Birthday Parties Archives | Chef Heidi Fink

Category: Birthday Parties

Cooking in Season

Strawberry Pavlova with Meyer Lemon Cream

This is the kind of recipe that needs no written introduction. Fresh strawberry season is here, and the words …

Jun 12, 2016

Cooking in Season

Tayberry Lemonade!

Now this is the kind of post that needs to start with exclamation marks! Because it’s summer and the …

Jul 8, 2012

My Life in Food

Green Birthday Parties

My oldest son turns the big one-o today. Double digits already! Why did I not realize this would happen …

May 2, 2011

My Life in Food

Hallowe’en Fun Food

“The raspberry can be blood… and the gooseberry can be guts… Right, Mom?” this, out of the mouth of my …

Oct 31, 2010

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ifbc-2013

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Get My Favourite Kitchen Tools

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Digital Kitchen/BBQ Thermometer with Magnet and Clock Timer

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Asian Ingredients: A Guide

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Bench and baking scraper, set of three

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Fresh pineapple with lime sugar. A super simple, l

Fresh pineapple with lime sugar. A super simple, light, and flavourful finish to any meal, but it goes particularly well with the Thai meal my Zoom cooking class made tonight.
🍍.
I taught my first scheduled cooking class tonight, after almost a year of shutdown. Since the beginning of Covid, I had been waiting for things to get "back to normal" so I could teach again. . . By December, I realized they might never get back and I was going to need to (gasp) p i v o t.
🙃.
So tonight was a victory of sorts. It felt strange, but very good. Strange to use the new format, but good to be back in the saddle. Still some bugs to work out - I planned THREE separate recipes, plus rice & the pineapple!! - too much for this format. Typical Heidi, trying to cram too much in. The next time, the extra recipes will be included in the package but we won't cook them all.
😂.
If you are interested in any of my online classes, head over to my website (link in bio) to check out my schedule page or sign up for my newsletter. I have an assortment of menus coming, both vegetarian and non, some suitable for #glutenfree or #plantbased diets. You can cook along with me, or watch it as a demo. Open to anyone who cares to join - no longer are you limited by location!
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#pineapple #limesugar #thaiingredients #thaicooking #cookingclass #zoomcookingclass #zoomclasses #virtualcookingclass #cookwithme #learntocookthai #chefheidifink #learntocook #cookeryschool #cookingschool #yyjchef #yyjbusiness #culinary #sugardip

My top nine photos for 2020. I have always enjoyed

My top nine photos for 2020. I have always enjoyed this retrospective at the end of every year. In 2019, it showcased some beautiful family memories which were lovely highlights in an otherwise personally difficult & stressful year.
❤️.
This year, the collage is markedly different - much more focus on food and the blog. Maybe because we couldn't have the kind of gatherings and adventures we do in 'normal' years. We all spent a lot more time at home and in the kitchen, cooking and looking up recipes whether for fun or necessity.
🥘.
I created this collage myself because, in true 2020 fashion, none of the apps were working correctly. It's been a year, hasn't it? I can't begin to summarize anything useful or pithy about 2020 in this caption; instead I will describe each photo, clockwise from top left:
~a beautiful sunset on Dallas Rd
~blueberry shortcake from my blog
~waterfall at Mystic Beach in February, on a hike with friends
~pizza from our Bakerstone box pizza oven, a summer meal
~winter Pavlova from our family Solstice celebration
~biscuits made with sourdough discard (remember those early days of the pandemic?)
~artichoke hummous from my collection of Stay at Home recipes on my blog, published in April
~rhubarb custard bars, arguably the most popular recipe on my blog
~centre: strawberry cheesecake ice cream, a new recipe on my blog this year
🙏.
Thanks for being here to share the journey. Stay healthy and safe, my friends, and let's go gently into 2021.
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#bestnine2020 #topnine2020 #2020retrospective #yearinphotos #happynewyear #yearinreview #memories #ontheblog #cheflife #onmytable #beautifulcuisines #foodphotography #outdoorphotography #foodblogfeed #foodphoto #farmtotable #farmfresh #stayhome #stayhomerecipes #goodbye2020 #goodeats #yyjchef #vanisle #yyj

Taking down the Christmas decorations in time for

Taking down the Christmas decorations in time for New Year. . . I posted this photo to my stories the other day - my decorations, off the tree and ready to pack up for storage - and I received quite a few responses. 'Already?' was the primary one 😅
🎄.
Yes, already. I guess I'm the outlier here, but I REALLY like to have all vestiges of Christmas gone from my house by New Year's Eve. (I also like to deep clean my house in time for New Year's as well, but that is sometimes beyond my capacity.)
💚.
It feels really nice to have a fresh start to the new year. I personally feel really dreary when I stare at Christmas decorations carried over too long after Christmas. The same items that gave me feelings of warmth, excitement, and coziness before Christmas, feel stale and sad afterwards. That's just me, though. And so, it's become almost a compulsion to take them all down soon after the celebrations are finished.
🌟.
I know it's a custom in many Asian countries to clean the house before the Lunar New Year. When I first read about that, many years ago, I felt that my holiday compulsion finally made sense. Even though most people I know like to keep decorations up until the Epiphany on Jan 6, the official end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, I'm on team Put Away - fresh house, New Year.
🎆.
What about you? How long do you keep your holiday decorations up? Do you do it on the same date each year?
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#newyear #cleanhousenewyear #holidaydecorations #christmasdecoratiins #treestar #cleanhouse #christmaslights #cleaningmotivation #freshnewyear #newyeartradition #christmasisover #makewayfornew

Winter Pavlova 🍊🍐🍋❤️ /// An ethereal

Sunset to moonrise on the beach with two dear frie

Sunset to moonrise on the beach with two dear friends yesterday early evening. We may not be able to celebrate like usual, but we can find ways to connect and to fill our cups.
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#connection #yyjbeaches #yyjsunset #sunsettomoonrise #staysafe #celebratetheseason #exploreobserveshare #getoutside #simplejoy #westcoastbestcoast

We lit the whole house with candles tonight, a lon

We lit the whole house with candles tonight, a long time family tradition to celebrate the Winter Solstice and the return of the sun to the Northern Hemisphere.
🕯️.
This is the shortest day of the year where I live; every day from here gets a little bit longer and brighter. Today was the darkest day I've seen in a long time. A heavy rain / snow storm hit us hard all day. The dark clouds blocked the weak winter sunlight.
🌦️.
It was fitting, though. Dark, dreary and cold outside; warm, cozy & candlelit inside - it was the perfect day for indoor activities. I baked, tidied the house, listened to Christmas carols, cooked for our family Solstice feast, and felt much gratitude. It was deeply restful and restorative
🌤️.
Here is to the Solstice and the return of longer days. May the light shine in whatever way it can, through cracks & breaks of it must, but let it shine.
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#wintersolstice #happysolstice #thelightreturns #solstice #candles #candlelight #familytime #onmytable #solsticecelebration #gratitude #thehapoynow #thesimplethings #simplejoy