Pina Colada Quinoa

In the past, if one were to mention "quinoa" it was usually followed with a quizzical expression by the one hearing the word. What on earth was "quinoa"? Until recently, that is, as this healthy little sprouted grain has gained fast popularity in most circles and is now found at any number of restaurants. Taking the place of rice as a choice side in many dishes, it has a slight nutty taste and is a go to option for the health conscious at heart.

With that being said, I broke out my quinoa recipe book, and, at the advice of a friend who had made it, set about making myself some Pina Colada Quinoa. This tasty treat can be eaten as breakfast, as a nice snack during the day, for lunch, or a little later after supper, when you just want something a little sweet to sink your teeth into. Whenever it strikes your fancy actually :) It can be eaten hot or cold, however I prefer cold and allowed my little dishes to cool off in the fridge before indulging myself.

Pina Colada Quinoa

1 cup quinoa

One 14 oz (398 mL) can light coconut milk

One 14oz (398 mL) can crushed pineapple

1 Tbsp brown sugar (I used agave nectar)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, bring the quinoa and coconut milk to a boil. 

Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat

and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for an additional 6 minutes.

Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice

(I only had chunked pineapple, so I used my magic bullet to mulch it up a bit)

Stir 1/2 cup of the juice into the saucepan. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix well.

(I didn't measure my agave nectar, I just added what I thought looked right :) )

(vanilla and agave nectar)

Stir crushed pineapple into the mixture and serve. Store in the refrigerator 

in a sealed container for up to 2 days.

(made 4 small dishes)

I garnished with the raspberries and it was delicious! 

Enjoy this tasty, yet healthy, treat.

till next time.

The Mommy Diaries: Part I, Transition

I had hoped and to start this new series of my blog earlier, but as I mention later, just to use the bathroom can be a challenge, let alone finding time to sit at my computer to blog. And when I do have a moment when my little girl is sleeping, the house and laundry seem to call my name to bring back some sense of order in the chaos. But here we go…

The transition to parenthood was tougher then I anticipated. One dreams of snuggles, coos, giggles, and a baby resting peacefully on your chest. What one doesn't even begin to imagine, let alone dream about, are endless squirminess, poop, reasonless crying, poop, lack of sleep, poop….did I mention poop?

All of sudden it's not about "me" anymore. Having a child takes every ounce of selfishness you may have, and flushes it down the toilet. Speaking of toilets, even something simple, like using the bathroom, takes planning and coordination. It's amazing how one can go from needing a solid 8 hours of sleep just to function the next day, to rejoicing when you can get a couple solid 3 hour chunks and feel like a new woman when you do. This is God's grace on us, to adapt and survive and still smile on the other side of it. :) To get to know this little person, to understand their needs and respond accordingly, takes hard work and dedication, but it's such a joy and all it takes is one little smile to forget the frustration you were feeling mere moments before. God is good.

9 weeks ago our life was, in a moment, changed forever. Lalaith Elizabeth Werezak entered our lives and, life as we knew it flew out the window. It's true, it was love at first sight, but within the first night, when your new baby just wants to suckle, cry, and poop, you soon find yourself slowly receding into a state of shock as the realization hits you: You have a baby now. Gone are the long nights of uninterrupted sleep, gone are your moments of free time, no more can you come and go as you please, when you please, for as long as you please. What have we done?

This then is followed by a new day, which brings new waves of wonder and love for this little one laying in your arms. That first day is huge. You're sharing your little miracle with friends and family and beginning to become acquainted with their little personality. Then the second night hits even harder, with even less sleep causing you and your husband to find yourselves revisiting the option of a pacifier. You may go into child birth with the notion that you do not, by any means, want a pacifier for you baby. Yet by four in the morning, you find yourself bordering on delirium as your baby continues to cry for no seemingly logical reason, and before you know it, your new bundle has a soother in their mouth and your catching a few well deserved moments of peace and quiet and sleep. It's amazing how ideas change the moment your baby enters the world and reality hits you like a deer loitering on highway 1.

In our society, we are bombarded with books, educational videos (most apparently from the early 1990's), the internet, others' unsolicited advice, and anything else we can get our hands on, all of which tell us the secrets of how to raise perfect children who never cry, sleep at night, and feed every 4 hours. The missing factor: Our children are all individuals and thus there can be no formula. This thing called "parenthood" is a learning curve, a massive learning curve. The largest we could possibly encounter, and we need to figure it out for ourselves. This is something that occurs over again with each new child, as they are all unique. They will all feed at different times, have their growth spurts at differing times, start teething at different ages, walking, talking etc. There's no logic to any of it, so as a new parent, I'm learning to just go with the flow.  Do I still ask for advice here and there from those who have traversed this road ahead of me? Absolutely. Do I research and read up on things I don't know? In a heart beat. But I also know to allow for some flexibility and use some common sense too. That's what makes this ride as a parent much easier. Sarcasm also helps :)

All in all, though the transition from 2 to 3 can be abrupt, crazy, and a wild ride, I've also found it to be inspiring, rewarding, and the most amazing gift. Being a mommy is the single greatest thing, next to being a wife, and there's nothing I would rather be doing in this moment. I thank God for my little latte, fall more and more in love with her everyday, can't seem to get enough kisses, and am learning a whole lot more of myself in the process and God is teaching me the value of patience and grace. I have to relax and take one day, and night, at a time.

Having a child is a truly grand transition indeed.

sleeping beauty

sleepy snuggles with mommy

hanging out

Till next time…

Scrumptious Creations: Banana Split Cake

There are times in life when you just need to indulge. In our health driven society, it's hard to justify sugar, cake, chocolate, or any sweet dessert. I am a health conscious individual, don't get me wrong, but once in a while there's nothing like having a slice (it can be small) of some delicious, non-healthy item. As long as you're not consuming it daily, a treat now and then can be good for the soul and make the heart happy…figuratively speaking. As my mother would always say "Everything in moderation." I agree.

My husband, Hayden, and I were heading to a pie social dessert night potluck (sounds sinful doesn't it? yum!) and needed to make something to contribute. I, of course, was going to fall on my very relying and delicious apple crisp. It's always a hit and easy to make. We had just recently been to a friends birthday party, however, where we tasted the most amazing banana split cake. Thus, my husband suggested we try it for the evening. There's nothing more intimidating then trying something new then taking it out where a vast multitude of people will be sampling it. But I was up for the challenge, as was Hayden. We searched for recipes online and found one to our liking, and then modified it further. Hayden is very ingenuitive when it comes to food, so I knew we could try it and our modifications would not only work, they would be delicious. Especially because it was a no bake dessert. Bonus!

The ingredients are:
about 2 1/4 cup oreo cookie crumbs (you can buy the boxed crumbs)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1 pkg (250g) of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cold milk
Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed
Bananas
Strawberries
Pineapple
Magic Shell chocolate sauce

We opted for an oreo cookie crust over a graham cracker crust, because who doesn't like oreo cookies!
We used 2 1/4 cups of the crumbs, but next time I think we'll use the whole box to make the base thicker, therefore needing more butter as well.

Mix the cookie crumbs with the melted butter and then press into a 9x13 pan. Refrigerate until you're ready to add the other layers.

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and milk until well blended. Then stir in or beat in about 1 cup of Cool Whip. Spread this on top of the cookie crumb base.

Add a layer of sliced bananas. (We were quite meticulous with our fruit layering as we wanted everyone to get all three fruits in every piece, if not every bite.)

Add a thin layer of Cool Whip

Add a layer of fresh sliced strawberries

Add a thin layer of Cool Whip

Add a layer of fresh sliced pineapple

Top with a thin layer of Cool Whip

Sprinkle with some small, chopped strawberry pieces and then drizzle with the Magic Shell chocolate sauce. We put it in the freezer to harden the chocolate.

Keep refrigerated until ready to consume. It's also a good idea to put it in the freezer for about 1/2 hr to an hour before cutting, to help firm everything up.

This was our first attempt and already we are figuring out how we would modify it further to create an even more delicious collision of flavours. perhaps adding another layer of the cream cheese mixture in there somewhere. No matter, the cake was a HUGE hit at the pie social and we hardly had anything to bring home. It was a good thing we indulged at the event :)

Thus, I highly recommend trying this recipe out. It took mere minutes to make and required no baking (always a bonus and especially nice during the hot summer months). Allow yourself to indulge, just a teeny bit, and sit back and enjoy.

till next time...