Fruit Cereal and Yogurt

Good morning all! Time for some breakfast.

I don't know about you, but sometimes all I can stomach for breakfast is fruit. Not all days of course, there is the occasional day which I can eat an entire buffet. (hehe rhyme). But today I am in the mood for fruit.

Seasonal is a good way to eat your fruits and veggies because you know that it will taste great and that it was probably a bit cheaper than those oranges that were shipped across the continent. And pomegranates are in season, so that fruit's in. Apples were season about a month ago, so their in too!

I love fruit and yogurt, so I mixed some delicious vanilla yogurt with the chopped up apples, and then combined it with a vanilla almond cereal. Then I sprinkled the yummy fruit cereal mix with some gorgeous pomegranate seeds.

Mmhm. It was perfect for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 gala apple, chopped into bite size pieces

1/4 c vanilla almond cereal (or which ever variety you prefer)

1 c vanilla yogurt

1/2 pomegranate, seeded

This One's From Jenny

Hello Blog world. This is is still Julia. However in a moment you will hear from a girl who is not. Her name is Jenny. She is pretty fabulous in her own right, and today she speaks out against your favourite Julia. (Me.)

Well, more like she's outing me, and I think she will do a better job of it. I will say no more.

Jenny, the floor is yours.

“I could eat this meat by the spoonful!”

Yes, folks, those are the words of one girl who we like to call Julia. This past weekend I was making some delicious taco wraps for dinner and cooked the ground beef with some fantastic hot and spicy seasoning. The irresistible taste had dear Julia pining for more.

I’m afraid that her days of vegetarianism are over.

Our apprentice chef has learned that one cannot appreciate food without including the protein-rich animal flesh, most commonly referred to as “meat,” into that category.

This instance was not the first time our dear cook-turned-vegan found herself eating meat. It was rather the final straw in a line of “Oops, I had no choice but to eat it” occurrences.

So, cyber-world-blog-stalking friends, next time you see the cute 3^rd-year Uni student in the picture on the right column of this page, give her a pat on the back and welcome her back to the meat-eating world.

I think it will be a long time before she takes another sabbatical of this sort

Here’s an interesting fact about meat for you to chew on: Chuck Norris invented hamburgers when he threw a cow through a chain-link fence.

-Blog post by Jenny

Well thank you Jennifer for putting it so eloquently! (Isn't she fabulous folks?) I hope no one out there is like, Oh my goodness Julia! You terrible person you, I will never read your blog again, in fact I am exiting-NOW.

Ahem. Well, I'm sorry to say that Jenny does speak the truth. It has been so hard to keep my energy up and resist the occasional stop at Wendy's so I caved. I'd say the majority of my meals are still vegetarian, (x-blog reader now poking head in) but I'm up for the occasional burger here and there!

Sooo...uhh..now that I'm out so to speak, can some please find me some nuggets? Thank you.

Is that an Egg on your Pizza?

Wait. Lemme Check.

Oh why yes! Yes it is.

The short and quick version of why that is so, is basically, I had no other protein source in my fridge and I thought, why not!?

Jamie does it!

And I trust his opinion on things edible.

This pizza can be a really quick and satisfying snack, or turn it into a meal by serving it with some chips (fries. I'm speaking Jamie. ok. he's british. get it? okay good.) The crust is a whole wheat pita, so it couldn't be any easier. I also love using nan bread if you have any of that around the house. Top this with your home made tomato sauce, veggies, cheese, and crack an egg over the top. I drizzled some bbq sauce on top and threw some nice herbs de Provence on too, for good measure.

When it's done right, it's really quite good!

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat pita or nan

1/2 c grated cheddar cheese (approx.)

enough tomato sauce to cover your pita

diced veggies (your preference)

a pinch of herbs de Provence

a drizzle of bbq sauce (optional)

1 free range egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spoon sauce overtop of the pita and top with veggies and cheese.

3. Crack an egg overtop of your pizza. Don't worry that you can't see much of it, and if it drains down the sides. If the yolk breaks, it will cook faster.

3. Allow to cook on a low rack in the oven for about 20 minutes. Then, turn the oven onto the broiler setting and cook for about 5-7 more minutes. (If you jiggle the pan a bit you will be able to see if the egg is cooked. You don't want runny egg whites!)

Photo of Jamie courtesy of: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys

images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/9/1/1251821546102/

Jamie-Oliver-in-America-002.jpg

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip JiP Cake!

Are you drooling yet? I still am!

So, today, I got an SOS text: We have rotten bananas- please help!

So, naturally, I grabbed my trusty recipe book, which FAILED ME. There were NO recipes for Banana Bread! What kind of recipe book doesn't have banana bread I ask you!?

Luckily, my friend JP (JiP) had a brilliant and easily modifiable recipe for chocolate chip cookie bars! And not only did they take no time to assemble, but they only took 7 minutes to cook.... IN THE MICROWAVE! That's right, we didn't even need an oven to make this delectable cake! So if you have 15 minutes, and some rotten bananas, I have the perfect thing for you...

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip JiP Cake
Makes 32

What You'll Need:
Banana Chocolate JiP Cake:
1/2 cup butter softened
3 over ripe bananas
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips



Peanut Butter Icing:
1 cup Icing Sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp warm milk

1. In a large bowl, mash 3 over ripe bananas until smoothish (depending on weather or not you want chunks of bananas in your cake!)

2. Add softened butter to banana mixture and mix until well combined. Add brown sugar and mix until creamed.

3. Beat eggs into mixture and add milk and vanilla

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet mixture. Mix until just combined. Add Chocolate chips.

5. Pour into two 8x8 glass pans. Microwave on high for 7 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan.

Meanwhile...


6. While your cookie bars are in the microwave, get started on your icing! Mix icing sugar and flour together. Cream peanut butter into icing sugar, and slowly add the warm milk. Mix until smooth. The icing should have a thick consistency that is easy to spread.

7. Once cool, ice the brownies and cut them into 16 pieces.

Enjoy with a cool glass of milk and a sweet Sufjan Stevens Christmas Song!

**TIP TIP TIP!!**

If you toss your chocolate chips in 1 tsp of flour before you mix them into the dough, they won't sink to the bottom while baking!

Caution: Eat fast- they tend to disappear quickly!

Lots' a Lattes

Leah is the Starbucks expert, but I'm pretty sure these will amaze even her.

Can someone please let me in on the secret?

Check out the original source here.

In my quest for a snack...

If I was a mother, this wouldn't be considered weird at all. As a matter of fact, if it came in a different container, it would be compared to apple sauce and jello; something adults enjoy all the time.

Mango Pear was yummy, not gonna lie.

100 Pomegranate Seeds for 100 Posts

It's kinda craaazy in my mind that Pink Mixers has 100 posts. You know why?

Because each post takes, oh say, 40 minutes at least. (To conceive, write up, and post.) That means I have spent at least 4,000 minutes posting! That is 67 hours. 3 days.

Thank-goodness there are other things in this world which make counting to 100, a little easier.

Like, kilometers on your car.

Steps you take in a day.

Breaths you breathe in a hour.

Money you earn at your job (hopefully).

And of course, the number of seeds in a pomegranate.

Fabulous things pomegranates; loaded with antioxidants and loaded with seeds. Pomegranates make it easier to count to 100. Logic tells me that eating pomegranates will therefore make it easier to get to 200 posts. Mmhm.

So I'm-a eat up! You can look forward to the proof of this hypothesis.

There are 100s of seeds in a pomegranate. I write 100s of posts. Coincidence? I think not.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies

So, let me paint a picture for you. I was wearing a bright flower dress, wearing an apron, baking my Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Squares, looking very Stepford Wife-ish... but I was dancing like a fool around my kitchen blaring the new Michael Buble CD, because I think the magical ingredient to some of the best cooking is dance... or love, or joy, or something like that. Anyways, the big secret ingredient to my Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies isn't dance, or love, or joy, but...

**drum roll please**

Starbucks Via Ready Brew!

Yeah, you know the stuff. Every time you've gone in a Starbucks in the past month, you've been harassed by belligerent baristas to buy it. You can't turn on the T.V. without seeing an avant garde, yet accessible commercial about it. And granted, when you tried it in the store it probably tasted like dirty hot dog water, but it is one of the most useful baking ingredients to make a plain old batch of brownies into Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies!

Pictured above: Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies

Starbucks Via Ready Brew is %100 natural micro-ground coffee, so unlike other instant coffee's, you're not putting coffee flavored chemicals into your body. And while I'm a total coffee snob, and think that VIA will never taste like real coffee, (my mouth is watering at the thought of making a batch of Christmas Blend tomorrow morning for breakfast!) it tastes about a million times better than any other brand out there! The other thing I like about it is that it is so finely ground that it won't add any weird kind of texture to the batter.

Don't worry, if you don't like coffee, you cant omit it! I just like coffee with my... you know... oxygen, so it seemed like the perfect chance to mix it with my other passion: chocolate! I find that adding one pack of VIA doesn't really add TOO much of an offensive coffee flavor, but it does add a really nice depth to the chocolate in the brownies.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies

Makes 16

What you'll need:

1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

1 packet of Starbucks Via Ready Brew

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES- In a large bowl, mix together melted margarine or butter, and sugar until well combines. Add egg, egg whites, vanilla and coffee and stir until throughly blended and smooth.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking bowder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and stir just until combined. (Remember, JUST until combined! You don't want tough brownies!)

3. Add chocolate chips.

4. Spray an 8" x 8" pan with nonstick spray. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, but center is slightly soft. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, and after about 10 minutes, you'll be able to treat yourself to warm, dark, chocolaty brownies!

These brownies pair well with a GIANT cup of coffee, guitars, and sweet action/adventure movies. Enjoy!

**TIP**TIP**Hey! I have two tips for you this time!** TIP** TIP**

1. If you sift your cocoa into the flour mixture, you have a better chance of hitting that nice soft, dense, chewy brownie texture we're aiming for!

2. If you toss your chocolate chips with a little bit of flour, just so their coated, and THEN mix it into the rest of your dough, they won't sink to the bottom of your brownies! This also works with loaf recipes if you want to add dried fruit or nuts to it!

Next from leah michelle: a fast, healthy breakfast idea that's guaranteed to keep you full until lunch: Mighty Morning Muesli!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Squares

Try saying THAT five times fast! I thought the best way to start my first real recipe post was with an alliteration, so I hope that grabbed your attention. If not, I'm sure the mouth watering succulence of these warm Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Squares will!

Heres the thing, I get in these moods, and I can't sit still. But I can't just go for a walk, or clean or something, I need to create. So I'll bake two or three batches of cookies, brownies, muffins, scones or squares, and then make my friends eat them! I also think I have a complex where I really don't like showing up anywhere without something. So today I was going to my friend's house and I had exactly one hour before I was supposed to be there. PERFECT! Just enough time to either watch one episode of Gilmore Girls or..... bake a batch of something chocolaty, delicious, and that will still be warm by the arrive!

So I found my favorite cookbook and found an awesome recipe! I changed it a LITTLE (aka doubled the vanilla- an old pasty chef trick) but I kept these ones classic. So get your spatulas ready and preheat your oven to 350 degrees!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

(Makes 12)

You will need:

2 tbsp. Margarine or butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla (if you have good vanilla, thro

w in another teaspoon just for good luck!)

1 large egg

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES- In a medium bowl, combine melted margarine, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and stir until smooth.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and stir until almost combined. Add chocolate chips, and stir until blended.

3. Spray an 8" x 8" pan with nonstick spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. (Don't over bake it though! Or you'll take one of the "C's" out of the CCCCB's! )Cool for a few minutes before cutting into the bars.

**Tip**Tip**Hey! I've got a tip for you!**Tip**Tip**

When you are making cookies, make sure you don't over mix your dough. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients in as few stirs as possible. Once its combined, leave it! When you stir, you help the gluten form, which is good for bread, but why would you want to make tough cookies?

Up next? Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies made with a VERY special ingredient!

Homemade Cookie Dough Ice Cream

For those of you who know me you may know that I have a vice or two, one of them being ice cream. My favourite flavors are: mint chocolate chip, maple walnut, plan ol' vanilla bean, rich chocolate fudge (with peanut butter), raspberry bugaboo, AND cookie dough!

My room mate Jenny and my Don Mitch decided to have a belated birthday celebration in honor of mine and Mitch's 20th birthdays! But mainly we wanted a reason to make cookie dough ice cream. Not gonna lie.

Now Jenny and Mitch seem to think I am a 'grandma' because I suggested rolling the cookie dough into little balls and freezing it (creating mixable--not squishable--cookie pieces), and because I told Mitch to leave the ice cream out to melt slightly a bit before we mixed in the cookie pieces.

That's just common sense and good advice if you ask me!

Apparently it is complete hilarity to some, and causes side stitching laughter. Very well.
Oh and they might have also made fun of me for telling Jenny not to 'aggravate the gluten' in the cookie dough by mixing it too long.

Pft. So I'm full of random cooking tips; sue me! This is why I'm the one with the blog.

Anyway, the final product was reaaaaaly yummy and I took some pictures for you all to enjoy. (Causing further outbursts of howling laughter and red faces.)

At least my hilarity causes people to smile. And so I laugh along, because if I'm laughing too, they are laughing with me, not at me. Silly common folk.

Luv you guys!

Note to the disclaimer: This recipie does permit eating raw eggs- it's raw cookie dough. So, you've been warned! However I have been eating cookie dough my whole life, and I'm just dandy.

Ingredients:

1 tub vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

a few almonds

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened3/4 c. granulated [white] sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 c. (12-ounce package) milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla

in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture.

3. When everything is combined, allow the dough to sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes so that the butter hardens slightly. (This will make the next step a bit easier)

4. Remove dough from the fridge and form small bite size morsels of dough, placing them (seperated) on a tray. Assemble enough for your servings of ice cream. Place tray in the freezer for 20 minutes.

5. Scoop softened (but not melted) ice cream into a bowl and mix in cookie dough. Top with almonds, (take a pretty picture of your creation), and enjoy!

That pork used to be a pig, ya know...

Continuing on in the spirit of, well...not eating meat, I would like to share this thought provoking blog post. I like the way the author shares what I tried to capture earlier on. I used to totally seperate the cute little piggly-wiggly at the petting zoo from the back bacon on my eggs benedict. But no more I said!

Truly, to each his own.

Check out what others are saying about it:

"There’s been a lot of talk lately on the topic of whether or not we, as humans, should eat meat. About a month ago, the New York Times published a frightening article about one woman’s health crisis after consuming tainted hamburger meat, and of course there’s Jonathan Safran Foer’s recently published and much-ballyhooed book, Eating Animals, which takes a firm stand against factory farming and makes a strong case for vegetarianism...."

to continue reading Clare's article, click here.

Just Something to Think About...

This map shows McDonald's franchises around the globe. The Iceland locations have recently been shut down due to the financial crisis, however it would seem that loosing an entire country's business will not hurt McDonald's too much...

...not with advertising like this anyways.

Photo courtesy of http://www.roadtransport.com/blogs/truck-and-van-blog/McDonalds.JPG

Hello Blogesphere!

Can I just be the SECOND to say how exciting is it that Pink Mixers now has TWO authors!?!

I am so excited to be contributing to Pink Mixers and I am REALLY excited to start cooking! Julia is on of my best friends in the whole world and I while I am no blogger, I have a passion for cooking that I hope you will all be able to see!

So a little bit about us!

I met Julia when I was in high school. We took strings class together and became fast friends when we volunteered at camp one summer. We've both been through a lot in the past 5 years (WOW 5 YEARS!) but one thing has always been consistent, the amazing friend I have in Julia!

We discovered our shared passion for cooking one now infamous New Years Day, when there was nothing but an Iron Chef marathon! I think we sat in front of the television for 6 hours straight watching Bobby Flay BBQ, Mario Batalli make exquisite pasta, and Kat Cora make the most delectable looking southwestern food you've ever seen! We decided to cook! We made grilled chicken served on a bed of caramelized onions, brown rice, fresh cranberries and white wine. I can still taste it! Ever since then we have been inseparable, cooking up a storm, calling each other for ideas, and baking whenever we get the chance!

I cook and bake for every meal! Recently I found out I have a developing insulin resistance, (PCOS) which means that I have to be really careful about what I eat. No refined sugar, limited carbs, the carbs that I do eat have to be complex, low starches, so basically lots of veggies and protein! So you can look forward to a lot of stir fry recipes! Unlike Julia, I am not a vegeterian. Don't get me wrong, I love animals, but I also love steak, and flame broiled hamburgers, and roasted chicken, and ham and cheese sandwiches. So while Justin was bring sexy back, I'm bring meat back (to this blog anyways!).

And don't worry, just because I can't eat too much refined sugar, doesn't mean I don't use it! I have various friends that I'm trying to fatten up (muhaha!) so I am constantly baking muffins and scones and brownies and cookies. You should also know that I drink coffee like you wouldn't believe, and I have a weird passion for good foam on a double tall, lactose free, latte. So look forward to a lot of coffee education in your future!

I'm not much of a photographer, but I will try to capture the beauty of food on film! I am so excited to post and I am looking forward to hearing your feedback about my recipes!

As they say on Iron Chef,

ALLEEEEEEEEE CUISINE!

-Leah

It's a Ju-Leah Thing.

I would just like to be the first to say, how exciting is it that Pink Mixers has TWO authors!?

Julia and Leah

'Ju-Leah'

In my mind, food is about friendship. Sharing with others, and spending time together while laughing and engaging in general tomfoolery in the kitchen. Thats me and Leah to a tee, and we are coming to you live from two different cities, two different kitchens, and with two different tastes.

It takes a lot not to bump shoulders in the kitchen. But (hehe), not here! It's a Ju-Leah thing.

Sam AKA Mole

I want to introduce you to some of the people that I mention so very often throughout my blog. They are oh, so, important to me. And they make for fabulous food buddies!

Meet Sam:

My dear Samantha- affectionately known to a few special individuals as 'Mole.'

Why?

Well that is a terribly long story. I'll just say that it involves 3 best friends, the 30 hour famine, a nursery, and an incriminating photo.

This isn't it.


But it's pretty funny anyways! (Sorry Sam).

I met sam back in elementary school for a brief period of time, but it wasn't until high school that we really started to get to know eachother. We had one of those instant friendships; the kind that come so naturally, you feel like you have known eachother your entire life.

We make up two members of the three musketeers along with lovely Alesha, and spent every free moment together. Sam's family of 4 took the three of us in and provided us with a home and second family, many breakfasts, lunches, afternoon snacks, and dinners, a place to spend my hours away from home, and laughs that were never ending.

Sam has a brilliant sense of humor that really helped me become who I am today. She finds something funny in everything and it is that quality that makes her so endearing. I would not be who I am today without her friendship, and I can't see myself without her.

Thanks for being my best friend through thick and thin, Sam. You da best.

Sauteed Potato Hash-Browns

Hash-Browns

I luuuv hash-browns.

Hash-browns with eggs and ketchup.

Hash-browns at the diner with lunch and fresh fruit.

Hash-browns for dinner.

Hash-browns the morning after meat and potatoes.

Hash-browns with maple syrup. Seriously, but just a dab.

Ingredients:

chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, herbs de Provence, and any other savory seasoning you like, (No over kill, please.) butter, and olive oil.

Directions:

1. Cook potatoes until just underdone and let sit in the fridge to cool and firm up. This is what makes day old cooked potatoes the perfect leftover.

2. Melt a dab of butter and a Tbsp of oil in the frying pan, and then gently place potatoes into the pan. (Careful, don't splatter!)

3. Add seasonings and toss the potatoes in the pan until fully coated. Cook until brown, hot and there are some nice pan marks. (Grill marks, but from a pan.)

Bed & Breakfast: Orange French Toast

The Peach Grove Bed & Breakfast: one of the prettiest places I have ever stayed. Let me attempt to set the scene for you.

I was 12 years old, and my parents, sister, and my Uncle George all took a road trip to New York, tracking down the ol' family homestead. You see, my Uncle George loves himself some genealogy. And we, as a family, are indebted to him for much of the information we have in our noggins and published. Yes, that's right, we have a family book. I'm not in it because it was published before I was born, but anyways, almost the whole family is in it.

Our family lineage begins in the New York State area where we stayed for a few days before heading to the Big Apple!

I had never stayed in a B&B before so my parents thought it would be a nice addition to our trip. And let me tell you, it was stunning. An old Victorian home, black shutters, a large porch at the front of the house--very Notebook-esque.

Here is the photo I got off of their website:

See?

The home was full of old antiques, a baby grand piano, and had a lovely sun room off the back where we had our tea and breakfast.

Breakfast was an option of (I think) eggs or orange french toast. Orange french toast sounded interesting so we went for the second option. Today I present to you, my version of this breakfast from the B&B tucked away in Warwick, New York. If my taste bud recollection serves me correctly, this version is pretty darn close.

Ingredients:

(Makes 3 pieces of french toast)

3 pieces of 12 grain bread (or you can use texas toast if you wish)

2 eggs

1 Tbsp. real vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate

cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix eggs in a large bowl and combine vanilla and orange juice concentrate. Stir until the concentrate has melted.

2. Dip both sides of the bread into the egg mixture and place in a pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon.

3. Cook both sides until the bread is slightly toasted and no longer soggy (about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 on the other.)

4. Serve with yogurt, fresh fruit, and maple syrup.

It's Photo Time.

This morning I got the best belated birthday present: my new lens!

It arrived on Friday via UPS but the housing office at my school (which receives our packages) didn't call me, so I got a nice surprise this weekend when the online status of my lens read: Delivered.

Sa-weeeet! (Only took a month.)

Meet new pal, Mr. 35mm:

It is a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 (a fantastic prime lens.) It doesn't have any zoom on it, which I will have to get used to, but it does great produce awesome bokeah. (Photographer term, no big deal.)

Like this:

See how only part of the image is in focus, and there is blurriness everywhere else? Thats bokeah. It is a really visually appealing technique and it is used a lot when photographing weddings and...(drumroll) FOOD!

My specialty!

Look foreword to good quality photos (consistently) from now on:)

P.S. This isn't a plug, but if you are interested in getting into photography (or you already are), this is a great lens to look into!

First you will need a camera (of course), and I recommend the Nikon D40. It is the cheapest and simplest camera for those who want great pictures, but don't want all the bells and whistles. It is really a superb camera despite being the entry level Nikon digital SLR.

Now second to getting a great camera, you need some lenses. (Or in my case, just one lens for now, thank you.) And to get this look...

...you need to have a nice prime lens that has a f-stop of at least 2. (This one is f/1.8)

Am I confusing you yet?

Other lenses offered by Nikon and Canon (like the very popular 50mm f/1.4) are GREAT, but will not auto focus on my D40 camera. (Annoying. I know.) That is why this is such a great lens. It is like specially designed for the D40, 60, and I think 90. (Not sure about that one.)

Plus...a nice price tag.

So if you are looking into getting serious with your photography, I would recommend the Nikon D40, and one of these lenses in your collection.

Twenty Birthday Cakes!

Today I celebrate twenty years of waking up.

Twenty years of being called Julia.

Twenty years of birthdays.

Twenty "Happy Birthday" songs.

Twenty times a million, hugs.

Twenty birthday cakes.

Twenty is my number today.

Happy Birthday me!

(Also, Happy Birthday to my little sister Sarah! Who today celebrates 18 years!)

Today you celebrate eighteen years of being my sister.

Eighteen years that i have loved you.

And Eighteen years of being my best friend.

xo

Edamame, Avocado, and Cranberry with Rice

This is pretty one. (Like, I wouldn't be surprised if you were scurrying to find your camera to take a picture of this picture.)

No seriously. When you mix the cranberry sauce into the rice, it turns pink, and with accents of green throughout...it's technically art.

SO going to the highest bidder-- the recipe!

Going Once.

Once.

Once!

Okay fine. I will just give it to you. You have convinced me! That, and the title of this post doesn't exactly hide the ingredients from you; nor does the full colour photo.

My friend Genevieve is one of the healthiest people I know and she inspired this recipe. She pulled this yummy vegetarian protein dish out of her purse the other day at the coffee shop and I was (in line buying sugar I didn't need...) like, woah! What is that!?

Cooked brown rice, eaten cold or hot, topped with edamame and avocado. She introduced me to edamame, or soy beans; you can buy them at the grocery store in the frozen section for only a few dollars. They are high in protein and pretty yummy.

In my version, I added homemade cranberry sauce, which added a nice sweetness.

Ingredients:

1 c. prepared brown rice

1/4 c. edamame (from fresh or frozen)

2 Tbsp. homemade cranberry sauce

1/2 an avocado

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Top cooked brown rice with edamame that has been prepared according to the package directions, large scoops of avocado, cranberry sauce, and salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Happy Healthy Vegetarian

I am happy to announce that my lacto-ovo vegetarian diet has been going great! I feel really good, and the food I have been eating has been just as satisfying as meat. In this post, I want to explore the ins and outs of how to be a happy, and most of all, healthy vegetarian.

Maybe this post will assist you in finding more vegetarian options to incorporate into your week, or maybe you too are a vegetarian. Either way, there is some exciting vegetarian exploring to be done!

Lets start with the basics, shall we?

As I discussed in a previous post, there are 4 main types of vegetarians. (Some can count 5 or 6, but I am drawing attention to the 4 most popular.) I began my transition from omnivore to vegetarian COLD TUKEY. In fact I took on the vegan diet for a few days!

This proved to be too difficult for me to stick with at school (with the limited selection of food I have on campus) and was getting slightly discouraged. I took on the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet soon after in the hopes that I would be able to get most of the nutrients I needed in a much more convenient manner.

This is the food pyramid that I follow as a lacto-ovo:

I use this pyramid as a reference point, but if you are a vegan or you are not sure about how to go about fitting your veg. diet into your lifestyle, consult a nutritionist.

Nutrients you may be missing

The very first thing I did upon becoming a vegetarian, was research. (Find some great links at the end of this post.) It is important to figure out (for the sake of your health), what food you need to include in your diet so that you get all of the proper nutrients. In my case, it wasn't good enough for me to drop meat out of my diet but not add anything new.

Vegetarian diets are typically low in protein, iron, zinc, vitamin D, calcium, and vitamin B12, however you can subsitute these nutrients quite easily if you know how.

Protein is abundant in eggs and milk, but there is also a significant amount in beans, soy products, nuts, seeds, whole grains, soy foods, and legumes. (Did you know that most North Americans actually consume too much protein!? People always worry, oh your a vegetarian so you must not get enough protein! Actually, I get plenty! And my body is probably happy that I'm not overloading it anymore.)

Iron* is found in dark green leafy vegetables and animal products (like eggs), but I still try to take an iron supplement each day. You can get one over the counter at the pharmacy, but make sure you talk to the pharmacist first. You will want to let him/her know about things like a family history in iron deficiency, and potentially a little something about your diet. Vitamin C helps in the absorption of iron, so with your salad, maybe have some orange segments too!

Zinc* is important for growth and your immune system. Zinc is found in whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals, dairy products, soy foods, and legumes. It is also richly supplied in animal foods (which may be tricky if you are a vegetarian...)

Calcium* is found in dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese. Some foods are not naturally high in calcium but have calcium added to them; these foods are called calcium-fortified. Look at the Nutrition Facts Label to find out which brands are highest in calcium

*These 3 nutrients are all richly supplied in animal foods, and while they are

found in plant foods too, their absorption is reduced by phytic acid in whole grains and legumes and oxalic acid in green vegetables and soybeans.

Vitamin B12 does not exist in non-animal foods, but certain soy milks and cereals are B12 fortified. A vegetarian should definitely eat fortified foods. (And minera

l supplements as mentioned earlier.) Examples include nutritional yeast flakes, fortified soy milk, and fortified cereals.

My Diet

I know we all love examples! We love to be told what to eat rather than how to eat, so here is the food I eat (more specifically).

I replace the missing nutrients with:

• Supplements of Iron and Vit D every day
• Soy Milk (I love the PC Blue Menu Chocolate Soy Milk)
• Beans (chickpeas, black, kidney, edamame [soy], etc.)
• Whole grains more often (brown rice, w/w pasta, bread, etc.)
• Eggs more often
• Cheese (Lots of cheese)
• Brightly coloured veggies (esp. red, orange, green)
• Vegi burgers
• Nuts (and nut butters- try almond butter!)
• Lots of veggies (esp. dark green, bright red, and orange fruit)
• I don't like tofu that much, but I will eat it if it was prepared well

Some of my favorite meals and snacks:

• Hummus and pita for a snack at work OR as a sandwich topped with veggies and tzatziki sauce
• Vegetarian chili with loads of vegetables (like zucchini, red peppers, tomatoes, onions corn, etc.) and lots of kidney beans
• Brown rice with edamame, avocado and homemade cranberry sauce
• Stir fry
• Hot grains cereal with banana and apples
• Hummus with carrots or celery for dipping
• Fresh berries are amazing when in season
• Apples tossed in cinnamon and sugar
• Breakfast for dinner (eggs, hash browns, toast, juice, etc.)
• A smoothie with fruit, milk, flax seed, almond butter, and fruit juice
• Cheese sandwiches
• Pasta Ponza (with chickpeas added)
• Chickpea burger patties
• Yogurt with homemade cranberry sauce or fresh fruit
• Squash or sweet potatoes cooked and mashed with cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter
• Breakfast wraps
• Salsa and chips
• Homemade soups (You can control the salt if you make it yourself)

More Resources

• 101 Cookbooks (See the vegetarian section for really creative recipes)
• Go Veg (You can order a free vegetarian starter kit, and this website has endless amounts of information)
• VegCooking (Lots of great recipes)
• Eating for Health (Learn more about how to be a happy healthy vegetarian)
• Factory Farming (Learn more about where most eggs come from)
• Meet your Meat video (This video features the worst of the worst, but is still worth checking out)

Cranberry Sauce: On a Whim

I don't really know why in particular I decided to make cranberry sauce.

It could have been Martha's latest Living magazine, with its awe inspiring photos. This month she made a cranberry compote that was served on mascarpone cheese and cookies.

It could have also been the fact that I have been dying to make a cranberry brie omlete some morning for breakfast.

It could have been because the last time I went for groceries, I was enamored with this gorgeous, fiercely coloured fruit.

All I do know, is that last night I got home from work at 10pm and decided to make cranberry sauce. I also decided that I would not look up the recipe, and that I would make it up as I went. Turns out, I know how to make cranberry sauce.

My version is not as sweet as the Thanksgiving/Christmas version, which I like. It has a bit of a tang, and you you could eat it straight if you really wanted to. Last night, I really wanted to.

Brilliantly red berries, sugar, cinnamon, and lime juice simmered until I felt the time was right make-up this sauce that I made on a whim.

whimy-whim whim-whim,

whim!

Ingredients:

(Makes 1 cup prepared sauce)

I'm sorry that these amounts are kind of vague. I sort of threw things into the pot and discovered, it is hard to mess up cranberry sauce! That should encourage you:)

3/4 of a bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
4-5 Tbsp white sugar (add additional sugar to taste)

few good shakes of cinnamon

1/4 cup water

the juice from 1 lime

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into a pot to simmer over medium heat. Allow it to come to a light simmer for at least 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Watch out because the cranberries have a tendency to pop open!

2. When the cranberries have simmered down and take on the consistency you like, it's done! (It will thicken slightly after you let it cool.)