KitchenOfKy

It's that time again! Foodie Penpal time! YAY! This month, I got a gift from a very nice girl named Jennifer who lives in Ottawa, you can check her out here . I'm pretty sure she's in my head, because she sent me the most perfect of perfect gift for this month! Somehow, she knew how much I love both coconut and peanut butter and incorporated that into this and packed it in a cute little box to boot. She's the best! Here's what she sent: David's Tea - Fantasy Island (the flavor), there's coconut in this tea. Winning!! Bridgehead Whole Bean Coffee - from a local roastery and coffee shop Coconut Cream Larabar Peanut Butter Larabar Cute box! Yesssss!!! Ok, so now that you've seen my second foodie penpal, you want to know how to get in on it...right? Here is how it works! Go to The Lean Green Bean and sign yourself up! Here’s a detailed explanation of the program: -On the  5th of the month , you will receive your penpal pairing via em...

Finished Product This recipe comes from something I made quite a long time ago! I'd say the reviews were very good as my roommate (who has since moved out - Miss you Ian!), ate pretty much the whole batch over a weekend of studying! Quite frankly - I was flattered! :) I have a "go to" Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and I've always worked off it's base to make other variations of cookies - like Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies or Toffee Chocolate Cookies or Double Chocolate Mint Cookies. You get the idea! This was another one of those. Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies 1 cup butter, room temperature 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup cocoa 1 cup butterscotch chips Cream the butter & sugars together. Add the eggs & vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix your flour, baking soda and salt & cocoa together.  Then, add your sugar/butter mixture to your d...

And here you have it! Post of the week.... Had myself a little cooking party last night, so I made the following: Coconut Shrimp 1.5 pounds prawns 2 - 3 tsp ginger root 2 - 3 tsp garlic 1 can coconut milk salt pepper Heat a frying pan, add coconut oil, then put your prawns into the pan, add your garlic & ginger then coconut milk. Bring to a boil. So good!  Then, I made this... Basil/Spinach Saute 4 - 5 handfuls of baby spinach fresh basil, lots baby tomatos 1/2 yellow onion 1 - 2 tsp garlic salt pepper Heat a pan, add coconut oil, saute onions until translucent, then tomatoes, then spinach & basil. It's yummy! I need a better camera! Enjoy!

It was a rather quiet weekend in the kitchen this weekend - shocking, I know! This is because 1) I got a social life, 2) I was in class and 3) I was in recovery mode, sleeping, relaxing etc. I expect a hectic week, so want to be on the top of my "A Game" for it! Plus, I'm on a 5:15am flight tomorrow morning, how cruel!!  I was on a kale kick this week. I ate a lot of sauteed kale. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, but it's good for you and I ate it for about 3 days, so I guess I don't feel terrible about it. Look at this little meal I made with it: Sauteed kale, mashed butternut squash and Turkey Meatloaf. Damn satisfying if I do say so myself! I ate this before Jackie and I killed our 16km run. Having a partner for those distances is WAY better. I'm never want to run alone again....at least not for that long!!  Fueling for success!        So, Friday - yes...a social life! I helped my buddy Travis kick off his birthday week with some Vi...

Yup, here I am...blogging along! I'm proud of this solid effort I have put forth thus far. I hope it keeps! So long as I have a foodie penpa l to talk about, I will! :) Not a very long work week, and I have no  complaints about it!! I took 5 days off and probably could have had another 5 days and felt quite ok about it!  I made these cookies last week. One cookie actually = 2 cookies. My friend, Erin is a Brownie leader . When we met for brunch she was selling their classic cookies and I wondered how I might make them more "good" for you. I was inspired by the numerous Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies I had seen on various sites and probably on Pintrest. I made these last weekend and took them to the family farm. They were gone in a day. Here goes! Stuffed Double Chocolate Cookies I cup margarine or butter, room temperature 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 3/4 cup flour 1/2 cup cocoa 1 c...

Seriously, what a crazy weekend I had - much of it in a good way.... but the catalyst for it all perhaps wasn't the best. First things first - my 21 Day Detox went right out the window. :( I am a bit disappointed with myself, but I can do it again another time. I had a weekend of endless eating. It started on Friday (It is Easter weekend, my dad's anniversary and another funeral this weekend) and only just wrapped up today - Easter Monday. My Uncle lost his brother last Sunday. It was sudden and very unexpected. Apart from being brothers - they were business partners, friends and neighbors. They farmed together their whole lives, lived a 2 minute walk from each other, they raised cattle and kids, looked to one another for advice and support and of course, spent a lot of hours having fun and probably sharing a few stories not meant for us. My Aunt, Uncle and cousins have been one of my strongest support networks over this past year, and my heart was hurting for them all we...

Today, I had Kendra over for lunch. We had mini turkey meatloaf and roasted cauliflower - deeeeelicious if I do say so myself. Turkey Meatloaf Approx 2 pounds of ground turkey 1/2 yellow onion diced 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped 2 cloves garlic, diced/pressed 1/2 cup almond flour 2 eggs salt & pepper Diced, and chop your onions, tomatoes and basil. Put your turkey in a bowl and add your veggies and herbs and garlic. Shake in salt and pepper to your liking. Add the egg and flour. Get your hands in there and mix away! Bake at 400F for 25 - 30 minutes. I used mini silcone loaf pans and they were perfect! Pyramid of Turkey Loaves. Pic does not do justice.

Hello to whoever is reading! This week has flown by and guess what, I am beat. Bagged. Tired. Exhausted. I don't mean to sound like a complainer, but work has been busy in the best kind of way and it's a very emotional week for my family and I (get to that in a second, food first). So, I've mentioned having been on a mission to do the  21 Day Detox . It isn't a weight loss goal (though that's always a bonus), it's a get my eating under control goal. I've always joked that binge eating is a hobby of mine, and "Eat till it hurts" was a motto. But seriously, it's been sort of real, and not so much a joke lately. It's time to tone it down because it makes me feel awful both physically and mentally! Anyway, a few things I've noticed this week: 1) I've been eating meat and nuts WAY too much to compensate for the lack of sugar 2) Afternoons I'm tired - my arms are heavy! 3) Workouts are weak* This could just be pure exhaustion ...

I debated announcing that I was going to make a solid effort at the  21 Day Detox . The diet is relatively simple minus the no refined sugar thing and pretty much no fruit (except a green apple or unripe banana). I debated saying anything because of my fear of failure but I also realize that perhaps by telling people I am doing it - it will make me more accountable. Yes, I did the  Wild Rose Cleanse  back in February, and felt great about 10 days into it. After I was finished it - I proceeded to stress eat and pretty much treat my body like a trash can. My obsession/preoccupation of the times have been bridge mixture and chocolate covered almonds. It's been really  bad. So, enough is enough. I need to take control of my life and eating again.  So, today... This is how it went. I had to run for my half marathon. I ran 12.5km. I was supposed to run 14km and then started playing with my watch and screwed things up for myself! Anyway, the run was a challenge toda...

Yesterday, along with having made  applesauce , I also made Jambalaya. It was again, inspired/copied/adapted from  paleOMG . Go here - she's good and she's funny and she does Crossfit which I really want to get back to, so all good things in my book! Jambalaya - Gluten Free/Grain Free! Original recipe resides  right here 2 sausages, cut up - preferably some sort of spicy ones. I picked  chorizo sausages  up a few weeks ago at the  Calgary Farmer's Market 2 chicken boobies (breast), cubed 1 cup shrimp, shelled and peeled 2 -3 garlic cloves, diced/pressed 1 yellow onion, diced 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatos 1 can tomato paste 1 head cauliflower 1 cup chicken broth (I used water because I was out of broth) 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp thyme 1/2 tsp cayenne salt and pepper As suggested in the original - prep everything before hand! Cut up your cauliflower into florets and put into your food processor to ma...