Pantry people in the house!

I just want to give a quick shout out to Lydia over at The Perfect Pantry who has just featured yours truly on her wonderful site -and welcome to all of her readers!

The joy I'm feeling right now completely offsets the crankiness inside due to a 5:30am wake-up. It's now 7:00 and I'm ready for a nap.

Easy & Tasty

Leftovers. We all got 'em. Every night, I cook enough to feed 5 mouths for supper and lunches the next day, yet I still have a fridge full of leftovers...

This is what I made today with leftover mashed potato: fried mashed potato cakes.

Potato -check! Cheese - check! Done.

You can fry them up ahead of time and then just re-heat in the oven.

Can you just see the mozzarella ooozing out the sides, and the crunchy potato/cheese crust?

So easy. So good.

Petite pause

As some of you faithful readers know, I'm in training for a little race this Sunday. This, I confess, is the reason for the lack of scrumptious recipes and in fact the excuse for much of my otherwise slacking behaviour blog-wise.

Not that I feel like a slacker, bien au contraire!

It's just that instead of spending time on the Internet in the evenings, perusing foodista sites or baking deliciousnesses, I'm out pounding the pavement, literally. On top of that all, my very dearest is gearing up for another very busy summer so I am often alone (read too tired) to tend to the flock, thus reducing my free time even more.

By the time bed time rolls around, I'm more inclined to curl up in my warm bed with the crossword than the cold computer screen.

Guerrilla Gardening

Last year I was reading The Gazette (I know, I hate it but I read it!) and came upon this interesting article about guerrilla gardening. This one lady had the great idea of throwing seed bombs onto desolate urban lands and seeing greenery flourish soon after. Wow, I thought at the time, what a great idea. But I did nothing...

Today I read a post over at An Endless Banquet about an art exposition going on at the Canadian Center for Architecture about a similar phenomenon. In their words, it's about:

"Seemingly common activities such as walking, playing, recycling, and gardening are pushed beyond their usual definition by the international architects, artists, and collectives featured in the exhibition. Their experimental interactions with the urban environment show the potential influence personal involvement can have in shaping the city, and challenge fellow residents to participate."

You can see some of the exhibits here. They are amazing and inspiring! Also on the site is a "call to actions" page, where Montrealers can submit their own ideas about how to beautify or reclaim a part of the city.

Here is the blog of a Montrealer name Emily Rose Michaud, an artist and green acivist in Mile End.

Hopefully I will actually do something this summer and not just sit and think about it and then get too lazy....

Got any great ideas?!

A First in Québec

Well, good on us, finally!

The Québec government and the grand poobah of certification has bestowed on some of our animals the prestigious Protected Geographical Indication. To be more precise, Charlevoix Lamb is now a protected name and can only be given to lambs raised within a certain region and following certain criteria.

"Adapted to the characteristics of the Charlevoix region, the [“Agneau de Charlevoix”]'s diet is made of barley and oat, locally produced grains, and fodder produced mainly by farmers themselves. The development of a typical Charlevoisian lamb, linked to its production territory has led to the exclusion of maize from its diet to rely on the region's resources assets.
These production choices adapted to the region give a small conformation lamb. The meat is pale pink to red, low in fat and tender."

You can read more about it here and here.

We are a little behind the times on this one, given how many products from Europe have this official seal of approval (if you want to know them all, you can go here), some of which you may have in your fridge or pantry right now: Piment d'Espelette, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Champagne, prosciutto di Parma.

Mmmmm, I feel that a little midnight snack is in order...

It's not easy being green (add)

We eat a lot of vegetables in this house, and both the big and little kids enjoy them all. But tonight, I'm wondering if I'm pushing my luck. I just picked up a bunch of kale and I have no idea what to do with it. Sauté with garlic or chop into a salad?

I really want to incorporate this veg into our weekly suppers. I don't know...stay tuned for results!

Does anyone have any good kale recipes to share?

(Added, post supper)

So, what did I make? This:

I had nothing in my fridge, but managed to pull the two following ingredients out of my pantry: sun dried tomatoes and almonds. I know, it sounds a bit 1990 but, who cares when everyone really liked it! I didn't attempt raw kale on the first try, but this cooked stuff now places higher on the "yummy scale" than rapini and Swiss chard for one very adventurous 10 year old girl. Victory!

Food Inc.

So:
You read Fast Food Nation and saw The World According to Monsanto.
You read The Omnivore's Dilemma and saw The Corporation.
You read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and aspire to eat a 100 mile diet year round.

Welcome to your next assignment: Food Inc.
It premiered at the Toronto Film Fest last year to great reviews.