Cherry & Bulgur Salad

I made this the other night...I had cherries and goat cheese and wanted an excuse to put them together :). Here's the recipe:

I started with 2 cups of cooked bulger. I think in the future I would use less bulger and/or more cherries. The salad was a little heavy on the grains.

I added 2 cups of pitted cherries.

I added 1/2 an avacado.

Finally, I added goat cheese.

I added a dressing made from the juice of 1 lime, some (I think it was 1-2 tsp) olive oil, salt and pepper and mixed it all up. We had this in our lunches all week, it was a super easy and yummy, and filling lunch.

Breakfast

I opened the fridge this morning to try to come up with a breakfast that would use up the many left-overs in the fridge and came up with this. It's a hash of some sort. Left over cooked yam (1C), left over grilled veggies (eggplant, red pepper, mushrooms), left over home made vegan sausage, grainy mustard and a sprinkling of balsamic all fried up. I topped it off with some ricotta cheese. It was SUPER filling..I should be good till dinner ;) Tasty too.

Happy Anniversary

Monday was our sixth wedding anniversary. Time has flown by! We decided to have a special dinner at home rather than go out. Since the cooking is half the fun for me, this was sort of part of my present. D. returned home with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, and we had a lovely dinner. This is, by the way the first time we've eaten in the formal dining room, and the first time I've used my grandmother's china. I made this Zucchini ricotta cheesecake. If you have zucchini to use up, I implore you, make this. It is so very good. Breakfast, lunch or dinner :)


I also made this Orzo supper salad. It was very tasty with orzo (of course), asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, almonds, feta, and a yummy lemon olive oil and garlic dressing.


I also made these yummy sweet potato falafals. I couldn't find chick pea flour, so I substituted 1/2 chick peas and 1/2 whole wheat flour and it seemed to work - these were super yummy, and are really healthy! I had them cold the next day for lunch and they were just as good. Here's the table all set up - look at the beautiful flowers! It was a yummy dinner, and we still have left-overs! I think next time I'm going to make a double or tripple recipe of the falafels and freeze them!

Processing ways of eating.

Found this site/article today. Like it :). Great nutritional suggestions for fasting.

Made this recipe the other day. So lovely. If you have lots of Basil, as I do, this is a very nutritious, creamy recipe, that has a bit more substance than pesto or a traditional "dip." Why do I buy salt and preservative laden dips at the grocery store, when tasty ones like this are so easy to make and yummy? I've converted myself completely to making salsa at home always, and most often make hummus at home. I think that will be my mini-goal in trying to eliminate some processed foods; I will try, from now on never to buy "dips" or "spreads" at the store. Salsa, hummus and this yummy basil recipe are all easy to make at home, so there is no excuse!

New Favorites

Blog: Sprouted Kitchen

Web Browser: Firefox

Email program: Thunderbird.

I'm playing around with Sunbird, Mozilla's scheduling tool. I'm not sure I can make the switch to a digital planner. But, loosing my planner for a few days a couple of weeks ago has made me feel like I at least need to try :).

I also just downloaded Google Desktop. My favorite thing about it (besides the searches) is the nifty pop up to do list and other handy add-ons you can download.

Mom and Dad's

We went to Kamloops last weekend. My parents have a wonderful back yard, gardens and outdoor living area...I love sitting on the patio all evening talking, over dinner, over wine. Here are some of my favorite sights. Beginning with my mom's amazing basil patch (this is one of two). Doesn't it make you just want to dive in and roll around in it?

One of the veggie patches. I liked that these were nicely arranged in groups of three (though I'm sure that was accidental).

Three pots on the patio. More herbs.

I took this from the livingroom, looking out the patio doors. Those are hops on the latticework. They blanket it.


Appletree.

Hanging basket.

Dinner on the first night. This was a late night dinner after we arrived on Friday. For the record, those quesadillas are peach, goat cheese and basil. SO good.
Dinner on the second night. Grilled chicken, corn, and grilled vegetable salad. Homemade peach-mango salsa (mom's!) with tortillas.

So, you can see why I like going to Kamloops.

Roasted Vegetable Salad

Eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers marinated in garlic oil, balsamic and kosher salt, grilled and mixed with fresh basil. We made these in Kamloops with my parents :)

The Bag Saga

I'd like you to meet a long time friend of mine:

This green bag has been with me fore at least 3 years. I has been my work bag, travel bag, everything bag. I can fit my laptop, plus 10 folders of works stuff and all other implements I need in it, along with a water bottle or coffee mug. I . love. this. bag. So much. It is the perfect bag. I didn't realize how much I loved it until I realized it had to be replaced...the strap has broken...I could see it fraying for a while, and so have been searching for a new bag for about 2 months now, to no avail!

I've realized (well, actually, my husband pointed out to me) that bags are my jewelry (I'm not a fan of jewelry). The problem in finding a bag, is that I go into a store (usually winners), and throughout the time I'm there usually, at least 4 times think "Gah! I MUST have that bag, it is beautiful! I LOOVVE it." Then I turn over the price tag. It is always $100 or more. Always. Apparently I have expensive taste in bags. That, combined with the fact that my budget to buy a new bag hovers in the "under $40" rage...makes it hard for me to find a bag. And I can't stomach buying one I don't like. Can't. It's akin to wearing some type of scent I don't like. I just can't do it.

So, when this happened:

I nearly cried. And when I couldn't find a good replacement bag, I just wanted to hug my green bag and never let it go. I had to move on though.

Then I found this bag:

It's not my VERY favorite, but it is pretty good. I like the size and the style. Generally I like more colorful bags though, so I was sad about the basic black.

Then I opened it:

Ta-dah! Hooray! I CAN love this bag. It has pretty color inside. That can be seen from the outside most of the time. And, it was within budget. So, I went for it.

Now I have to say a sad sad goodbye to the green bag, and become unhealthily attached to the new bag.

Food Blog Search!

I just found a link to this food blog search tool on a (surprise!) food blog. This is fabulous!

Weekend happenings...

Yesterday:

• Up a couple of hours before my husband...I love it when I wake up early-ish on a Saturday morning, feeling rested. I made coffee, curled up on the couch and read a book, then had some blog-reading, online free time with my coffee before D. woke up.
• I spent some more time researching local farms and locations to get local goods...also read a bunch of information about once a month cooking...very intersting!
• Some of the places I visited: Get Local, Farm Fresh BC, Once a Month Cooking World, and many other places.
• Alloette lake with D. in the afternoon. I swam "laps" in the lake, and layed in the sun while D. sat in the shade creating something on paper. It was a lovely afternoon.
• Grilled local burgers and made corn on the cob on the grill for the first time. I will never, EVER make corn another way. So tasty! The burgers were amazing too (and I'm not much of a "large pieces of red meat" kind of gal either).

Today:

• Church
• Running various errands
• Vaccumed the whole house, finally sorted through and put away mounds of clean laundry in our bedroom, and rearranged the furniture there.

It's been a good weekend. I'm thankful for it, as I have a busy work week coming up and am working all day Saturday next weekend.

Summer favorites.

Cups with crushed ice in preparation for Mojitos.

Smashed mint leaves, lime juice and simple syrup, ready to be added to the soda water and white rum for yuuuummmmy Mojitos.

A 10lb flat of raspberries from Kraus Berry Farms. On Saturday we visited a bunch of places including Kraus, and Neufeld farms. I highly recommend both!

I froze all but 2 small containers of the raspberries, so we'll have them for the fall and winter! I think Raspberries are my favorite berry. Unfortunately, they were out of strawberries, but we'll go back once blueberry season starts and get a flat of those to freeze as well. We also found this beautiful, delicious spectacle at Kraus:

I just had to bring it home. It is possibly one of the best-tasting things I've ever had. I may just have to go back and buy another one. Or two. Or...well, maybe I shouldn't go back.

Just thinking...

I feel like we are finally settling in to being back in the lower mainland. One of the most wonderful things about being here is having friends and family close by - and getting to reaquaint oursleves with everyone we haven't been able to see frequently for a while.

Having a place to entertain at, and having a social life again is a huge huge thing for me. I didn't realize how much I missed that when I was on the island. Now, there are so many people to get together with that it's hard to fit it all in!!

Last weekend I entertained a larger group for the first time in our new home. I have a group of close girlfriends I went to highschool with and have been close with for, well, probably close to 15 years now. Two of us have birthdays 2 days apart in June, and when we were younger we frequently had a joint birthday party. One of our out-of-town friends from this group was in town during our birthdays, so I decided to throw a joint birthday party for R. and I. So, all the girls and their significant others/kids, along with my brother and his wife came over for appetizers and drinks.

I just have to say, I LOVE entertaining. Love. And, in this kitchen, with space to move and prepare things, I do NOT get stressed out! It was awsume! At one point, my husband came into the kitchen while I was prepping. I stood there, holding my menu plan, and my to do list and rattling off to him what was next one the list of things to be done, the modifications I'd made to the menu and what we needed to run out and get (while music was blasting in the background). He looked at me and laughed. I found this slightly irritating, but had a feeling it was good-natured. "What!?" I said. He looked at me with that husbandly I-love-you-but-sometimes-can't-believe-you look on his face, grinned and said "It just kinda looks like you are really in your element right now." Okay, I couldn't be irritated. I laughed and said "I kinda am."

Now, just for the record - this doesn't mean I am *good* at it. It means I like doing it. I don't want to set anyone up to be dissappointed if they come over :). Unfortunately, it also means I usually go a bit overboard with the menu and quantity of food and drink (better too much than too little!). But that's okay :)

Another one of my favorite things about being back is being able to have impromptu visits with family, without planning. Like when my brother and his son stopped by for the afternoon, we watched Wall-E, ate leftovers for dinner and played outside. Like how Daryl can go to games night at his sister and brother-in-laws anytime now.

So, though I've been feeling really frustrated and stressed out about work and my thesis lately, I am really happy to be here, and do feel really lucky to have all the friends and family I have.

Good Things

• good coffee. my bialatti coffee maker. My two favorites: esspresso and soy milk on ice with SB juicy raspberry syrup and soy vanilla americano misto
• whole wheat waffles in the freezer
• menus planned for a week. resulting in yummy taboleh in the fridge for lunch
• prospect winery cabernet-merlot (in my glass)
• a fridge that dispenses ice and filtered water
• new shoes
• fresh clean sheets on the bed
• parents visiting this weekend

Would give anything for

• A sleep-in day. I will get it on Saturday! Come fast Saturday

Sunday

I had a great Sunday. We went to Church (which is always a great start to a Sunday). After Church we came home and I did some work while my wonderful husband tidied up the house. Around 4:30 my brother and nephew came over for dinner. They hung out while I made dinner, we all watched part of Wall-E after dinner. My nephew is so utterly adorable. I just want to squeeze him the whole time he is here and not let him get up and play like a normal 3-year-old. lol!

Then, I went out to run a couple of errands, and later that evening M. and her family came over. She had said they would come by and bring "something to snack on and a bottle of wine" so we could visit when they came by to pick up a couple of things from us. They showed up with 1) All the fixings for lovely wonderful home made pizzas (dough included!), 2) 2 bottles of yummy La Frenz wine and 3) Coconut cupcakes (so tasty). M. proceded to cook away making the yummiest pizza ever while we all visited. We visited well into the evening, and the kids were so great sitting and watching a movie while we visited.

I like days like that. I am so thankful I have a house that I like having people come to now, where there's space and it's easy to clean and fit people in. And, as a side note, where I can clean up after each visit in time for the next because there is a DISHWASHER. Haven't quite gotten over the novelty of that yet. We're still not nearly unpacked yet, but it's getting there inch by inch.

Just saying

The other night I went on a bit of a rampage and unpacked a LOT Of boxes and got most of our books and livingroom things sorted out. So the house feels somewhat more in order. Still so much to do though!

Today and tomorrow are really REALLY long work days. I'm out of the house from about 7:30 am to 7;30pm each day, and as much as there's nothing "stressful" about them, I still just want them to be done with! The long out of the house, driving from client-to-client days are tiring, and make me anxious that I'll be late arriving or will forget something essential and not have time to go home to get it!

Thankfully this weekend is clear. We have nothing scheduled. Which means, unfortunately that I can get my taxes ready to send to my accountant (I get till June to file as self-employed), and hopefully can get caught up on thesis and work stuff. I need to get totally caught up, as I leave Friday of next week (at 7am blech) to go to Phoenix for a conference, then arrive home the following Tuesday night at 7pm, and have to be at work in Courtenay (on the island) by 9am the next day! Not totally sure how that is going to work out yet. Either I'll need to take a late ferry, or will have to fly over this time, first thing in the morning. Flying will only occur if they can arrange it though.

Anyhoo...not a whole lot to say aside from sorting out my schedule in blog-form to make me feel a bit less anxious about it :)

I am excited about Phoenix, and LOVE that it's 100 degrees (F) there right now (SUMMER!!!). The downside is that I DO NOT have my summer bathing suit body yet, and my nearly daily gym visits helped too much. We'll see. I won't complain about great weather though, and WILL lay on the pool deck regardless. I'll just get some big sunglasses : )

Two Yummy Things

I didn't take any pictures, because I hadn't planned to blog about these things, but they are SO good I have to share. The frist recipe is from the Simply in Season cook book. The second is from (surprise surprise) the Moosewood Cooks at Home restaurant cookbook. More and more, most of the recipes I make come from these two books. And they never miss!

First: Veggie Burrito Bake

1 large clove garlic (minced
1 medium onion
3/4 cup uncooked rice
3/4 tsp ground tumeric
Saute in a saucepan in 1 tbsp oil until onon is tender. Stir often.

1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Ad and mix well. Simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed, about 15 min for white rice, 40 min for brown rice. Remove from heat, let stand 5 min and fluff with fork.

16 cups/ 4 L fresh spinach (loosely pakced)
1 1/2 tsp garlic (minced)
salt and pepper to taste
While rice cooks, heat 1 tablespoon oil in frypan on high heat. Add garlic and spinach, one handful at a time as it wilts, adding water as needed to prevent sticking. Spinach should be moist, with loose leaves, not clumped together.

2 Cups cooked black beans
1 TBSP chili powder
Mix in a bowl. Layer ingredients as follows in a 2-quart/2-Litre cassorole: Half of spinach, all of the rice, all of the beans, remaining spinach.

1 Cup monteray jack cheese (shredded)
Sprinkle on top. Cover and bake at 375 F until sizzling, 45 minutes. Or heat in microwave about 10 minutes then let stand 5 minutes. Serve by spooning into warm flour tortillas. Optional garnishes: Salsa, avacados, guacamole, sour cream, tabasco pepper sauce, chopped fresh cilantro, lime wedges.

I cooked it 10 min in the microwave and 20 min in the oven. We used cilantro, liime wedges, sour cream and hot sauce to garnish. This was SO SO good. We both loved it. It would be a great thing to make to take to an event, or to prep earlier in the day for dinner, as you can put it into the fridge once it's assembled and bake when you're ready to eat it.

The other thing we had is much simpler.

Moosewood Fudge Brownies. They are officially my favorite brownies. Ever.

Melt 3 squares of unsweetened chocolate and 1/2 cup butter together
Add 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Add 2 large eggs (whisk them before adding them)
Add 1/2 cup flour
Put in an 8 or 9-inch square pan and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

So So So So So GOOD.

Here we are.

We're here! I'm sitting in our new kitchen, blogging. And in complete disbelief that this is our house now. That's about all right now. Tired. Overwhelmed. But thankful.

Dragon Bowls

First, if you have never been to the NAAM, you must go. It is wonderful. Magnificent M introduced me to it, and it's so good. Awsume, fresh, filling food for a reasonable price, open 24 hours, live music - the've got it all. But they are nearly always busy - so be prepared to wait in line and to cozy up to the guy reading the paper at the table next to you.

One of their signatures is their miso gravy (served with sesame fries, but also on many of their dragon bowls).

Soooo good. They sell it bottled, but until recently I thought the only place I could get it was at the NAAM. A couple of days ago I found it at the price smart foods in Langley (of all places) and decided to fullfill my dragon bowl craving. So here's what I did:

First, brown rice. A pile of it. In the middle of the plate.

Then, I put lightly blanched (VERY LIGHTLY, barely cooked) broccoli on top of the rice.

Then, marinated and sauteed tofu and sauteed mushrooms. I just marinated (well, my wonderful husband did) the tofu in tamari sauce and garlic. Then, dumped it into a frying pan with some olive oil and added the sliced mushrooms. Put a pile of this garlicy goodness on top of the rice. Like this:Then, I put a pile of the carrots D. had grated on top of this, and topped it with bean sprouts. At this point it's really starting to look like NAAM quality dragon-bowl yumminess.

Top it off with some of the NAAM miso gravy heated up, and it was SOOOOO good. And pretty darn healthy. And stinking fililing too!! Yum.

Wonder food.

I think I'm addicted to nutritional yeast. It is so good, has a yummy nutty-cheesy taste, and it's nutritional benefits are amazing! I always have a hard time getting enough B-Vitamins, and it's packed full of them. Here are two recpes for yummy food involving nutritional yeast:

1) Vegan Mac and Cheeze. I REALLY love this. But, tell people it's "cassorole" so they won't be expecting typical mac and cheese taste. It's sooooo good, but if you go into it expectin mac and cheese, it can be dissapointing.

2) My friend Alia's AMAZING salad dressing. I'm not kidding. This salad dressing will have you inhaling greens :). Soooo good. Here it is:

The basic construct for the salad dressing is as follows:
1/2 to 1 cup of nutritional yeast (depending on your taste preference)
1/2 cup of water
1/3 cup of tamari sauce
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
3/4 to 1 cup of olive oil or oil of choice
1 to 2 tsp of garlic powder

Whirl it all up in a blender and its ready.A lot of the amounts vary depending on your taste, good luck.

I actually contemplated drinking this dressing. Just a little of it.

Anyone else have great nutritional yeast recipes? I've been told it's good on pizza and popcorn. Haven't tried either though.

Susan Boyle is my new hero.

Embedding was disabled so I couldn't post the video directly here. But you have to check Susan Boyle out. This actually made me tear up a little!!! (I stole this from my dad's facebook post :).