friday finds: coconut oil & sunscreen
Perhaps a bit random, but I just had to share these two items as we head into the weekend… When I posted my recipe for Calico Brownies last month, I mentioned in the Recipe Notes section where I recently found fair trade coconut oil and fair trade cocoa powder for a better price online than my local natural foods store. And in my inbox this week was an email from Abe’s Market advertising Dr. Bronner Fair Trade Coconut Oil for half price! The only thing better than fair trade coconut oil is fair trade coconut oil on sale. I’m not sure how long the sale will last, so head on…
lemon squares (vegan, low sugar, gluten free)
I think one of the hardest things to do when you change the way you eat is to stop indulging in your memory of the foods you used to enjoy. It’s hard to convince the brain that the sugar/dairy/meat-laden dish once inhaled without second thought will now cause your body to launch a revolt. I have a few food memories that are hard to short circuit. One of them is of the lemon squares my husband whipped up one dreary afternoon – made with extra lemon juice. I almost swoon at the memory. Tempting as it is to consider making a conventional batch of lemon squares to satisfy my lemon…
project pare: creating a pantry list
I like organize and streamline and simplify. As I shared yesterday, because life is complicated, especially with having four growing children, I look for areas in our lives where we can cut back here so we can spend more there. However, I’m learning that sometimes simplifying is not so simple, especially when it comes to planning meals. I thought it would be fun to capture this journey in real time, to share with you my challenges in pruning our grocery expenses and paring back the time I spend thinking about what our family will eat. And what would a challenge be without a name? I’ll call this series: Project Pare.…
throw back Thursday (on a Friday): popcorn
Life is complicated. Sometimes I think things that are meant to simplify it – ahem, technology – complicate it more. Way back when, before blogs and Facebook and Pinterest grew in popularity, finding a new recipe meant thumbing through a cookbook or recipe cards. Today, it’s possible to spend hours “googling” recipes and oogling mouth watering concoctions created by blessedly talented people. I spent 30 minutes last night just looking at meal planning ideas. As much as I enjoy learning about new flavors and recipe creations and the best way to plan out meals ahead of time, sometimes I crave the simple things. Like popcorn. With dairy free butter. Nothing…
lemon curd (vegan, reduced sugar)
Scones are one of the desserts my mum makes if company is coming for lunch or in the afternoon and usually she serves them with jam. But on occasion she would treat us to lemon curd to accompany the scones. Perhaps it is because we had it so rarely that I enjoy it so thoroughly. Given the use of eggs and lots of sugar, lemon curd was something I didn’t think I would be eating again after switching to a plant-based diet several years ago and drastically cutting back on my sugar intake (including unrefined sugars) last year. Lemon curd is something I associate with my mum and with England…
jolly good potato & leek soup (vegan, oil free)
With a new baby welcomed into the monarchy and surprising election results, the Brits have been in the headlines of late. So it seems rather timely to post a recipe that I often associate with England. I have a soft spot for the UK since we were blessed to live there for a few years when I was growing up, coupled with the fact that one of my grandmother’s haled from England, a war bride of the 1940’s. The first month we lived there, we had tea and cookies every night. Back in March, I shared this recipe for vegan cabbage rolls, a nod to the Polish side of my…
