The lead-up to the holidays is always hectic and busy, but when the kids are out of school and the snow is falling and there is nowhere I need to be, my favourite thing in the world is to curl up on the couch with a big mug of steaming coffee and Baileys. It's such a cozy, seasonal thing for me; reading a good book in my warm flannel pajamas, or maybe watching "The Price is Right" with the kids, curled up under a knitted afghan, but always, always with a coffee and Baileys.
There's something lovely about seasonal change, isn't there? I admit that I am more of a Summer Girl than anything else; I love sunshine and warmth and fresh, local vegetables, and am loathe to say goodbye to it. However, there is something cozy and comforting about fall; the crisp air, the crunchy leaves, the glory of orange and red trees against the blue skies. It feels festive and happy, somehow, even if it's the harbinger for winter.
In my books, there are two hostess gifts that are always acceptable: wine and chocolate. Where recipients might be less than enthused about homemade wine, homemade chocolates are a different story altogether. Chocolate truffles are a decadent and impressive, yet incredibly simple gift from the kitchen.
I don't know what it's like where you are, but where I live the mornings are cold and frosty, and even the sunny afternoons feel cold. I love a lot of things about fall - the boots and sweaters and scarves, the colours of the leaves against the bright blue skies, cups of cinnamon tea and the urge to bake everything. The thing I don't like about fall - other than it's the brief segue into a long winter - is that I'm cold. Every year at this time my hands are freezing and I'm constantly chilled, trying to acclimatize to the sudden sharpness in the air.
The leaves are beautiful colours and the sky is blue, but there is a definite chill in the air. Fall is such a pretty time of the year, but I spend most of it acclimatizing to the frosty mornings and brisk winds. "Put on another sweater," is my mantra, but on these chilly days, I like to have something that warms me from the inside out. That's right, I'm talking about soup!
Black beans and peppers and al dente fusilli, ripe avocados make dressing that’s dilly, cherry tomatoes and vinegar that zings, these are a few of my favourite things!
I am a very early morning person, which has its pros and cons. On the positive side, I am incredibly productive and get a lot done before ten in the morning. On the negative side, if I don't have a proper breakfast, I'm dizzy, glassy-eyed, and comatose by ten in the morning. The solution, of course, is to eat a breakfast that incorporates protein and fibre for that long-lasting feeling of fullness and satiety.
In baked goods, eggs are used as a binder, emulsifier, and a thickening agent. But what do you do if you are unable to eat eggs? Flax "eggs" are a great substitute for the real thing and they are very simple to make. Use one flax "egg" as a one-for-one substitute for recipes that call for up to three eggs. Flax "eggs" (flegs?) work particularly well in loaves, cookies, and cakes. If you find that your baked good is not rising as much with a flax "egg," increase the amount of baking powder in the recipe by 1/2 teaspoon.
Juice cleanses and detoxes are all the rage these days, but they seem especially ubiquitous coming up to the summer season. Generally, I am a person who believes in everyday clean and healthy eating and good food choices with only occasional indulgences, which really negate the need for a detoxifying cleanse.
It's difficult to make good choices while hungry. Grocery shopping on an empty stomach is a bad idea, and to me, so is deciding what to have for lunch. It's just too tempting to succumb to unhealthy takeout options when my stomach is growling and I'm snappy and crabby due to low blood sugar.
Wouldn't it be nice if every day at noon, you could have a delicious, healthy, inexpensive lunch at the ready, to fight those takeout temptations? Well, with a very little forethought and advance preparation, you can!
It's that wonderful time of year when the air is fresh and crisp, the leaves are crunchy, and squashes take over the produce section in the grocery store. On a chilly day, a pot soup simmering on the stove while the temperatures dip is the absolute definition of cozy. What could be better than peeling off your gloves and warming your hands and soul with a thick, rich squash soup?
It was the end of September when the first one arrived in my inbox, and to be frank, I was surprised it took so long. Usually the first Student Safety/ Appropriate Parking Spaces/ Reminder to Drivers from the school arrives around Pumpkin Spice Latte time, and we all know that happens at the first sign of crisp air.
I'm a huge fan of roasted squash: I love it cubed and roasted until crisp on the outside. It's great eaten hot out of the oven, or cooled with salad. My very favourite is butternut squash; I had it in my mind to make a nice kale salad topped with butternut squash and chickpeas, but when I got to the grocery store they were ALL OUT OF BUTTERNUT SQUASH.
If you search this blog for the word "chickpeas" you will get a lot of results. It's no secret how much I love chickpeas; I'm always experimenting with them and writing about them and making big heart eye emojis at them. They're so versatile, inexpensive, and easy to store - not to mention that they are high in fibre, protein, and iron. Plus, they're shaped like little butts. What could be better?
When I was nine, my friend Melissa and I watchedNadia, a made-for-television movie about the Romanian gymnastic prodigy, Nadia Comaneci. We would watch it over and over on her VCR, laboriously rewinding our favourite parts, and then we would run to her backyard and play at being Nadia in the 1976 Olympics. Melissa was an actual gymnast, whereas I could only really turn a somersault, but no matter.
Well, here we go - jumping with both feet into September. In my house, we are juggling two different schools with two very different start and end times, intenstified karate practices for both boys, requests for school volunteers, and the usual increased work load that September tends to bring. Oh, and did I mention I'm in the thick of yoga teacher training? I am.
It is a busy, busy season, but I'd much rather be busy than bored, wouldn't you? Fortunately for me, there's no chance of that happening.
I remember it clearly, from my junior high home economics days: Miss H, with her Dorithy Hamill haircut, her home-sewn brown smock dress, and her sensible shoes was teaching us the basics of baking. Pie pastry, she said,is very tricky and you need to be an experienced baker to make it.
I have two tween boys, and the sheer volume of food that they can put away really makes me fear for the teen years. What is going to happen when they hit their real growth spurt? We go through snacks like nobody's business around here, and because of my reluctance to purchase many packaged items, I am always baking something for them to nosh on. Lately I've been focused on making snacks that are high in protein, so the boys are satisfied for more than twenty minutes at a time and so I can go for more than one day between baking marathons.
Where I live, it has been a rainy, cold summer. I have been inundated with photos of friends in other parts of the country, in pools and waterparks, trying to keep cool during these past few hot months. I will admit to feeling pangs of jealousy, as I turn on the oven to make pizza, not being concerned if the house temperature goes up a few degrees, because I am wearing fuzzy slippers and a long-sleeved shirt.
