Lunch Today: Mini Quiche

I don't know what came over me but I actually made these this morning! Six eggs, 1 cup of shredded cheese, 3/4 cup of chopped ham, mix, pour in muffin tin, and bake 15 minutes in 350° F oven. That's it! I would have thrown in a veg if I had leftovers too. Also, one should grease the muffin tin for easier removal. Next time.

This made 8 mini crustless quiches; 2 went in the freezer for a future easy lunch and 4 went in the fridge for an upcoming breaky and a snack.

· 2 ham + cheese mini crustless
· mini tomatoes
· red pepper strips
· cucumber slices
· apple sauce

Makes Me Happy: Board Games on the Weekend

The rain came this weekend. Just the excuse we needed to bust out our Lost Cities game for the 10+ crowd. Spud and I love playing this and it has been awhile. It's about strategy, problem solving, adventure, and a pinch of math thrown in for good measure.

Welcome to Makes Me Happy Wednesdays. Why not celebrate hump day with a little happiness? A photo. A Caption. A smile. What made you smile recently?

DIY Beer Can Mini Camp Stove

We recently did our first hike-in camping as a family. Even though it was just overnight we wanted a wee stove to boil water and make simple meals with. Of course Hubs had something in mind ... super light and practically free too! A beer can stove.

Hubs went to Lifehacker and Instructables for guidance on this project.

Book: Party Origami

Chronicle Books popped this crazy-cute book in the mail for us to take a look at ... and share ... it's Party Origami by Jessica Okui who you may know from Zakka Life, a favourite blog of ours.

We recently acquired a cake stand and I can't wait to pretty it up with the origami mini banners! So darling. But in the meantime we made little paper baubles for adding to party beverages. They are both decorative AND practical as they help party guests keep track of their drinks.

The instructions for each of the 14 paper projects are well thought out and illustrated. And I can't even express how much I love the pretty little modern paper that comes with book. That would be a kind of a dream job for me ... designing such pretty little patterns.

This book would just make the sweetest little gift to a budding event planner ... or anyone with a passion for paper.

Summer Fun Passport: Learn About a New Country

"Learn about a new country and then try its cuisine" ... that's another tick on our Summer Fun Passport list! We chose Ethiopia. Partly because it would give us an excuse to look at that part of Africa and also because we have a quite a few Ethiopian restaurants with good reviews that we've wanted to try and thought it would add to the whole experience. I was a bit worried though. I know the cuisine is very yummy but its presentation is also very unique from what Spud has tried before. It was going to put his "risk taking" skills to test ...

But first, we found all kinds of facts about the country here. Like, what its flag looks like. We learned that it has twice the population of Canada and yet it is far smaller. The capital is Addis Ababa and has about twice the people our city does. The country is landlocked, has a tradition of carving churches out of rocky ground and has suffered great war and famine over the years. We saw some stunning National Geographic photos of the nation here. And awed at this gorgeous fox, the rarest in the world.

Next, we chose the top rated Ethiopian restaurant in our city. If you are ever in Vancouver check out Fassil. So good! It's been years since Hubs and I had Ethiopian food so we needed a refresher on how to eat it. When presented with a large platter of food placed on top of injera, a bread which tastes a bit like a strong sourdough with a unique spongy texture, Spud looked intrigued. We each held a roll of injera in our left hand tearing off pieces with our right hand to scoop up bite size portions of the food. No utensils! Totally fun. And really tasty. Spud surprised us both with his foodie prowess; he tried everything except the greens (no surprise there) and the one dish we declared spicy. He actually gobbled up most of the lamb himself. A definite thumbs up from the whole family.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Lunch Today: Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

I used the leftover cream cheese from yesterday's wafflewich where I sweetened the cream cheese with maple syrup. After dipping these locally grown beauties from the farmers market into the cream cheese mixture, I dipped them in cookie crumbs I made from digestives.

This treat (inspired by momables) is accompanying a thermos of leftover butter chicken and rice.

Happy First Full Day of School Lunch

Happy Grade 4 Spud!

· Wafflewich with maple syrup cream cheese and sliced strawberries (inspired by momables)

· Apple
· Watermelon
· Skewers with tomato, olive, mozza cubes and kolbasa triangles

Summer Fun Passport: Hike-in Camping!

Spud has done a fair amount of "Car Camping". And loves it. Normally. But Hubs' favourite kind of camping is "Hike-in Camping". It would be my favourite too if it had showers and I didn't have to sleep on the ground. I really like our cushy bed in our roof top tent and our outdoor shower!

Anyway, we did an overnight "test" to see how the family likes it, as a whole. And it was epic. In so many ways. I mean, check out the pics!

We went to a spot that Hubs used to go to with his uncle when he was young. Those were important times and good memories. I was excited to see the place I'd heard so much about. And boy, is it stunning. The weather was amazing too.

But there was also A LOT of whining from our little city kid. (and a bit from me too). Too much dirt and bugs and well, nature, frankly. He said he would do it again though. My aching bones after sleeping on the ground said "no". We'll see. Maybe "Canoe Camping" is more our thing? If we can load it up with some cushy luxuries.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!