I make up recipes.

Mostly because, if what I want to make does not exist on-line in the 15min I spend Google-ing ideas, I have to make it up.

Savoury tarts with apples and sweet potatoes was what I was wanting to make on Friday.  There did not seem to be anything on-line along those lines, so I had to wing it! 

These are pictures and general descriptions of what I did.  

Everything is by sight and feel for me.  

Not very helpful if you want to make these and like specifics.  Sorry.

This is one small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 1/4 rounds.  I wanted small 

layers of potatoes to fit nicely into the muffin tin.  Cutting the potato's into rounds made sense to me.  

Also, I peeled some ginger and cut it into fat match sticks.

I loosely layered the sweet potato with the ginger in a baking dish, put a splash of water on the potatoes and baked them for about 30min at 350F.

While my potatoes were baking, I caramelized one red onion in a big gob of butter.

And while my onions were cooking up, I softened 3 diced apples in another big gob of butter.  Once the apples were just softened I took them off the heat and added about 1/4 tsp of fresh ground pepper to them.

So my sour cream did not thicken like I wanted it to.  I ended up whipping it because I didn't want a sauce.  I wanted a solid.  Then I added a dash of salt, some pepper and about 1/2 tsp of fresh thyme.  I would have liked it to have been more sour but oh well!

I layered 3 sheets of phyllo with olive oil in between the layers.  I roughly cut the phyllo into squares and pushed them into my muffin tin.  I put one layer of potato's, a tablespoon-ish of apples, some onion and then a few more potatoes.  I baked these at 350F for about 20-25 min.
Just until the phyllo was crispy and the filling was warm.

And here they are!
I really liked them and I think everyone else did as well.
I had no leftovers! 

The End

Hello

It is 9:30pm and my entire family is asleep.

Here is Jon.  So peaceful.

I can't show you pictures of the kids sleeping because they sleep in darkness.

Currently I am trying to plan 4 dishes for 4 different events I will be attending or hosting in the next 4 days.  They need to be tasty and cheap to make. 

I think it is fun.

Our family is a part of a supper club  (The Foodist's) that happens once a month.  This time I need to bring the starter.   Nothing was inspiring me so I am making up my dish.  This is what I have planned.  A phyllo tart with layers of gingered sweet potato, diced apple softened in butter and caramelized red onion.  Served with a side of home made thyme sour cream.

Here is the sour cream I am making.  1/4 cup buttermilk and 1 cup whipping cream in an air tight container.  Let stand at room temperature for 12-14 hours and refrigerate.  I will add finely chopped thyme an hour before we go.  It is really really good. I highly recommend it.

Here is a picture of me making sour cream

I still need to nail down my lunch menu and the other dish for a mom's craft night.  I'm sure I will keep you all posted on what I make.

The picture below is what I will snack on tonight.  Naveed gave me her half eaten apple and told me I needed to eat it or it would be a waste.  Also, 85% - 90% dark chocolate is what I crave at night.

The picture below was a part of my supper tonight.  It was not my favourite.  It was a roasted egg plant and red pepper dip.  The recipe called for a lemon, but I did not have one, so I made it without.  Really, the dip needed the lemon juice to balance out the sweetness of the peppers and egg plant.  It also needed more coriander seed.  I will try it on a grilled cheese sandwich tomorrow or the next day.  

Well, good night.  I am off to find a show to watch and then to bed for me.

Bye!

Good Morning

This was my life from around 5:00pm to 5:15pm

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday

Bye

 (my mom brought me tulips!)

 (another loose tooth!)

Nav and me have done a lot of origami this year.  It has been good practice for following directions, fine motor skills development and it has been an easy introduction to a small part of Japanese culture.  I have a great appreciation for the art of folding paper.  It is really hard!

Why am I telling you this??  Sag-way to...

I home school Nav and for now, it is a good fit for our whole family.  And I felt like typing about it today.

When deciding to home school, a major deciding factor was what our family dynamic is and who Nav is.  It will be a topic that will be revisited over and over again.  Because life is fluid and our little girl is growing up.  Life changes constantly.

I think it will be an annual discussion,  

I am not super typical of the home school crowd.  I see the benefits of public school and the benefits of home school.  I don't see the two as pitted against each other.  It comes down to the child for me.  What will benefit the education of my kid?  What environment will be the best for my child to learn in?  What is the temperament of my child?  Do the pro's out weigh the con's for public or home school?  

What do I think an education is?

(Nav likes to doodle in her books sometimes)

    And so, we home school.  

I don't need to have the discussion written out here about the answers Jon and I landed on.  I am not interested in convincing you, the reader, of anything.  This is the right decision for Nav and our family.

(I won't debate it if you disagree with our decision.  I get to have my opinion and you get to have yours.)

Here are some pictures of our last 6 months of home schooling.

This morning Nav is on her way to a field trip at Boston Pizza.  Later we will do some language arts.

I love schooling at home.

I love my one and only table.

I was going to type dining room table but that might imply that I had a kitchen table as well.

I only have one table.

Now that I have cleared that up for you, I can move on!

Life happens at our table.  It is where my family eats meals, crafts, colours, plays with play dough and does school work.  It is where I visit with friends and family, have my coffee, journal, visit with some more friends, cut out patterns for sewing projects, take pictures of stuff I am selling for VarageSale, fold laundry, get our taxes ready and countless other things.

I have taken many pictures where my table is central to telling the story about what is going on at that moment.

Here are some of my favourite table shots. I think they say so much about my life and the life my children have.

I love my one and only table.

The End