quite a week

a lot has happened since last friday's post.

namely, i spent the week in puerto rico with 3 of my favourite people in the whole wide world!!!

my flight home was cancelled last night so i spent the night in newark, flew in this morning, went grocery shopping & spent the rest of the day baking and making salads for the market tomorrow. thankfully it's all finished! not gonna lie, it was a rather harsh & abrupt return to reality, but at least i was lucky enough to even go on vacation in the first place.

ps: puerto rico is amazing!!!

ok for this weekend i have cupcakes:

vanilla

pink grapefruit

lemon-blueberry

red velvet-raspberry

carrot-maple

chocolate

chocolate-mint

paleo chocolate

brown butter, salted caramel, pecan blondies

hello dollies

breakfast cookies

passionfruit shortbread bars

snickers brownies

goat milk fudge

i have 2 types of salads - both vegan & gluten free.

broccoli-peanut with sesame-ginger dressing

quinoa with fennel, grapefruit & baby arugula

there are plenty of freezer meals to choose from as well:

beef shepherd's pie

paleo beef shepherd's pie

chili pork & cornbread

brisket & blue

coq au vin

paleo coq au vin

broccoli-bacon mac & cheese

lentil shepherd's pie

blue cheese gnocchi

lobster risotto

i didn't have time to restock the carrot/apple/ginger soup or the hearty chicken stew, but they'll both be back on the menu next week.

next week is also EASTER - how did that happen so fast? anyway, get your cupcake & pumpkin pie orders in asap cuz it's one of my top 4 busiest days of the year! i'm just waiting on confirmation but i'm hoping to be at the market on Good Friday & saturday and spend Easter Sunday at home eating baked ham, pumpkin pie & chocolate eggs. stay tuned to my Facebook page for updates.

hope to see you all at the market over the weekend. please don't forget it's open on sundays - it's much less crowded so you don't feel jostled or rushed & the vendors really appreciate seeing familiar faces to chat with.

ok time to pass out & dream of being back in this place:

we survived

what a week!

it seems we had a bit of snow. hopefully mother nature is finished with her cruel jokes & that's the last of it.

it's the last of it for me for a few days because i'm getting on a plane tomorrow and flying away. my table will be at the market as usual tomorrow but not sunday. i'll work until around 10:30am & then leslie will take over for the rest of the day & i will head to the airport to go to puerto rico!!!

i'll be back in time for the market next weekend.

all of a sudden it's way later than anticipated & i need to get to sleep, so this will be super quick.

i made ANOTHER batch of beef shepherd's pie this week. i didn't even bother to take any pictures because i seriously make this every two weeks and you've seen it all before...gluten free...grass fed beef...cheddar mash...you know the drill.

small $10  large $20

i only made two types of salad this week because i'm worried about leftovers.

they're both vegan & gluten free! the bean is the same as usual but the broccoli is a touch different. i used tamari instead of soy so it's gluten free. also instead of kale, there's savoy cabbage & i added curry and a bit more spice to the dressing. i hope you like the changes!

the freezer is brimming with meals & soups at the moment. there are a few secret paleo options (not enough room on the blackboard) so just ask if you're looking for some grain free goodness.

the sweet selections are pretty grain-centric but there are a grain free few options: snickers brownies, gluten-free cupcakes & goat milk fudge.

cakes have become a friday night tradition. here are tonight's creations:

ok time to get to sleep...it literally feels like christmas eve around here tonight!

see you at the market in the morning.

#stormcupcakes

alas, it appears winter has another wallop in store for us this weekend.

if the weather network forecast is actually true, and not just propaganda, chances are i won't be making it to the city on sunday. best to not take any chances, come by tomorrow to stock up on #stormcupcakes #stormmeals #stormsoup... i've got all your #stormgrub needs covered.

i'm pretty exhausted so this will be brief. yet again, i've allowed cakes to take over my life. this evening i experienced a frosting induced rage blackout. cakes are a lot of work & they make A LOT of mess but i guess they do look nice once they're finished. here's my handiwork from this week:

ugh.

at least i'm really happy with the salad selection this week.

broccoli slaw: broccoli, kale, carrots, red pepper, purple cabbage, peanuts, ginger, sesame, citrus, sriracha. paleo & vegan

bean: adzuki, garbanzo, green, lentils, celery, cucumber, red pepper, dill, dijon & garlic. vegan & gluten free.

quinoa: quinoa, millet, fennel, pink grapefruit, arugula, radicchio, white wine vinaigrette. vegan & gluten free.

there's a new batch of coq au vin too. red wine braised chicken with leeks & a mushroom medley - kings, oysters, shiitakes & creminis. served with kale & maple glazed root vegetables. the regular version comes with creamy parmesan polenta.

and the paleo version comes with sweet potato puree.

they're both gluten free & the paleo version is even dairy free!

i also decided that this is the week everyone should rekindle their love affair with snickers brownies. there's a reason they've been on my menu since day one.

& they're even gluten free.

that concludes my weekly blog update. i'm really looking forward to going to sleep!

hope to see you all tomorrow. fingers crossed the storm misses us on sunday but don't forget to stock up on #stormcupcakes just in case.

weekend update

i'm not sure where this week went but all of a sudden it's friday night again & i'm updating my blog.

i've been cooking away all week & the freezers are absolutely brimming with tasty grub.

first up was a batch of thai chicken & rice soup. i always start off with chicken stock made from scratch & then jazz it up with lots of garlic, ginger & aromatics. after this tasty concoction simmers all day, i add in the chicken, rice & veggies - carrots, celery, peppers, bok choy, bean sprouts, scallions & cilantro. it's both gluten & dairy free with a touch of coconut milk.

$8/500ml

then it was on to a batch of lentil shepherd's pies. this is pretty much the healthiest thing i make. it's gluten free, dairy free, sugar free & vegan. it seems that 1/2 of halifax is on some sort of restricted diet at the moment so this one is a great option for most people. in lieu of beef like a typical shepherd's pie, i use lentils cooked up with onions, carrots, peas, corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, kale & herbs. the mash is a cauliflower-sweet potato-parsnip-potato combo with roasted garlic, nutmeg & sage. there is so much stuff going on in this dish you won't miss the meat or dairy.

small $9  large $18

i've really been loving the 3-bean and quinoa salads lately (i've even been eating them myself & that NEVER happens) so i kept them the same for this weekend. they're both vegan & gluten free.

i have been getting pretty tired of the broccoli salad though. this week i switched it up & used a tangy peanut sauce, toasted sesame seeds, red cabbage, red pepper, a touch of orange & peanuts. it's now vegan but not gluten free because i used a splash of soy sauce in the dressing. i've been making the broccoli salad for so long, i thought a bit of a change would be nice - i hope you enjoy it!

the sweets are pretty much the same as last weekend except carrot cupcakes are back instead of strawberry. also, if you haven't had the goat's milk fudge lately, i've changed how it's portioned so it's all uniform & you don't have to wait around while i slice & package it.

it's $1/pc & so much more efficient like this!

ok that about wraps things up.

but just wanted to let you know, i've been accepted in to the halifax crafters spring show which will be held april 18th & 19th at the olympic centre on hunter & cunard. if you follow @halifaxcrafters or #halifaxcrafters on instragram you'll be able to see the work of all the great people who attend the show. mark your calendars now because this show is fantastic!

ok time for sleeping!

hope to see you all over the weekend.