cranberry citrus bundt // cinnamon glaze

bundt- a funny little word isn't it?

there is just something about a bundt cake that hollers holiday right at you -

 in nice and wonderful way of course

i had a morning free from work the yesterday and decided it would be fun to cram in as many things possible for me to complete with just four hours - yeah that is my idea of crazy fun

9 times out of 10 it ends up just plain crazy without the fun

this was the exception though - i was able to :

go to the gym

make the fabulous cake you see here today

and make it to work on time with said fabulous cake

i say that is a win-win for everyone involved

hunters stew // ciabatta croutons

hunters stew

an odd thing for a vegan to recreate

when making this stew, i was thinking of what it would be like to live in a cabin in the middle of the woods with a wood stove to cook over and a perfectly seasoned cast iron dutch oven and frying pan

i think i would like to live like this -

i think this until i remember:

a. i don't like smelling like woodsmoke

b. i don't like lugging firewood

a perfect stew for cold winters - a warm satisfying weekend meal you can share with friends

with or with out the wood burning fireplace

maple molasses oatmeal boule

let me share a secret with you, that's right a little closer

shh...are you ready

homemade bread is my ultimate weakness

i can put away an entire, still warm from the oven loaf of bread by myself in a day

for me, the entire process of bread making is very full filling and relaxing

don't believe me?

never tried bread making before?

yes. making homemade bread takes a little time, however

like with most wonderful things in life a little effort & time goes a long way

once you see how simple bread making can be, you will become a bread making fool

i guarantee it

tourtière

i am as french - canadian as you can get...well 50%

the other 1/2 - irish & english

i have a pepe and had a great meme

this recipe is in memory of our meme - my aunts have worked really hard to recreate the recipe that they remember her by, she never wrote down the original - they are pretty much spot on
A tourtière is a meat pie originating from Quebec, usually made with minced pork and/or veal, or beef. It is a traditional part of the Christmas and/or Christmas Eve réveillon and New Year's Eve meal in Quebec, Tourtière is not exclusive to Quebec. Tourtière is a traditional French-Canadian dish served by generations of French-Canadian families throughout Canada and the bordering areas of the United States

this year we had our first ever Houle Family Pork Pie Cook Off - vegan versus traditional

my goal - to prove a vegan pork pie could taste just as good as the original

chocolate spotted cinnamon rolls

since i can remember, cinnamon rolls have been a christmas morning tradition

my sister and i would wake up super early to quietly tear into our stockings, trying desperately to hold back our squeals of excitement

 a few hours later when the sun began to rise we would wake up mom and dad - shortly after hot cocoa and fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls would be ready for our little hands

all grown up now this is my "grown up" version of christmas morning cinnamon rolls - this version has been our tradition for the past six years

these cinnamon rolls never fail to impress - absolutely amazing

sea salted oatmeal stout brownie bites

it is my sisters fault that i am obsessed with trader joes

the very first thing we do after picking me up from the airport is to shop at trader joes

i love everything about that store

this is where she introduced me to sea salted brownie bites - can you say amazing!

of course, that is where the inspiration for this recipe came from - you can thank my sister

after one bite you will want to marry her for inspiring this recipe

gingerbread millet muffins

christmas trees, sugar cookies and gingerbread men - i love this time of year

what better way to kick off the holiday season than with a gingerbread muffin

shh... can you keep a secret?

you won't believe it, but this muffin is healthy

- perfect to balance out the million cookies and treats that i am bound to indulge in everyday leading up to christmas

a muffin with holiday flavors - made with a little birdseed

(millet- bet you didn't know it was for the birds too!)

totally a hippy muffin