My Food Life

January 04, 2012

And there go the holidays...

As fast as they came, they were gone.
I'm talking about The Holidays. That time of year when the more sparkles the better.

The more lights the merrier.

And the more presents, the cheerier.

And what holiday would be complete without a feast?!? I can't think of any. We invited the family over and set the table for those naughty or nice.

As a recovered vegetarian, I don't have a lot of experience with cooking turkeys but if ever there was a time to try one, this was it. I made a bed of apples, carrots, onions and dill to roast the turkey on.

And then I gave it a bottle of wine. I figured the turkey deserved to have a little fun too.

I rubbed it down with salt, pepper and various secret herbs.

Four and half hours later, the turkey was pulled from the oven, golden and crisp.

The results? Juicy and full of flavor. No disrespect to the turkey roasters out there, but it really wasn't that difficult.

Add some mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce and steamed broccoli and you have yourself a traditional holiday meal. I'd love to show you the brisket and latkes that were served alongside but they were consumed faster than I could photograph them. And besides, sometimes you need to put down the camera and just enjoy the moment. (I hope that last line isn't quoted back to me next time I make Captain McBlack wait to eat while my shutter is clicking away).

The Holidays are the only time of year when peppermint is not only appropriate, but encouraged. Every dessert, drink and candy is dripping with it. I happily jumped on the train and decided to try making my own candy.

It was as easy as melting chocolate into a mold, adding crushed candy canes and letting it solidify.

I took it one step further and made white chocolate peppermint bark. Easy to do with impressive results- what more could you ask for?

After the cooking, the entertaining and the unwrapping of gifts it was time to unwind and enjoy the last few days of 2011. We spent a relaxing afternoon 27 stories above downtown Denver, watching the sun set over the Rocky Mountains.

Even though the thermometer was well below freezing, we chose drinks with fruity island flavors and day-dreamt about sunny vacations on the beach.

Which isn't to say our current locale wasn't enjoyable.

The sun set,

the city lights brightened the sky,

and the last day of the year came to a close.

2011 may have been filled with life changes, but it was smothered in love, happiness and plenty of good eats. My plans for 2012? To continue living the food life.

On New Year's morning, I felt it appropriate to drink out of my favorite mug and start the year out with the perfect piece of advice.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Happy 2012!

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November 06, 2011

What Halloween Looks Like

It is definitely fall out there. With fall comes a holiday dedicated to chocolate, candy and costumes. What could be more fun?

We celebrated the spooky season with all the Halloween classics. And of course, that means pumpkins. Lots and lots of pumpkins.

Much to the amazement of Captain McBlack, this was my first trip to a pumpkin patch. Maybe pumpkins don't grow in Montreal, or maybe it just wasn't the thing to do when we were young but you can be sure we had our share of pumpkins. They just came from the grocery store.

For my first visit, I couldn't have asked for a nicer day or a prettier backdrop. Yup, those are the Rockies you see in the distance.

Another classic, that apparently goes hand in hand with pumpkin patches, are corn mazes.

Five miles of corn mazes and it all basically looks like this.

And, um, there actually is corn growing in them.

After navigating our way out of the stalks, we got our pumpkins home and set out to carve them.

I turned mine into a cat. I figured that every Halloween needs a black cat.

Complete with earrings, eyelashes and a beaded collar. Fancy.

Of course we pulled out all the seeds...

...and roasted them with sea salt.

After the pumpkins, it was time to make some cupcakes.

Who wants skulls with their dessert? I know I do!

I didn't exactly plan it, but Red Velvet turned out to be a fantastic choice for Halloween.

It looks creepy and gory. Naturally, the boys loved it.

I'm not sure what is scarier. The goblins of Halloween or the decor on these cupcakes. While they may not meet professional standards, they certainly were fun to decorate.

In case all that sugar wasn't enough, we made some Halloween Candy bark, thanks to a fellow blogger who inspired the idea. Turns out, this is a popular method of using up extra Halloween candy (as seen on countless food blogs over the last few weeks) and I'm sure it will be in my repertoire for many holidays to come.

It was as easy to make as melting chocolate chips and adding candy. Well, actually, that is how you make it.