Recipe: Ravioli Lasagna with Sausage & Mushrooms

Pre-dinner drinks: trying to calm Diana's neurotic tendencies...

4 parts dry sec (or vermouth), 1 part creme de cassis.

My over exposed lasagna shot. The setting sun was super bright.

Dinner at my house yesterday - Diana made my day when she told me I was her favorite cook ever! Thanks bff!

I made ravioli lasagna with sausage and mushrooms (from Chatelaine). The first time I made this recipe I stuck to the directions exactly. It was really good, but a bit heavy on the sauce.

This time, I varied the recipe (since I didn't have crushed tomatoes in my cupboard). I mixed small can of tomato paste with a can of diced tomatoes (796mL) and I got a much lighter, and still super-tasty tomato sauce. Last minute, I threw spinach leaves into the lasagna toss to add colour to the dish.

Here's another variation for the cheese topping. I didn't have mozzarella, so Diana helped me by shredding cheddar and topped if off with some asiago.

Tip: In my house it's just Geoff and I so making a 9 x 13 dish of pasta is too much food for us. I split the lasagna into 3 dishes - one for dinner that night, a little one for my parents, and a portion that I froze for another day's dinner.

This is my favorite kind of recipe - easy & super tasty and relatively healthy. For a vegetarian option - just delete the sausage. Happy cooking. : )

::: Nathalie

Pink & Blue and Parisian Treats

Everything on this plate was incredibly delicious and was made from scratch by my mum, brother and myself.

Macaron ♥. My brother German made these beautiful little treats in dark chocolate ganache and buttercream fillings. I do believe they're his own recipes.

I made and decorated my own cake. This was a new recipe that I tried from Chatelaine. It's their Velvety Beet Cake with Raspberry Icing - the pink came from the fruit and not food colouring. I diverted from their raspberry icing and concocted my own. I'll share it in the near future.

Amy and German decked out in pinks and matching with the theme.

A November Lunch

I'm taking a screen printing course at my local college and I recently completed the colour print registering assignment. My project ended up on tea towels that I've made by hand. I'm really pleased with how the lines came out - as if they had been drawn on with crayons.

You might also be wondering about what's on my toast... (Or perhaps not.) It's apple butter from Sweet Paul's fall issue.

Geoff came home with a ginormous bag of apples the other day. Not wanting to eat apples for breakfast lunch and dinner, we made it into apple butter. YUM! So easy and super delicous. Try it with a bit of cream cheese on crackers. It's really good! (Can you tell I'm hungry?)

*Apple Butter recipe found here.

::: Nathalie

Impressive Dinner: Beef Bourguignon

Sweet Paul Magazine, page 65

I have Amy to thank for my recent obsession - Paul Lowe's blog Sweet Paul.

In the Fall issue of his online magazine he features amazing looking comfort foods and rich cakes. Since my in-laws visited on the weekend, I decided to try something new (which is either very brave or very stupid) and settled on SP's Beef Bourguignon (p. 65) followed with his Blueberry Streusel Cake for dessert (p. 51).

I started the Beef Bourguignon in the morning and left it simmering in my slow cooker for 4.5 hours and went out for the afternoon. By the time we got home, dinner was done. All I had to do was put together the streusel, which was easy, stick it in the oven and relax before dinner. We served the beef with some mini red potatoes and multigrain bread. (I had pictures but they were terrible due to poor lighting.)

The meal was impressive with rich flavours and the cubes of meat fell apart when pierced with a fork. We served four hungry people and still had left overs, which is always nice. The streusel didn't disappoint either (I made it with mixed berries) with it's of condensed milk topping. Everyone was licking their spoons at the end and was full and happy.

Now I just need an excuse to make SP's Salted Caramel and Chocolate Cake (p. 55). Halloween perhaps?

::: Nathalie

i Heart Egg In a Basket

Diana, my not-so-savvy-in-the-kitchen bff, the same one who used an espresso spoon to scoop ice cream, made heart shaped egg in a basket for us. Aw. What a good bff.

To make this, simply use a cookie cutter, to cut out the centre. (Diana opted for the no egg yolk egg in a basket, which means the egg whites and white bread were very close in colour.) Regardless what bread you use, yolks or no yolks, this is a nice simple treat for anyone.

::: Nathalie

Aprons as clothes?

The last couple of weeks, I've been working feverishly on expanding The Lime Shop to introduce a collection of handmade aprons. I bought a majority of the colourful fabrics at Ikea. I pre-washed and preshrunk each fabric before even cutting out the patterns.

Last week, I brought some of these to work to show the girls. One of my colleagues thought they were so cute, that she wants to wear them around the office as clothes. (Hopefully with something under so it doesn't turn into an HR issue...)

With some help from Geoff, my sometimes photographer and always husband, we were able to take pics and get some items loaded on our Etsy shop. I'll work on getting more up in the next few days.

::: Nathalie

The Delicious Miss Dahl

Aside from Gossip Girl and Supernatural, I really don't watch a lot of television. So I was surprised to hear that Sophie Dahl has her own cooking show - The Delicious Miss Dahl! (For whatever reason, I've always liked her for. I even bought her book, The Man with The Dancing Eyes, years ago.)

I just finished watching the first episode. What a cute show! She's adorable and so excited about cooking. And I love her kitchen! It's so very english! I feel inspired just watching!

The full episode wouldn't embed properly, but you can watch it here. (Sorry, even the above video is too wide for the format of our blog...)

I'm going to go cook dinner now. I'm thinking breakfast foods, Whole Grain Pancakes and Spinach Quiche!

::: Nathalie

Good Egg

Last weekend, I dragged Diana to the Good Egg, "a shop dedicated to those who like to eat" (according to their website), located at 267 Augusta Ave in Kensington. Since I'm a sucker for cute one-of-a-kind shops, I couldn't resist.

The Good Egg is filled with lots of wonderful cook books, kitchenware's from Le Creuset, pretty tea towels that any girl would proudly display in her kitchen, and all sorts of adorable odds and ends. It has a warm, homey vibe that makes you want to stick around and check out everything they have to offer. This is the kind of place that's perfect when you're looking for unique gift ideas.

I knew I'd end up finding something neat and I did. I got a beautiful pink tulip bowl and a birdie rubber stamp set, that I'll use for a future project.

Check out this shop the next time you're in Kensington or even make it a special point to stop by. I know I'll be frequenting often.

::: Nathalie

Store picture: goodegg.ca

Pan Seared Steak, Glazed Heirloom Carrots and Butter Lemon Asparagus

I've been on a mad kick of vegetarian meals and soups lately and Geoff, my meat loving husband, hasn't complained once. So today, I made a dinner just for him. I picked up fresh steaks at the local Sobeys, asparagus and heirloom carrots, which I've read are delicious, but have never actually tried, let alone cooked.

I jumped online when I got home and googled "cooking heirloom carrots" and came across Ginger Rose's blog. I didn't have the shallots and fresh thyme leaves from her recipe, so I made do with thinly sliced onions and ground thyme. Adding my own twist, I peeled my carrots and cut them on a diagonal. Otherwise, I stuck to her directions. The results where delicious and wonderfully colorful.

The steaks where cooked on a hot pan of med-high heat with a simple seasoning of sea salt and coarsly ground black pepper. The asparagus was done in my favorite way, cooked in butter with a splash of lemon juice.

When all was done, we sat down to a delicious simple meal, with Le Vieille Ferme red and served JELL-O Chocolate pudding for dessert. Geoff appreciated the gesture and both our bellies where happy.

::: Nathalie

Post Valentines Day

It's been a busy and emotional weekend and somehow, for my own sanity, I've managed to accomplished a fair bit.

Valentines Day was sweet: a trip to the AGO, dinner at home and renting Revolutionary Road. Our meal consisted of seared tilapia served on Swiss chard with steamed carrots and pan fried baby potatoes with a light olive oil lemon sauce. Dessert - classic red velvet cake.

And finally, just this evening, Diana and I managed to finally get our Etsy shop up and running -thelimeshop.etsy.com. Similar to our previous online shop, Lime., we're featuring handcrafted iPod and iPhone (coming soon) cases, along with a variety of other accessories.

We would love it if you checked out our shop.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your long weekend.

::: Nathalie

Happy Bday Diana!

Diana celebrated her birthday this past Wednesday.

We threw a dinner for her Saturday night: spaghetti and chicken parmesan and toasted with pink sparking wine. Homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes were served for dessert. Yum!

Happy Birthday Diana!!!

::: Nathalie

Mmm... Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday René!

Chocolate fudge cake with buttercream frosting and crumbled Oreo cookie edging.

Check out this website for awesome recipes and ideas. Her butter cream frosting is so simple and so delicious. This weekend I'm whipping up the Red Velvet Cake for my other brothers birthday. Mmm!

::: Nathalie

Elle Show 2009

YSL beauty booth, noon fashion show, Adrienne working the Balmshell booth

Diana and I were at the Carlu today for the Elle Show 2009. There were lots of beauty and jewelry booths around. The only fashion were the runway shows at noon and then again at 3:30 pm. (They were presenting the 3 finalists from Project Runway Canada.) We kept busy chatting with the girls at the Balmshell booth where we both picked up some of their moisturizing lip gloss. I also bought a pretty bracelet at the Echo Jibe booth (first pic on last row).




Chicken sandwich lunch box, Elle goodie bag and luncheon, Nathalie and Diana sporting MBMJ sunglasses

We grabbed our goodie bags and lunch boxes and headed to a coffee shop across the street to eat and drink tea. Mmm...

Those who live here know that it was a beautiful warm, sunny day in Toronto. After lunch we ditched the remainder of the Elle Show and walked around the city for some window shopping.




Purchases: Echo Jibe bracelet (shown far left), Diana's Marc Jacobs Body Splash in Rain, Nathalie's new Joie top worn with Current/ Elliot jeans and Steve Madden sandals
We stopped by Sherway Gardens on the way home. Diana dragged me to Holts where she bought the Marc Jacobs Body Splash in Rain. (This is kinda cool - the 10 oz. bottle came with an empty purse sized bottle and a funnel to filler up!) I got a pretty Joie blouse that I've had my eye on all season. It finally went on sale - how could I resist? We combined our receipts and got the $25 gift card from the promo Holts is having this weekend.

All in all, great afternoon.

::: Nathalie

Happy Easter

To make your own birds nest cupcakes just bake regular cupcakes, ice them, dunk them into shredded coconut and decorate with chocolate eggs. Do this on a freshly iced cupcake and the coconut and eggs will adhere nicely.

Happy Easter from Nathalie and Diana.