I did it my way...

Cacao Banana Shake

2019-04-25T11:04:00.003-04:00

A few years back, I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to St.Lucia and stay at the Body Holiday Resort. Along with several other co-workers and their significant others, my smarty pants husband was awarded a quick winter escape by the company he had been working for. Life had been throwing me a few extra curve balls at the time, so this this couldn't have come at a better time and was a perfect getaway to help me decompress, even if it was only for a few days. It had been a while since I pampered myself so I appreciated everything this healthy retreat had to offer! Aside from the massages, the powerful crystal chakra treatment and the yoga and meditation classes, the food and drinks were delicious! The Smoothie Bar was open most of the day and there was one that I had tried, and was instantly hooked. Unfortunately, when I got back home, it was life as usual and the short lived peace and serenity that the Body Holiday had provided, instantly vanished. I'm working on getting that back and finding that peace again for my mind and body but no one said it would be easy in this messed up world. I guess that's why places like this exist, to give you a taste of that mind and body restfulness.

The one thing that I did continue with was that smoothie! I couldn't get the taste of it out of my busy mind so I recreated it when I got home and have enjoyed since.

Now if I can only get my busy mind to quiet 💬

This is a pretty simple smoothie. I have a freezer full of bananas so I always have the 5 ingredient needed to make this on the fly. I love the crunch of the chocolate nibs but if you find it strange, puree this smoothie on high, or in a super powerful blender. Better yet, pre-grind the nibs in a spice grinder before you add them to the shake. But yeah, the crunch is pretty great if you wanna give it a try!

A little something about Raw Cacao Nibs... It's a Superfood!!

It's basically crushed and broken up little pieces of cacao beans. They're packed full of antioxidants, even more so than blueberries and green tea, and they're loaded with fibre, iron and magnesium. They taste a lot like bitter super dark chocolate but are the unprocessed version with no additives, sugars or extra ingredients so you get the full benefit that cacao has to offer.

Here it is!

Ingredients :

This makes one good healthy sized portion :)
1 frozen (peeled) Banana - cut into chunks

1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or any non-dairy milk of choice)

1/4 cup Almond Butter (or any nut butter)

2 tsp Raw Cacao Nibs

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

How To :

Place Bananas, Nut Butter, Nut Milk, & Ground Cinnamon into a blender and blend for a minute or so until all the banana chunks are blended. Add Cacao Nibs and blend for another 30 seconds of so.
Drink.

* if you don't like the cacao nib pieces, just grind nibs in spice grinder until a fine powder and then add to blender.

* If you want a little jolt, add a shot of chilled espresso!

Enjoy!

Plant Lady in the making

2019-02-27T11:47:00.001-05:00

You don't realize how much life an animal brings to your home until they're gone. When you come home from a long day of work, or even running to the grocery store for 30 minutes, your pet is always there waiting for you. For 16 years, I had this sweet girl greet me when I came through the door, and when she wasn't there any longer, there was a huge void in my house, and of course, in my heart. There would definitely be other animals in my future but for now, I needed to heal.

Even thought cats are super low maintenance creatures, they still need to be cared for and loved. Now that she was gone, I needed to nurture something, so I bought a plant. And another, and a few more...

It's great to watch them grow and flourish! Sure, I've managed to kill some (by complete accident of course, I'm not a savage!) but some just love it here! Every year I'm learning more and more about my outdoor garden, and now I'm also learning about the indoor plants like, they have growth cycles, different watering, fertilizer and lighting needs.

(Imagine reading the rest of this at 1.5x speed, that's how fast I'm talking/typing right now I'm so excited!)

I have a purple Oxalis that my kitty used to love to nibble on, so I found a place that she could not possible reach, on top of my staircase Newel Post! Which happens to be right under my giant skylight 😎, needless to say, this plant gets all the sun it could ever want and it shows! It's still there and flowers as often as it can, even over the winter. My husband made a comment one night (after a few glasses of wine) about the plant, that it would be great to hang it on our front porch in the summer time💥 🙌 !I love it! I usually hang 2 pots out front, usually 2 Fuschia's, and they love it there, until autumn comes and they start to die😩 Anyway, I know the Oxalis will thrive outside in the summer and they clearly love it inside during the colder months so I figure I have a couple of months to split my existing plant and groom 2 separate plants to become our new outdoor beauties! I'll take some snaps along the way and show them off when they're in their full summertime glory hanging outside with all the birdies and sunshine they can handle.

Can you tell I'm a little excited about my plants?

I also love my ZZ plant (Zamioculcas) which is SO low maintenance and the leaves are always glossy and perky. I think I'll trim some leaves and propagate that one soon along with my Snake Plant/ Mother in Law's tongue (or real name Sansevieria) so they can make babies and spread them all over the house!

But my latest obsession.....a sweet delicate little thing called a Pilea (Peperomioides) or Chinese Money Plant. I'm not sure what makes me love this plant so much, and hope I can keep it alive. People say its really easy to take care of and also super easy to propagate, so fingers crossed!

Here it is!

I have since adopted a dog, she definitely fills the house with joy and does not eat any of my plants (bonus!) I'm hoping to adopt a couple of cats, and maybe another dog 😂, geesh I'm going to need a bigger home, and a bigger yard for all my animals and my gardens! I know it won't happen any time soon, but maybe just one cat? Until then, Spring is coming and I can't wait to get outside to the bigger garden and nurture it all summer long 🌞

My doggy

Sweet & Salty Edamame

2018-04-30T13:14:00.001-04:00

When it comes to snack time, salty wins over sweet any day. And a little salty on top of sweet ain't so bad either :)

It wasn't that long ago when I first tried edamame. With a quick steam and a sprinkling of sea salt, this quickly became one of my go-to favourite healthy snacks.

Until....I was at a restaurant with a friend who had ordered an appetizer plate of edamame and I tried a bite...

Whole. New. Ballgame.

Gawsh, drooling just thinking about this.

Of course, I had to jot down the flavours, the sweetness followed by a salty zing, I couldn't forget these lip smacking tastes! A few attempts to make this at home and I got there quickly. After my last attempt at this recipe, while in between bites my husband proclaimed "YOU NAILED IT!!" So fast and easy to make, and such a great snack when watching your favourite binge worthy Netflix series.

Ok, now for the healthy scientific stuff...

Soy is a great source of Energy, Protein, Fiber, and Calcium and contains all essential Amino Acids to name a few. They're low in calories, & there is no cholesterol!
But as much as I love to nibble on this healthy snack, I try not to eat these on a regular basis.

Edamame are the not-yet matured versions of the soy bean. Soy (young or matured) has high amounts of the hormone disruptor phytoestrogen, which increases estrogenic activity in your body and can cause many issues, including reproductive problems. Whether you're young, old, male or female, hormones play a huge role in our whole body health. Something I'm learning about more and more as I get older.

Also, when you buy any soy (beans, edamame, soy milk, tofu etc.) you should always buy Organic. Soy beans grown in North America, are most likely from Genetically Modified (GMO's) soy beans, which are linked to all sorts of health problems, issues, bigger issues and even bigger ones. You can read more about GMO's here.

Organic soy are not GMO, so you're safe there.

Bottom line, eat or drink your soy in moderation and always organic, and you'll get all the positive and healthy benefits from this little bean.

Back from my babble...
...if after all that, you're still interested in this recipe, here it is!

Ingredients :

2 cups frozen Organic Edamame (in shell)
Sauce:

1/2 tsp Garlic (approx 1-2 cloves) peeled and grated or minced

1/2 tsp grated Ginger*

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1 Tbsp Organic Gluten Free Soy Tamari

1 & 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

1 Dash Vegan Worcestershire Sauce

Pinch or two of Flaked Sea Salt

1/2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

Equipment Needed :
1 skillet or frying pan
1 small pot and basket steamer
(or small pot will do if you don't have steamer)
Tongs or Slotted spoon

How To :

Add about an inch of water to small pot, add steamer basket. Cover and bring to a boil.
Once water is boiling, add frozen edamame into steamer basket, cover and cook for about 4 minutes or until beans are tender. (If you don't have a steamer, you can boil also for about 4 minutes.)
While waiting for water and edamame to boil, pull out a skillet and get your sauce ingredients ready.
Grate the garlic and ginger and add to skillet. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients mixing to incorporate everything. Turn heat onto low -just enough to warm up- and give it a quick stir while waiting...
When the edamame are ready, scoop beans up while straining water, and drop into the saucy pan mixture and give it a quick stir to cover the beans. Turn the heat up on your skillet slightly and stir for about a minute. You don't want this to bubble or boil.
Remove from heat and add sesame seeds and salt.
Serve.

* An easy way to grate ginger is to keep a nub of ginger in your freezer. This makes grating much easier!

Enjoy!

Holiday Cover - yay!

2018-02-14T12:27:00.001-05:00

So only a few months into Food Styling with LCBO's Food & Drink magazine, and I've landed my first cover!! and for the Holiday edition no less 😊.

Needless to say, it's been a nice moment for me. After working as a Food Photographer for years (and years) and then taking the plunge and becoming a Food Stylist, I wasn't sure how people, the industry or even I would take me. I felt like I had a lot to prove (mostly to myself). Sure, being a photographer for years had helped me tremendously, I knew the in's and out's of a photo shoot and how it worked, but food styling was a whole different level of learning and doing. I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but having my food (and drink) styling on this cover will always be a reminder for me on those bad days, on those days where I think "I can't do this" or "there are so many better food stylist out there".

I CAN do this! And this was my 'pat on the back' moment which proved it to myself. 💪

Cover Photography by James Tse

Cilantro Pesto Tapenade

2017-09-29T16:09:00.000-04:00

Until recently, Cilantro's pungent smell and taste kept me away from really giving it a fair chance. So I avoided it, until one day it showed up in my fridge when my sister stopped by and brought a container of cilantro pesto she picked up at the store. Pesto is one of my favourite food condiment's, any kind really! After learning of Cilantro's big heath benefits I knew I couldn't avoid it any longer and had to give this one a try. I pulled out my trusty Organic Purple Tortilla chips from Neal Brothers, which is always in my pantry stockpile, and I scooped in.

The pesto definitely had a distinct strong cilantro taste about it but I was determined to get past the pungency of it. I was already deeply invested into the taste testing, and wasn't ready to give up just yet, it was pesto for goodness sake! I looked in the fridge for something to offset the taste of the strong cilantro and found a container of Kalamata Olives. I had one to clear my pallet. I went in for another scoop of the pesto, then an olive, another scoop, olive...you get the point. It was working. The two flavours, cilantro and the olives, two very powerful yet distinct flavours were working so well together that they started to become their own unique taste. The lightbulb went on, I got my notebook out and started to scribble my thoughts on making this a one stop dip.

So that's how my little concoction of this cilantro pesto tapenade was born. Olivesto? Cilanpestonade? Tapento? Whatever you want to call it...

Cilantro is really good for you!

Cilantro is high in Vitamin K & A, it's a great source of Vitamin C, along with potassium, manganese and other essential vitamins & minerals not to mention all antioxidants & dietary fibre it carries while it can also help cleanse your body of toxic metals....Just to name a few things

While I enjoy this as a dip, others enjoyed it also while I played the "guess what ingredients are in this dip" game. I had my fun and it was time to move on and find some other uses for it. My first thought was to put it onto pasta, but it needed to be more special.

When I decided a few years ago to eliminate pretty much everything I loved to eat, including wheat, I was stumped when it came to pasta. I quickly jumped onto the brown rice pasta band wagon. Which has expanded to Quinoa pasta, buckwheat pasta, amaranth and corn pasta. I’m good with that, even though I’m eating a little more gluten now, I don't enjoy wheat pasta. A quick and easy go-to meal for me is pasta with pesto. When I make any kind of pesto now, I make it in big batches and freeze it in ice cube trays so when I need a quick meal, I pull a couple out of the freezer and voila!

While I do love pasta, I've been trying to incorporate more vegetables back into my diet, so what I love even more is the idea of having a plate of vegetables pretending to be pasta! The first time I tried Zucchini noodles, I used my mandolin to create strips of noodles, boiled up some buckwheat spaghetti, mixed it in with the raw zucchini noodles, and topped it all off with diced tomatoes and EVOO. It was pretty simple but "Baby steps" I said to myself.

Holidays came and went and I finally had some time to try out my newly gifted addition to my appliance family, my spiralizer! My first attempt was zuchinni. I sautéed the strands in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil, added some of my olive pesto cilantro concoction...and the rest is history!

Check out my Cilantro Pestonade recipe below...

It's really simple to make. Have it as a dip, use in your pasta, or as a marinade! I'm sure I'll be testing this one out on so many more dishes! Let me know what you think, or what you've tried it with!

Ingredients :
makes about 1 & 1/2 cup

Bunch of Cilantro, roughly chopped -including leaves and stems (approx 100gr.)

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives (approx 16)

2 large garlic cloves

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1/4 tsp sea salt

Pinch of chili pepper

Pinch of black pepper

How To :

Add pumpkin seeds to food processor and process until finely chopped. Set aside in separate bowl
Add olives and garlic to food processor and whirl to a rough chop (about 15 seconds) scraping down sides along the way.
Add cilantro and continue processing, about 30 seconds- scraping down sides.
Add finely chopped pumpkin seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice, EVOO, salt, chili and black pepper and whirl everything together until you have a fairly fine consistency.

Enjoy!

Apple and Cabbage Slaw

2015-04-06T10:32:00.000-04:00

This coleslaw is super easy to make, naturally colourful and packed full of flavour and crunch. I think I love the dressing the best about this salad. And the mix of crunchy walnuts and tart green apples, also the earthiness of the purple cabbage. Did I mention this is really easy to make?

Makes 4 side salads
Gluten Free

Dressing

2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. Honey

1 tsp. Ginger (grated)

1 tsp. Grainy Dijon Mustard

- Combine all ingredients and whisk until fully blended

Apple and Cabbage Slaw

1 small head of purple cabbage (finely sliced)

2 green granny smith apples (cored and julienned or cut into thin strips)

1/3 cup walnuts (roughly chopped)

2 green onions (sliced)

1/4 cup flat parsley leaves (whole or rough chopped)

- Prepare your ingredients by chopping as suggested above.
*tip* Using a mandolin for the cabbage and apple can make things a lot easier.

- Once all ingredients are chopped and dressing is made, mix it all up and serve!

It's that easy.

Enjoy!

Coconut Oil in your Coffee??

2015-01-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of the latest trend of putting butter in your coffee? If you have, or even if you haven't, coconut oil is another alternative that has some great benefits to your morning cup of awake.

I've written an article for Recipe Geek and you can read about it here!

Gingered Butternut Squash Soup

2014-11-26T12:00:00.004-05:00

Winter came way too early for me this year. I blame being born in the summertime for my love of the sun and the warmth that comes from it. Now that the sun starts to go down at 4pm and the temperature drops to below anything comfortable, I go into hibernation mode. Oh, if it were that easy... Instead, I put on my warm layers, turn up the heat and eat (or drink) something that will warm me up from the inside out.

Squash is a great winter vegetable since most squash ripen in early to late autumn, and they can be stored for months after that. I've made butternut squash several times before but since my palate has changed over the years, so has my recipe. Check out my other, sweeter version of butternut squash soup as well as instructions on peeling butternut squash here!

Ingredients

(vegan, gluten free, healthy!)

1 medium sized butternut squash (peeled and chopped)

1 medium carrot (peeled and small chop)

1 medium sweet potato (peeled and chopped)

1 small nub of fresh ginger (peeled and chopped)

(will only need 1 tbsp of ginger when chopped)

1 large cooking onion (peeled and chopped)

2 garlic cloves (peeled and chopped)

1 tbsp Coconut Oil

1 can (400ml) Coconut Milk

Vegetable Broth (946 ml carton)

1/4 tsp of sea salt (or Herbamere)

1/8 tsp cumin powder (or to taste)

ground pepper to taste

For garnish, you can use pumpkin seeds, cilantro or a drizzle of coconut milk!

Equipment needed

Large pot

Blender or Food processor

Knife/Cutting Board

Spoon for mixing in pot

Ladle

Instructions

Have all ingredients ready, peeled and chopped. Carrots should be a slightly smaller chop than other large orange ingredients since carrots take the longest to cook.
Melt coconut oil in large pot and add onion, cooking for 5 minutes or until soft and lightly browned (stirring occasionally).
Add garlic cooking for another minute.
Add chopped squash, carrot, potato and ginger into pot.
Add vegetable broth, mixing all ingredients so that they're all coated. You can add some water here so that liquid almost covers all vegetables in pot.
Cook on high temperature until liquid begins to boil, then turn temperature down to a simmer.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all vegetables are soft and almost fall apart when pierced with a fork.
Once they're all nice and soft, slowly ladle ingredients from pot into food processor. You may have to break this down and process a smaller amount before adding the rest of what's in the pot making sure to process until nice and smooth. If you like a chunkier soup, stop processing when you're happy with the consistency.
Add the salt, pepper and cumin and whirl again.
Add the coconut milk** at the end and give it another whirl to incorporate.

**If you want a thicker, creamier soup, keep your coconut milk can in the refrigerator for about an hour. Remove and open can, careful not to shake it. When you open the can, you'll find thick solid coconut cream on top. Scoop that out carefully and into the food processor. About halfway down the can underneath all of that cream you'll find the liquid. If you're happy with your soups consistency, discard the liquid, if you find it a little thick, add some of the liquid.

Garnish your soup with chopped pumpkin seed, cilantro or a drizzle of coconut milk.

Enjoy!!

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad in Ireland

2014-07-12T09:54:00.000-04:00

A ten day driving tour through Ireland showed my husband and I many old castles, lush green rolling hills, stunning scenery, lots of farm animals and one big beautiful Irish family wedding.

Our stop in Dublin took us to one of the oldest pub’s in the world. Back in Toronto, we used to live near a popular pub called The Brazen Head and we frequented it often. When we came across The Brazen Head Pub in Dublin Ireland, we definitely had to check it out! It was built in 1198 and I have a feeling, it was still pretty true to it’s original form. The space was large but broken down into little rooms, most likely for heating purposes back then.

After all of the Medieval type movies and tv shows that my husband ~~had made me watch~~ and I had watched together, this 800 year old pub was what I had expected to see. I imagined large and loud Viking men drinking ale out of animal horns and bar wenches serving them. Fast forward to 2014, there were no vikings, or horn cups, it was civilized (at least in the room we in) and there were gluten free and vegan options on the menu! Oh, what would the Vikings say now!

Looking through the bar menu, I decided on a Warm Goat Cheese and Beetroot Salad. I was really determined to have a healthy diet on the road in Ireland, and I have to admit, some day's it proved challenging with the numerous pub stops that we made. The beet salad was really good, with so much flavour in every bite, I was totally satisfied and fulfilled. I noted the ingredients, hoped to make this back home and when I did finally make it, I was just as excited with the flavours as the first time I tried it. I'm not the biggest beet fan, I find they taste like dirt (sorry beets)…but roasting them brings out their sweetness, combined with goat cheese, and all the other goodies in this salad, (not to mention how highly nutritious beets are for you) I can say I'm a beet convert.

Summertime is the perfect time for salads! Refreshing, light, seasonal, and the great thing about salads are how versatile they are. There are no rules, no do's or don'ts, salads can be a mixed bag of whatever you crave, have in your kitchen or have growing in your garden.

This roasted beet salad is really quite easy and quick to make and by all means, adjust it to your liking! Chop, dice or slice your veggies, roast the beets ahead of time and use cold chèvre instead of baking it if you like! I had this salad the other night for dinner and use some leftover kale pesto that I had in my freezer along with some cold roasted beets from a few days before!

Ingredients*
makes a large yummy salad for one

4 small beets

2 handfuls of mixed greens (washed)

1/2 cup Cucumber (diced or sliced)

1/2 small Red Onion (sliced)

1/2 cup Cherry Tomato (sliced in half)
1 goats cheese (chèvre) wheel

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of sea salt and pepper
*Adjust quantities according to your own preference

Basil Pesto

(or your own favourite pesto recipe will do)

1 cup Basil Leaves

1 clove Garlic

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)

2 Tbsp. Pine Nuts (lightly toasted)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of sea salt and pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 400º. Wash and remove stems, leaves and roots from beets, place beets onto a sheet of tin foil (you can wrap them individually, or two or more if they're small). Pour a teaspoon or so of Olive Oil over beets and wrap foil tightly. Place onto cooking sheet and into preheated oven. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Beets will cook at different times depending on their size. Check by carefully peeling back foil and piercing beet with fork. If fork glides in easily, they're ready, if not, back in the oven they go!
In the meantime, you can prepare the pesto. Place basil leaves, crushed garlic, parmesan cheese and pine nuts into food processor and whirl until chunky. Slowly add olive oil while you continually whirl, until you reach the consistency you like. Set aside.
When beets are ready and roasted, remove from oven and let cool. Lower oven temperature to 350º.
Remove goats cheese from packaging and wrap loosely in tin foil.
When the beets have cooled, and your ready to start peeling them, place wrapped goats cheese in oven for about 10 minutes or until starting to melt.
Peel beets using fingers, or a parring knife. Doing this under running water can help and help keep fingers clean as beet juice can stain. Use disposable gloves if you have them handy especially if you have an important meeting and you don't like the idea awkwardly pink fingers all day!
Whisk Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Balsamic Vinegar, add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Mix your washed salad greens, cucumber, cherry tomato's, red onion, and balsamic vinegar/olive oil salad dressing. Place mixed salad on to large plate.
Drop a few spoonfuls of pesto onto salad, as well as your roasted, and halved beets.
Finally, remove baked melty goats cheese from tin foil and flip on to salad.

Enjoy!

Kale and Walnut Citrus Pesto

2014-07-03T09:56:00.001-04:00

Lately, pesto has become my new favourite go-to food and I really fell in love with it this past winter. I think a few things finally registered with me, like just how easy and quick it was to make, that I usually have a few basic ingredients on hand to make some version of it, that it could be such a versatile accompaniment to many dishes, or maybe that I realized just how healthy it could be to eat! I think it might of been all of the above.

Traditional pesto is generally these simple ingredients, basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese.

Making a traditional basil pesto in the middle of winter in Mid-Eastern Canada could break the bank, so I prefer to use a green that's more readily available. I've learned to improvise when making pesto as it's such an adaptable recipe and kale was my green of choice here.

Pesto is not a meal, but it can make a meal. I've had it on pasta, rice, chicken, in a sandwich, on pizza, in lasagna, on a cracker, in scrambled eggs, YES, you can put pesto on almost anything!

Have I sold you on it yet?

Depending on what greens you use, you can get a good dose of iron in one meal and it's so good for your blood! There are so many other great health benefits to eating kale and this article from Mind Body Green shows you the top 10 perks.

I've added this pesto to a Gluten Free Pasta for my photography. I love pasta and was heartbroken when I was told to cut out gluten. Luckily for me (and many others) there are some amazing gluten free foods out there, (unfortunately, some not so great ones too). I found a large bag of Organic Non-GMO Ancient Grain pasta from Tru Roots at my local Costco, made from Quinoa, Amaranth and Brown Rice. So exciting! Unfortunately, I haven't seen it there for a while. I had some of the leftover pesto the following day, mixed in with brown rice and a dollop on top of bbq'd chicken. Yum! Breakfast the morning after was a little leftover rice combined with kale pesto and was mixed in with scrambled eggs. The rest is in an ice cube tray, and when frozen, into a freezer bag for next time. Possibilities are endless. Can you see why I love pesto so much?

I found these adorable Russian Kale Sprouts as I was shopping for my photo-shoot. I couldn't resist using them as a garnish! You could also use crushed walnuts, parmesan shreds, or lemon zest to make your dish pretty!

Kale and Walnut Citrus Pesto Recipe
recipe adapted from Canadian Living Magazine

Ingredients
1 bunch of Kale (stems removed)

2 cloves of roughly chopped garlic

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese (omit for Vegan option)

1/2 cup roughly chopped and toasted walnuts

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 orange (zested and juiced)

1 lemon (zested and juiced)
pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

After stems have been removed from kale, blanch kale in large pot of boiling water for about a minute. Drain and place into bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Remove and squeeze excess water from kale.
Place kale, garlic, parmesan and walnuts into food processor and whirl until coarsely ground. Add lemon and orange juice and zest, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse for a coarse texture, or blend longer for a smooth consistency.
Taste and adjust your seasonings

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Breakfast Muffin in Ireland

2014-06-25T08:30:00.000-04:00

Earlier this spring, while my husband and were packing for our trip to Ireland, I worried about two things, my diet and my hair. I had half of my suitcase packed with hair products, hair appliances and other necessities to control my mane. As for my diet, I had packed a few vitamin supplements, but mostly I had to trust my knowledge of food and what my body needed on any given day. When we arrived in Ireland, I was pleasantly surprised at the healthy dietary options available to me, as well as the beauty of Ireland itself.

When we left Toronto, spring had not yet sprung, it was still cold and dreary. Ireland on the other hand was blooming and lush. The colours of the landscape were so vibrant and the trees were exploding with life.

From our road trip, I'd say that most of Ireland was farmland, which I couldn't get enough of. My husband on the other hand, was a little annoyed with my insistence of taking a photo of every cow, sheep or chicken that crossed my path.

While in Ireland, we stayed in Malahide for a couple of days, a small town north of Dublin. On both mornings, we had our breakfast at SaomraTae, an adorable little coffee shop. Who knew that this little town coffee shop would offer me such yummy gluten free options! And their dishes were so pretty, wish I could take them home with me! Gluten free toast with my egg and bacon made for a great start to my first day in Ireland.

We went back the next day just before heading out of town, and I had a different version of my day one breakfast. This time, poached eggs with multigrain gluten free toast with tomato relish. Yup, hit the spot! I was going to miss this place, I’d definitely come here again and again if I lived a little closer! On the way out, I couldn’t help but eye their gluten free baked goods. Apple pie, muffins, cookies… I decided on a gluten free breakfast muffin to go.

On the road to Galway, our next destination, I was getting a little hungry. I remembered my muffin and had a nibble. I couldn’t stop just there, it was really good!! I tried to slow down so I could break down the ingredients and maybe save some for later, I had to try and make this when I got back home. I saw shreds of carrot, nuts, a taste of cinnamon? Yeah, I had to figure this out. The muffin was gone in no time and for days after, it was on my mind.

Home a few weeks later and settled in, it was muffin time. My first attempt was pretty bang on. SO good! A few adjustments to the recipe and I think it’s a keeper!

Gluten Free Breakfast Muffin:

Makes about 12 large muffins

3/4 cup brown rice flour

3/4 quinoa flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts (extra to garnish tops)

1 cup chopped raisins
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
2 tbsp almond milk
2 medium over ripe bananas (about 1 cup mashed)

1 cup grated carrot (about 2 medium carrots)

-Preheat oven to 350˚

-Prepare muffin pan with paper muffin liners.

-Mix Brown Rice/Quinoa flours, baking powder/soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl, set aside.

-Add almond milk to smaller bowl and beat in eggs.

-Add mashed bananas and coconut oil to dry ingredients as well as milk/egg mixture. Mix until incorporated.

-Fold in carrots, raisins and walnuts.

-Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pan, press the reserved chopped walnuts into top.

-Bake for 16-19 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

-Enjoy!

how to write a recipe

2013-11-19T10:45:00.001-05:00

Working as a food stylist's assistant this past year and learning everything that I have, has been exhilarating and utterly exhausting all at the same time. Coming from a photography background was a little daunting, especially since I knew I would be running into people that I have known from the biz for years, other photographers, food stylists and the rest of the freelance world in Toronto. I was afraid of the interrogations, the uncomfortable conversations, the questioning looks. I was honestly just looking for something to inspire me again. Don't get me wrong, I loved and still love being a photographer but I was ready for something more. I don't consider myself a trailblazer, but have always followed my heart. Peer pressure never really appealed to me, but I do what makes me happy, whether it makes sense to other people or not. I have my father to thank for that. Growing up, my dad was never really very encouraging (sorry pops), but one thing he did always tell me was to do what made me happy. And so, here I am :)

Fresh off of my photography career, followed by culinary school, I've been working full time as a food stylist's assistant for almost a year now. I have learned TONNNNNES!! I didn't know much when I first started. Sure, I watched food stylists do their thing for years as I photographed their beautiful dishes and watched them go into magazine print, I went back to school and lived in a tv cooking show and became and educated cook, but what has transpired over this year, has become deep rooted in my psyche.

This last few weeks were a little different from everything else that I've learned so far this year. I was able to join my uber talented boss and get into his head a little as he created his own unique recipes. After a year of following recipes to a T (not something I prefer to do at home but is usually very important with most food styling) developing recipes required me to process my thoughts a little differently.

If you've ever thought of creating recipes, or even just tweaking one to suit your tastes, these are some tips that I thought were important.

Notes on Recipe Developing:

Keep track of everything. Pay attention to everything. If you ever want to repeat this recipe, or give it to anyone, you will thank me later! Keep notes of how much of this or that ingredient you've used, what type of ingredient you used, how you've used it, cooking temp, oven rack position, cooking time, any little details you can jot down, even details you think are not important. As you familiarize yourself with this process, you'll know what's important for you to remember. AND....taste taste taste along the way. OBVIOUSLY, making sure it's SAFE to eat. I mean, don't taste raw chicken 5 minutes after you've put it into the oven. Use your brain. Pa-leeze!!
**Disclaimer** I, Joanne Tsakos am NOT responsible for anyone who tastes raw meat/fish or any other foods that are unsafe to consume while recipe testing **
Take any notes along the way. Did you add too much salt? is it not spicy enough, does it need a little "something" more? did you cook it too long? is the texture funky? is it yummy? and if yummy, add more of what you've been doing! Push the limits!! If you don't want to go further, stay at yummy. This could be a good starting point if you ever want to revisit the recipe. Test out other people's recipes, take notes on those recipes as well. How did you feel, were they too spicy? lacking something? Use these recipes as your baseline and revisit them when you decide how you could make them more your own.

Ok, now give it a shot and let me know how it goes! I'll fill you in on any more tips as I keep learning!

Old Firehall Turned Make-Up College

2012-09-19T03:52:00.000-04:00

When I got the call asking if I would be into photographing a restored historical building in the city, there was nothing else I could say except for, YES!!!!

It's not every day that a girl get's to photograph an old Toronto Fire Hall originally built back in 1886, now turned MakeUp College.

The fire folks moved in 1969, and the building had begun transforming. It was used as the famous Second City Theatre, then a Hospice known as Gilda’s Club, after that, the building sat empty for years. During the last 40+ years, walls went up, original details covered up, and sadly, the beauty of the building from 1886 had disappeared.

When the owner of Complections College of Make Up Art and Design purchased the building on Lombard Street not long ago, Pamela Earle had her work cut out for her. Her school was growing and she wanted to give her students a beautiful new place to learn about hair and make-up styling, special effects for film and theatre, creature design and prosthetic creation.
She hired an architectural firm to do the renovations and they got to work. Her goal was to restore the building back to it’s original beauty, and to reveal it's old architectural detail.

I loved Pamela's personal touches, like these old wooden doors that were added to each classroom's entry.

On my first visit to the college earlier on this year, the reno’s were almost complete. Whatever was boarded up, covered up, and built up over the years, was removed to reveal the original beauty in the building.

On my next visit, I had my camera and gear, and was ready for my photo-shoot. The school was in even better shape and I didn’t know where to start. I took WAY too many pictures, I couldn’t help myself!! It was gorgeous!! The endless winding staircase alone was amazing, and all painted a deep dark grey (my best-loved colour these days). The original details revealed were exquisite, not to mention the fun, quirky décor that the creative folks at the Make-Up school had included to personalize the space. I had so many favourite areas and tried to capture them all along with the essence of the school itself and the architectural characteristics. The school was approaching their grand opening and the staff was already buzzing around.

The original fireman's pole remains, sliding you down to the main floor! It's adorned with an orange octopus creature made by the students of Complections College. 

Going back a few weeks later to finish off the shoot, the store was now open and ready for business.

Anything you could possibly need as a Make-Up artist, THIS was the place to pick it up!

The students were already enjoying the new semester and busy learning about hair, prosthetics and make-up. 

I was so happy to be a part of capturing this beautiful restoration and the energized life within it's new walls. The students of Complections College of Make-Up Art and Design are likely inundated with inspiration as they walk through the halls of this College, I know I was!

Thanks to Pam, Christine, Stefanie, and Marcia for all of your help with organizing the photo shoot. And to my lovely assistant Esther.

-Joanne

RIP Robert Kennedy (1938-2012)

2012-04-13T15:14:00.000-04:00

I was so sad to hear about Robert Kennedy's passing last night. He lost his battle with cancer but he will certainly not be forgotten. He launched his first magazine, Muscle Mag in 1974 and since then has gone on to publish other magazines as, Reps!, Clean Eating, Oxygen and American Curves not to mention the several books he's published.

I had never had the pleasure of personally meeting Robert Kennedy, but I felt as though I had with hearing the stories from the RK Publishing staff. A typical Clean Eating or Oxygen shoot day at the studio did not end without a story about Robert, his encouragement or his inspiration. Robert has left a legacy and a little bit of himself in everyone that had known him. I was so proud to be a contributing photographer with the RK Publishing world, working with the great women's fitness magazine, Oxygen and the healthy food and living magazine, Clean Eating. I know that the amazing crew at RKPubs will continue his work and keep spreading the word to bring awareness to the health and wellness world.

Read Robert's story at RKPublishing

Stuffed Dates

2012-01-24T17:49:00.000-05:00

As much as I love my job as a food photographer, it's always a great time when we can do something a little more creative and fun with food. This was one of those days.

The recipe for these Stuffed Dates with Ricotta, Pistachios & Honey can be found in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Clean Eating Magazine!

Stacking these yummy Ricotta, Pistachio and Honey stuffed Dates were not easy! First of all, these dates are basically the size of small eggs and a little slippery, but with the magic (and a few pins and sticky tack) of Sugar Tart's food styling, a few more adjustments along the way (and a few hours), we had a dish of beautifully stacked stuffed dates!

Photography by Joanne Tsakos
Food Styling by Sugar Tart

I hadn't noticed this until now, but it looks like the magazine ran out of room on the page for the final date topper! We were having so much fun and probably could of gone on all day but at some point, you have to go home :)

Wall Paper

2012-01-20T09:58:00.003-05:00

Digging through some old photo's in an attempt to clean out my computer, I found some images from an old renovation project.

During this project, we discovered some pretty neat things that the previous (previous, previous, previous, and maybe even previous) owners or renovators had left behind.

Although drywall has replaced the once common plaster and lath, what we found might not have been such a common practice. These plaster walls were covered with paper, perhaps to keep the paster from crumbling or cracking.

Sure, old newspapers with the date on it would of impressed me, but this was something else! Carefully selected photo's cut out of magazines. Colourful, interesting, even strangely bizarre images were covering the plaster walls! I though about keeping a souvenir, a chunk of the wall covered with the eccentric paper, but I decided that a photo would be more hygienic.

Maybe this will inspire you with a really great way to cover your existing walls! Find some images you love, get some glue, and go to town! Yeah, maybe way too much work ;)

The P.G.13 rated version ;)

I wonder who the crafty person was behind this clever wall paper job?

The Panorama

Love this one! Maybe this is one that will make it to my wall.

Life for me has taken a different turn these days, but I'm really looking forward to my next renovation project and I'm building up my idea bank in the meantime. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Sure, home decor magazines make it easy, but can be expensive! Look around you, what inspires you most? Where does it come from? From the fashionista's walking around, the view from where you sit, something from childhood? What's most important to you? For me these days, it's about having a little more fun. Life can be way too serious some times, why bring that home with you? A jolt of colour with paint, or pillows, a quirky vintage find, hidden amongst the serious. Maybe even a little fun on your walls with your favourite quirky art? Have some fun!

2012, Looking Forward

2012-01-01T17:38:00.000-05:00

Resolution : A firm decision to do, or not to do something

Intention : An aim that guides action

A new year brings new hope to all. Hope that this year will be better than the last. New Years Resolutions are what people often think about, "what do I want for 2012".

I prefer to steer clear of making resolutions. Resolutions are always BIG, they seem like a lot of pressure and they're usually created out of a negative aspect of yourself that you want to change. Common resolutions for people might be, I want to quit drinking, quit smoking, I want to go to lose 10 pounds, etc... And once that negative habit starts creeping back into your life, you can give up as quickly as you gave in.

No, I don't like resolutions. They've never worked for me, besides, I'm more of a practical and realistic girl. I tend to set goals for myself that I know I can achieve. For me, intentions are what works best. I make plans, set realistic goals and always keep my eye on the prize throughout the year. A brief conversation with my life long friend just before the New Year had reminded me of this. She thought 2012 would be a great year for me and I would achieve everything I had set my mind to as I had always done so in the past and had always somehow found a way to my goals. I sometimes forget that I have the power (as we all do) to do so and it was really special to hear this from one of my closest friends who sometime's know's me better than I know myself. Thanks CK! xo

So, my intentions for 2012? Well, I will keep most of them to myself since I'm a shy and modest blogger but I will happily share them with the world when I have achieved them!

What I can share with you is this:

I intend to do everything I can, to live and be healthy in my body, mind, and spirit.
I intend to be fearless and unstoppable.

Yoda : Do... or do not. There is no try

Unjunk Your Junk Food

2011-12-21T18:30:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you mix Savvy girls, Andrea Donsky and Randy Boyer from Naturally Savvy, and the Nutritional expertise of Lisa Tsakos with the last two years of research, writing, editing and a lot of taste testing? You get the much needed, and eagerly anticipated guide to your junk food cravings.

Who would of thought that your favourite junk food was linked to issues like asthma, ADD, ADHD, irritable bowel symptoms, headaches, memory loss, diarrhea and cancer, to name a few, a quick flip through this book and you'll be looking at junk food in a whole different way. On the brighter side, Unjunk Your Junk Food will give you a healthy (and tasty) alternative to all of your favourite junk food!

You might think I'm biased when it comes to this book for two reasons. 1/ I was one of the photographers working on this project and had shot a few hundred products for the book. And 2/ Lisa Tsakos who put her blood, sweat and many tears into the research and writing of this book, and happens to be my brilliant and accomplished sister (sorry Lisa, I know you wanted me tone that part down). The truth, I really wouldn't be telling you about Unjunk Your Junk Food if I didn't believe in it and think it was so important for people to read.

The book explains what all of those unpronounceable words in the ingredient list actually mean. They breakdown the Nutrition Facts on the back of a package and let you know how to read between the lines. They explain it all in an easy and fun way that anyone can understand. Even me! You'll learn something new on every page! And after reading the ingredients, my husband and I have already tossed the last few bags of junk food we had left over from a party.

I used to love Dorito's as a teen. I didn't realize their super long ingredient list included MSG and Trans Fats to name a few no-no's!

What else??

-Easy answers to Artificial Colours, Flavours and Sweeteners.

-What manufacturers really mean on their food labels when they say "Low Fat, Light, No Sugar added, Made with Organic Ingredients" etc..

-GMO's (genetically modified foods)

-List of 43 various names of sugar, used on food labels

-Handy "Worst Ingredient" pull out chart

Out of these two ice creams, which do you think is the smarter choice?

If you thought an ice cream called "Skinny Cow" would be the healthier choice over something labelled "richer and creamier", you were wrong! I couldn't believe my eyes when I read it!

To get the "scoop" on why, check out pages 54 and 55 in Unjunk Your Junk Food

Unjunk Your Junk Food is a book that everyone needs to read. It comes out on December 27, 2011 but you can Pre-Order your copy today to find out what all the hype is about!

Retailers will sell it for between $18 to $20, but online prices are ridiculously low!

U.S. readers can order their copy for only $11.97USD at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com

If you're in Canada, order your book online for only $14.43CAN at Chapters or Amazon.ca

By the way, if you spend $25 or more at these Canadian sites, you're eligible to receive free shipping!! One copy for you and one for someone you love :)

I admit, I've always had a weakness for a few items of junk food myself, but when I took a peek at the book that the girls were working on, I couldn't stop reading! I was amazed, it's really jaw-dropping, I just can't say enough good things about this book!

These days I'm so much more aware of how my body reacts to different foods, so I try to read the package of everything I buy, but end up really frustrated when there are too many words that I just cannot pronounce. Worse, words or ingredients that I don't recognize. People, we are eating this stuff! I can't believe I had been ingesting all of that crap for years, and although my intake has gone down tremendously, after seeing this book, I'm thinking twice about those few guilty pleasures that are left. One (of many) great thing about Unjunk Your Junk Food is that it teaches you how to make smarter choices when choosing your junk food so you can still satisfy your snack food cravings, but in a healthy way!

Buy this book today! Grocery shopping will never be the same!

Cookin' with Kale

2011-12-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've had more than a few health complaints lately, one of which was exhaustion....pretty much all the time. So, I went to see a Naturopath and I've been following my Doctor's orders of supplements and a healthier diet including more vegetables and some alternatives to my usual staples to name a few. Like most of us, I'm always on the go and I can easily forget to eat, so one quick meal replacement that my Dr. had suggested was a protein with a greens formula smoothie. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed this concoction and so I began to experiment with added ingredients using every possible option in my freezer. I had a chat with a dear friend who's also a fan of her smooties and she recommended a frozen vegetable product she loved to include. I was a bit nervous at the thought of store bought frozen fruit or veggies, but when she told me that this company froze their vegetables within 6 hours of being farm picked while securing all of their flavour and nutrients, I had to try it. We took a walk to the grocery store and she showed me where to find Cookin' Greens Chopped Frozen Kale. I bought a package and went home to give it a shot. It was so easy as the Kale just flaked out of the package, unlike some frozen food that is stuck in a clump. My shake was enjoyable from start to finish and it's my new favourite item to include in my smoothie (among other things)!

A few days later, Cookin' Greens had tweeted me to let me know about a recipe photo contest they were holding and I was happily up for the challenge! I even had a recipe in mind, one that Chatelaine Magazine had tweeted about a few weeks back and I had saved it for a rainy day when I would hope to try it out. This was my rainy day, only a few modifications to the recipe and voila...

Kale, Quinoa and Bean Soup

I submitted my photo to the Cookin' Greens Facebook page and tied for first place!!!! Now, seeing that there were only 2 entries, didn't make me less excited about this. It was a fun project, I got to experiment in the kitchen which I LOVE to do, took some pictures while I was at it, and found a new great product that will make things really easy in the kitchen :)

Like I said earlier, I've always had an issue with store bought frozen fruit and veggies, not really sure why, but I always liked the idea of freezing my own. Yes, I liked the idea, but I rarely had the time for it. Instead, I would buy tubs of fresh spinach and get through half of it before realizing that the other half had already started to go bad.

From the looks of the Cookin' Greens website, they currently have Chopped Kale, Spinach and Rapini and some great mixes that you could even use as a meal and more options coming soon!! You should really check out the site, there's some really interesting history on these 'super' greens, some great suggestions for meal options and some crazy good lookin' recipe ideas! In fact, I just saw one as I was scrolling through and it would be perfect for dinner tonight. I do have some Cookin' Greens kale in the freezer and not much more in the fridge or cupboards, guess it's time for a grocery run! I think I will try the Spaghetti with Braised Kale, using Brown Rice Spaghetti, of course!

Kale, Quinoa and Bean Soup - My version

Although the Chatelaine Magazine version sounded great and I was eager to try it, I like to improvise when I cook, using the ingredients I already have in my kitchen. For this recipe, I substituted the spinach for the Cookin' Greens Kale I had in my freezer, and sweet potato for a carrot. A little substitution and tweaking for my taste buds, and the photo above was born!

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions chopped

1 small sweet potato diced

1/2 cup quinoa

1/4 tsp cumin

2 cups of vegetable broth

2 cups of water

1- 540ml can of white kidney beans (rinsed and drained)

2 cups of Cookin' Greens Chopped Frozen Kale

The instructions are pretty similar to the Chatelaine recipe below, as there were only a few substitutions.

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft. Add sweet potato continue to cook for a few minutes.

2. Add quinoa and when lightly toasted, pour in broth and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer until quinoa is cooked, approx 15 more minutes.

3. Stir in beans and Kale. Cook a few more moments until beans and kale are hot.

Hearty Quinoa and Bean Soup - Chatelaine Magazine Version

1 tbsp vegetable Oil

1 onion

1 carrot

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/3 cup dry quinoa

2 cups vegetable broth

540 ml can white kidney beans

2 cups baby spinach

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add oil, then onion. Cook until onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Add carrot, garlic, cumin, coriander and quinoa. Cook for 2 more minutes. Pour in broth and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, until quinoa is cooked, about 15 more minutes.

2. Stir in beans and spinach. Cook until beans are hot and spinach is wilted, 2 to 3 more minutes. Serve immediately.

What would your version of this soup be? What would you substitute or change for your taste?

Check it Out!

2011-11-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

Sharing with you, a couple of my photographs in November/December 2011's issue of Clean Eating Magazine.

First off, I'm delighted to have made it onto Clean Eating's Contributor page once again. Next to me is Food Stylist Marianne Wren who styled the food for the photo's I shot in this issue, and she did a great job!

Clean Eating Magazine, Nov/Dec 2011 Issue
Photography by Joanne Tsakos
Food Styling by Marianne Wren

A little twist on Ice Cream? I'll say! I never did get to try this tasty treat, but from the sounds of the recipe and the smell of the ice cream on set at the studio, I think I missed out! This recipe does seem simple enough and I do happen to have a sweet potato sitting in my veggie basket, so I might give this a try myself!

If you're wondering, no, this isn't shellacked or fake ice cream or styrofoam or whatever other things people ask me about. This is the real deal, Marianne made it from the real ingredients. It was frozen, and we had to work fast to get the shot as we watched the ice cream slowly melting on set. We did however use one little trick of the trade to keep the ice cream from melting extra quickly. I won't tell you what it was but I will say, it involved something cold :)

Clean Eating Magazine, Nov/Dec 2011 Issue
Photography by Joanne Tsakos
Food Styling by Marianne Wren

I love to photograph seafood, the little tiny details on the sea creatures are amazing! This Calamari dish was a tricky one! With this shoot, as with most photoshoot's, Clean Eating had given me a layout to follow. I can usually accommodate the layouts, but sometimes the food tells me otherwise and I have to improvise. It's sometimes difficult to know exactly what camera angle to use, what colours or even what dish to use until you see what the food is going to look like. This was an interesting piece of Calamari and in order to make it look appetizing, we had to play around a little. Marianne and I put our heads together, and moved the little guy around until we (and Clean Eating) were happy. I was pretty pleased with the end result and if I actually ate calamari, I'd definitely give this one a try! Hey, I said I loved to photograph seafood, not eat it! Maybe one day I'll be adventurous!

You can find the recipe's for the above shots along with a few more of my photograph's in November/December 2011 issue of Clean Eating Magazine!

Chicken Soup - The Greek Version

2011-10-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

I'm sure catching a cold is the last thing anyone wants, and for me, I can usually see the warning signs a mile away. When I choose to pay attention to what my body is telling me and I fight it off before it really hits, it's a good feeling, but when I ignore it, and the cold sets in, it's days, or weeks of "shoulda woulda coulda's!" Aside from devouring the enormous amounts of Vitamin C's, Multi-Vitamin's and the Oregano Oil that is sure to kill almost anything, my best (and tastiest) defence is a recipe that comes from my childhood. If it doesn't work well at warding off the evil cold monsters, it will surely give you that warm, comfy feeling even just for one night.

The name for this soup in Greek is called "Avgolemono" which translates into "Egg Lemon". Those are actually half of the four ingredients in this soup. I call it Chicken Soup, since most people probably wouldn't want to eat an "egg lemon soup" when they're not feeling well?

It's such a easy and quick recipe to make, all you need are 4 simple ingredients, plus a little salt and pepper for seasoning. This recipe will make 2 healthy (big bowl) servings, or 4 side soup servings. The great thing about this recipe is that you can adjust the ingredients to your taste. If you don't like too much lemon, don't add the whole amount, if you like your soup a little thicker and full of rice, add more rice! But try the recipe below to start and see what you think, then adjust to your heart's content!

Ingredients*:
(recipe adapted from Christine Cushing Live)

4 cups of Chicken Broth

1 lemon

1 egg

3/4 cup of Arborio or Orzo Rice

Salt and Pepper for seasoning

*(makes 2 healthy servings-large bowls)

I've used a "box" of store bought Chicken broth, easier than making my own. Store bought broth is usually LOADED with sodium so I look for the Low-Sodium kind. This time, I found a "No Salt Added" brand, and ON SALE!! Needless to say, I bought a few boxes for my kitchen cupboards. If your not lazy like me and make your own broth, you are my inspiration!! And if you are, and you've decided to pick up a box of low sodium chicken broth at the store, there are approximately 4 cups in each box, so you can use up the whole box!!

Recipe:

-Pour 4 cups of broth into a medium pot and bring to a boil.

In the meantime....

-Measure out your rice and put it aside until broth has boiled.

-Roll lemon with the palm of your hand. This will release the juices and make juicing the lemon much easier!

-Pour the lemon juice into a medium bowl and add the egg. Whisk until frothy.

-At this point, your broth has probably boiled and ready for the rice. Add rice and simmer (uncovered) until rice is cooked, about 10 minutes ( or taste for done-ness)

-When your rice is seconds away from being done, take a ladle or measuring cup and scoop out some of the hot broth from the pot. This step will be quick so be ready. Slowly pour the hot broth into the bowl of whisked lemon and egg mixture while continuing to quickly whisk.

Whisking, while pouring in the hot broth will prevent the egg from actually cooking and leaving chunks of cooked egg in the mix.

-Pour your whisked mixture of egg, lemon and hot broth back into your hot pot on the stove top. Remove pot from heat immediately. Again, you don't want your egg to cook while boiling over a hot stove top.

-So, you're pretty much done at this point, just add some seasoning to your taste. A little salt and pepper go a long way!

* If you like chunks of chicken in your chicken soup, by all means...add it! I've done it before with this soup by using leftover cooked chicken from the previous night's dinner, or I've chopped up an uncooked chicken breast, pan fried over the stove top (using just a drop of oil) and added it to by broth while it's boiling.

When I was sure I had captured this final shot above, I gobbled up the soup in under a minute. It's always yummiest fresh off the stove top, but if you are saving some for the next day, you might need to add some water to dilute the soup as it will thicken once it is refrigerated.

I hope this soup makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside like it does with me. It's like a warm stomach hug! :)

Autumn in Paris

2011-09-23T12:45:00.016-04:00

When my good friend Norma Thiessen was working on an autumn update for her amazing website My Beautiful Paris, she had asked me to send her some pictures from our autumn trip to Paris a few years back. It quickly took me down memory lane and I'd love to take you there with me! Below are some photo's I had taken while in Paris, and on this trip, all I needed was my camera, a warm jacket and a beret!

If you have never been to Paris and are dying to go, or even if you have been there before, you must check out My Beautiful Paris!! You'll see most of my photo's from below, plus tonnes more that I had shot when Norma and I had travelled to Paris this past Spring. It's an amazing site with so much information from a girl who's been there a million times, in love with the city of lights and is eager to share her experience and knowledge with you. She is always happy to hear from you and help you plan your trip to Paris! I have been so fortunate to have travelled to Paris with Norma three times and have seen it through her eyes. The photo's below were taken while we travelled on our second trip to Paris. It was cold out but the weather was the perfect environment for me to capture the photo's below!

I took all of these photo's below using my Nikon FG20 35mm SLR film camera with a standard 50mm lens, a few rolls of Colour and few rolls of Black and White film. I knew that the less film I had with me, the more I could be creative and use my knowledge and education in photography before I snapped the picture! I was always so anxious and excited to get home from a trip, get into my darkroom and finally see what I had actually captured!

Stone Lady with Eiffel Tower

Waking up that morning to see an overcast sky with a light sprinkle of rain in the air, really put a spring in my step! This is my favourite type of day to photograph the outdoors--and especially while away from home!! This grey and overcast sky eliminates any harsh highlights or shadows from the sun, softens everything and even with using the colour film (last photo below of Monmartre), it really makes the colours subtle and soft giving the image such a different feel! Almost eerie but SO focused! In this photo of the lady and tower, the sky was so overcast that you couldn't even see the hundreds of people and dozens of cars below the tower! Gone! And who say's a grey day is all that bad??

One of my favourite photo's I have taken in Paris and it was almost by accident!

Believe it or not, there were many people on this bridge on this day and I was waiting for a quick moment to capture it without any pedestrian interference. Unlike the lady in the first photo with the Eiffel Tower, who was not in any rush to go anywhere, this woman above, was certainly in a hurry and came in to my frame just as I snapped the photo! Because I was shooting film and I had a limited amount, I wasn't sure if I had captured her, but I thought I would just crop her out if she happened to be in my frame. When I was back home and in my darkroom, I was surprised with what I saw on my processed film. I realized that the woman and her quick walking, had in fact made it into my frame, and had actually made the photo! Thank you, lady on a mission!

Just another amazing view over the Seine River...

Jardin du Palais Royal is probably my favourite place to be in Paris!  Something about being in this garden (jardin) that makes me very happy!

And this is me, being "happy" in Palais Royal!

View from Monmartre

Norma and I stopped for a little break behind Notre Dame Cathedral

More from Monmartre, this time with a little bit of colour! Kinda retro, don'cha think?

I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane, not only the trip to Paris itself, but of my memories of shooting with film!! Those were good times, the anticipation, the wondering what you will end up with. I'm sure most of us remember those days, not only to the professional photographers but even the amateurs who rushed to the camera store after a holiday to see your holiday once again. As a professional, it was a chance to really use my skill, the years of education and experience were put to the test and it was so nice to think before I hit the shutter. Of course, there's still a lot to think about when using my Digital SLR, but the anticipation and excitement is gone. It was definitely a different time in the world of photography, and that was only a few years ago! Change comes quick in this day and age, you've got to be ready for it and don't fear it! If you do, get out, take a holiday, get re inspired! Change is always a good thing :)

Don't forget to check out My Beautiful Paris!

Check it Out!!

2011-08-25T09:32:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy summer but the big stuff has past and it's time for me to get working again! I'm looking forward to some changes, some new exciting projects and to finally having the time to fill you in on all of it!

Below are some photo's I had taken that were featured in two recent Clean Eating Magazine Issues, and a few personal shots too!

Clean Eating April/May 2011 Issue

Photography by Joanne Tsakos

Food Styling by Sugar Tart

Photography by Joanne Tsakos

P.S. I love photographing seafood, especially octopus! I just returned from a trip to Greece where I shot these photo's of dozens of octopus hanging by the water, caught by the fisherman that morning for the restaurants in town.

Clean Eating April/May 2011 Issue
Photography by Joanne Tsakos
Food Styling by Sugar Tart

Clean Eating April/May 2011 Issue
Photography by Joanne Tsakos
Food Styling by Marianne Wren

Clean Eating April/May 2011 Issue
Photography by Joanne Tsakos
Food Styling by Sugar Tart

Clean Eating June 2011 Issue
Photography by Joanne Tsakos
Food Styling by Sugar Tart

Paris (sneak peak)

2011-06-15T08:56:00.000-04:00

I've had a bit of a mental block or maybe more of a flood since I've been back from Paris. Being away (among other things) even for just a few days, had been enough to push me into a motion forward. I've been inspired to move ahead, to keep going and not look back.

I've been home now for a few weeks finalizing the edits of the hundreds of photo's I took in Paris. This was my fourth time in the beautiful city, but this time, I was there to work on a very special project for my good friend Norma.

Norma and I had travelled to Paris together two other times before, and this time, the seed was planted as two old friends sat in a Toronto cafe one morning a few months back, catching up over brunch. We talked about the website that Norma was hoping to launch soon after her return from her next trip to Paris a few months later. Her website, dedicated to her love of Paris, was all about her travels, tips and suggestions regarding anything to do with Paris. Even though her website had not officially launched yet, people from all over the world had already discovered it on-line and she was busily making travel plans for their visit to her favourite place in the world! So as we sat in this cafe, and talked about her next trip over, we couldn't help but reminisce about the times that we had shared in Paris. She mentioned that she would love some new photo's to put on her website, and I had reminded her of what I do for a living. The seed was planted, and by our 4th coffee, we were booking flights and planning our 3rd trip together to Paris!

Our itinerary was set, appointments were made with various hotels around the city and reservations were booked for some of the more interesting spots in town. I got my gear together, bought some comfortable shoes, did my homework and was ready to have the experience of a lifetime!

Here's a sneak peek at some of the spots we visited and things we saw while in Paris this past spring.

I can't wait to show you all of my favourite things about this trip including some of the beautiful architecture, great cafe's, and the flowers....OOOH, the flowers!!
I am just ripping at the seams to introduce to you the beautiful website that Norma has been working on so excitedly for months! You'll soon see why I'm excited too.

Cooking in Tuscany

2011-05-17T11:30:00.001-04:00

I always wanted to go to Italy but not really sure why. Okay, aside from it being ITALY, and beautiful, it was on the top of my list of dream travel destinations. So when the decision was made and I was finally going to experience Italy once and for all, I had to think a little harder and figure out not only what I wanted to do and see, but what I was hoping to experience while there. The only thing that came to mind was "Tuscany" and "Cooking" (aside from the 10 pounds I thought I'd put on from all the food and wine I was dreaming of). I pictured driving down some windy roads through fields and fields of sunflowers and poppy's till we got to our little villa and then sat down to watch the sunset while sipping a glass of Tuscan wine. Unfortunately, my trip down the windy road was in late summer and I missed the poppy's since they bloom in the spring while I just missed the sunflower bloom in late summer as well! I did however manage to shoot this shot above, from the passenger seat, driving down the windy road, head out the window, and snapping away while hoping to catch the last bit of life these sunflowers had in them!

Castello Delle Serre

The cooking part? That was the "what would I do if I won the lottery?" part. I would travel around the world and take cooking classes (and my camera of course) while away, that was a big part of my lotto dream. Well, I haven't won the lottery, but I'm back on my feet these days and I wanted to spoil myself a little on this trip. When my good friend, Norma had lent me a breathtakingly inspiring book on Tuscany (thanks Norma!!) it lit a fire under me. There was a section in the book on several cooking classes that were held at various spots in Tuscany. Apparently, I'm not the only one that's thought of doing this! Things got pretty busy for me before leaving the big city for this trip, so if I wanted to take a cooking class, I'd have to organize it while away. I had contacted the hotel, umm, sorry.... castle, that we were staying at while in Tuscany, and asked for help. Katerina was very helpful and sent me several contacts that I tried to narrow down while I had a few minutes on-line here and there in the various cities we travelled to throughout Italy. Time was going by fast and I just couldn't get it together. So when we finally got to our beautiful villa/castle, Castello Delle Serre in Serre di Rapolano (just outside of Sienna, another great city!) it all started to come together.

While first arriving at the castle, we were met near the beautiful outdoor dining area by Salvatore, a kind smile and a glass of wine.

Salvatore, the delightfully charming owner of this beautiful little castle, found us wandering and lost and he immediately made us feel welcome. It was just as I had pictured it so far. As we quickly got acquainted, I told Salvatore and Katerina (his daughter) that I was still hoping to take a cooking class while I was in Tuscany. As they thought of what was available for the limited time while we were there, Salvatore had an idea. He had a large group of people coming for lunch the next day and he suggested that he might need some help in preparing the feast. I was all smiles and jumped at the opportunity to be his little "sous chef".

The next morning, after breakfast, on a beautiful summer's day, I would put on an apron and I would learn to cook a few new Italian recipes overlooking the rolling hills of Tuscany!

I'm ready, now let's cook!

We had a lot to do, so I was put right to work with quick explanations, a little history lesson here and there and a feeling I just couldn't explain. I love to cook, so Salvatore didn't have to hold my hand during this process, he just had to give me some tips along the way.

Shaving the Pecorino cheese while having a good workout too!

The chicken cacciatore was made by lightly rolling several chicken legs in flour, then carefully dropping them into a pan of boiling oil. Yes, this part scared me, anything to do with boiling oil!! The long tongs definitely helped ease that concern! The chicken was fried until the skin turned golden brown and then placed into a baking pan and put aside. The hot oil that remained in the stove top pan was then deglazed by adding some rosemary, sage, garlic, hot pepper flakes and lots of white wine! This flavoured oil was then poured over the fried chicken in the baking pan and then placed into the oven to continue cooking.

Afraid to get too close while frying up the chicken for the Cacciatore!

The green beans were easy to make, and so tasty! They were trimmed at the ends, boiled in salted water until tender (or you can try steaming them), tossed with halved cherry tomato's, and dressed with a lemon juice, olive oil and fresh pepper dressing.

We move on to the salad consisting of lettuce's like radicchio, endive, and boston lettuce, then topped with sliced pears, walnuts and shaved pecorino cheese. The dressing was a mix of olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar and dried oregano. A perfect combination of ingredients!!

Pear, Walnut and Pecerino Salad

I'm really getting into my job here!!

This dish was my favourite, so yummy and maybe took the longest to prepare but totally worth it! I couldn't remember what it was called but it started with a "T" --Sal would be so disappointed in his student! Thanks to Google, I think I've figured it out.

Tortino de Patate e Zucchine.

We made 2 large pans of this dish so we had a lot of slicing to do. It was a sort of lasagna but made with sliced potato, tomato and zucchini instead of layered noodles. First I had to crush the bread for the bread crumbs. I finally learned how to do this the easy way! Back home, I used to grate stale bread with a cheese grater, and inevitably shredded my fingers in the process! eek! Salvatore handed me the large cookie sheet with chunks of dry, stale bread on it, and a palm sized, stainless steel meat tenderizer. My job, hammer the crap out of the bread until I had a tray of breadcrumbs. Much easier than grating my fingers, plus I can get some aggression out! So much fun! When I finished making breadcrumbs, I was on slicing duty. A mandolin might of been much easier for this part as keeping the slices equal were important in this step. But no mandolin was to be found, and I had to do this the old fashioned way with a knife, my steady hand and an eye for measuring. I sliced the zucchini and put them aside. Sliced some tomato's, and put them aside. The sliced potato's went into a bowl of cold water, to keep them from browning from oxidation and plus, the water removes some of the starches.
Then the layering begun. I covered the bottom layer of the rectangular baking sheet with a layer of potato slices, followed by a layer of sliced tomatoes, than a layer of zucchini topped with olive oil, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, dried basil and oregano, followed by another layer of potato, tomato and zucchini etc.. When the layering was over, the veggies were topped with a final coat of breadcrumbs and other seasonings, drizzled with olive oil, then covered with tin foil and placed into the oven and baked for about 25 minutes at 350º.

Lunch was served and went off without a hitch! Not bad for a morning's work!!

Finished meal with Chicken Caccetore, Green Beans and Layered Vegetables! Yum!!!

Aside from my impromptu cooking lesson, the rest of our stay at Castello Delle Serre was incredible. The room we stayed in was everything we could imagine, the view was breathtaking, the personal, friendly treatment and advice on sites to see, places to go and restaurants to hit while we were visiting Serre di Rapolano made us feel very important and cared for and all together an experience I will never forget! Thanks Sal, Kat and Antonio for making our time in Tuscany a very special one!

There was plenty of Lavender and Basil planted around the property, and while I walked by daily, I would take a deep breath in and enjoy the pleasant aroma.

Back in the kitchen, Salvatore talks to me about Oregano. Being from Greek parents, I pretty much know how important oregano is to Greek cooking, and it sounds like it's just as important in the Italian kitchen as well! He also threw in a little Oregano history lesson which was nice to hear.

After my cooking lesson and tasting, I took a quick dip in the pool, while my other half cools off with a book under the cyprus tree

The "Lounge" area at the castle. I love the original hand painted walls!

This was the view from our room. We took a million pictures of it every day, but couldn't quite capture how breathtaking it was in person!

I could go on and on about Italy and how beautiful my time there was, but I think I'll keep the rest to myself ;) Although we had only visited a small portion of the country, it was all I needed to fulfill that dream....for now.

Now, it's time to move on, there's so much more to see and do in this world, so much more on my list of dreams to accomplish. Can you accomplish a dream? or should I call them goals? I think my goals are my dreams.

Tonight, I leave for Paris, France to work on a project for a beautiful little company that specializes in travels in Paris. I'll be photographing the hotels, restaurants, cafes, food, markets and Parisian life. Another check off my list? Maybe, but I think I'll milk this one for a while ;)