Family Bites

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

Last night, we headed out for a much needed date night, and sipped craft beer while devouring a pretty cheese platter, before catching a new flick. It was all pretty perfect, and a nice way to spend the last Saturday of September.

October is looking like a big, busy month for our house with photo shoots (more on that later), hockey tournaments, Thanksgiving, and, well, more photo shoots. It's all fun and exciting stuff, but the calendar is jam-packed and we're making to-do lists everyday (okay, I am) for the month ahead. 

While I pull the kids from their beds and get on with our Sunday, here are some of the articles that caught my attention this week:

• Don't have a steamer? Here's how to steam your vegetables without one. 
• I've added this book to my wishlist. 
• Do we need to sift our flour?
• Are you watching MasterChef Junior?
• 7 tips to create a great cheese plate. 
• An apple-themed family reunion - perfect for fall. 
• Adorable owl cupcakes for the kids. 
• I'm going to see Martha!

Have a great week!

 

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

This is my new favourite flower vase. I picked up the tin for a few dollars at the antique market earlier this month, and I think the colours work perfectly for the season. I also love keeping a collection of pretty things in a container that once belonged to a local food producer. A quick Google search tells me this business no longer exists, and now I'm slightly obsessed with learning more about the apiary.

While I do some digging around, here are a few links to enjoy if you're in a reading mood this Sunday.

• Everyone should know how to chop an onion.

• How to read a recipe. 

• How to use baking ingredients in your beauty routine. 

• Fall dinner party menus. 

• 73 kitchen hacks to make your life easier. 

• 30 ideas for after school snacks.

• I'm pretty sure we'll be eating this cocoa banana bread this week. 

• I've been watching episodes of this show all week while cooking in the kitchen. I adore it. 

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

 

 

There wasn't a lot of time for online reading last week, but here are few of the articles that caught my eye. Enjoy!

 

• Is there a difference between stock and broth?

• Four great fruit ketchups.

• 4 tips for hosting an autumn dinner party. 

• Greek yogurt is taking over the dairy aisle. 

• Homemade chicken nuggets for the lunchbox.  

• 10 essential recipes for fall cooking. 

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

(Photo via my Instagram feed!)

Happy September. I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. 

While many of my friends are bemoaning summer's end, I am definitely ready for fall. When the kids are home the piles of work grow at a rapid pace, and it's time to put my head down and get back at it. I spent a good chunk of yesterday stocking the freezer with homemade chicken strips for the lunchbox, assorted zucchini loaves for school snacking, and cookie dough balls for emergency eating. I think it will be interesting packing lunch for the kid who is now the tallest person in our household, and eats so much he slurps back his spaghetti from a mixing bowl because the regular ones just aren't big enough.

Since it's a long weekend, I've put together an extra long list of links for your enjoyment. I hope you have time to read them all!

• Would you let your kids do it?

• Turn leftovers into the next day's lunch. 

• Birthday celebrations.

• Do you bring your lunch to work? We've always been brown-baggers.

• 22 commonly mispronounced food words.

• 20 inspiring real-life birthday parties for kids. 

• I bought this for my long weekend reading. So far so good! 

• A back-to-school meal plan.

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

It's the last official week of summer around here, and we plan to enjoy it to the fullest. Here's hoping you have several days of warm weather fun ahead of you, with plenty of time for checking out the links below - there's good stuff there!

• Did you see this fourth grader's documentary about school lunch?

• The quickest way to stem your kale.

• Almond-crisped peaches - yum!

• Do you think you could cook your dinner in the dishwasher? 

• 10 freezer meals for busy weeknights.

 

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

I've gone a little canning crazy this summer. So far I've put up pickles, peach barbecue sauce, whiskey soaked cocktail cherries, and peach salsa, which you can see the makings of in the photo above. September will find me stocking my pantry with homemade pizza and other tomato-based sauces, and I still have a few top-secret preserving projects in the works, which I'll tell you more about at another time. 

In other news, I'm hosting our first annual Cousin's Camp this week, and I'm sure I'll have a lot more to share about that in the coming days. The itinerary is planned, the freezer is being stocked with popsicles, and I've planned a menu that will surely be happily received by all of the kids living here for three days. If, like me, you're taking it easy today and looking for some good reading, here are a few articles that caught my eye this week:

• How to be a great dinner party guest.

• How to help party guests feel comfortable.

• Gluten-free BLT!

• Tips for choosing a healthier breakfast from a box.

• 19 ingenious ways to use empty food and drink containers.

• A brief history of the ice cream truck.

• 15 things you didn't know about Apple.

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

This time last week we were slurping back Jeni's ice creams in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The flavours really do live up to the hype, and are quite splendid, and we visited her sweet shop twice just so we could taste as many varieties as possible. While it was nice to be away again, I must admit that I'm happy to be home now for the rest of the summer, and am feeling quite anxious to get back to a regular routine. While I tackle the laundry that has accumulated from two different road trips in seven days, and make a batch of peach salsa, here are a few of the articles that caught my eye last week. 

• Sleep deprivation makes us want to eat fat.

• I'm in love with this beautiful new kitchen shop.

• Do you really need a rice cooker?

• I'm making this salad today.

• 43 no-cook dinners to make without turning on your stove.

• Rituals make our food more flavourful.

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

We’re away on a long weekend road trip. This is the last of our planned getaways this summer, and although the boys still have four weeks of summer vacation left, we’ll be spending those closer to home now that we’ve been away twice in the past month.

Today, our plans include a small town farmer's market, a picnic lunch, and some shopping. While we're out exploring I wanted to leave you with a few of the articles and blog posts that caught my eye this week. 

 

• What happens when you make a few changes to your chocolate chip cookie recipe? The results are fascinating. 

• 10 questions to test your food IQ. 

• 31 amazing things to cook in August. I think I want to make nearly all of them. 

• Put this tomato platter in your dinner party arsenal.

• Is bread dead in France? I sure hope not!

• I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks it’s okay to serve DIY sandwiches to your guests.

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

 

I think it's been about four weeks since my last 'Food for Thought' post which makes perfect sense; it's been about that long since we've had a normal routine in the house thanks to summer vacation and the craziness that comes with having the kids around 24-7.

My time has been occupied with vacation, day trips, staying up late, eating good food, having sleepovers with cousins, going to baseball games and golf camp, visiting friends cottages, swimming, watching The Newsroom, and pretty much anything else that strays from the “normal”. I can't promise August will be any different, but we're having a blast and even though the work is piling up, and I'm falling further and further behind, it's all worth it. 

While we venture out again on another day trip, here are some of the things that recently caught my eye. I hope you're all enjoying summer as much as we are!

• This series on modern etiquette is pretty fab. Especially the post on how to deal with food restrictions/allergies. 

• The complete guide to tipping in 2013.

• Charcoal vs. Gas Grilling: A Scientific Look at Which is Better

• I love Lillet, and Rosé is my favourite type of wine, so this cocktail is definitely on my must-make list this week. 

• Amy went to Michigan to learn about cherries. When she came home she made this awesome cherry and goat cheese crostini.

• My boys can get enough of this video. 

• I just finished this book and loved it. If you like food and people I suspect you'll enjoy it, too. 

• Rob and I saw this movie on a date last week - I highly recommend.

• The top 5 outrageous foods coming to the CNE in Toronto in 2013. 

• I'm bookmarking Mardi's post for my next trip to paris. 

Food for Thought: The Week In Review

 

Last week was a good one and included fun things like: building an herb garden, planning a baptism cake for my sweet niece, and sharing news about our upcoming book! I hope you enjoy the remainder of the weekend.

• These how-to animal birthday cake videos are adorable. 

• Boston brown bread muffins for breakfast? Yes, please.

• 11 secrets for freezing your produce. Lots of great info in this post.

• My favourite wine is back in season!

• Aimée's making salad in jars. Here's my favourite recipe. 

• I think we all need to make this birthday cake.