Must be a long weekend! And the first of the "Summer" for those of us here in Canada...the first of many evenings on the deck or at the cottage or the cabin or the chalet (as I have learned these words could all be referring to exactly the same building just in different parts of the country...depending on whether you are in Ontario, BC or Quebec) If you have a different word and you are from a different part of the country, help me out!
Here on the West Coast, the sun teased us on Friday and then went away somewhere for the rest of the weekend, making a return after lunch today. And coming out to shine in full force just in time for everyone to head back to work. Oh well.
Rob took advantage of this afternoon's sunshine and took the kids kayaking (altho they decided to swim instead! Brrrrrr! Duncan came home and jumped into the shower to warm up!). The big girls were out with friends, so I took advantage of an empty house...and baked and filled the table with salads, all so I don't have to cook tomorrow (and maybe even the day after that!). Well, in reality, it means that Rob doesn't have to cook tomorrow, since I have a course on Tuesday nights until the middle of June. "Partnerships in Addressing Challenging Behaviour" is the title and I am very pleased to say that I am learning a lot (the first course I have taken in the last six years that I don't spend a good part of each class feeling like I could teach it..However, I am realising that once I know the material, I actually could teach this one too, but I am too lazy right now to go and do a masters and entitle myself to actually do that so I stay quiet).
What did I make? See for yourself...
First, we put the mixer to work, making two big batches of cookies...ginger-spice-cookies from an earlier post, as well as peanut-butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
from the Brown Eyed Baker. The only change I made to the Peanut butter oatmeal recipe was I added a full cup of rolled oats and I used spelt flour. They were a hit (yes, they are almost all gone!). I would highly recommend this recipe. A great lunch box cookie (oh, I also used the 1 tbsp scoop, not the 3 tbsp scoop, so I got more cookies but they are still super yummy!).
...Then I made some salads, 'cause, well, it is supposed to feel like salad weather and not soup weather, so until it does, we will just pretend (if we all wish hard enough the good weather will come! I believe this).
Santa Fe Salad from the Best of Bridge, as well as my own version of the old picnic standby : 3 Bean salad.
3 Bean Salad (and some corn)
1 can (500ml) of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed twice
1 can (500ml) romano beans or chick peas (same as above)
2 cups frozen green beans, rinsed and thawed, but not cooked (or yellow beans but I think the green ones are prettier)...In season, I use fresh and blanch them first.
1 red or yellow pepper, chopped fine
half a red onion, chopped fine, or 7-8 green onions, chopped small
1 can baby corn, rinsed and drained and rinsed again. I used to use regular corn, but my kids love to see the baby corn in the salad (and it means that they eat it!)
Combine all in bowl.
Make dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
a couple of pinches of salt
a couple of grinds of pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Mix these all together with a wire whisk. Add 1/4 cup or so of canola oil while whisking. Pour over waiting salad. Let sit about 15 mintes (or in the fridge overnight) before serving.
And a few other things hit the menu that didn't require quite the same prep...Like asparagus, strawberries and steak. Oh and a drink for me!
This is my favourite way to prepare asparagus (before he met me, Rob hated asparagus, then he found out how to cook it)...A dose of olive oil (the best you've got) in the skillet, get it nice and hot, then add your aspargus (after you flip the steaks for timing) and turn the heat down to medium. Stick around to toss it frequently and watch the colour. If you have a mixture of thicknesses in your asparagus, save the smaller ones until halfway through cooking the bigger ones, once your aspargus is bright green, it is done. A squeeze of lemon before serving and you are all set.
And for lunch tomorrow, Rob is all set with leftover steak and potatoes and some asparagus. and we cooked enough steaks for leftovers to have with salad tomorrow.
The kids will be eating chicken wraps with 3 bean salad and some cookies for dessert!
Happy Packing!
Here on the West Coast, the sun teased us on Friday and then went away somewhere for the rest of the weekend, making a return after lunch today. And coming out to shine in full force just in time for everyone to head back to work. Oh well.
Rob took advantage of this afternoon's sunshine and took the kids kayaking (altho they decided to swim instead! Brrrrrr! Duncan came home and jumped into the shower to warm up!). The big girls were out with friends, so I took advantage of an empty house...and baked and filled the table with salads, all so I don't have to cook tomorrow (and maybe even the day after that!). Well, in reality, it means that Rob doesn't have to cook tomorrow, since I have a course on Tuesday nights until the middle of June. "Partnerships in Addressing Challenging Behaviour" is the title and I am very pleased to say that I am learning a lot (the first course I have taken in the last six years that I don't spend a good part of each class feeling like I could teach it..However, I am realising that once I know the material, I actually could teach this one too, but I am too lazy right now to go and do a masters and entitle myself to actually do that so I stay quiet).
What did I make? See for yourself...
First, we put the mixer to work, making two big batches of cookies...ginger-spice-cookies from an earlier post, as well as peanut-butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
from the Brown Eyed Baker. The only change I made to the Peanut butter oatmeal recipe was I added a full cup of rolled oats and I used spelt flour. They were a hit (yes, they are almost all gone!). I would highly recommend this recipe. A great lunch box cookie (oh, I also used the 1 tbsp scoop, not the 3 tbsp scoop, so I got more cookies but they are still super yummy!).
...Then I made some salads, 'cause, well, it is supposed to feel like salad weather and not soup weather, so until it does, we will just pretend (if we all wish hard enough the good weather will come! I believe this).
Santa Fe Salad from the Best of Bridge, as well as my own version of the old picnic standby : 3 Bean salad.
3 Bean Salad (and some corn)
1 can (500ml) of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed twice
1 can (500ml) romano beans or chick peas (same as above)
2 cups frozen green beans, rinsed and thawed, but not cooked (or yellow beans but I think the green ones are prettier)...In season, I use fresh and blanch them first.
1 red or yellow pepper, chopped fine
half a red onion, chopped fine, or 7-8 green onions, chopped small
1 can baby corn, rinsed and drained and rinsed again. I used to use regular corn, but my kids love to see the baby corn in the salad (and it means that they eat it!)
Combine all in bowl.
Make dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
a couple of pinches of salt
a couple of grinds of pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Mix these all together with a wire whisk. Add 1/4 cup or so of canola oil while whisking. Pour over waiting salad. Let sit about 15 mintes (or in the fridge overnight) before serving.
 |
| 3 Bean Salad with corn |
And a few other things hit the menu that didn't require quite the same prep...Like asparagus, strawberries and steak. Oh and a drink for me!
This is my favourite way to prepare asparagus (before he met me, Rob hated asparagus, then he found out how to cook it)...A dose of olive oil (the best you've got) in the skillet, get it nice and hot, then add your aspargus (after you flip the steaks for timing) and turn the heat down to medium. Stick around to toss it frequently and watch the colour. If you have a mixture of thicknesses in your asparagus, save the smaller ones until halfway through cooking the bigger ones, once your aspargus is bright green, it is done. A squeeze of lemon before serving and you are all set.
 |
| Some Vancouver Island Beef for the BBQ |
And for lunch tomorrow, Rob is all set with leftover steak and potatoes and some asparagus. and we cooked enough steaks for leftovers to have with salad tomorrow.
The kids will be eating chicken wraps with 3 bean salad and some cookies for dessert!
Happy Packing!
My son loves baby corn too! I think the bean salad would perfect for a lunch box to the office too. thanks for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteAgy @ Green Issues
Totally! Thanks for stopping by, Agy. I am your newest follower.
ReplyDeleteHey, Amanda, I am your newest follower. I would love to join in on the fun...See you Sunday!
ReplyDelete