Liquid Gold

Happy Friday all,

            Wahoo the weekend is here! Can you believe Christmas is a week away? I'm so not ready in all areas - baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating etc etc! I plan on doing some serious time in the kitchie this weekend so hopefully my baking to-do list will have a few big check marks on it. what is on my baking list, you ask? Well I'll give you some hints.

1. This dish was created by a lady in a Vancouver Island town.

2. These treats bring together the two most amazing ingredients: chocolate and.....

3. Something traditional that Lori wants to make too

4. Something you have to make with a mold

It's going to be a delicious weekend:)

Tonight is also my work Christmas dinner. We are headed downtown ( in a limo wahoo!!) to a dinner comedy theatre which should be a lot of fun. Sometimes you even get pulled on stage and they dress you in some crazy costume:)

The receptionist has even made some festive jello shooters.
Maybe my ambitious Saturday should be moved to Sunday lol!

I'm finally feeling the end is near with this cold. I've been juicing a lot, especially with ginger!

It even has it's own glass with a black bat on it! Cool! No, there was no extra cheer in my juice:)

The other day I got home at 8pm so it was a packaged dinner. Ya i know it's shunned upon not the greatest to eat food from a bag but I think in this case my choice wasn't too shocking.

This was okay. I would have liked more beans and veggies in there (duh). Isn't that always the case with food from a package? That's why it's only in desperate situations that I eat it.

Do you guys have your go-to packaged food if you are desperate?

I've been thinking about ways to jazz up my salad and then Torri mentioned Averie's taco meat.  I actually had everything on hand to make it. Love it when that happens.

I used 1/2 cup almonds, 1/4 cup cashews, and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds. I wanted to see what kind of consistency this combo would give. It tasted amazing but it didn't really stick together. I don't really care if it sticks together or not as long as it brings a good flavour to the dish...and it did:)





I used it on my salad last night..along with musclun salad mix, broccoli, kohlrabi, pickled beets, and nooch. Weird combo, yes, but a delicious one at that!! I topped the veggies with a healthy serving of miso-ginger dressing. Simply add equal parts tahini and miso, grate in some ginger, add in some fresh lemon juice, sprinkle in some S&P, and voila a delish dressing.

My favorite!

This was an awesome dinner! Lot's of flavors and textures which surprisingly melded well together.  I'm repeating this for lunch today.

Switching gears for a second..Let's talk hair.

My hair can handle most shampoos. I try to stick to the organic brands but if I'm away I will use whatever is available.

But that has changed...

I bought a different, expensive shampoo and my hair looked like I just rubbed oil through it. Horrible!

I had to get a different brand because I couldn't handle it anymore...fail again.

Could the chemistry of my hair change? Have you ever had this happen before? I'm stumped.

I was desperate and looking for any shampoo, chemicals and all, then I found this...



Look closely...it actually says vegan formula on the FRONT text. How cool is that? 

You do indeed vote with your dollar..and this company is listening!

And it actually works with my hair!! Hallelujah!!! I'm excited that some of the regular shampoo companies are providing healthier versions that still work.

I'm off to eat lunch and prepare for the Christmas party...stories coming Monday:) Have a great weekend!!

Fail

Howdy folks!!

          How are you all doing? I'm okay but rather humble today. More on that later in the post. But let's get started, shall we?

FAIL #1

You remember this...

My backyard a couple weeks ago!

Well, it was beautiful but crazy cold too! When I say crazy cold...I'm talking -15 Celsius. Yes, that's cold for us. Let me have my moment please:). Anyways, I had my beautiful squash that I got from here...

***sigh***

and they ALL froze in my shed. My Turks turban, kubocha, acorn, and one butternut squash are now feeding the microbes in my compost bin:( The cats and I had a brief second of mourning each time I tossed a squash in the bin. I picked up some more squash at the store the other day but it definitely is not the same.

Oh well, lesson learned.

FAIL #2

I missed the fight with this hunk....

Oh Mr. St. Pierre!! How I missed thee. Now I'm not a huge MMA/UFC fan but I like watching GSP fight. Do I need to explain why? LOL. I missed this fight because I'm still battling this cold. It's transitioning right now from a head cold to a cough..fun!!

Since Ryan went to watch the fight and I was alone for the night..it was chick flick time! I don't know if I've told you but I grew up with one of those old school record players. The big boxy ones that has a tape player and a tuner in it too. I've told my mom to never get rid of it and if she runs out of space, I'll take it. Records are cool, my friends. The one record that I listened to a TON of was Abba. To this day I still love their songs. So it was rather sad that I had yet to see the movie/musical featuring only Abba songs...Mamma Mia.

The movie was a lot of fun and took my attention away from the fact that I have to breathe with my mouth open.

Have you seen this movie? Are you a musical movie fan?

I'm way more in love with musicals since watching Glee. I know that sounds cheesy but it's true.
PS did you know the guy that plays Puck is a classically trained pianist? Don't ask me how I know that.


FAIL # 3

  I made the amazing leek and potato soup from Laury of  The Fitness Dish. So,so good! Thanks for sharing Laury!! I was planning on having it for dinner last night and so I began heating it up in a pot. Well, the hubby decided on an impromptu movie night and so we were in a mad dash out the door and guess what I left on?  So after came home from watching the new Harry Potter (really great, by the way!) the house was full of smoke! Initially we thought it was the Christmas tree..but alas, the rest of the soup and my pot are toast and my house now smells like burnt popcorn. It was so bad that we slept with all the windows and the even the sliding door in our bedroom open. Yes, we thought about burglars but having the stench leave the house was more important. Besides,we do have a crowbar and two guard cats just in case:)

It could have been much worse if we were gone for longer so I'm very thankful for that. Now, I think I'm going to have to bake batches of cookies to make the house smell like a home again.

Anyone have any experience dealing with burnt popcorn smell?



But my day sure is better than this guys! So things are looking up!
 
Have a great day everyone!!!

Excuses and hummus!

Happy Thursday all!!

      Holy have I been a bad blogger! But wait I've got a boat load of excuses for my absence. I was travelling for work. Heidi and Bitt too bad I didn't have more time for a visit as I was in your neck of the woods! I got sick..again!! So frustrating I must say. I should have armed myself better, right Laury? The hubby caught a bug from work and he so kindly passed it on to me. That's love isn't it? Plus my class is getting pretty complicated and is requiring more brain cells than normal.

That's enough of my pity party, wouldn't you say?

Moving on to more exciting things...I got an interview for school!!! Not everyone who puts in an application gets an interview so I'm so excited I advanced to the next step. I've never had an interview to enter school before so it should be interesting. All I know is that I will be interviewed by 5 or 6 different people in separate rooms. I'm glad it's separate versus having a panel of people. Now that's intimidating! My interview is on January 6th so I'll be sure to update you all on how it goes!!


Now for some festiveness!! We finally got our tree. Every year a reality business provides a Christmas tree to their customers. Our friend's mom received the coupon for the tree but she lives in a condo and they aren't allowed real trees (sad, I know!) so they gave it to us:) Thank you Cam and Danise!

She's a beauty too:)

Are you a fake tree lover or does it have to be real?

I don't think I could ever have a fake tree. Growing up they were always real so it's all I know. Although those trees with pre-strung lights are tempting at times. The next picture will explain why...

How many guys does it take to add lights to a tree? Apparently more than this as Danise and I took down the lights and strung them up again..in a minute:)

This year is a silver and red theme!

 But there is always room for some classics on the tree!!

These are from Ryan's childhood:)

Some more decorations! That tree is an ancient thing that I got from my aunt..but I love it!! It really is like a festive light-bright. All those colorful pieces fit into holes on the ceramic tree. Place a light bulb underneath the tree and voila! a light-bright tree!!!

I still have a lot to decorate so I'll show you the final product soon:)

Now for some eats! I made a first over the weekend..almond milk. I always thought that it was going to take too many almonds to make it worth it. They ain't cheap in B.C.! But I was way wrong. I followed Ani's instructions for vanilla almond mylk which only used 1/2 cup soaked almonds.

Nice and plump!

Pulp! I'm thinking of making some kind of cookie with it. Any ideas?

So good!! I didn't add as many dates as Ani recommended so it wasn't too sweet.

The hubby loved it and this jar was gone within a day:) He was quite the milk lover as a teenager.

I will definitely make almond mylk again! I want to experiment with other varieties of nuts.

Maybe even make a chocolate mylk.

In other news, I finally found some dry chickpeas. I looked in multiple big grocery stores and none of them had the dry version. I think the city has gone hummus crazy!!. Luckily my local health food store keeps rations for times like these:)

I had a serious craving for some hummus so I went ahead and made two versions, classic and roasted pepper. As it turned out, Angela just posted a recipe called The Hummus That Changed Everything.

 How could I resist?

Mmm..love all that paprika!

This was really delish! Thanks Angela!



My lab assistant was talking about her roasted red pepper hummus all week and she had me drooling! I didn't have red peppers on hand, but I did have orange ones!

Such a great flavor!! My hummus craving has been deliciously satisfied!

Since I had some leftover cooked chickpeas, I went for a sweet treat from Averie.

Cinnamon sugar peanut buttery chickpea peanuts

I actually just noticed that I forgot to add the flour. They were still great anyways:)

A great treat to have on the table if guests are over. Are there chickpeas in Aruba, Averie?

I'm getting the itch to do some Christmas baking.

 I love shortbread, ginger cookies, and all the chocolate and nut buttery treats!!

I just received an email from Heidi of 101 cookbook's Christmas cookie recipes. I'm sure to find some goodies in there! 

 Do you bake/un-bake your favorites each year?

I usually do a plate of different goodies, some for us, lots for family!

 We shall see what makes the cut this year:)

Have a great night everyone!!

Confessions

Happy Friday all!

           I know I promised a more regular blogging pattern but to be honest I haven't been up to much lately and then I lose my blogging mojo. But today I want to get a bit personal and share with you some struggles I have been dealing with lately.

Every time fall hits, heartier meals are more predominant on my table. No surprise there, right? I love soups ,stews, and meals that make you all warm inside when the weather is depressing. I also love to bake so I've been getting my bake on in the kitchie.

But lately I've been feeling more guilt. The guilt for eating cookies and chocolate over my one-cheat-meal-a-weak goal. This initial guilt spread to all my meals....

I should only have one piece of toast for breakfast...but I ate two

I should only eat whats on my plate..but I go back for a couple more spoonfuls

I shouldn't ask for anything if the hubby is going to get a treat for him...but I do anyways.

I am also looking in the mirror more often and am judging my body. This feels like the disordered eating dragon is rearing its ugly head and breathing its nasty fire. I have to stop it and not let it do anymore damage.

Here are some strategies I'm implementing to bring me back to balance...

Be prepared

I haven't been very good at bringing enough veggies for my day. As a result, I turn to the candy bowl and the guilt cycle begins. I am going to buy more staples like carrots, celery, cucumber, greens etc and make them ready the night before. I used to do this all the time but I've been slacking. I also want to buy veggies I haven't tried before or that I've avoided just to keep things interesting.

Green Smoothie for breakfast

I was doing this everyday in the summer and I loved it so much. I felt so amazing too:) I guess the fact that it's a cold breakfast isn't as appealing right now. But after touring Angela's Green Monster Movement site, I've got the itch to begin blending again:) Also we have used up all the fruit I froze from the summer so I better start getting creative with the seasonal stuff. I could also go the frozen fruit route but it gets pricey. Maybe I could alternate between the frozen and fresh?

Eat for myself

This is a big one for me. Just because the hubby, friend, mom, or blogger makes/eat ________(insert food) doesn't mean I have to make/eat it. The hubby can eat till he's blue every day and it doesn't faze him. I need to lose the mindset that if he eats something I should join him. Also, I'm surrounded by so many amazing eats from bloggers. I need to learn when to make their recipes that suits ME.  It's almost like I have purposely been disconnecting from the body in order to satisfy the ego. Sorry ego...you are going to the back of the class!!

Love myself more

I beat myself up too much. It's sad, but true. I should be grateful for a fully functioning body, instead I focus on it's flaws. In the last couple of weeks something that keeps entering my thoughts is meditation. So, I've decided to start out my mornings with a small meditation so that I can set the tone for the rest of the day.I'm going  to start using Gabrielle's meditation podcasts for now. I'm really excited to include this in my morning ritual.

Enjoy my food

 Every day the kitchen is a blank slate and I have the power to make anything I want. I don't want this place to become "the regret zone". I want this place to portray excitement, deliciousness, and endless possibilities.  I love food, that's never going to change! I just need to figure out a balance. I want to bake my cookies, and eat some too!! Also, I need to make healthy food that I LOVE. For some reason I've been straying from this basic concept and this could be part of the reason why the candy bowl is so tempting.  This is a biggie and probably a life long quest.

So all you food bloggers, how do you keep the balance?

With the holiday season upon us, there are dinner parties and treats on every turn. This year I've decided to respect myself and my body. I am still going to have a rum ball, or two, but I won't have them everyday and nor will I beat myself up for it. I want to enjoy the holidays and remember the laughs,embarrassing moments, and love. Isn't that what it's all about anyways? Oh ya, and winning the contest of who has watched National Lampoon's Christmas vacation the most:) Mele Kalikimaka !!! Have a great weekend:)

Happy Monday all!!

       How was your weekend? Anyone do some Black Friday shopping? As you know I'm in Canada, so we don't get the crazy deals like my American friends. Yet, every store here on the weekend was having some sort of Black Friday rivalry sale. I did take part but only for some winter boots, nothing too picture worthy there.

Besides shopping, I got so much stuff done this weekend and it felt good to be so efficient.

Application in -check

Laundry-check

Homework- a half a check

Clean bachelor suite- check

Garden clean-up - check

Drop off clothes/housewares to charity - check

Hubby fix oil leak in my car- big check:)

Spend some quality time laughing with friends because of this - check

Make two soups - check

Phew!! Lots going on and some big things checked off my to-do list. I like getting things done now so that I can move on and have fun later. Don't you agree? 

Moving on from my brag fest, what do you think about the new look? I think it looks a lot "cleaner" and brighter! I didn't change it sooner because I thought it was going to be a lot of work but it actually wasn't too bad. I had to google for a tutorial but all went smoothly so I'm happy:) Let me know what you think!

The other day at the grocery store I sort of went a little crazy in the tea aisle. I was set on trying

some new flavors as my tea stash was getting really low.

First up, Candy Cane Lane tea. I saw this crazy tea flavor featured on Katie's blog and thought I would give it a shot. Even though I was quite skeptical. Verdict? It's AWESOME!

 If you aren't in the Christmas spirit yet, one sip of this tea will transform you!

Mmm..ginger peach, chocolaty chai, and jasmine green tea!

 I like them all but the ginger peach has to be my fave.

    Good timing too as Thursday I woke up to this.....

A winter wonderland in my backyard!

Oddie's first experience with snow. It was pretty hilarious watching him play around and even roll in the snow

As I ended up working from home for half the day, it was the perfect time to make spaghetti sauce! I roughly based my sauce on Kathy's recipe and adjusted the spices to taste.

Why on earth is there romaine in my pasta bowl? Well I had a salad before I got to the pasta, and I had a few pieces of lettuce left in my bowl and decided to try it with the pasta and sauce on top. It actually was pretty good. Lots of different textures. You can say weird here if you like:) That slim piece of bread WAS a piece of garlic toast. Yum!! Just take a piece of friend bread, slather on some vegan spread, sprinkle on some garlic powder, and your favorite cheese. Broil for a couple minutes. Delish!

I like to always have some sort of salad with a meal. Here it is romaine, mushrooms, and collards in a balsamic dressing.

The hubby's version with goat cheese feta and sunflower seeds

That's all for today folks!!! Have a great rest of your Monday.I'll be back soon to share with you some great soups and whatever else I concoct in the Kitchie. Until then, Oddie says hi.....

a dash of this, a dash of that

Happy Wednesday!

        Happy Thanksgiving eve to all my American friends. All the delicious posts that are popping up around the sphere are making me drool! As we have already celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada, I'm looking forward to using some of those recipes at Christmas time.

So, are you guys loving my erratic blogging these days? Me neither. I'm up to my ears with paperwork and such for my school application and it requires my utmost attention so the blog is lower on the priority list right now. I've almost got everything together and thanks to a great friend (you know who you are!!!), I'm feeling confident with my entry. I've been on the phone everyday making sure all the paperwork is going to get to the school on time. Seriously, this has been such a thorn in my side. Who knew it would take so much effort to get your grades from university. Lesson learned.

Now that it's getting colder out, much colder, it's time to winterize the garden. I haven't done a lot but I need to get on it soon before it really gets to be winter around here. They are calling for one of the worst winters in 55 years in my neck of the woods!! Considering we have already had snow, they may be right! I harvested some broad beans and dried out the seeds so I can plant them next season. 

 Beautiful color!

 Even the cat's were intrigued. Nemo from afar..

 Oddie from up close:)

Do you harvest seeds for next years crop? 

I harvested these beans,cilantro seeds, and some butternut squash seeds.

Are you excited for citrus season? I love all citrus so I am pretty excited to dig in.

 Mmm so juicy and sweet!

 itty bitty!

 I saw organic mandarins last year but they were so expensive. This year they are almost the same price as the regular mandarins!! Love that!

Now for some breakie. I am toast girl. I LOVE my sprouted Silver Hills bread with almond butter but I know variety is important. So, I used a different base for my nut butter topping.

 Apples and dates!

Toppings! Shredded coconut, chia seeds, and almond butter. So, so good!

What have you changed around in your breakie lately?

Now for something warming! It's crazy cold in my house right now as we need to get the gas fireplace fixed...still! Of course we decide to switch fireplaces during the coldest winter. Good plan! That also means fireplace companies are booked for days in advance and so we have to wait until Friday to have a guy come out and look at it. Let's hope for the best!

I was drooling at Angela' blog on her Thanksgiving ideas post and saw a soup recipe that I wanted to try. Holiday Soup For The Soul sounded like the perfect soup to unthaw to.

 I was out of quinoa so I used a wild rice blend

 

That's a whale of a zucchini, hey? It's from my uncles garden and I'll be eating from it for a year:)

The greens I used were collards as I didn't have spinach on hand.

 

Mmm..thick and chunky!! Perfecto!

I am handing my application in on Friday and then I'm getting immersed in all things Christmas!! So excited!!

Are you getting ready for the holiday season already or is it still too early to be bringing out the tinsel and lights? 

Have a wonderful night everyone!!

Walls come tumbling down

Hey all,

    I have a different post than my usual food/fitness/fun posts. Today I want to talk about putting up walls in our minds and trying to tear them down. Lately I was involved in a situation where both those events took place and it was eye opening!

On the one hand I saw someone who didn't believe in themself and was desperately afraid of making changes that could greatly benefit their life. It was like looking seeing my old self in the mirror. It made me emotional and frustrated. I now knew what my family and friends used to go through with me!!

I tried hard to build them up and tell them you CAN do it, change IS possible.. But the walls would come up and they would retreat. I wasn't thinking that I could change this person's habits on the spot, but I was hoping for a couple of bricks to crumble at the least. Nada.

They sounded like a broken record. I thought I was finally making some progress and then they would retreat and return to their normal defense mechanisms. It was heartbreaking every time this happened. As I feel life is too short to fester in things and we need to forgive others and, maybe even more importantly, we need to forgive ourselves.

I hated doing it but I had to get out of the conversation.
I had said all I could say and now the ball is in their court. I hope they don't fumble, I really do.

Now, to the other end of the spectrum. Someone near and dear to me finally saw the light! It was so exciting to see someone take control of their life and be strong in a difficult situation.

This revelation was long time coming and I'm so happy to see this person tackle change and see it as a good thing. Change is hard. Period. Even when you know the change will be for the better, you still have to take the actions to get there. Facing scrutiny from others can cause such fear that people resist change all together.

I feel motivated to keep moving forward and to always be open to whatever comes my way!
Being a support to others has increased my belief in myself too.And that's always a good thing:)

Seeing two ends of the wall spectrum unfold in one day is crazy but, quite frankly, I'm exhausted!
On one hand I'm super stoked to see this new leash on life, and yet on the other, I can't help but feel defeated. I know it ultimately comes down to the individual having to make the change on their own but sometimes I feel this will never happen and they need a little push.

 Have you had any experience with 

"wall builders" or "wall destroyers" ?

 Have a great night everyone!! I think it's time for some ZZZzzzzz's!!