Popsicles

In keeping with the summer theme, this week we are going to explore popsicles! 

With July approaching, the weather is warming up quite quickly and having a cool treat is always nice. 

When I was little I always looked forward to having one of those original cherry, grape, or orange Popsicles. I remember my brother and me always picking different flavours so we could break them in half and share. Those are the first things that I think of when I think popsicle, but I've noticed so many different types of popsicles emerging especially in the last little while. There are Tea Pops (made from real tea), Sour Patch Popsicles, Jolly Rancher Popsicles, and Rockets; those are just a few.

Being the baker/cook that I am, I love to experiment with making my own popsicles. Jaime Oliver’s Yogurt Pops are a favourite of mine. I have included the recipe for you this week. I love Root Beer popsicles, so Nicole is sharing her mom’s method of making them this week also. I always love trying new things as well so I have found this really cool fresh fruit popsicle recipe that I’ll give a go some time this summer.

If you plan on making your own popsicles, it’s important to find some good molds to make them in. Check out this link to an article that helps you choose the best popsicle molds that give you the best results. 

http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-popsicle-molds/

Keep cool and enjoy the popsicles!

Jaime Oliver’s Yogurt Pops

JAMIE'S TOP TIP

• Feel free to mix things up a bit and use some different fruit along with the bananas – berries are especially good. Raspberries are really tasty and you can use them here, but I tend to stay away from them because of the seeds.
• This recipe uses frozen fruit which is great as it will have been picked while it’s at its best and frozen in time to keep in as many of the vitamins and minerals as possible. Have a search in your local store to see what frozen fruit you can get your hands on and experiment with different flavor combinations until you find your favorite.

METHOD

• Peel and slice your banana and put it into a food processor or blender with the
  frozen berries, yogurt and honey. Whiz it up on a low setting until really smooth.
• Divide the mixture between 6 paper cups or plastic molds – you want about 4
  ounces in each.
• Place the pops in the freezer for 10 minutes, then gently poke a popsicle stick into
  the center of each one. Place back in the freezer for at least 3 hours, or until frozen
  solid.

Fresh Fruit Popsicles

Ingredients

• 3 cups watermelon puree (about 1/4 to 1/2 a watermelon)
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced
• 1 peach or nectarine, diced small
• handful fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
• 12 popsicle molds
• 12 popsicle sticks

Instructions

1. Cut the watermelon into chunks and then puree it in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
2. Set out about 1 dozen popsicle molds (amount needed will vary depending on size of molds).
3. Fill each one with the chopped fresh fruit.
4. Then pour in the watermelon puree until each mold is full to the top.
5. Place a popsicle stick into each one.
6. Place into your freezer and freeze for about 6 to 8 hours.

Notes

It will take a few hours for these popsicles to fully freeze as the sugar in the juice acts as a natural antifreeze. If you can lower the temp on your freezer this will help. You can raise it again once they are frozen.

Root Beer Popsicles

There isn't really a recipe for these, just one really important step to remember, unless you need an excuse to clean your freezer!
You need to make sure that the root beer is FLAT before you freeze it. The best way to do this is to pour it into a covered (but not sealed) jug or bowl, and leave it out at room temperature for a couple of days. Then you can pour it into your popsicle molds and freeze away.
*If you forget to let the root beer go flat, the carbonation will cause the popsicles to overflow and you will end up with a sticky frozen root beer mess in your freezer!

Summer

“Good times, sunshine and summertime” – “Sunshine and Summertime” by Faith Hill

Faith Hill’s “Sunshine and Summertime” is the perfect song to ring in the summer and tomorrow just happens to be the first day of summer. I have a feeling this summer is going to be an amazingly fun one; I don’t know why. There are so many things that I think about when I think about summer and hopefully for the next weeks of summer we can blog about some of those things. 

One thing that comes to mind when I think of summer is bathing suits. Bathing suits can be a frustrating problem for some. Finding the right style to match your body type and to also make you look good can be difficult at times. I love bathing suits just as much as I love nail polish and hearts, so I was surfing the web to look for new styles and trends for the summer and I stumbled across a Glamour article that will assist you in finding the right type of bathing suit to match your body type. I have the link below, so take a look and maybe it will help you find that perfect bathing suit so you can enjoy yourself at the beach or lake this summertime!

http://www.glamour.com/fashion/2010/05/how-to-find-the-sexiest-swimsuit-for-your-body-shape#slide=1

Father's Day Part 2

“When my father didn't have my hand...he had my back.” – Linda Poindexter

It’s been all about dad this week. Everywhere I go I see things for dad; even while I'm watching TV there have been lots of commercials about dad (the Golf Town one with the dad golfing and the baby in the Snuggly is my favourite). 

This week we’re going to include recipes for dad. My dad loves both my cooking and my baking. One of his favourite dishes of mine is my meatloaf, so I am going to share that recipe with you this week. Nicole is going to share a recipe that is sure to delight dad as well. 

Enjoy and Happy Father’s Day!

Meatloaf Recipe

You will need:

1 ½ pounds of ground beef

1 egg

½ onion, chopped

½ cup milk

½ cup diced tomatoes in their juices

¾ cup of red and/or green peppers, diced

1 cup dried bread crumbs/cracker crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. mustard

1/3 cup ketchup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl combine the ground beef, egg, onion, milk, diced tomatoes, peppers, and crumbs. Season with the salt and pepper and then place in a loaf pan. 

In a smaller bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup. Mix and spread over the top of the meatloaf. 

Bake for about an hour. 

Slice and serve.

*************************************

Samantha shared one of her dad's favourite meals, so I thought I'd share one of my dad's favourite deserts. It's probably one of my favourites too, it's absolutely delicious! We found the recipe in Chef Michael Smith's cookbook "The Best of Chef at Home: Essential Recipes for Today's Kitchen" which also contains a bunch of other yummy recipes.

  

Molten Chocolate Cakes (Chef Michael Smith)

You will need:

8 oz. (250g) bitter-sweet or dark chocolate

½ cup of butter, softened

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

4 eggs

¼ cup brown or white sugar

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

butter, for greasing ramekins

white sugar, for sprinkling on greased ramekins

whipped cream or ice cream, for serving

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C)

To protect the chocolate from direct heat, melt it and the butter in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, gently stirring until the butter and chocolate melt together. Remove from the heat and sift in the cocoa powder, stirring until smooth.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the brown sugar and vanilla until they are thick and smooth. Pour in the melted chocolate and stir until smooth.

Rub the inside of each ramekin or muffin mould with butter to make a thin film. Lightly sprinkle each with sugar and shake to coat the inside, shaking out any excess.

Evenly divide the cake batter around the ramekins.

Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the batter rises, the tops are cracked and the insides are still a bit gooey, no more than 10 minutes.

Cool for a few minutes; the cakes will shrink a bit and pull away fro the sides. If necessary, run a paring knife around the edges of the cakes to loosen them. Carefully invert onto a plate.

Serve with lots of whipped cream or ice cream.

Father's Day Part 1

“Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.” – Bill Cosby

It’s a new month again...May flew by! 

June means Father’s Day, and as promised we are dedicating two weeks of the blog to all things Dad.

In May we found some neat presents and cards for mom that we posted and we also found some delicious recipes and fun movies all for mom and we will do the same for dad this month. 

This week we’ve found some potential gifts for dad and we are going to showcase our brand new Father’s Day cards that we designed this year. Hopefully our ideas will inspire you to create your own card for your dad. 

As I’ve said many times, I really enjoy giving an “event” or something to do as gifts for my family and friends. My dad is one of those dads who never really wants gifts; he just likes to be with his family on Father’s Day, so I usually cook his favourite meal and dessert and he’s content. I know that many dads like to go to sporting events or to go and play sports, so those could be fun gifts to give to dad and something fun that you could go and do with your dad. My dad loves to fish so taking dad out on a fishing trip or letting him spend the day with friends fishing would also be a cool gift.

Also, paint balling would be a good choice if you’ve got an adventurous dad.

If your want to find an actual physical gift for your dad, we’ve listed some cool potential gifts below, so take a little look.

Samantha 

Gifts

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/185210258/johnny-cash-45rpm-vinyl-record-clock-man?ref=br_feed_51&br_feed_tlp=fathers-day-gifts

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/61817661/free-shipping-beer-lovers-towel-set-set?ref=br_feed_4&br_feed_tlp=fathers-day-gifts

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/101529761/dad-leather-keychain-or-luggage-tag-add

http://www.amazon.ca/Daniel-Collection-Quantum-Skyfall-Blu-ray/dp/B00BQLEHY2/ref=lp_9221985011_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1401579360&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1439199582/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

http://www.amazon.ca/DEWALT-DC390B-Bare-Tool-Cordless-Circular/dp/B002VWK5RI/ref=lp_9292575011_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1401579780&sr=1-3

 

Father’s Day Cards