questionable domestique

Book of Faces

2012-02-26T12:03:00.001-08:00

We live far from our families, but wanted to make sure that our daughter had a sense of who her family is. Since babies are really attracted to faces, I thought putting together a book of headshots is a simple way for her to get to know her extended family. We go through the book whenever we’re sitting down to read, and you do get a sense that she’s gradually getting more familiar with the faces.

artscow.com prints on board book style cardboard, which is great for babies and ships quickly. I waited for a sale and this book cost me 7.99 to print, and you can’t beat that.

We’re on ETSY!

2012-02-15T18:50:00.001-08:00

Check out the new etsy.com store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/questionabledomestik

Month Old Signs

2012-02-05T16:11:00.001-08:00

We’ve been taking monthly pictures of our kidlet to track her growth since everything changes so fast in these first months (that and we’re proud parents, so we really don’t need an excuse to crack out the camera and taunt the kid with stuffed animals).

In today’s edition of ‘now you can too’, I’ve uploaded the monthly circles in 4 separate colours so you too can annoy your friends with monthly pictures…I mean, track your child’s growth. I used a lollypop stick, but a popsicle stick, old chopstick or any other child-safe pokey bit will do. I glued (good ole’ Elmer’s) it to a piece of cardstock that I cut to the same size as the rounds, like so:

Each month I peel off the previous month’s, and attach the new month with a glue stick, and voila!

Download Blue Circles

Download Pink Circles

Download Mod Orange

Download Mod Purple

Rocket Ship

2012-02-05T15:44:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine is doing her son’s room in a rocket ship theme. I haven’t broken out the paints since my art school days (mainly because I’m still reliving the obnoxious condescension from my art critiques), but I had some canvases hanging around and thought ‘what the heck’? I think they turned out okay, no?

Baby Shadow Boxes

2012-01-17T18:12:00.001-08:00

I wanted to give the parents some sort of footprint/handprint memento for Christmas, but I found that a lot of those kits you can buy at Michael’s are only for kids aged 6 months and up. Someone recommended using Crayola’s Model Magic, which is what we ended up using.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure I recommend it as a mould making product. TC and I had to wrestle the kid (who at the time was squirming like a wet cat) and still couldn’t manage to get a nice handprint. The footprint required a lot of force, and the process ended up warping the edges (I really wanted clean edges).

In the end though, I think the shadow boxes turned out okay.

(photos were printed at London Drugs directly on to foam core for easy mounting)

Christmas Cards 2011

2012-01-17T17:27:00.001-08:00

I wanted to do something simple and easy this year because I was running short on time. Normally I start making christmas cards in January (not because I’m a keener, but because we’ve been selling them to raise funds for TC’s Ride to Conquer Cancer).

These cards look labour intensive, but they’re really not.

All you have to do is rip canvas to your desired size (I had a stack of 4.5x6 cardstock that I had kicking around, so that was the size I went with). Stamp canvas with a holiday stamp of your choosing. Layer on top of cardstock, run it through the sewing machine, and voila! The hard part for me was running the darn thing through a sewing machine. It turns out that not sewing since grade 8 home-ec makes me a terrible seamstress. The card looks great from here. Just don’t flip it over.

We included a family letter in ours (yes, we’re THOSE people), and a picture of the kid that I took in front of the tree once we had it up (I needed an excuse to buy a pair of ruffled diaper covers)

Here’s my invitation writing station all set up:

And, if you’d like to make these your cards next year, I’ve put up a pdf of the wrap around labels:

Download PDF

Worldlabel.com feature

2011-11-22T15:10:00.001-08:00

It’s always exciting to see pictures of the stuff you do in action. Recently, Worldlabel.com featured my spice labels on their website. Check it out:

http://blog.worldlabel.com/2011/spice-jar-labels-and-template-to-print.html

Gingham Holiday Printables

2011-11-22T14:58:00.001-08:00

Here’s a set of Christmas printables I did up that would be perfect for a low key holiday party. Would look great with some canvas or raffia accents.

The North Pole tags can be used as cupcake or drink embellishments. If using them for drinks, make sure you use plastic straws. I used paper candy sticks, and they dissolved in my hot chocolate. Somehow paper chunks don’t have the same effect as marshmallows. :P

Download pdf here.

Vegetarian Lasagne

2011-11-10T20:40:00.001-08:00

A lot of veggie lasagne recipes call for zucchini and eggplant as the meat substitute, which is fine if you like zucchini…or eggplant, but neither of us are keen on either. (This is a real annoyance when dining out, as most chefs will use both in what few vegetarian options they offer on a menu). Perhaps I should have mentioned that the irony of writing a blog mostly about food is that we’re ridiculously picky eaters?

Anyway, this is an eggplant-free, zucchini-free, vegetarian version of the LoonySpoon’s recipe a friend sent me a while back when I was making lasagne for friends who were expecting their first child (recipe can be found here). I’ve doubled the recipe here since they freeze well and make great gifts. It’s always good to have lasagne on hand for those nights you just don’t feel like cooking.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
10 sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups diced onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 pkg extra firm tofu, diced or chopped in a food processor
1 jar (700 mL) tomato sauce (we use the Classico Spinach and Cheese)
1 large can (19 oz/540 mL) diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced fresh basil leaves

Filling:
2 cups light ricotta cheese
2 300g pkgs soft tofu
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
2 package frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry and chopped
2 eggs
2 boxes of oven ready lasagna noodles (I like having extra on hand)
2-3 pkgs shredded 4-cheese blend (we like ours extra cheesy)

Directions:

Sauce:

Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over sun-dried tomatoes and let soak while you prepare the sauce.
To make sauce, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir until onions have softened, about 4 minutes.
Add mushrooms and heat until cooked.
Add all remaining sauce ingredients, except fresh basil. When sun-dried tomatoes are soft enough, drain and chop them (fine) and add to sauce. Bring sauce to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Stir in basil, remove from heat and let cool.

Assembling the lasagnes:

Combine all filling ingredients except the 4 cheese blend in a medium bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375ºF (skip this step if making freezer lasagnes).
Spoon some of sauce over bottom of dish.
Arrange noodles over sauce and layer as follows: sauce, noodles, cheese filling, 4 cheese blend, noodles, sauce, cheese filling, 4 cheese blend, noodles, sauce, 4 cheese blend.
If making a freezer batch, as I often do, cover with tinfoil and place in the freezer.
If you’re cooking it right away, cover lasagne loosely with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is browned. Let lasagne stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I buy 2 of the 3 packs of 8x8” aluminum pans for this. Store flat in the freezer until frozen, and then stack.

Makes 6 8x8” lasagnes.

Hallowe’en Printables

2011-10-29T08:47:00.001-07:00

For those still looking for a way to spruce up their hallowe’en party, I’ve designed a set of hallowe’en printables for you. Included is a set of letters for a holiday banner, treat labels, place cards and cupcake wraps.

enjoy. :)

Download PDF Here.

Thanksgiving Printables

2011-10-02T15:13:00.001-07:00

Things have been pretty busy since Hannah joined us 3 weeks ago. I will admit, it’s been a bit of an adjustment: getting used to everything I wear smelling like curdled milk, and learning to appreciate a 2 hour stretch of sleep as ‘quality rest’.

So this year’s thanksgiving will be pretty low key, considering TC is a vegetarian and the kid will only make the screaming stop in small increments. Plus, it will be tough to top last year’s turducken (it is the super protein).

So, if your Thanksgiving is a little more action packed, and you’re looking for a little something to spruce it up, here are some easy to print decorations that will add a special touch to any special event you may be planning. :)

Download PDF here.

Yarn Wrapped Initial

2011-09-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

I’ll admit. That pinterest is like crack. I can sit for hours scouring through the pages of DIY inspiration longing for the day when I’ll have unlimited time and an unlimited budget to accomplish the things that get posted on there. (Anyone want to pay me to craft full time?).

I came across this on pinterest and thought: hey, that looks easy. Clearly I shouldn’t listen to my brain as often as I do.

Image and tutorial from evie –s.

It starts out with some leftover cardboard and some painters tape. Do yourself a favour, try to use a similar colour tape to the yarn you plan to use. Or better yet, paint the whole thing that colour so you can get away with missing a touch or two.

Then it’s just a matter of starting the yarn somewhere and wrapping. Sounds simple enough, but it takes a lot longer than you intend. It’s a good thing the Tour de France is a month long, because otherwise I would have had to find something else to watch while I wrapped.

The flowers went through a few iterations:

Until I finally settled on these:

Tutorial for making them can be found HERE. What I did do was attach the flowers to bobby pins for easy insertion (clean minds, folks), so that they can be moved frequently to change the look of the craft.

And the final product:

Baby Album – Gender Neutral

2011-09-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here’s the latest instalment in our downloadable baby album series.

Download .pdf here

Our Nursery Tour

2011-09-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

The orange was a bit of a battle. I wanted something less girly than pink. I’ve never been a pink person, and quite frankly, it’s a ridiculous colour to decorate with (it’s a very, very thin line between a nice pink and pepto bismol). TC wasn’t sold on the idea of orange and everyone else we spoke to seemed to scratch their heads.

The other battle was with the paint. I’m normally a loyal Benjamin Moore user, but since trying their Natura line, have been less than impressed with them. Everyone and their uncle was raving about Behr Ultra, and despite still not having lived down the Ralph Lauren paint experience (the paint that started chipping even before it was dry), decided to give Home Depot another chance. I think it was probably naive of me to assume that a paint that touts itself as ‘paint and primer in one’ would say, not require priming. Apparently I was wrong according to the overly perky teenager at the paint counter, and was required to pick up an additional bucket of the ugliest tinted peach primer you ever did see:

But it wasn’t the orange that killed us. I can justify 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of orange paint. Everyone says red’s the worst colour to paint and orange isn’t that far off, right? But it was the bloody white. You’d think that a primer-and-paint-in-one wouldn’t need 4 coats to get any sort of coverage, but you’d be wrong, and probably standing very close to a very irate and sore 7 months pregnant version of me.

To top all that insanity off, right after the painting experience, TC’s back decided it had had enough, and TC spent the next 3 weeks on the couch pretty much useless (well, unless you needed something googled). So yeah, thanks Behr.

It was worth it in the end though. I really do love how everything turned out and that everything did indeed come together. I had a bit of a panic attack when the seller for the wall decals I’d picked out on etsy went on prolonged leave, but she made special exception for me and did a fantastic job.

This is the final product:

The frames were originally black ikea cheapies that were painted with white oil paint. To save yourself the heartache of chipping, like I didn’t, sand thoroughly and prime first. The art is just fabric TC picked at the fabric store that we mounted using the existing mattes.

Baby Albums – Pink Birds

2011-09-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Since the other albums I’ve posted are more boy/gender neutral oriented, here’s a more girly version for those looking for something pink.

Download .pdf here

Baked Tofu Salad

2011-09-03T20:59:00.001-07:00

I served this dish with the potato rosti from Rose Elliot’s Sumptuous Suppers. The pancakes were okay, but not enough to post about (aside from this one-liner, I guess). The salad however, was REALLY tasty. It’s loosely based on the Tofu Salad in Terry Walter’s Clean Food Cookbook, but after realising I didn’t have mayo or mirin, I pretty much ditched the recipe.

Here’s how I made mine:

Ingredients:
1 pkg extra firm tofu

Tofu Marinade:
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp five spice
1/2 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Salad:
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely
5 or 6 fresh sage leaves, minced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup diced white onion
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp sesame or peanut oil

Directions:

Mix the marinade ingredients together, adjusting ingredients to taste.
Cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes and place in a bowl. Cover with marinade and let stand for at least a half hour, tossing occasionally to ensure all pieces are fully saturated.
Preheat oven to 425F.
Spread the tofu over a lightly greased baking sheet, and place in oven for 15 minutes, turning tofu occasionally to ensure even coverage. Be sure to save leftover marinade.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Combine salad ingredients (except the oil) in a bowl.
Combine the sesame oil with 1 Tbsp of the marinade. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss tofu, dressing and salad ingredients.

The great part of this salad is that you can bake the tofu on the weekend, and serve this as a light dinner mid-week in a flash. We found that the salad alone was filling enough without the potato pancakes, but it could also be a great side dish to any Asian styled meal.

If you’re not keen on the tofu, you could use the marinade on boneless skinless chicken breast (just don’t use the sauce in the dressing after you’ve marinated the chicken).

I’d put a Toughest Critic rating here, but he’s upstairs bathing the dog, and I’ve learned not to interrupt that special time, or risk being roped in to helping. I’d rather not end up covered in dog shampoo tonight, so we’ll just assume he says ‘tasty cakes’. :P

Baby Albums – Owl Theme

2011-09-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Mod style owls are all the rage these days when it comes to baby decor. A close friend of mine just did her entire nursery using the Life’s a Hoot fabrics, so I thought I’d design something to match:

So here’s episode 2 of our baby album instalments. Enjoy. :)

Download .pdf here.

Baby Albums – Mod Red and Blue

2011-08-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

I was looking all over etsy trying to find the perfect baby album for us the other day, and decided my brain just could not handle writing things like ‘what daddy thought when mommy’s water broke’ down for my little one to ‘enjoy’ or ‘what daddy forgot to pack’ for years down the road (and because really, ‘what daddy forgot to pack’ will likely result in a ‘what mommy tried to throw at him’ diatribe, the less I have to write, the better).

So, in doing all that, I’ve designed a couple of album templates for those of you who, like me, wanted something a little more customizable and personalized. Keep checking back over the next few weeks as I upload more.

Today’s is a mod style red, gray and blue.

Download pdf here.

Mod Bird Bookends

2011-08-21T21:12:00.001-07:00

I’m sure by now you’ve discovered my love for mod styled things when it comes to my kid’s room. Well, not just my kid’s room, but TC isn’t really into that look, so it’s a bit of a battle trying to convince him to buy anything in that style. I can’t tell you the amount of times we’ve stood in the middle of Home Sense arguing over the need for a $19.99 vase. You’d think we were talking about the holy grail, or at least something with a higher price point.

Anyway, I fell in love with these bookends on etsy one day:

The Wooden Owl on Etsy.

But alas, TC would not bite at the price tag.

Luckily, I have a very handy father-in-law with a well equipped workroom (our postage stamp garage barely fits the cars, let alone the chop saw that’s never been put away), who was more than willing to help us take on this project. So, last time we ventured home, TC, Father-In-Law, Mother-In-Law (who’s major function in this operation was documenting the fact that it took 3 of us to use the belt sander), and I took on this project. Mother-In-Law had surprisingly saved the wood from the signs we used for our wedding:

Basically, because I do realise this is a craft blog and I’ve yet to take step-by-step photos, I drew the shapes of the birds out on the wood, and cut them out using the scroll saw. The bases are roughly 8 inches by 4 inches, and the birds sit on top. Father-in-Law was the brains behind the logistics, because quite frankly, when it comes to drill presses, it’s safer for everyone’s limbs if I just say ‘this needs to look like that’, and then step back. So, dowels were cut, holes were drilled, and eventually we ended up with something that looks like this:

You can see where I drew the angles of the legs on the birds. This will guide the drill press that I know all of you have.

So, a few months of procrastinating later, these were re-assembled on the opposite coast, painted and modge-podged (everything nursery related seems to end in modge podge).

And voila, the final product:

Alphabet Blocks

2011-08-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do alphabet blocks for the nursery because I remember having them as a kid, and I keep seeing them pictured in those fancy houzz.com nurseries I’ve been drooling over as inspiration.

Basically, all you have to do is take some 2x2x4’s that they sell for stair balusters and cut them into blocks. Sand and paint 2 sides of each.

Download the pdf HERE. Print, cut out and modgepodge the letter squares to the blocks, using scrapbook paper to cover the remaining sides. For the letters, I just typed them out using random fonts in MSWord and then cut them out. Cover blocks with another 3 coats of modgepodge, and you’re done!

Download Printable PDF Here.

In the coming months, if there’s interest, I may upload a set in a more neutral palette, since I know my orange and slate grey nursery isn’t exactly what everyone’s going for these days. It looks great though, I promise:

Great Printable Finds

2011-08-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

I've been spending some very productive time lately scouring the internet for things that inspire me for future projects for this site. Sure, I could be getting the house ready for the impending arrival of our child, but why prepare when google is there? :P

In all seriousness, I have come across some great printable sites that I thought I'd share.

worldlabel.com:

This site has some fun printables for all occasions. I particularly enjoyed their book labels:

And their vintage bottle labels:

Charlotte's Fancy:

Charlotte's Fancy has some great printables for every occasion:

iDIY:

iDIY has some great printables, especially if you're doing a vintage wedding.

Happy Printing!

Ricotta and Tomato Tart

2011-08-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

This is a great recipe based on the one in Rose Elliot’s Sumptuous Suppers (I really do like anything with the word sumptuous in the title). It’s one of my favourite cookbooks as it contains lots of great pictures and more gourmet recipes that are relatively easy.

It’s certainly not a healthy meal, though I do substitute some of the cheese with tofu to cut down on the fat (I said some!!), and serve with a spinach salad. I originally wanted to serve it with an arugula salad, but sadly our small town Thrifty Foods doesn’t know what arugula is.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 250g pkg soft tofu
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
4 plum tomatoes, diced
1 bunch of fresh basil, loosely torn.
salt and pepper to taste
4 Tbsp Pesto plus more for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Put the ricotta, parmesan and tofu into a food processor. Blend until smooth.
Add butter, eggs and yolks. Season with salt and pepper, and blend until smooth.
Spoon half of the mixture into an 8” springform pan.
In a bowl, combined diced tomatoes with pesto. Add a handful of fresh basil to taste.
Add the tomato mixture to the springform ricotta mixture, spreading lightly until even.
Gently spread the remaining ricotta mixture on top.
Bake tart for 1 – 1 1/4 hours or until browned. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes and remove sides of the pan.

The recipe calls for a sauce made of 4 Tbsp pesto with 4 Tbsp water, but I found it made the pesto too watery and didn’t quite balance out the flavours of the cheese, so instead I added the pesto to the center of the cake. Instead, serve with a balsamic glaze and garnish with pine nuts.

Toughest Critic Rating: 8/10

DIY Spice Labels

2011-08-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

We got a pair of spice racks for our wedding, but because they were two of the same, not a set, we found the pre-labeled jars to be a bit limiting (plus, do you REALLY need 2 jars of dried basil?).

These spice labels were good fun to make. All you need is a 1.5” round punch and some 8.5x11 sticker paper (the dollar store sells it now, but we used the Avery brand ones – 5 years later and they’re still stuck on).

Download printable .pdf here.

For the love of Pantone

2011-08-05T20:52:00.001-07:00

I saw a great Pantone inspired purse in Style at Home magazine this morning, and thought it would be a great follow up post to the pantone chip magnets from Sunday. For some reason, I just can’t get enough of the chip look.

So here are some fav pantone finds I thought you might enjoy:

image courtesy of PopDeluxe

image courtesy of Park Life

image courtesy of Remodelista

i-phone cases:

image courtesy of pantone.com

Clipboard love.

2011-08-04T21:51:00.001-07:00

I have a thing for clipboard organizing lately. My Pantone Meal Planning Paint Chips were inspired by a clipboard find on pinterest, and I really gravitated toward this post from Martha Stewart:

image courtesy of Martha Stewart

Maybe I’m in school withdrawl or something, but I really do like the way clipboards get things off the counter, without getting into the habit of hiding things in a drawer or basket that never gets touched.

For those who are willing to take on the project, a great tutorial for clipboards and matching pads of paper here: LINK. And then send me pictures, because it was a project I really want to tackle, but need to find a place in our home to use them.

Other great clipboard ideas:

This would be a great way to display or store in progress crafts in a craft room:

image courtesy of roomenvy

This would also be a great way to keep your family organized with notes, permission slips, etc.:

image courtesy of August Vintage

Vintage clipboards would be a neat way to display children’s art:

image courtesy of Darling Dexter

DIY Pantone Meal Planning Magnets

2011-07-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Technorati Tags: DIY,downloadable

I came across this awesome meal plan/grocery list project on Pinterest one day:

And thought it would be an awesome DIY project. Toughest Critic was sent to Staples for a clipboard, since our small town doesn’t seem to carry clipboards anywhere (maybe they’ve gone out of style). Anyway, what Toughest Critic came back with was an 11x17 whiteboard (he did come back with a clipboard, but not the one I wanted either).

Instead what I came up with was a set of magnets based on pantone chips:

The basic idea is that I have a stack of these magnets at my disposal, and every time I try a new recipe that TC approves of, I write the name on one of my chip magnets. This way, I don’t have to remember on Saturday what I meal planned on Monday, and TC can contribute to the meal planning by picking the meals for the week.

It also means that if TC does the grocery shopping, I know what’s in the fridge for dinner, preventing those nights where you have to figure out what to eat with half an onion, some cranberry juice and a brick of shortening (it has happened).

How to make them yourself:

Download this pdf.
Print on a magnet sheet (I used the Staples brand because it has a glossy finish versus Avery which looks like bond paper on magnets). Be sure to set your printer to print on the highest setting.
Cut out.

And you’re done. Took me all of about an hour once the design work was done (colours are Behr if you’re using them to decorate, by the way. I’m too cheap to invest in a pantone license).

Download Printable PDF Here.

Happy planning!

DIY Kitchen Art

2011-07-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

So I had these 5x7 frames that I bought at IKEA sitting on my kitchen shelves for eons. Our photo printer only prints 4x6’s, so I can’t imagine what possessed me to buy 5x7 frames, but I couldn’t find the right art to put in them. So, in a moment of frustration, just to have them dealt with, I whipped up some ‘art’ using some free vector kitchen utensils just to fill the space until I decide what I want.

Now you can too. Download the pdf files here:

Download 4x6 here. Download 5x7 here.

Internet Find - DIY Printable Date Night

2011-07-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.bijouxbride.com/diy-1-date-night

This is an adorable DIY craft from Bijoux Bride that I spied on craftgawker today (for some reason I'm really into doilies lately - maybe I'm channeling my grandmother's sense of decor?).

While I'm probably too lazy to go about making something like this, the thought's there (right, TC?). Though I suppose you could re-use the envelope if you do a regular date night thing that we do, and just change the card inside.

Here's a similar idea from pinterest (though arguably less pretty) that I've been thinking about making for a while:

Let's Go On a Date

Now to get on to thinking about what to actually do for date night. Of late, our regular date night has been limited to clearing out the PVR and passing out at 10 (yes, I know you're jealous). I suppose that we should get on doing something 'date-y' before the kidlet comes and we're home bound, but that would involve effort, and maybe some nicer weather.

Wedding Feature – Wedluxe Magazine

2011-07-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

It’s not often I get to see the final result of the design stuff I do, especially professionally photographed.

Wedluxe Magazine recently (okay, so by recently I mean ‘since my hiatus’) did a feature one of the weddings I did some design work for, and I’m really proud of how it all turned out. The pictures look great!

View the full article at: www.wedluxe.com

DIY Wedding Stuff

2011-07-17T23:08:00.001-07:00

This is a shameless pimping post for that other site I forget to update often: my wedding template site. (I have a valid excuse though: our mac is hooked up to our television, so updating anything in iweb involves a yoga-like position to use the mouse and keyboard in unison…lets face it, at 8 months pregnant, anything requiring anything more than sitting is not happening).

Here are a bunch of downloadable word docs for programs, seating charts, etc.:

http://design.jodyprouse.com/freebies/templates.html

Here are some tutorials and downloadables for our invites, tablenumbers, etc.:

http://design.jodyprouse.com/freebies/tutorials.html

Cheers!

Panko Crusted Tofu

2011-07-17T22:45:00.001-07:00

Technorati Tags: recipes

This is a recipe inspired by the one in Quick Fix Vegetarian. It’s a handy cookbook, though I would appreciate pictures and cooking times, especially in cookbooks meant for busy evenings.

I have to say that as a former meatatarian, I’ve slowly grown accustomed to the single dish convenience of most vegetarian meals. I forget that from time to time, when looking through recipe books that I do occasionally have to make side dishes for things (ordinarily my laziness pretty much eliminates anything that requires pulling out more than 2 pots).

This recipe would be a great meat substitute if you’re having a few vegetarians over and plan to serve a meat dish with other sides. It’s even better if you’re serving with some sort of Asian inspired greens.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp tahini
1/4 cup water
panko crumbs
canola oil (enough for frying)
1 lb extra-firm tofu, cut into thin slices
1/2 of a white onion, cut into thin slices
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
garlic to taste, minced
1/2 cup vegetable broth
juice of one lemon

Directions:

Combine tahini and water in a bowl until they form a paste (add salt and pepper to taste). Set aside.
In a second bowl, pour the panko crumbs. (I start with a little, about 1/4 cup, and then add more as I need it).
In a frying pan, fry onions until soft, bordering on caramelized. Add the broth and garlic. Let simmer to reduce the liquid by about a quarter. Add butter and stir until melted, and season to taste.
Pour the oil into a frying pan. You’ll want enough that it will fry the panko crumbs to a nice golden brown. I had to continually add to the pan, so it’s hard to suggest a solid quantity. Coat the tofu cutlets in the tahini mixture, and then in panko crumbs. Fry until golden brown.
Pour onion mixture on to plated cutlets.

If you’re planning on serving these for a dinner party, you can prepare them just before the guests are set to arrive and keep them warm in the oven (don’t add the sauce until serving). Don’t let them sit too long though, or they’ll get soggy.

Toughest Critic Rating: 9/10

So clearly I suck.

2011-07-17T18:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did make a pledge to come back and update my blog more often, but it seems time has gotten the best of me, and here I am months after February without an update.

We do have news though! Much to the surprise of everyone (except maybe the two of us, I guess), we’re having a baby!

Scroll quickly if you don’t want to see my lady parts:

Okay, so perhaps pictures of my innards aren’t the best in a blog that’s been mostly dedicated to food, but I can’t help myself. Those 10 toes (I know you can only see 7) belong to our future daughter, who has the politically correct expected date of September 11th, 2011.

The good news, for the one of you still reading this blog, is that I now have actual content to start updating (yay!!!!), because like weddings, babies come with lots and lots of crafting and decorating opportunities.

So stay tuned. I have lots of things to update, and will likely have a few things to say about motherhood, seeing as I’ve spent most of my life avoiding it like the plague.

Should be good fun.

Wild Mushroom and Asiago Quiche

2011-02-24T18:16:00.001-08:00

So Toughest Critic has done his best to get me back into the swing of things by documenting every successful dish I’ve made. Lets face it, I’ve fallen back into the alternating dinners of eggs and grilled cheese, so it’s been rare that TC has even had to locate the camera.

Foodnetwork Canada has an app for blackberries that helpfully recommends a new recipe to try every day. As wonderful as it is, it gives you no way to email the bloody suckers and has a built in ‘feature’ that deletes all your recipes every time it updates, which seems like every week.

This was my featured recipe a few weeks ago, that I managed to make before it disappeared into the ether:

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Main/Cheese/recipe.html?dishID=7036

I’m not normally a fan of Christine Cushing. It probably comes from my dislike of chipmunks, but this dish was really good. The balsamic glaze really compliments the cheese, so I totally recommend plating with it, even if it gives you the excuse of drawing happy faces with goo.

Toughest Critic Rating: 8.5/10

Hiatus

2011-02-24T18:04:00.001-08:00

So I’ve been offline.

Last fall I was hit with the passing of two very, very special, wonderful people. It wasn’t a shock, but it has taken this long to come back.

Also lost last fall was our family dog Sadie, who if anything, had an overabundance of personality (note the lack of cute puppy picture below).

It took a while to come back here, to this blog, because I was unsure about what to write, and for a while a blog about recipes, sarcasm and craft ideas seem a lot less important.

So, it’s been a rough ride. And now it’s march and the 5 of you who read this blog have probably stopped checking.

I’ll try harder to update it more often, because lets face it, I need somewhere for the sarcasm to go.

Palak Paneer

2010-07-14T20:56:00.001-07:00

3 words: salty cheese balls.

See, now you want them too.

I know you’re fighting the desire to sing Chef’s ‘Suck on my chocolate salty balls’ from South Park, but the salty cheese bites in this recipe are sooo, so good.

If you can’t locate palak (the Indian squeaky cheese), you can substitute with halloumi (which we did because we had it leftover from the other night). If you do cook with the halloumi, don’t fry it long. Unlike paneer, halloumi does melt in high heat (though not as much as mozzarella), so you just have to get the outside melted a bit to get the flavour. If you can’t locate either cheese, or want to make this dairy free, use extra firm tofu, but add a 1/4 tsp of salt when adding the other spices.

I didn’t take a picture of this one, because lets face it, mulched spinach with white chunks won’t look pretty no matter which way you serve it.

Ingredients:

1 inch cube of fresh ginger, grated
garlic*
1 cup cubed paneer, halloumi or tofu.
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 pinches cayenne pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2 pkgs frozen spinach (thawed) or 1 1/2 lbs fresh (will need to add 1/4 cup water)
1/2 cup cream or half and half

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add tofu or paneer and fry until golden. If using halloumi, add to hot pan and toss until outside is softened. Sprinkle with garam masala and 1 pinch of cayenne. Set aside.
2. Fry spinach with ginger, garlic and pinch of cayenne for about a minute. Add cream and continue cooking. If mixture gets too thick, you can add a bit of water to make it a little more sauce-like. Heat on low for 10 minutes for the flavours to blend.
3. Add paneer and serve over rice or with naan.

*(recipe calls for up to 6 cloves…I used 6 and didn’t taste it, but my garlic detector could be dead).

The original recipe includes directions to make paneer yourself, but I’m a long, long way from feeling the need to make my own cheese…but come the time that I start milking my own cows and grocery stores evaporate from the face of the planet, I’m set.

Toughest Critic Rating: 8.63

Toughest Critic is enjoying his rating duties way too much.

Toughest Critic served me some sort of store bought angel food cake wannabe foam rubber thing (maybe it’s the dog’s chew toy?) for dessert today….am considering revoking Toughest Critic status until I question his tastebuds.

Tofu Fried Rice

2010-07-14T20:25:00.001-07:00

This has been my go-to rice dish for quite some time now. Originally it was from my copy of Help! My Apartment Has A Kitchen, but I’ve long since stopped using the book. I was going to make home made spring rolls to go with it, but lets face it, I’m lazy, so I’ll save those for another day. The Costco ones are a great accompaniment. I’m sure Martha just serves those anyway.

For the record, fried rice is not the least bit photogenic. Least it could do is smile.

Again, if you’re one of those ‘think ahead’ people, you could marinade the tofu in some soya sauce to give it some flavour.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 pkg extra firm tofu
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms (I like to use shitake and cremini)
1 cup frozen peas (or you could use one of those frozen pea/carrot combo bags)
3 cups rice
1/4 cup soya sauce
garlic
1 tsp ginger (optional)

Directions:

1. Scramble the eggs until the yolk is fully cooked, set aside.
2. Fry onion until soft, and mushrooms and cook until slightly brown.
3. Add rice, peas, tofu soya sauce, garlic and ginger (if using) and stir until well mixed and rice is evenly coated. Cook until tofu and peas are fully heated.
4. Mix in egg. Serve.

This freezes well and makes great low fat lunches.

No Toughest Critic Rating….he’s stuck eating this anyway.

Greek Rice Pilaf

2010-07-14T20:08:00.001-07:00

So I tried making a single meal portion of rice in my rice cooker and ended up with something that was a cross between soup and rice pudding, soo in order to avert any future epic fails, I’m collected recipes that use pre-cooked rice, so I can start getting rid of the containers full in the freezer.

Throw in some marinated chicken to make this a non-vegetarian meal…omit the tofu.

If you’re really planning ahead, which I’m incapable of, marinade the tofu overnight in a lemon, dijon and olive oil mixture to give it some flavour.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
garlic
3 cups cooked rice
1 pkg extra firm tofu, cubed
1/4 cup water or broth
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups canned artichoke hearts, drained and quartered (can use the marinated ones for more flavour)
2 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tsp minced fresh if available)
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper
3/4 cup pitted sliced kalamata olives
3/4 cup feta cheese

Directions:

1. Fry the tofu until lightly browned and set aside.
2. Fry the onion until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, rice, water and lemon juice. Stir until rice is coated with the liquid.
3. Reduce heat and stir in the peas, artichoke hearts, tofu, oregano, salt and pepper.
4. Crumble feta cheese on top when peas are cooked and pilaf is ready to serve.

Leftovers are really good rolled in a pita.

Toughest Critic Rating: 8.2

Three Cheese Baked Penne

2010-07-06T21:46:00.001-07:00

This is one of those dinners that's so good that you really question brushing your teeth afterward because you want to keep that taste in your mouth....I said question...

If you're a meat eater (like me) and eat tuna (not me), then it might make a good addition to the the dish for those 'I can't eat a dinner without smeat' people.

Ingredients:

6 cups dried penne (you could also use macaroni)
1 500g pkg of marscarpone cheese.
2 tbsp dijon mustard
250g grated fontina cheese (I grated a 1" wedges worth...not sure what it actually yielded)
1/2 cup grated romano cheese
garlic*
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook to desired tenderness.
2. Drain water and return to pot.
3. Heat the marscarpone until melted in a microwave safe dish. Pour over pasta.
4. Add mustard, grated fontina, garlic, salt and pepper and 1/4 cup of the romano cheese. Mix well.
5. Transfer mix to an oven safe dish and sprinkle with the remaining romano.
6. Preheat oven to 400F, and cook for 25-30 until cheese starts to brown on top and the rest is bubbling.

I made a penne dinner (with a homemade Alfredo gruyere sauce) the night before and assembled the dish from the extra noodles so it was ready for oven cooking today. It keeps well overnight in the fridge as it helps the garlic fully penetrate the cheese...and we all know I love me some garlic.

This recipe is based on the one from this book: Easy Vegetarian.

Toughest Critic Rating: 9.6 (with a few implied gold stars - insert happy clap).

On an unexpected note, Toughest Critic and I were sitting down for dinner when we looked out the window and saw a new neighbor:

Thought for a second I stumbled into a Jack Hanna special.

Well, they can't all be winners.

2010-07-04T22:41:00.001-07:00

So, last night was one of those meals where you really wonder 'why do I bother?'. I was trying a recipe for fried udon noodles from one of my new 30-minute cookbooks and took a left turn somewhere past edible and into 'there's so much salt I could preserve dead bodies' land.

Sure, my first sign should have been when I spilled the tahini jar and ended up with sesame goo all down my arm and all over the counter (a texture I should add that reminds me so much of that troll bogey scene from Harry Potter). So instead of spending my afternoon trying to manhandle the tahini, I opted for white miso.....yeah..not the best of ideas. But Toughest Critic put on his brave face when he went for the gallon of water and loaf of bread instead of the zantac right away.

Since I won't be posting the recipe (unless you do plan on preserving dead bodies - though I'm not sure what that says about my readership), I'll post the picture:

Chocolate Tart

2010-07-04T22:29:00.001-07:00

This recipe is dairy-free, gluten free and egg free (but thankfully not taste free!). It was originally taken from the book Clean Food, but somehow made twice as much crust as I thought was edible...unless you have a thing for crust. This is my altered version, because the cake needed a little 'somethin' somethin'.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup white rice flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 1/2 tbsp canola oil
2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
pinch of salt

Filling:

2 300g pkgs silken tofu
1/2 cup cashew butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Crust:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a food processor, combine pecans, flour, cocoa and salt. Process until smooth and crumb-like.
3. Add oil and syrup and blend until fully combined.
4. Place mixture in a 7inch spring-form tart pan and press until even.
5. Pierce crust with a fork and bake until browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool.

Filling:
1. Using a stand mixer, whip tofu until creamy.
2. Add cashew butter, syrup and sugar, and blend until fully combined.
3. Using a double boiler, melt chocolate until smooth, and combine with other ingredients.
4. Pour chocolate mixture over top of the crust, and smooth with a spatula.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes before eating.

If you can, find a friend that makes FANTASTIC vanilla bean rice cream to serve with it. Makes for a REALLY tasty vegan treat. And just a note about plating, while Nesquick may have seemed like a wise idea to embellish the plate, it's really not....I mean, unless you're a fan of bitter, runny goo (in which case, you might also like the double crust thing too).

Toughest Critic Rating: 8.7

This is NOT my first post.

2010-07-03T00:43:00.001-07:00

So, welcome. This is the blog I've been procrastinating, the new leaf, if you will. My new 'raison d'être' if we're flashing around cheesy catchphrases.

The point being that I've been on this 'healthy grown up lifestyle' kick for going on 6 months now, and while it looked great in the brochure, I'm slowly falling back into that lifestyle of grilled cheese and eggs every other night of the week. I need something to motivate me, something to keep me inspired, and mostly, somewhere to contain my sarcasm so it doesn't eek into other areas of my life.

Solution: The Questionable Domestique.

A tilt of the hat to my not-so-french roots, sure, but it was unanimously voted on by Toughest Critic (TC) who giggled at the double entendre of cycling reference and my lack of any domestic skill whatsoever. Though for the record, I'd probably make a better Popovich than housemaid.

Toughest Critic is my husband: vegetarian picky eater, co-decorator and helper extraordinaire.

I hope (because we're going for poignancy with this intro) that I'll keep you enticed with good vegetarian food, fun crafting, interesting links, and other juicy tidbits...even if 'you' is just 'mom' and are here 'only because I was reminded'. :)

Spinach and Halloumi Galette

2010-07-03T00:12:00.001-07:00

Halloumi is a cheese Toughest Critic and I fell in love with while honeymooning in New Zealand. If it's not readily available, you can substitute with mozzarella.

Ingredients:

1 pkg frozen spinach
1 pkg puff pastry dough
1 cup grated halloumi
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 tbps fresh oregano, minced
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk or cream
garlic*
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 415F.
2. Thaw spinach and press in sieve to remove excess liquid.
3. Roll out puff pastry to 1/4 inch thickness, remembering to dust lightly with flour to keep from sticking. Place on baking sheet.
4. Sprinkle spinach, feta and halloumi onto pastry leaving a 1.5 inch border on all sides.
5. Cut a slit into each corner of the puff pastry and fold the sides up around the filling. Use a bit of water to get the corners to stick.
6. In a bowl, mix eggs, oregano, milk and garlic together until well blended. Using a basting brush, brush a small bit of the mixture around the edges of the puff pastry, then pour the remaining mixture over top of the cheese filling.
7. Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on it. When pastry and cheese filling starts to brown, the galette is done.

Toughest critic rating: 9/10

* I put in 3 cloves of garlic into this recipe, but I've been told I like my food garlicky enough to banish vampires from the planet with my very breath, so we'll just leave it as 'to taste'.

The awesome thing about puff pastry dinners is that they look so gourmet and require minimal effort. If rolling the pastry is too much, you can buy the pre-rolled pie crusts and use that without even touching a rolling pin. You can also make individual ones if you're going for that super fancy 'I watch lots of foodtv' look. Don't forget to garnish the plate with a sprig of oregano and a line of balsamic glaze...or at least that's what Martha would say.