I feel like a broken record when I talk about how quiet I’ve been here. Lots of baking and cooking has been going on in the background, but nothing blog-worthy or anything that I could call my own until now.

In April, I felt a little burnt out from cooking until we did some major spring cleaning. I went through my cookbook collection, pulled out my favourites and placed them in a high-traffic, visible spot near our couch. The move to the couch has been great because I sometimes get restless when watching TV and flipping through cookbooks are a great alternative to playing mindless games on my iPad. As a result, our meals have had a lot more variety and I actually look forward to spending time in the kitchen again. I highly recommend this method if anyone feels like they are in a rut and don’t know what to make for supper. It’s also been great for planning ahead for breakfasts in the morning and for packing lunches for work.

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Growing up, I remember my mom owned a sweater with the phrase “30 never looked so good.” It was a white pull-over sweater with crazy fonts and coloured shapes – think Saved By the Bell styled clipart. When I was a teenager, it become one of my mom’s favourite sweaters to wear while doing chores around the house and at the time I remember thinking how “old” 30 seemed. To a kid like me, being 30 was practically a lifetime away. I still had high school and university to get through. Not to mention that late 20’s post-university phase of figuring out a career, buying a house, balancing a bank account and walking successfully in high-heels. Pretty much everything that I thought responsible, serious adults did once they turned 30 and have everything figured out.

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Greetings from Niagara-on-the-Lake! I bet you’re surprised to see a recipe posted this week. I almost didn’t plan on anything since we’re going to be married tomorrow, but I managed to find time on the weekend to make muffins and since their existence in our kitchen barely lasted two days,  I thought it would be a crime if I didn’t take a few photos and schedule a posting of the recipe. I made them on a whim for an easy breakfast since the last few days have been pretty busy and it’s always nice to have a quick grab-and-go healthy snack.

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This week, I bring you….mini fruit pizza cookies! And I can already hear the murmurs through the crowd: “So wait, is this a mini fruit pizza or is it a cookie?”

It’s been a few days since we made and enjoyed them and I’m still trying to figure this out. When they taste this good, it’s best not to ask trivial questions.

The simplest way to describe these as a plain cookie slathered in cream cheese icing and covered in sliced fruit. Like a fruit pizza, only in nice individual sized portions that you don’t have to slice. Everyone gets their own cookie (or two or three) and they are super portable to take to a party where you can just put them on the table and you won’t have to worry about asking for a plate and utensils.

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When I first discovered St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market back in 2010, my Mom and I were in the process of moving my brother into residence. He was about to start his first year of university and to make the most of the trip, we also planned to visit some family members. Since it was late August and we were driving, we also planned on picking up some local produce. Word on the street is that one of the best places to do it this was in St. Jacob’s Country.

I’m a little ashamed to say that since we moved to Southern Ontario, I haven’t been back to St. Jacob’s. I’ve checked out other farmer’s markets in my area, but in my honest opinion, nothing compares. So when Trevor suggested we leave the city for the weekend and take a road trip, I knew I had to fit this stop in our agenda.

We left the city before noon, but the highway was full of cars and moving s-l-o-w-l-y, so we set the GPS to take us on an alternate route. It took us a little longer than usual, but Trevor really enjoyed the scenic route. I just enjoyed not being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

When we arrived the market was packed, the weather was hot and we were starving. We did a quick walk around to check out the different food trucks and finally settled on roasted chicken sandwiches on fresh buns.

While Trevor ordered our food, I started playing with my camera.

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I swear, this summer heat is almost worth it because I could eat these popsicles all day. In fact, I’ve been keeping a measuring cup full of this yogurt mixture in the fridge and every time another popsicle is eaten, I quickly fill up the popsicle mold and stick the whole thing in the freezer again.

Yogurt popsicle for breakfast? Check. Lunch? Double check. In fact, I should have bought a couple more popsicle molds. At the rate I’m eating them, they’ve barely have time to freeze.

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In my opinion, weekend breakfast is much better than weekday breakfast. During the week, we’re often so rushed to get out the door to catch our morning commute (bus – another bus – subway) that I always find myself scarfing down a bowl of oatmeal or cold cereal with almond milk. When the weekend starts inching closer, I get excited because I start daydreaming about sunny-side-up eggs, marble rye toast slathered in butter and cheese/veggie-filled omelets.

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Let me tell you a story…..about the first time I had Nutella.

It was around this time last year.

I was at Costco picking up groceries. There was a woman doing the food-sample-thing that Costco is famous for. She was cutting bread slices into quarters and using a sharp knife to spread Nutella, thickly, on each piece.

(No, that’s a lie – I can’ remember the type of knife she was using. I just exaggerated that part for effect.)

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The last two weeks have been super busy, hence the lack of baking posts. This is the first weekend since the beginning of March where I have no plans and I get to sleep in, and in the comfort of my own bed. The same goes for my parents, who’ve spent the last two weeks in Southern Ontario watching my brother and sister’s curling tournaments. It was great though, both of the teams emerged from their separate tournaments with silver medals (a national title for my brother, a provincial for my sister). I’m the non-curling black sheep of my family, but it was still great to see everyone since the only other time we’re all in the same place is during the Christmas holidays.

Now I’ve spent the last few days trying to get back into a routine. Trevor started a new job and now we both commute to work. The biggest thing I’ve had to give up is coming home to an already-made supper. I’m home over an hour before him, so supper isn’t on the table until after 7pm and after having my meals mostly prepared for me, I’ve been forced to remember what I used to cook all the time. With the weather staying warm, I see a lot of salads in our future. 🙂

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My favourite meal of the day is breakfast. To me, nothing is more satisfying than sleeping in on the weekend and making a hearty, healthy breakfast.

This is also the perfect recipe for a single or couple, as it only makes about 2 servings. They are so delicious that if it made any more, I’d probably gorge myself and eat them all in one sitting.

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