Category Archives: southern alberta

Chocolate (Crunch) Cream Pie

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A few months ago I attempted raspberry chocolate tofu mousse, which didn’t turn out. I think the problem may have been that I used firm tofu, which gave it a gritty texture.

I tried it again, but this time with silken tofu and poured it into a pie crust which I made with cinnamon Puffin cereal.
It turned out fabulous and I can’t wait to share it with my friends and family! And you! 
When Court was halfway through eating his first slice I asked him to guess what I made it with. “Chocolate” was his answer.  Yeah, thanks.
He then became suspicious. I think he assumed I snuck beans into the dessert again, but when I told him it was just tofu he was pleasantly surprised.
You really can’t taste the tofu, and it creates such a wonderful thick and creamy texture.
Chocolate Crunch Cream Pie
(No baking required!)
Serves 6-8
Crust:
In a blender, mix:
1 cup Puffins (cinnamon) cereal
1 tbsp melted butter or oil
pinch of salt
Blend until it turns into fine crumbs, and press into a pie pan.
Pie filling:
2 (small) packages silken tofu
1 3/4 – 2 cups cocoa
4 tbsp light agave nectar (or more, if you prefer a sweeter flavour)
tiny splash of chocolate almond milk (because you can probably never have enough chocolate)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Optional: two handfuls dark chocolate chips – they add a nice crunch

Combine above ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. 

Pour over pie crust and chill for an hour. Top with a dollop of whipped cream before serving – even better idea: Coconut Whipped Cream

Maybe tell everyone it’s tofu after they’ve finished eating.
(It bugs me when people assume healthy food will taste gross before they’ve even tried it)

This is my new favourite dessert – I can’t get over how well it turned out! 

Coconut Whipped Cream

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Dairy free alternative.

Ultra-thick, voluminous and creamy, with a hint of coconut flavour.
Chill a can of coconut milk (use full fat, the light version doesn’t whip very well) along with a bowl and beater.
Once coconut is chilled, open can and scoop out ‘the thick stuff’ into the chilled bowl.
Add:
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp coconut sap, cane sugar or sweetener of choice. You can omit altogether if you don’t want a sweet cream. 
Beat on medium high until soft peaks form.
Use as a chocolate pancake topping… or pie… cobbler… or just eat it by the spoonful. 

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

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I’m SO excited about my newest adventure in baking…

Donuts! 

A healthy version too – but it can be our little secret. (I like tricking people into thinking they’re eating something sinful)

I’ve been meaning to buy a donut pan for ages, and when I stumbled upon one in Michaels yesterday afternoon I snagged it up.

Here’s what I came up with as a ‘healthified’ donut recipe.

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Makes 12 mini donuts or 6 regular sized

Preheat oven to 400F

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup unpasteurized honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk

Sift together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients, slowly add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Spoon batter into donut pan, bake for approximately 7-10 minutes or until the sides start to brown.

While donuts are in the oven, prep the cinnamon sugar mixture by combining 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

When the donuts come out of the oven, toss them in sugar mixture while they’re still warm.
*** To help the sugar stick, I brushed them with a tiny bit of melted butter.

Eat one while it’s still warm, mmmm.

My First WIAW

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My very first WIAW. Yay! 
From last weekend:
Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice (Latte) Pancakes. Made with ww flour, chia seeds and a tbsp of dark roast coffee. Topped with whipped cream, a dash of cinnamon and a drizzle of agave. 

Lunch:
Hot and sour veggie soup from Bento Bowl, my favourite ‘healthy’ asian fusion restaurant, with mixed garden greens on the side

Dinner:
Court made this wonderful (healthy) breaded and baked fish. He used kamut flakes and herbs for the ‘batter’. Served with black rice (my fave!) and veggies from our garden

Dessert:
Fudgey Pumpkin Brownies

Recipes coming soon! 

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

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This chicken chili recipe is a keeper – Court gets angry when I try to make him eat beans (he says they upset his stomach, I tell him to take a Beano. The End) but he agreed to try it,  only after I assured him I made it with white beans (which I didn’t, but like it would’ve made a difference)

He’s still mad about the time I tricked him into eating “protein brownies” that were made with black beans.

The moral of the story is, our marriage is built on a foundation of lies.

Adapted from this recipe
I rarely follow recipes exactly – I added half a sliced red onion instead of onion powder to give the chill some added substance. Oh, and two jalapeños (my garden won’t stop growing them!)

It’s all about the beer. Don’t omit it. This recipe has layers of subtle flavours that aren’t overwhelmed by chili spice.

Top with a handful of shredded cheese and plain greek yogurt. Yum! We paired our chili with slices of buttered whole wheat bread and an episode of Revenge. Does anyone else aside from me like that show?  The plot doesn’t make sense – (same with Ringer) but I’m hooked. The soap opera expressions are priceless!

Some fall snaps from around our yard:

October tomatoes?!?!

Married Life…

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I live in the Alberta Badlands. Dinosaur-land.  One weekend, I’d love to rent a Bobcat or piece of heavy machinery and dig up some dino bones. I’m pretty sure it’s 100% legal.
As a kid, I was fascinated by dinosaurs. When I wasn’t pretending to be a Ghostbuster and fighting ghost-crimes with my proton pack, I enjoyed studying dinosaur species. Biggest. Nerd. Ever.

My favourite dinosaurs were the aquatic species (I also aspired to live in the sea as a mermaid). This one especially:

It’s a Plesiosaur, in case you’re not a palaeontologist.  I had a plastic figurine that I used to take in the bathtub where “we’d” practice breathing underwater. Clearly I took the term, “You can do anything you put your mind to” way too literally.

 Court’s favourite dinosaur is a T-Rex. Typical. Everyone likes the T-Rex.

Last weekend, the dinosaur-fanatic Gregsons went on a coulee hike in search of cactus berries, arrowheads and dinosaur skeletons. I promise I’m not crazy. Court is though. It was all his idea.

Note: This is what happens when you’re married. After a while, movie-dates, fancy dinners and sharing bottles of wine becomes boring and you start acting like children.

We hiked around west Lethbridge, throughout the coulees. The most exciting thing we found was a den (which coyotes probably dwell in. Or a wizard) and some sparkly rocks. I also made Court climb up an eroding embankment. I bet theres a T-rex skeleton inside of it.

Note: When we were visiting Kauai, we kept saying, “I can’t believe we’re in Jurassic Park” It was filmed there. 

Does anyone have a Bobcat I can borrow?

Rowe Lakes – In Pictures

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Court and I took my Dad for a half day (easy-moderate) stroll through the forest to celebrate his birthday. The adventure: Rowe Lakes
Time: 6 hrs in and out – but that included lunch and plenty of photo breaks.

lower Rowe lake
the meadow – right before the final ascent to upper Rowe lake

goodbye, meadow

upper Rowe lake

middle lake

whitebark pine trees
standing in a dried up waterfall

the waterfall – overlooking lower Rowe lake

We all agreed our favourite part of the hike was standing in the dry creek bed overlooking the valley. The landscape in that particular area seemed prehistoric; everything from the layers upon layers of exposed rock to the whitebark pine forest. I was hoping to find wooly mammoth remains, with no such luck.

One thing to note  is the fork in the meadow that leads along the Akamina ridge. (I’m going to do that one next summer).  That trail has a bit of scrambling and I need to buy a new pair of mountain boots before doing anything too intense.

Lakeshore Trail Hike, Waterton National Park

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Hike: Lakeshore Trail, Waterton Lakes Natl Park
Distance: 13km – one way (return by boat)
By far my favourite hike in the park, a true paradise! Highlights: an ever changing diverse forest, beaches, turquoise streams, tons of edible berries (saskatoons, hucks, thimbles) and a suspension bridge.
Bring: Passport and return boat ticket.

I brought my Dad along on this guided hike, led by two guides (Canadian and American). I wanted to learn more about the biodiversity in the park, along with some history lessons about Waterton-Glacier Peace park. We all met at the Bertha trail head at 10am sharp and began our trek along the west side of upper Waterton lake. From there we headed south along the shore to our destination, Goat Haunt, Montana.

beach at Bertha bay

Bertha bay

At the halfway mark you cross into Montana, but you won’t find any custom officials here. You don’t actually check into the ranger station until the end of the hike.

Continental Divide

We took a break for lunch, where we relaxed on the dock with our feet in the cool glacial water.

From there, we continued on our journey, passing through lodgepole and aspen forests, meadows, with a few streams along the way.

Towards the end of the hike we crossed a suspension bridge hovering above a crystal clear turquoise stream. Definitely one of my favourite parts of the hike!

We arrived at the ranger station at Goat Haunt around 5pm, with a few minutes to spare before boarding the boat.

On the boat ride back to Waterton, I leaned back into my chair, closed my eyes and dozed for most of the trip. So relaxing. When my Dad and I stepped off the boat we made a beeline for the closest restaurant… we needed beer and food. Asap.

An ice cold Rickards in a frosty mug definitely hit the spot! We each had two beers, a light dinner, then stopped by a candy store for (birthday cake) ice cream and lime turkish delights before hitting the highway. If you have a day to spend in Waterton, put this hike on your bucket list!

Summer wind down

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As summer winds down, I’ve been taking full advantage of the remaining warm weather. The second I’m free from work, I’m either running, walking or biking until dinnertime, then I’m right back out there until the streetlights come on. Kind of like being a kid again!

What I’m going to miss about summer:

Walks through the river bottom

Trips to the farmers market, tomatoes from our garden, along with seasonal meal creations

tempeh salad + BC cherries & peaches

Picnics in the park and watching Court freak out every time a bug grazes him.

Bike rides, especially packing my basket with food and riding over to our families houses for dinner

Colorful clothing, summer parties, mowing the lawn, day trips to the mountains… sigh. What I’m looking forward to when fall arrives: Pumpkins. Halloween. Yellow leaves. Thats it.

Courts Dad

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One thing I really like about Courts parents is even though they’re 115 and about to die they can keep up with us in the exercise department. The other night we went for a long walk with Courts dad Bob, and as usual, our conversations were interesting.  He spent a few months in Kazakhstan visiting his soon to be mail order bride lady friend, and now he compares EVERYTHING to Kazakhstan.

Examples:

Court: “I want to live in Hawaii because there’s hardly any bugs”
Bob: “Theres no bugs in Kazakhstan”

Me: “I used to work with someone who… (insert story here)”
Bob: “If someone tried to do that in Kazakhstan, they’d be shot, killed, thrown away and never seen again”

At a restaurant…
Court and I order wine, Bob orders vodka and says, “Everyone drinks vodka in Kazakhstan. No one drinks and drives there because you’ll lose your license immediately. But even if you do get caught, you just pay the cops $50 so they don’t arrest you”

Bob doesn’t think its very funny that we refer to his lady friend as Borat. It’s a good thing she doesn’t understand english, because if she ever finds my blog I think she’ll love it.

Bob’s driving gives me whiplash

We invited Bob to the farmers market with us this morning and as usual, the comparisons continued….

“In Kazakhstan they don’t put your eggs in a carton, they just put them in in a bag”

“The hutterites sure do a good job of cleaning up their produce. Look how clean the carrots are! In Kazakhstan everything’s covered in dirt”

Kazakhstan sounds like a dream!

I bought my Mom a  birthday present from the market today. Food is the best kind of present, in my opinion! Here’s what we got her:

Kamut bread ($7 a loaf! Farmers Market = Whole Foods) wildberry non sugar added jelly, eggs, carrots, oatmeal Skor cookies and Plush Puffs caramel swirl gourmet marshmallows (I bought those from Express Tea & Coffee)  Plush Puffs are to die for! I bought myself a box of toasty coconut flavoured ones.
Cupcakes are really popular in the local bakeries now (get with the times, donuts are the new cupcakes) and I love that they let you sample their cakes. Today I tried a root beer float cupcake (amazing!) and a mint chocolate.

I wonder what kind of cupcakes Kazakhstan has?