A year to Celebrate!

This year has flown and this month marks a full year since the official start of The Kitchen Door Culinary Classes. What a great year it has been... so many new faces and friends have come from each class, not to mention some incredible food (24 classes worth)!

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has joined me for a class. You have made my job easy and fun and a source of joy for me. I would also like to thank anyone who has been interested in classes or who has been there to help me iron out the details of running a website and using Paypal effectively. My mom always told me that being a life learner was just as important as finishing school. Starting a business has reminded me just how much there is to learn :)

I also owe a humongous thank you to my mom and dad, Melanie and Andy McLennan who own and operate London House Bed and Breakfast. Without the use of their facility and the wonderful support they have given me, this year of success could not have happened. I have also had a fabulous group of dishies join me for classes so I want to give a shout out to Maggie, Shannon, Annica, Katie and Melanie to name a few. I also have to thank my sister Bethany for all the help looking after my little lady so that I can get to work on time, Beth you're a life saver!!

Now you may be asking what's next for this year? The truth is I am looking forward to finding out too! My goal is to be available to teach privately and run a public (open to anyone) class every other month. That means there is a class approaching for May. So, this coming Thursday May 30th will be a SUSHI class! Let me know if you are interested by emailing me at katie_franks@me.com

Here's to another great season of cooking and eating together!

Katie

Katie Franks Chef
The Kitchen Door Culinary Classes
519-546-7609
katie_franks@me.com

Love Abounds

This past year has been the most challenging and exhausting of my life. I am a happy joyful person full of love for others and when Ryan and I felt called to adopt I knew I was being led specifically to the work of mothering whomever God gifted me with. What I didn't yet know was that when our prayers were answered my capacity for love would be stretched and moulded and I would be changed. When you adopt a child you never assume the road will be easy, easy is not the motivator, love is. I cannot imagine loving my daughter Tricia more deeply or passionately and even as I type these words it brings tears to my eyes to think of how hard she is to love sometimes. Of course all parenting is hard work, no doubt every parent wonders if they have what they need from day to day, but when you are called to parent a broken child, a child who is suffering from trauma at a core level you wonder if you have what you need hourly. Being the caregiver to a traumatized child is in itself traumatizing, causing suffering under the weight of the anger and abuse unfathomably coming from a tiny little person.

But here's the thing, the most amazing part of this journey is considering our own adoption into God's family. We are His broken adopted children whom He nurtures and supports and endures with in order for us to come to a place of peace. He desires for all of His people to come to know him as their adopted dad who loves them unconditionally, irregardless of where they have come from and what pain they have suffered. He offers us unconditional love, grace and a peace that passes understanding. How beautiful is that? Christ took our pain on, our problems and deficiencies and illnesses, all of it! He is my hero, my model of what grace filled parenting looks like. Because guess what? Love endures all things, it is patient, love is kind. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. How incredible is that? Talk about a parenting mantra!

The bottom line is that I am broken and empty but as I call on God He keeps sending me help. He provides me a husband perfectly matched to me and who lifts me up daily. He brings me friends, sisters and brothers who know me, know my hurts and want to help even if that means they are just washing my dishes when they stop by or playing with my daughter for a few minutes while I type this email. These beautiful people don't run away from our difficulties, they come alongside and under and support and lift and love. Often people say they don't know how to help when they don't know anything about healing from trauma. I tell them they are already helping by sticking with us, hugging us, laughing with us, crying with us and praying for us. This is what my church means for me, it is a group of people and wherever they go , whatever place they find themselves in, they change it into a time and a place where love abounds. Sundays are a blessing where we fellowship and worship and learn but it also a time when we bring the crazy of the week and have a place to put it... we put it down, we sing it up, we hug it out, we laugh it off and we give to one another. 

I thank God for all of you daily... because His love Abounds.

Recipe of the Day - Mom's Hot Chocolate Powder

Nothing says Christmas is coming like steaming cups of Hot Chocolate. I grew up on this stuff and so did my husband. This recipe can be adjusted to suit the tastes of those you are serving (see note at end about adding cocoa). We also love using Candy Canes as a stir stick at our house :) makes it pepperminty hot chocolate, yummy... Enjoy!

Mom's Hot Chocolate

10 1/3 Cups Carnation Brand skim milk powder

250 g Original Coffee Mate

750 g Instant Chocolate Quick Powder

To add a little more hot cocoa flare, try adding 1/2-3/4 cup sifted dutch process cocoa powder

1. Using a whisk or pastry blender, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed.  Store in large airtight container with a 1/3 cup measure or a scoop of the same size.

2. To serve: Boil water, add to 1/3 hot chocolate powder per cup.  Add milk as desired to cool it for little people. Serve with marshmallows, whip cream, baileys or peppermint sticks for stirring. Makes about 12 cups powder.

Note: Makes great gifts! Try wrapping up cello bags of powder with instructions, bagged mallows and candy canes... so cute!

Our first year as parents

  Well, it is hard to believe it is August already. It is also hard to believe that our precious girl Patricia has been with us over a year now (she's adopted for those of you just tuning in now).  

Of all the growing that has happened around our house, I can honestly say it is Ryan and I who have grown the most!  Yesterday we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary and had a lovely evening out on the town together.  I am still married to my best friend, not to mention one of the best men I have ever known.  Looking at his handsome self over the rim on my beer last night I couldn't help but be amazed by the blessings we have experienced in this year gone by.

Living in the land of Toddlerdom is truly the craziest adventure I have ever experienced! I say so in part because it is wild for everyone who has ever visited, and in part becuase we have a unique and exceptional child
capable of levels of chaos I never knew existed.  I like to think of myself as resilient, positive and capable.  I can now say with confidence that these 
things are true, but I have seen myself stretched further in these areas than I could have ever imagined.

Our Tricia is not challenging because she is adopted (though learning about attachment and trauma have been a big learning curve as well).  She is challenging because she is herself, full of adventure and very little fear. She is smart, beautiful, strong willed, determined, focused and for whatever reason absolutely refuses to learn the alphabet. Which is just fine with me as I have far more important things on my mind for her to be learning and she probably already knows it anyways.

All of this to say, we are blessed, and fortunately for me what I lack in patience and grace for the task I have been blessed with is more than made up for when I ask for help.  My heavenly Father has grace sufficient for this life of mine and I have been struck by just how crucial it is that I become what I want to teach my daughter. If I want her to be kind and gentle, I must be those things first. If I want her to be slow to anger and learn patience then I must do so also. Otherwise where will she learn these things? My job is big but I can't think of a better adventure or a more amazing way to spend my energy.  Now we just need to pray for a sibling for her, the girl needs one big time :)

Here are a couple fun videos of little T this past week....

Parent's note: The toad lived, I checked to see as I get very nervous about these things.

Parent's Note: In case you missed it, she did declare some strange things, including something about God being her daughter. Everyone is her daughter lately and she is pregnant at least every other day, so fear not, we'll get it straightened out eventually :)

More recipes coming soon... also I've been working on some homemade cleaning products I'm pretty stoked about so I'll try to get back on here soon!

Recipe of Day - Award Winning Guacamole!

Award Winning Guacamole
Yield: 1 1/2 cups Guacamole

I realize that "award winning" sounds so dramatic, but it is! We used to have these competitions among all the employees at With the Grain Cafe in Guelph.  The recipe was decided upon in advance and then you could enter your dish anonymously and everyone would eat and vote.  Super fun theme for a party and this "Guac" of mine was the winner of the Guacamole night. So give it a shot and see if you agree.

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados (this is the hardest part ;)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
1 shallot finely chopped (little red onion, not green)
1 Tbsp finely chopped pickled jalapenos
(or use 1/2 a fresh jalapeno - watch your eyes once you've handled them)
2 tsp kosher salt or 1 1/2 tsp table salt
2 tsp ground coriander
20 grinds fresh black pepper (or 1 tsp ground)
2 juicy limes, rolled hard on the counter and juiced (use 3 if they are small or hard)

Instructions:
1. Half and peel the avocados or use a spoon to scoop the flesh from each half. Place in a bowl.  Mash with a fork, whisk or potato masher until consistent in texture but still a little lumpy.

2. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Spoon into a fresh bowl and either serve right away with tortilla chips or lay plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dip (so the air can't turn it brown.


Note: The old 'add a pit to the bowl to keep it from browning trick' is a myth but feel free to do it if you like the fun of a pit in the middle. Storage Tip: Not going to use it all at once, wanna make it in advance? Place in a ziploc bag, press out all the air and freeze for 3-4 weeks.

Adventures in Chicken Rearing - meet the girls!

Our "baby chicks" as Tricia calls them were a day old when they came home on Feb 16th.  It was Tricia's birthday and we were excited to welcome these little balls of fluff to our brood.  The crazy weird shower in our basement made for a perfect brooder and we settled our girls in with a heat lamp, pine shavings and food and water.  I loved dipping their tiny beaks into their water so they would know where to go (this was a researched how to, not my whim as it may seem).  The most challenging part was keeping small hands away from these tiny creatures as they are literally the size of an egg upon hatching... duh. 

Introducing... Lily, Lola, Ede, Charlotte, Aviva and Betty Bird....

I have been cataloguing their growth with photos and wanted to share them.  The girls wont be laying until late June early July but they are so fun already and they love their new home outside which I lovingly refer to as the 'taj-ma-coop'.  Ryan (aka captain thorough) doesn't do anything halfway, not even coop building.

That's Lola in brown

That's Ede, also brown, there are also 3 black and brown and one white and black.

Under construction - the coop will be ready for our growing teenagers.

The most dangerous creature in the yard... chickens beware.

This look says... "Don't mess with me Chickens".  She means it, I have caught her with a wagon full of chickens after strict orders not to pick them up, as well as chasing them with a stick and trying to kick them when they don't love her back..... poor angelic Tricia ;)

Teenager birds start to look cute again, I didn't think they were photo op ready when they had no feathers.

From back to front: Charlotte, Ede adn Lily

Charlotte is gaining confidence and they have such a blast outside.  At this point they were out in the day but slept inside as it was still quite cold.

Birds of a feather really do flock together!

Ede, Lola and Lily find yet another delicious patch of grass!

I LOVE their fluff butts...

Betty Bird is so big now, but this picture shows how her colours were coming in

Miley couldn't care less about the chickens, though she likes to lay near them, perhaps she is guarding them?

Flighty as they are, the birds also seem to like Miley. They don't care unless she tries to play.

Digging themselves cozy beds in the warm dirt, delightful.

The coop with walls

Inside their cozy home, we used dishwasher racks as removable flooring, sooo easy to wash!

Here is a view of their water, food and ramp, we layed 6 inches of gravel for easy cleaning, its surprising how much the girls poop!

More to come, sorry I've been away a while, I will get back in action on this wee blog asap!

Recipe of the Day - Best Ever Kale Chips!

Kale... its almost a curse word.  The truth is, I've hated on this hardy leafy green for as long as I can remember. That is of course until I learned the art of the kale chip.  Now I have kale in my fridge at all times and serve this delicious chip to anyone who stops by for supper.  

These crispy lovelies are also versatile and can be served as a side dish or appetizer with cheese and crackers.  I would also recommend experimenting with toppings.  This recipe is for your basic kosher salt and olive oil method but feel free to try anything you feel like (Parmesan cheese, nutritional yeast, tamari or light soy, sesame oil and sesame seeds and so on and so forth).

Baked Kale Chips
Yield: 1 x good size bowl

Ingredients:
1 bunch leafy green kale
2-3 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin unless you like a smoky kitchen ;)
1/2-1 tsp kosher salt for sprinkling (1/2 tsp table or fine salt)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350`F. Check to see if the kale you purchased has been washed.  If yes skip to step

2.  If not, wash under cool running water and shake really well to remove excess water (the bath tub or outside works well).

3. Now chop the main stem section off the bunch of kale.  Divide bunch in half (or do the whole thing if you`re feeding a crowd).  Next tear the leaves apart away from the stem.  You should end up with a pile of stems and lots of big leafy pieces of kale.  Don`t worry if they seem big, they shrink lots.

4. Spread kale leaves in a single layer on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet.  Drizzle liberally with the oil and sprinkle liberally with salt.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until leaves are dry to the touch but not dark brown, the majority of the pieces should still be quite green.  Let cool several minutes and serve warm or cool.  Enjoy!

Note: Now that I have embraced the kale I have found some other lovely uses for it in my kitchen.  I now add it thinly sliced to soups (brothy pretty ones) and salads (hearty coleslaw types).  It also goes well in small quantity in a stir fry (note: it takes longer to cook than you'd think) and in place of cabbage in anything.  It also never hurts to puree it into a soup or smoothy.  Afterall, its pretty much the healthiest thing you can eat: high in fibre, iron, vitamins and minerals see 9 Health Benefits of Kale for a complete article on why you should be eating this pretty green.