Hey there…it’s been a while. Today, on the umpteenth day of the coronavirus lock down, I decided to make banana muffins using the soon to be compost bananas on the counter and as little sugar, eggs and butter as possible. Frugality has always been a part of my DNA but these days it’s truly a necessity.

I LOVE meatballs with or without sauce. I find they are a quick little energy boost packed with delicious flavor. It also helps that they are easy to make. This week I bought a pack of ground turkey (approximately a pound and a half of meat) and I remembered a recipe I had seen a few years ago on a food show in the South Pacific. The chef had used lemongrass and ginger and it always stayed with me. Seeing as I didn't have any lemongrass handy I decided to use the grated lemon rind and freshly squeezed lemon juice. It turned out even better than I expected. My husband and daughter devoured them.

I sat there remembering how as a child my dad and my uncle would go foraging in the woods for l'ail des bois and then spending countless hours cleaning and bottling them. I remembered my uncle serving up wapiti and other wild meats he had hunted. On the table there would always be a jar of ketchup au zucchinis and other home made delicacies.

It's been 6+ months since I posted anything on H&W and I've missed it. Tomber dans les pommes is a French expression that means to pass out and pommettes is French for crabapples. This is my play on words...

My better half loves lemon pie and seeing as I love him to bits I thought I could make him a tart with all these limes. I looked up the recipe for key lime pie and then I looked up another and another...they ALL said the main ingredient other than limes was sweetened condensed milk! SCORE!

Yesterday, all I could think of was making some heavenly vanilla cupcakes for the kids' lunch boxes. As I readied myself to make the cupcakes, I made the ''mistake'' of asking Olivia if she wanted a cupcake for lunch. The answer: ''YES! Chocolate please!''  In my head I was screaming NO... I want to make vanilla! Meanwhile, in the background, you could hear my son screaming for vanilla...GREAT! No problem...I can figure this out.

Did you know this chiquita used to make cake from a box? Yes, that's right I was Miss Box Mix before I matured into Ms H&W. Oh I knew people made cakes from scratch, my aunt for one, but I didn't think I had the skill set to pull it off. Alas, if I could only smack some sense into that younger self. As I delved into cooking and baking, I discovered people used stuff like yogurt and sour cream in their confections...who knew! I wasn't fond of yogurt so this was genius to me; a perfect way to hide the horrid stuff.

When I first started blogging I wasn't sure what direction I was headed in. I figured I would simply blog about the things I loved to cook. However, there was one very cherished  recipe I have been debating all year whether to post or not; my mother's leche flan. It is the one recipe I keep in the hand mixer box and the one thing that I would maybe have to risk life and limb for if the house was burning down (of course AFTER I've made sure the kids, the hubby and the dog were safe and sound).

Christmas is usually about food, family and fun but this year it was something more; it was about faith and miracles.

You know you've got something good when all you want to do is gorge yourself with batter and forget about cooking it. I never had brownies growing up and no I did not live under a rock...I guess it just wasn't something my parents thought of buying let alone making. As an adult, we never crossed paths either; it's not really something you'll find on a menu...it's a homemade affair.

Believe me when I say that the picture belies the insanity of this unassuming sweet. In Quebec, what the rest of the world calls fudge, we call sucre à la crème which means cream sugar or is it sugar cream; either way it's sinful. You can find this naughty little treat at the counter of most ''deps'' (corner stores) or if you're lucky enough, you have a family member who still makes some.

I would always eye the box of macaroons in the pastry section at the supermarket and wonder. For years I would toy with the idea of buying a box and seeing if they were actually as good as they looked. Sometime last year I caved in. There must have been at least a dozen macaroons in the box; they were all gone within a day. I wanted to see how hard it would be to make; I found out they were crazy easy...hands down one of the easiest cookie recipes to date.

I have ALWAYS loved gingerbread cookies. Two years ago was the first time I made my own gingerbread cookies and I was hooked! They were sooooo much fun to make and the kids loved to help! Last year I went crazy buying Christmas cookie cutters and I went a little nuts on the cookie making. By the time I baked my last batch of gingerbread cookies, I was all gingered out.

I finally set out to make chocolate madeleines but not just regular chocolate; I married orange and chocolate flavors by adding grated orange peel and a tablespoon of orange liqueur to the mix; PERFECT!

A few years agoback I met Ms Mancuso; she is a goddess in the kitchen! She makes the most amazing chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I could make myself sick going through a mound of those cookies. Last year her daughter, my friend Ana, came over for New Years and she brought a plate piled high with an assortment of her mother's and nonna's Christmas cookies...I nearly cried. Among the cookies were the beloved chocolate ones, as well as these colorful Christmas cookies. I have been thinking about them all year.

For as long as I can remember, cranberries meant holidays. I would only ever see cranberries once a year for Christmas and it usually came out of a can in a gelatinous blob. For the life of me I could not understand my mother's fascination with the stuff. Of course, over the years, I discovered cranberry juice preferring white over red; just like my wine. However,  in the last year or so, I have fallen in love with Ocean Spray dried cranberries; eagerly jumping on any opportunity to add them to my recipes.   Most recently, I've found ways to add them to fudge and scones and looking back there were even cookies, granola bars and muffins made with these delicious little berries.

Recently I was asked to create baby shower favors. It was a very special, very personal request and I was honored to oblige. They wanted something involving baking/baked goods. I was flattered and NERVOUS...it had to be perfect!

I'm not a drinker but I'll spike anything I can with alcohol. This time it's Amarula, or as I like to call it, Baileys' sexier more exotic cousin. I find the taste softer and more flavourful than my mom's fave Baileys. Like my mom, I like to drink my Amarula with milk; blasphemy I know...told you I wasn't a drinker. Now I have found another marvelous way to use Amarula by spiking my banana bread; creating a depth of flavour that is just insane.

There are so many things to love about Halloween...candies...roasted pumpkin seeds...candies...but one of my fondest food memories was when my mother would make pumpkin apple sauce.

A neighbour of mine at the cottage posts some amazing recipes on FB @ Tradition Maison and this one looked so simple and tempting that I just had to try it. I figured worse case scenario it wouldn't set and I would just lick the stuff straight from the bowl. Guess what ...IT WORKED! If I can make this fudge, anybody can!

Gorgeous! To date, one of the most beautiful dishes I've created and honestly one of the easiest. Like most people, I thought this would be impossible to make. I couldn't wrap my head around the seeming complexity of it. I first saw these beauties on FB and Pinterest months ago, at the beginning of my H&W journey. I figured I would make them for apple picking season; it would give me enough time to build up the confidence to tackle such an impressive dessert. It turned out so easy to make that I was almost disappointed!

For those of you who follow me on FB, you know that this is Apple week. My challenge is to create at least 5 different apple recipes in an effort to use up all the apples I have from our recent trips to the local apple orchards. Follow me this week while I tantalize your taste buds with awesome AND easy recipes.

Let me start by saying that my hubby is my biggest fan; God bless him. That said he wasn't sure I should post this recipe; more specifically the pictures. Yes, it's not as pretty or perfect ''looking'' as most of my creations but it was THE most perfect dessert because I made it with enough love to last for all eternity. A bit sappy but true...

I told you I was back! Di Sarono ricotta tiramisu cheesecake...doesn't that just sound sexy!? For those of you who follow me on FB, you know that I was considering making either Di Sarono tiramisu or cheesecake this weekend. Seeing as I couldn't decide which one to make, I married the two. The following is the lovechild born from my food affairs of the heart.

So there you have it. I'm back but I plan to chillax a bit. The kids are back in school and it's a big year for both of them. Mama is still tired and not superwoman, much to her chagrine. So here is the plan....there are 16 weeks left until we celebrate 1 year at H&W. That means 16 new amazing blog posts with maybe an extra one here and there...no pressure! We are going to finish the year off in style....wooohooo! Eva is back!

I have a thing for rhubarb. Some of my earliest memories are playing in the field behind my grand-maman's house in the country with my cousin Martin or running for dear life in those same fields trying to escape from being  ripped to shreds by my aunt's crazy dog Chico. Country life...aside from being terrorized by my aunt's psychotic dog, I loved lying on the grass under the massive wheeping willows and watching the clouds float by, gingerly picking gooseberries whilst trying to avoid their lethally sharp thorns and admiring the mounds of rhubarb that my aunts would get together for and make into pies and jams.

It has been a bountiful summer of fresh fruits and vegetables. I have taken full advantage of the treasures my local farmer's market has toiled, sown, reaped and proudly displayed for us to anxiously purchase and enjoy. I'd say I visit the market at least 3 times a week if not more, picking up the freshest of berries and the crispiest of lettuce. It's been AWESOME! First there were the strawberries, then the raspberries, the gooseberries and the red currents, the peaches (I need to make a cobbler with this week) and the blueberries. OH THE BLUEBERRIES!!!! My favorite of all the divine little fruit! I spoiled myself this summer, I bought myself a large basket of blueberries (6-8 cups) and ate most of it in one go. Then I bought another massive basket, half of which I froze, a quarter of which I made muffins with and the last quarter I greedily stuffed my face with like a little child. My third and last basket, alas the blueberry season was brief, I showed a modicum of restraint and froze 90% of the blueberries and rewarded myself with the rest.

I don't know why I thought these would be hard to make. I've always been mesmerized by these little treats. I love their name, I love their shape and now I love how easy they are to make. I picked up this gorgeous mold at Winners a couple of weeks ago. It was like I'd won a prize...I've been giddy with anticipation ever since. I was planning on making them midweek but things don't always go as we plan.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the country with my grandmother and my tante Fleurette. Family, good food and fields to play in. One thing I enjoyed about staying with grand-maman were her gooseberry and red currant bushes. The red currants were pretty and tart and the gooseberries were sweeter the darker they got. The gooseberries were my favorite eventhough they were tricky to pick; those thorns were just wicked sharp but the reward was heavenly.