Singing a song, come sing along

Dare I say, it's just about Summer?! The girls spent the day in their bathing suits, which greatly distracted them from helping me plant a few long awaited herbs and two very different varieties of tomatoes. I chose "Sun Golds", for their small size and sweet, lush flavour. And "Carbon" tomatoes, with a promise for large, almost-black beefsteak tomatoes. My mouth waters as I think of crunching on the little guys and drizzling olive oil on the big'ns. I purchased my herbs and tomatoes from a young couple that runs Creekshore Farms
opting to support a local organic farm instead of a big box operation. Assuming I am acclimatized to the cold Canadian weather which delights us almost year round, I was sweating bullets after an just an hours worth of gardening, and so a second shower was much called for, after which time dinner was much requested.



Turning on any hot appliance in the kitchen was the last thing on my mind. Instead I grabbed two cups of cooked chick peas from the fridge and went to work. (There are several foods I keep ready to grab and enjoy at all times - one of which is a large amount of chick peas, soaked one night and cooked the next morning - another is avocados, lime and cilantro, and a very large veggie tray, this being my favourite as our family vegetable consumption has skyrocketed since I began doing so.)

For any of you who have suffered from any kind of digestive issues, you know the happy dance we jiggy up when a dinner goes down and easily transforms into whatever it may be purposed to do in our bodies, rather than bringing with it side effects too unpleasant to speak of.

Today I broke out into song.

Sing with me if you will, or are alone in the room...
I feel good, danananana... I knew that I would now! So good, so good! I've got FOOD!
It truly is rare that I feel perfect after any given meal, but this one was a winner. I chowed down two of these wraps, felt full but not pregnant, energized not from a sugar rush.

PRINT RECIPE

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Sprout Dinner Wraps

Hummus:

2 cups freshly cooked from dry and cooled chick peas

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, drained if using canned

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp sesame tahini

1 garlic clove

1/2 - 1 tsp coarse sea salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Place the garlic clove and salt in a food processor or blender, pulse to chop garlic. Add remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.

For each wrap:

8 inch flour tortilla

diced cucumber and plum tomato

a handful of fresh sprouts

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

a drizzle of olive oil, if you're an addict as I am

Prepare your wrap by spreading hummus on a tortilla, leaving a one inch border. Add cucumber and tomato dice down the centre, top with sprouts. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Fold up one side of the wrap, then two sides towards the centre. Enjoy!

The Back Burner

There are seasons in life when new chapters begin, and others are put aside, neatly, on a burner, in the back, which is hardly visited at first, with hopes of renewed time in the days to come. Our family has started one of these chapters, we have transitioned into home schooling. Over whelmed at the thought of taking such responsibility on at first, I now see it as a very natural extension of my parental privileges. I secretly wait for a moment of panic, for stress to settle in, but for some reason, educating my children at home simply works.

I am often asked about the "whys" and "hows" of home educating. I can tell you of negative experiences at public school, or perhaps harried schedules, but in the end, it's the possibilities I am after. The unity it creates in our family, the real life learning there is so much more time for.

We've spent afternoons fishing with cousins.

We've read in the sun. On comfy chairs. With a pretty darn cuddly class pet close by.

We've cooked a whole bunch, too. In a matter of days, the girls are cooking me eggs for breakfast and quesadillas for lunch.

As for dinners, well, it's been the perfect time to pull out family favourites, leaving culinary explorations on the back burner.

Here's an example of what's on the menu.

Whole roasted organic herbed chicken, probably with a garden salad or some sort of vegetable dish.

Baked potatoes stuffed with all sorts of enticing things, like steamed broccoli and a homemade cheese sauce. An omelet might be on the side.

Homemade refried beans, Spanish rice, guacamole and a crisp salad has quickly become a number one choice.

I love to make fresh pasta lasagna, entirely from scratch right down to the marinara. Oh, and I make a bechamel rather than using ricotta or cottage cheese. Mmmmm. Left overs are the best, so I make a good amount.

Chicken souvlaki, Greek salad and roasted potatoes is a staple, too. I make tzatziki with fresh ingredients. I can't get enough of this!

Soup. Nuff said.

Some days we eat pancakes and fruit... as in any busy home!

What are your family favourites?

PRINT RECIPE

Spanish Rice

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, chopped

1 1/2 cups Time Wise brown rice, or Basmati rice, if you prefer white rice

2 1/2 cups quality chicken stock

1/2 tomato salsa, any heat level (I do love the hot stuff!)

1/4 tsp salt

Heat a saute pan (if you have a lid for it, if not use a large stock pot) over medium heat. Add the oil, then the shallot and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring once in a while to prevent browning. Add the rice, toast it in the oil for about a minute, then pour over the chicken stock and salsa, season with a little salt. Close the lid, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Cook until done, about 15 - 20 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, then serve.

Are we that thoughtless?

Mark Bittman on what's wrong with what we eat Video on TED.com

I came across this video, I would love to share it with you, I would love for us to see the big picture together. Would you take 20 minutes out of your day and allow this information to make small changes in the choices you make?

Check out his inspiring blog HERE.

...food matters, because you matter!

Neat Sweet Treat

Let's talk sugar subsitutes.

Many options are readily available in just about every grocery store these days. Once faced with chemical, albeit zero calorie, harmful replacements, a demand for natural food has brought to light many products which are not only sweet, but also nutritious. The best of both worlds? I think so! Diabetics have options too, not as many, I know, but for now I am speaking from a nutrition point of view only. And calories? My opinion is eat whole and healthfully, you'll be fuller longer and have less cravings, staying thin in the process.

Where chemical sweeteners like aspartame cause many horrible illnesses, like cancer, brown rice syrup can be used in all baking and brings low glycemic, high nutrient sweetness to your foods. When treats become a part of nutritious eating, we can enjoy them, without guilt, possibly for the first time!

Brown rice syrup is a good source of magnesium, potassium, manganese, iron and the B-group vitamins. Add organic brown rice cereal (fiber), 70% dark chocolate (antioxidants), and nuts (protein), you've got yourself an all around gorgeous dessert packed with all the right stuff

PRINTABLE VERSION

Brown Rice Crisp Treats

Makes 16 squares

1/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup organic brown rice syrup

1 tsp real vanilla syrup

3 cups organic crisped brown rice cereal

7 oz best quality 70% dark chocolate

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Prepare a double boiler by setting a glass or stainless steele bowl over a simmering pot of water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water and that no water gets into the bowl (steam or drops). Put the brown rice syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla into the bowl, stirring over the heat until evenly incorporated. Remove from double boiler, cool for one minute, then add in the brown rice cereal. Mix thoroughly.

Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking pan, lightly press the rice mixture evenly into the pan.

Set another bowl over the simmering pot, add the dark chocolate, gently melt, then add the butter. Pour over rice and quickly spread to cover the top of the rice.

Set in the fridge for about 1 1/2 hours, then cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Store in the fridge for up to two days.

Baaa

Making it through the Winter months flu-less is an accomplishment. Getting a bad head cold and vicious cough right at the break of Spring is down right ironic. Yet here I sit, I have no appetite, instead I cough, sneeze and hold cold fingers to my aching forehead. Cooking my father-in-law's birthday dinner was tricky, without a sense of smell.

Allow me to take you on a journey my girls and I had theprivilege of enjoying just yesterday. The absence of food is intentional, I simply can not think food at this time. Visiting with farm animals is always a great joy to my girls, visiting with ones that are literally hours old would be out of this world exiting for anybody. New friends Sue and her daughter Vanessa milk these ladies by hand every day, they sell this milk and also fresh goats cheese. I find myself with a million questions, but I hold back, as today we will enjoy the moment of new life.

Goats have big personalities, it surprised even me, so far I've judged them by their cover - a beautiful one, with big eyes, and baa's which bring out chuckles in even the most sophisticated city dweller. The white goat is their main milker, she produces 1 1/2 of rich milk every day. She also fits into the crowd, as though she was one us, or perhaps our family dog, hoping to catch a glimpse of three dark baby boys, perfect and hardly wobbly as they make their way to mama. Mama, gently guiding the babies with her horns, she was as nurturing as any new mom might be. Add to the mix a one month old, fluffy, white lamb named Dolly, mischievously toddler-like, playful and not the least bit shy. It was picture perfect. And I forgot about the discomfort of my aching body momentarily.

Veggie gardening confidence boost, I assure you!

I'm a sandwich gal. A lot of good stuff can be fit between two slices of soft bread. And since I ended up with far too many sprouts for our small family, I gave a bunch away, then packed as much as I could into my Brie, Tomato, Sprout and Dijon sandwich. Next time I will start with about 1/4 cup of seeds, rather than half. I wonder, too, if staggering growth between the three tiers is a smart idea. That way we could enjoy a steady fresh supply of sprouts every four days or so. I can add sprouts to any sandwich, salad, or even dress up a pasta dish or BBQ steak, they are versatile, full of nutrition, and so could find a spot on many of our plates. Try marinated and grilled whole portabello mushrooms with roasted red peppers and sprouts on flax bread. If you like goat cheese, and a bit of that. Lunch doesn't need to be peanut butter and jelly anymore. Try sprouts! Tiered sprouters like the biosnacky can be found at health food stores or online. But a mason jar and some cheese cloth will get you started immediately - simple directions here.

DAY THREE

DAY FOUR

DAY FIVE

DAY SIX

If I can grow sprouts, anyone can. My kids think I'm pretty neat.

Growing

There are some prayers I pray very quietly, skipping words altogether, and only thinking the rest. These are prayers I know God hears (when does He ever not hear our prayers?!), ones He loves, ones I pray often yet appreciate only much, much later. They are prayers of growth, heart searching ones, lamps shining into the utmost corners of our hearts. My faith is huge when I pray these, I know God hears me even though a little bit of me wishes he'd choose to ignore as I am well aware that He's not going to send change by dropping it in my lap, but by sending me a situation, I am sure you know what I mean. If only I had this kind of faith when I am praying other prayers, ones for healing, direction, and wisdom.

Let me take you back a few weeks.
The day before we were due to leave for a sun-filled, bone-warming March Break family vacation, following three days of intense rainfall and snow melting, our worn out roof decided to give up life and leak, right into the master bedroom.

Let me take you about a year back.
We finally paid off debt, we were free, we never wanted to get back into such drudgery. For a year we lived comfortably, mostly playing catch up. A couple of months ago we finally arrived at a stage in life where we could begin saving. Saving for a roof, saving for future education, for retirement.
The roof to leak at this time, was simply put, bad timing. A year from now would have been much more convenient. But it wouldn't be so, thank GOD we have Him to turn to. My husband and I both put worries aside, deciding to do what we could, and expect God to pick up from there. We arranged for large, water sealing tarps, we checked into home insurance, and lined a slurry of contractors to give us repair quotes. I'd like to say God put a check in the mail to pay this horrific bill, but it would not be so. He must be up to something much grander.

Then today happens. Mountains of laundry awaited me, for the second day in a row, after an unfortunate head lice incident my daughters brought home from school. I was just about to tackle the last two loads when my washer stopped working.

I immediately went to God, after informing my husband, who didn't seem as discouraged as myself. Doubt and an issue with trust arose from the depth of my heart, and was brought to light. I felt angry, I wondered where in the world God was, why, with a roof needing repair, He would allow another repair or, worse, a large purchase to enter our lives. I tried calming myself, I continued to clean, I read a good book, then I decided to pray the unthinkable - "You fix the machine, God!"

I'd like to say He did. And I can.. After a few failed start up attempts during my angry moments with God, red lights faintly flickering but losing energy quicker than a pregnant woman walking up a flight of stairs, I gave the machine another shot, turning knobs in all directions (no, I did not hit or bang on the top of the machine, we all know this doesn't work!), slowly, suddenly, life began sputtering back into the machine. Red buttons flickered brightly, and I heard that beautiful sound of water gushing into the drum. Coincidence? I think not... Since I had prayed that very morning for God to show me corners of my heart in need of an upgrade.
And, just to top it all off, the previously broken buzzer works at the end of each cycle again, too. Not bad for a machine that's been dying for the past long while. I wonder if my clothes will come out whiter and brighter?

Day two for Sprouts: so much growth in just 24 hours, reminds a bit of my growth, too. The prayer of a righteous man avails much. Sometimes, it fixes washing machines.