Happy Endings

September 2, 201324 Comments

Well, is it just me or did this past summer just fly by? Every year they get faster and faster. Well, as you know we ended our summer with a little country getaway. We rented a farm-house in Michigan for a week with the kids and just spent some quality time with absolutely no distractions (except for a few bee stings – poor Mike!).

Thankfully Mike is not allergic to bees and recovered just fine; albeit rather annoyed. Aside from those two little incidents, the trip was utterly blissful. The kids were happy the whole time (no meltdowns or plate turnings) and they were inseparable. From morning until night, they were attached at the hip, playing and laughing.

We did lots of cooking, ate every meal outside, read books, made crafts and even got to pick our own peaches.

I’m not joking when I say that Miss A ate at least five peaches while we were in the orchard.

Somehow we still ended up taking home one whole bucket of fresh Michigan peaches. So as you can imagine, our next few recipes will be down right peachy.

The farm house was exactly what we needed. It was peaceful and felt like home the second we walked through the doors.

It wasn’t extravagant by any means, but it was homey, clean, private and surrounded by grape vines.

And it was only a short 30-minute drive to sunsets on the beach.

As simple as it was, we all agreed that it was one of our best family vacations. We all felt happy, connected and most of all rested.

There’s not a whole lot to report back other than we spent a lot of quiet mornings in our upstairs sitting room overlooking the countryside. Then we’d make our way down to the kitchen area where the kids and Mike would read and craft while I cooked something up. I don’t think we were ever dressed or out of the house before noon!

Our days were lazy and spontaneous and then we’d head for some quiet nights either on the beach…

or back at the farm.

One evening, we sat around the campfire. Mr. N and Miss A were roasting marshmallows and Mike and I were sipping wine. The discussion turned to what a great trip it had been and that we should definitely visit the farm again. Then Miss A, usually not one for serious conversations, sighed and said, “Yes. This was like a happy ending for summer.”

Indeed it was. It was then just a few days later that I was snapping the first day of school pictures.

It’s always the first day of school pictures that reflect back to me how much they are growing up and changing.

While the end of summer is always bittersweet for the kids, it was especially so for us parents too. Miss A is now a kindergartener, which means a full day of school five days a week. In other words, our house is suddenly very, very quiet. Since this was the first day of “real” school for Miss A, we weren’t sure how she would handle the separation. She had cried a few days beforehand, but otherwise was staying her tough little self. As the bus approached, we said our goodbyes and gave out our hugs. I was using every ounce of self-control to keep those tears locked away behind my sunglasses. I was standing behind Miss A, when she looked at Mike slightly panicked and said, “Where’s mommy?”

Just then, Mr. N walked up alongside of his little sister, took her by the hand and happily said, “Come on, Miss A.”

She looked up at her big brother and smiled. They boarded the bus and didn’t look back until they were in their seats, smiling and waving. As the bus turned away, the dam burst and my tears were flowing. Fortunately, I’m in good company and several of us moms were able to cry, laugh and hug our way through the walk home.

Miss A was right – that vacation was definitely a happy ending, but I also think that this is a new happy beginning. It’s definitely a new stage of life for us. For the past nine years, Mike and I have juggled our schedules both working from home and our offices. We’ve managed through the chaos and the stress to be stay-at-home parents as much as possible. Mike would stay home some days, I would stay home others, we’d work nights and sometimes weekends, trading off work and at home time, while trying to find a balance for quality family time when we could all be together. It wasn’t easy. And it’s the strangest feeling to look up, nine years later and think that those days are behind us.

While I very much miss my little buddies, I can’t help but think about all the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead for all of us – and I’m excited. Even with only one week of this new life under our belts, I can already see that this next stage, might be just as fun as the last – particularly if this vacation was any indication.

So since I’m feeling all happy and sunny, I figured we’d kick off our Michigan recipe series with some bright and sunny foods. This first recipe, is hardly a recipe at all. We obviously had a lot of peaches on-hand, so we used what we had in our little kitchen to whip up a fresh Peach Salsa.

We used peaches, tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, honey, cherry balsamic vinegar and salt for seasoning. We first served our salsa as a side with tortilla chips. Miss A was not a big fan of the salsa due to the jalapeno. This was only a 2 spooner for her. Mike enjoyed the fresh peaches with his chips. It was a good blend of salty and sweet.

Mr. N and I enjoyed our peach salsa with the chips, but our favorite way to serve it was with a sunny side up egg on toast.

Mike, Mr. N and I all gave the salsa 3 spoons. It was fast, fresh and was a simple balance of sweet and spicy. Print this recipe: Peach Salsa

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. We read them while we were away and always enjoy them. We read many of them to the kids and they enjoy following along as well. They know many of you by name, and will often ask which one of you provided the new recipe at our table (as many of your recipes are served at various meals). I promise I’ll get back to commenting soon, I just have a few projects that I’ve been sitting on for quite some time that I’m ready to move forward on; and of course, we’re still working out our new school time routines. Please know that I’m hovering in the background printing many of your recipes and that I’ll be popping in and out as I can as we try to find our new balance.

We’ll be back soon with a few bread recipes. Yes – I’ve actually made some bread! And the best part, it’s edible! Until then, here’s a flashback that happens to be another great use for peaches. We made this in Michigan too, and needless to say, Miss A devoured this one. 🙂

Eggcellent Adventure

July 23, 201344 Comments

After about a year of dating Mike things were getting serious, and we decided to take a big step and spend the holidays together. So on Thanksgiving our plan was to spend the day at his parents’ house. He picked me up at my mom and dad’s and off we went. Little did Mike realize I would be crying for the entire drive. You see this was the first holiday spent away from my family, and for me that was a big deal.

Fast forward 15 years and I was crying again, but this time as we said bon voyage to Mike’s parents. They are now part of my family which is something I’m grateful for every day. Cliff and Marilyn have left their home (which was a few blocks away from ours) and headed for bluer skies and greener grass. Look out Florida – here come Nana and Papa!

While we are all very excited for them to begin their “excellent adventure” that has been 30 years in the making, we are also very sad that they’ll no longer be one mile away. When we moved back to the Chicago area after our stint in Minnesota, we lived with Mike’s parents while we waited for our house in Winona to sell. Now, I’ll admit to being nervous about moving in with my “in-laws”, but in reality there was nothing to be nervous about at all. They gave us our space, made for great company on the nights Mike was teaching, provided the kids with hours of entertainment, and sent Mike and I out on regular date nights. We really all came together as a family that year, getting to know each other and making a lifetime of memories.

I could go on and on about what Nana and Papa mean to us, but they’re not the mushy sort and they know how we feel. What I will say is that what I am the most grateful for is how my kids have gotten to know their Nana and Papa. It’s truly a gift. And while there are many things the kids will miss dearly about Nana and Papa, if you ask them, tops on their list will be Papa’s breakfasts. Papa’s breakfasts were not fancy, but they were absolutely created for his grandkids – waffles topped with ice cream, chocolate syrup and sometimes a bit of fruit. Only a Papa could get away with that!

So in honor of Nana and Papa’s departure we thought we’d share an equally decadent, but a bit more grown-up breakfast treat. You may remember a few months back, Miss A and I had the opportunity to visit Miss C at the farmy – a trip Miss A is still talking about regularly. One of her favorite memories of the farm (aside from Ton and Boo) was collecting eggs with Miss C.

Miss C was gracious enough to send the eggs Miss A collected home with us and we knew right away how to put them to good use. With our trip to Canada and New York around the corner (the one we just returned from – is it just me or is time flying this summer!), we figured it was time for a stateside recipe. Did you know that according to one account Eggs Benedict originated in New York City at the Waldorf Hotel in 1894? And did you know that Eggs Benedict is best when made with fresh eggs? Well, we can now attest to that!

We made our Eggs Benedict by poaching Miss C’s farm fresh eggs.

We also used regular bacon since the kids aren’t all that big on Canadian bacon (yet – it will grow on them).

Mike worked on our Hollandaise sauce made from the farmy egg yolks.

And Miss A buttered our English muffins.

Once assembled, we topped our Eggs Benedict with paprika, chives and a wee bit of truffle salt, because let me tell you – truffle salt and eggs equals ooh la, la to me! There is just something about that combo that brings eggs to a whole new level.

Now I had never had Eggs Benedict before and was never really a big egg eater. Aside from the occasional omelette, I rarely eat them. However, this little breakfast delight completely changed everything. Perhaps it was the farm fresh eggs – they really do make a BIG difference in flavor.

Or perhaps my tastes have changed, or maybe I just know how to cook them a bit more properly now. Whatever it was, thanks to this meal, I’ve been eating poached eggs left and right (and making sure to get eggs on my trip to the farmer’s market). Needless to say this dish got a 4 spoon ranking from me – Mike too!

But it wasn’t just my diet that this recipe transformed, even the kids were won over. The same two kids that moaned and groaned whenever we served an egg dish, devoured the Eggs Benedict. Despite even asking for more, they weren’t ready to give it a full 4 spoons and were adamant that it was a 3 spoon dish for them. Well, I’ll take it! That’s certainly progress over the usual, “Ugh! Eggs? I hate eggs!”

The Eggs Benedict was creamy, fresh and full of flavor. While it may not be as kid-friendly as ice cream and waffles, it’s just as rich! It’s definitely not a diet breakfast, but my goodness it is worth every little calorie. I can guarantee I will be making this again sometime soon. Maybe even the next time Nana and Papa come back for a visit (See we’re already trying to entice them to come back soon!)

Print this recipe: Eggs Benedict
Print this recipe: Hollandaise Sauce

We hope you all enjoyed our little stateside adventure this week. And Nana and Papa – perhaps you can keep your eyes open for some good Florida recipes we can test out. We’ll be back next week to continue our French cooking adventure. It’s becoming our summer in France (don’t I wish!). Until then, I thought I would share a series of photos from the Farmy. This time it’s from the perspective of Miss A, so a bit of a different vantage point.

The farmy through Miss A’s lens:

Mommy meets Boo. She likes dogs.

This is Ton Ton. I call him Ton. He liked me.

Boo was silly. He kept trying to take Ton’s frisbee.

The pigs were as big as me!

I like Ton.

These are the chickens. I got to pick their eggs with Miss C. Then we ate them.

Donkeys, Frogs and Wine

July 13, 2013August 19, 201528 Comments

If I said this was a busy summer, that would be an understatement. Particularly these past few weeks. Last week was an extended holiday weekend complete with three BBQs and a sleepover. This weekend we’ve just wrapped up two of three birthday parties with one more to go. Whew. It’s a little how Toronto felt for us too – one big whirlwind of fun. So when we left Toronto to head back home, we opted for the scenic route.

It was time to slow down for a bit, take in some of the outdoors, some wine and even some grape juice. Mr. N and Miss A became quite the aficionados.

We began the next leg of our adventure on a wine route on the southern side of Lake Ontario – a great recommendation from Barb. She even pointed out a few great places along the way to stop for lunch and tastings, the first of which was The Good Earth for lunch. It was a gorgeous day and we were able to dine outside. The food was delicious, but the view was what we were lost in.

They even had some chickens, so Miss A was in farm heaven.

After lunch we found a few other wineries along the way – several of which were accessible by hiking a little trail. Now how clever is that! This was by far one of our favorite afternoons.

There was even some wildlife along the way.

And of course some grapes…

It was one of those days you didn’t want to end. Fortunately we had several more ahead of us though as we headed back toward the Finger Lake region of New York. We had passed through the area a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The lakes are a the quintessential summer getaway with small, friendly towns, rolling hills and scenic drives. (And of course more wineries!)

Now don’t worry, while Mike and I were most certainly enjoying ourselves…the kids were too. Many of the wineries are kid friendly (or perhaps our kids are just winery friendly) and most of them have something interesting aside from wine. The Swedish Hill Winery, for instance, has Doobie the donkey. He of course came over to see Miss A.

And a trip through the Rochester area be complete with a visit to the National Museum of Play and the Sesame Street stoop!

Check out how much Miss A has grown since the last time we were here:

So after a few days of wining, dining, playing and relaxing in the Finger Lakes, it was time to head home. This time we took a slightly different route though and made one last stop – Allegany State Park. It was just a gorgeous area. Lush with trees, wild flowers and beautiful old forestry building.

After a picnic lunch we took a short one-mile hike that made a nice loop through the woods.

We passed remnants of an old zoo,

and old ski lifts.

The kids especially dug all the caterpillars we saw though.

It was the perfect way to end the trip. Relaxed.

I think we could use another one of these. 😉 Until then, I’m just going to try and adopt Miss A’s happy-go-lucky style. Life is good.

Next week we’ll be back with a stateside recipe from New York…it only seems fitting after all. Have a great week!

Baker’s Dozen

June 30, 2013June 29, 201347 Comments

For those of you new to this blog, our mission is to cook recipes from different countries around the world. We try to stick to traditional recipes or popular recipes for the most part. It’s been a great way for us to try new foods and learn about different cultures. My favorite part about our journey is that the kids are fully involved. They pick the countries, cook with us and of course provide their “spoon ratings” to the dish. It’s been a great experience for all four of us and we’ve learned so much – especially the kids, but us grown-ups too.

But, as you may have noticed, things get a little off-focus in the summer – and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We have birthdays, anniversaries and vacations all of which we celebrate to the fullest. It’s a little taste of our family’s culture and traditions if you will. So this week, I’m putting our vacation post and French recipes on hold because Mike is whisking me away for the weekend. This week we celebrated 13 wonderful years together – a full baker’s dozen.

Not to worry though, I won’t leave you without a bit of deliciousness. We were fortunate enough to find fresh morels at the farmer’s market this week. Instantly we knew what we were going to make for our anniversary dinner.

A morel risotto. We love our risottos and we especially love an earthy, savory risotto. This recipe did not disappoint.

It had that umami type flavor – at least for us. The morels are similar to a truffle. They are earthy, meaty, mushroom-y, but slightly sweeter than truffles.

It was just the flavors we were hoping for and made for a fabulous anniversary dinner.

Needless to say, it was four spoons for both Mike and I. We cooked and served this one after the kids went to bed. 🙂 So, if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on some fresh morels, take advantage. They certainly live up to the hype and deliver an amazing flavor.

Print this recipe: Morel Risotto

But if morels and mushrooms or risottos aren’t your thing, since Mike and I are off to Michigan I thought I’d share a few delicious recipes from the Great Lakes State. Enjoy and see you next week for our regular programming (or regular summer programming anyway).

Cherry Apricot Crisp

Peach Blueberry Crisp

Salmon over Spinach with Cherry Sauce

Cherry Cheesecake

Red, White and BBQ

May 13, 201344 Comments

Don’t you just love a good rivalry? Growing up we had some intense baseball rivalries in the family. Dad is a Cubs fan. Period. My sister and I, well naturally we grew up as Cub fans. Grandma, on the other hand, is a Cardinals fan. It was understood in our house that the Cards were the arch-enemy. I still remember my dad’s t-shirt, “I root for two teams. The Cubs and whoever plays the Cardinals.” To this day, family visits are still full of all kinds of Cubs/Cards gifts and lots of competitive banter.

Then there was my mom’s side of the family. Die hard White Sox fans. Grandpa got a few Sox fans out of his kids and grandkids, but not in our house (mom often remained silent on the subject). And my Dad doesn’t even regard the Sox as legit. This of course led to several lively discussions throughout the years. Then I married Mike…another die hard Cubs fan. (Lucky for him!) Mike jests with Mr. N and Miss A that you can’t like the Sox because they’re crooks (referring to the 1919 “Black Sox Scandal”). Yes, Cubs fans’ memories go back that far (insert Cubs’ World Series reference here).

And despite one little scare when Mr. N was 3 or 4 and insisting he was a Cardinals fan, we have so far successfully raised two Cub fans. In fact, Miss A’s nightly bedtime song – “Take me out to the ballgame,” complete with Harry Caray’s “Let’s get some runs!”

As serious as we take our baseball team affiliations, let’s face it, the rivalry is just downright fun! That’s why it worked out perfectly that Miss A’s pick for our state-side cooking adventure this week is Alabama. You see Bama has a rivalry of its own as well…and as you probably guessed, this one has to do with food – White BBQ sauce vs. Red BBQ sauce. We had never heard of a white BBQ sauce before, but apparently it’s all the rage in northern Alabama. So for today’s post we’re pitting White vs. Red in this BBQ battle.

Starting with Bama’s take on the red sauce, we selected a recipe that hails from the Chicken and Egg festival in Moulton, Alabama. This sauce uses ketchup, cider, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, mustard and some seasonings. The ingredients are combined and cooked over medium heat. The chicken is then tossed in the sauce to coat.

Finally, the chicken is placed in a baking dish and wrapped completely in foil to bake for 15 minutes at 500F and an hour and 15 minutes at 350F.

The end result is a fall-off-the-bone kind of chicken.

Seriously – this stuff was amazingly tender and juicy. We know we’ll be baking chicken this way again. However, the flavors were a bit disappointing. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but I think we were hoping for something with a bit more tang. Mike would prefer tang with a kick, while I would prefer a tang with a sweet and spicy finish.

Overall the ratings weren’t bad: Mike – 2 spoons, Kristy – 2-1/2 spoons, Mr. N – 3-1/2 spoons and Miss A – “2 or 90 spoons.” Mr. N was the biggest fan.

As for the Alabama White BBQ Chicken, we used a recipe from The Neelys on The Food Network. We started by mixing together the sauce – a combination of mayo, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and seasonings. We reserved some in the fridge for dipping and used the rest to baste our chicken.

The recipe couldn’t be simpler. Mix, baste, grill, eat. The finished product was a beautifully grilled and delicious BBQ chicken. I realize this is high praise which can perhaps be attributed to the fact that it was our first outdoor grilled meal since last summer. Still, it was very tasty chicken.

I was a bit nervous about the sauce for two reasons. One, I’m not being a big mayo fan. And two, it was incredibly watery. It had the consistency of a light salad dressing vs. a thick barbecue sauce, but unlike last time, my expectations were surpassed. It was tangy, sour and tasted fabulous on the grilled chicken.

Ultimately the white BBQ won out over the red with our final votes of: Mike – 3 spoons (“Not 4 spoons because it’s still just chicken.”), Kristy – 4 spoons, Mr. N – 4 spoons and Miss A – 3 spoons. I do have to put a disclaimer on Mr. N’s 4 spoons though. You see we made these dishes on two different weekends and the voting was tallied at the time of the meal. However, even though Mr. N gave the white chicken 4 spoons, he did not like the dipping sauce and insists that he’d prefer the red version to the white even though his ratings don’t reflect as much.

Now while Mike, Miss A and I will take the white over the red any day of the week, I am anxious to try that baking method out on my own BBQ sauce sometime because the chicken itself was truly memorable…unlike the White Sox. 😉

Alabama Red Sauce recipe: Alabama Red BBQ Chicken

Side dish courtesy of: Rufus’s Sweet Potato Fries and Oven Baked Fries

Alabama White Sauce recipe: White BBQ Chicken

Side dish courtesy of: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (I shamelessly admit that it’s a guilty pleasure!)

Thoughts of Summer

March 10, 2013April 13, 201320 Comments

I realize that most people are still thinking about spring. It’s so close after all. Even if there is still snow on the ground. Miss A, however, she’s our summer girl and keeps asking when it will be summer again. She has been this way from the time she was tiny. She loves it hot outside. She wants to live in sun dresses and never have to wear a coat (I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve found her without a coat this winter.). And can I just tell you how cute her curls are in the heat! So while we’re bringing back a few of our favorites from the past during this month-long hiatus, we thought we’d share with you one of our summertime favorites. This one is also from one of our state-side cooking adventures which we do in addition to cooking recipes from around the world.

I hope you’re all doing well. We’ve been keeping busy and we’ll have photos to share soon. Until then, we hope you enjoy this past recipe as much as we did! Continue reading →