SUNDAY COOK: ECLAIRS AND MORE

While I've been on my blog sabbatical,  5  Sunday Cooks have come and gone. Not only was our blog ignored so was baking - sadly. I did try in earnest to keep up a little and actually did pretty well. It seems that right now we are suffering more because of shear exhaustion. 

I KNOW that I am flat our tired when I'm not even interested in baking!

I always have a baking/cooking bucket list going - there is always something that I want to make. Eclairs have been on the list for a LONG time - probably years. It is definitely one of Derek and I's favourite treats when we visit a real bakery. 

They always seemed a bit out of reach to me. It wasn't the filling or the chocolate on the outside that had me shaking - it was of course the dough - the pate a choux. 

But when I stumbled upon this eclair recipe on pinterest and the secret to making them, I decided that this was the summer to cross this baked good off of my list.

Here's how they turned out!

Yum! They were super good but 12 was a bit much for us 3 to eat!

No step by step pictures for this one! While reading the recipe I realized that it was VERY time sensitive so I was smart enough to not even try to photograph it. I could have asked Derek but I didn't really want an audience for my first attempt, and anyway he was nicely keeping Cassia entertained so I would have the kitchen to myself. 

All went well but I wished I had just used whipped cream for the filling rather than a combo of vanilla pudding and whipped cream. I KNEW that too - Derek and I always say we like just the whipped cream best - I have NO idea why I disregarded that thought.

The eclairs were the largest accomplishment during August. The rest of the time I just stuck to what I knew like the energy balls , the BEST bran muffins and these - the most delicious peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies you will EVER taste!

I also spent A LOT of time making popsicles - BOY did we have a HOT summer! I have to say that we ate more then our fair share of these lemon cream popsicles - the BEST recipe of the summer. Note: the first time I made them I went with the buttermilk but the rest was straight milk and we liked them better.

My most exciting news is that I ordered in Joy the Baker's new cookbook to our library. My dream at the moment would be to have the time and ingredients to bake my way through her cookbook! It is one of the best I have seen - I could seriously eat everything in it. Even Derek agrees - he was flipping through it one morning (which he NEVER does) also impressed with the recipes. So far I have just made the Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes - twice now - we ALL love them - yummmm!

So that's a wrap on another Sunday Cook. I truly don't know at this point how the next few weeks will go. Today we have exactly 3 weeks left of work. The last Sunday will be a no go since we'll be busy getting everything cleaned up and ready for our departure a few days later. I REALLY want to make some pumpkin dishes before we leave - one thing I LOVE about fall.

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: Another item on my bucket list are pretzels. I've always wanted to make them also. I don't know - can I squeeze them in the next 3 weeks! Anyway - here's the recipe I might use - however I have many more pinned on my bread board.

I'm NOT Wonder Women!

Not that YOU thought I was mind you.......

But I sure did and YES... I am from the Wonder Women era - and who KNEW there was actually a Super Women?!

Nope - not ME! 

And gee I forgot how scantily clad Lynda Carter was - especially for the 70's. But oh ya - she had to compete with Farrah!

For the first 3 1/2 months that we were here at the Parks I was certainly behaving like I was a super hero. I was working, parenting, cooking, making, cleaning, and blogging myself into a complete meltdown.

AND I didn't even see it coming.

But by the end of July - just after the last post actually - I became completely overwhelmed by it all. And so I took a break - not from life of course - but the blog had to be sacrificed for a while. Clearly NOT cooking meals wasn't an option - but it did cross my mind.

I told myself - "I'll just take a day or so off from blogging - I'll be back up to speed in a few days..."! Unfortunately, ONE day turned into THIRTY-NINE! Aghh the shame of it!

I tried - I really really try to get back on line - but in the end I just wanted to be a spectator on the internet for a while and not a participant. Things really got bad when I couldn't even bring myself to post on A LIFFE MADE SIMPLE's facebook page.

I'm here but I'm still recovering. We had a VERY VERY busy long weekend. Friday and Sunday nights were near full at Skihist and full on Saturday. Gold Pan was full every night. We made it through and even had a good time meeting up with a few of our Washington rafting campers. It made for a lot of work registering everyone, selling firewood and then the cleaning of the washrooms, collecting the garbages and bottles and raking the sites. We actually showed some SUPER HERO abilities I think!

Cassia enjoying the overturned rafts at one of the sites on the long weekend. That - watermelon and other kids to play with made her weekend!

You know when you've been working really hard for a long time and then you slow down? And you just sort of CRASH - we'll that's Derek and I right now. The tricky part is that the season is not over yet as we have 24 days to go. With this warm weather and the seniors rate going into effect we are still pretty busy with campers.

So - here I am back again. I'm hoping to be back at the blog full time. Thanks to all of you that got a hold of us to check that all was ok. Nothing like making us feel cared for!

I still want to get the blog post out about a day in the life of a Park Facility Operator and oh do I have lots to tell you about our travel plans to Central America and all of the research I have been doing! I can't BELIEVE that we'll be heading out of here in less then a month - 26 days in fact with the tentative pull out day of October 2nd. We won't be heading straight south mind you we have some visiting to do with our families at the lower mainland and Vancouver Island.

WoW! Does this feel weird - to be writing sentences and paragraphs again!

Thanks for checking back in! We've had a VERY hot summer - we are now enjoying all of the herbs and vegetables from our garden and over dosing on fresh fruit from the local growers.

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: Well, I could probably list off about 100 right now - I've been finding all sorts of good stuff around the internet. I'll give you this one because I just found it and think it is pretty neat. It has a very strange name - it's called 'oil pulling' which is what lead me to the article in the first place. Take a look - hint - it is about your teeth!

SUNDAY COOK: COCONUT BANANA CREAM PIE

Hmmmmmmmm now doesn't THAT sound GOOD!

Good thing I could go back into my photos for this Sunday Cook! It has been a CRAZY day and not so typical of Sunday's around here! With it being a BUSY camping weekend and most campers booked in until today - it meant a LOT of cleaning for us today. I only had a few hours of down time this afternoon - and what did I do with it?

NAPPED of course. I pretty much nap every afternoon - it's the only thing that keeps me going until 11:00 pm.

We've been enjoying our Coconut Banana Cream Pie for a few days now. Which is good, because I also now know how I would change it for next time. Check the bottom for my notes.

It has been awhile since we've had a really rich tasty treat around here and I figured it was HIGH time. Coconut was on my mind so off I went to my coconut LOVE pinterest board for the perfect dessert. I came across the Sunday Cook recipe from Jan CAN Cook.

So - here we go!

Coconut Pie Shell
1/2 cup butter
3 cups sweetened flack coconut

Pie Filling
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, divided
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup flour
3 cups half and half, divided
yellow food colouring
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 bananas
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar

Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat browning the coconut flakes, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. 

Until a golden brown. This starts off slow and then happens really fast. I was this close to burning it all because I walked over to read the recipe - I came back and they were done!

Press firmly and evenly into a 9" pie plate. Chill for 30 minutes.

Combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of sugar, the cornstarch, salt and flour in a small bowl. 

Gradually add 1 cup of the half and half.

Combine the remaining 2 cups of half and half and 1/2 cup sugar in a large sauce pan. Bring just to boil over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook and stir until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 drops of food colouring and the vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool. I popped it into the fridge.

Slice the bananas into the pie shell. 

Pour the filling into the shell.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until stiff. I've mentioned before that I start with placing my bowl and beaters in the freezer for 20 mins or so. 

Spoon the whipped cream in dollops (LOVE that word).

Chill 2 hours before serving.

Just LOOK at that CRUST! It's a keeper for sure!

NOW, BE FOREWARNED! 

This is a VERY rich dessert. We've really had to pace ourselves.

So - here are my thoughts and the changes I would make next time:

1. Before I even tried it I thought it strange that the pudding was vanilla and not coconut. I'm going to change that I thought to myself. WRONG. The coconut crust is ALL the coconut you need. But with that in mind....
2. I'd change the amount of coconut for the crust to 2 cups - I find the 3 cups makes a crust that is too thick and two sweet.
3. I didn't use the yellow food colouring. Sure the layers don't look much different but who needs food colouring.
4. A HUGE problem is that the banana doesn't stick well to the crust, so when you slice it tends to come apart. A way to avoid this would probably be to first fill the pie crust with the pudding, add the sliced banana and then top with the whipped cream. I don't mind the banana flavour but I think I'd be just as happy without them and go straight coconut.
5. I didn't find the whipped cream sweet enough - I'd probably add 1 1/2 tbsp to 2 tbsp powdered sugar.
6. I was also thinking to put the pudding through a sieve first to take out the lumps - but it doesn't seem to matter in the end.
7. I sprinkled some sweetened coconut over the whipped cream - it looked nice but I couldn't taste it at all and so not really necessary. Next time I'll skip that.

There you go! I hope you give it a try! Let me know how it turns out - ok!

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: During our last shopping trip I picked up another bag of lemons. I have been wanting to make Lemon Mousse for a LONG time now. A great memory since it was one of the things I learned in home economics class in junior high school. My recipe from then is packed away so I of course went back to pinterest. It went over REALLY well here!

Alexandra Bridge, BC

To pick up  our new camper van we needed to make the trip to the Vancouver Area, we must have REALLY liked the van because that is a HUGE deal for us - to go where there are SO MANY people and SO MANY cars! To make the trip that much easier we left Monday afternoon to spend the night in Chilliwack 2 hours south of us. We then headed out to pick up the van Tuesday morning - 1 1/2 hours further into the congestion. 

We chose the perfect day to leave the parks - with our hosts covering for us - because it was a very rainy day. We drive this route quite often but rarely stop. 

But not today - today was the day to stop and walk to the 

ALEXANDRA BRIDGE

Another perfect idea because it was very quiet with only a few other people there.

The Alexandra Bridge has a fascinating history. I just found out now that it was a part of the Caribou Wagon Road, the same one that passes through here at Skihist Provincial Park.

The beginning of the walk. Round trip took us about 45 minutes. It was actually nice to walk in the rain.

Amazingly lush! It is only and hour or so south of us - a total change in climate.

The Bridge! 

Roofous was about as unimpressed as I was with the material used on the platform.

Hmmmm - not much between us and the river. I'm NOT a fan of bridges that I can see down on or those that sway for that matter.

Quite the system to hold it up!

A view of the Fraser River and the bridge we drive over after we get back on the road.

Cassia was lucky to get a ride up from Dad.

Back to the parking lot along Highway #1.

Cassia just couldn't resist a quick jump in the puddles. The second picture now that she is looking away from me - on purpose!

A VERY busy night here for us at the park. It has been a slow camping season so far - so 20 or so campers is a lot for us. Friday nights are always our busiest because we are a stop over place - most campers leave early to head further north for the weekend.

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: Have you been over to Homestead Survival yet?! It's one of my favourite sites - I've LIKED them on facebook so I get all the updates that way. This was posted the other day - a good thing to know. I'm going to put a really good first aid kit for us this winter - not something I usually do - but should I think. 

HELLO, FRIEND

Well I just couldn't let another day go by without showing off the new addition to the Wood Clan!

Remember back in June when we said Goodbye, Friend?

We were sad.

But on Tuesday we were happy as we said

Hello, Friend.

So, without further adieu - here she, he, it is!

OUR NEW CAMPER VAN

New to us anyway - certainly not new to this earth.....

A 1990 Ford Econoline Elite Van Conversion.

It's small but it has everything we need for our trip to Central America this winter.

So - not new - but we weren't going for NEW. First, of all we could not possibly afford new - right?! They make them pretty fancy these days and then sell them for a mere $60,000 or so. 

What we were really after was a good layout with a bunk bed, well taken care of inside and out, low milage and affordable. 

We got what we asked for. 

Yes, we were originally going to wait until the fall, but then we realized the good thing about not waiting. We now have lots of time to make the changes we want - and trust me there are a few - we've already started our renovations. We can also now work on our truck and get it sold before we head out as well.

Looking in from the back. Nice that the toilet is off to the side. The ladder is just being stored there right now - it is for the HUGE bunk bed. We had promised Cassia a bunk bed and we delivered! This back area will be for Roofous on the floor and the cats overhead on a smaller bunk.

Cassia trying out her new bed. I think she'd be pretty happy about sleeping out there now!

The messy kitchen - I was sifting through the dishes, the owners were nice enough to include as well. 

I am probably going to paint out all of the wood to white. We were always going to make changes to our trailer - then we would decide to sell it so we didn't - then we would decide to keep it and make plans again. This time we know this van is a keeper for a while so we are making lots of changes to make it right for us.

Excellent that the passenger chair - which is VERY comfortable I might add - swivels. Roofous is already getting comfortable - as are the cats.

And so we made the best decision we could, we believe. We have been searching through Kijiji and Craigslist since June, looking at any van that came up. This van caught my eye as did the corresponding ad. When we listed our trailer, I made sure to give a ton of info and a fair recording of the good and not so good parts. Fair is fair. I notice some post ads with one or two pictures and a few lines of description. I knew I'd found a kindred spirit when the ad for our new van was lengthy and FULL of information. 

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT OUR NEW VAN  and why we think we got a GREAT DEAL

- 150,000 kms

- a fairly new fridge (after two trips now with a broken one this is a VERY good thing!

- a new gas tank

- lots of new things mechanically and in very good shape

- lots of after factory dials and gauges at the front 

- a cd player and ipod/ipad plug in thing

- a top bunk with ladder

- a nice sized dinette

- a good sized kitchen and lots of storage

- a nice sized area at the back with storage area above

- a solar panel on the dash

- all the owners dishes and cutlery

- two RV books

- a large heavy duty black storage container for the back rack

- a small generator that works and isn't too loud + a great bin for it

- all the records and manuals

- high clearance - oh no! are more back roads in our future?!

- really good tires

- a new spare

So - what did we PAY for all this camping goodness you are wondering....

Well, the camper van was $6,500! I know - right?! A GREAT price. Plus here in BC we have to pay sales tax - ouch! which was just over $800! So, a total of $7,300 - not bad. 

This is how we do things here at a life made simple. We could have paid all sorts of amounts for our new camper van and boy it was tempting. But no - Derek and I know how this works. We sold our trailer for $5,500 and then this spring Derek's tax back and working income benefit came to around $1,600. Which, yes, is $7,100. 

We were only out a couple of hundred dollars. Of course there are a few more expenses such as the plates and the changes we want to make but that is ok. 

We had a BUDGET and we STUCK to it.

Maybe we'll post some of the changes we make to keep you up to date with the renovations! 

With the trip down to the BIG city, the continued heat and getting back up to speed here at the parks it has been that kind of week! 

The time is going so fast I can barely keep up!

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: My internet time as been hard to come by the last few days and so not much to report. I HAVE been continuing my Central America research as much as possible - boy I sure could lose a LOT of time that way! Yesterday I found this interesting website - Escape from America Magazine - guess we all should have known that something like that would exist. If you are with us on facebook you may recognize it since I posted it there as well.

SUNDAY COOK: CRISPY CHICKEN

Ok - so not the MOST original Sunday Cook recipe for you tonight! 

BUT!

It could STILL change your life! For the better - of course!

Hamburgers and fries last week....Crispy Chicken today....What kind of eating habits do these people have?! you must be thinking to yourself!

Well, actually a pretty good one. But we DO have a real soft spot for fried food! We are ok with that because we KNOW that we don't go out to eat AND we don't eat fast food - EVER! Plus - we burn off a ton of calories during work AND have you read this article about what REALLY causes heart disease?

So there you go! And here we go with todays Sunday Cook recipe.....

THE best!

CRISPY CHICKEN

chicken breast cut up into strips or chunks - depending on the use

egg

cornstarch

Spices and herbs can be added to the egg or constarch for extra flavour. If it were just Derek and I, I'd add cayenne pepper since we like spicy.

The amounts depend on how much you want to make - pretty simple.

Beat egg (s).

Place cornstarch in a bowl or large bag. Coat chicken pieces in egg and then place into cornstarch. Shake off excess.

Heat oil - we only use Grapeseed oil for frying - to fairly hot temp. Place chicken pieces in oil.

Turn as required and continue cooking until crispy texture and golden brown colour. Make sure you have enough oil - the cornstarch starts to bubble in the oil. If you don't have enough oil it will start to burn as will the chicken. In this top picture I added more oil 1/2 way through cooking to stop this from happening.

The BEST crispy chicken you've EVER had. Always crispy without fail! 

So - why am I sharing this little trick with you that seems so simple. Well, first off all I tried a ton of 'fried chicken' recipes before this one. Most use flour and I just didn't get the same foolproof crispiness that I get with cornstarch. 

The second reason is because crispy chicken is so VERSATILE. Once made there are many things I can do with it for dinner. Here's how we use it in our home for lunch or dinner.

CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD - I make our Caesar dressing from scratch - always have. In a bowl place one chopped finely or minced garlic clove and add the following: 1 or 2 spoons of yogurt, a squeeze of Dijon mustard, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice (not necessary but good), salt and pepper, and enough olive oil and vinegar to make a good consistency. Add the dressing to a bowl of lettuce, add some homemade croutons and parmesan cheese and stir. Place on a plate and top with the chicken. 

CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD WRAPS - Take the above and put it in a tortilla and wrap it up!

SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN Stir fry red pepper, white onion and pineapple. Add your favourite sweet and sour sauce (homemade of course) and crispy chicken. Serve on a bed of rice.

CHICKEN CURRY AND RICE - This could be a curry sauce or just curry powder. I like the dry version myself. Once crispy chicken chunks are complete place on a plate. Clean out the frying pan. Place a bit of oil in the pan and add the chicken. Liberally coat with curry powder and stir. Add stir fried vegetables of your choice. Serve on a bed of rice. (hmmm it's been a while since we've had this I'll have to make it soon.)

CHICKEN BURGER OR SUB - Place a few of the crispy chicken strips on a burger bun and add desired toppings. We like to keep it simple with lettuce and tomato but the sky is the limit!

Of course the strips can be eaten by themselves - I LOVE them with honey - with a side of fries or even better a raw veggie platter with dip.

SIMPLE - EASY - QUICK - AND YUMMY!

Thanks for stoppin' in!

We will most likely have some VERY exciting news to post about in a few days! We are off to look at something that we have been wanting to purchase - fingers Xed!

PLUS! I've been spending some time on our Central America research and I've found a TON of great sites and info. I'll share that with y'all soon too!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: I was also going to make these today but didn't get the chance! We have lemons and we have blueberries! It is a new site to me also but it looks promising! If you get a chance to make them let me know how they turn out - I probably won't get to them now for a few days.

What we BUY, What we DON'T, and the IN BETWEEN

Due to the overwhelming demand for

'What we spend our money on, what we don't and those items that we are working on not buying.'

I have decided to go ahead and write about that tonight. Actually, there was just one request, but that means a lot here at A LIFE MADE SIMPLE! This one's for you Sharon!

First, let me preface by saying that there are 3 main reasons why we do or why we don't purchase an item:

1. I can make it myself for much cheaper or much better or much healthier.
2. We have come to realize that it isn't good for us and therefore have removed it from out diets completely or have it very infrequently. Although Derek and I ate fairly well when it was just the two of us our diets are that much better since we had Cassia - after all we want the very best for her.
3. Toxins! Whether in our food or cleaning products - things like air fresheners and febreze - remember to do research before you let certain items in your home!

I also want to add that for us living frugal is somewhat similar to a diet in which you are trying to lose weight. Totally cutting yourself off from something you love isn't going to work long term. Just as a strict diet may lead to binge eating - a very frugal life could lead to binge spending. Within our frugal life there are items we consume because want to - end of story. The great news is that we don't feel too bad about that because of all the other items we don't spend money on.

Oh - and another thing! Over the last few years we have realized that the more we work to not spend foolishly and live frugally the better we get at doing it and the more rewarding it becomes. Whereas a few years ago we would buy something without thinking about it - we now carefully weigh the pros and cons and usually forgo the item all together. We can regularly be heard saying

"HOW MUCH?"

"WE'RE NOT GOING TO PAY THAT FOR THAT!"

The thing is - whether you have a little money or a lot of money - we could all use MORE money! Chipping away at items that you think you need to buy because the fancy marketing has told you so goes along way to making it so that you will have MORE money.

So - here's our list to date.

ITEMS WE DON'T BUY:
1. paper towel
2. cleaning products - see my pinterest board for recipes
3 beauty products - see my pinterest board for recipes
4. soft drinks
5. most processed or ready to eat type foods - that's a BIG one - VERY high priced - not much different then going out to eat
6. baked goods from the grocery store - we DO have a weakness for REAL bakery treats
7. restaurants or coffee houses - seldom anyway
8. cable tv
9. cell phones
10. new clothes
11. clothes are dried on the line (we don't pay for electricity here but we still dry on the line)
12. salad dressing
13. most sauces like BBQ
14. books, magazines, or movies (except for the 25¢ kind)
15. we don't 'collect' anything
16. gifts and cards - don't we all have enough stuff already!
17. babysitting
18. many vegetables and herbs in the summer - thanks to our garden
19. manicures or pedicures - never have, never will
20. nursing baby - no formula
21. canned goods - only a few - no soup etc.
22. salsa
23. chewing gum
24. dog food

ITEMS WE DO BUY:
(without too much thought to the price)
1. meat from a meat market
2. as much fruit and vegetables as we want to eat
3. dark chocolate
4. dark beer
5. cheese and particularly goat cheese which is more expensive
6. honey
7. diapers and wipes - Cassia wore cloth diapers for 6 months from the start until we starting traveling. When we returned 6 months later they were a no go with her. Too bad because they are definitely the way to go! We do buy the generic make though.
8. plastic zip lock bags - they are so handy but we wash and reuse several times over
9. a hair cut for me once a year at the cheapest place possible - I am TOTALLY over paying for a high priced hair cut and colour that doesn't work out anyway
10. we buy generic when it doesn't matter
11. products such as essential oils to make the homemade beauty and cleaning products

ITEMS I WISH WE WEREN'T BUYING:
(I'm working to make my own of these products)
1. yogurt
2. laundry, dish and hand soap
3. deodorant - I'm getting there! Try a few drops of clary sage under each arm - it works pretty good!
3. cheese
4. toothpaste
5. sauces such as hot sauce and ketchup
6. bread and crackers
7. tomato sauce
8. tortillas and tortilla chips
9. cat food

There is probably much more but it has been a busy night at the park and it is now the end of the day for me at 11:30 pm. I'll add to the lists tomorrow if I think of more items.

Of course we live much different then most. We don't have any bills during the 6 months we are home in Canada other then our truck insurance and the internet. Since I pay the internet up front (and nice of our boss to pay for one month) we just have the one bill a month.

Doesn't THAT sound great!


It is - it is VERY freeing!

Of course, once we are on the road it seems like the money runs like water - mainly due to stopping for gas so much and food shopping every few days. AND sadly I can't make as much homemade on the road although I'm going to make more of an effort this year. On the other hand, in the USA and this year Mexico and Central America prices are much lower.

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: There are 100s of links out there to help you learn to save money! For us it took a real wake up call to get us straightened out - I'm sure we are not alone. These days I think to myself - boy I wish I knew all these tips 20 years ago! I wish I had been using baking soda and water for shampoo for the last 20 years! But to REALLY get you to thinking here are 100 Great Tips for Saving Money For Those Just Getting Started.