Pumpkin pie filling, from scratch

In all the years I’ve been exploring new recipes there’s one realm I’ve avoided nearly completely. Pies. I’ll make apple crisp, I’ll make graham cracker crusts, but pies? I think I’ve been long-scarred by a couple of early attempts at making crusts which failed miserably into disintegrated dough. And well if you don’t have a…

Prosciutto, walnut, blue cheese and pear pizza

I have to give credit to my pals Adria and Brad for this one, but its so damn good I can’t not share. First of all, I have a bread machine and I love to use it to make pizza dough. I’m not going to give a recipe because bread machines all differ in their…

Christmas is in the air, already

Despite my lack of posts this week I assure you, I’ve been crazy busy, but mostly with work. This week was one of our biggest fundraising events of the year — one that runs over a series of days and is made up of a few events. I’m hoping that now that it’s over, life…

Little dog in a big dog world

Last night we dogsat Bondi, a roughly 7 or 8 (I think) year old Boston Terrier. We were supposed to have him most of the week because our friends’ baby was supposed to have surgery, but the little man has a chest cold and it wasn’t to be. So the little bat-eared dude went home…

What. A. Week.

It’s been hell on wheels this week at work – and while I’ve resolved myself to leave the shop talk out of my blog, I’ll just say it ain’t over yet. Today was a work day (yes, its Saturday), and next week will be nearly utter insanity, with our biggest fundraiser of the year. But……

Cheesecake with Lychee Sauce

Yesterday was a good friend’s 30th and while I wasn’t coordinating the surprize party, I was asked if I would make a dessert. The only thing I was told was that the guest of honour’s favourite flavour is lychee. So I did a little hunting around and decided to make a traditional baked cheesecake with…

For the next recruit

I’m slowly building an army of baby vikings. The Baby Viking Helmet I made for Super Cal’s first birthday was such a hit I’ve had a few requests (from the pattern Viking Hat by Becky Veverka). This one, which I created using Mission Falls 1824 wool (in #008 Earth, #015 Putty, #013 Curry and #002…

Pumpkinummies

This week we had a bake sale at work in support of United Way Toronto. I took in some salsa (how could I not?) and baked up some of Smitten Kitchen’s Pumpkin Swirl Brownies. These were a little more work than I was expecting. I think I over whipped the batter base, and then when…

Trading up for a better model

It’s official – I am the proud new owner of a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I actually graduated back in 2000 but at that time, my alma mater, the Ontario College of Art & Design, was offering diplomas. In 2002, they became degree granting, and in 2006 I embarked on the path to an upgrade….

Best bridal photo evar

So my friends Michelle and Adam, who got married this weekend, opted to forgo the services of a professional photographer for their wedding and asked friends instead to take specific shots, as well as started a pool on Flickr to gather together everyone’s photos in one place, for people to see. This has its pros…