I've been away from here...

and now I'm back. There you go. More to come.

Caramel Sauce for James

James LOVES caramel, and I'm not gonna lie, so do I. Not having sugar right now was very challenging for me as I made this lovely sauce. So I had some, just to test it out, and it was amazing! It was also so much fun to make and will taste so good on top of the blondies I'm about to make for him.

Garlic!

I've been chopping up a lot of garlic lately. More than usual.

Garlic is thought to help prevent heart disease (including atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure) and cancer.

I'm craving roasted garlic. Cut the top off the bulb, coat the cloves by dribbling olive oil over them, and roast them in an oven. Delicious!

Another Quinoa Salad

I decided to try another version of the Lemon Quinoa Garlic Salad. This time I used a blend of grains (mostly Quinoa flakes) from Bulk Barn. I added a heaping cup of sauteed Shitake and Cremini mushrooms to the mix. More cilantro for my love of cilantro, and some extra squeezes of lemon juice.

Delicious! I think this salad can be made differently every time. Loved it.

Cilantro

I love cilantro. Whenever I buy I bunch, wash and dry it all. I take about 1/4 of the bunch (because there is always so much) and I place it in a glass of water, cover and put it in the fridge. The rest I chop up and divide into re-sealable plastic baggies or containers and freeze for using in soups, and other recipes.

Cilantro is a powerful natural cleansing agent, it has been used to help remove heavy metals and other toxic agents from the body. Along with many other health benefits, it helps reduce feelings of nausea, and has powerful anti-inflammatory capacities that may help symptoms of arthritis.

Did I mention that I love cilantro?

Quinoa is Good for You!

Quinoa is rich in proteins, iron, calcium and potassium, copper, and potassium.

It helps prevent type 2 diabetes, childhood asthma, heart diseases, gallstones and migraines.

It can be easily substituted for any grain and is gluten-free.

Aside from using it in a salad, like the previous post, you can use it the same way you would use rice, or even as a breakfast cereal adding fruits, nuts and milk.

Quick Lemon and Garlic Quinoa Salad

Today I was inspired by a visit from Holly to try a recipe from the cookbook she gave me this Christmas. The cookbook is one of my favourites. Every time I'm in Wakefield visiting her, I pick it up to leaf through it. I was so surprised to receive my own copy. It's called "Feeding the Whole Family" by Cynthia Lair

Back to the recipe.

This salad is so delicious. While cooking the quinoa, I chopped up some carrots, measured out my sesame seeds and decided on chopped cilantro instead of parsley, because I love cilantro. The sauce was made of 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 minced cloves of garlic and a tablespoon of soy sauce. Mix it all up together in a nice bowl, chill and serve. I tasted some while it was still hot and boy was it good. Nice and garlicky. It's chilling as I type.

Try it out! Quinoa is so good for us. For babies 6 months or older, Cynthia suggests reserving some plain, cooked quinoa to puree with water or breast milk.

* This just in. The salad is now cold, and I've had two bowls. It is intensely delicious and more garlicky than I thought. The recipe calls for 3-4 cloves of minced garlic in the dressing. I used 3, but would suggest using 1 or 2 tops. Not that this will keep me from having another helping this evening. Yum!