green thumb

With the kind of weather we're having on the west coast, no one will have to wait until after Memorial Day to plant their garden.

Here are a few ideas to get your hands a little dirty...

make a basket for your bike

plant a tacklebox with spring herbs (for ones that can handle shallow planting)

buy some garden markers for your herbs

plant some wheatgrass in a fun container

make a terrarium like this one, or this one, or like any of these cool ones

chicken and herb burgers

Crispy outsides and moist, flavourful insides make for tasty chicken burgers.

First, we enjoyed them on buns with mayo and lettuce, and then as leftovers, with rice and a salad. Both meals were good... but I kind of missed the sweet potato fries the second time around.

chicken and herb burgers

adapted from a Real Simple turkey burger recipe

makes 6 small burgers

1 lb ground chicken

1 medium zucchini, grated, squeezed of excess water

1 medium carrot, grated

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 teas dried thyme

3/4 teas salt

1/4 teas black pepper

1 large egg

olive oil for frying

In large bowl, combine all ingredients except olive oil. Mix well and form into 6 small patties, or 4 large patties. (I froze a couple patties at this point.) Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the patties until cooked through (no trace of pink), about 5 minutes per side depending on their thickness. Serve.

i heart steve

From a Bon Appetit magazine interview with Steve Carell...

What would people be surprised to find in your kitchen?

I think people would be surprised to find a unicorn in my kitchen. So would I.

hot or cold

Spring's fickle weather is here.

Yesterday, I enjoyed a minty lemonade in the balmy afternoon sun. Today, I'm curling up with a hot chai tea and waiting for the clouds to pass.

a new loaf

I looove the smell of fresh bread. It has a way of transporting me to my grandma's blue kitchen. My grandma would bake about a dozen loaves at a time, and up until the last few years, when she finally started using an electric mixer, she used a huge copper-coloured bowl fitted with a hand crank for all that kneading. Anyway, the most enticing aroma would waft all over the house when the fresh-baked bread cooled on racks around her kitchen. Then we'd enjoy a fresh slice with her beef stew, or perhaps topped with a spread with spicy Finnish mustard and roast beef.

Kind of a silly thing to share. It's like saying, 'I like the smell of fresh bread 'cause it reminds me of this one time, there was fresh bread,' but there you have it. Fresh bread and my grandma are inextricably linked.

My new goal is to make two loaves a week. Granted, it'll take more time and effort than throwing some bread into my grocery cart, but I don't really care for that stuff anyway (and they have too many ingredients I can't pronounce.) If my grandma could make so many loaves virtually by hand at the age of 80, I can surely handle a couple with the help of my KitchenAid.

I've made Soulemama's W.H.O. bread, but it's a little sweet for everyday toast and sandwiches. Alicia's version cuts the sugar, but I want to do a little experimenting with heartier ingredients. Know any good recipes?

bunny butter

I am feeling very appreciative for our good friends who thought of every detail for our easter brunch together -- from egg-shaped salt and pepper shakers to individual maple syrups, from bunny toothpicks to bunny butter. Oh, and amazing food!

- the menu -

* breakfast breads, including two kinds of rugelach, hot cross buns, and spinach-stuffed bagel

* fruit salad, yogurt, and granola

* scrambled eggs, served with sour cream and chives, four kinds of bacon and sausage (can there be too much of a good thing?!) french toast, and marinated tomato and cheddar skewers.

For place-settings, she had us draw plastic eggs out of a basket. The four eggs contained a mini fuzzy chick, mini rubber ducky, mini bunny candle, and chocolate eggs, respectively, and we sat at the corresponding decorated place-cards. Fun!

Yes, that is butter and cheese in the shape of bunnies. My friend gets creative with her cookie cutters.

The granola (recipe here) was my small contribution -- individual bags decorated with "bird seed" and "rabbit food" tags.

chicks 'n eggs

I don't have time for Easter crafts this year, but I'm still having fun looking and planning...

easter grass eggs
bunnies that double as napkins
simple grass candles
patchwork fabric eggs
candy-hiding carrots
pussy willow nests
or how about chocolate nests
homemade chocolate bunnies for those of us that hate the cheap waxy kind
finger-puppet bunnies
sweet little rabbit softie
crazy easter birdie with the cutest little baby chick
and my favourite idea yet, a sock bunny!

buttermilk waffles

These buttermilk waffles are from the original Joy of Cooking, which has the reputation of being a most reliable cookbook for basic recipes and techniques, but I don't use it much for things other than breakfast foods, baking recipes, and meat-cooking techniques.

In fact, I find the vegetables section hopelessly and hilariously dated -- lima bean casserole or cooked lettuce, anyone?

But after I give that section a chuckle, I move on to the 'griddle cakes' chapter, which includes lots of variations of pancakes, crepes, waffles, and, well, griddle cakes.

my fave combo of 1/2 berries and yogurt, 1/2 pure maple syrup

My small issue with buttermilk anything is that I'm left with half a carton of buttermilk to go bad in my fridge. But apparently, I could freeze leftover buttermilk and use it later with good results in baking and cooking. Have you tried this?

classic buttermilk waffles

makes 5-6 waffles

2 C flour

1/4 teas baking soda

1 1/2 teas double-acting baking powder

1 Tbs sugar

1/2 teas salt

2 eggs, separated

1 3/4 C buttermilk

6 Tbs melted butter

In large bowl, sift together flour, soda, powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, beat 2 egg yolks, then add and beat together buttermilk and melted butter. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.

In clean bowl, beat 2 egg whites until stiff. Fold them into the batter, being careful not to swish too many of the air bubbles. Cook batter in waffle iron.

green pea soup

Need some festive fare for St. Patty's Day dinner tonight? Let me suggest Donna Hay's pea and potato soup with mint. Mmmm, good.

This hearty winter soup comes from the gal who gave us minty mushy peas. Don't be alarmed by minty soup -- it's not overwhelming. The herb just adds a layer of flavour that suits the peas and potatoes just fine.

pea and potato soup with mint

adapted from Donna Hay

serves 4

3 C frozen green peas

3-4 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 C chicken stock

1/2 C milk or cream

1 Tbs chopped fresh mint

freshly ground black pepper

optional additions:

1/2 C sour cream

1 teas freshly ground black pepper

and/or

2 pork sausages

Bring peas, potatoes and stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and cook until potatoes are done, about 15 mins. Working in batches, roughly puree soup in blender. Return to saucepan and add milk/cream, mint, and pepper. (Season with salt, if necessary.) Heat until hot. Ladle into serving bowls and serve alone, with pepper sour cream, and/or with fried sausages.

To serve with pepper sour cream, blend sour cream and black pepper together. Top soup with a dollop of the mixture.

To serve with sausages, slice sausages into thick rounds. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, fry until golden and crispy. Divide among serving bowls.

stick it to the man with ribbons

I always assumed copyright law was meant to protect a company from other corporate competitors, not from hobby crafters selling a handful on Etsy. Guess I was wrong! Exhibit A: Chez Beeper Bebe's tale.

Not sure when I'll get to it, but her adorable baby toy is now on my list of things to make. A list, by the way, that's one of my favourites in my list of lists -- adding creative and inspiring ideas never gets old. And unlike most of the other lists, I love that I never get to cross off everything and have to move on.