My first commissioned work!!!

I posted a number of "jobs" I would do for only $5 on a website called fiverr.com

 

My post was something like this 

 

I will name a sandwich after you and send you the recipe for $5

 

I will name a yummy sandwich after you.
I will take a picture of this sandwich I have created so you can share your namesake with your friends and family, I will also give you the recipe for this sandwich so you can share how amazing you really are.
I will take any special dietary concerns into account!

 In case you don't know I went through school to be a chef and passed with flying colours, however I didn't write the ministry exam to actually get my cooks trade papers. So for me this is an amazing opportunity to share my love for food in another way.



AND THIS IS THE FINISHED PRODUCT...

The start of an exciting sandwich making career???


The art280 sandwich

The art280 is a sandwich encompassing the tastes of 4 friends.

sky likes crispy things
sarah likes spicy things
mackenzie like walking on the beach
benny likes watching pro football

I had a number of different ideas as to how to incorporate these themes into a sandwich that would reflect these individuals.( Unfortunately people frown upon killing sea gulls while others are enjoying the beach so I will have to save that idea for another time...)

The runners up included a hot dog (beach and football) covered with chili (football tailgate, spicy)  further topped with crushed doritos (football, spicy and crispy) and finally Jalapano jack cheese (spicy), and a very close first runner up to the sandwich I made was a thinly sliced bbq'ed steak (football tailgate) sandwich served on a cornbread bun (often served at clam bakes at the beach) smothered in a zesty chipotle bbq sauce(spicy), with French's french fried onions perched on the top! (crispy)

But the sandwich that started out as little more than a few ingredients in my pantry and forevermore shall be known as The art280 sandwich is a sandwich consisting of toasted pumpernickle rounds (crispy) topped with a smidge of miracle whip and then a freshly prepared salmon cake (beach) garnished with a bed of spring mix lettuce and a second salmon cake which is further topped with a spicy mango chutney (spicy) finally this awesomeness is then topped with kettled cooked chips (great when watching a football game and for extra crispiness)  the final piece comes into place when the second piece of toasted pumpernickle that has a light speading of miracle whip on it is ever so gently lowered into place.

  
I opted to make this a "hot" sandwich, but if you prefer your sandwiches chilled a tasty salmon salad could have been used in place of the salmon cake.

The salmon cake

you will need

1 can of salmon drained and cleaned (unless you like the salmon bones and stuff)
1/4 of a cooking onion minced (or 1 green onion thinly sliced)
1/4 of a red pepper minced
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. flour
approx 1/4 c. of crackers crushed fine.
1 tsp parmesan cheese
pinch of red pepper flakes

two eggs beaten

Combine the first 4 ingredients and mix. sprinkle with flour and then add the cracker crumbs, parmesan and pepper flakes. Mix once again and slowly add the beaten eggs until you get a mixure that binds together well.

Fry the salmon cake in a non stick pan over medium heat for approx. 5 mins per side.

Enjoy it on The art280 sandwich.

Pasta easy as 3-2-1

My husband is a firm believer in the Jamie Oliver school of though, that kids should be able to cook 10 meals before they leave school. I am a firm believer that they need to know waaaaay more than that! So I decided the to most who haven't attempted if before.....but honestly its the simplest thing! and cheap too!


I explained to my boys that pasta only has 3 ingredients (at least this recipe) 3 eggs, 2 cups of flour an 1 half of a tea spoon of salt....get it 3 2 1!

(really he did)

2 cups of flour~~~~1 half teaspoon of salt

  

and now the 3 eggs ~~~~  get it all mixed in

This is the part little boys love!!!

And now for the "fun" part!

Dyan, as usual, couldn't wait to try out the pasta. Rhys on the other hand just enjoyed making it and was satisfied that pasta can just come out of a box and that is fine with him. I am going to make some ravioli with them next time and a fresh lasagna with home made tomato sauce in the summer when the tomatoes are plentiful.

Dylan does it again!!!

So Dylan tells me while we are standing by the fish counter that he would like to have muscles...I mean mussels, for supper. So I go ahead and ask for about a pound (that's 454g for the under 35 crowd!) I haven't made mussels since I was in school. My husband doesn't like them and I just can't be bothered to do them for myself. but hey its only a couple of bucks and Dylan is adventurous with his food, and I want to encourage that as much as possible.

We get home and Dylan and I wash our hands. I dump the mussels out into a bowl and I show Dylan how to de-beard them (most of them were really clean though) and told him to make sure they were all shut tight. He busied himself with that task as I minced garlic, chopped onions, and diced some red pepper. I heated some olive oil in a skillet and sauteed the prepared veggies and when it was nice and hot I dumped in the mussels, added a good glug of white wine, some salt and pepper and popped the lid on it.

Dylan got mad because I put "booze" in his food, and he was concerned that the mussels were going to get drunk! At that point I took a big glug of white wine and almost wish I would too... *lol*

After I convinced him that the booze magically disappears, about enough time had passed so that I could serve up the mussels. (I would have finished them with a touch of 35% cream, alas I had none *pout*)


Well they almost look good enough to eat!!!

(except for that one...no, not that one, the one beside that, ya, that one, it looks like its looking at me and that is just not cool!)

I told Dylan not to eat any that weren't opened, but would he eat any at all?

So the moment of truth was at hand. Was Dylan still as curious about eating them when he saw them cooked?


I will let you decide...

If you knew sushi, like I knew sushi....

Dylan, my 4 yr old has very mature tastes.

He likes Indian curries, Thai food, Sushi...and of course eating with chop sticks. I used to buy sushi for D every now and again but it really is kinda expensive when your kid asks for sushi every time you go in the grocery store!!! (I wish my kids just made a spectical at the checkout begging for chocolate like the other kids)

There was only one thing to do, make it ourselves.

I had made sushi a few years ago in my chef's class, but that was before I had kids, and I knew Nath would never eat it so I didn't pay much attention but I seemed to recall, it was easy and didn't require much effort or equiptment.

The good news is, it still is easy. Dylan helped out and we made three rolls. AND he loved it. A pack of chop sticks and a rolling mat, sushi rice, ricewine vinegar, Nori (dried seaweed sheets) and what ever you want for fillings. Inexpensive and fun!

Goin' off the rails in a crazy train....

Kids will make you do the most crazy things...the latest my crazy train. Oh and kids are not very patient. I was very lucky to get any decorations on this crazy train.

Next time I will know what to expect when decorating this and will plan it out much better before hand, like sorting out all the candies into colour coordinated piles, and having a larger platter. Pehaps making a flaky coconut landscape and a gingerbread train station.

Or maybe I will just make plain old cupcakes. The kids like those just as much and they are way easier to make!!

I feel like pizza tonight...actually, no I don't but the kids do.

I wasn't very hungry but the kids were clambering for food. I hadn't taken anything out from the freezer so I knew it would be something quick and easy!

Pillsbury pizza dough in hand I had to figure out what I had on hand for pizza toppings. Then I remembered seeing a meatball pizza in a Panago commercial, and I always have frozen meatballs in the freezer. I popped a few meatballs in a frying pan and added some water to heat them up and defrost them.

I quickly rolled out the dough baked it till golden, added sauce, meatballs and cheese. I put it back in the oven for about 10 minutes then broil for about 5 to get the cheese bubbly.

And that was supper!

Manic Monday

For excitement *sarcastic roll of the eyes* I made meatloaf for supper Monday. We don't often have meatloaf in fact my husband of 11 years looked at me quizzically, and asked me if he had ever had meat loaf. I didn't know what to tell him except..."uhhh I dunno" and I shot him a quizzical look back.

I did a basic ground beef, minced onion, bread crumb, egg, milk type deal and seasoned it with steak spice. To add a little pizazz I then covered the meatloaf with strips of bacon and baked it at 375F for about 50 mins.

It was O.K., not bad, not great.

I think some cheeze would have really helped things along in the flavour department, but I found the bacon in combination with the ground beef was already quite greasy, so I think the cheese might have made it worse. Maybe a variation of this meat loaf could be made by adding cooked and cooled bacon bits and cheddar cheese mixed in with the ground beef and cooking it as a loaf that way, or even making bacon cheeseburger meat balls that you could cook in a Pillsbury crescent roll wrap thing, to make little finger food appitizers.

We had fries and gravy and some corn to round out the meal. Let's just say Monday is a day better off forgotten.