How To Build A Pantry Snack Station

Confession: I am a ravenous snacker. All day, every day, I'm a woman who loves her snacks! For someone who works at home a lot, this can be a dangerous thing. When the urge to snack hits me, and boy, oh boy, does that ever happen often, I will turn to the first snack that I can find that interests me, which can often mean some less than healthy choices. It was a few years ago, while working on my Food Hacks campaign with Kraft Canada that I came up with the idea of creating a snack station in my home. A snack station is a dedicated area for purely snacks that I fill with a variety of different options, so that when my urge to snack hits, I have somewhere to turn for quick, easy, and healthy ways to satiate me and curb any naughty food cravings. 

While a snack station has been incredibly helpful for Chris and I to help steer us away from the candy, ice cream, and other junk that's way too convenient for us to snack on, I also love the idea of making a snack station for kids! A few years ago I was taking care of two amazing young girls after school, and while they rarely ever fought or even disagreed, the one thing that they would sometimes tiff over was their after-school snacks. They would occasionally disagree about which items they were allowed to eat after school, creating an unnecessary heated moment in the midst of what was usually a lovely afternoon. This type of disagreement can be totally avoided with the help of a snack station. A snack station allows parents to curate exactly which snacks they would like their kids to eat after school, while also giving the kids the opportunity to have variety and begin making choices for themselves. 

The key word in creating a successful snack station is "variety." It's important to have variety in a snack station that covers all forms of different cravings so that there is always at least one option in the station that you could be in the mood for. This means including different types of dried fruit, nuts (both raw and salted), crackers or melba toast (I like the individually wrapped ones to control portion size and preserve freshness), granola bars, and fruit. Having variety like this means having different flavours (both salty and sweet) as well as textures, which is particularly important for kids who may be finicky with certain flavours and textures on any given day. 

If a parent wants to give their kids a special treat one day, it would be a cute surprise to have that in the snack station when they get home. I like turning to treats that are on the healthier side such as chocolate dipped dried cranberries, so you're still giving kids something special (hello, chocolate!) without spoiling their appetite or giving them junk. This can also be useful to use as a check-in spot for your kids. Leave notes for them at the snack station on things you would like done (homework, clean room, set the table, etc.), or to give guidance on other snacks that may be available in the fridge. 

How To Build A Pantry Snack Station - What To Include:
All items/ingredients listed are a guideline for you to use to create your own, but, as usual, I encourage you to use your imagination and your own tastes to create your own with what you and your kids like.

• Nuts, both salted and raw - ex. almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds
• Granola bars
• Fruit - ex. apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries
• Apple sauce - I like the Metro Irresistibles Life Smart Fruit Snacks for reduced sugar and portion control
• Crackers or Melba Toast - I love the Metro Irresistibles Melba Toast as a vehicle for dips, spreads, or topping with fruits or veg. I love their versatility, crunch, and the fact that they are individually wrapped.
• Dried Fruit - ex. cranberries, cherries, apricots, figs, apples
• Metro Irresistibles Dark Chocolate Covered Cranberries (my new favourite sweet treat! All it takes is a small handful of these to curb my sweet cravings).

Tip: Make a salad building station too to help you make quick and delicious, restaurant-worthy salads for weeknight meals!

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario. 

Listening To:

Lemon Glow - Beach House

Back To School Essential: Sandwich Kabob Packed Lunch

Once you've said it, there's no turning back. It's out there. So here I go, about to say those fateful words that I used to curse my Oma for saying that first week of August every year growing up...it's almost back to school time. There. I said it! It doesn't feel good, but I said it! Even though I'm not preparing to go back to school this September, and as much as I love the Fall season, I really do dread the end of Summer. Though I'm not looking forward to scarves, boots, and the constant feeling of shivering, I do like looking at September as a fresh start, and one of the best fresh starts the Fall season brings is reinforcing good habits.

There are a lot of good habits that I try and commit to all year long, but there's nothing like taking advantage of a fresh season to jumpstart good patterns and routines. A habit that I am always looking to improve on is to commit to doing a daily fridge dive and clean to make use of any and all ingredients that need to be used up to reduce food waste in our home. For Chris, I know a habit that he wants to improve on is committing to bringing a homemade lunch into work every day. With these two goals in mind, I came up with a solution that allows me to use up different types of ingredients that need to get eaten, as well as give Chris tasty packed lunch ideas that he can rotate and customize every day.

Introducing the Sandwich Kabob! Essentially a charcuterie board on a stick, sandwich kabobs are a quick and tasty way to use up any leftover deli meat, cheese, vegetables, bread, pickles, and more to create an easy to transport and eat lunch, that your co-workers will be envious of! I like to lay out all of my ingredients that need to be used up, and pair them up as though I was building flavours in a sandwich. From there, simply skewer them on your kabob stick or spear and pack them up. While we're sure to be seeing a lot of Sandwich Kabobs in our very adult household over the coming months, I also love this idea for parents preparing lunches for their kids!

Sandwich Kabobs are a fantastic way to provide your kids with variety in their lunches, as well as giving them an opportunity to get involved to help mom and dad make their lunch, and start playing around with creating their own flavour combinations. More than that, I also think this welcomes a great opportunity to introduce new flavours to your kids palate. Try skewering on new types of meats, cheeses, and vegetables that they may have previously shied away from. While a pickle may ruin an entire sandwich for a kid who may not like pickles, if you try skewering a pickle on a Sandwich Kabob, they have the opportunity to try it, and if they don't like it, it can be easily removed without impacting the other ingredients.

As I often say with my recipes, I encourage you to play around with this one! As you can see in the photos, I used an assortment of different types of meats, as well as skewering on some simple sliced wraps. This is a particularly good idea for kids who tend to like having options in their lunch, and may get sick of any one particular flavour, as I often did growing up. You can also play around with creating more fancy sandwich kabobs, using more gourmet ingredients and serving them at your next gathering with friends and family as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre. I'd love to know what types of flavour combinations you and your kids create in your own home! Tell me about it in the comments, or share a photo with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram @gingerrosefood.

Ingredients:
All ingredients listed are merely suggestions to inspire you to create your own!
Metro Irresistibles Artisan Seasoned Angus Roast Beef, sliced
Metro Irresistibles Artisan German Salami, sliced
Metro Irresistibles Artisan Oven Roasted Seasoned Turkey Breast, sliced
Metro Irresistibles Canadian Lactose Free Swiss Cheese, cut into chunks
multigrain bread, cut into large chunks
aged cheddar cheese, cut into large chunks
Metro Irresistibles Traditional Prepared Dijon Mustard
flour tortillas
cherry tomatoes
pickles
cucumber, sliced or peeled into ribbons
kabob sticks or other form of spears
mayonaise

Directions:

1. Lay out all of your ingredients that you intent to use (I prioritize ingredients that I know need to get eaten up first) and start building flavour combinations.
2. Skewer your ingredients on your kabob sticks or other form of spears and pack up for lunch!
3. Prepare small containers on the side for dips such as mustard, mayo, or aioli. 

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario. 

Listening To:
Ben's My Friend - Sun Kil Moon

When Life Hands You Bagels, You Make Everything Bagel Butter

What do you do when life hands you an obscene amount of plain, grocery store bagels? You make Everything Bagel Butter! This past weekend I had the chance to escape the city and head to beautiful Minden Hills near Haliburton to celebrate my good friend Rommi's bachelorette. Though the prospect of spending the weekend on a dock with a bunch of like-minded and hilarious ladies is enough to get me pumped about going away, in typical Danielle fashion, the thought of getting permission to binge eat all weekend using the "calories don't count on vacations" excuse, was always in the back of my mind. 

Though I arrived at the cottage a day later than most of the group, I couldn't believe how much food and snacks were still decorating the cottage. Everywhere you looked you would find gummies of every shape and flavour, Kettle Chips in just about every seasoning, hard candies shaped like dicks (it was a bachelorette weekend after-all!), Oreos, brownies, bagels, fruit, vegetables, I could go on and on! I was in snack-attack heaven! Come Sunday, upon our time of departure, I was amazed at how much food ten small women had consumed in only a few days. It was downright impressive! But as is true with any girls getaway, our eyes were much larger than our stomaches and despite our impressive consumption, we ended up with quite the haul of leftovers by the end of the weekend. 

With so much leftover food about to hit the trash, along with my recent extreme budging and fear of food waste, I happily accepted any of the leftover food that no one else wanted to take. Though I was thrilled to go back to Toronto with a kitchen full of food, I somehow ended up with over a dozen bagels for just myself and my boyfriend. I'm not just talking about any kind of bagels here, I'm talking the plain, ol' grocery store kind, devoid of any flavour or appetizing texture. Sure, you can call me a food snob, but I've grown up eating some of the best bagels this city has to offer, and plain grocery store ones just do not do it for me. Despite my distaste for the brand of bagels, I was still grateful to have free food, and knew that I would be able to think up a creative way for making those sad excuse for bagels edible. 

Once again, I find myself thanking the heavens for giving me the gift of Pinterest, as all I had to do was quickly scroll through my board of Recipes To Make to find an easy-as-can-be recipe for Everything Bagel Butter! Pure genius and just what I needed to give my plain bagels a much-needed flavour boost! This trick for making a compound butter, enhanced with the flavourings from an everything bagel, was the kind of idea that had me thinking "why didn't I think of that?" The Everything Bagel Butter took all of 5 minutes to make (maybe even less!), and only two hours in the fridge, and most definitely did the trick in making my bagels delicious! It's safe to say I've eaten at least one bagel per day since returning thanks to my new favourite butter! 

WARNING: Do not eat this butter before a date! It contains both dried onion and garlic and will leave you needing a very good tooth-brushing, flossing, and mouth-washing session. You have been warned! 

Check out the blog Spend With Pennies for the full recipe for making Everything Bagel Butter! 

Listening To:

A #createlounge podcast! 

How To Be A Food Hero - Make Vanilla Sugar

Working in the service industry you can't help but to see a lot of waste. With every table I clear I find myself wincing as I scrape unfinished steak, risotto, pasta, pizza and more into the garbage from customers not wanting to bother taking it home (despite my constant encouragement!). Don't get me wrong, the food at the restaurant I work at is absolutely fantastic and certainly not worthy of ending up in the trash, it's simply thoughtlessness on the part of the paying customers that results in such horrific waste. 

Seeing so much waste each time I come into work kills me, so I'm always trying to find ways of rescuing the high quality food at work so that I can sleep a little more soundly at night. Sometimes that means drinking a latte that was made by mistake (despite my minor lactose intolerance), eating the remainder of the chocolate pudding that's stuck to the inside of the piping bag, or taking home the half of baguette that was never sliced up for any diners, it all adds up in my mind! 

Last week while clearing some dishes in the kitchen at work, I saw one of our chefs scraping vanilla beans for our Tiramisu filling. Intrigued, I asked her if she does anything with the pod after scraping out the insides. After learning that they just end up in the trash, I eagerly asked her if she would mind if I took the empty pods home. Being the second most expensive spice next to saffron, I couldn't imagine tossing away those pricey beans, even without their aromatic filling. I immediately thought to make vanilla sugar with the leftover beans. By simply scraping whatever remained from the inside of the beans into some sugar, tossing in the empty pod, sealing in an airtight container, and allowing to sit for a week or two, you have successfully made vanilla sugar, perfect for adding to coffee, topping creme brûlée, or adding to other subtly-flavoured desserts!

Other Ideas:
Toss the pod into hot chocolate, dessert sauces, pastry creams, or simple syrup.

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean 

Directions:

1. Place sugar in a small mason jar. If using a fresh vanilla bean, slice down the centre of the bean using a pairing knife, being careful not to cut through. Using the tip of the dull end of the knife, scrape your knife along the bean to remove the aromatic filling. Add the filling to the sugar. If using an empty pot, scrape your pairing knife along the inside of the pod to remove any remaining filling and add to sugar.
2. Add the empty vanilla bean to the sugar and seal. Shake to disperse the sugar. Allow to sit for 1-2 weeks until fragrant and ready to use. 

Listening To:

First Aid Kit - My Silver Lining

The How To Be A Food Hero Series

Did you know that an average of 13% of all groceries purchased by Canadians ends up being thrown out, resulting in an average of $725 worth of food items ending up in the garbage each year? Being someone who has made food a significant part of my daily life, as well as someone who gets sick at the thought of food waste, those figures are staggering! 

As you may already know, I recently declared September to be a month of having zero food waste in my home. I created a system of tricks on How to Be A Food Hero that I was sure would enable me to make it all the way to October 1st without throwing out a single food item. Though I was determined to literally have zero food waste at all, inevitably I did end up having to toss some food here and there, which trust me, was not easy for me to do! It was hard not to beat myself up about not being able to fulfill my challenge, but I have to give myself credit for doing so well! I get an odd sense of pride when I think of the clever food combinations and dishes that I created in order to rescue certain food items from the trash. What I learned from my month of attempting to be a food hero is that the key to finding success is all about creating good habits and a daily routine. You have to get in the habit of looking through your fridge and cupboards each day to take inventory of what you have, and you have to take those few extra minutes each day to attempt to do some food rescuing, which can often be as simple as wrapping something up for the freezer. 

Even though I didn't achieve my goal of having zero food waste, I was so ecstatic over the incredible response I received from readers for taking on the challenge! It was so great to know that others are struggling with the same issues as I am and to know that I was actually able to provide helpful advice to aid people in reducing the amount of food waste in their own homes. With so much love for this challenge from both myself and my readers and with such a fantastic outcome to look forward to, I've decided to continue to battle with food waste and start a series on my blog entitled How To Be A Food Hero, featuring tips, tricks, and advice on how to reduce food waste in your own home. I hope that you benefit from these posts as much as myself and my wallet will! 

Listening To:

CHVRCHES - Leave A Trace

How To Cut Down On Food Waste: AKA How To Be A Food Hero

Without a doubt guilt is one of the worst, if not the worst, emotions on the planet. Unlike other emotions, which can often be fickle and easy to shake off, guilt has a way of sticking to you like that bit of glue from a band-aid that just won't seem to wash off. It eats you up inside, forcing you to obsess about it and think of nothing else. Of course we all make mistakes that can lead to us feeling that dreaded guilt, but the number one thing that makes me feel guilty more often than anything is the guilt from watching food in my home go to waste. 

I know, I've written about it so many times before, because, quite frankly, I haven't been able to fully break my habit of stopping food waste all together. It's not an easy thing! After a year of slacking on my food rescuing ways (I used to be so good!), I've decided to get my act together and take a stand to stop (or at least significantly reduce) the food waste in my home or, as I like to say, become a food hero! My first step to becoming a food hero was to declare September as No Waste September, using this month to aggressively tackle my food waste and see if I can carry this promise through to October. I'm hoping that by sharing my own personal tips and tricks for cutting down on food waste I'll be able to inspire my readers to do the same! Now who's ready to become a food hero with me?

Alert family members, live-in partners, and roommates of what foods need to get eaten

One of the biggest issues that leads to food waste has got to be a lack of communication. It's hard to know what needs to be eaten and what's about to go bad without clear communication amongst family, live-in partners, and roommates. I have a big chalkboard wall in my kitchen which allows me to very clearly communicate to my boyfriend Chris what we need to be eating. When we have an overflow of certain foods, leftovers that need to be eaten, or produce that's about to go bad, I immediately write it on the wall to give Chris guidance on what he should be eating. I love this idea because it forces those foods that can often get lost in the back of the fridge to be brought to the forefront and given the attention they need before expiring. 

Writing what needs to be used up on the chalkboard wall is also a fantastic way to inspire new meal ideas, allowing you to visually group certain foods and flavours together. For instance, I recently had zucchini, chopped onion, strained tomatoes, and ground beef written on the food hero wall, immediately that inspired me to make a bolognese sauce with diced zucchini thrown into the mirepoix. Just like that I had tackled four things on my food hero list!

Label everything in your fridge, including a date

Before packing leftovers or bits of remaining goods like broth, tomato sauce, or beans in the fridge, I always write a label for the container so I know 1) exactly what's in the container and 2) when it was made or first placed in the fridge. How many times have you found a random tupperware container in your fridge and not known what the hell was in there? Rather than playing the guesswork of the this-may-lead-to-food-poisoning game, 9 times out of 10 you will toss the anonymous tupperware container. 

A messy fridge can encourage people to only look at the front row, leaving plenty of good food to rot in the back of the fridge. I like to organize my fridge in sections grouping dairy, condiments, drinks, meats, leftovers, sauces, and so forth together so it's easy to get a quick inventory of what you have on hand. I like to place foods that need to be eaten the quickest right at the front of the fridge so it's the first thing you see when you open the door, often with a label that reads "EAT ME!" Keeping your fridge organized is also helpful in cutting down energy costs, reducing the amount of time you keep your fridge door open. It all adds up after all! 

Smoothies are a fantastic way to use up fruit about to go bad or frozen fruit previously rescued

When life gets hectic it can be difficult to cook every day of the week, making it hard to rescue food before it goes bad.  When I have a busy few days and food that's about to go bad, I try to take a few extra minutes to toss those foods in the freezer so that they don't end up in the trash. Frozen fruit is perfect for freezing for smoothies or that bit of summer freshness in a winter dessert. An ice cube tray is also your friend when it comes to freezing, acting as the perfect vehicle for freezing leftover broth, wine, herbs, and even juices for future use. When you come across a recipe that calls for a splash of wine, you'll be thankful for those frozen cubes of wine that you saved in the freezer!

Refrigerated biscuit dough or puff pastry are great things to have on hand for making quick pot pies

When I have to get creative with using up food, I'm always grateful that I think ahead. I always like to keep a package of puff pastry in the freezer, biscuit dough in the fridge, fresh herbs growing on my balcony, canned or jarred tomatoes and broth in the cupboard, as well as a wide selection of various condiments and sauces. These are the things that you don't have to worry about going bad that will save you when you need to use food up and don't want to make a trip to the store. Think of what ingredients you find yourself using most often that help to perk up meals and make sure you keep them stocked!

Here are some of my favourite ideas for how to use up leftovers!

• Croutons & Crostini - Before bread becomes mouldy, cut it into cubes or thin slices and brush with olive oil to toast into homemade croutons or crostini. I like to brush on some minced garlic or use infused oils like rosemary olive oil to add an extra hit of flavour.
• Shepherds Pie - The classic dish can be made with more than just ground meat and potatoes! Try making shepherds pie with leftover pulled pork and sweet potatoes. Get creative and play around with all sorts of different meats and vegetables. Why not short rib and turnips?
• Stir Fry's - Stir fry's are one of the best ways for getting rid of a lot of vegetables in a hurry. Pretty much anything goes with a stir fry, so toss in whatever veg you can get your hands on!
• Smoothies - Before your fruit (or even some vegetables) goes bad pack them up in freezer bags for quick and easy smoothies. I like to freeze spinach before it wilts to add some green to my homemade smoothies. 
• Pot Pies - Whether it's chicken, beef, lamb, or even just a bunch of veg, pot pies are a great way to use up leftovers. I love adding leftover takeout curries to my chicken pot pies to instantly revamp leftover chicken into a curry pot pie!

Who want's to become a food hero with me? Tell me about how you cut down on food waste on Twitter: @thisgingerrose.

Listening To:

Miguel - Coffee

The Risotto Myth

Homemade Asparagus & Green Pea Risotto with Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus Garnish

It was only October of 2013 that I was nervously preparing for my evening class at George Brown Chef College, my stomach in knots over the thought of making risotto from scratch for the first time ever. I remember feeling sick with worry over making the notoriously difficult-to-prepare dish. I had heard how difficult it was to achieve the loose, yet not soupy, creamy, yet not mushy texture of the starchy rice, as well as the dedication involved to the preparation, leaving the cook handcuffed to the stove for the duration of the cooking process. Now look at me! Just over a year later, I feel like a risotto-making pro! It turns out that risottos reputation as being a difficult-to-prepare dish is actually nothing more than a myth! In fact, I even find making risotto relaxing, and simple enough to whip up mid-week when I feel like I have a fridge full of nothing! 

The trick to making risotto is patience and practice. Yes, it's true, you do need to man the stove for the duration of the cooking process, but that doesn't mean that you can't step away to begin setting the table, or prepare an accompanying dish. The trick is to allow yourself to control the product, as opposed to the product controlling you, which comes with practice. It takes practice to know when to add another ladle of broth and when to season, and when you start to trust your instincts and understand how your product and your equipment (pan, stove, etc.) works, everything becomes second nature. Of course much of what you learn about making risotto will come from physically making risotto, but I do have some helpful tips to offer you before you dive into your first successful risotto-making experience. 

Make Extra - First off before you even begin, ask yourself what you're having for dinner tomorrow. If you don't know the answer to that, or don't have a side dish, make extra risotto! Trust me, you will be thanking yourself the next day when you are turning that leftover gummy risotto into beautiful crispy on the outside, and creamy and cheesy on the inside arancini (AKA fried rice balls). 

Mince Your Onions - Whether you use onions or shallots, make sure that you mince your onion as finely as humanly possible. This will take a little extra time and effort, but the results will be worth it. Think of it this way, you want the pieces of onion to simply flavour the dish, but otherwise go unnoticed. You want them to melt right into the dish. This means cutting a very fine julienne, and then cutting a just-as-fine cross-section of that. 

Cook But Don't Colour - When cooking your onions you just want to soften them, and get them translucent. You do not want to colour your onions in any way. 

Season From Start To Finish - Just like any dish, risotto wants to be seasoned throughout the cooking process, allowing the flavours to marry and develop. I tend to season my risotto with salt and white pepper at every addition of broth. Every time I stir a new ladle of broth in, I immediately follow with a pinch of both salt and pepper.  

You Can Add But You Can't Take Away - As much as you want a well-seasoned dish, you must remember the golden rule "you can always add, but you can never take away." I find at the beginning of the cooking process I begin with very generous pinches of salt and white pepper. Because I've made risotto before and know how bland it is to start, I feel confident with a bit of a heavy hand at the start, knowing that I will not over-season. About ten or so minutes into the cooking process, begin tasting for seasoning. This will allow you to know if you should continue with generous pinches of salt and pepper, or whether you should transition to more delicate pinches. Continue tasting and seasoning, going lighter on the seasoning as the rice begins to soften.

It's near the end of the cooking process that you need to be careful. This is where you must remind yourself of that golden rule. It's always better to err on the side of caution and add too little salt and pepper (you can always add more!) than too much. You can look up every trick in the book for how to fix an over-salted or over-peppered dish, but you're pretty much stuck. Also remember that you will be adding grated parmigiano reggiano to your risotto as the final step, meaning that the natural saltiness of the parm will season your risotto as well. I like to leave my risotto slightly under-salted before adding the parm to ensure I don't over salt once the cheese is added. 

The Wooden Spoon Trick - One of the best tricks for knowing when to add another ladle of broth is the wooden spoon trick. The trick is to drag your wooden spoon (I use a flat-ended wooden spatula) down the centre of the pan and watch how the product reacts. If the spoon left an empty trail behind it and the risotto mixture isn't swimming to cover it, you are ready for another ladle. If the risotto mixture quickly pools to cover the trail, you may wait before adding the next ladle. The more you practice making risotto, the less you have to rely on this. 

Soupy Is Better Than Gluey - This is one of the most vital steps to making risotto. When you are removing your risotto from the stove to serve, you want it to be loose, but not soupy, BUT soupy is better than gluey. Am I confusing you yet? The optimal texture for risotto should be loose enough so that when you put your mound of risotto on a plate, and shake the plate side to side, the risotto should expand to the sides of the plate. If the risotto stays in the mound on the plate and doesn't expand, it needs another ladle of broth to become looser. I say that soupy is better than gluey because even soupy risotto will begin to congeal as it cools, which means that a soupy risotto may reach that perfect texture a few minutes after it is removed from the stove. An even slightly gluey risotto will begin to congeal as it cools as well, meaning that your initial gluey risotto, will become even gluier in a matter of minutes. Again, finding that optimal texture will take practice. 

Serve Immediately - As I stated above, risotto begins to congeal and become gluey the moment it is taken off the heat (this doesn't mean you can just leave the pan of risotto on the heat either, when it's done it's done!), so the moment that risotto hits the plate, it must be served immediately if you want all that patience while cooking to be worth it. 

I hope all those tips haven't scared you away from making risotto, and instead have you amped up to try your hand at making it yourself! Please give risotto a try in your own kitchen and let me know how it goes! If you should find yourself the middle of making your risotto and scared that you're doing something wrong, shoot me a tweet @thisgingerrose and I may be able to jump in and give your my two cents! 

Listening To:

Alt-J - Lovely Day

Hack the Holidays

Festive Ice Cubes

The tree is up, the gifts are purchased, and there is a blanket of snow collecting on my balcony (not to mention a canopy of white continuing to sail down from above. There's no doubt about it, the holidays are fast approaching! 

Peanut Butter Holiday Pancakes

With Christmas only two weeks away (where did the time go?!) it's right about now that everyone begins to freak out over everything that must be checked off their 'to do' list in the coming weeks, in the midst of what is absolutely the busiest and most stressful time of year. With so much to accomplish, and so little time, I am surprisingly far calmer than I've been in previous years. No, I haven't just discovered online shopping (but yes, that is probably the #1 stress reducer to take advantage of during the holidays), but I have discovered a not-so-secret secret to calmly and happily getting through the holidays. The secret, my friends is none other than the oh so wonderful world of food and life hacks! 

Fruity Holiday Ice-n-Pipe

Working on the Kraft Food Hacks campaign has given me the opportunity to search high and low through the dense interweb to find all of the very best hacks to get myself through the holidays. Through my research and testing in the kitchen, I've been able to locate the most successful and helpful of hacks, as well as debunk those that unfortunately result in disappointing failures. I've come up with some really fun and clever ones that have stretched my imagination and am really excited to share with you. My first holiday food hack entry is up on the Kraft Food Hacks blog and is one that I absolutely adore! Head on over to the Food Hacks blog to check out my latest entry on creating Festive Ice Cubes, and be sure to come back over the coming weeks to see what other holiday hacks I have in store for you! Also be sure to follow me along on the Food Hacks Twitter page (@FoodHacks) for even more holiday hacks to make your life a little easier!

Do you have a great holiday hack you want to share? Tweet me: @FoodHacks and let's get hacking! 

Listening To:

Paul McCartney - Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time

Cottage Eats

Last week my mom and I were able to take a lovely little escape out of the city and head up north to Jeffery Lake to a beautiful cottage that my aunt and uncle had rented. With our house still up on the market at the time, and offers scattering through, it was nice to have a different atmosphere and be surrounded by close family to take our minds off all of the anxiety and stress we were dealing with. While a lot of people go up to a cottage to escape chores such as cooking, in my family food is once again one of the highlights! No cottage escape is complete without a killer meal! Now what we're going for here is a meal that is killer in flavour, but easy on the effort, which does require some simple planning. This time around all of the three families that were up each brought groceries, with my uncle Eddie taking the reigns in the kitchen. Eddie wanted nothing more than to spend the afternoon blasting his awesome Motown music, while singing and cooking up a feast for us...and possibly sneaking some ribs for himself along the way. Although he spent the day working hard keeping an eye on those delicious slow-cooked ribs that him and my mom collaborated on, the truth is, the meal that we planned was clever and simple enough that you could truly spend all day on the dock, with only a few short last minutes in the kitchen, all it takes is a little planning. When I'm planning cottage meals, I like to think of dishes that allow me and my family to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen. I like to keep things simple, but take things that one step further to make them a little special and memorable. 

THE ENTRÉE

For our entrée, we chose slow cooked ribs. We got two families to each bring up several racks to split the cost, then my mom cooked up her notorious rib sauce recipe back at home so that she could simply pour it into a container to travel up north with us, saving us a lot of time in the kitchen at the cottage. With the ribs needing little babysitting while slow-cooking, you have plenty of time to enjoy cottage life outside! Pulled pork, brisket, ribs, just about any slow cooked recipe will do here.

• Do the prep - Make your sauce ahead of time, back in the city! 
• Take it slow - Go for slow roasted meats like ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, etc. Why not bring up your slow cooker from your city kitchen! You won't regret using up that extra space in the car!
• Start early - Start your cooking first thing in the morning so that you have everything done before the sun comes up, and by dinner time you'll have fall-off-the-bone delicious meat.

THE SIDES

For the sides, we're once again going for simplicity. Little ruby red potatoes and fresh Ontario corn on the cob can be cooked up in no time at all by simply tossing them into some boiling water. Here is where the planning comes in. It's easy to end the dish at that and have your guests and family season up the veggies with some salt and pepper themselves, but why not aim to impress? Whip up some easy and delicious flavoured butters to bring up to the cottage in a cooler. Perfect for topping corn or stirring into hot potatoes, these butters can quickly and easily transform a simple side dish! You can also do all the prep work for an awesome potato salad ahead of time! Just a quick chop of some bell peppers and you're pretty much good to go!

• Herbaceous Butters - Whip up some softened butter with fresh chopped herbs like basil, parsley, chives, mint, and/or rosemary, scoop and drop it onto a piece of plastic wrap, roll into a log, and refrigerate until solid. Serve with corn on the cob or stir into steaming hot ruby red boiled potatoes.
• Hot & Spicy Butters - Whip up some softened butter with cayenne pepper, lime, and cilantro for a festive butter with a kick! Scoop and drop it onto a piece of plastic wrap, roll into a log, and refrigerate until solid. Serve with corn on the cob or stir into steaming hot ruby red boiled potatoes.
• Speedy Potato Salad - Cube up some red, yellow, and/or orange bell peppers ahead of time at home and toss into a tupperware container. When your potatoes are boiled and ready to serve quickly stir in those cubed bell peppers, a scoop or two of mayo, a generous squeeze of lemon juice, salt, pepper, chives and a bit of garlic and ta da! You have a simple, delicious, and healthy potato salad!

THE DRINK

No cottage meal is complete without a fantastic drink! My uncle Eddie once again stepped up to the plate this time around, creating a delicious and striking gin and tonic. By simply cutting up some halved cucumber slices and adding just a touch of fresh cracked pepper, the classic gin and tonic is transformed and becomes irresistible! With only two extra steps, Eddie's take on a classic gin and tonic is sure to be your new favourite!

• Play with a classic - It's easy to create your signature cocktail by simply adding an ingredient or two to your favourite classic cocktail! Uncle Eddie chose cucumbers and fresh cracked pepper for his gin and tonic, but don't shy away from other ingredients like hot peppers, fresh herbs, berries, brines, syrups, and more! 

Listening To:

Danny Brown - Grown Up - Love the video for this song! Check it out!

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Evergreen Brick Works Farmers Market

"The Evergreen Brick Works Farmers Market is more than a local food market. It is a celebration of the diverse communities working together to build a sustainable food system from the ground up.

The Evergreen Brickworks Farmers Market will:

• Engage local food producers and consumers.
• Share ideas to generate understanding of the environmental impacts of food choices.
• Inspire others and empower them to make positive changes
• Promote organic and GMO-free foods, as well as markets where rural food producers and urban consumers both benefit from fair trade and a vibrant local economy.
• Celebrate our diverse food traditions!"

(ebw.evergreen.ca)

SPRING/SUMMER/FALL SESSION

Saturday's from May 5, 2012 - November 3, 2012

8 AM - 1 PM

With 65-85 unique vendors selling everything from baked goods, fresh produce, cheese, meats, preserves, spreads, beverages, crepes, burritos, and more, the Evergreen Brick Works Farmers Market is a great way to introduce yourself and your friends and family to new and unique  products that help to support and promote local Ontario farmers, chefs, and artisans.  Touring the market is a great way to become informed on what produce is in season, and better yet, gives you an opportunity to interact with the farmers and artisans themselves to get first-hand knowledge on how your food got to the table. A featured live band helps to set the mood while you weave your way through the many vendors. I like to  start my tour around the market with breakfast! The last time I went to the Brick Works Market, my mom and I decided to wake ourselves up with the Ultimate Breakfast Burrito and a glass of lemonade, both delicious! With food in hand to snack on, you're all set to tour the other vendors, because trust me, touring the market on an empty stomach can be a dangerous game for your wallet! Make sure to ask lots of questions and strike up a conversation at the vendors, you never know what information, or even recipes, the farmers and artisans may be able to give you! So this weekend start your week off right and stock your kitchen with all the yummy seasonal finds you got your hands on at the Evergreen Brick Works Farmers Market!

Listening To:

Cat Power - Ruin

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Tip: Frozen Bananas

The next time you see your bananas nearing their final days (or even hours!) don't fret, freeze! Freezing ripened bananas is a great time saver for the future. Don't you just hate when you feel inspired to make a particular recipe that calls for ripened bananas only to find your bananas still a lovely shade of yellow-green? Having a stock of frozen, ripened bananas in your freezer allows you to make all your favourite banana recipes like muffins, smoothies, and milkshakes on a whim.

To freeze your bananas simply place them in a ziplock bag, removing any excess air inside, and place in your freezer. When ready to use your frozen bananas, place your frozen banana on a microwave-safe dish and microwave for a few seconds to thaw enough to allow you to remove the peel.

Listening To:

P.Diddy ft. keyshia cole - Last Night (Feat. Keyshia Cole)

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Preparing and Storing Fresh Herbs for the Cold

I think by now everyone knows just how obsessed I am with my herb garden.  It truly thrived this year, allowing me to create some incredible dishes, so you can imagine my fear at not having my herb garden until next Spring.  This year I want to prepare myself before the frost takes the life of my beautiful herbs.  There are many different ways to keep fresh herbs throughout the cold seasons, it just depends on which method works best for you.

Growing Herbs Indoors:

Although it can be quite difficult, it is possible to grow herbs indoors.  You just have to be sure to carefully select where you place each herb.  Each herb has particular growing conditions that allow them to remain the healthiest, so it important to learn about your herbs before bringing them inside.  Here are 2 lists of the top 5 and top 10 herbs for growing indoors, along with their preferred growing conditions.  Here is also some handy growing tips for keeping your herbs indoors provided by Eat Right Ontario .

There are also products available for purchase to help aid in the growth of your indoor herbs, such as the AeroGarden.  I have personally never used any indoor herb growing products (the price is a little high for me), but would love to hear any feedback from anyone who has used them!

Storing Herbs in the Fridge:

Before freezing all of my fresh herbs, I like to set aside some of my herbs to keep on hand in the fridge.  It is very simple to do this and your herbs will last for at least a week.  Simply wash and dry your herbs, wrap them in a slightly damp paper towel, and keep them wrapped in the paper towel inside of a ziplock bag in the vegetable drawer of your fridge.

Freezing Herbs:

Freezing herbs is a great way to keep your fresh herbs during the cold seasons, but the freezing process varies depending on the type of herb.  Soft and hard herbs are very different, and therefore must be frozen using different processes.  Kalyn's Kitchen has some great entries on freezing herbs that I followed for freezing my herbs this year.

How To Freeze Fresh Herbs: Basil

How to Freeze fresh Herbs: Rosemary and Thyme

How to Freeze Fresh Herbs: Thai Basil, Sage, Tarragon, and Mint

If you have any other tips or tricks for keeping your fresh herbs throughout the cold seasons, please share them here!

Packed Lunch Guide

I am a big advocate for homemade lunches.  Being a student, I would much rather take the extra 5 minutes out of my morning to make a healthy, and affordable lunch that I can bring with me to class or work.  I truly don't understand how students can complain about their financial woes, while at the same time, wasting a large chunk of money each day on costly, and, quite often, unhealthy meals.  I don't know about you, but I would much rather make a delicious meal from home to transport with me, and save my money to buy something special for the future!

I understand that many people feel as though they can't make a tasty lunch from home, that will still taste as good hours later, upon eating it.  But a simple search in your favourite food website will end that problem.  I did just that with some my favourite food sites and came up with an abundance of delectable options! Here is Martha Stewart 's take on brown bag lunches.  Epicurious  also has a wonderful Back-To-School lunch guide, which includes nutritional info, college student tips, and taste tests.  What are your favourite websites for packed lunch tips?

Just to prove my point on how much money you are truly saving, cockeyed.com has created a handy little Sandwich Price Calculator , which allows you to calculate the exact amount you are spending on a homemade sandwich.  My multigrain sandwich with mayo, dijon mustard, salami, tomato, lettuce, swiss cheese, and processed turkey came out to a mere $1.40 using the Sandwich Calculator !  Sure the costs would be slightly off (we aren't all buying Kirkland brand bread), but you get the idea.

Image courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

Backyard Marshmallow Roast

Me (Danielle Rose) and Rommi staying warm by the chimenea

It's that time of year.  There's beginning to be a bit of a chill in the air, back to school supplies are bombarding the stores, and people are taking their last visits to the cottage.  Well, I don't know about you, but I don't want my summer to end! Who's to say that some of my favourite summertime activities can't continue into the Fall?  

One of my all-time favourite summer activities is roasting marshmallows.  Sure setting up a bonfire is great up North, but it can get pretty dangerous attempting to set up a fire pit in your own backyard.  So my family's solution is to invest in a chimenea.  Chimenea's are little outdoor fireplaces, usually made out of clay, that act as an outdoor heater, and, better yet, can take the place of the traditional cottage bonfire.  It is the perfect place for a backyard social gathering, which was exactly what my friends and I used it for just a few days ago.  After a lovely dinner out, we came back to my house to hangout, talk, roast some marshmallows, and make s'mores gathered around the chinenea.  I say we forget about the Winter snow and carry Summer straight through to next year!! 

Cheaters Handbook: Crumble or Crisp in a Pinch

Don't you hate those nights when you have a major craving for dessert, yet there is nothing in the house to satisfy your craving? Well say goodbye to those nasty unfulfilled cravings because I have got just the trick for you!  Fruit crumbles and crisps are one of my favourite desserts, as you may know from my previous post on my Strawberry Blueberry Apple Crumble.  So when I get a craving for dessert, a delicious crumble or crisp does just the trick!  After a particularly unfortunate unfulfilled craving night, (I may have attacked a pint of freezer burned chocolate ice cream) I decided to be proactive about things.  The next time a dessert craving came along I wanted to be armed and ready! This lead me to make up a batch of crumble and crisp topping that I could keep on hand in the fridge.  The topping keeps in an airtight container for 4 weeks, allowing you to be prepared for a whole month!  So when that craving comes along, you simply chop up some fruit (or use frozen fruit), top with your readymade topping, and bake!  Only you in the house and you don't want to make an entire crumble or crisp for just yourself?  This is also perfect for individual desserts!  Just place fruit and topping in a ramekin or small dish to bake and place the remaining topping back in the fridge for another time. 

Tip: If you don't have a food processor to pulse topping ingredients, you may use a bowl and 2 knives to combine.  

Ingredients:

Crumble Topping

1/2 cup cold  butter, cut in chunks

1 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp cinnamon

Crisp Topping

1/2 cup cold butter, cut in chunks

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup oatmeal or graham wafer crumbs

1 tsp cinnamon

Additional Optional Add-Ins

shredded or flaked coconut

chopped toasted nuts (such as almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts)

granola

raisins

other dried fruit (such as dried cranberries, apricots, dates, prunes, cherries)

Filling

any fruit you like to fit your dish (in the one pictured above, I used peaches, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries)

several shakes of cinnamon 

Directions:

Crumble Topping

1.  In a food processor, pulse topping ingredients of your choice until crumbly.  

Fruit Crumble or Crisp

1.  Grease a baking dish of whichever size you like (no bigger than 10 inches large).  

2.  Peel, pit, and slice fruit (if needed).  Combine fruit in a bowl and mix in cinnamon. Empty fruit into baking dish, making sure to spread fruit evenly. 

3.  Bake at 375 º for 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold (I prefer hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!).  If using an individual dish, bake for 20-25 minutes.

Rogers Cup: Tennis Food

On Monday night I attended the Rogers Cup to watch a match between Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova.  I had a great time and left feeling inspired to begin playing tennis on my own...although in this heat I don't think I'll be playing anytime soon.  Going to the tennis match also got me thinking about tennis-themed foods.  It's not like a baseball game where peanuts, cracker jacks, and beer are staples.  I suppose you could make up some cute tennis ball-looking cupcakes, but I wouldn't consider that real "tennis food."  So I did some research and I found out that there are indeed tennis-themed foods! 

Firstly, it is traditional to have strawberries and cream at Wimbledon.  This tradition first began in 1953 "when the Queen issued a decree stating that anyone who didn't buy any when watching tennis would lose their kneecaps" (www.neonbubble.com).  I wouldn't have thought that quite a threat was needed for such a mouthwatering dessert! 

I also learned that tennis players are known for eating lots of bananas before and during the game, and that they are always provided with bananas before any professional tennis match.  This is because of the large amount of potassium in the fruit that will keep the players energy going throughout the game, as well as protect their muscles from cramping.

Sodium is another important thing for tennis players to keep in their system to help prevent muscle cramps.  Muscle cramps are often caused by sodium deficiencies.  The USTA suggests consuming salted pretzels, Gatorade, Endurance Gatorade, and V8 Juice, as they have a "higher sodium content, absorb quickly, and leave your stomach feeling light" (www.usta.com).  Low fat crackers, salted nuts, and trail mix are also great snacks to have to keep sodium in your system.  

Can you think of any other tennis-themed foods?

Buy Local: Peaches

Just a friendly reminder to support your local farmers and buy local! August is my favourite month of the summer because peaches are in season! Make sure you are buying local Ontario produce (or local produce from wherever you may live) in the market, or, better yet, visit a farm and pick the fruit yourself! To locate an Ontario farm to visit, go to the Ontario Farm Fresh website. Also be sure to check out the OMAFRA website to learn more about Ontario produce.