Weddings, PhDs, and Life. Oh My!

We have been oh so busy these past few weeks in the Little Kitchen.  We travelled to BC for Brother in law's wedding, came home for Dr. Sister's convocation to see her claim that beloved PhD, then had Brother in law and his wife come here for more wedding celebrations.... All that mixed in with everyday life means we have been on the go.  Here's the run down:

First things first: I am happy to announce that Sheila Syms is the lucky winner of the VH prize pack! Congrats!

Second: We had a blast in BC and even had some time to do some sightseeing, including the Capilano Suspension bridge!!

Third:  I managed to use another tasty sauce from my VH pack to make some Korean BBQ chicken wings.....very tasty!

(wash and pat dry some wings, coat them with sauce, place in a 350 degree oven until crispy. Just make sure to give the wings a toss half way through and even pour some more sauce on them.)

Fourth: I had fun making cupcakes to help celebrate the wedding.

Fifth:  The Boy gets to go to WE Day Tuesday. I am excited for him also, one of the girls he went to Africa with gets to speak!

Sixth:  We already have some snow here and I am not too happy about that.  I think this means some comfort food and warm pjs every night.

Seventh:  As happy as I am for all the joyous occasions as of late, I am looking forward to some down time and cooking time!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Kenya Update

This evening I got an email from the Boy!! The email said only this:

"hey guys, we finally made it to Africa after some rocky landings and what not. the only downside is that none of us have our luggage so it's going to be a fun day tomorrow. say hi to everyone for me.
Christian"

Yup!  Typical teen boy. Give as little detail as possible but still able to instill some amount of panic.  No luggage?  I had this bad thought yesterday when I saw the ticket agents handing out these bright yellow tags that said "group" on them....you know, "so your luggage will be grouped together'.  Perhaps they would have been better if some of them got their luggage then they could share things such as SUNBLOCK....
Have you seen the pictures of the Boy? He is a pale, sun sensitive ginger type of kid.  His hair isn't as red as it used to be but all the freckles and such are still there.

Here's the Boy attaching that lovely yellow tag!

See that pale skin on his arm? He needs his sunblock!!

 EF Tours sent me the number to call for information and they are going to help me out with info regarding the group's bags. (of course I will have to wait until regular business hours to call the number, which they tweeted at me)

I am off to calm myself and continue with household painting projects. (Yesterday was the bathroom, today I'm moving on to the living room.)

Until next time, stay warm and eat well. (and keep an eye on your luggage)

The Boy Leaves For Kenya

I don't think he slept much last night!

 This spring break is going to so incredibly different from the last 3 spring breaks.  Would you believe we the Boy isn't actually playing baseball? There will be no trip south to St Louis or to Memphis this year.  As sad as I am about not going South this spring, I am even more excited for the opportunity the Boy has taken for his spring break.  Today the Boy is left for the adventure of a lifetime! You see, this morning (baring any wildcat strikes from Air Canada) he left with 14 other teens and 3 teachers on a trip to Kenya!  (Dear Air Canada, please don't mess this up for them!)  As long as they can get to Montreal by Monday evening, then British Airways takes them the rest of the way.

The adventuresome group before checking in...no one will miss them in their yellow shirts!

CTV news even came over to the house last night and interviewed the Boy and a few others for a spot about their fabulous journey!  You can see the spot here.

I am soooooo incredibly nervous about this trip. He travels all the time with his baseball team but that's just to cross the 49th parallel. Also, hubby and I drive South to watch so we are generally close by.  This will be such a fabulous experience for all who are going. I am so excited and to be honest, a wee bit jealous a whole lot jealous.

Thumbs up for Kenya!

Preparations for this trip started quite some time ago with fundraising, meetings, and vaccinations....oh the vaccinations.....I knew the Boy meant business about this trip when he was willing to get 4 needles in one appointment with the travel health nurse!  Needless to say, we are very proud of the Boy and everyone going on this trip.  I will miss him and be nervous until he is back home but I was a big girl today.  I didn't cry until we got back to the car!

About to go through security. 

 Travel safe Garden City!
Until next time, stay warm and eat well.

Things I tried in Hawaii

Wow, I am a lame brain and still trying to get back into the swing of things....in fact I should have posted what I made for dinner tonight, but I didn't...I am working on that, dinner was delish!

I didn't actually bake anything for Valentine's day like I did last year. I did however think this would be a time to share something I tried while I was in Hawaii not too long ago.  While the temperature is warmer this week, it dipped way down again other week. Two Fridays ago it was -40 Celsius with the windchill....brrrrr....That is a good 70 degrees colder than it was when I was in Hawaii! (I want to go back!!!!)  One day while wandering through one of the many ABC stores, not sure of what I wanted to snack on, I happened upon this small heating/keep stuff warm unit.  Inside were these little curious bundles...I just had to try one.  Turns out that if you take a piece of Spam, dip it in teriyaki sauce, pair it with some sticky rice, and wrap it in nori, you get a tasty little fast sushi style snack!!

Seriously, this was quite tasty!

I will work on that dinner post for tomorrow!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Christmas Dinner

My apologies for the lateness of this post. I had such a crappy connection at the hotel it just wasn't a feasible thing to post. Now that I am back, I hope to get back into the swing of things...I know, I've been saying that for a while now...sorry. If it helps, I am having trouble adjusting to slushy snow instead of sand....

I must say, I loved my view of Diamond Head during dinner!

I hope everyone celebrating Christmas had a fabulous time and your dinners were everything you expected and more.  We attempted another BBQ but unlike last year's disastrous Christmas day BBQ we are in a warm and sunny spot in Waikiki.  We found a place called the Shorebird in one of the hotels close by (The Outrigger Reef hotel).  They have a sunset special where you get an 8 oz steak and an all you care to eat salad bar for 16.95! We decided to go there for our Christmas dinner.  The neat thing about this place is they bring out your steak (or whatever meat you ordered) and you grill it yourself at the massive grill.

Our steaks and a packet of mushrooms for the grill

 Of course we put the Boy in charge of grilling since he does such a fabulous job.

Hubby giving the Boy a hand putting the steaks on

I started my meal out right....

The Shorebird has a fabulous salad bar that even has some hot items on it such as pastas.

The grill had plenty of room for everyone to get their grill on!

 

We even snagged some bread from the salad bar, extra butter and garlic to make some garlic toast!!

The Boy likes to put butter on the steaks...

Gratuitous steak shot

As always, the Boy grills my steak to perfection!!

I really need to figure out how I can get to do this every year...this Christmas day sunset was a fantastic Christmas present!

Well, that's it for today's post. I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season and wish everyone all the best in the new year!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!

Melike Liki Maka

Melike liki maka everyone! The folks of the Little Kitchen have embarked on a fabulous adventure this holiday season. If you haven't already guessed it, we are in Hawaii!  We left in the wee hours the other day, getting up at 3am and staying on the go for approximately 24 hours straight! It was quite the day with a stop in Calgary, Alberta, and another stop in Vancouver, British Columbia before boarding the third plane of the day to take us to Honolulu!

 After a very long but exciting day, we had a laid back Saturday. A stop at the Honolulu Farmers' Market was the only must do thing on my list today. I must say, I will be back there. Some amazing sights, sounds, smells, and tastes going on there! I've got a few pictures to share but that is about it. The internet connection is very slow at the hotel but I hope to post some pics for you guys over the next few days.

We finally saw the sun while leaving Calgary!

Getting ready to go into the market

Opening the coconut

Enjoying some fresh coconut water

Big wave tomato grilled pizza

A very Merry Christmas to everyone!  Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

You're Going Where?

It has been such an exciting week in the Little Kitchen! There is news to be told!! While baseball is still officially the Boy's first love, in the wake of his injury, he has been exploring other options.  He came upon an exciting endeavour being offered by his school through EFtours. After much thought and discussion, we have decided that this opportunity now in front of him to just too good to pass up. I am so excited, I can barely contain myself....The Boy is going......to......KENYA!!!! He will be participating in a voluntour with Free the Children and the Me to We people!!!!!!!!!! What a fantastic opportunity for young people! The itinerary looks amazing! He also gets to go to WE day this week as well!

How can I as a parent not do everything to help make this opportunity happen for my child? I wish I could go!! Of course to help celebrate this event, I have been researching some recipes for Kenyan foods!  The one we decided to try first is for a very simple flat bread called Chapati that we found on the internet here.  There some other recipes on this page that we hope to try out over the next few months before the Boy leaves on his trip.

Chapati

1 cup flour
1cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp oil
3/4 to 1 cup water
salt to taste (1 used 1/2 tsp)

Mix the flours, salt and oil in a bowl.

Slowly add the water, mixing and kneading as you go. You will know you've added enough water when it comes together to form a slightly sticky but kneadable dough.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and stiff.

Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes (or longer).

Heat a fry pan or griddle to medium/high.  Split the dough into 6 equal size pieces and dust with flour.  Roll each piece out to a thin roundish shape.

Brush the pan or griddle lightly with oil and lay one piece of dough in the pan. Let it cook for about 1 minute on the first side then flip and cook for another minute.  Each side should have some browning starting on each side.  As you cook the rest of the the Chapati, keep the cooked ones warm.

We find these easy to make flat breads quite tasty and are perfect with hummus and we are looking forward to trying them with other meals.
We are just so excited to be able to help the Boy have this opportunity to travel to Kenya and will keep looking from some regional foods we can make right here in our Little Kitchen.

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!