Summer

As per my last post I mentioned we were going on vacation to Sudbury for our 2 weeks off. The trip to Sudbury was great! His sister's wedding was beautiful, saw family, and got to spend a bit of time at camp

I also had the opportunity to go blueberry picking

I went with my father in law and the trail was narrow but I really do love this view, it's so pretty! At the start the mosquitos were bad but then they left us alone more and we picked quite a few. We brought a picnic and took a break to eat and then got more.

They weren't big but they weren't a bad size. Tried to leave the really small ones there so they can keep growing.




It took us about 3 hours to pick 5 and a half medium zip lock bags, plus about 8 cups, which were used to make 2 blueberry pies

We had one of the pies for our dessert after supper and then brought the other one home along with all the blueberries. I wanted my in laws to take half but they insisted on us bringing them all home with us so we did and I gave one bag to my dad. I froze most of them and used some to add to cereal and yogurt for breakfast, I also made a raw blueberry dessert, and added some to pancakes when my cousin from Alberta was down. She stayed with us last weekend but now she's back home.

We did come home earlier to spend time with my cousin, and also to have time at home before going back to work. It gave me the chance to do some laundry, get some groceries, which I went to the market to get fresh fruits and vegetables. I have been enjoying snacking on peaches and nectarines and with some of the vegetables I made a salad for my lunch

I cooked up 1/4 cup of quinoa in some water, I added fresh corn, just cut it off the cob, and roasted some yellow and red beets, and added sliced radishes. I also added some red kidney beans and for the dressing I put about 2 tbsp of Dijon mustard, a big slash of apple cider vinegar and some olive oil, and added a bit of honey, 1/2 a tsp and also a bit of grated ginger and some pepper.

Something I made today is a recipe I saw on Facebook called floureless peanut butter, chocolate chip mini blender muffins

We both tried one and they are really good!  Here's the recipe:

1 medium ripe banana, peeled
1 large egg
heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used the all natural, meaning peanuts are the only ingredient)
3 tbsp honey (agave or maple syrup) - I used maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt, optional
heaping 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips - I used regular and it was dark (71%)

Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare mini muffin pan by spraying cooking spray or grease and flour the pan (I used coconut oil) in blender (I just mixed it all in a bowl). Add in first 7 ingredients and blend on high until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add chocolate chips and stir by hand.

Using a tbsp or small cookie scoop form rounded 1 tbsp mounds about 3/4 full

Bake 8-9 minutes or until tops are set. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Keeps at room temp up to 5 days or in freezer up to 4 months

They will be a delicious snack! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Update

It's been a very long time since I have done a post, but it's been a really busy summer so far. Here's an update on what I have been up to.

So things started off with my hubby's 40th birthday party

So it was suppose to be a surprise, but it was leaked out accidentally the night before, but there was still an element of surprise, he didn't know the details, and it made it easier to get him there. Lots of family and friends came, and it was a really great turn out. The cake above was bought at the Cake shop, it incorporated his two favorite things, beer and the Sens. The food was good, I made his favorite, guacamole and dip for vegetables, the music was amazing and it was a fun night. I of course got a lot of help from friends and family which was very much appreciated!

Then there was dessert fest, which I went with my nieces, my good friend and her daughter

We had a good time and got to see and try many desserts. It was better organized this year, they had take out boxes which I did bring back some dessert, and they were better placed because last year they were all to close together so it made it hard to get through the crowd, so this year they spaced out everyone better so it was easier to walk through. They even had a really big turtle and a small hedgehog.

For Christmas my hubby got me season tickets for the Red Blacks, in case you don't know who they are, it's football. I'm the type that loves to play sports but not so much watch unless it's live. We sit near friends and have a good time. I got to even take a picture with two of the cheerleaders

I know I look really short, but they do have high heels on, but even then I'm still short. I also look a bit stiff in the picture, not sure why, but it was cool to get to take a picture with them. I have only been to 2 games so far. We missed one because for his birthday I got him tickets to see the Red hot chili peppers here in Ottawa, so a few friends took our tickets and we went to the concert. We had a good time. The following game his cousin came down from Sudbury so he took my ticket to go watch, so I had a nice quiet evening at home.

My hubby and I also play baseball and we had a tournament weekend, and this week we played twice to make up a game. We play tonight as well, which the way it works we can play any day between Sunday and Friday, but always at 6:15 pm. I spent a day in the market one day with a friend, she moved downtown months ago, so helped her with a few things and got some fruits and veggies in the market and took a walk along the canal. Been getting back into running, and still taking some spinning classes once a week and going for walks and biking. I had gotten a panini press, well it's a cast iron lid to use with my cast iron pan, and I love it. I have made a few different ones and I still had some pizza dough in the freezer so took those out and made one Thursday night and made another last night.

Another fun thing I did last weekend, my cousin came down from Sudbury, and my nieces slept over Friday night so that Saturday morning we headed to Navan to do foam fest. It's 5 km with obstacles in between, it was lots of fun. We got dirty, it was a great workout and so much fun! Took us about an hour and a half to get through it. Here's a few pictures

My cousin's husband came with my god daughter, and he took quite a few pictures of us. We got all cleaned up as best as we could, went to visit my brother for a bit, and once home we cleaned up even better. My cousin and I went to do a bit of shopping, got Panera for supper, and watched some movies. Sunday my cousin and I were booked in for a massage at Le Nordik, and it was so amazing. Good way to relax and help those sore muscles. We then had some lunch and we shared an appetizer

It was a total of 4 toasts, topped with some white sauce, mushrooms, cashews, green onion and a few slices of tomatoes. It was delicious!!  I then had a steak with roasted beets and carrots, and some potatoes, which was also really good! My cousin had pasta with pesto. She let me try it and it was really good as well. We then drove home so she can head back home to Sudbury. It was so great to spend some time with them.

This weekend is more quiet, so I'm catching up on a few things around the house. Next weekend we are off to Sudbury for almost 2 weeks. We will most likely do some camping and my sister in law is getting married. I'll of course try to see friends and family and we are headed back home a bit earlier because my cousin is coming down from Alberta, so there will be a pizza night and we will play cards!  I really can't wait!! So it will be a while until I post again, but once I get the chance I'll share another update.

I have a few new recipes I want to try out, so will try not to forget to get more pictures, and share those recipes since it's been a while since I have put up recipes. Hope everyone is having an amazing summer, even if your getting a lot of rain like we are.

Spring Cleaning

It's been a really great long weekend, to bad we don't always have a 3 day weekend because I would get so much more done!  Friday night we went out with friends and unfortunately saw the Senators lose. Saturday I spent many hours downtown. I had helped a friend move a few weeks ago, so went to see how the unpacking was going and we then went for lunch at our favorite Italian place called Mama Grazzi's. I love how their pasta and bread is freshly made and it's not big portions which is also great. We then walked along the canal since it was such a beautiful day, then stopped in for a chai latte and dessert, then did a bit of shopping which included lots of vegetables, some fruit and got new herbs for my garden.

I did put my herbs in the basement with lights to act like sun, and they were doing well till towards the end of winter they started to die off quickly, except my rosemary, thyme and sage. Well my sage is looking a bit sad but I'm hoping it comes back to life now that it's outside. I had to replace everything else. I got chives, basil, parsley, cilantro and mint. My other pots, I had kale, which survived as well, the other two did not, so I have the cilantro in one, and regular lettuce in the other, I fixed it all yesterday since it was another nice day. I've been also busy doing some spring cleaning and it feels good to get done. The stove and fridge really needed it! I always feel so much better when spring cleaning is done. It's nice working in the kitchen when it's really clean. Mid week I did do a smoothie bowl

It's called chocolate beet smoothie bowl, which I got the recipe from Joyous Health. I topped it with some cacao nibs and a granola that I made last weekend. I got the idea from Ricardo, it's a mix of nuts, half a cup each (cashews, pumpkin, sunflower and sliced almonds), half cup of quinoa (rinsed), 2 tbsp of coconut oil and 6 tbsp of maple syrup. Mix all together, add to a cookie sheet and roast them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. It makes a lot, so I put it in mason jars, which will be great to use up on yogurt (regular, Greek or coconut), or if you make a smoothie bowl.

Today I also made another healthy dessert, a sweet potato brownie, which Joyous Health talks about it on her blog, and like her I made a few changes to the recipe.

So the cookbook with the sweet potato brownie recipe is in the Greenhouse cookbook, it has a lot of other great recipes I would like to try. So the changes I made to the brownie is I did half natural peanut butter, only because I didn't have enough almond butter. I didn't think to check see how much I had left and I really wanted to try this recipe so figure brownie with some peanut butter can't be terrible. I also made my own "apple sauce", I took two apples, peel removed, and put them in my vitamix and purred it into "apple sauce". It calls for agave syrup and I used maple syrup. I did try a piece and it's not quite the same as an unhealthy brownie, but it is really good.

The other books you see above is thanks to a friend of mine giving me gift cards to Chapters, I was able to buy the books above. I haven't read them yet, I have quite a few books to read through but I tend to read more over the summer so I'm looking forward to reading them.

I know spring cleaning isn't fun, but it's great when it's done. I just need to clean our small fridge, and would like to go through the pantry. I hope to get some de-cluttering done over the summer, which also includes organizing things better to have a nicer looking home. Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend!

Natural products

Yesterday I met a friend of mine at Ikea. I love that store, they have great ideas and a lot of great furniture. Saw many kitchens that would be so great to have. Got to try out many chairs and couches as well. After we walked over to Terra 20, which is just a few stores next to Ikea. It's a lot bigger then I thought it was going to be, and it's a pretty amazing store. I didn't have much more time on my hands so it was a quick run through the store but managed to buy a few things I needed

The Green Beaver shampoo and conditioner, I found out from Joyous health, it's what she uses for her hair, and also switches it up and uses Hugo Naturals. I looked to see if they have it, but they didn't. They did have the body soap so I'm hoping the next time I go to that store they have it on hand to try it out. I have already bought the Green Beaver from another natural store, and I really like it! Then I saw they had the body lotion as well, and we were able to try it out, and the cranberry one smelled so good! The coconut one as well but since it's smells like the shampoo and conditioner I have, I thought I'll get something different in smell.

Another new favorite of mine is Schmidt's. They first had a store open in the Rideau Mall last year, and when I was there, my friend and I checked it out, and when we read the ingredients, and saw it was completely natural, and the lady working there said it's a favorite of many people, and that it actually works really well, so thought, why not try it. It really does work really well!! Works just like a non natural deodorant but this one is chemical free, and completely natural. I ran out so I wanted to buy more. I really like the bergamot lime, really like the smell of it, which isn't as strong smelling as the others, but they were out, so I decided to get the fragrance free to see how I like that one. They did have the bergamot lime in the small container, so I still grabbed it, but that one I will need to use my hands to apply it, which isn't as great, but I am on their contact list so they can let me know when they get more of the stick in store so I can get some. So in the mean time I have the two, which I'm thinking once I get the large deodorant stick, I can use these for traveling or to bring to work in my gym bag.

My friend bought the Green beaver toothpaste and she said it's not so great, plus it has whitening, which we both aren't a fan of. I don't need my teeth to be bright white. I find that whitening stuff just isn't healthy for our teeth. No idea why they have to add that to so many toothpaste but I try to avoid it. You do have be careful what you buy, even though your in a natural store, some products do have unhealthy things in them so it's important to read the label. For toothpaste, I will stick to the one Joyous Health sells, I bought it a while ago and I really love it! I also love her body butter, which I use for my face and at times for my body to help moisturize.

I'll for sure be going to Terra 20 again and again, it's a great store and I can't wait to have a better look at what they sell. They even have clothes, food, and a bunch more products, including makeup. Our skin really does absorb what you put on it, so it's also important to use natural products. I'm pretty sure I talked about the soap I now use, which is from Purple urchin, a company here in Ottawa that makes their own soap and so many other natural products. I really love their bar of soap which I always make sure to have a bit of a stock of.

For those in Ottawa, you really should go check out Terra 20, right next to the Ikea, but they are also available online so you can order things. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Spring

It's starting to feel more like spring is finally here. We did get a bit of snow on Friday, but thankfully not as much as they were calling. We do still have some snow on the ground but so far it's 5 and the sun is shining brightly. Therefore I decided to enjoy the sunshine and went outside for a run. I did 6 km and took me about 46 minutes, which is slow compared to what I use to do, but considering I haven't been running much lately, I did pretty good.

I have been exercising, but just mixing things up. Where I work, they do have a gym in the basement of the building, which is very helpful. They offer classes, and I joined yoga which is a great way to increase my flexibility and do something more relaxing for exercise. I tend to do that once a week, and then I recently tried out spinning class and I really do enjoy it. A few girls that I work with get together to also go for a walk during lunch break, and when it's nice we go outside, otherwise we walk the halls in the basement. Sometimes I go to the gym to do weights, biking, or on the treadmill. I think it's important to mix things up when it comes to exercising.

This summer, my hubby and I hope to be able to play baseball again, and I'm thinking to try out soccer as well. There's a bunch of people that get together during lunch hour 3 times a week to play, just for fun, so I think I'll give that a try this year.

I do of course still spend time in the kitchen, and I'm working on making lighter foods now that it's getting warmer. Today I plan to make a potato salad, and will be making pasta for supper. I prepared a few salads for my lunch this week, and we have some cookies to snack on.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Joyous Health

I know I haven't been doing as much writing, but will try to change that. I have been meaning to post this one for a while. Quite a few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to meet Joy McCarthy again for the second time. The first time I went with a friend, and got the chance to talk to Joy, take a picture with her and get her to sign her first book. This time around I went on my own, but I again got to talk to her, and even her husband a little, took another picture with her, and got her to sign her second book.

You can actually see her husband in the background through the mirror. She brought some of her tea, so I bought some to try it out, so I had to give the money to her husband. The tea is really good! Another thing I take part of is her weekly live videos through facebook, she provides a lot of great information, answers questions, and it's great to see their family. She either provides information about products, health, and even cooks recipes. I have tried many of her recipes and they are all great and so good!

I do still get in the kitchen, we had friends over a few weeks ago, and I made some fajitas

I wanted to provide a range of things, so people can put what they like, so I had chicken, veggies, lettuce, homemade salsa, store bought salsa, homemade guacamole, some sour cream, and also had chips out. It was a delicious supper. My friend brought dessert, which was a lemon cake and it was good!

I haven't been doing quite as much cooking cause that weekend, after they left and not long after falling asleep, I woke up feeling sick and it ended up being a horrible flu. Took me out pretty much all week, so I didn't cook much at all. Last weekend I was still so exhausted, so I again didn't get much done. This weekend I managed to get some things done. I baked some cookies, which I tried my brown rice cookies I made a while back with maple syrup that didn't turn out well, so I made them again but this time with honey, how I have always made them, and they turned out great. I also made some chocolate chip cookies, and right now I have my slow cooker going with chicken thighs, and I added chicken stock, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sriracha, chinese 5 spice, and a touch of salt and some pepper. It smells so good in here!  Now I have to head down there to add in a slury (arrowroot with stock) to help thicken it (you can also use cornstarch), and also add some vegetables, I'm thinking broccoli and a red pepper, then let it cook another half hour, then it will be served over brown rice.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, especially a friend of mine, Anne, it's her birthday today

Cooking and baking with a friend

My friend and I made plans to get together this past Saturday. Since she has moved into her house I have been really wanting to cook in her kitchen. Her kitchen is big with a huge island! Yes I'm jealous!  So I planned out a few things I wanted to make, and she did the same and here's what we ended up with

 

These two pasta dishes turned out great! The one on the left is baked ziti, a recipe I got from the Pioneer Woman, although instead of beef I added more ground sausage. The other is a spinach and ricotta stuffed shells, my friend made it all, so I'm unsure of the recipe, but it was delicious! It was perfect timing also that it was lunch time when they were ready, so we got to try both and relax a bit. Then we got started on dessert, we made brownie cookies.

Also a recipe from the Pioneer Woman, you can find it here. This time though I added chocolate chips because I have made these before and they were good but they were missing that gooeyness to them and with the chocolate chips, they were delicious!!  Then we made one of our favourites, baked lemon donuts from the Chocolate Covered Katie cookbook that I have.



Our first batch didn't quite turn out so good, I was getting pretty tired and I missed a part of the recipe which was let the liquids sit together for 5 minutes before adding in the dry, so we threw those out and started again and they turned out good. Last year we went to the States for a girls weekend and did some shopping and she bought this cake mix from Krispy Kreams, and we were both very interested in trying it out, cause if you haven't had a chance to try their donuts, they are very good!

It turned out really good, but of course not like the donuts, but still delicious. Then to finish out the day, we prepared a pizza dough.

As you can see, there was no issue with it rising. It turned out great, and I made a pizza on Sunday for supper. I forgot to take a picture of it, but the crust was so good! I added shredded BBQ chicken, some onions and mushrooms, tomato sauce, and then added goat cheese. It was delicious!!

We were really tired by the end of the day, but we had so much fun! We both love cooking and baking and doing that with a friend makes it more fun. We got to chat, and even took a bit of time to relax in between, and being in her kitchen, we weren't in each others way, and we had plenty of counter space to work. We did make a mess, but we cleaned up as we went. A few dishes went into the dishwasher but we washed quite a few things by hand. We want to do this again, but we are thinking start with a base, meaning cook up a chicken or turkey, then create a stock, and then from there make different things, like soup, enchiladas, and a bunch of other things. It makes things simple and easy for the week when you batch cook in a day. Can't wait till we get together again!