Smell my feet, give me something nice to eat!
















I love the fact he has pasta sauce all over his face, a lolly in his mouth and red eyes like some demonic pumpkin eater- just the perfect look for carving a pumpkin!



My Darth Vader and Knight in Shining Armour are ready to rock the neighbourhood trick or treating scene.  Hope you have a fab Halloween!

My life has taken a very butchery track at the moment and I am really enjoying it.  This weekend I helped to butcher some pigs and I came home with some pork trim for making sausages.  I love making sausages at home.  I didn't used to love it so much on a cold evening running up to Christmas, linking them extra small for chipolatas, but at home on a small scale, I love it.  You know exactly what goes in them and you can experiment with different flavours. 

The sausages I made this weekend were:

CHORIZO

1kg pork
2tbsp paprika
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp chili powder
10g salt
1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
60ml red wine
1 tsp black pepper

LINCOLNSHIRE

1kg pork
200g breadcrumbs
15g salt
15g dry sage or 50g fresh sage
15g black pepper
cup of water

RED THAI CHILI

1kg pork
200g breadcrumbs
15g salt
15g Pampered Chef Red Curry Rub
Lime Zest
Lemongrass
Fresh Coriander
2 cloves of garlic
Cup of boiling water

I added the chopped lemongrass and lime zest to the boiling water to soften the lemongrass and infuse the water with extra flavour.  I allowed it to cool before adding it to the meat. 


 The most important tip is to cook a little of the mixture to check it for seasoning and general flavour before stuffing it in the sausage casings.  I use natural casings and would avoid anything other than natural if you are wanting to make your own sausages too.  It is quite a labour intensive process and makes quite a mess of your kitchen- Craig pointed out that I had managed to get sausage meat up the wall, but it's very rewarding and enjoyable and they will be the best tasting sausages, I promise! 

Once made, you need to freeze any you will not be using straight away as they will only keep for a couple of days in your fridge- they contain no preservatives as bought sausage do, which is a good thing, trust me! 

It's getting chilly outside!  We have had some -9 action with the odd flurry of snow.  I always think of pie as being an ultimate comfort food, espacially when it's cold outside.  There is just something about the pastry filled delights that makes me feel all warm and comfy on the inside. 









As a child cooking next to my mum, any leftover pastry had to be made into jam tarts.  It's a tradition I carry on with my little monsters.  Jam tarts rock!

Over the last two weekends I have been lucky enough to meet some people who care deeply.  They care about what they eat and not in a too many calories, diet kinda way!  They care about how their food got to their plate, how it was cared for, how it was grown, how many miles it took to get to them and how it gets cooked too. 

When we moved to Canada we went with the flow.  We shopped where people told us they shopped and followed the crowds, knowing no other alternatives.  I have focused my attentions on getting the family set up and established and now that we feel more a part of where we live it's time to get on track with living the way we choose to live. 

I care about where my food comes from, how many miles it travelled, how it was killed and how it came to my plate.  I want my children to understand the importance of this process too.  I am lucky enough to have a freezer with meat I butchered and I watch my children eat it knowing where it lived, how it died and how it was cared for in every stage of its life.  I like how that feels. 

I promise I will teach my children the value of good food and good farming.  I will teach them to grow their own in whatever space they have.  I will teach them that they have a choice in life when it comes to what they eat.  I will teach them how to cook it and how caring about their food will make everything taste better. 

Taken from Sangudo Custom Meat Packers Web Site:
We care about the meat that we put on your table. Where it comes from, how it is processed, and how it is delivered. Being farmers and family men ourselves we want to make sure that everyone wins. That means: Buying from local farmers that raise their animals in a healthy way and ensuring them a fair price; having the most humane handling system in North America to ensure that the animals are dealt with as little stress as possible; working within our community to provide jobs and supporting rural Alberta; giving you the cuts of meat that you want from certified organic beef, pork, elk, bison, and lamb; and providing you with food that tastes great and that you can feel good about putting on your table.

As you may know, I am a trained butcher and last weekend I was invited to join an annual event hosted by Kevin Kossowan, who is an Edmonton food hero (Just a few of his accolades: Part of the Alberta Farmers’ Market Association, Slow Food Edmonton, writes about wild food in the kitchen for the Alberta Conservation Association, has contributed to the FarmOn Farm Masters program, neighborhood captain for Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton, lent a hand here and there to the NAIT culinary program by taking their second year students foraging, video production work for Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, grows obscure varieties of greens for urban-ag-tastic Lactuca Micro Farm, and has done some workshops related to foraging, butchering, game cookery, and other traditional food practices.  See I told you, food hero!)

The event is a coming together of people who want to fill their freezer with the very best pork for the forthcoming year.  You purchase your side and cut your own up- an amazingly excellent idea!  I was invited to show them how we cut it in the UK and generally give some hints and tips for getting the most from your pig. 

I enjoyed the day so much.  I had forgotten how much I love being a butcher. 

This video shows a whole pig side being cut up so if you don't like that idea, don't watch it. 

Somebody on Facebook wrote what is now the title of this post. 
It got me thinking.................
Many see winter as a nuisance or an inconvenience. In the UK the only difference between the seasons is the rain is warm in the summer and cold in the winter. I like winter here in Edmonton, so far! I realise with only one under our belt we really have no idea what a -35, waist deep in snow winter is really like year after year.

I have been looking longingly at the family skis on the wall and I am excited about getting back on the slopes, so the first snow fall we had this week just added to my anticipation of the snow hill opening very soon!  The pictures in this post are of our adventures in last years snow and you can see just how cool Alfie look son a pair of skis.

I would also like to add that there are a few things I dislike about winter too. I had forgotten about a few of them but was rudely reminded that winter not only brings snow but added stress to the already pushed life of a parent:

* putting gloves on children- this is both time consuming and very frustrating. No matter how I tell them to hold their fingers the thumb never goes in the thumb slot and one finger will have 2 pudgy fingers in it whilst another glove finger flops empty next to it! They insist of grabbing handfuls of snow only for their gloves to be wet and cold within minutes or they just plain refuse to keep the things on and you end up backtracking along the path to reclaim a thrown glove!

*boot sludge and coat flinging- our house was well designed to have a mud room off the garage that acts as a layer removing zone before you enter the house. My children see this room as a place to toss items of outerwear on the floor and toss gloves and scarves into hard to find places never to be paired back up with their glove partner. Snow boots and Wellingtons have magnetic properties in children and can bring in an amazing amount of snow, mud and general sludge. This in turn is spread across the floor and then transferred to the once clean socks of my little darlings as they patter across my once clean floor with muddy footprints.

* dog refusal- I get that its cold outside. My dog gets that it is cold outside and would rather pee in the warmth of the house than get her delicate pads chilly for just a minute. She has done it once and has now been banned from the carpeted areas of the house and kicked outside regularly only to stare at me through the window in cold disgust.

* snot- the cold weather brings with it a ton of bright green, runny snot from the nostrils of my children. Harry is at an age where he blows his nose or sniffs it back up and then gets told to blow his nose. Alfie just let's it run! It covers the nostrils completely and if it just catches a outward breath at the right moment you get a snot bubble. If you are a parent you know what I mean and they are gross! If you manage to avoid snot bubbles you get crusty snot. The other day I noticed Alfie was chewing something and so I quizzed him as to which cupboard he had raided;
" Alfie, what are you eating?"
" bogie's mummy""

Nice!

If you want your house to smell like a Domestic Palace this is what you need to bake.  I had four small banana's looking soft, black and unhappy in the bowl so there is one obvious place these darkened darlings needed to head and that was my loaf tin! 


BANANA BREAD

100 g raisins & cranberries

75 ml Whiskey

175 g All purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt

125 g butter

150 g soft brown sugar

2 large eggs

4 small banana

1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

Method

This is my own adaptation of Nigella Lawson's Banana Bread taken from How to Be A Domestic Goddess. 

We recently moved all of the sofa cushions off the sofa. 

We discovered:

• 4 Lego people
• 8 Lego bricks
• 12 raisins
• A spaceman (toy size not a real one!)
• Lots of crumbs and random food scatterings
• A book

We don't allow our kids to eat upstairs (expect raisins and popcorn on film nights) but we know they sneak upstairs with odd bits of food when we are not looking.  Little did we know that rather than eat the food they ground it into little bits and hid it under the sofa cushions!

This image does not really do it justice as hubby had already moved the bits he did not want to hoover up:

Harry drew the family for Thanksgiving.  He said he would give Daddy a bit of hair on the sides but if anyone asked why he would tell them "They don't need to know why". 

Not sure what he meant but needless to say, Hubby didn't look best impressed.  To give him credit they are very accurate!

I hope that I do not sound too needy and pushy but I NEED YOU ALL to head on over to the Canadian Blog Awards where I have been shortlisted for the best family blog and best new blog. 

It's Thanksgiving and the Turkey is cooking. 



Making Thanksgiving Cards 

I did a quick survey of the residents of the Chatterton household. 

This is what we are thankful for:


























Daddy: Better football results and family
Mummy:  My fab family, good chocolate, gin and tonic, my friends and gin and tonic
Harry: Mummy, Daddy, Alfie, Nutmeg and Lego
Alfie:  iPad time, chocolate kisses and bum wiggles
Nutmeg:  Dog biscuits and nice walks

Hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving.

You know your own kids.  You know what they like and what they don't like.  You know when they are in a good mood and when they are grumpy too. 

Alfie went for his first every optician appointment the other day.  He does not need glasses like his big brother.  We did our best to keep him sat and paying attention and opticians are very good at getting what they want from little kids but as we sat down at the end for his assessment of Alfie's eyes we had to giggle at his words:

"Well Alfie is a strong willed, squirmy child with a short attention span".






















We were amazed.  Five minutes with Alfie and the optician described him perfectly. Well done that man! 


P.S.  Halloween is coming!  We are getting crafty here in the spooky Chatterton residence- how about you?

Halloween is not too much of a big deal in the UK. You knock on a few doors and some people make a big effort with their houses, most people turn off the lights and hide in their homes hoping you just won't notice their house.

It's a little different here in Canada.  For one it's usually very cold by then and the poor kids struggle to put their arms down by their sides as their thick coat is covered by a scary costume and the result is little scary sumo wrestler knocking on your door. 

Last year, we also noticed that people dress up to answer the door- that's pretty cool!  I know my husband will roll his eyes at me but I think we should get on board and go Halloween crazy this year!   

I am thinking of ideas right now!  Get ready to dress up hubby! 

1. Sweet Chilli & Avocado Sandwiches with blue corn chips
2. Green Curry Noodle Soup
3. Tear & Share Garlic Rosemary Bread
4. Sweet Chilli Beef Wrap
5. Cold Steak & Egg Sandwich
6. French Toast with Roasted Tomato and Ham
7. Iced Bun
8. Fruit & Chocolate Brownie Pick Plate

I woke up today and felt like a change. 

I blame the amazing Autumn colours.

I decided it was time to give my blog a little freshen up.  Hope you like it?

I love granola and am very partial to a Starbucks Yogurt Parfait when out and about.  I have never made my own granola so decided to follow a Nigella Lawson recipe.

It was utterly delicious and well worth the trip to get all of the ingredients. 

Ready to mix the raw granola- you can add any combination of nuts and seeds to suit your own tastes