I'm back... summer recap and a recipe!

Well hello there... it's been a while. Apparently I decided to take the summer off from blogging. Oops. Let's recap:

The first two weeks July were spent at my favourite place in the world... my real home on Prince Edward Island. The weather was spectacular and we had great fun with my family (immediate and extended) and friends. Lots of time at the cottage, beach walks, seafood, bonfires, wine -- everything needed to recharge the batteries after a couple of very busy months!

Arrived in time for Canada Day fireworks in Summerside!
Just waiting for it to get dark.

My mom and I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law.
This was one of my contributions for it.

Oh Charlottetown, you're so quaint and lovely.

Ah wine, I love thee.

Cottage life demands bonfires. Every. Night.

Love North Cape! Colours are always spectacular.
The tide was coming in on the reef.

The next couple weeks, I can't really remember what we did, but lots of taking in the sunshine here in Ottawa. Which finally lead to early August, when my other half had a pretty serious surgery -- a total knee replacement. That unfortunately put a bit of a damper on plans for August as we were mostly house bound. However, I still felt like I had a good restful summer despite being the sole cook and cleaner, not to mention ice getter, pill pusher, and all-round "fetcher" of too many things to count. On the one hand, having this surgery so young is a bit of an anomaly, on the other hand, I think his recovery might be going better than the norm. Blessings!

Since I've left you for so long, I've got a treat to share with you! There is a serious abundance of zucchini at my house, and I didn't even grow any in my little garden. Between our produce deliveries and my farmers' market outings, I've got a fridge full! And I don't really care for sauteed or roasted zucchini! So what to do? Make lots and lots of raw zucchini noodles! And baked goods. Yummy baked goods. I give you my gluten-free and vegan zucchini muffins!

Zucchini Muffins
Gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free
Yields 12 muffins
Adapted from Florida Coastal Cooking

Ingredients
2 chia eggs (2 tbsp chia seeds + 6 tbsp water)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 c maple syrup
1 cup shredded zucchini (tightly packed)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix the chia eggs and set aside for about 5 minutes. Mix the coconut oil, maple syrup, zucchini and vanilla in a medium bowl; add chia eggs once set. Stir in cinnamon, flours, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt; mix until wet and ingredients are just combined.

2. Spoon batter into muffin tins lined with liners, or oiled with a bit of coconut oil. Bake for 18 minutes or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy the bounty of the season!

Refreshing strawberry lemonade

I don't want to brag, and maybe I should knock on some hard wood, but the weather in my part of the country has been oh so lovely recently. Today, after running some errands and doing a few chores, I was a bit of a sweaty mess and ready for some hydration!

I wanted to incorporate some beautiful and yummy strawberries that were lurking in my refrigerator and nothing is better than lemonade on a hot day!

I give you my strawberry lemonade. It makes two servings, so share with a friend! Or do what I did, and just have two glasses!

Ingredients:

• Juice of one lemon
• 3/4 cup of hulled strawberries
• 1 to 2 tbsp coconut syrup or other sweetener of choice (to taste)
• 2 cups of sparkling water or non-carbonated filtered water

Instructions:

• Place lemon juice, strawberries and coconut syrup into blender and blend strawberries are pureed.
• Add water to blender and pulse a few times to combine.
• Pour into glasses and enjoy!

This drink is HIGHLY enjoyable accompanied by a good book and a patio... just sayin'.

On a somewhat related note, please read what this Coke executive had to say about Coca-Cola. And then hopefully you will ask yourself, "is she freaking serious!?!?". Feel free to discuss below!

A lengthy list

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about how I conquered my allergies? Well I should have knocked on a lot of wood after I wrote that, because a couple days later the uncontrollable sneezing came back and never left. After one particular bad night where I couldn't sleep and then woke up in the middle of the night all congested and sneezing up a storm, I thought it best to seek some more help.

So once again, not wanting to just deal with suppressing symptoms, I made another appointment with my Naturopathic Doctor to see if she had any wise wisdom to share. To be honest, we thought we were dealing with a dust and mold allergy -- but I was doing everything possible to address that issue. So next on the list was food. She suggested I take a food intolerance test. It was a bit of a financial commitment, as it cost over $300, but we were both pretty sure it would reveal something that would be very hard to pinpoint on my own through elimination diets.

On Friday, I had an appointment to go over the results. And it was a doozy. I'm pretty much intolerant to most of the common food allergens. This doesn't mean anaphylactic shock, it just means by body is attacking itself in a way in response to these foods that it sees as foreign, because my digestive tract isn't processing them properly. Which all means that my digestive tract is somehow compromised and needs some healing time.

So the main culprits I am to avoid (in no particular order) are:

• gluten grains (I was already aware of this one)
• eggs
• dairy (cow, goat, sheep)
• potatoes
• yeasts
• almonds
• peanuts
• corn
• peas
• leeks
• mussels

Yikes, right! Actually, it's ok. I can deal. Believe it or not, my issue isn't so much the eggs and dairy, it's the almonds! No almonds, almond milk, almond butter or almond flour/meal. The flour/meal part is especially sad because it can be a key ingredient in gluten-free baking. Oh well, I'll be experimenting with some other nut flours such as hazelnut, walnut and pecan, in addition to all the other gluten-free flours.

I'm trying to stay really positive about it all. I mean there's no point getting angry or pitying myself. I already eat along these lines, so just a few adjustments to make and hopefully in a few weeks I'll start noticing changes in my body.

My dinner tonight: Thai Green Curry with Sprouted Tofu, totally made from scratch! A good weekend meal as it requires lots and lots of prep. But totally worth it, so yummy and so good for me (and you too!)

A new go-to smoothie

Last summer I wrote a post about my "go-to" smoothie at the time. Well things have changed and I've mixed things up a bit and I have a new "go-to" smoothie that packs an even BIGGER superfoods punch. Try it and let me know how it goes. I made this a few times and the colour changed from purple to brown... don't worry about the colour – it depends on the quantities of the food you put in. I never measure, which drives my scientist-brained bf a little mad. It should taste chocolate-y with a hint of sweetness no matter the colour.

"Check me out, I'm a lovely shade of poo.
But I taste A-maz-ing!"

Raeanne's go-to smoothie (2nd edition)

• 1 cup almond milk (or 1/2 almond milk, 1/2 water)
• 1 heaping tbsp of my seed mix
• 1 scoop of protein powder, I use Genuine Health Vegan Protein+ Vanilla
• 1 tsp maca powder (a superfood, great for stamina, fatigue and helps you adapt to different environmental factors)
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder (the best antioxidant there is)
• 1 heaping tbsp of goji berries (another superfood/amazing antioxidant)
• 1 tbsp raw honey (full of good for you enzymes)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (some good fat!)
• 1 tbsp of prepared Irish moss (information on how to prepare Irish moss)
• 1-2 handfuls of greens (usually spinach, but whatever you've got)
• 1/4 cup of frozen berries
• 1/2 or whole banana (frozen is good, but not necessary)

Put everything into a blender and let it go! If you'd like it nice and cold, pulse in some ice cubes after the initial blend. This recipe can result in a pretty thick smoothie, so get out a glass straw or spoon and slurp it up. 

Note: all the superfoods are optional as you may not have them all lurking in your cupboard as some of them can be expensive. Try to buy a new one every month to add to your pantry. That's what I'm doing as I know I still have a few more to add. Spirulina, you're next on my list! 

"I've overdosed on berries. Help!
Thank goodness I have a matching straw!"

My new weekend pastime: Juicing!

If anyone follows me on Instagram (@raes_16), you will have noticed that for the last two weekends I have been juicing! Oh what fun it's been! And I don't even have a fancy, expensive juicer!

I will admit to being spurred on by reading this blog post from a lovely Ottawa-gal, who I happened to meet in Toronto last fall while attending some classes with Meghan Telpner. I've known how to juice without a juicer for a while now, but sometimes you just need a little push or a little inspiration, and that's what Alexa's post did for me.

And in I dove, and now I'm hooked. Don't be scared, minimal equipment is required:

• blender
• nut milking sac
• bowl (I use a large 4+ cup liquid measuring cup – it's just easier to pour that way!) 

And very easy process (photos of step by step found here):

• Put veggies in blender
• Add 1 cup of water
• Blend, blend, blend, until everything is liquified (and then for a few more seconds)
• Pour into nut milk sac over bowl
• Milk it for all it's worth, and squeeze the juice out into the bowl (don't be scared of milking  beets... your hand may be red for a bit, but it goes away quickly after a couple washes)
• Pour into a glass and drink with glass straw (it tastes better that way... for real!)

I've made three different concoctions so far, depending on what I had around. And to be honest, the first time I did it on whim, I was pretty pleased at what I did happen to have on hand. It might have helped that my delivery from Ottawa Organics came the day before. Side note: love them, check them out. I now receive the medium-sized veggie/fruit box every second week. Delivered groceries... you can't beat it!

Spinach, swiss chard, cucumber, cilantro, lemon, ginger, apple, pear:

 

Kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, parsley, lemon, ginger, apple, pear:

 

Kale, spinach, beets, celery, parsley, lemon, ginger, pear:



Yummy in my tummy! Now run off, and get juicing!

Starting the new year off right

Now that the holidays are over, I'm trying to put little things back into my routine and nourish my body with lots of nutrients that I know were missing over the holidays -- but damn those M&M peanuts are good! Upward and onward to 2012!

Here's how I've started off the last two days:

First thing when I got up I downed a big glass of lemon water. This is super alkalizing for the body and detoxes the liver when drunk first thing in the morning.

Super simple to do. Squeeze half a lemon add it to a glass, fill the glass 2/3 to 3/4 with cold water and then top it off with with some boiling water to make the water warm. Drink it back with a glass straw -- really there isn't anything better and more fun than eco-friendly straws.

Once that's down, I got out my new blender (How I love! Thank you Mom & Dad), and whipped up a green monster, courtesy of Oh She Glows' Classic Green Monster recipe. I followed it more or less to a tee. I used my seed mix instead of only chia seeds, in one case I only used half a banana (and it wasn't frozen), and I did add my vegan vanilla protein powder from Genuine Health.

Simple, add stuff to a blender and blend.

And then pour and drink (again with glass straw).

Now I'm ready to be somewhat productive on my last day of vacation. It's still vacation after all... can't be too busy.

Pumpkins aren't just for Halloween

Until this year, I'd never cooked a pumpkin. But so far this fall, I've cooked two! And my oh my they are one delicious vegetable. I picked up my latest one at the Ottawa Organic Farmers' Market on Saturday.

Cooking pumpkin or any kind of squash is so unbelievably simple:

• Cut in two with a large knife (be careful, they're hard!)
• Scoop out the "innards"
• Lay face down in a baking dish with a bit of water (1/4 to 1/2 inch)
• Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or so (depends on the size) until it's soft

Roasted pumpkin. Ready to peel.

• Let it cool for a quick bit and peel off the skin
• There you have it, amazing, delicious, nutrient-dense pumpkin!

Depending on what you're using it for, the instructions can change here. I like mine pureed, so I cut the peeled, roasted pumpkin up into large chunks, and tossed it in the food processor to puree.

Pureed pumpkin.
Keeps in the fridge for a few days, or freeze it for later use.

Pumpkin is a great source of fiber, very low in sugar, an amazing source of vitamin A due to it's rich colour and full of lots of other nutrients that are oh so good for the bod, including vitamin C, iron, and B vitamins.

So now what do you do with your pumpkin... Well a few ideas for you. Some tried and tested, some recipes to come this week, to use up that gorgeous bowl of orange goodness.

Here's how they look. They taste AMAZING.

Chia Pumpkin Muffins! Mmm tasty. A few changes to the recipe, as I have a slightly different paper version:

• I used 2 tablespoons of ground chia, instead of one.
• I used 1/2 cup brown rice flour and 1/2 cup of quinoa flour to make up the 1 cup of flour.
• I used arrowroot flour instead of tapioca and only 1/4 cup.
• I substituted the agave for raw honey, still at 1/2 cup.
• I lowered the amount of maple syrup to just 1/4 cup.

 
Other great ideas for pumpkin (that I have tried or will be trying):

• Pumpkin soup, this is on my meal plan list for this week.
• Pumpkin pie overnight oats, these are so easy to make the night before.
• Pumpkin pie oatmeal, amazing for cold mornings.
• Butternut squash brownies, these are SO GOOD, just sub the butternut squash for pumpkin (or any squash really!)

Have you any creative and good ideas for using the very stellar pumpkin?

A weekend in the kitchen

I love to spend time in the kitchen because I absolutely love to bake and make things from scratch. This weekend I took some time from my day to try a few new things. All the recipes can be found in my Delicious bookmarks.

Here's a sample of my weekend in the kitchen (I know some of the photos are bad... my kitchen has terrible lighting...):

First thing I made were Oatmeal Spelt Peach Cookies: I  bought a basket of amazing, succulent Ontario peaches last week and they were ripening faster than I could eat them. Spelt is not a gluten-free grain, but it is wheat-free. I'll eat them in moderation as I react more to wheat, but still somewhat to other gluten grains.

Keeping with the peach theme and my absolute love for jam, I made Peach and Plum Jam Muffins. The recipe called for blackberry jam, but I had plum jam. I love peaches and plums, so I went with it. And it turned out great. I remember when I was a kid, my brother and I watched the Urban Peasant a lot, I'm not sure why, but the two things I remember from it was his love for sherry (he seemed to put a splash of sherry in everything!) and that he always preached that you should "use what you have". So I did.

Next up were Strawberry Mint Popsicles. Again, I screwed up the recipe, I misread. It was supposed to be strawberry basil (there was another recipe for Mint Lemonade on the same page). Again, I went with it... with good results!

And it didn't stop there. Just prior to dinner on Saturday, I whipped up my own homemade BBQ sauce. I'm not a big fan of store bought BBQ sauces. I usually read the label and then put it back on the shelf with disgust -- I can't stand the amount of sugar in it! I found a better option once when I visited Whole Foods, but given that I live 5 hours away from the nearest Whole Foods, it's not an easy thing to pick up when you run out. So I went with this one, which has no sugar at all! Bonus.

For dinner, I made this amazing kale salad. Our most recent produce delivery included a huge head of kale, so what to do but whip up a great salad. I served it with some fresh local made-in-store sausages I picked up the day before at The Piggy Market in Westboro. Nom nom nom. So good! The key to this salad is to let it sit for a while after you mix it up. The kale leaves will soften from the olive oil in the dressing making it much more palatable.

Sunday morning I tackled my most complicated recipe of the weekend -- blueberry scones (gluten-free)! I love scones and blueberry ones are a bonus. This recipe included a few ingredients I've never used before but are easily found at most natural foods stores, such as Rainbow Natural Foods, which is where I found my loot.

Ok, I know enough, right? But one more. Blueberry grain-free pancakes for Sunday breakfast, made with almond flour. The recipe didn't call for blueberries, but I had some left over from the scones, so had to do it! Yum yum. Served with some chopped strawberries and pure maple syrup. 

So now you know what I did for a good part of the weekend. What did you do??

"Delicious" Recipes

Ok, ok, so I might be late to the party, but I'm sharing anyway, in case your tardiness is worse than mine.

I found something new. Well as I alluded to above, it's not new, it's been around for awhile and I had heard of it but never had a need for it. Until now. Taadaa... delicious.com.

http://www.delicious.com/

I find a lot of my recipes online. In fact, as I blogged about earlier this week, I don't leave for the grocery store until I've picked out meals/recipes for the week. And it got me thinking... I have to rely a lot on my memory to find recipes to recall seeing recipes on Twitter or on Blogs I subscribe to. I had been adding "stars" to my Google Reader account, but after a while, there are a lot of stars, which are not well organized. I also had a lot of recipes simply bookmarked in my browser, but again no organization, no search capabilities.

And then an AHA moment. Bookmarking with tagging. It all makes sense now. And I am happy. I've entered a bunch of recipes I had marked in one way or another (Google Reader stars, browser bookmarks, and Pinterest) and I'll be adding to it. So feel free to check out what I've found. Perhaps before you head to the grocery store this weekend!

Amazing-town homemade blizzard

I came across this recipe a week or so ago. It's from Angela Liddon, who blogs at Oh She Glows about healthy living. She also creates tonnes of vegan recipes -- I've tried a few, not because I'm vegan, but because they are delicious, the no animal products is just a bonus in my opinion.

I recently made her Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch "Blizzard" -- and well, here I am blogging about it because it was that good. I feel the need to spread the word further. Dairy Queen has nothing on this -- and it's also gluten-free, seriously it doesn't get better. Try it!

Source - Oh She Glows