A few words of caution...

1. Multi-tasking can be dangerous
2. Drinking while working in the kitchen might seem like a good idea... but...
3. When one is having a week where everything one touches goes wrong - one should reconsider making jam (especially if one has never done it before!)

...with that out of the way, let me tell you about my very first jam making experience.

Around this time last year I was invited to my first "jam swap" party. Having never made jam or even considered "canning" - my first reaction was to think of excuses not to participate. A few days later I changed my mind when my monthly issue of Chatelaine featured an article with delicious looking canning recipes - in particular a chipotle salsa recipe. I decided that I could be domestic and try the whole canning thing AND bring something a little different (and a little spicy) to the jam swap. A friend came over and we spent an evening chopping, cooking and canning "Andrea's spicy chipotle salsa". We had fun, I learned how to make salsa AND how to can it! Success!

When I received my invitation to this year's jam swap (AND a virtual jam swap!) - I knew I wanted to try my hand at actual jam. Since my favorite pick from last year's swap was a cranberry and apple jelly (thank you Miranda!) and Brandon's favorite fruit is raspberry I started looking for apple raspberry jelly. My initial search told me that jelly seems like a lot more work than jam. So I started looking for an apple raspberry jam recipe and found this one on http://www.thepassionatecook.com/.

Although I picked the recipe weeks ago, I procrastinated and put off the actual jam making until this week. What bad planning on my part. Not only was this week one of those weeks when everything I touched seemed to go wrong in some way - but it didn't give me a lot of time for a plan "B".

So on Monday evening, after the girls were tucked in for the night - I opened a bottle of red-wine (another birthday present... a very good one!), assembled all my ingredients, started the dishwasher "sani-rinse" cycle on the jars, set up the laptop on the kitchen table to "tweet" and write my "Dear Meaghan" blog post... and I got started. For some reason I thought it would be a relaxing evening... sipping on my wine, stirring the simmering jam every once in a while, thinking about my baby...

I cut up my apples. I dumped all of the ingredients into a big pot. I waited for the raspberries to start giving off some of their juice before stirring everything together.

Then I sat down at the laptop. I sipped my wine. I checked my e-mail. I started writing about Meaghan.... I lost track of time. I could hear the mixture bubbling, but I wanted to finish one more sentence... and then just one more...

And then... the smell hit. Burning fruit or burning sugar - something was going wrong with my pot of jam! It still looked delicious, but the bottom of the pot was bumpy with burnt "stuff".

When I tasted the jam I couldn't tell if it tasted burnt or if it just smelt that way. I took my chances, changed the contents to another pot and after letting it simmer a little longer, I started the canning process. Then I went to bed.

The next morning we opened one of the jars to try the jam that "Mama" made. The smell that wafted out of the jar very closely resembled the smell of the smokey kitchen from the night before. After tasting it, we all agreed that it wasn't very good... and later that morning I emptied the rest of the jars into the garbage can. What a waste of good fruit. What a waste of time. My first thought - I hate canning. I can just buy jam. Why make it?

I've calmed down a little bit since! In hindsight the canning process was actually a success (all of my jars were sterilized and sealed properly). And I learned a valuable lesson (or two... or three).... the most important being that if a recipe says to stir "constantly" - forget multi-tasking and "focus"!

And so... my contribution to this year's virtual jam swap is a flopped attempt to make what looked like a delicious raspberry apple jam. My contribution to this year's "real" jam swap was chipotle salsa (yeah. I made it again!).

Hope you're having better luck if you're canning this year!

A.

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This post is my contribution to the "UtHC virtual jam swap"

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For an introduction to "AOK (trial) Gourmet" click here.

From one impromptu date night to tuna and asparagus on our dinner table...

Help! I don't know where my motivation to workout has gone, but it's missing. And it's been missing for a few weeks now. Is it the change in the weather? Is it the rapidly diminishing hours of daylight? I don't know.


Is there a such thing as a 4 or 5 month "itch" when it comes to exercise regimens? I've gone from working out consistently for 30 minutes (+) a day, 5 or 6 days a week to a couple lazy 20 minute sessions these past couple weeks. Although I haven't honestly seen a huge difference in my body - I have felt the change in my energy, my mood and my self-image. In the last week alone, I have gone from feeling great, to feeling soft & lazy, to feeling thin and sexy, to feeling chunky and bloated. My body can't actually be changing that much from day to day... so why does the way I see myself go from one extreme to the other?

So "just do it", right? I wish. Where I was enjoying my daily workouts and feeling great about my progress through the summer months - regular exercise now seems like such a chore. If I check it off my to-do list I'm more like "ugh. at least it's done" instead of thinking "I'm so glad I did that, I feel great!". Brandon thinks I'm bored and maybe I am... I've been doing the 10-minute trainer program for a while now - perhaps it's just too much of the same thing. But come on. I'm a mom. When push comes to shove I just don't have more than 30 minutes a day that I can (or am willing) to give to exercise (is that the wrong attitude?). The workouts I've been doing may have become boring, but I can't think of another program that will give me the same impact in that amount of time. (If you have suggestions... I'm open to new ideas.)


I want to be fit. If not for myself then for my family. I want to be a good example to my girls. I want to keep myself healthy and young (or at least feeling that way) as long as possible. I want to take care of my body. It's the only I have and I've been blessed with a strong one, it seems wrong to neglect it. And let's be honest here... I also just want to be "hot"for my husband! So whether it's through traditional exercise, incorporating more physical activity into my day, taking up a new hobby/sport... I have to do something. And I have to do something BEFORE my motivation completely disappears.


A good place for me to start is to ask myself "what has worked in the past?"


(1) Having a workout buddy - the first time I really got into a steady/regular exercise routine was during my first year of University. I joined a really cheap women's gym in town and would meet up with a girlfriend for aerobics classes. It was fantastic. Often I found myself going when I didn't feel like it because I knew that she'd be there and that we'd probably go out for tea afterwards. That was great for then... but if I want to continue working out at home (cut the travel time, fit it in during naps...) then my workout buddy has got be a 2 year old, a 6 month old, or my ridiculously fit husband (who I can't up with!).

(2) Seeing results - I don't think there is anything more motivating than seeing results. A little more toned, a little bit stronger, a little more energy... and I think that in order to see quick results it is important that the change not be limited to being active. Change also has to occur in the "kitchen" (or wherever it is that you're consuming your daily food). Being more active does not necessarily mean that you should compensate by eating more. This is a hard lesson for me to learn (and re-learn) but I know from past experience that if I'm more careful about what I'm eating, any extra pounds melt away much faster and I'm instantly leaner.

(3) Doing something I enjoy - I know I shouldn't take up running. I've tried it in the past and I just don't enjoy it. I know that I do tend to like the sculpting and toning exercises more than doing an aerobics dance routine. There's no point in me taking up something that I don't enjoy - no matter how efficient or good the workout might be - I'll never be able to stick to it.

(4) Scheduling time - It worked when I was going to classes with my "buddy" and it worked this past summer when I was exercising almost every day at the same time (It also helped that Brandon didn't work very much this summer and he could take the girls for a walk while I did my thing...). For some reason it also works best when I do it as early as possible in my day. After I've eaten something but before I've jumped in the shower... If I've showered it is much less likely that I will bother.

and (5) buying cute workout clothes - I know this seems silly, but I'm totally serious! When I start something new I feel so much more equipped and excited about starting if I have the right attire. I'm not just talking practical here. Yes it is important to have a good sports bra (especially if you're a nursing mom!) but it's also nice to have workout clothes that you feel good in. Unfortunately... the newness of the cute clothes wears off pretty quickly and I can't quite justify buying more yoga pants when I already have 2 pairs that fit me well.


The second question I'm asking myself is "what is stopping me now?"


(1) Going ONLINE to check my e-mail before I start working out. As much as I'm enjoying writing this blog and trying to figure out the whole social networking thing (and connecting with others while I'm at it) it can be extremely time consuming. The other morning I decided I was going to exercise so I put CBC Kids on for Layla to keep her distracted (& mesmerized) while I did my 30 minute workout. Well... that was a flop. I logged in to twitter and before I knew it 3/4 of an hour had gone by and I was still just sitting there. After that lame attempt it would have been wrong to have Layla continue to watch TV so that I could exercise. The opportunity came and went.


(2) I don't WANT to. What can I say, I'm just not into it anymore. I start and I'm counting the minutes and they never go by fast enough.

(3) I've hit a PLATEAU. Over the summer I watched as the pounds melted away and my pre-pregnancy clothes fit better and better (most of my old jeans are even a little too big now... kind cool). I also felt my body getting stronger as the exercise routine became easier and easier for me to do.


So now what?

It's pretty obvious to me now that I (1) need to add some variety or change things up a bit, even if it's just for a few weeks - enough time to get myself motivated and back into a good groove; (2) should start looking at my diet and watch what I'm eating a little more closely; and (3) have to schedule it in - and stick to my schedule (no e-mail checking until I'm done)!

I wonder if writing these thoughts down for anyone and everyone to read will help me to stick to some sort of resolve. Thanks for being my sounding board!

A.

After my last (and first) AOK Gourmet post, this one is going to seem very simple.

The pumpkin that I pureed for my Thanksgiving meal was big. It provided enough puree to make 3 pumpkin pies, a couple trays of baby food ice cubes with about 4 cups to spare.

With the remaining puree, I had my heart... rather... my tummy (!) set on some sort of muffin or bready dessert that could be made with pumpkin. I have to give another shout out to my good friend and veteran blogger Aimee (over at Under the High Chair) for posting a recap of her "playing with pumpkin" series. I quickly skimmed the different recipes she suggests for pumpkin dessert (including fudge, brownies and muffins) and the pumpkin spice cake seemed perfect - especially since it included a maple-cream cheese icing (hello!). I've been eating the cake for 2 days now and the thought of that icing still makes my mouth water. And here I thought "salt" was my weakness...

The cake was incredibly easy to make (see the recipe at the end of this post) With my new (and much loved) kitchen aid stand mixer - the batter was whipped up in no time. I think I have issues following instructions so let me fill you in on what I did differently... (1) I baked the cake in a glass 9 x 13 (Pyrex) pan instead of a baking pan (for some reason I don't own a 13 x 10 in. baking pan) and (2) I just smeared the frosting over the entire cake instead of using a piping bag to pipe the frosting onto the individual bars. The glass pan didn't make a difference at all. The frosting on the other hand... well it certainly still tastes great... but it just doesn't look as nice as Aimee's!

So not only was the cake super EASY to make - it is super-moist, incredibly delicious... totally "comfort" food. I love it. Brandon loves it. Layla literally licked-up the frosting left in her dessert bowl! Meaghan was reaching and hoping and wishing (Of course I didn't giver her any. Well... maybe just a dab of icing on my finger tip!). The guys who were over to watch the hockey game last night thought it was yummy... And I just finished another piece alongside a cup of coffee. What? I needed a snack and it's really too easy to eat. Brandon described it as "carrot cake without the icky texture". I don't mind the carrot cake texture, but I think I prefer pumpkin spice cake.

So if you have a couple minutes and some pumpkin puree on hand (canned will do) - make it, enjoy it and tell me about it!

A.

(PS) After writing out the recipe (below)... I realized that I also forgot to add the baking powder to the cake. It was still good.... I guess it would have been a little "fluffier" if I'd done it according to the instructions! Sigh... Please keep in mind that I never said I was a cook or a baker.

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Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15 oz can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

(frosting)
8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (AKA icing sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.
3. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
4. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until smooth.
5. Spread the batter into a greased 13 x 10 in. baking pan.
6. Let bake 30 minutes.
7. Cool completely before frosting

To make the icing:

1. Combine cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl (with an electric mixer) until smooth.
2. Add sugar and mix at low speed until combined.
3. Stir in vanilla and maple syrup and mix again.
4. Fill a piping bag and pipe frosting onto cooled pumpkin bars.