by Ezmy

I do so love soup in the winter. There is just nothing better than staying in with a good glass of something red, a gigantic loaf of crusty bread, and a big bowl of hearty soup. Especially when the whole family has a cold they just can’t seem to shake…

For the Dumplings:

2 heaping tablespoons of cornmeal

2 heaping tablespoons of all-purpose flour

¼ cup softened or melted butter

water to dough-i-fy

salt and pepper (and maybe a little cayenne – get creative!)

Mix the flour and butter together, then add the spices and enough water to make a stiff dough (I believe I used about ¼ cup but add it slooooowly). Roll the dough into 1.5 inch balls and set aside.

For the Soup:

1 onion, finely sliced

2 carrots, chopped

1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cup frozen or fresh broccoli

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon dried thyme

olive oil

4 cups vegetable stock

1 tin of coconut milk (or if you aren’t a fan of coconut milk, add ½ cup homogenized milk)

salt and pepper to taste

2 dried chilis, minced, or some cayenne pepper

In a large pot, sauté onions in a good glug of olive oil until softened, then add the carrots, coriander and thyme. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes and squash, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and turn heat to between low and medium, and cook for 15 minutes, shaking the pot around regularly. Stir in the vegetable stock and bring to boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to between low and medium, place dumplings on top, cover and let simmer for 35-40 minutes (time to go fold laundry!). Now stir in milk/coconut milk and the broccoli and let simmer for another 10 minutes (time to set the table!). Turn off heat, pop into bowls and top with chilis/cayenne pepper (add as much or as little heat as you need – myself, I like serious heat on those cold winter nights).

Serve with crusty bread, mixed greens and a nice glass of wine. Enjoy!

Ezmy blogs about her day to day goings on at ‘ezmy’. For ridiculous updates about stay-at-home mum-ing, follow Ezmy on Twitter: @ezmytweets.

As I am preparing my ‘gifting’ baking – the treats I make to give away – I made this easy and sweet chocolate bark.  It looks pretty and festive and tastes divine.

Ingredients:

White chocolate Wafers (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup-3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup-3/4 cup chopped, unsalted pistachios

Directions:

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate for 1 minute.  Stir.  Continue to heat for 30 second intervals and stir to help melt.

When the chocolate is melted, add chopped pistachios and cranberries.

Pour over baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Spread evenly. Allow to harden.

Break into pieces when fully hardened.  Package up or serve and enjoy!

This recipe is a tradition in my house, and for the first time my grandmother’s hand cookie press wasn’t working this year.  It made me very sad that I could use it (and get my usual cookie shapes) but instead I rolled the dough into a tube shape, let it firm up in the fridge and sliced it.  It was easy to do and the results are still tasty.

Enjoy!

Buttery Shortbread

*adapted from recipe originally posted on www.bitofmomsense.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup butter

1/2 cup corn starch

1/2 cup icing sugar

Food colouring (optional)

Directions

1. Combine ingredients until well blended into dough. Add food colouring of choice (optional). (the dough shouldn’t be dry – mixer does a good job of the dough)

2. Use cookie press to add to cookie sheet in desired shape.  If you don’t have a cookie press, roll dough into a tube/snake shape and wrap with cellophane wrap.  Put in fridge for 30 minutes or more then slice about 1/2 cm each.

3. Bake 300 degrees for 10-12 minutes (depending on size).

For those of you drooling looking for a new kitchen appliance to use, check out this giveaway on our ‘mother’ site, A Little Bit of Momsense.

Win 13-Cup KitchenAid Food Processor

Sometimes comfort food is also inexpensive.

This was a recipe we had growing up – it was simple, ingredients were almost always on hand, and it was rather inexpensive.  Now, I still make it and love it.  Enjoy!

~Rebecca

It’s the time of year when pulling out the bread maker is a must! Try this recipe and see if you can avoid eating it all in one sitting.

After attending Blissdom Canada earlier this month, one of the sponsors, Kraft Canada, gave out bags of their little Kraft caramels.

This is how I decided to use them:

For the chocolate cake, I used this 5 minute cake-in-a-mug recipe.  It made a tall mug that I cut for each guest.

To make the caramel, I microwaved some caramel squares and milk for about a minute, and stirred.  I drizzled that on the cake.

The ice cream is from local ice cream maker La Cigale in Chelsea, QC.

A perfect dessert!

Trust me on this one, treating cauliflower like potatoes is one of the best ways to prepare this under appreciated vegetable.   You’ll be using it as a side dish and fooling the family for many years to come!

Enjoy

1- Steam cauliflower until very soft.  Drain and add to empty pot.

2-Add 3 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper

Use and immersion blender to blend and cream.

3-Add additional salt and pepper (if desired) to taste

Serve and enjoy!

I recently started what I hope will become a tasty Friday night tradition for our little family: Pizza Night! Not wanting to spend
too much money, however, I decided to go ahead and try making my own. Turns out, pizza making is super easy and super fun! If you have a little dude or dudette to entertain, let them knead and punch the dough with you for pizza making good times.

This week’s toppings: fried mushroom, zucchini, and fresh basil with mozzarella. But you can put anything on a pizza, right?

Have fun!

Pizza Crust:

* 3 ½ cups flour

*2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

*1-2 tsp salt (I go low on salt because of the kid)

*2 tsp oregano

*1 tsp or so of cayenne (just to spruce things up a
bit!)

*1 cup warm water

*1/3 cup white wine (or more warm water)

*2 tbsp olive oil

In a big bowl, combine the warm water and yeast and let stand for about 5 minutes until the yeast has dissolved. Then add the rest of your ingredients and mix with your hands for one minute or so, until you have a ball of dough that you can knead. Now it’s time to work those pipes! Knead the dough for ten whole minutes – dough should be smooth and elastic-y.
Pop some olive oil in a bowl (I usually just use the same one the dough was in), lightly coat your pizza dough ball and then let sit covered and in a warm place for about 1-1 ½ hours (until dough has doubled in size).

Preheat your oven to 475°F and pull out your pizza pan.

If you are lucky enough to own a spiffy pizza stone, toss this in the oven to preheat for 40 or so minutes.

Now that your dough is all big and fluffy, work out some frustrations by punching the heck out of it and then divide it in two.

Roll one ball up and cover loosely to sit for 15 minutes; roll the other up, cover in plastic wrap and pop it in the freezer for next week.

While your dough is sitting, chop up your pizza toppings. Get creative and don’t forget your vegetables!

You’re finally ready to make pizza. Roll out the dough and lightly coat in a bit of olive oil. Be sure to press the dough down
so that there aren’t any bubbles. Now pop on your toppings, throw the pizza in the oven for 12-14 minutes or until the crust is all golden and eat up!

Many of Ezmy’s recipes are vegan or vegetarian – she was a vegan prior to giving birth to Ewan and continues to eat largely vegan cuisine at home. However, she does make the odd omnivore dish for A. and Ewan, and she has a special weakness for a good bit of cheese.

Ezmy blogs about her day to day goings on at ‘ezmy’. For ridiculous updates about stay-at-home mum-ing, follow Ezmy on Twitter: @ezmytweets.