Pumpkins Galore

I’ve been sucked into the world of pumpkin by the blog world. Pumpkin is everywhere, pumpkin bread, pumpkin oats, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin scones, etc. My place has pumpkins everywhere…

And the hubby doesn’t even like them.

I actually have two reasons for all this pumpkin. For the baby pumpkins I was planning on making Emily’s recipe for chili served in pumpkins that she did for her foodbuzz challenge for my dad and stepmom who are coming over for dinner on Thursday night.

After I emailed them the menu to make sure they liked everything on it I got one two emails from my dad telling me NO CHILI. He does not like it. I’ve had to scrap that idea and figure out something new.

Now I have 4 baby pumpkins and no idea what to do with them. I actually think I’ll make the chili for the husband and I next week (since it looks amazing) but I’m going to have to come up with an idea for the other two. If you have any suggestions I’d love to know.

 

As for all the canned pumpkin I’m in the process of making Pumpkin Butter from Angela.

We are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend with my dad, stepmom and her kids so I’m making a jar for each family (4 in total).

I thought this would be a great hostess gift since our place is too small to have everyone over. The only problem is that I ended up picking up huge mason jar (I was intending to get smaller ones) so now I’m making more of it then intended and have to go back to the store for more brown sugar.

 

I’m already made one batch (I split it into two because of the amount I have to make) and it smells and tastes amazing and now I’m just waiting for it to cool to put into jars and add ribbon.

I’ll post some after pictures tomorrow. I’m also making a little extra to keep for myself.

Well I’d better go. I have to go back to the store and the dry cleaners before coming back making another batch of pumpkin butter, make some stuffed peppers for dinner and making a batch of chocolate chip blondies. I’ve got a busy evening of cooking and baking ahead.

~ Katie :)

And I Chose…

First I want to thank everyone for their awesome cookbook suggestions. After I wrote yesterdays post and made a call out to twitter I got some great suggestions for vegetarian cookbooks.

Here are some of the books recommended:

• Supernatural Cooking
• Any of the Moosewood Cookbooks
• Vegan on the Cheap
• Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
• Rebar Cookbook
• Garden of Vegan

After hitting up two chapters stores, one 25% off coupon later and browsing tons of cookbooks I left with…

(Source)

Thanks so much to Robyn for this suggestion. I will admit that this book was expensive (about $50) but with the 25% off coupon and my irewards card of another 10% off I decided to splurge and get it. What I love about this book is that it doesn’t just list recipes but each section (eg. beans, vegetables, soups, casseroles, stir fries) goes into an explanation about the section.

For example: Winter Squash and Pumpkin – This has sections on

• Types of Squash
• What to Look For
• How to Store
• How to Use
• Special Handling
• Quality

Then it is followed by recipes using Squash and Pumpkins. In total the book is over 700 pages in length and has hundreds and hundreds of recipes. I will definitely have lots of yummy recipes to keep me busy for a while.

Thanks again to everyone for their lovely suggestions. I can’t wait to pick up a Moosewood Cookbook as well. I was debating between both but ended up with my choice because of the extra 25% coupon. It could only be used on a purchase of $35 dollars or more so I decided to take advantage and pick up the more expensive book.

Tonight we are celebrating Matt’s birthday so I’m making a simple pasta recipe (which is what he asked for) but I’m sure I’ll have some exciting new dishes to share with you soon.

~ Katie :)

Cookbook Help

This will be a short and sweet post.

Sorry for the lack of food blogging lately. I think the best meal I had this week was super simple. It was roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, butternut squash and broccoli) served on a 1/2 cup of quinoa topped with some roasted cranberries (I promise if you stick cranberries in the oven with your roasted veggies for the last five mins or so they turn out delicious) and a little feta. Absolutely wonderful dinner. Unfortunately I was so excited about eating it I forgot to take a picture.

Yesterday I also got creative with lunch. I was craving parsnip fries but I had no idea what to have with them. After thinking and thinking I came up with a simple and easy idea.

Two pieces of whole wheat Italian bread topped with a thin layer of pizza sauce, tons of spinach and a little mozza and feta (another obsession of mine right now).

Served with parsnip fries of course.

And I even remembered to take pictures this time :)

These were the only three pictures on my camera when I plugged it in :(

Help Needed:

Ok so here’s what I need help with right now. I’m heading to the store later to pick up a vegetarian cookbook and I need your ideas on your favourite one. If I don’t get any suggestions I’ll have to grab whichever one I feel looks the best but I’d love some input if you have a favourite.

My other plans for today include:

• Yoga in a hour
• Lunch at Wok Box
• Picking up the Hubby’s Birthday Present (his birthday is on Monday)
• Spending some Quality Time on the Couch with a Book

Happy Friday Everyone and Enjoy Your Weekend!

And don’t forget to leave a comment with your favourite vegetarian recipe book.

~ Katie :)

Giving Thanks

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada. Unfortunately we didn’t celebrate this weekend. My dad and step-mom are coming to visit in a week and we decided to save Thanksgiving until them. We did do quite a few fun activities including taking the niece and nephew to an amusement park, having a board game evening with the family and another trip to Banff but I decided to go camera free and just enjoy the weekend. It was actually kinda nice to just enjoy myself but because of this I have nothing to show you.

Since this past weekend was Thanksgiving I decided that a post on what I’m thankful for would be appropriate today.

I’m Thankful For: My Husband

He can be silly or serious, happy or sad but he is my best friend and I love him. He would do anything for me and I have no idea what I would do without him.

I’m Thankful For: My Kitty

He is the best fur kitty anyone could ever have.

He loves to play…

 

He love to sleep…

 

And everything in between.

I’m Thankful For: My Friends and Family (back home and all over the world).

 

 

I’m Thankful For: My Family (here in Alberta)

I’m Thankful For: All the Awesome Food I Get to Eat Everyday

 

I’m Thankful For: My Two Job Interviews I have Coming Up

(Source)

Finally, I’m Thankful For: My New Blog Friends

Over the past year I have met some wonderful people. Whether in person…

Through twitter…

(Source)

Or through other blogs. You all have changed my life for the better and I thank you.

For all those things and many others…I give thanks.

~ Katie :)

CSN Stores Love

It feels great to be part of the CSN Stores Preferred Bloggers. They have so many wonderful sites that you can buy dining sets, cookware and even shoes.

Last time I worked with them I did a giveaway for a gift certificate to one of their many stores and this time they are giving me the opportunity to review one item from their many stores.

They have over 200 online stores with almost any idea you can imagine.

Some of my favourites include:

Should I choose a new food processor or maybe some sheets. I still haven’t decided but as soon as I do and have to product in hand be ready for my review.

While your here why don’t you show them some love and take a look around a few of their sites. I promise you won’t be sorry.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a little Thanksgiving love!

~ Katie :)

Farmer’s Market Goodies

Today has been a very busy day. It started out as with a trip downtown to meet the hubby for lunch and ended up being almost an all day excursion.

After lunch I decided I should head to the police station to get my criminal record check done. This technically doesn’t have to be done until I get a job but since it makes the whole process faster if it’s already done and I was already downtown I figured I’d just head to do it. What a slow process. Not only is there only one place in the city you can get it done so it is always super busy but it also isn’t even in the police station and it took me for ever to find it.

After it was finished and I had paid the money the lady tells me that they have to put on it that if my employer wants they can also ask for a check back in Halifax since I have only lived here 2 months. Thanks police! Thanks so much! It might have been nice to know this earlier, plus how am I going to get a check done from Calgary with the Halifax police??? Hopefully it doesn’t turn out to be a problem.

After the painful experience I decided to hit up the Farmer’s Market in Calgary. Food always makes everything better, right?

Although I didn’t take any other pictures while I was there I ended up with a great stash of goodies so I thought I’d share my purchases with you.

Organic Free Range Eggs.

Two very large Honey Crisp Apples. Everyone seems to be taking about these lately so I picked up a couple to see what all the fuss is about. After I try them I’ll let you know if they’re as good as the hype.

A cucumber and four peppers. Two red, one yellow and one orange. I picked up the two red peppers to stuff this week and the other two are for salads and such.

Brussell sprouts, green beans and baby tomatoes.

A bag of BC cranberries.

Apple Butter. I think I’m most excited about this purchase.

In totally I spent about $38. Not bad for all those goodies!!!

After I left the Farmer’s Market I found out we’re heading to Banff tomorrow with my step-brother, his wife and my niece and nephew and we’re planning a picnic. Matt and I are in charge of some veggies and fruit so I headed to the closest Co-op to pick up a couple of things to bring with us. I also grabbed some baby carrots, broccoli, and grapes. I figured I’ll cut everything up and make a fruit and veggie plate to go along with the veggie wrap that I’m going to bring with me as well.

Today also marked the return of the green smoothie.

In the blender went two huge cups of spinach, 1 banana, 1 cup of UVAB, 2 tbsp of flax and ice.

It’s so nice to have these back in my life. I get lazy with using the blender because I makes such a mess but I love them so hopefully you’ll be seeing more of these on the blog.

Served with 1/2 an English muffin topped with pb and granola for breakfast.

Well that’s all for me today folks. I’m going to spend the rest of my evening enjoying a glass of wine, baking and catching up on The Vampire Diaries.

I want to wish all my fellow Canadian’s out there a very Happy Thanksgiving and I’ll be back again on Monday.

~ Katie :)