Keira-anne.com

If someone wanted to pay me to stay in the kitchen all day to bake, create, cook, chop, simmer, roast, blend, decorate, sprinkle, melt and frost simply for fun, I’d happily accept. Until that day, I do it for nothing more than spreading joy to people I appreciate through tantalizing treats. Food brings everyone together.

Martha knows what’s what when it comes to cookies, but I took a shot at her Rosemary Butter Cookies with a little bit of skepticism.

As a kid, I was constantly sneaking butter and sugar from the bowl when my mom made cookies.

Using fresh and real ingredients is a must. I picked organic rosemary over dried. I should also take this opportunity to remind you that margarine has no place in the kitchen. It is, in my opinion, a sacrilege in creating cuisine.

After forming the dough into two logs, I rolled and wrapped the dough in parchment paper, froze the logs for an hour before brushing in egg whites and sugar. With the dough frozen, making delicate slices was simple with a good utility knife.

After a quick trip to the oven, these sweetly crusted cookies danced perfectly with the rosemary and coarse salt inside. Simply amazing.

Next up was a big tray of ooey-gooey brownies laced with walnuts. Melting butter is a step I enjoy, simply because it means I don’t need to give my arm a workout by whipping solid butter into a sugary fluff.

Brownies are one of the easiest things to make, so after blending the rest of the ingredients in a bowl (ingredients most of us already have in our kitchens), the tray made its way to the oven.

While I’m sure they would’ve been great as-is, I was of the opinion that a wispy layer of chocolate frosting certainly couldn’t hurt. Spreading it on when the brownies are still warm is much more conducive to an even layer.

Santa managed to nearly triple the number of baking supplies and tools in my possession, including some Wilton stencils. Using a flour sifter, I dusted these designs onto the set frosting.

Don’t you wish some blogs were scratch and sniff?

For two years I’ve been meaning to watching Waitress, but somehow our paths never collided until very recently. It’s a precious and venerable treat of a film that tells the tale of Jenna, a young woman from the south who finds herself unwillingly pregnant by a man that thoroughly disgusts her – her husband.

Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Waitress was the first time I’d seen Keri Russell in action, and her portrayal of Jenna is endearing, full of grace and a little bit of cheeky humour. Trying to find balance between pleasing her obnoxiously jealous husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto), and serving up smiles at Joe’s Pie Diner, Jenna is more than just a pretty waitress with a knack for creating scrumptious pies. Waitress also features a delightful performance by Andy Griffith as well as a bit of rugged charm by way of Canadian actor, Nathan Fillion. I always found him rather cute in Firefly, but this film solidified his babe status in my books.

Filming and production wrapped shortly before writer, director and co-star Adrienne Shelly was found murdered in the West Village apartment she shared with her husband and daughter. While her death truly saddened me at the time, Waitress is a beautiful and inspiring film – a legacy that Shelly’s family should undoubtedly be proud of.

Even re-watching the trailer makes me a little misty-eyed. It’s true… I really am that silly.

Sometimes a girl needs a film just like this to offer a little bit of sugar-coated, heart-warming encouragement in life and love. And by the end, I even thought to myself that maybe someday it wouldn’t be so bad to have a baby. Maybe. Someday. Just maybe. MAYBE.

The fire’s still burning, South Park is playing in the background and everyone is in bed but me. Technically it’s Boxing Day, and I couldn’t be more glad that Christmas is over. Normally, it’s one of my most favourite times and days of the year. This Christmas was the exception and I feel far less merry than I normally would.

All was not lost though…

I woke up at 8:00 a.m. to find Charley eagerly licking my face. I think she must know when it’s Christmas and feel the excitement.

After I set the table on Christmas Eve and laid gifts under the tree, Charley marched back and forth, sniffed the presents and laid next to them as if to guard them all. On top of that, she was so eager and full of beans all day today.

My mom created a gorgeous centrepiece for our Christmas meal.

For some reason, “Santa” still spoils me rotten on Christmas this many years later. Among other lovelies, I got a fistful of gift cards, amazing cookbooks and an 8G iPod Nano.

After baking breakfast buns and hopping into a quick shower, I slipped into couture and headed for the kitchen. Taking over the turkey dinner reigns from my mom was something I welcomed with open arms a few years back.

On the menu? Three-day buns, turkey, stuffing, applesauce, buttermilk mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, yams, red cabbage, carrots and sweet gherkin pickles.

I was fortunate enough to have my longtime friend Rebecca join us for Christmas dinner this year. Her and her bottle of red wine were a welcome sight at my front door this evening.

After packing in a full meal, we all still managed to find some room for sweet goodies and tempting treats. My peanut butter cup cookies were the first to go!

Sending love and holiday wishes from Dawson Creek, Trevor and Laura (and baby Mellis – 6 months!) modeled their new Christmas threads for us.

Despite what could have been, there were still shimmery glimmers of goodness throughout my day, and everyone at my dinner table was someone that I love.

Perhaps I feel anticlimactic, perhaps I’m just getting older or perhaps life has jaded me somewhat. The one day I feel is always filled with magic instead seemed empty, void and not unlike an unfinished painting. I’d like to say “here’s to a better Christmas in 2009,” but instead here’s hoping for an entirely different Christmas…

Between Twitter and Flickr, my need of diary blogging on this site has seemingly become obsolete. While I haven’t felt much inspired to get deep lately, that’s no excuse to neglect you, o’ my readers.

Here’s a little of what I’ve been up to since arriving on Vancouver Island on Friday afternoon…

The mercury dropped as quickly as the snowflakes, so naturally Charley and I had to make use of our pending white Christmas. That little girl loves the snow, and if you don’t believe me, you should probably check out the video I posted.

With Christmas celebrations comes Christmas dinner, and with Christmas dinner comes Christmas dessert. My mom and I spent time on Sunday and Monday in the kitchen: she made her famous whipped shortbread; I made gingerbread shapes and Auntie Amy’s peanut butter cup cookies. And yes, they’re as good as they look!

A few weeks ago, I decided that it would be my Winter project to take up knitting. Mostly I want to be able to make a baby blanket for my soon-to-be-born niece (yes, they’re having a baby girl!), but I also thought it’d be fun to whip up some scarves for friends and for charity next Christmas.

Okay, so my tension sucks, but I’ve picked up the theory of the knit pretty quickly, and my mom’s BFF is bringing some perfectly-sized needles and fun royal purple wool for me on Christmas Day. The woman knits, weaves, cross-stitches, sews, quilts and who knows what else. She’ll have me knitting like a pro in no time!

After three days of cabin fever, my friend Rebecca came to my rescue in her boyfriend’s 4×4 and whisked me into downtown Courtenay.

London fogs, Christmas card shopping and finding some manicure implements were on our to-do list.

After our “date,” I met up with my mom for some McDonald’s for dinner. Tasty, I know.

Ugh, I gotta give myself a very, very thorough manicure tomorrow. After copious hand-washing while baking, my hands are in some serious need of TLC.

The snow is starting to come down again something fierce, so there’s nothing better to do than curl up with Charley and my fleece blanket and kick my mom’s ass at Dr. Mario. Yup, old school Nintendo. I might even bust out Rad Racer later.

Wham bam, it’s Christmas, ma’am. Sure there’s still a lot to get done, especially considering that there’s only one week plus a day until Christmas Eve. I am, however, enjoying every little bit of it as best as I can.

Photo: Gus Greeper on Flickr (Used With Permission)

After dinner last night, I rolled up my sleeves and baked six dozen sugar cookies – the only sound being Eli’s pitter-pattering paws as the snow started to silently fall. Snowflakes have been falling ever since, turning Greater Vancouver into a true Winter Wonderland. In all my 28 years, I have yet to experience snow on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so I am keeping my fingers crossed inside my mittens.

With work, packing, laundry, Wings with friends, cards, shopping, gifts and so much more to get done before ‘The Big Day,’ who knows how much time I’ll really have to blog between now and Christmas. So, that being said…

I haven’t blogged in a few days. You missed me, I missed you, so here we go.

Finally I’ve received word that Mount Washington will be hitting the ‘on’ switch on their lifts this Friday, December 19. Being that it’s the mountain’s 30th anniversary, all adult alpine lift tickets are only $30, so strap on and get up there.

You asked questions. I answered.

Life’s been busy lately – really busy – and I am quite sure there are more commitments than there is “available Keira-Anne.” Cookies aren’t getting baked, my Christmas cards are sitting in a sealed stack waiting to be stamped and mailed, my Christmas shopping list is far from finished and there are only three more sleeps until I leave for holidays on the Island. Am I the only one running around with too much to do and too little time? I doubt it…

Oh but I got something else and it’s awesome.

Photo: Shu Uemura

Just this morning, I was saying to myself how bent out of shape my Clinique eyelash curler is. Lo’ and behold, this morning I received yet another Christmas gifts from one of the lawyers I work for. She gave me one of Shu Uemura’s 24K Gold Limited Edition Eyelash Curlers – one of only 100 in Canada, apparently. It’s pretty.

Saturday, for all intensive purposes, is over. It’s 8:33 p.m. and I have nothing else planned. If asked for a word to describe the day, I think I’d pick “quaint.” Before she left for Whistler, I met Amy on South Granville around noon and, after a quick peek inside Chapters, we made our way to Caffe Barney for a scrumptious brunch.

I chose the lox and cream cheese on a bagel. It was divinity. For some reason, I’ve been really, really loving salad over the last little while, and even the scraps of greens with dressing on my plate were beyond delicious.

I was bitten with the baking bug, so Amy suggested we whip up some chocolate and cinnamon flavoured zucchini muffins. I am crazy about anything cinnamon! After a quick ingredient and tulip stop at Meinhardt Fine Foods, we made our way to Amy’s apartment only to be greeted by Peanut.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon wrapped up in peppermint tea, reminiscing, girl talk, photo albums, shredded zucchini, chocolate chips, laughter, “Mellow,” YouTube and finally enjoying the fantastic muffins we made together.

Thank you for the wonderful escape today, my friend.

On Friday I told you that I live for weekends, and the last two days are exemplary proof of that. Saturday’s sunrise walk and yoga practice were the perfect way to begin my day, and everything only got better from there (including the Skinny Peaches from Jugo Juice that Jennifer and I grabbed on the way home).

Saturday

After cleaning up and showering, I headed out to meet up with Amy, Peanut, Casey and Benji before heading to Crab Park. I can’t think of a better way in which we could have enjoyed the warm sun rays.

Amy made me pose.

Casey had a blast chasing his favourite rubber bone. He even managed to sucker a lady into throwing the bone for him for a solid half hour.

Original Photo: Amelia Burrows on Flickr

Classic pose, everytime.

Photo: Amelia Burrows on Flickr

One of my favourite reasons for going to Crab Park is meeting interesting people. We came across a backpacker from the east coast and his dog, Cuddles. Apparently she’s a very unfriendly 13-year-old pup, but she seemed to take to Peanut like a fish to water.

Original Photo: Amelia Burrows on Flickr

Since they spend most of their time cooped up in an apartment, I love seeing how thrilled Benji and Casey become when they’ve got endless green turf to run around on while they play and laugh in their special doggy laughs. Also, being that he’s not terribly fond of other dogs, it’s a rare occurrence that Benji actually likes Peanut, so Amy and I are encouraging as many playdates as possible.

Video: Amelia Burrows on Flickr

After the park, Amy and I went to one of my favourite little gems in Gastown, Farfalla, on East Cordova. Each of the tea tables was adorned with a little lilac blossom and the scent was heavenly.

Following a hearty meal from McDonald’s, I spent Saturday evening watching ‘The Kite Runner,’ a beautiful film based on a popular, best-selling book. The story chronicles two young boys and best friends in Afghanistan in the late 1970s, one from privilege and the other being the son of a servant. As the Russians invade, the privileged boy and his father flee to Pakistan and eventually the United States. Twenty-two years later he receives an unnerving call from his childhood friend and subsequently embarks on a journey back to his homeland. All I can do is encourage you to see this film.

Sunday

On Sunday morning I woke early to pillage the shelves at Urban Fare in preparation of a birthday feast. Being that Sequoyah was the birthday boy, I told him he could have whatever he wanted for dinner. His request was simply: “lasagna, extra cheesy…and a chocolate football cake!”

I set out making the cake first.

Any chance I get to bust out my pink measuring cups and cocoa is not one I’ll pass up.

The football cake in all its candle-lit glory.

I found what was supposed to be a fantastic lasagna recipe that uses three different cheeses (in order to fulfill the birthday boy’s request). It got a big thumbs up…

Cooking in layers is a fun experience.

The ricotta cheese wasn’t suppose to contain spinach, but what fun is cooking if you can’t deviate from the recipe a little bit?

Lilah called it “scrumptious!” I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard that word, or a variation thereof, since the last time I watched ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.’

Sequoyah wasn’t the only one celebrating a birthday this weekend. The Bee turned four yesterday!

It was Sequoyah’s lasagna, so he got the honour of cutting it.

After all the birthday festivities, the littlest pup was all tuckered out and fell asleep nicely on my knee.

Today brings another work week and I’m already in the thick of things but have so much more fun to look forward to (like ‘Juno’ on DVD, Army & Navy’s shoe sale and Tequila Kitchen with friends).

They say every little girl needs a strong man to look up to. A man who, through his actions, shows her what a man of strength and integrity looks like.

That man was my Opa and today would have been his 81st birthday (if memory serves me correct).

He was my best friend, my clown face, my educator, my listening ear, my confidante, my music-listening buddy, my nature walker, my carrot-picker and so much more than I can even articulate.

Him and my Oma had a relationship that is certainly enviable. He fell in love with her in Europe, she was reluctant to marry him – especially since he was a younger man. My Opa came to Canada, moved to the Northwest Territories and toiled away in the mines up north until he had enough money to send for her. Eventually, she agreed to come to Canada and marry him and the rest is a beautiful history.

Though today is his birthday, the little parts of him that I see in myself remind me to celebrate who he was every single day.

I miss him.

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I just want to take a quick moment to congratulate my dear friend Rebecca (who celebrates something special tomorrow) on this morning’s launch of her newly re-designed blog. The gorgeous new graphics are the perfect compliment to a blog that’s just as colourful in its own right. Head on over there to check it out.

Congratulations, Beck-Beck. My “girls” can’t wait to promo you.

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For those of you that don’t know, I’m a very traditional girl in a lot of ways. In fact, you could even say I’m somewhat sexist, but the truth is, I just consider myself “grassroots.” While I firmly believe that women should be able to do whatever they want, I also believe that a woman definitely has a role in the home.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been quite sure that I want to stay home with my kids once I have them, God willing. What I hadn’t ever figured out was how I could do that and still contribute financially to the bread bowl. However, after scoping out the kitchenware shop in Courtenay, I am proud and excited to say that I had an epiphany and have finally figured it out!

…

Photo courtesy of PinkCakeBox on Flickr

Not only can I contribute by designing and decorating wonderfully adorable cakes, cupcakes and cookies at home, I can make use of my domestic skill set at the same time. I kinda just want to start doing this now!

Earlier today (well, technically yesterday), Becky wrote on my FB wall and stated that she bets I’ve been wearing an apron 24/7 since arriving at my mom’s, simply because I can (she obviously knows me well). Oddly enough, she’s right. In the last 48 hours since I’ve been in Courtenay, I have baked, or assisted in baking, no less than ginger spice cookies, ladyfingers, rum balls, my fabulously famous 3-day buns, cranberry lime shortbread and a valiant attempt at ripping off Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars.

Much of that was made with a shake and bake at my dear friend Bethany’s this afternoon. Her daughter made a brief appearance after her nap, long enough to roll out some shortbread dough, before she was whisked away to Mt. Washington for an afternoon of snow tubing. I used Bethany’s camera to snap some shots of the afternoon in progress…

Sure it looked like Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars, but tasted nothing like them. Whoever formulated that rip-off recipe was way off.

Once we had finally finished our flurry of activity in the kitchen, our tired and powdered sugar-covered bodies flopped onto Bethany’s over-sized couch. What I’ve come to appreciate of my new friendship with Bethany is the talks that we have. She is one of the most open-minded and straight-shooting women that I know. I can’t tell you how refreshing that truly is to my soul. Did I mention that she is also very sweet? She made me a Christmas present.

And yes, she designed the cover too. She’s a talent, that girl.

Before I left, Bethany gave me another gift. She gave me a compliment, unlike any other I’ve ever received. Usually I get the compliments of the following sort:

“Keira, your hair is gorgeous.”

or…

“Keira, I wish I smelled as pretty as you do.”

or…

“Keira, how come you’re so good at everything you do?”

or…

“Keira…oh, Keira…mmm…yeah…”

No, Bethany’s comment was nothing of the garden variety. “You know what I like about you so much?” she began. “You’re an enigma. I can’t figure you out.”

Here I am, a girl who has long wondered if she’s too boring or too plain or uninteresting. And then someone calls me an enigma. It’s a compliment of the biggest sort that only really serves to better illustrate the kind of girl that Bethany. To me, she seems as though she’s one who sees straight to the heart of things and can easily cut through the shit to see what’s really there. There ought to be more people like that in all our lives.