janice's mash-up

wordless wednesday: in need of chocolate

meyer lemon shortbread cookies

I still have a few meyer lemons in the fridge and when this recipe came up on Pinterest, I printed it and took out my butter to soften!

Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies

recipe from HERE

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large mixer bowl, mix the following together until very fluffy and well blended:

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)

1/4 cup icing sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon meyer lemon zest

Gradually add and mix well:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Sprinkle over dough and knead in until dough holds together:

1 teaspoon meyer lemon juice

Press dough into an 8x8 pan and pierce with a fork to create a pattern/design. I did rows and columns to create a pattern to cut the cookies into squares. Bake at 325 for about 35-40 minutes until the edges are slightly darker. Turn out of pan while still warm and sprinkle top with sugar. When completely cool, cut into squares.

We all like shortbread cookies and the meyer lemon zest and juice adds a subtle flavour. Very yum with a cup of tea!

weekend wrap-up

I was awoken in the middle of the night on Friday night/early Saturday morning to the loudest, strongest wins I think I have ever heard and that is saying a lot, considering we live on the coast. We've experienced some huge windstorms here and when I got up in the morning, I expected to see some damage in our backyard but everything looked reasonably okay.

The winds were still howling though as Colin and I packed up early and headed to East Van for his final league game. The wind was definitely a factor. It was so cold too. I had to retreat to my car for a few minutes just to warm up a bit. The boys played the league leaders and had it tied up at 1-1 before the other team scored a goal with 3 minutes left in the game. So disappointing for the boys, but they played a great game and went all out. 

They still have some cup games ahead of them this week and a wrap-up party to look forward to. Colin's had a great season this year and is even considering playing spring soccer which he hasn't donw for years.

I got Colin home, in a warm shower and some hot soup on the table for him before I headed over to Adam's hockey game. They still have a few league games left and are fighting for first place in their division.  They won easily today 5-0. S

I came home and had a nap trying to make up for my sleepless night due to the wind. I woke up to dinner made, the boys' chores done, the boys playing together and guitar practicing done. Nice!

The boys were up relatively early Sunday morning and I woke up to the sound of Colin making himself a salad for breakfast. So funny! He is very much into the freshness of salad these days. I made some scones which we enjoyed with some of the meyer lemon curd from last week and the blackberry jelly that I made last summer.

When Neil got back from the casino with his dad, we headed off to the Richmond Museum for their exhibit about Edo: The Arts of the Last Shogun Era in Japan. The samurai armour and weapons were fascinating. We enjoyed a lunch out at the Mongolie Grill (thanks Groupon!) and then it was homework, hockey practice, grocery shopping, usual Sunday stuff. As I came out of Safeway it was snowing and then we had weird cycles of rain, snow, hail and sun for the rest of the afternoon.

By the time Sarah and I walked to Garry Point, the sun was out and the water was calm. Crazy westcoast weather!

And the weekend wrapped up with dinner together and a quiet evening at home which just feels like the right way to spend a Sunday evening!

eating together

This week is Touchstone's local Eating Together Campaign. Touchstone is a local association that provides support to families in need.

One research-supported aspect of strong, connected families is  the importance of eating meals together. In our busy lives, this can sometimes be difficult but we try our best to eat dinner together most nights of the week. We're often missing Neil for many weeknight meals or sometimes he manages to zip home to join us for dinner before heading back to a meeting, performance or game. The boys are getting great at helping out with meal preparation and I know they can fend for themselves now in the kitchen!

This week we started off with dinner out at White Spot on Sunday evening with Grandpa and Glenn. Whitespot is one of the featured restaurants for the campaign. Monday evening, the boys and I enjoyed lasagne soup (recipe found HERE) and Neil had some when he got home later that evening. This recipe is a keeper and scored a 4/4 with our family!

Tuesday was Science Jam, I had an evening meeting, Adam had a hockey game...a busy evening for us. Colin and Neil ate at Aberdeen together, Adam made himself a quesadilla and I actually forgot to eat dinner. Nights like this happen for us usually once or twice a week.

Wednesday we had a typical weeknight meal for us...Japanese rice, edamame or another vegetable and either fish or chicken. We had salmon this week. Salmon is not Colin's favourite but he gave it a try and then had some back-up chicken from the fridge. We were all home for an early dinner before Colin had soccer and Adam had a hockey game.

Thursday was a family favourite - bbq-ed pulled pork from the slow cooker. We ate early again so Colin could head out to fencing and Neil headed out to watch some basketball games.

On Friday, I stopped by Heringers in Steveston (one of the local stores involved with the campaign) and picked up some chicken cordon bleu for dinner. We all actually have a free night so are looking forward to dinner together and a cozy evening at home, staying in out of the icy cold rain.

 

 

The table is set...we will be eating together again this evening.

on my bike: london landing

I drove down to London Landing this morning and rode my bike along the Fraser River. Very beautiful and calming but I have realized that maybe the months of January and February were not the best time to start this biking challenge! The icy cold rain, wind and snow are not very conducive to cycling! So instead of once a week, I need to be okay with once a month adventures right now.

I am looking forward to spring and getting the boys out on their bikes with me.

wordless wednesday: making school lunches

science jam 2012

Our family had our finale at Science Jam today. The boys have been involved in Science Jam (our school district's non-competitive, inquiry-based science fair) since each of them was in grade 1. We've had all sorts of projects over the years. This year Colin and his friend Deion tested the effects of acetone on different materials and did it all on their own.

I'll miss Science Jam as a parent...the boys have always looked forward to it and been interested in their projects. Colin had a great time at the event and spent about equal time at his display and roaming Aberdeen Centre with his friends!

meyer lemon curd

I've been reading all about meyer lemons on some of the foodie blogs I read and of course, they've always been highlighted by Martha Stewart. They are not readily available here so when I saw bags of them at my local Safeway a couple of weeks ago, I bought two bags. Meyer lemons are a cross between lemons and mandarin oranges and our family loves tart citrus so I knew these would be a hit over here.

On Sunday I made some Meyer Lemon Curd. I have imagined having this on scones or inbetween layers of lemon cake with some raspberries. Dreamy.

I searched online for some recipes and pinned a few that looked good. I ended up using the last one I found, from a favourite blog called A Pastry Affair. I made a couple of process changes based on what I learned about reading up on curd making and used berry sugar instead of regular white sugar. I'm assuming I'll be able to use the same recipe for a simple lemon or orange curd as well. 

Meyer Lemon Curd

based on recipe found here

makes about 1.5 cups

 

1/2 cup white berry sugar

zest of two meyer lemons

Place sugar and zest in the top of a double boiler. Bring water to a simmer. Mix zest and sugar together with fingers to release oils. 

Add:

1/2 cup meyer lemon juice (about 4 lemons)

2 large eggs

Whisk together over simmering water until thickened. Using an instant read thermometer, heat and thicken until mixture reaches 160 F.

Strain mixture through a fine sieve using whisk to push mixture through if necessary. Let cool in a bowl for a few minutes.

Add:

4 Tablespoons softened unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes.

Whisk together until fully incorporated and creamy. Chill in refrigerator for about an hour before serving. Will keep for up to 2 weeks in fridge in a airtight container.

Colin thought it was delish and ate it by the spoonful. Very tart and sweet at the same time. I'm wondering how long it will last in the fridge before I need to make another batch?!

weekend wrap-up

Saturday morning brought torrential rain, wind and cold. Colin had to play a soccer game. Neil was very cold after being a soccer dad and standing out in the weather for almost 2 hours. Me, I just showed up with my camera for the last half hour. Colin, although frozen and wet to the core, was a happy guy as his team won 3-0.

We got Colin in a hot shower at home and then got Adam packed up and off to a hockey game. Neil was scorekeeping and it got a little crazy when it was tied 2-2 starting the third period and the other team (who had a 2-0) lead began to unravel a bit and had four players in the box. One player actually got thrown out of the game for pushing a referee. Nice sportsmanship. It's always interesting to hear Adam's take on the game as we are driving home. His comment was that the player obviously had some anger management issues. 

We did some tidying up around the house before the Canucks game and the boys rediscovered some old lego sets and Nintendo games. When I walked in on them playing Smash Bros., Adam said "we're getting all nostalgic, mom" which made me smile.

Sunday brought a hockey practice, baking, Colin having Jonah over, grocery shopping and dinner out with Grandpa and Uncle Glenn. You know, regular weekend stuff.

Oh, and the boys redeemed their "mom-made lunches for a week" coupons so they'll be having the best lunches ever this week!

simple things: a sign of love

The boys got me a big bunch of colourful tulips for Valentine's Day. They are sitting on our little table by the front door which is the perfect place for flowers. They catch the beautiful glow of the afternoon light coming in through the stained glass windows. I see and feel what they represent as I walk down the stairs each morning and as I pass by them numerous times throughout the day.

They warm my heart.

 This is a The Simple Things photo for 2012.

Check out other "simple things" photographs on Rebecca's blog.