I love the beach

We woke up early this morning greeted by the sun and decided to get a head start on the day and go to the beach (you really have to take advantage of sunny days here). The beach we choose was, Martinique.  Many times we talked about checking it out, but never did. I didn't know what we were missing until we got there!!

When we got out of the car and walked through the sea grass boardwalk...I was in awe. It felt like we were in paradise....the longest white sandy beach in Nova Scotia, KILLER! Here is a little video of Leeluu :)
Hope everyone got some sunshine this weekend :)

P.S. What do you think of my new blog header/layout?

Farmers Market

The weather was chilly and it rained but I wore my long-johns underneath my jeans so I was set for the four hours at the Hubbards Farmers Market :) It was busy market this morning, people were dancing to the folk music and enjoying coffee! I am looking forward to when the weather starts warming up thats for sure.

Ocean joined me this morning and took this picture of me at my table. I am up early 5 am, baking muffins, making wraps and cinnamon buns so excuse the morning face :P This is the first week that I had an official banner sign!

This is an early morning photo of the inside of the barn, before it gets busy. Come down and check it out, its on every Saturday at 8-noon.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! 

Growth

It is spring and the weather is warming up! Over the weekend I spent some time in the garden, weeding and cleaning up. The kids loves being outdoors and so do I. With everything going on in the world right now, I feel very fortunate to spend time outside with my family.

I have plans for a veggie patch this year (last years was a major fail), I am hoping to find out what deers don't like and growing that! Also I have hopes to plant a fruit tree or two in the yard, and start my own compost:)

Cooking is by the wayside right now, still waiting on our kitchen. Should be here in a week or two at the most. I am looking forward to trying some new recipes and doing some food posts:p

HAPPY SPRING!

Rise and shine

Good Morning

Liquid Gold

It's my birthday on Saturday and J planned a special afternoon for us to spend together, I had no idea what we were going to do...but I had a idea it was going to have something to do with food! We stopped on route to grab a bottle of wine. (that's how I knew it was to do with food)

When we arrived at Liquid Gold, I was surprise to say the least. A Olive oil tasting bar? Huh? I have never heard of an olive oil tasting bar....but what was to come was one of the best experiences since living in Nova Scotia (besides the beaches!)

When we walked into the charming hydrostone building, it was lined with stainless steel barrels that were all shined up with spouts. I was excited!! Are you telling me we can taste ALL of these!

Yes that says CHOCOLATE Balsamic!

Not only do they carry the freshest olive oil you can get your hands on here, but they also have a tons of different balsamic vinegars. I was in heaven! The owners Bill & Myrna were super nice and let the little one explore there store while we tasted. I got a bit of a background about the olive oil, which was really cool.

 Leeluu chill'n with the owner Bill

Once I finished tasting it was the deciding that was hard. I choose the 18 year old balsamic vinegar and two olive oils. One was a very mellow tasting oil with a hint of apple ( Manzanillo), and I also choose a flavored olive oil the mushroom & sage.  The bottles are neat and if you bring them back for a refill you get a little discount! I had a great experience at Liquid Gold, I won't buy olive oil anywhere else after tasting fresh stuff!

I will be blogging a lot more with vegan MOFO just a few days away! I hope to get some good pictures, with winter on its way I find it harder to get pictures of what I am cooking, the light just isn't the same.

Pumpkins pumpkins everywhere

I really wanted to take the little one to a pumpkin patch, after all that's what is fun about the month of October...PUMPKINS! So we headed out this morning to the farm. There were LOTS of pumpkins, little ones, medium ones, and HUMONGOUS ones! I think pumpkins that weight 1000 pounds! That is a lot of pie.
  

Its all about the stem for me, what do you look for in a pumpkin?

We even got to feed PT some apples!

We packed a lunch and sat at the picnic tables on the grass...a perfect spot to enjoy the view of the farm and let the little ones run. There is a pumpkin regatta this weekend. Where people hollow out PVC's (personal vegetable crafts) haha and paddle them across a river for charity.

Go check it out!!

Dills Farm

Pumpkin Regatta

A few pics of our new home & Parma Giveaway!

the kitchen

I feel sorta bad that I haven't been posting any recipes...but I will soon, promise. For now our home is my focus and I thought I would share a few pictures. This is the kitchen...I really want to get it renovated, but for now it is good (ARGH! except the oven doesn't work properly!!) I really love all the natural light though :)

view from kitchen

One of the best parts about this home, it's only a quick walk to the beach. This is our view from the front of the house. I love waking up to the sparkles on the water.

front window

  little ones space

O.K. that's all I got so far...the rest of the house is messy with boxes and art I have not put up yet. So far I have been super happy here, I suspect it will get better in the winter, because we have a wood stove in the living room!! What could be better on a snowy day then curling up on the couch and warming your toes by a fire!

Alright it is time for another giveaway!The good people at  Eat in the raw sent me some PARMA vegan Parmesan to sample and give one of my lucky blog readers a chance to try some too! The kids and I tried some last night I made vegan macaroni and cheese and steamed veggies. I liked it sprinkled on the cauliflower.

The ingredients are Raw organic walnuts, red star nutritional yeast, Celtic sea salt & LOVE! (love is an actual ingredient listed!) The nutritional yeast that they use is Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula. It is the highest quality nutritional yeast available. It contains good quality protein and B vitamins, including B12, a vitamin we vegans are constantly on the lookout for! 

The possibilities are endless with Parma!! So how do you get your hands on some of this...just leave a comment on what you would love to sprinkle this on. Don't forget to visit there site and read about the company!

Busy as a bee

Well I am sad to say that I forgot my camera for the catering gig :( I realized once I was already half way there...I wanted to turn around, but I didn't want to be late. DOH'. I think it went great, everyone seemed to love the food. It was a fun experience and I hope to do some more in the future. The wedding was beautiful and it took place on my friends family property, seaside of course!

I have been crazy busy...I have painted, packed, moved, cleaned and unpacked a four bedroom home on my own! I feel exhausted, but the end is almost near. It is SO much better to move out in one day apposed to taking one month!  We haven't had the best of dinners lately but I did manage to make this yummy summer tomato and zucchini linguine with fresh basil, accompanied with a vegan cheese toast :)

I think this has been the best summer in record (or at least a very long time) for Nova Scotia. I have spent quite a lot of time at the beach, when I am feeling stressed out I pack up the kids and walk down the street. Last night I went for a dip in the sea. It was so warm.

What do you do to get unstressed?

More of my favorite places and quick cinnamon oatmeal...camping styles

We went camping for the last few days....It was amazing! If you live in Nova Scotia there are many provincial parks that offer great camping, our favorite is Risser Beach. If you ever have the chance, you should visit there. When its sunny out the beaches are beautiful.  This is just some of the beauty we seen....
 

  Rissers Beach

our camp

 

 Luna

Early morning

Carters beach

I know that oatmeal is not for everyone...but my littlest one LOVES it! Its pretty simple to make and because this is my food blog/diary , I thought I would share it :) 

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup organic quick oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp raisins (optional)

maple syrup ( a must!!:)

non-dairy milk

bring the pot of water to a boil, add oats,cinnamon,and raisins.

Cook for 3-4 minutes. Stirring until thickens

Spoon into a bowl and pour on the maple and milk!!

Good to the last drop

Don't forget to enter my Acai powder Giveaway!

Roses are red and houses are blue

I had a great morning at the farmers market. Every time I attend  I always end up meeting someone new. It really has a community feel... I know I have mentioned that before, but that is why I enjoy it so much.

Another beautiful bouquet. I managed to sneak away from my table and snag one. Can't you  imagine these at a wedding with the white dress, and some pretty red and yellow accents? I also got a yummy loaf of bread.

So remember the great news that I mentioned a few posts ago...well we bought our first home!! I am so excited to finally own a home. It has been a dream of mine for so long. Its blue and cute, and only a two minute walk to the beach. It needs a little TLC but I have lots to give, and I am so excited to finally get to do things the way we like them.

Its so much fun planning out what colours to paint, and what I want my kitchen to look like ( it needs a reno:P), but everything in time. We get the keys on the Wednesday!! I will be keeping a scrap book of our new home and the updates we do.  I hope to share my ideas with you and hopefully you can give me yours.

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.  ~Chinese Proverb

A beautiful Saturday morning at the Farmers Market

Hi bloggy friends....I have been really busy the last couple of weeks, just with life things. I think that is why I have been neglecting my blog. Not that it's a job or work, I love taking photos of the food I make and sharing the recipe with the world. That's what its all about.

This weekend I was back at the Hubbards Farmers Market, I love that place. It has such a good community feel, and such a great ambiance about it. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend spending a Saturday morning there. This is where I bought this beautiful bouquet! My plan is to put it on my bedside table, so that when I wake up I see flowers.

I know that I mentioned some wonderful news on my last post, I don't want to jinks it. So I will tell you my news soon, when its more concrete.

I don't have any recipes to share, because I haven't been making a whole lot of different things. Sometimes I just go to my "know what works and tastes the best recipes", and sometimes its just not that interesting. haha

I am madly trying to clean my house, we are leaving next week. I am excited to go and see friends and spend some much needed time in the city. I miss the life of city living, but I am sure that once I'm there for a week, I will be thankful to come back to my little shire.

I have invited a guest to do a post while I am away, Noelle, from An Opera Singer in the Kitchen. I feel lucky to have her as a bloggy friend. She was one of my first friends, and her food is always super yummy looking. I can't wait to see what she makes!

Have a great rest of the weekend. Hope wherever you are you are enjoying some sunshine :)