long weekending

I love, LOVE, long weekends! Happy days...especially when one has a job where you no longer need to look at your phone for email every five minutes. We gardened, lazed around on the sofa, cooked yummy food, ran 5 km, drank wine with the sister ... all around goodness. I realize there is a bit of garden overload in the photos here but honestly peeps, great things are beginning to take place in our backyard. The Babe was digging, ripping out sod, lifting heavy things...now will come tree-choosing and daylily planting etc. - lots to do but all so very good. Tencents, who was sick again, is all good now aside from the odd hissing episodes at any male who happens to remind her of "The Vet". The first photo with the happy Buddha really says it all.

I am traveling for work over the next month, so posting has and will be a bit sporadic. However, it's always nice to post when I actually have some photos I am pleased with in the camera and when things are happening around the house. I have a feeling there will be many garden photos this summer.

Strange how life sometimes has a round-about-way to get one to Happy!

finally...

Finally the weather has decided to cooperate around here...for the first time this year, I was able to go sit outside. It was warm, albeit very windy, but still peeps.... that first glass of wine on the patio is the most divine moment. It was also my first, absolutely crazy, week of work. All I know is I woke up Monday morning and the next moment I had a chance to take a breath...it was Friday. So far, so good.

Ever get that exhilarated feeling come over you when you are blissfully happy and just enjoying 'being'? I love that feeling - I felt that feeling sitting outside, savouring my glass of white and realizing I did not have to look at my phone for work related emails every five minutes like I used to three months ago.  I just felt so at peace and happy. I know these moments are not always present but that is what makes them so wonderful when they do happen.

Lately I feel like I am reconnecting with living!

Happy weekend

it's all good

Something nasty blew in last night and I woke up to about 20 cm of fresh snow outside! So I decided to hibernate and do some cooking. I recently purchased Gwyneth Paltrow's "It's all good" cookbook. I read many reviews on it, most of them rather scathing and mean, nattering on how she uses expensive ingredients, blah, blah. I browsed through the book in the store and found the recipes actually quite good, easy to execute and one certainly does NOT have to use expensive ingredients. I do not have Manuka honey, don't even really know what it is - regular honey from the bear jar works equally well. Any proficient cook will know to substitute organic anything for non-organic and the meal will still be healthy and yummy and economical! Each to his own. I have tried several of the recipes, they are well explained, easy to make and healthy - and I already have some favourites.

She has two breakfast recipes for left-over quinoa that I love. The savoury recipe is quinoa, kale and a fried egg and the sweet option is quinoa mixed with almond milk and some awesome sweet toppings. The savoury recipe is really good for a light dinner as well. These are easy recipes and fill the tummy when you need something quick and healthy. Here are the recipes:

Savoury

Serves 1 person

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil  (honestly, you can use regular olive oil or other veg oil as well)
1 garlic clove, minced (I used left-over roasted garlic from another recipe, yum!)
2 large kale leaves (stems discarded), finely shredded
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
sea salt (I use kosher salt)
A fried egg, or poached egg
1 scallion, white and light green parts only, finely sliced (I used the whole scallion)

Heat the oil and garlic over medium heat in a skillet until garlic begins to soften (about 1 minute). Add the shredded kale and cook, stirring now and then, until kale is wilted (2 to 3 minutes). Add the quinoa and cook until warmed through (about 2 minutes). Place mixture in a serving bowl, top with the egg, add a grind of salt and pepper and enjoy.

Sweet

Serves 1 person

3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup almond milk (I make my own but you can use store-bought, whatever is handier)
topping options: sliced banana, chopped dried date (like a mahjool date), chopped dry figs, toasted walnuts, fresh berries, shredded coconut - use your imagination!

Stir quinoa and almond milk in a sauce pan and warm up until nice and warm. Place in a serving bowl, add the toppings and tuck in!

Cooking the perfect quinoa is also explained in Gwyneth's book and it's probably the best quinoa I have ever made. Here is the process:

1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cups water
pinch of salt

I rinse my quinoa (this really makes a difference - do NOT skip this step)
Place quinoa and water in a heavy-bottomed pan along with the tiny pinch of salt. Bring the combination to a quick boil and reduce heat to low (around 2 on my range). Cover and cook for 15 minutes (do not peek). Remove from burner and place a paper towel under the lid. Let sit for five minutes exactly, then fluff and it's ready to go. Make lots and use in various recipes. I think you can even freeze it.