The Yum Yum Factor

 There is a Family Bites Baby on the way! Jan, from Family Bites is having a boy - her third, so here's a little something blue for the festivities. As a group of bloggers, we are scattered across the country so the reality of throwing a proper baby shower where we all sit in a circle on wooden, folding chairs, drink too much white wine and wrap the expectant mommy up in toilet paper are slim to none but that can't stop us from throwing a virtual shower, can it? When I looked over the list of treats that the other 16 bloggers were making, I realized that it was almost entirely a sugar fest and although I understand that most people would be thrilled with nothing but desserts, I am the weirdo who doesn't really have a big sweet tooth. Where other people go nuts over chocolate, I get all fired up about tiny, crustless tuna sandwiches on white bread and Aunt June's famous devilled eggs. It's not a shower until there is a fancy, little savoury something some...

I have participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap since it's inception so, seeing that this is the fourth annual swap, this is my fourth time baking for three fellow food bloggers. This is always a bit stressful because cooking for other people who blog about cooking is a bit of pressure. What if my cookies are terrible? What if they got lost in the mail and sit on a shelf at some post office in Kapuskasing  for a month and get all stale and hard? What if the recipient thinks they taste like dust and cobwebs, dipped in chalk?

It's Throwback Thursday so let's repost this No ReEats gem from September 25 back in 2011: Sept 22     half price apps at a pub Sept 23     BBQ beef from the freezer on homemade rolls with coleslaw Sept 24     impromptu road trip to Niagara and Buffalo, late lunch at The Anchor bar Sept 25     Grilled Strip Loins with Chimichurri Compound Butter We have been eating out a ton because Shack is finally done his movie and has been making it home in time to eat and he wants to go out all the time, so we have been out and about and not eating at home a ton. This Sunday was a beautiful, warm, sunny September day and seeing that we have barely used the bbq all summer, I demanded that we stay home and grill. He has been jonesing for steak and baked potatoes but I wanted to do something a little special. I LOVE chimichurri but thought it might be fun to make a compound butter using all the ingredients but substituting butter for the olive oil a...

We have returned from a fabulous 10 day trip to Portugal and, to be honest, I have just started to come back to reality and still feel like I am still processing the experience. I am pretty sure I could write a bazillion word essay on the wonders of Portugal at this point but who really wants me to do that? Until I can access my internal editor, I am holding off on even touching the actual events of the trip so that I don't bore you all to tears and scare you away because I really do want to share the wonders of this little gem of a country.

greek oregano in olive oil I know we are all sad that summer is coming to an end. After this weekend, The Kid starts high school, I start working on TIFF and Shack will most likely start working on whatever movie he is working on until after Christmas. We will settle into a routine and it will all be fine but today, as I stood in my garden with a pair of scissors and a big bowl, harvesting my herbs, I wanted to roll up into a ball and throw a massive tantrum. I don't want to stop wearing flip flops. I don't want to wear pants or cute jackets - okay, I am kind of ready for jeans and cute jackets but that's it. I love summer and this day signifies the impending end to hot summer nights drinking wine on the porch so I hate it. I HATE YOU TODAY.