The enchanting forest that makes up Peppercorn Park

There isn’t much to do in GR but relax….sleep in until 9 am…sit in the glorious sun, eat great food, bask in even better company and battle it out in the evenings playing Saskatchewan Rummy. Yeah. Good times.

I noticed something while I was at my folks house however- about nutrition. I’ve stopped eating anything with the additive ‘carageenan‘ in it. I found it in my soy milk of the past and because of not being able to find a palatable carageenan-free replacement, I opted to go to Almond Milk. Now, at the time, little did I know finding an almond milk without this nasty little ingredient would prove to be JUST AS TOUGH! Anyway, I finally did but at my parents place, they had Almond Breeze in the fridge. (Now Mom, I know you’re reading this and DO NOT FEEL BAD- you didn’t know!) Almond Breeze has carageenan and without realizing it, I began to ingest it again and immediately felt the effects. It wreaks havoc on my digestive system. Maybe there isn’t a whole lot of data to back it up quite yet, but the studies that are out there, and using my own elimination trial- I firmly believe there is no place for this in my personal diet. I’m shocked at all the milk replacements that have it in it, and am saddened by the lack of choice. I’m not alone in this either- there are a ton of other blogs out there talking about the problems carageenan  causes. With so many people not being able to tolerate lactose, and the switch to dairy replacements, something really needs to be done to ensure we’re getting the best possible product. Really, making your own almond milk is the way to go….And contrary to what you may think you DO NOT need a barrel full of almonds! (I like the above recipe best. It’s simple and simple is good).

Kickin’ back…

Check out what’s in YOUR fridge. If you have any kind of sensitivities or bowel/tummy problems what have you got to lose by simply eliminating carageenan? You might just thank me for it.

I’m afraid that’s it for me. I have a ton of stuff on my mind, unfortunately I need to de-stress from my 1st day back to work and dig deep to remember why exactly I’m fighting the solidarity fight again….

Until next time. Love with all your heart.

Some things have me thinking and excited at the moment though and of course I need to share. Do I have enough stuff to call it a “Things I’m Excited About” post? I don’t know….some are merely observations.

Number one thing I’m stoked about? A weekend getaway to Rock Water Secret Cove Resort this weekend! I didn’t even know this little gem existed- but I’m so glad to have found it. I don’t care if it rains- I’m still walking on the beach in my rubber boots and sitting on the veranda of our own little cabin with a glass of wine in hand. Nothing can take the pleasure of a weekend away in a NEW place at a time when I need it…fabulous company, a new experience and memories to last. Sounds divine. (and we’ll be discovering Sechelt too!) This is an early birthday present for me- and this year, 2013, is a year I’ve decided to acknowledge my age and my birthday and hopefully embrace the moment.

I made a decision a while back to make 2013 The Year of Chere. Through positive thinking, affirmations and keeping myself surrounded with those I love, I’m looking forward to great things happening. I still have moments of sadness, twinges…but I think we all do, in some way- I look back on where I’ve come from, what’s shaped me to be who I am, and what I hope to have happen down the road. Anything is possible isn’t it? Be what you want, see what you need and enjoy. “God” knows I’m trying to accept I deserve good things to happen to me…and with the love I have in my life- I can feel the change.

A very good friend told me yesterday to get back into “seeing” and believing what I want. To picture your life, as you want it, before you go to bed…hold the images tight, use all your senses and feel the images…Affirmations. Positive Energy. Whatever you want to call it. I used to do this on a regular basis and for whatever reasons, I stopped. No more stopping dammit- I’m STARTING AGAIN.

Next up? I’m going home. Home is on Vancouver Island….I’ve blogged about Gold River before. For those readers who were fortunate to grow up in a small town, you know it never really gets out of your system. No matter how far you run, or how fast….where you live….you never can replace “home”. I’m looking forward to sharing the experience with someone new.

More to come…sooner, rather than later, promise….

I’m done buying veggie ground round. My new thing? Using the Presidents Choice Worlds Best Meatless Burger for whatever I would have used ground round in…chili, spaghetti sauce and tacos for instance. The flavor is 10 x better! One burger is more than enough for me, and when I use it in sauce, it makes 2 servings and is very “meaty”. I wish I could tell you I’m enjoying the meatballs but they’re still off the shelf getting new packaging so I was told. Sure takes PC a loooooooong time to do that. The product better not have changed. Hmmph.

Know what a Growler is? It’s an environmentally focused, refillable, large ‘jug ‘ o beer’ as brought upon by the Craft Beer industry. Sure it’s roots go way back when bottles weren’t so readily available, but bottom line now, is it’s a great way for people to enjoy their fave beer from a local brewer and just keep refilling. The BC government wants to tax them higher now….more pressure on the local, indie businesses….sign the petition here. New kids to the craft brew scene here in Vancouver, Powell Street Craft Brewery, say they won’t be raising Growler prices. I’m sure others will agree…

I have too much on my mind tonight to finish this post. I had intended it to be much longer but recent events have suddenly filled my head with other stuff. No, not visions of sugar plums and fairies either! Just “stuff”.

xo

In the past I’ve used my blog to promote my own fundraising for causes close to my heart and I thank each & every person who contributed, no matter what the amount. It ALL makes a difference.

I know you all have causes that are important to you, but I wanted to take the opportunity to hi-light 2 causes here today:

BRAND NEW EVENT FOR THE SPCA! National Cupcake Day! Who doesn’t love a cupcake? It’s a small, personal sized piece of cake! What could be better? My co-worker, who is this master cupcake artist to begin with, has got behind this new project and is actively baking AND fundraising. Check out her page here for more details. If you can donate great- or maybe look into your own community or animal shelters and hospitals to see if anyone you know is baking their heart out!

Another cause that strikes a chord probably in many people these days, is the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Too often the signs of a stroke go unnoticed or simply ignored as “Oh it was nothing…”. Education is the key and if we all keep talking about it, spreading the information and sharing what we know it WILL make a difference. Donate here, or go online to learn more.

Giving back or donating doesn’t have to come in the monetary form…volunteering or helping raise funds are both ways to help.

No matter what your cause or your passion, give with your heart what you can.

So I toasted up all my end slices in a 300 degree F oven, about 7-8 minutes a side. Then I broke them up, tossed in my trusty food processor and pulsed away. I spiced things up a bit too with Parmesan cheese, S & P and Italian seasoning….yeah, it got pretty wild in the kitchen you might say.

Then I had about 2 cups of amazingly flavorful toasted bread crumb goodness and fairly bare cupboards. Before I had embarked on this culinary odyssey I neglected to see if I had anything to bread and cook. Lo and behold: the mighty tube o’ Polenta greeted me when I opened the fridge. OK, OK so it’s not home-made polenta; I’m not ready for that sort of thing yet…I need to ease into it, maybe find myself a nice little Italian lady to take me under her wing and show me how it’s made…

Anyway, I sliced up some fairly decent sized pieces, coated them in my delicious crumbs and put in a hot oven. Once the crumbs had started to brown I topped them with a good dollop of tomato and veggie sauce, and a heaping of good ‘ol mozza cheese…

I baked another little bit (sorry I don’t really time this stuff. I just watch it like a hawk through the oven window, salivating) until cheese was nice and melted…

Bloody hell if this wasn’t a damn tasty little thing. Only thing missing? Fresh basil on top. Serve with a salad, cold beer and you’re good to go. My belly was so happy

And to make this Tuesday even better- had a great run with NO PAIN from my knee. Of course I know when to stop now and don’t overdo things, but usually I feel some twinges. Tonight was great. The air was clear, I could see the stars and I was alone with my thoughts. Worked out some frustrations and rejoiced in the quiet…

It’s good.

Point is, I can’t keep going there when I want chickpea fries. It’s not only expensive but not so good for my waistline too since those bad boys are deep fried! I decided to look online and attempted the first recipe I found. I have two little requirements in a chickpea fry: preferably done in the oven and EASY. This recipe is basic and the good thing is, you can add spices to tailor them to whatever your tastes are. I went with basic garlic, S & P and some seasoning salt…

The first step involves adding the chana (chickpea) flour mixed into COLD water and whisked over medium heat…warning: keep stirring because as it heats up the flour mixture will become thick- FAST.

After coming to a gentle boil for 1 minute…

Then, as the recipe states, pour the mixture into a pan, and put in the fridge….the longer the better. I chose overnight. I came home today and flipped it out…

Turned out, nice and firm….

Cut and ready to go…

At this point you could fry, bake, deep fry or freeze to use later. I opted to try both pan-frying and baking in the oven. Something to take note- these fries STICK BADLY….so if you have parchment paper for the oven I highly recommend it. I didn’t and it resulted in not-so-attractive fries but damn, did they taste fine! If you’re frying, make sure and not fiddle with them; let them develop a ‘crust’- if you move them too soon that yummy part will get ripped off and you’ll be crying.

While I gobbled up the pan fried ones, I loved the oven-baked ones even more. They almost “puff’ up in the oven and I was in pure food heaven.

A quick pesto-mayo dip completed the plate…

This recipe is basic but that’s what I like about it. There is room to play and experiment with flavor. I’m pretty damn excited about this discovery and looking forward to the possibilities. Storm Crow, does this mean I won’t be by anymore? HELL NO. It means I’ll have a little bit of you, here at home with me…and maybe a little more room for another beer there Besides, the chickpea fries at Storm Crow are a million times better than mine….

She, alongside fellow rower Leanne, have entered a race to row from Monterey Bay, California to Hawaii. Yes, Hawaii. They are ROWING THE PACIFIC. The distance you ask? Just 2400 nautical miles…

As you can imagine, a feat like this takes tons of special people to make come alive.

If you would like to support this dream, click here. Every bit helps.

Everyone has a dream.

Much love.

Meet Fergus McCap. He’ll be back…

So I’ve tried some ‘new to me’ products lately and wanted to share with everyone.

First things first, if you stop by here regularly you know I love gardein products. I mean, really really LOVE. It’s highly possible I’ve blogged about this particular one before, but it’s just that good, I have to mention it again: Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers. These babies have a crazy kick-ass crunch behind them. Yeah they’re pricey and you don’t get a heckuva lot per package but dammit, they taste fine. I’ve baked and had as is, or took some advice from the package itself and cut the fingers up and loaded a tortilla with avocado, tomato and some other goodies. Wow. Seriously yum. I especially love that they aren’t greasy…really.

Second item I tried just the other day, and am still snacking on is, Special K Sea Salt Cracker Chips. Is it a chip? Is it a cracker? I don’t know! What grabbed my attention was the label; it read 20 chips for 80 calories. I thought, wow that’s pretty low. These must taste awful. I bought them anyway cause I’m just that kinda girl. Opened up once home with the intention to dip into some lovely and garlic-laden homemade hummus. First impression? They taste like Pringles. It’s been a long time since I’ve had Pringles mind you, but it’s a taste you don’t forget. That’s what these cracker chips taste like. Now I didn’t want to go get some funky flavor for my first try (they are available in other flavors too) so I opted for the just good ‘ol plain. I don’t know if I’d buy these again, I still have a fair bit in the box but for those looking for the Pringles taste with less fat maybe this is it?

Had dinner and drinks with Hot Berger at The Whip last weekend, just off Main Street. I was pleased to be introduced to a new wheat ale (OK new to me folks, new to me!) by Howe Sound- the White Cap Wheat Ale. It was love at first sip. Again. I fall in love so much these days…We arrived nice and early to avoid the always-crazy-packed house, and secured a cozy spot just off the bar by the window. Perfect to watch what appeared to be Marge Simpson and some sailors hanging out in the condo across the street. Anyway, the food. Meh. Both Berger and I got the Noodle Bowls; mine with tofu and hers with chicken. My tofu was steamed- I think. Kinda boring…but the amount of veggies they packed into the noodle bowl was downright impressive. All fresh and perfectly crunchy, noodles were just right. It was an OK meal…was I blown away? No. Later, after a few more beers we thought we’d go for the nachos. We both love nachos and you have to admit, perfect pairing with beer! I should have taken a pic but the nachos were FLAT. Seriously. Flat. I’ve never (and I’ve ordered alot of them) had an order of nachos arrive that wasn’t somewhat of a ‘heap’ or ‘mound’. It was a pity cause they were super tasty; but for $14 I think, I will not order them again. Make them bigger Whip People! Service was outstanding, attentive and spot on…Would I go back? You bet. Ambiance alone and the eclectic people you meet standing at the bar makes it worth it!

Fergus McCap, the Solidarity Troll, made an appearance as well and fancied my beer. He was a hit at The Whip and looks forward to going out a little bit more. I’m supposed to report he’s working on a FB page and website…stay tuned…

Having fun at work…

So someone said to me the other day, “How come you’re not blogging much?”

My excuse? I’ve let the crap at work drag me down and seep into every part of my life. Lately, when I come home from work all I want to do is close my eyes and wish myself away. I’m thankful everyday of the support of my non-work friends and my amazing co-workers, for it’s them, and only them lately, that are keeping me afloat. Work is a place I spend more time at then my home- and I’m sure this resonates with most people. It’s just the way it is. I’ve always said if you don’t love what you do, and love getting up every day to do it, you’re probably doing the wrong thing. Truth be told, I do love where I work…

I’ve begun writing again in my Gratitude Journal app on my iPhone. I really do recommend this, any form of a gratitude journal, because it does help me realize those little things are the ones that add up to making me thankful each day. There are no rules for a gratitude journal; only you will be seeing it. Be thankful for a soft bed and clean sheets if you want. Be thankful for a warm home to go to every day…

Thanks to TC for letting me wear the padding the printer cartridges came in and walk on air for a few moments….this seemingly little thing made us laugh for the rest of the day!

I’m sad this is in Surrey since it’s a little far away for me. It sounds like an amazing teaching tool and something everyone in the family could participate in. If you’re going to be in the area, check out the list of human books you can “read”!

Just a few are:

-Military Trauma Surgeon

- Astophysicist

- Transsexual Woman

- Former Neo Nazi

Interesting way to learn something.

Everyone has a story.