What I Did Last Weekend

Clara Aimée Zoë
Born Saturday, March 10, 2012
8 lbs, 12 oz.

Welcome, Baby Clara!

Five Years

The children have been asleep for a few hours, all the house lights are dark save for a lamp by my bed. My body has turned in for the night (this happens a lot earlier since I'm pregnant again), but I couldn't go to sleep without giving this date a nod.

Five years ago, with absolutely no idea what I was getting into, I started this blog. With a batch of (horribly photographed) mini lemon tarts, I began this journey as a food blogger.

Ironically, today Simple Bites subscribers topped 10,000 and monthly pageviews tipped 300,000. I don't often share hard and fast numbers, but both of those milestones - on today of all days - are rather pretty.

This won't be a long trip down memory lane recounting all the places food blogging has brought me and wonderful people I have met, because, well, although they are many, it really would take me all night.

Instead, I'd love to look ahead. What will the next five years hold? Well, we know there's a baby in there, right around March. A third child to toss my cooking under the high chair. Ah well, it was getting a little too clean under there.

There are also things that I'm not at liberty do discuss - don't you just hate that? I do. That small TV thing, which I've signed all sorts of NDA's for and we won't hear about until spring...There's also that somewhat larger print project-thing, which is still in progress and more or less 'hush-hush'... An upcoming, but-not-yet-announced speaking engagement at a pretty legit blogging conference...

Gee, what can we talk about? Bloggers without Borders. Now there's a blogging related project I'm proud about. My fantastic contributors on Simple Bites; love those ladies (and one man, obvi, as I'm married to him).

Well, public knowledge or not, there's plenty of exciting things happening, and they all stem from this little space that I started five years ago. I couldn't be happier.

Thank you to each and every one for reading, for following on Twitter, for joining me over at Simple Bites...FOR YOUR SUPPORT. A blog is nothing without readers, so the full credit, the true acknowledgment, goes out to you.

Merci.

Roasted Shiitake Parmesan Pops

OK, I have to admit, I lured you in with that title. While this addicting new appetizer recipe has indeed been developed, tested, and photographed by yours truly, I will not be posting the recipe. Call me a tease, but you'll have to buy Peko Peko to get it.

Wait, Peko-what?

Peko Peko: Family Friendly Japanese Recipes is a collection of nearly 60 Japanese and Japanese-inspired recipes published by Blurb, 100% of the profits of which will be donated to charity relief in Japan. I was fortunate to be one of the food bloggers who contributed a recipe to the cookbook.

Peko Peko: Family Friendly Japanese Recipes offers 120 full-color pages packed with gorgeous photography and 59 Japanese-inspired recipes contributed by 56 food writers, bloggers and photographers.

Peko Peko also includes an indispensable guide to over 50 Japanese ingredients, including suitable substitutions for the North American home cook. If you've never cooked Japanese food, don't worry, the detailed pantry section in the book that will give you the information you need to use those new ingredients with confidence.

It's been a amazing honour to be a small part of this project, spearheaded by three talented curators.

You can read more about Peko Peko (and see some photos from the book) over on Simple Bites and yesterday the Montreal Gazette was also kind enough to give it a mention in the Applause section. The word is spreading!

Of course, you can also go directly to Blurb to purchase the book, where all of the proceeds will go to the GlobalGiving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Nobody involved in making the book will profit from Peko Peko, including Blurb. As a Peko Peko sponsor, the good folks at Blurb have agreed to waive their usual cut of book sales.

Thanks in advance for supporting our cause and happy cooking!

In support of....Stonyfield Organics

It is fantastic when food blogging introduces opportunities that are too good to pass up. The Peko Peko charity cookbook was one, and now I'm delighted to be working with Stonyfield.ca.

Stonyfield Organics launch a brand new blog recently and if you take a peek at the list of contributors, you'll probably recognize a few faces. Mine in particular!


Every week on the Stonyblog, I'll be bringing fresh content that focuses on sustainability, healthy eating, family food, and of course, yogourt. Good thing we're crazy about it around here!

My first post is up, you can check it out if you like. And do stay tuned, I've got a recipe coming soon for a Maple-Yogourt Cake that is absolutely amazing...

Peko Peko: A Charity Cookbook for Japan

A lot of opportunities and projects come through my inbox these days, but none as exciting as those that announce intentions of helping others. They are the ones that are easy to say "yes" too, even when I really shouldn't be saying yes to anything except a mop and a pail. (oh my poor neglected house.)

You can probably see where this is going. Yes, I’m very excited to announce a wonderful new fundraising project I’m participating in.

Peko Peko: A Charity Cookbook for Japan is spearheaded by three very talented food bloggers (Stacie of One Hungry Mama, Rachael of La Fuji Mama, and Marc of No Recipes) and a collaboration of work from about fifty food bloggers. There is an exceptional line-up of contributors to Peko Peko, including several of my food blog crushes like Sara and Amanda, as well as good friends Shaina, Maggy, Julie and many more.

One hundred percent of the profits will go toward relief efforts in Japan, though the charitable organization is to be determined. It is truly an honor and a delight to participate in this project.

The book is still in development, but the finished product is sure to be outstanding. A professional designer is on board, Marc is photographing many of the dishes, and every detail is being carefully considered.

The recipes are best described as family-friendly Japanese and Japanese-inspired food. I created an appetizer exclusively for the book, so you'll have to purchase one to get the recipe for my Roasted Shiitake Parmesan Pops!

In the coming weeks, I’ll provide more information on where you can purchase the book, as well as an official update of the charity it will benefit. In the meantime, please check out the website, PekoPekoCookbook.com and follow @PekoPekoCharity on Twitter for more information.

Sour Cream Snickerdoodles and the Latest News

Trying to remember the order in which recent events took place is about as futile as attempting to list all of Liz Taylor's husbands - in order. So I'll just relate the happenings as they come to mind, and that will have to do. It's been a Monday, and this week looks busy, again.


Sugaring Off.
This has been the sole thing keeping me from joining the ranks of all other Montrealers in their pining for spring. March has been cold and snowy, warming up only in the afternoons. Fortunately this fickle weather is good for something: sugaring off.

Once again we spent the day in the forest of our uncle's maple farm, collecting sap, hanging out by the fire and eating. The blueberry cornbread pictured above stayed warm on the wood stove alongside a pot of lentil stew, and they both nourished us for lunch.

I managed to shoot a bit of video, so if you want to see a super cute recap of Noah's day in the sugar bush, head over to Simple Bites for the vlog.

Photos and Portraits.

Good friends and superstar Montreal photographers, Tim & Angela, stopped by recently for lunch and to take a few shots of me in my kitchen. I needed some professional portraits for a few things coming up and they were so kind to turn it into a full-on photo shoot.


They're quite the professionals, and had this frumpy WAHM feeling like a star in no time. The boys and I broke out the wooden rolling pins and tart dough and proceeded to get flour everywhere - except on the cameras, thankfully.


Tim & Angela captured the sweetest images of the boys and I, which I'm going to treasure for a long time. You can check a few of their favorites out on their blog.

Urban Expressions.
The main English paper in town featured Mateo and I in their quarterly magazine, Urban Expressions. Subscribers to The Gazette who received the mag at home can read the article on my blogging career and family life.

Gazette columnist, Susan Schwartz, aptly captured the simple joys of my work-at-home existence and my journey to get where I am now.

Virtual Baby Shower
Spring seems like a natural time to celebrate a birth, and that's just what I did recently with a group of talented food bloggers when we threw a virtual baby shower for a dear friend.

If you're planning a shower -wedding or baby- soon and are looking for menu ideas, here's the round-up of recipes. Be warned. You WILL leave hungry.

Babble Top 100
Last but not least, Babble.com included Under the High Chair in their Top 100 Mom Food Blogs of 2011. I have no idea what the numbering means, but I'm #42.

Thanks Babble! I'm honored to make the list, again. And thank you to the sweetie who wrote up 'Why we love her' in the profile. She knows how to get a girl choked up!

PS. Can I steal that part about 'lyrical' for my About page?

Check out the complete list of food blogs from other mama's in the trenches. You'll probably recognize a lot of names.


Recipe: Sour Cream Snickerdoodles

Apparently running out of chocolate chip can be a good thing, because it forces one to be creative when cookie baking with two little helpers.

We loved these sour cream snickerdoodles from Julie's cookbook, One Smart Cookie. She's right to say that sometimes the simplest things can be the most delicious. These are soft, with a tender biscuit-like crumb, and completely addicting.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (I used fresh ground)
• 1/4 cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350F

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until soft and well combined. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Add half the flour to the butter mixture, stirring gently to combine. Add the sour cream, stirring slowly, and then the rest of the flour. Combine only until just blended.

Stir together remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of sugar. Drop teaspoonfuls of cookie dough into the sugar and lightly roll into balls with your hands.

Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes until set, but not golden.

Cool on a wire rack. Makes 24 cookies.

An Interview and an Initiation

Photo by Tim Chin.

This post is going to be short as I've got a zillion things to do to be ready to leave for Nashville and Blissdom tomorrow. K, where did January go again?

Meals for Others.
First of all, a big thank you to everyone who opened up and commented on my last post. I asked you if you ever received a meal during a difficult period in your life -or if you were in the habit of passing along food to friends and family.

Your answers warmed my hearts and assured me that, yes, random acts of kindness are still alive and well in 2011...Look for more on this topic soon, as it is research for an exciting new project I am working on!

Interview with the Canadian Weblog Awards.
I'm thrilled to be featured today on the CWA homepage in a interview I had with the organizers. Head HERE to read about where I find inspiration, who my mentors are, how offline people react to my online writing and much more.

My Husband, the blogger.
Well, not really, but he's been initiated! In 2011 he joined the Simple Bites team of contributors as the only male (brave soul that he is).
Today marks his first ever blog post and he tackles a major issue. You won't want to miss it. Head HERE to read the post and welcome Danny to the wonderful world of blogging.

Now, I'm off for my first ever blogging conference! You can follow along on my Simple Bites Twitter stream,as I'll be tweeting much of the event.

For Your Weekend Reading Pleasure (and 'Thanks')

My laptop has been getting plenty of use lately. A series of rainy days made it easier to crank out a few guest posts, as well as the usual content for my two food blogs.

Can I just say? Thanks for reading. I don't usually talk numbers much around here but I see that well over 13,000 of you are popping by on a monthly basis and that makes me very happy. Really.

It's still a pleasant surprise to find that my sporadic recipes and copious photos of my (ridiculously cute) kids holds your interest. Hey, it even lands me on lists like this, which brings even more readers (and a whole heck of a lot of email spam, apparently. Ick.).

Another list I was super tickled to make was the popular Bullet List from The Mother Huddle.

I didn't have to think twice when founder Destri invited me to participate and I dedicated my list to Jamie's Food Revolution in support of his efforts to teach children how to cook.

• How To Help Your Child Embrace Real Food :: The Mother Huddle

Kids and cooking was the topic of choice this week. I also guest posted for Kim Vallee, Montreal's lifestyle and entertaining expert, while she jaunted around Japan with her husband.

• 5 Simple Ways to Get Kids Involved in the Kitchen :: At Home with Kim Vallee

Oh, and Ready Made decided they loved Simple Bites:

• Food Blog of the Week: Simple Bites :: Ready Made

I've been spicing up Simple Bites with my Spices 101 series. In case you've missed it here where we're at:

• Common Spice Myths Debunked (and a killer Spiced-Chai Granola Recipe)
• What you NEED to Know About Buying Spices
  
• How I Became a Spice Enthusiast (and link love spice edition)
• Storing Spices (and a killer Black Pepper Shrimp recipe)
  

OK! That's probably more than enough weekend reading for you! Now get outdoors and enjoy Mother Earth. It is Earth Week after all.

An Honour

Leading online parenting magazine, Babble.com recently compiled a list of Top 50 Mommy Food Bloggers.

I'm still scratching my head over how this happened.

A huge thanks to the food editors at Babble for including me in such stellar company. It is indeed an honour and a privilege.

Here's what they had to say about my little corner:

"It's so nice to come across a family food blog that shows not just pretty pictures of cute sandwich cut-outs next to elaborately crafted birthday cakes. You start to wonder — is this mother actually cooking for kids? If so, where are they in all the pictures? There is a lot real-life energy in this blog — you'll see Aimée's family everywhere from the kitchen to the garden. The homepage illustration picturing a scene of food-fueled mayhem under a high chair instantly makes harried moms feel like they've found a soul-mate in Aimée, but the recipes are nothing if not aspirational. Aimée worked as a chef before she had kids, and you can tell when you come across recipes like chocolate chip chili and glorious fruit cobblers."

Be sure to check out the entire list; you'll bookmark some great reads and find inspiration, no question about it.

Interviews 1 and 2

These photos are totally irrelevant to the post, but they captured a memorable milestone in our little family: Noah's first skate! We have this wild swampland out behind our place that froze over perfectly smooth and is the ideal playground for little boys. They've been very inspired by the Olympics and we've reenacted many of the events in our own winter wonderland.

Good times.
My super-talented sister, Haidi, made this hat; isn't it just precious?


Alright, I'm really just dropping in to share a few mentions of Under the High Chair that happened earlier this week.

The Montreal Gazette, our major English newspaper, ran an article Monday on the Blog Aid cookbook. They applauded the efforts of all 27 food bloggers involved and quoted me at the end.

You can find the article HERE.


Jessica from I Spy Montreal, read the article and requested an interview, which ran yesterday on her website. She asked about my strategies for getting the boys to eat (pray?), family friendly recipes, and UtHC.

You can read the full interview HERE.

It was fun to chat with her and I definitely recommend her informative website for any Montrealer with kids.


Cooking? Food? Right. I realize we're way off topic here.

Well, we talked 'Muffins' on Simple Bites this week, in case you missed it. I shared tips on how to make them, favorite flavor combinations and divulged my all-time best recipe.

You should probably head over and print it out for the morning.


It's hard to believe two years have passed since this announcement, but yes, the little guy crossing the pond above is turning two on the weekend. My baby!

Even though I've got a simple menu planned, there is still plenty to do before I can receive the 40 or so guests expected, so I'll leave it at that.

Go Canada! #olympics

UtHC Bulletin: An Exciting Week

This has been one happenin' week for me! An update is obviously needed at this point because it's all good news that needs to be shared.
So here goes...



Giveaway
Today is the last day to enter my super-duper basket giveaway at Simple Bites. 'Basket' giveaway means ONE lucky person wins the WHOLE shebang. Are you feeling lucky? Winner will stock their kitchen with nearly $500 worth of pretty cool products. You have until midnight to enter, so get over there and leave a comment.





Blog Aid: Recipes for Haiti
Yesterday our fundraiser for Haiti wrapped up. The Blog Aid cookbook was a spectacular success, selling 1818 cookbooks in a little over a week and raising, with matched funds from the Canadian government, $47,166.00 for Haiti relief.

Not bad for a bunch of food bloggers!
A huge thank you to all who purchased our cookbook--you now have a limited edition book to treasure. My copies have already arrived and I have nothing but good things to say about it. I can't wait to try those recipes and it's pretty cool to see our little family photo on those glossy pages.



Simple Bites Launch
Five blogs launched Monday under the Simple Living Media umbrella and were met with a very warm welcome indeed. My part in this, as you know, was Simple Bites.

I hardly know what to say about the enthusiastic response to Simple Bites, as it has completely take my by surprise. I'm exceedingly grateful for your support. Many of you have joined me over there and for those of you who haven't visited yet, you are welcome anytime!

As editor, I had set goals for SB--three month goals that were surpassed after three days. Things haven't slowed down all week, and I have sat, mouth agape, watching the stats come in and reading the comments. It's been amazing.

Danny continues to wax eloquent about it all, remarking "Hey, people gotta eat".
Guess he's got a point there. I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.


Montreal Centre-Ville Magazine
I was fortunate enough to be featured in a local magazine with some of Monteal's creme de la creme food bloggers. How my name ever made it past the editors, I'll never know, but nevertheless, there is a lovely little blurb about UtHC and photo of yours truly.
Also featured is Gastronote, ...an endless banquet, le gourmet galopin, and 2Capriciux.


Cooking School
For some reason, I have always held back over talking about my experiences in culinary school. It was both a good and bad experience, with a little 'ugly' thrown in, and I always felt like there wasn't enough water under the bridge before I made events public.

Well, shy no longer. Today was the first post in my 'Cooking School' series on Simple Bites, a series that will be as helpful as it is entertaining. At least, that's what I am hoping. You can read it and decide for yourself!

* * *
My time is up! No Valentine's Day post from me, sorry...

My plan for V-day is to cook up some of our filet mignon that I have been hoarding, and create another recipe for the Beef Chronicles.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Simple Bites Goes Live!

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.....Blast Off!

That's what the boys are hollering from the playroom and it perfectly sums up my feelings from the past 24 hours.

Simple Bites has officially launched!!

(For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, read this post)

I'll admit it, I got mighty jittery in the last few hours leading up to the launch. Minutes before I was to hit 'Publish" on this post, I started questioning everything about what I was about to dive into.

All the 'what ifs.. (they don't like me)?' and 'how will I... (maintain the pace)?' crowded my mind.
It was 1 in the morning, hardly time for intelligent conversations with myself, so I published the post and hit the hay.


Today has been a 'blast'!

It's been easily five years since my last job interview and over ten years since the first day of culinary school, so today was significant for this SAHM.

My first day on the job. I even put my favorite pair of dress pants on, like a big dork, to outwardly show my professionalism.

In the end, my girlfriend canceled our lunch and so I dressed up for nothing. The UPS guy didn't even show. (That's OK, it's going to be one of the best things about working from home: I only have to dress up--or get dressed-- if I feel like it!)

I brewed many cups of coffee, took one of my pre-made meals out of a well-stocked freezer for dinner( gotta love batch cooking), and chained myself to my laptop for the better part of the day.

The response to Simple Bites blew me away. I've never had so many emails, DM's, and encouraging comments in such a few hours. It was encouraging to see the traffic pour in--even if it made the site slightly sluggish.

A very bit thanks to all of you who left comments and sent Tweets. I'm very encouraged and the jitters are (almost) all gone.


If you haven't stopped by Simple Bites yet, be sure to visit tomorrow, as we celebrate our launch with a super-duper giveaway!

Blog Aid: Recipes for Haiti

What began as a creative and selfless idea from my friend and fellow food blogger, Julie Van Rosendaal, actually came into being today in the form of a absolutely stunning cookbook.

I'm so excited to share this with you; I can't sit still.

Blog Aid: Recipes for Haiti is a collaboration of 27 food bloggers, Julie, her friend Cathryn Ironside, Beth Snyder, and many other individuals, all who gave their time and resources to help a noble cause: Haiti.

The cookbook contains 72 recipes, all contributed by a talented and diverse group of chefs, food writers and bloggers. I am truly honored to be in their company. Oh, didn't I mention that yet? Yes, I've got a couple of recipes in the cookbook!!

Front & Back cookbook covers. Click photo to enlarge

Here's how it works: 1oo% of the proceeds from the cookbook will go directly to the Red Cross and Doctor’s Without Borders to assist in their efforts in Haiti.

But wait for the clincher: both West Canadian Graphics & Blurb (printers) are matching the dollar amount of the proceeds raised, up to $10,000!
Oh, and until February 12th, the Canadian government will match that! As you can see,we have the potential to raise quite a bit of money here.

It’s a POD (print-on-demand) system, meaning the books are printed and shipped as they’re ordered and arrive at your doorstep in about 8 days (or less, if you order express shipping, as I did!)

You can purchase cookbooks for a good cause HERE in softcover ($25US) or as a hardcover ($50US)

I bought a few copies this morning--it was the first thing I did when I woke up-- and they will be printed on demand and shipped to my doorstep in about 8 days. Can't wait!!

Seriously, go to Blurb and take a peek at the book...the preview is gorgeous!


I haven't been so excited about anything in a very long time. I feel like this entire post should be written in CAPS, bolded and italicized!! It's an incredible feeling to be actively involved in a project that is sending relief to a country that has been so decimated.

It's truly an honor to be a part and I am grateful to Julie for the opportunity and for MAKING IT HAPPEN!! (there, couldn't resist those caps. Julie is an ALL-CAPS kind of girl.) It was only three short weeks ago when I received an email from her asking me to participate and now the presses are rolling.
Seriously the fastest cookbook project ever.
Congratulations, Julie!

For more information and a complete list of contributors, check out the Blog Aid blog.

UPDATE: Sales have been booming all day and the grand total of funds raised so far has surpassed $20,000 CAD!!! Woot!

Wordless Wednesday: Blog Aid for Haiti (coming soon)

Introducing SimpleBites.net

A New Year, A New Project

Today I am very excited to share a new project with you that has been in the works since last fall and one that I am thrilled to be a part of.

It is not so much a secret anymore, as I've been Tweeting and talking about it for a while, but nevertheless, it is finally time to make the official announcement...

In just a few days, (on February 8, more specifically), I will be taking an editorial position at Simple Living Media and launching..............Ta-Da!







Go on, click the link above and go check it out. I'll be here, waiting for when you get back and we can chat. I'll bake off some cookies while I wait, how about that?


Simple Bites Topics

As of next month, Simple Bites is where you'll find me hanging out, dishing several times a week on everything that I am passionate about. Dedicated to all things food and drink, but with an emphasis on simple living, this new website will focus on important topics such as sustainable eating, wholesome recipes, and cooking with (& for!) kids.

I'm particularly excited about topics such as 'Preserving' (Jam & Jelly 101, anyone?) and 'Cooking School'. I haven't written much here about my experiences in culinary school previously (mostly because I'm still in therapy to deal with them), but you're going to hear all about it there, with TONS of tips and tricks to implement into your daily cooking.

Other topics I'll regularly visit are Quick Bites, Menu Planning, Entertaining, and for once and for all, getting Organized in the kitchen!


Simple Aimée

I feel as though I've been preparing for the role of editor for the past ten years and am confident in what I have to offer readers. As a bonus, I've assembled an impressive team of contributors to support me in that role. Head here to check them out; you'll probably recognize a few faces! They hail from three countries, all of them mothers, and even one grandmother (you'll never guess which one, don't even try to figure it out).


I'm immeasurably proud to be a part of the Simple Living Media family, lead by administrator Tsh, of the hugely popular and ever-inspiring Simple Mom.

Oh yeah, it's not just Simple Bites that will kick-start in a few days, but an entire network. Joining the already established Simple Mom and Simple Kids, will be Simple Organic and Simple Homeschool, both going live the same day as Simple Bites, making this event rather remarkable, if you ask me.


But Wait? What About UtHC?

OK, I know what you all are thinking and so I'll address the elephant in the room.

YES, I will still be maintaining Under the High Chair.

After four years, how could I not? It's a huge part of my life, as are all of my readers.

Sure, things may get a little quieter around here, because, well, we all know new babies get all the attention, but I'm not shutting down shop, and on most days, I'll be just a click away over at SB.


Launch Date: February 8

I hope you will join me over at Simple Bites on February 8th for a little blog warming. Perhaps you'll even subscribe and stick around; nothing would make me happier than to see your familiar names and faces in the comments section.

Hey, a girl can always hope!

In the meantime you can follow me on Twitter @simplebites, I'll be dishing most of my food ramblings from there now. You can also become a fan of Simple Bites on Facebook.

That's it!

Interview with Aimée

Photo by Angela Chin

Several months ago, Julie Van Rosendaal interviewed me for one of her local papers and I kept a transcript of the exchange. I thought it might come in handy one day and so it has, because let's face it, I'm not doing a whole heck of a lot of cooking this week! My kitchen is packing up in boxes, and we're existing on sandwiches, eggs, and the mercy of friends who bring us a meal.

Tomorrow is the big move! I keep telling myself that, YES, everything will get done and NO, it will not snow.
We've got lots to look forward to, starting with celebrating the holidays in our new home. I for one, can't WAIT to get back to cooking three square meals a day.

In the meantime, as blatantly obvious 'blog filler', here is my interview with Julie...

JVR: What made you want to write a blog?

UtHC: It’s funny because I am more artist than techie and before I started blogging I only used the computer to check email; it never crossed my mind to start a blog.I frequently had people asking me for recipes and cooking tips and finally, someone, bless their heart, suggested I start a blog and share my recipes there. This advice seemed to make sense to me, so I launched UtHC with little hope of keeping it up for long; I guess I imagined it would fizzle out like the journals of my teens. Happily it almost immediately became a creative outlet for photography, writing and cooking, not to mention an invaluable connection to many other amazing individuals with similar interests and I am in my third year now.


JVR: Would you consider UtHC more food or parenting-related?

UtHC:I was surprised when other web sites started pegging UtHC as a family blog, because I saw it entirely as a food blog. Apparently I can't keep my babies out of my writing and so along the way I've embraced the ‘Mommy-Blogger’ label and slant the blogs content ever so slightly toward parents. It remains primarily a food blog, though.


JVR: What makes mealtimes unique for parents of small children?

UtHC: Cold food? Eating one-handed? Getting up from the table a million times? Oh, the family dinner table is held in high esteem by the psychology experts, but rare are the moments of domestic bliss around our table and we only have two children! Ideally dinnertime should signal the start of a relaxing evening, but if you have young members, it can be the most exhausting part of the whole day.

We have our laughs at the table, too; it's not all bad, no way. As the boys get older, the communication grows exponentially and we're making good memories together as well.


JVR: Any dinnertime disasters to share?

UtHC: Any meal that I put love into and is later rejected by the little ones is a small failure for me. I remember one time watching my son repeatedly spit out a gorgeous maple-glazed grilled pork chop and in my silent fury I muttered to my husband:

“I may as well just be feeding him pooh”.

I believe I was implying the food equivalent to pooh, such as Hamburger Helper or KD, not, of course, real pooh, but one can't be sure. I was pretty upset.



JVR: What are your biggest mealtime challenges?

UtHC: I'm trying to avoid taking the easy way out, which is preparing three different meals; a flavorful dish for us adults, an egg/bread combination for my 4 year-old, and some form of mushy finger food for the toddler. That may not sound easy for some, but my background as a former chef makes it a cinch and we can then eat in peace, avoiding the power struggles and the vocalizing of dislikes. Unfortunately, not only could this be a potential health hazard for my eldest son (no greens, meat), it doesn't exactly provide opportunity for trying new things.

I'm trained to keep the customer happy, but when the client is a picky preschooler who only wants pancakes or meatballs, I need to ignore his requests and serve up the chef’s special—for everyone.



JVR: Do you cook or approach food differently now that you're a mom?

UtHC: Hmm, friend once suggested to that I have a glass of wine before dinner gets underway to help me relax; I like that approach, but I don't think that is what you are asking, right?

I certainly make more of a conscience effort to serve a balanced meal than I did before we had kids. We always ate fairly healthy then, but often finished meals with a wedge of triple cream brie or a slice of cake. Now I rarely have those options available for the kids; dessert is fruit or yogurt.

Oh, we still eat sweets, just after the little ones are in bed!

* * *

Now let's hear from YOU!

Mealtime challenges? Dinnertime disasters? Dish on the above questions in the comments section below.

Share your wisdom; I'd love to hear it (and obviously I could use it!)

UtHC Fall Bulletin

For starters, can we just take a minute to acknowledge the always-inspiring Gourmet Magazine and its immeasurable contribution to the culinary world?
Shocked and saddened were two words that popped up the most on Twitter this morning when news spread that the magazine was folding. It certainly impacted my day.

It will be missed.










Submissions have been streaming in for the UtHC Virtual Jam Swap and the good news is that if you haven't yet submitted your entry to the swap, you still have a few weeks to do so!

It's easy to enter:

• Can it--jam or jelly, you decide.
• Post it--on your blog or website
• Link it-- link to this post
• Email it- send me the link & a photo

Deadline for submissions is November 1 and the roundup will be posted in mid-November.

Happy Canning!

It seems as though all my time twittered away has not gone unnoticed: last week the National Post's food & drink blog, The Appetizer, named @HighChair (that's me!) one of 15 Canadian Foodies on Twitter. How cool!

I had to pinch myself after reading a few of the other names that I found myself in the same category with: @BonnieStern, @coreymintz and *gulp* @lucywaverman.

"More deliciousness from Montreal." NP said of my tweeting, which was nice to hear but left me feeling even more guilty over a certain rant on Twitter that occurred a few weeks ago.
Note to self: stick to food and the occasional mothering topics on Twitter--that's why nearly 1000 people are following.

You can join in the fun by joining Twitter and following me here. If you enjoy reading UtHC, chances are you'll love my latest obsession as it's really a micro-blogging extension of UtHC.














Alright, just in case you've been listening to the rumors out there, yes, it is true that there is a new project in the works for me. Not necessarily for UtHC, but more for Aimee.
It involves food-- which kinda goes without saying-- the Internet and writing. What else can I tell you about it? Not too much just yet, but I can say that it's going to be pret-ty darn exciting when it launches in early 2010.

Stat tuned for details. You'll hear about it here first, I promise.

In Which I Meet Food Bloggers

N & M on the flight home

"No food in the fridge, suitcases burping up their contents everywhere, cranky kids & an overgrown garden, but it's all good b/c we are HOME!"

That was my Tweet this morning, well, more like afternoon. I dragged my butt out of bed at 7 (4:00AM BC time) with the best intentions of getting a jump on my day, but I promptly lay down on the sofa when I discovered that my body refused to function. Two and a half hours later I awoke to the sounds of Mateo chattering in the nursery and that was that. I played catch-up all day.

We arrived home last night and already the suitcases have spilled all over the living room, their entrails forming various paths throughout the house to the laundry room, the office and up the stairs. Although I make a point of leaving a clean home when we go away, we only get to enjoy it for about ten minutes upon our return before it gets ransacked.

Still it is wonderful to be back as Noah so aptly phrased it this morning as he walked from room to room:
"Mama, I love our new home."

Of course nothing is new, but I guess when you've been dragged around as much as our boys have over the last few weeks, a place to call home is a welcome site. They were so tired on the flight home to Montreal, that Mateo fell asleep while we were still on the tarmac and Noah almost immediately after take-off. I actually got to sip a drink and watch 'Cake Boss'. Amazing. (the experience, not the show--it's pretty lame.)


OK, so there's no food in the fridge (we had Mini Wheats for lunch, Mama's Meatballs from the freezer for supper) and we haven't yet picked up our cow, so I'm not back up to cooking and blogging anything just yet ( psst! meal donations are most welcome), however here are a few interesting links you might enjoy...

I've been lucky enough to meet up with several of Canada's finest West Coast food bloggers in the past month, and they've all posted about their experiences. It's pretty obvious who's the slacker here! Yep, moi.

Sue Robbins from Foodie Suz flew in to Montreal on business recently and I just couldn't have this smart foodie traipsing around town without a proper guide; so I offered my services. We blitzed several of my favorite spots and Sue proved to be fabulous company. Seems like she enjoyed herself too as per her post on the morning in Montreal.



When we planned a few nights in Calgary on our way to British Columbia, I thought, maybe, just maybe, Julie or Cheryl would want to hook up for coffee or a drink. Cheryl outdid herself by inviting the gang of us--husbands and kids, too--over for a BBQ. Plenty of good times ensued as a result.
Here's a recap on Dinner with Julie that will make your stomach growl and includes Cheryl's recipe for the Sour Cream Ice Cream that we devoured. Also visit Backseat Gourmet for Cheryl's very honest behind-the-scenes review of the day and the meal. You gotta hand it to her, she did such a beautiful job. Plenty of photos in both posts including a few where I look very short (I am).

I'm not making any promises on when my recount of the event will be up; that's entirely up to how fast I bounce back from to trip and get things ship-shape around here. And I'm talking about YOU, weeds.

UtHC Coast to Coast

A cool thing happened the other week:

We're a relatively low-profile blog and that is fine by us, but every once in a while we'll pop up on someone's radar and it's always entertaining to see what transpires after that and where our name ends up.

This happened recently when a Top 10 list I had posted a while back happened to land a spot in another Top 10 list over at the popular food blog, Endless Simmer. Demonstrating a stroke of pure genius, Brendan Spiegel (BS) compiled a Top 10 Top 10 Food Lists, a shout out to the "funniest food stories we've seen in list format".

Topping the hilarious, exhaustive and often insightful (I need to see Tampopo like now) list, was my Top 10 Things to Expect When Dining With a Food Blogger. Sweet!

That was just the beginning of the fun.

A few hours later, the New York-based food website, Serious Eats came calling. As this site has been praised by some as the "next generation of food media" and named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Best Websites, I about hit the roof when they called my list 'inspired'.
Equally entertaining was a commenter who stated "I refuse to eat with food bloggers or vegan/vegetarians."! Hilarious.

I would have been content if the link love had ended there, but the next day we traveled to the opposite coast and popped up on Eater LA, followed in quick succession by a spot on UrbanDiner, for some Canadian love.

Apparently, it doesn't matter which country you find yourself in, you might want to think twice before dining with a food blogger, as was proven by well-known Korean Food Journal ZenKimchi who stated that my list hit close to home.

We could talk about blurbs on News Now Network or SpliceToday, or all the food blogs that joined in the fun (at their own expense) but I think you get the drift...Wait, what was the drift? I've already forgotten.

How about this: Internet 'fame' lasts about 15 seconds, so grab a glass of wine and enjoy it!


.. and we're back off the radar. Cheers!



Did that header photo make you hungry? It's a Warm Lobster Salad with Asparagus, Fiddleheads and Poached Rhubarb.