Polenta with Delicata and Arugula

Luke had a friend over the other day to play some board games and badminton.  At lunch time I called the boys in and presented them with this dish.  The young boy looked at his plate, looked at me and said "what is this?"  I explained it was polenta and while he wasn't obligated to eat it, I hoped he would at least try it.  He said, "well it's better than the green pancakes you served me last time!"  Now to be fair, the pancakes in question were in fact these broccoli fritters, which are mighty tasty, but you can't blame him for being a little nervous about coming to the lunch table.

Popcorn Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I was 17, I left home and moved away to attend university.  I moved into a dorm eager to leave home and small town living behind me.  My roommate was a friend from high school who I didn't know very well, but hoped would be a good match.  We all know how this story ends.  She of course become my best friend, was maid of honour at my wedding and remains a faithful friend some twenty years later.  Dorm life was fun, classes were interesting but the food was terrible. 

Buttercup Squash Tostadas

Pity the poor buttercup squash.  Always the ugly step sister to the ever popular butternut squash, it is often overlooked and used far less in recipes.  I happen to love the buttercup variety for its dense, creamy like texture.  It's usually priced less than the butternut variety and stores much longer into fall.  I know, I just said fall.  Guess what?  Fall is just around the corner and some of these cooler days have me starting to crave those fall flavours.  These tostadas are not quite full on cold weather fare.  In fact, they have enough fresh ingredients to make for a late summertime patio meal.

Speculoos Granola Bar

Today is the first day of school for Jos and Luke.  Last Friday we were able to learn the class assignments for the kids.  Each school posts the class lists, which provides a full long weekend to either celebrate your placement or come to terms with disappointment.  For Luke, it was almost all celebration.  He is with the majority of his friends, but didn't get the teacher he had hoped for.  For Josilin, there was pure disappointment.  She is separated from her best friend and many of the other girls she had hoped to be with.  We talked a lot about making new friends and the opportunities this presented.  Well, rather I talked about these things while I was met with a lot of eye rolling and door slamming. 

Millet and Beet Fritters

We have been trying a lot new recipes and each one seems to be better than the next. Funny how that goes with recipe sampling.  I seem to have a string of hits and then, inevitably, a string of misses.   I had a feeling this one might be enjoyed at our home because it included beets (one of Jos and Don's most requested veg) and was in a little patty shape which has become a new favourite.  See these white bean beauties and our recent Swiss chard cakes for other examples of our veggie cake love.

Fairy Tale Eggplants with Yogurt Sauce

Our CSA had these cute little eggplants this week.  Called "fairytale eggplants" they are only four inches long at their biggest, with a skin much thinner than traditional eggplant.  My usual go-to with eggplant is to grill or roast, but I was curious if these little guys could be steamed instead.

Raw Oatmeal Cookies and Aug Foodie Penpals

It's my second month of participating in Foodie Pen Pals.  Not sure what this is?  Take a look here  After my first go around, I felt like a real pro.  I knew what I wanted to send this time (much lighter items!) and what I would request be sent to me if asked (local and healthy).  Well, I may have failed on both accounts.  I did request my items to be local, but I chuckled when the package arrived from a town not 30min away.  No wonder she didn't want to send local: we live in the same community!  Signing up for this program, I had fantasies of receiving products from coast to coast that one could not procure in my hometown.  Once I got over that disappointment, I was delighted to take a closer look at just what had been sent.  Firstly, I had never tried any of the products before, so that was pretty cool since I love trying new things.  Secondly, it was all very healthy and thoughtful with everything tasting great.  Most of the products were gluten free, which meant I could share them with my GF mom too.  I made these cookies with the GF granola she sent and the kids were thrilled that once again they received something just for them! I couldn't have asked for a better package and felt a little silly that I had ever felt let down that it was not coming from an exotic location.