Slanted

Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:45:00 +0000

Saturday at the farmers' market, I spied Nanaimo bars and almost gave in to the temptation to buy one even for the outrageous price of $2 each. Just moments later, Steve purchased a canning book at a yard sale and a single handwritten sheet came fluttering out with a recipe for peanut butter Nanaimo bars. He made them for Mother's Day and they were everything we hoped they might be.

(Steve said to note that the recipe states that this is the University of British Columbia's peanut butter Nanaimo bar recipe, which means that it's been studied by the Institute for the Study of Nanaimo Bars, seeing as Nanaimo is IN BC.)

Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars

Base

1/2 C | 120 g butter
1/4 C | 55 g sugar
5 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg, beaten
1 3/4 C graham cracker crumbs
1 C fine coconut
1/2 C finely chopped peanuts

Filling

6 T | 100 g peanut butter
2 T | 30 g butter
3 T | 45 g milk
2 T vanilla custard powder
2 C | 260 g icing sugar

Topping

4 1-oz squares semisweet chocolate
2 T | 30 g butter

For Base: Mix together butter, sugar and cocoa powder in top of double boiler (or pan that you watch very carefully). Add egg and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in graham cracker crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press firmly into 9" square pan.

For Filling: Cream peanut butter, butter, milk, custard powder and icing sugar. Spread over base.

For Topping: Melt chocolate and butter over low heat (or in microwave). Cool. When cool, but still runny, spread over filling layer.

Chill and store in refrigerator.

The First Room Transformation

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:56:00 +0000

I was rejoicing earlier this week that The Bairn's room is the first to finally be complete, but then I realized that it's not true. He still needs curtains (although he finally has a roller blind!) and Steve's going to make him some wall-mounted shelves when we have some free time and money (ha ha, that's a joke; we will never have either of those, but Steve will make the shelves one day) AND his dresser really needs to be replaced or refinished, since it came to us free from a relative's cottage shed. BUT, the room is painted, the electrical outlets and light fixture are replaced and his baby art is hung. Behold!

BEFORE with creepy rainbow

AFTER with darling child

Four Ways to Be Fabulous

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:29:00 +0000

The Bairn's been sort of killing it on the Being Adorable front lately in the following ways:

1. I weaned him this weekend. He took it surprisingly well, considering that nursing was his favorite activity in the universe. Around Hour 22 of Operation Wean, though, he got really sad and started signing that he wanted to nurse. It was 5 am and I thought maybe he was hungry, so I asked if he wanted a cracker and he switched to signing that he wanted cookies. I felt bad for him, so I gave him cookies, which he munched on in my bed, while snuggling with me and occasionally rubbing the cookies through his hair.

2. He's been loving the outdoors lately. He especially likes to ride in the wheelbarrow.

3. He wore this suit to church on Sunday. My brother wore it in 1978 to the wedding of our grandmother and her second husband, The Bairn's namesake.

4. He tells stories. His favorites include The plunger is yucky (Plun (pause) 'ucky) and A dog licked him with its tongue (Woof woof [tongue sticking out] ton').

The Country Life

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:01:00 +0000

I haven't lived in anything resembling the country since I was 5-years-old and lived down a dirt road in Kentucky. We're not too far out of town (I can be at the mall (why would I want to be?) in 15 minutes on the highway), but we're definitely rural (the post office and garbage collection routes confirm that this is so). I wasn't sure if I would miss living in town, but I don't. (Ask me about this again in January.)

Things I like about living in the country:

Animals. Lots and lots of birds visit the yard to thrill The Bairn. A pair of eagles live in a tree across the street from us. There's also a marmot who lives on the shore road and we saw a fox the other day that The Bairn insists was a cat.

We're much closer to the tiny villages I love. We only have to drive a short way now to stop in at the little stores on farms that sell local products or to pick up homemade maple syrup from strangers who post signs in their yards.

It's really quiet (except for the tractors and school buses and trucks out on the road).

And pretty. The Bairn and I go out walking on the shore road which takes us past blueberry fields along the bay. When I drive into town on the old highway (instead of the new highway), we pass farms and ponds (and all kinds of local businesses that cater to pets, including a pet wash and a pet cemetery).

We have so much space. I suppose we could have gotten a property with this much space in town, but our taxes would be twice as much.

It helps that our part of the country includes one of our very favorite markets in the whole province.

Things I dislike about living in the country:

No sidewalks.

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:33:00 +0000

Projects completed since moving into the house:

4 bedrooms painted
Most electrical outlets rewired and light switches replaced
Pine paneling removed and drywall put up
Basement bedroom demolished
Basement door fixed so that small child will not fall down onto hard, cold cement
Weird, useless window drywalled over
Locks changed
Mailbox moved as per mail service directions
Boarded up doors on garage replaced (mostly)
Broken carriage lights replaced
Garden tilled (by kindly neighbor)
Curtains hung in 5 rooms
Exploding furnace serviced
Water turned from red/brown/nasty to mostly clear
Broken toilet flapper replaced
Smelly, smelly washing machine cleaned so that it is now slightly less smelly

Projects remaining:

Too many

How to Get the Dishes Washed With an Active Toddler in the House

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:35:00 +0000

The Bairn doesn't usually get screen time (because it will ruin his brain or something; I didn't have time to actually watch the TED talk about it), but I let him watch this video one day and then I realized it was my ticket to 12 minutes of uninterrupted productivity (he likes to watch 3 or 4 times in a row).

Pregnancy Reads

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:44:00 +0000

I found out I was pregnant on Valentine's Day, but I was pretty sure we were having another baby about a week before that because I felt just like I did in early pregnancy with The Bairn and because (I'm not kidding) I found myself browsing the Ian Rankin novels at the library. I spent a lot of my first trimester reading and I either hit the jackpot with my reading selections or I'm very easily pleased with books at the moment. A number of things I read are pretty popular, so you probably already know about them, but here's my take on some books I've enjoyed the last little while.

Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier- These are the first two books in a teen time travel trilogy and I am very eagerly anticipating the third book. The start of Ruby Red was a bit slow for me and I found the writing a bit clunky (it's in translation), but I forgive the first book any shortcomings for being so well plotted. The story was obviously considered in its entirety before it was written and its full of mystery and suspense and blooming love. All very satisfying. Loved it.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene- I already mentioned this contemporary teen novel, which everyone seems to have already read and loved. The leading man, Augustus, is right up there with Dexter from Sarah Dessen's This Lullaby in my affections. I read Steve one of Augustus's quotes from the book to show him why I found the character so charming, but Steve wasn't feeling it and just wanted reassurance that I like him better than fictional teenagers.

Swept Off Her Feet by Hester Browne - Chick lit set in a Scottish castle with an antiques appraiser as a protagonist. This was the best chick lit I've read in ages. The protagonist didn't bother me by having an overwhelming love of shopping or a darling clumsy way about her or whatever. It was just a fun, clean, romantic story.

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin - I browsed into this story of a cake baker in Kigali shortly after the Rwandan genocides. Some of the blurbs on the back of the book compared it to the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, which I never really enjoyed, but I did like this one. It had a good voice and an interesting story of an African woman very involved in the lives of her neighbors, but I particularly liked that the genocide was addressed in a serious way without making a dark, heavy book or seeming out of place in a domestic novel.

Standing in Another Man's Grave and The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin - Ian Rankin's novels are so well crafted, but they're especially enjoyable if you're familiar with Scotland and maybe met your husband at one of the important locations in one of the novels.

Faith by Jennifer Haigh - Fiction about a disgraced priest from the very talented Jennifer Haigh who beautifully writes about her characters' interior lives and family relationships. This may be my very favorite of the author's work.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - Is this a mystery or a psychological thriller? I don't know. It's not the type of book I usually read but it got so much good press and so many recommendations from friends and family that I read it. I had the first half all figured out so one of the twists was not unexpected, but I was not really expecting the ending. This was a really compelling read and it was only when I was completely finished and away from the book for a day that I started thinking, "This book is super creepy."

It's kind of gross but it's kind of funny

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:27:00 +0000

Our house is still a total unpacked mess, mainly because of the toddler who lives here (Destroyer of Labors) but also because I am pregnant and tired and have a cold that cannot be treated because I am pregnant.

I had my first ultrasound at 9 weeks and I dutifully followed the instructions to drink three cups of water an hour and a half before my appointment. I drove myself to the hospital, because Steve was coming to the appointment from work and would meet me there. Three cups of water is a lot when you're pregnant. I got out of the car and had to stand very still in the parking lot, giving myself a pep talk about how I would not wet my pants in the short distance to the building. I would not. I hobbled down to the digital imaging department and presented myself at the registration desk and told the woman there in desperate tones, "I have an ultrasound appointment and I drank all the water but I'm not going to make it!" I said this with my legs crossed. The woman at the desk was very, very nice and took me straight in to the waiting area where I leaned against a chair in a manner that alarmed the two older women already seated there. They were very concerned about me and then tutted in sympathy when I explained my situation.

The ultrasound tech sent me off to the restrooms when she saw me and told me to "go halfway" and then she started my appointment early because I am clearly not good at having even a half full bladder.

The baby looked like a little gummy bear.

Steve didn't get to see New Baby. There was no way I was going to make it another 10 minutes until he arrived.

I just got the letter scheduling my second ultrasound on June 2. It instructs me that I should drink 3 cups of water an hour and a half before the appointment. Not likely.

Interspecies Love

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:47:00 +0000

The previous owners of our house left us a number of things we do not want--an exploding furnace, rolls of teddy bear wallpaper, and a tole painted toilet paper holder shaped like a cat. I wanted Steve to chop up the cat and burn it in the exploding furnace, but The Bairn has other plans. He loves Miss Kitty and plans to marry her. Every time he sees her, he cries out, 'Mao, mao!' and proceeds to carry her around the house. I cannot stand in the way of their true love.

Carrying his love into the very messy/still not unpacked master bedroom.

Visiting her (with a runny nose and sad sick face) in her home.

Taking her on a little trip.

Including Miss Kitty in a visit to Daddy's office.

Celebrating the Season

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:26:00 +0000

It's almost the end of maple sugar season in Nova Scotia, so Saturday we drove up the mountain to the annual Maple Sugar Festival. It's held in a one-room schoolhouse maintained by the community for local events and consists of a pancake supper with baked beans and sausages and live music. The Bairn sat at the end of our long stretch of table, eating pancakes and delighting the elderly folks who interpreted his sign for 'drink' (which really meant, in this case, 'Mama, please give me another styrofoam cup to shred') as waves to all of them. I ate approximately 1,000,000 (or maybe 4) desserts because they kept bringing out new plates of them for our table and I would think, 'Oooh, that lemon bar thing looks delicious' (it was not) or 'I must really try a Nanaimo bar actually made in Canada.'

I boiled Easter eggs to color over the weekend but then we never got around to dying them and turned them into egg salad sandwiches without any decorating.

I have a cold and it's -2 degrees outside and we had a snowstorm this week, even though it is Aaaaapril.

Making Himself at Home

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:06:00 +0000

The Bairn's first full day in the new house looked like this.

He discovered that the box I used to keep him out of the cupboard under the sink made an excellent stool for reaching knives on the counter.

He was briefly outwitted by our stair blockade but then he outwitted us. (He's been wearing paper diapers during the move. And a milk incident led to this outfit.)

No locks on the cupboard the first day. Very convenient for adventurers.

It took a bit of practice to get the hang of his new wellies, but now he requests to wear them inside and marches around the house performing his jobs.

Things to Blog but Not Yet

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:24:00 +0000

In the new house. No computer set up yet. Pictures to come.

Took The Bairn back to the apartment yesterday to get some things, and he yelped with joy when we pulled into the parking lot. Poor kid.

The Life of an Apartment Child

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:19:00 +0000

There are many things I am happy we will be leaving behind when we move into our house at the end of the week, including

carrying The Bairn up three flights of stairs in his stroller after a walk.
carrying The Bairn up three flights of stairs with groceries.
living with my dresser and washing machine in my living room.

However, I will miss one daily activity that The Bairn loves and is adorable. The Bairn loves to check the mail. Every afternoon I ask him if he'd like to go see what the mailman has brought and he runs to the door and flaps his arms. I hand him the mail key and set him loose in the hall and he runs like a tiny drunkard to the fire door, where I meet him and help him over the threshold before he takes off down the second hall. I carry him down the stairs and then he finds our mailbox and attempts to open the door. After he's given it his best shot, I take over, get our mail, carry him up the stairs and set him back down for his crazy run back to our apartment. It's a highlight of both our days.

Our New House: A Selection of BEFORE Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 23:35:00 +0000

We took possession of our house on Friday. It's a country lot next door to a strawberry farm. Steve and his mom have been slaving away for the last two days to clean and paint. Unfortunately, we don't have time to paint the whole house right now, but we're hoping to get all the bedrooms done before we move in next week. I cannot sleep with teddy bears staring at me.

The living room looking out to the stairs and den (piano included with house; the family was going to chop it up for firewood if we didn't take it).

Living room looking out the front window (that wood paneling is coming down).

The Bairn's bedroom with inexplicable pink trim and unfortunate rainbow.

The guest bedroom, or, the bedroom that almost kept us from buying the house because it made us weep tears of sorrow, especially with the busty ladies that used to adorn the closet.

Special helper who loves to use a 'brumm brumm.'

Back of the master bedroom looking toward the closets and PINK bathroom.

Special helper also likes to Swiffer.

And while he loves the kitchen cupboards, he's appalled! at the terrible shade of yellow in the kitchen (and WHY did they paint the ceiling, walls and trim all the same color?

We've got our work cut out for us.

Dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:23:00 +0000

Bad blogging or no blogging? Bad blogging or no blogging? Hard choices. Hard choices.

We met a woman this week. Steve calls her 'eccentric.' I call her something less nice. She told me that she senses things, in particular that my baby has poor circulation in his feet. Huh. I would have more faith in her abilities if she had correctly sensed that I did not care to talk to her.

He Comes By That Pudge Legitimately

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 23:46:00 +0000

I'm fairly certain I have some sort of contractual obligation as a parent to post photos of my toddler eating spaghetti. My parents own old reel-to-reel film footage of me enjoying spaghetti at the same age. My siblings and I used to like watching it and then, this was the hilarious (to children) part, we watched it AGAIN in reverse, so that it appeared that I was pulling the noodles out of my body. Oh the glorious days of reel-to-reel movies and still-frame filmstrips. Beep.

Inside the Mind of a Marmot

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:54:00 +0000

As near as I can tell, these are The Bairn's five most persistent thoughts:

Where is the mama?
Was that a caw-caw (crow) I just heard?
Kitties say 'mao mao.'
Must drink toilet water.
This needs to be unloaded (applies to dressers, laundry baskets, cupboards, etc.).

Oh, February

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:16:00 +0000

The sun came out today and the temperature rose above freezing and light flooded our apartment and I realized that our home is filthy. All that long-awaited sunshine has revealed sticky hand prints and dirty cabinets and dusty corners. Also, I was lying on the floor to play with The Bairn and saw that there is something that may be an awful spider nest under the chest of drawers. Steve will be entreated to destroy it as soon as he comes home from his meeting.

Oh, I Love a Good Book

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 01:13:00 +0000

I'm reading John Green's YA book, The Fault in Our Stars, and I can already tell on page 34 that it is going to be very, very difficult not to lie on the couch, ignoring my baby tomorrow in order to finish it.

Happy Anniversary to Me

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:49:00 +0000

Today is our wedding anniversary.

In three years, we have lived in 3 homes (and a holiday cottage), owned 3 cars, visited 4 countries, and acquired 1 baby. I considered returning the baby today after he put my shoes in the oven drawer, pulled the tablecloth (and all items on top of it) off the table, and spent the entire day turning all of his kisses into bites. Fortunately, Steve came home just in time and instead of listing The Bairn on eBay, we all ate the last piece of groom's cake from our wedding, which has been preserved in our freezer all this time.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Wintry Northland

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:37:00 +0000

Oh, people, I am tired of the winter. It's gotten up to 2 degrees lately, but it's not enough. I'm deeply regretting my lack of foresight in not booking us a trip to the Canary Islands or the Bahamas or the sun in February. That would make me happy.

These Valentine's Day cards that I stole from my friends' Facebook pages are making me pretty happy, though. Not as happy as a trip to the sun, mind you, but pretty happy.

From a former co-worker at the libary:

And from my good Amy:

Happy Valentine's Day! (Don't embargo my love.)

Scenes from a Blizzard

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:41:00 +0000

Our blizzard is not as bad as expected, more like a long snowstorm, but we've still been inside for two days with all our activities canceled. Steve is baking Selkirk bannock and I just taught The Bairn how to dip cucumbers and crackers into hummus (his natural instinct was to lift the bowl and try to drink it).

We also built a fort, as one does in a snowstorm.

And we ventured outside briefly, but it was too windy for the wee small boy.

And we are hoping that everything will be cleared up tomorrow, because we're going stir crazy over here. We've gotta bust out of this place soon.

Mea Culpa

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:37:00 +0000

Both of our computers are more or less broken at the moment, so there cannot be much blogging, but here's a quick update.

The 'sold' sign went up on the house we're buying this week. Yay!
The Bairn spends all of his free time opening all the drawers in our home and dragging the contents to different rooms. As you can imagine, I just love this.
We're expecting a Nor'easter this weekend, which will ruin our swimming and Chinese New Year plans, but will give me a good excuse to stay in and eat cookies.

The Marmotiest Holiday of Them All

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 19:04:00 +0000

I love family outings and Steve's favorite holiday is Groundhog Day, so Saturday we took advantage of the fact that The Bairn wakes up early-early and drove to Shubenacadie to see the morning festivities with Shubenacadie Sam, Nova Scotia's own prognosticating groundhog.

You've never seen so many kids in snow pants.

Sam predicted more winter (no surprise) and then the wildlife park where he lives was open to the public for free. On the one hand, free admission is a special treat, and on the other hand, it's February. We stood in front of the empty bear enclosure saying, "So, when do they stop hibernating?"

We did see cougars, otters, and a fisher, all of which The Bairn called kitties.

And we did get pictures taken with the live-action groundhog. I don't know if The Bairn was more stunned that he was asked to smile while hovering near a giant, thumbs-uping groundhog, or from the cold. His poor pink cheeks!

We warmed up at the Shubie Sam breakfast at the Shubie Legion, where The Bairn ate my pancakes and half my eggs and toast and where he lost a sock, leading all the elderly in attendance to question him again and again about where it had gone. (He didn't know.)

Pear, Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake

noreply@blogger.com (MBC) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 23:36:00 +0000

photo from BBC GoodFood

I made ~~myself~~ The Bairn this cake for his birthday. It is SO lovely. I had to buy pears at the grocery store, because they're out of season and unavailable at the farm shops, which I do not do. I brought them home and thought, "What am I doing making this cake all out of season? Why didn't I stick with the Boston creme pie I had planned?" but as soon as I stuck my finger in the batter, I recalled what a delicious and pleasantly surprising treat this cake is. I tried to convert the recipe into US measurements, but I was coming up with things like 4/5 C butter, so it's really more accurate in grams. Cooking with scales is easier anyway. Buying one to make this cake alone will be well worth the purchase.

Pear, Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake
original recipe here

100 g blanched hazelnuts*
140 g self-rising flour
175 g butter
140 g white or caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
5 small, ripe pears
50 g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks/slivers

Preheat the oven to 310 F. Grease the bottom of a 7 inch round cake pan (a springform pan works really well). Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor until quite fine. Add the flour and pulse briefly. Add the butter and pulse until it forms fine crumbs. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and add the sugar and eggs (don't overmix). Peel, core and chop two of the pears. Lightly stir the pears and chocolate into the batter.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Slice the remaining pears and arrange across the top of the batter, pressing down slightly. Bake approximately 80 minutes (start checking around 60 minutes), until firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Best served slightly warm with cream or ice cream.

*To easily blanch hazelnuts, bring a pot of water and 2 T baking soda to a boil. Add the hazelnuts and cook 3-5 minutes. Rinse in cold water 1-2 minutes and slip the skins off with a clean dish towel.