easy

Well, even if this snow storm wasn’t worthy of calling in the army to dig Toronto out, we still felt like we needed a little warm-me-up from having been outside trudging through the snow. And it doesn’t even have to be cold out to give in to Homemade cappuccino or Homemade hot chocolate cravings, right? You’ll find these warm drink recipes listed in the Valentine’s Day-worthy menu suggestions at the back of the cookbook.

If you’re looking for a colourful salad, complete with bold yet complementary flavours, then the Easy arugula and hazelnut salad is for you. Having learned a lesson or two from my failed attempt at the Best-ever brownies recipe a couple of weeks ago, I made sure that after toasting the hazelnuts (in my toaster oven at 350F for 10 minutes), I promptly rubbed them in a towel while they were still warm to remove the skins (it becomes much more difficult to remove the skins once the hazelnuts cool). If you’d like to skip toasting hazelnuts, then almonds or cashews would do quite nicely. I do recommend taking the few extra minutes to toast the hazelnuts, though. And if you send someone out to get some for you, remind them that they will find them in the baking section labeled as ‘filberts’. If you don't, your errand boy or girl may find himself, or herself, roaming the aisles of the grocery store frustrated, confused and hungry.

It was a cold winter day so the timing seemed right to make the aptly named “Perfect Roast Chicken." Or, as our 18-year old sister-in-law/student/housemate called it, “Crazy Good Chicken." I wish I had started roasting chickens a long time ago. I only started doing it on my maternity leave with our son (i.e. less than two years ago!) and was surprised to find what a stress-free meal it is to make.

We were invited to a friend’s place for brunch, along with three other families with young children. I promised to bring a dish so I opted for Chocolate-stuffed French Toast

I had grandiose ideas of having a relaxing time making dinner tonight. I had chosen the dish and fully expected to pick up a few more grocery items and then leisurely pull out my crisp new Chatelaine cookbook...