Although you heard all about our trip around The Emirates and Oman with my parents, I didn’t recap at all on their time here in Kuwait!  I thought I’d summarize their trip with a few photos and some anecdotes so you can get a flavour of their week with us.

Of course they visited us at school and met some of our students and saw our classrooms.

We took them to church on the compound where our church meets.  There was even street food on the compound that day:

We went out to eat at various places.  This particular place is an outdoor favourite of ours since it has a water fountain show that dances to music.

No trip to Kuwait would be complete without The Kuwait Towers…except they were closed for renovations, so we could only see the outside.

We had a marvelous (and brisk!) walk along the waterfront of The Gulf while taking in some lovely sites.

And continuing a theme on our trip, the mosque also wouldn’t let us in since it was the weekend and it is closed to non-worshippers.  If only we’d realized that, we could’ve gone during the week. :(

And of course we had a great time showing them The Souk, Mubarakia, where you can barter for all kinds of deals on great items, and eat amazing middle eastern food.

It was a lovely trip and we’re so glad we got to show them our home!

It was approximately 6 years ago, and we had joined together with a bunch of colleagues and friends for a Canadian Thanksgiving potluck. There were the usual suspects: turkey, mashed potatoes, green veggies of various shapes and sizes, gravy, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, the classic jello mould…etc.

Instead of being one of those people who opts to bring a “classic” item, I branched out and chose to bring pumpkin soup. It’s very autumnal, perfect for Thanksgiving, and different enough that no one else would likely bring it.

I brought it in my crock pot, set it out with a ladle, and expected people to fill up their bowls immediately! Instead, people gave it a quick look a by-passed it.

I was confused, but pressed on, and served myself a bowl of the deliciousness.

I sat down, and my friend next to me said, “what is that?”

Incredulously I replied, “…pumpkin soup…?”

“Oh,” he said, “I thought it was a giant crock pot of nacho cheese dip.”

And thus I understood where the complications arose. People didn’t realize it was soup! THE perfect soup for such a festive occasion! They were misguided. They didn’t understand.

I spread the word that it indeed was not nacho cheese dip, and people began to try it, realizing that it was as delicious as I knew it to be.

And since then, when invited to a Thanksgiving potluck (of the Canadian or American variety) I usually try to bring the pumpkin soup. Once people “figure it out” it tends to be a hit. And quite frankly, Thanksgiving or not, it’s just a yummy soup.

I’ve posted the original recipe here, as well as a curried version, but I’ve made it twice in the last week for American Thanksgiving festivities, and I made some changes (namely changes that add more flavour and make it vegan) that I think warrant a new post, with a bit of an updated recipe. It’s still the same classic vibe, but a little bit more delicious.

The New Pumpkin Soup:

• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion (any kind), diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1″ of fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tbsp. curry powder
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 5-6 cloves
• 4 cups cooked pumpkin puree (= 2 cans)
• 2 cups of coconut milk (= 1 can)
• 3 cups of water (or vegetable stock)

On medium-low heat, simmer the oils, salt, pepper, and onions.  Once the onions begin to caramelize add the garlic and ginger.  Simmer for a few more minutes and then add in the rest of the spices.  Reduce to low and simmer 2-3 minutes.  Add in the pumpkin, coconut milk, water (or stock) and simmer on low.  Use a hand blender to puree the soup to your desired consistency (I prefer mine to be smooth).  Taste and add any extra spices or salt to your own tastes.  The longer it simmers the better it will taste.

There’s just something so delicious about tres leches cake.  I’ve had it only twice before, but both times I loved it.  I wanted to re-make this delicious treat, and decided that I’d do it in the shape of cupcakes.  I also made a couple of tweaks to make them slightly “healthier” – but not too healthy…I mean, it’s dessert…why would I go crazy??

I had fun serving them to my friends Elaina and Heather for a girls’ lunch.  It’s really soft and it retains the milk mixture pretty well, kind of like a bread pudding-style.  And it’s sweet.  Really sweet.  It’s a fun treat, but it does take a bit to make…so do it when you have a bit of time and you’re feeling adventurous!

Tres Leches “Cupcakes”:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoon baking powder
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup honey
• One 10-ounce can (300 mL) sweetened condensed milk
• One 12-ounce can (370 mL) whole evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk (1.5 cans)
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1 can (300 mL) of Dulce de Leche*

Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. In another large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the honey at medium speed until well mixed, about 3 minutes. Beat the egg whites and the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture until smooth. Scrape the batter into the pan. Bake the muffins for approximately 30 minutes. The centre of the cupcakes should come out clean when a toothpick is inserted. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

In a large bowl or measuring cup (at least 8 cups), whisk the condensed milk with the evaporated milk, coconut milk and apple juice.  Place the cupcakes in a baking dish, and pour 1/2 the milk mixture over them evenly and turn them gently once or twice to make sure that they’re all fully covered. Leave them in the liquid for about 5 minutes and then pour off all but a thin layer of the liquid. Cover and refrigerate the cakes overnight. Carefully transfer the squares and muffins to plates. Drizzle with the Dulce de Leche and serve.  This recipe makes 24 cupcakes, so you’ll need to do the milk process twice unless you have two muffin pans.  Sadly, I do not.

*To make dulce de leche: put a can of condensed milk in a pot of boiling water for 90 minutes and then let it cool completely to room temperature. Open and it should be caramelized.  It will remain caramelized once it is cooked regardless of how long you leave it stored in your cupboard.

Wow, seriously – where did time go???  I feel like we just moved to Ontario, and yet we’ve been here for over a month now.  Crazy.  Only 2 months left until we up and move again…

In all the excitement I forgot to feature the June issue of Faith & Friends Magazine where my recipes are published each month!  Here she is:

The featured recipes are the Satay Skewers (perfect for these warm nights!!) and the Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad.  Both are fantastic for a crowd this summer!

What’s your perfect BBQ recipe?

As you read this we’re likely on a plane from Victoria to Toronto.  These last 4 years have been an incredible journey.  As we move on from this place we’ve been reflecting on some of the great things we love about Victoria…

Hanging out with friends (from Church, from around the city, from the neighbourhood!)

Walks along the Westsong Way (where I could enjoy my favourite Arbutus tree)

The abundance of local and organic foods

Cell group potlucks (Bible studies with our Church)

High Point Sunday morning gatherings

Spiral Cafe (our office away from our office where we enjoyed eating carrot cake and peanut butter squares!)

Seeing the mountains out of our back windows

Silk Road Tea Store

Saxe Pointe (where we enjoyed picnics overlooking the ocean)

Biking along the Lochside/Galloping Goose Trails

Symphony Splash (A local event where the symphony plays floating on a barge in the inner harbour in the summer)

 Qoola Frozen Yogurt

Fantan Alley (Canada’s narrowest alley way!)

Fisherman’s Wharf

Old growth west coast rain forests

The Vic West Corn Roast (A classic community event that reminds us of what it really looks like to enjoy time together as a community)

Street entertainers in the Inner Harbour

The proximity to great hiking trails

Victoria’s an amazing place to live, and one we’re sad to leave.  But we leave it with tons of wonderful memories and lots of new friends and family.

I like to pin various recipes on pinterest, and then if they work out well I save them in my “Successful Pinned Recipes” category so I can easily find them.  I figured I’d hi-light a few of those that we enjoyed so that perhaps you could enjoy them too!*

1. Flax Hair Gel from Peas & Thank You

This one isn’t a food recipe, but it is an excellent, all-natural hair gel.  Both my husband and I have used it and it’s fantastic!  Store it in the fridge so that it doesn’t go bad.  It’ll last a long time!

2. 5-Minute Naan from (never home)maker

We LOVE this recipe.  It’s so quick and easy and fantastic with our regular curry dishes.

3. French Toast Casserole from All Recipes

Such an easy and fun breakfast that is perfect for company!  I’ve made this a few times for breakfast meetings.

4. Chocolate Chip Scones with Almond Flour from Food Stories

These were a fun find that I made for friends who came and helped us clean our house after our stuff left on the moving truck.  They were perfect because I happened to have all the items on hand and needed to use them up!

Have you tried any awesome recipes lately?

*All pictures are sourced directly from the original sites.  These are not my photos.

We had a BLAST with Peter’s sister Rachel and our nephew Nathaniel.  We started out by walking downtown along the harbour.  As we were walking we were lucky enough to see purple starfish!!  The tide was low (lower than we’ve ever seen it in 4 years!), and because of that, we saw these cool creatures (look near the cement wall):

It was Victoria Day (a holiday) so we wandered around in and out of shops, and we also stopped to enjoy these delicious Belgian waffles:

One of the things we all wanted to do was go whale watching.  Of course, the day we set out to do it it was raining and gray and chilly.  But the water was calm and we hoped for the best!

We were told we wouldn’t see orcas (killer whales)…but, in the end, we were surprised to see a transient pod of 7 or so whales:

We also saw a bald eagle and some seals:

There was also a fabulous lighthouse.

Did I also mention how this crosses another thing off my bucket list???  I crossed off #51: go whale watching on the Pacific coast of Canada.  Oh, and not just that, but I crossed off #69: eat dessert for dinner:

We had eaten a late lunch and so we just settled in for dessert later that night.  I had a chocolate cheesecake brownie.  YUM!

Then, the next day we took a drive and went to Cathedral Grove to see some amazingly huge trees and crazy cool flora (the only fauna we saw in the forest were slugs!).

And on our way back to Victoria we stopped into the town of Coombs to see the goats on the roof, which is always fun:

It was a jam-packed visit, but a great one!!