Never in a million years would I have ever imagined what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of the kind of  love and support we received over a week ago.  When I think about the tremendous outpour of concern and well wishes, I get so overwhelmed and end up crying.

Giving Thanks

A Huge Thank You to CHEO

Thank You to the Blogging Community

Giving Thanks to Some Very Special People

Giving thanks to all the special people in our lives

We learn about food, our culture and how to cook by watching our parents cook.  Well, in most cases that is where our earliest introduction with cooking comes from.

I remember as a very young child, going to my grandparents' house after school and my grandfather would be watching cooking shows. Long before I became a FoodNetwork junkie, I was a Ken Kostick and Mary Jo Eustace What's For Dinner fan.

My brothers, cousins and I would always hang out in the kitchen while our grandparents taught us how to cook Filipino food. We'd loiter in the kitchen under the guise of  actually wanting to learn how to cook, when in reality, we just wanted to sample all their yummy food. My grandparents were both fabulous cooks.

I say we learn about food by watching our parents (or grandparents) in the kitchen. Now I find myself watching FoodNetwork or even YouTube videos! How about Pinterest? If I need a recipe, I just Google it and pray there's a video!

Canadian Beef has wowed me with their amazing videos. So easy to follow!

I have to say that I only really started cooking when I first lived on my own. With parents and grandparents who were amazing cooks, I never had to really put into practice what I learned. I failed miserably when I first started on my own. The fear of not being able to cook meat properly was something that stressed me out. When Hubby and I were in our first year of marriage, I was so stressed out about cooking for my mother-in-law.

Who cooks a roast beef better than a beef farmer's wife? I couldn't even make my own pie crusts, let alone cook the perfect roast! I had tremendous anxiety cooking beef for my beef farmer mother-in-law. Turns out she loves my cooking. I still wish I had Canadian Beef recipes, tips, and videos back then!

Check out this video on "How to Make the Perfect Pot Roast".


If you grew up watching Julia Child, you know you've always wanted to learn how to make the perfect Boeuf Bourguignon! Never fear, Canadian Beef is here!

With Mother's Day and Easter coming up, I know my husband is going to ask me to make one of the above recipes (most likely the oven roast)!

It's interesting how as I prepare to end this post, we come full circle. I began talking about how as a child, I watched and learned as my grandparents cooked their dishes from their home country of the Philippines. Now that my daughter is four years old, she is now learning how to cook and often acts as my very capable Sous Chef!



 If you're teaching your kids how to cook, these Canadian Beef videos will come in handy!

Canadian Beef has more exciting news for you!
Canadian Beef has partnered with Eat In Eat Out Magazine. Check it out! I read every page, as there were so many amazing recipes included. Of course, my lots of great beef tips too! You can follow them on Twitter at @EatInEatOutMag.

WIN 1 of 5 Canadian Beef iPad4 Prize Packs!



Disclosure -

Like for all busy families, mealtimes for us are often rushed.  Who has time to slave over the stove for hours when you have work, family, activities, and everything in between?  Having said this, of course we all want to feed our families good food. Healthy food. Food that tastes amazing. Right?

I'm one of those people who loves cooking. I love creating delectable dishes for all to enjoy. I love spices and fragrances, and cultivating my four year old daughter's love for exploring cuisine from all over the world.

I have to admit that lately I've been looking for ways to get dinner on the table faster. Everyone is hungry after work and school, but time I only have about a one hour window to get our meal on the table. One hour...from prep to finish.

I was more than excited to be part of the #CavendishFromTheFarm blog tour. Always willing to try new food or experiment with new recipes and save time in the kitchen, this was the perfect tour for me!

What I love about the Cavendish From the Farm potatoes is that they are harvested exclusively from the rich red soil of PEI! That's right! They're Canadian, eh! Only the most delicious premium potatoes are chosen.

Since supper is my family's only time to spend together during the work week where we have some quality family time, I want our meals to be something we all enjoy. The experience has to be one that everyone remembers. Sounds crazy, I know. That's how much I value the time I do have to spend with Hubs and Little One though.

Here's Little One helping me get the cucumber salad ready.  I let her be in charge of cutting the cucumbers...with a butter knife, of course!
Now time to make the dressing.
Here's our Yummy Yummy Sauce recipe:

• Juice of 1/2 a large lemon
• Honey (use your discretion - I rarely measure ingredients unless it's for baking)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (I have a hand-grater/rasp that I use for garlic)
• Salt & pepper to taste

In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together. Pour over sliced cucumbers, making sure to coat evenly with the "Yummy Yummy Sauce". Voila! Done!



We tried the Cavendish From the Farm Wedges for this meal.

Cavendish From the Farm also has
 Straight Cut

and
Rustic Reds. 

We got all three varieties and will be trying out the other two soon!

The Wedges are "thick-cut" and "skin on", and seasoned with sea salt. I put Chef Little One to work by having her crack some black pepper and sprinkle a bit of chopped parsley over the wedges before we baked them.

They were a great side dish! What I loved the most was the cooking time! 12 minutes in a 450 degree oven, turn and then another 8-12 minutes, and done!
Cavendish from the Farm Wedges info from the Cavendish website:

Low in saturated fat

Trans fat free

Cholesterol free

Source of fibre

Low in fat

Source of potassium 

• Cavendish Fresh from the Farm Wedges
• Cucumber Salad with Yummy Yummy Sauce
• Balsamic glazed beets
• Grilled chicken
• Asparagus

So good!
I also took the liberty of perusing the site and was excited to discover that Cavendish included a recipes section! I think I'll try making the Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce for brunch next weekend!

Disclosure – I am participating in the From the Farm blog tour by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Cavendish. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

It's no surprise that children learn from observation.  They watch our every move. They hear our words, despite sometimes having selective hearing.

In essence, we as parents really are our children's role models and their first teachers in life.  This is why how we behave in front of our children is so very important.  How we behave is a large part of what we teach our children is important.

I keep thinking of what kind of person I want to raise.  I hope to do my best to raise Little One as having her own ideas, but also knowing how to interact within society even if others don't agree with her ideas. I want her to be strong, but not pig-headed. I want her to be sensitive, but not a push-over. I want her to be compassionate, empathetic, understanding, loving, and I want her to know how to stand up for herself and what she believes in. I hope we raise someone who is considerate, and most of all, respectful to others.

This sounds a bit lofty, since she's only four years old.

I was just thinking of different scenarios and how to deal with them. For example, when someone slights you or spreads vicious rumours about you (these things happen in everyone's lifetime), do we teach our daughter to take the high road or stand up for herself and say something even if the repercussions may not be positive?

Is being quiet and ignoring other people's idle thoughts or malicious rumours the perfect revenge? One can very well say that just going on with your life and paying no attention to stupidity is the best thing to do. What about putting your foot down and getting your transgressors to tell you to your face what they didn't have the gumption to say to you directly in the first place? Do we teach our daughter to stand up for what is just and right?

I am still undecided on what to teach Little One regarding how to deal with people who have slighted her. For now, she's in Junior Kindergarten, and I'm hoping I have a few more years to figure out how to prepare her for the world around her.

In the meantime, I am reminded of this great quote:

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” - Dale Carnegie

Right now, Little One is so good. She hasn't been jaded or tainted.  At this age, she's still a blank canvas, if you will. She's full of love and trust...and she believes everyone in the world has a kind heart.

Though I know we cannot protect our children from the world outside the home, we can certainly prepare them.

Wow. I know I've said this before, but parenting really is not for the faint of heart.

With Little One now in Junior Kindergarten, the Scholastic book order forms are something we get really excited about in this house.  Little One loves books. Loves them.

My friend Manitoulin Key Lime Pie started Little One's obsession with Laura J. Numeroff's adorable collection of books when she gave her If You Give A Moose A Muffin, If You Give A Pig A Pancake, If You Give A Cat A Cupcake for her 2nd birthday. At 4 years old, Little One is determined to own the entire series.  Uh huh. Guess what books we'll be ordering from Scholastic?

Okay, you're probably wondering what a book about giving a moose a muffin has to do with Singapore Noodles, right?

If you've read any of the books in Numeroff's collection, you'll notice a pattern.

If a big hungry moose comes to visit, you might give him a muffin to make him feel at home. If you give him a muffin, he'll want some jam to go with it. When he's eaten all your muffins, he'll want to go to the store to get some more muffin mix. 

The moose initially asks for jam to go with his muffin, and after stream of consciousnes-like events in between, the story ends up with something reminding the moose of a muffin and him asking for jam to go with it.

The stories in Laura Numeroff's collection are entertaining, fun, and follow a similar sequence so that children can have fun predicting what will happen. My four year old has all of her books committed to memory. I don't know why she bothers asking me to read them to her every night...multiple times.

Singapore Noodles. Right.

The other day, I posted my Curried Egg Sandwich recipe. Immediately after posting. the idea of curry made me crave Singapore Noodles. I had to laugh, because this totally reminded me of my daughter's books! These books also remind me of how Mommies can oftentimes start off at one point, get distracted by everything that goes on in the day (with work, with home, with kids, with activities, etc), only to end up right where they began. With curry. You know. Curried Egg Sandwich? Singapore Noodles? If You Give A Moose A Muffin? I can't believe you missed that connection.

Without further ado, here is my Singapore Noodles recipe.

Ingredients
5.5 ounces dried rice vermicelli
4 oz chicken, cut into thin strips
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 Tbps fish sauce (optional - I often forget to use it and I only use it if I'm using shrimp instead of chicken or pork)
1 Tbps oyster sauce
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbps ginger, minced
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
4 ounces bean sprouts (if you have them)
3 green onions, sliced thin
oil for stir-frying

Instructions
Soak the dried rice noodles in very hot water for 3 minutes. Do not over-soak them or they will stick together and get mushy when you cook them.

Pull noodles apart as soon as they start softening. Rinse in cold water several times to prevent the noodles from absorbing too much water. This also gets rid of any extra starch.

Chicken to a bowl and season with the soy sauce and rice wine.

Add curry powder into a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the fish sauce, oyster sauce and chicken stock.

Make sure to have all your prep done ahead of time, because everything will cook very quickly.

Heat a wok over high until very hot then add a Tbps of oil, swirl to coat inside of wok, then add the egg, swirling then scrambling. Put the egg on a plate and set aside.

Add 2 Tbsp of oil, then add the garlic and ginger, and then fry until the fragrances come alive. Oh,  you'll know it when it happens! Add chicken, holding aside the marinade and fry until the chicken just loses its pink color. At this point, it doesn’t have to be all the way cooked.

Add the onion, red and green bell peppers, and bean sprouts. Fry while stirring vigorously. Until the vegetables are a bright color. Add the curry powder and stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in the chicken stock and fish sauce mixture. Stir, to combine, then add the noodles and return the egg to the pan.

 If the noodles start sticking, add some water.

Top with scallions, then serve your Singapore Noodles immediately.You can switch things  up by substituting pork or shrimp for chicken. I've even done this recipe with tofu for a vegetarian option. Add some spicy chili pepper for kick if you wish!

The funny thing is that I wanted to begin this post with something like:

• "Singapore Noodles: Memories of Lunch Dates with My Dad at Le Faubourg Ste-Catherine in Montreal during my university days"
• "Yes, I traveled to Singapore just to sample some real Singapore Noodles and a real Singapore Sling!"

Yes, both of those headers are indeed true.

 Merlion - Most likely the most photographed subject in Singapore! Photo from here via Google Images.

P.S. I know many will think I am crazy, but I wish I loved Singapore more than I do! All I remember was that Singapore was super hot (like please don't let me go outside because I'm going to melt & I NEED A/C kind of hot!), expensive, insanely clean (I was scared something might fall out of my pocket and I'd get caned to death for littering), and the cockroaches were the size of small cats. Maybe not that big, but they were huge! Being so close to the equator, I guess the climate is conducive to roaches? Anyway, Singapore is a beautiful place and there was a lot to see. Love the culture and chatting up with all the ex-pats from all over the world! Fun! Wow. I totally miss my carefree jet-setting days sometimes.

**One more thing. I used this for my Singapore Noodles recipe this time. Hubby and Little One did the groceries and this is what they picked up.

Disclosure - This is not a sponsored post. Janes Family Food gets a mention today because Hubby and Little One love their Janes Chicken. All the thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.

One of my favourite sandwiches is the Curried Egg Sandwich.  Surprisingly enough, the first time I had ever eaten a curried egg sandwich was when I was in Japan!

There was this delightful little cafe my friends and I used to ride our bicycles to on our days off. Usually on a Sunday morning, we'd have brunch at this quaint little place. They specialized in an assortment of "different" bagels and sandwiches. The place also doubled as a shop that sold really cool items like the funkiest lighters and even Swiss Army knives. The menu, the ambiance, and the venue itself were all really unique and not what I would expect to find in the outskirts of Hiroshima.

How I wish I could remember the name of that place! *Edited to add: Thanks to Facebook, I was able to ask my former co-workers from Japan what the name of that place was! It's Darren Almond! Wonder if it's named after this Darren Almond? Must be!

Whenever I have a curried egg sandwich, I am transported to that special time in my life. Hard to believe my days teaching and living in Japan are so far away. Like fifteen years ago! Wow!

The original Curried Egg sandwich I had was served on a toasted whole wheat bagel and it had capers. Here's my version of the sandwich:

Ingredients

• 4 extra large hard boiled eggs
• 2 Tbsp of mayonnaise
• 1 tsp of curry powder
• 1/2 tsp of sea salt
• 2 Tbsp of chopped fresh chives (if you want to switch things up, you can use 2 Tbsp chopped parsley)
•  alfalfa sprouts or chopped baby spinach or watercress
• a few slices of cucumber (just because my 4 year old's favourite vegetable is cucumber)
• Slices of Dempster's wholegrain bread or Dempster's bagel of your choice. This time we used Dempster's Villaggio, because that's Hubby's new fave.

Instructions
Enjoy!

Disclosure - This is not a sponsored post. We just really like Dempster's bread! All the thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.

Like with many tiny tots, Little One's very first 'finger food' that she was able to eat on her own was Cheerios!

With all milestones, I get weepy.  It's not that I am not excited about all the new things my child learns and all the new stages of development she enters.  It's just so bittersweet for me to see how quickly my baby is growing up!

All tears aside, what's more exciting than being able to witness first hand your child's first smile, first laugh, first time rolling over, first time sitting on their own, first time crawling, first time walking, first word? You get the picture! If you're anything like me, you've got scrapbooks upon scrapbooks documenting and chronicling every single milestone event for posterity to see.  Friends and family members think I'm a bit obsessive with the documenting, but Little One was a preemie and we weren't even sure if she was going to survive, so documenting every single special occasion (and even many every day occasions) is important to me. That, and she's an only child (for now).

One of the most exciting "firsts" was watching Little One feed herself for the very first time.  Every mom I spoke to said Cheerios was their pick for baby's first snack food/finger food.  Why? They're good for practising the pinching reflexes, therefore good for manual dexterity, motor skills, and coordination.  They're healthy and nutritious for your child.  They've been a trusted cereal for generations.  Plus, you cannot beat the look of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment your little one has when they finally figure out how to pinch and grasp those little O's and put them in their mouth!

I remember the applause and fanfare that went on when Little One figured out how to feed herself Cheerios.   To this day, Cheerios remain Little One's favourite cereal for breakfast and for snacking.  She is going to be 4 years old in November, and has just started JK this year.  She starts her day with a bowl of Cheerios and sometimes even says things like, "Remember when I was a teeny tiny baby and I was eating Cheerios?!!" followed by a crazy laugh.  She's a goofball!

I found these photos of Little One enjoying her Cheerios and just had to share!  Seems like it was just yesterday that she was fumbling for her Cheerios and learning how to grasp them between her fingers and get them into her mouth! As she got older, she got so much better at feeding herself.  Now she's in Junior Kindergarten! Crazy how quickly time flies!
I am so happy that Cheerios has been a part of that special milestone.  I am also thrilled to that General Mills wants you to join them on their Life Made Delicious page on Facebook and share a photo of your little one's first Cheerios moment!

COOL STUFF!
If you're one of the first 1000 to upload your child's photo, you will receive a coupon for a FREE box of Cheerios!  If you miss being one of the first 1000, don't worry!  You can receive a $1.00 off coupon if you weren't one of the first 1000 to upload your wee one's pic!  FYI: The offer is limited to one free box of Cheerios per household and one $1.00 off coupon per household per calendar year.

How's this for exciting?!
How would you like to see a photo of your little one on a box of Cheerios?! Check out the store shelves in 2013 when Cheerios unveils the completed mosaic on limited-edition family-sized boxes of cereal (400g boxes)!

Go to the Cheerios Mosaic and upload that photo of your baby's first Cheerios experience! I am going to be uploading Little One's special milestone moment for her to see a photo of her introduction to Cheerios!  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's photos!  Please let me know if you upload yours! What fun!

Disclosure – I am participating in the First Cheerios Blog Tour by Mom Central Canada on behalf of General Mills. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

When you live in the country, pie baking is not simply an art.  It's a way of life.  Farm wives must know how to bake a good pie.  Why?  There are tons (and I mean tons!) of bake sales, fundraisers, pie sales, community dinners and other events that require the donation of a pie or two.

One of the first things I was asked by a lovely lady in her 90s when I first moved to the Island was, "Can you bake a pie?"

I'm not kidding.  Being able to have the perfect crust and filling that is not from a can is a must around these parts!

I won't lie. I can make a stellar pie. My pie fillings are perfected to a science.  It's just the crust part I have problems challenges with.  First off, my hands are too hot. For perfect pastry dough, you need cool hands. Second of all, I just cannot seem to get the crust right. Ever.

This is why I prefer baking cupcakes, cakes, and cheesecakes instead of fiddling with pie shells!




I  love this Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake.  It's one of my biggest crowd pleasers.  I could have sworn I got the recipe from Emeril Lagasse's website, but can't seem to find it anywhere on the internet.
I don't really eat sweets, but my husband has a sweet tooth.  This is one of his favourites.  Plus, who doesn't love Emeril, right? The man cooks with such gusto, it's hard not to get drawn in!
Emeril Lagasse is a chef, restaurateur, TV personality and bestselling cookbook author. You already knew that though, right? 

Speaking of Emeril (and my need to learn how to bake the perfect pie for all those bake sales and fundraisers we seem to always have on the Island), I've got my eye on this beauty...



How perfect is that for creating individual sized pies, tarts, and other goodies?  This would be great for all my bake sale needs!  Definitely on my list of Must-Haves!

Emeril's Mini Pie and Cupcake Maker bakes individual treats in minutes.

• You can bake 4 individual pies or cakes in 8 to 10  minutes.  
• The non-stick baking surface makes removal and clean up quick and easy.
• The Ready Light signals when pre-heating is complete and ready to use.
• Includes pastry cutter to make customized pie crusts for the tops and bottoms.