Eau d’été

The sun was shinning so bright this weekend that I was able to study out on the balcony in shorts and a tank top. The warm weather even inspired my mom to make “summer water” to help keep my brain sharp and hydrated as I drowned it in Financial Accounting review. This recipe tasted (and looked) so lovely that I just had to share it with you.

Eau d’été

(Water + Mint + Ginger) x let steep for 1 hour in the fridge

I don’t like following precise recipes, and I prefer improvising when it comes to measuring ingredients. Therefore I tend to write out recipes in a super simple manner. If you are not like me and prefer straightforward, specific directions, check out Martha Stewart’s version!

Wish me luck on my final exam tomorrow!

Winter Food + Studying

There is nothing better than grilled vegetables with Sriracha sauce to fight the bitter cold. Hot tea helps too.

What’s on this plate? Spinach, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, pumpkin seeds, sriracha

Time to get back to Financial Accounting! Studying is surprisingly enjoyable when paired with delicious food.

Super Quick Pulled Pork Salad

Healthy pulled-pork salad with fresh, local veggies

Ingredients:

– A mom

– Pulled Pork

– Fresh Greens

– Cucumbers

– Tomatoes

Steps:

1. Get mom to make delicious pulled pork

2. Throw lettuce onto plate

3. Throw pulled pork onto lettuce

4. Cut remaining ingredients and add to plate

5. Eat & study for Statistics midterm

Mango Coconut Slush

This is a super simple refreshing drink that I’ve been enjoying, especially on warmer summer days. I made two different graphics for this recipe and I can’t seem to pick my favourite, so you get two-for-one today! For fun, I added a little poll at the bottom of the post. I am curious to see which one is your favourite, dear 125 subscribers. Feel free to vote!

(A little side-note; these photos are Pinterest friendly!)

#1

#2

Zucchini Noodles

My new favourite vegetable is the zucchini because of its unbelievable versatility. For lunch we made zucchini pasta. It is so simple to make and only requires a potato peeler to create the noodles. Then they are heated in a pan until soft, and voilà!

We combined the noodles in a pan with coconut oil, baby Bok Choy, mushrooms, green onions, sesame seeds, and roast beef.

Kitchen: Tuna Bites and My First Letter

I got a letter in the mail today! My first letter in the new home. It is from my beloved Charis who is coming to visit me in September… We are going to have the time of our lives!

For lunch, I mixed tuna and avocado and decided to eat it in the form of cute little bites. The recipe is so simple I was able to write it out as an equation. Why complicate things?

(cucumber slice + tomato slice + tuna and avocado + olive slice) x toothpick = ta da!

Good Morning!

Happy Monday everyone! I would like to share two things about my morning.

The first is my absolute favourite summer drink: Almond Milk Iced Latte. Bonus points if it’s in a mason jar, like mine today.

Second is my marvellous hair. I guess it’s humid in Toronto today. At least Monica understands.

Packing and Unpacking

My mom and I have been unpacking old boxes that were buried deep in closets and corners of the garage, simply to sort through them and pack them up again. Today we found big bins full of our kid crafts and projects. We had a good laugh going through these.

I found what was probably my first written English essay. I decided to share it as the spelling is simply horrendous and it shows just how difficult learning a second language can be. I’ve made it this far though! Bet my writing doesn’t seem so bad anymore….

It took my mom and I a while to figure it out, but here are a couple of words that gave us trouble, along with their true spelling.

“yose” = was

“quald” = called

“adeus” = others

“stayl” = style

“dithit” = didn’t

“tilleud” = tired

“billing” = being

Props to my mom for keeping these treasures. My siblings and I can look back and see our improvements or simply have a good laugh. Anyone else’s mom keeps boxes and boxes of your old drawings and letters?

Today I also made homemade raspberry & peach sorbet. Next time you make a smoothie, freeze it in a big container instead of drinking it. Then pull out the container to thaw for 30 minutes, and use a spoon to scrape out the frozen smoothie. Ta-da! Your very own sorbet.

Perspective: Kettle Valley Village

The Kettle Valley Neighbourhood in Kelowna (I live here)

Sometimes the adventure is right outside your house.

It is pouring rain and the sky has been growling. I just got home. I decided to go for a bike ride in this weather. No raincoat. Just a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals.

Yes, I got some weird looks. A girl biking and laughing in the pouring rain isn’t the norm. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done!

It was an incredible experience. Rejuvenating. Being the witness of a beautiful phenomena. The Earth cleansing, moisturizing. And I was right in the middle of it.

I try to practice what I preach. I’ve blogged about seeing things from a different perspective. I’ve said that situations are what we make of them. So today, instead of looking at the rain from the comfort of my home, I experienced it.

I appreciated it in a whole new way. I’d encourage everyone to try this. It is a lot of fun.

It makes you feel freeeeeeeeeeee

Rainy days also make for interesting photos!

When I got home, my brother welcomed me with our family’s video camera. A bit embarrassing. I got him to snap this photo.

I love rain.

When I got home, I made myself a Rainy Day Salad. I don’t know if that’s a real thing, I just made it up.

Anyways, making it was easy peasy lemon squeezy… Though it didn’t involve peas or squeezed lemons.

1) Sauté some mushrooms and green onions with a drop of coconut oil.

2) Add some red peppers (or any colour you want) that are cut however you want. I diced mine.

3) Cut some left over pork (or chicken, or whatever is in your fridge) into bite size pieces and dump it in the pan.

4) Throw in a handful of spinach leaves. (My mom used to pronounce it “Spynak”… Thought I’d share that with you)

5) Pour everything into a bowl.

6) Mix in diced avocado and tomato.

Done. At this point you can add salt and pepper if you want. I don’t, but I respect your life choices…

Happy rain!

Rainy Day Salad