Week 18 - Puppies, Puppies, Puppies

Happy July everyone! Blessed summer is finally here! I love the part of summer holidays when you actually have to think...what day is it today? Then you know that you have achieved full carefree summer mode. Breakfast, lunch and dinner no longer exist rather just three somewhat evenly spaced meals. The Roffey summer motto of "eat when you are hungry and sleep when you are tired" has been treating us well as we begin our nomadic summer lifestyle.

Once the last day of school came after we belted out a worthy rendition of Alice Cooper's "Schools out for Summer" we arrived home and took a deep breath. We asked ourselves "now what". The answer was quite surprising! We ended up coming home with a new puppy that night! Our darling family companion for the last two years has been our red standard poodle named Gio. He has a clown personality and is finally FINALLY trained to our satisfaction. Now we could have stepped back and said "done!" But instead we went out and brought home a miniature red poodle that we named Ben. He also thinks he is a clown and Gio is currently terrified of this pint sized terror! To add crazy to crazy the Duffs picked up their two new puppies the next day! Duke, Charlie and Ben were all born the same day. Our mob of 9 has increased to 13!

For blog dinner tonight all 13 of us were together and it was just as crazy as you may expect. During the fast paced 39 minutes it took me to make this winner of a dinner we had one poop accident, one pee accident and a lot of barking, running, climbing, chasing and chewing. We are all like prison guards not taking our eyes of our suspects in case they make a break for it!

Dinner tonight was Pregnant Jools's Pasta, Crunchy Red Endive & Watercress salad and Little Frangipane Tarts from page 30 of Meals in Minutes. This was a very worthy weeknight meal that we will definitely be making again. The sausage and veggie mix was a breeze in the food processor and the addition of fennel seed gave it that unique flavor. The tarts we to die for and I was chastised for not making enough to have seconds of dessert. I was able to use the kids favourite raspberry jam that I make each summer in the tarts. I do have to admit I cheated a little. The salad was simply the leaves in a bowl served with lemon. Not tasty or appetising to me and I love salad. Especially any salad with Arugula in it. I decided to make a little vinaigrette to go with it. I used the raspberry jam from the tarts and I have to say it was a hit! Everyone was fighting over the seconds for the salad (Super Sister Jo won). Here is my recipe that Scruffy Hubby said I have to share:
1 Tbsp of raspberry jam
1tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp of sesame oil
3 Tbsp of red wine vinegar

Just toss it with the leaves and shaved Parmesan cheese. Delish!

Supper was a hit! Scruffy Hubby was going to give it a 4 but decided to give it a 5 cause I made the dressing. Brother in law Bryon gave it a 4 because the pasta was missing the "wow factor". I would like to point out here that he did in fact have 3 1/2 plates of this good but not wow pasta! Super sister Jo really loved the salad and the tart but agreed the pasta was good but not a wow. The rest of the kids scores went up with their ages. Mary gave a 2, Simon gave a 3, Logan gave a 4, Max gave a 4 1/2 and Brylee gave a 5!

Dinner was a great time! The food was fantastic and the company even better! I love the crazy that comes with the 13 of us!

I have looked back at my math and by my calculations I should be on week 20 this week! Sooooo tonight I made week 18, tomorrow I am going to make week 19 and then after our camping trip I will catch up on two more!

Trish

Brylee is in her glory with Duke, Ben and Charlie!

Delicious little tarts!

Oops! Started eating before I took my picture! It was really good!

39 minutes to a fantastic supper!

Week 17- Meatball Subs and Patios

Well summer is officially here! The solstice was this past Wednesday (can you believe 17 hours of day light!) and the final few days of school are before us!

We just moved into our house a year and a half ago, but our landscaping was not completed until this past fall. We looked longingly at our bare backyard dreaming of the patio we would build there. Well Scruffy Hubby was done dreaming and decided it was time to get to work. He began yesterday to hand build a wooden pergola he spied in a wood working magazine (pretty handy my hubby is a shop teacher). My darling Scruffy Hubby has two personalities...the laid back hippy fellow who loves to recycle and wouldn't hurt a fly...then there is the fired up construction hubby who curses, makes people bleed (I have evidence on my ankle) and generally is a slave driver until the job is done. Over the last 15 years my darling hubby has nearly earned himself some divorce papers during our renovations and DIY projects. I thought with a newly built house my renovation hubby was a thing of the past. Well I was wrong. This very beautiful wooden pergola that is currently being built has brought out a creature I can only liken to Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk. Bryon the brother in law has been trapped with this cranky creature all afternoon and has not been allowed to eat or pee.

I thought with the whole family here and the boys working in the backyard it was time to make a blog dinner. I decided to make the Meatball Sandwich, Pickled Cabbage, Chopped Salad and Banana Ice Cream from page 220. I thought this meal might make Scruffy Happy. We will see if the incredible Hulk likes it too.

My super sister jumped right in to help! 37 minutes later we had a very pretty supper ready to go. Here is the down side of renovation Hubby. There is absolutely NO STOPPING until the project is done. All hunger, fatigue or even need for the bathroom must wait. The blog dinner was ready and the boys were not...uh oh. I yelled the dinner call and a miracle happened...Scruffy Hubby and his Hostage came inside!!!!! This is when you know that someone REALLY loves you. No flowers, diamond ring or anyother trinket would tell me how much this boy loves me as much as coming in from an unfinished project would!

The meal was cooked quickly and eaten even faster. He loves me but lets face it, the work was waiting! Scruffy Hubby gave the meal a 4 and said it might have been a five if the work was done and he was cleaned up. Max and Logan both said 4 and loved the icecream. Simon of course said a 3 and Brylee and Bryon agreed. The meatballs were too dry and the sandwich needed a sauce. Super sister also wanted more moist meatballs (ha ha that sounds bad) and gave it a 4 as well. Mary gave it a 2 and said she would change a lot if she was cooking (we will see in 10 years missy!).

Well the meal may not have been a hit with the family, but I am feeling pretty loved today! Scruffy Hubby came inside for the first time in renovation history, the whole family got to hang out and next week there will be two more little additions! The Duffs are getting not one but TWO puppies! Blog dinner is about to get even busier!

Trish

Yummy Sunday supper!

Dinner was ready in only 37 minutes!

The Incredible Hulk and his hostage!

Week 16 - Father's Day Curry

Happy week 16 and Happy Father's Day Weekend! The insanity finished yesterday as Scruffy Hubby and I finished the last of the teacher insanity. Now we are just counting down the days until our glorious summer starts...14 calendar days...9 teaching days!

Scruffy Hubby has been asking for curry for a while and since it is father's day weekend and he REALLY needed a little TLC after the past couple of weeks I thought I would make it for him. We decided to make the Curry Rogan Josh, Fluffy Rice, Carrot Salad, Pappadams, Chapattis and Beer from page 80. Our little family of five really loves Indian food. My sister on the other hand is somewhat hesitant when it comes to this type of ethnic meal, especially when it comes to the cilantro and spice. She was a trouper though and showed up with her crew and an appetite. It felt wonderful having everyone home for blog dinner. With all of the crazy this past three weeks we just haven't had time to do the blog together. The kids were cheering and jumping up and down when they saw everyone was here!

This food was fast and easy to make. In only 37 minutes we had a complete and authentic Indian meal. We even went to the liquor store and bought the Tiger beer Jamie Oliver is drinking in the pictures in the cook book. Imported from Singapore, we thought it would be a good fit. I was a little worried about how this vegetarian meal would be received but thought I wouldn't even mention the lack of meat. My kids would be relieved to know there was no meat actually. We went to my favourite Aunt and Uncle's house last weekend to help with the branding of all the calves. The kids have been to the farm many times but this was probably the first time they experienced the actual food chain of where our food comes from. Max was especially upset about us branding and vaccinating the animals and promptly went to write his letter to PETA. Every since that weekend they have been quite happy to eat their veggies.

It is always fun to cook, drink, chat and just be together. There is something very comforting about the voices of 9 people in the house. I forgot how much I need us all to be together to feel sane! Getting caught up at work this past three weeks has really kept me from spending as much time as I could with my family. Thank goodness we have such a big summer planned of just being together!

The food was on the table and everyone was starving. As soon as Scruffy Hubby and Bryon the Brother in Law saw the beer they pre-fived the meal! Everyone dug in quickly and the scores came flying as fast as the food was being eaten! Simon gave everything a 3 (his favourite number), Brylee gave a 5 and ate thirds, Max and Logan gave it a 4 1/2 because according to Logan it "did not taste like candy". Weird but true I guess! Mary the food Nazi gave the meal a 5! Jo the super sister gave the meal a confident 4 and both the Fathers stuck with their initial prediction of a 5. Scruffy Hubby says this is the best meal in the book so far, it beats out Indian Steak because of the beer that goes with it. After everyone ate seconds and thirds, there was not much left but 9 full tummies!

It really was delicious but I truly think everything tasted better because the whole family was here to enjoy it. I hope in 20 years one of the kids is doing a project like this and all of us are still cooking, eating and laughing just as much as we are now!


Trish

Branding last weekend has turned my kids into vegetarians!

Scruffy Hubby pre-fived the meal because of the beer!

37 minutes for a yummy Indian delight!

My kitchen looks like a war zone!

This is the best recipe in the book so far!

Well deserved beverage after a long three weeks!

Brylee had thirds!

Not a bite left of this winner!

Food Nazi says 5!

Week 15 - Survival Week

Swimming lessons were never my favourite thing as a child. Especially when it came to treading water! Then came the dreaded day at the end of every term of swim lessons when you had to tread water for 5 minutes with all of your clothes on. This was agonising and felt like 5 hours not 5 minutes. I remember barely keeping my nose above the water while at the same time willing myself to keep on kicking. This past week felt a lot like those blasted swim lessons. June in the year of a teacher is when EVERY thing is due all at once...report cards, documents, audits and more! Both Scruffy Hubby and Myself have barely kept our noses above the water and are starting to feel the burn. Then comes the mommy and daddy guilt of "is all this work taking us away from the kids". So instead of messing with our little gremlins time we do all of our work after they go to bed. When the hell is somebody gonna finally perfect cloning technology!

We have had a great weekend of locking our work away, letting our baby girl cut her Rapunzel like hair, watching our oldest boy run his first 5km run in only 29 minutes and everyone taking a family nap this afternoon while watching a movie. Well I think Scruffy Hubby and I did the much needed napping while the munchkins watched the movie.

I woke up and forced myself to think about dinner and remembered Holy Hanna I need to make blog dinner! I flipped through my book and chose something that looked easy and yummy. I was going to make Tasty Crusted Cod, My Mashy Peas, Tatar Sauce and Warm Garden Salad from page 140. I was off and running.

Well the water level decided to rise while I was cooking this meal. The oven started on fire again! My food processor decided to reenact a scene from the movie the Exorcist by spinning its head out of control and spewing anchovy juice everywhere (the kids school agendas took the hit, thank God school is almost done). The fire alarm went off like 3 times and I was a sweating beast. The recuperation my nap provided was melting away as I attempted to "tread water" in my kitchen. 45 minutes later supper was ready, I was dripping and the kids were way beyond hungry! My kitchen looked like a small battle happened.

Dinner was on the table and Simon took one look and ran away screaming with his tongue hanging out! Who did he think he was...Mary!?! After coaxing everyone to the table we dug right in. Max gave me a 4 and then reduced it to a 3 after his second bite of fish. Simon said 4, 4, 4, 3 as he pointed to each item on his plate. He is really getting the hang of this! He ended up liking his food and I am not sure why he ran away screaming. Mary only liked the Mashy Peas and asked to have them in her thermos. In kid language this is the highest compliment to be paid. If anyone dibs anything for lunch it means it was the best food ever! You should see the lunch war when I make clam chowder! Despite her high compliment she gave everything else a 1. Scruffy Hubby said it was an easy 4 but wasn't a huge fan of the salad. I have to agree. I do not like warm lettuce of any kind! Even if I order a burger while we are out I will order it without lettuce for fear of the warm soggy leaf by the time I get it. I gave this meal a 3 but I may be tainted from the cooking antics of the last 45 minutes!

There is only 14 days of school left and I will be trying to keep afloat for everyone of them! I am really excited for the summer of care free cooking!

See you all for week 16! I am planning on some Father's Day Curry!

Trish

45 minutes later dinner was ready!

One oven fire, three fire alarms and one broken food processor made this lovely meal!

My happy family!

mmmmm Mashy Peas!

Supper was a sucess for Simon!

Week 14 - Cherries and Tomatoes...Finally!

Hello everyone and happy week 14! It finally feels like Spring is in full bloom here. The community garden is planted, the pots and grow bags are planted and even the back yard garden is planted! While my hands feel like sandpaper from all that communing with dirt, I feel satisfied and full of anticipation of all the fruits and veggies that will fill (probably over fill) our fridge!

A wonderful feeling overcame me this week while I was driving around our beautiful sunny city. This feeling was much like the one you get when you see the first snow flake fall while you hear Michael Buble sing Let it Snow on the radio knowing Christmas is on its way! As I was driving thinking NOTHING about snow I spied the first plywood road sign telling me there was fresh fruit ahead, then the second sign and finally I saw the jackpot sign...cherries! I love spring cherries! But beware eager shopper because as you slap that brimming produce bag full of those deep red jewels on the checkout counter you realise that $6.99 a pound really adds up to $16.00 for that bag! I think actual deep red jewels may be cheaper! I succumbed to my insanity and bought a big bag!

I decided that because I also scored a great big bag of new heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market this past weekend it was the perfect time to make Cheat's Pizza, 3 Delish Salads, Squashed Cherries and Vanilla Mascarpone Cream from page 58.

This weeknight meal looked delicious and fresh and seemed perfect for someone who needs to go outside and water all those gardens that got planted! In 40 minutes dinner was done and on the table. The arugula salad was wonderful along with my favourite tomato salad. The cherries dipped in the cream was a perfect if not slightly expensive treat and the pizza was really good. You cook the pizza in a skillet on the stove and then throw it quick under the broiler. It was fast and easy and WAY better than the cardboard crap from the freezer aisle. I highly recommend buying good salami, it was worth it and made the pizza that much better!

I am dreaming of all my summer produce especially my tomatoes! I have 13 varieties for a total of 32 tomato plants in my garden so anyone who wants tomatoes you know who's door to knock on come August! Other wise you may just find them on your door step!

Well off to water water water!

Trish

A quick and delicious weeknight meal!

MMMMM tomatoes and cherries!

The back yard garden with the seedlings poking through.

Week 13 - Spaghetti Wednesday

Hello week 13! It was just another weekday and I knew that I needed to get caught up on my blog. With both myself and scruffy hubby being teachers life is always a little bit hectic. Add three children of our own to that and you venture upon a whole new kind of crazy!

Scruffy Hubby and I used to have things pretty easy with just our first born baby boy Max. Being first time parents we of course had our heads right up our asses when it came to knowing what to do with this little bundle. We of course thought we were awesome but looking back I wish I could have a do over. I still joke that he was my practise baby. Max loved to eat! But me in all my stupidity believed that I needed to fee him "kid" food. The darling boy therefore ate A LOT of Kraft Dinner, chicken nuggets, pasta and processed meats. I was like a short order cook making food for Max and then meals for us. Once I started to realise how dumb this really was and unhealthy for my child I reformed our cooking and eating. Max was not impressed.

Eight years later and Max still is the pickiest of all three kids. My youngest Simon eats EVERYTHING! Black olives, spice, veggies and more! Our new family rule is that if Simon eats it then everyone has to. The one way to really get Max to like what he is going to eat is to let him cook.

Max had a really bad day today. My super keener child assured me that today was beach day and hot lunch. He even set out his costume last night. Max got up bright and early to put on his swim trunks and sun hat. He got to school and suddenly realised he was the only one dressed for the tropics. The poor boy was humiliated and had to suffer the day in beach wear because beach day is next week!

We decided to make a spaghetti dinner tonight. About 4 years ago Max declared that every Wednesday should be spaghetti night. The idea stuck and we try many kinds and varieties each hump day.

Max was very eager to cook with his Mamma! He really loves Canadian Chef Chuck Hughes and likes to feel grown up by using knives and stoves. We made Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca, Crunchy Salad, Garlic Bread and Silky Chocolate Ganache from page 54. It was 6:00pm and we were off. My darling boy was a chopping and cooking wonder. He was smiling and reading the cook book with ease. He loved using the food processor and his day of humiliation melted away. After 31 minutes we had a perfect weekday meal. The spaghetti was REALLY yummy and had a unique taste with the combination of tuna, capers, anchovies and cinnamon with the tomatoes. All three boys had two helpings. Max gave the whole meal a drum roll and announced it was all a 5. Simon loves to copy his big brother and also gave everything a 5 and wanted me to write down that he cooked too. Mary gave the chocolate a 5 and would not eat anything else...hmmmmm. I am gonna have to work on that girl. Scruffy Hubby gave the meal a 3 as he helped himself to seconds. Scruffy Hubby is the "normal food Nazi". He only likes difficult to make and/or exotic food. One of his favourite meals of mine are baked beans that take two days to make!

I hope that all three of my children learn the value and fun of home made food. I will make it my mission to ensure all three of them can cook and it is nights like this that set them well on their way. I love spending time in the kitchen with my little helpers.

The week night blog meals are fun but I may have to put them on hold. I have listened for the last hour to whines and cries of "where is Auntie" "why isn't anyone here" "this is no fun just us"! So I will once again get the whole family together this weekend!

See you next week!

Trish


Hi this is Max. I love the food my Mom makes.they all taste so good and looks exotic,rich with flavor.Every blog ,each dinner is a diffrent culture.

Chef Max ready for action! (yes that is his sun safe shirt he is wearing from the failed beach day)

Little brother Simon is trying to get in on the cooking action.

My very grown up man using the stove with ease.

Ready in only 31 minutes and a great week night meal!

MMMMM Chocolate gets a 5!

Simon the super eater!

One very happy little boy!

Week Twelve - Surprise Sardines

Happy week 12 everyone and happy almost Mother's Day! I had today all planned out. I was going to invite the family over and make a yummy pasta dish from the front of the cook book. Scruffy Hubby was gone all day for a work function and I had the kids. A good friend of mine phoned me up this morning and asked me how my cooking project was going. I told him it was great but I was worried about a few up coming dishes. Namely the sardines. Well my lovely Filipino friend assured me it would be great and gave me some tips and words of encouragement about it. The decision was made...I would secretly make the dreaded sardine meal tonight!

I took my three crazies to the grocery store and after some googling in the middle of the store I had a plan of action. Sardines are not a common food here (no kidding) and so unless I wanted some from a can I had to come up with a suitable alternative. Smelts were the only small fish that I could find that at least looked like sardines to my untrained and sceptable eye. Figs also posed a problem since they are not in season here. I did not want to chicken out on this sardine thing so I thought it would be better to forgo the figs and stick to the fish. I chose some lovely Bosc pears to stand in as the honey drizzled fruit. Tonight's meal is from page 134 Grilled Sardines, Crispy Halloumi, Watercress Salad and Figs and Thick Chocolate Mousse.

Now all I had to do was bait my family to come (get it bait...cause we were about to eat bait!) We bought tickets to the afternoon showing of The Avengers and planned to come back and have a pasta blog dinner. Once home after the AWESOME movie I offered my darling sister and brother in law a drink...followed by another and finally another. That is when I let the fish out of the bag and announced the REAL plan for supper!

After a few squeals and screams we were off! 40 minutes later my sister and I had this meal layed out on the table and revealed to the kids what we were having. You can imagine the response.

We decided to video tape everyone eating a smelt whole. You can watch the fun below! Logan the recent birthday boy almost vomited! We had offer him a dollar and he chased his frightening bite with a lot of pita! He only likes the chocolate pudding. Brylee didn't even like the pudding and gave the meal a 0 (not even on the scale but she doesn't care). Max said it was a 5! Simon while hesitant at the beginning also gave it a 5! Scruffy Hubby gave it a 2 even though he had a healthy pile of sardine on his plate. The sweet sister said that it was not as bad as she thought but still not good. Bryon the brother in law gave it a 3 1/2 while making disgusting fish in a blanket wraps! Mary the little food Nazi LOVED the sardines. She downed more than I cared to count as I filmed her nauseously! She gave the sardines a 5 but the rest of the meal only a 2.

This is a big fat goose egg for me! There is no amount of tequila to make me enjoy eating the fish head! I would rather eat the worm!

I am glad we surprised the family with this one! It made it more of an adventure. This blog thing is catching on with them and now they are starting to rate all my meals. I don't know if that was good or bad but at supper the other night I heard my three munchkins discussing what score that night's dinner would receive.

I am looking forward to Mother's Day tomorrow and wish all the mothers out there a very  happy day! See you all next week! Lucky Number 13!

Trish

A little liquid courage!

Bottoms up!

Smelts VS Sardines! Both equally gross!

The were looking at me as I put them in the pan!

Dinner ready in 40 minutes!

One sardine on my plate but the rest looks good!

Making fish in a blanket!

Our strange and lovely girl eating a fish head with pride!

Mary asked me to have this in her kindergarten thermos!

There is not much Simon will not eat!