A whole new "sugar-shack" experience

As the newest member of a group of Montreal food writers and bloggers (Uh-huh... me... Andrea... a "food blogger"... huh? Actually... it helps that I'm tight with one of the groups founders... but hey - whatever works!) I had the opportunity to jump in on a reservation that was made MONTHS ago for 25 of us to check out Martin Picard's new sugar shack - a spin off of his original and decadent restaurant Au Pied de Cochon which is located in the heart of Montreal's ever trendy plateau.

Not only is a sugar shack meal/outing an annual tradition for most people living in Quebec, maple syrup has this amazing quality - it makes anything and everything taste that much better. We are big fans of maple syrup in our house. BIG. FANS. So although I'm not used to eating things like chicken feet (yes. chicken feet) and cow tongue (!) I was up for the full and genuine "experience" of Au Pied de Cochon and I went it with the motto "try everything once". I have to add here that Brandon (who is not so adventurous when it comes to food) totally impressed me by going in with the same motto!

So... It was a beautiful but chilly March day. Reservations were for 11 a.m. and we arrived with some time to spare. The location was charming, a much smaller venue than I'm used to, rustic and in need of a little TLC. The service was excellent - absolutely no complaints, there was no rushing us in and out, but it was definitely not slow. The food was... interesting, unique, decadent (a little scary at times) and so completely different from what I'm used to.

When I tell people about the range of "pets" that we keep in our house, I always get funny looks. So before I tell you a little more about the critters that live in my basement (and that I don't consider MY pets- thankyouverymuch) I figured that I should start back at the beginning. Back when I met then man who would one day become my husband...

When I started dating Brandon back in High School, he was many things - popular, athletic, smart, good looking - pretty much ALL the things you're looking for in a guy when you're 16! As I got to know him a little better, I learned that he also had a few rather geeky attributes... (1) He was a "closet" D&D player (uh... yeah... Dungeons and Dragons!?!?) - something I found out totally by accident as he never offered the information on his own (the game books were hiding under his bed... if you can imagine that!). And (2) I've never met anyone as interested in animals as he is (which is no doubt what led him to complete a Bachelors degree in Zoology and a Masters in Biology).

Shortly after we started dating, he somehow convinced his parents to let him have a fish tank. Not just any fish tank though - he had to have piranhas. They were really just the beginning... after the piranhas, it was a gerbil. After the gerbil it was a lizard (or two? I don't remember). Somewhere along the way, he developed a pretty big interest in reptiles - and particularly in snakes. Yes. Snakes. His first snake was your basic ball python, a pretty small and calm snake that you can find in almost any pet store. Since then he has bought and owned and traded a number of different types of snakes. Yes. Snakes. (in case you missed that). Since then I have learned more than I ever thought I would about the creatures!



You wouldn't think so - but it turns out that snake keeping is like any kind of "collection" hobby or interest. There's an incredible range of what is available, what is special or unique and what they're worth ($$) There are snakes for $30 and there are snakes for $30K. I'm not kidding. $30K!

Before I go any further, let me just say that "yes" it's all a little creepy to me too. When the interest in snakes started - all I could picture was this stereotypical image of a greasy/creepy guy with longish hair, leather pants, unkept facial hair and tattoos. I've since learned that there are a lot of normal-looking people who own, breed, or are simply interested in reptiles. All the same - I still have trouble removing the stereotype image from my mind.

When people find out that Brandon keeps snakes as pets in our house (YES - IN MY HOME) the reaction is usually a questioning look followed by "You LET him have snakes?" "What about the girls?" "Isn't it dangerous?" "What do they eat?" "Where are they?"."Are they poisonous?". And when I got pregnant with Layla I was surprise how many people just assumed that the snake would go. Yeah... not so much.

People are funny though and most are actually very interested in the critters (as long as they stay at our house). I can't tell you how many visitors have asked for a "tour" of Brandon's "collection" or (worse) asked to watch a snake eat (uh huh... we're weird for having snakes, but you want to watch it eat... just for fun?!?!). On occasion, Brandon has even brought a snake or two to school to show his science class. He always comments on how much more attentive and captivated the kids are - proving that the allure of "show & tell" doesn't die off after grade school!

When we bought our house and started the renovations, we built a small room (to be fair it is actually more of a "walk-in-closet" than a room) for Brandon to keep his critters. Before you gasp or sigh or roll your eyes... let me just say that it works for us. I'm serious. I forget that they're there. The door has a lock on it so the girls can't get in. And Brandon is happy to have the space... and to pursue his hobby with no interference... or almost no interference from me.

Last summer he (we? I'm still not sure) decided to take the whole snake-keeping thing to a new level and try to start a small business. He (we?) borrowed some $ from our savings and bought a few "special" ball pythons to breed and hopefully make some babies that are worth more (hopefully MUCH more) than their parents.

We're currently in the "snakes doing it" phase of this process and don't know if or how this is going to pan out, but it makes for some rather bizarre and interesting dinner conversations - "the mojave ball is ovulating", "the spider ball won't eat", "the male and female are locked-up"... Only time will tell if there are babies being made... and if the babies are "special" or not (ie. worth a lot of money or not). Then we just need to find buyers. Are you interested?! ;-)

So... in case you're curious, the current head count in our basement reptile room is (as far as I know):

- 6 ball pythons (1 spider, 2 regular, 2 mojave, 1 pastel)
- 1 Suriname boa constrictor
- 2 green tree pythons (mother and son)
- 2 milk snakes (the only ones with names, Fan and Heater, named by Layla!)
- 2 leopard geckos (with babies on the way)

...oh... and the most recent addition is a praying mantis egg case (housing up to 100 babies) - GROSS. But not as gross as the cockroach colony that he had living/breeding in our walk-in closet at the old condo. ICK ICK ICK. That was bad. That will never happen again. That is another story for another day...

What can I say? I love him. If this isn't love (and by this I am referring to supporting his interests, no matter how different from my own) than I don't know what is...

A.

...So which are you? Grossed out? Interested? Neither?

This week I’m sharing not one, but TWO recipes with you.

The first is for super easy “no hassle” Creamy Tarragon Chicken (House and Home claims that it is one of their readers’ faves).

The second is a “…need to get started more than an hour before you want to eat…” recipe for Baked French Potatoes from my trusty copy of Jamie’s Food Revolution.

I have to start by saying that I am not the type of woman/wife/mom who picks meals that take a lot of time and several steps to prepare. Especially on week nights. Although I’m still off work (for another 2 weeks…eek.) and technically have more time for household tasks, I think that evenings are busy enough to begin with – without adding a complicated (or simply time consuming) supper prep. In short, I like to keep things simple and I like my food to come together quickly.

With that said… the chicken recipe definitely meets my weeknight dinner prep criteria – it’s simple, it’s quick, it’s yummy AND the chicken is cooking in the oven just long enough to steam some veggies and prepare some simple potatoes or rice. If you're going for "quick", I do NOT recommend the baked French potatoes that I’m about to share with you. These potatoes, while simple enough to put together (and yummy for sure), ended up taking more than 90 minutes to make. I don’t care how you want to turn that one, 90 minutes or more is simply not quick enough for a weeknight meal. Not now and definitely not when I’m working until 4:30 p.m. and want to have supper on the table by 5:30 p.m. (!) I’ll just have to save the potatoes for weekend meals. And I will.

They were that good.

If you decide to make both recipes, you’ll see that you have to start with the potatoes. A good 90 minutes (or more) before you want to be sitting down to eat.

BAKED FRENCH POTATOES (serves 4-6)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Put 3 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3. Meanwhile: peel and finely slice 1 ¾ lbs of potatoes, 1 lb of medium onions and 3 cloves of garlic. (*I recommend starting with the onions and garlic so that you can do the next step while you’re working on the potatoes) Pick the leaves from small handful of fresh Italian parsley and finely chop.
4. Pour a couple of lugs of olive oil into a large hot pan. Add onions, garlic and parsley. Slowly fry for 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and lightly golden. Add pinch of salt and pepper.
5. In large baking dish place a layer of potatoes, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and a layer of onion mixture. Repeat until you’ve used everything up, but try to finish with a layer of potatoes.
6. Pour in hot broth to just cover the top of potatoes, break up 2 pats of butter and dot over top.
7. Rub some aluminum foil with olive oil; place it, oil-side down, over the dish, and seal tight.
8. Place in preheated oven for 45 minutes, remove the foil, push the potatoes down and return to the oven for 20 – 40 (more like 40 in my experience) minutes until golden and crisp.

…Just after you remove the aluminum foil and put the potatoes back in, it’ll be time to start your chicken (about 30 minutes before you want to eat supper)

CREAMY TARRAGON CHICKEN (serves 4-6)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if you haven’t already got it going for the potatoes)
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, wide skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Pat down 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken supremes (*I used 8 drumsticks… because they were on sale this week and cost me only $2.50) with paper towel; season with salt and pepper.
4. Add chicken to skillet skin-side-down and cook 3-5 minutes, or until deep golden. Flip and cook another 2 minutes.
5. Transfer chicken to large baking pan and bake 20-25 minutes (or until cooked through).
6. Meanwhile: to make tarragon sauce: slice 3 large shallots and mince 1 small clove of garlic. Add them to the skillet and reduce heat to medium, cook for 4 mintues or until shallots have softened.
7. Add ½ cup dry white wine and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half.
8. Add 1 cup chicken broth, bring to boil and cook 3 minutes.
9. Strain, reserving liquids and discarding solids. Return liquids to skillet or small pot, bring to boil and whisk in ½ cup 35% cream and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard.
10. In a small bowl, mash 1 tablespoon butter or margarine with 1 tablespoon of flour. Add ¼ cup of hot chicken broth mixture and stir until combined (it will be very thick).
11. Add mixture to hot chicken broth and stir until combined.
12. Add 1 tablespoon freshly chopped tarragon and season with salt and pepper.
13. Spoon sauce over chicken to serve.

*Just so you know... the sauce is also EXCELLENT over the potatoes and steamed veggies, but if you’re counting calories, don’t do it!

And there you go... another 2 "trial" gourmet recipes that I think are worth trying... and might just become a part of your regular meal rotation!

Enjoy!

A.

Last month I shared a first "Making it Home" post with you. I recounted the barely believable list of renovations that we managed to complete in the first few weeks of owning our home. I posted before and after pictures of our kitchen, playroom and the girls rooms...


The original pipes were MUCH higher than we were expecting so some of them took a beating from the jack hammer. At least now everything is up to code (back-up valve and all!). But sheesh - with the price of plumbing, I should HOPE that things are up to code!

Last week was week 10 of "Ten weeks to HEALTHY in 2010"...

When I decided to take on the Ten in '10 challenge at the beginning of the new year, I had a few goals in mind.

1. RE-integrate exercise/fitness into my daily routine.

2. Prepare my body for the end of nursing (and potential weight gain that was/is sure to follow if I don't adjust my eating habits).

3. Become the active woman that lives inside my head... that I wish I was...

Well the ten weeks is up and so you deserve an update on my progress.

The short story is this - I FAILED... with a capital F.

The longer story ensues... (it's not that long, you can keep reading!)

I kept up with the weekly blog posts for about 3 weeks. After that it was too embarrassing to post "didn't do such a great job... am I pathetic?... where's my motivation?..." updates week after week. 10 weeks is both longer and shorter than it seems. Sigh.

So I obviously didn't get into a routine of exercising regularly in these past 10 weeks. I do however take comfort in a few things...

1. I walk the dog almost every day. It's not much, but it's something.

2. We've been doing renovations and although it isn't "traditional" exercise - lugging buckets of broken up ceramics or concrete up the stairs and outside has got to count for something. It certainly makes me sweat. It certainly makes me sore.

3. I'm learning things about myself. Where I do (well... mostly where I don't) find motivation. That I'm much more likely to actually get something accomplished if I write it down somewhere. that I'm much better at making plans and setting goals than I am at actually following through. Etc. Etc. Etc.

So what I am I going to do now?

With the nice weather arriving so early this year, it's tempting to start considering something as simple as "jogging". I can't believe I'm thinking this (let alone writing it) seeing as running for exercise is something I've always LOATHED.

At this point in my life, running seems like the only thing that makes sense... and the simplest form of exercise to integrate into my regular life. Why is that? For a few reason...

1) I'm already walking the dog every day, why not run with him?

2) We already have a good quality "jogging" stroller

and 3) It doesn't cost a thing to start (unlike the other ideas swimming around in my brain - buy an elliptical for the basement, join a gym, ...).

More than the simplicity, more than the good weather, more than the economic side of RUNNING - I've found a way to take it a step further. To make my goal to be more physically active something that isn't just good for me or an example to my girls...

What am I talking about?

Well... I've started looking into what I can do to make a difference for people affected by cancer (ever since following the story of Layla Grace) and among other things (Organizing a fundraiser, volunteering at the hospital, making a donation, growing my hair and donating it to locks of love...) I found Team in Training and the wheels in my head are turning...

So ten in ten is over but my quest is not. Now it's two-fold... and I just have to decide what I'll do and if this is how I'll do it.

(to be continued...)

A.

Finally right?

I've been talking about this chili since I made it for the first time a couple weeks ago.

*Cranberry-Maple Sausage Chili*


As much as I am a huge fan of anything that combines sweet and heat, I have to be honest and tell you I had my doubts about this one. I did. The recipe comes from an IGA (local grocery chain) recipe card and it was on Brandon's request that I decided to try it. Brandon. The guy who doesn't like chili in the first place. The guy who won't eat my home-made cranberry sauce. Huh?! I think he saw the word "maple" and got all excited :-)

The card rates the recipe as "easy" and I hope you know by now that if I agree and tell you that it's easy, it really is. I'm a very low fuss, keep it simple kind of girl... kind of cook... and I can't say enough how important it is for me (particularly in this phase of my life, with 2 small kids) to find the place where simplicity, healthy and tasty somehow come together. Not always an easy thing to find, right? Right.

This chili is so easy to make and the recipe gives you the option of preparing it earlier in the day and letting it simmer in your slow cooker OR putting it all together about an hour before dinner on the stovetop. The result is a incredibly tasty (if you like the whole sweet with heat flavour combination) twist on a classic household "go to" meal. It's the perfect comfort food for a cold fall/winter day, and with arrival of Spring and "maple" season - it's great for this time of year too.

Can you tell I'm a fan? Can you tell that I think everyone should try this one?

The Recipe for Cranberry-Maple Sausage Chili
(my modifications in Purple)

6 (4)servings; 15 minutes prep; 1 hour cooking time; easy

Ingredients

- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cranberry-maple sausages (6 mild italian sausages + 2 tablespoons maple syrup)
- 1 each: garlic clove and onion, finel chopped
- 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, with juice
- 3/4 cup low sodium vegetable cocktail
- 19 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 envelope reduced-salte taco seasoning (I took the shortcut here but it's just as easy to use some chili and cumin instead)
- 1 cinnamon stick
-1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 sweet yellow pepper, diced

Preparation

(Option 1: slow cooker)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat (I opted for no oil and used a non-stick frying pan. Sausages have enough fat on their own). Add sausages and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until well grilled. Turn sausages once halfway through cooking. Remove from pan and slice about 1 cm thick. Transfer to slow cooker.



2. In the same skillet, cook garlic and onion for about 2 minutes. Until both are lightly golden (I forgot to do this and just through it all in the slow cooker as instructed in the next step. oops.)
3. Add garlic, onion, tomatoes, vegetable juice, black beans, taco seasoning and cinnamon (and maple syrup) to slow cooker. Stir gently to combine. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

It's about 10 a.m.

The dog is walked. Supper is starting to simmer in the crock-pot. I would say that I'm having a pretty productive morning. Yes!

The little one is down for her first nap (which she desperately needs after her first few days of daycare and terrible napping). This is usually the time I devote to Layla... a craft, an activity, some quality one-on-one time with my "big" girl.

One look around the kitchen... do I clean up now? do I wait until lunch?

"Layla... do you want to help me do the dishes?"

It's really the perfect way to spend time with her and get something very practical done at the same time. She loves playing in the water, within 15-20 minutes all of my dishes are done and I have to convince her that it's time to do something else.