Country- French Vegetable Soup

To make this soup you will need the following:
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups chopped green cabbage
1 cup each-chopped onion, carrot, celery, red potato(diced)
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 cup water
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup drained canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 Tbsp each- minced parsley & dill
black pepper to taste.
I think I also put in some thyme. 1 tsp?

Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add veggies & caraway seeds, and thyme. Saute for a couple minutes. Add water & vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
Add chickpeas, parsley, dill, and pepper. Cook until thoroughly heated. This will serve 4 people. Of course I doubled the recipe for our family.
This is such an excellent vegetarian soup. I tried out quite a few vegetarian meals during lent, and this is one that I will be making again, soon.
Delicious. We served the soup with some homemade soft pretzels that Gregory made. mmmGregory also grilled some farmers sausage. It smelled so good.

get ready to party

Heather is whipping up a batch of cupcakes for her birthday party. Nice apron!
We are using Auntie Michelle's recipe. It is so good.
Those cupcakes look good enough to eat!
Hot-tub party!
fun
Mary and her friend were kind enough to decorate the cupcakes while I supervised the girls in the hot-tub.
Make a wish, Heather!

Happy birthday, Heather Jane

Heather is 8 years old now.
Greg and I always set the birthday presents at the head of the table the night before, all ready for the morning. The bunny is not a new present-- Heather has had "Bunny" since she was born.Heather is opening her new watch. Cool.
Oooh, what's in this one, Heather? Trinity climbs right on Heather's chair for a better look.
... Calico Critters! The watch looks great on you, Heather. What time is it?
Play time! (psst... Trinity! Get off the table.)

not hamburgers...

but sort of like hamburgers. Made with a mixture of beef and pork, lots of garlic & spices, these are so good the way Greg grills them. This looks like enough to feed a small army... or a large family!
Served with pita bread, homemade tzatziki, and a Greek salad. (beer & caesar are optional)

Easter treats

Happy (belated) Easter! We had a lovely Easter, with lots of treats, at home and at church. Gregory and I decorate the table the night before, so the children all ooh & ah at all the chocolate bunnies, etc. Once the kids have had some breakfast, they get dressed for church and we go to mass. After lunch (cheese, crackers, pate, smoked oysters) we send the kids downstairs while we hide chocolate eggs for them to find. It takes us about 10 minutes and we try to hide them in really difficult places, but it still only takes the kids about 30 seconds to find them all! The collected treats all go into one bowl, before being divided between the kids.
Easter breakfast is served! chocolates.....yum.
Good morning, sweeties.

Trinity is unwrapping her bunny.
nibble nibble
Mary had a little lamb...
Oooh, pretty Easter eggs!
Our Easter dinner was roast lamb, crisp roast potatoes, and asparagus. Delicious.
Lemon meringue pie for dessert. This is Greg's favorite.
Hi, Mary Margaret.

I am so proud of you girls

Heather, Grace and Miss Mary Margaret all won prizes for performing so well in the music festival. Good job, girls! There was a nice show at the Cowichan Community Centre with some of the highlights from the festival, and then the children went up on stage to receive their awards.
They all won gift certificates to a book store in Duncan. Yay!
Trinity, Grace, and Heather are enjoying some chocolate during the intermission. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the theatre, but I think Uncle Peter got a couple photos, before he was scolded in hushed tones by an usher. Naughty, naughty!

Gnocchi and avocados

This was a great dinner. This was my plate of gnocchi with pesto. It was really good, but probably not as good as the gnocchi with bolognese sauce that Gregory made.
This was during lent. (I gave up meat for lent.)
Here is the 'real' dinner. Gregory makes delicious pasta sauces. The avocados are simply cut in half, sprinkled with salt & pepper, and drizzled with a homemade dressing, and capers. Yummy.
Is everything to your liking, mademoiselle?
Yeah, I think everyone liked it.

Dinner at the Aerie Resort

Gregory and I celebrated St. Valentine's Day by dining at the Aerie Resort. The food, wine and company were all excellent!
**Happy St. Valentine's Day**
Oysters done three ways. The oyster shooter on the left, was the most delicious of the three. It was cold and spicy. So good!
Scallop ceviche with a crab salad. Amazing.
We also enjoyed the wine pairing with the menu, so we always had the perfect wine to go with each dish.
Asparagus soup and asparagus salad. I would love to know how to make this soup.
Here is a wonderful lobster dish.
This berry sorbet was a palate cleanser. Sorry if the picture is a little blurry. How many glasses of wine have I had?
Venison, sunny side up quail's egg, pommes frites, beans and carrots. How cute is that little egg?
This dessert was just...*wow*... perfection.
Strawberry shortcake with coconut whipped cream. swoon.....
Me and my little man, Thomas.

something you don't see everyday

Eva and Mary Margaret took these pictures of me *shiver* sewing.
I very rarely get the sewing machine out, and when I do, I make a big show about how much I HATE (!!!) sewing! This is just a simple little sewing project for a costume that Mary Margaret needed for a musical theatre piece she was singing in the music festival. She was singing "Rainbow Connection" from "The Muppet Movie". I am making Mary Margaret an awesome pair of rainbow legwarmers!! Mary also sang "Gee, I'm glad I'm Nobody Else But Me" from Anne of Green Gables. Luckily, I was able to borrow a costume for that song, including a hat with the red braids attached! (Mary won 1st place. Yay!!)
This was a super easy project, much easier than other costumes I've had to make for skating, dance, or choir. Angels, dogs, mermaids, skirts, vests, ...ick! I've also made coats, curtains, pillow cases, duvet covers, first communion dresses, doll clothes, hats...and then I realized that I really did not enjoy sewing at all.
I usually make lots of mistakes, and have to stitch-pick whole rows of thread. Arg! It is so frustrating. I would much rather bake a cake.