This

The toast I wish I could say out loud without it becoming a slobberfest.

Last night Big D and I were at a dinner party, a first in a series of “Come Dine With Us” themed dinners, where each couple takes turns hosting and making dinner.  It will help get us through the last of winters throws with our mental facilities somewhat in place.  Nothing can get you through a long, cold, isolating winter quite like laughter, good food, and wine 
and great friends. 

This toast 

Goes out to all my dear friends, 

Near and far away,

Even when we don’t see each other,

Know that you are in my heart,

But, when we are able to get together,

All gathered around this table 

On a cold, and bitter night,

I look at all your beautiful faces

And it is the most magnificent sight.

We are all pulled into so many different places, 

But tonight dear friends,

It’s just us,

This food,

This Wine,

This love,

This laughter,

This night

This.

Love

Marcia

I feel I have a "Morrel" obligation to report about my dinner....

See what I did there?  Clever huh?
While out for a walk with my devastingly handsome husband and curious dog we stumble across a treasure trove of Morrels!  Actually, it was Trixie that found them.  We were walking along a trail, Trixie was eagerly sniffing and tasting anything is sight, she had this black little lump in her mouth and we thought is was poo, as Dalton leaned over to shew it out of her mouth with a stick he was relieved to annouce it was a Morrel, we looked down the trail and there they were popped up everywhere.  We gathered 19 in total.  We dropped a few off for Head Chef and Owner of Harbour St. Braissiere, Derek.  :Sidenote:  If you live in Kincardine OR ever in Kincardine make it a point to eat at Harbour St.  Derek and his lovely wife Diane set the atmosphere and the food to pitch perfection, and serve a full menu of local food.  Delightful. :Sidenote over: Derek showed me how to clean them properly and how to cook them, so nice, thank you Derek.  And we shared a couple with a friend who was curious about the taste.  The rest we kept for ourselves and thought they would go lovely with our roast chicken we were having tonight.  Hope you enjoy the picture extravanganza of....fancy mushrooms....and our dinner.

Dirty Morrels

 Sliced in half to clean out the bugs.  ewww.

 Water bath to clear out dirt and bugs

 Drying only to discover tiny wormie bugs! eww and eww.

 Back in the bath you go Dirty Morrels.

 Type of Broth I used to simmer.  No garlic and butter fry for these tender morsels.

 Simmering to perfection.  (and finalizing any bug killing.  ha ha ha)

 The finished product delicate little bites of mushrooms.

 The roast chicken prep.  Okay we all know how easy roast chicken is, right?  Well this is even easier than easy and it is a no fail "recipe" preheat oven to 400, cut using kitchen scissors down the back of the chicken.  Spread that bird open and press her down in the roasting pan.  Throw the bird some butter, season if you wish and put her in the oven till the skin is super crispy.  It's easier than easy because it cooks faster because we flattened the cheekon.

 Sweat Potatoes with grated ginger and cayanne baby.  So yummy.

 Sweet Potatoes

 The grand finally that is now in its final resting place, my belly!

Now I am on the hunt for wild leeks and perhaps some more morrels. 
Have a lovely day,
Marcia

Revamping the ol' fridgerator

After a few months of not a great appetite it's returned. When I do want or crave something it happens to be starchy and white or something citrus...so before this turns into a bad habit I thought I better get busy and revamp our pantry and fridge with our By Design foods, that means, fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds, meat and eggs, oils, coconuts and coconut products.  (If possible Organic and local, next best provincial, next best Canadian, next best USA etc. you get the picture)  So yesterday I did a big grocery shop and this what I got.  (plus a stack of meat that is in the fridge and freezer)

Then this is what I did next...

Prepared some protein for the week.  Ground beef (for taco dinner) hard boiled eggs for snacks and a turkey breast for salads.  Plus today I am cooking a pork tenderloin for dinner (left overs used in salads or for snacking), tomorrow I will roast a whole organic chicken, to be for dinner and salads.
If I take the time and prep a few things for the week, it truly makes life easier and way more healthier.  The alternative to not taking that little bit of time is wasting even more time during the week wondering what to make, going to the grocery store a few more times, or waiting at a restaurant or for pizza take-out.  Also, the kids lunches are so much faster and more fun to pack when I have healthy options for 'grab n'go'.


Now cutting out dairy and grains may sound difficult maybe even scary, I assure you it isn't, although it may take some time to adjust, old habits die hard, when I have eaten mostly "By Design" my skin clears up, eczema completely disappears, zero bloating and no other tummy issues, plus my hormone freak outs almost disappear and I have more energy and less brain fog.


My most favorite websites to keep me motivated and inspired:
http://www.primaleatingmoderntable.com/

http://www.cafeoflifelondon.com/index.html

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

http://nourishedkitchen.com/

http://cookingupastory.com/nicolette-hahn-niman-champions-seismic-change-of-our-industrial-food-system?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CookingUpAStory+%28Cooking+Up+A+Story%29

http://hbfser.wordpress.com/

http://thisprimallife.com/

http://www.godairyfree.org/

I love all of these sites and find them very informative.  I assure you I am not perfect and fo'shizzle eat none Design foods from time to time (celebrations or a friends house for dinner) and I do find it a challenge sometimes to pack the kids lunches with only By Design foods, not so much with Sass, but my Rolie is more of a "selective eater" and I have had to go "Deceptively Delicious" on him for many foods.  I have noticed that as he gets older (he just turned 8) he is more open to trying foods, for example he ate 2 peas the other night at dinner.  Next time he said he'll eat 3.  All I can do is encourage and offer the foods.  I will not make or force foods on my kids, food is to be enjoyed, I keep it light and positive and with a health attitude towards food and I know it will pay off.


Have a lovely foodie week,


Marcia

Fresh

Wow, so October proved to be a bit of a dark month for me. I had found a new lump while doing a breast exam late September...had my Dr. appointment October 9th...Dr. said "This is a cause for concern, and I found 4 other lumps" and wanted to get me in for a Mamo and ultra sound as soon as possible, which ended up being November 8th. So as positive as I tried to be my thoughts often took me down a darker path and often thought of what every ones life would be like without me and I am overjoyed to report we don't have to find out for a really long time!!!! Seriously imagine a world without me...how dull. *wink* During my dark month I ate way to much Halloween Candy and started baking bread...my thoughts were "Well, I may as well plump myself up because who knows what the next few months will look like." Bad move. Now I have to detox...ugh. Back on track as the saying goes.

I have a few "Clever & Lovely" things I would like to report on. I purchased a King Sized Brunelli Duvet from 'Harbour Rose' downtown Kincardine and it is DIVINE. The weight of it is perfect, it has the little doohickies to tie into the duvet cover so it doesn't slide down. (major peeve of mine)I love the sound of it when I move around, it is so cozy I may have a nap under it today. You seriously need one for this winter, it's going to be a cold one, I can just feel it.

If you have not eaten at "The Bruce" in a while it is high time you rediscover this lakeview restaurant and please do yourself a favor and order The Bruce Burger (Jr.), it is so tasty and the homemade buns really adds to the yummyness. Another added bonus about "The Bruce" is they are serving Organic beef. I find their food actually tastes fresh and good in comparison to other roadhouse type restaurants. (Which by the way an employee at a highway restaurant told me all there food comes from a "box in the freezer".) Think 'local' not 'corporate' the next time you are picking a restaurant.

My new favorite place to hang out is "Bean's Bistro", another lovely lake view setting. This is the former "Books and Beans". It has undergone a makeover inside and out, and I believe new management, she is delightful and efficient and is most definitely a welcoming face. Nice moves on the new hires so far. Oh and for all you mommies and daddies out there....da da da da...they have a change table in the bathroom...how novel. And they are getting in high chairs. It is about time someone taps into "Work at Home parents" and "Moms on Mat leave" gang. We like coffee, we like getting out of the house, we like businesses to cater to us...cause guess what? We'll come back again and again and again. Oh another point to mention about "Beans Bistro", you will not find anyone, patrons or employees smoking out front or side. wooo hooo. That was always a little "off putting". And I betcha didn't know this, they serve hot breakfast, bacon, eggs, toast, fruit and potatoes and a cup of their great coffee for only $5.75.

Well great, now I'm hungry!


Peace, love and joy to you and yours
Marcia

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Tuesday.

A few things I am grateful for today.
* "Ladies Who Lunch" only we eat breakfast.
* Popping over to my neighbours for a sec. and having a giggle over our matching uniforms: Messy hair, sweat pants and cozy top (ie track suits)
* Finding all my ECE documents, workshop, project stuff all within five minutes of looking.
* Finding my "Sweet 16" ring I lost about 10 years ago.
* Rolands version of the Russian YouTube singer. Totally made my morning. Still laughing about it.
* Sasha wanting to play Mama and Baby Pig. "Your the Big Mama Pig and I am the baby pig and I'm going to drink milk from you, but not really mom, I'll just pretend over your cloths".
* Dalton's curly hair looked awesome tonight. Super handsome. Not so 'Vinnie Bobarino'.
* Sally our pet chipmunk, sitting on the chair looking at me inside. I almost let her in.
* My yummy dinner of Scrambled Eggs&Sliced Avocado (seriously yummy combo, sounds gross but for some reason it works) tomatoes, Sesame seed cookies, lemonade.
* Tea with my Dear Friend K. Always a pleasure.
* The lake looked breathtaking today, bright blue towards shore, almost purple blue in the horizon, SUNSET spectacular.


A couple of things I'm a little bummed about tonight:
* Really felt like watching T.V. tonight...we cut our cable.
* My new glasses still are not ready.
* The laundry is never done.

Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow,
Marcia

Pink Shoes...Nuff Said!

It's no secret I love Pink!

And apparently I love Pink Shoes too. Mental note, stop buying Pink Shoes. (fully aware I need to toss the pink flip flops in the bottom. Um Nasty) Days just seem brighter when my tootsies are covered in pink.

Tuesdays Munchable

Love my Laptop Lunch Boxes, a must have for a litterless lunch.
Rolands Lunch: Dried Fruit Bits, Organic Skim Mozzarella, an Apple slice (which Roland said he had a teeny tiny nibble of to try)Chirizo,Flax Crackers (Bulkbarn), Half a bagel with non-dairy cream cheese, Roasted Garlic Hummus.
Sashas Lunch: Yogurt covered raisins&dried fruit bits,Apples, Celery, Cucumber, Blackberries, Flax Chips, Chirizo, Hummus and Organic Skim Mozzarella

Wildly successful lunch with Sassy, Roland not so thrilled about the piece of apple but all and all an enjoyable lunch.

I had a munchie kinda day today. Feed 1: Breakie at Sutton Park, 2 cups of coffee, 2 poached Eggs, 2 pieces of dry Rye and 4 slices of tomatoes.
Feed 2: Banana, 2 Brazil nuts, 6 walnuts and 6 cashews, green tea Feed 3: Homemade Gluten and Dairy Free Energy Bars (Nut free too so the kids can have them for school) Green tea Feed 4: Hamburger on really flat whole grain buns, topped with baby spinach, fresh tomatoes, Org. Ketchup, Mustard, veganaise, a handful of Snapea Crisps (Run don't walk to the Bulkbarn to get these little babies), Pickles and Artichoke Hearts, water and a big sip of Daltons Beer. Apres dinner coffee. (hence me not sleeping right now) Feed 5: Another Homemade Energy Bar. So not too bad, a couple of off track "Eat By Design" items, I know it and I can feel it. I did miss a proper lunch. I will do better tomorrow :) Must kick my coffee habit, the cream is killing me, and I am not fond of it black, plus the caffeine is a bugger. Hmmmmm do they make coffee scented candles?

Good Night and have a pleasant tomorrow,
Marcia

Passion: 300 Words or Less

Mabels Labels BlogHer'10 Contest
I’ve lived a life of searching for passions but knowing my truths, and now the two have collided because now I could not have one without the other. I once filled out a Dr.Seuss book and one of the questions was “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I filled it out at age 7 and my answer was “A Mother”. I filled it out again at age 11 and scratched that answer out and put “A Millionaire Mother”. So far so good on becoming a Mother. I am passionate about my husband, we don’t even have to work hard at our marriage, it just is, the ebbs and flows of our relationship makes married life exciting. Because of my husband and kids I have explored being an entrepreneur and have owned 2 business’. My true passion is finding what works for my family as a whole. My business’ while an adventure was not my truth. I am now a good old fashion housewife. Except for I don’t spend my days cleaning the house and mending socks and making sure my husband has a martini and a newspaper when he gets home. I am the housewife, who plays with my kids, has just as much paint in my nails as they do, I’m the housewife down at the beach collecting rocks and driftwood, I’m the housewife biking with the kids Saturday morning to collect our local fruits and veggies, goat cheese and meat for the week. My passion is now in my day to day living, I’m learning how to slow parent and be there, I mean really, really there. And when the kids are asleep and all is quiet I’ll sit on my front porch with my husband and cheers with a martini. A life shaken not stirred.

A Clever and Lovely way to live
Marcia

Eating Right

I am always reading about food, whether it is recipe books or magazines or books about food for kids, and more recently through the world wide web. I have been thrilled I can still keep in touch online with my beloved Chiropractors from London; Dr.'s Jamie and Joel Richards Me and my 'fam' had a year and a half of care from them until we moved to Kincardine. If I get a chance when I am in London I will pop in for an adjustment. What I truly loved about their Chiropractic Care was the education and support we received every single visit. Now this dynamic duo have come up with the best lifestyle healthy living program that just makes the best sense to me. The program is called "Life By Design". I am wishing I could take part in their seminars but for now I will have to practice on my own. One of the easier ways to get started is "Eating By Design". There is an easy grocery list for reference and recipe ideas. "Eating By Design" is seriously for everyone, there are a lot of old habits that need to be broken and for me a whole deprogramming of foods that I crave. The following pictures are of a lunch Sasha and I enjoyed the other day. (notice no dairy or grains) It was so yummy and we were super full. The other picture is of the kids lunches packed in their Laptop Lunch Boxes. It is of mostly "By Design" foods. And that is what I am trying to achieve a "Mostly By Design" Life style. Every now and then you need eggs, bacon, toast and coffee.
Nexts stop, joining the gym.

Lovely, Lovely Chevre

Okay, I'm not supposed to eat dairy. I LOVE CHEESE and this no dairy thing is sometimes a bigger challenge than I'd like. I do feel better when dairy is completely eliminated. A nice alternative is Chevre (Goat Cheese) Can you just tell me how much better life is now that a friend of mine actually makes the best Chevre I have tried. Ashley Duncan has some sweet little Nanny Goats in her backyard and this very lovely lady has taught herself how to make goat cheese...how clever of her. Her Goat Cheese companies name is "Rennet Rebels Artisan Cheese". It is so smooth, creamy and mild. The cheese in the picture is the Chevre with Organic Chocolate. The Cherries and The Early Garlic, Cheese and Jam can all be found at the Saturday morning market at Caunaught Park in Kincardine.