Hearty Breakfast

Have you ever found a flavour of Cheerios you haven't liked? I know I haven't; I've loved every single flavour I've eaten - original, honey nut, peanut butter, apple cinnamon, and chocolate - and I cannot wait to see what's coming up next. 

Egg-cellent Idea!

This time of year you see a lot of pastels – pale pinks, baby blues, butter yellows, and spring greens. And I am not just talking about what people are wearing or flowers in gardens; I am talking about kitchen crafts.

Using eggs to get crafty in the kitchen is great because there are so many directions you can go:

- You can boil them and paint them, with the fun of eating strange coloured egg salad sandwiches after your project is finished.

- You can carefully breakaway the top of an egg, remove the egg white and yolk, fill the egg shell with a melted wax, stick a small candle into the still hot wax, and lay your creation over an egg cup for a unique holiday candle centerpiece. 

- Or, you can gently poke pin sized holes into either end and blow the egg white and yolk out one end before painting the egg shell, making your painted egg projects last longer.

The only problem with most of these projects is that you always have tons of leftover eggs, and scrambled eggs get old fast. So, here’s a fun spring recipe for a new take on a bread pudding. It uses a lot of eggs and tastes so good that you’ll wish you decorated more eggs! 

Not Just For The Birds

Once upon a time, North American’s used the small, round, yellow grain called millot as a bird food. They didn’t eat it, even though it was protein rich and very healthy. African’s have always known better and eat the grain daily.

Today, North American’s eat millot. It’s eaten like rice pilaf or couscous and the mild, sweet flavour is very tasty.

I love indulging in a new grain because rice can get boring. And a new grain that pairs perfectly with cheese – well I think that millot and I are match made in heaven.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve

Traditions are important to me, especially during the holidays, but sometimes I like to break out and try something new. 

I don't mean I want to start abandoning my Christmas tree and decorating with bushes or serving tofu instead of my turkey. No, the big things will the way they always were. And I will tell you that the day I stop putting up a tree is the day I've gone crazy!

But maybe some of the sides will change and so will my table setting. Those items aren't something really traditional to me and I like seeming a little spontaneous for a traditional meal. It keeps things fresh. :) 

First, take a look at my favourite scalloped potato recipe. It's easy to prepare it in advance and tastes as great as mashed potatoes do. 

Then, take a peek at how I'm setting my table this year. It's a riff off the korknisse or "cork elves" popularized by blogs a few years ago and brought back into light by Canadian Living this year. 

Buttering You Up

Now is the time to start filling your freezer with food for the holidays, at least that's what I am going to do this weekend.

I don't want to be baking, cooking, and cleaning during the real festivities. I want to eating, drinking, and partaking in the festivities!

So, today I'm cleaning out my freezer and making my traditional Christmas Eve lunch butternut squash soup - with a twist. Usually there's no curry, but I thought this year needed a little something extra!

I hope you enjoy it!

Quick and Easy

My Christmas tree is decorated and just like every year I had to make a bunch of snacks to enjoy for the party because it takes a few hours to decorate the tree and you need your energy to make everything look perfect.

This year I didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen so everything I made had to be quick and easy. But, most importantly, it all had to taste great too.

I knew I wanted to make a spinach dip for one of my appetizers, but I was hoping to make something a little healthier than a cheesy baked concoction. I wasn't the most concerned about the calories in general, I just wanted to be able to enjoy a few cookies too.

Here's my version of a healthy spinach dip using ricotta in place of the common cheddar. It's great for veggies and anything else you want to dip into it. Plus, no baking is required so it's much faster to whip up than the baked version!

Christmas Cheer

It's my favourite day of the year tomorrow and I am very excited!

You might wonder why I love December 3 so much, but it's not the date that's especially great for me. It's more about what I get do tomorrow and that the first weekend in December has finally arrived!

If you haven't guessed yet, I am heading out to get my Christmas tree tomorrow! And I cannot wait for the smell of pine and the sounds of unwrapping special ornaments to be at my house.

I can hear cheers from some of you, but I know there might be groans from a few others too. And while I do realize that my love for Christmas is much greater than most people's, I won't give up on you groaners until you love the holiday like do.

So, cheerers be happy and groaners get ready to smile because I am here to spread Christmas cheer! And I am going do this in the form a fun craft and a tasty cookie.

First, here is a craft project I worked on last year. It's practically free, environmentally friendly, and great family fun.

Just a small warning before you begin though, your cheeks may hurt from smiling at the end of this craft.