A little heat to kick this cold

I woke up this morning after a very restless night’s sleep.  I had a hard time falling asleep and woke up what seemed like every few hours unable to breathe through my nose.  I also had a couple of furry friends join me in bed last night.  Misty was curled up against my chest, furiously kneading me and Buster was curled up behind my legs.  I felt like the icing in between an Oreo cookie.  Pretty cozy though .

Trevor left me with a lovely Valentine’s Day gift.

 

Valentine’s Day was pretty exciting for the kids at school.  Many brought Valentines to exchange, but I told them they had to wait until after lunch as I didn’t want to have to deal with sugar highs all day long.  I also gave them their treat after they showed me that they wrote their homework in their agendas.  They were pretty stoked for these goodies I made on the weekend.  All got eaten up too   Always a good sign, right?

Today’s weather was a whole other story.  It poured all day and the rain was coming down sideways.  Unfortunately we had to have an indoor day for both recesses this afternoon, which didn’t help with the Vday excitement at school. 

I did manage to stop along the highway on the way home and snap a few shots of the crashing waves.  I do love watching the waves crash in, minus the rain. 

It was very chilly out…glad to get home shortly thereafter.  The cold and wind did clear up my sinuses for a little bit, so that was good, but when I got home I made myself a tall hot mug of Vanilla Rooibos Tea… my favourite.

As for my yummy food creation tonight, I thought a little bit of spice may help kick this head cold out of me…so let me introduce you to…..

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Spicy Beef and Noodle Soup

I haven’t made Thai food in a little while and had some leftover Beef Tenderloin from last night’s Bacon Wrapped Fillet Mignon.  My recipe calls for Beef Fillet, so what a perfect time to make this soup. 

  Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 oz Beef Tenderloin, sliced thinly
• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
• 4 Tbsp crushed ginger
• 3 Tbsp  Green Curry Paste (or less if you can’t handle too much spice)
• 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Bragg Soy Sauce
• 4 oz Flat Rice noodles
• 4 cups low-sodium Beef Broth
• some cilantro for garnish

Here is my spread of ingredients used

How to make this goodness

You will need a large pot and a wok.  Prepare the broth first by heating to a simmer in the large pot.  Once the broth comes to a boil, add the rice noodles and reduce heat to a simmer and prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In the wok heat oil over medium to high heat and add the sliced onions, garlic and crushed ginger.  Sauté for a few minutes until onions are translucent in color. 

Add the beef and green curry paste and stir-fry for another couple of minutes.

Add the fish sauce and soy sauce and add entire mixture to the noodles and beef broth.  

Cook for another few minutes and serve in a bowl.  Garnish with some fresh chopped cilantro. 

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After dinner settled, my friend Vicki and I had some of this….

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream goodness with fresh strawberries and Maple Balsamic Reduction. 

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That’s it for me tonight… going to head to bed to try and catch up on missed sleep from yesterday.  Hopefully I’ll be able to breathe somewhat.

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day.  Remember….it’s not about how much you or your sweetie did or did not spend today or this weekend… everyday should be like Valentine’s Day.

I think that Valentine’s is definitely a money maker for the stores and companies out there. It’s just another reason for people to go out and buy things to please someone. My opinion is that you shouldn’t have to go out and buy material things to show how much you care about that special someone in your life.  It’s the everyday actions that you do and show towards your significant other that speak louder than words. 

But if you got some chocolates or a card or some flowers today… enjoy them.  I did I will admit that I did enjoy getting chocolates, flowers and a card from my sweetie.

Have a great night

Bea

xoxo

Hockey High

So Saturday night I played my first hockey game after being off for 10 days due to tonsillitis and a cold.  And I came back with a fire lit under my butt.  I had my best game of the season and since starting to play 3 years ago.  I scored two goals and had an assist.  I came close to getting my very first hat trick and the ladies tried so hard to help me reach it, but oh well.  I’ll try again next week. 

And now for some sad news…  I got a phone call last night from my dad.  They had to put down my family dog.    Xena was my little warrior princess.  She was a black miniature Schnauzer.  I still remember the day we brought her home.  She was such a tiny little bundle of never-ending energy and joy.  RIP Xena… I will miss you.  She was 14 yrs old.

 

 

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Good Old Steak and Potatoes

Sunday Night’s meal was some good old meat and potatoes.  It wasn’t raining and Trevor requested a tasty steak for dinner.  Lucky for him, I have an abundant supply of meat in my freezer.  So it was time to take out a package of Bison Rib Steaks.

I marinated these babies in some olive oil and jerk rub and set them aside until they would meet their fate on the BBQ. 

In the meantime, I prepared a big pot full of red cabbage.

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Braised Red Cabbage

To prepare the red cabbage, cut into quarters and trim the stems.  Slice thinly and set in bowl.

Prepare the other ingredients: 

• 2 medium onions, sliced thinly
• 2 apples, cored and sliced thinly

 

 

 

 

 

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and add onions and cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until somewhat translucent.  Next add the apples and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. 

Now add your red cabbage and these ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp red wine vinegar or Champagne vinegar
• 2 – 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup red wine

Stir everything together and boil over medium-high heat.  Now cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 35 – 40 minutes or until cabbage is tender.  You may have to add some more red wine if you cabbage needs to cook a bit longer.  Never let the pot go dry.  

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Swiss Potato Pancake “Roesti”

My mom used to make this all the time growing up and it’s a perfect way to use up day-old baked or boiled potatoes.  “Roesti” is generally eaten as a side dish, but can be varied by adding ingredients and seasonings of your choice.  And it’s a great alternative to the all-American or Canadian Hash browns.

To make this, start off by grating about a pound of cooked potatoes like this and set aside.

Chop up one medium onion.  In a non-stick frying pan, heat about 3 Tbsp. of butter or olive oil over medium-high heat.  Then add your onions to the pan and cook until they turn translucent. 

Add some salt and pepper to taste and add your potatoes to the pan as well.  Mix the potatoes and the onions together and flatten with a spatula into the shape of a pancake…it should fit the entire width of your frying pan. 

Make sure element is medium-low heat and allow to fry until brown from bottom.  Now you will need to get yourself a plate a little bigger than your pancake.  Place the plate on top of your potatoes and FLIP!  Slide the potatoes back into your frying pan and continue to cook until brown on this side too.  (sorry for not taking pictures of this process..I only have two hands).  Regardless, it should look like this.

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And of course we couldn’t leave out the dessert either.  When I was at the grocery store this afternoon, I came across this product.  I’ve heard lots about it, so I splurged.

It was creamy, delicious, flavourful, chocolaty goodness. And since Trevor is lactose intolerent, it was a perfect finishing touch to our Sunday night meal. 

I even drizzled the last of my Chocolate Merlot Sauce for a special touch. 

Has anyone else tried this Ice Cream?  What is your favourite flavour?

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  With a fully belly and my lunch made for the morning, I”m ready to relax on the couch. 

Happy Monday everyone.

Much love,

Bea

xoxox