Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

They say that dark chocolate is healthy. I’m good with anyone or anything that gives me permission to eat chocolate so when I saw this recipe in Today’s Parent, I was sold! It looks yummy and actually pretty easy to make.

Here’s What you Need

• 1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted
• 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk, such as Eagle Brand
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Here's What You Do

• First, you need to toast the hazelnuts. It’s best to arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Bake the hazelnuts a preheated 350 degrees (F) oven for 15 to 18 minutes until lightly toasted. Cool completely.
• Once cooled, put them in a clean dish towel and rub them until all the skins come off.
• Place the chocolate in a small bowl and place over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool to room temperature.
• Grind the nuts in a food processor until pasty. The nuts will be stuck to the sides of the bowl but just scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Add the condensed milk, honey and salt.
• Blend well, scraping down the bowl as needed.
• Add the cooled chocolate and pulse until combined.

That’s it! You’re done. Scrape it into a serving dish and enjoy with fruit, bread or on it’s own. I’m off to buy some hazelnuts to try this out. I’ll let you know how it tastes!

Cool Summer Treat

I love getting into the kitchen with my kid and I'm always looking for new things I can show her. I was thinking that maybe we could make ice cream and started looking for ice cream makers and different ways people do it themselves. I found a few different option but chose the ice cream ball. (That's the one I bought, I don't know if there are different brands that do the same thing). Basically you put the ice and salt in one end, put your ingredients in the other end, and then kick and shake it around for a while until you get ice cream.

Seriously.

We chose plain vanilla for our first attempt, and had it with the strawberries we picked ourselves.

Now that we know it works (and how tasty it is) we can try different recipes and have a little exercise before dessert.

Easy Recipe for Watermelon Juice

  Now that summer is finally here and we’re in for a scorcher of a week, I thought a recipe for a nice cool and refreshing summer drink was in order.

Ever since they were little, my girls have been crazy over watermelon. It’s the perfect summer food. Full of sweetness and enough water to quench any thirst. My problem, however, is that I suck at choosing a good melon. Sometimes I hit the jackpot but when my choice sucks and the girls turn up their noses at the melon, I pull out the blender and make a great watermelon juice.

Here's What You Need:

Watermelon - 1 cup chopped roughly and chilled Sugar / Honey - 1 tbsp or to taste Lemon juice - 1 tbsp or to taste Salt - a pinch (seems weird but adds a nice kick)

1. Cut the watermelon and make sure you get all the seeds out. The best parts to use are the red, pulpy layer and cut away all the white. Chop the watermelon into pieces.
2. In a blender, magic bullet or mixer blend the watermelon. Depending on how thick you want your juice, you can adjust the length of blending.
3. Taste before adding sweetener, lemon juice and salt. The above amounts are just a ballpark but it depends on your preferences.
4. Refrigerate the juice for a little while to cool it but not too long as it will start to separate. Don’t add any water since the watermelon already has enough water content in it.

That’s all there is too it. It takes no time at all to make and is great on a hot summer’s day. And...after the kiddies go to sleep, you can always add a little “mommy juice!”

Ottawa's Farmer's Markets

One of the best parts of Ottawa in the summer is the availability of fresh produce grown locally. Last weekend, my girls and I had the opportunity to visit the Westboro Farmer’s Market to get some veggies and breads for dinner. Since the arrival of summer, the Farmer’s Markets are popping up all over Ottawa, in every part of the city. Not only are they a great resource for those who want to support our local infrastructure, but they are a fun way to get your kids involved in making (and actually eating) dinner.

If I’m honest with myself, I have to admit I have the world's pickiest eaters. Both are self-proclaimed vegetable haters. So, in order to help the situation, I told them that they could each pick and prepare a dish with their (ahem) favorite veggies. My eldest grabbed some asparagus (all the while laughing because it would make our pee smell). My youngest latched onto the zucchini. At first, she wanted to make fried zucchini but later settled on “baked” fried zucchini. A good compromise I thought.

We had a blast inspecting, choosing and then buying our dinner. Not only did they have fresh vegetables, baked goods and fruits but they also had crafts, treats and pottery, flowers and more. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.

The Ottawa Farmer’s Market in Westboro is located along the walking path of the Byron Linear Park, between Golden, Richmond and Byron Avenues and there are more than 65 vendors. It runs on Saturdays from 9:30-3:00. you can also find more Farmer’s Markets around the city on their website.

Do you shop at an Ottawa Farmer's Market? Which one is your favorite?

Super Bowl Sunday

I don’t know about you but I’m not really a football fan. In fact, watching football kind of makes me want to gag. So it really was a surprise to me when my girls decided they wanted to have a Superbowl party.  To me, it means that I’ll actually have to tune into the game - at least enough to know when it’s okay to serve food! It did take some convincing on their part but we decided to go ahead with it. We’ve invited a few family friends over to help us watch the Baltimore Ravens take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII Sunday night. While my girls think it may be just about watching the game, I thought that I’d plan a few activities to keep the younger kids entertained and some great food ideas to keep the adults happy and fed. We have some younger guests coming so I came up with two really easy crafts that will, hopefully, keep them occupied:

Pom Pom Craft:

Cut 24 pieces of party streamers (12 in each color) into 2-foot strips. Spread the strips out in a circle. Gather in the middle and twist to make a handle. Wrap tape around the handle to secure, then cheer for your team.

Pennant Craft:

Have some felt pieces in brown and the team colours. Cut one piece of felt into a large triangle. Cut brown felt into the shape of a football. Glue football to triangle and decorate with puffy paint.

For food, we decided on standard fare, like pizza, wings and munchies but my girls, for some reason, are in love with the idea of pigs in a blanket so pre-game we’ll be stuffing those piggies. There are likely a lot of ways to make them but this way has always worked for me:

Pigs in a Blanket

For the meat filling, you can use regular hotdogs, little cocktail wieners, all beef or veggie dogs. Really anything will work.  A can of crescent roll dough or biscuit dough will be the “blanket.” Preheat oven according to the dough directions. Separate the uncooked crescent rolls or biscuits. Roll the pieces of meat in the dough and bake according to the dough directions.

For the older kids (and adults who aren’t into football), we’ll put out some board games and set up the Wii or Playstation. With lots of food, drink and activities, hopefully this Super Bowl party will be a hit, even for people like me who didn’t  know who was playing until my girls told me.

What are you doing for Super Bowl Sunday?