Back to Baking

A few years ago, I got this wonderful cookbook from a friend of mine. What made it more special is it was signed by Anna Olson.

Back to Baking is a really great book, the brownie recipe in there is to die for! It has 3 different types of chocolate and it's melt in your mouth! My absolute favorite brownie recipe. Saying that, it of course has sugar and white flour, but every once in a while doesn't hurt. I decided this morning to try her chocolate chip cookies and banana walnut muffins, although hers is a loaf, I decided to make muffins instead. Both are very delicious! The muffins have brown sugar only, and I got to use my almond milk and there's no egg in this recipe. The cookies have both brown and white sugar, and it called for cornstarch, which I don't have, so I used arrowroot, and they still turned out delicious! Arrowroot is more natural, it comes from a plant, so when I need to thicken something, I always use that instead of cornstarch. Here's a picture of both

I definitely recommend this cookbook, it's great for that occasional treat. I do love the food network, I just wish there was more actual cooking shows. Right now it's more about competitions, and makeovers, so I don't watch that channel as much. One show I have been watching quite a bit lately though, which a friend of mine told me I had to watch, and she's right, it's really good. It's called Pioneer Woman. Ree Drummond has a wonderful life, she lives on a farm, has a wonderful family, she's a blogger, writer and  photographer. Her meals look delicious, and although I haven't tried any of her recipes yet, it's a wonderful show to watch. I'm also a fan of Michael Smith, Guy, Chuck, Rachael Ray, and of course Anna Olson. There are other chef's I love, but don't watch quite as often. I really do miss seeing Emeral on the food channel, but do see him from time to time on the Rachael Ray show.

Life has been pretty hectic, but I do hope to share more recipes soon. I haven't been out there running so much either, but I do need to get into gear because I am signed up for the half marathon in September (army run). Stay tuned for more recipes and my progress on running.

Aubrey's - Your Corner Butcher

When it comes to meat and endometriosis, it usually isn't a good mix. Meat tends to cause more pain. Fish and sea food is ok, but chicken, turkey, pork and beef, not so much. I avoided it a lot when my endometriosis was bad, but now I'm able to eat it a little more often, but I do still like my vegetarian meals as well. If you are going to eat meat, it's best to go with the best quality.

Aubrey's is the place I go to. It is a bit of a drive for me since they are located in the market downtown, but it's worth the trip because they have the best quality meat.


They always recognize me when I come into the store, and last time I went in, she mentioned that they also offer the service of vacuum sealing the meats you want, in any way you would like them wrapped, which I will definitely take advantage of this service. Each time I get meat I always get a lot and separate it all when I get home into freezer bags. So with them wrapping it all up for me, it will save me some time when I get home.

Here is what they have to offer:

WE ARE PROUD TO OFFER THE FOLLOWING:

• All natural pasture raised beef
• Nitrate free bacon and Ham (Locally smoked with real hardwood maple)
• A well maintained and traditional butcher shop environment
• Personal service from friendly passionate staff
• Meat cut to your request (not pre-packaged)
• Chef on staff to coach you and guarantee your expectations
• Preservative-free homemade specialty products, pate, potpies, jams, jellies, sauces & spices
• Milk from Cochrane’s Dairy (in the traditional glass bottle)
• Naturally aged cheddars from Mapledale, and Crerar’s Honey
• “Mariposa” Ducks and Geese along with a variety of game meats
• Air chilled, free-run, grain fed chicken
• Farm based game meat (elk, bison, wild boar, deer)
• All natural handmade sausages (no preservatives, additives, gluten or filler)
• Our great Rotisserie Chicken made daily!

 This is the reason why I always go back:

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM YOUR CORNER BUTCHER
This traditional butcher shop prides itself on its extensive knowledge of the meats and the farms they come from. It begins with a time honoured history of providing the highest quality products from dependable local sources … that means Farmers, not factories. Some of the relationships with farmers and suppliers extend back over 40 years. Meats are prepared and cut by true butchers trained on site. This ensures that all products meet our high standards and more importantly, exceed the customer’s expectations. In short, at Your Corner Butcher, you will get exactly what you want cut skilfully to suit.

You can visit their website here.  Above they mention how it's local sources...that means farmers, not factories, and I love that! I have seen documentaries about factory farming and they are so cruel to animals, therefore it's very important to me that I get my meat from farmers where the animals are treated right, and also eat what they are meant to eat, and they aren't injected with anything.

I hope you go check them out, because they are amazing!