I can’t believe it. Another Mother’s Day is around the corner, and it seems like yesterday that I was getting to celebrate it for the first time as a new Mum. Now, here we are again and I am on the verge of becoming a mother of 2!! So crazy how much can change in a year!

Jasper is now 18 months old and changing so much every day I can’t even keep up. The words were slow in coming at first, and for the longest time I thought the only thing my kid would say was “no” (which was always accompanied by an adamant head shake). But now, literally every day I am barraged with 2 or 3 new words from his ever-expanding vocabulary, that it really leaves Jeremy and I both amazed. “Tractor” is by far the most popular, with “hi” pulling in a close second. Strangers on the street don’t even know what hits them when we come strolling by, as he peppers everyone he sees, people and dogs alike, with such voracious “hi’s”, that he is incapable of being ignored. Even the most unkid-friendly of folk can not dismiss a hi from Jasper. My favourite thing is going in to his room in the morning, where I am greeted with an enormous grin and a “Hi, Mumma!” My heart pretty much melts every time.

I certainly don’t think that Jas grasps the concept of Mother’s Day, but regardless, I am greatly looking forward to my day of appreciation and perhaps a little pampering   With Hatley’s annual Spring warehouse sale still a few weeks off, I am left a little empty handed for presents for my own Mum and friends, so I may be raiding the warehouse for seconds this weekend to load up! The matching Rosy Afternoon rain boots and umbrella make an awesome present, in my own experience, and the 15% off online on women’s apparel is hard to beat!

Pampering of any kind is certainly welcome on Mother’s Day from kids and spouses alike, so if your husband is looking to wow you with a home-cooked dinner that is actually quite simple, here is a great recipe that should do the trick – it even involves the BBQ so it should be right up his alley!

I love cooking on cedar planks, they add such great flavour to fish and even chicken, and are pretty easy to find in grocery stores these days. If yours doesn’t carry them, try the BBQ section at your hardware store, and I even saw them being sold at Cosco. For this recipe I use organic or wild salmon, as I find the flavour so much better than the farm-raised salmon you see so much of these days. I also like to serve this with rosemary oven-roasted potatoes and blanched green beans. So yummy and really simple to throw together.

Grilled Cedar-Planked Salmon:

1 cedar plank, soaked for at least 30 minutes
2 lbs. salmon fillet, skin-on (organic or wild, if possible), cut in to 4 8-oz. portions
4 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

In a small bowl, mix together Dijon, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and fresh rosemary to make the marinade for the salmon. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and set aside.

Place salmon fillet on a cookie sheet, and make sure that all of the bones have been removed.  Score the flesh, and rub in the marinade so that it covers the top of the salmon and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes but no more than 1 hour. Pre-heat your grill on high for around 10 minutes.

Turn your grill down to medium. Remove the cedar plank from the water and pat dry with a paper towel. Transfer the salmon to the smooth side of the plank, and season the fish with kosher salt and pepper.

Place the cedar plank on the grill and close the lid. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Let the fish cook, lifting the lid every so often to make sure that it is not charring. Once the salmon is cooked through (crispy around the edges but still tender and pink in the middle), carefully move the plank onto the cookie sheet with a long spatula and let stand for 2 minutes. Plate the salmon with rosemary oven-roasted potatoes and blanched green beans and enjoy!

Serves 4

To all you mums out there, Happy Mumma’s Day, I hope you all get spoiled rotten!!

Well, according to my calendar, it is officially Spring! The snow is melting, the little green buds are starting to pop through the sad, ravaged-by-winter gardens, and the sun is certainly starting to poke out from behind the gray clouds of winter. Albeit there is still a biting wind that doesn’t let you forget that we are hardly out of the winter woods yet, but I will take it! There is nothing like a little sunshine to give you a new lease on life. We can only hope that we’ve seen the end of the snow, once and for all! Forgive me all you spring skiers out there…

I’m sure that fellow parents can relate when I say that you really feel the pain of winter when you have a toddler at home with you. There is nothing more disheartening than a bitterly cold and awful day outside and a rambunctious little one inside crawling the walls. But with all the sun this past week, Jasper and I have spent every single afternoon at the park, and we are both loving every second of it! His obsession with the swings grows stronger by the day, as does his love affair with the slide – my ever growing belly and I are getting quite the work-out chasing him up and down the jungle gym, trying to make sure his newly walking legs don’t take him over the edge. We are both so exhausted by the end of it, after supper we absolutely collapse in our respective beds (& cribs). Aahhh Spring… so good to see you old friend!

And with the warmer weather comes my favourite cooking season of the whole year… BBQ! Actually, to be honest, our barbecuing doesn’t really go on hiatus during the winter – this year in particular, Jeremy was often sent out on blustery nights to shovel out the BBQ because of a sudden and dire pregnancy craving for grilled chicken or (weirdly) ribs. But there is something about the first few days of Spring, when daylight savings has kicked in and it is actually still light out at 6:30 PM, and you catch a whiff of all the barbecues in the neighbourhood firing up for a delectable dinner, that really makes it feel like summer isn’t so far off.

Certainly another big craving for me this time around has been burgers. Big, juicy cheeseburgers with lots of pickles and sweet potato fries on the side. Hmmm… getting hungry already just thinking about it. For some reason, burgers never used to do much for me, I always thought they were kind of bland – certainly an easy dinner, but never all that exciting unless you go over the top with the condiments. That was until I saw an episode of Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares where he berated some poor chef for his bland and dry burgers, and he divulged his secret to success to dress up the ultimate comfort food. The recipe that follows is my own variation on his, and it is always a winner. The key I find is using really good meat, and I often opt for organic lamb, but it also works well with veal or bison, if I can find it. And as always, the condiments play a big part as well… especially the cheese (if you choose to use it). I usually go for a sharp, aged cheddar, or sometimes smoked Gouda to really take it over the top. Caramelized onions, grilled portobello mushrooms, smokey bacon are other serious contenders, but to be honest, you really can’t go wrong with straight up lettuce and tomatoes… and a big stack of crunchy pickles, of course!

Hope you enjoy the recipe, please feel free to let me know what you think. I apologize for the long break between posts, March has been a bit of a whirlwind, but we will be back on track now! Happy Easter everyone!!

Foolproof  Lamb Burgers

For the burgers:

1 lb. ground lamb (or beef, veal or bison) – organic, if possible
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp. ketchup or barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 green onions, trimmed and finely chopped
2 Tbsp. Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped – omit if you are not using ground lamb
salt & pepper to taste

4 whole wheat pitas, just a little bigger than the burgers

4 slices of cheese of your choice (optional) – aged Cheddar, spicy Monterey Jack, smoked Gouda
Lettuce, tomato, pickles
Condiments of your choice (and I highly recommend good quality Tzatziki)

To make the burgers, combine the ground lamb, egg yolk, ketchup (or BBQ sauce), Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, chopped green onions, parsley, mint and salt & pepper in a bowl and mix very well with your hands, making sure to incorporate all the ingredients together. Form in to 4 equal sized patties and set aside on a plate.

Meanwhile, light your BBQ and let it get nice and hot. Grill the burgers to your preferred temperature, flipping once, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. As soon as the burgers are done, add cheese to make sure that it melts and turn off heat on the BBQ. Serve the burgers immediately, stuffed inside the pitas with your favourite condiments, baked sweet potato fries and a nice big salad.

Enjoy!!

Serves 4

We are now well in to the second week of February and it is right about now that winter really seems to feel endless. With the Christmas rush long gone, and the post-New Year’s glow so last month, February really seems to be the time when everyone has had it with winter. Enough with the snowstorms, the minus-20 (without windchill) unbearable cold, the days where the sun doesn’t really appear till 8 AM, only to vanish again so quickly at 4:30, and wrestling my wiggling son in and out of his puffy, one-piece snowsuit 3 times a day! Enough already! It’s depressing, and I’ve had it!

This winter has seemed especially rough because of all the flues and colds that constantly seem to be going around. Perhaps they have always been there and I just haven’t been as exposed as I am now. But along with the wonderful joys of motherhood comes much sickness, I am now discovering. Jasper’s running nose has been a constant accessory this winter, and unfortunately, the stomach flu has made 2 stops at our house in the past month, which as you imagine is not a pretty sight. It would almost be comical if it weren’t so nasty and disgusting to watch all three of us fall victim to this horrific bug, (thankfully never all at the same time), knowing there was nothing we could do to hide from it… It was just a matter of time before our number was up. Not fun, but (knock on wood), fingers crossed that the worst of it is behind us, that the flu shots will finally kick in to gear, and that it’ll be smooth sailing from here on till Spring!

But as the Eastern U.S. gets pummeled with yet another huge snowstorm, it really seems like Spring is years away. My only solace is that it gives me a perfectly legitimate excuse to hunker down, light up the fireplace and make some real comfort food…. pasta dishes in particular. No matter what time of year it is, pasta tends to be my go-to meal. I am always in the mood for it and it never disappoints. In the summer, my deep affection for pasta comes with some guilt and criticism as it is not typically considered a very “light” summer dish, but no matter what time of year it is, I will always be happy with a heaping bowl of linguine in red sauce, loaded with Parmesan. Seeing as how I am now five months pregnant, this love affair with Italy’s national dish has only gotten more severe – much to the dismay of my dear husband, who despite his Sicilian roots, finds pasta for dinner 4 to 5 nights a week “too heavy”. Pe-shaw, I say to that! One of the few perks of being pregnant is that I tend to get my way when it comes to food!

One dish that Jeremy will never thumb his nose at is my Linguine with Hot Italian Sausage and Arugula. It is so easy to throw together and always hits the spot, especially on a cold blustery night like we had here last night. The way I make it may be a bit too spicy for the little kids (Jasper’s palate is a little too delicate for this one yet), but you could easily tone it down with milder sausages. It freezes well too so make up a big batch and freeze it in smaller portions to pull out on those nights when cooking is the last thing you feel like doing. Just make sure to set aside what you plan to freeze before adding the cooked pasta to the sauce.

I hope this recipe helps you fellow Pastatarians out there get through February and the rest of the winter! Next week Jeremy and I are off to the Olympics to cheer on Canada and visit with the crew up at the Hatley store in Whistler. Will report from the road!

Linguine with Hot Italian Sausage and Arugula

1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
1 pinch of hot pepper flakes (optional – only use if you don’t think the sausages have enough of a kick!)
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups pureed tomatoes
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried black olives, pitted and chopped (optional)
1/4 cup cooking cream (15%)
salt and pepper to taste

1 package of dried linguine (454 g)

For serving:
4 balls of bocconcini, chopped into chunks
2 cups of baby arugula, washed
1 handful of fresh basil leaves, ripped
a heaping bowl of freshly grated Parmesan

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausages, breaking them up with a wooden spoon as they cook. If much fat renders off of the sausages, drain it off into a bowl.

Once the sausages are starting to brown, add the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and chili flakes (if using). Cook gently over medium heat until the shallots are clear and the mushrooms begin to release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine, and bring the heat up to medium high. Once the wine has cooked down a little, add the pureed tomatoes, parsley and olives (if using). Return heat to medium low and let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a big pot of water to the boil. Salt the water and boil the linguine for the appropriate time, just until al dente (about 8 – 9 minutes).

Once the sauce has simmered, turn the heat down to low and stir in the cream. Season well with salt and pepper to taste. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and toss in to the sauce, using tongs to really incorporate the sauce with the noodles.

To serve, divide the pasta amongst 4 plates, spooning lots of sauce on top. Add a chopped bocconcini ball on top of each plate as well as some ripped basil, and then divide the arugula evenly on top as well. Let each person garnish at will with the fresh Parmesan. Enjoy!

Serves 4