TUMERIC

Tumeric is one of my must have items in my life! It is classified as a perennial root herb that has magical powers!  This earthy miracle root is very similar to ginger but has a much deeper richer color.  It has been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine since 1900 BC.  Not only does it have many properties that help in treating a wide variety of ailments but it makes an awesome dye! 
"Research in the latter half of the 20th century has identified curcumin (the component that gives it that amazing orange color) as responsible for most of the biological activity of turmeric. In vitro and animal studies have suggested a wide range of potential therapeutic or preventive effects associated with curcumin. At present, these effects have not been confirmed in humans. However, as of 2008, numerous clinical trials in humans were underway, studying the effect of curcumin on various diseases including multiple myeloma, pancreatic cancer, myelodysplastic syndromes, colon cancer, psoriasis, and Alzheimer's disease. In vitro and animal studies have suggested that curcumin may have antitumor, antioxidant, antiarthritic, anti-amyloid, anti-ischemic, and anti-inflammatory properties." WOW!  
Its really an amazing thing to incorporate into your life!  I actually love to have a couple scoops of the powder in some hot water with some lemon.  

Sticking with the theme... apples

Yesterday after the landlord rang the house 7 times at the lovely hour of 8:00 AM(just when i was getting back on track with the sleep in mode) i was up! And with a basket of apples sitting in front of me i thought... why not, why not seize the morning by making apple sauce!  The apples from my market adventure are really paying off and making me feel creative with the pomme!  First things first however at this time of day no one is fully functioning with out some coffee in their system.  So i brewed a pot of JJbean coffee and began my preparations.  My go to blog for inspiration smitten kitchen  had a super easy recipe that i tweaked!  All you need is 1/2 pound Apples (peeled and quartered), cinnamon, 3 slices of lemon rind and 1/2 cup water.  I added ginger!  And let it all simmer on a low heat for about 30 minutes! Then in a food processor blend it all together (and remove the cinnamon stick and lemon rind and ginger).  Yum!  Its so tasty and with no sugar added its a sweet morning meal for an early riser like myself!  OMG then i got to thinking about things i could do with this apple sauce! And smitten kitchen to the rescue again... mini pies!  This is what i shall make today! haha stay tuned... whoever you maybe! ha

Apple of my eye! My adventure to the market turned out to be more then successful!  I came home with a WHOLE backpack filled with juicy apples and broccoli! Oh boy! What to make with all 'em apples?

Due to weather conditions being rather rainy soup was a perfect fits for this evenings feast! Soup du jour... Pumpkin, apple & fresh dill soup!  Served with hot rosemary buns! Yum! This was the easiest soup i have ever had... and not to toot my own horn but it was pretty damn good!  

what you'll need (besides hungry roomates) 

2 sm yellow onions, 3 garlic cloves, 2 sm local apples, olive oil/butter/or veggie butter, a veggie broth cube, 4-6 cups water, pumpkin puree, 1/2 pound nugget potatoes, little splash of redwine vinegar, salt, pepper, chill flakes (optional heat), and fresh dill and LOVE!  ... and maybe just a lil cinnamon action. You could also add some spinach and perhaps yams instead of potatoes... 

quick and easy: slice n dice onions, garlic and apples.  place in the pot with the butter and let it get all goldeny. Add the chili flakes+water+veggie cube & vinegar.  add potatoes. let it get all soupy looking then add the pumpkin puree and mix it good!  cut up the dill and blend it all together!  Blend baby Blend! 

Garish with some sour cream and chopped green onions! BAM! So tasty! Put on some devendra Berhart crack open that cheap wine and enjoy the harvest and hang out with the people near and dear!  

Bountiful basket of beauty!

Today Im going on a photographic adventure to Jean Talon market.  This market in Montreal is full of local merchants selling everything from pickles to pears!  With fall in grasp, crisp apples are a must!  Have a food adventure and tell me about it!  What's your local farmers market like?

banana scones

6 am and i cant sleep!  Tossing and turning i decide i cant fight it and so my day is beginning early.  So while my roomies slept i made scones!  (Yesterday I scored a deal on bananas that were over ripened... so for 50 cents i grabbed 10.  But what to do with this many bananas.... other then banana bread.)  So a quick flip through some recipies i came across a super easy Banana Scone, classic.  Perfect!  Simple, easy and a lovely thing to make for girls and boys of the house to enjoy when they wake from there slumber.  


dry: 1 cup flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 3 tsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt
wet: 2 tsp. butter (melted), 1 over ripe banana
I added some extras like raisins and walnuts and flaxmill, but be creative and add whatever... ginger, dates, vanilla, honey, cheese... what ever! 
Sift all the dry goods in a bowl.  Then mix together in another bowl the melted butter and bananans.
then marry the two!  Dont stir like crazy or else they will get hard. 
Roll and place on buttered baking sheet.  10-15 minutes at 425 degrees.
Wake up the roomies and serve with iced coffee!  i drizzled honey over mine!  YUM!

Dark & Stormy

Last night i had a wicked night having sips with my dear friend Claire at what is now my favourite Bistro by day... cocktail bar by night, THe Sparrow.  I've posted about this place before but it was only on the subject of the weekend brunch.  I love the atmosphere and not to mention the lovely charming staff.  Cocktails were a callin so i glanced over the brilliant cocktail menu and came to a conclusion that after a sticky hot day... a Dark & Stormy was sounding perfect! Yum!  This is my new drink! ... not that i really ever had a drink.  Dark Rum, Gingerbeer served over ice!  Refreshing and spicy!  I would strongly recommend inviting a friend to The Sparrow sitting at that bar and having a cocktail such as this!  

my turn!

This is by far the easiest bread recipe EVER!  It was my night to make dinner for the roomies so i opted to try out this beer bread and have a go at vegetarian cabbage rolls.   I was really pleased at how easy it all was and according to the feed back from the gals and boys of the house... it was 10 out of 10.  


Here is the beer bread recipe ... i used budweiser.  cheap n easy haha!  Something interesting about this bread is that you dont mix in the butter you simply pour it over the dough and let it crisp up the bread!  

For the second part of the meal i did a mean variation on the cabbage roll. Substituing the rice with Quinoa and adding in some walnuts + currants + leeks + tumeric + red pepper. These were super fun and looked like little presents!  

gingerbread loaf

During a mini rainstorm last week i got all inspired to be cozy... this means baking and watching breakfast at Tiffany's.  I was trying to think of something to bring to my mother and sister when i went to visit them in new york and first thing that popped into my head was gingerbread load.  I got to baking and making the fluffy load and voa la! Perfection!  It was exactly what i was expecting and had just the right amount of spices.  Luckily i made two loafs so my roomies wouldnt get jelous! haha

YUM!

I added golden raisins... and the chrystalize ginger was the key ingredient that really made the cake!

Grilled cheese sandwich taken to whole new hights!

Mozzarella, apricots and honey!

What a wonderful color to have as dishes!  My Nanny has these brilliant salad plates this exact color!  I love them so much! So lovely and fresh!

bargain buy!

So it was my night to cook dinner and i took full advantage of my new $2 garage sale find the Moosewood cookbook!  The house has a basket of veggies that comes once a month and this month we got a giant zuccinni so i thought how perfect would that be in lasagnia!  I did a couple cheap tricks such as cottage cheese instead of ricotta and parmesan cheese was swapped with nutritional yeast!  YUM!  It was a hit and there was still loads left over!  

Blackberry smash, yes Ma'am!

How delightful is this! Served after a long week over a handful of ice and a couple yummy blackberrys! I'll take one! Im so craving cocktails! check out the recipe!

lets go Bananas!

Perfect! I just made some Banana bread from a great recipie off of the Blog A Sweet Spoon Ful!  Perfect! I added some walnuts and big hunks of chocolate! It'll be perfect for breakfast with some earl grey tea and sunshine! WHat a great end to a long week!

How perfect is this kitchen nook!  Super practical and cleverly placed kitchen things!  (notice the pots and pans!), old radio on the upper shelf is to die for and the bread box!  This is just great!

yum yum yum!

Hey there sistah, I thought i'd give you a little low down on the glory of my new best friend, Nutritional yeast!  This amazing deactivated yeast is an awesome source of protein and vitamins, especially the B complex! Super yummy on Popcorn... kinda has a parmesan flavour! Anywho this stuff is super good for you and i highly suggest you bop to wholefoods and grab a bag!  Yum!  

no need to be in a slum when you can make a Slump!

I am gushing over the my new locations many ammenities what include a whole street filled of amazing produce stands with local organic produce.  I was eyeing the mound of peachs as i bopped home and day dreamed for a bit about what one could do with basket of brilliant peaches!  This wonderful blog  A Sweet Spoonful informed me of a Slump!  Easy, tasty and perfect for a midsummers night desert.  Its done in a large pan on low heat so no need to preheat the oven and heat up the house... its already hot enough with this heat in the east!  Yum!

Marion Cunningham’s Raised Waffles

I am head over heels in love with this blog, Orangette .   After reading about these waffles in Spoon Fed I saw a posting with the recipe, I just had to inform you of this!   These honesty sound like the perfect waffles and I intend to taste them for myself.... give or take swim suit season ha!

Granville Island

Located under a bridge lies my favorite place in the city, Granville Island.  Home to hundreds of local ventures of produce stands, fish mongers, chocolatiers, honey makers, spice experts and just the most amazing flower stand you'll lay eyes on! ... not to mention JJ Bean coffee shop YUM! I love spending an afternoon getting groceries and watching the local performers play guitar as pigeons and seagulls dance around aimlessly hoping someone will drop a couple french fries! Its a great place to just enough being in Vancouver rain or shine!

SUSHI!!  

So montreal doesn't have good sushi! Its just known for other things, no biggy but when in Vancouver....Sushi is a must!   I for pone love brown rice sushi and in a city where there are more sushi bars then coffee shops you're bound to find one in close proximity!   Mom and I had a fun night relaxing and being pampered at the Sheraton Wall centre hotel and thought best to eat sushi! So on an adventure to located the best brown rice sushi place i found it!  Okada Sushi !  Fresh wild fish and organic hearty miso soup! Yum!  I honestly dont know why one would eat white rice... when brown rice is just so much better!