whole foods // whole grains

i have always wanted to go to whole foods. every time i'm in america, i drive by and want to go in so badly but for some reason it has never worked in my favour, until my last visit to our southern neighbour. when i got inside i felt giddy. it's funny how being in a grocery store can make you feel like that. i got two salads from the deli, some aged gouda cheese, some crusty bread and my guy got some pizza which turned out to the be the best pizza of our lives. we are planning a little weekend getaway for ourselves in mid febuary and i'm dreaming of walking those aisles again already.

lately i have been eating a lot of quinoa salad, my mom's recipe. it is so simple, tasty and healthy. sometimes i eat it by itself and others i put it on top of some mixed greens, either way, it's delicious.

quinoa salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable/chicken broth

put the quinoa and broth in a pot, bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. turn off the heat and let it sit for five more minutes. cool.

2 bell peppers, any colour will do, chopped
1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 of a cucumber, chopped
feta cheese, as much as you like

put all of the chopped vegetables in a large bowl. when quinoa is cooled, mix all together with greek dressing.

dressing

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

shake all ingredients together in a mason jar. this will make more than enough for the salad.

yum!

hope your day is as chilly as mine, winter is finally here!

v. xo

sew

My grandma gave me her sewing machine tonight. I'm very excited to use it! Being done school (for now) means more time for nice things like actually cooking dinner, finally finishing that novel I started in September and now, thanks to my dear grandmother, sewing! Can't wait to go fabric shopping tomorrow! I think I'll be dreaming of lace, leather and floral tonight...

V xo.

classic currant scones

Today was such a lovely day. The weather in Winnipeg lately has been bananas, read: hot hot hot and rainless. Today, us fall/winter lovers got a much needed break from the heat. Now I don't usually like rain, but right now I would take whatever cooler weather brought with it, today it was drizzles and puddles. Fine by me.

With the breeze blowing through my home, I thought I would take the opportunity to use my oven. It has been untouched for quite some time now. After swimming and sauna-ing with my sister, I thought scone baking and tea drinking was in order. First, to bake the scones.

Classic Currant Scones
from Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin

makes 1 dozen

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar (i used raw sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup currants
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
milk for glazing

Place oven rack in the top third of the oven. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly butter a baking sheet.

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly. Cut the butter into bits and toss them into the flour mixture. Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until small pellets form. Stir in the currants.

Beat egg in a small bowl. Beat in the buttermilk. Pour into the flour mixture nad stir with a fork until the dough is evently moistened. Sprinkle a little flour on a work surface and drop the dough on it. Gather the dough into a ball and knead once or twice. Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch disk. Cut the disk into 12 triangles with a large knife. Brush the top of the scones with a little milk and place on the baking sheet.

Bake 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

The scone eating and tea drinking was just as enjoyable as the baking and was the perfect rainy day activity. They are going to taste extra delicious at the cabin tomorrow! It's supposed to be a cool day again. I can't wait.

Happy scone baking and eating.
V. xo

Kir Royale[s]

On Friday night we celebrated the birth of our dear friend/brother-in-law Nils. It was a lovely evening full of laughs, cheese, new faces and... Kir Royales. I am sure that I have found my summer drink! One glass of cava (Spanish sparkling white wine or champagne) with an ounce of Creme de Cassis (blackcurrent liquer). It is sweet, fruity, purple and bubbly! What more could a girl ask for?

Try it out, I may have just found your summer drink too.

V. xo

kitchen failure

Well, I guess it is bound to happen now and then. In a cookbook that I use religiously, called Simply in Season, there is a recipe that I have been eyeing up since fall. It is Maple Parsnip Soup. With newly purchased maple syrup from Montreal and parsnips being in season I thought it was the perfect combination! Well, it never happened, until tonight. It would have been to my advantage if I would have forgotten this dish and moved on with my life, but I did not. In short, I should have stuck with lentils. The combination was not suited for my palette nor my husband's. It was a good attempt, but alas, unsuccessful. With a dinner-less table I sat down for a cup of tea and then made chocolate chip banana muffins, much more successfully.

Tonight I have been dreaming of sewing pillow cases. I found a sewing machine online and made an offer, I hope they accept it. I have been checking my inbox every ten minutes! If so tomorrow will be an un-productive day on the homework front, but extremely successful in the fabric shopping and tutorial finding front. I suppose I should attempt to plough through the stack of books waiting for me tonight then. More tea it is.

xo.

day of love

Well I suppose Valentines has come and gone, but it is so very much fun to remember. This year I decided to start loving Valentines and I think that it'll stick. Valentines crafts and treats are so adorable and delicious!

I decided to make some Valentines for Landy for when he woke up in the morning.







I also made some for my nieces and nephew, I'm pretty sure they got ripped up pretty quickly though.



I guess Valentines Day is a funny thing to celebrate since it does appear to have a solely capitalist purpose, but when I'm not purchasing things, only making them, I think it's right to celebrate a day devoted to love. Goodness knows the world needs as much love as it can get.

Happy day of love tout le monde,

V. xo

Soft Gingersnap Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Oh man - Christmas has come and gone and I have yet to post all the Christmas baking I did! Okay, it wasn't as much as I just made it sound. I have always been slightly envious of the ladies that have baking that they do every year which become staples in their home, their families look forward to it, etc. etc. An example of this would be my mother. SO many staples. SO many treats. I have always wanted to do my own Christmas baking, apart and aside from the baking that I help my mom with, and also treats that are not the same as what my mom makes. So this year I did it, mostly. I made two treats that are pretty much my all-time faves and really, really yummy, and then found two new things to add. A total of four treats. I think this constitutes my own Christmas baking and I couldn't be more proud of myself. Gloat gloat gloat. The treat that turned out the ugliest but was supposed to be the prettiest was the Red Velvet Cake Ball disaster/delight. The next recipe that I tried for the first time was equally as yummy but looked way better were these tasty treats! They were a huge hit, I found the recipe on Tastespotting.

Soft Gingersnap Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

1 cup granulated sugar-for coating cookie dough balls

1. Preheat oven to Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment papers or with a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.

3. Beat in the molasses, canola oil, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until well combined.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Slowly add in the flour. Next, stir in the white chocolate chips.

5. Scoop the dough into balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on lined baking sheets, about two inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, the cookies will still be soft. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for five minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 50 cookies



Enjoy! I hope your loved ones love these cookies as much as mine!

V. xo