We have a birthday tradition in our family … and of course it involves food! You get to choose a special treat breakfast. For the past three or four years now, my son consistently has chosen cinnamon buns for his birthday. I’ve always been a little scared of making anything with yeast except for pizza dough. But I ventured into bread-making this year and my confidence is at an all-time high. I decided that I couldn’t take the risk on the day of his birthday to …
Super Easy Sugar Cookies for Christmas
For the last few years, I’ve leaned towards DIY Christmas gifts for my loved ones – in part because budgeting for gifts is extremely difficult on a single income, but also because I love making things. After spending hours and hours trying to decide what the “best” gift for this person or that person might be, I threw caution to the wind last year and made almost every gift I gave. It was awesome. My favourite DIYs involved my son's hands and feet, first with our Christmas Tree canvas …
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love Christmastime and all the feel good giving, time with family, and parties with great food. Oh, the food *wipes drool and loosens belt in preparation for some epicurean debauchery*. This is the time of year that people bring out their best party recipes or their personal food treasures and share amongst their friends. I’m not the bravest party goer who will try one of everything on the buffet table - unless it’s the sweets table because "yes" to everything with sugar and butter as the …
How to Make Maple Taffy on Snow
I have fond memories from my childhood of spending time at my aunt and uncle’s sugar shack. Sure, all kids like sweet, sticky maple syrup, but the memories are about the carefree nature of those outdoor days. It’s as though the cold didn’t affect us. We would run and play in the forest while the adults were gathered at the shack. Ski-doo rides. Sleigh rides. *Pretending* to help. There was always music playing. Fiddle. Accordion. Guitar. The entire forest came alive. From the …
Chocolate Covered Liquorice
Have you ever gone to a party and been confronted with a dish that makes you question the creator’s sanity? I have; it was just last year and the the food item I found so strange was chocolate covered liquorice. Granted, I am kind of a food purist when it comes to chocolate, I mean, chocolate is at the tippy top of my Foods I Love list. Not chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered nuts, or chocolate dipped bacon (Ew. What is the matter with people? No, just stop it with the bacon and …