as of late: the october edition

{post-dance hair do}

{finally a broccoli soup I can get behind}

{just two gals chatting at a party}

{he likes his with maple syrup and toasted nuts (she prefers a healthy dose of brown sugar)}

{banged up but still smiling}

{not our Christmas card}

{apple crisp before}

{soup season}

{filling up all the white space at Nana's request}

{apple crisp after}

{a gift from Papa}

a tall stack

I woke up early this morning and I peeked in on my sleeping babe. She looked so sweet in her footsie jam jams, all cozy in her favourite pink blanket. I will make you pancakes, I said to myself. And so I did. A tall stack for my small girl.

I always feel a little smug if I manage to squeeze something extra into my morning routine. I felt like super-mum, flipping pancakes, drinking milky tea all with a towel on my head. That is, I felt smug until we were scrambling and the September traffic almost made me late for work. At that point I felt like an idiot for thinking I could make a hot breakfast on a Thursday morning.

Perhaps pancakes are better weekend fare afterall.

Try Nigella's take on "American" pancakes: quick, easy and not without a healthy dose of butter. The recipe is here: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/american-breakfast-pancakes-141, but I totally recommend her book How to Be A Domestic Goddess. Get yourself a scale and get baking!

xo

Em

{batter before the sun comes up}

{does anyone really eat pancakes this way?}

those who wait

{peach vanilla bundt cake}

It has been so hot this summer that baking has been the furthest thing from my mind. While, not the furthest, I often think of baked things I'd like to eat, but then I think about the heat my little oven produces and I quickly move on. I have just recently started trolling Pinterest for recipes (I know, late to the table) and I came across a recipe for peach bundt cake. I love bundt cakes because of their pretty shape and unabashed simplicity. I saw local peaches for sale at the market yesterday and it was as though the stars had aligned. I felt destined to make this cake.

My destiny turned out to be a bit of a bummer. I started baking the cake only to realize that I was missing a few ingredients -- so typical. Jeff was already out so he was able to come to my rescue. By that time the cake was half made and I was over it. It was hot and getting late and I was so ready for bed. When Jeff got home I finished the cake, popped it in the oven and gave him instructions about when to take it out. I fell asleep about 30 seconds after that.

When Jeff got up to go golfing this morning (at 5:00 am -- crazy) I popped out of bed and ran (read: stumbled) to the kitchen. The bundt was still on its bottom (uncovered...Jeffrey....). I tipped it over. No movement. I gave it a little shake. Still nothing. I gave the cake a big shake and the bottom fell out. Just the bottom. Oh dear. I used a spatula to remove the top of the cake (from the layer of peaches upward), but I am afraid the bundt-y beauty was gone. I should have stayed in bed. I should have let the cake come out on its own.

I pieced it back together and it tastes fine, but what is the point of an ugly bundt? In this case, beauty is at least half the point.

xo

Em

{yikes! you should see what this was supposed to look like!}

sweetie pie wedding shower

{peach, blueberry and cherry-raspberry pie}

On Monday night my mum, my sister and I hosted a "sweetie pie" wedding shower for our dear friend Lily. We hemmed and hawed about a shower "theme", but after learning that our all time favourite pie maker (and friend) recently started selling her wares the decision was easy. All pies, all night. So darn delicious.

Pie is such a treat because if you are anything like me, and I suspect you are, you never make pie -- it is way too hard! Pastry seems so simple, there are so few ingredients and even the method isn't that daunting, and yet I have never made a pie I was truly proud of. The rolling out part gets me every time. Also -- the removal of the pie from the pan never seems to go well which is acceptable for the first slice I suppose, but not every single subsequent morsel that is removed from the pan.

Ellen Stirling is the Jamie Oliver of pie making -- she makes it look easy and she looks cute doing it ;)  Seriously, the pies were amazing. If you are ever in need of pie email me and I will put you in touch with Ellen (unlike most middlemen I will not take a cut I promise!)

It was a pleasure to host a bridal shower for Lily; we've known her since she called cows "moo moos" -- at least four or five years ;) She gets married tomorrow and she is going to be the most beautiful bride.

Here are a few pictures from her shower. None are of people -- I seem to get distracted around people. I'll work on that!

Congratulations Lily and Tom!

xo

Em

{pretty pies on pretty cake stands}

{bunting a la Adrienne Harris}

{fresh lemonade and a really old pitcher}

{the favour: wild blueberry jam made with love by my mum and my Nanny}

the best strawberry shortcake ever

I just noticed that there is a lot of red, white and blue going on in that picture. I swear it is a coincidence that I am sharing this recipe on the Forth of July. Strawberries are only in season for a short while, and you all know my penchant for stripy blue bowls.

Is that enough apologizing to convince you I am a proud Canadian?

Have you ever used hardboiled eggs in baking before? I haven't, but James Beard, father of American gourmet cooking, (I am obsessed with the US of A today) uses them in his recipe for biscuits. The biscuit recipe is fairly standard (flour, sugar, soda, butter and heavy cream) or at least I thought so until I noticed that it called for boiled egg yolks. I won't lie, it was a little extra work, first boiling the eggs then pushing them through the sieve, but the batter really came together perfectly. I did a quick internet search and noticed that hard boiled eggs are standard in many German and Austrian baked goods. Who knew? Violet ate her weight in egg whites while I painstakingly rubbed egg yolks through teeny metal holes. We know how to have a good time around here.

I have ceramic tile countertops which are the absolute worst for rolling out dough (unless you like eating grout) and so I rolled these out on a large wooden cutting board. I use roll in the loosest sense of the word because really all you do is smoosh the dough down with your hands. My only regret is not letting them bake just a little longer. (I had a very hungry helper who needed to eat and then be bathed before I headed out to meet friends.)

If you are looking for an easy, elegant and maybe even retro dessert don't forget about little old strawberry shortcake. She isn't fanciest, but everyone loves her -- sounds Canadian despite the red, white and blue!

xo

Em

Check out the recipe here: http://food52.com/blog/3564_james_beards_strawberry_shortcakes

Check out a funny article about Canadians' envy of Americans here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/lets-celebrate-july-4th-by-admitting-americans-have-stuff-that-we-want/article4385643/

it's the most wonderful time of the year

{a strawberry rhubarb crumble bar}

Not that most wonderful time of the year -- strawberry rhubarb season silly! For just a few short weeks the stars align and the last of the year's rhubarb is available at the same time as the season's first strawberries. We were able to buy both at the market last weekend. Tart red rhubarb and sweet jammy strawberries are a match made in culinary heaven.

Jeff rarely bakes and when he does it is with mixed results -- he'll be the first to admit it. His preparation of strawberry rhubarb crumble bars was the exception that proves the rule. Yum, yum, I highly recommend the recipe (found in last week's Globe and Mail Style section). The crumble bars are easier to eat than crisp (no cutlery required, good news for picnickers and people who hate doing dishes), they are less work than a pie (especially persuasive for someone with tiled counters that are terrible for rolling out dough) and they are more indulgent than a muffin (although if my memory serves me Ellen Kennie makes a mean one).

If you decide to give this recipe a try (which I wholeheartedly recommend doing), my only warning is that the bars get more flavourful with time. They are way better cool than warm (I don't have much patience so I learned this the hard way). They get a little soggy on top as the days progress, but if your family is anything like mine they won't be around long enough for that to pose a major obstacle.

Seasonal eating is so much more appealing this time of year. See you next year root veggies, there are new produce in town!

xo

Em

Saint Patrick's Day

Chive & Cheddar Guinness Bread

It is hard to keep classy on Saint Patrick's Day. I'm not referring to the line up I saw outside the local pub at 7:45 this morning, those people are dedicated if nothing else. I am thinking more along the lines of doing a little something special for my family. I wanted to do something thematic but preferably not  fluorescent green and not involving beer.

Well, one out of two ain't bad!

One of the best parts of having a kid is having an excuse to celebrate even the most minor of holidays (no offence Irish friends). So in honour of Saint Patrick's Day, and to celebrate a long overdue lunch with my cousin and his lovely family I whipped up a few thematic additions to our mac 'n cheese lunch.

{just a hint of green}

The first item I tried was Chive and Cheddar Guinness Bread (hence one out of two). The recipe sounded too good to be true: one bowl; no kneading; and bakes in 40 minutes, is that even possible? It turns out, it is. You know you have a winner when your guest asks for the recipe. The beer (we used Garrison's Martello Stout) gives the bread a moist richness, and the cheese makes it all the more decadent. The chives play two roles, they complement the cheese and add just a hint of green. We ate almost the whole loaf at lunch, another good sign.

{Chocolate cake with Bailey's Buttercream} 

The second treat we made was chocolate cake with Bailey's buttercream icing. I thought twice about adding the liqueur to the icing but then I thought, Ireland is in Europe - Europeans let their children drink in moderation - thus, on this, Saint Patrick's day my little North American daughter and her sweet cousins will be fine with a few mls of spirits! I bet the sugar contributed more to their energy level anyway.

The icing was really sweet. It was a nice treat on a special day but I'm not sure I'd recommend it any other time of year. Martha suggested making sugared four-leaf clovers to adorn the top of the cake but I had to wonder, where would even she be able to find four-leaf clovers for sale?

We had an awesome visit with our family, a nice walk at frog pond later in the afternoon and now Jeff and I are slipping out to celebrate six months of marriage! Forty-nine and a half more years until our golden anniversary. Time flies...

Check out the bread recipe here: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-cheddar-guinness-beer-bread-166877

The cake was my go to chocolate cake: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html

The icing recipe isn't online but basically it is vanilla buttercream with 3 Tbsps of Bailey's.

xo

Em

beat this Kashi

{homemade granola bars}

As I bit into my granola bar today at work I thought, this leaves a lot to be desired. Last year I went through a (delicious) phase where I actually made the little lunch time staples myself. Why did I stop doing that I wondered as tried to swallow a mouth full of rock hard, bone dry grains? Oh right, because they were so good we would eat the whole pan...in two days…one of those recipes.

When I got home I asked Jeff if he would like me to make granola bars again. Of course he would. Only this time I had a plan, a new Pond family ordinance:

Ye shall only eat one delicious homemade granola bar per day.

He agreed and so I busted out the wheat germ. 

The recipe I always follow is from The Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics cookbook. Word to the wise, I have tried to make these healthier by substituting the brown sugar with maple syrup and the bars don’t harden. I have also tried to cut down on the butter with adverse effects, namely dryness of Kashi proportions. I gave up trying to tweak the recipe and figured, if homemade granola bars are the worst thing I eat in a day, I am doing pretty well.

So far I’ve stuck to the date/ apricot/ almond combination laid out in the recipe, but I think the bars would be awesome with chocolate chips and peanut butter or dried apples and cinnamon. 

Ina (I am on a first name basis with the Contessa) mentions that the bars are better the next day and they really are. They firm up a lot overnight, which makes them more bar, less cereal blob like. Despite that I think I will go cut them and enjoy a cereal blob now, I haven’t had my daily ration yet.

xo

Check out Ina's recipe here:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/homemade-granola-bars-recipe/index.html

{dates, apricots & almonds}

{cooling in the late afternoon sun}

Em

twenty-nine and holding

{be still my heart - rice pudding from Athens}

A girl can't help but feel special on her birthday.

When I got up it was as though the heavens had sent me a little gift in the form of snow fit for a Christmas card. When I got home from my early morning run Jeffrey had coffee waiting and had opened the boxes of my favourite cereal for me (keeping my morning routine is better than breakfast in bed - weird but true). The day was full of little treats including a dinner of my choosing - Jeffrey's fish tacos and the the best rice pudding in Halifax for dessert. My family (the little one and the big one) showered me with thoughtful gifts that made me feel so loved. All in all, a very successful birthday.

I am officially twenty-nine and holding as my dad said to me tonight.

And now, because it is my birthday and no one can judge me (or if they do, I am allowed to cry) I am going to head to bed with a new book and the rest of the rice pudding. After all, I only have one year left to lead this super crazy lifestyle.

Thanks for the birthday love.

xo

Em

(almost) dirty thirties

{french macaroons with raspberry-rose buttercream via bon appetit}

Tomorrow I turn twenty-nine. Twenty-nine, as in almost thirty years old. Before I turn thirty here is a list of things I would like to accomplish. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

in no particular order:

1. Make macaroons from scratch. Not the coconut-chocolate kind, I've made those. I'm talking about the fancy French kind. So tiny yet so intimidating.

2. Read a novel by Charles Dickens. Never have, always wanted to. They are just so dang long. I think I just need to find one with a more user-friendly font - why do long novels always have tiny print? I am wide open to suggestions as to where to start.

3.  Run a marathon. I've run two marathons before. Once I didn't train (naivety and age were on my side) and once I did. I felt worse when I did. I would love to qualify for Boston someday. That is one nice thing about getting older, the qualifying times will only increase. Cheers to Boston at forty?

4. Go on a honeymoon. Jeff and I had a sweet little mini-moon in PEI right after our nuptials, but we are really looking forward to a proper honeymoon. It doesn't have to be far away, but it does have to be more than two nights long.

5. Organize my digital photos. I haven't printed a single photo since Violet was born. Only recently did I buy an external hard drive to save the thousands (and thousands and thousands) of pictures I have snapped in the last three years. I really owe this to my sweet girl.

6. Send our remaining wedding thank-yous. Emily Post must have known how busy we would be when she permitted newlyweds up to one calendar year to send their thank-yous. We still have time, but it is ticking.

7. Spruce up our bedroom. I think we deserve more than a bed and a few tables. No idea what vibe I (oh sorry, we) want but the prison cell look isn't working for me.

8. Learn how to apply eyeliner. A grown woman should know these things.

9. Grow something and eat it. Tomatoes maybe? Basil? Both? Mmmmmm caprese salad. (note to self: mould on cheese does not count)

10. Buy jeans that I like and stop pretending that leggings are pants. I have always hated shopping for pants. I have to get over this. No one wants to see my almost-thirty-year-old-butt in a pair of tights. Yoga pants are revealing enough for a woman of my age...

11. Perfect making coffee in our caffettiera (stove top coffee maker). I love the idea - very 
continental, but I am a little afraid of it in practice.

12. Learn how to french braid. I have insane hair. I think I am at the point where I either learn how
to french braid or I give myself dreadlocks. Since I have an aversion to strong smells I think the
former will be a better match.

I reserve the right to add to this list as the year progresses, but I will do my best not to take anything off of it.

Have a cupcake for me tomorrow!

xo

Em

pain au chocolat

{just in case a croissant wasn't good enough - add chocolate!}

I've said this before and I will undoubtedly say it again, I love going to the farmer's market on Saturday morning. On a scale of 1 to the Gilmore Girls, I would give Saturday mornings a nine. The only thing that could improve them is if they got off to a bit of a later start, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. At least not while Violet goes to bed knowing she can have chocolate for breakfast.

Yes, chocolate for breakfast.

I know, you are judging me aren't you. A little?

I don't let Violet eat ordinary chocolate for breakfast. That would be silly. No, her breakfast is one of foodie-baby-champions: the pain au chocolat.

When we get to the market Jeff is on coffee duty and I take Violet to get my pumpkin muffin (from the Schoolhouse bakery) and her chocolatine (from boulangerie la vendeenne bien sur). We do this week in, week out. You know how I love a good routine. This sort of thing soothes me.

Here is Violet's face when I told her she couldn't just remove the chocolate strips from her pain au chocolat and eat them. Mean mum that I am, I actually asked that she eat the buttery, flaky, freshly baked pastry too.

{I'm not afraid to have a melt down, just try me...}

Here is her face when I told her I was serious:

{you have got to be kidding me}

Needless to say, the chocolate was eaten apart from the pastry. I can't be firm at the market, surrounded by grandparents and before I have coffee.

Rules are for weekday morning breakfasts anyway.

xo

Em

We Are Young*

{pink & pink balloons}

Violet's third birthday party was a success! There were no injuries, few tears and lots of giggles. No one felt like laughing the night before the party at 2:00 am, but that is beside the point.

I think "Emily and her adventures with the compost bin" might be a more fitting title for this blog than Lovely Infelicity. I'll start with the punch line: I had to throw out my first attempt at a cupcake shaped birthday cake. It was 11:30 pm when the cake hit the bin.

On Friday after Violet went to bed Jeff, Julia and I kicked in to party-prep high gear.  We baked Martha Stewart's yellow buttermilk cupcakes (for the kiddos to decorate), we made Magnolia Bakery vanilla buttercream icing (in pink and white), we made banana chocolate chip muffins for the mamas (and made sure to have a healthy amount of Baileys on hand for their coffee), we cut fruit, made bunny shaped sandwiches and organized the food table. Julia also painstakingly strung cupcake holders and doilies to make a beautiful streamer to decorate our dining room window.

As you may recall Violet had a cupcake themed party. A cupcake shaped birthday cake seemed like the obvious choice. We borrowed a mould and I whipped up Beatty's Chocolate Cake. I greased the pan well with butter and popped the cake in the oven. As soon as I pulled it out I knew something was amiss. The bottom of the cupcake had risen well above the top of the cake pan while the top looked rather flat. I didn't think too much of it and put the cake, still in the pan, on a cooling rack.

Removing the cake from the pan was the first debacle. It didn't want to come out. I used a silicone spatula to navigate the ridges of the depths of the pan and eventually I was able to get most of it out. Unfortunately, the cupcake shape was seriously compromised.

One of our party guests was unable to have buttercream (she can't eat dairy) so I decided to substitute margarine in the Magnolia recipe. I have three words for you: it doesn't work. Period. We decided to ice the bottom of the cake with white frosting and the top with a bright pink. I tried to smooth the paste like margarine butter cream over the crumbly surface of the deformed cake. I could feel my face getting red. Calm down, I thought to myself, you'll be able to fix this.

I was wrong.

When I put the cupcake shaped, margarine icing adorned cake on the cake plate and stepped back there was silence from the gallery. Then it hit me: the cake looked a lot like a certain male appendage. You read that correctly. The cake looked like an erotic cake, baked by a lactose intolerant maid of honour planning a bachelorette party. I don't know if was our colour choice or the misshaped cupcake form but this cake was obviously too explicit for a three year old's birthday party.

You can guess what happened next. Into the bin it went. Gone the way of so many baked goods before it.

There is no picture. I was too upset at the time.

11:30: start cake #2. This time I used a bundt cake pan and real chocolate buttercream icing (we made a special cupcake for our lactose intolerant friend). There was no way I was risking another erotic cupcake debacle at that hour!

Enjoy a few pictures from Violet's special day.


xo

Em

{violet tulips}

{round two: a cake appropriate for all ages}

{craft time: decorate cake boxes}

{fishies at the birthday girl's request}

{Julia's fruit rainbow}

{the spread}

{everyone got a prize after pin the cherry on the cupcake!}

* this song captures the chaos of party preparation perfectly ;)

Today's recipes can be found: 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/313355/yellow-buttermilk-cupcakes

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/MAGNOLIA-BAKERY-VANILLA-CUPCAKES-WITH-VANILLA-BUTTERCREAM-ICING-50055058

Baked Chocolate Pudding

{Ina Garten's baked chocolate pudding}

Before I begin it is only right that I should state my bias. When it comes to custard-like desserts I have never met one I didn't love. My love for creamy, “eggy” desserts began when I was a little girl and my Grammy Hope served me a small bowl of warm tapioca pudding with half a maraschino cherry on top. Grammy Hope must have loved creamy, eggy desserts too because in addition to tapioca she also made me rice pudding with piping hot raisins and a simple custard dessert with a delicious layer of cinnamon on top. Each of these desserts was served in a tiny bowl. I have a soft spot for desserts served in individual vessels. It definitely ups the cute quotient.

My Grammy Hope would have been proud of the baked chocolate pudding I made on Sunday night, although I’m not even sure if she liked chocolate. I am confident that the texture of the dessert alone would have won her over.

We were invited over to our friends’ house for dinner and I had volunteered to make dessert. I had never made Baked Chocolate Pudding before but I trust Ina Garten when it comes to dessert. She is a woman who is not afraid to use a little butter and trust me, you can tell when you take a bite of any of her creations - heavenly.

It is always a bit of a gamble making something for the first time when you plan on serving it to friends, but I knew our hosts would be game to try anything and worst case scenario I could have always picked something up on the way. (They live dangerously close to Dee Dee’s!)

Once baked the dish looked quite plain – I was going to use the word rustic but that would be romanticizing a rather ordinary looking dish. So it’s not the most beautiful dessert to look at, but none of my creamy, eggy favorites are – just think of tapioca, rice pudding and custard.  

I stuck a knife in the pudding to see if it was done and the pressure sent a crack flying across the meringue like surface of the dish. Picture putting a knife in a pavlova or better yet picture the bottom of a river that has dried up. Opps. The knife came out gooey, but I went with it, it was after all a pudding of sorts.

We packed up the jeep, Violet and the dessert of unknown quality in tow, ready for a night of relaxation (with two wee ones yeah right) and good conversation (definitely).

We dined on delicious homemade pizza/ calzone. (It was definitely more like pizza Rachel). Then we all tried the pudding – a keeper of a recipe, that is for sure.

Served with vanilla ice cream this dessert would be hard to beat in terms of comfort food. The soft but crunchy meringue gets coated in the gooey innards of the cake. I tried to get a small bite of ice cream with every mouthful of pudding, the cool smooth ice cream melted alongside the warm chocolate.

On a cold Sunday night in February, with my Grammy Hope in mind, the pudding was exactly that the doctor ordered.

{yum yum}

check out the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/brownie-pudding-recipe/index.html

xo  Em

clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose

This morning at the market my mum told us about a lecture she heard on her pd day. The talk was about what really makes people happy. One suggestion the speaker had was to remind yourself daily of the things you are grateful for. It is so easy to focus on the negative aspects of the daily grind and overlook all of the things that make us happy. So, in the pursuit of happiness here are a few things I am grateful for today (in no particular order of course):

{the fact we live in Halifax}

We woke up to beautiful snow and by the time we got home from the market it was rainy. Ideal weather? Not by any measure. Yet living in Halifax is something I am truly grateful for. If you are lucky enough to live by the sea you are lucky enough. Right?

{Saturdays at the market}

This morning Violet wore her Christmas dress from two years ago to the market. I have to pick my battles. Going to the market is one of the highlights of our week; we meet my parents, drink great coffee, indulge in a breakfast of our own choosing and Violet plays with the first friend she made herself. Even though it is early and I can't believe we set an alarm on Saturday, I wouldn't change a thing.

{great friends}

Tonight we had lovely friends over for dinner. There were a few meltdowns (kids only) but it was so worth it to share time with a family we all get along with so well. Jeff made awesome pasta and I made lemon loaf (and it worked the first time). It is always worth the planning to get together.

Check out the recipe for the lemon loaf here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-yogurt-cake-recipe/index.html 

{my sweet husband}

I may have dropped some major hints that just because we were married it didn't mean we should completely forgo Valentines but in the end Jeff came through! He brought home this beautiful orchid stem along with dinner for our sweet girl and I. It might not be what Hallmark envisioned but it was a day full of love.

What are you grateful for today?

xo