Archives for February 2018

by on February 27, 2018   •   56 Comments Bakeshop

How to make a Chocolate Icebox Number Cake

It’s no secret that I like to play around in the kitchen, and today’s birthday cake is a perfect example of such amusement.

My leap year baby hits double digits this year, and since there is no 29th this month, we celebrated with friends and family last weekend. In the past he’s had a chess cake, an ice cream cake, and various other confections, but this year he specifically wanted an icebox cake.

The icebox cake is also know as a chocolate wafer cake or a Zebra cake, and consists simply of Nabisco chocolate wafters and sweetened whipped cream. In Canada, people use Mr. Christie chocolate wafers, and the ‘recipe’ is everywhere. My kids discovered this dessert one Christmas, when we made Joy the Baker’s icebox Yule log, and have loved it ever since.

When Mateo requested an icebox cake for his birthday, I decided to raise the bar and have some fun in the process.

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by on February 22, 2018   •   5 Comments Quick Bites

How to serve up a DIY breakfast taco bar

The Olympics are almost over; is anyone else as addicted as I am?

The performances are so inspiring and the athleticism absolutely jaw-dropping. I was moved to tears by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s gold medal ice dance – and like the rest of the internet, I will continue to hope for a real-life romance (they actually train here in Montreal, not that far from where I live).

On a recent Saturday, when there was nothing but grey skies and freezing rain outside, the kids and I prepped the ingredients for breakfast tacos. Getting the little ones involved is part of the fun, and I can always use help grating the cheese or slicing the peppers. We spent a cozy morning watching Olympic snowboarding and munching on soft corn tacos. The kids assembled their own, customizing each to their tastes, and everyone was very, very happy.

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by on February 12, 2018   •   9 Comments School lunch

Double Chocolate and Maple Tahini Puffed Cereal Treats

I‘ve been packing school lunches for eight years and lunchbox treats are one thing I have down to a science, thanks to plenty of practice and a whole lot of honest feedback.

Today I’m sharing two versions of puffed cereal treats that I regularly make with my kids: Double Chocolate and Maple Tahini. They are no-bake, one-bowl, vegan recipes, with just a handful of ingredients, perfect for a kitchen project with little ones.

Yes these are based on the popular Rice Krispy treats, but you find that my version is a little more nourishing. I love to play around with puffed ancient grains such as millet or quinoa, I use natural sweeteners, stir in seed butter for protein, and leave out the marshmallows entirely.

Read on for two new recipes and then stir up a treat for Valentine’s Day with the kids.

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by on February 8, 2018   •   15 Comments Dinner

One-Pan Roast Sausages with Winter Vegetables

Hearty winter vegetables aren’t nearly as appealing as their lush summer counterparts, yet during these cold winter months, we have no choice but to embrace them day in and day out.

Fortunately, roasting brings out the best of winter vegetables, especially if they’ve been sitting in the crisper drawer for a while. I’ve always got a container of roasted vegetables in my refrigerator – onions, sweet potato, Brussels sprouts and so on – and I add them to everything from breakfast burritos to grain salads.

Today’s recipe is a simple one; a basic one-pan supper of sausages paired with an assortment of winter vegetables, roasted up together and finished off with a squeeze of (also roasted) lemon. It’s fast, it’s easy to clean up, and you probably have all of the ingredients already.

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by on February 2, 2018   •   8 Comments Breakfast & Baked Goods

Embracing winter with Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

During an interview, a podcast host once asked me if given the choice, would I prefer to stay in a cabin in the woods or a chic hotel in the city. You can probably guess my answer.

I find cities to be draining and nature is where I recharge. This is why I carved out an urban homestead for our family, even though we live in Greater Montreal suburbia. This is also why we jumped at the chance to hibernate for a few weeks in the deep woods when our extended family offered up their mountainside cabin to us last month.

I haven’t decided if I’m going to write about our trip to British Columbia yet (it would mostly be photos of mountains and the ski hill), but the decision to share this baked oatmeal recipe was inspired by those slow cabin mornings.

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