G Eats: Pizza Kale Chips

Kale chips are a revelation.  I'm not sure how I went so long without these tasty morsels of guilt free snacking.  With the use of my dehydrator, it's so simple for me to just toss them in before bed and wake up to delicious chips.  For the most part I have been going the simple olive oil and salt route with flavourings, but over the past few weeks have started to explore some other combinations as well. 

Last week I happened upon a recipe for pizza flavoured kale chips.  Intrigued, I started to browse through a bunch of different recipes before settling on my ingredients. After some measuring, blending, mixing and dehydrating I ended up with these beauties:

{Pizza flavouring - check. Crunchy snackable goodness - check.  Eating a whole helping of this in one sitting - double check}

Pizza Kale Chips

• 1 Bunch of kale {washed, dried and veins removed} 
• 1 Cup raw shelled sunflower seeds {soaked 4 hours}
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 2 1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp each: red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, rosemary, oregano
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• Salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Filtered water {to thin out mixture}

Combine everything except the water in a food processor.  Blend until everything is well combined and broken down.  At this point you should have a very thick orange mixture that needs to be thinned out.  With the processor still running slowly add in the water a 1/4 cup at a time to create a smooth paste.   The amount of water you use will depend on  how thick or thin your want it to be.  You want the paste to be thick enough to really coat the kale without being too heavy.  It's all personal preference though.

Place your kale in a large bowl and pour your sauce on top.  Use your hands to mix ensuring that every leaf is covered in your delicious pizza flavours.  Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and really massage the sauce into each piece of kale.

Lay out in a single layer on your trays and dehydrate overnight {approx. 12 hours} or until chips are completely dry and crispy.

Consume with enthusiasm. 

*Note: I have a very cheap dehydrator that doesn't have any sort of temperature control, so timing will most certainly vary depending on what kind of dehydrator you use.   

Happy snacking!

G.

Trunk Restoration ~ Getting Started

Captains Log ~ Day 1

I have located an old trunk in the depths of the parental garage.  It looks a little dinged up but I think it can be restored to a useable condition.  I see a stylistic coffee table in my future. Upon closer inspection the trunk seems to be in fairly good condition. A few dents and scrapes, missing handles, rust build up and a terrible peach interior - however the canvas is still intact, all the metal parts are there and the wood looks pretty good.  I believe I can work with this.

I have assembled a skilled team of safety goggles, face masks, gloves, steel wool, sand paper, online tips and good ol' elbow grease.  I believe that as a unit we should be able to tackle this job.  Project is a go!

~Hour 1~

An interesting assortment of objects have been pulled out of the trunk.  Old passports, baptism papers, paintings and various other documents.  Most notable is an old bar guide poster. I will pack this one away and take it back to headquarters, we can use some more interesting and informative wall art.  

 

~Hour 1.5~

I've wiped off excess dust and dirt from the outside of the trunk. My research has informed me that removing all the rust is the next step.  Also it seems to be the longest and most tedious step, better get a move on.  Engage steel wool.

~Hour 2~

It appears that my steel wool grade is not adequate for the job.  The stubborn rust does not seem to be dissipating while little bits of steel wool are steadily accumulating all over the garage. Perhaps if I use the steel brush...

Note to self: the steel brush is too aggressive and will scratch the metal. Abort! Abort! 

Re-engaging steel wool now.

~Hour 2.5~

My respirator mask is too tight, the steady pressure on the bridge of my nose has built to a level that is not easily ignored.   Nose has swollen up with slight signs of bruising and a headache has developed.  Rust is still intact. Hunger pains have set in. I'm thinking a regroup is in order.  

Fall back team! 

It looks as though we will need to head back to HQ for further research, additional supplies and a new plan of attack.  Not to mention some lunch.

Captains Log out!

G. 

Our Girl Abbie

I've had a week to work through all the various emotions that come with this topic.  It's not a rant or a flippant account of frivolous things that I like. It is a subject near and dear to my heart.

This is Abbie.  Also known occasionally as Doodlebot, Bearcat and Scuttlebutt.  She is one of our two cats that we have had the pleasure to hang out with for the past 6 years.  She is a friendly, beautiful, loud and expressive kitty that I dare you not to fall in love with. She loves to lay on the kitchen table, soaking up the sunshine and waiting for someone to walk by so she can get their attention with a sharp "MREOW!".  We always know when it's breakfast time or her water is low, she is not afraid to scold us. She likes belly rubs, drinking from faucets and sleeping on top of you if you fall asleep on the couch.  In short, she is lovely.

Recently we found out that Abbie has stage 4 kidney disease. A gut wrenching discovery that left me bawling the latter half of last week. The more information we were given, the more freaked out we became. There is no way we can make her kidneys better. Our best possible outcome is to keep them stabilized while ensuring she is getting all the nutrients she needs through diet, medication and fluid injections. My first thought of course was 'our kitty is gonna die'.  Cue the sobbing. Followed by 'can we really shove a needle into our baby everyday?!?!' The inevitable 'can we afford all the meds she needs? What will her quality of life be like? What are we supposed to do?'.  Both of our brains were mush, our thoughts ricocheting around like a bouncy ball in a small room. We needed perspective.

Naturally I called my Mum. I may be an independent, soon to be 29-year-old adult, but when shit hits the fan, I still turn to my Mother to give me advice. She is the best. After talking through our information and emotion overload, we broke everything down into simple options. Do nothing and watch her fade away  - hell no.  Put her down - not without a fight. Suck it up, try the treatment for a month, see how she does and revisit everything then - oh, we can totally do that. Once a choice had been made, it went a long way towards calming both of us down.  

On Saturday, our wonderful new mobile vet came over with all the food, meds, fluids and needles we will need to help our sick kitty.  We were now officially face to face with reality.  She walked us through the fluid injections and how everything will work.  It didn't seem too bad.  Enter Sunday.  Our first 3 attempts at the injection did not work.  Every time we tried and failed we got a little bit more stressed.  Eventually we managed to get it done, but it was not easy.  Monday we got a good pep talk from the vet.  It took only two tries that day.  Tuesday we managed in one, despite a wriggling unhappy kitty.  Our hope is that, as all three of us get more comfortable, the whole thing will become a relatively smooth routine.  We also hope that all this will help her and as long as it does, we will continue with it.

Everyone has different levels of emotions when it comes to animal friends.  Some will get where I'm coming from.  Some may cut their losses quickly to avoid any emotional or financial strain.  Some may wonder why I am so torn up inside over the whole situation.  Some may not even care. They may not get why I am willing to spend so much time and money on a cat.  I guess if you don't understand you've never really had the love and companionship of an animal.  Our cats are our babies, they are just as much a part of the family as our human relatives. The girls have been with us through thick and thin.  As long as Abbie's quality of life is still good, I could never throw in the towel on such a wonderful kitty. 

So we shall battle on and hope for the best. Really it's all we can do.  Now if you'll excuse me I have kitties to go cuddle.



G.

Current Obsessions GGO {Going Gaga Over}

Well I'm not going to lie, it's early April and life is throwing me curveballs {and I don't mean the kind on the baseball diamond}.  Being unemployed is STRESSFUL. I am trying to maintain a regular 8:00-5:00 work schedule where I must be a productive human being.  My 'work' day generally consists of job hunting, errand running, apartment cleaning  /organizing and trying to stay relatively sane while not spending money.  Man EVERYTHING costs money. I'd like to say money doesn't matter, but when you aren't making any...it matters. So far I am relatively calm, we will see what happens in a few weeks when my last cheques run out.

Meanwhile I am trying to focus on the positives of life, which leads me to the things I am currently obsessed with.

1) My Dehydrator - Kale chips, beef jerky, dried fruit and no added preservatives/unneeded ingredients - this little beauty is a gem of a kitchen appliance.  I haven't ventured too deep into all the things I can make, but I will.  Currently I just have a very cheap model with a few trays and no temperature control.  Eventually I'd like to upgrade to one of the fancier models, but for now I'm good.  Snack away.

2) Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo & Conditioner - I am slowly trying to switch over to a more natural beauty routine.  I have really sensitive skin that reacts badly to a lot of ingredients so I have to be careful.  I'm replacing everything one product at a time so I know how I react to everything.  After a failed attempt at going shampoo free {in which I gave myself a dry itchy flaky scalp with greasy hair} I wanted a gentle, sulphate free hair care routine. Also I didn't want to break the bank. After some searching I landed on the Organix Coconut Hair Care line.  Easily available at my local drug stores, affordable and made with simple ingredients.  It's light weight and leaves my hair soft, manageable and smelling divine! Seriously this stuff smells so good that sometimes I find myself sitting around sniffing my hair. Love it!

3) Coconut Anything - While I'm on the subject of coconut, who knew how awesome and diverse it was?  Before going Paleo, coconut was on my short list of things I hated!  How could I have ever loathed such a wonderful food? Be it coconut milk or water, shredded or flaked, oil or butter - I now LOVE all things coconut. I officially retract any past statements condemning you fair coconut. I was wrong and you were right - let's be friends forever.

4) MLB TV - You didn't think I could talk about obsessions in April and leave out baseball did you?  Purchased before money became tight, this is my first season with a subscription to MLB TV. I am already stretching my Fella's patience with the amount of baseball games I am watching {3 games a day isn't too bad right?}. Now part of this is due to the fact that I am home so much now, mixed with the subscription.  He is used to only having to suffer through watching all of the Blue Jays games and an occasional extra game here and there. But now with this wonderful new world of baseball-viewing heaven opened up before me...I simply can't resist.  I will just have to soothe his anti-sports nature with more baked goods, because baseball is not going anywhere.

5) Banana 'Ice Cream' - Once again leave it to Pintrest to provide me with new and addicting dessert options.  If you have yet to freeze some bananas and puree them into a smooth delicious treat please do so immediately.  Don't be afraid to drop a spoonful of almond butter and cocoa powder into the mix either.  Your taste buds will thank you.

Happy April!




G.

{As usual any opinions on products, recipes, etc mentioned here are solely mine and are no way affiliated with any companies.  I'm not an expert, just a girl sharing the stuff I love}

Anniversary Grub

Last week my Boyfriend and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary.  We are not a typical super romantic couple, although we do have our moments.  When this date pops up every year, there is no gift buying or expensive restaurant reservations.  No flowers or jewellery, I'm not that kind of girl.  Usually it consists of the two of us finding a new, cheap place to eat great food and hang out.  This year, since we're trying to eat more at home, I decided that I was going to make a feast for us. When I asked my fella what a perfect meal would be for him, he simply said: bacon wrapped things?  Challenge accepted.   It was decided that every course would have bacon in it somewhere.

For the first course I decided to do a romantic twist on a caesar salad. In place of typical croutons and bacon bits, I made heart shaped pretzels topped with a delicious bacon jam. The smokey saltiness of the jam really complemented the strong garlic flavour of the salad dressing. I'm not usually a big caesar salad fan, normally I find them to be a little too plan and boring.  Not to mention that I don't eat bread and dislike creamy salad dressings.  But this dish struck the perfect starting note for the meal. 

{A little extra love never hurts a meal}

For the main course I went rustic.  Roasted cornish hens served with mashed turnip and bacon wrapped asparagus spears.  Fairly straight forward and simple, but so satisfying. A few spoonfuls of bacon jam may have found their way into the turnips as well.  How clumsy of me.

Dessert. Heart shaped chocolate cupcakes topped with chocolate ganache, shredded coconut and chocolate bacon meringues.  Paired with toasted coconut coffee for him and organic stormy night tea for me.  Definitely the perfect sweet ending to a delectable meal.

In the end we had stuffed bellies, smiles on our faces, 4 years of togetherness and leftovers for the next day.  Even though I only technically wrapped one thing in bacon, I think the ingredient was incorporated quite well throughout the meal.  Of course this means that next year I will have to top myself with a new challenge and an even better meal.  Good thing I have almost 365 days to prep.




G.