Happy Anniversary

Four years ago, I was nervous, excited and thrilled that my childhood dream was coming true. I was going to get married. It was a perfect day for a wedding - warm and brilliantly sunny with a perfect blue sky - the last day of September was hanging onto Summer while hinting at Fall as the trees were just starting to show their beautiful, rich colors. Everything was perfect and the day went off without a hitch! Now, here we are 4 years later and Jay and I have made a life and family together. Now, everything is not always as perfect as our wedding day, but nothing is every easy right? A marriage is something that requires constant hard work and love between two people. We have had great times and adventures, with many more to come and the most important event (at least to me), the birth of beautiful Arabella! So on this day, I just want to thank you Jay, for being a great husband (and dad). Happy Anniversary, I love you!

I remember how nervous I was walking down those stairs, and you can see it in my face!



We made it! And I bet Jay is thankful that the planning is over and he can now not have to say "Sure, whatever you want" anymore!

My perfect flowers!

And the icing on the cake was our cake! So delish and we still get compliments on it!

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

I love biscotti. Every year at Christmas, I make biscotti. And when I saw the recipe in my October 2010 issue of Chatelaine for Pumpkin Spice Biscotti, I had to try it. I couldn't believe how easy it was and how wonderful the kitchen smelled while it was baking. Everything about this biscotti is perfect - the color, consistency, flavor and texture. The pumpkin is not overpowering and the amount of spice was just right. And the coarse sugar on top adds just the right amount of sweetness. Now all I need is a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte and I will be all set!

The finished biscotti!

Ready for the second baking.

Arabella & Teddy patiently waiting for the biscotti to cook.

Into the oven it goes!

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti*
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted raw shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coarse sugar

PREHEAT oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir flour with sugar, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spice, baking powder and salt.

IN a separate bowl, whisk eggs with pumpkin purée, butter and vanilla extract. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir to combine.

TRANSFER dough to a lightly floured surface. Shape into 2 long, flat logs, about 2 in. wide and 1/2 in. thick. (Dough will rise as it bakes.) Sprinkle coarse sugar on top of logs, pressing gently so it adheres. Bake for 30 min, until centres are firm to the touch.

REMOVE from oven and let cool 5 min. Reduce oven temperature to 275F. Using a serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2-in. pieces. Place cut-side down on the baking sheet and bake an additional 35 min. Cool completely on a rack.

*Recipe is from the October 2010 issue of Chatelaine magazine.

Let's Get Cooking!

Now that Fall has arrived and the cooler weather is upon us, I am ready to spend more time in the kitchen cooking. This weekend we had our friends Francis, Helene and their son Liam over for dinner and I decided to try out a few new recipes*. We decided on a low key dinner of homemade pizza, Caesar salad, wine and pumpkin & chocolate cheesecake bars. For the pizzas, I made 4 different types - an olive pizza just for Arabella since that is what she requested, a margarita pizza, a "all-dressed" (that is what the call a pizza with everything on it here) and then the new recipe was potato pizza with caramelized onions and rosemary. While making the dough, cooking the sauce from scratch and chopping fresh herbs, I was also caramelizing onions (my first time, and they came out great). The house was beginning to smell like a true Italian kitchen. And the potato pizza was a hit, it even passed the test of 11 month old Liam! All of the flavors complimented each other nicely and it was a nice change from your typical pizza.



Potato Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Rosemary
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1/8 tsp sugar
225 g new potatoes (about 5 small)
1 recipe pizza dough
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup crumbled feta
1/3 cup coarsely grated parmesan

HEAT medium non-stick frying pan over medium. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onions and cook 1 min. Reduce heat to low. Stir in sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until onions caramelize, 25 to 30 min. If they stick to pan, add a bit of water.

PREHEAT oven to 425F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet or pizza pan with olive oil.

BOIL a small pot of salted water. Thinly slice potatoes, then add to boiling water. Cook 5 min. Drain and pat dry. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and potatoes. Cook until golden, about 2 min per side. Keep warm.

ROLL dough out into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, pressing to fill the whole sheet. Brush with olive oil. Spread with caramelized onions, leaving a narrow border. Top with rosemary, potatoes, feta and parmesan.

BAKE until edges are golden and crispy, about 25 to 28 min.

Next up were the pumpkin & chocolate cheesecake bars and they were so good! Not too sweet and the perfect combination of flavors. Although, Jay and Francis would have liked more chocolate on the top, but then again, they both love anything with chocolate! I was surprised at how easy the bars were to make and will definitely be making these again. I have already had a request from Lori that I make them when she visits for Halloween!



There are a bunch more that I want to try and later today, Arabella and I will be making pumpkin biscotti, yum! I will let you know how they turn out.

Pumpkin & Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp finely chopped candied ginger
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp each nutmeg and salt
250 g pkg regular cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tbsp whipping cream (35%)
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

PREHEAT oven to 350F. Line an 8-in. square baking pan with parchment paper, letting paper overhang the pan’s edges. In a medium bowl, stir crumbs with candied ginger and butter until evenly moist. Press over bottom of an prepared pan. Bake in centre of oven until edges are golden, about 10 min.

WHISK egg in the same bowl (no need to wash). Whisk in pumpkin purée, sugar and seasonings. Cut cheese into cubes. Using an electric mixer, beat cheese into pumpkin mixture, scraping down sides of bowl if needed, until well mixed.
Pour over warm crust. Bake in centre of oven until filling is set when pan is jiggled, about 25 min. Cool completely on a rack.

HEAT cream in a small saucepan over medium-high until hot, 2 min, or microwave uncovered on high for 1 min. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spread over cooled filling. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 1 hour. Use parchment paper to lift square out of pan, then slice into 20 bars. Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 1 month.

*Both recipes are from the October 2010 issue of Chatelaine.

Les Pommes

This morning, we went to pick apples. It turned out to be perfect apple picking weather, not too warm or too cool, and the sun kept peeking out through the clouds. We took a tractor ride from the farm to the orchard and Arabella really liked the ride. They had Cortland, Macintosh and Spartan apples to choose from today and we picked 2 bags full...I actually made sure the bags were overflowing since I think we got overcharged for the apples. (It cost us $2 a person and then they charged $15 a bag (which supposedly holds 18 pounds of apples) so for all three of us it cost $36!) I remember when I was growing up and we would go to Lyman Orchards - you picked as many as you wanted and then paid by the pound. Personally, I think that is the way it should be and they would probably sell more apples. Putting that aside, we had a great time. Arabella picked an apple right away and started eating it. It was so cute. She loved to pull them off the trees and load up the bags. She also thought it was a lot of fun when Jay would hold her up to the top of the tree so she could reach the apples way up high. We had fun running in the orchard and enjoying the fresh fall air. After we filled our two bags, we headed back on the tractor and then checked out some of the animals and the hay maze. Arabella and Jay crawled throughout the maze and worked up an appetite for some apple muffins. It was such a nice way to spend a Saturday morning. Now all I have to do is find a few recipes for apples!

Party Time

Yesterday after playgroup, Arabella and I attended her friend Cristina's 3rd birthday party! The theme was ladybugs and Carrie, Cristina's mom, did a great job decorating and with the cake! Arabella had a fun time and enjoyed playing with all of her friends and being able to celebrate with Cristina. Happy 3rd Birthday Cristina!

Ecomuseum

On Monday, Arabella and I met some other mom's and tot's Wee Wiggles at the Ecomuseum. It was a great outing and so close to our house which was nice since we were meeting at 9:45 in the morning. It was the perfect day to be outside, a little chilly in the morning but it warmed up nicely. The Ecomuseum is a private, non-profit, educational wildlife park where you can observe animals and birds in their natural habitats. There were deer, caribou, owls, fox, coyote, bears, porcupines and other animals that all the kids went crazy for. Once we walked the whole site, we had a picnic lunch outside and then the kids ran around and had so much fun they wore themselves out! Arabella enjoyed it so much, we will definitely be going back!

Thursday's Thoughts

Hearing: Lady Gaga's Poker Face play over and over in my head - Arabella is in love with the song (I know, I know, not the best choice of music for a 2 year old), but I just can't resist when she asks for it or the pleading is too much and I just give in.





Tasting: Asparagus and Sweet Basil soup.

Seeing: Clouds and an overcast sky, a sure sign that Fall has arrived.

Smelling: A Mexican spiced pumpkin candle from World Market.

Feeling: Tired but knowing I need to workout while Arabella is napping since I missed my 5:30 am workout this morning.

Laughter Brightens A Rainy Day

This morning while I was cleaning up the camera's memory stick, I came across this video of Arabella and Grammie playing. I love how you can hear them both laughing, it brightened up this rainy morning!

Future Ice Princess

One of the things that Arabella loved to do last winter was watch the older kids play hockey at the rink in the neighborhood park. She also loved to watch it on TV. When we received the town newsletter with all of the programs that they offer, I asked her if she wanted to do skating lessons and she said yes. So when we were in Connecticut, I made a trip to Play It Again Sports and got her the necessary equipment so that she could start skating lessons. She was so excited to try on the ice skates in the store and was even more excited to show Jay all of her equipment when we got home. Her lessons start in 2 weeks and I will be taking the class with her which may prove comical since I have not been on ice skates in almost 10 years! Hopefully her enthusiasm for the sport carries through her lessons. Stay tuned.

Tall Ships

Yesterday, we headed to Old Montreal to see the tall ships that were docked in the Port. I read about it online and thought that it would be fun to take Arabella to see them and the weather was perfect. I also read that it was free to get on the ships, but no such luck. There was a fee involved, not sure how much since the line was over an hour long to purchase your tickets and then you had to wait in line for another hour just to get on the ships. So instead, we looked at them from afar and walked around enjoying the late Summer (yes, it is still Summer) weather. Arabella even had a caramel apple and then we enjoyed a nice lunch outside. It was the perfect recipe for fun!









This picture is of the masts in the distance, I was surprised at how tall they were and I thought it looked pretty cool to see them towering over the trees.

Sorry for not having more pictures, I forgot to charge the camera battery again...I promise I will work on not letting the battery run out!

Fun For Arabella And Me

One of my saving graces here in Montreal has been the Wee Wiggles! It is a fabulous group of moms who are locals as well as expats like me. We always have so much fun when we get together with the Wee Wiggles and last week was no different. The fun started on Thursday night for me when I joined a group of moms to do some beading. Now I am so not creative when it comes to making jewelry, but I figured it would be a fun time to just get out and socialize over some sangria with other adults! So while Jay took Arabella out to dinner, I headed to Bijoux Melly Belle Beads in Vaudreuil-Dorion, which is off the island to try and make a bracelet. I never thought it would be so hard to pick out beads - there we hundreds to choose from and I just could make up my mind. I finally settled on neutral grays, deep blues and black and I just love what I came up with. There is also a tiny pink Swarovski crystal at the very end - just a little finishing touch.



Anyway, the evening was so much fun and I just love the women that I have come to know through the Wee Wiggles. We have a great time every time we get together and I look forward to our outings with and without the kids!

Speaking of having fun with the kids, Arabella and I go to a Mom and Tots Group on Friday morning and most of the same moms belong to this group as well. It is a lot of fun since the kids get a chance to run around and play and we get to chat over coffee! Either way, it is a win-win for all of us! Last Friday, after the group, Arabella and I headed to Laura and Allyson's house for some lunch and more playtime for Arabella and Allyson. Our friends Christoper and June were also there for a little while and the kids had fun enjoying lunch together before Christoper and Jun had to leave. After lunch, Arabella and Allyson ran around and were like two peas in a pod. They are so similar, they are just a month apart in age and have so much fun! They both have teddys and didgys that they seem to have to take everywhere with them. It was so nice to see Arabella having such a fun time playing and sharing! It was a great morning for all of us and we look forward to having more fun with Laura, Allyson and the other moms and tots!

Westbrook

Over Labor Day weekend, Dad, Arabella and I spent a day going to visit the Aunts at the Beach House. We packed up early and headed down to the beach with Dad's boat. We took the back roads through Middletown, Durham, Madison and a few other towns, which was nice since it was a perfect sunny day. Arabella ended up falling asleep on the way and it was a good thing since all she wanted to do was play on the beach when we got there. We ended up putting the boat in at Pier 76 and taking it around the point to the beach house. Arabella was amazed by the "singing bridge" and liked when we went underneath it. There was a lot of boat traffic through the marina and Arabella loved seeing all the sailboats. jet skis and power boats. She even wanted to help Dad/Grampy drive the boat! The ride was a little bouncy, but Arabella didn't seem to mind and she smiled the whole ride. It was so nice to be out on the water and in Long Island Sound again.











When we arrived, Aunt Moona met us on the beach. Arabella ran right to her, it was like she had been going to this beach forever. She knew exactly where to go. We had a nice lunch and spent time visiting with Aunt Moona, Aunt Rose and Cliff. After lunch, Aunt Moona took Arabella to play on Moona Beach, our family's private beach. Growing up, we used to call it the sand box since it was just one big "box" of sand. We spent countless hours on Moona Beach never having to worry if the tide was going to wash away our castles. I forgot to bring Arabella's sand toys but she had fun anyway (and I forgot to charge my camera battery so some of the pics are not the greatest since I had to take them with my cell phone). She also played on the sand bars. She loved it! We made dribble castles and searched for hermit crabs. She also found a few dead crabs and would insist on picking them up and showing them to us, no matter how bad they smelled! After a fun filled beach day, we had to say goodbye to the Aunts and promised that we would be back to spend a few days next Summer at the beach. We took the boat back to the marina and then headed to Lenny & Joe's for some yummy seafood!! It was the perfect way to spend Labor Day.































It was a little hard for me to be back at the beach. I spent every Summer, for the whole Summer, for 25 years, at this beach just like my father had growing up. We would arrive the week after school let out and not go home until a few days before school started. It is hard to believe that I haven't been back for almost 10 years. I crawled on the sand bars, learned to float on my back in the water, made sea weed soup and went crabbing, had mud fights on the sand bars with my friends, jet skied with my boyfriend, got hurt on the jet ski and learned my lesson, took walks to Salt Island at low tide, enjoyed bon fires and fireworks and grew to love the beach and all its treasures. I/we spent countless hours sitting on the beach, never thinking at we would grow up or that the Summer would end. I never realized how lucky we were to spend our Summers there and now that we don't it makes me miss it so much. I planned my life there, what I was going to be and do. I never realized how much the beach played an important part in my life and how things were "supposed" to be until I went back. I always thought that my children would be able to spend their Summers at the beach, our beach, like my brother and I did. I was so happy that I was able to bring Arabella to that same place. And I know that the love of the beach and ocean has been passed on to her. Like it is in my blood, it is in hers. I couldn't drag her away from the beach and I didn't want to. We could have stayed until the sun went down and we both would have been happy. I made friends and memories at this beach that will be with me until the end. I know that I am happiest when I am on the beach and I think that it is because I grew up there. The sea calms me, the smell of the salt air refreshes me and feeling sand between my toes - well there is nothing else like it.