Sliding into Fall

Hello!  Anybody out there?  I've been absent from the blog for so long that I wonder if I have any readers left.  LOL  I've still been reading blogs each day; I just can't seem to find the time to write my own posts.  I guess that means I've been busy living life, right?

I last left off with an ice cream post.  Guess that's bit outdated now that the cooler temps have moved in!  Ah, the lazy, warm days of summer....the season ended on a high note, though with the addition of this little munchkin!

Meet Spooky!  I found this little fur ball living under my parents neighbours deck with her Mom.  Over the course of a week or so MY Mom noticed that HER Mom wasn't coming around too much anymore and with the nights becoming cooler and cooler, she took her into the back porch.  Thus started a life of luxury for the little miss as my parents soon decided she was way too cute to go to the local shelter and gave her a forever home.

We all just lover her to bits!  I mean, just LOOK at that face!  :)

Before long school started, the days became shorter, Noah's soccer season ended...

And the hockey season (which Jason is coaching this year) started....

And cross country came and went.....

Sarah decided not to run this year; she's involved in volleyball and dance, however Noah finished 6th out of 105 kids running for our city's school districts!  ROCK STAR!

We went on a road trip to Kingston this past weekend for a hockey tournament.  It's about a 3-3.5hr drive east of where I live.  The further east we got, the prettier the leaves!

Even though the boys played 5 games in 3 days, some of us parents managed to spend a solid 3 hours touring around downtown Kingston.  The skies were overcast, but the temps were comfortable enough.  It's beautiful along the water;

 A few more....with people this time!  :)

 Some of the buildings are just gorgeous, but I somehow managed to only get a photo of one!

As for the hockey part....the boys played phenomenal!  They were in first place going into the semi's and lost in a heartbreaker.  It was tied 1-1 after 5 mins of overtime and they ended up losing in a shoot out.  It was an extremely exciting, yet stressful game!  Noah won "Player of the Game" for the first game they played.  He was quite proud!

Not sure why the is sideways, but you get the idea, right?!  One of the best things about the weekend is that we got to spend time with family that lives up in that area.  Jason's Aunt, Uncle, cousin and her family all came to watch the 2 games played on Saturday AND we had enough time in between to out out for dinner!  It was so, so nice to see them!  Here's Sarah with her cuz:

I'll leave you with a few goodies I brought back with me...

Can't wait t try this 100% maple syrup jelly mixed with some Dijon and slathered on some salmon!  My mouth is watering already!

Bye for now!!

White Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream

Oh, yes...you read that title correctly!  It all started last week when we stopped for ice cream after our sweaty afternoon hike.  As I perused the ice cream choices my eyes fell upon an intriguing flavour called "Black Raspberry Thunder".  In description read "white chocolate ice cream with black raspberry marble & white chocolate chunks".  Game on!  

Seriously the best ice cream I've ever eaten!  I knew right then and there that I had to try and replicate it at home.  I immediately Googled white chocolate ice cream and among the many that popped up found 2 that I knew I could combine to get the results I wanted.  I busted out the ice cream maker and got to work!

White Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream

Ice Cream

8 oz white chocolate, finely chopped (I used a bag of white chocolate chips)
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
pinch salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Raspberry Swirl

1 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons sugar


To make the raspberry swirl;

Combine raspberries and sugar in a bowl (if you're using frozen berries, let them thaw slightly first) and mash together with a fork until juicy but still with chunks of raspberries. Chill in your refrigerator while you make the ice cream.


To make the ice cream;

To make the ice cream: Add the chocolate to a large heatproof bowl, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl. Set aside.

Combine the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan and heat just until warm.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl. Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour back into the saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (about 170-175 F on an instant read thermometer). Pour through the strainer into the bowl with the white chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Mix in the heavy cream. 

Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (I left mine in the fridge for 6hrs).   Pour chilled ice cream mixture into the  freezer bowl of your ice cream maker and mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. In the last 5 minutes of mixing, add raspberries and the 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips. Transfer to a freezer safe tupperware and freeze until firm.  (Mine was in the freezer overnight before it had a nice "hard" ice cream consistency.)  ENJOY!!
Source, Source


This turned out absolutely delicious!  The whole family loved it, as well as my Mother in law who was a taste tester.  Just look how pretty it is!

It's not exactly like the original version; I didn't have black raspberries, but it's just as good.  AND, I know just what's in it....all natural ingredients, no "fake" stuff.  I'm so happy I decided to give it a whirl!

What is your all time favourite ice cream flavour?  Have you ever tried to replicate it?

**As always, please check out Krista's Kraving's Facebook page!!**

Bye for now!!

A Sneak Peak

First things first; THANK YOU to all who left such encouraging & caring comments on my last post!  I'm doing much better these days thanks to the physio & massage I've been doing.  Cranky muscles are no joke!

We've been on vacation the past week with one more week to go so I wanted to post a few photos of what we've been getting up to.  The weather has been terrific; only one day of rain so LOTS of outside time....

The kids have been sitting on their rumps while we've been at work so the first thing we tackled was a family hike.  At 13, Sarah been a bit of a challenge to get out, but once she was there she cheered up.  Teenagers!!

Inflatable water toys and cliff jumping at the quarry.  Notice me in clothes, not a bathing suit?  Yeah...water isn't my thing, however, I'm perfectly happy to play the role of photographer!  This place has been a favourite this summer.

And it wouldn't be summer without a trip to Canada's Wonderland!  Now, I wasn't able to go on most of the rides, but I did manage a few.  I've loved this place since I was a kid.  We'll be heading back sometime this week because we have season passes and they have a great water park that the kids love.

On Saturday we ventured in to Toronto to spend some time at the St. Lawrence Market.  As you'll see in the picture's below, there is SO MUCH great stuff at this market!

Just look at all that fabulous meat & produce!!!  I was in heaven, to be sure.  We came home with some bacon wrapped beef tenderloin, fresh snapper, sausages, peaches, kale, jam, Schwarma marinade and some of those fresh ravioli from the first picture.  They're stuffed with crab & ricotta, btw...

So there you have a sneak peek of vacation; week 1!  I shall be back....and not in 2 months!!!  LOL

Bye for now!!

What’s Been Going Down

Hello?  I wonder if anyone is still out there seeing as I’ve been gone so long!  I did want to pop in with a bit of an explanation for my absence.  Although I’ve still been reading blogs and trying to comment as much as possible, Krista’s Kraving’s has fallen by the wayside. :(  Since the end of May I’ve been struggling with some back/neck issues that have made me pretty uncomfortable.  Especially when sitting at the computer for long(er) periods of time.  When this first started I didn’t really know what was going on with me.   My arms were going numb, my upper legs were weak, I pretty much always felt off balance, almost passed out a few times and just going up the stairs was enough to exhaust me.  I ended up at the ER once scared out of my mind (which didn’t help any).   Needless to say, anxiety set in pretty bad.   After an MRI of my brain to check for lesions (which came back clear, AMEN!) and LOTS of blood work (which tested for things like Lupus, rheumatiod  arthritis, thyroid, Lyme Disease to name a few) we discovered that 1) my vitamin B12 was low and 2) the muscles in my back and neck were tight to the point of pretty much constant spasms.  The end of May into the first part of June was a really dark time for me mentally.  And to add to the stress, in the last 3 weeks of June we lost 3 friends and the saddest of all, my father in law.  It got to the point where too much was being piled on and I could feel myself hitting my breaking point.  In the last month or so, intense physio 2 times a week and ART (active release massage therapy) once a week have been a TREMENDOUS help and I finally feel like I’m coming back to myself.  For a while there it was all I could do to get through the day.  Never mind cooking, baking, blogging, etc!  I’m slowly getting back into my “normal” routine which feels SO good!  Although I’m restricted somewhat when it comes to activity, I’ve been walking a lot and this past week was able to tour around Canada’s Wonderland and the beach with the fam.  It really is amazing just how much our muscles control our bodies….and not just in movement.  I’ve learned that they can play a roll in causing anxiety, over active bladder, heart burn, jaw pain, racing heart and so much more.   Crazy stuff, I tell ya!

Anyways!  Sorry for the ramble….but at least now you know what I’ve been up to, right?  I also want to put out there that I do quite often update my Krista’s Kraving’s Facebook page.  I’d love to see you over on that side of the world, too!

Bye for now!

Paula Deen's Turkey & Black Bean Burgers

If you've been reading Krista's Kravings for a while you'll know that I hit the gym at the office each day on my lunch hour.  And although my fellow gym buddies think it's slightly odd to watch the Food Network while working out, it's my favourite kind of TV to watch!  I can't tell you how many dinner ideas have been born while watching Jamie, Giada, Rachael,Paula, etc.  So as it happened, last Monday before leaving for work I pulled some ground turkey out of the freezer for dinner.  I really had no idea what I was going to make with it, but figured inspiration would hit at some point through the day.  Off I went to the gym at lunch, hopped on the elliptical, turned the TV on and there's Paula and Bobby getting ready to make turkey & black bean burgers!  BAZINGA!  (As Sheldon would say)  Dinner was born.

I pretty much followed the recipe where the "main" ingredients are concerned.  I mashed 1/2 a can of kidney beans in a bowl then added the ground turkey, crushed tortilla chips and chili powder, oregano, S&P.  I divided the mixture into 4 even portions (these were pretty big so next time I'll make 6) and formed them into patties.  I actually let them rest, covered for about an hour, because I had to take Sarah to dance class.  I don't think this really makes a difference, though!  To prepare them I simply sprayed a pan was a light mist of EVOO and cooked them over low heat for 5-6 minutes a side.  I served mine up on toasted GF bread with marbled cheddar, tomato, lettuce and Dijon mustard.

These were GREAT!  Even picky Mr. Noah gobbled his up!  He made me laugh at one point when he noticed the beans.  He says "Hmmm potato!"  LOL  Whatever he thinks as long as he eats, I say!

So tell me, where do you get your dinner inspiration from?

Can I just say that as I gaze out the window at a dreary, windy day I SO wish I was back here??

Bye for now!!