Happy Halloween!

Its been a weekend full of crazy parties and good times with great friends (which I'll be posting about tomorrow), but now I just want to relax on the couch and watch some scary movies with my favorite little bat. Maybe hand out some candy to the kiddos too...but probably just eat most of it ;)

What are you up to tonight?

Hope that everyone has a fun and spooky night!

Happy Halloween!

Caramelized Pumpkin & Squash Seeds

One of my favorite parts about carving pumpkins is getting to eat all the wonderfully nutty seeds! Usually I just roast them with a little olive oil and salt, but this year I wanted to do something different. Then I came across this recipe from Cooking with My Kid. that caramelized them and I knew that I had to try it. I made a delicious a mix of pumpkin and squash seeds. I saved the seeds from my spaghetti squash and butternut squash in the freezer and then just thawed them overnight in the fridge before I made this.

These are ridiculously good. Crunchy, sweet and salt all at once. They kind of remind me of the kettle corn that I tried at the Queen West Art Crawl. Give them a try this Halloween!
What you'll need:
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh Pumpkin or Squash Seeds
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
2-3 tbsp Brown Sugar
pinch of Kosher Salt

Clean and pat dry seeds. You want to get rid of all the orange gunk.

Tutorial: Dog Bat Costume

After the success of Whiskey's taco costume last year (tutorial here!), I had to think of something new for him this year that was both comfortable for him to wear and easy for me to make. It was those big cute ears of his that made me think of a bat. It was perfect! I made it while watching a movie, so it took me less than 2 hours to make it. Not too bad.

I decided to use black felt and a coat hanger as the main components to keep it soft and light. Thankfully, Whiskey loves wearing sweaters (he gets all jumpy and excited when I pull them out), so he's pretty content to wear this costume. I just have to keep an eye out for when he goes under chairs or he gets stuck.

Here's a quick step-by-step tutorial on how to make this yourself!

What you'll need:
- Measuring Tape
- Scissors
- Wire Cutters
- Pliers
- Sewing Machine (or needle if you're ambitious and want to do it by hand)
- Black Felt
- Coat Hanger
- Black Thread

First, I made a bat wing shape out of cardboard that was proportional to Whiskey's size. Then I cut out 4 of the wings in black felt, making two for each side.

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 9 : Work Out Buddies

Sometimes I need a real kick in the butt to get motivated to stay active, and the best motivation I've found is working out with supportive friends. Knowing that someone else is counting on you to get to the gym or walk the dogs to the park together, makes it easier to get up and go.

One of my favorite active Fall activities to do with family and friends is hiking in the woods. The trees are gorgeous, the air is crisp and there are fewer bugs. If the trail permits it, I like to take Whiskey and encourage friends to bring along their dogs too. This picture is from a hike my sister and I did with the dogs last Thanksgiving. It was cold, hence the very puffy vest, gloves and hot tea in hand. We were outside for over 2 hours hiking along and catching up. Our minds were focused on the conversation at hand, but our bodies were still getting a good workout.

This week, I wanted to try a yoga class at a new studio that opened up in my area. I gave my friend Coutney a shout to see if she'd like to come along. It was nice to try out the new studio and class with someone else, making it less intimidating and a little more fun too. The class turned out to be great and we both liked it, so now if either of us feelings like going, we always have a workout buddy on hand to go.

Not a Coffee Person

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I am not a coffee person.

I have never gotten a taste for the world's top beverage of choice. Sure, I've been inticed by the strong warm smell of freshly brewed coffee, but I just can't stand to drink it. Its taken me years to be able to drink even mild herbal teas.

My sister is a different story. If given the chance, she could drink a whole pot, and I have to say that I'm a little jealous sometimes that she has that ability to get that extra boost in the morning, while I slug along. I've had little sleep the past few nights with busy days and I would love to be able to get up and start my day with a nice warm drink and a little caffeine kick.

That being said, in my family's house being a non-coffee drinker does not get you off of coffee making duty if you're the first one up in the morning. I've known the EXACT ratio for that coffee pot for years. I can do it in my sleep (and I often am still a little asleep).

Maybe someday I'll get into the habit and enjoy it. For now I'll just admire those girls who can sit in Starbucks or grab a cup and walk around the mall.

So now I throw it back to you:

Are you a coffee drinker?

Just a little jump start in the morning? Or are you downing cups throughout the day? Do you like something with a little chocolate like a cafe mocha? All black all the time? I'd love to hear what gets you going in the morning!

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

This week my cravings were all over the place. I wanted chocolate. Then something chewy. Then something tart. I decided to tackle all three by making these chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies with mini chocolate chips in them. They are almost more like a muffin top than a cookie, but they are just what I needed. I used fresh cranberries because I had some in the fridge and I'm glad I did. They had a lot of moisture to the cookies and are nice and juicy.

What you'll need
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Butter, at room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
3/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Oats
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 cup Mini Chocolate Chips (Semi-Sweet or Milk Chocolate)
1 1/2 cups Fresh Cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar, butter and vanilla until well mixed.

Add in egg.

Continue to beat until fluffy.

The Pretzel

Dear Whiskey,

We need to talk about something.

Your cuteness is killing any productivity that I have,

because all I want to do is cuddle you.

And this pretzel move? I know you are doing it on purpose. I've caught on to you.

But I'll fall for it anyways and probably end up giving you a treat while I'm at it.

Sincerely incapable of standing up to your cuteness,                   

Amanda                   

Fall Walk

We've been really lucky to have a nice Fall this year in Ontario and I've been taking full advantage of the beautiful weather every chance I get by going out for long walks and bike rides.

This is a lake near where I grew up. Just looking at this reminds me how lucky I was to grow up near all this beauty in nature.

Even people's gardens are lush this year with gorgeous coloured grasses, mums and scrubs. As much as I love getting snow in time for Christmas, I'm going to be sad to see this all go this year. But thats the good and bad of living in a place where you get four seasons.

Have you gotten outside yet to enjoy the nice Fall weather this weekend?

A Few Halloween Decorations

Last month I dressed the apartment up for Fall, but now that Halloween is getting nearer, I wanted to add a few things before the spooky night arrives.

In honour of Whiskey's Halloween costume this year, I added lots of tissue paper bats along the walls. (I'll be posting a tutorial on his costume next week, so be sure to come back!). At night, they add a eerie look when the lights are dimmed and I light all the candles.

I placed a few votive holders in amongst the leaves and gourds, to create more shadows.

They have little designs on them, which went lit, create spooky shadows.

To make the bats, I drew a bat shape on paper, then pinned it to tissue paper that was folded over multiply times. Then it was just a matter of cutting the design through all the tissue paper at once. You could also use this to make a bat garland, by not cutting the design at the outer tips of the wings. (Please ignore my weird ironing board cover)

I forgot to show this picture when I posted about Thanksgiving, but here is what I did at my parents place this year. I took pumpkin lights and a leaf garland and wrapped them around all the banisters of the house. To make them ready for Halloween, I'll turn the pumpkins so that the Jack-O-Lantern side is out and add some hanging bats and skeletons. Spooky!

What decorations have you put up for Halloween this year?

Just a few odds and ends, or do you go all out? I'd love to hear about it :)

Butternut Squash Soup

Now that the weather is getting cooler, I love to make nice hot soups to take with me to work for lunches. Making your own soup is a great way to control your nutrition and avoid the high sodium levels found in many store bought soups. It only takes a little while and you can make it one evening while you're making dinner!

What you'll need:

1 Butternut Squash, diced
1 medium Onion, diced
2-3 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp Butter
3 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
Salt & Pepper

The hardest part of this soup is dicing up the butternut squash, and even that isn't too hard! Cut it into 1" cubes.

Melt butter in large saucepan.

Add in squash, onion and garlic. Sprinkle in a little salt to help the vegetables sweat a little. Sauté for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 8 : ZooRun

This past Saturday, I did something that 5 months ago I would never have believed: I ran my first 5km race! I picked the Oasis ZooRun because it seems like not only a challenging race (lots of hills!) but you get to see animals as you go along!

My good friend Ashley joined me for the run. We did the whole 5 km in 33 minutes and placed 178 + 179 out of the 778 women at the run/walk! Not too bad for my first time! Its incredible that we even made it to the race due to some last minute road closures. We had given ourselves an extra 30 minutes to warm up, stretch, etc but we ended up getting to the parking lot with only 5 minutes to spare. We actually had to run to the starting line just to get there in time for the guns to go off. But we made it and thats what matters!

 

I also ran into one of my old roommates from university. She and her boyfriend had planned to walk it, but when they got there, they got the itch to run it too.

After the run, we all decided to walk around the zoo for a little while.

Happy Blogiversary!

I can't believe that its been a year since I started Small Home Big Start! I've enjoyed it so much and I thank every one of you who comes to visit my blog. Not just those who follow or comment, but all the "silent readers" too :) Checking my stats in the morning to see all those who've read about a recipe I've posted or what Whiskey and I have been up to really motivates me to keep going. So, from the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU :)

The great thing about having a blog is that you can go back and see the things that you have done and how you felt about them at the time. Last night I started looking back at some of my previous posts and I realized that I've been a busy girl the past year:

- Started Small Home Big Start
- Broke up with my boyfriend of two years (On this day. Funny to go back and read how I felt that morning) Don't worry, we stayed good friends. All is well.
- Made Whiskey his first costume: a Taco!
- Went to the Royal Winter Fair with two of my favorite people in the world.
- Celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Save the Oak Ridges Moraine on a Historic Train Ride

- Got up ridiculously early to make 163 boxed lunches for said Train Ride.
- Made Homemade Applesauce. Frozen it. Enjoyed it all winter. Can't wait to do it again this week.
- Met the cutest Weiner Dog in existence.
- Showed the world what Baby Werewolves look like. (Okay, they are really racoons)
- Killed a plant. Unintentionally. I swear.

- Played Paintball for the first time...and had the bruises to prove it. For weeks.
- Made my first Christmas apron. Its saved my pants from many a flour handprint.
- Did holiday shopping at the Toronto One of a Kind Show
- Finally went to the Dark Side and got a Blackberry. (And, yes, I am addicted)
- Ate my weight in Peppermint Bark over the Holidays.

- Celebrated our first anniversary of having Shadow, the crazy rescue doberman, in our life.
- Cheered on all the Olympic Spirit!
- Got back into swimming after a three year hiatus.
- Helped my parents renovate their kitchen and nook.
- Said goodbye to a good friend as they moved on to new adventures in British Columbia
- Enjoyed Winterlicious in Toronto, including a Morrocan night!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread (And French Toast!)

 

If I had to pinpoint one serious addiction that I have, it would have to be the making and consuming of homemade baked goods. I love the way that they make my apartment smell like home and make my tastebuds sing.

One of my goals in the Fall Fitness Challenge was to make healthier food choices, and in doing so I needed to curb this addiction a bit. This delicious Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread is a healthy compromise. It uses whole wheat flour instead of white, without drying out this moist bread and the pumpkin is chock full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. I just have to ignore that whole sugar part ;)

And then this morning I decided to do something crazy....I used the bread to make Pumpkin French Toast! It was the perfect breakfast on the crisp Autumn day. I have the directions on how to make this at the end of the recipe.

What you'll need:

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Canned Pumpkin
1 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar
3 Egg Whites
1/2 cup Skim Milk
1/4 cup Canola Oil
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cloves
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Put everything into a large bowl and stir until moistened. Really. Its that easy.

Party Time!

Its not every day that one of your best friends turns 25. So when they do, you have to get them past that quarter century milestone with a big bang! Or at the very least, a big party. Thats exactly what we did to celebrate my friend Amy's birthday!

There was TONS of food. And amazing food at that. I'm talking 6 foot long subs. And the most incredible cake, that just so happened to be peanut and nut free! Seriously. I ate two pieces. I haven't eaten birthday cake outside my own house in 15 years. It was amazing.

There was also plenty of...ahem...libations, in the form of deliciously minty Polar Bear shots.

Cheers!

Off to where the wild things are...

I'm up super early on this lovely October Saturday morning to do something that I have NEVER done before.

I'm doing my first official race! I'm participating in the 5km ZooRun at the Toronto Zoo. I had planned to do the 10km, but they sold out very fast. But now that the pressure is on, I'm kind of glad that I picked something lighter for the first go around. Baby steps, right?

 The best part of this run is that you do it all through the zoo!

 Its not every day that you get to see one of these while you're running.

My Great Aunt's Lasagna

In the front section of my recipe box, there is a worn out piece of paper, containing one of my all time favorite recipes: my Great Aunt's Lasagna. When I was younger she would make it at her farmhouse whenever we came to visit. When I went to university, she and my mother would make up a big pan of it, bring it over to my house and have a feast. The leftovers would be in my freezer for late night studying food. To me this is the perfect comfort food (right up there with my Mom's Infamous Mac and Cheese).

I think that part of what makes this recipe so heart warming for me, is that it always make me think about the lady behind that faded out recipe card. My Great Aunt has always been like a grandmother to me. But not just your run-of-the-mill grandmother. She has always been there for us through thick and thin. I talk to her on the phone every week. When I get the chance, I go up to visit her and she always cooks something way too elaborate for just two people. She sends me home with leftovers like I won't be fed if she doesn't. This past Thanksgiving weekend, one of the highlights for me was standing at the sink, elbow-to-elbow with her, peeling potatoes and carrots and chatting about everything under the sun.

So, this is why I am sharing her recipe right now. Because everyone deserves to feel a little of the love that my Great Aunt shows me every day.

What you'll need:

1 cup Onion, chopped

1/2 cup Celery, chopped

1/2 cup Green pepper, chopped

6-7 Mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves of Garlic, chopped

1 28oz can of Diced Tomatoes

1 6oz can of Tomato Paste

1 Bay Leaf

1 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Basil

1/2 tsp Pepper

1/4 tsp Rosemary

1/4 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Sugar

2 lbs Ground Beef

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 lb Ricotta

1 lb Mozzarella

6oz Lasanga Noodles

I like to get all the spices ready and mix them up in a little bowl. Then when its time to add them in, its easier than going one by one over a steaming pot of veggies. Thats just how I roll....but do whatever you like. No judgement here.

 Chop up the veggies (I forgot to show the celery and garlic in this photo. What can I say? It happens sometimes!)

 Now, normally I'd just use traditional diced tomatoes in the sauce, but in the past couple of years I've become hooked on San Marzano tomatoes. I use them in my Pomodoro Sauce and love them. So I decided to toss a can of these into the lasagna recipe this time. If you have these in your grocery store (I sometimes have to hunt them down!) then give it a try sometime.