Tag Archives: recipes

A Month of Paleo

January 27, 2015 A Labour of Love 2 Comments

As a family, we decided that we all needed to be watching more of what we ate. Keep in mind that we are already eating gluten free (3 of us are celiac), we eat very little sugar, and we eat all organic, grass fed, farm fresh foods. You may ask yourself what else we could we possibly do. Well, we decided to try a strict Paleo diet for one month. Now, we are for the most part doing that with adding in a few extras like butter, and the rest of the milk we have plus a few cheeses.

We are finding it to be fairly easy, however, eating on the fly is harder still as I have to think about everything and we cannot just make or eat a GF muffin or GF bread with the turkey meat. So, I’ve been coming up with a few recipes and buying lots of veggies to supplement some of our stand bys.

Tonights meal is stuffed cornish hens with rice. Ha, that’s not paleo you say! Well, actually it is. Stuffed with veggies and nuts, and the rice is actually cauliflower that has been shredded. It smells delicious and it looked great.

Stuffing – I chopped up and sauteed the following veggies: Carrots, small red and orange peppers, garlic, sugar snap peas, swiss chard, baby bella mushrooms, 1 large leak and 1 cup of pecans. (I actually only used 2/3 of a cup of the chopped pecans in the stuffing, and the rest of the cup I put into the “rice”.)

Using sea salt, I salted the inside cavity of the hens and stuffed them with the above stuffing mixture of veggies and pecans. See below:

“Rice” – 1 head of cauliflower shredded in food processor. Add 1 large stalk of fresh basil and about 4 garlic cloves, both chopped, and the rest of the pecans. Then I sauteed in a little butter, 1 tsp. sea salt and about 1/2 pint of homemade chicken broth. Just prior to serving, I added a goat cheese that was like a feta. Keep in mind that the pecans turned the cauliflower a light tan color making it looked like either a fried rice or brown rice.

Can you say Yum? 🙂

memories

Making Memories To Share

December 30, 2014 A Labour of Love 1 Comment

Making memories:

One cat slept this way. Not sure why he likes the blood to pool into his brain. Perhaps it’s his “high”. He does this quite often. Although, this time was a marathon.

The fascination this cat has with the fireplace is crazy. No one can sit in front of it for too long as it’s just too stinkin hot. Well, the cat sits in front of it, much longer than any of us can stand it, and then he jumps down onto the floor sprawling out until he cools down and then does it again.

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Our son eating the mussels he so longed to try. He enjoyed them enough that the waitress gave him the recipe. Although, we laughed when she said the chef wasn’t there and that she knew where to find it and that she would make a copy of it for us… ooops! Thank You!

A few of the 15 deer that we woke up to on Christmas morning out our bedroom window. I could only capture a few of them. They were in the yard and in the woods. We counted 15 that morning, and the next day there were 21. Yes, that is all together at once, not spread out throughout the day.

Our Christmas tree with Olaf enjoying warming himself by the fire. ha ha

memories, Why?

Happy Thanksgiving

November 27, 2014 A Labour of Love 6 Comments

Thanksgiving… a time of the year when the smell of the food tantalizes the memory bank of years gone by. From childhood memories of family Thanksgivings at a grandparents house, with cousins, aunts and uncles and laughter sprouting from every corner to the memories that we are making today. From the turkey that baked all day to the traditional recipes passed down for generations. The potato dumplings dance in the pot and the whipped cream salad chills out in the freezer just waiting for their hour to be presented to the mouth watering family patiently waiting for their once a year feast. Our days are quieter than they once were, yet the joy and laughter still roars though the house bouncing off of the walls, reminding us that what’s more important than anything is the things that we can be thankful for.

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

With times of uncertainty, we do ourselves great disservice if we cannot be grateful for the blessings that we have been given by the hand of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the things I am thankful for are: (in no particular order)

A husband who has always provided for our needs and who continues to do so with every morsel of his being. For a man who trusts the Lord in everything he does and who loves me and cares for me ’til death do us part’.
I am thankful for my children who are growing up making the Lord a first priority in their lives and whose laughter warms their mother heart.
For family and friends who stand by us when we need them the most.
For a loving God who saved me out of the ashes to call me one of His own. Praise God… For once I was lost, and now am found.
I am thankful for the years we have been able to enjoy a cottage, where we could hang our hats and relax while the world went on without us. (Even though the realtor is coming tomorrow… sigh)
For the roof over our heads and the food that we enjoy at the giving of the Lord. (Even though we had a day of cold showers due to the hot water heater having issues and the fact that the kitchen sink is broken.)
For the gift of safety when traveling. (And for the nice police officer that did NOT give me a ticket even though I was speeding to get here…)
For the snow that reminds me of the changing over of seasons. (Even though I got stuck in the ditch going down the driveway and then got stuck half way up the driveway due to the great amount of snow.)
For the healing in my body and movement. (Even though I’m tired and achy…)
For the many friends that I have met through this blog. You keep me smiling and keep me going. 🙂

The last few days have been spent working to get the cottage ready to sell. Cleaning out closets, cleaning up after mice that thought they would take up residency since we haven’t been here in a few months, cooking and preparing for today. Now that today is here, I find myself relaxing in front of a fire watching the snow fall gently from the sky and trees while also smelling the turkey that warms itself in the oven. How could one not be grateful. We are blessed and there is no question about it and no reason to complain…. about anything!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It is with great hope that your day is filled with thoughts of thankfulness, no matter where you are or what you are doing, that you will find something to be grateful for.

Menus / Recipes, Why?

Healthy Meal Idea

July 1, 2014 A Labour of Love 1 Comment

A friend of mine recently wrote about her Strawberry Mango Salsa and I was drooling. Okay, not literally drooling, I was salivating in thought. It reminded me of a salsa that I used to make years ago, allowing a few summers to pass without it blessing our table. So, while my daughter and I were away we decided to make fish tacos with our Mango Salsa. We’ve now enjoyed two meals with it. 🙂

Mango Salsa

2 ripe organic Mangos

1/2 organic yellow sweet onion

1 small organic red pepper

1 bunch organic cilantro

2 garlic stalks

Chop all of the above and put into a bowl.

Add:

1/2 tsp. Organic Balsamic vinegar

1 TBS. Lime juice

1 TBS. Apple Cider Vinegar

1 TBS. Coconut Sap

Salt

Mix all ingredients well, cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

The fish I used was a thick white fish (any that are wild caught). I cut them into squares and seasoned them, placing them into a cast iron pan with coconut oil. I cooked them just until they were done.

We loaded the fish into the taco shells (organic is best), then added fresh cut organic red cabbage and placed the mango salsa on top.

The following day we broiled some Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon with some dill and placed it over a bed of garden fresh lettuce with a sliced avocado and some 6 bean salad. Who needs dressing for the salad when you have Mango Salsa. 🙂