I mentioned recently that I took a blogging hiatus in order to rethink where I was at with food and life. Even though I struggle to find the words to describe my new attitude, I am experiencing confirmation that my epiphany is on track.

One confirmation, (believe it or not) is the amazing minute and a half commercial recently aired by Loblaw’s/Superstore where the narrative is about dreaming 75 years of dreams and then finally dreaming “where you are now”-outdoors, around an enormous table, with multi-generations of family/friends. The final graphic suggesting: “Eat Together”. The truth is, I don’t even remember seeing food in the Superstore commercial. So I am concluding it is not about the food it is about “together”.

Now I will confess that there are times that I make one-bowl dinners so that D and I can catch up on a favourite Netflix series or catch the puck drop of a Jets game, but for the most part we eat together at our kitchen peninsula most evenings, sometimes with a candle lit to brighten the winter darkness.

Getting a nutritious hot meal on the table is just part of my daily routine so the need to scale back preparations to do so is not a big deal for me, but for two income couples, students living alone or young families with active kids, the task must be overwhelming. Enter the new approach that I have towards food (and life): from scratch, simple, uncomplicated… Claire Tansey the author of “Uncomplicated” shared recently that we all need to “lower our expectations” in order to make daily cooking a part of our routines.

Another confirmation are the cookbooks that Daughter #1 has gifted me with recently and the one that I added to my collection last evening: “Family”, “Simple”, “Uncomplicated”.

Claire Tansey is straightforward and without pretense. I was so sad to have missed her when she was in Winnipeg this past September at the Food Bloggers Canada event. Last night though we had a chance to chat, hear her interviewed and watch her in her element-mic’d, pony-tailed and posed at an enormous wooden cutting board ready to share her thoughts on everything from knife skills to salt. This was all delivered at Deluca’s Cooking Studio by my dear friends at Canola Connect.

I cannot wait to dive into Claire’s beautiful cookbook. I have only had a chance to flip through, but it is thoughtfully laid out with sumptuous photos and straight-forward recipes. Pick up “Uncomplicated” as soon as you are able. You will come to understand where the “Food Revolution”  started by many, is currently at.

With the crew from Deluca’s, Tainsey prepared our uncomplicated dinner from her new cookbook. The kitchen commenced with a yummy snack to hold us until the entree arrived (you can call amuse bouche if you’d like). Popcorn? Yes popcorn, you can’t get more uncomplicated than that, can you? But this was no ordinary popcorn-it was simply seasoned with both salt and sugar and a pinch of cayenne pepper to add what Claire referred to as “sexy sizzle”.

A little salad came next as Claire declared “salad is the essence of uncomplicated”. Greens, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper-that’s it.

Next up was a delectable rosemary pork tenderloin which had been roasted with broccoli and potato wedges. The pork was cooked to a perfect pink and full of its natural juices.

Surrounded by Canola family, I was content to put down my fork and call it an evening, then along came Claire’s chocolate cake. I enjoyed it immensely but with my last bite I had to run. My mantra and new attitude of making time for the most important people in life by making less fuss and muss in the kitchen also takes time management: I was home in time for a visit with D and the evening was perfect!

Kath’s quote: “Brown stuff tastes good.“-Claire Tansey

Love never fails.

When our family was young, there were a couple of standard offerings to serve a birthday gang: hotdogs and pizza. We always let the birthday child pick and because our family were a little bit more adventurous I could serve make-your-own subs, strawberry trifle and/or zucchini chocolate cake.

Boy has the game ever been upped since those days! This past weekend we celebrated one of the Wee Ones birthday with a Sunday brunch. When we entered the home of J1 and J2 intriguing aromas wafted by.

As guests continued to arrive and get settled they served a bruschetta topped with whipped feta, brightly coloured cherry tomatoes, red pepper, purple onion and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Half the tray was topped with extra fresh basil. Absolutely delectable!

For our main, there was a veggie stew that included a secret ingredient that added a subtle sweetness. My carb-loving self spotted the cheese scones which J1 said were a new recipe and they were extra crunchy, just the way I like them.

A festive (non-violent) piñata was opened by pulling on colourful ribbons. It contained brown rice krispie treats and the kids were delighted.

Dessert was a chocolate cake that the Wee Ones helped make. It was adorned with purple icing as “poo poo” is Wee Ones favourite colour (pink already being claimed by her big sister). The cake was served with ice cream and berries.

The Birthday girl with Auntie Boo.

It was one of a couple of times that both sides of the family get together and we had lots to get caught up on.

Gift time could have gone either way with the alluded to big sister wanting to help. But both Wee Ones handled themselves with generosity and grace. It was a special celebration.

Kath’s quote: “You are small in size, but you don’t even realize how much power you have to change our lives, Lovie. May God bless you and keep you safe in every step. We love you so much.”-Glamma

Love never fails.

D and I love to cook together but we rarely get the opportunity. We have a wonderful division of tasks. D takes care of shoveling, laundry and garbage detail and I ensure the house is tidy and that supper is waiting for him when he is home from work. Sounds pretty tradition doesn’t it? It is and we love it this way.

We adore pan seared scallops and I was shocked to find such huge ones on for 30% off at Superstore (by the way…have you seen their fabulous new commercial?) We decided to go to a move Friday evening and have a popcorn supper so the scallops were waiting for us at the end of a busy Saturday. We had a number of plant based meals that week so I didn’t feel bad at serving an entrée with no veggies.

This is how we decided that it was supper time: D said “I am thirsty. I am going to pour us a glass of wine. Since we are wine-equipped why don’t we start on supper?”

We divided the tasks into two and I prepared the pasta portion while he seared the scallops. The dish was a keeper but so filling, we each left scallops and pasta in our bowl to have during the 3rd period of the Jet’s game when we typically get peckish.

D at the stove in Charlottetown.

We had not had scallops since our sojourn to PEI last September. Coincidentally, that evening we arranged a meet up with those friends our first night on Isla Mujeres where alas, there are no scallops.

D poured another glass of wine and we sat down to our HNIC pre-game dinner.

Kath’s quote: “Close your eyes,” he had said to her. “Food demands complete submission.” And then he placed a perfect scallop in her mouth. “Do you taste the sea?” Delphine did. Not just the salt of the sea but the very air of the moment that the shell was pulled from the sand. “A storm, perhaps. There is a dark edge to the sweetness of the meat.” ― N.M. Kelby, White Truffles in Winter    Just reserved it on line from my library. I LOVE culinary fiction!

Love never fails.

If you are from Canada or been on social media lately, you cannot help but know that we are in a deep freeze right now. You can still buy some local produce like beets, carrots and potatoes but that’s pretty much it. We are well stocked with beef, pork and chicken right now but our fish and seafood supplies are dismal ,not just in our freezer but in the grocery store freezers as well.

Portugal

Isla Mujeres

Prince Edward Island

Fresh fish and seafood is one of the many reasons why D and I love to travel. Last year In Portugal, Isla Mujeres, Mexico and Prince Edward Island we ate fresh fish at as many meals as possible.

Tuscany

This year we have booked Tuscany. On our last journey there, we we overjoyed with the fish.

I recently read The Little French Bistro by Nina George. It was a great read but I was especially fascinated by this excerpt:

“He had lectured Marianne on the importance of food and its effects on the soul, even though he knew that she barely understood a word. He talked about how he loved to shop and how true gastronomy began with hunting down the freshest, choicest produce. He spent his days off in low season visiting distilleries and mussel farms, or strolling along the Avon and Belen rivers or around the Bay of Morbidhan to find patient retired anglers reeling in wild fish.  These men still understood the rhythms of Brittany’s coastline. They knew that they had to be there at the right time, according to the dictates of moon and tides. High and low tide arrived a little earlier every day-two to four minutes earlier-and so they needed to be as swift and stealthy as foxes to catch the best moment for the fish to bite.”

Chapter 15, page 91

Boy do we have a lot to learn about fish!

Kath’s quote:“Fish, to taste right, must swim three times -in water, in butter, and in wine.” –Polish proverb

Love never fails.

The cold grip continues in Manitoba and when we say that we are colder than Mars we are not just using a figure of speech. Overnight temperatures (with the wind chill) have been in the -50 range. Because I work from home I am one of the fortunate ones. It is simply treacherous for our eldest who uses a motorized wheelchair to go outside. My beautiful grand-babies can’t get to school because of frozen vehicles (their Daddy, our son has been walking to work). Our 2nd son (son in law) works on the front lines at Siloam Mission and I can only imagine what they are trying to cope in this weather crisis.

Anyhoo…I was trying to decide on a stew or soup that would keep us warm tonight and I came upon a top ten list of foods that, for various reasons, will keep you warm: cinnamon, dried fruits, eggs, ginger, honey, pepper, saffron, sesame seeds, turmeric and hot soups. The latter being an obvious. This didn’t sound like a soup concoction but it did sound like a spice cookie recipe! I started with a recipe from the Middle East and modified it to incorporate more of the list. It already covered off cinnamon, dried fruits, eggs and ginger. I added honey, pepper and sesame seeds and I swapped  whole what flour for white flour, vanilla whiskey for brandy and raisins for currants.I couldn’t find a way to incorporate turmeric or saffron. Drat.

The result?

An unusual tasting but satisfying cookie.

Love never fails.