i’ve been wanting to try to play with millet for a while now. i have had a package of it on the shelves for a good bit now and i thought it was high time to give it a whirl.
i like to store things in glass jars… packaging just annoys me! 😛
millet is a tiny grain that reminds me of something from my youth… when cooked, it is almost like a pilaf. i read online that it also can turn into more of a mashed-potato like consistency, if cooked the right way. Continue reading
hey gang. hope you are all doing well.
this week was a rollercoaster as far as emotions and happenings go. and the only rollercoasters i like are the ones i build on rollercoaster tycoon and pretend ride. and i’m actually serious about that, just ask my former roommate and still one of my best friends… he’ll tell you about my non-love of rollercoasters or things that go fast, in general… like waterslides. 
nevertheless, here are a few happy highlights from my week via the shake-it app… {still my fav.}
i went pixie, again! i love it; brings out the new-yorker in me – and i just feel more like myself this way…
i happily spent a ridiculous 75 cents for this little cute bottle of club soda. i saved and reused the bottle for my liquid vitamins… i just love glass and i just love tiny things! 😉
it “sunny snowed” this week – and i am amazed my iPhone was able to capture the little flakes.
on that same day, my boss let me borrow his sunglasses ‘coz i forgot mine and he insisted they would make me cooler… i insisted that wasn’t possible. 😉
and despite the friggin mercurical weather, i planted my seeds…
and i hope to god they do not end up looking like this {clearly} genetically modified apple. i mean seriously, have you looked at conventional produce in the last couple years? it’s like that movie “cloudy with a chance of meatballs.” — the food is getting abnormally large! am i crazy or should an apple NOT be the size of two of my fists!??!?! i digress…
i had several very intense and wonderfully silent moments with my “neighbours”…
then there’s mount sopris… which just makes me happy for existing. and – i applied for a job with this view. uhm, yes please!
this is where i currently work – it’s kind of like going to heaven every day – only with more people 😉
and sometimes snow doesn’t piss me off… cuz it’s pretty…
but it’s also annoying… especially in april.
the end.. for now.
have a great weekend, ya’ll! ❤ 😉
i love himalayan pink salt.
i love to cook with it, eat with it…
bathe with it, pray with it…
it’s one versatile salt! {and i happen to be somewhat of a connoisseur.} 😉
what makes himalayan pink salt extra special other than the awesome flavour, is its extremely high mineral content. this stuff is very high in… well, practically everything!
no, it’s not a typo. i called this dish “rainbow rainbow quinoa because… well – look at it. 😉
i wanted to use up some stuff in the fridge – like my shredded carrots and leftover cabbage… both of which, to me, can be a challenge to use up for one person. i find that quinoa is a great “anything goes” kind of dish. so when i’m looking to use up fresh veggies, i usually throw them in with quinoa. another reason i love quinoa is because it is a complete protein. basically what that means is it contains all 9 essential amino acids. this makes it a great grain for vegans or vegetarians.
rainbow rainbow quinoa – ingredients :
– 1/2 cup rinsed rainbow quinoa
– 1/2 cup chopped red cabbage
– 1/2 cup shredded carrots
– 1/4 finely chopped onion
– 2 cloves diced garlic
– 1 cup raw baby spinach
with homemade toasted rye bread, creamy melted swiss, authentic deli mustard, and colourful coleslaw… nom nom…
i would also do almost anything for a pastrammy from MASTERPIECE right about now… this one i created a while back was pretty incredible {miss E knows how to slice some perfect pastrami!}… but nothing beats a sammy from masterpiece delicatessen… and i lived in new york! – so that’s saying a lot! 😉
a look inside my {colourful} lunchbox :
– natural raw almonds
– fresh asparagus sauteed in olive oil
– large colourful salad w/ italian vinaigrette
– savory parmigiano reggiano baked chicken
– steamed zucchini medallions
– pastrami turkey strips and parm reggi chunks
– fresh organic strawberries
{i just love my laptop lunches bento box!} 😀
if you’re one of my colorado readers, you’ve probably already been obsessed with noosa yoghurt for a while now. if you haven’t, you will be soon…
this yummy creamy treat is made with milk from semi-pasture-raised cows here in colorado. noosa’s flavour is unsurpassed, and i believe it’s in part due to the milk from these cows.
celebrating two years of nom-noming and click-clicking!
thank you – all one thousand and twenty-eight of you! {as it stands, as i write this…}
i am inspired by you, encouraged by you, and grateful for and to you. i am already doing a giveaway in honour of you… but in honour of food & foto’s anniversary, i’ve decided to up the ante. i’ll be giving away TEN prints by the end of april! stay tuned…
this blog has been one of the healthiest things i could’ve done for myself.
i want to take this time to thank my friend michele for encouraging and inspiring me to start writing and posting about my passion{s}. the simplest gesture like just saying, “you should start a food blog…” has taken me to places that i may not have ever dreamed of going.
🙂 xxoo
another beautiful piece of produce i picked up at the cutest organic store in town….
have you ever had golden beets?! i just loooooove them! i am pretty sure you can keep the skin on – so long as you scrub it pretty thoroughly. i just peel mine. these were so cute and little!
love the colour!
i usually just steam mine. i find them to be so delicious, i don’t even add any S and/or P. i think they have the most unique flavour. i just love to put them in salads or just munch on them alone… so good! beets are loaded with vitamins and minerals and they are just an all around amazing vegetable!
i noticed a few new followers have joined the fun – thank you and welcome!
in case you don’t know this about me, i love to eat anything with colour. i believe in living by the motto… well, a lot of “mottos” really – but one of them is “eat the rainbow.” if your food has colour naturally, it is good for you! this dish definitely meshes with that motto. i whipped it up last week when i was doing a short veggie cleanse. i just love mushrooms – do you?!
this is a great vegan dish, or a healthy random way to get in a ton of veggies all at once. sometimes i’ll construct meals entirely of vegetables… this one i just made up on the spot, when inspired by the fresh-looking produce in the market.
simple ingredients : portabella mushrooms, zucchini, purple cabbage, shredded carrots.
i’m fascinated by the intricate insides of certain vegetables – like cabbage. Continue reading
i’m a little late on posting today – it’s snowing here in colorado… and, sigh – i’ll just go ahead and say it – i’m over it! can we please be in spring now?! i’m just dying to put on my sanuks and put away my wellies.
i’ve been making a smoothie every morning since we are ‘officially’ in spring now – but i admit it’s just not as satisfying first thing in the morning as a warm cup of coffee or tea. but i’m determined to start cleansing my body out, preparing it for a different season, and lots of different veggies to compliment!
in the meantime, here’s another smoothie recipe. i created this one in mind as more of an evening smoothie. tart cherries and tart cherry juice are good for insomnia, remember?! i call it “sweet-tart” because i used sweet frozen cherries and tart cherry juice… and it turned out rather delicious!
cherry sweet-tart vitamix smoothie :
– frozen sweet cherries {1/2 cup}
– 3 frozen strawberries
– 3 frozen pineapple chunks
– 1 pitted date
– 1/2 cup coconut milk
– 1/2 cup tart cherry juice
FRIENDS!!
ONE THOUSAND of you, specifically! wow – THANK YOU!
that seems like a really big number to me. it makes me feel very humble. and it makes me so grateful that THAT MANY PEOPLE find what i have to say valuable, interesting, or at least somewhat entertaining enough to make a simple gesture like click the “follow” button…
in the two years that food & foto has had life, i have found myself growing and changing right along with the blog. from refining what it is all about, to being honest and open about things, to many twists and turns – we’re almost parallel, my blog and me.
i just was blown away today when i had my 1000th follower sign up to join the fun! and it inspired me to want to do something special to honour it.
and what better to do just that – than a GIVEAWAY!!!???!!!?!!!??!?!
the big question is – what?! what do i give away? it can be anything i want, i suppose. i could find a vendor that wanted to donate something… meh. i can do that anytime. i could give away some healthy-eating coaching… meh. i kind of do that already. i could donate a portrait session… meh. been there, done that. i could give away a camera?!?! dude, that would be amazing… but i don’t have one to give away…
hmph.
would a beautiful print from my lab suffice? your choice – a personalized print from my portfolio. i have an extensive one, you know… portraits, landscapes, editorial, street photography, NYC, california, rocky mountains, macro, food, fine art… what’s your pleasure?!
and my goodness, how do i get people to get involved?
why, you already are!!! just by following my blog, you are already automatically entered in the drawing for a free fine art print of your choice! i will give away 5 prints before the end of April. I will post a blog with choices and the lucky 5 winners will win a print of their choice.
how’s that sound?!
mostly, i just wanted to do SOMETHING to show my appreciation to each of you for following my blog. as i’ve mentioned, this is my personal little playground and i love engaging and hearing from each of you. i may not always respond, but i want to take this time to tell you how much i appreciate the support! as an introvert, knowing what i have to say in print matters… matters.
🙂
a few reasons why lemon water is amazing :
– balances pH levels {although lemons do contain citric acid, our bodies metabolize them to be alkaline within – so cool, right?! lemons are actually one of the most alkalizing foods out there!}
– boosts metabolism {sure does!, not that i personally need that…}
– freshens breath {cool, huh?!}
– boosts vitamin C levels {yay immune system!}
– digestive aid {yay tummy!}
– helps clear skin {i particularly enjoy this fact – who doesn’t love to ‘glow’!}
– detoxifying {bye bye toxic mess!}
– energizing {WEEEEE!!!! i love lemon water!!!}
i drink a warm glass of lemon water immediately upon rising. it’s my favourite new way to start my day. i find it also encourages me to drink more water throughout my day… and in these high altitudes, that is extra important! 😀
so drink up {and down}! when you drink water, it’s like your whole body says, “AHHHHH” 😛
how’s that for a title?!
vitamix-ing {and really, smoothie-making in general} is all about experimenting. sometimes you nail it. sometimes you don’t. more times than not, it turns out amazing… like in this case. 🙂
purple-ish vitamix smoothie :
– 1/4 cup frozen blackberries
– 1/4 cup frozen pineapple
– 1/4 cup red/purple cabbage
– 1 pitted date {for sweetness}
– 2-3 dehydrated apple wedges {i like to dehydrate stuff}
– 1/2 – 2/3 cup coconut milk
– splash of orange juice
– sprinkle in a little raw protein powder
—
and the fact that it tastes amazing is a huge bonus to how incredibly healthy and good for you it is!! 😀
check out that colour!!!
as you may have noticed – i like to try new things. and there was this one particular vegetable i had been wanting to try for a while now – radicchio. i knew it had to be good for us – just look at all that colour!
when i did a little research on this interesting-looking chicory, i discovered that it may actually help insomnia. and – as you may recall, i battle with that from time to time… eating intuitively has become such a way of life for me, that i notice i’ll crave things i need and not even realize it. how awesome is that?! our bodies are so incredible! Continue reading
it’s been a while since i wrote a vitamix post!! green smoothies are always fun, and this is fitting for the holiday. this week i decided to do a short cleanse. partially in honour of the moon, partially in honour of the upcoming solstice, and partially because i have been eating donuts almost every day for breakfast for about 2 months… not even kidding. *ahem* anyway, i was super excited to bust out my vitamix again! Continue reading
did ya’ll sleep in today?! i sure wanted to… daylight savings always jolts my system. takes me a week or so to get used to it – but goodness, do i love having that light in the evenings!!! i just look forward to the mornings catching up, ya feel me?!
i’m going to start my seeds for my garden this weekend and of course, i’ll be documenting the whole thing. i bought tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, chives, and leeks for now. i have attempted to grow from seed before, but to no avail. i learned my lesson with my lovely tomato plant last year and i just don’t think some kinds of lettuces grow well here. SO – we are going to try again 😀
my awesome landlord has all the fixins’ to get my garden going and plenty of outdoor space in which to plant it all… one of the things i’ve wanted so desperately over the last couple of years was to have a garden. i’m so glad i can finally try!
i do love me some good ol’ romaine lettuce from time to time – the crunch is so good. not much nutrition going on, but i do find myself craving the fiber and just wanting something to put dressing on, mostly.
it’s a comfort food kind of day. grilled ham and cheese on 7-grain toast with roasted red pepper and tomato soup…
it’s a childhood classic… grown-up style.
just a few favourites from the archives. my camera is very eager to get out and play!
have a great weekend!
everyone knows i love to support local. and obviously i’m totally down with the all-natural. however, you may be surprised to discover that i love ginger ale. i mean i LOVE IT! almost as much as i love beer… almost.
food & foto 