lemon/vanilla-based tart with fresh berries and white chocolate rice “poppers”
aesthetics, humour, and deliciousness courtesy of the noshery cafe.
photography, enjoyment, and consumption courtesy of yours truly.
HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE WEEKEND!!!!
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{red white and blue… cookies!}
2 Jul
i made these yummy cookies in 2012 for the holiday, and it’s become a tradition ever since.
it’s no secret to those who know me well, that i am not a good baker. i can whip up things in the kitchen over a skillet pretty amazingly, but one can’t “wing it” when baking… it is a legit science! and i respect that… i just can’t seem to nail it.
but i did with these cookies! Continue reading
{“you can learn a lot of things from the flowers…”}
27 Jun… “especially in the month of june…”
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my roommate brought these gorgeous flowers home from work recently and i gasped with glee when i laid eyes on them… then i immediately grabbed my camera, of course! actually, i waited until about 6:00 the next morning, then took them out on the balcony and sipped my iced americano while snapping images of these amazing beauties. i just love mornings… and i LOVE morning light… especially this time of year!
such pretty tulips, orchids, peonies, and greenery!
i am inspired by LIFE. not necessarily by the world, and the way we live, but by LIFE itself. these flowers are alive, just as we are. i was inspired by the stillness of these flowers, the stillness of nature… how nature just IS. the sole purpose of these flowers is to simply be. if anything, they just long for us to look at them, to bring awareness to them. and i believe when we “stop and smell the roses”, we can connect with them, with nature, in such a way that can offer stillness and peace to our own lives. after-all, i do believe we are just as much a part of nature as nature itself.
i love what eckhart tolle says about nature :
“Even a stone, and more easily a flower or a bird, could show you the way back to God, to the Source, to yourself. When you look at it or hold it & let it be without imposing a word of mental label on it, a sense of awe, of wonder, arises within you. Its essence silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you.”
eckhart’s words resonated with me and i’ve carried them in my heart over the years. when i felt the glee i did upon seeing these flowers, i was reminded of that quote… and i thought i would post some pics of these gorgeous flowers along with some of my favourite quotes regarding stillness, spirituality, or love.
i hope you enjoy and i hope this brings some stillness to the mind and a warmth to the heart.
❤
“the earth laughs in flowers.” ~ ralph waldo emerson
“the intuitive mind is a sacred gift, the rational mind is a faithful servant. we have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” ~ albert einstein
“we need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. see how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… we need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~ mother teresa
“there is a voice that doesn’t use words… listen!” ~ rumi
“if we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” ~ buddha
“after women, flowers are the most lovely thing God has given the world.” ~ christian dior
“the best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” ~ alexandra k. trenfor
“yesterday i was clever, so i tried to change the world… today i am wise, so i am changing myself.” – rumi
“and when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” – fredrich nietzsche
“be kind whenever possible. it is always possible.” – dalai lama
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enjoy the weekend! ❤
{foto friday : for the love of food!}
26 Jun
brunch! – w/ salmon lox, bacon frittata, cherry almond scones, fresh fruit!
living butter lettuce!
nicoise salad!
danish cream-puff pastry!
bacon, mush, tomato scramble over arugula!
happy hour with fine ladies!
farm-fresh eggs!
oozing danish chocolate cream puff pastry!
tomato pesto turkey salad!
snacks!
vegan dinner! – w/ yucca fries, corn on the cob, quinoa, and garden salad!
classic cobb salad!
potato waffles! – w/ creme fresh and smoked salmon!
flank steak salad! – w/ red peppers, zucchini, mozzarella, and chimichurri!
{foto friday : familiar faces}
19 Juni’m just so thrilled when i have a repeat client.
david farwig is a client/friend from many years back and we’ve remained in contact over time… so when he reached out this spring to discuss another portrait session, i was very thankful and excited! i just love it when someone comes back. that means not only were they happy, but it also means they were satisfied and craved more… it means i’m doing my job well… it means i’ve left an impression… it means they WANT to hire me back… and that feels amazing.
david is a professional choral singer and he wanted some updated images to represent himself for his website… and since we had already engaged in a similar session a few years back, david felt much more comfortable with me and the camera for round two. we strolled around a park in denver, which was vividly green thanks to all this rain. it’s always a pleasure to work with him because david is so easy-going and kind. he has a gentle disposition which i appreciate and he enjoys my work, so it’s a win-win. i hope i can attract more clients like him in the future!
thanks, david!
{“jimmy nardello” sweet peppers}
18 Mayi think these are so beautiful!!! i just love the interesting shapes they take on…
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and did you know red peppers are loaded with vitamin c?!?! 😀
{callee cat adventures}
15 Mayi just love my kitty…
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i had never seen her do this, up until about 3 months ago…
people-watchin’ with plants…
{light & simple fusilli pasta salad with roasted chicken and fresh veggies}
17 Apr
i love to make this dish… and quite often, too! it’s simple, healthy, colourful, and great as a make-ahead meal to have on-hand for lunches. furthermore, it is an easy to dish to batch-cook… a great choice to take to potlucks or BBQs. it has a lot of fun “crunch” and texture, which we all know i love and enjoy, and as always, you can control the ingredients. i simply buy a roasted chicken from the market whenever they are on sale… then i eat some, shred the rest, and save it for a dish like this or to throw on salads.
i always try to eat something raw with every meal i have – whether it’s a large salad with some warm soup and bread, a ripe banana in my oatmeal, or fresh avocado slices on top of my scrambled eggs – i always try to incorporate raw ingredients. i believe it’s important to balance out a dish with raw components that only fresh vegetables or fruits can offer. what i also love about this dish, is that it can be served hot or cold – it’s great both ways! i love it when my food is versatile 😉
and you can add in whatever veggies you want, really. mix it up with cooked and raw veggies… i would like to try this dish with some fresh spring peas, roasted garlic, and blanched asparagus – to celebrate the season!
———
fusilli with roasted chicken and fresh veggies:
– 16 oz cooked fusilli pasta, drained and set aside {reserve 1/4 cup starchy water}
– shredded roasted chicken {about 1 cup}
– veggies {about a quarter cup for each} :
~black olives
~cucumbers
~red onion
~mushrooms
~tomatoes
~corn
~purple cabbage
———
combine all ingredients and mix together. drizzle in reserved starchy water {this will help “marry” the pasta to the veggies}. add in dressing of choice {i opted for a french vinaigrette} and some S&P to taste. sprinkle in some dried herbs, if you wish…
and… “eat the rainbow” 🙂
make a big ol’ batch and take some to work for lunch!
nom nom…
{march madness!}
18 Mar…just kidding… kind of. it’s mostly a play-on-words… kind of.
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hey gang – hope all is well. i don’t know about you, but i am so beyond ready for spring. warmer days, open windows, sandals, tulips, etc… aren’t you?! i know i have readers from all over the world… and i often find myself wondering, “what is the weather like where YOU are?!” 😉
…does anyone else feel all wonky for like a good week or so after the time-change happens?! it doesn’t matter if it’s in the spring or fall, my being just tends to feel it one way or another. however, i so welcome the extra light with open arms!
anyway, here are some snaps from my haps in march –
the southwest has been sunny and warm during the past week or so… and you better believe i’ve been trying to take advantage of it!
and i’ve been stopping to smell the cherry blossoms, too! mmmm,mmmmmmmm!
rosemary chicken w/ fresh english peas, asparagus, & feta cheese over a bed of israeli cous cous
my awesome new boss recently took us out for lunch at a cool local spot, and i was recommended this amazing dish which was absolutely delicious! …and i completely i devoured the whole thing… with little effort!
i see lots of vines growing along walls where i walk… i find them to be beautiful.
oh, hey. Continue reading
{healthy batch-cooking}
11 Feb
it seems like this is the time of year when everyone promises to “eat healthier!” and so with that in mind, i’m going to write about a little something that helped me change my diet by creating better eating habits and healthier decisions.
i’m referring to BATCH COOKING.
working in the food industry all these years has really helped me learn how to be a better at-home cook. i wasn’t even much of a cook until recently… i’d say within the last 5 years i really discovered my love for cooking. it actually is relaxing to me… chopping, stirring, mixing, tasting… all of it makes me feel good.
anyway – between wacky work scheduling, random one-day sales on groceries, and not having a vehicle -something I’ve kind of had to learn to do well is batch-cook. i find it’s much easier for me to spend an afternoon preparing a bunch of food for the week than trying to figure out how i’m going to get three daily meals in during my regular work week. i was first introduced to the idea of “batch-cooking” when i was working at whole foods market. i had never really thought about preparing food ahead of time… it just wasn’t something i had considered. but the more i thought about it, the more sense it made… especially at the time, when i was working the night shift. i simply didn’t have enough time in my day to cook at home as much.
that has all changed, though. now it’s become a regular thing for me to batch-cook at least 2-3 things each week. i don’t plan my meals before shopping, i let the food guide me. when i shop, i simply look for what’s fresh – as well as local and organic. sometimes i’m inspired right on the spot and sometimes i wait until i get home and look at what i got and create dishes based on that and what i have in my pantry.
every week is different. i don’t {and due to where i used to live, couldn’t} rely on being able to get anything i want at any time i want… which is a much different mentality then my days living in manhattan. but it keeps my diet much healthier because i know what i am buying didn’t have to travel very far and therefore is much fresher, and it keeps me eating in tune with nature and the seasons.
here are a few pics of some dishes i batch-cooked recently :
slow-cooked smoked ham hocks w/ green beans and leeks…
herb-stuffed roasted chicken and veggies…
savory mushroom soup {with homemade beef broth}…
dehydrated {rainbow} bell peppers…
bacon and brussels…
my mom’s recipe : hearty beef vegetable stew… ❤
candied carrots, sautéed cabbage and bacon, garlic and onion kaniwa, and red kuri risotto…
i also have been LOVING these purple sweet potatoes! i like to bake 3-4 at a time and just bust them out when i’m ready for one. they freeze really well, too!
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do you batch-cook? what are some of your favourite make-ahead meals? i love to hear from you, so comment below and let me know what you think!
{some virtual holiday haps}
16 Dechey gang – how’s winter treating you?
i really don’t wanna jinx it, but this time last year we had like double the amount of snow, if not triple, that we do now. we had a storm blow through this weekend, but nothing really accumulated or even fell from the clouds. i’ll probably get chastised for saying this, but i am perfectly fine without all that cold white stuff. {i do, however, like to see it flurrying down my screen from wordpress tech wonderland…}
i’m still in the holiday spirit, though. my tiny tree has been up in the tiny home since thanksgiving weekend and i’ve been watching tons of christmas movies and listening to christmas albums. i save “home alone” for christmas day – i wouldn’t say it’s my favourite, but it’s just one of those classics i have to watch every year. my favourite christmas movie ever is probably “love actually” ❤
what’s your favourite christmas movie?!
i also plan on pretty much not taking off this santa hat until december 26th. i have two cowlicks in my hair and when it’s short it’s fine, and when it’s long it’s fine… but i’m in the funky “growing out my hair” phase and sometimes throwing on a hat is the only way to get through my day and be happy about my hair. this time last year, it was about the same length, but i got impatient and cut it all off. this time, i will persevere! 😛
occasionally we get some really cool clouds up here. have you been looking up in wonder at the sky lately? …you should, and often.
LOVE : that wonderful feeling that can present itself in many forms. and sometimes the only place to find it is in a sticker plastered on a bench at a bus-stop… but it’s still there! ❤
a random salad i whipped up : brussel sprouts, cabbage, bacon, tart cherries, flax seeds, and parmesan cheese in a french vinaigrette. i admit i do not eat nearly as many cold salads in the winter… i just can’t get down with cold food in the cold months. but i do try to squeeze in some raw greens when the mood strikes me.
as a child of the 90’s, peace signs were kind of cool when i was growing up. we drew them on our notebooks, put pins on our backpacks, some of us even got tattoos of the peace sign! but it’s kind of weird to me that you don’t often see it anymore – at least not like we did when i was a kid. seeing this peace sign drawn in permanent cement made me smile – it’s there forever, dammit! 😛
something so simple as a wreath does so much for my holiday spirit. perhaps they remind me of my mom, in a way… i am pretty sure she would make them and we always had them on our doors, growing up. my neighbour thoughtfully bought me this wreath for the tiny house door… Continue reading
{eat the rainbow : purple sweet potatoes}
11 Dec
i get super excited when i see a rainbow on my plate. it just makes me happy to eat COLOUR! and these wonderful bright purple sweet potatoes please both the palate and the eye.
i love how they grow in weird shapes, too.
have you ever had a purple sweet potato? i was first introduced to them many years ago at whole foods, as they tend to get the “cool” produce a lot. since then i have been seeing them in mainstream supermarkets and grocery stores, as well. unlike purple potatoes, these do not lose colour when you cook them. in fact, they get BRIGHTER! it’s the coolest thing. Continue reading
{red kuri squash risotto}
3 Decit’s comfort-food season!
i will preface this post by saying that this dish, albeit exquisite, took a little time to make. typically i prefer my meals to be a little more “easy breezy” to prepare… however, this one is oh-so-worth the time and effort!
and let me reiterate – this dish is absolutely DIVINE! i totally love risotto any way i can get it, really… it’s one of my staple dishes, for sure. when i discovered this new squash, i was inspired to fuse it with some risotto and eventually make it into risotto balls.
risotto is hearty and filling while still being gluten-free, which i kind of love. the red kuri squash is in its prime season right now and it is just beautiful! full of vitamin a {that lovely colour!} and potassium [like most squash}, it added so much flavour to this amazing dish!
red kuri squash is delicious on its own, too. the flavour is reminiscent of chestnuts, and the flesh has a rich and creamy consistency when cooked.
risotto itself is very simple, it’s just a little time consuming to make. the ratio for making risotto is about 1:4 – one cup rice to 4 cups liquid. you can use a blend of water and broth or just water or just broth. i tend to mix it up a little, but typically i use broth. the key {and magical} ingredient in making risotto is white wine. you can use any ol’ wine – cooking wine, cheap stuff at the liquor store, whatever. but it must be dry and it must be included! the wine gives the risotto TONS of flavour and really rounds out the dish. Continue reading
{30-something}
21 Novaudrey’s perspective
it’s my birthday weekend!
classic audge – circa 2006
and i’m trying really hard not to feel lonely, weird, and slightly freaked out. i kinda wish i could watch that show that was big in the 90’s… it may offer some comfort. but i do know one person that always makes me smile and feel better about life and all its weirdness – the late, great, george carlin.
i thought i’d share this with you in celebration of my “getting older”… you may have already heard or seen this, but it’s worth a second round, for sure!
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GEORGE CARLIN’S VIEW ON AGING
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’ You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key.
You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
weee!
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m gonna be 16!’ You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16!
And then the greatest day of your life…You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony… YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! She TURNED; we had to throw her out. There’s no fun now, you’re just a sour-dumpling. What’s wrong? What’s changed?
happy me, on my 30th
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away.
Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80’s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.
And it doesn’t end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; ‘I Was JUST 92.’
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. ‘I’m 100 and a half!’
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
never grow up
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay ‘them.’
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love – whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER : Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
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{petroglyphs – “rock art” in moab}
4 Nov
i don’t know if i can find words to express what i felt when i saw these petroglyphs on this huge rock in moab last month… it is beyond fascinating to me.
notice the 6 toes on the right??!!
i’m sure i learned about this stuff in science class, but i was just blown away to see it in person!
so fascinating……….
what were they trying to say?!?!………….
what do you all think about this kind of thing?! does it blow your mind like it does for me?!
😀
i am audrey michelle
i am a minimalist
food & foto 