I’ve been a busy little beaver the last few days and now my back is paying for it. But it’s well worth the aches and pains. I’ve managed to churn out two baby blankets in as many days! One is for my brand new niece and the other is a long overdue birthday gift for the son of a close friend of mine. His name is Max and he just turned one so I figured since I missed giving him a quilt on his actual BIRTH day, I would make sure to get it to him on the anniversary of his birth. Confused? I hope not.

Max's quilt--monochromatic greys and some blue

So here it is! His mom told me she likes owls and I love owls (as you will see) so I used some great Alexander Henry fabric called It’s A Hoot. 

"It's A Hoot" fabric by Alexander Henry

I’ve also used this as home decor fabric on my front hall stool and on this pillow on the rocking chair in babe #3′s room.

"It's A Hoot" fabric in different colour way

More owls--starry eyed owls!

The fabric selection for my niece’s quilt also has an aviary theme with sleepy-eyed owls, little chicks and bird houses. The one here is actually my wee babe’s but it’s got the same fabric as my niece’s. I’m really digging orange these days, hence the juicy colour in the quilt.

Orange and aviary inspired baby blanket

Sleepy-eyed owls

Now that I went koo koo making quilts I might need a baking break….or just some mindless television. We’ll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings!

I have a weakness for rugelach (the ch is that hard, throaty sound that one perfects through one’s Jewish upbringing). Unfortunately indulging in these tasty treats only happens at special occasions, which includes dinner at my in-law’s and sadly at shivas. Why? Because these devilish but divine desserts are expensive! Yes, you have to pay by weight. And much like chips, you can’t eat just one. 

Rolled out rugelach dough

Now I know why the bakery charges for rugelach by weight–because there are so many steps involved in the making of them! And one recipe only produces a dozen and a half of them. So that’s a huge investment of time for little return. I found a recipe in Evelyn Raab’s book, The Clueless Baker. My copy is well loved and well worn. I’m not sure it’s still in print but if you can find one I strongly recommend adding it to your repertoire of cook books. The dough is actually more of a pastry made with butter, cream cheese, flour and a bit of sugar. The whole recipe itself is easy, it’s just the time and steps required are labour intensive. Once the pastry is made I had to divide it into three portions, shape them into round discs and refrigerate them for at least an hour.

While that was happening I made a mixture of chocolate chips, cinnamon and sugar. The recipe also called for walnuts but I didn’t have any. I whizzed the mixture through the food processor. Then I rolled out the pastry dough and sprinkled the mixture on it.

Rugelach pastry dough with filling

The next step is to take a pizza cutter and cut the dough into about eight or ten wedges. This was followed by the final step, which was to roll each wedge from the wide end to the point into a crescent shape. 

Ready to bake

Baking the rugelach for about 20 minutes was the final step–actually eating them was the final step. They turned out so flakey and light and the perfect balance of chocolate and cinnamon. But was it worth the time and effort? According to reaction from my family it was. So I think I’ll be making these again.

Mmmm...rugelach!

I used to hate my living room. It’s the first room you see when you walk in the front door and for some reason I didn’t consider it inviting nor did I think it had a cohesive look or a focal point. No matter what I tried nothing seemed to work. So I went back to the drawing board. Without a fireplace in the room or something for the eye to land on I had to create a focal point on the one long wall the room had. The couch acted as the anchor and to create some symmetry I flanked it with two matching sideboards we inherited from my husband’s grandmother. These are substantial pieces of furniture and lend the kind of weight the room needed. Since the couch is relatively modern I updated the sideboards by getting them sprayed a warm chocolately-brown and for fun I replaced the hardware with pale blue milk glass pulls. Sticking with the symmetry theme we put two matching cream lamps on the sideboards. The cream really pops against the grey-brown wall colour, which matches the couch perfectly!

Now back to that focal point; I decided to create a gallery of art work above the couch and that would be the focal point. Some of the pieces came from family while others are inexpensive prints. I think using all black frames gives the gallery a cohesive look without looking too contrived. We added to the gallery as we acquired the pieces and the only thing that ties all of them together are the frames.

A Room for Living

My favourite thing in the room is probably the carpet–a wool Sumak rug that I can only describe as a perfect marriage between traditional and contemporary. There are a multitude of colours in it–peach, aqua, taupe, burnt orange, forest green, cream….I picked fabric for the throw pillows based on the carpet and I had so much fun doing it!

My husband’s biggest coupe was finding the Huber bucket chair and ottoman (made in Canada!) on Kijiji–from two different sellers no less. The original fabric was *hallucious* so I had to hunt down a durable fabric that honoured the era of the chair without being too hokey. I must admit the cream and green fabric wasn’t my first choice, but my husband liked it and since he found the chair I figured he could choose the fabric. I’ve got to hand it to him, it looks great and works really well with the rest of the furniture in the room. 

Huber bucket chair

We spend more time in this room now than we ever did before and I’m really pleased with the results. It’s eclectic, cozy and full of  family mementos. Now I love my living room.

Okay, it’s been WWWaaaaaaaaaaYYYYYYYYYYyyyyyy too long since my last post. But life gets in the way–a NEW life, in fact. Yes, we welcomed baby boy #3 into our lives about 3 months ago. So we’re through the first tough stretch with him, which I guess should allow me to turn my attention to some other items on my *to do* list. In the last 48 hours that includes baking a key lime pie, a banana chocolate chip cake, mowing the lawn and cutting out the pieces for two baby quilts, which should have been made a long time ago.

Mmmm...key lime pie!!!

The key lime pie was an homage to our recent trip to Floridahhhhh….it came out a bit on the tarty-limey side, and the crust was a little too hard for my liking but not bad for my first attempt. The most annoying part of the recipe was juicing all those tiny key limes to get half a cup of juice. I used my reamer but quick work it did not make. The recipe is from Martha Stewart if you’re interested in trying it.

Best Banana Chocolate Chip Cake EV-ER

The banana chocolate chip cake is my go-to stand-by dessert. I make it into muffins, cakes, loafs…you name it. If you’ve got bananas sitting in the freezer or spotty ones sitting on the counter that no one in your family is going to eat, then this is the recipe for you! If you can decipher the recipe I’m posting, it’s yours. I’m not going to make it easy because I guard this recipe closely. It came from my mom’s friend Fern, and I get nothing but compliments when I bake it. Enjoy!!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake Recipe

I have been trying to come up with a practical solution to my front hall entrance since the day we moved into our newly renovated home just over six years ago. I’ve tried a number of seemingly practical solutions to storage, seating and organization, but in our 4-foot wide entrance, it all ended up looking cluttered and, well, not pretty. So I had to find something practical and pretty that would satisfy our need to store keys, hats, shoes, gloves and other miscellany. I didn’t want to spend a fortune but I didn’t want to cheap out either and end up with yet another unsatisfactory solution.

So I started with the Norden occasional table from Ikea and had it sprayed in Cloud White. I found the brown woven strap baskets that hold all of our hats, gloves, sunscreen and other necessary but unsightly objets at HomeSense. The mirror hanging over the table is also from Ikea and works perfectly, given that sense of light and sparkle that the hallway really needed. My absolute favourite piece is the stool. I had it custom made by my upholsterer. Not only is it practical for putting on and taking off boots and shoes, but the fabric is so much fun! I found it on Etsy, but if you’re looking for it, it’s an Alexander Henry print and it’s called “What a Hoot!” and it certainly is a hoot. The other touches include oil rubbed bronze and porcelain hooks that I found at Restoration Hardware and the chocolate ticking runner is from Dash & Albert.

Welcome to our front hall

I know I spent a little more than I probably should have for an area of the house that takes a lot of abuse since it is essentially our Grand Central Station, but I love looking at it every time I walk by and I think first impressions are important. When a person walks through our front door that front hall sets the tone for the rest of the house. It’s fun, it’s relaxed and it’s our family’s way of saying “welcome to our home.”

If there is one good thing this hot and humid weather is good for, its the garden. My wee vegetable patch looks like a jungle bursting with greenery. But when I took a closer look this evening I found some sweet surprises camouflaged by all that foliage. There dangling before me were the most unassuming pea pods patiently waiting to be picked. Not a huge harvest, but a good start to the season, those little green suckers were so sweet that I actually wrestled them out of my six year old’s hands to get a taste.

I’ve also been watching the progress my grape tomatoes have been making in the planter on my deck. They have to reach the right shade of red in order to be picked, but I’m reticent to wait too long lest the skins split, which was the case many times last summer. So I’ve been monitoring their progress daily and I just harvested the first half dozen or so, which will no doubt be devoured once again by my two pint-sized munchkins who are almost as keenly interested in the garden as I am when there is food involved.

And finally the last but certainly not the least, my grandfather’s raspberries. This year has produced a bumper crop of the sweetest most delicate jewels. We’ve been picking most of the berries from my parents’ raspberry “forest,” but when I checked my little patch by the air conditioner shoved in the most unattractive corner of our garden, I was pleasantly surprised by the berries I found. While I love picking berries (straw, rasp or blue), I prefer turning them into pies and jams rather than eating them raw. So the bowlful of berries now sitting in my fridge will join their cousins from my parents’ backyard in the jars of jam I’ll be making tomorrow night.

Progress report on the rest of the garden: the red cabbages and savoy cabbages are exploding, as are the tomato plants. The cucumber plants and pumpkin plants are now flowering and I expect to see fruit begin to form soon. There is a mammoth red pepper dangling from one of three pepper plants–a couple smaller ones on the other plants but nothing to blog about right now. And I’ve got dozens of golden beet seedlings but I’m not sure when or how to transplant them into the garden–suggestions anyone???

I am not above resorting to cake mixes when it comes to baking with the kids and they are especially handy to pull out when looking for a rainy day activity.  So the kids and I decided to take on an ambitious project and bake what’s known as a rainbow cake. I found my inspiration on Meg Durksen’s site, Whatever. We mixed up two boxes on white cake and divided into four eight inch pans. Quinn selected the colours (blue, green, purple and pink–how appetizing!). We even used pre-made icing on the cakes. In the end we had dinner with my parents and my sister and used the cake as a stand in for my sister’s birthday cake (she was going to be out of the country for her birthday) and everyone enjoyed the cake in all its colourful glory–especially the kids.

‘Tis the season for strawberries and rhubarb and what better way to marry these two otherwise incongruous fruit (I don’t even know if rhubarb qualifies as fruit or a leafy green) than in a pie. So taking the lead that so many others have lately–like Deb over at Smitten Kitchen–I washed and hulled the berries we picked at Whittamore’s Farm on Saturday(most of which ended up in the jars of jam now lining my kitchen counter), made the pastry from Canadian Living, mixed up the fruit with the other ingredients (see Smitten Kitchen site for the recipe), threw it all together and baked up the most heavenly smelling delight that my poor nostrils have smelled in a long time. I had to throw in the nostril reference since I am at the tail end of a terrible summer flu. My body is still in recovery mode and I think the best medicine will be a slice of that pie that’s currently sitting on my stove cooling…beckoning…teasing me to no end! I’m tempted to spend the upcoming Canada Day picking more berries just so I can make more of these pies before berry season is over for another year. What, oh what is a girl to do???

I miss my dog. My husband and I took him to the vet’s and put him down last night. They put us in a softly lit room with two leather chairs and a black and white fleece blanket on the floor. There was a jar of liver treats on the table so I helped myself to a handful, which I fed to Duke. That was his name, Duke.

Just writing down his name brings tears to my eyes and a tightness to my throat.

If you had asked me six months ago if I would be so overcome with emotion at the demise of my dog, I would quickly have dismissed the idea. He was just a dog. But he was so much more than that.

I remember picking him out from the litter of ten puppies when he was just three weeks old.

The breeder single-handedly picked the puppies up by their backs, flipped them over to determine if they were male or female and then handed them to us to choose one.

I remember Duke nuzzling his black nose into my husband’s arms, a warm ball of fur, so calm. He was the one. He smelled like the fresh wood shavings used as a bed in his kennel. A mix of standard poodle and golden retriever, his breed would come to be known as the “golden doodle.”

With black marker in hand, the breeder “branded” our puppy with the letter ‘G’ on his pink belly. We would return in five weeks to take him home.

I didn’t grow up with dogs or any pets for that matter. My father had a thing about dogs that dated back to his childhood in Soviet-ruled Hungary. Dogs were used to intimidate, or guard. Not for companionship or play. But Duke would make a convert out of my dad.

Several years ago we lived with my parents while our house was being renovated.  When my father came home from work each day Duke was the first one to greet him at the door and my father would make him sit and then he would ask for a kiss, which Duke would obligingly give him with a big wet lick on his cheek.

That was the story for all of us—a friendly greeting at the door after a challenging day and all your troubles would vanish in a moment.

But it wasn’t all wags, licks and fetching.

There was the time Duke injured his Achilles tendon in a futile effort to catch a squirrel, which ended up costing us a pretty penny and a lot of consternation.

Or the time he devoured eight raw lamb chops right off the kitchen counter and we feared he would develop bloat.

Or the time he ran away and hid in the ravine after being scared off by a hot air balloon in the shape of a giant peanut.

I called Duke my perpetual two year-old. Just like a toddler, he demanded our attention; feeding, watering, walking, stooping and scooping, endless throwing of Frisbee or ball. And in return he gave us unconditional loyalty and love.

Early humans must have instinctively known about the fringe benefits of keeping a dog as a pet. In addition to their pack mentality, ability to catch small prey, and fend off intruders, dogs provide a companionship unmatched by any other animal.

Like a true domesticated canine, Duke knew his place in our pack, protecting and playing with us and our children in equal measure.

To non-dog people, the notion of a dog being a member of a family may seem ludicrous, even saccharine. Years ago even I may have been that person.

But I admit Duke had a profound effect on me and my family that I could not have predicted when we first brought him home eight and a half years ago.

Just like humans, dogs grow old or develop illnesses. In Duke’s case he got cancer. We could have exercised lifesaving measures, like chemotherapy, that just a few decades ago were only intended for humans. Instead we chose palliative care and spoiled him with table food, like my boeuf bourguignon and chicken pot pie.

On his last day I fed Duke three hot dogs. It was a sunny Spring afternoon. The kids were home from school and we were sitting in the backyard. Duke still insisted on fetching the ball even though he couldn’t see it only able to find it by smell and hobbled around the grass on three of four legs.

We decided to tell the kids it was time to say good-bye to Duke. Our three-year-old was more interested in digging in the sand, but our six-year-old had plenty of questions and plenty to say.

After much discussion he wrapped up the conversation with the matter-of-fact pronouncement that all life must come to an end.

Only a day after his death and friends are asking if we will get another dog. It’s too premature to say, but I feel with some certainty we will get another dog. I’m just not sure I’m ready to journey through the peaks and valleys of dog ownership again just yet.

In the meantime our son has planned a memorial service for Duke. We are burying his collar and tags under the dogwood tree in our backyard (how à propos) and singing a prayer.

That backyard feels a whole lot emptier without Duke in it, but it is full of great memories that we will carry with us.

Duke Sept 15, 2001- April 26, 2010

Yesterday wasn’t just the first day of Spring, it was also Nowruz or the Persian New Year. After about a month of fasting from sun-up to sun-down, those who observe the religion break it with an incredible feast. My family had the privilege of celebrating this occasion with long time family friends who are Baha’i and boy they didn’t disappoint with the meal. It was four courses with a definite middle eastern theme. It began with babaganoush, hummus and warm pita bread and some finger-sized dolmades. Our second course was salad that was more Mediterranean in flavour with yummy olives and feta sprinkled throughout. The third course was the show stopper with an amazing salmon (or was it rainbow trout?), rice and lentils, a curried chicken that was so flavourful and aromatic I could have inhaled it in and a lovely cinnamon scented rice dish with cubes of chicken, cranberry currants, raisins and I’m sure other yummy stuff I’m missing. The meal ended with an array of desserts and of course I had to contribute. So I whipped up a batch of precious looking mini cupcakes and decorated them in chocolate ganache and a pretty purple royal icing rose and leaves, which I thought fitting for Spring. It was a memorable meal and a great way to kick off the new year.

Mini Cupcakes for Nowruz