Sweet, Sweet Nectar

Hello Sweets,

Oh man am I exhausted :( , I could barely sleep at all last night and maybe got about two whole hours of rest :(  I knew today was going to be tiring because my nephew is always full of energy, but the lack of sleep has made it even worse.  I will apologize now if this post becomes quite brief, but I felt like I was going to fall asleep while walking home from the grocery store (not a good feeling).  Just call me zombie Canuckette lol.

As I told y'all yesterday, I was going to be lending a hand chaperoning a movie outing for my nephews daycare with my sister.  We went and saw Planes (Disney Pixar) and it was very cute, not anything like Cars but good in it's own ways.  I was absolutely shocked at how well the children were in the theater, we're talking about three and four year old's sitting for about two straight hours.  As you can see from the following pictures, my little burrito had a wonderful time.  He also probably ate more popcorn then Asha (my sister) and I did lol, that boy can pack food away like nobody's business!

 

eating by the handful lol

 

that's one happy little boy :)

Today's fruit pie filling star is the hairless cousin of the peach, that's right nectarines!  I love these as much as peaches, and just like peaches I tried tirelessly to not get the juice all over me as a child (and now as an adult) lol.  It was actually quite cute watching Miguel eat one today, every time a little drop of juice would slide down his little hands he would chase it with his tongue lol too cute!  And just like with the peaches, I have never had a nectarine pie >_<  What better time to try something new right lol?  It's a very simple recipe and super easy to make, but personally I think simple is usually better than something that's been over complicated ;)

Nectarine Pie Filling

Ingredients

heaping 1/2C sugar

3Tbs cornstarch

4-6 large nectarines, pitted and diced

 

Directions:

1)  In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and starch.

 

2)  Add the nectarines and gently toss until they're evenly coated.

 

Once you have your filling ready, place a heaping spoonful into the pastry cup.  Baking as directed in the earlier post (click that little link!), and allow to cool before eating.  The nectarine tarts pair quite nicely with either some french vanilla ice cream, or if you're looking for a healthier companion cottage cheese :)

 

tada!!!

Don't they look delicious?!?  Well we're almost at the end of the tart series, I have two more little treasures tucked away.  But don't worry I'll be sharing those with you over the next two days.  As I said before this post is a little short, now in addition to the tiredness I am also experiencing some annoying pulsing pain in my shoulder/collarbone area >_<  What a lucky girl I am *eye roll* :p  Until next time.......................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

Completely Canadian and A Shameless Plug

Hello Sweets,

So the weekend has come to an end :(  I hope everyone got out to enjoy some sunshine (if you had some), and created something delicious in the kitchen.  My post tonight is going to be somewhat shorter as I have had a long day and am feeling sort of tired, but I reconnected with an old friend so I think it was worth it!

Let me first start with the "shameless plug" lol because I am SUPER excited, like if there were any other way to emphasize the word super more I am pretty sure I would have done that too.  So as you may or may not be aware I had the opportunity a year ago to not only reconnect with an old friend, but I also got see her in her element (with me as the focus) in her element photography.  Echo is very talented and has a knack for catching the perfect moment and seeing the beauty in everything, I have my favorites but there is one that she caught with my natural smile in a laugh and it is just beautiful.  Well she is currently running a contest for a free natural light session and obviously I entered, not just so I could have another opportunity to work with her but so I could also have professional photos of me and my best friend/soul mate Nathan.  I normally wouldn't include something like this in my blog as it isn't any way associated with food, but so want to have our silliness captured by a true artist.  All you would have to do is click this LINK, like my photo (it's the only couple photo on there) and like the Facebook page it's posted on (CLICK HERE).  The contest is only running for one week so time is of the essence, and I will post some of the photos (if I win) here on my blog for everyone to see what they helped me achieve :)   Also if you would like to use her services or see her amazing portfolio just check out her website; Echo's Visuals.  I would appreciate any help and support y'all can give as it would make me a very happy girl.

Okay enough of my selfish plug let's get to what you really come here for, deliciousness!  So last week I was craving fruit much more than normal, so I went out and bought a few things, well too many for one girl to consume before they go bad (must have been hungry when I went lol).  So I started to realize I was going to throw money away if I didn't come up with something quick.  Then it dawned on me, I've been eating popsicles like they're going out of style and drinking ginger ale (haven't been feeling well).  What better way to ensure I use the fruit, get some vitamins and minerals in me, and spice up my beverage?  If you get fruit cubes then you my friend are a smarty and deserve recognition for that!  Now I know it seems like I would have opted to make popsicles and who said I haven't, yes you'll need to come back again for that little treasure (ya I know I'm demanding).  There is really no easy way to explain them without pictures so let's get to the good stuff :)

Canuckette's Fruity Cubes

Ingredients:

blueberries

blackberries

orange juice

Directions:

1)  Combine all ingredients in a blender, blending until the fruit is completely liquefied (I have a bullet and it was perfect).

2)   Pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer to set.

3)  Once completely frozen place in a glass, pour the ginger ale over top of them (soda water would work too I suppose) and enjoy!

It gives the soda just a little zing, and most importantly, it tastes amazing!

So there you have it, short and sweet ;) pun intended.  I also appreciate y'alls support and understanding over the sporadic posts, I have the best readers.  And if you decided to check out the contest I'm in and end up voting I appreciate that immensely as well.

Stay sweet,


Jennifer xoxoxo

Say What?!?

Hello Sweets,

I know I promised you guys something new and Texan sized tonight, but I really want to show the whole process so that means tomorrow will be the day for the surprise.  In the meantime I have a short, sweet, and interesting little post for you tonight :)

You guys now that I am all about trying new things, and when I see something new at the grocery store, I can't help but buy at least one to see what it's all about.  Normally when I am down in Texas I don't see too many new items, since I've been coming down here for almost two years now I think I've seen almost everything.  That was until earlier this week, I couldn't help but pick up some delicious smelling peaches (obviously not in season in Canada) when this oddly shaped fruit caught my attention.  Here see for yourself;

Weird right?

Do you know what this funny little fruit is?  I swear this is a real thing and it is it's real name, this little guy is the "plum lemon".  I know what you're thinking, but I assure you that it is real (I looked it up lol see here!) and it isn't anything like I imagined.  It starts off with a yellow color until it is ripe then changes to this lovely red, the inside is sweet like a plum but there is a tiny citrus aroma to it as well.

 

I've never seen one in Canada before, but if any of you see this at your grocery store and you haven't tried it DO IT!!!  Lol it is a pleasant little surprise and I would never steer my readers in the wrong direction ;)   Until next time..................................................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Damsals and Dragons

Hello Sweets,

Do you find yourself day dreaming?  Perhaps of another life or world, like the ones we read about in our childhood story books.  As a child I read, a lot lol, and there were a few that I always loved; first one is a classic book that takes place in "normal" times "Love you forever"  by Robert Munsch, the second one is also a classic (although the movie didn't do it justice) that takes place in the imagination of a child "Where the wild things are" by Maurice Sendak, and the classics for any age "The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis.  When you read a book your mind gets taken away to which ever land the story is set in, perhaps you envisioned yourself as one of the characters, or maybe you were just along for the ride.  Either way it's always nice, even if just for a moment, to imagine another life in another time.

Which brings me to today's post, one of my favorite Disney movies is Sleeping Beauty :)  A young princess under a spell after meeting the man of her dreams and a young prince who is determine to rescue her, even if that means he has to fight a dragon to get to her.  What a great man right?  Kind of reminds me of Nathan, of course there were no dragons, however if one did stand in our way I know he would fight to be with me.  So what does this have to do with creating in the kitchen?  Nothing really lol (made a nice story though), but the main ingredient in today's post is Dragon fruit and I feel it is unique as some of the stories we read.  Despite its prickly outside (it's in the cactus family), it has a mildly sweet inside that is a cross between a kiwi (for the black seeds) and a pear lol.

When they went on sale at my local grocery store I decided to pick one up (I've been wanting to try them anyways), and when I brought it home I was perplexed as to what I was going to do with it.  Then I started feeling awful (surprise surprise) which made the light bulb in my head go off, smoothie time!  This is what I had leftover in my fridge and what is came out as :)

Dragon Smoothies

(no dragons were harmed in the making, lol had to do it)

Ingredients

1 dragon fruit, cubed

1/2 lemon, cut into small pieces

1C Greek yogurt (you can use regular as well)

Ice

Directions:
1) Combine all ingredients into a blender.

 2)  Blend until smooth, and enjoy.

It's a mildly sweet smoothie that has a slight tartness to it, that is high in fiber and the good fats :)  It was way too much for me to have at once :( but it kept well in the fridge for a few days.  Now I want to figure out a one of a kind dessert recipe that has dragon fruit in it, because I couldn't find one.

So tomorrows post is going to be different and new, but in a good way ;)  I'm still creating in the kitchen but probably not like anyone can guess, although I do encourage trying to!  Until next time...........................


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo

Fresh And New, With A Twist

Hello Sweets,

Oh man, I cannot seem to catch a break :(  Obviously I did not get my post out yesterday, the reason being I couldn't sleep for the second night in a row and around 1-ish, I crashed...and hard.  I slept until the evening which completely had me disoriented, I honestly thought it was around 4am (I don't have a light up clock in my room) because the house was pretty quiet lol.  On top of that I still don't have much of an appetite (I probably should call my doctor), which then turns into a complete depletion of my energy stores.  So here I am writing yesterdays blog today at 9am and guess what, I didn't sleep last night, wahhhhhh :(  I'm going to try something my doctor's nurse recommended to me, but the hard part will be finding it (and hoping I remember the right name lol).  What do you guys do when you can't sleep?  If I was in Texas right now I wouldn't be having this problem, Nathan has this amazing attribute of making me completely relaxed and I fall asleep much easier :) (maybe it's because I'm in his arms)  But I figured since I'm up, I will try and see what I can get accomplished starting with one of my favorite pastimes, blogging!!

In my last post I was trying to figure out how to get nutrients into me since I have no appetite, which left me with more leftover cantaloupe and I was determine to do something with it that was new to me.  The hardest part was trying to figure out what to create, there were the obvious things like; fruit salad, dried fruit, salsa.  But I wasn't interested in any of those, and then I came across an article (sorry I don't remember which one but I know it was a healthy eating site lol) that talked about alternate ways to eat melons other than the obvious.  Since my regular comfort foods that normally I can eat in situations like this weren't working I decided to try something that was in a close proximity to those, not ice cream and not a Popsicle either, but a sorbet made with fresh fruit.  I have bought a product at the grocery store that is an Italian ice treat, but I think it's what we would consider sorbet because it has the same texture to me, and the flavors are similar.  I did some research to get the basics of what is in sorbet and the process (surprisingly simple and easy), then looked in my fridge to see what mine would consist of.  I now present you with another Canuckette original recipe, enjoy!
*WARNING: mango's are not the easiest to cut up because of the giant pit, don't get discouraged!*

Canuckette's Fresh Fruit Sorbet

Ingredients

2C cantaloupe, cubed

1 mango, cubed

1C granulated sugar

1C water

1/2 lemon, juiced

2Tbs (?) fresh mint, chopped

Directions:
1)  Mix the water and sugar in a small sauce pan, bringing to a boil.  Continually stir while boiling until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Transfer the "simple syrup" to a container and chill in the refrigerator until cool.

 

2)  While the syrup is cooling, combine the remaining ingredients in your blender and mix until the mixture only has small pieces in it (I have a magic bullet so I had to do mine in batches).

 

fresh mint smells so good :)

 

3)  Add the cooled syrup to the fruit mixture and blend until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a shallow metal baking pan, cover and place in the freezer.  Mix the sorbet every 30-40 minutes for the next 4 hours, this is to ensure it has a consistent texture and it's not frozen partially.

4)  Transfer into a plastic container that seals completely, and of course enjoy ;)

There you have it, a simple and fairly healthy frozen treat.  This particular mix has a fresh and clean taste to it (lol probably a weird way to describe something), the cantaloupe and melon are a perfect blend of sweet, the lemon gives it just enough zing, and the mint added a cool refreshing undertone.  This is definitely something I'll be making again, and I am very proud of myself for trying something new and going with my instincts for what flavor I was looking for, and how to achieve them.  I say that because the mint was a last minute decision while picking up some produce that day, something inside of me told me that I would be pleasantly surprised with the final result and I was right!  You can use any fruit that you like, fresh or frozen (allow to thaw prior), and mix in a little bit of spice or fresh herbs if you're feeling adventurous.  I would love to hear from all of you if you try it, and what your twist or version you've created.

Lately I've been reminiscing about when I was just a wee one, and I am going to be using that as inspiration for my next post or two.  Maybe something simple I haven't had in a while with a story, or maybe take a childhood snack and put an adult twist on it.  I guess you're going to have to come back again and see aren't you?  Until next time...............................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo