KitchenOfKy

As you have probably guessed by my title - I don't do the TV thing very often. I have made 4 phone calls to Telus and it took 4 calls before I was firm on my choice to give up the TV! Every time I called they would offer me deals, movie channels, faster internet, etc. etc. and I would cave - keep my TV and then again, never watch it. And seriously, who needs TV when you can get on the internet and surf all of the food blogs your little heart (or stomach) desires! There's a whole world of them out there... You start on one and it leads you to the next, then the next, and so on and so forth and next thing you know it - you've bookmarked 5 new sites, have 10 internet windows opened, 16 new recipes chosen to make and 2 hours has flown by like nothing!  And now...for (one of) today's creation! Slow Cooker Applesauce - sans sugar! sans sweetening! 12 granny smith apples, cored and sliced 2 tsp cinnamon  1 tsp ginger 1 tsp nutmeg  1 tsp cloves 2 tsp lemon juice Slow Cooke...

OMG. OMG. OMG. This is so awesome! How lucky to have found such a cool thing to be a participant in!? Go  here  and get a penpal yourself! DO IT. I came home from a week of working in Fort McMurray to find a delivery notice! I didn't even take my shoes off before jumping in my car to head to the post office to pick it up! I even opened it in my car. My foodie penal - Amy from New Brunswick is wicked! She was so thoughtful and considerate in what she chose for me. She read my blog and found out I was working on a half marathon so sent me things that were friendly in fueling me towards my goal! Check it out!  A Recipe adapted from  http://ohsheglows.com/  for Overnight Oats. Maple Syrup Bob's Red Mill Organic Oats Chia Seeds and some cool facts about them! Honey Stinger Energy Chews Penpal present = Made my day! I'll post when I make the recipe! I got an email this week from my foodie penpal match in Ontario! Go to her site  http://www.joc...

A while back, I asked for requests to give me some baking/cooking inspiration. I got but one (Well, now I have 2 - Faye... your peppermint patties are coming, I bought all the stuff for them)! My nana a.k.a Grandma requested Maple Walnut Muffins. So, this past weekend, I made the woman some Maple Walnut Muffins to fulfill her request and recognize her March birthday, albeit belated! Maple Walnut Muffins as found  here : 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup real maple syrup (not Aunt Jemima) 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 3/4 cup milk (I only had almond milk, it worked just fine!) 1/2 walnuts (please use more! there weren't enough!) 1.In one bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Set aside. 2. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs and stir in the delicious maple syrup. 3. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture. Stir. It will seem really runny. ...

Another week in the great north of Alberta! I spent the week in camp and therefore, there has been very little action in my kitchen. I just finished baking muffins but won't post those tonight. Here is a bit of photo blogging, (if you will) from my week... If you're in Calgary, and you want some good cheese - go to  Janice Beaton . I don't actually know who Janice is, but whoever she is - amazing! The cheese here is good. And so much choice. I could probably spend a whole pay cheque buying cheese and fixings. This what I bought on Sunday for my beet salad. DELISH. I made these on Sunday. A little dijon, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic. They looked better pre-cooked than cooked because I overdid the asparagus. I think had they been thicker, they wouldn't have burnt, but alas... The sauce was good!  Monday night at camp! Salmon. YAY! Tuesday night at camp! Meatballs and PEI vegetables (that's the green and yellow beans).  Friday night dinner date with my ...

What a great weekend! My work buddy came to visit from the Northern reaches of Alberta to visit the city life of Calgary. I got the privilege of showing her around Calgary - Kyla style! We went to  Over Easy  for breakfast! I love that place... Then, we went to the  Farmer's Market  where I bought beets, blackberries, almond butter and chorizo sausages. Then, to conclude our tour, I made a stop at  Lazy Loaf  - they have the best  Ginger Cream cookies. I somehow managed to practice self control and didn't buy one, but geezus did I ever want to! Yes, all food.... and really, it shouldn't come as a surprise! Then, I got to have a fantastic visit with my BFF. We went to  The Coup  for dinner and some delicious coconut chai! So good. Then, today - I got to see her  again ! It's so handy that she lives down the street.   After all of my socializing - I had to do my long run (blah). It was really hard today and I am sure ...

Helllllo! What a week! Work has been insane and I love it. Seriously... no kidding, no bullpoop and no sarcasm. It's great - right now anyway!  To Kendra = Happy Birthday to my beauty of a friend! I've know this girl since 2007 where we met playing rugby for the Calgary Rams Rugby Club. Fun times!! In honor of her birthday, I wanted to make her a treat. So - I made chocolate covered strawberries... A couple things crossed my mind when I thought of this.... My Aunt and S.E.X. (Ok, did I just lose all my readers because I said Aunt and S.E.X in the same sentence!?). Let me explain... My Aunt makes these all the time when she's making a quick dessert.... And well, doesn't every Valentine's Day Thing or sexy thing include eating chocolate dipped fruit? Maybe not for me because I don't exactly exemplify sexy but anyway...I don't know... - awkward now. Good.    These weren't my best. I botched the chocolate a bit because I overheated it and it didn't...

I'm pretty certain that when I get going in my small little kitchen, I start to look something like a mad scientist -hair goes everywhere, cheeks start getting flushed from a combination of excitement and heat being generated in the small space of my condo, I get focused and won't stop until I get just the perfect combination to make the perfect creation! Tonight's concoction - Turkey Chili & Cinnamon Buns!  ***Warning - A lot of sugar and butter is about to be consumed!*** Cinnamon Buns - adapted from here:    3/4 cup milk 1/4 cup butter or margarine 3 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 8 gram package of self - rising yeast 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup lukewarm water 1 egg 1 cup brown sugar, packed 1 tbsp cinnamon  1/2 cup butter or margarine 1 cup pecans Glaze/Sauce 3/4 butter or margarine 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1. Heat milk in a pot until it bubbles, remove it from the heat and mix in 1/4 cup butter until melted. Set ...

Happy End of the Week! Ok, so maybe not for you and actually, not for me this week either.... but generally - Thursday is the new Friday for me! I am a very lucky individual who gets to work 4 - 10 hour work days which means, I get one extra day per weekend. I will never ever want to go back to 5 day weeks, even if it means an extra hour of sleep.  I didn't do a lot of exciting creations this week, but I thought, since I have taken this project on - I must commit to it and "Keep On Keeping On" as my title cleverly indicates!  3 good (food) things I've been obsessed with this week: 1. Cauliflower Mash/Rice - Ridiculously good. 2. Sauteed spinach. Popeye had it right. 3. Grated Zuchinni 3 not so good (food) things I've been obsessed with this week: 1. Mixed nuts (bulk servings make them not good) 2. Golden Bridge Mix (sold at  Planet Organic  and  Community Natural Foods  - also in bulk servings) 3. Peanut butter eaten with a spoon So, for e...

Monday didn't have my most favorite start today, but it improved as the day progressed! I've often referred to Monday as a recurring hangover without the drinking, and it really is at times!  Kyla, you just said Monday was a recurring hangover.... Why yay!? 1. Because work is busy and I do really like being busy at work. 2. (This is really why) I GOT MY FOOD PENPAL TODAY!!! Yippee!! I'm all shopped up and ready to send! AMAZING. You should join - really... for real - join! Go  here . Who doesn't like food and who doesn't like surprises in the mail!?  3. I went to yoga because I could hardly sit, walk or stand without my hips screaming at me from my run yesterday and it made me feel better.  4. I made a delicious dinner of Coconut Crusted Salmon, Sauteed Spinach and Cauliflower Mash. DELICIOUS!  Last night, I went a little nuts. I even made my BFF come over and pick up food because it was out of control. I sent her home with Black Bean Brownies, Butternut Sq...

I am really big on meal planning. Sundays are my mass cooking days. I often make a lot and freeze it for the week(s) ahead. I also made some Turkey Muffins for breakfast this evening. Not as exciting as brownies  but good regardless! These are the measurements I used, but adjust to your needs! Before Turkey Muffins 0.36kg ground turkey (not a magic number, just happens to be what I bought) 3 tbsp egg whites 1/4 cup flax meal 2 green onions 3 garlic cloves a handful of spinach oregano, thyme, basil, salt and pepper to taste Throw your turkey into a bowl. Using a garlic press (if you have one) add your garlic, chop up the green onion and throw it into the bowl. Add your egg whites, flax meal and handful of spinach. Sprinkle in your spices.  Line your muffin tins with paper lines. Add approximately 1/4 cup mixture to each liner. Bake at 350F for approximately 25 - 30 minutes.  After VOILA. Breakfast for the week. These will freeze well too! :)

Sundays are always so bittersweet - a day for relaxation but also signals the last day of the weekend for us 9-5ers. Today, my only need to do  was to run 13km. I haven't mentioned this yet, but I signed up for a half marathon. I know half of you (the 4 people that probably actually check this) are wondering why the heck I'd do that and the other half have probably already ran one! This 21.1km trek is something that I have mulled over for a number of years and I decided that 2012 is the year it is going to happen. Up until this point, I've run a few 10k races but have never ran more than 10k. Every time I ever ran a 10km race, it seemed that I took a couple months off before hand, showed up and then as I ran, remembered how terrible it was to run without training. I've made a pledge to myself to approach this one slightly different - ie. actually train. So far, so good! I ran through January to set up a decent base and started a training schedule a few weeks ago. The tr...

What a fantastic Saturday! A coffee, an ice walk (basically a hike on ice) with one of my besties - Stacy, some good eating in Canmore at  Mountain Mercato , great conversation, good music, tidying, a nap and FINALLY  supper! OK, Kyla - so what's with the title? Remember in my last post where I stayed up too late researching kitchen tools, yes.... I did it! I bought myself a food processor last night. I am proud that I exercised enough self control to leave it until today.  The creations today are inspired by one of the  blogs  I've been following lately. I enjoy her humor, and I enjoy her food. Yes, it is Paleo - I am not paleo but I do like to try things out once in a while! Today, or more specifically I prepped my slow cooker to adapt her  Crockpot Pork Green Chilie  recipe.  Mexican Pulled Pork , adapted from  this : 2 pound (approximately) pork roast 1 yellow onion, chopped 2 -3 garlic cloves 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, chopp...