Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Trinidadian Corn Soup Recipe

.Full Time Mama

My amazing pumpkin poppers recipe from last week were featured on Alesha's Delicious Dish Tuesday as the Favourite. Let's just say, you ladies love pumpkin! This has been my most popular recipe to date. Click here for the recipe. Trust me, it does not disappoint!



Some of you may not know that I'm from Trinidad, an island in the Caribbean. I lived there for most of my life before migrating to Canada about 10 years ago. Trinidad is sweltering hot and humid. On any given day the temperature is about 32 degrees (or 90 in F). So, it might surprise you to know that a very popular dish in Trinidad is corn soup.... especially those bought off street vendors. Now you might be thinking, soup in the summer--- heck, no!! But trust me, this soup is so good, you could have it any time of the year and totally enjoy it's deliciousness!

So since there's no corn soup selling on the street here is Canada, I've been forced to make my own. I got this recipe and adapted it to make it healthier. Over the weekend, I made some for my trini (short for trinidadian) friend and her family who visited and let me just say, some of us had thirds :-)


Ingredients 




  • 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped 
  • 2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped 
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 small onion
1/2 green/red pepper 

  • 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 1 cup of pumpkin chopped
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 cup yellow split peas
  • pimento pepper (optional)
  • cups vegetable (or chicken) stock
  • 1scotch bonnet or habanero pepper left whole (optional)
  • 1 can coconut milk (optional)- I  use light coconut milk
  • ears corn cut into 2inch pieces
  • 1 ear corn with kernels directly cut off the cob
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (or if you have culantro or shadon beni- even better)- or you could totally omit if you don't like cilantro


For the dumplings: 

-3/4 cup flour (I use whole wheat)
- pinch of salt
- water *
Initial recipe found here 
* Add 2-3 tablespoon water when making the dough for the dumplings and add more if  necessary. You’re trying to achieve a firm dough. let this sit for 10 minutes and then roll it into a 2 inch wide log and then cut it into 1 inch pieces-- my family likes small dumplings but you can make them bigger if you wish. 

Directions:


  1. 1
    In a large soup pot, heat oil.
  2. 2
    If you have a mini chopper, chop garlic, onions, celery, carrots, cilantro, pimento peppers and red peppers until finely chopped. It will save LOTS of time.
  3. 3
    Add the chopped mixture to the pot and wait until fragrant. 
    Add the half the potatoes, half the sweet potatoes, the pumpkin and  thyme and  and cook for about 5 mins stirring constantly.
  4. 4
    Add the split peas and stock.
  5. 5
    Add salt and black pepper to taste.
  6. 6
    Add the scotch bonnet pepper if you like spice
    If using the coconut milk add this also.
  7. 7
    Cover the pot and simmer for about an hour until peas are soft.
  8. 8
    Remove the scotch bonnet pepper. Use an immersion or ordinary blender and puree soup to a thick and creamy consistency and return to the pot.
  9. 9
    Add the rest of potatoes and sweet potatoes, corn and dumplings and cook for a further 20 minutes until corn is cooked and the dumplings float to the surface.
  10. 10
    Add culantro, remove from the heat, taste and adjust salt and pepper. 

11

If soup is too thick at any time (and it will get thick), add water.


                     




So this is not the easiest soup recipe I know but it makes a lot!! It will last you for several days or serve many people. It goes very well with crusty bread or croutons or on it's own.... and apart from being so delicious, it's so healthy and filling with all the veggie goodness, the fibre and the vegetable protein (split peas is so good for you). It is such a lovely soup for the upcoming months--- or for summer in Trinidad-hehehe! 



Linking up today with these lovelies
 Kate and Emily for Tasty Tuesday.
 Kristen for Handmade Tuesday.Susan for Love From the Kitchen
and of course Alesha for Delicious Dish Tuesday


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Monday, September 29, 2014

Fall Bucket List 2014

I'll admit, I've never been a huge fan of fall.... there, I've said it!  To me, it signals the start of the colder months, days inside and the end of my precious summer. But now that I have kids, in my never ending quest to become a cool mom, we make a big deal out of each season. We chock it full of lots of different activities so they are hyped up for each month and all that we have planned! And you know what they say--- if you can't beat them, join them! So to tell you the truth, I've kind of gotten into it myself. Fall's not so bad after all! In fact, for these reasons listed, fall is a lot of fun!

So in the spirit of the season, I give you our Fall 2014 Bucket List.  Now that Cass can read, I'll print this out so that she can keep me in line by checking off everything we've done and harassing reminding me when we haven't. I took the easy route though and got this free customizable printable from Design Finch and filled it in with what we hope to have lotsof  fun doing this fall. 



We got a couple of these done this weekend alreay. Post up soon!

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

PS. Major issues with my domain name these past couple days.... argghH!!

Linking up with Leann for Join the Gossip
and then Mama Mondays with Leslynn



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Friday, September 26, 2014

Friday Favourites- this and that

 ... and it's Friday!!! Let's get this party started! I've had some awful neck pain this week (so much so I was having trouble turning my neck from side to side)  but between some meds, a tens machine and a massage, it's a little better! Hopefully, it will not impede the weekend. 

Hunter Boots Cleaner

Like so much of the bloggersphere, last year I got my very first pair of Hunters... a plum coloured pair.... I love them so much and wore them through fall and winter... However, I got the white residue on them that happens with real rubber... I bought this cleaner online from Hunter and let me tell you, it has been awesome... My boots look almost new, no?

Check the before and after

Who knows what a puffball is?

No you don't need to check Urban Dictionary for a meaning, it's basically a huge mushroom. I bought just a slice  at the farmers market this week. THe farmers were all going crazy over it so I'm all like, yeah I'll buy a slice for $5 a pop... #imsuchasucker. But honestly, the flavour and texture were so amazing. Especially if you like the taste of mushrooms.

Uncooked.... 

And cooked...



picture vs no picture?

So, I've changed the look of my blog a bit but I'm yet to receive the heading from the design provider. I don't have photoshop so I couldn't do it myself. In the interim, I've made my own header(picmonkey rocks!) still including my kids' pics. What do you think? What's better, kids or no kids in the header? 

DIY PSL 

I am not having as many PSLs as I had last year... Reason being is this article that's been circulating.  I've caved and bought a couple times but I need to try the recipe for a homemade version! 

Little Reader

Guess who has started reading chapter books in school?  My five year old sweetie. I'm so proud but though I'd like to take some of the credit, this book is a huge helper... We literally follow it step by step. It even had talking points for the parents to tell you exactly how to simple explain concepts to your kid and it does it word for word. 

No-Spend September for the win!

So I can go ahead and declare I've won the war against  no-spend September. I did not spent any money on myself or my peeps or my crib for the entire month of September. However, I'm glad this month is coming to an end soon. Cass needs a new winter jacket and I need to start scouring for sales! Zulily is calling me!

Happy Happy Weekending, friends! We have bowling, apple picking and a possible pumpkin patch in the works! 


Linking up with 
Andrea for Friday Favourites
Jenny for Friday Favourites
Amy for Hey Friday
Amanda for Friday Favourites


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Thursday, September 25, 2014

Please say thank you

The other day C said  "Thank you mommy for getting this jacket for me. "

It is a pretty nice jacket-- even though slightly over-matched here... No wonder she's grateful!


I filled my heart in so many ways. This is the not the first time that she's done this. She is always saying very sweet and thoughtful things that warms this momma's heart. Like when she thanked me for throwing a birthday party for her or for making pasta for dinner (as this picky eater seriously does not fancy about 80% of the things that I cook!) Now I see A picking it up as well and saying please and thank you quite often too!

Please and thank you are my favourite words. I use them frequently and meaningfully. I put a lot of thought into the things that I do for my family and friends and though I don't do it for the thanks, I love getting a phonecall, text or email saying thank you.

Research has indicated that the more thankful you are as an adult, the better your life satisfaction, your personal relationships and overall well-being. Gratefulness and gratitude are two lessons I want to teach my kids in this world of entitlement, expectation and un-appreciation. (is that even a word?)

We're not parenting experts, we're just parents but here are three ways we try to encourage thankfulness in this house.

Model and teach through example

Kids learn through example more than anything else. We say thanks to them when they do something for us like setting the table or picking up their toys. The adults also work gratitude into our daily lives in our interactions with each other and the kids hear that as well. 

When she forgets remind her

This might seem like nagging. Or it actually might be nagging. However, I sometimes have to remind my children to say please or thank you and I don't have a problem doing that. I nag about other things, why not about this? :-)

Teaching them Empathy

THis one is for the older kids-- I would say over five.  I always try to make Cass put herself in someone else's shoes. I ask her how she would feel if she does something nice for someone and they don't appreciate it or say thank you. I use real names of friends and family because at her age they're so literal.Also, my kids are beginning to have chores and by having them help do things, they realise that  everything doesn't always come easily to them and parents (and teachers) work hard to get things done. 

PS. Ever wonder how grateful you are? Click here to take this gratitude quiz. 

We may not only have wonderful moments, but this kid is mine and I'm so proud of her. #mommywin.



Have a thankful day everyone.

Linking up with Salma, Raj and Nisha for Three Things Thursday.
And also with Annie and Nat for Thoughts on Thursday.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Everyday Life Photos- Week 36 and 37



Who's ready for the weekend?! We have three more days left til' then but before than I will entertain you with a plethora of everyday life pictures-- you're welcome ;-)

By the way, for any new readers, I'm documenting our everyday life for 2014 to capture all the little stuff!

Day # 247
Because sometimes the only thing that keeps a toddler at bay at the bank is a handful of cheese puffs!


Day #248
I love my baby's feet so much so, this one time I wrote a whole blog post on it. Really!


Day #249
The daddies went golfing so the mamas and kids had some treats and wine :-)


Day #250
At the rental house with these two!


Check the view out! 





 Day #251
Blue Ice Cream--- so natural and healthy, right?! 


Day #252
Both girls were the first in their class to have Show and Tell and they both took their babies


Day #253
This might have been from the day before since mama sometimes forgets to take everyday life pics but nevertheless, it was the perfect day for a bike ride-- with training wheels of course.


Day #254
Colouring is often the past time of choice in this house. Since A has discovered crayons, I find them all.over.the.place.


Day #255 
Because sometimes sisters need snuggles... especially in their jammies. 



Day #256
Cass did some trial mini jazz funk classes. She ended up going with mini acro instead making my Wednesdays even more insane.


 Day #257
We took the girls for a very long walk to get some ice-cream. 


Day #258
J & A sitting in a tree.....



Day #259
I caught up with my friend Petal after more than a year #shameful. Hopefully we're seeing each other this weekend too for some more kiddo fun!



Day #260
We took D's dad out for dinner and boy did he enjoy it. We don't cook that much meat at home anymore and I guess he must have missed it as he cleaned out his entire plate of prime rib! And he's such a small eater too!


Day #261
Is there anything better than a clean closet


 Linking up with Jess and Ashley for It's The Little Things as there's nothing so little as everyday photos! 



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Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Pumpkin poppers, anyone?

I'm not the biggest pumpkin fan-- I must admit. I will never willingly eat a piece of pumpkin pie. If I see pumpkin flavoured goodies in the grocery, I probably won't choose one for myself. But D loves pumpkin and so does C-- so because I want to be the cool mom and wife, I take one for the team and scour Pinterest for pumpkin recipes. 

A couple years ago, these pumpkin popper recipes were surfacing throughout the WWW so I decided to give it a go. My word... even the non pumpkin lovers among us (me) became friends with this recipe. The delicate spices and flavour of pumpkin really complimented each other really well. 

So my friends in honour of fall, I give you pumpkin poppers. Taken from The Clever Housewife but adapted (to make it a bit healthier) by me. 


Ingredients

  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour-  I use 1 cup whole wheat and 3/4 white and you really can't taste it.
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves (if you don't have this it's not a big deal)
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup brown sugar ( i use just under this amount)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup pumpkin (fresh or canned, but not pumpkin pie filling)
  • ½ cup low-fat milk

  • For Coating
  • 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted (I only had salted on hand, and it worked just fine)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 and a 1/2  Tbs cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° and spray your mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and whisk till combined.
  3. In another bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients (oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk).
  4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined (do not overmix).
  5. Using a cookie scoop, fill mini muffin tins until almost full. There should be plenty of batter to do this.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
  7. While Poppers are baking, melt butter.
  8. In a small bowl combine your sugar and cinnamon.
  9. Let the poppers cool for a few minutes before rolling them around in the melted butter and then plunging them into their cinnamon sugar bath.
  10. Enjoy!
PS> You can save the rest of the pumpkin from the can for chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes-- another goodie. Maybe I will post that one next week!

As these finish so fast in my house, I never have time to take a picture of them but I snagged one courtesy Just a Pinch



This was C a couple years ago. She could.not.stop.eating.them. Neither could my dad who came to visit. And let's not talk about D. Really, let's not. 




Linking up today with the lovely ladies,  Kate and Emily for Tasty Tuesday.
 Kristen for Handmade Tuesday.
Ayesha for Delicious Dish Tuesday



Happy Fall, y'all!


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Monday, September 22, 2014

Goodbye summer and hello new blog name?!

According to the internet, summer officially ends on September 22nd at 3:44 pm. We had so much fun this year! We did well with our bucket list that I did for us in June. I feel quite accomplished as a parent/cool mom. Take a look....



We didn't do a couple of things. Time totally ran out to visit an Ontario beach. Also, I decided against doing a summer camp for Cassia as I figured she had the rest of her life to do summer camps and this was just going to be a summer of fun. We went to a zoo but totally missed going to the petting part of the zoo. We didn't do family game night because we have fall and winter to complete that one... oh, and we didn't BBQ. We had lots of BBQ but D didn't get around to setting up his brand spanking new grill in the backyard--  say what?! At least it will last another year, right? 

In the meanwhile, I leave you with just a few pics to capture our sweet summer memories. 







The best gift of the entire summer--- my sweet nephew Liam. 


Pool time


Some QT with D






Our day trip to Niagara



Just so much silly fun outdoors!



We will definitely miss you, summer... especially in February! 

Also, have you noticed the new look of my blog?  First of all, my blog is changing its name from 'it's a girl's world' to 'it's my girls' world.' Not that I think it's only my girls' world, other mothers of daughters!  I just couldn't afford the $3000 domain name- no thank you! So instead, for a cool $20, I purchased itsmygirlsworld.com. I'm changing the look as well. It is still a work in progress but I'm getting there! However, those cute faces on the front page will be gone soon- sorry Mom! Hopefully by the end of the week, I'll have it all sorted out- that's the intention anyways! 

Have a wonderful week!!!

Linking up with Leann for Join the Gossip
and also Mylissa for Inspiration Monday
and then Mama Mondays with Leslynn


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