It's hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. The 2009 holiday season is really creeping up on me and I blame the particularly beautiful month of November (mild, sunny... wonderful!) that we've been enjoying in Montreal. I'm used to seasonal grey and somber weather that tends to push me into thinking about the holidays early as a way to lift my spirits. Not so much this year. With just over 3 weeks to go, I've barely made a dent in my Christmas shopping and I have yet to send out invitations or make plans for holiday entertaining.

I'm not completely unprepared though. I did have the good sense to think ahead and invite a bunch of ladies over for an old fashioned cookie swap. If you've never heard of one of these, the idea is simple and brilliant. Instead of baking up a frenzy during the already busy month of December (trying to have as many yummy baked goods and tasty treats on hand for when family and friends are visiting during the holidays) I will bake a gi-normous batch of one or two types of cookies or bars, invite others to do the same - and then we will "swap". Voila! The results will be a scrumptious variety of home-made desserts to offer my guests. Not bad, huh?

Nothing is ever quite THAT simple or THAT easy. Not for me. If I'm hosting this swap then I want to be sure that my contribution is excellent. So with 2 weeks to go before the cookie party I have begun trying out new Christmas cookie recipes! Way to take the simple out of something that is meant to simplify my holiday preparations! Ah well. I enjoy baking... and it gives me a fun activity to do with Layla. AND maybe I'll find a new favorite recipe??? Maybe.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer (with the paddle attachment) cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until incorporated. With mixer on, gradually add flour mixture. Beat until dough comes together.
3. Scoop dough into tablespoon-size balls onto a baking sheet line with parchment paper. Bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes) Transfer to wire rack to cool.
4. Meanwhile, stir together confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons water. Place wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Once cookies have cooled, top with icing. Sprinkle with sugar and let stand until set.

What? Lamb... again?! Be warned - this might go on for a few weeks! Now that we have 80 lbs of lamb in our freezer... well probably closer to 75 lbs now... (see Fill the Deep Freeze! if you don't know about that yet) I find myself looking for and trying out new recipes much more than usual. I'm a beef girl. Lamb is all new to me and I simply don't have the confidence yet to put it together without instructions. I have to admit that I'm really liking my "lamb" experience so far (and not just the fact that it's helping me with content for this series - though that is certainly a bonus). Last week we enjoyed delicious rosemary leg of lamb and the lamb and beer stew you're about to read about...

Everyone is good at something. We all have gifts and talents in different areas - it's what makes us unique and what helps us find our place in this world. Although I sometimes struggle with where exactly that "place" is for me, I do know that there are things that I'm good at. I have qualities that stand out. One thing that I've often been commended and/or praised for is my efficiency. I have knack for being able to get a lot done, in a short amount of time... and usually it's done well. Usually.

Sometimes I'm so efficient - it's to a fault (and I can't help but note here that it's interesting how my A.O.K "trial" Gourmet series is teaching me some valuable things about myself that have absolutely nothing to do with food or recipes). I have a really bad habit of skimming everything I read. Novels - after which I'm upset because I finished my book in 2 days or less and have nothing else to read. E-mails - I've been totally busted by my friends for this one. Instructions - what? I can figure it out... Recipes - ahem... my case in point! More than once I have missed out on something simply because I didn't take my time to read everything a little more carefully.

I've made little mistakes with recipes because of this problem. I thought I'd learned my lesson. When I decided to make the lamb and beer stew I read the recipe card, I made myself a list of the things I needed to pick up at the grocery store and I headed out... and this time...I picked up the wrong case of beer. I was eyeing a mixed case that included both red and blond beers. I picked up a case of blond. You can't make lamb and RED beer stew with blond beer but by the time I realized my mistake, it was time to put the beer into the stew! So lamb and BLOND beer stew it was.

The result? We don't actually eat much stew in our home to begin with so this wasn't a favorite with the family. Take this initial comment with a grain of salt because my family consists of Brandon - my picky eater of a husband, Layla - my picky toddler and Meaghan - who is too little and hasn't had enough food yet to decide if she's picky or not! Although it wasn't a "hit", Brandon said it was fine and that he would eat it again and Layla ate every piece of meat on her plate and was convinced to eat her vegetables with promises for more meat. My little carnivore. Personally I enjoyed my blond beer stew but would really like to know what difference the red beer and a little mint (which I forgot to add) would have made. I also found the stewed lamb brought out the flavour of the lamb instead of masking it. And I have one more "review" since I actually made a double-batch of this stew to bring some over to a friend for her and her family to share. Her response was "yummy" so let's go with that :-)

So what's next... lamburgers?!?!

Maybe a break from all the lamb... something sweet... and chocolaty...

A.

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Recipe for Lamb and Red Blond Beer Stew

A.O.K "trial" Gourmet is my very first series of posts related to a specific theme -FOOD!
(11) Crock Pot Braised Lamb Shanks (a little undercooked but so tender!)
(12) Yummy goodness in a big glass bowl! (Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle)
(13) Chocolate Espresso Snow Caps (Cookies that just melt in your mouth!)
(14) I have Ramekins (Mini scallop casseroles)
(15) A little help on this one (Lamb kefta in PC's Rojan Josh sauce)
(16) Simplified Beef Wellington (courtesy of Jamie Oliver)
(17) Cranberry-Maple Sausage Chili (sweet with heat - a new fave!)
(18) & (19) Baked French Potatoes & Creamy Tarragon Chicken (Just add green beans...)
(20) Maple-Roasted Chicken Breast (we LOVE maple syrup!)
(21) EASY baked salmon (dinner in under 25 minutes)
(22) Veal Parmigiana (NOT a hit with my family, maybe yours?!)
(23) Not so spicy (follow the instructions Andrea!)
(24) Pancakes (& my first Kilimanjaro fundraiser!)
(25) Sloppy Joes (I kid you not... and they were super tasty!)
(26) Home-made pizza (so much easier than I expected...)
(27) Spinach and Lentil Soup (what a day!)

I've been a little "dis-connected" this past week and so this post is coming a few days late. I have learned however, that when I spend less time online, I am much... MUCH more efficient. Although I'm on mat leave right now - between the girls, my blog (which I love love love writing!), book parties (if you didn't know, I recently became an Usborne books consultant... something else I'm really enjoying!) and whatever else (...) I swear I am busier than when I was working. Is it having 2 kids? Do I just have less energy? Is this a sign that I'm aging...?

This post is supposed to be about food isn't it? Not how efficient I am... or my lack of energy. Focus Andrea... focus!

So the lamb has finally arrived. 80 lbs of a variety of different cuts of lamb has been added to the deep freeze and I was pretty anxious to start trying recipes with the lamb as it's a meat that I've only ever bought pre-marinated and ready to BBQ. The next few weeks will be a learning process as I start to integrate the lamb into our regular meals.






For supper tonight we tried "Tranches de Gigot d'Agneau au Romarin" (Rosemary sliced leg of lamb doesn't seem like a proper translation but let's go with that!). My very first and most important comment on our dinner experience is that I am once again THRILLED with the meat bought from a nearby farm. Maybe it's partly in my head... but I swear it tastes better than store bought meat. We're already convinced that we'll buy our beef the same way again. And we'll wait and see how much we enjoy the lamb before making any decisions about buying another one (besides - we seriously have NO freezer space left right now).


The lamb we had for dinner was excellent... in texture, in flavour... yummm. I'm sure it would convert those who think they don't like lamb. My recipe (see below) came from an IGA recipe card - an "aide-gourmet" - and was very simple and easy to execute. The only thing that required extra time was making sure that I had the meat in the marinade 2 hours before dinner.







The instructions suggested serving the lamb with brown rice and Brussels sprouts. I opted for a rice medley and asparagus. So about 30 minutes before dinner, I prepared my rice (I use 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken stock to give it more flavour) and asparagus (which I almost always cook in the oven on a cookie sheet, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, at 400 for 5-10 minutes). Brandon helped by cooking the lamb on the BBQ.





The end result? I liked it. Brandon liked it. Layla liked it (the meat... we had a harder time convincing her to eat her vegetables). The recipe is a keeper and one I'll be doing again for sure. The mix of Dijon, maple, garlic and rosemary was very tasty!


We ended our dinner by sharing a bowl of plump Mexican picked raspberries. Layla enjoys putting them on the end of her fingers and eating them one at a time. She also loves it if you put a raspberry on the end of your finger and "kiss" one of her raspberry fingers with your own. Of course... Brandon and I join her for fun and then exchange a grin at the things we now do because we have kids. (As Layla gets older, these "grins" are occurring more and more often... when we find ourselves singing silly songs, doing silly dances, making animals out of pipe cleaners...).

Layla's RASPBERRY fingertips

What can I say? I love dinner time with my family. I love that we can be silly together. I am really enjoying this time in my life...

A.

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The recipe for Rosemary Sliced Leg of Lamb

Ingredients:

• ½ cup apple juice
• ¼ cup oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary (coarsely chopped)
• 2 slices of leg of lam (about 1 in. thick)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix apple juice, oil, maple syrup, mustard, garlic and rosemary/ Place slices of lamb in a freezer bag (or Tupperware container); add marinade and close tightly. Leave in fridge for about 2 hours.
   
2. Preheat BBQ. Grill lamb about 6 minutes per side (until the inside is just pink). Remove it from the flame and cut into the appropriate sized portions.

I introduced you to our family dog - Reuben - a few weeks ago. Now I'd like to introduce you to the cat. You know... the other creature that adds substantially to the accumulation of pet hair in my home (and has me vacuuming at least twice a week!).





Meet Reggie. The cat I thought I wanted. The cat Brandon swore he'd never have. The bain of Reuben's existence. And the reason I plan on never owning another cat - ever.


Reggie was the cutest little orange kitten (on a side note, did you know that almost all orange cats are male? there's a "fun" fact for you!). We bought him at a shady pet store and paid almost nothing for him. He "matched" the dog. We brought him home to our very first little condo, showed him the litter box and the rest is history... well not quite. He's only 5 1/2. We've still got a ways to go. I bet he'll be one of those cats that lives to 20 or something crazy like that!


So, first came the funny and wacky (annoying and destructive) kitten phase... Reggie clawed and climbed on the furniture (as well as all the way to top of the patio door screen!). He would run from one end of our little place to the other - jumping up to sit on the window sills in the bedroom and the kitchen. Not only did he turn Reuben into a crazy jealous pup, but he would "fight" with him, scratching and biting. And he kept me awake - driving me absolutely crazy playing with my hair at all hours of the night.


No matter what we tried, he was destroying our furniture and so we opted to have his front paws de-clawed. I know this is considered cruel by some but (in my defense) we did pay the extra for the pain killers afterwards in attempt to give him as much pain relief possible. Even so... I can still remember him shaking his little paw as if to say "y-ow" when he tried to jump up on the windowsill the first few days after his surgery.


Maybe that's when the "anger" started.

Reggie went from this wild little kitten to an anti-social and in some cases even hateful cat. He rarely comes out when there is company, only wants to be pet by Brandon (and only when he feels like it) and has terrorized a few different house/cat sitters that we've asked to come and feed him when we were away. He turns into a raging lunatic for 3-5 days whenever we bathe Reuben (which thanks to the type of hair Reuben has - isn't very often). I'm telling you though - the sounds that come out of him are straight out of some freaky horror movie (creepy!) He tolerates (and steers clear of) the girls and I am almost 100% certain that he doesn't like me at all - unless he wants to be fed - then he's Mr. PURR.


Isn't part of the joy of having a pet that they just love you for you? I guess that rule only applies to dogs? I know when I write this that not all cats are as anti-social and hateful as our little Reggie... but still... if he'd just love me a little... maybe I'd love him a little back.


You get more if you give more, right? Not so in Reggie's case. Layla still adores him. She gets incredibly excited if he sits still for more than 3 seconds and she can pet him (I think it's happened twice). Brandon thinks he's funny - though he actually does "cuddle" with Brandon from time to time - I guess he too, has some need for affection (once every 3-5 weeks or so). Even Meaghan has started watching and smiling at him. And... although I hate to admit it (and this doesn't mean I actually enjoy having him as a pet) I know I will be upset when he's gone.


But mark my words. I will not "replace" him. I will not own another cat. Reggie will be my one and only pet cat... ever. With that said, I will always be grateful to him for one thing - helping me to realize that I am NOT a cat person(!)

A.

One of my goals for this blog is to be honest with my readers. I want to keep things real. So here's what's been on my mind these last few days...

I don't think I'm a bad person. I don't even think I'm a bad friend. Any situation where there might be "bad blood" happened several years ago. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since. I've changed and matured.

Maybe you agree with Brandon. I should let bygones be bygones and move on. Invest my time in the friendships that I have now... the tried and true ones and the ones that are just starting to grow. In my current friendships I always try to see both sides of the fence. I lower my expectations (and try to remember that nobody else's life revolves around me). I recognize that being a good friend can sometimes mean saying I'm sorry and doing my best to avoid situations that lead to the need for an apology(!).

So... what about the old friends? The ones that I might have hurt (or who might have hurt me) along the way. Have they forgotten about it, about me? Would they appreciate or resent the idea of being able to reconcile?

Have you ever felt this way? What would you do in my shoes? (there's place for your feedback below...)