Callista's Causerie

My Homemaking Notebook

2011-01-25T22:40:00.000-05:00

This year in my quest to become more organized I’ve created a “Homemaking Notebook”. I originally saw one on someone else’s blog a couple of years ago but when I decided to finally make one I googled it and saw that this was not a new idea at all! There are many websites and blogs about this very thing. So I took an idea or two from different people as well as making something that would suit our household.

A homemaking notebook or binder is supposed to be an organizer for the entire household. But seeing as I am the only one using it, I added a lot of personal items to it as well. As the kids get older I’m sure there will be more in there in regards to school schedules, and extra curricular activities but for now it’s basically for me to keep the house fairly organized.

Here are a few of the items I put in my binder:

1. Cleaning List- I broke up all the rooms of my house and what all needs to be done in each room. I then broke it down into days and now I have a checklist for each day (Monday-Friday only).

2. Menu- I’ve printed out a calendar for the month and I’m planning our meals at least 1 week in advance. Since I’ve started doing that I’ve noticed that I’m much more organized when it comes to grocery shopping and keeping to my grocery budget. (A great website for calendars in excel format is www.vertex42.com)

3. Food Diary- This isn’t a household matter but because I’ve created this binder to be used only for myself I have this in here as well. I’ve been tracking everything I eat or drink and tallying the calories and protein amounts. Since I’ve begun this I notice I really think twice about snacking or having a can of soda.

4. Bible Reading- I’ve committed myself to reading the Bible in 1 year. So I’ve created a spreadsheet that tracks my reading so that if I follow it, I will have read the entire Bible in chronological order by the end of December.

5. Prayer Journal- This section is a place to jot down anything that I feel God is speaking to me about or things I need to pray about.

6. Budget- In this section I’ve created a spreadsheet that shows every bill we have to pay on a monthly basis as well as a spot for each month of the year. As we pay our bills I will put an “x” in the spot and it helps to show us what has already been paid for the month and what still needs to be paid.

I’ve also printed out our budget that I’ve created that shows how much money is coming in and how much is allotted to go out. We keep ourselves on a very tight budget that is mostly cash based so we cannot overspend. When the cash runs out for the week, we can’t spend until the next week when I refill our envelopes. Since we’ve begun this budget we’ve been finally able to put a small bit of money away for the first time.

7. Birthdays & Anniversaries- This is the section where I’ve put down all the birthdays & anniversaries of family members and close friends. Mainly the people I intend on sending out cards to.

My mom recently told me that one of her aunts used to buy all the birthday cards for the year at the beginning of the year and fill them all out. She would address the envelopes and file them away so that every card just needed to be dropped in the mail as the birthday came near. I think this is a fabulous idea and I hope to try to start that this year.

8. Garbage Schedule- Where I live they’ve made our garbage & recycling a bit of a confusing matter, so I’ve printed up a calendar of our garbage & recycling schedule to keep me organized on what goes out when.

9. Emergency #’s- I haven’t completed this yet, but this is a section to keep all phone numbers that may be necessary in an emergency. Poison Control, the local hospital, police station, family doctor, paediatrician, etc. This could also be great if you get a babysitter so you have every number she may need in one place.

10. Notes- In this section I’ve just put lined paper in so that if I need to jot something down or even write a quick note to my daughter’s teacher, the paper is right there and I don’t have to go hunting for it.

So these are the sections in my binder, but there may be more that would suit your family.

For many, a section to create a grocery list may be handy. I don’t use that because I have an app on my ipod that I enter my grocery list on which keeps track of prices and categories for me.

If your kids are older it may be beneficial to have a section for each child to keep track of extra curricular activities, assignments, or even just a place to keep their medical records.

I’m sure as the year progresses my notebook will evolve and will hopefully be even better next year, but for now I’m already finding it very helpful for both home and personal organization.

Have a great day!

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Meal Planning

2011-01-21T12:35:00.003-05:00

January is the month of diets and health consciousness. Everyone makes resolutions to lose weight and get healthy and slowly it falls by the wayside as people forget or they give up because it’s too hard.

So far I’m doing all right. I had one bad day calorie wise as I mentioned in my previous post. Yesterday I was within in my range- just barely. For supper last night I made a Vegetarian Tofu Chilli. While I’m not vegetarian, I do like to try different thing. As much I’ve liked other vegetarian chilli’s, this really wasn’t one of them. Probably not one I’ll do again.

Today has already been a struggle. I’ve been taking my youngest Sophia to get a picture taken each month of her first year, and today was her 10 month picture. On the way home, Tim Hortons was calling out to me. I was craving a French Vanilla Cappuccino and a Bacon Breakfast Sandwich. I even switched lanes to go over there and then managed to talk myself out of it and go straight home. Although there may be allowances for it, I didn’t want to waste the majority of my daily calories on that when I could enjoy something more later on in the day. So for breakfast I had 2 slices of Ezekiel Bread with a tbsp of peanut butter and a black coffee from my Keurig. Way less calories!

Recently I discovered a website called SOS Cuisine. I believe it’s mostly for Ontario and Quebec residents but the recipes on there can be accessed by anyone. The thing I like about it is that it gives you a weekly supper menu using items that it knows are on sale that week in my local grocery stores. So it gives me the menu, the recipes, a shopping list, and a list of where the sales are to buy the cheapest food! I love it! I don’t always love all the recipes (the vegetarian chilli was from there), but I use it mainly and add a few of my own recipes to the week.

Now that I’m planning our meals on a weekly basis I find I’m much more organized and don’t need to run out to the store to quickly get that ingredient for supper. Although there are usually only 3 eaters at supper (Sophia eats from my plate- and Emily is only here every other weekend), I always cook 4 servings and use the leftover serving for my husbands’ lunch the next day. It’s very convenient!

Well I’m off to work on some housework and laundry while Sophia is napping. Hoping you have a great weekend!

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2011-01-19T15:00:00.002-05:00

One of my resolutions for this year was to start writing on my blog again. I miss sharing the things I'm doing in my kitchen and sharing about things I'm learning concerning health & nutrition. And yes, I miss sharing about my kids.

Last time I wrote I was pregnant with my 2nd child- she is now 10 months old! Wow! She's growing so fast! She's started mimicking me by pretending to hold a phone and say, "allo?" and she tried combing her hair this morning after watching me comb her sisters hair.

Another thing I started doing this year was tracking my eating. I was never paying enough attention to my calorie intake and I never paid any attention whatsoever to my protein intake. Until recently, I didn't realize how important protein was in keeping me full, building muscle and burning calories. I've started writing down on a chart everything I was eating and drinking. Yesterday I was over my calories for the day- although i didn't think I had eaten that much. But my cup of chocolate milk, a can of pop and a cookie all added up. Today I am being much more careful about what I am eating!

This evening I will be eating at my church for supper. Every Wednesday they serve supper for only $4 before the Bible studies and kids church starts. We've only been taking advantage of it since the New Year and are enjoying meeting new people and eating great food that I didn't cook! I will have to try and figure out though how to calculate the calories. :)

Well that's it for today. But I'm looking forward to writing much more regularly now!

Have a great day!

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I'm back!

2009-09-15T21:43:00.003-04:00

Wow! I haven't written here since June! It's been a crazy, crazy summer! I had my parentscome visit for almost 2 weeks- a trip that had to be extended when my dad was hospitalized with a minor stroke. The day they left, my husband's brother and his family came for the rest of July. Great times, but so busy! In August we had weddings, family dinners, and then we flew out to Saskatoon to spend a week with my family. The day we arrived back in Toronto, my husband's other brother and his family arrived from Florida for a week. We had a good time with them as well, but no time to do anything productive.

And now, it's September. I told myself not to even try to blog during the summer because I would just disappoint myself. So here we are.

My daughter Daniella started Junior Kindergarten this year. That's so weird to me. I feel like she was just born yesterday and now she's off to school. I expected to be emotional about it but I wasn't. I think there was just too much commotion that day to be emotional.

Another change in my life is that I'm now unemployed. It's a long story, but I am now a stay-at-home mom. I've been telling my husband for the last 3 years how much I wish I could stay at home with my kids and take better care of the house and have more homemade meals, etc. So here's my chance. I guess this is probably where I should mention that I'm expecting! We found out at the beginning of August and I'm currently 13 weeks along. So this is why I am not finding another job right now. Who wants to hire someone who will be taking maternity leave in 6 months?

So yesterday I made taco salad for supper. Instead of using the little packets of taco seasoning that you find in the grocery store, I made my own mixture. It's WAY cheaper, much tastier, and no added junk like MSG, etc. My husband told me several times that it's much tastier than the store bought so I think I will stick with this.

Today I decided to bake some bread. Ever since moving out east 5 years ago, I've had trouble baking any decent bread. I'm not sure what it is since other people seem to do it fine, but I always have trouble getting the dough to rise. I don't know if it's the elevation, or maybe the house is too cold, but either way today was successful. Once the dough was made, I put a heating pad in a large bowl and put the dough bowl inside the larger bowl. That seemed to do the trick!

I also made some Zumma (Summer) Borscht. It's a Mennonite soup that I grew up with. It's got farmer sausage, potatoes, onions, and dill. So delicious! So tonight we had soup and bread for supper. Yummy!

Well I guess that's all for now. Have a great day!

Father's Day Ideas: Part 2

2009-06-19T14:56:00.006-04:00

We’re just 2 days away from Father’s Day, and I know most of you ladies have it all figured it out already. But just in case, you’re one of those last muinute gals, here’s a couple ideas for you and/or the kids.

Car Nut Frame
This cute little frame is easy enough for the little ones to do and how can Dad not like something with nuts?

Best Dad Desk Accessory
How could Dad not love this little reminder that he is the best?

Denim MP3 Player Holder

Does Dad have an MP3 player in need of a case? Here’s an idea to fix that!

Dad Clipboard
Does Dad need a clipboard? Here’s a fun one he’d like!

Dad Box
Make a Dad Box and fill it up with some of his favourite goodies!

Painted Father’s Day Magazine Holder for the Fisherman

Does Dad like fishing? How about magazines? Bring the 2 together with this Magazine Holder.

If you missed Part 1 of Father's Day Ideas, please click here to see it!

Happy Father’s Day! Have a great weekend!

Sam the BBQ Man

2009-06-18T15:17:00.003-04:00

When Sam & I got married almost 5 years ago, the only thing he knew about the kitchen was where the fridge was. He could sort of BBQ a hamburger and that was about it. But in the last couple years he really started to BBQ and learn his way around our kitchen. At first his steaks were alright, then they got better, and now I have no desire to spend my money at a fancy steak restaurant when I can have one of Sam’s steaks! They’re fantastic! He’s also been mastering grilled peppers, onions and zucchini. They get better every year.

Last year for Father’s Day the girls & I bought him a book called the BBQ Bible. He loved it. But the only problem was that many of the recipes in this “bible”, were for a charcoal grill. He only had access to a propane one. So he set his sights on a charcoal grill. The Weber Gold. We heard about this thing for months and months. So a few weeks ago Emily and I put our heads together and decided it would make a great Father’s Day present. We left Daniella out of the conversation because she can only keep a secret for about 5 minutes. Unfortunately Emily is only with us every other weekend and her weekend did not coincide with Father’s Day. So we decided to hold it one week early. I went to the mall and got a little plaque engraved that says, “Happy Father’s Day. Love Emily & Daniella, 2009”. Then we taped the plaque into his card. When he opened the card and puzzlingly looked at the plaque, Emily told him to go into the porch and see what was under the blanket. There was his Weber! He was so shocked and so excited! Immediately the BBQ Bible came out and he had to run to the store for some charcoal and some meat.

That night, we had steak, peppers and onions. They were SO good! The next night we had chicken. Last night Sam was going to try his hand at BBQ-ing a pizza. He watched several YouTube videos on how it was done and planned to do it, but it was raining quite hard- so no BBQ-ing that night. But Sam wanted to make his pizza so he did it in the kitchen. This was his first ever pizza! I was so proud of him!! It was really good too! Way better than I usually make since I tend to always put on too many topping no matter how hard I try not to. After the pizza was all cleaned up, I helped him make a marinade for some pork chops that he’ll be grilling tonight and for some more steak for tomorrow.

So if you ever think getting your husband to cook is hopeless, it can be done!

Happy BBQ-ing!

Ginger Chicken Capellini

2009-06-17T16:07:00.006-04:00

So I realize I have not been blogging much lately. And I apologize. Part of it has been that I’m quite busy, and part of it is a new obsession with the game Farm Town on facebook. AH! I had never even heard of it until about a week ago when a friend mentioned it on her profile and I was curious to see what it was. Another friend told me not to go anywhere near it because everyone she knew was addicted to the game. So of course I had to prove her wrong. Yikes! I’m addicted! It’s bad! I stay up late playing it, I wake up early, I’m losing sleep and I’m not getting enough things done! This has to stop! Ok, after the next harvest, I’ll stop....really I will....maybe 2 more harvests....

So anyway, last night for supper I made Ginger Chicken Capellini. Well it ended up being Ginger Chicken Corkscrew because I didn’t have any Capellini at home. Capellini is a very fine long pasta similar to spaghetti and vermicelli but even thinner. This was a very popular dish at Boston Pizza back when I last worked there in 2004. It’s no longer on the menu as I saw today when I went on their website to check. I watched the cooks make it and took notes so I could make it at home (along with several other recipes).

This is a nice dish because it’s quite different than your average pasta dish. Often pasta is topped with either tomato or Alfredo sauce. This has neither.

I don’t have exact measurements for all the items so please bear with me. Here’s the recipe:

- Cooked cubed chicken
- 10 or so white mushrooms, chopped
- A handful of spinach, chopped
- Half a red onion, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- Cooked Capellini pasta (any type will work)
- 6-8 tsp. puréed (or finely chopped) ginger
- A couple splashes of teriyaki sauce
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds
- Olive oil

Sauté mushrooms, spinach, onions & red pepper in a splash of olive oil until veggies are soft.

Add ginger (I use the little cubes of frozen ginger, I don’t know if it has preservatives or not, but ignorance is bliss I suppose).

After the ginger has warmed up, add the chicken and teriyaki sauce and cook until chicken is hot.

Toss in pasta and stir.

Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

My family thoroughly enjoyed this dish. It tasted gourmet but was so easy to prepare. Add some garlic bread and a fresh salad and you’ve got dinner!

Let me know if you try this and what you think!

Have a great day!

Father's Day is Coming...

2009-06-10T16:28:00.007-04:00

Father’s Day is coming up and some of you may be wondering what to get for Dad, or what your kids can get for your hubby. Instead of buying something, why not make it? You’ll probably save some money and I’m sure Dad, or even Grandpa will enjoy it!

Here’s some ideas I’ve run across on the different blogs I go to.

Car Wash Gift for Dad

This great Father's Day gift idea is found at The Children's Nest today.

Father's Day Photo Card

Here's a great idea for a card!

Luggage Handle Cover

Dad will never mix up his luggage again!
This cute handle cover was created by Little Birdie Secrets. So cute!

Family Yahtzee

You have to check out this personalized Yahtzee game idea by The Thrifty Chick!! What a fabulous gift!

Father's Day Milk Carton Box & Card

Make this fun milk carton box and put dad's favorite goodies inside! Misty @ Creative Itch made this for her dad and FIL {using this tutorial} and can I just say how much I LOVE the matching card?!

F.A.T.H.E.R. Mini Album

This is such a great Father's Day gift! Fawnda @ Fireflies and Jellybeans shares her F.A.T.H.E.R. book describing the adoption of their beautiful baby boy.
I love this personal gift to describe each letter about dad!

Sew Him A Tie
Molly from Purl Bee shows us how to make our own tie for Dad

Happy crafting!

My Wonderful Weekend

2009-05-27T16:24:00.009-04:00

Sorry it’s taken so long since my contest ended Saturday, but here are the winners......Sara Orvis & Debi Funk! Yay! But since you guys decided to follow me, I’ve decided you’re all winners! Sarah, Debi, Holly, Jocelyn, Nikki, Melissa, and someone who’s name isn’t on there. So please let me know which you’d prefer, 1 dozen Cosmic Cookies, or a laundry soap kit! Please leave it in the comments and I’ll get those out to you! Thanks!

This past weekend was such a great weekend! Lately we’ve been having all our beautiful weather during the week and miserable weather on the weekend, but this past weekend it decided to be beautiful all weekend! On Saturday we decided to take our boat out for the first time this year. Sam had rebuilt the motor over the spring so it needed to be tested out. Daniella was so excited to go fishing again as well. We stopped and bought some Subway sandwiches and drove to Lake Scugog.

As we got into the boat and started the motor, we discovered it wasn’t completely fixed. It ran...but only on one cylinder. So even at full throttle we were barley moving. Oh well. We made the best of it. In addition to our gas motor we also have a trolling motor (it’s a small electric motor that is slow and quiet- great for moving around without scaring the fish). So we slowly boated around for awhile staying reasonably close to the dock in case we had any trouble. Sam & Daniella pulled out their fishing rods and within a few minutes Daniella had caught a fish. She ended up catching 2 crappies and Sam caught 1 little sunfish! Daniella was quite proud of the fact that she caught more than her daddy and on her little Dora fishing rod! After fishing we had a little picnic on the boat. After we docked the boat we walked around the town of Port Perry. What a beautiful little downtown! We went through a few little shops, bought some ice cream and let Daniella play at the playground for awhile. When we got home, we had a BBQ outside! AH! This is the life!

Sunday we stayed home from church because Daniella had been up several times during the night and I knew she needed some sleep. So after sleeping in, we all went for a bike ride. We came home, had some lunch and decided to try boating again (Sam had found and fixed the problem in the motor Saturday night). So we drove back to the lake, put the boat in the water and crossed our fingers....it purred like a kitten! Okay, more like growled like a tiger, but what can you expect with a motor from the 1960’s! :) We cruised all over the lake and went along the shores and checked out all the houses. Some little cottages, some mega mansions, but they were all beautiful! We discussed how nice it would be to live on the water and sip coffee from the dock in the morning. How nice.... Well after the cruise we once again pulled out the fishing rods. This time Daniella caught 2 sunfish and Sam caught 1 crappie. Daniella still won! We put them back in the lake and told Daniella we’ll come back for them next time.

That was pretty much my perfect weekend. We spent hardly any money, didn’t go anywhere fancy but just spent some great time with my family. Oh, and I also called my grandma to wish her a happy birthday from the middle of the lake. I love technology!

Another thing I made over the weekend was raw flaxseed crackers. I puréed a mixture of tomatoes, red pepper, cilantro, salt and garlic and mixed in 2 cups of flaxseeds. I then spread them out on a screen in my dehydrator and used a pizza cutter to mark the lines where I wanted them cut. After dehydrating them for about 12 hours, I had crackers! I made some hummus to go with them and they were yummy!

On Monday evening I took a cup of buckwheat and soaked it for an hour. I then allowed it to sit for about 24 hours rinsing it several times. Once the buckwheat started to sprout I added a squirt of agave syrup and some cinnamon and mixed it all up. I dehydrated this for about 10 hours on 105°, taking it out this morning. I put some in a bowl with some sliced almonds and poured in some vanilla almond milk. MMM!!! It was so good and quite filling! It lasted me all morning! I think I need something else to add to it though, maybe raisins, or something? Any suggestions?

Well right now at home I have some chickpeas soaking. I haven’t decided yet if they will become raw falafel patties or raw hummus, or maybe I’ll have enough to make both. I’ll let you know in a couple days. Until then, have a great day!

The Dangers of Fluoride

2009-05-22T16:19:00.009-04:00

How would you feel if something you were taught in school and told by doctors and dentists was healthy and you find out that it’s not only not healthy, it’s poisonous! Then you find out that you ingest this all the time thinking you’re doing something good! I’m talking about fluoride. We’ve been taught that we need fluoride to make our teeth strong and prevent cavities. Our drinking water is tainted with the stuff, our toothpastes have it too! But our government wouldn’t lie to us would they?

Around the 1930’s it was thought that fluoride strengthened teeth and prevented cavities. So to “help” everyone, it was put into the water supply and into toothpaste. Since the beginning of this there have been scientists researching this and they’ve come to the conclusion that fluoride does WAY more damage than good!

The government shows us studies that tooth decay has declined since fluoridating the water. But Europe has also seen a decline in tooth decay and they have not fluoridated the water. But around the same time as the fluoridating started, so did the push for brushing teeth. It wasn’t quite seen as necessary until around this time. This is why tooth decay has decreased. It had nothing to do with fluoride! But the government saves money by fluoridating our water. This way they don’t have to pay to safely dispose of the toxic chemical as they do with other chemicals.

It’s not easy to get away from fluoride either. Unless you have an expensive reverse osmosis system in your house, you are stuck with fluoride in your water. Most bottled water also has it. Even setting the water to evaporate won’t do it, the chlorine will evaporate but you’re stuck with fluoride.

Flouride has also been found to cause cancer. In an article by Dr. Mercola[1], he writes,

Burk and Yiamouyiannis completed a monumental research project in 1977 in which they compared cancer death rates in 10 fluoridated and 10 non-fluoridated US cities between 1940 and 1970. The results are on p75 of Fluoride the Aging Factor.

The unmistakable fact is that the graph shows that for the first ten years (1940-1950), when none of the 20 cities fluoridated, the average cancer deaths were virtually identical. But after 1950, there is a major increase in cancer deaths in every single one of the fluoridated cities, while the nonfluoridated cities remain clustered together at a much lower level of death.

They actually put a number on it:
" ... 30,000 to 50,000 deaths each year from various causes may now be attributable to fluoridation. This total includes 10,000 to 20,000 deaths attributable to fluoride-induced cancer every year."

These findings were first confirmed, then denied by the National Cancer Institute (what a surprise). Finally the research was upheld as valid in two separate state courts, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

So what can you do? Change your toothpaste! Stop using the drugstore toothpastes that are so filled with toxins and junk and switch to something natural! There are tons of natural brands out there, you just have to look. You likely won’t find them in the drugstore or grocery store, but you will find them in a health food store. A popular natural toothpaste is Tom’s of Maine. I do NOT recommend this one. This brand’s toothpaste contains Sodium lauryl sulfate. Sodium lauryl sulfate is commonly used in engine degreasers, floor cleaners, and car wash soaps[2]. It’s in there to create the lather you are used to having in your toothpaste and other soaps. But it’s completely unnecessary. One brand I strongly recommend is Green Beaver. It’s a Canadian brand and it only contains natural necessary ingredients. I’ve been using it for almost 2 years and I love it! But you can also make your own. My sister-in-law makes her own using just glycerin, baking soda, and peppermint oil.

I strongly urge you to read up on fluoride and learn all you can. Since learning this I have changed my toothpaste as well as my children’s (I’m still working on my husband). I would love to be able to get a reverse osmosis system in my house but cannot afford to do so. We may not be able to detoxify ourselves completely, as this is a fairly toxic world. Between air pollutants, and other things that are thrown at us in every direction, I only try to do what I can with the understanding that I won’t be able to do it all.

Another way we can make a change is to petition our government. There was recently a woman who lives in a nearby city who has started to petition against fluoride in their water system[3]. We can make a change!

Please read some of the links below on the subject.

· http://www.mercola.com/article/links/fluoride_links.htm
· http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/archive/2007/06/05/The-Dangerous-Fluoride-Deception-You-Need-to-be-Aware-Of.aspx
· http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/02/02/fluoride-safety-part-one.aspx
· http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article798991.ece
· http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2578355.htm
· http://www.fluoridealert.org/
· http://www.mbschachter.com/dangers_of_fluoride_and_fluorida.htm
· http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/fluoride.htm
· http://www.fluoridedangers.blogspot.com/
· http://ezinearticles.com/?Fluoride-Dangers---The-Shocking-Facts-You-Must-Know-About-Fluoridation-of-Water&id=2144449
· http://tinyurl.com/oa6d5u

I would love to have gone more in depth on this, but I realize I’ve already written so much! Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will answer them to the best of my ability!

Have a great day!

[1] Dr. Mercola, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/02/02/fluoride-safety-part-one.aspx

[2] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_dodecyl_sulfate

[3] The Globe & Mail, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article798991.ece

My May Long Weekend

2009-05-19T14:34:00.005-04:00

This past weekend was a great weekend with my family. My step-daughter turned 12 last week so we celebrated with a Strawberry Cheesequake Blizzard Cake from Dairy Queen- her favorite! We also took her shopping to spend her birthday money which also ended up including piercing her ears. It's funny that she didn't have them pierced already as my 3 year old has had them pierced since she was 2 months old. So now Emily is like her little sister! :) Then we 3 girls went to the movie, "17 Again". My husband wasn't too interested in that movie so we thought we'd have a girl’s night out. I thought it was great!

On Saturday morning I had another one of my cooking classes. This time it was a mother & daughter class. Since Daniella is a little young for that sort of thing, just Emily & I went. We had a great time! Emily tried some new things and learned how easy it is to throw some things together to make something yummy! We made a Banango Smoothie, Raw Pizzas, Salsa, Guacamole, Veggie Sushi, & Chapatti (Indian bread). It was definitely geared more for the kids so I didn't pick up much new knowledge but I did get a few new recipes. Here is a picture of the kids posing with their sushi.

Since this weekend was a long weekend, we decided to take the girls to Canada's Wonderland. What a mistake! Every year we buy season passes and go often. Since we live so close it makes it nice that we can sometime just go for a couple hours at a time. We don't feel obligated to spend the whole day to get our money's worth since we go many time over the summer. Well it seems that the whole world decided yesterday was Wonderland day! It was SO chaotic. It felt like we walked a million miles just to get through the crowded parking lot. When we finally got in, it was a zoo! You could barely walk through the crowds and the line ups for the rides were WAY longer than usual. There were lines that were over an hour long in the kid’s area. What 3 year old wants to wait for an hour for a 3 minute swan ride? After 2 hours and only getting 2 rides in, we decided to call it a day and go home.

Since the weather was beautiful for the first time that weekend we decided to have a BBQ in the back yard. What a difference from Wonderland. We sat outside; listened to the birds chirp; the squirrels and bunnies run through the yard and watched the birds mating outside the birdhouse. Try explaining that to a 3 year old! We told her they were having a tickle fight. :) Sam BBQ'd burgers and I made Moroccan Couscous Salad. Yummy!

The Moroccan Couscous Salad has been a favorite of mine for awhile. I discovered it in the deli section of Planet Organic and love it! But it's not the cheapest so I've been trying to figure out how to make it on my own. After a few failed attempts, I think I've got it. It's still missing a little something, but I thought I'd share the recipe as it's definitely delicious the way it is!

Let me know if you try it! It's SO tasty! I've paired it with grilled chicken and with a lentil loaf before. I think it pretty much works with anything!

If you haven't heard of it yet, I'm running a contest right now until May 23rd. For more info, please click here.

Have a great day!

My First Ever Contest!

2009-05-13T15:34:00.013-04:00

I've decided I want to do a contest. I see many other bloggers doing this, so I thought I'd follow the crowd! :)

If you "follow" my blog, I will add your name to the contest. There will be 2 lucky winners! One will win a Laundry Soap Kit (enough to last about 6 months) and 1 winner will win 1 dozen Cosmic Cookies! So follow me today! Also, if you get a friend to follow me, get them to comment on this post that they followed me through your reference. Then I'll add their name to the draw as well as a another chance for you! So just click on "Follow" on the right hand side of the blog and you'll be in. Remember, the more friends you get to follow me, the better your chances are!

This contest will be open until Saturday, May 23/09 until 12am EST.

Have a great day!

Goat Cheese Meatloaf & Miso Soup

2009-05-12T23:06:00.010-04:00

As you may have noticed it has been some time since my last post. I have been doing some renovations on my blog and I think I'm finally done! Thanks for your patience!

I've been frustrated with myself lately because I had not been organized enough to plan ahead for supper. We were planning things last minute which meant less than healthy choices and added stress. I also found myself walking up at the last minute before needing to leave for work so I was picking up a breakfast sandwich on the way.

Not this week! On Thursday I put together a menu for the following week and went out and bought all the needed groceries. I've been putting together a lot of the ingredients the night before so it can start cooking as soon as I get home. It's been much less stress and it's been healthier. For example, Sunday night I assembled a goat cheese stuffed meatloaf and I partially cooked a lentil & sweet potato side dish. So when my husband got home (which is an hour before me), he put them both in the oven and they were ready when I got home. It was SO nice! I'm trying hard to just take this one day at a time because I know if I plan too big, I plan to fail.

One of the raw recipes I had made a couple weeks ago required me to buy miso. What on earth is miso? Well it's fermented soy and according to my cooking teacher it's very good for you. I had asked her what I should make to use up the leftover miso I still had in my fridge and she suggested miso soup. Of course! I've had miso soup at Japanese restaurants! So I went online and looked up various recipes for miso soup and went with the one that sounded the tastiest. And it was good! I was very impressed!

There are quite a few blogs that I try to read each morning before I start work. Some are on healthy organic eating, some on eating raw, some on homemaking, sewing, gardening, etc.All of these are the different things I think are important. I'm not much of a sewer but I really loved it in high school and have tackled a few small projects in the last couple years. I would love to take a course to improve my skills and maybe sometime I will, but for now I thought I would try a project that doesn't require too much talent. I'm going to attempt a blanket. Recently my husband cleaned out his side of the closet and got rid of several t-shirts and a few old pairs of jeans. So I thought I would be thrifty and well as creative and make a blanket out of these items. I took a picture of each t-shirt to make a mock up of approximately what I want the blanket to look like. I thought if I post it on here then I will accountable to follow through with this.

Well that's all for today! Have a great day!

Bear With Me

2009-05-05T16:57:00.000-04:00

Please bear with me as I change some font, styles & colors. I'm trying to quickly learn some HTML.

Have a great day!

Ketchup Cake

2009-04-30T16:17:00.003-04:00

I just found this recipe and I can't imagine it being good, but apparently it's tasty! I'll have to try it. But here is the recipe if you're so inclined:

Great Canadian Ketchup Cake
Heinz's delicious cake was created in honour of their 100th anniversary!

2 cups (500 ml) all purpose flour
2 tsp (10 ml) baking powder
1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2 ml) each ground nutmeg and ginger
1/2 cup (125 ml) each ketchup and water
2 tbsp (30 ml) red food colouring
3/4 cup (175 ml) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs

Frosting:
6 oz (175 g) brick-style cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup (175 ml) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups (1 L) icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
Grease two 9-inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper
Stir flour with baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger into a bowl
Stir ketchup, water, and colouring in a separate bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter and blend sugar in a large bowl until smooth.
Beat in Eggs
Add flour mixture and ketchup mixture
Beat on low, scraping down bowl as needed, until combined

Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute
Divide batter evenly between prepared pans
Bake for 30 minutes or until centre springs back when touched lightly
Cool cakes for 15 minutes before turning onto a rack to cool completely

Frosting:
Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla on medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth
Gradually beat in sugar on low, scraping bowl as needed
Beat on high until fluffy
Frost between cake layers and over sides and top of cake

Serves 12

Lentil Salad

2009-04-30T15:49:00.009-04:00

The other night for supper I made a lentil soup and a salad. Both turned out great! I tried something new with the salad. I took an idea I got from my cooking class and changed it up a bit. Here’s what I used:

½ sprouted lentils
3 carrots (cut matchstick style with a mandoline)
½ cup sauerkraut
½ cup chopped parsley
1 tsp dulse flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp agave syrup

Lentils
I put the lentils to soak 2 nights before and drained the soaking water the next morning. I covered the bowl with a towel and left it on the counter for the day. When sprouting you need to rinse the lentils twice a day to keep them moist and prevent mould from forming. Just rinse and drain. The first night the lentils had started sprouting and by the 2nd day they had grown quite a bit. You don’t want them to sprout too much more than ¼ inch because it’s then that they run out of nutrition and begin to die.

Sauerkraut
The sauerkraut came from the health food store, but I plan to start making my own once I get the proper bacteria purchased. This sauerkraut does not contain vinegar as is usually done but was fermented naturally using proper bacteria. This is much healthier for you as it contains probiotics and prebiotics.

Dulse Flakes
For those who have never heard of them, dulse flakes are the dried flakes of a seaweed found in the Atlantic. It is very high in protein and many other vitamins and minerals. I do not find they have a strong flavour when added sparingly to salads but it dresses it up and adds a lot of nutrition!

Agave Syrup
Agave syrup is a sweetener that is made from the blue agave cactus-like plant Agave tequilana. It is sometimes called agave nectar. This is a good alternative to cane sugar as it does not affect your blood sugar as severely as cane sugar can. It can be found in many grocery stores and also in health food stores.

Toss all these items together and eat! It was very tasty! I've added a picture of my salad below!

Have a great day!

My Weekend- Part 2

2009-04-28T16:44:00.005-04:00

On Sunday I baked 6 braid Challah bread. I was inspired by another blog that I read. Apparently it’s a Jewish bread although I didn’t find it tasted much different than any other bread I’ve made before. I was having some trouble with the step by step instructions though on how to do a 6 braid so I looked up a video on YouTube. What a wonderful thing! I found a video of someone making her braid and she laid it out. So I set my laptop on the kitchen counter and followed the video. My bread came out beautifully! I may do this on a regular basis. It’s not much more work and it looks fantastic! To see the You Tube video I used click here.

I also made another batch of laundry soap. I was running low so I got that “cooking”. I’ve read up on many different recipes and what works for different people and have settled on what I like best. The reason I started doing this was because I started reading up on some of the toxins in regular laundry soap as well as what was in the fabric softener and the dryer sheets. Our skin is very absorbent and we absorb so much junk into our systems. I especially don’t want my daughter wearing these chemicals day in and day out. But I was afraid there was no way that I could make something that could do as good of a job as the regular detergents. But I decided to jump in and was pleasantly surprised.

I started by first just making the laundry soap. But I was still using Downy and Bounce sheets in the dryer. But then I decided to cut out both of those and instead of Downy I started using plain white vinegar as the rinse agent. Now yes vinegar may smell, but as soon as the clothes are dry the smell is gone. So it’s not bad. But I decided to add a few drops of lavender oil into my bottle of vinegar. The vinegar not only softened the clothes, but it also cut out the need for dryer sheets as it also cuts static. Vinegar is also efficient for holding color so you don’t have to worry about colors fading or running. I didn’t tell my husband about the vinegar at first because I knew he’s look at me as though I was crazy. So I ran a few loads and asked him what he thought about their softness and smell. He noticed the clothes were softer and he liked the smell. He thought I had just bought a new rinse agent. I then told him about my vinegar and lavender oil. He gave me a funny look but now tells people how nice it is. The other night I went to sleep in fresh sheets with a fresh-from-the-dryer nightgown and was so excited that they smelled & felt so wonderful and I did it all without harsh chemicals! Okay, you may not get as excited as me, but these things excite me.

I’ve also started using vinegar in the dishwasher in place of Jet Dry. Again, I decided not to mention it to my husband for fear he would think I was crazy. But shortly after I started doing it he asked me if I changed something in the dishwasher. I got worried, thinking that I had wrecked something with my experimental rinse, but he was pointing at his stainless steel water bottle. Neither of us had ever seen it so shiny! Since putting in the vinegar our dishes have become so much shinier!

Well I started this post to discuss my weekend and I’ve wandered off, but I think it’s still full of good stuff. If you’d like the recipe for the laundry soap please click here. I’m also thinking of maybe selling little kits of the ingredients, but I guess we’ll see how that goes.

Have a great day!

My Weekend- Part 1

2009-04-27T16:52:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was a good one! I desperately needed some rest as I had completely wore myself out the week before. My husband Sam had a bachelor party to go to that evening so my daughter Daniella & I stayed home and watched movies. It was nice to just sit and relax. It felt like it had been too long since I’d been able to do that.

Saturday was a little crazy again. I had a cooking class on Saturday for 4 hours. It was great. We learned some more about sprouting, and we made sprouted lentil patties, sprouted kamut buns, we made a power smoothie, sprout salad and a few other things. After all the foods were made we sat around the table and ate all the new creations. It was a good time.

The weather was so beautiful that day so I had ridden my bike to the class. I was amazed at how gorgeous it was! Well that didn’t last.... When I got home, Daniella & I left to go to the Good Food Show in Mississauga (Sam was working on rebuilding the motor for his boat and couldn’t come). When we pulled out of the driveway the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. Just shortly after I got on the freeway, black clouds started to fill the sky and the wind picked up. Suddenly the wind picked up every piece of litter and whipped it against the side of my van. Lightning filled the sky and you could feel the cracks of thunder. I had to be careful as the wind was trying to push me off the road. The wind had blown several big business signs into the road so the cars were carefully dodging them.

We finally got to the show and I was debating whether I still wanted to go in. I was going to have to push a stroller, hold my purse and my daughter and carry an umbrella as the rain pelted hard. The stroller tried to blow away and my umbrella flipped out while Daniella started to scream from the rain pelting against her. It was crazy! We finally made it inside. AH!

The show was good. There were booths from different food makers. Some big names like Jell-O, Lipton and Beatrice, and other local small named business trying to get some recognition. Almost every place had samples so we filled up on pieces of cheese, sausage, rice, curry, ice cream, freezies, coffee, chocolate milk, etc. It was wonderful! Most of the booths were selling their products for MUCH cheaper than you would find the same item in the sore. So I bought some tea, butter chicken sauce, beans, Himalayan salt, and a few other things. We came home with our bags loaded right up from the samples. I actually had to turn away some samples as I had run out of room in my bags. All in all it was a good time.

I was worried about the weather as we headed toward the door but the wind seemed to have stopped and it was just drizzling lightly. When we got home Sam was in the garage with his cousin just finishing up his boat with a light on overhead. So when they told me the power was out I was a little confused. It turned out Sam had hooked up the light to his boat battery so he could finish working in the garage.

Since there was no power in the house we sat on the back step and visited with some neighbours for awhile and then headed inside when it started to get late. We lit candles in the living room and watched a show we had saved on Sam’s laptop. Thankfully his battery lasted the whole show! :) Then we all sat and read books by candlelight until it was bedtime. Just as we were falling asleep the power came back on and we realized all the lights had been on before so we had to run around and shut off all the lights. The overhead light in Daniella’s room was shining but thankfully it didn’t wake her up.

And that was my Saturday! Tomorrow I will share about my Sunday! Hope you have a great day!

Cosmic Cookies

2009-04-23T20:27:00.003-04:00

Last night I decided to bake some cookies. I needed some comfort food! ☺ I decided to make a recipe out of my organic cookbook. It was delicious! I'd seen them for sale before at Planet Organic but had never bought any (I try hard to avoid the baking section as I get sucked in too easily!) So I thought I'd share the recipe:

Ingredients
2 ¼ cups - Quick cooking oats
2 cups - Spelt flour
1 cup - Sunflower seeds
¾ cup - Pumpkin seeds
½ cup - Shredded coconut, unsweetened
¼ cup - Flax seeds
1 cup - Granulated cane sugar
1 tbsp - Cinnamon, ground
2 ¼ tsp - Sea salt
1 ¾ cups - Dark chocolate chips
1 ¼ cups - Raisins
¼ cup - Water
¼ cup - Molasses
¾ cup Oil
1 cup - Milk

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line baking trays with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, everything from oats to raisins. In a separate large bowl, combine wet ingredients, everything from water to soy milk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix slow at a low speed (or by hand) until just combined. Do not over mix.

3. Portion cookie dough using a ⅓ cup measure and place onto lined baking tray. Gently flatten cookies before baking. Bake for 24 minutes or until lightly browned. Yields 24 cookies.

One of the things I did was I added about ¼ cup of sliced almonds. It was fabulous! These cookies are so good! You get the taste of your traditional chocolate oatmeal cookie but the seeds add a nice flavor. If you try these let me know what you think!

Have a great day!

2009-04-22T16:38:00.009-04:00

I got this in an email from my mom today. I think this is so cool and wanted to share it with you!

Real Estate? Check out this little pad!

KITCHEN:

BEDROOM:

ENTRY:

BATHROOM:

This place seems very modern, BUT…
HERE’S THE INNOVATIVE PART!!...
This 1 bedroom loft apartment was built inside a grain silo.

It was renovated into this upscale unit after it was purchased and relocated
to the grounds of an Old Homestead in Saskatchewan in 2007.
If that’s not creative craftmanship, then I don’t know what is!
I wanted to share this because it is so cool!

2009-04-20T23:21:00.008-04:00

This weekend I made a several items out of my new raw cookbooks. Saturday we were invited to a friends for dinner so I made a Strawberry “Cheesecake” to bring for dessert. It was really more like a nut pie. The “cheese” was made or puréed cashews with coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla. It went over quite well. But to call it cheesecake I think took something away from it because it wasn't nearly as rich as cheesecake would have been. But it was still good! For the recipe see page 18 in the dessert cookbook.

I also made something called a PLT. I guess it is supposed to mimic a BLT, but uses Portobello Mushrooms instead of a bun. It was pretty good. My husband didn't like it too much but he still ate it. Even my girls ate it. We spread Hemp Seed Mayo on the mushrooms, filled it with a Kale & Sundried Tomato filling and layered some thin carrot and daikon radish slices on it. I quite enjoyed it. This recipe is on page 12 on the entrées cookbook.

Another thing I decided to try was the Raw Rye Bread. I made this in my dehydrator. It's definitely a strong flavor and probably not the tastiest. I think maybe I'd try again but dehydrate it further to have a cracker effect. The bread recipes are found on pages 41-44 of the entrées cookbook

It's a little difficult getting into the raw thing when I'm the only one wanting to do it. My husband (a self proclaimed meatatarian) is not interested in anything raw other than a salad. But I know he's willing to eat a few things for me so that's nice. I will keep trying and hopefully I will find some items that I really enjoy.

Last week I went on eBay. I try not to ever do this because I always manage to get suckered into something. Well I've been eyeing an Excalibur dehydrator and a Vita mix for a while now but they are both dreadfully expensive so I figured I would just "lust" after them for awhile until one magical day I could afford them. Well someone was selling the Excalibur dehydrator for WAY below regular asking price. And generally if it's sold in Canada you can get it cheaper since it seems the Americans aren't as interested in out of country items. I still wasn't going to get it but at the last minute I threw in a bid and managed to win it. I got it for about ¼ of the price. The shipping was included too! That rarely ever happens in Canada. So I got my dehydrator and she's a beauty! Now to save for that Vita mix!

This Wednesday is Earth Day and I'm seeing everyone advertising about going green. I've also seen contests for green items as well as emails from Toys R Us for their organic lines. It's nice to see other companies starting to get on the bandwagon. If you live in Canada be sure to check out a Starbucks with a refillable mug. You will get a free regular coffee. Also, if you are anywhere near a Planet Organic, they are giving out free organic coffee and organic cake. I'll be there!

Well that's all for today! Have a great day!

Live Falafels

2009-04-09T15:12:00.013-04:00

Last night was a busy one. Daniella & I are flying to Saskatchewan for the Easter weekend so I had to pack our suitcases as well as make my Live Falafels since my Chickpea sprouts were ready. I was so excited at how my chickpeas were looking. I probably could have left them for one more day but since I was going to be away I chopped them up probably a little early. It’s amazing how tasty they are once sprouted! They taste just like fresh garden peas! Previously I had only ever had canned chickpeas which have obviously been cooked. Raw is good! My husband Sam thought it was quite strange to have a bowl of chickpeas “growing” on the counter for the last few days and didn’t look too excited when I told him what I was making. But once I had it done I made him try it and he was quite surprised. He loved it and even asked me to put some in his lunch for the next day. I even brought some for lunch for myself and shared some with a co-worker who is also interested in healthier eating. He liked it too! How fun! My falafels turned out a little greener than the ones I made in my cooking class since I think I used a little too much cilantro. But it’s still yummy! I encourage you to try this recipe! (Pictures below)

I am flying out with my daughter tonight and we will be away until Monday night so I likely will not post anything until Tuesday at the earliest. Unfortunately my husband is staying home so he’ll be a little lonely. But he’ll be getting together with some family on his side so all will be well.

I was sure there was something else I had wanted to post here today but I’ve forgotten. I hope everyone has a great long weekend and a happy Easter. And remember, while bunnies and chocolate eggs are fun, let’s remember the “reason for the season”. Jesus died for you and for me and rose from the dead so we can have eternal life. I’d say that’s a lot better than chocolate and bunnies!

Happy Easter!

*********************************

Here are my chickpeas on Tuesday- almost ready to sprout.

Here they are on Wednesday

Here's a look at the chopped chickpeas, ground sunflower seeds and ground flax seeds.

My finished product! They sort of blend together but I made small patties. Delish!

Maple Syrup, Soaking Nuts & Raw Foods

2009-04-07T14:29:00.009-04:00

I apologize for not having written on here for over a week. Last week was a very busy week! My husband Sam was asked to put in extra hours almost every day last week. It was a blessing to get some extra income at a time when he’s often not even able to get the full 40 hours a week, but it also meant more work for me around the house. Since we both work full time we’ve divided up the chores around the house so I took most of them on last week. But I am back!

This past weekend we took in a Maple Syrup Festival. This was my first experience. I remember as a kid learning about Maple Syrup and how they made it. We actually learned about it in French class since a lot of Maple Syrup is made in Quebec. But a lot of it is made in Ontario as well. And since I’ve lived in Ontario for almost 5 years, I figured it was time to take it in already! At the park they had horse pulled wagon rides, and pony rides for the kids. My daughter Daniella was so excited to ride on a pony (She's with my step-daughter Emmily in this picture). For weeks she’s been asking to go to a farm to see ponies, horses and unicorns (she hasn’t quite grasped that unicorns are pretend). We also walked through the woods and came upon a fire where they were making the maple syrup. The women there were in pioneer outfits and explained to us how the syrup was made in the pioneer days. They explained the differences in the colors of syrup (the first sap of the year is sweeter so it doesn’t need to be cooked down as much; therefore lighter in color. As the season progresses the sap gets less sweet and needs to be cooked down much more, causing the darker colors), and they explained the nutritional benefits as well as how to know when the season is ready and when to stop tapping the tree. We had samples there. After we left them, we continued walking and came upon a hut. In the hut is where they showed how to make syrup today. They had plastic lines in the trees and it all poured into the hut and into a boiler. It was very interesting.

Back at the main area they had a little café where they sold pancakes & maple syrup and they had a store where you could buy the syrup, maple sugar, maple candies, etc. It was a great time! Before the festival I could not convince my daughter to try maple syrup and since then she’s been asking for pancakes and maple syrup everyday!

*****
Since my cooking class a couple weeks ago I’ve been looking more into raw foods. Mostly vegans are into raw foods and I am definitely NOT a vegan or vegetarian! One of my favourite’s billboards I’ve ever seen sums up my motto quite clearly, “There’s plenty of room for all God’s creatures. Right next to the mashed potatoes.” But I am interested in the health benefits of raw food. And no, this doesn’t just mean munching on carrot and celery sticks. There are cookbooks out there that make “burgers”, “pasta”, “pizza” etc. I’m sure it doesn’t taste like the real thing but I sure am interested in it. I’ve gotten a couple e-cookbooks and have “flipped” through them and am excited to try some of the recipes. After making the raw falafel in my cooking class and realizing how yummy it was, I am realizing that raw foods don’t have to be boring. I would like to be able to balance raw foods, cooked foods, vegetarian dishes, as well as meat dishes. I think there are benefits to all of the above.

One recipe I came across in my searches is a meatless raw taco. It sounds weird, but some people swear it’s tasty. Here’s the recipe for anyone wanting to try it.

http://happyfoody.com/2008/05/06/walnut-meat-taco-salad/

Another thing I saw in all these cookbooks was about soaking nuts. I knew about grains and beans but apparently nuts need to be soaked as well. They don’t have as much phytic acid to worry about but they do have enzyme inhibitors that dissolve when soaked. There is a book called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon that is supposed to be incredible. I first heard about it from someone’s blog that I read daily, and then my sister-in-law told me that I shouldn’t be without it. Well I’m still without it, but I’m more and more interested in getting it all the time. Anyhow, Sally discussed soaking nuts in her book. I have an excerpt of it that I found on someone else’s blog. Click here. Here's a little more info as well.

***
Last week I tried making Chili Con Kale. I soaked the beans for 24 hours and then put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and left for work. Well it turns out you need more liquid for the slow cooker. I came home to a lovely smell, but the beans were all burnt and thick. I threw it out and ordered pizza. Maybe next time I’ll make it right on the stove. :)

I currently have chickpeas soaking right now. I started them on Friday night and have been rinsing them twice a day. This morning as I went to rinse them I saw them starting to sprout. My first sprouts! It was very exciting! I’m looking forward to seeing how they are when I get home tonight! As soon as the sprouts are about ¼ inch I will make the live falafels. Let’s hope I don’t mess these up!

Here are links to pdf's of the raw cookbooks I have:

- Entrees

- Desserts

- Drinks & Brunch

Well I think that’s all for today. Have a great day!

My Cooking Class

2009-03-30T16:52:00.001-04:00

I had a very busy weekend! One of the things I did was take another cooking class! This time we learned about beans. It was great! In the class we made Sprout Salad, Live Hummus, Live Falafel Patties, Marinated Tempeh(ˈtem-ˌpā), Confetti Lima Beans, Chili Con Kale and Adzuki Bean Chocolate Cake.

If you’re wondering how the hummus and falafel patties could be “live”, it’s because the chickpeas were sprouted before they were chopped or puréed. This causes them to have much more nutritional value. See here for more information on the nutritional benefits to sprouting. The falafels also were not deep fried as they usually are. These were eaten raw, but can also be dehydrated. They were wonderful and so full of flavour! Looking at the ingredients for this I couldn’t understand how this could possibly be good. But it was FANTASTIC!

I also learned a lot about soy. I learned that soy is not the wonder food it’s made out to be. The majority of it is Genetically Modified (GMO’d), which is not good at all. All GMO’d foods need to be avoided as much as possible. But even organic soy has its downside. Soy is filled with enzyme inhibitors that don’t allow you to absorb the enzymes in the soy, and it also can rob you of calcium, zinc and other enzymes already in your body. It’s also a thyroid inhibitor. But once soy is fermented, all these negatives are no longer an issue. Tempeh (ˈtem-ˌpā) is a fermented soy product that has all the pros to soy and none of the negatives. You can buy tempeh at any health food store. It’s not something easily made at home as it needs proper incubation, etc.

Another thing I found out about is kelp powder. I knew kelp was a great vegetable as it’s full of vitamins, minerals and very high in iodine (most of us don’t get enough iodine). But what I didn’t know is you can buy a kelp powder. This is something you can keep in your cupboard and add to soups, stews, etc, and increase the nutrition. You don’t even need very much. You can add about 1 tsp to a whole pot of soup. You want to be careful not to use too much as you can overdose on iodine.

Another thing to use kelp powder for is to soak beans. Soaking beans is very important because beans (as well as grains) contain something called phytic acid. This acid is also an enzyme inhibitor, preventing you from getting all the nutrition the bean (or grain) contains. By soaking them overnight, you’ve increased the nutrition and decreased your cooking time. Just be careful to throw out the soaking water with beans (with grains this is not necessary). When you are soaking your beans, add ¼ tsp of kelp powder to help prevent the gassiness often found when eating beans.

I learned so much during this class and the food was great! I’ve posted all the recipes from this class as well as the recipes for the Chicken & Chickpea Chili and the Goat Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf. They’re all here.

Have a great day!

Getting Organized for Supper

2009-03-27T10:43:00.003-04:00

Last night’s supper was great! I made a goat cheese stuffed meatloaf. I got the recipe from my organic cookbook. Unfortunately only half the ingredients I used were organic, but it’s not always affordable to use all organic. It’s a neat recipe because you roll the meat and cheese up almost like a jelly roll. The recipe called for just ground beef but I used half ground beef and half lamb since that’s what I happened to have in the freezer. It was SO tasty and moist! I also baked some sweet potatoes for a side.

I put the meatloaf together the night before and put in the fridge. This way when Sam (my husband) got home from work he could just throw it in the oven and it would almost be done by the time I got home. I put the sweet potatoes in the oven and Daniella (my daughter) helped me set the table.

I’ve discovered it takes a lot of organization to be able to do this. For too long we were eating pre-prepared meals or meals that came in a package. Lipton sidekicks were all too often our main side dish. These items are FILLED with chemicals and preservatives that our bodies don’t even know what to do with because they’re so foreign. I honestly believe this is PART of the reason so many have cancer now. There are many more reasons that I will get into at a later date. Anyhow, what I’ve begun to do is try to come up with a menu on the weekend for the next week. After picking up all the necessary ingredients, I plan which day we will eat what and then I TRY to prepare the main dish the night before. The other night I made a Chicken & Chickpea chili so I threw it in the slow cooker the night before and then next morning I pulled it out of the fridge and turned it on as I walked out the door to work. When I got home I just put together a salad and we were ready to go.

I always make sure that I make enough food for supper to feed the family as well as have enough leftovers for Sam & I to take to work the next day. This way we’re not stuck eating sandwiches every day and it doesn’t take nearly as long putting our lunches together in the morning. We're also not tempted to run out and buy something to eat either!

For anyone who is interested, I will post the recipes for both the meatloaf and the chilli and will put the link here when it is ready.

Have a great day!