Emi's birthday trip to the farm

My sister in law and her husband own a horse farm just outside London, Ontario. We took Emi there this weekend to celebrate her first birthday with her aunt and uncle.

Top five things heard in my house on a daily basis.

5.  What are you choking on?
4.  What did you eat?
3.  What is in your mouth?
2.  Where is the _______?  (bottle cap, week old raisin, fluff, paper.... basically anything left on the floor)
1.  Are you puking again????

Ricotta Shells with Marble Cheese and Chives

Another Pinterest find. So good and so easy. I froze another dinner's worth for another night. I used the same tomato sauce that I always use and it was quite a hit with the hubby. Kiwi on the high chair to keep the little one occupied freed me up for the messy bit of filling the shells. Next time I need to remember to buy tin foil ahead of time. That way I can avoid having to use duct tape on the freezer paper. 😄

Great idea I found on Pinterest

Seriously, I never ever would have thought of doing this.

Pizza Tuesday!!!!!

There is nothing better than homemade pizza! Ok, I didn't make the cheese or the pepperoni but everything else was made from scratch. On the weekend I had promised my husband a gourmet pizza. To me, gourmet means cheese! Lots and lots of lovely cheese! Tonight's gourmet pizza had sauce, ricotta, feta and good old mozzarella.

I used arrowroot powder on the pans in a belated attempt at healthy cooking. I am not sure but I think that may be why the crust did not crisp up as usual.

The finished pizza was very yummy but I may try to spread the ricotta out a bit better next time.

A little tip. Use your kitchen shears to snip the stubborn edges that your pizza cutter will never be able to cut through.

 

Crust recipe taken from http://www.canadianliving.com/food/pizza_dough.php

Sauce recipe from Chef Michael http://chefmichaelsmith.com/Recipe/spaghetti-meatballs-with-simple-tomato-sauce/

 

I use that tomato sauce for everything!  My husband and I love it on pizza so I always make a tonne and freeze it.  Chef Michael suggested using San Marzano tomatoes so that is what I did.  Costco sells massive cans of them for 4 dollars.

Nova Scotia Summer 2012

What an amazing place!  We were blessed to find this charming cabin in the area of Guysborough, Nova Scotia.  The owners are simply lovely people and we could not have been more pleased.

I wish I could figure out how to upload the video I took of the entry into the gorgeous place.  Once you turn off the road you follow a winding rutted road through lush forest until you suddenly pop out at the parking space.  It was so exciting.

One of the few family pictures we were able to get.

The view of the cabin from the edge of the cliff.

 

Some interior views of the cabin.  How do you like those stairs???  When you first wake up, not so much.

 

 

 

 

 

The top of the stairs leading down to the beautiful beach .  75 of them! 

 

Coming back up was, well, daunting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

E in the garden.  This child loves to be on the grass.

The first day there was a bit cold but that didn't stop this baby!

 

Then the weather warmed up and into the water we went! 

 



 

 

Beautiful clear waters of the Atlantic.

This is the view of the beach just below the cliff.

And then off to the west.

We took a quick trip to PEI to visit some friends and go to Green Gables.  I loved PEI so much.  It is very family friendly especially if you have small children.  We are already planning the next trip out there.

Green Gables!

 

The view from the front door.

 

 

And of course one with Miss E.

 

Anne's room.

The beaches are AMAZING on PEI!  I really wish we could have spent more time there.

Her "dirt shit" reads "This shirt was white before I got to PEI".

Finally it was out last day in Nova Scotia.  I was a bit sad to leave but that is a story for another post.  I took this picture of Miss E at the Maritime museum in her brand new Sou’ Wester. 

 

 

 

 

Rita MacNeil!

I will post more pictures once I get back home but I just had to get a few up now. Today we decided to take a drive to Cape Breton and my wonderful husband agreed to stop at Rita's Tea Room in Big Pond, Nova Scotia. What an amazing woman. We were so blessed to be able to meet her.