mmm mmm mousse

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you're all having wonderful holidays - and here's a treat that's great for Christmas and New Years! My sister whipped up this eggnog mousse one night and it was the perfect holiday dessert to enjoy with good company by the tree. Thank you Martha Stewart for the recipe!

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons dark rum
3 Tablespoons brandy
1 envelope unflavoured gelatin
3 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 Teaspoon ground cloves
2 Teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Prepare an ice bath; set aside. Combine spirits in a small bowl. Sprinkle with gelatin; let soften, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until mixture is pale and fluffy, 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in gelatin mixture.

Set bowl over pan again; cook, whisking, until the gelatin has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to the ice bath; scrape down sides of bowl, and whisk until cooled slightly, 1 to 2 minutes

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of whipped cream into gelatin mixture, then gently fold gelatin mixture into remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate (no more than 5 minutes) while preparing the egg whites.

In a clean bowl of the electric mixer, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream mixture. Transfer to a serving dish; cover. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes or overnight. Serve chilled, garnished with coffee caramel and other recommended toppings.

style envy: zooey dechannel

Clips from 500 Days of Summer

winter wonderland

Well, I'm back home in Yellowknife and I have to admit it feels great, chilly but great. This past week the temperature plummeted to -47 with the windchill (that's -52 fahrenheit for my American friends).

Yes, it's painfully cold but I still think snow deserts are beautiful. Don't you?



Yellowknife city life


Remember to bundle up!

beautiful simplicity

memory lane

On their first date, my mum and dad went skydiving.

It was 1979 and a friend had set my mum up with a "nice, boring man" (as mum put it). A great fit, her friend must have thought, for a semi-shy, patient woman who spent her childhood in Lisoux, Saskatchewan and would weed the garden and collect smooth stones for fun.

The Airport Chalet in Whitehorse, Yukon was a place where everyone knew your name and which seat at the bar was yours. It was here that mum met her blind date, but instead she was drawn to the charming Scot who had only recently packed his belongings in a Tartan-print suitcase and arrived in northern Canada with 50 pounds in his wallet.

Below the photos of planes and flight legends that decked the walls in Yukon aviation history, airline staff, from pilots to ramp-rats, passed their time. Dad, the cargo manager at that time, was relaxing by the fireplace, getting "rum-dumb" as the night went on.

On their second encounter, dad extended an invite to her for a quick trip south to leap out of a plane. They headed south to Carcross, Yukon in his black '71 Ford Interceptor police car - the car he would later sell to buy her engagement ring.






There's more to the story but I'm working on getting it published so stay tuned!

free falling

On a quick trip to Seattle a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go sky diving for the second time in my life and for the first time as a tandem skydive. Over coffee and french toast a couple weeks earlier my Seattle friend Lauren mentioned that her mum was turning 60 and wanted to celebrate the date by leaping from a plane - what an amazing woman, hey? Lauren invited me along, knowing that I have a love of heights and adrenaline and shortly after we were driving an hour north of Seattle for the jump!

We arrived at Skydive Kapowsin - a family owned skydiving company minutes from the heart of Olympia. We walked in, anxiously signed safety waivers, jumped into brightly coloured jumpsuits and within 10 minutes we were in the plane, climbing 13,000 feet. The entire thing was documented with photos and a video (though we all found it difficult to say interesting things while so nervous).



Because we were all doing tandem jumps we were securely tethered to jump maters - meaning they had all the responsibility and we could sit back and enjoy the ride! Kathy (Lauren's mum) was first to jump, she scooted to the open door of the plane and in one fluid motion, whoosh, she was gone. Lauren was next, and I was seated behind her. I blinked and she disappeared out the window. Last but not least was my instructor and I. He held onto the sides of the door as I faced forward into wide open sky, then WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, he launched us forward and I tumbled headfirst out of plane with nothing between me and the ground below. It was AMAZING.


Don't you love the contrast between our faces and body language??



Brave ladies!