I don't drink often, but when I do, I want a yummy drink! It was so hot out yesterday, it completely warranted a mojito. Especially after our ongoing landscaping ordeal. By ordeal, I mean, weeding, watering, constantly adding. I think that's just normal upkeep, and maybe shouldn't be quite classified as an ordeal. Although last night, and the past couple nights, we've been tackling some craziness. Think a field of stinging nettle and thorns, and you get the picture. A mojito was totally and utterly deserved.

So I got out the equipment and got to work making this yummy bev. To switch it up a little bit from the classic, I added a handful of basil. Took it to a whole new level for me...

Add ice- try Whiskey Stones!

(Recipe stolen from my momma in law, and slightly tweaked- 
it was by memory, so ya, it's obviously going to be tweaked)

Happy drinking! 

Jena xo

I am so excited for dinner tonight. It has all my favorite summer flavours all in one! I got a little carried away with the title, but I did leave out a few ingredients...

Throw together a few glugs of olive oil, a few quirts of soya sauce and worcheshire (which, if spelt wrong, becomes witches hire, thanks to autospell). Then add a squeeze of horseradish Dijon mustard, or the normal Dijon, some lime and garlic.

Then I took the cilantro and basil and happily blended it up, 
adding it to the rest of the concoction.

I sprinkled some sesame seeds on the chicken, hit the on button and voila. She's gonna be ready in approximately six action packed hours.

And yes, it was delicious. So very tender and juicy. It literally fell off the bone. Mmmmm

Happy eating!

Jena xo

I'm letting you all know about my family's favorite cake recipe: Boterkoek. 

I absolutely loooooooove this, probably because it has to be the worst for you.
Literally translated from Dutch, boterkoek means butter cake. Yup. Butter cake. 

You have to indulge every once in a while. So if you do, I'd highly
recommend indulging on this. I'd keep it a secret, but after that hype, you'll
probably just google it, so here it goes.

Traditionally, you'd use a round boterkoek pan, but whatever dish you decide to use is just fine. I'm all for improvising. Lastly, indulge! 
My mouth is literally watering. 

Guess what we're having for dessert tonight....

Jena xo

Today was my first experiment with dog treats. We went away for the weekend to see my parents, so I was feeling a little guilty about leaving our boy, Bocephus back home with the other set of grandparents (That's the dog, not the baby, in case of any confusion)

The whole thing was kind of exciting to me, for a few reasons.

A. I love baking, but it never gets eaten, so I know this time around, it'll be eaten for sure!

and
 
B. You know those Mason jars of bacon fat that sit under your sink cause you don't know what to do with? Yup, I just used up a good chunk of it! Reuse it, baby!

I know my Oma used to use it in her cooking, which was delicious. But while I really knew she used it, I just pretended to be oblivious to that fact. I don't think I could ever use it in my cooking; I mean it's meat fat that has been sitting under my sink for who knows how long....

Anyways, I had a ton of it just begging to be used for dog treats!

So, I started throwing it all together. With the little dude pulling down my pants. He is now getting really, really busy, as he is officially now walking. Between me pulling my pants back up and helping him walk, I managed to mix together:

Half a jar of bacon fat
Six ice cubes of frozen broccoli and apricot baby food
(I found some at the back of the freezer that needed to get used)
One cup of oats
Two and a half cups of whole wheat flour

**I didn't have any, but next time I'll add an egg and some shaved carrots too.

Then I used my one and only cookie cutter to make the bones. I made them fairly thick because Bo Bo is obviously a pretty decent sized dog, weighing in at 110 pounds!

I originally had them all on one tray, but spaced them out onto two trays after giving my head a shake and actually thinking that one through. Then I baked them for 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, which is also known as 350 Fahrenheit.

Looks like someone might have been jealous! He has been into dog food lately... But unlike what I had posted in a previous post, saying I'd make cookies for Keenan in the shape of dog bones, these cookies really are for the dog.

Happy Dog Days!

xo Jena 

As I'm sitting here writing this, my little man is chilling in his highchair throwing cheerios to the ground, and I'm thinking to myself, man, am I glad we have a dog. That thought, and about how damn cute he is!

My kiddo has been loving food, thankfully, and I have been making my own baby food since he could eat. It takes about as much effort as driving to the grocery store for jarred baby food, but it's so much healthier. It's great for him, and it's really so easy. I love the baby bullet. I mash up whatever he's eating (pictured here is the sweet potatoes) and then throw it in an ice cube tray to freeze. Once it's frozen, I pop them out into Ziploc bags** and grab a few when he's ready for his num-num time. It's also really easy to mix and match, and serve him an plethora of varieties. It seems to me that the nastier they look, the more he likes it. Picture mashed eggplant mixed with mashed peas and carrots. I bet you've got the idea.

**My ONLY frustration with the ice cube tray method is that a standard, sandwich Ziploc bag fits 11 out of the 12 ice cubes. It's Murphy's Law or karma or just plain bad luck. Anyways, it pisses me off, but I get over it. Usually, it just means I feed him right then and there.

I like to keep it to a batch of about that size so that I can keep the food fresher and it doesn't overtake the freezer.

Just an list of some food ideas that you could try out in your baby's feedings:
These have been super successful for me.

Now that the dude is getting older, he still appreciates the mashed food, but he's digging the real deal now. So I figured I'd make him some bran muffins. Nothing wrong with that consistency, if you get what I'm saying... I found a standard bran muffin recipe, but I pretty much took it and used a replacement for every single thing I figured wasn't the epitome of healthiness. So here is is:

1-1/2 cups bran flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup yoghurt (I used vanilla to cut down on the sugar, but to add sweetness, plain would be great too)
2/3 cup apple sauce
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar (Go ahead, judge me. I guess you could use honey if the baby is old enough.)

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes. Easy enough, and he loves them. I may have had one or three, and they were pretty wonderful.

So with all these baby food delicacies, you'd think he'd be happy, but of course, he's all about the dog food. I think we have a long way to go with this, but hey. It's all about progress, right? 








Next on the menu? Baby cookies. Shaped like dog bones. I can compromise! I can also hear the other mothers already.... 

I found this recipe at Gimme Some Oven, which was slightly adapted from 
the original recipe at Smashed Peas and Carrots. Head on over there for their recipe!

The only thing I tweaked a bit was I added coconut spread in addition to the coconut flakes. The flakes made it a bit dryer, and the spread helped keep the bites in better form. And definitely don't substitute the honey for sugar, like she says on her blog. I didn't second guess her, and I can see how her advice for that makes sense. 

Keep the honey in there, sugar sugar.

Mix everything up and then roll them into small balls. Pop them in the fridge to firm up, and enjoy! 

Happy Eating! 

xo Jena