The dinner I couldn't taste

Happy Monday all!

              Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I know a few lucky people ate their way through Foodbuzz weekend!! Looked like a lot of fun:) I, on the other hand, was trying to remedy a cold I caught. Boo!! It started on Thursday as I was totally lethargic and could barely function. Then on Friday I felt a lot better and even made it to the gym for a great upper body workout sesh from Jessica's site.

I had my sis-in-law over that night and we had a glass of wine together which I think is what kicked my cold into high gear as the next morning I was down for the count. I had made plans already to cook our good friends some dinner on Saturday night and I kept my word, even though it took a lot of rest stops and a nap to get me through! The worst of it was I couldn't taste a darn thing. Cooking without my taste buds? Yes, sadly I was cooking blind!!

Anywho, here was the menu!


 Soba noodle salad with ginger peanut dressing from Vegetarian Times. For some reason I didn't take a picture of this beautiful salad but it looked something like I've made before...

Yum!!!

I had this big ambition to make three salads and a soup plus dessert but due to me feeling like my head was going to explode, I toned it down to one salad, a soup, and cupcakes:)

As for the soup, I made a roasted butternut squash soup by Michael Chiarello on the Food Network. It was a lot of effort but the soup turned out pretty amazing. I added in too much squash so my soup turned out a bit thick but the taste was all there...apparently!

Now for dessert!! I saw Angela post an amazing recipe for.....

Mini Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes with Spiced Buttercream and Candied Maple Walnuts and I knew they were going to be my little treat for the dinner guests!!

 I started by shelling some walnuts! Mmmm local walnuts that I picked myself:)

Then I candied them up!

Then I frosted them up!!! I went with the full size cupcakes:)

Yum!! These turned out perfect!! Just moist enough! And with that icing...divine!

What's your favorite cupcake recipe?

I made it through the dinner with the help of some herbal tea. Then I gave our friends a scoby to make their own kombucha!! Wahoo!! So excited to share my knowledge and help someone make this amazing drink!

Sunday came along and I was feeling a bit better so I helped the hubby who had this sudden urge to have an organization bonanza of the house! I didn't fuss one bit:) I'm happy to say my kitchen is spotless and with some better organization, I have more counter space..wahoo! The rest of the house is looking awesome too.

Oh how I love progress!!!

All while we the hubby worked around the house the kittens had a grand ole time playing!

 I see you Oddie!!

I got you, big bro!!

 Time for a nap!

:)

Night Night!!

I'm in bed:(

Happy Thursday everyone!

I got the most exciting news at 2AM this morning! My best friend in the whole world gave birth to a baby girl! She is the closest person to a sister I have..so I get to be called aunty! Wahoo! Her beautiful girl is named Charlee..love it! Congrats to kylee and Jason..hope to see your beautiful girl soon!

Hope you all are having a fantastic week. My week has been busy but the last few days have slowed down drastically as I have a cold. This bug hit me like a sack of bricks. I was feeling a bit off Tuesday afternoon and by 8pm I was half way through the Kleenex and my head felt like it was going to pop! I know why I got sick...my diet changed. Since being at the coast we have eaten out every day..no joke. So, my huge salads and quinoa with steamed squash were not happening. I was eating vegetarian but crappy, non-vegetarian restaurant vegetarian , if you get my gist! I also wasn't taken my supplements that I usually take daily so my system was pretty vulnerable. I am forever amazed at how quickly the body responds to food, good or bad!

So yes, I'm supposed to be doing a million things this week (including working) and that has all but halted in its tracks. Thank goodness the hubby is feeling good so he can do the running around for me. I have yet to make it to my favorite foodie stores down here to stock up on some eats that I don't have in Nelson...boo! Yet, there is a bonus to my sickness, I've had a chance to listen to a lot of the WISH interviews. They have all been awesome and I've already bookmarked a few new people that I never knew. Today's topic is about $$$$$ so if you need some help in that department head on over to their site and have a listen. I mean who couldn't better their relationship with money?

I wish I could say that I caught up on all the blogs too but the brain can only take in a few lines and then the fog rolls in. I hit up a few today but there are a lot I know I've missed...there's always tomorrow!

So as I'm sitting here in bed on this beautiful day ...sigh... and I thought I would tell you how I'm tackling this cold.

• I'm cutting out the crappy eats - I have been eating more salads with garlic and cayenne pepper (ya the fam is so loving me right now:), citrus fruits, and nuts and seeds. I know those veggie burgers and stirfry's I had were OK but not nutritionally supportive enough. I had Whole Food Energy Bar too...yum!
  
• I'm drinking ginger tea - It has an array of benefits from killing off viruses to increasing circulation , and increasing sweating.
• I'm taking Organic Oregano Oil- The phenols in the oregano oil called carvacrol and thymol are the main constituents that provide antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiparasistic properties.
  
• I'm taking a tincture of echinachea, Astragalus, and Reishi - A crazy powerful immune boosting concoction.

So there you have it! That's my protocol for this cold. What is your method of attack? I hope that tomorrow I'll be able to go to work and get some things done.

Have a great rest of your day!