Thanks to the Happy Housewife, I made Sundae Boxes as gifts for some friends this Christmas. It was fun and easy to put together and hopefully the recipients enjoyed them.

In my box I put waffle bowls, caramel sauce, chocolate sprinkles, gummy worms, crushed candy canes, maraschino cherries and sugar sprinkles. I wanted to add a home made chocolate and caramel sauce but I just didn’t have the time so store-bought it was. I was happy with the result though.

A tip – it’s all in the presentation. Ribbon, tissue paper and a nice box (the dollar store!) go a long way in making it look good!

This is a great gift idea that could be used year round by changing up the packaging. What a great cheer-you-up or just-because gift for your friend, neighbor, secret pal at church. It’s fun, as economical as you’d like it to be and it’s useful! {and delicious!}

• This post links to Works for me Wednesday

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. A Sundae Gift Box is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Gather together:

• 3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of quick cook oats (plus a bit for sprinkling)
• 2 TBSP of baking powder
• 2 TBSP of sugar
• 1 pound of cold diced butter
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of real maple syrup (doesn’t taste the same if it isn’t real)
• 4 beaten eggs
• 1 egg beaten with a little milk for an egg wash
• Glaze with 1/4 cup icing sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1 tsp vanilla

The dough stores great in the fridge to bake as needed or you can preheat your oven to 400 deg F if you’re baking them today.

1. Combine flours, oats, baking powder, and sugar.
2. Add in cold butter and mix until butter is pea-sized.
3. Mix milk, syrup and eggs, then add to the flour/butter mixture.
4. Mix until just combined, it will be sticky.
5. Roll out to about 1” thick. You’ll see bits of butter in the dough – it’s going to be so good!
6. Cut into rounds and put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. At this point, you can either refrigerate for a few days and bake as needed or you can brush the tops with egg wash then pop in the oven and bake until tops are crisp – about 20 minutes depending on the size and your oven.
8. Make the glaze and drizzle cooled (5-10 min) scones with the glaze and a sprinkle of oats for a garnish.

We had friends visit last month and these were a huge hit at the brunch we hosted. What fun to put on a brunch. Cranberry harvest muffins, banana bread, orange pound cake, scones, fritatta, juice, home smoked pork loin, shaped butters…I’ll share more recipes from our brunch. Keep your eyes open.

These scones are so delish for breakfast, brunch or any time!

• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Delicious Oatmeal Maple Scones is a post from Beautiful Calling.

I made brownies in mini loaf pans. I used almonds instead of walnuts since I didn’t have any walnuts. They don’t taste quite the same.

My aunty and uncle are visiting from Northern Ontario. My aunt is the one who gave me the foolproof scalloped potato recipe I use all the time. Anyhow, she brought me some real wild blueberries. Chloe and John are delighted {and I am too!}.

We made a blueberry pie. I used the easy pie crust I usually use but added a tablespoon of brown sugar and a teaspoon of baking powder. We haven’t tasted it but I will update this post with the results when we do. The filling was a pretty standard: fruit, sugar, flour and butter.

We also made blueberry coffeecake muffins. I’d share the recipe but we didn’t really like them. Well, Chloe likes them but DH and I aren’t fans. Since we found out DH is diabetic a short while ago, it’s been hard to find things to make that he can eat. I substituted margarine for butter, Splenda for sugar and whole wheat flour for white flour. Perhaps that was why. I found them to be very dry, taste far too wheat-y and have an odd aftertaste.

Do you have any good tried and true diabetic recipes?

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Blueberry Pie is a post from Beautiful Calling.

This was my favorite breakfast growing up. I have several friends who can attest to it’s tastiness though they may have been a little hesitant to try them at first. {Thanks Amy for trusting me all those years ago}. I made them for all my friends when we had sleepovers. And you know 15+ years later I am still making and enjoying them.

It’s impossible to get a picture that makes them look appetizing but I can assure you they’re delish!

• frozen hashbrowns
• soya sauce
• cheese
• ketchup

Fry the hashbrowns until cooked. Add a splash of soya sauce and grate cheese on top. Stir around and serve, topped with ketchup.

Now that I am grown up and enjoy making things from scratch, I often grate potatoes, drain and fry them for homemade hashbrowns. I enjoy these too, but this old standby will be something I enjoy forever, I imagine.

• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. McCain’s Hashbrown Recipe is a post from Beautiful Calling.

I have had a love affair with waffles lately; can’t get enough of them! Or perhaps it’s the butter and real maple syrup that they get dowsed in before I eat them! We have a standard Hamilton Beach Waffle Baker. It works good enough, though I would like a double waffle maker someday. Anyway, my favorite waffle recipe is a pretty basic one from the instruction leaflet that came with our waffle maker.

Weekend Waffles

• 1 cup flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stuff. Add milk and egg yolks to the flour mixture. Stir until smooth then add oil and vanilla and mix well. Fold egg whites into the batter. Makes approx 4-6 waffles.

• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Weekend Waffle Recipe is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Summer 2010 – My handsome daddy and his fish

I grew up in Sioux Lookout, Ontario – known for it’s fishing and hunting. It’s an amazingly beautiful area and I am blessed to have an Aunt and Uncle who still live there on a beautiful house by the lake. We’ve been up visiting a few times since moving to Southern Ontario. Southern Ontario has it’s perks but I sure do miss Northern Ontario a whole lot!

This picture was taken in the summer of 2010 when my parents went up for a visit. That’s a pickerel (or walleye) and trust me,  there are few things better than fresh pickerel fried up Aunty-style! {Have you tried my Aunty Pat’s Scalloped Potatoes yet?!?}

Growing up we ate fish a LOT. If we weren’t eating fish then there was a good chance we were eating partridge or moose. I miss northern pickerel a lot and never realized how good we had it. The fish from this area can’t compare!

Battered Fish Recipe

We did buy some fresh fish the other day and my husband battered it up. The batter wasn’t too heavy and it was very crisp; a very traditional batter like you’d find at a genuine fish and chip shop. The battered fish recipe with photos is here. I highly recommend you check out the link!

I’m thankful for good memories of delicious fish, I just wish I could eat them

• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Gratituesday.

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Battered Fish Recipe is a post from Beautiful Calling.

This past fall Chloe went with her cousins to a farm and came home with dried corn on the cob. It decorated our sideboard for Thanksgiving and then sat in the sideboard until I discovered it this spring. As soon as Chloe saw it, she wondered when we would eat it.

Well, a rainy day a few weeks ago, when a movie was an order a Google search revealed that I could simply pop it in the microwave in a paper bag for about a minute or until you hear it popping and then mostly stop.

I put the cob in a lunch sized paper bag and gave it a little twist, though the husk part was still sticking out. About a minute, 10 seconds and I pulled it out, adding some butter and wow, the children devoured the entire bowl within minutes. Either they were hungry or it was good. Either way -  a fun experience. Thanks Aunty Sandy!

Have you ever popped dried corn on the cob? Did you know you could?

• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tastebud Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Popcorn on the Cob is a post from Beautiful Calling.

photo adapted from jessica.diamond

After birth, at minimum your perineum is sore and chances are, you may have some minor tearing. A soothing herbal bath is great for promoting healing and also good for helping baby’s cord stump to heal. The Hamilton Midwives’ website has the recipe but I simply went to the drug store for a large bag of Epsom salts and then our local Holistic Healing store and purchased the following herbs (small bottles) in concentrated liquid form:

• Calendula
• Shepherd’s Purse
• Uva Ursi
• Comfrey

Beside my tub, waiting to be used

Depending on the size of my bath, I add a few drops of each (up to a tsp) along with a cup of salt. The herbs don’t all smell beautiful so I sometimes add a drop or two of an essential oil like orange  or lavender.

Well.ca doesn’t have all the herbs but I’ve found that their prices on the essential oils to be quite reasonable and of course they offer free Canadian shipping, no minimum. {Yes, this is an affiliate link.}

I can’t claim with certainty that this bath is a miracle worker but in both of my previous births, I’ve healed quickly with no complications. Both John and Chloe’s cords also healed beautifully and fell off quickly as well. I think this was in large part due to the frequent herbal baths that baby and I had during the first week or so.

Did you use any sort of herbal bath after birth?

• Read more in our Simply Baby series!
• This post links to Works for Me Wednesday

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Postnatal Healing Herbal Bath is a post from Beautiful Calling.

I love homemade lemonade and first started making it years ago after watching Barefoot Contessa do it on Food TV while entertaining. After tasting it, I’m hooked! Store-bought just doesn’t compare.

• Lemons
• Water
• Crushed Ice
• Super Fine Sugar

KitchenAid Simple Juicer

The recipe isn’t a fine science; it depends on your taste buds. Lately I’ve been making only what I am going to drink right then because I love the crushed ice in it. I’ve found that the juice of one lemon plus one cup of water plus one cup of ice cubes, whirred around in the food processor or blender. I use superfine sugar to sweeten since it dissolves really fast but regular sugar or a substitute could be used too. I generally find a tablespoon +/- is enough sugar but it depends on the amount of juice I got from the lemon. This makes about 2 glasses as seen in the above photo.

Though you can make it without the crushed ice, I’m telling you, that crushed ice in there is what makes it so incredible!

You would think that with my acid reflux battles due to pregnancy that I would find it too acidy but quite the contrary, I’ve been enjoying it with seeded crackers from Costco and seem to have less! Go figure!

Do you have a “go to” recipe for lemonade or just wing it?

• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tasty Tuesday,and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Simple Homemade Lemonade is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Oatmeal Bread

This recipe is simple and easy; two of my favorite words! It was shared with me by a childhood friend that I recently reconnected with. It’s her mothers. Thanks Amanda & Mrs. Nissley!

• 1 C rolled oats (not instant or quick oats)
• 2 C boiling water
• 1 Tbsp margarine/butter
• salt
• 1 Pkg yeast
• 1/4 C molasses
• 1/4 C corn syrup
• 5 C flour

Pour boiling water over oats, salt and margarine. Mix and let stand till lukewarm. Meanwhile prepare yeast (if you use bulk yeast add 2 1/4 tsp yeast to 1/4 cup of lukewarm water and a sprinkle or sugar). Once oats have soaked up all water and are lukewarm, add the molasses, corn syrup and the yeast. Stir well. Add the flour a cup or 2 at a time. Once mixed, knead for a few minutes. Cover and let rise till double (45 minutes – 1 hr). Punch, put in pans {or shape into buns}, let rise another 20 minutes then turn on the oven to 375C. When ready, bake for about 30 minutes.

• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tastebud Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday,and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

-------------------
Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Oatmeal Bread is a post from Beautiful Calling.