Today’s toddler lunch was a total hit for dinner last night, so I know he’s going to be pleased to see these chicken fingers again for lunch today.  Last night I whipped up a batch of chicken fingers using organic chicken thighs and a completely improvised coating recipe.  Alden inisted on helping at the counter so I supplied him with spoons, bowls and flour to make his own mix.  Suffice to say, it got messy.  Really messy.  It is very hard to cook dinner with a two year old… frankly, they are terrible sous chefs!

The coating consisted of corn meal, spelt flour, chili powder, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper.  I dipped the chicken pieces in rice milk, then the coating and placed them on a baking sheet.  Before putting them in the oven, I drizzled a bit of olive oil on the top to make sure they baked up nice and crispy.  And crispy they were!  In fact, they’re on the menu again tonight.

So, today’s toddler lunch is:

• Snack #1: crackers and Sunbutter, banana
• Lunch: chicken fingers, rice, corn and peas (and the last raspberries from the garden – sad face)
• Snack #2: carrot sticks and mini muffin

(Note: all of my reusable food mats were in the wash, hence the plastic bags.  Sigh.  Guilt.)

While pottering about the Ravelry forums last night, I came across a thread of users discussing their favourite knitting needles.  The familiar brands popped up: Hiya Hiya, Addi etc.  And then one user posted about handmade knitting needles made in Nova Scotia out of birch from their farm.  Ooooh.  My spending fingers started to itch immediately.

The River John Needle Company is run by John Crawford since 2003 and he makes a range of double pointed, straight needles and even crochet hooks.  I love the short 7″ and 9″ commuter needles.

River John double pointed needles. Photo from River John Needle Company.

They also carry a selection of wooly products in their shop including yarn, socks, mittens, sheepskins, blankets, and even sheep pot holders.

I think these needles would make a super gift for any knitter or heck, just buy some for yourself.  : )  Note: husband.

I’m writing this as part of Scattered Mom’s lunch revolution party.  Woo hoo!  Party on!

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I’ve been packing Alden’s lunches for daycare for almost a full year now, so I thought I’d share some of his favourite meals and take some of the mystery out of the toddler lunch box.

First. Pay attention to any food restrictions you get from your child’s school or daycare.  Find out if it’s a nut-free facility.   Take any message about food allergies seriously.  If your school is nut free, that means that no one should be eating nuts in the school or daycare.. no matter what time of day.  (Yes, this is from personal experience.)  If there is a request to refrain from sending certain items to school, please treat it with respect.  It’s not meant to throw a wrench into your life, it’s meant to reduce the chance of someone else’s child ending up in the ER.  These kids rely on the compassion of the people around them to stay safe.

If your child loves peanut butter, there are peanut and nut free options such as Sunbutter that you can use instead. Or pumpkin seed butter.  There are alternatives.  And they are easily found at the grocery store.

Second. Cute lunch boxes are optional.  I sent Alden to daycare with a boring old black insulated box for almost a full year.  There were no complaints.  Then I lost it.  And yes, I replaced it with a very cute owl lunch box.  It makes us both feel good.  In the beginnings, choose a box that suits your needs and is large enough for milk, bottles, jars of baby food, applesauce etc.  You can see my lunchbox roundup for more ideas.

Third. Figure out what kind of containers you’ll be using to store the food and drinks.  I switched up our plastic containers for glass ones and I use a mason jar for Alden’s drink.  His food gets heated and plated at daycare, so I am not worried about a glass bowl being pitched onto the floor and shattering.

Fourth. Fill that lunch box!  Some of my favourite things to pack in Alden’s lunch are:

• veggie sticks
• meat balls
• rice shaped with cute rice molds
• fruit
• bean patties
• chilli
• banana or zuchini bread
• homemade pizza
• hummus
• Nooooooooodles!
• Kamut puffs
• risotto
• rice pudding
• falafels
• graham crackers
• stand by recipes like: crackers, sunbutter and jelly sandwiches, wheat squares etc.

A sample lunch for my almost two year old.

Five. Don’t underestimate the power of peer pressure.  If you think your nubbin doesn’t like veggies, try sending them anyway.  If they see their friends eating carrot sticks, your kid may just take a nibble or two.  And nibbles count in the beginning.  Don’t count success by how much was consumed.  A taste counts.  Spitting it out counts.

Six. If at first you don’t succeed try and try again.  Take for example Alden and his apples.  He loves applesauce, but I couldn’t convince him to eat an apple slice.  The apple offer was made on many occassions (with and without a dip or Sunbutter).  Then last night he looked at the apple peeler and said “apple apple!”.  I cut up an apple and he ate the slices.  Peel and all.  Out of the blue.  Miracles do happen.  The same thing happened with berries.   He hated them until I convinced him to try one from the garden.  He has been hooked ever since.   Don’t get frustrated.  Kids are on their own food discovery schedule… despite our best efforts to turn them into instant foodies.

Learning to mix

Seven. Get the kids involved.  On the weekends, I bake snacks for the week.  This is a perfect time for little fingers to start seeing how to cook without any of the weekday stresses.

Eight. Final tip.  Pack lunch the night before.  It saves SO MUCH hassle in the morning.

This morning I woke up and checked my Twitter stream to see all of the uproar surrounding this year’s Feast of Fields having Loblaws be their major sponsor.  I recall about a month ago when they announced the sponsorship, but didn’t take much note other than a bit of eyeball rolling.  Suuuuuure, Loblaws is interested in local food.  (Except replace the word food with money.)  Ah, that’s more like it.

My history with the Loblaws chain.. in particular the President’s Choice label soured about a year ago when I found a large strip of blue plastic inside a bottle of pasta sauce.

It turns out it was a plastic bag.

I’m not sure why I didn’t write about this a year ago when it happened. I remember at the time not saying a lot because there was some back and forth with their customer relations to resolve the matter. I felt that I should let that play out before going mom-blog-crazy on them.  And then I forgot about it.   Did I ever say that the final solution was to return the bottle and plastic so that they could analyze it and I was able to get a refund for my purchase? That’s it. A refund.

It’s not like I was out to get some freebies from the experience, but a token coupon would have at least been a gesture. And with a baby underfoot, I didn’t have the time to go the Dave Carrol route and write a song about my blue plastic strip on put it on YouTube. Honestly, I’m not a good singer.

Now, we try to make our own sauce. At least in the summer.

Making pasta sauce with home grown tomatoes

So what does all of this have to do with the Feast of Fields? It says that actions speak louder than words (or logos).  I think anyone who has shopped in a Loblaws has seen the token “grown close to home” posters. And sure, there are some local-ish or at least Ontario produce… if you can find it. I’ve played hide and seek for the Ontario berries locating them tucked in between rows of Californian ones or shopped for asparagus that was located directly underneath a “Grown close to home” poster only to find them to actually be from Peru. It’s all so deceptive, that unless you are a dedicated label reader (I am), you’re much better off to shop at a farmer’s market.

Sponsoring the Feast of Fields event seems a desperate attempt to be associated with a movement that they do not (yet??)  completely embrace. Seeing a Loblaws logo on a poster for the event doesn’t change how I feel about your business because I visit your grocery store every week. I see with my own eyes what you offer on your shelves. I see how the local produce is marketed (ahem hidden). This greenwashing leaves me asking, “why is the uncool kid at my party? ”

So, pour the uncool kid a drink and ignore him. Vote with your wallet. Support your local businesses, farmer and producers. And look out for what’s inside your pasta sauce.

Ottawa Magazine recently published their 101 Tastes Before you Die list of Ottawa treats to try.  I thought I’d take their list and see how well I’ve fared since I moved to Ottawa.   I have a feeling that this list can be easily accomplished WELL before the death bell tolls.

(Also, Ottawa Magazine, please do away with the horrible ‘click to see the next page’ navigation.  ONE page please. )

1. Beau’s Lug Tread Beer
2. Pascale’s ice cream.  Technically no, but I make my own ice cream.  I’m giving myself a half point.
3. Bryson Farm’s baby salad greens
4. Memories’ triple berry pie.  Again, not really, I make my own pies.  Including the best.pie.ever.  Another half point to me.
5. Lamb tourtière from Les Fougères.  No but, my allegeances lie with the Harvest Loaf’s Aussie meat pies. Another half point.
6. Coriander pesto.  I’ve made this at home.  Half point.
7. The Red Sea coffee beans
8. Milk (in a bottle) from Cochrane’s Dairy
9. Thyme & Again’s cranberry peach jam Again, I make my own jam. Point.
10. Piggy Market peameal bacon I buy mine from Aubrey’s. Close enough.
11. Art-Is-In 12-grain and fennel seed I still prefer the rosemary/garlic loaf.
12. Kefir
13. Red Apron’s peanut butter and banana handcrafted gourmet granola
14. Free-range eggs
15. Spicy fennel sausages from Luciano Foods
16. Whalesbone brown bag lunch
    Why not buy some fish while you’re there too?
17. Tower-O-Rings from The Works
18. Chicken tikka wrap
19. Restaurant Barbe’s roast pork sandwich
20. The meatball sandwich at Parma Ravioli No, but I have bought similar ones from La Grotta on Preston. Half point.
21. Knish
22. Sweet potato and cinnamon bread
23. Glengyle Garlic’s feta garlic spread
24. Rustic, hand-formed miniature pies I make pies at home. Half point.
25. Heritage tomatoes If the ones in my garden count..
26. Christophe’s organic mushrooms
27. Asian fruit salad
28. Paczki Glazed from Wedel on Bell St. N
29. Lobos apples
30. Raspberry mini-cheesecakes
31. Bewitching baking from The Scone WitchThe BLT scone is HEAVEN.
32. Lover’s Leap Ceylon tea from Tea & Ginseng. No, but I have tried the dragon’s tears.
33. Queen Elizabeth cake
34. Shortbread La Gaillarde
35. Lavender Yes, if the lavender from my garden counts.
36. Baklava filled with walnuts from Middle East Bakery
37. Black Irish plain porter No, but I have tried the Sir John A stout. Close enough.
38. Sterling’s porterhouse steak
39. Burfi from Desh Typically
40. Tiramisù Made by Maria Nicastro herself
41. Island Flava’s Caribbean hot sauce
42. Shrimp rice noodles
43. Rabbit
44. Aubrey’s merguez sausage
45. Ground pork from Saigon. No, but I buy mine from the farmers market. Point.
46. Organic frisée Yes, from my garden.
47. Serrano ham from Misto
48. Glengarry Fine Cheeses
49. Lemon and salt pistachios
50. True Loaf’s decadent bun Also, the date and fennel loaf rocks!
51. Berg en dal honey
52. Zaatar
53. Rosélianne
54. Cocoa Camino’s dark chocolate bar with orange
55. The Table’s chocolate cheesecake
56. Florentines
57. Giant Handmade Peanut Butter Cups
58. Stubbe’s caramelized hazelnuts No, but I’ve tried many things from Stubbe. Half point.
59. Banoffee pie
60. Pure cranberry juice
61. Cambodian satay hot sauce
62. Coconut Lagoon’s Travancore-style fish curry
63. Poivre long
64. Argan oil
65. El Meson’s Castelo dourado
66. Clover coffee at Bridgehead
67. Fraser Café’s homemade doughnuts Yes, but order a second dish. This meal will leave you with the hungries.
68. Almond croissants
69. Braised veal sweetbreads in a sauce of apple and calvados
70. Strawberry pie Yes, homemade.
71. Mariposa duck
72. Mohammara sauce  from Coin du ChicheWatch out for major garlic breath fellow cube farmers.
73. Bison from Pykeview Meadows
74. Canadian high tea at Zoe’s
75. Sufganiyot (a.k.a. jelly doughnuts)
76. Edamame from Oz Kafé
77. The pickled turnip No, but I’ve pickled my own radish. Close enough.
78. Soul food from Jean Albert’s
79. Ottawa River sturgeon
80. Amber Garden perogies
81. Rice pudding C’mon dude, I make my own.
82. Bison egg rolls
83. Absinthe steak frites
84. Ricotta blueberry pancakes
85. Jellies
86. Salmon sausages
87. Tapioca pudding with pineapple and coconut milk
88. Grass-fed beef Yes, bought at the Lansdowne Farmers Market – mostly from Fitzroy Farms.
89. Cinnamon twists from Rideau Bakery
90. Acorn Creek Farms melons
91. Beef Rendang
92. Cupcakes from the Ottawa CupcakeryNo. Why would I? I make my own. Why not put Auntie Loo’s on this list instead? Way more unique.
93. Mekong’s Hu Nan dumplings Not quite. I buy dumplings from the Dumpling Shop across the street.
94. Pumpkin pie fudge
95. Laksa
96. Fine Cheese Company’s ‘accompaniments
97. Hot-smoked salmon Yes, but from Whalesbone. See also smoked scallops!
98. Elgin Street Diner’s chocolate-banana milkshake No, but I have done the milkshakes from Pure Gelato. Close enough.
99. House of Georgie’s legendary pizza with gravy
100. Lebanese cucumbers
101. The BeaverTail

The final tally: 43.  I know, I gave myself a few extra bonus points for some things.    This is a no rules zone.

After seeing how much Shutterbean’s little boy loved his train set that his mama bought for him, I knew exactly what to buy Alden for his upcoming birthday. I scoured the internet for wooden trains and decided upon the Sevi village train set. It came with a ton of train pieces, cars, trucks, and even an airplane and the best part? The city play mat.

While my plan was to save this gift for his birthday, the weekend’s rainy weather left me scratching my head at how to entertain a toddler indoors. (Sure, we could have gone to a museum, but I wasn’t in the mood for crowds.) Out came the birthday present. Naturally, it was a hit. Score one for mom.

Now if I could only convince him to eat the corn chowder I made last night.

*Note: it is recommended for kids over 3 because of small parts.  I put the small pieces away for safe-keeping, but with some force, the little wheels can still come off, so it’s a toy that requires a bit of supervision for the younger set.

Even though this is mostly a food blog, I’m taking the liberty to put a quick pause on my cooking posts to do a knitting round-up for the month.  Even though most of my “crafty time” is now “cooking time”, I still manage to squeeze in some quality time with my ‘knitting sticks’ (as the Savvy Girls would say). Yes, I listen to a lot of knitting podcasts. I am a woolaholic.

If you don’t like Type A people, you’re really going to roll my eyes if you read the following.  So, that being said, you’ve been warned.

Ok, so I’ve started my Christmas present knitting projects.  Actually, I started Christmas knitting um…  in May.  Yeah. (Like I said up top, most of my free time is spent cooking, so knitting projects require significant advanced planning.)  I made a list, bought the yarn, cast on and it’s been full on knitting in every spare moment ever since.  Knitting on the bus, waiting for the bus, and mostly in my cubicle at lunch.  I have no fear of knitting in public or KIPing as Jackie from the KIPing it Real podcast would say. (Another knitting podcast! Love her!)

My one disappointment so far is that when I put my knitting projects away for the night, they just aren’t knitting themselves while I sleep.  And hooby dooby, remind me again why I chose to knit socks?  Or mittens?  I am horrible at completing pairs of things.  And with small needle and small yarn?  How do sock knitters stand the boredom row after row?  I will admit, knitting socks makes for a convenient bus crafting project, but spending weeks on one sock is pushing my patience to the limit. Especially socks for man feet. (Do you think he’d be happy with one sock?)

To combat the boredom, I indulged and knit myself up a quickie cowl in some uber soft Malabrigo ‘Rasta’ yarn.

The cowl is knit up on ridonculously large needles (10mm!!) and satisfied my need to “complete something”. I still have a bit of yarn remaining which I am curious to see if I can use instead of roving in some thrummed mittens. (AACK the “knitting a pair” curse!!)

And this weekend, I crossed another item off my “must try” list: dyeing yarn. I ordered a couple of books from Amazon (Natural Dyeing and Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece) and raided the husband’s stash of natural dyes and mordants. How handy. (Thanks, husband!) Throwing caution to the wind, I used a skein of local yarn from Windblest farms that I picked up at the Main Street Farmers Market. I really should have used a cheapo skein for the first attempt, but I was feeling brazen.

Initially, I tried dyeing the yarn in a rhubarb bath, but it didn’t turn a lovely shade of pink.. instead it turned a light shade of beige. That wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. The husband was dyeing purfling for his violins at the time so he shared some of his logwood bath for my yarn. Immediately it turned a lovely shade of pinky/purple. Love! Amazing!

It sat in the dye bath for about five minutes and then I rinsed it and hung it out to dry. By the morning, it had turned a muted shade of lavender. It was perfect. I immediately started scouring Ravelry for just the right ‘one skein’ project and cast-on a secret project. It’s actually a not-so-secret slipper pattern, but I am having major knitting malaise figuring out how to knit in the round with two circular needles. And short rows. I am in over my head. Somehow I am going to cobble these together, but I may need to pitch the pattern and wing it.

I can’t wait for another rainy day to try dyeing another batch. Yarn party at my place!

After leaving Alden’s very plain and boring, yet irritatingly perfect-sized Joe Fresh lunchbox behind somewhere in Ottawa, I’ve been hunting for a replacement lunchbox.  I figured that with Joe Fresh selling peacoats in July they would also have some back-to-school lunch boxes by August.  Not so.  (Or at least, not at the Baseline/Woodroffe Loblaws.)  The other grocery stores options included a $15 super fugly cooler bag or girly Elle lunch sac.  No no no.  No.

I started searching around online for some stylish lunch boxes.  And wow – there some kyuuuute lunch boxes out there.  Ultimately, I let my wallet decide and chose the very cute owl Zoo Lunchie by Skip Hop ($16).

The boy flipping adores it. He carried it around the house all evening, waved and yelled “bye bye.” He was ready to hit the road and leave mom and dad at home in the dust. It was a major toddler win. He clutched it in his stroller all the way to daycare today too. It would be the perfect lunchbox except… it’s about an inch and a half too small. Duh duh.

You see, I need to pack a main dish for lunch, drink and two snacks each day and it’s a pretty tight squeeze once you add in a drink container and a main dish container.

Maybe I’m meant to have a separate thermos for the drink or perhaps use baggies instead of containers. I’m not sure. All I know is that that it’s just slightly too small for my toddler’s daily food rations. Sigh. Boys. At this point, I’m not sure what to do. Order another lunch bag or keep trying to cram everything into Mr. Owl.

Here is a list of the lunch boxes that I had on my shortlist:

• Beatrix Lunch Box (available at Raspberry Kids): $37.  Yes, $37 for a lunch box.  Outstandingly cute.  Expensive.
• Goodbyn (available from many different online shops in Canada) : $35.  I like this a lot, but I needed something that could accomodate small containers.
• BuiltNY Munchler $14 – Major cute points, but decidedly petite.  I could see using this for short outings.  And I ADORE the built-in placemat.
• Lunch Boxes for Kids – Cute, understated and great for my lunch.  But linen + toddler = nightmare. Also, it looks small.
• Neoprene lunch bag $36 – I still love this one.  I regret not buying it.  I think the size is probably perfect for my needs.  Washable and non toxic.  Darn.  Next stop: Regret City.

I’ve started to collect a whole new range of cookbooks since Alden’s anaphylaxis diagnosis. (Yes, I’m calling it anaphylaxis instead of ‘food allergies’ because that is really what he has.  It’s not sniffles or red eyes.  He carries and Epipen, he gets hives, his face balloons, there is screaming and there is projectile vomit. And if he could form sentences, he’d probably have a lot more to say about what else is going on when he has a reaction.) So, that’s my rant.  (I’m having one of those “ooooh I’m angry!” weeks.  Bear with me.)

Back to the topic at hand: cookbooks! With the increasing number of food allergic kids, there are more and more allergen-friendly cookbooks hitting the shelves. Some are great, some are not. And well, frankly, there’s more than enough baking-related ones. For me, the real hidden market is for, you know… REAL MEALS. And finding wholesome lunch and dinner recipes that are friendly for young gourmands is even rarer.

Here’s some of the things that I look for in a good “allergy cookbook”:

• Easy to find ingredients.   If the cookbook features a product that is only available in the US, then it’s not useful.  And save the unusual flours for those who have Celiac.
• A higher number of main course recipes than snacky/dessert recipes.
• Toddler friendly – is my two year old really going to eat a green salad with a mustard vinaigrette?  REALLY?
• If possible: some freezable recipes.  We already cook way more than the average household, so having a few things in the freezer to have some nights off is AMAZING.

So far, our allergy cookbook library consists of the following:

• Peut contenir des traces de bonheur – This book is lovely, all in French, written by a Montreal couple and has deliciously glossy food photography.  You’d never know you were reading an “allergy cookbook”.  We loved the general tao chicken, but our toddler thought otherwise.  It’s just so pretty to look at and read.
• The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook – This one is a staple for our household.  Lots of good advice and variety of recipes.  Their meatball recipe is the basis of our veggie-packed version.
• What’s to Eat?: The Milk-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Food Allergy Cookbook – Looking at the cover, this book isn’t going to win any awards for graphic design.  I have a feeling it was one of the first nut/egg/dairy free cookbooks out on the market.  I haven’t made anything from it yet.. but I’m glad to have it in my collection.
• Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids – This one has lots of good ideas for snacks, baking and main courses.  Of course, I wish the main courses section was larger.  My one beef is the heavy use of vegetable shortening throughout the book.  I’ve found you can easily replace the shortening with better oils or Earth Balance to avoid the transfats nasties.
• The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook, Updated and Revised – This one isn’t really marketed as an ‘allergy’ cookbook, but it is written in a super allergen friendly way.  All of the recipes are dairy and gluten free and most are nut free as well.  Each recipe is labelled with a graphic if it contains soy, nuts, eggs, fish etc which makes it super easy to scan.  Also it’s written for the younger set, and provides alternatives if your little cherub doesn’t like certain textures or flavours.  Handy.

Not specifically allergen-free, but many allergen-friendly recipes.  (Note: we have a fair number of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, but they often rely on nuts/cheese etc. so I’ve only only included the cookbooks that contain a good number of allergen friendly recipes.)  It’s really hit and miss with vegan cookbooks, some recipes rely a lot of sauces: soy, fish, tamari, sesame etc. that are difficult to reproduce with allergy-free alternatives.  How I WISH there was a safe soy or tamari sauce.

• Vegan Scoop – An indispensable ice cream and sorbet recipe book.  I’ve had super success with the vanilla recipe, but less luck with the fruit based ice creams.  There’s also a whole section on no-soy fruit sorbets that I haven’t even explored yet.
• Vegan Lunch Box – I really liked reading this, but I haven’t cooked anything from it.
• Vive le Vegan! – We’ve been able to get some good staple recipes out of this cookbook.  It contains far fewer nut-containing recipes than her other books.
• Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World – My staple cupcake recipes come from this book.  I couldn’t live without it.
• Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar – Again, another staple in my cookbook library.  The graham cracker cookies are one of our favourites.
• The Everyday Vegan – Another good Dreena Burton book.  I’ve clipped a few staple recipes from this book.
• Veganomicon – Our staple pancake recipe comes from Veganomicon.  Worth the price of the book.

Last week, I made the best pie ever!  Literally.  I decided to use up some of the rhubarb from the freezer and was feeling crazy enough to make pie crust instead of doing an easier crisp.  While I was getting creative with the pie crust, I broke out the new alphabet cookie cutters and set to work spelling out the only thing I could think of when making pie at nine o’clock at night: The best pie ever.

Was it the best pie ever?  Well, it was pretty good.  Gone within a couple of days and even eaten for breakfast.  I guess that qualifies it as a decent pie.

I used my standard go-to vegan pie crust recipe – yes it uses vegetable shortening, but I have yet to master making a pie crust with olive oil.  It just doesn’t work for me.  I think this as close to a flakey buttery crust as we’re going to get here.  To keep the transfats lower-ish, I opted for a fun topping of letters and stars rather than a thick crust.  Besides, the crust is really just a berry delivery tool.