Clem Diaries: May 2014
SO. Apparently I haven't been blogging much, and it is already time to recap my month. [Insert obligatory "time flies" statement here]
I am enjoying these wrap-ups. They remind me that I haven't been completely lazy and uninteresting in between blog posts. It also gives me a place to rant about how awesome something was, even if I don't feel I could do a full post about it.
Let's cut the rambling short and get straight to the point, shall we?
This one is a bit of a funny story. I am allergic to blueberries, but fell in love with this recipe anyway. I decided it just had to be my mother's day dessert. Growing up, we ate a lot of lemon pudding cakes and it follows that it's a vey nostalgic flavour/cake density for me. To adapt this recipe into something that I wasn't allergic to, I decided to swap the blueberries for raspberries. In the end, I forgot to go grocery shopping... so ended up also swapping out the fresh lemons with a bit of frozen pink lemonade concentrate. It was sort of a ghetto-fabulous experience in the kitchen that day. The important thing is that despite all the tweaks (which eventually led to me calling it "Pink Lemonade Cake"), it was delicious.
Here is how mine turned out:
Kale & Pineapple Smoothie
In the Kitchen With Amy Jo
In the Kitchen With Amy Jo
I am in this weird diet limbo where meals feel stuck between winter and summer, and are not quite feeling like spring. My cure for wanting to eat nothing but carbs, hot soup or burgers? Smoothies. Green ones, to be specific. I tried this recipe this week (minus homemade nut milk... I used store-bought almond milk) and only subbed out the hemp seeds for chia seeds. Yum! The ginger is an especially fun twist.
I love when I look for recipes using what is in my fridge, and beautiful things like this soup recipe come up. Sweet potatoes, kale, AND yummy curry goodness? Yes please. The red curry paste I have in the pantry is vicious, so I added a couple chopped up tomatoes to tame the heat. I also served it on rice vermicelli with crispy fried onions on top. I looooved this soup. Definitely on the fast track to being one of my favourites.
It was my nephew's birthday party last weekend (details soon, I promise!). For the cupcakes, I made red velvet at the little man's request, and a simple buttercream to top them. I spotted the recipe for coconut oil buttercream icing in a post on coconut cupcakes, and couldn't resist. I am officially converted! I let the icing fluff up in my standmixer for about fifteen glorious minutes and the end product was dreamy. Worthy of eating with a spoon...not that my criteria for that is particularly high.
Finnish Pancakes
Food Network (via the Hoito Restaurant)
I got to spend a couple weekend mornings with my nephew this month while his mom and I did our annual birthday party prep. The highlight? My little man wanting to make Finnish pancakes in true Tbay style. This is, again, another funny photo because of my blueberry allergy... but the recipe is a beautiful thing. I have made these successfully with coconut/almond milk, too.
I have had a woodburning tool for years now, and only recently have I started to play with it. The first time, I made a few big mistakes after opting to wing it instead of looking it up. Thank goodness for straight forward tutorials like this one! I used these tips and tricks for my nephew's birthday party favours--which I will show you soon!
I have been a wee bit all over the place in terms of home decorating this month. In the interest of seeing a few projects come to a close, I looked for ways to cheat. No-sew window shades seemed like a great way to solve a window dilemma. Mine are not quite as pretty/girly, but they certainly get the job done. (You will get to see them when I do the big guest room reveal!)
The Sovereign Room
It seemed fitting to start posting about the things I've eaten at restaurants in Tbay, since that accounts for a large chunk of my foodie adventures (and Instagram posts). My food-brag of choice for this month is the Haddock Crab Cake I had at the Sovereign Room. De-frikkin-licious. Check out their menu and make a point of dropping in if you come to Thunder Bay. But only if you invite me to come with, of course.
Live Music Fix:
I need more music in my life. This month, I went to the first show I've been to in an embarrassingly long time when City and Colour played Thunder Bay... It was a swoonworthy and nostalgic show--just what I needed to cause a snowball effect of concert obsessions. T'was lovely.
Happy June!
1 comments
Mmmmm coconut oil icing sounds yummy. I'll have to try it next time I make cupcakes :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments! I love reading them all and will reply when I can.
xo♥clem