaking them up as you go to make sure they fit.

In a pot (or in a bowl in the microwave) melt:

• 1/2 cup butter and stir until smooth with;
• 1/4 cup of your very best cocoa powder

See?  I only use this beater at the cabin!!

Put this mixture aside to cool slightly

In a bowl beat:

• 2 eggs until frothy

Add to the bowl, but do not mix yet:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• a pinch of salt

Pour the butter/cocoa mixture into the bowl and mix until all the ingredients are well combined.

• add a teaspoon or so of vanilla

Pour the batter, scraping out the bowl into the prepared pan.

Shake the pan or use a knife to even the batter out in the pan.

Slice large mallows in half and chop up the chocolate!

Allow the brownies to cool slightly before arranging some halved marshmallows and a chopped up chocolate bar on top.

Place under the broiler until the marshmallows have puffed up and are golden brown....remember to watch closely!!

You really do have to wait and allow these to cool completely before cutting.  Otherwise they will be an ooey, gooey mess and will not cut smoothly at all!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well...and kick any demon colds that may have come your way out the door!