The Green Goddess

My Mum turned me onto making these green smoothies as a great way to get some extra veggies into your diet.  She was the one that coined the name "Green Goddess".  Yes, I was skeptical at first - just look at that colour! - but one taste had me hooked. These smoothies are sweet, refreshing, and oh-so-good-for-you.

Quinoa For Breakfast?

In the morning time is essential, and I don't always have ample time to make myself breakfast (much to my horror, breakfast is my favorite meal!).  These quinoa filled breakfast bowls pack a ton of protein into one easy to prepare serving and keep you full until lunch.  They are perfect for busy days you want to continue to eat healthfully in.  Keep reading to find out how to make them!

Join Me For Lunch: Versatile Asian Salad

This salad has been a staple in my kitchen for at least two weeks now!  It's so delicious I don't think I will ever be tired of it.

Something I love about salads is their versatility.  If you don't like something about a salad you can skip or replace that component with virtually no risk.   That's why with this salad recipe I have included a list of other ingredients that might be interesting to add or substitute.  Be creative and play with your food!

Tammy Salzl

Tammy Salzl is a painter from Edmonton, Alberta working on her MFA at Concordia University in Montréal.  Her work is currently being exhibited at the FOFA Gallery in Montréal.  I attended the FOFA show, and an artist talk that she gave in a class that I am enrolled in.

Her work is juicy, tactile, and relates directly to the squidgy, oozing nature of oil paint.  Her work deals with issues regarding the environment, gender, mutation and the body.  I admire her ability to combine these topics, and have them displayed so clearly in the medium of painting.

You can visit her website here, to view more images of her work and her artist statement.

Shifting Scapes

Shifting Scapes is a stop motion animation film that is describes the pulsating, interconnected, and continuous nature of the natural environment.  The Canadian landscape serves as inspiration for these vibrations and changes.

The music is from the band Summer Heart and the song is I Wanna Go;  I have a post about them here on this blog.

I made this work, and I value your feedback on it!

Please enjoy in full screen for full effect.



Shifting Scapes from Christine McKeating on Vimeo.
A stop motion animation about how landscapes move, shift, and change over time.
Music by Summer Heart - I Wanna Go

The Cinematic Orchestra

The Cinematic Orchestra's song To Build a Home, is a beautiful impression on what it means to feel at home.
Give it a listen:

Join Me For Lunch: Black Bean Soup and Quinoa Tabbouleh

This week I made myself a smoky and spicy Black Bean Soup for lunch, with a side of a fresh, protein and calcium rich Quinoa Tabbouleh salad.  With a side of Corn Chips, this made a delicious and filling lunch!

Read the recipes after the jump!

Benjamin Kyle

Imagine being stranded by your own amnesia, unable to remember your own name or personal identity, searching for any opportunity that could be lent to you...

What would you do in Benjamins' situation?

Make sure to view in full screen for full effect.



Finding Benjaman from John Wikstrom on Vimeo.

In The Pines

A short film

Make sure to view in full screen for full effect.



In The Pines (Short Film) from Shep Films on Vimeo.

Daughter

The song "Youth" by the band Daughter has very powerful lyrics, and something for everyone.

"We are the reckless,
We are the wild youth
Chasing visions of our futures
One day we'll reveal the truth..."

The music video is done live in a church, which makes for some very interesting acoustics.

Homemade Mushroom Soup

For a special treat, I made my roommate and I some of this creamy mushroom soup.  It didn't last more than an hour because we gobbled up the entire batch!  The recipe for this soup is deceivingly simple, but we will never buy canned mushroom soup again after seeing how easy and delicious this soup is to make.

The recipe is originally from Season With Spice, but the recipe I list has some adjustments.

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Chopped Fresh Mushrooms*

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6 Cloves of Garlic (go big or go home)

2 Tbsp of Butter

2 tsp dried thyme

2 Bay leaves

1 Cup Vegetable Stock

1 Tbsp of Flour dissolved in 1 Tbsp Water

Pinch of salt

1/2 Cup Half and Half cream

1/2 Cup 2% Milk

Dash of Nutmeg 

Pepper and fresh cilantro to garnish and to taste

*You can technically use any type of mushroom for this, although I recommend using at least two varieties in this soup.  It will give the mushroom flavour more dimension than if you had only used one.  You could combine a "smokier" mushroom, like a portobello, with a "brighter" one, such as a Button mushroom.  For my soup, I selected half Shiitake mushrooms, half Button mushrooms.  The Shiitake mushrooms gave an earthy, smoky flavour, while the Button mushrooms were soft and bright in contrast.  I prefer smoky, earthy flavours while my roommate prefers lighter ones, so this was the perfect balance for us.

Method:

1.  Heat your oil and melt the butter in a medium sized sauce pan, and sautée the garlic on medium heat.

2.  Add in the chopped mushrooms and spices.  Cook until the moisture evaporates from the mushrooms, and the spices begin to toast and smell great (about 5 - 10 minutes, depending on how finely you chopped the mushrooms).

3.  Add in Vegetable Broth and stir until the mixture boils.  Immediately reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add in your diluted flour so the soup thickens, and has that creamy texture.

4.  Season with Nutmeg, Salt, and Pepper, and stir in the Cream and milk.  Once the soup reaches a simmer, take it off the heat and serve it garnished with Pepper and Cilantro.

This soup would be great served with pumpernickel bread, but we just served it with parmesan toasted onto rye bread, and that was delicious as well.

Please let me know if you try this soup! 

How To Be Alone

An older video, but still refreshing to see nonetheless.

Sleepover

Just One Second

What if you only had one second to show something beautiful?  This is the question Montblanc and Leo Burnett ask in their short film challenge.  Artists make a one second film encapsulating something that is beautiful to them.

Check out this compilation, Make sure you view it in full screen for full effect.:



If you only had one second to show something beautiful, what would you show?

Submissions can be sent to Montblanc One Second.

Blueberry French Toast

Wouldn't it be lovely to wake up in the morning and have some french toast with Blueberries and custard waiting for you? I think so.

Life in a Day

This documentary gives a glimpse into the lives of everyday people all over the world.

If you were to document a day in your life, what would it look like?

Under Stair Storage

I think I may have enough books one day to actually pull this off...

Where do you store your books?  Do you have a large collection, or aim to have one?

From Here.

The Burlap Bag

The Burlap Bag is an awesome online resource that has remedies for varying household plights.  These include how to make homemade air fresheners, laundry detergents and other home DIY's.  The best part of them is they are very inexpensive and environmentally friendly.  I was particularly interested in trying out making my own liquid soap.  Take a look around the website and let me know what you think!