Its raining its pouring...

... Donna wishes she was curled up in bed snoring!

(you better have sung along there, if not go back to the title and read it again please with a song in your heart)


But no, i'm not in bed, i'm at an offsite learning session with my fellow Financial Advisors trying to learn something useful and if not i'm probably preparing my grocery list or coming up with blogging ideas :o)


So its What I Wednesday! and i've been agonizing over what to talk about

I've decided to go with


*Drumroll please*

What I LOVE About Summer!


This should drag me out of my "why is it raining for the zillionth day in a row" funk

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Summer Lovin

(ps: i hated the movie Grease, lame, and i am sure i'm the ONLY one that thinks that)

1. Fireflys - those little buggers make my heart sing, soooo beautiful

2. Beer - i really love beer, and i'm very jealous of all the cool kinds american bloggers have available to them!  I am good with a Corona or Alexander Keiths, mmmmmmmm

3. Tank tops - it must be at least 28 degrees for me to wear one (what can i say i'm freezing ALL the time) but i love the feeling of the summer sun on my shoulders

4. Enhanced Blondeness - is blondeness even a word? never mind, lets just say i love how the sun naturally highlights my hair and i become even more blonde in the summer!

5. Summer smells - fresh cut grass, bbq's, sun tan lotion (i'm serious about this one, if you come into my office in the summer smelling like SPF anything i will lean over my desk and try to sniff you, mmmmmmm)

6. The beach - i'll admit our beaches don't compare to Aruba but they are pretty fun to frolick around and if you squint enough you can imagine you are on a deserted beach in the carribean until a seagull tries to steal your lunch

7. Flipflops - nothing beats the sound of your shoes rapping along to your footsteps, oh and flipflop tans totally rock!

8. Baseball - I love watching my guy play in his 3 different leagues, i'm usually the only "wife" that shows up to support them so i have to cheer extra loud!

9. The sound of crickets - nothing says summer to me more then the sound of crickets singing in the night sky

10. Birthday & Anniversary - yup my birthday is in June and 2 days later is Dave and I's anniversary, yay!!! 

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Okay so yesterdays teaser was for 

HomeMade Granola

Inspired by: Real Food Katies Way 

Ingredients


1 1/4 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup cashews, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
2 Tbsp ground flax
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of pumpkin spice
2 Tbsp brown rice syrup
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp apple butter
2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
1/8 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of currants (raisins)

Directions

1. Preheat that oven to 300 degrees
2. Mix all dry ingredients together except the currants

3. Cook brown rice syrup, honey, apple butter, peanut butter over medium heat and bring to boil, let simmer for 5 minutes
4. Combine the dry and wet ingredients EXCEPT the currants (oops i made that mistake and had to spend 10 minutes picking them back out duh!)
5. Cook for 30 minutes (stirring it up at 15 minutes)
6. Remove from heat, stir in currants and let cool for 20 minutes
7. Immediately eat a large handful, you know, for quality control
8. Yum yum yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm sorry got distracted there

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Happy Hump Day

What is your favourite part of summer? I want to know!

Its getting spicy in the kitchen

Our first lasagna, it is INSANEly good, will share recipe soon, this was
in my old condo in Paris!

Guess what LRT readers?

Today I have a guest blogger in my kitchen!

Well technically its his kitchen

Even though i'm the one thats spends all my time slaving away in there

Providing nourishment and yummy vegan food

But i'm getting seriously off track

Todays Guest Blogger is BF!!!

Who i now realize you all know is Dave as it was all over my Aruba travel recap since that was previously only shared on FB and i am just too plain lazy to go back and replace all the Daves with BF

There it is, i usually just call him baby though but i won't cause your gag reflex to go into overload by referring to him as that here, i'll probably still just call him BF :o)

That was a ridiculously long way of me saying that BF was in charge of dinner tonight!

He is only ever in charge of one recipe, its the only one he claims he can cook...

If by cook you mean open a lot of cans and packages and throw it in one pot

But he is soooo damn proud of what that pot produces i can't help but praise him over and over

We won't mention the fact that i cook him all the other meals of all the other days


BF just wants to hear about how great his dinner is and doesn't the garlic add an extra kick


I love him though and his ONE meal so of course i mention the garlic AND the kick


I asked BF if he wanted to write anything to accompany the recipe 


His response was 


{in a very serious interested tone of course}


"Yeah, nope"


Before i get to BF's recipe and the fun photos i forced asked him to take along the way, here are some fun Donna & Dave pictures

Yeah so we enjoy jumping pictures - it started in St Maarten and now its tradition, you can't look bored, overheated or exhausted in a photo that requires you to propel your body upwards while holding hands with the one you love - each and every picture we have silly giddy smiles on our face, the kind of smiles that say we are happy to have each other and to be in this moment in this amazing place

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Spicy Turkey Chili 

Ingredients

Ground turkey

1 can of mixed beans

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of stewed tomatoes

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 package of organic chili seasoning (BF couldn't find the pack i bought so he subbed with fajita seasoning and chili powder, shockingly good!)

Dash of salsa

Garlic (you know, for kick)

1 jar of organic tomato sauce

Directions

1. Cook Ground turkey

2. Add all ingredients to large pot and heat till bubbly

3. I served ours with wholewheat english muffins smeared in garlic butter and havarti melted on top, yum yum yummmmmmmmmmmm

This is probably right about where i called him from work and asked if he was taking photos while he cooked
this photo just screams oh crap better start taking pictures of half cooked food

Close up of the beans, beans beans the magical fruit... well you know how it ends ;o)

BF thought it was necessary to share how messy my cupboards are and notice how the agave nectar is on the
bottom (and reachable) shelf and the nasty old maple syrup we don't use anymore is left never to be
touched again on the high shelf!

Empty ingredient packaging and ziploc box, not sure where he was going with this

Artsy shot of spoon, usually i put food on these pictures but BF does like to be unique

Told him to make his sexy chef face, this is what i got
LOVE this man!

Closeup of chili goodness

Ready for consumption, mmmmm

Thank you for cooking for me Dave, i really really appreciate it, even if i have to hear talk about how good it is for the next 3 days which is how long it will take us to eat all this chili!

Here is a quick peek of the new salad i'm in love with (Spinach with strawberries, clementines and goat cheese)! 

Just can't leave you with photos taken in bad lighting - BF refused to take food outside where i take my photos, lol! 

And i have to say BF loves photography as much as i do, and if i'm honest he is better then i am but he hasn't mastered food photography, he says he would rather just eat it!

According to the label, no artificial ingredients added, yay!!!

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Before i sign off i just want to say i totally have my happy pants on right now 

For future reference i've suddenly decided happy pants is my way of saying i'm having a great day!

Other then the whole part where i had to work 8 hours blah blah blahhhh

But on my lunch we made some final kitchen decisions and we came in under budget!!! Well under the budge the builder gave us with the extra $thousands$ we added on top but then i found out the pantry could have sliders for the shelves and we might have gone $135 over budget, teeheheheeeee

BF and i had a great time at the gym, i got all hot and sweaty and laughed my butt off with the girls at Physique 57 and he kicked some tush in squash

Then we went appliance shopping, looks like we might *fingers crossed oh please oh please* be getting a kitchenaid fridge and stove, eeeeeeeeeeee

Oh and you know, we have walls on our house now, thats right!  Pictures to come soon but just wanted to share!

Want to add a BIG thanks to Heather from Kiss My Broccoli for mentioning my blog yesterday and giving me more blog views in one hour then i usually get in one day!  Check out her blog, she has the same crazy sense of humour i do and thats always a good thing :o)

Plus i realize this was Thirsty Thursday! but in a moment of dire need, you could totally drink chili so i think we are cool xox

I'm Chuffed to Bits

Its Tuesday already!  and its no normal Tuesday, nope its Travel Tuesday and today we are celebrating the fact that my parents came home from Jolly old england!!!

My parents and i in Lyme Regis, England a few years ago

Can i just say how insanely jealous i am that they spent 10 days in beautiful England when they were experiencing one of the hottest Aprils ever?

Sample text messages from them included this, they like to rub things in! 

Unfortunately due to just coming back from Aruba and being in the middle of selling the house BF and i could not join them (insert rocking on the floor sobbing here)

So i've decided to share with you my Fav British things, photos and what my parents let slip that they brought us back, YAY!  Oh and there is a recipe thrown in at the end, Its totally not British but i'm sure you will forgive me ;o)

Random favourite British Things

My family

Sainsburys shopping bags

British Candy (see post here)

Small village pubs
Ploughmans lunch
Hyde Park


I went back in 2008 for the first time since we came to Canada and had a wonderful trip, these are a few highlights...

Classic photo opp!

Bath

Stonehenge

Avebury

London

London

So happy they are home safe and sound and they spilled the fact that they brought us home Easter chocolate, i have to tell you, British Easter Eggs are soooooo much better then the ones you can get here in North America, we didn't really have the Easter Bunny in England (which made for a fun talk when we arrived across the pond, can you imagine my sister and I learning about the giant bunny that delivers tiny chocolate eggs? we were leery for sure!)

Oh yummmm, is it Easter yet?  Okay on to the recipe before i ruin my macbook with chocolate envy drool

Mang-ana Soft Serve

Ingredients

1 frozen banana
4 pieces of frozen mango
Pretty shiny new Kitchen aid food processor 

Directions

1. Spend 10 minutes trying to get rid of that awful styrofoam off of the food processor

2. Spend another 10 minutes trying to get it to actually work

3. Realize they literally mean it will not work unless you have it on right

4. Possibly have it on right?

5. Nope, wishful thinking
6. *CLICK* yaaaaayyyy - figured it out and do happy food processor dance around the kitchen
7. Blend banana and mango together
8. Delight in the look and taste of this beautiful, healthy, easy dessert!

Vegan DAY ONE:


* Drank a lot of water (this was a serious conflict with the fact i broke the zipper on my skirt at 9am and having to wiggle out of it to pee every half hour was super annoying, Due to my inability to get the zippers to line up perfectly i had a little bump under my shirt, i refered to it all day as my tail nub, the last hour the zipper just came undone and i kind of let it stay like that, yup thats how i roll, thank god for long Banana Republic sweaters!)


* Loved having all our food organized for the day and didn't have to run around the kitchen at 5 to 6 throwing things together!

* Ate every few hours which helped but i was still seriously starving by the time i left work at 4:30!


* Learned that we need to eat a bit more protein in meals so we feel fuller (a word? yes? no? maybe so?)

Question of the day, are you planning on watching the Royal Wedding on April 29th? I admit when Fergie married into the family i SO wanted to be a bridesmaid, totally unrealistic but hey, i was 6

Ps: Wishing my sisters fur baby a speedy recovery from having her lady parts snipped xox

I'm SO excited...

And I just can't hide it - i know i know i know i know i want you, want you...


Just thank your lucky stars readers that i haven't mastered the art the Vlog (Video blogging) yet because you DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT want to hear me sing, crowds part, birds fall from trees, dogs howl, ear plug sales rise, its that bad!


So i know today is Travel Tuesday and it kind of is because

He

Came home from

Here

Yay!  It was the BF who was in San Francisco, every year he goes on a fun boys trip and i stay at home and count the minutes till he comes back, Yes - absence makes the heart goes fonder, but it always makes Donna a blubbery sad girl, BF and I are one of those weird couples that don't get excited at the thought of a few days apart, we end up texting each other every hour or so processing our undying love, yeah, we are lame, its okay, we get to be lame together (all together now, awwwwwwwww *gag*)

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I'm also really excited that 3 other things (i'm just going crazy this Tuesday)


I bought this

For $2.99!!!!!!!!
Its organic Basil from Sobeys, i am OBSESSED with Basil, the smell and the taste sends me throttling through time and space back to October and Italy and the best food i've EVER tasted, holy freaking yummm there is going to be some great recipes from this little guy, i am determined (insert scrunchy concentrating face here) not to let it die before i use every single leaf!


We had our first thunderstorm of the year, LOVE thunderstorms and so does fur baby, she is afraid of the broom but thunderstorms are no biggie

Now keep in mind i went to bed in the middle of a massive snow flurry and woke up to crazy loud thunder and lightening flashes - oh Canada, you and your weather keeps my front hall closet stuffed with baseball hats, mittens, down coats and spring anoraks, SERIOUSLY - make up your bloody mind, it it summer, spring or still winter, i am a control freak and you are messing with my head (and hair!)


And lastly, i'm SO excited about is this recipe

You see my poor BF got stuck in San Francisco for an extra 12 hours (with no hotel to sleep in), then he was stuck in New York with a 3 hour layover (not enough time to go anywhere, other then get really bored) and then a 2 hour drive home from Buffalo so i wanted to show him just how much i missed him ;o)  Get your mind out of the gutter, i made him ...

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

Adapted (with gratitude) from The Chic Life

The key to good chocolate chip recipes is the kind of chocolate you use, BF and i are milk chocolate fans but i don't go for regular milk chocolate, oh no, i go for the good stuff....

This is Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, and its best if you get it straight off the plane, aka: British Dairy Milk Chocolate, i bought these chocolate buttons from Bulk Barn


The difference between British and north american chocolate, is explained in an article from the NY Times - theory is that the bars from the United Kingdom are made from a better recipe, containing fewer stabilizers. They melt more quickly than a Hershey bar.  It’s a different bar from the Cadbury bar available in the United States. According to the label, a British Cadbury Dairy Milk bar contains milk, sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vegetable fat and emulsifiers. The version made by the Hershey Company, which holds the license from Cadbury-Schweppes to produce the candy in the United States under the British company’s direction, starts its ingredient list with sugar. It lists lactose and the emulsifier soy lecithin, which keeps the cocoa butter from separating from the cocoa. The American product also lists “natural and artificial flavorings.”

Now next time you cook with chocolate i highly recommend you go for the chocolate with the least ingredients and stabilizers - its all about whole foods my friends :o)


Okay, lets get to that recipe!


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of butter?????????????
• 1 tbsp of white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup of chopped chocolate 

Directions

1. Remember that oven, preheat to 350 degrees
2. Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda
3. In separate large bowl beat brown sugar, butter, white sugar, egg and vanilla
4. Combine bowls and once combined add chocolate (if too dry add a dash of milk - i used almond milk)
5. Refrigerate dough for at least 20 minutes, i know its cruel to watch the dough call out to you from the depths of your fridge but the end result is worth it my friends!
6. Scoop batter into small walnut size mounds and roll into balls (tehehee balls!)
7. Place onto baking sheet in straight even rows (ocd much? sorry, i can't help it lol all things should be perpendicular!)
8. Bake for 12 minutes
9. Let rest on baking sheet to cool for 5 minutes (recommendation was 5-10 but i know you won't wait that long, i didn't!)
10. Bite those cookies heads off!

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Happy Tuesday bloggies, I am working on a plan where BF and i are going to start experimenting with Vegan, Vegetarian and other eating plans (not diets), Also i'm getting a little "soft" so i need to kick my workouts up a notch, more details to come on this soon, and you better believe there will be some lists involved, gosh, nothing makes me happier then a good list!


Until then i'm off to enjoy some cookies *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*