Lentil and Kale Soup

As the weather grows colder I start to crave hot, hearty, comforting soups for dinner. This lentil and kale soup hits the spot. I love the smoky flavour from the bacon and smoked paprika. I also love that it's so nutritious and full for fibre. Poor Bennett was struggling with tummy pains all weekend until finally Sunday night he was in agony so I ended up taking him to the ER. We spend four hours there getting a blood test and X-ray only to discover he was just constipated. I was stumped about how it happened because he eats a lot of fibre and hasn't ever had a problem with this before. I eventually figured out that he had been sneaking cheese strings from the fridge and ate an entire bag in a few days! Cheese is apparently very constipating. So to help Bennett, I made sure to serve him foods that were high in fibre. With 8 grams of fibre per serving, this soup was just what the doctor ordered. I told Bennett it would help his tummy, so he gobbled it up. Cole seemed to enjoy it too. They're not usually that keen on soup, but this was so thick that it was really more like a stew. This recipe makes a ton of soup, so I froze half of it to enjoy later. It's always nice to have soup in the freezer to pull out for dinner when I'm feeling lazy.

Lentil and Kale Soup
Adapted from Today's Parent Oct/12- "Delicious Lentil and Kale Soup"
1 tbsp olive oil
4 strips turkey bacon or turkey kielbasa, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp smoked paprika
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cups green lentils
8 cups vegetable stock (homemade or sodium-free)
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups kale, chopped with stems and mid-ribs removed
salt, to taste
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Saute bacon in oil until browned. Add onion, carrot and celery and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and paprika, cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste, lentils, vegetable stock, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer covered for 15 min. Add kale and simmer for another 15 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are cooked through. Add parsley and salt to taste.

Pumpkin Carrot Loaf

Now that fall has arrived, it seems like everywhere I turn I see pumpkins. It's one of the things I love about fall. I've been enjoying things like pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, and this delicious homemade pumpkin carrot loaf. This recipe makes 2 loaves so I can enjoy one right away and freeze the other one for later. It freezes really well. I pack small slices of this loaf in the boys' lunches and it almost never comes back in their lunch bags at the end of the day, which is a good sign that they really like something. They've also asked for it as a bed-time snack quite often. I love having a slice with my coffee in the mornings. My favourite way to eat it is slightly warmed and slathered with peanut butter. Tony has taken some with him to work because it's the perfect thing to eat when you're on the go. This is a great recipe to add to your fall pumpkin baking.

Pumpkin Carrot Loaf
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1/2 cup finely grated carrot
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
4 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp ground flax seed
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

Grease 2  8" loaf pans. Position the oven racks so the tops of loaf pans will be in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, carrot, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs. Stir in flours, flax, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in raisins. Divide batter evenly between the 2 pans. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
Bake for 45-60 minutes, until toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pans. With a butter knife, loosen the loaves from sides of pan and remove them from the pans. Place the loaves onto wire racks (top side up) to finish cooling.

Bennett's Birthday Party: Keeping it Simple

There's my handsome son Bennett at his 4th birthday party. Ever since Cole's party a month earlier, he's been waiting for this day. His real birthday was Sept 13th, but with school starting and with Tony working almost every weekend that month, we put off the party until the last weekend in September. It was such a busy month and I'm low on energy with being pregnant, so I kept this party very simple. And you know what? I think the simple parties are the best kind.

We invited our families and a few of Bennett's friends to join us for an afternoon gathering. I like having parties in the afternoon so I don't need to make a full meal. I just put out a few easy snacks, which mainly came from Costco.

We had spinach dip in a hollowed sour dough loaf, hummus, veggies, goat cheese, sausage, crackers, and a fruit platter.

It was such a beautiful sunny day and it actually felt hot out, much to our surprise, so we took advantage of the nice weather and let the kids play in the backyard. Between our play set, tire swing, bouncy castle, hula hoops, and ball pit, there was lots to keep them busy while the grown-ups watched and chatted on the balcony.

I had also made a pinata, which came to be known as the lazy pregnant girl's pinata. Instead of paper mache, I made it out of a paper grocery bag and stuffed it with candy and packets of crayons, then decorated it with tissue paper.

I wasn't sure how well it would work, but it turned out pretty well. It held up better than I thought it would to repeated beatings from the children. Everyone got several chances at the pinata before it was finally broken open.

Next, we opened presents and then had cake. Bennett had originally wanted a Spiderman cake and I was fully intending to make one, but he changed his mind and started asking me for a caterpillar cake. I don't know where he got that idea, but it was actually a really good one. I just decorated cupcakes with blue and green icing and formed them in the shape of a caterpillar.

For the head, I baked some cake mix (yes, the food blogger used a mix!) in a small corningware dish and my mom decorated it with white icing (also store-bought!). I had some chocolate icing left over from previous cupcakes for school, so we used that to make the feet. We made the mouth and antennae out of licorice and the eyes out of gummies. We decorated all the cupcakes with fruit and leaf-shaped gummies- the kids loved that.

It might not be the most glamourous cake, but I've learned that kids really don't care all that much what it looks like- they just want to eat it.

For goodie bags, Cole and I decorated brown paper bags with foam letters spelling out each child's name. We made a quick trip to the dollar store and the boys picked out a few small toys, temporary tattoos, and containers of bubbles to put inside. Done!

It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. Most importantly, Bennett enjoyed himself. In fact, he's been asking when he gets to have another party, but I'm definitely all partied-out!