Thanks & Giving

As I’m sure you know this is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  I think it is the PERFECT time to introduce a new “series” I’d like to do on the blog every Sunday from today until Sunday December 19.  I’ll be calling it simply “Thanks & Giving”.   For the thanks part I’ll be reviewing everything I have to be thankful for in the week previous.  I find I get so busy that I forget to stop and look around me to see and appreciate all that I have.  In doing this I’ll be keeping myself aware of what’s been going on.  I’ll explain the “giving” part at the end of this post because it is something BIG!!!  To start, here are a few things that I am most thankful for, always;
First and foremost I am thankful for my 2 healthy, vibrant, active kids:
 
I am also very thankful to have a strong, healthy body that obeys my every command.

I’m grateful that I am able to workout, ride my bike, move pain free, see, hear, hug my kids.  My body is not perfect, but still amazing!  I am thankful to have a good paying  job with an amazing boss.  I am thankful that I’ve been a homeowner for 11 years and that I can give to my kids all that they need (and want).  I am thankful to have delicious food to put on the table:    
And my Thanksgiving meal at Mom’s…
DS LOVES the turkey leg and devours one every year!
And in the theme of giving; this weekend we went through all our fall/winter clothes and put aside everything that was too small or that we wouldn’t be wearing again.  We filled a HUGE garbage bag and brought it to the community clothing closet:
Last year around this time I participated in Project Feed Me.  Natalie (who doesn’t blog anymore) organized an online food drive that was a huge success.  Basically, every Monday she announced a “food of the week”.  No item was more than a dollar and the idea was that everyone bought 2 each of said item to donate at Christmas time to the local food bank.  I’d like to follow this great idea again this year as part of my “Thanks & Giving” series.  Each Sunday from today until December 19 I’ll introduce a non perishable item on the blog with a photo.  By mid December I’ll have a fantastic stash to bring to my local food bank!!  Would you like to participate? All you have to do is send me a photo of the item of the week that you purchased along with a link to your blog to kristaskravings@gmail.com and I will post it on my site.  If you don’t have a blog just send me a photo and I’ll post that for you. **Note-you don’t have to purchase the same “brand” as me.   What I’d love to happen is to have everyone who participates take a final photo at the end of the drive as well and send it in to me so I can  do one great big post showcasing everyone’s efforts to help the people who aren’t as fortunate as us.  This week’s item will be tuna:
So, who’s in????  Please leave me a comment below to let me know what you think and if you’ll be participating.  But whether or not you decide to join in, PLEASE spread the word along.  The more people this gets to, the better!!  THANKS!!  And just for motivation sake, this is what my stash looked like last year…  
Bye for now!!

Feelings

I guess I fell off blog earth for a bit there, huh?  I’ve been SUPER busy the past week which has had me going through a plethora of feelings.  I’ve spent part of the time feeling like this:
Our city (approx 100, 000 people) has been cramming 3 years worth of road construction into one season so you can imagine the mess the roads are in.  Trying to get DS anywhere for soccer and hockey, DD to dance and myself to work has been an extreme act of patience….and I don’t have much to start with!  I read in the paper yesterday that the reason for this disaster they’ve made is that the city received government funding for road repairs which needs to be accounted for by March 2011 or the grant is lost.  Sheesh!  I try to keep reminding myself that the roads will be better when this is over, not to mention all the people who are being kept employed.  Happy thoughts, happy thoughts!
I’ve also been feeling very cold sitting at DS’s soccer try outs!
It was only 5*C this morning at 10:30!!  At least it wasn’t raining today, unlike yesterday!  And at least I have multiple, warm layers on.  Unlike my poor son who is in shorts!
Brrr!  Try outs are now over and we will know next week which team he will play on next summer.  There will be some indoor soccer over the winter with INDOOR being the key word here.  LOL  Oh!  I can’t forget that I was also cold (just not quite so much) at Friday’s hockey practice and Saturday’s hockey game.
I’m skipping practice today on the pretense of staying home to do some housework.  Really, I’ll be spending on a fraction of the time on chores, the rest on blogging!  Shhh!!  Seriously, though….my house is in shambles.  And I have a beautiful pork roast just waiting to hit the oven with some onions, carrots and parsnips.  YUM!
As you can probably guess from my fist photo, DD and I spent some time perusing  potential Halloween costumes.  DD has never been into “girly” costumes.  She’s always gone for the gory, scarier options.  Here are some she tried on yesterday:
Which one do you like?  This was her last year:
RAWR!!!  I felt like quite the jester taking picture after picture in the store:
HA!  The theme my department at work is going with this year is construction workers.  We decided it would be fitting seeing as the roads are all ripped up in front of the building.  I’ve been put in charge of making up a check off list so that everyone brings something in.  So far I’ve got caution tape, pylons, hard hats, vests….  What am I missing?
And yes, I have also been feeling hungry the past few days! This was a “treat” bowl with brown sugar, maple syrup and pecans.  Mmmm..

And yes, the cold weather has brought oats back full force.  That’s all I’ve been wanting lately in the morning. Ginger Gold!!
Goat’s milk yogurt + Archer farms chocolate hazelnut biscotti granola = one AWESOME lunch!!  We went to Boston Pizza for dinner after hockey Friday night where I ordered this Tuscan pizza which was amazeballs!!  I’ve had a hankering for pizza lately and this hit the spot. The above is quinoa, salsa, turkey breast and quark. Quick, simple, delish.
Well, I’d better get a move on with vacuuming.  *sigh*  Gotta get to it now, though because we’re going to my parents after dinner and then the Amazing Race  and The Glades is on!  What are you up to tonight??
Bye for now!!

How About Dem Apples?

We managed to fit a trip to the apple orchard (Chudleigh’s) in yesterday in between a soccer tryout and a hockey game.  My weekends have been jam packed with kid stuff and I was determined to do something un-sport related for an hour or so.  I’m not a HUGE apple fan, but there are 3 varieties that I enjoy.  And they happened to have all 3 ready as either “pick your own” or “pre picked”.   So what are my top 3?  Here you go, in order!

Honey Crisp:

Ginger Gold:


Royal Gala:

For some unknown reason I walked out of there with no Gala.  What a dork, but these are easy to find in the grocery store I shop at.  The other 2 are only sold a higher end stores which are all across town from me.  BOO!  I also bought a bag of McIntosh because it’s the only variety that DS will eat.
I think this was the reason I got thrown off course with the galas!  Anyways, here is some info on the varieties that I got:
“Honeycrisp is an apple cultivar developed at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota. Designated in 1974 as the MN 1711, and released in 1991, the Honeycrisp, once slated to be discarded, has rapidly become a prized commercial commodity, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. The Honeycrisp also retains its pigment well and boasts a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions.”

(source)

“Ginger Gold is one of the earliest commercial apple varieties to ripen, bearing in August on the east coast or even July in California. The fruit is conical and starts out a very pale green, though if left on the tree will ripen to a soft yellow with a slightly waxy appearance.  The primary use is for eating out of hand, though it can be used for most other purposes. The flesh, of a cream color, resists browning more than most varieties. The flavour is mild but with a tart finish.”



(source)

“Gala apples are small and are usually red with a portion being greenish or yellow-green, vertically striped. Gala apples are fairly resistant to bruising and are sweet, grainy, with a mild flavour and a thinner skin than most apples. Quality indices include firmness, crispness and sweetness.”

(source)
The orchard also has pumpkins, and lots of them.  I set DD out with my camera while we waited in a long line so these great photos are courtesy of her!
We treated the kids to candy apples which they had never had before:
  
Not surprisingly, DD made fast work of hers, DS started out strong but called it quits at the halfway point!
And I couldn’t leave without the prerequisite photo of my kids sitting on the pumpkins!
On Saturday I put the last of my yellow tomatoes to use in a quick, easy soup.  Let’s call it “Golden Tomato Soup”, shall we?
-3 ripe yellow tomatoes, wedged
-1 onion, wedged
-dashes of oregano, cumin, chilli powder, salt & pepper
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 cup stock or water
-1/2 milk (I used almond breeze)
*pre heat oven to 400*
*combine tomatoes, onions, spices and oil in a large bowl
*dump onto large cookie sheet and roast for 25 minutes
*put veggies and all juices into a stock pot and add water
*bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes
*puree (I used an immersion blender)
*add milk and bring back to temperature
*serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, sour cream or quark 
This is very similar to my Butternut Squash soup.    Just different veg, but same delicious results!  And you could totally use red tomatoes!
Even though I’ve been changing up the format of my posts, food is still a big part of my world and I’d like to keep it as a key point in my posts.  So here are some of my eats from the past few days!
Dark chocolate cherry mocha oats…

Nature’s Path hemp seed hot oats…

I had this turkey sub for dinner last night.  I never, ever get a foot long but last night I reasoned that the foot long was only 50 cents more than the 6”.  NEVER AGAIN!  This was WAY too much food and even though I didn’t eat it all, I still ate too much.  I was still full this morning and my stomach has not been happy with me today.  :/
 
The above dish was dinner tonight.  I sautéed 2 yellow and 2 red bell peppers with one onion, added some chicken thighs, tomato sauce and spices.  I served it over quinoa for a great meal!

I just pulled a batch of muffins out of the oven and the house smells GREAT.  I’ll save that recipe for my next post, though.  ;)
**NEWSFLASH**
Flanigan Farms is offering a 15% Off Special Discount on Nuts ‘N’ Things® 1oz trail mix as an exclusive promotion geared to introduce new, healthy treats with Hallowe’en just around the bend.  You can choose from multi-packs of this “goblin food” in 18, 36 or 72 counts. These would be great to fill pumpkins & pillowcases on Halloween night, or sneak in a healthy snack for yourself.  All you have to do is visit www.FlaniganFarms.com, and enter coupon code SPOOK upon checkout. Offer expires Halloween night.  *Disclaimer:  I am not receiving any products from Flanigan Farms to post about this promotion*
Bye for now!!