Welcome to my Nest!
Merry Christmas to all of you, from our crazy family. May your holidays be filled with love, laughter and your family surrounding you. Cherish the twinkle in your children’s eyes as they experience the wonder of giving and of course, the magic of too much chocolate combined with the glee of new toys and over [...]
I have never been a cobbler kinda gal. I like my fruits in crisps, the cakey topping that I usually associate with crumbles can’t hold a candle to the crunchy oatmeal topping that crisps are known for. The story that lead me to this recipe is a common one around this house. It started with [...]
Oh, yes I did! These lovelies were inspired by my first trip to the Bulk Barn, prompted by everyone on Twitter telling me how much I was missing in life by not frequenting said store. And I mean everyone. I think even Jessica Alba chimed in at one point and said “Are you crazy??” Ok, [...]
The devil made me do it. That’s the only thing that came to mind when I realized that on a day when it was about plus 28 Celsius, I was finally making the cookies that have been niggling in the back of my mind for a long, long time. I recently posted the base recipe [...]
Happy PieDay to all of those who have been nagging strongly encouraging me not to give up on my PieDay's just because I took on planning the Culinary Arts Cook Off and a double thank you to those who remained silent and didn't send emails. Just kidding. I am ignoring my inbox completely lately. It's time for another music playlist to get my inspired to clean my house, do laundry and all these … [Read more...]
** Scene opens with strangers converging on a dark street outside a familiar Edmonton market, the familiar turned eerily unsettling by the fact that no one ventures there after dark, much less knocks on a back door to be let in. After stifling a few giggles together about clandestine meetings and secret supper clubs, they are welcomed into calming stillness; the bustling market has ceased until … [Read more...]
It's amazing what trouble one can get up while they are purposely avoiding getting any productive work done. With the new Culinary Arts Cook Off, my workload has tripled in volume. And it's ok. I have wine and I have chocolate, what more does a girl need? But Thursday night I needed some major motivation, I took one look at my Inbox, thought of PieDay and how I hadn't written up the post yet and … [Read more...]
This would be my first guest post for PieDay, my friend Pam was kind enough to ante up a coconut cream pie that she made this week. I met Pam while taking the mushroom course at NAIT this fall, when I tweeted asking anyone if they wanted to come with me, she jumped on it like white on rice! We proceeded to have a blast trudging through the bush looking for mushrooms then cooking up a storm in the … [Read more...]
Pizza dough is the winner. In case you are a little confused about that first sentence, I shall make everything crystal clear. I asked everyone on FB and The Twitter what they wanted me to post about, elk stew, pizza dough or my reading room. Pizza dough was the definite winner of the day, with my reading room pictures coming in a close second. I was introduced to this very simple, fast and … [Read more...]
Happy PieDay everyone! Time for another pie already, can someone tell me where the week went? Please? I feel like I should be wearing a tinfoil hat and cowering in my house with this loss of time and apparent blackouts. Oh, wait, I know where it went. A haze of emails, tweeting, launching the Culinary Arts Cook Off and generally not sleeping. And loving every minute of it. Even when I am awake … [Read more...]
I am sure that if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or simply have the dubious distinction of actually knowing me in real life, you have already heard of my newest baby. My third child. The project that has me a aflutter with excitement, anticipation and quite simply what keeps me up at night with chest pains. Chest pains aside, the excitement and anticipation is overwhelming for me. … [Read more...]
Why Magpie? Why? Ah, I love ya guys. Like a bunch of cute seagulls circling ol' Magpie here, cackling "Why? What? How come?" "Why are you venturing into gluten/dairy free territory? What happened? Who can't have gluten? Who was diagnosed with what? Are the kids ok?" said the endless Facebooking, Tweets and emails. No worries, my groupies. ( <----I still think that's hilarious) My daughter … [Read more...]
Alright. I made it to two pies in a row only 50 to go! Aha. Ha. What was I thinking? Granted, unlike most of the world who settles back into routine after Christmas holidays, my life revs right up for a week or two after. My daughter's birthday falls on January 3rd, meaning that we are almost always on Christmas break. Meaning that no kids can be invited before Christmas holidays. Meaning that … [Read more...]
Granola is a nutritious, energy packed snack that is great alone or on top of vanilla ice cream or your morning yogurt. While I enjoy it as a snack, trying to get my kids to eat it isn't always an easy task which is unfortunate because it comes loaded with fiber. Unfortunately, many of the better tasting pre-packaged varieties of granola are loaded down with sugar and other ingredients that I … [Read more...]
Happy New Year, everyone! And to celebrate, here's a recipe for pie. What, you think I'd start the New Year out with celery sticks? Think again, my dearest friends, think again. That's so not how I roll. If you have one resolution this year, make it this: Eat more pie. To add to that, bake more pies, create more pies, gift more pies and enjoy more pies, pies, PIES! I started my pie … [Read more...]
Happy 6th Birthday to my beautiful girl, my littlest love, my last baby. What a year this has been for you, full of so many firsts and accomplishments for such a little girl. Going to Grade One and being away from home all day, surprising your mama with how well you adapted, how much you love your school and the zest with which you tackled that new adventure. Thank you for always reminding me of … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas to all of you, from our crazy family. May your holidays be filled with love, laughter and your family surrounding you. Cherish the twinkle in your children's eyes as they experience the wonder of giving and of course, the magic of too much chocolate combined with the glee of new toys and over zealous relatives kissing their cheeks at every given moment. Enjoy your family. … [Read more...]
I revisit this post every Christmas! I am making the biggest. most beauteos prime rib roast I have ever bought on Boxing Day, using the method below. I don't mess with the meat: no rubs, no flavoring nuttin'. Plain old butter to sear the meat and then a gravy made out of it's own juices. I am drooling just thinking of it! Prime is the "grade" given to the meat, most roasts are actually just rib … [Read more...]
Come along and cheat with me. Cheating is good for the soul. Let go of those crazy Christmas baking expectations and make something so delicious, so easy and so fast that you will weep with relief. I make no secret of the fact that I totally cheat with my butter tarts. I don't even pretend that I attempt to make my own shells. I buy pre-made, unsweetened no-name brand from Superstore. Which, by … [Read more...]
This is a new, last minute concoction, born out of the desire to use up some of the candy canes that my children were gifted by Valerie when we went over to her place to bake cookies. I love the easy fudge recipe that I keep tweaking with different flavors; it involves no candy thermometer, always turns out and tastes amazing. Ingredients Needed: one can of sweetened condensed milk … [Read more...]
Gah, I'm embarrassed to even post this, I would rather people forgot that I even do the Advent Calender. Holy. Slacker. Batman. There's just so much going on, and so many other things to post on this site! I don't have all day, a ghost writer, a chef, a personal assistant or a housekeeper. It's simply not possible for a normal human mom to write more than one or two posts a day, and even those … [Read more...]
I am hosting Christmas for the first time in....errr...come to think of it, have I ever hosted Christmas at my place? The year I was due to give birth any moment with my daughter doesn't count, I don't remember anything other than I am pretty sure it was at my old house, my mother did everything, I didn't have enough energy to lift my eyelids open and I had heartburn and was sleeping sitting up in … [Read more...]
Since I know so many lovely, amazing food bloggers, I thought I would do a round-up of some of the best of what I have seen them baking up this Christmas season. All pictures belong to the food bloggers listed, this is about as little effort on my part as possible. Go comment on their sites to say hi and check out some truly great people. I'm also lazy. Go look at their sites for inspiration. … [Read more...]
I love my kids, my husband and chocolate.
The order depends on when you ask.
Welcome to my nest!
