Friday, 5 August 2011

Zucchini Tart and Quinoa Salad

So mr/miss peanut's due date is today, and it seems like it would never get here.  Who knows if this little one will actually show up today, so my MIL and myself having been doing all kinds of things here at the lake to keep busy, patiently (sometimes lol) waiting.  So far this week, we've frozen peas and beans from the garden, chopped cups and cups of rhubarb and frozen them for a later date, and we've been trying all kinds of new recipes.  I came accross one of these recipes in the August 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living.....Zucchini Tart, and the other that we tried, Quinoa salad, found over at http://alexandraroseboutique.blogspot.com. MMMMM they were both soo good, so I decided to share them with you....let me know what you think. 


Zucchini Tart
 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
9 sheets frozen phyllo douch
   (12 by 17 inches each) thawed
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup heavy cream
¾ cup whole milk  (we used skim)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese  (we used ¾ cup)
1/3 cup fresh basil, cut into strips
    Course salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces)
     Very thinly sliced lengthwise

1.      Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and place an inverted baking sheet on the middle rack. 
 Brush a 10 – by – 15 inch      rimmed baking sheet with butter.
2.      Brush 1 phyllo sheet with butter, and fit into baking sheet, leaving a 1-inch overhang. ( keep remaining phylo sheets covered with plastic wrap as you work.)  Top with a second phyllo sheet in a slightly different position, and brush with butter.  Repeat with remaining phyllo and butter, creating a crust with a 1-inch overhang on all sides.  Fold edges under to double the thickness.  (Don’t worry if some pieces crack along the edge.)
3.      Whisk eggs, cream, milk, cheese, basil, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
4.      Crumble 6 layers of foil into a rectangle the size of the tart, and fit into crust.  Bake crust, set on inverted sheet, until edges are golden, 7 to 8 minutes.  Remove foil.  Bake until surface is golden, 4 to 5 minutes.  Transfer crust to a wire rack, leaving inverted sheet in oven.
5.      Immediately pour custard carefully into crust (do not overfill).  Arrange zucchini over top, slightly overlapping.  Bake on inverted sheet until custard is set in center, 20 to 22 minutes.(we ended up making a tinfoil cover to go around the edges of the crust, so it didn’t burn)  Immediately slide tart onto wire rack, lifting from 1 end using a large, wide spatula.  Let cool 10 minutes before serving. 


Cold Quinoa Salad
Link to original Post

 
Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked quinoa
large handful of cherry tomatoes
1 avocado
1 ear of corn
1 small carton of feta cheese {I used garlic herb}
approximately 1/2 cup of balsamic vinaigrette {you can use my recipe here, or store bought}

The first thing you'll want to do is read the package directions and cook your quiona.
I have fallen in love with my rice cooker, only for the reason that it cooks my quiona perfectly, so you could use your rice cooker as well.

Next, get the corn a 'cookin {or open a can, or heck, leave it out}.
tip for perfect corn: place shucked corn into a pot of cool water and put the pot on the stove on high. Once the water comes to a boil, set the timer for 4 minutes. Drain the water and enjoy your perfectly cooked corn.

The corn and quinoa take about the same amount of time to cook, which is pretty handy dandy. While you wait for the corn to cool enough to handle, chop up the rest of the ingredients.
I always tend to make this a teensy bit different each time,
but this time I used:
avocado, feta and cherry tomatoes
{in addition to the corn I cut off the cob once it was cooled}
 
If you try out the quinoa salad, please head over to Alexandra Rose Blog to give her your thanks, it's a great recipe. 

Thursday, 21 July 2011

Things you should know about me if we're going to be BFF!


Im 5'7 tall
My bed is my comfort spot....

I LOVE chocolate...it's an addiction

My biggest fear is losing my loved ones, and being alone

I love getting into a cold bed.....best feeling ever

I tend to get obsessed with things and go crazy with them for a little while (i.e. scrapbooking, sewing, crochet, baking etc.)

I always have atleast 2-3 loads of laundry to do.....

I'm addicted to scents, and sniff almost everything (lol can be bad at times)

Weight has always been a problem for me, but for some reason I can't get motivated to do anything about it....maybe after baby comes

I like ketchup on toast

I pee infront of my husband.....he's now to the point that it doesn't bug him...he he he

I love the Fall......the colors are beautiful

I love playing cards, even tho i lose most of the time

It never fails, whenever I use a hot glue gun, i burn some part of me

I know as soon as I publish this post, I will think of a million other things I could add to this post, but thats ok, maybe i'll come back and add to it.



Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Hoo are you?

So I just found this blog called "Night Owl Crafting" tonight, and there are a weekly set of questions people can answer and blog about.......so being new to the blogging world, I thought I would participate and see what comes of it. 
NightOwlCrafting
 


1. Are you enjoying the summertime?
To be honest, I haven`t really had a chance yet to enjoy summer time....being pregnant isn`t fun with all this heat we`ve been getting.  Once Peanut arrives, I`m thinking summer will be GREAT! lol
 
2. What activities have you done in the last week?
hung out with friends, worked on nursery, packed hospital bags, doc`s appt`s galore, gone for supper with hubby.
3. What types of food do you tend to eat more of in the summer?
fruit, iceream, BBQ, freezies
4. How much time are you spending outside?
I`ve been trying to spend as much time as I can outside in the mornings when it`s cool, afternoons just get way to hot for this preggo lady.  Evenings are nice as well....can`t wait to get to the lake and go swimming, will spend a lot more time outside then. 
5. Is there any fun projects you are working on inside or outside your house?
At the moment, I`m painting some picture frames for the nursery, and I`m also collecting picture frames of various shapes and sizes for my living room wall.....I plan on doing a collage wall....stay tuned for pics and updates.

Welcome

Lately life has been crazier than I could have ever imagined.  It's crazy as in never knowing what to expect around the next corner......becoming a mom is hard work lol.  As a way of destressing, I've decided to start a blog, and vent to everyone about my daily life, hobbies, happy moments, and some not so great moments.  I hope you stick around for the journey, who knows......maybe we'll all learn something new. 

Ok....so for some details about me.

Name: Krissy
Age: 28
Marital Status: Happily Married to the best husband in the world....
Location: BC, Canada
Current condition: 36 weeks pregnant....am I done yet? lol
Baby:  sex unknown, affectionately known as Peanut

As it goes right now, this baby could be born before it's Aug. 6th due date.....which would be totally fine with me at this point.  Last wednesday, I had an ultrasound which discovered I have low amniotic fluids....docs are monitoring me closely, ready to swoop in at any moment and put peanut into my arms. Im going to try and post on a daily basis and give little updates, along with post pics and tutorials on all things crafty my little hands can wrap themselves around.  I've always enjoyed being crafty, and getting Peanut's nursery ready has been fun for me.  Since we don't know the sex of the baby, I've done the nursery fairly neutral....walls an aqua type color (lol don't ask name, my brain is on holidays at the moment), dresser/change table is pine, crib a pine - ish type finish...if that makes any sense whatsoever, bedding is aqua, lime green and chocolate brown.  I just got finished adding some vinyl art to the wall.....
"Sweet dreams
sleep tight
we love you
goodnight"

I've also got some frames on the go....I painted them white tonight, and tomorrow im going to be adding some vinyl images to them, and then hanging them on the walls.  Im getting all of these things done at the last moment possible...OF COURSE....and 2 days from now on thursday I will be packing my bags and heading an hour and a half away from home to a bigger centre to stay with my MIL....why you ask?  Im doing this because i've had some complications with my pregnancy, and my specialist would feel better me having my baby is a bigger hospital.....so off I go, leaving hubby at home until the time comes for peanut to join us. 
Now that i've totally put you to sleep for the night with my endless ranting...lol on the first post none the less....I will leave you be for the night.  I hope you all have a great night, and I will see you again in the morning....