We had bought some Christmas cookies to be baked at home on Christmas eve – but alas – as you can see here – it was left too long in the oven.   What a bummer!  PB and Chloe was disappointed because they were the ones who wanted the cookies.

They were so burnt they can’t even be saved!  guess our oven is hotter than we thought it was. While chloe was whining about it and PB ranting about the oven – what did mama do?  just ignored the burnt cookies and showed everyone to the tv room. muahahhah!  that’s what mummy’s are good for right?

I’ve always wanted a cookie jar – but never bought them – because I didn’t really think they were practical.  But this year – I had to buy it because it’s one of the things I had been longing for in my kitchen.  I loved my very first Christmas cookie jar and I want to be able to bake lots of cookies with Chloe and her friends when they come visit.  The cookie jar was a wee bit expensive – but what the heck ! it’s Christmas!  and every home must have a cookie jar right?

We always celebrate Chloe’s birthday early – to avoid the bad weather, so after that year – we always do it earlier – so the kid won’t be disappointed if her friends don’t show up due to bad weather.  But this year, we decided to let Grammie do the birthday party – afterall, she is the only grand daughter right?

So Chloe is turning 8 yrs old in another 10 days – we cannot be more proud of her – and yeas! grammie made the cake and we had bought her a toy – to make it look like a real birthday cake.

Chloe being silly for her birthday party – which consisted all her aunts and uncles – we didn’t invite any children because I just want her to be with family and loved.

Ti’s’ that time of the year again and loads of treats and baking goods like these cupcakes are on sale at the local supermarket/grocery stores.    They are all very sweet – luckily, I don’t like sweet stuff like these – else I would faint due to sugar overdose.  I don’t like buying stuff like that to eat – but PB – well he’s another story – he loveeeeesss his sweets alright!  Thank God – his blood sugar is good even after eating loads of them.  I try not to feed Chloe a lot of junk either – she gets to eat one of them but not more.  What about you ?  do you let your kids eat cupcakes everyday?

For some of us – we are busy buying gifts for our loved ones and preparing a menu for Christmas dinner – but for others like my daughter’s godmother in Singapore – who is a dog-lover – she must also be preparing treats for her two cutest doggie in Singapore.  And guess what we found at Pet Valu here in town – dog treats !!!!  they looked so delicious !  that we too want to eat them.

Don’t they look just like treats that you and I give to our kids?  well – for those who have dogs at home – look no future – you can get this for your pets for Christmas – or just because.

But as you can see – these treats are not cheap – but who cares right ?  after all our dogs are just like our kids.

Mannn!! these look delicious!  I asked the manager and he said they can be kept for a long time – so you can even buy them and store them till you want to treat your dogs.

Love the packaging – so if you know of a dog owner – and you want to send a gift to them – why not consider these dog treats – I bet they would be thrilled with your kind gesture.

The treats are packed with goodness and are all labeled with the ingredients.

This is too pretty right?  even the cookies we eat ain’t that pretty.

So I saw this tarts at the Farmer’s market by an English couple and asked if they could make some for me.  A few weeks later – they had some made and I went to pick them up.  The tarts were good – but I had expected them to be the egg tarts from home – but these as you can see are cinnamon on top of the tarts.   Not really what I had expected – but it still tasted really good – except for the cinnamon that I didn’t really care for a lot.  A wee bit is fine – but too much just take the egg custard taste away.  I didn’t finish them all – and in fact gave some away  - I may just have to learn how to make egg tarts (dan tart) on my own.

Did I mentioned that our new Farmer’s Market in our town is opened all year round?   yup!!  and yippeeee!!!   this week PB went to the Farmer’s market with us – so I can buy more stuff – but alas, he left to open the store – what a bummer – but that’s alright – he gave me money to buy more stuff – muahahhaa!!!

Macaroons are my favorite – so when I saw this new stall at the Farmer’s market – I had to try some.  So I bought a chocolate one for PB and a lemony one for me.   Chloe didn’t want any – silly girl!  and they were yummy too!

Some chocolate cookies with raisins I think.

More macaroons.

Pretty sugary cookies.

And biscotti !!  woohoo!!  i haven’t had one of those for so long – because we don’t have a Starbucks here.  But these biscotti are really good in fact – better than the ones from Starbucks.

Chocolate and almond ones – and they are not as hard as the ones from Starbucks.

And this beautiful girl is from a mixed marriage – mom is from Philippines and dad is a Canadian.  Pretty right? and very sweet too! and very nice.

And there were some craft work children and chloe made something at the Farmer’s market.  But without her daddy there – she didn’t want to stay long.

A tortoise – pretty right?  made by Chloe herself – pretty good right?

Keeps the kids happy and healthy !  a bag of apple for Chloe’s class .

But because Chloe needs to give out the apples – we bought a basket – so that she can be little red riding hood – hahah!  But the kids loved the apples and were all very happy.  We are glad to do our bit.

One has gotta love all the cakes and desserts you can get here in Canada.  At our local grocery store – we have many talented bakers and Patissiere, there are just so much one can choose from – so this weekend – make sure you get a treat or two for the entire family.

Rich and yummy right?

Drooling!  I am !

Did you all know that the best pie for a diabetic to eat is a blueberry pie?  yup – they have the least sugar in a piece of blueberry pie – in fact, anything blueberries are great for a diabetic.  So when I saw a blueberry pie from Goodies across the road from us – I had to try a piece.  Of course, I was addicted and went back to get a whole pie – but I had to wait a few days – but was not disappointed with the blueberry pie at all.  The entire blueberry pie only cost $7 + tax – and worth every penny of it.

The blueberry pie is made from scratch –  as you can see here.

This blueberry pie is not so sweet like the ones I get in the mall – the way i liked it – I could have a piece of it every day for tea time – and my sugar level is still alright.  So if you want some pies try some at Goodies.

I haven’t made red bean soup for a long time – because I had been very busy but the other day it was raining so much – I decided that it was time to make some.  I wished I had known that my chinese friend was coming to visit tomorrow – coz’ I would have saved her some.  Red bean soup is actually a dessert for us back home and not the kind of soup you drink before you main course and for those who wants to try some – I welcome you to it – let me know eh.  In my red bean soup, I also have gingko nuts and sago – it’s definitely very pretty and yummy.

Goodies from Goodies – and it’s exactly like I write it – you see bakery store just opened up on the next street from us – and we are all familiar with owner and creative baker – Lena Fevens.  Very talented, young and most importantly has very good customer service and even offer to give you a free cupcake if you didn’t like the ones you bought yesterday.  Definitely a nice gesture – and will retain loyal customers.  Goodies opened shop a few weeks ago and both Chloe & I had been to visit many times – we’ve even introduced Goodies to friends and customers at our store.  Therefore, the lesson to learn here is  good food can be found in many places even downtown or in several steel buildings around the world.

Everything is super yummy and super rich and as you can see – they are all handmade and takes time.  Prices for the cupcakes are from $1.50 – $2.50 and cookies are like $1.00 each.   The cookies are heavenly good – definitely worth the $1.00 I paid for them.  I would eat more if I could afford the sugar.

Different types of cupcakes and flavor are found on the showcase and I’m told that they have coffee now.  Check out their pies as well.

Cinnamon rolls has icing in it already.

These were what we bought the first day Goodies opened.  For those who haven’t been into Goodies – do try them out and give Lena a shout – and lots of support.  Goodies is located at John Street where the old L & N sign used to be – directly opposite Lam’s used bookstore.

We all love our spouse – but how many of you out there who have spouse who cannot remember those special dates and anniversary?  Mine almost forgot my birthday one year – till his mother called to wish me “Happy birthday!”  – outta be shot right?  but seriously, won’t you be kinda disappointed?  in fact, in many years to come – when you disagree on something – all these forgotten anniversary and special dates are going to come out and blown outta proportion – so men ! out there !!   listen up – there is such thing as overnight anniversary gift option and if you had really forgotten – mannnn!! you better use this option – because spending a little money is going to save you lots of  nagging in the years to come.  Trust me – I’m one of those who loved nagging and remembering those days – hahaha!   And yes – it’s the thoughts that counts – you don’t need to buy the spouse a diamond ring – some cupcakes or chocolates and flowers would be sufficient – surely, that special woman in your life deserved at least a box of chocolates or cupcakes or flowers if not all 3?  if the answer is yes!  well – you know what to do – but if you think you love the nagging – then go ahead and not send anything but if you do – I bet you will be getting a lovely surprised when you get home.

Summer is almost over for us here – because the kids are going back to school in just about 2 weeks.  So the grocery store had all these cake for going back to school and they are too cute to give it a missed.  As you can see – Chloe is fascinated with them – so she wants to share with everyone – how talented our bakers are here.

Cute right  - I was thinking of getting this cake for Chloe’s class when she gets back to school – what do you think?

Look at this crayola cake – so cute right?  Chloe wanted to know what was inside and how the baker’s  made the crayola cake and they were so kind – they came out to explain to her – loved the bakers at Sobey’s.

So is it ice cream or is it yogurt?  and it’s yogurt not ice cream with granola !  yums! and I fell in love with it and eat it every other day as a snack.    I like that they have granola in it – thus making it much more appetizing and filling as a mid-day snack.

Tell me this don’t look absolutely yummy to you !

I normally can’t eat it all in one sitting – so i keep it for the next day – but as you all know I love fruits – so i would eat all the fruits first.  But being diabetic – one needs to be careful about the sugar content in the fruit and yogurt itself – even the granola tasted sweet.  But it’s definitely better than eating a bar of chocolate or some chips right?

I haven’t been eating a lot of muffin of late – because most of them contains lots and lots of sugar.  But I finally found a muffin that I could probably eat everyday ! whoohoo!!!   Found this at our local Farmer’s Market – sold by Natalie Smith of  Hilltop Cottage Farm.  Why do I think that diabetic can eat them?  because it doesn’t contain sugar – and it’s sweetness comes from the banana and blueberries.   A wee bit more ex – and not as sweet – but definitely healthy and good for everyone – even those without diabetes.

So if you want some of it – head down to Hawthorne Street on Saturday 9am – 1pm but go early – because Natalie’s stuff goes really fast.  I only bought one this time – but come next week – you will see me having 4 – muahahah!

Different strokes for different people like they say – for some people they get the best creatine supplement for their muscle food while PB – gets the above for his muscle food.  He eats chocolates, candies and junk food and his blood sugar is better than mine – and he eats sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner and his supper – but when it comes to muscle food – he eats cakes and brownies and anything chocolatey and sweet.

This was found in our local grocery store – something new and very creative indeed -  I know I wouldn’t be eating it – but wouldn’t this be fun for the kids at Chloe’s school?  PB said sure – slap on pounds and some muscles for the kids – hahah!  funny!

I’m pretty sure that the body builders don’t eat this for muscle food – but other supplements – but if PB said that this is his muscle food – who am I to argue right?  so lucky or what???!!!???  can eat all the sugar and his blood sugar is still so good!!!  Jealous totally!

Back home I don’t remember buying a cake for my mother on Mother’s Day – because my mom would ask for a dozen of roses and a bottle of perfume.  But here in Canada – PB’s favorite gift for his mother is a cake – hahahahha!! men!  but the best part is PB’s mother don’t expect anything from him unlike my own mother – who would tell you what she expected hahahahah!  I think it’s the right attitude because I wouldn’t expect anything from Chloe either when she grows up and definitely not expensive flowers nor perfume – and surely expensive flowers and perfume doesn’t show one’s appreciation right? it’s the thought and the heart that counts.   Even though this cake was an el cheapo cake – PB’s mother ate it with delight and she was very happy with the cake too.

I had actually seen this in one of our local store down on main street a few weeks ago – but i didn’t buy it immediately because Chloe doesn’t bring a cupcake or a muffin to school often.  Then last Sunday we bought her some banana chocolate muffins for snacks for school and I asked myself – why was I so el cheapo and didn’t get her the cupcake on the go ?  so PB brought me out to the gift shop – after sending chloe’s lunch and i bought a pink one for her.  woohoo!!

So there – muffins or cupcakes can fit into the cupcake on the go holder and only for $3.99 + tax of course!  the government wants their share (blood suckers!)  They come in a few different colors – i think blue, yellow – and green.