Bbq... and mosquitoes! Oh my

So, the bbq went off without a hitch! Well maybe a little hitch... thousands of little hitches (aka... those little skeeters).

I'm not sure where everyone is from, but if you're from Winnipeg you can definitely understand where I'm coming from, and if you're not, ha ha well don't pretend like you can try (just kidding!). The bbq started at 4 and we were out setting up around 10-11 in the morning. At this point, the mosquitoes were in swarms, and I mean swarms. I think I would get around 6 bites in less than a second (I soon changed from my cute shorts into jeans and that helped a lot). I'm not a big fan of spraying chemicals all across our yard, but there literally was no other way to stay outside unless we fogged our yard with a fogging machine. So my dad fogged our yard twice, with one of those times about 30 min before everyone arrived. It helped in the short-term (and slightly in the long-term), but with the little bit of wind that afternoon, some of the mosquitoes were blown back into the area and re-congregated there. All-in-all though, we were a group of true Winnipegers and just grinned and bared it.

The weather was wonderful (there was a chance of thundershowers, but we were blessed with a rain-free and partly cloudy day!). Most people showed up (a few didn't though, so we were left with a bunch of leftovers). We are blessed to have a great 'backyard'. Our backyard is pretty small, but behind our backyard is a huge field, hill and lake equipped with a wonderful playground. We bought a badminton/volleyball set and a little kiddie pool and brought out lots of frisbees and balls for the kids (and adults!) to enjoy.

Jay's little Noah (my nephew) enjoying some time in the sun!

We had a lot of good eats. We had enough vegan options for anyone who wanted, and many non-vegan items (lots of people contributed with their own potato salads and the like, but most of the things our house contributed were vegan). We had bison burgers for most people, but also the option of vegan veggie patties/vegan hotdogs with vegan buns. There were lots and lots of salads (not everything is pictured... at all! There was lots of food!). I wish I had more pictures, but my camera went missing right when everything was being put out (I found it right before the hoards of people went in to get a plate of food and could only snap a few quick pictures).

Lots of fresh fruit as always! Jay also contributed a bowl of freshly bought raspberries and blueberries... mmm :)

Our delicious Quinoa Salad as always! (recipe has been posted in many past posts... this time we included sauteed onions and cucumbers, dried cranberries, fresh parsley and lime juice!)

My mothers amazing bean salad (ha ha, just had a little bowl on the side of my lunch today... delish!)

Little place cards so everyone knows what everything is.

And the piece-de-resistance! The chocolate peanut butter cups from the Kind Diet! (recipe below). We had many different desserts (including the Martens family tradition of a Jeanne's Cake), but this was our delicious vegan addition. My mother took initiative and made these all by herself the day before we flew in from Victoria... thanks mom! (My mom could bake in her sleep, but Jay and I were so excited she tried a new recipe from my vegan cookbook!)

The Kind Diet Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

MAKES 12 (we made 3x the recipe... so 36!)

INGREDIENTS
1⁄2 cup Earth Balance butter
3⁄4 cup crunchy peanut butter
(preferably unsweetened and unsalted)
3⁄4 cup graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares
1⁄4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener
1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips (my mom used carob chips... mmm)
1⁄4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk (my mom used our Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze)
1⁄4 cup chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts (chopped almonds!)

STEPS
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat.
Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.
Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.
Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.
Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
Top with chopped nuts.
Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

These were really amazing. The tops were the hardest to 'set', so they can be a little difficult to eat if they've sat out of the fridge for 10-15 min. We found it was even better if they were put in the freezer (you don't have to worry about them as much when you're leaving them out for so long, as in a bbq).

Me and my grandma!

All-in-all it was a pretty fantastic day!