Pot O Gold

Happy Market Collective everyone!

Another MC has come and gone and this weekend I was blown away, and here's why:

I have been trying to keep things fresh by continuously bringing in new ideas and recipes not knowing what will catch on and what will be dead in the water.

Last MC I had introduced my Red Velvet Cupcake in a jar and some people didn't know what to think, I really wanted it to work because 

#1: I love jars, and 

#2: I really loved the idea and the contrast of the deep red with the white of the cream cheese frosting.

So I made them again this time and yikes! They went over so well, people came just for them and I had a couple tweets about them! (how exciting!)

They will definitely have to be a staple from here on out!

Another thing that really excites me are my cake stands. I had thought about making them for an extremely long time and one night I made one and I was pretty much hooked from then.

I completely loved every single stand I made (I have a bit of an obsession with cake plates as it is) and wasn't sure I wanted to sell them at all because of my undying love for them but I decided to let them go. 

If I didn't I would have ended up on an episode of hoarders one day...

Pictures of most of them will soon be up but here are a couple from the ones that I took to the market this past weekend.

I was so overwhelmed by how they were received and continued interest in them, even Julie Van Rosendaal bought one and then later tweeted about it!! 

@dinnerwithjulie: My haul: sea salt caramel,
cupcake in a jar,brownies +
 a killer cake stand from @mrktcollective

Wowza. All I have to say is thank you Calgary, you blew me away.


Keep checking back for photos of my depleting inventory, as well as new ones that I am currently making.


Cheers!
Vicki

Bone Broth Cleanse

This post is not pretty or sweet... it's  brothy, and boney, and to be honest a little creepy.


I took a little visit to see my Naturopath and after being sick with two different colds in the last 2 weeks he suggested I go on a bone broth cleanse. 
It's basically a stock, but less meat on the bones so you get more of what the bones have to share with you, like minerals and amino acids and such.


Bone broths are a good source of amino acids – particularly arginine, glycine and proline.  Glycine supports the bodies detoxification process and is used in the synthesis of hemoglobin, bile salts and other naturally-occurring chemicals within the body.  Glycine also supports digestion and the secretion of gastric acids.  Proline, especially when paired with vitamin C, supports good skin health.  Bone broths are also rich in gelatin which improves collagen status, thus supporting skin health.      


I have to say this cleanse was surprisingly effective, the minimum is 4 days and you can do it for as long as you'd like. You end up having a mug-size of it every 2 hours or so.
So here's the recipe if you dare!

Ingredients

• Chicken parts & bones (necks and leftover bones or soup bones - 2 to 3 pounds)
• 4 L filtered water
• 2 tbsp vinegar (white or apple cider)
• Vegetables: 1 large onion (peeled & quartered), 2 carrots, cut, 3 celery stalks, cut
• Parsley - Optional

Directions

1. Place chicken (or turkey, beef) parts and bones into stock pot with water, vinegar.
2. Add all vegetables except parsley to the pot.
3. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Bring to a boil, and remove any scum that rises to the top (there is almost no scum when using pastured birds).
5. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours up to 24 hours. The longer you cook it, the more flavour and nutrition it will have.
6. (Beef broth can go 36-48 hours. Fish can go only 4-12 hours.)
7. About 10 minutes before finishing the broth, chop the parsley and add it to the stock for extra minerals.
8. Remove bones and vegetables with a slotted spoon. Discard.  If you want a clear broth (with no bits & pieces), use some cheesecloth in your strainer
9. Strain the broth into the 2-gallon glass jar  or large glass bowl and let cool to touch on the counter.

Store in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight, until the fat rises to the top and congeals.

So there you have it, I have to say I have done a lot of cleanses in my day and this one was pretty up there. If you're interested I'd say give it a shot!

Happy Cleansing!

Double Post Day!

Ok so I desperately want to get this blog on the path that I had envisioned for it, so this is my attempt to do do.
I want to keep this blog very up to date on the things that I am working on, or experimenting on, so here goes!!


Here's what kept me busy this February, 
It's no secret that I have a weird love for cookies (which actually isn't weird at all because cookies are delicious) so I've been trying out different recipes variations, including...

Deep Dish-style S'more cookies!! Adore

I used a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and pressed it into a muffin top pan, and topped it with marshmallows, chocolate bar, and graham crackers! I was supposed to make them for the upcoming March Market Collective  but I ended up eating 3 of them... or more, but I'll never tell.

I may or may not have toasted a marshmallow and made a s'more with the s'more cookies... 

I also made the all time favourite, Peanut Butter Cookies

My very special recipe compliments of the town of Domain, MB. Just the right amount of crispiness and chewiness.

Beautiful.

If my future kids have a peanut butter allergy I will die. I love peanut butter SO much!!

I've also been dabbling in making sponge toffee, and I think with all of my practice, I may have perfected the art. I got the recipe for this here

It was also my bro-in law's birthday this month and he didn't want a fancy dinner, just to make brunch for all of us. I felt the need to still make something special for him and what better thing for a brunch than to make....

Birthday Cake Pancakes!

Can you even wrap your head around it? So I basically made cake batter, but a little thicker with not as much milk as I would normally add, and added some sprinkles, pure magic.

I topped the stack off with a vanilla custard sauce and some more sprinkles, because you can never have too many sprinkles on your birthday. 

If you are interested in making any of these things e-mail me for a recipe, or you can always order something from me as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, until next (not so far off) time.

Love , Vicki

Ode To Market Collective

So because this was the Love Edition of Market Collective I thought I would take a minute to express my love for the market itself.

Market Collective is a community. A community of artists who are trying to make a business out of what they love to do. Instead of competing with other similar businesses, they accept and encourage every artist and business that are trying to make it, just like themselves.

There is so much creativity in the world right now and I appreciate the fact that we can come together as one and be accepted in this city.

I commend Calgary on having something so awesome, and I thank Market Collective for showcasing such a diverse group of artists, musicians, and artisans such as myself and my amazing sister.

Anyways, now that I've expressed what's in my heart, here are a couple of photos of how my table looked for the St Valentine's Market.

My Table, and you can kind of see my other sister Jenny on the side there, she was such an amazing help!

So there she is folks, I am so blessed to be doing this, and I am blown away by the support that everyone around me has shown.

Thank you!

Oh one more things, my niece Emma made these little animals out of clay and it would be a crime not to share that with the world...

Amazing!

Oh Canmore, My Love

Dear Canmore,


I love you... 


-Vicki


Last weekend I tagged on to my sister's little family getaway (sweet sister, I know) for some much needed relaxation time. 
I love going to Canmore because even though it's only an hour away, it feels like a world away from your regular life. 
I love looking in any direction and seeing divine mountains, and any possibility to run into a majestic deer really gets me going. 


I got there on Friday night and Kate, Mike, Emma and I went to dinner at the most amazing Bison in Banff

It was my first time but have been wanting to check it out on account of the fact that every single member in my family raves about it every time they go (which happens to be quite a lot) 
I really meant to take pictures of my meal so that I could share it with you all, but in my daze of great food and pork belly - oh how I love pork belly - I completely forgot to log what I was stuffing into my mouth.
So for that, I apologize.
I did however, manage to get a terrible picture of my dessert - Caramelized Banana Cream Pie with Sponge Toffee and a little baby Fudgesicle. Yikes! In a good way...

So now I'm going to be obsessed with making sponge toffee, I will let you know how that goes.
Saturday we walked around Canmore, did some shopping and for dinner went to my Canmore fav, Crazy Weed 

I had some amazing Mac & Cheese with goat cheddar and double smoked bacon... so delish! 
Even though it was a quick little trip, I filled my time with great food and the bestest company. 

So thank you Canmore, for being my escape on those times when you just need a little break.

-Vicki

Christmas at Market Collective

Soooooo..... it has come to my attention that I suck at blogging? I guess it's not a question, it is a fact. I know that you're thinking that I'm way too hard on myself, and maybe I'm not terrible at blogging, just very slow. 
I mean, this post was supposed to be up 3 weeks ago and I'm just getting around to it now, so I've decided to make my New Years resolution to blog faster. Be on the blogging ball.


So here we go!


Back in December I had a table at a little thing called Market Collective, which showcases and celebrates local artists, musicians, and artisans. I had done one in the past and loved doing it but due to work scheduling I could not commit to it. But now I have made it my goal to be involved in as many as I can.


For my first time back I shared a table with my lovely sister Kate, of Uh Oh My Deer and here's a peek at what it looked like

A little squishy with all of our awesome stuff filling it, but I think it turned out amazing.

I am so thankful for everyone that supported me, and for Market Collective for letting people like us have outlets to sell what we so lovingly make.

Happy New Year!

Real Thanksgiving... American style

So I know that US Thanksgiving was 3 weeks ago, but I am a little slow getting these posts up (I am making a mental note to not let it go past one week of whatever event I am doing... good luck to myself)
Anyways - moving on - I told you on regular Thanksgiving that I consider American Thanksgiving to be 'real' Thanksgiving and I totally stand by that. NFL on all day long, 2 out of 3 of my teams won so not a bad day there... I shake my fist at you Aaron Rodgers...
Cooking all day long with my Dad is the best part, we really take it upon ourselves to make this Thanksgiving a little different than usual ones, this year our big deal was 2 Turkeys! Yeah I just said that. 
We did 2 -19 pound turkeys to get more dark meat and it's faster than one 25 pounder.


The best part, obviously, for me was the dessert. I try to be a little different and think outside the box from the traditional pie, but I still like to stick to pumpkin. It is my favorite fall flavor and I love making different things with it. Last year I made a pumpkin spiced trifle with cinnamon pastry cream and spiced whipped cream, oh memories.


So this year I made a personal sized pumpkin tart, bruleed on top with a whipped maple creme fraiche. Yummers!

Bruleed Pumpkin Tart with Whipped Maple Creme Fraiche

The picture is a little fuzzy, and it's the only one I have from the whole night, I started on the Prosecco a little early that day...


This year some of our very special guests couldn't make it and they were dearly missed, so we felt that we really had to do a good job in their honor and I think we accomplished that. 
Here's to next year!


This  post was very wordy...


Stay tuned for some Market Collective times.