Time Keeps on Slipping

It's hard to believe that this time three years ago, I was sent to Toronto by air ambulance and was placed on strict hospital bed rest.  I didn't realize that I'd be spending the next weeks/months practically living in the NICU with my baby.

That was when I really started blogging.  After all, there wasn't much I was able to do while confined to the bed and on my back.

I blogged about my worries and concerns.

I blogged about how terrified I was.

I was touched and shocked by how many people around the globe e-mailed me, left me comments, phoned, sent cards and good luck trinkets, and even visited me in a time I needed comfort and support the most.

My family and friends were very supportive. They visited me in the hospital, sent cards, and called me. I suspect the phone calls were to ensure that I didn't go loopy while on bed rest or that I wouldn't get depressed with being 6 hours away from my husband and for such a long period of time. Maybe my loved ones were concerned that I might be overly worried with what may or may not have happened with a baby being born so soon.

Thank you, everyone. Your support kept me going and kept me strong during my high risk pregnancy. You have touched our lives in ways you cannot even imagine.

That was three years ago.

This is now.

It Feels Like A Congee Day

I think I've been in denial. Wearing sandals and trying to get away without wearing a heavy sweater or jacket will not ward off Fall and Winter. Summer, where did you go!?!?!

With the crisp Fall air (okay, blasting Wizard of Oz-like winds!) we've been getting, it's time for the comfort of warm, feel good soups!  In my family, Congee and Arroz Caldo have been favourites in the cold Winter months.

Photo from here via Google Images (because I can't find my digital camera and my cell phone camera is terrible!)

Both soups are basically rice soups. They're porridge-like in consistency. They really stick to your ribs and keep you warm! My toddler and Hubby aren't big fans of fresh ginger, so for them, I go easy on the ginger.

Congee Recipe

• Chicken, cut into serving pieces
• 10 cups water
• 3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
• fresh ginger
• scallions, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup rice

Cooking Instructions

1. In a big, heavy pot, boil water and bring chicken pieces to boil. Make sure to skim the froth off the surface. Add rice wine, ginger, scallions, and salt and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and place in a bowl for later and continue to cook chicken stock. Simmer for 2 hours and a half hours.

2. Once chicken is cooled enough, remove skin and bones. Shred chicken.

3. Pour chicken stock through a sieve into a large bowl and remove any solids. Return stock to cleaned pot and add rice. Bring to a boil and stir. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered until consistency of oatmeal. Stir frequently during last 1/2 hour of cooking. The Congee will continue to thicken as it stands. You can thin the soup with water if necessary.

4. To garnish, you can add finely sliced fresh ginger, thinly sliced scallions, and a drizzle of sesame oil

I had congee at a Chinese restaurant in Toronto on Friday. The one we had didn't have chicken in it. It had shrimp. This recipe is actually based on my Filipina Grandma's arroz caldo recipe. I make this soup and call it either congee or arroz caldo (with no distinction between the two soups).

Delicious Diwali Recipes for Finicky Vegetable Eaters!

Got any picky eaters in your house? These recipes are bound to get them asking for more veg! Introduce tantalizing new flavours to your kids and inject some culture into your family dinners!

 Sweet Potato and Corn Vindaloo with Spinach

and

Tomato and Chickpea Vindaloo with Rice

Click here on my other blog for the recipes!

Mini Butternut Squash Muffins

With Thanksgiving only a week behind us, we've still got tons and tons of squash and apples on our farm. How best to use up those delicious Fall staples?

 

We certainly love our butternut squash soup, curried squash, baked squash, butternut squash ravioli (the list goes on, and on, and on)!

This time,  however, we've made...

Butternut squash muffins!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash (cooked and pureed)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup apple sauce

If you want to do this recipe the traditional way, use 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 egg (beaten). I substituted those for 1 cup applesauce.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan.
2. In a saucepan with enough water to cover, boil squash 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, drain, and puree in a food processor, blender, or if you have neither, mash with potato masher.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
4. In another bowl, mix together milk, applesauce. Make sure to mix the ingredients thoroughly. Stir in squash. Fold the squash mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling cups about 1/2 full. You can use the paper mini cupcake liners, but I don't. We're trying not to create unnecessary paper waste in our household. If you don't use the paper cupcake/muffin liners, make sure to grease the pan so your muffins don't stick.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from muffin pan and cool on a wire rack.

Homemade applesauce recipe can be found in the recipe archives on my blog.

My First Baby

To be honest, I was never really a dog person growing up. Yes, puppies were cute, but I was a bit scared of dogs! Who would have thought that I'd fall in love with a cute, stinky little puppy and that he'd become such an important and special part of our family.

Yes, Chance ("Luck" in French) wiggled his way into my heart forever.

He's been through all sorts of adventures with me over the years. He's seen me through good and bad: break-ups, births of nieces and nephews, weddings, deaths of loved ones, and the birth of his human sister, Little One. Well, he wasn't there in the hospital room with me, but he was a source of companionship during my long weeks of bed rest during pregnancy.

Happy 10th Birthday to my first baby! You may be my canine baby, but you're just as special as my Little One :)

Little One will be 3 years old in a month! My babies are growing up way too quickly for my liking! :(

 Hubby's Birthday cake from Ultimately Chocolate! I chose the Chunky Chocolate Blitz - Rich milk chocolate truffle icing layered between chocolate cake made with chunks of milk and semi-sweet chocolate. Decorated with semi-sweet chocolate truffle icing.

Hubs celebrated his birthday yesterday and to avoid global warming, I decided not to put candles on his cake. Just kidding.

What Are You Thankful For?

We try to not take for granted all the blessings in our lives, but when things get busy, it's sometimes easy to forget just  how fortunate we are.

I'm thankful for

my wonderful, loving, and hard-working husband,

our sweet, happy, healthy, smart, funny toddler,

a fabulous family (my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephew, mother-in-law, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, cousins, etc),

living on a beautiful island, where we get to see the most spectacular sunsets,

our farm (which sometimes drives me crazy, but also gives us enjoyment, fresh food, lots of outdoor activity, and our livelihood),

being able to be outdoors,

being able to enjoy our lives and our family as much as we do,

being able to share all of these riches with our toddler.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends and family.