What Jenn’s Lovin
Spiralized Veggies
My newest kitchen gadget is a Gefu hand held spiralizer. It’s touted as the original and has amazingly sharp blades that have been spiralizing veggies in my kitchen all summer long. I picked this one as I was concerned about storage space in my small home kitchen and this one fits into my cutlery or utensil drawer without a fuss.
As the weather cools I’m looking forward to experimenting with ‘zucchini noodles’ and adding fun to coleslaw and stir-fries. It always amazes me how a simple switch in how you cut up and present a food item can peak the interest of those eating your creations. My kids have been munching on bowls of spiralized raw veggies just because they are “fun”.
What Ellen’s Lovin
Back to School and it’s time to celebrate.
I’m excited. The kids are excited and a bit nervous as they anticipate the start of a new school year. Our family tradition is to celebrate the start of the year with Gifts of Appreciation.
On the first day of school, you can show your gratitude and to kick off the year right with consumable goods like chocolates, coffee or tea packages or even an indoor plant for the teacher.
The kids always write a note to go along with it. It’s memorable and a fantastic way to celebrate and honour the teacher and the student.
What Raeanne’s Lovin
Garden Produce & Chocolate!
Have you ever noticed there are no recipes for leftover chocolate? My Dad pointed this out to us one evening last weekend when we went to visit my parents. He’s got a good point.
While it may be hard to find leftover chocolate any time of year, if you grow a vegetable garden however, or know someone who does, zucchini and pumpkins are often in abundance this time of year.
Now, there’s not enough sunlight in my shady tree-filled yard to grow a vegetable garden, so I am particularly fortunate to be in the category of knowing people who grow gardens: Both my family and my neighbours often give me their excess bounty which I very gratefully accept. Lucky me, because here’s a couple of great recipes in the Canola Eat Well database that I can’t wait to try:
Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Pumpkin & Chocolate Layer Cake With Whipped Brown Sugar Frosting
My sister’s got all kinds of squash (including zucchini and pumpkin) growing in her yard, and I seem to recall a bunch of yellow flowers on my mom’s zucchini plant while we were out weeding the garden mid-August, so bring on those fresh zucchinis and pumpkins! Paired with chocolate, they won’t last long!
Abundant garden produce and chocolate, along with generous friends and family—I’m lovin’ it!
What Simone’s Lovin’
Decluttering
A message creeped through my Facebook feeds tonight: “I tried the Japanese method of decluttering where you hold every object that you own and if it does not bring you joy, you throw it away. So far I have thrown out all of the vegetables, my bra, the electric bill, the scale, a mirror and my treadmill.” And it made me smile… Oh, on any given day, I could have so donated, shredded, or simply garbaged any number of my household items – except for the veggies, since I really enjoy those.
But I can attest after storing a spare room full of my dad’s, my mom’s, my father-in-law’s stuff, as well as various other donations from friends and relatives, this method of simplifying one’s daily living, and the sheer volume of ‘things’ that can accumulate in our homes has been a ‘winner’.
As September returns us to routines, new beginnings and the nesting that Canadian winters welcome, let me recommend this simple technique from Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Simple to understand and to execute
Eat Well…Ellen, Jenn, Simone & Raeanne
