The Final Wind Down to Superbowl 50 (2016)

In less than five hours the house will be filled with guests.  The week has been a whirlwind of preparations and yet surprisingly calm.  As with most of our entertaining, I relied on the tried and true dishes then added in a couple new dishes that hopefully will become favourites.  Yesterday, I made the pulled pork in the oven so the house smelled delicious during the long, slow cooking.  Today is more of assembling the dishes for serving although I still have the dips, vinaigrette, popcorn and cornmeal muffins.  It is going to be a busy morning but the final preparations for our Superbowl 50 Party should go smoothly!

Superbowl Menu Planning

My husband and I have been having a lazy Sunday, enjoying coffee and chatting about next weekends plans, pleased we don't have to go out in the rain.  Yes rain!  Here in beautiful southwestern Ontario, we are experiencing rain (heavy at times) and rather mild temperatures (highs in mid 40˚F) for this time of year.  We are lucky in that we were away for most of the cold weather but still folks in southwestern Ontario can't complain.  We have only shoveled once, haven't had to use the snowblower and the temperatures haven't been bad.  All in all, it has been a mild winter here.

Superbowl Sunday 2016 (February 7) is a week away!  We sent the invitation out last week so now have a good idea of the numbers.  It looks like we will be hosting our Superbowl Party for sixteen.  That means it is time to do the menu planning for this event.  Unlike many, menu planning does not nor has it ever played a large role in our day to day living however, it is a very useful tool I rely on for certain activities like camping and entertaining.

On the menu:
  
Snacks

• crudites with avocado/herb dips*
• cheese tray with crackers*
• nachos with cheese sauce/salsa/sour cream/pickled jalapeno peppers*
• cashews
• potato chips
• seasoned popcorn* 
• [bacon wrapped jalapeno peppers*]

Dinner

• pulled pork sandwiches* with garnishes (romaine lettuce, shredded cheese, red cabbage slaw*, dill pickles*, pickled red onion*) 
• spring mix salad* with vinaigrette*
• chili with corn muffins*

Dessert

•  banana cake* with cream cheese frosting*
•  peanut butter cookies* 

* homemade, needs prep ahead

A few menu items like the pickled jalapeno peppers, dill pickles and salsa are homemade pantry staples.  This afternoon I will firm up the recipes I will be using then base my grocery list on that.  I bought a pork loin for the pulled pork with part of it reserved for peameal bacon.  The bacon wrapped jalapeno peppers are in brackets as they are dependent on the availability of the fresh peppers.  Next, I will create a priority for the prep.  For example, cookies and crackers can be made 2 to 3 days prior to the event, pull pork 1 to 2 days before the event, corn muffins the day before and dips the day of.  I'm experimenting with the seasoned popcorn so will make a few trials before deciding on one or two for the party. 

Happy Canada Day! 2015

148 Years Young
Strong, Proud and Free
Oh Canada!

Happy New Year! Welcome 2015

Wishing each and everyone of you a very Happy New Year!  Welcome 2015...

Happy New Year!

Wishing each and everyone of you a very Happy New Year!  Welcome 2014...

As 2013 Draws to an End...

It has been an exciting culinary year!  We have enjoyed a lot of delicious foods, visited several amazing restaurants and made a lot wonderful foodie finds.  And yes, unlike some, I will continue to use the word foodie because it's a fun word that describes us as a family, in a good way. 

The few months have been a bit challenging as far as writing blog posts.  Over the past year, I have made three major life changing decisions.  Although I don't regret doing so, I am still adapting to those changes.  We extended our time spent at our vacation home which had an impact on the posts as well, especially during the last five weeks before Christmas.  I will be making a few changes in the New Year so you can expect to see an increase in posts.  As always the focus will be on home cooking.

Thank-you for being a part of my blogging family over the last year.  May you and yours be blessed in 2014.  Wishing you a Happy New Year...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to each and everyone!  Thank-you so much for being a part of my blogging family.  I wish you all the peace, joy and magic of the season not only today but everyday.  Special blessings for those traveling today and those who are missing someone this Christmas.  May your table always be laden with delicious foods! 

Happy Thankgiving!

Today is our Canadian Thanksgiving, always celebrated on the second Monday of October.  Thanksgiving Day in Canada is linked to the European tradition of harvest festivals.  This is a time when Canadians across our great nation give thanks for food, friends, families and everything good in our lives.  A common image seen this time of year is the cornucopia (Horn of Plenty), a symbol of bounty and plenty in ancient Greece.  The cornucopia is filled with seasonal fruits and vegetables like pumpkins, ears of corn and apples.

The traditional Canadian Thanksgiving Day feast differs from the American version.  Four foods traditional to both feasts aside of the turkey are stuffing, sweet potatoes, bread and pumpkin pie but there are differences.  Canadian stuffing (in the bird) not dressing (outside the bird).  Sweet potatoes are traditionally served baked or mashed in the Canadian feast, rather than casserole style.  They are not combined with sugar, spices, butter or topped with marshmallows.  Corn bread is traditionally the Thanksgiving bread for American Thanksgiving feasts but is rarely served at a Canadian Thanksgiving feast.  The Canadian choice is a wheat based dinner roll.  The Canadian pumpkin pie is spicy, infused with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger unlike the American version that is a custardy, sweet pie made with eggs, butter, milk and pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

My husband and I give thanks that we are blessed with a beautiful family both immediate and extended.  Today, we give extra thanks for the safe arrival of our youngest grandchild, just after 5:30 this morning.  Believe me, this Grandma and Papa are walking on sunshine today!  Today, we give thanks for the many wonderful friends in our lives.  We also give thanks to the abundance of healthy food, a safe food supply and our local farmers and food producers in beautiful Ontario, Canada!  Happy Thanksgiving!

The Annual Pig Roast

Every year, my husband's aunt hosts a large annual gathering the weekend following the Canada Day weekend.  No invites go out, rather everyone know when and where it is.  Family is encouraged to bring friends and spread the word.  The event starts mid-afternoon at their beautiful park-like setting in rural southern Ontario.  A picture of one of their man made ponds is the background image for my gardening blog, Garden Gnome Wanderings.  It has been wonderful watching as their vision for this gorgeous acreage become a stunning reality! 

We are beyond blessed with amazing family and friends.  Our extended family are very much foodies so there is always an abundance of delicious foods at family gatherings.  This gathering is no exception.  The grills are fired up for hot dogs and burgers while the piece de resistance is the roast pig is ready for serving along with a large variety of salads, vegetable trays, potatoes and of course, baked beans.  Then the dessert trays laden with delectable treats made their rounds. 

This year's pig did not disappoint.  As always, it was moist, tender and flavourful.  Normally the full face is showing as well but for some reason it was covered.  I forgot to ask why.  At any rate, the pig was the sure crowd pleaser.  I brought home a bit of the skin for pork rinds, a delicious treat I indulge in once a year.

After dinner which really continues into the wee hours of the morning with food out and ready for anyone wanting more, folks wander about the ponds, hike up the hill or just sit and chit chat waiting for the fireworks display that out does most community fireworks.  It is one of the most spectacular displays we've ever seen!  A couple of campfires are lit to ward of mosquitoes then left to die into glowing embers during the fireworks.  We usually head home after the fireworks but others stay through the night and the gathering continues throughout much of the following day.  It really is an incredible event!

Shrimp on the Barbie

Congratulations to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Elizabeth Kate, nee  Middleton, Dutchess of Cambridge on the birth of their first child, a son!

Shrimp on the barbie is a phrase made famous by Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee, 1986) in a series of television advertisements by the Australian Tourism Commission that ran from 1984 through 1990.  That phrase has always stuck in my mind so I get a little chuckle every time we grill shrimp.  Shrimp is ever so easy to cook on the grill because it has it's own built in timer, changing from grey to pink orange-pink when cooked.

Shrimp is generally viewed as being expensive, and in many cases it is unless you live near a local source.  Here in our corner of beautiful Ontario, Canada I buy frozen raw shrimp mainly from Elite Gourmet Food Service but if I am out, I buy Zipperback Black Tiger Shrimp shrimp at No Frills in 454 g (1 lb) for $8.  This shrimp has a firm texture with mild flavour perfect for grilling.  It is deveined ready to thaw and cook.  Three bags of this shrimp will comfortably serve four adults.

Quite often shrimp are cooked on skewers on the grill but we like using a grilling basket instead.  The grilling basket takes a lot of the fuss out of grilling shrimp.  Pictured is the thawed jumbo Black Tiger Shrimp shortly after putting onto the grill in the grilling basket.  These were the 16/20 count shrimp, the perfect size for grilling.  I didn't use a marinade although one could be used with this method.  I lightly sprayed the grilling basket with cooking oil then placed the prepared shrimp in the basket.  As you can see the raw shrimp is grey in colour.  As it cooks, the shrimp changes colour and the flesh turns opaque.

Shrimp cooks rather fast on the grill.  It is important to not over cook the shrimp as this will cause the texture of the shrimp to become rubbery.  Using a grilling basket allows you to quickly turn the shrimp with a flipping motion.  The cooked shrimp turns a beautiful orange-pink with golden overtones.  This mouthwatering shrimp is delicious as is or served with home canned seafood cocktail sauce.

The shrimp was part of dinner celebrations for our youngest's birthday.  It was a milestone birthday, a reminder of time marching on!   We enjoyed the delicious meal on the deck, letting the cooler summer breeze brush our shoulders while enjoying simply being together.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate such a special day!

Happy Canada Day!

146 Years Young
Strong, Proud and Free
Oh Canada!

Normally, a Frugal Kitchens 101 post would appear today because it is Monday.  But this isn't any Monday, it's Canada Day!  I wanted to write something special in celebration of Canada's 146th birthday.

Happy Canada Day to all our friends, family and readers wherever you may be!

Canada is a land of plenty in many ways and especially so when it comes to Canadian grown and produced food.  Our food safety is second to none!  Each province and territory is known for a particular food or foods not only in terms of growing and producing but also one or more dishes (eg. muskrat dinner, poutine,  Quebec style green ketchup, pork tourtière).  Not only are some of the finest beers, rye whiskeys, liquors, and wines produced in Canada we even have our own national drink, the Caesar.  Butter tarts and peameal bacon are truly Canadian culinary creations.  Canada is home to many top notch, world class culinary chefs as well.

We are celebrating Canada Day by hosting an outdoor gathering for a small group of friends.  The food choice focus is on Canadian foods!  Most of the food (eg. hormone-free and grass fed beef, strawberries, watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, homemade bread, cheeses, potatoes, corn) being served was grown or made with food grown within a short distance of our home.  Drinks will also focus on Canadian brewed beers, Ontario wine and Canadian rye whiskey as well as other Canadian produced liquors.  After dinner we will sit around chatting about our next trip to the great Canadian wilderness that we will return home from with a cooler full of Canadian whitefish, wild blueberries and honey.  We will definitely be talking about Dillon's Small Batch Distillers, a new distillery in the Niagara area featuring rye whiskey, gin and vodka.  I'm sure our wonderful 5 course meal enjoyed last weekend at Vineland Estates in Niagara will also be a topic of  discussion.  As the evening fades into darkness, we will still be enjoying the celebrations, tummies filled with a wonderful assortment of great Canadian foods!  I'll be crocheting a toque while chatting about food, listening to the guys chatter about hockey. 

Here's to Canada - 146 years young - the true north strong and free!  Eh!

A Few Easter Goodies

One thing is always for certain whenever we get together as a family and that is an abundance of good food!  Last Saturday was no different when eleven of us celebrated Easter and two of the little ones turning a year older.  The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for the little ones' Easter egg hunt.  Our meal consisted of spiral cut ham, homemade baked beans, homemade creamy coleslaw, home canned green beans,baked potatoes, home canned pickles, a vegetable tray and fresh baked bread.  Appetizers were deviled eggs and seafood.  Dessert was birthday cake.  It was a wonderful gathering!

A couple of our kids (parents to oldest and youngest grandkids) surprised us with a gift basket from Barrie's Asparagus Farm. They have shopped there on several occasions so the farm is on our list of places to visit the next time we are in the Cambridge area.  Barrie's Asparagus Farm is located at 1236 Kings Road in Cambridge, Ontario.  They are fourth generation food producers on Cedardale Farm.  There is a farm market on site where they sell their own produce and products as well as fresh local produce, meats, cheese, honey, maple syrup, grains, baking, preserves, eggs, dairy and much more.  The gift basket was packed with some of their products made with asparagus.  Asparagus will soon be in season here which means I will be doing a bit of canning.  I'm always looking for new ways to use a long time favourite vegetable!

Asparagus is one of those vegetables that we don't get very creative with even though we eat a lot of it.  We prefer fresh asparagus either steamed or grilled.  I can just enough asparagus to use for making cream of asparagus soup.  The products in the gift basket included: vegetable crackers, kettle chips, stone wheat crackers, fusilli pasta with asparagus, asparagus tortilla chips, asparagus salsa and tomato asparagus parmesan pasta sauce.  All of the products in the gift basket except the vegetable crackers and kettle chips had asparagus as an ingredient.  The salsa, pasta sauce a pasta with asparagus are all products I could make as new products for the pantry at home.  I could like make the stone wheat crackers with asparagus as well.  The tortilla chips use asparagus flour which can be made at home from dried asparagus.  Oh the possibilities!

The kids that brought the gift basket also brought a shrimp and crab claw platter.  Our kid would actually like to give up their current profession in favour of becoming a chef.  Although that likely will not happen, she has been taking culinary courses.  She is currently learning how to make trays for entertaining including this beautiful seafood tray.  The presentation is stunning although the little ones did not quite appreciate the crab claws.  They were having no part of the claws at all but ate the crab as long as they could not see the claws.  The adults, on the other hand loved the shrimp and crab.  I thought it was a wonderful and unique presentation!

A couple of our other kids (parents to middle grandkid), brought the birthday cake.  Their little one was turning five while youngest was turning four.  They chose a birthday cake to highlight one of the toys all of our grandkids and in fact the kids still play with, Lego.  The grandkids love playing with Grandma and Papa's huge Lego bin and Lego is their favourite toy at home.  Their birthday cake was made to look like Lego pieces.  Isn't it precious?

The cake was chocolate with a marshmallow icing covered with fondant.  The top connectors were made from rice crispies.  Happy Birthday with the grandkids' names were written in cake decorating icing.  The presentation was really cute!  We took a lot of pictures of them enjoying their birthday treat.

Every holiday and some special days have traditional dishes but that doesn't mean you can't break from tradition or even create your own traditions.  Crab in some form, usually as an appetizer,  has been a long tradition in our family for most special meals.  Shrimp is usually served as well.  That's the beauty of these types of gatherings.  They evolve over time, forming new traditions but kept together through good company, lots of laughter and good food.

Easter Chocolate

Happy Easter!

Millions world wide are celebrating the Easter weekend.  Along with religious celebrations, certain practices have become widely accepted as Easter traditions.  These include Easter parades, Easter bonnets, Easter lilies, Easter eggs and of course, the Easter bunny.  The Easter weekend signifies the beginning of spring with new life in many areas.  The weather is usually warmer and spring-like.  Spring flower bulbs are poking their way through the ground which explains why some of the traditions like eggs (new life) were adopted.  Why chocolate came to be associated with Easter eggs is only speculation.  At any rate, chocolate eggs are a long standing Easter tradition.

Children across Canada anxiously await Easter in the hopes of getting a Kinder Surprise milk chocolate egg in their Easter basket.  Kinder eggs began production by the Italian company, Ferrero in 1973.  The milk chocolate egg contains a plastic capsule which houses a small toy.  The plastic capsule is usually yellow to represent the yolk but is also manufactured in other colours.  Kinder Surprise are sold world wide with the exception of the United States.  The FDA will not allow the sale because the egg contains a non-nutritive component (the toy) but many say it is because the toy itself is viewed as a choking hazard.  At any rate, Kinder Surprise eggs are considered illegal countraband in the US subject to seizure and/or a fine of $300.  This is only one example of a particular food item not allowed to be brought into the US.  This is why it is important for anyone entering the US to know what foods they can and cannot bring into that country.

Food purchases more so today than years gone by have social and ethical responsibility components.  Consumers have the option to make a difference simply through their purchase choices.  This year I bought the little ones organic, fair trade milk chocolate Easter bunnies produced by Taste of Camino.  Proceeds from this milk chocolate contributes to the building of vibrant sustainable communities throughout the Caribbean, Central America and South America.  I bought our adult kids organic 70% cocoa dark chocolate bars.  Ten percent of the profit of those chocolate bars is donated to help support endangered species, habitat and humanity.  Dark chocolate is good for your heart too!

I have not seen organic chocolate in the grocery store or Walmart here but I shop regularly at the local health food store.  The price of the chocolate for 3 bunnies and 6 chocolate bars was $32 which sounds expensive on the surface.  However, I felt it was worth the price since both were organic with proceeds supporting good causes.  I discovered the chocolate bars a couple of months ago.  They are delicious!  Dark chocolate is something to savor, like a fine wine.  Let the chocolate slowly melt on your tongue while enjoying the heavenly taste and aroma.  One bar will last 8 days because you only enjoy a square a day.  I also keep a bar on hand to shave as a dessert topping or for adding a special touch to coffee. 

Irish Tater Tots

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Have you ever had two similar dishes then meshed them together?  Well, that is what happened today.  We like the Irish fries at Murphy's and the loaded tater tots at Hooter's.  Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, the two dishes melded together so I came up with some just a bit different for our St. Patrick's Day meal.

We went out for our Irish dinner Saturday night but seriously there was nothing Irish on the menu.  I decided to bring in a little Irish to our dinner today with Irish Tater Tots, a mix between Irish fries and loaded tater tots. 

I couldn't find tater tots so used McCain's Tasti Taters.  I cooked them as per instructions then topped with fresh gTrated mozzarella cheese, bacon bits and sliced green onions with sour cream on the side.  The end result was a rather tasty side dis for our evening meal.   There was a lovely splash of green to mark the day but I really didn't go all out for St. Paddy's Day. 

Truth be told March 17 hits right in the midst of my husband's busy season where we are up at 3 AM and in bed by 8 PM most nights.  I might fiddle on the laptop for a half hour after going to bed but really that about sums up our schedule.  I'm refinishing our diningroom table so things are a bit hectic and yet this was still a nice celebration meal!

Frugal Kitchens 101 - St. Patrick's Day

In Canada we have statutory holidays (eg. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Labour Day, Family Day, Heritage Day, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, Victoria and Canada Day).  These are the days government buildings will be closed, businesses may be closed or have reduced hours and employers pay their employees for the day even though they have the day off.    We also have special days (eg. Valantine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Remembrance Day, Decoration Day, Secretary's Day, Oktoberfest and St. Patrick's Day) where there are various events and gatherings but folks don't get an actual day off of work.  St. Patrick's Day (March 17) is quickly approaching.  This is just a fun day where folks can kick back a little, have a couple of green beers while enjoy Irish stew or a corned beef with cabbage dinner accompanied with Irish soda bread and a healthy dose of music by the Irish Rovers. 

St. Patrick's Day is one of the more frugal special days to celebrate.  The emphasis is on good, old fashioned home style cooking using low cost ingredients, socializing and simply enjoying.  A corned beef with cabbage dinner will cost about $10 to $12 for a family of four including the Irish soda bread which works out to $2.50 to $3 per serving with left-overs.  Irish stew is a real money saver coming in at about $6 for a family of four or $1.50 per serving.  The trick is of course getting ingredients on sale.  It is less expensive to cure your own corned beef but this is the time of year where commercially cured corned beef goes on sale.  Cabbage is always cheap!  Here, No Frills has a 20 lb bag of potatoes on sale for $2 this week, perfect timing for the St. Paddy's celebrations. 

Green is the colour of the day which really brightens up an otherwise grey day in an month of constantly changing and fickle weather.  It signifies wealth and the promise of spring.  Five dollars spent at the dollar store will get you enough St. Paddy's themed decorations that can be saved for using the following year.  Green food colouring is almost a must if you want to make themed cookies or green up the beer or milkshake.  However, you can get a lot of green without the food colouring.  Green juice or smoothies are a healthy, inexpensive and kid friendly alternative to green beer or milkshakes AND they are naturally green!  Both pasta and tortilla shells are available in spinach (green) to bring a little luck of the Irish as a school lunch.  Pack green tortillas with more greens, chopped tomatoes, onions, cheese and meat for a festive green  lunch. 

While green is on your mind for St. Patrick's Day, make school or office lunches green garbage-free.  You will be saving a bit of green on St. Paddy's Day while helping the environment!  Just have fun with this fabulously fun and frugal special day!

Concession Stand Style Nachos

We hosted a Superbowl party last Sunday and while I would love to tell you everything offered was healthy, it wasn't.  The bottom line is we eat healthy 95% of the time so we can not feel guilty eating unhealthy 5% of the time.  Now hosting an event is very much different than eating in that you want to offer your guests some of the things they enjoy, especially for special events like the Superbowl.  These are the popular pub grub and concession stand foods.  Don't worry though, as there were plenty of healthy choices offered and this year instead of chili I baked a ham for ham buns complete with lettuce and the fixings along with baked beans, and a friend brought a lovely hot potato salad.  I also had vegetable, fruit and pickle trays.  Anyway, we had a lot of fun!

Every single football stadium, hockey arena, ball park and sports event has nacho chips with cheese.  And trust me, we have been to a lot of these venues since my husband is a bit of a sports fanatic.  Concession stand nachos are famous for their thick, round tortilla chips topped with a heavy dose of orange cheese product with jalapeño peppers.  That's it.

The best price I have found for the ingredients for concession style nachos is Sam's Club.  Medellion original round 2-3 lb bags ($7.92).  They used to always be just under $5 but that's inflation.  The Baker's & Chefs nacho cheese sauce, 6 lb at $5.82 is the best tasting nacho cheese sauce we have found.  This is a commercial grade sauce that is what a lot of concession stands use.  It can be diluted with 2 cups of water or 3 cups of whole milk to increase the yield.  I don't dilute it.  The clear plastic nacho trays are for presentation.  A 125 ct bag costs $4.98 and while I know they are not eco-friendly they are a huge crowd pleaser and for home use can be re-used.  I use home canned jalapeño peppers but Sam's Club sells them for $3.24 for 64 oz.  I also add home canned salsa which you may or may not want to do.

Self-serve works well for several applications when entertaining.  I set up the self-serve nacho station on the snack cart under one of the televisions in the games room.  Of note is how I present it.  I use the small squatty mason jars as serving bowls for the salsa, sour cream and peppers.  That means at any given time I only have at max a cup of each out.  When a refill is needed the jar is replaced with a fresh jar along with the refill.  It does make for a bit more dishes to wash but it is a lot safer than adding fresh to a serving bowl that has been sitting out for a over an hour or more.  I also only use half the can of cheese and about a quarter of a bag of the tortilla chips at a time, replenishing as necessary.  Once I notice the interest in the nacho bar is waning, I just simply clear it out replacing it with the next snack.

Concession stand nachos are usually served in plastic, two compartment trays.  Usually they are simple round tortilla chips laden with warm, spicy, gooey nacho cheese sauce .  Extra cheese sauce or peppers is placed in the smaller compartment.  I've never seen sour cream or salsa at concession stands for the nachos.  Not that some don't offer it just I've never run across it.  I added sour cream and salsa just to kick the snack up a notch.  These nachos get rave reviews!

If you want to make authentic concession stand style  style nachos, get your food supplies at Sam's Club or a restaurant supply.  Presentation adds to the snack so be sure to use nacho trays.  The nacho trays will be available at either or you can find them at party stores.  The most important thing is have fun with this type of dish. There really isn't any way you can mess it up so enjoy!

Remembrance Day 2012

Grilled Zucchini Boats

145 Years Young

Strong, Proud and Free

Oh Canada! 

[This is my second of two entries being submitted to the Hidden Valley Ranch™ Recipe Challenge.  I hope you enjoy the flavours! ] 

Well, yesterday I found myself in the undesirable position of recreating a recipe to submit to the Hidden Valley Ranch™ Recipe Challenge.  I had tweaked and had friends over for a tasting feast of a recipe for the contest when disaster struck.  I don't know what went wrong other than the coating wouldn't stick, my deep fryer is a mess and I had do a quick substitution.  A recipe is of little use other than a starting point if it cannot be duplicated especially for contest purposes.  So I went to plan B to recreate the third runner up in my set of tested Ranch® recipes.

Many kids don't like vegetables because their parents don't like vegetables.  The thing is aside of a few stronger vegetables like cabbage or brussels sprouts, most kids will eat any vegetable especially if it involves some type of dip.  Our grandkids are particularly fond of Ranch® dressing as a dip.  Now Hidden Valley® has come up with a few new flavours so I just had to combine their new Spicy flavour for this family favourite.  I have to tell you the new Spicy Ranch® is delectable, not too spicy for kids yet just that extra zest for mature palates.   These yummy grilled zucchini boats are a sure hit!

Grilled Zucchini Boats
recipe by: Garden Gnome 

1 small zucchini
⅓ c Hidden Valley® Ranch original dressing
2 tbsp ( 30 ml) chopped sweet peppers (red, yellow)
2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped mushrooms
1 tbsp chopped eggplant
2 tbsp chopped broccoli
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped onions 
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp (5 ml) sliced green onions
1 tsp (5 ml) chive pieces
3 tbsp Hidden Valley® Ranch® spicy dressing
3 tbsp (45 ml) shredded cheddar cheese

Wash then cut the zucchini in half from stem end to blossom end.  Cut a channel removing the seeds.  Cover with the Ranch® original dressing.  Let marinate for 1 hour.  Heat the grill and place the zucchini channel side down.  Prepare the sweet peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, broccoli and onions.  Heat the butter in a fry pan then toss in the vegetables and let cook until just tender.  Remove from heat and drain.  Turn the zucchini over when there are nice hash marks.  Divide the vegetable mixture evenly.  Continue grilling until zucchini is tender.  Top with cheddar cheese.  Continue grilling until the cheese is melted.  Remove from grill and top with green onions and chives.  Drizzle with Hidden Valley® Ranch® spicy dressing or serve it in a dipping bowl to accompany the zucchini boats.

Serving size: 1 zucchini boat

National Hunger Awareness Week

Yesterday was the kick-off for National Hunger Awareness Week in Canada.  Canada is a very affluent country, rich in foods it produces.  Yet food insecurity is a growing concern in Canada.  The sad thing is hunger affects children the most and quite often it is hidden.   A number of charitable organizations and service clubs as well as churches are collecting donations for the food banks.  We donate on a regular basis to the food banks and I volunteer for the school's breakfast club three times a week.  This is a nutritional program that gives a child a meal, no questions asked.  The pay is amazing - a smile from a child who had at least one meal that day.  The sad reality is that meal may have to last them until the next morning because there simply is no food at home.

I cannot begin to count the number of hungry kids I have fed over my lifetime.  Anyone who knew our kids knew they could always come to our house for a meal. We've had friends that would always pop in at dinner time simply because they could not afford to feed themselves.  We always make do and know how to stretch a meal so it doesn't look like that's what we've done.   In all honesty, I would be very insulted if anyone ever left our home hungry.  I firmly believe that you can eat well and eat healthy without spending a lot of money.  Sure it might take a little work but it is worth it.  And to those who say they can't grow edible plants for whatever reason they give and believe me I have heard them all I have one word - HOGWASH!

While on the topic of hunger, food banks exist because there is a need.  There are three problems with food banks.  First there is a stigma associated using a food bank.  Some feel ashamed admitting they need a helping hand.  Second, a food bank is a helping hand not a hand up and not a way of life.  We seriously have some using the food bank for food so they can afford cigarettes and alcohol.  That's not what it is for.  As adults you make the choice where to spend your money.  I'm not really hard nosed about this though especially when kids are involved.  They can't help what their parent(s) do and can't control the money but they still need to be fed.  The third problem and biggest one with food banks is those using the services do not know what to do with the food they get.  A lot of the food is what I would consider junk food and they don't get the staples like milk, cheese, or eggs to be able to use the foods they do get.  For example a box of KD is rather useless without milk.  Compounding this problem is they don't know how to cook what they do get or they don't have the equipment to cook what they get.  While cooking dried beans from scratch is a lot cheaper it is of little use if you don't have a pot to cook them in.  I'm just saying...

Smoked Salmon Appetizer and Spiral Ham

We had our big Easter celebration this past Saturday.  The kids and grandkids were home with the Easter bunny making a special appearance for the little ones.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous so the Easter egg hunt was held outdoors.  We had a lot of delicious foods, shared a lot of laughter and took lots of pictures for our picture albums. 

All family members from the youngest to oldest pitch in helping with food prep for any family get together.  We made a smoked salmon appetizer.  This is a very easy appetizer to make.  You need small crackers, cream cheese, a couple of small packets of thin sliced smoked salmon and capers.

Capers are the pickled, edible flower buds of the caper bush (Capparis spinosa).  They are traditionally used as a garnish, in pasta dishes or in tartar sauce.  Their intense flavour pairs quite nicely with the smokiness of smoked salmon.

Ham is our traditional meat for Easter.  I seldom buy a boneless ham because it usually pressed meat (higher processing) and the bone can be used for other meals.  Our local Wal-mart had spiral hams on sale for $20 regardless of the size.  Needless to say I bought the largest one I could find.  Spiral hams are a great deal because not only do you have a thin sliced ham for dinner as well as left overs for sandwich meat. you have a nice sized bone for making soups or stock.

Most spiral cut hams come with a honey and spiced glaze, as did this one.  The glaze is used during the last 10 minutes of cooking.  These types of hams are usually cooked for about 2 hours (12 - 15 minutes per lb) at 250ºF.   I served the ham with dressed up mashed potatoes, niblet corn and crusty French bread.  It was a delicious, unpretentious home cooked meal.