Gifts from the Kitchen

It's that time of year again, people seem to get stressed out no matter what during the holidays. It's important at this busy time to take time for yourself, find something that helps you to relax, whether it's watching a favourite movie (Little Women, When Harry Met Sally & The Notebook are some of my favs), reading, playing scrabble, exercising...whatever works. For me, cooking and being in the kitchen brings me the most peace in the world. Putting on good music and grabbing a glass of wine before helps too!

So that being said, I love to cook and bake, but if I ate everything that came out of the kitchen, I wouldn't be able to fit through the door! So, I make gifts or have people over and send them home with leftovers. This year for some colleagues at work, I decided to make some Tamari Almonds. I made them for my boss last year for Christmas, and everyone is always asking for them. I've been known to use them to help when I'm asking for vacation time...

TAMARI ALMONDS
2 1/2 cups whole unblanched almonds
1/4 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
splash of fresh squeezed lemon
a couple of pinches cayenne (optional)

On parchment lined baking sheet roast almonds at 350F until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on tamari, lemon and cayenne and stir. Roast in oven for 7 minutes, stir and then turn off oven and leave in for 12 minutes. Let cool on rack. Make enough for yourself too!

Christmas Cocktail Party

This year Brent and I decided to host a Christmas Cocktail Party. This was our first Christmas Party, and I wanted it to be great. One thing I've learnt, the more prepared you are, the better time you'll have, from hosting a dinner party for 2 to planning a gala for 400. It's all about the prep! So I'll take you through a few key things to remember when planning a cocktail party for 12-20 guests.

1. PLAN AHEAD

You want to make sure to prep as much in advance as you can, so that when your guests arrive, you can take off your apron and enjoy a glass of wine.



I made most of the appetizers in advance. My advice is to peruse cookbooks and websites and find recipes that you can make-ahead and freeze. Anything with puff pastry works awesome!


Another great idea is to make a few 'safe' recipes, those ones that you know are gonna work. With those in the bag, you can focus on one knock out dish, or dessert.

I decided to opt for Chocolate Raspberry Truffles. These need to be made ahead of time, and do take a few hours (with the chilling and the freezing). But they are so worth it, and you can get a lot done while they're chilling.

2. Simple Approach to Decorating

A few candles, some simple serving trays (I get mine at the Dollar Store), fun napkins and plates, and some improvising. I didn't have a dish to hold the Sesame Puff Pastry Straws, so I wrapped a glass, it worked great!

3. The easiest crowd pleaser's
A couple of easy ways to please a crowd is with some good dips and dip-ables, and a great cheese tray.


I make a veggie dip using sour cream, a dab of mayo, sea salt, pepper, and fresh herbs, whatever looks good at the grocery store. Put that out with some veggies, pita's and hummus. The cheese tray should have an assortment of hard and soft cheeses, and the cheese should be served at room temperature. My favourites are Brie or Camembert, Smoked Applewood Cheddar, and smoked Gouda. Make sure to include some fruits among the cheeses too.

All in all, by doing a lot of the prep in advance, and having some staple dishes to make, the party was a lot of fun, I barely spent any time in the kitchen, and clean up was a breeze! Oh, and the truffles were a huge hit.

The Beginning

Today I am starting a blog. This blog will be primarily focused on sharing recipes and ideas on how to eat well and enjoy food. I believe that we need to all start making food a priority in our lives. Whether it's as simple as making informed choices on what we eat, or making an effort to make meal time a time to connect. Food is one thing that we all need, we cannot function without feeding our bodies, and there are so many choices that it can be overwhelming. I have always had an interest in food and cooking, however this grew into a bit of a hobby when I realized I had an intolerance for many pre-packaged and processed foods. This was a huge blessing in disguise, and now food and eating has become a great and enjoyable part of my life. I hope to inspire others to view food in the same way that I do. I look forward to sharing my passion with others.