Happy Halloween From Us To You

Another Halloween has come and gone... I wish it lasted a week instead of just a day.

Mountain Girl - Quin's Latest Drawing

My eldest daughter, Quinlyn, who is 5 years old, spend A LOT of time drawing. I dare say, it is one of her favourite things to do. And one of my current favourite drawings is "Mountain Girl". We live in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Quin drew this out of the blue one day, and I immediately found a vintage frame to put it in. It is in our stairwell, and I smile several times a day as I go up and down the stairs.

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!! And 365 Days With Kiddos #35 - Make A List of What You Are Thankful For

Thanksgiving in the Canadian Rockies

Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday (next to Valentine's Day, since I am a romantic...). In Canada, today is Thanksgiving. I grew up in the US, where today is Columbus Day. I have the option now of having two Thanksgivings a year, but since I have been a vegetarian since I was 13 years old, I am not much for the turkey part of the turkey dinner, so we often only celebrate the October date. Maybe this year we will do US Thanksgiving, but with a twist. I know most people love their turkey dinner, but since they will have had it, maybe they can come to my US Thanksgiving....

Quin is looking forward to turkey dinner...

We had a lovely dinner at the home of friends last night. The weather was nice, very classically fall. My good friend, Karina Bergmans, joined us, as she is here for a three week artist residency at the Banff Centre.

Quinlyn, Karina, Emmanuelle & I

Today, the girls and I decided to take the time to write down some of the things we are thankful for. We each had a turn, and we each had many more things to be thankful for than we had room for on the page. Life is good! I think this is a fun and important exercise to do each and every year. We frequently talk about the things we are thankful for, but to sit down and spend some time thinking on it is important.

What we are thankful for... 

Birds remind me of my late grandfather... 

It is important to live in the present, which makes for amazing memories...

Do you have any Thanksgiving rituals you would like to share? Please leave me a comment below....

My Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Nothing like picking up this beautiful girl at the bus stop, then walking home amongst the raindrops & the golden leaves... makes an otherwise cold and grey day much more tolerable... 

Quinny's First Day of Ballet

I studied ballet and pointe for 12 years. I also learned tap, jazz, and character. I have fond memories of those days and have always hoped to join an adult ballet class. I am not one to push the things I like onto my children so when Quin asked to take ballet last year I was happy it was her own idea. And as long as she wants to study it, I will find a way to make it happen. This was her first day, earlier this week (I love her Converse High Tops with her ballet wear)...

The First Day of School

Emmanuelle enjoying summer...

Seriously, where did the summer go? I live in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where just yesterday, new snow fell on the lovely enchanted mountain tops. We only have about a month of summery weather, and I have to say, it is gone. Today, I wore a tank top, a long sleeved shirt, a fleece, and a scarf. My feet were cold in just one pair of socks. Winter is coming...

Quin's first day of school

...but first there is fall. My favourite time of year. I was married on September 20th, outside, in a warmer place, because I love the cool breezes and the changing leaves. This year, our big fall news, although it actually happened last week, in late August, is that our eldest daughter started school! She is in full time French Kindergarten. She loves it! She loves to see her friends, she loves to ride the bus, she loves to eat her lunch at school. She is a go-getter with a sunny personality and school agrees with her. What a milestone!

The last craft of summer vacation...

Her little sis, and I miss her around here. We miss crafting, art making, baking, and playing with her all day, but I am looking forward to all the days off of school when we can do that. They will be even more special. We were able to get lots of creative time in in the days before school started.

Now that it is fall, I will be blogging more. I promise. I hope you all had a good summer and are enjoying the last days of it...

365 Days With Kiddos - #34 - Arrange a Neighbourhood or Community Pot Luck

MMMMMMMMMM, baby pancakes...

Yesterday was a day of food, friends, & family. We started out the day with silver dollar pancakes at the diner down the street in the company of friends who were visiting from out of town. With only four adults to five kids aged six and under, we were definitely out numbered. The kiddos were great, and the bonus was that their pancakes were free! The daddies finished their meals early and took the kids outside to play, while the mommies had a few peaceful moments to chat.

An adorable crew! E is going through a phase where she is practicing getting dressed AND undressed...

For dinner, we went to the new community centre to the second community pot luck that has been hosted there. Over 80 people were in attendance, and while sausages and desserts were provided, community members were encouraged to bring a dish from their cultural background.

Part of our new community centre during a "global" pot luck...

I brought Pouding Chômeur, or welfare pudding, which is a part of our family's French Canadian heritage. I wrote a bit about its history and shared the recipe in this post. Because it was the only homemade dessert, and probably because it was soaked in maple syrup, it was gobbled up in about 10 minutes...

E is pleased with her meal...

Pot lucks can be great experiences for kids and adults. What better way to not only eat a variety of types of food, but it is always a good way to try new things. My husband and I like to try new things, and our kids follow suit. We also like to socialize, to get out and be a part of our community, and these pot lucks are a fun way to do that. Check and see if something like this goes on in your community and if not, why not arrange a pot luck with your neighbours or with some family friends. You can come up with a theme or make something that your grandmother used to make. In our community people are encouraged to bring their own plates, cutlery, and cups, to be more environmentally friendly. We were given a picnic basket for our wedding that we use all the time. I would love to read your comments about different ideas for pot lucks.

Q finished up the evening with some coloring fun she named "The Rainbow Blowup Fish"

Heureuse Saint-Jean-Baptiste!

From my eldest daughter, who was born in Gatineau, Quebec, "Heureuse Saint-Jean-Baptiste, tout le monde!" To our friends in Quebec, we hope that you all had fun celebrating the Fête Nationale (National Holiday).

Summer at Last... or 365 Days With Kiddos - #33 - Go to the Beach

...although it is cold and rainy as I write this. The girls and I were in Canmore about 5 PM, where I share a booth at the Thursday market with a group of nine artists, and as we took down the booth, the sun was shining. No sooner had we all gone to leave when the skies opened up and let loose. I got off the highway and turned around when the hail started and decided we would be better off having pizza in Canmore before heading back to Banff. It was the right choice since the power was out when we got home.

But YESTERDAY, the day after the solstice, we had the most glorious summery day. It was soooo nice that we headed to Cascade Pond to frolic with friends. The sunshine felt good on my back, I even got a bit too much. And the sight of the kiddos, in various states of undress, laughing and playing in the sand, was wonderful on the senses.

I even shot an image that today was shared online on the blog Toemail. As my toes emerged from months of being trapped in my shoes, I decided to make a photograph for them. I LOVE feet, but if you are phobic you may not see the appeal. The website features photographs of peoples' feet in various locations around the world. You would be astounded by the variety of images that can be produced using this simple concept. It is brilliant! And a nice way to record for all to see that we did, indeed, have one real day of summer here in the Rocky mountains...

Weekly Recipe - Happy St Patrick's Day Vegan Irish Stew & Sweet Guinness Quick Bread

I have not written a weekly recipe in so long that maybe I should call this feature the "Monthly or Longer Recipe"... I do apologize! Life has been handing me some amazing opportunities lately and, as usual, some challenges. I am the mom to two little ones, so my time is always too short for all the things on my plate. We are ALL busy, so this is no excuse, I just wanted to catch all of you up on my lack of posting.

So, Happy St Paddy's Day! My grandmother's father, Ira Stewart, was from Ireland. He was married to Gerta, from Sweden. They moved to Minnesota and were farmers. My grandmother, Harriett, has wonderful stories about growing up on a farm but she moved to the city as soon as she could and left the farm days behind her. Ira, was my great grandfather, and he was, well, a rather abrasive guy, until it came to me. He lived until I was 5 or 6 years old, and loved to hold me on his lap and to talk with me. I have fond memories of the small apartment he and my great grandmother lived in at a nursing home. My great grandmother used to pass me sugar cubes under the table and I would pop them in my mouth and suck on them until they melted. Today, I remembered my family...

I am not exactly sure how Ira would feel about the fact that I have been a vegetarian for 24 years. I adapted this traditional Irish Stew to make it vegan. Both of these recipes are great during the winter months, not just on St Paddy's Day.

Vegan Irish Stew
Makes 6 - 8 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time one hour

Ingredients
~ 4 cups vegetable broth
~ 4 cups water
~ 2 medium yellow onions
~ 3/4 cup pearl barley (rinsed)
~ 1/2 teaspoon salt
~ 1 1/2 lbs potatoes with skins (waxy, not russets)
~ 1 14 oz can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)
~ 3 large peeled carrots
~ 1 - 2 celery stalks
~ 2 tablespoons tamari
~ 1/4 teaspoon thyme
~ 1/4 teaspoon rosemary
~ fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Cut all the vegetables into large chunks. In a large pot combine water, vegetable broth, barley, onions, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook at medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add in the potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes. Add the carrots, chickpeas, celery, tamari, and spices and cook for another 30 minutes on low. Enjoy with Irish soda bread or the Guinness bread below...

Guinness Quick Bread
Makes one loaf
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 50 minutes

Ingredients

~ 1 1/2 cups non-bleached all-purpose flour
~ 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
~ 1 teaspoon baking powder
~ 3/4 cup brown sugar
~ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
~ 1 12-ounce Guinness (that leaves some of the pint for drinking...)
~ 1 cup walnuts, chopped
~ 1/2 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients and pour into greased loaf pan. Bake 50 minutes. Serve right out of the over with butter or room temperature.

365 Days With Kiddos - #26 - Teach Your Kiddos (and Yourself) To Laugh in the Face of Frustration

Emmanuelle, after "The Cocoa Incident"...

I have bad days... yes, it is true. We all do. Sometimes, I feel like maybe I present too rosy a picture of my life on this blog. I am an energetic person and I like to be upbeat, optimistic, and positive. But, of course, I am not always this way. I get frustrated, angry, and impatient. I am better about this, in a way, now that I have kids, but I am also tested on a much more frequent basis than before I had kids. I had all the patience in the world when I was a portrait photographer who mostly worked with pregnant moms, babies and kids. That's because they weren't MY kids. I remember thinking I would be infinitely patient with my own kids. Um, hmmmmm, am I? It depends on the day and the situation. I do think I am learning patience, but sadly, I can be less patient with my own kids than with those of others. Before kids I thought I would usually be on my best behavior, in control of my emotions, the bigger person, the shining example for my own kids. Hahahahaha! I think a few people did point out to me that it was a nice thought but...

This brings me to one of several trying incidents in our house this week. And to the fact that I sometimes surprise even myself...

Quin had asked me for cocoa. It was a good day for it so I set to work. The milk was heating on the stove, the Cocoa Camino was open and had a spoon in it, and all I needed were the marshmallows. I climbed onto the step stool, and reached for the bag on the highest shelf in the cupboard and then lost my grip. The next few moments were in slow motion, like in a movie, as the full bag of marshmallows dropped from up high directly down onto the end of the spoon that was in the cocoa container. The spoon flipped up, somehow sending the entire can of cocoa powder flying 6 feet to the left, dumping DIRECTLY onto the forehead of poor Emmanuelle who was innocently minding her own business. It beaned her on the head with a clatter and covered her in the cocoa that had not already spilled onto the stove top on the way to her head.

She was completely startled, not to mention covered in cocoa; her eyes, her nose, her mouth, her shoulders... She started screaming because she was scared, she was inhaling cocoa powder, and, well, it hurts to be knocked on the head with a can. Quin was now shrieking because of the loss of the precious cocoa and the fact that there was a huge mess (she and my mother share a fondness for order..). I rushed over to dust off my baby and to try to soothe her. At the same time, I was telling Quin it was OK. This is where I would normally have started muttering about the huge mess I now had to clean up on the stove, the floor, and the baby.

I would have normally started removing Emmanuelle's clothes, told Quin not to move because of the mess on the floor, and basically started feeling sorry for myself because of the added chore. But do you know what? Now that Emmanuelle was clearly ok, I looked around, and I started laughing. And I kept on laughing, even when Quin looked at me like I was crazy (and it was a genuine laugh NOT a crazy laugh). And because she was looking at me like that, I realized that I NEED to show her how to laugh at a situation like this. I NEED to laugh at myself and these types of incidents more often. I NEED to teach my kids that set backs and unforeseen challenges are not always a big deal and that laughing can instantly make you feel better, much better than yelling or feeling sorry for yourself.

Emmanuelle, Miss Happy-Go-Lucky, whose first inclination is to smile about anything, understood right away. She bent down and started writing with her finger in the powder, then she showed me her finger.

Seeing this, Quin started to loosen up, and I explained to her that sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves and at situations that are out of our control. I explained that not everything should be taken so seriously. I finished making the cocoa, complete with marshmallows, and I even gave a little to little Emmanuelle, who deserved it. The three of us laughed, and talked, and drank cocoa, BEFORE we cleaned up the kitchen.

Vintage Find - My Cousin's 1950s Themed Christmas Card (Think Norman Rockwell...)

Happy Holidays, compliments of The Krikkens

Ok, I had to share this with you! This vintage find was sent direct to my door, by my husband's cousin, Amy Beth (whom I incidentally knew BEFORE I knew my husband). I would have posted it earlier but our local mail being what it is, I didn't get it until after New Year's (along with about 20 other cards!). Amy Beth and her husband, Ramon, a photographer like myself, go all out for their annual holiday card. I am always in awe of his card. The thought that goes into them, the staging that is done, and the flawless execution of their idea is always incredible. And it doesn't hurt that they have THREE adorable boys to use as models. Great job, Ramon & Aim, spreading laughter, joy, and cheer to your friends and family far and wide!

Weekly Recipe - My Swedish Pancakes (Using Whole Wheat Pastry & Barley Flours)

Have you ever bought something at a yard sale or thrift shop that you could not identify? I have a thing for cast iron pans. I love them, I use them, I give them to others and hope that they will love them. At this point, I have as many cast iron pans as one household could need, a 12", a 10", a square one with ridges for grilling, and a 9" crepe pan that is thin and super light for swirling around batter in the pan. I really didn't need anymore... then one day, I came across a cast iron pan with seven recessed circles in it. And when I flipped it over, a ribbed flower pattern on the bottom (I should take a picture of the bottom...). I had no idea what it was for. I thought maybe for eggs, but thinking of my egg poaching pan I knew the wells were too shallow. I am a bit of a kitchen gadget and equipment nerd but have been stumped before. Anyway, whatever it was for, I knew it was a specialty pan like my madeleine pan and my Nordic Ware mini bundt pan. I knew I would one day figure out what it was for and kick myself for not buying it. Especially since it was $3! Plus I thought to myself, it is so flat that I can store it under the lazy Susan in the corner cabinet where I store my pots and pans...

... which is exactly where it stayed until my birthday this past November. That is the morning that I woke up thinking I wanted to make a pannekoeken, a traditional Dutch pancake that is cooked in a skillet in the oven. I have eaten them, have a great Dutch cookbook series, but have never made them. And yes, my idea of fun, on my own birthday, is to cook something I have never made first thing in the morning. I am not a morning person, but I am skilled at breakfast making, and the thought of a hot pannekoeken was all the inspiration I needed. My daughters agreed and I jumped online to find a recipe for Swedish pancakes, BECAUSE the whole time I had been thinking about making a pannekoeken, I had been calling it a Swedish pancake. I had my countries and breakfast foods mixed up, hence the reason I didn't go and look the recipe up in my Dutch cookbooks! And am I ever glad I got mixed up. In fact, I believe that my Great Grandma Gerda, from Sweden, was looking down on me that day, because as I looked at the first image that popped up from my search for "Swedish pancake" I SAW MY CAST IRON PAN!! And, I started dancing around the kitchen with my wee ones, laughing, and brandishing the pan that I NOW knew was a Swedish pancake pan! HAHAHAHA. The reason that I had never know about this pan, since my grandmother, Harriett, daughter of Gerda, did make pancakes for me, is because she just made them in a regular pan. Which you can totally do. So, no worries if you don't have a "special" pan like me, you will be a-ok, and very happy that you followed the recipe for Swedish pancakes below. I have tweaked this recipe to fit our tastes and these pancakes are different than crepes, pancakes, and pannekoeken. They are richer, thinner, but moister than a traditional pancake. Give them a whirl. They made my birthday extra special and when I spoke with my grandmother Harriett on the phone, while I was making them, they made her happy as well. She has been losing her short term memory but when I told her I was making Swedish pancakes I could hear her voice change and it was like she was back on the farm as a kid. She was excited and it touched my heart because since my grandfather died she is never very excited. As I hung up the phone I felt happy to have made her day and happy to know we can now make pancakes that will always remind me of her.

Swedish Pancakes
By Tiffany Teske
Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients
I use organic ingredients whenever possible.

~ 3 eggs
~ 2 T sugar
~ 1 cup milk
~ 1 cup half and half OR buttermilk (you can use all milk but they will not taste as rich)
~ 3 T melted butter
~ 1/2 tsp sea salt
~ 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
~ 1/4 cup barley flour

Directions

1. Using a wire whisk beat the eggs, sugar, milk, half & half or buttermilk, and the melted butter for one minute.
2. Slowly add the flour while continuing to mix. When the flour is completely added blend for an additional 30 seconds.

3. Heat griddle or pan. When griddle or pan is hot, grease with butter or cooking spray. Pour pancake batter in a large circle for crepe size pancakes or small silver dollar size pancakes. They will cook quickly.

Flip when the underside is golden brown and the upper side has an opaque look. They are done when both sides are a golden brown.

4. Serve hot with maple or fruit syrup, powdered sugar, applesauce or, with Lignonberries.