Tag Archives: local

{organic beef roast}

8 Jan

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i don’t eat a ton of red meat.  however when i do, i prefer it be as local, organic, and grass-fed as possible.

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have you ever had grass-fed beef?  you may think to yourself, “what do you mean, don’t all cows eat grass?” when you think of a cow, you picture a field or pasture and you see them eating grass, right?!  well, you may be surprised to know that most cows are actually fed a grain or corn-based diet – that stuff is in everything!… again, i encourage you to do your own research.

there is lots of fresh, organic, local, grass-fed beef where i live.  and that makes me so happy!  i have mentioned before that i don’t really subscribe to any “diet” per se – but if i had to pick a category to fall into, i would say my diet is totally intuitive and mostly organic.  and it varies all along that spectrum.  this time last year, i was totally vegan and coming off a major 2-week cleanse of only veggies, fruit, kombucha, and water. i remember around christmas, trying some of the ham at whole foods one day and i actually spit it out. and now, i can’t seem to eat enough meat!  so i’m just listening to my body and rolling with it.

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i recently bought this adorable little crock-pot, which is perfect for the tiny home, and it fits about a 2-pound roast just perfectly!  it only has one setting – ON. but it totally does the trick!

Continue reading

{it’s the final foto friday of 2013!}

27 Dec

and this is what happened this week :

———

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i worked on christmas day for the first time in my life… which was kind of okay and kind of weird. naturally, i brought my vitamix breakfast cookies to the office – and all 4 dozen got devoured! 😉

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callee was adorable – every second of every day… just look at her! 😉

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i visited the best breakfast place in town… these mugs are personal for the local regular guests – how cute is that?! 😉

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it was so damn cold in the mornings, the windshield-washer fluid in my friend’s car totally froze… but also created this cool pattern 😉

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and i saw this family of ravens… they tend to follow me around – they are my spirit animal, no doubt! 😉

i’m pretty sure this was a mama and a bunch of babies. although i’m not certain because it seems odd that they would have offspring in the winter, but i didn’t feel like researching it… does anyone know when crows/ravens typically mate and reproduce?

happy last friday of the year!!

😀

{product review : hilary’s eat well veggie bites – and my first giveaway!}

19 Nov

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hey friends!  a while back i wrote about hilary’s eat well veggie burgers… they have quickly become a staple in my tiny home.  i love the burgers, but i must admit that after trying the bites, they are definitely my favourite.  i like “bite-sized” things anyway and hilary’s doesn’t disappoint.

you can read all about the company in my last blogpost – here.  hilary’s eat well foods is a transparent company that is locally-owned and operated and they are also part of the non-gmo project – those are two of my favourite things about them. i’m such a fan and supporter and since i’ve collaborated with hilary’s eat well, i now have the fun opportunity of offering a giveaway!

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all you have to do is go to hilary’s eat well facebook page and “like” them.  then comment below telling me you did so, and i’ll enter your name in the drawing! Continue reading

{once upon a time in my neighbourhood…}

13 Aug

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…i met a super sweet kitty who rolled around and played with me…

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…i saw some gorgeous tomatoes at the market…

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…i ate this chocolate lava cake….

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… i found this old polaroid lying on the ground… talk about speaking a thousand words! 😉 Continue reading

{meatless mondays : my very first “official” product review : hilary’s eat well veggie burgers

5 Aug

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hey gang, i hope you enjoyed the weekend.

lots of fun things happening around here at food and foto!  for starters, i gained my 600th {+} follower last week!  i am always so humbled and grateful when anyone subscribes to the blog.  please allow me to take this moment to thank those of you who take time to read and follow and comment and engage… i just really appreciate it!  this blog wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for you!

also, i received an email from a lovely rep at Hilary’s Eat Well a few weeks ago, asking if i would be interested in trying and giving feedback on some of their products.  i was familiar with hilary’s eat well, but had never actually had the pleasure of eating any of their products… so i was super excited for the opportunity to not only try them, but to write about it on my blog!  my first official review 😀

once i read up on the company, i was even more excited for the experience. Continue reading

{foodie friday} — colourful “pey”tato casserole

28 Sep

sometimes “foto friday” morphs into “foodie friday” – and by sometimes i mean there is a first time for everything 🙂

it’s getting to be that time of year, when i just want to load up on comfort food like this and be lazy and gain 10 pounds of winter weight and not even sweat it — i’ll take it off in february.  for now, bring on the fireplace, the couch, and the spuds!

this is about as basic as it can get, though… of course, with a little audrey flair! Continue reading

{thirsty thursday} — wild-caught king salmon dressed in basil vinaigrette w/ a rye lager

27 Sep

so, salmon season is pretty much over… i think we’ll get another run or two but that will be it. do you know how you can just kind of guess that the season is about over? well, have you been to the grocer and SEEN the size of salmon filets right now?!  massive!  like, i mean MASSIVE fish!  they’ve been cruising around eating up the other fish, gettin’ all fat and delicious on us… THAT’S how you can usually tell it’s the end of the season.  they’re HUGE!

whenever there is a one-day special or sale of any kind on salmon, i nab it up.  i don’t like freezing my fish, so i’ll just buy enough for a nice meal with the roomie or cook a little extra for salads.  all seafood is so much more expensive out here in the land-locked states, so i don’t eat it nearly as much as i would like. frozen fish just doesn’t taste as good… i prefer only eating wild-caught, in season, as local as possible fish.

the real secret ingredient to this dish and part of the inspiration for even buying the fish was to use some of this absolutely amazing marinade that was gifted to me as a generous sample.  it’s a locally made product which is a basil-based vinaigrette that i was immediately hooked on the first time i tried it when the vendor was demoing the product with some simple bib lettuce. i didn’t find a website for the actual producers, but i do know that this particular bottle in the above foto was made only 3 days prior to me consuming it.  talk about fresh!!  i’m so lucky.

if you can find it, get it.  you can buy it online and it’s actually cheaper than the store that way.  the ingredients are so simple, if you had the right combo of good oil and vinegar you could almost mimic it.  but i tell you, it’s the best dressing i’ve ever tried!!  i’m not sure i’ll ever go back to another dressing again!  and i have tried a TON of vinaigrettes!  italian-style dressing is my absolutely fav, but it simply has to have the right combination of good oil and good vinegar and the right kind of spices.  i mean, when you’re basing your dressing around FRESH basil, i guess you can’t go wrong… Continue reading

{foto friday} – my blog “assistants” and some farm fresh eggs

10 Aug

meet my cats :

ferris bueller loves to help out in the kitchen.  and by help out i mean – get totally in the way and make me always almost step on him and spill stuff… but he’s got so much personality!  super chatty, and no doubt a gemini, just like his owner – my roomie.

callegurl loves to hang in the “studio” and make sure lighting is taken care of and she also provides the cute factor, which she has perfected exceedingly well.  she is most likely a scorpio or cancer, very emotional, independent, and kind of hard to tie down, just like her owner – me. Continue reading

{featured produce of the week : organic purple carrots}

1 Jul

locally grown here – they don’t call us colourful colorado for nothin’

although my favourite colour, tender, and still yummy when eaten raw, i prefer purple carrots steamed with a smidgen of maple syrup.  actually, what i do is –

chop them up into roughly 1/2 inch pieces. add enough water to cover the carrots to the pan and boil {covered} on medium high heat until the carrots begin to soak up the water. i don’t even add any butter or oil, because these things are so good without it.  add in more water {or veggie stock for extra flavour} if necessary, but basically you want the carrots to almost glaze, and then add in a tiny bit of good quality maple syrup toward the end.

they are so yummy cooked this way.  i would like to try to peel them thinly and use them almost like a pasta – or perhaps i’ll run them through the food processor, but i do think i need to buy an attachment for that…

and — purple carrots *kind of* resemble fireworks, eh?!  😉 Continue reading

sometimes i like to have 2 breakfasts…

9 Jun

…or – one breakfast, and one brunch… 🙂

especially if it’s a weekend day and i don’t have to work.  i get up pretty early most days and i love having my cup of coffee as the sun beams in and i work on both blog images and my appetite.  typically i want a snack about an hour later and so this has become one of my favourite quick meals in the morning : i call it the BACH  {banana, almond, chia, honey} a friend helped inspire this — thanks michele! Continue reading

polenta surprise

4 Apr

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it seems that with every blog i do, i forget a step or omit something {unintentionally or otherwise} and for this i am sorry.  i will get better in the future.  in this case, i forgot to photograph the zucchini… Continue reading

seafood sunday

1 Apr

    

as i’ve mentioned, i’m not on any kind of diet nor do i often say, “i don’t eat that” {unless it’s overly-processed ickiness} — i try to live by the general rule of “everything in moderation.”  i’m what i like to call an “intuitive eater”… more on that in the future… Continue reading