Category Archives: Food

Vegetable Curry

I began experimenting with curry a couple weeks ago and since have found my favorite recipe. It is fairly simple to make and you can add any assortment of vegetables that you like.

2 medium onions, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground tumeric

2 cups tomatoes, diced

1 small sweet potato, cubed

1/2 cup of squash, cubed

1 cup cauliflower

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup red pepper

1/2 cup white potatoes, chopped

Before you make the sauce, steam all the vegetable until they are tender. You can choose any veggies that you like, the ones mentioned above are my favorite. Be sure not to overcook them, it is better to have them on the harder side rather than too soft.

In a sauce pan heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Add 2 meduim chopped onions. Allow to fry over medium heat until the onions are browned about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, stir and allow to cook for another 2 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the browned onions, garlic and ginger. Add cinnamon, cumin, tumeric and black pepper, cook over low heat for a minute. Stir in two cups of canned or fresh diced tomatoes and 1 cup of water. Cook for 5 minutes. Use the immersion blender again to puree the sauce until it is smooth. (At this point you can add more water if you like your sauce less thick.) Bring sauce to a boil for 2 minutes.

Reduce heat and add all of the steamed veggies. Mix to coat all the veggies and simmer sauce for 10 minutes. Serve the curry over some basmati or jasmine rice and garnish with avacado and cilantro!! Enjoy!

May your evening be filled with restful and quiet moments!! May you enter into His rest, Shabbat Shalom!

Nutty Quinoa Salad

This is my NEW favorite quinoa salad!!! A good friend of mine introduced me to this salad a couple weeks ago and I cannot get enough of it! I tweeked it to make it exactly what I like but the nuts and dried fruits can be substituted with other nuts and dried fruits depending on what you have on hand. It can be served warm or cold depending how long you allow the quinoa to cool. The dressing on this salad is amazing, it makes the salad unique and addictive:) This recipe is full of protein, magnesium and calcuim, all of the raw ingredients make it an incredible staple for any meal!

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa (turns into about 2 cups once cooked)

1/2 cup sliced raw almonds

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup currants

1/2 cup chopped apple

1/4 cup chopped zucchini

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 avacado cut into cubes

Dressing:

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup mustard

1 tbsp raw honey

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of quinoa and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Mix nuts and fruit and dried fruit together in a bowl and add quinoa when it is cool or warm (depending what you want). Mix together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad, serve immediately!

May you be blessed as you listen and hear the voice of the Father today! Enjoy!!

Sprouting

Over the winter, I started sprouting seeds and beans on a weekly basis. I was looking to grow some nutrient-rich food that had not been drown in chemicals and other pesticides! Since I could not use my garden, I thought the next best thing would be to try sprouting some seeds. I had heard a bit about sprouting from a  man at the Farmer’s Market this past summer but thought it was going to be messy and tedious. However, now that I have tried it, I have realized, Sprouting is SO simple!

I had looked into buying kits to be able to sprout but after talking to the owner of a local natural food store, I was informed that you can simply use a mason jar with a thin netting over the lid and an elastic to hold it in place. I decided to take this route as the price was right, I had everything I needed. The only thing I purchased was some organic alfalpha sprouts for $1.50. I began my sprouting adventure. It worked so well that within 5 days of soaking my seeds I was eating delicious sprouts on my salad!

7 days after soaking and rinsing the alfalpha seeds

Directions for Sprouting:

1. Gather a mason jar, a mesh cover, an elastic and some organic seeds (local food store sell them).

2. Take 2 tsp of alfalpha sprouts (or whatever seed you want) and soak them in the mason jar in water for 2-6hours.

3. Drain them and rinse twice a day. When you drain, tilt the jar to make sure ALL the water gets out. It usually takes 3-10 days depending on the seed.

4. Use them in salads, smoothies, sandwiches and wraps!

Sprouts are rinsed between twice a day and three or four times a day accordingly with climate and type of seed. Each seed has its own ideal sprouting time. Depending on which seed is used, after three to five days they will have grown to 5 to 8 centimetres (2–3 in) in length and will be suitable for consumption. A popular baby green is sunflower after 7–10 days. The growth process of any sprout can be slowed or halted by refrigerating until needed.

Common causes for sprouts to become inedible:

  • Seeds are allowed to dry out
  • Seeds are left in standing water
  • Temperature is high or too low
  • Insufficient rinsing
  • Insufficient air flow
  • Poor rate of germination of seed

Sprouting grains causes increased activities of hydrolytic enzymes, improvements in the contents of total proteins, fat, certain essential amino acids, total sugars, B-group vitamins, and a decrease in dry matter, amd starch. In a simply sprouted Barley seed, over a 7 day span there are increases in the crude protein and fibre content. On Day 1 the original seed contains 12.7% protein and 5.4% fibre, however by Day 7 it contains 15.5% protein and 14.1% fibre. All of this very easily absorbed and broken down by the body’s metabolic system. Sprouting is a great assest to a raw diet.

May you enjoy the blessings of new life sprouting up in your life today!

 

Quinoa Burgers

I used a balsamic and maple syrup dressing and ate my burger over spinach, it was incredible!

This recipe is the best quinoa burger that I have ever had! I have been a vegetarian for a long time and I have tried many different burgers, this one surpasses them all! I was on pinterest the other day and found a quinoa burger recipe. I made some modifications because I didn’t like everything about the other one and came up with the following recipe. They are easy and amazingly flavorfull! I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

3/4 cup shredded cheese (any variety)

1/2 cup cream cheese, cubed

1/8 cup rice milk

1 medium carrot, finely grated

3 eggs

3 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Image

Mixture will be sticky, be sure to mix very well!

Directions:

Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add quinoa and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until seeds are tender. Remove from heat and let cool. In a large bowl combine the cooled cooked quinoa, cheese, cream cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

I used my non-stick cooktop and it worked really well. Burgers didn't stick and I barely needed to use any oil.

Heat a pan and add a couple teaspoons extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat.  Mixture will be sticky. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and flatten to 1/2 inch thick.  Fry until golden-brown, about 6 minutes on each side.   Makes a dozen burgers.

Delightful Quinoa Salad

 

Yummy!

This is a delicious and simple salad that is full of nutrients and flavour. Quinoa is a wonderful super food that is a complete protein and is reffered to as “warrior food”! My wonderful friend Lana shared this recipe with me and I want to share it with all of you! It only takes about 30 minutes to make and can be done in the morning or even the day before you want to eat it. There are some days that I like having something pre-ready to avoid the stress of last minute meal prep. I made this salad this morning when the kids were having a snack and the baby was down for her nap.

My little Mercy stirring the ingredients

Ingredients:

1 cup red quinoa

1 cup white quinoa

3 cups water

4 cups baby spinach

1 cup walnut halves

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 cup blueberries (I used blueberries and strawberries, chopped)

1 red apple & 1 green apple, chopped

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup maple syrup

I mix the dressing in a small container and if we don't use it all I store the leftovers in the fridge.

Bring 3 cups water to boil, add the quinoa, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. As the quinoa is cooking spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and cover with 3 tbsp maple syrup, pop in the oven at 350F and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool, scraping off the baking sheet so that they don’t stick. In a bowl, add spinach, blueberries (or any kind of berries), and apples. Once quinoa is done, remove from heat and allow to cool. Add cooled quinoa and cooled walnuts to the bowl. Store in fridge until you are ready to eat it. Otherwise, in a seperate container mix the vinegar and maple syrup. Pour over the salad and mix well. Serve immediately! Enjoy!!

May you enjoy the fruit of your labour today!!

 

A Celebration of LOVE

My little lovebugs

Many people have asked me if we celebrate Valentines Day seeing as it is not “christian” holiday. My response: Absolutely!!! Any opportunity that we can get to celebrate LOVE we’re going for it! In our home “LOVE DAY” as we call it is a day when we can reflect on God’s love and remember His beautiful sacrifice for us. We do crafts, read bible verses on love, make hearts shaped cookies, sandwiches, and have a special Valentines dinner. (Heart shaped pizza with heart shaped toppings:) It is a day to reflect once again of God’s great love for us!

Raspberry finger puppets

I remember before I had children I would spend the entire day preparing to celebrate a nice evening out somewhere special with Jim. I would have a shower, dress up, do my nails and often wear heels. Oh have things changed!:) Today I have NOT showered, I am NOT dressed up, the kids made me wear a red shirt, jeans and red socks to be “like Valentines”, nails are unpolished and I will NOT be wearing heels:)

Dinner table

I now celebrate all day with the kids and when Jim gets home from work we have a fun dinner together. I think it is becoming a tradition in our home to stay home with the kids on Valentines evening and to tell the truth, I love it! During this season of my life I have learned to embrace the reality that being home with the kids is a blessing and sometimes it is much easier than trying

Jim bought Mercy her first bouquet of roses, she was so happy, she kept repeating "oh thank you daddy"

to get someone else to look after them or taking them out. I am sure that one day our children will grow up and Jim and I will once again go out of Valentine’s night. (At that point I’ll probably miss being home with my babies:)

Yummy fruit kabobs

I believe that as mothers we walk in a new level of LOVE. A selfless, and serving love. We use all our strength to serve our children and our husbands. We choose daily to let go of our own wants and desires to pursue a higher standard of love. I believe that this is the love we as humans are called to. To lay down our lives for one another, just as Christ laid down his life for us. I know that this is something I need to work on in my own life. Not always being concerned with myself but shifting the focus to others, and asking how can I serve? how can I help?

Getting ready to do a craft

When was the last time you had a selfless love for someone?

We used tape, less mess:)

Today we made these fun mobiles to decorate at the table. They were a great craft idea from our Awana cubbies book. The kids loved it and it was easy, no mess, no clean up! I’ve included a couple pictures so you can see them.

Finished product!

The Bible is full of verses on LOVE. I was read some of them this morning and I’d like to share a few with you.

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. Om tjos way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out all fear.” 1 John 4:16-18

Heart-shaped Grilled Cheese

“The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Gal 5

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how high, how long, how deep and how wide his love is!” Eph 3:18

Pizza prep, I used the easy pizza dough recipe and it tastes amazing!

“We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19

“We should love one another” 1 John 3:11b

Heart Pizza

May to feel His love today, may you come to know the depth, height, width and length of this deep love He has for you. God loved us and sent His son! This is worth celebrating!!

Happy LOVE Day!

Homemade Granola

For all you granola lovers out there, this recipe is for you!! I have been experimenting with it over the past couple months and I finally got it the way I like it. It is crunchy and sweet, AND 100% free of any additive, presevatives and added sugars! It is also fully of protein and fibre. We eat it by the handful and my kids actually LOVE it. (which is a miracle because they are so picky these days) It is also delicious as a breakfast cereal with rice milk. I usually make a double batch each time because it gets used up so quickly. So be blessed and enjoy!

Mercy stirring in the almonds one at a time:)

 1/2 cup quinoa flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed or ground almonds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup walnut or almond oil (purchased at a local health food store)

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup combined raisins, cranberries, and sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix the quinoa, flaxseed, pumpkin, cashews, maple syrup and almond oil in a bowl. Spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and scrape up the mixture with a spatula. Mix in the almonds, pecans, raisins , cranberries and sunflower seeds and spread out evenly over the pan. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and scrape up the granola from bottom of the baking sheet so that is doesn’t stick and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

Easy Homemade Pizza!

We love pizza, in fact, every Tuesday night is pizza night:) Our children are pretty picky these days so making our own pizzas enables each of us to get what we want for dinner. My husband and I load ours with veggies but the kids like sauce, cheese and cashews on theirs:)

This recipe is a simple pizza crust, it takes about 5 minutes to mix and knead. Mercy loved kneading it with me today. We all love eating it, super healthy, fresh and way cheaper than buying them in the store!

Mercy freaking out at the thought of putting "bedgtables" on her pizza:)

Combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour with 1/2 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour, 2 1/4 tsp pizza crust yeast, 1 1/2 tsp maple sugar and 3/4 tsp sea salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Add 2/3 cup very warm water and 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Mix until completely combined. Add more white flour if needed to make the dough soft (about 3/4 cups). It should be plyable and form into a ball. Knead dough on floured surface adding additional flour if needed, until smooth and elastic, this should take about 3 minutes. Pat down dough and use a rolling pin to roll dough in the form of pizza crusts. (They can be whatever shape you like) Spray a baking sheet with EVOO and put the shaped dough on it. (I make two small ones for the kids and 1 large one for Jim and I). Pinch the edges of the crusts. Spread with pizza saucce. Top with desired toppings and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 425F for 12-15 minutes.

I usually take it out at the end, slice up the pieces and then put them back in for 3 more minutes to make sure that the center is fully cooked! It is such a treat to have fresh crust. The kids don’t even complain about eating it because it doesn’t get really hard like the store-bought stuff.

Serve warm and enjoy!! (We like to eat it with smoothies and salad)

Homemade Biscotti

I absolutely love drinking tea, hot chocolate or apple cider in the winter time. It is so comforting and warm, and there are so many delicious flavors. My favorite treat to dip is my tea is biscotti. I decided to try to make some this year rather than buying it as I find it extremely expensive. This recipe yeilds approx. 30 pieces of biscotti. You can replace the almonds with other other nuts, chipits, or dried fruit. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of margarine, softened

3 eggs

1 cup maple sugar

1 tsp natural vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

2 tsp milk

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, mix together sugar and margarine. Add eggs one at a time and stir, then add vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients and mix really well. Stir in almonds (or optional nuts).

2. Line baking sheet with foil and grease the foil.

3. Divide dough in half and place on the foil in two rectangles. You can make them as long or short as you like depending of what size you want your biscotti sticks. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

4. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm to touch.

5. Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 300F. Lift foil with rectangles and tranfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Once cooled, tranfer to a cutting board and cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Place slices with cut side up on a baking sheet (ungreased) and bake for 10 minutes. Turn oven and bake 10 minutes on the other side.

6. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cooled you can store them in an airtight container. (optional: you can dip half of each stick in chocolate, allow to cool and then store)

7. Enjoy!

Biscotti is such a treat and this recipe make it very afforable. It makes a really nice gift if wrapped in celo wrap with a package of hot chocolate tied with a festive Christmas ribbon!

May you enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of biscotti as you reflect on the coming of our Saviour! (4 more sleeps until Christmas:)

Candy Cane Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 1/4c oreo cookie crumbs

3 tbps sugar

1/4 c butter, melted

4 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 c cream

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, divided

3 eggs

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

2-8 dashes red food colouring

3/4 c crushed peppermint hersheys kisses, crushed

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease your 9 inch springform pan.

2. Combine the cookie crumbs with 3 tbsp sugar and mix in a bowl. Mix in melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Press into the bottom of the springform pan.

3. Bake in oven until set, approx. 10 minutes, set aside to cool. Reduce heat to 300F.

4.Combine cream cheese, flour and salt in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer or a kitchaid mixer on lowest speed until smooth. Add 1 3/4 cup sugar, cream and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, beat until well mixed. Stir in the eggs one at a time until just mixed. Do not over mix.

5. Divide the mixture evenly into two bowls. In one bowl stir in 1 tsp vanilla. In the other bowl add peppermint extract, red food colouring and crushed hershey’s kisses. Add more food colouring if needed until you get the desired colour. Alternate layers of each white/pink until all the filling is used up.

6. Bake in oven until filling is set in the center. (Put a baking pan under the springform pan as the butter can sometimes leak through, I once set my oven on fire because of this!:) This usually takes 60 to 70 minutes. The center should jiggle slightly when pan is shaken, once this happens you know it is done.  You can bake it longer if you like your cheesecake firmer. Leave it in the oven for an hour after the oven has been turned off. Then remove and allow to cool to room temperature on the counter. (The secret to a cheesecake is the slower if comes down in temperature the less chance there is that it will crack on the top.)

7. Once it is completely cooled remove the springform. Spread cool whip on the top and sprinkle with more Hershey’s kisses. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

8. Enjoy!!!