from nelly...with love...

i'm a mrs...........................

2011-10-21T14:34:00.009Z

hey y'all...i've been recuperating...needed some rest after planning such an amazing event (my wedding) this passed year...what can i say? it was the most beautiful event i have ever planned...it was as beautiful and lovely as i had hoped (perhaps even more than i had hoped and wished)...i am so blessed and so happy i was able to pull it off...with the help of all of my friends and family (this includes alison, mark and naomi)...whom i cherish with all of my heart and soul...and it is so beautiful to be married...it doesn't feel any different...but just knowing that john and i are husband and wife makes me feel incredible and fabulous...and even more loved...i think, maybe, my heart has grown a little bigger...and...i guess...my family has grown a little bigger...and i feel lucky...and happy to have such an amazingly remarkable group of new people in my life...to call my own...

here are some pics from the day (the following are pics taken from john's father, can't wait to see the professional photos taken from the day)...

we were sweating buckets...

very beautiful ukrainian tradition...

ceremony pics...

i almost wiped out after the priest said "you may now kiss the bride"...we were so excited...hehehe!!!

we laughed it off...

our pimpin' ride...

pics from the venue/party...

this was the room prior to everyone arriving...

tutus and flip flops...

our first dance...(forever - beach boys)...

john and i are off on our honeymoon in a week...i am beyond excited...we're off to bahamas...and looking forward to the powder white sandy beach and the turquoise water...and the swimming pigs (i know right???!!!!)...

anyhoo, here's to happily ever after...

have a very beautiful weekend my friends...sending you all so much love and ginormous hugs...

it's been crazy...i'm not gonna lie...

2011-09-01T13:41:00.001Z

one month...one week...and all this craziness will be a thing of the past...not sure whether to be thankful...or sad...

it's been a crazy ride...that's for certain...and there's been so much drama...and craziness, i don't think i can take much more...i think i've had enough to last me my entire lifetime...and then some...but through it all i keep reminding myself that the prize at the end of it all, is enough, and is worthwhile...i'm marrying the man of my heart and dreams...my best friend...so yah...i'm in it for the long haul...even if it comes with a little bit of a freak show...

i've learned a lot along the way...what have i learned? well...i've learned who i can and cannot lean on...sheesh there are shoulders out there, i didn't even know i could rest my head on for a while...and then there are shoulders i thought i could use...but...clearly, i was wrong and mistaken...i thought i would be a little less crazy...but i think i've walked in the shoes of brideszilla, a few times...i guess it just comes with the package...i've learned to laugh at things i normally wouldn't have laughed at...and i have learned to make decisions, i usually am really bad at making decisions...i've learned that even the good vendors, the really sweet and kind ones...well, they're not THAT great...and they definitely keep you on your toes...and i have learned that weddings, well, they're not as fairytale as i once thought they were...they're hard to pull together...it's like sweating blood sometimes...and i've learned that it's me against the world (sometimes)...i also learned that when it comes to the dress...you'll know she's the one when you see her...the dress i thought i wanted, well it wasn't meant to be...the dress that made me cry...she's the winner...and you'll all get a chance to meet her soon enough...

i have a few more things i need to do before the big day...i need to buy a vintage suitcase...and some candles...antique windows...and a shrug for the church...i need to hear back from about 60 more guests, even though today is the deadline (sheesh!)...john needs a shirt and bow tie...i need to find a sitter for jackson...my little schmacks...i am so gonna miss him that day...we need to decide on a honeymoon spot...(doesn't help that i am afraid of flying...ugh)...

so yah...i'm well on my way, i think...so that's my little update...i promise to be back after the wedding full throttle...i've just been a little crazy busy...y'all don't even know the half of it...haha!

anyhoo-hoo...one thing i wanna say...i have been reading all of your blogs daily...just haven't been commenting...it is what it is...i don't have much brain power these days...i'll definitely be back full throttle late fall...love you all...and have a wonderful september...

dear bridesmaids...

2011-03-31T14:05:00.001Z

i would really love it if you all wore short black cocktail dresses...please see length of dresses below...

ok?

love you guys...

epicness...

2011-03-28T13:43:00.006Z

saturday evening was our engagement party, it was epic. my future mother in law...and her husband (in my heart they are both already my family) went above and beyond to make this day so special for both my man and i...and our family and friends made it even better by being a part of it...i am eternally grateful and in love with each and every person that made our engagement night a very memorable time...a night i will never ever forget...and i know that our wedding day and night will be even more special...and i am even more excited about our wedding now...

our engagement party

it was definitely a night to remember...and i always will...

happy monday my friends...

seven random things...

2011-03-25T13:44:00.004-01:00

the ever so lovely heidi nominated me for the one lovely blog award...and i am definitely thankful...i have been a GINORMOUS fan of heidi's for a while...i will always be a fan...she's a phenomenal human being...and i adore her.

for the one lovely blog award:

* thank and link the blogger who has given you the award.
* copy and paste the logo in your blog.
* share 7 things about yourself.
* nominate 15 other great bloggers.
* comment and let them know of the award.

seven things about me...

* i was pulled over by a police officer on the morning of my 26th birthday, during an ice storm for apparently running a red light...when i saw the sirens blaring behind me, i thought i was being pulled over for driving too slowly...i ended up fighting the ticket because i clearly didn't run a red light, i turned left very slowly as the light turned yellow...and i guess i may have still been in the intersection as the light turned from yellow to red...and i cried like a baby...i was so embarrassed.

* i'm uber emotional...i cry over everything...everything.

* i look at cooking as a way to ease stress...and it excites me.

* i absolutely love grocery shopping...it's always an adventure. and i love health food stores...adore them.

* i absolutely adore angelina jolie...i idolize her...

* i am a mama bear...i always feel the need to defend people i care for...i will fight to the death for a loved one...it gets me into A LOT of trouble...

* right now i am on this weird fruit kick...i can't imagine or even think about eating anything else...but i do...

i nominate...

melissa - contagious health
marlie - barefoot and frolicking
nikki - fresh young coconut
lauren (she's already been nominated, but i adore her...so...i nominate her again...ginger is the new pink
shannon marie - rawdorable
callie - rawxy
sarah - welsh girl eats
tasha - voracious

tonight is our engagement party...so excited...it's gonna be a fun filled night, filled with epic friends and family...laughter...champagnsky and a sparkly dress or two...

mishmash randomness...

2011-03-24T13:04:00.010-01:00

this post is going to be slightly all over the place, just a little warning...i guess it should be expected, i haven't posted since last week...but life happens, right?

ok...where do i begin? let's begin with food...dessert first...

meyer lemon blueberry muffins (vegan) (inspired by this lovely chickita)

dry ingredients

1/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup of whole grain spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt

wet ingredients

1/4 maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
the juice of 2 meyer lemons
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. in a larger bowl, wet ingredients, mixing well.

pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. add the blueberries.

i used 7 silicone muffin liners, and put abut 2 heaping tablespoons of batter into each liner...so i didn't have to grease anything, but if using muffin tins make sure to grease them well.

bake at 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

and DEVOUR!!!!

peanut butter banana cake (vegan)

dry ingredients:

1 cup whole grain spelt flour
3/4 cup whole grain barley flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of fine sea salt

wet ingredients:

3 mashed up bananas
1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
1/2 cup of water
2 tbsp sugar free applesauce
1/2 cup peanut butter

preheat oven to 350 degrees...place all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix well. add all wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk until incorporated. add wet ingredients to dry ingredients...mix well...pour mixture into either a lined and greased loaf pan...or if you don't have a loaf pan, like myself, improvise...and use a 8x8 round spring form cake pan...lined with parchment paper and greased...and call it a banana cake...place loaf pan or cake pan in oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes...you will know it's ready when the the bread/cake springs away from the side of the cooking vessel...

and remember, you can always drizzle more nut butter on a slice...

how about a little savory dish? something spicy...nourishing and soul soothing?

i had some chickpeas in the fridge that needed to be used asap...so i decided to throw together an indian inspired meal...i didn't really measure, but if i had to guess, it would go a little something like this...

preheat oven to 400 degrees...add 1 cup of coconut milk, 1 cup of water, 1 tsp salt, 1.5 tablespoons garam masala, 1 tablespoon ground ginger ( i would have used fresh, but didn't have any), 1 smushed garlic clove, 1.5 cups chickpeas and one diced sweet potato to a baking pan...bake until the sweet potatoes are cooked, about 30 minutes...then add 2 cups of frozen veggies (i used broccoli, green beans, onions, carrots and mushrooms) into baking pan and let it cook until it is nice and hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

one. word. yummy.

wedding stuff...

a couple of weeks ago, taessa chorny (maid of honour, sister, wedding dress designer) showed me a picture of a beautiful dress, a fabulous tulley, fairytale, princess, girlie, fun dress...the kind of dress, that as a little girl, you dream of wearing someday...the very next day, as i was waiting for the bus i started to think about said dress...and i got so emotional, i cried. i cried. i cried! i didn't have that experience with the original dress i tried on...sheesh! i hadn't even tried on the dress, and it got a reaction out of me...i call that love.

so...it is with bittersweet emotions that i say goodbye to the dress i thought i wanted...definitely a beautiful beautiful dress...it just wasn't meant to be...

i have decided not to show you all the dress i have decided to wear on my wedding day...i want you all to be as surprised as everyone else...

i leave you all with a picture of me wearing the dress i broke up with...(totally not allowed to take pictures of the dresses...but i was very sneaky...)

happy thursday my people...have a very beautiful day...

winner of csn store giveaway...

2011-03-21T11:51:00.003-01:00

and the winner of the $65 csn store giveaway is...

humanecats

congrats...

i contacted the lovely ericka yesterday...and she is thrilled...and so am i...

stay tuned as i know i will be doing another one of these giveaways in a little while...

have a beautiful day...

pumpkins and tulle on my mind...

2011-03-11T17:47:00.006-01:00

as a bride to be i have tulle on my mind...isn't tool gorgeous and fabulous? it makes me smile whenever i see tulle...tulle wedding gowns...rolls of tulle...bows made out of tulle...ahhhh...y'all get the picture i guess...i believe i have totally changed my mind about my dress...i think i want both lace and tulle incorporated into the final product...so tomorrow i am going to try on dresses...i am going to try on the original dress i fell in love with...and i am going to try dresses on that have tulle skirts...a plethora of layers of tulle...i am over the moon...and i am bursting with excitement...

ok...on to the pumpkin on my mind...i was craving pumpkin pie...but i needed something low sugar...low fat...and low calorie...so, i threw a few ingredients together and created the most delicious pumpkin pie cake...

pumpkin pie cake (vegan)

1 14 oz. can pureed organic pumpkin
3/4 cup water
3/4 cuo sugar free organic apple sauce
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3 tbsp organic blackstrap molasses
1 tsp vanilla powder
2 2/3 cup organic whole grain spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp himalayan crystal sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves

preheat the oven to 350 F. lightly grease an 8x8 cake pan...

in a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, water, applesauce, maple syrup, molasses, and vanilla. mix well. in another bowl add spelt flour, the baking powder, salt, and spices, mix well. add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix very well.

pour batter into the prepared cake pan. bake for 45 to 50 minutes. it's moist and spicy and fabulous...enjoy!

guess who licked the bowl clean?????

have a beautiful weekend my friends...

what is love?

2011-03-09T15:22:00.004-01:00

my man using me as a pillow and snoring away...and a snuggly fur baby...

another csn store giveaway...

2011-03-08T13:04:00.004-01:00

i am really happy to announce another giveaway...with the help of the lovely and very generous folks over at csn stores, who have kindly offered a $65 gift certificate to one very lucky winner! amazing...

for those of you who don't know, csn stores is the store that offers everything and anything from kitchen goodies to pet accessories, to mattresses...they even offer Le Creuset...i fantasize about Le Creuset ALL. THE. TIME.

here are the rules:

*must be a US or Canadian resident;

*you must be a follower on google friend connect (i will make exceptions for certain bloggers).

optional:

* follow csn stores on twitter
* follow me, nutellaaaa, on twitter
* tweet about this giveaway
* "like" csn stores on facebook
* post about this giveaway on your blog

as stated above, contest is open to US and Canadian residents only...winner will be selected at random...contest ends saturday, march 19, 2011...

good luck lovebugs! and again, thank you so much for all of your kindness and support...

i'm a penguin...i friend for life...

2011-03-04T17:29:00.005-01:00

yesterday was a very hard day for me...i realized that someone i really cared for, no longer cared for me...

i'm a very sensitive person, and i take things so personally all. the. time. so when i noticed that i had lost a few readers, i wanted to know who they were, so i searched...and i was so hurt to see that one person...a lady i thought the world of, had stopped following me...a girl i opened my house, my time and my heart to had decided that i no longer mattered...this knowledge sent me into a bit of a frenzy...when i'm hurt...man, is it bad news!

so i emailed her...and was told that because i hadn't responded to her (not sure what i was suppose to respond to, there were no recent emails from her) and because she was in a grumpy mood one day, she decided we no longer had anything in common, she also mentioned that because i don't blog as frequently as i used to, i was no longer worth her time...and i thought, wow...wow...wow...and, yes, this is just a blog...but i feel it's a little more...it's a community...a support system...so, no it's not just a blog...

i haven't been blogging regularly...but my life has blown up...my job is extra crazy and i am planning a wedding...those are my excuses...and i think they're damn good excuses...and i choose to put more of myself, my heart and my soul into a day i have been dreaming about since i was a little girl...dammit, i found my soul mate...my happiness...my laughter...myself in someone else...and i am excited that we are taking this step...and i just want to pour my everything into making this one day as special and as beautiful as i possibly can...some people don't care for weddings...and that's their choice...but i do...and it's important to me...so i guess that is all that matters...

i also wanted to add that...i am a penguin...and i do friend for life...so if a friend is not as attentive or time isn't on their side...and they don't have time to focus on our friendship...i will always be there for them...no matter what...when i give my heart to someone, it's theirs forever, no matter the circumstance...i love...and this little bump won't stop me from continuing to put myself out there and i will always adore everyone that matters to me...and those that are yet to matter to me...

so to all of you that have stuck by me...and continue to stick by me...thank you...i will continue to blog as much as i possibly can...and i promise that when the day (wedding) comes and is gone...i will have so much more time to pour into my little world here...and i will do my best to be here for all of you in this time right now...thank you...your time and your friendship mean the world to me...

here's a little cheese for all of you...vegan of course...or not...

and to keep true to this blog...here are a few pics of some of the goodness i have been fueling myself with...these salads have kale, baby lettuce, millet, quinoa, hummus, tomatoes, cukes and a very special dressing inspired by this fabulous lady...i just added some brown rice miso and a little drop of shoyu to it for a little extra...

stay tuned for some cake, vegan and diet friendly, sugar free cake recipes...peanut butter banana bread...and pumpkin banana bread...

i leave you with a couple of questions...

how do you all deal with losing a friend? do you take things personally?

have a beautiful weekend my friends...

i heart legumes...

2011-03-04T13:40:00.005-01:00

i definitely have an infinity for chickpeas and lentils...

here is a recipe for a vegan lentil loaf i made last week...really yummy...and filling and quite nutritious...

lentil loaf

glaze

1/4 cup of bbq sauce (i used organicville original)
1 tbsp XXX hot mustard

whisk both ingredients together and set aside...it's a very smoky hot concoction...yum!

loaf

1/2 cup of uncooked millet, rinsed in cold water
1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of uncooked lentils, rinsed in cold water
2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 celery stalks diced
8 ounces mushrooms, diced finely
pepper
1 tbsp shoyu
3/4 cup rolled oats, finely ground
1/2 cup chickpea flour

directions:

* preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
* place millet, 1 1/2 cups of water, and pinch of salt in saucepan, bring to a boil. lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until water is absorbed.
* place the lentils, water, and salt in saucepan, bring to a boil. lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until water is nearly gone and lentils are very soft, with splitting skins.
* sauté the onion, celery, mushrooms and carrots in oil/spray until soft, about 5 minutes.
* mix the lentils, millet, onions, carrots, pepper, and shoyu in large bowl, then mix in the ground oats, and chickpea flour.
* knead mixture for 2-3 minutes to evenly distribute the ingredients and to activate chickpea flour.
* form the lentil mixture into a loaf and place in a greased baking/loaf dish or pan.
* spread glaze evenly over lentil loaf
* bake for 45 minutes...and enjoy...

another wedding post...

2011-03-03T18:27:00.008-01:00

ideas...i have so many...so so so many ideas of what i want this wedding to be...i want it to be lovely...and amazing...and romantic...and fabulous...

and i feel so blessed to have such lovely and amazing people along for the ride...my maid of honour is just such a beautiful girl...and some of my maids...they are the most fabulously beautiful friends a girl could ever wish for or ask for...all of them are my sisters...taessa, angela and vernica...honestly, ladies, i say this from the very bottom of my heart...you are all my saving graces...i love you all so very much...

here are some pics that have inspired me...moved me...added to the excitement and exhilaration i am feeling these days...7 months to go peeps...7 months...*happy dance*

there is a theme here, guesses?

have a beautiful day my friends...let it be filled with love...flowers...and lots of laughter...

i may or may not be a monkey...

2011-02-17T14:07:00.004-01:00

bananas are amazing...versatile fruits, aren't they? i adore them...they add natural sweetness...and moisture to any recipe...and when i'm looking for something low fat...low sugar...and healthy, it is the banana i turn to...

am i monkey? yes. hear me roar...

vegan whole grain banana bread cake

dry ingredients:

1 cup whole grain spelt flour
3/4 cup whole grain barley flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 to 1 tsp nutmeg
pinch of fine sea salt

wet ingredients:

3 mashed up bananas
1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
1/2 cup of water
2 tbsp sugar free applesauce

preheat oven to 350 degrees...place all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix well. add all wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk until incorporated. add wet ingredients to dry ingredients...mix well...pour mixture into either a lined and greased loaf pan...or if you don't have a loaf pan, like myself, improvise...and use a 8x8 round spring form cake pan...lined with parchment paper and greased...and call it a banana cake...place loaf pan or cake pan in oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes...you will know it's ready when the the bread/cake springs away from the side of the cooking vessel...

and enjoy...smother it with coconut butter, or any nut butter...or just eat plain...

have a beautiful banana filled day.......

sometimes happiness can be materialistic...and christian louboutin...

2011-02-10T14:45:00.003-01:00

no words...just some lovely photos...

love...it's everywhere...

wedding planning...ode to a coriander girl...

2011-02-09T15:28:00.005-01:00

with 8 months to go...i would say that john and i are not doing shabbily at all...

venue booked...ceremony site booked...marriage class scheduled for the 26th of this month...dj booked...wedding cake ordered...our engagement party is scheduled for march...invitation appointment scheduled for the month of march as well...photographer is booked...we've chosen our bridal party...HUGE...but filled with only our most beloved of friends and family...and a very beautiful group of people...

john and i have both decided what we would love to wear on our special day...we were driving to meet our dj...and of course i spotted my amazingly fabulous dress in a window on bloor street...

i truly wish i didn't have an issue with spending $8,000 on a dress...but i can't stop thinking about her...lovely layers of lace, each pattern so delicate and so beautiful...with a little ruffle on the top and bottom of her...ahhhhhhhhhh...

composing myself...

onto my john, my beautiful boy...he's in love with this suit...

so far my favourite part of all of the wedding planning...is meeting alison...my coriander girl...the most beautiful girl i have ever met...she embodies all that is good and wonderful in the world...patient...kind...sweet...and ever so helpful...and even though she is quite the busy bee...she has the most beautiful gift of them all...the ability to make you feel like you are the only bride to be in the world...i absolutely adore this lady...and i know, with her help and her guidance, our wedding, mine and the beautiful boy, will be as romantic and lovely has i have always envisioned it would be...from the time i was playing dress up in my mama's closet...and falling asleep with cinderella on my lap...to the time i met him, my fairytale, and knew that one day we would be planning the beginning of our beautiful life together...thank you alison for helping me look forward to our special day with only sheer excitement and absolute joy...

bulging bride to be...and her fitness heroes...a kind cookie...and some chocolate...

2011-02-09T13:11:00.001-01:00

yes...it's true...i've gained a few...started a bit of a weight loss journey a couple of weeks ago...and i've lost a few pounds...yay! but nothing noteworthy, that's for sure!

i need to exercise...but right now, i have no motivation...i'm not feeling well...but, when i do start, i am going to channel a few ladies while exercising...i hope to garner all of their strength and willpower...melissa...is a lovely lady i admire...her exercise routines blow me away...she's just amazing...and beautiful...and so dedicated...and i hope to make as much progress as she has...and be as beautiful and glowing as she is...and lori and the twins...i aspire to be as dedicated and as hard working as these amazing ladies are...and i enjoy every tidbit of information they provide almost daily...beautiful beautiful beautiful ladies, love all of the strength you all possess...fabulous role models...

anyhoo...that was a little ode to my lovely lady heroes...

since i cannot afford to go to the gym right now...i have purchased jillian micahels' 30 day shred...and have been taking LONG fast walks with my fur baby...i am determined and i am strong willed...and i will beat the bulge...

so...what have i been fueling myself with? a little of this...and a little of that...mostly vegan fare...sprouted tofu, kale and mushroom bowls...beautiful fresh salads with my all time favourite dressing...sweetly raw's raw vegan caesar dressing, minus the cashews and olive oil...i have whipped up some vegan sugar free and gluten free desserts, cherry oatmeal muffins and coconut oatmeal banana bread to aid my sweet tooth...

yesterday evening, i was in dire need of something sweet and healthy...soooooooo...i decided to make a recipe from alicia silverstone's the kind diet...i made her oatmeal, walnut and dried plum cookies...i made a few substitutions...instead of oil, i used unsweetened applesauce, instead of dried plums, i used dates...instead of walnuts, i used hazelnuts...and i didn't have any molasses...and i also only used about a quarter cup of maple sugar flakes...as that is all i had left...and...yummo! amazing little cookies. next time i make these, i am going to use dried cherries and vegan chocolate chips...

recently, i also had a hankering for reese peanut butter cups...i thought it would be interesting to use a mashed up banana mixed in with the peanut butter...AMAZING! i didn't measure the ingredients...but i can tell you i used one mashed up banana and mixed it with organic peanut butter...melted some chocolate...and assembled this little treat in silicone cupcake liners...

any advice, nice and positive advice, is welcome...

have a beautiful evening...

red soup for the soul...

2010-12-10T12:32:00.015-01:00

i created this post a few months ago...but, i fell ill, and wasn't able to really finish it...finally finished it:

baby it's cold outside...so so so cold...

have i ever mentioned that john is of ukrainian decent? probably not. i mean, why would i right? well, the reason i bring it up now is because since meeting the boy...i have become addicted to borscht...i love it. it's such a soothing bowl of goodness. and i believe that it's so amazingly good for all of us...

it's been super cold in my world as of late...and this week i decided to make two huge pots of soup...one for my baby love, which i posted yesterday...a very manly soup...with all the manly fixings (not so healthy)...and one for me...and if you haven't already guessed, i made myself a lovely borscht...such a beautiful red bowl of super goodness...

i make my borscht with red beets and red cabbage...both very fabulous veggies...and on a cold night, after work...after traipsing around with jackson for hours in the bitter cold...playing with other dogs and throwing around a ball...at the very point that i wonder if i have frostbite on my toes...we wander back to our home and i warm up with a good old hot bowl of yumminess...it's just so wonderful for the soul...trust me.

borscht (vegan)

3 beets, grated (i don't peel my beets, i just give them a good ol' scrubbing)
1/2 a head of red cabbage, shredded
1 very large carrot, grated
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 clove of garlic (i love garlic, but if you don't it's totally optional)
1 shallot minced quite finely
2 tbsp olive oil
6 cups of veggie broth (or water, i didn't have veggie broth, so i used water instead)
dill (i use about a cup of it...i love dill)
salt and pepper
1 lemon juiced

saute shallots and garlic in olive oil for a couple of minutes. add carrots and celery, saute for another 2 minutes. add cabbage, beets, dill and water/stock. bring to a boil. lower the heat to very low, and allow soup to simmer for a couple of hours. add lemon juice, salt and pepper and enjoy...some people enjoy the soup with a dollop of sour cream, plain yogurt and horseradish. i just enjoy mine plain.

i also made another soupy stew...a vegan lentil swiss chard stew...i just threw a bunch of things into a soup pot and let it simmer for an hour...i sauteed celery...carrots and onion in some olive oil...and added the lentils and some organic veggie broth...when the stew was just about ready i added a couple of handfuls of swiss chard and baby spinach...and voila...a nice hearty stew to warm the insides...

how do you stay warm in your world, when it's cold outside?

and...i thought i would share a picture of my mama and my baby love...and of my fur baby with green alien eyes...

have a beautiful friday my friends...

it's a crazy life...

2010-12-09T23:58:00.005-01:00

isn't it?

yes it most certainly is...

john, jackson and i moved...we're kinda settled...yesterday marked 10 months to our wedding date...and of course the 30th year anniversary of a legend's death...these days i'm not really too into the wedding...i have everything done except for the music and transportation for the bridal party...

i've been hibernating lately...and playing with jackson...we take long walks and play ball for hours...i've also been playing in the kitchen a lot...i've made some comforting meals...

potato leek soup with tarragon, chives and bacon for my baby love...

6 potatoes peeled and chopped
3 leeks, cleaned very well and chopped very finely
two shallots chopped very finely
3 pieces of bacon sliced into bits
8 cups of water or stock of your choice (i used water)
salt and pepper
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon both chives and tarragon

cook bacon pieces until crispy. remove from pan and set aside. saute leeks and shallots in bacon grease until slightly caramelized...add potatoes and water...salt and pepper and let simmer for 1 hour...until potatoes are cooked and mushy...blend mixture with a hand blender...or put in a blender (be very careful)...until very smooth...add 1 cup of whipping cream, chives and tarragon and the bacon...mix very well...and enjoy...

parisian herbed (tarragon, chives, dill and basil) omelette and a very colourful coleslaw...for me...

herby coleslaw

1 head of cabbage (i used red), shredded
1 very large carrot, shredded
1 tsp chopped basil, dill, tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1/2 cup of chopped radishes

dressing (i didn't measure)

red wine vinegar
apple cider vinegar
agave nectar
dijon mustard (heaping teaspoon)
1 clove garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper

place all ingredients in a bowl and mix...

i posted lyrics to a beautiful song a few days ago...unfortunately it will not be our wedding song...but it is a very very dear and beautiful song...

oh mama...

2010-12-08T17:53:00.003-01:00

i laughed so hard i cried watching this...i know, such a mean girl am i...

remembering...

2010-11-11T17:59:00.002-01:00

i could not ask for more...

2010-11-03T12:33:00.003-01:00

lying here with you,
listening to the rain,
smiling just to see, the smile upon your face,
these are the moments, i thank god that i'm alive,
these are the moments, i'll remember all my life,
i found all i've waited for,
and i could not ask for more.
looking in your eyes,
seeing all i need,
everything you are, is everything to me,
these are the moments, i know heaven must exist,
these are the moments, i know all i need is this,
i have all i've waited for,
and i could not ask for more.

i could not ask for more than this time together,
i could not ask for more than this time with you,
every prayer has been answered,
every dream i have's come true,
yeah right here in this moment, is right where i'm meant to be,
here with you, here with me. . .

these are the moments, i thank god that i'm alive,
these are the moments, i'll remember all my life,
i've got all i've waited for,
and i could not ask for more. . .

i could not ask for more than this time together,
i could not ask for more than this time with you,
every prayer has been answered,
every dream i have's come true,
and right here in this moment, is right where i'm meant to be,
here with you, here with me. . .

i could not ask for more than the love you give me,
cause it's all i've waited for . . .
and i could not ask for more,
i could not ask for more.

here's to a beautiful life together now and forever more...

life is crazy sometimes, isn't it?

2010-10-19T13:39:00.012Z

has anyone sent out a search party for me yet?

someone please remind me to never ever plan a wedding and look for a place to live at the same time again...wow, stressful!

john and i are in the midst of looking for a place to live...move-in date is set for december first...now if we could only find a home...

i've also been running around trying to plan our wedding...i've made some pretty lame decisions...but thankfully i have a fashion forward matron of honour...who isn't shy about telling me "no comment" when she doesn't agree with something...and by something i mean the flowers...i have to admit, i had very good intentions, in fact these were some of my ideas...

but the florist i went to see, somehow convinced me that i loved these flowers...

did i mention i've also been fighting a very bad cold...which turned into bronchitis...again, very lucky to have my very own martha stewart along for the ride...

oh oh...did i mention i found my dress? i did! and i am so very excited...and although i didn't cry, like they do on "say yes to the dress"...i did have a moment...

just thought i'd drop in and say hello...see how everyone is doing...i hope to be back full force sometime in december...and i am reading all of your lovely blogs...just not commenting...there's something to say about stress...it leaves you (or me)...slightly lifeless...if that makes sense...

you are all in my thoughts...love you...

oscar...i heart you...wordless wednesday...

2010-09-29T13:02:00.000Z

different strokes for different folks...right?

2010-09-28T22:10:00.002Z

absolutely.

so veganism didn't work for angelina...and of course many many negative and hateful comments were born out of that one...but perhaps it just didn't work for her? perhaps certain lifestyle choices are not for everyone...

i am no longer a vegan. and yes, i gave up the label not to long ago...but i also went back to my old ways...why? well. i was sick all the time. i was dizzy all the time. i was exhausted all the time. i was hungry all the time. i was just not myself ALL THE TIME. and i did my research...i ate VERY good food...i did not starve myself...in fact i gained too much weight. weight i am not happy about. depressing amounts of weight. it just didn't work for me. and that's the end of that.

if any of you feel that you need to send me comments filled with hate and loathing, don't bother...because i don't care, in fact it won't change my mind...it will only fuel the fire that has already been building inside of me for a while...a fire that started with all of the negativity aimed at those people that felt it was best for them to not adopt a vegan label...apparently it is wrong to support people who decide that veganism is not for them...uh huh!

so if you don't have anything nice to say, zip it. please and thank you.

i still eat vegan food...i still eat some raw vegan food...but i also eat outside of the vegan box as well...and i am ok with it. i'll be honest and admit that it was a very hard decision...and it took me a while to be ok with it...i didn't just wake up one morning and decide to eat animals...nope! in fact i was sick for a while...had many conversations with my very good friends...and my john...and those people that like myself, were vegan and felt ill...and not well. it was a very tough choice...but it was one that i chose to make...because at the end of the day it is my life...and as much as i love my animal friends...i can't be a vegan. it's not for me.

my blog will now be a little different. it will not only focus on vegan foods, and i will still be eating vegan foods...it will also focus on recipes that my love and i create together, and our adventures in and outside of the kitchen...it will focus on my upcoming wedding...my jackson, of course...my friendships...my life...if i lose some of my readers, so be it...but i know i will gain so much more from my new found truth...my new journey...

thank you all for all of your support during my vegan days...and i look forward to the future with those of you that decide to hold my hand through the next chapters of my life and journey...

sending you all love and strength...

nelly

no more labels...but...

2010-09-15T16:38:00.005Z

i'm all for not labeling myself as anything...just me...and as much as i adore lady gaga, my feelings and thoughts towards her "meat dress" are of utter and pure disgust...like honestly, is there no other way to announce to the world that you are not a piece of meat? ugh!

what are your thoughts?

speaking of fashion...my sister taessa chorny revealed to the world her fall line this past weekend...and it is just as lovely as she is...have i mentioned that i think she is the new stella mccartney?

i ordered her "le SPARKLE" dress...

a very fitting dress for moi...as i love all things sparkly...and a girl needs a timeless sparkly dress for all occasions, especially for any upcoming parties, xmas, engagement (maybe), new years...non? mais oui oui...

for any and all interested, taessa chorny creations can be found at tabula rasa in greek town...or you can contact the designer yourself at: info@taessachorny.com for any and all inquiries...

happy hump day darlings...

i'm not a label...i'm nelly...do you hate me now?

2010-09-03T01:19:00.003Z

there is way too much drama in the blog world these days...there are many reasons why i have been silent as of late...and drama is one of the reasons...i have decided to break my silence and just "put it all out there" because of an email exchange i had with a very good friend this afternoon...and i have something to say...i have a lot to say...and it goes a little something like this...

i am breaking my silence because there are bullies in the blog world...i am breaking my silence because when a friend of mine is too afraid to talk to me because they are afraid that i may go "ape" on them...because they may not be 100% raw or vegan, it angers me immensely...i am breaking my silence because i am furious...i am furious because these bullies need to RELAX! they need to mind their own business and stop passing judgment...these bullies need to realize that they are not god...they are not the "universe" and they have absolutely no right to belittle or harass anyone because of their food choices...the last time i checked each individual person is exactly that...one person...one person with one life...individual choices, dreams, aspirations, goals, food choices...one person...no one...absolutely NO ONE has the right to bring anyone down because of what they eat...no one has the right to bring anyone down. period.

if i told you that i ate a steak last night, and a hot dog for breakfast, would you hate me? if i told you that i consumed a cheese omelet for lunch would you persecute me, tie me to a stake and burn me? does any and all of this make me less of a human being? does it make me a horrible monster? i don't think so. i am still me. nelly. my heart is just as big...i care so much, so so so much about everything, sometimes it hurts...i cry...i hurt...i laugh, i love...i dream...i sing and dance...i breathe...my johnny is as carnivorous as they come, does that mean that he is the devil? does that give anyone the right to tell him that he is a monster and he's a traitor? my john is one of the most amazing human beings i have ever met...he is lovely, and caring and so filled with life and he has so much love in that beautiful heart of his...does the fact that he eats meat mean that i should call off our wedding and never speak to him again? absolutely not! it's his life and his choice. we were born free to make our own choices, to make our own decisions...to eat what we want...to do what we want...i love my john, and i always will...i love him for who he is on the inside...and not what he eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner...

this needs to stop. it's nonsense. it's childish. it's uncalled for. it's unnecessary. listen up bullies...you have no right to judge anyone. you have absolutely no right to make such nasty judgment calls...and you have no right to spew your crap on someone's blog...you have NO RIGHT! you have no right to hurt anyone's feelings because of your beliefs. leave your beliefs on your doorstep...leave your beliefs on your blog where they belong.

who cares if someone went on vacation and they left their veganism at home? that's their choice...does it really matter if someone decides to give up veganism because it just wasn't working for them anymore? does it really make them a traitor? what difference does it really make? none. that's what. you have no idea what these people are going through. you have no idea why someone makes the decisions they make. obviously the choices that are made are the right ones for that one person. walk a mile in my shoes and then let me know what you think.

why not take all of this pent up anger and challenge factory farms? why not challenge the government? why not do something more productive with your time and passion? instead of picking on individual human beings, why not pick on someone your own size? bring the bullying somewhere it is needed...because quite honestly it's a little too big and unwanted for my friends. it's a little too much now.

i made a decision not too long ago. that i no longer wish to be a label. it's too hard on me. and i don't have the will or strength to keep up with it anymore. i'm done. i want to be normal again. i don't want to spend hours looking for a vegan wine...surfing barnivore in the liquor store for hours...spending hours before choosing one wine that is suitable. i no longer wish to make any of my family members or friends uncomfortable because i can't have dairy or this or that...i no longer wish to care about trace amounts of dairy or whatever...i no longer wish to be as controlling as i was a few weeks ago. it's not normal. it's not healthy. it's not me. i embarked on this vegan journey looking for health...wanting to feel better...and i ended up feeling very unlike myself.

at the end of the day, i am still me. at the end of the day i still love animals with all of my heart and soul...and will do my very best to protect and honour them all...at the end of the day, i also love humans...humans are my heart and soul...no human and no animal should suffer in any way shape or form...and all these happenings...these horrible words and comments coming out of some of your mouths...stop hurting people. stop it. it's not fair and you have no right. take your fight where it's needed...

i love. i love vegans, raw vegans, non vegans, catholics, atheists, bears, cows, pigs, chickens...i love. i don't care what you are, or what you are not. to me, you are all you, people with beautiful smiles and beautiful hearts...

i end on one more note...i am not a vegan...i am nelly.

I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.

~Abraham Lincoln

life...

2010-09-01T16:42:00.004Z

hi my friends...

just wanted to poke my head in and say "HEY"...i'm not feeling well...and life's a little on the stressful side right now...there is just sooooo much going on, that i feel i can't catch my breath as of late...this is why i haven't been around lately...i'm definitely keeping up with blogs, although i am not commenting as much as i would like to...and i just don't have the energy to put together a post...

right now my life looks like this:

*trying to book a venue for our wedding in september/october 2011
*trying to find a place to live
*getting over whatever sickness has been torturing me for the last 2 weeks
*babysitting my brothers (i know right?) and parents' pup and house while they are vacationing in italy
*trying to spend time with my jacks and my love
*trying to keep my life organized
*attend my cousin's wedding on september 11 (hopefully i will be well by then)
*pick up my parents from the airport september 11
*appointment with old mill (wedding reception venue) september 12
*etc.......

it may not seem like much...but for me it is way too much...i feel as though i am drowning...

i promise to be back soon with some fun posts...and some new food...but until then please remember to enter my giveaways...

csn stores paderno world cuisine plastic spiral vegetable slicer giveaway; and

operation beautiful: transforming the way you see yourself one post-it note at a time...

and also remember that i love and miss you all...

i have another request of all of you...if you have the time, please leave me a comment letting me know your favourite love songs...your choice of wedding song...and/or a song that you share with your love...

have a beautiful day...

come on in...great csn stores giveaway just a click away....

2010-08-26T15:34:00.005Z

hi friends...sorry about my MIA status, just haven't been feeling all that great these past few weeks...but, i do have something to make up for my absence:

i am so happy and excited to be able to offer all of you the chance to participate in my next giveaway with the help of the very generous folks over at csn stores who have kindly offered a paderno world cuisine plastic spiral vegetable slicer...

for those of you who don't know, csn stores is the store that offers everything and anything from kitchen goodies to pet accessories, to mattresses...they even offer Le Creuset Cookware...i dream of Le Creuset when i go to sleep at night...i am not kidding folks...

here are the rules:

*must be a US or Canadian resident;

*you must be a follower on google friend connect. it's on the right hand sidebar of my blog. then leave a comment stating that you are.

optional:

* follow csn stores on twitter (2 entries = 2 separate comments below)
* follow me, nutellaaaa, on twitter
* tweet about this giveaway (1 tweet = 2 entries = 2 comments)
* "like" csn stores on facebook (2 entries = 2 comments)
* post about this giveaway on your blog – provide me the link (5 entries = 5 comments)

as stated above, contest is open to US and Canadian residents only...winner will be selected at random...contest ends monday, september 20th...winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be randomly selected.

good luck my lovebugs!

wedding stuff...hope you don't mind...

2010-08-24T13:37:00.017Z

taessa chorny (john's sister, my sister and matron of honour) will be creating my dress...she will also be the master creator of custom bridesmaid dresses...six maids (well, 5 maids and one matron)...i want my girls to wear pretty little black cocktail dresses and maybe red shoes...to accent the red heels of my christian louboutin's...i've come to realize, or perhaps i have always known that i love tulle and lots of it, and the romantic feeling of lace...when i think of beauty or romance i also think of audrey hepburn and grace kelly...paris and anything vintage...i love this beautiful world we live in...road trips, watching the beauty fly by me through the window...i love green and yellow...italian countrysides...and old barns...there's nothing like watching a peony bloom...what a glorious flower, full of grace...and i love my man, my heart, my soul, my friend...so many ideas...or maybe not enough...

here is a photo journal i have put together of things that i love...pictures that make me smile...and ideas for dresses...for myself and my ladies...

so this girl's finally getting hitched...shocker...

2010-08-17T02:13:00.008Z

i said i didn't want a ring...but...i got a ring...so many things i said i didn't want...but...guess what, i am going to get anyway...mostly to please various family members (ahem, my mother)...i said i wanted a very small bridal party...well, it ain't going to be small...12 people, plus my man and i...the date is set...thankfully it's 2 years away, no stressing bridezilla necessary...september 8, 2012 is the party...can't wait! i'll definitely fill you all in on more details, once i know myself...perhaps you can all give me some advice...i'd really love that...(also, sending you all virtual hugs for all of the beautiful congratulatory messages you all left me, truly appreciate all of your kindness, means the world to me...you are all my shining stars...love you so much...)

i've been away from my computer for a while...haven't had much time in the kitchen...and it's been a crazy time...there was the engagement, and the funeral...and work...and cranky significant others...and draft menu planning...and our weekend at the cottage...

today i finally got the chance to make some yummy food...

tabouli (quinoa, not enough parsley (1/2 cup), 2 heirloom tomatoes, garden cukes, lemon, olive oil and a little himalayan crystal salt)

massaged kale and collard salad with kristen suzanne's cayenne tahini dressing, beans and tabouli...

sesame crusted baked tofu (marinate tofu in 4 tablespoons of nama shoyu, 2 tablespoons of miso, 1 tablespoon of tahini, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons grated ginger, crushed clove of garlic and 1/2 cup of water for an hour, pour about 2 cups of raw or toasted sesame seeds in a container and coat tofu pieces one by one in sesame seeds, bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes)

also wanted to share this lovely meal i had last weekend...raw vegan pad thai (a mix of raw kelp noodles, shredded romaine, carrots, peppers, zucchini noodles mixed in a tangy cashew sesame thai sauce topped with crumbled cashews & green onions) and a beautiful garden salad with tangy lemon dressing from none other than the amazing rawlicious...fabulous...and ever so lovely...wish every meal could be a rawlicious one...

hope you all had a very lovely weekend...and i hope this week is a beautiful one for all of you...

sweet dreams...

p.s. i apologize for the not so pretty photographs...my parents borrowed my camera while they are vacationing in italy this month...so please tolerate these photos for the next month...

when the cat goes away the little mouse comes out to play...

2010-08-01T20:24:00.003Z

thank you so much for all of your kind words and support regarding my last post about my fear of flying...i want to say thank you to all of you that took the time to read and leave such comforting words and thank you so much for telling me about your fears...

yesterday i spent the day with my raw candy girl...lisa...and marlie...camille, lisa and myself all met at brick works farmer's market...i had such a lovely time perusing the isles of fresh organic greens and sprouts and veggies...and seasonal fruits (peaches, plums and apricots)...i am definitely going back next weekend...

i picked up some heirloom root veggies, i thought it would be really nice to roast them today for my mama's birthday lunch/dinner...

we also picked up some sweet potatoes, organic baby mustard greens and sprouts...peaches, apricots and blueberries...with our bounty we made a very lovely lunch and dinner and some beautiful raw vegan desserts...

we also made a trip to little india because i wanted to buy some authentic tiffins and we came upon some pakistani treasure...pakistani mangoes...OMG...beautiful. these mangoes are a gem...and people come from very far away (the united states) to eat them...these mangoes are all the rage folks...if you get a chance to try them, don't pass up the chance...

my sweetheart is back from las vegas...so i'm gonna make the rest of this post simple...yesterday was so much fun...let's face it, when you, as a raw vegan or vegan foodie think of the most amazing day...what does it entail? a morning spent at a farmer's market, a day in the kitchie creating the most amazing raw vegan desserts...eating loads and loads of kale salad, saurkraut, sweet potatoes, hummus, sauteed lobster mushrooms, portabello mushrooms, red swiss chard and zucchini? i hope so...because that kinda day for me is a dream come true...i wish everyday could be spent doing all of those things...i leave you with a photo journal of part of my day yesterday, the part where i enjoyed myself in the kitchie...

raw vegan lunch (kale and baby mustard green salad with avo, my homemade saurkraut and nori crackers)

raw vegan and vegan dinner (sweet potato salad, sauteed veggies, kale and mustard green salad with avo and pakistani mango lime dressing, sauerkraut, and hummus)

raw vegan blueberry lavender cheezecake

raw vegan french macaroons with apricot creme

ginger peach ice box cake (adapted from this recipe)

and last but not least...a dessert i made to bring to my mom today...an adapted version of raw food living's chocolate caramel bars...i will post my changes in the next couple of days...

good night my friends...have a beautiful night...i'm off to cuddle and watch a movie with my love and my jackson...

leaving on a jet plane...

2010-07-29T12:40:00.005Z

this little tib bit was written very early this morning:

"oy! i woke up with butterflies in the pit of my soul...and just this nagging anxiety...i hate anxiety...it makes me feel almost nauseous...but not really...it's really hard to explain...my sweetheart is on his way to vegas at the moment...and i'm left with disappointment and some sadness...why disappointment? well...i can't help wondering what is wrong with me? why am i so afraid to fly? i dream of seeing the world and all of its wonders...but how does one do this when they can't get their big behinds on a plane?

i should be on that plane with him. there is absolutely no reason that i left myself behind...and he is on his way to another country without me. i'm just upset with myself. extremely. i want to experience the world with him. yet...with this incredible fear, i never will..."

now...i feel a sense of calm...i'm ok...and i know that everything happens for a reason...i am not meant to go on that trip with him...he was meant to go with his best-friend. and not for any other reason except they need to spend time together, and his best friend is getting married, so it's kinda like a mini bachelor party, kinda like "the hangover" (but hopefully with all of their teeth)...and i need to stay home and hang out with jackson and some toronto girls...and it's my mother's birthday on sunday, so i need to be here and celebrate it with her...her family means the world to her...and i know that my presence will make all the difference in the world to her...javascript:void(0)

i wanted to uncook up a storm tonight...but i realized i don't have all of the ingredients and i want to use all of the ingredients...so i'll be posting food tomorrow...

i'd be very interested to hear what you all have to say with respect to your fears and fear in general and how you cope with them...and let me know how your week has turned out...this weekend is a long weekend for us canadians...and i am so looking forward to sleeping in on monday...and i AM SOOOOO looking forward to picking up my sweetheart on sunday...i already miss him...(love you bubba, hope you're getting drunk on the plane and having a fabulous time...bring home some money if you can...hehe)...

have a beautiful night my beautiful friends...

the durian that had me close to crying...my saturday with a raw candy girl...

2010-07-26T00:46:00.005Z

hello my friendlies...hope you are all enjoying the last little bit of your weekend (unless you live in saudi, and therefore, hope you're enjoying the middle of your week)...sundays make me so sad...they always have...meh!

yesterday i spent the day frolicking in fields of flowers...and eating tubs and tubs of cashew creamery ice cream...mint cacao chip to be exact...and playing a harp...

just joking kids!!! that would have been nice though...i did something even more fun...i spent the day with camille...my raw candy girl...we did a little shopping in kensington market, and chinatown...we were rained on quite a bit...it was actually a lot of fun...except i was wearing flip flops and my feet felt really icky!!! we bought a few ingredients for our kitchen party, we unbaked a cheezecake, courtesy of sweet gratitude and whipped up a very gourmet meal, courtesy of living raw food...it was once again...epic...except for the part where i ate durian and was very close to tears...ugh!

that picture was taken before i ate a piece of it...

first we worked on the white chocolate raspberry cheezecake...people...you need to make this dessert...it's INCREDIBLE...i love it...

after dessert we worked on dinner...a gourmet dinner...a very glorious gourmet dinner...even my carnivorous man loved it...i know, right?! one day...we will rule the world...haha!!! camille picked up some squash blossoms at the farmer's market on thursday...we made squash blossoms stuffed with smoky cashew chive cheeze, with red pepper harissa, cucumber mint raita, and tomato olive basil salad...heavenly...and the flavours all popped!

we also had an S&M salad...

durian. hmmm. what can i say? it looked like death. it smelled like disgustingness...and it tasted like something i have never in my life even dreamed of...it was horrible. it actually almost made me cry. and i am not kidding. i was simply beyond disgusted.

hope you all had a very lovely weekend...

jackson wants me to send you all hugs on his behalf...have a beautiful night my friends...and i'm wishing you all a very lovely week...

winner winner winner of sweet gratitude is.................

2010-07-24T03:42:00.004Z

and the winner of the sweet gratitude dessert book is..................

number 34:

Sarah (GF vegan) said...
You're so kind! Thank you.

Ok, here goes.

1. following you on google friends connect
2. following you on twitter
3. just tweeted
4. you're on my blogroll

Just need to blog about your giveaway now :)

congrats lovely lady...please email me your address and i will mail out the book ASAP!!!

thanks to all for entering and for your support...truly appreciate it...

=)

and don't fret...there will be another giveaway soon...

happy weekend...sending you all hugs...

welcome to my secret garden...

2010-07-23T02:02:00.010Z

i absolutely without a doubt love my backyard...it's just such a beautiful place to be, especially in the summer, when flowers are blooming and gardens are flourishing...birds are chirping...and butterflies dance and play...i call it my very own secret garden...

so friends...come in...take a load off...enjoy the beauty...and have a tropical berry chocolate coconut summer delight...

mango jackfruit pudding (used jackfruit in place of pineapple)
dark chocolate pudding
fluffy black raspberry cream
coconut vanilla crunch granola
fresh black raspberries
dark chocolate pieces for garnish and dipping

allow me to tell you the story of this magical creation...and how it came to be...

i fell in love with jackfruit...and now i'm addicted...i have dreams of frolicking in fields of flowers with a bag full of jackfruit...

as you all may now know, i adore chocolate...chocolate is my heart and soul...and a dear friend of mine mentioned that dried jackfruit dipped in chocolate is heavenly...so my brain started working in overdrive...

i also have so many tiny beautiful black raspberries in my very lovely secret garden that i decided to create something as beautiful and magical as my favourite place...and share it with all of you...

the table is set...the eve is young...

so friends...take a seat...have a treat...from nelly, with so much love...

oh summer...how i love thee...let me count the ways...

2010-07-22T01:51:00.007Z

lovebugs!! how are ya babes?

me? i'm tired. pooped. drained. a little sad.

i am missing a couple of ladies like crazy...

i can't believe so much time has already passed since that photo was taken...two weeks...time flies doesn't it? man...sometimes i feel like i need to catch my breath because life just keeps whizzing by...i wish it would slow down just a little...

so i have some news...john won a trip to vegas...i was suppose to go with...BUT...because i am TERRIFIED of flying i gracefully pulled out...and told him that he should go with a friend...i had the worst anxiety attack the other day just thinking about the trip...he is scheduled to go july 29...that is just way too soon for me to wrap my head around the whole thing...i know i'm nuts, right? i tell myself how crazy i am ALL. THE. TIME....but...fear is fear...no way of getting around it...i just hope that one day i will be able to get over it...

moving along to more happy subjects...like summer and food...and a blooming garden...

summer...summer...summer...how i love summer...and it's bounty...farmer's markets...and sunny days...and sitting outside for hours basking in the glorious warmth...watching my beautiful baby garden flourish...ahhhhhhh...how i love summer...

i've been eating a lot of amazingly wonderful raw vegan foods...and i feel brilliant...i've been lucky enough to get some amazing veggies and berries from the farmer's market across from the office building that i work in, every wednesday...my faves are cucumbers...zucchini...beets...cherry tomatoes...fresh ontario corn...sweet peas...bloobs...black raspberries...cherries...ontario strawberries and blackberries...from my garden, i have been lucky enough to harvest kale...swiss chard and collards...various types of lettuce...basil...and today my very first cucumber...

massaged kale salad and zucchini pasta with cherry tomato sauce

kimchi cukes (ani phyo recipe)

cukes and hummus (view from the kitchen from the building i work in)

bloobs and blackberries

cherry, banana, strawberry and sunwarrior vanilla protein (AMAZING!)

pics of my adorable garden...and some baby veggies...

have a beautiful night my friends...and don't forget to enter the sweet gratitude book giveaway...it ends on friday...

sending you all so much love...

someone thinks i am swell...

2010-07-19T23:00:00.002Z

a few days ago the lovely sarah from gluten free tries vegan awarded me with the sugar doll award...it's nice to know that i am liked...thank you so much sarah...sorry it took me so long to acknowledge it...

i am supposed to write 10 random things about me and then pass the award along to a few of my lovebugs...the only issue i have is that i think you are all sugar dolls...and for the boys...well you're all sugar dandies...hehe!!! so i pick all of you...feel free to put this award up on your blog, and tell the blogosphere that nelly thinks you're swell...and please enlighten us all with 10 random things about you...i would LOVE to read them all...

ok here goes...10 random things about me...

♡ i bite my nails...
♡ my eyes turn forrest green when i cry...
♡ i love to kick doors when i am frustrated...(jokes)...i am very sarcastic...
♡ i FREAK out when a bug (especially spiders) crawl on any part of me...
♡ i use to be a little tap dancer...ballet dancer...and a little gymnast...
♡ i once convinced my mom to buy me ham, jelly and pickles as fillings for a sandwich (found the recipe on three's company)...i hated it...but i had to eat it all...
♡ i lived in italy for two years and went to school there...
♡ i am terrified of traveling by airplane...
♡ i don't like extreme heat...
♡ i am a people pleaser...all about pleasing the peoples...

love you all...you are all my sugar dolls...

you are beautiful...an open letter to you...

2010-07-17T04:04:00.008Z

i would like to step away from food today...and extend my heart and soul to a world wherein it is needed...my dream is and always has been to help this world...help as many lives as i can...touch as many hearts as is possible...if i can put a smile on at least one beautiful face...well then, my job here on this earth is done...

i've been thinking a lot about life...and how i feel my potential is not even close to being reached...it's so easy to go to work everyday, and do the same thing, day in and day out...isn't it? it's so easy to lead a very simple life...and i do. but it's not enough for me. i want more. i want to do more. i want to help our world somehow. and i will. baby steps. and i begin my journey with this blog entry...

driving home this evening...same route...same thoughts...same radio station, 680 news...i heard about something that really touched me...and i knew it was a starting point for me...and for so many women out there...the dove movement...dove is asking that women take the time to write a little note to all 13 year old girls around the world...to give them the self esteem they need to face this world...and i think it is just such a beautiful message...and i want to take part...and invite you all to do the same...

i struggle with self esteem issues to this very day...had someone told me that i was beautiful NO MATTER what...i think, actually i know, i would be a different girl today...a proud woman...proud of who i am on the inside...because at the end of the day...who i am...is more important than what i see in the mirror...because who i am can change the world...the face in the mirror, well it doesn't really matter...

open letter
to: 13 year old girls around the world; and all little girls and women around the world

lovely girl,

i wanted to start off by saying YOU are beautiful...your heart is beautiful. and your smile can light up this entire world...please don't ever forget that...the sound of your laughter, is music to the world's ears...

life is tough isn't it? but it's beautiful and it's worth it. and the world is even more beautiful because you're a part of it. life isn't about the colour of your hair, or the colour of your eyes...it's not about the length of your nose, or the size of your lips...nor is it about the size of your breasts, or the inches of your waist...or whether you have a butt or not...short or tall...no matter your size...there is only one of you...no one on this earth will ever be able to replace you...you are epic.

life is about you. it is about love and happiness, and making memories...it is about holding hands and singing as loud as you possibly can...dancing, even when the world is watching...it's about taking chances and having a voice...it's about passion and fighting for what you believe in...do everything you want to do, and don't ever give up on yourself...keep going, even if you feel the world has let you down...keep fighting...because you are worth it and you always will be. always be yourself, always be true to yourself, and always believe in yourself...and when you look into the mirror i want you to see your strength and your brilliance. your warmth and your kindness...i want you to know that your heart alone, can and will change the world.

you are beautiful, inside and out...please don't ever forget that. if there is one thing in this world that i know for certain, it's that you are worth an infinity...and you are so loved and cherished.

wish on stars, and dream big dreams...love yourself...forever and for always...

your friend,

nelly

i leave you with a very inspirational song...i always sing this to myself when i need a little bit of a push...and a hug...

i hope you dance....

the universe's greatest gifts...love and friendship...

2010-07-14T02:02:00.003Z

can you imagine what life would be like without either love or friendship? i can't. and i won't.

these past few days have been fabulous and beautiful...i was fortunate enough to spend these fabulous and beautiful days with kelli...and heathy...i'm sort of still getting over the loss of their presence...but i know i will see them both again soon...love you girlies so much...thank you both so much for being such beautiful human beings...you truly made my life...and i have tucked our beautiful time together in the corner of my heart, it will remain safely, forever, a very beautiful memory...and i miss you both so much!!

we did so many lovely things...you know, the kind of lovely things that only girls can do...girlie talk...and so much laughter...dipping moonie pies...and eating lots of yummy raw vegan food and sweet sweet desserts...dining out...dining in...yoga, lead by none other than the beautiful yogi heathy...shopping in the beautiful city of toronto...what a beautiful beautiful time i had...

i wasn't a very good blogger...didn't take any photos...but not only was i hosting these very beautiful girls...i was also and still am trying to deal with a very sore foot...so please look forward to some very lovely posts and photos from both kelli...and heathy...

we also met up with some other very lovely toronto and greater toronto area ladies...please check out these three very amazing posts by lisa (vegan cookbook critic)...marlie (barefoot and frolicking) and camille (raw candy)...

i'll leave you with a few pictures i was able to borrow from some very dear friends...

and don't forget to enter the cafe gratitude dessert book recipe giveaway...it ends July 23, 2010...i will be making some lovely desserts from this book in the days ahead...my friend and earthbound angel, was so very sweet to make some irish moss gel for me before she left...thank you my girl!!!

have a very beautiful night my lovebugs...

CONTEST CLOSED: when you're bursting with gratitude...give away some sweetness...

2010-07-07T00:19:00.009Z

hello my precious friends...thank you so much for your lovely comments on yesterday's post...it's nice to know that i am not the only garlic lover out there...

as you all know by now, in a few days i will be hanging out with two very fabulous gals (heathy and kelli)...and i am truly elated...i feel as though i have known these ladies an entire lifetime...i am lucky to know them...the world is a better place knowing that they share it with me...

ok! ok! i'm done with corny for the night...let's get on with it...

because i am bursting with gratitude these days...i have decided to have another very sweet giveaway...i thought it would be so lovely to give one of my beautiful readers a chance to win sweet gratitude...

remember when camille and i made this beauty:

the very talented bitty boo, has made so many lovely treats as well...

here are the rules...

*open to International, US and Canadian residents.

*mandatory: you MUST be a follower on google friend connect. it's on the right hand sidebar of my blog. then leave a comment stating that you are.

extra entries:

*follow me on twitter @nutellaaaa (leave one comment);

*tweet about the giveaway on twitter...please include the link @nutellaaaa on your tweet status...can be done once daily (leave one comment letting me know you tweeted);

*post on your blog about the giveaway and deadline...please leave a comment with a link to your blog post here...(leave 5 comments); and

*add me to your blogroll, come back here and let me know...(leave 3 comments)

DEADLINE: Friday, July 23, 2010

winner of $60 csn stores gift certificate...

2010-07-07T00:06:00.002Z

thank you to those of you that took the time and entered the giveaway...i appreciate it...

the lucky winner is: pixie...

congrats girlie...i've sent your information to my csn stores' contact...

enjoy your prize lady!!!

i'm back...and i'm having a love affair with garlic...

2010-07-06T01:49:00.007Z

hi friends...hope this finds you all very well and full of joy...i am back from my week long vacation...and i am more than relaxed and happy...we had so much fun...(jackson, john and moi)...we were so lucky to be graced with nothing but sunshine the entire week (except friday, i thought winter was back to haunt me)...my vacation was definitely action packed...i golfed (and i golfed well)...i rode on the back of a jet ski...and tipped both john and i into the lake (which was so much fun)...i swam...i danced and sang to the mama mia soundtrack...(on my list of things to buy this week)...i visited an amazing local health store with so many vegan options...that totally made my day in itself...and again i have to mention, i am so blessed to be able to spend time away with family...and even more blessed to have been graced by the warmth of the sun each and every day...and, i have to say for the record, jackson is the world's greatest pup...i am so utterly proud of my fur baby, he was just so incredibly well behaved...and he is such a fish...he and i swam together and it was such a fun fun time...

i was slightly busy in my kitchen today...i made two very yummy dishes...

a shaved root vegetable salad, inspiration for this recipe came from the canadian food network, by the lovely laura calder (i used a veggie peeler, i don't have a mandolin)...

in this lovely salad are the following ingredients:

baby fennel
striped beets
golden beets
yellow zucchini
radishes
asparagus
pea shoots
parsley
thyme
dill

for the dressing:

olive oil
lemon zest
juice of a lemon
apple cider vinegar
himalayan crystal salt

one word: beautiful

i also made a very lovely baby arugula basil pesto (baby arugula, basil, parsley, LOTS of garlic, walnuts, himalayan crystal salt and olive oil)

i enjoyed this lovely sauce on toasted organic spelt bread with wild rice, and on some brown rice rotini...

one word: garlickyheaven (haha!)

i love garlic...i put it on everything, in everything...i've turned into one of those stinky people on the subway i always complain about...but i don't care...a lot of people dislike it...and it's gotten such a bad rep! well i'm here to bring garlic back!!! not really...i'm getting a little carried away, as per usual.

i'll be back tomorrow to post the winner of the csn store giveaway, and on wednesday, i'll be having another SWEET giveaway...so stay tuned my pals...

hope you all enjoyed your weekends...and to all canadians and americans, hope you all enjoyed your extra long weekends...

good night my loves...

lakeside vacation...happy birthday canada...

2010-07-01T15:03:00.001Z

hi my loves...just wanted to wish you all a beautiful rest of the week, and a fabulous weekend...i am resting and sunbathing at our family lakeside cottage until monday...so relaxing and serene...

happy birthday canada, so proud and incredibly lucky to be a citizen of such a beautiful and amazing country...may you have many more...

(happy 4th of july to all my american friends, enjoy!)

secret garden...and a taco salad...

2010-06-30T14:35:00.008Z

hi friendlies...thank you so much for all of your comments on my last blog entry...I AM SO LUCKY that both kelli and heathy are coming to toronto to hang out with me for an ENTIRE weekend...i am truly blessed in so many ways...and so very thankful...i wish upon a million stars that all of you wonderful people could join us...and maybe one day i will have the honour and pleasure of meeting you all...it would be such an amazing experience...i mean that from the bottom of my heart...

my garden is thriving...i am so very proud of my little plant babies...here's a little peek...(as an aside, i had planted watermelon, but all of my plants have died, so sad...)

it's just such a wonderous feeling to be able to grow a garden and watch and experience the beauty and power of nature...i am amazed...

last night i made such an amazing raw vegan taco salad...so tasty...and so easy to throw together...and oh. my. goodness...sooooooooo yum!

taco salad

2 cups of romaine lettuce (organic)
2 ears of corn niblets (organic)
7 green olives, pitted and chopped (organic)
1 green onion chopped finely (organic)
1/2 an avocado chopped
sour cream dressing (1/2 cup raw cashews soaked, 1 lemon juiced, 1 glove garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth)
3 tbsp of raw vegan taco meat (ani phyo's recipe)
1 tbsp chipotle cheeze (ani phyo's recipe)

place first four ingredients in a bowl...sprinkle with taco meat, drizzle with sour cream dressing, add the cheeze on top...and DEVOUR!!!

leaving you with a sweet photo i took of a sleeping jackson yesterday...i love him so much...

i'm wishing you all a very beautiful day...

i feel like dancing...

2010-06-28T16:36:00.014Z

i am truly, beyond words...excited! have you ever received the best news...and just felt like you were walking on sunshine??? last week i received an email from one of the most beautiful human beings i know...heathy...letting me know that she was coming for a visit...well! i was on cloud 9...totally and utterly out of this world happy...and today, the cherry on top of the cake, i received an email from another beautiful human being, kelli...telling me she would be driving to toronto the same weekend heathy will be here.

and again i feel so blessed.

july 10, 2010 we will be having a party (not sure of the time, but am thinking afternoon for as long as people would like to hang out)...a very sweet party...raw vegan/vegan dessert and finger foody potluck party...in a very beautiful and serene environment...my backyard...

please let me know if you're interested in joining us...email me at antonella.iannozzi@gmail.com...

let's rewind to friday...i had a very special guest...another beautiful and spectacular human being...camille...we did a bit of shopping for ingredients and we made sweet gratitude's tiramisu...and it was epic...

camille surprised me with such a fabulous gift, a glassdharma straw...how lucky am i? i think i may have done a bit of a happy dance...who wouldn't? i had been looking high and low for one of these babies...

(this smoothie was my dinner tonight, one banana, 1/4 cup frozen raspberries, 1/4 cup of berry mix (black raspberries, bloobs, blackberries), 5 frozen strawberries, 1 cup of water, 10 cherries)

the most brilliant part of friday was getting to hang out again with such a beautiful soul...camille is one of the sweetest, most gracious human beings i have ever had the pleasure of knowing...and i am honestly, so honoured to call her my friend. she's beautiful. hands down!

we also made some pretty tasty crackers...i threw a bunch of ingredients into the food processor...with camille's help...this is what we ended up with:

sesame flax crackers

1 celery stalk
2 small carrots
2 cups of soaked sunflower seeds
1/4 hazelnut flour (optional, i just had extra in the fridge and needed to use it)
1/4 cup of parsley
5 basil leaves
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup of sesame seeds
1 tsp himalayan crystal salt
1 cup of ground golden flax
1/2 cup water (use as needed)

throw everything except flax into food processor...process until a batter is formed. add flax. process until well combined...spread on paraflex sheet. spread it as thinly as you want. place in dehydrator for 20 hours at 104 degrees...i like a more crispy and dry cracker...if you prefer a moister cracker dehydrate for as long as you wish.

we also made some AMAZING kale chippies...

chipotle nacho cheeze kale chips

1 bunch of kale destemmed and chopped to your liking
1 orange bell pepper (i used 2 very tiny baby ones)
1 cup of soaked cashews
2 tbsps fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1 tsp of chipotle powder
dash of himalayan crystal salt

throw all ingredients, except kale into a food processor or vitamix. blend or process very well. pour mixture over kale and massage well. place on paraflex sheets and dehydrate for 15 hours at 104 degrees...and enjoy. these chips are phenomenal...

and that was my fabulous friday...

and let's fast forward once again to today...mister postman surprised me with a super fantastic package...remember the fantastic giveaway i won over at bitt of raw...aimee was so kind to include some doggie biscuits for my sweet little guy...and he was a very happy puppy...thank you so much my sweet friend (another beautiful human being)...

life is just so beautiful, especially when you are surrounded with, and by so much beauty, earthbound angels...and there are some extremely kind and generous souls out there...and i am truly blessed to know many of them...

also, please don't forget about the csn stores $60 gift certificate giveaway...if you haven't entered...please do...

have a beautiful night my friends...wishing you all a very sweet week...

CONTEST CLOSED...amazing csn store giveaway...

2010-06-26T04:53:00.007Z

hello darling bloggies...i am so happy and excited to be able to offer all of you the chance to participate in my next giveaway...with the help of the very generous folks over at csn stores who have kindly offered a $60 gift certificate to one very lucky winner! incredibly faboulous wouldn’t you say?

for those of you who don't know, csn stores is the store that offers everything and anything from kitchen goodies to rugs to bean bag chairs (love those!), to mattresses...to lighting...they have over 200 stores that you’re bound to find everything you could possibly need/want.

here are the rules:

*must be a US or Canadian resident
*must provide a valid email address so I can easily contact you if you win (winner will have 48 hours to respond).
*entries count as one unless otherwise stated...if entry counts as more than one, leave the same number of comments as noted...for example, if entry counts as three then leave three separate comments.
*only comments posted below will be valid for entry.

note: csn stores will send winner an online gift certificate valued at $60, excluding shipping costs...please keep that in mind when shopping or check out their free shipping items...csn stores has great customer service and will help you with any questions you might have regarding shipping costs or items.

** to enter **

required:

*you must be a follower on google friend connect. it's on the right hand sidebar of my blog. then leave a comment stating that you are.
*visit one of csn stores' 200+ stores and let me know something you’d love to have – anything your heart desires!

optional:

* follow csn stores on twitter (2 entries = 2 separate comments below)
* follow me, nutellaaaa, on twitter
* tweet about this giveaway (1 tweet = 2 entries = 2 comments)
* "like" csn stores on facebook (2 entries = 2 comments)
* post about this giveaway on your blog – provide me the link (5 entries = 5 comments)

as stated above, contest is open to US and Canadian residents only...winner will be selected at random...contest ends tuesday, july 6th...winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be randomly selected.

good luck to you all!

well...what can i say...it was a day of natural disasters...

2010-06-24T14:29:00.019Z

i wanted to thank everyone for their concern yesterday...some parts of ontario, quebec and the united states experienced a bit of a tremor in the early afternoon...

i too experienced it. i was on the 26th floor of an office building, and it swayed back and forth, back and forth...and as dramatic as it may sound, i was petrified. i've never in my life experienced the flashing of my days, and people and fur babies i love before my eyes...i was not allowed to leave the building (i know, right?)...because i had reports to file...

and as one of my beautiful friends put it in an email last night to me..."putting profit over life! they're nuts."...and i agree...

i remember thinking what if there is an aftershock, and i'm sitting here filing reports...i wasn't even able to call anyone because i was TOO busy...does this make sense? i cried the rest of the afternoon...and leaving was perhaps the most amazing thing that i have ever experienced in my life.

i am certain now, that my life was not in any danger, i would hope that building management knew what they were doing when they didn't evacuate the building...although most of the surrounding buildings were...

i got home yesterday and hugged the crappola out of my puppy, john was at work, i had a good cry with him though...and i sat outside with jackson for hours...throwing the ball...and thinking about how incredibly lucky i am to be alive...my life is so beautiful...even with all of its craziness, it does not outweigh the happiness and the love that surrounds me on a daily basis...i have so much to be thankful for...my family...my love...my fur baby...my friends...my new found friends...i have so much to be excited about...so many things to look forward to...

so i thought i might dedicate this blog post to my life...and people and things that make me happy everyday...

my baby love...this man makes me so happy...i always dreamed of being with someone that would love me for me...and just hold my hand through life...and he does all of that and more...we have so much fun together...we laugh...we play...we walk...we talk...we cook...we love...and he's my very best friend...and he makes me so happy...the day i met him, is the day i found peace in this life of mine...he truly was the missing piece...and i feel whole...and full of life...in a world full of strangers he is the only one i know...

my goofball muffin...he is the sunshine of my life...quirky...funny...snuggly...and my forever baby...he loves me no matter what...whether i look good or not...whether i'm sad or happy...and no matter how bad my day is...well...he can turn any rainy day into a sunny one...just by giving me one of his infamous hugs...i love him so much...

my family...my mama and papa and my two baby brothers (they're hardly babies...but, they will always be to me)...i had a beautiful childhood...my mother and i always struggled to get along, she's been somewhat critical of me since the day i was born...but, i am the person i am because of it...i have this incredible strength because of it...and instead of holding a grudge, i have moved on and found positive in the criticism...i love both of my parents with all of my heart...and am thankful to them for everything they have given me...and my brothers, well they're beautiful people...and have always been there for me...and i love them so much...not sure they realize how much, but i do...

and my friends...new and old...what would life be like without friends...an extension of family...i love them all...wholeheartedly...i would be nothing without them...my life has been full and blessed...and i thank the universe everyday for giving me the most beautiful gifts...i couldn't have asked for better people to guide me through this life...and each day i am amazed because i feel as though the universe keeps rewarding me with so many more beautiful people to keep me company in this game of life...and my heart keeps growing...it is a beautiful thought, knowing that i share this world with such phenomenal human beings...and even though some friends are no longer a part of my life...they live comfortably in my heart...they left a lasting impression, a footprint on my soul...and i will love them for as long as i am me...

and everyday i am thankful for everything i have...i have more than i could have ever asked for...and i am truly blessed...i live in a free country...i have a job...and health benefits...i have clean water to drink, and swim in, food to eat and create beautiful art with, and i have such precious love and laughter to keep me thriving...i have so much...most aren't so lucky...so for all of this and more, i am grateful...

i received some extremely amazing news yesterday...actually a few wonderful things happened yesterday, despite the tremor and the tornadoes that ripped through ontario...so stay tuned for some pretty exciting stuff...and a couple of giveaways...

i also wanted to say thank you so much to all of my beautiful readers and bloggie friends...i look forward to your musings and writings everyday...you all put such a smile on my face...i look forward to all of your comments and opinions...and i want you all to know i appreciate you all so much...you have become so very dear to me...i adore you all...sending you all so much love and big ginormous hugs...

new moon pie flavour...a crepe...and two winners...

2010-06-23T01:21:00.007Z

hello lovebugs...how are all of you?

as all of you know i'm over the moon about moon pies...(that was pretty clever no?)...

let me introduce to you my very new flavour...

nutty nutella moon pies

i have to admit, i did not have fun making these...i also made a batch of caramel moon pies...unfortunately my caramel was a little oozey and way too gooey...two moon pies died in the dipping process...so sad...i think i may have to take break for a while...

this morning for brekkie, i had the most spectacular dish...courtesy of ani phyo, who else?

banana chia crepe, nutella and fresh organic cherries...

speaking of ani phyo...the two very lucky winners of two ani's raw food essentials book giveaway are:

no. 43 - lauren of ginger is the new pink; and
no. 70 - melissa of contagious health

CONGRATS LADIES!!!...i hope you love ani phyo's new book as much as i do...

thank you all for participating...and hold on tight because i'll be having a very sweet, full of gratitude giveaway, very shortly...can anyone guess the new giveaway?

i wanted to ask you all a favour...i'm extremely curious about all of you...and wanted to know where you are all from...so if you wouldn't mind letting me know in the comment section, that would be FABULOUS!!!

have a beautiful night...sending you all ginormous amounts of love...

<3

life is beautiful...and the universe loves me...

2010-06-20T22:13:00.010Z

i am blessed. second beautiful weekend in a row...i'm starting to think that i've been a good girl...and the universe has rewarded me with such beautiful moments...

this weekend i was so fortunate to spend time with some very incredible ladies...camille hosted our mostly raw vegan patio party...i finally got to meet lisa, and jenny...i was also very fortunate to meet a very lovely lady, patrizia...

the spread was pretty fantastic...most items on the menu were made using recipes from ani phyo's raw food essentials...onion rings, cheddar kale chips, mango salad, tostadas...to drink there was an organic white wine strawberry mango sangria and water with cucumber and lemon...and for dessert, wow, amaretti cookies, blueberry lavender ice cream, chocolate fudge cake, nutella, lemon cashew cream and moon pies...

has anyone ever had the chance to visit heaven? corny? yes! well i did yesterday afternoon...there is nothing like the beautiful company of such spectacular women, wonderful food and lots of laughter...there were so many genuine kind hearts in one room, i felt happier than i have in a while...it's a such a fantastic feeling to be among very good people...people that i feel i have known a lifetime, and that is because we all share the same views about certain things and it's very hard to find people that feel the way that i do about food...food really does bring people together...

today i am sharing this very beautiful day with my family and the love of my life...and it's all about love and laughter, and those are the ingredients to a very beautiful life...and lasting memories, at least for me...

hope you are all enjoying your weekend, and i wish you all love and laughter today, and everyday...

<3

i am italian...hear me roar...

2010-06-18T00:42:00.004Z

i feel like little red riding hood's granny right now, as i perch my glasses at the tip of my nose...anywhere else, i can't see...the frames are toooooo small...ugh!

moving right along...i was not born in italy, although i do have dual citizenship, i am both a very proud canadian and italian (and yes i am totally cheering for italy to win the world cup, and the italian flag is waving proudly on my car, haha)...however, from the very ripe age of 3 months i pretty much spent between 4 and 5 months out of the year...every year...until i was 17 in italy...at 17...i was too afraid to get my butt on a plane, so i lived there for two years...two of my most cherished years...memorable years...such a lovely country...

the air is fresh...the people are just so beautiful and so friendly...and the food is as natural and pure as you're ever going to get...and everyday of the week there is always a farmers market in one of the neighbouring towns...siestas in the afternoon...and everything and everyone is laid back...i want to go back so badly. i want to grow old there...a girl can dream right?

one of my favourite italian foods is "farinata"...wikipedia describes it as such... "Farinata (which literally means made of flour in the Italian language) is a thin, crisp, pizza-like pancake from Liguria, Italy. Its original Genoese name is fainâ. Variations are eaten in many different Mediterranean countries and beyond. It is similar to the socca from Nice, France"...the twins made a few variations here, of socca, as did camille...

it's a beautiful snack...or accompaniment to a salad...or whatever you are eating...i believe the olive oil is pretty much what makes it or breaks it...i am pretty blessed when it comes to olive oil, as mine comes all the way from my grandmother's farm in italy...it's as organic and fresh and cold pressed as you're gonna get...

farinata

olive oil (enough to cover bottom of oven proof skillet)
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups chickpea flour
1/2 lemon juiced
1 garlic clove minced or pressed
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped

directions

in a bowl, thoroughly mix chickpea flour, salt, garlic, pepper,
lemon juice, and water. let mixture sit 1 to 4 hours (or overnight).

preheat oven to 435 degrees

in a pie plate (or if you have a well-seasoned cast iron
skillet, its the preferred method, but fancy is not important), pour enough olive oil into the pan to generously cover the bottom.

pour batter into skillet or pie dish.

bake for 30-35 minutes. pancake is done when it pulls away from the
sides of the skillet and has a nice golden brown color. remove from
oven. and devour, if you remember you can always sprinkle some vegan cheeze like daiya all over it...mmmm...

heaven...heaven...heaven. it's gluten free, soy free, everything free...it's not raw...but if you're not a purist...oh man! please try it. you'll thank me. i promise. so easy to make too!

has anyone ever tried baby kale? i found it at my local organic grocery store a couple of days ago...and i almost did a little happy dance in front of the fridge...yes i did! tonight's dinner was a lovely baby kale salad with my very own raw kraut, raw local sweet peas, cukes, radishes, and the dressing was a mixture of my very favourite raw caesar dressing (2 tablespoons)...and a little extra acv, lemon juice, salt and olive oil...fantastic...

and...for tomorrow's breakfast...i packed up a few scones (buckwheat biscuits), berry sauce, nutella and clotted kream...(camille LOVES the play on words)...

have a lovely night my friends...and don't forget about the giveaway...two ani phyo books...and two more sleeps until our vegan patio party...i'm going to bring ani phyo's raw tostadas...with raw corn tortillas, heirloom tomato salsa...nacho cheeze, taco nut meat...sour kream...*drool*

night night...

body love/image...veganism...food love...

2010-06-17T01:24:00.011Z

i've always been a pretty thin girl (the above pics were taken before my weight gain)...until this year, i feel as though i've become something i no longer recognize anymore. i haven't felt comfortable in my own skin for a while. i no longer like to have my picture taken...i cringe at the thought...when i made plans to meet camille, i shuddered at the thought of her taking photographs of me...and in fact, i asked her not to post the photo of us she had taken...because "i looked like a beached whale"...i'm definitely not proud of the way i feel...in fact, it's been weighing on me a lot lately...i've been thinking that i really need to change my attitude. how can i be any sort of role model for young girls who are so impressionable and so prone to eating disorders, because of people like me?! it makes me so sad...

so instead of feeling embarrassed or ashamed of this body of mine...i need to be thankful for it...yes, i've gained a few pounds...i had sciatica for a year...and was on pain meds and could barely move...but this body of mine was strong enough to get out of bed every morning...and no matter how much pain i felt...and how badly i wanted to amputate my right leg...it kept on going. it never shut down. i was able to live every day to the fullest...with a few "cry" breaks...i was able to drive to work...i was able to cook...and function normally...my body is strong. and regardless of the extra weight, it's a beautiful gift, and i need to cherish it...and in return it takes care of me. this body of mine...managed to kick sciatica in the butt...we worked together...and it happened. now that is what i call a strong perfect body. and i am so thankful for it. weight, well, weight comes off...with a little work my body can be what it use to be...but honestly, at the end of the day, weight doesn't make me the person that i am...i know this. and i hope to carry this with me everyday...and i hope to keep this new found love i have for myself until the very end of my days here on earth...

i am thankful for this body that my soul lives in because it is an incredible vessel...and i will never ever shun it...it is with me until the very day i die...and i need to embrace it. it has been very good to me. it has helped me through many sicknesses...and injuries...it has battled much stress...and it's gotten me through very hard times...and it's been with me through the good times as well...it's never failed me. ever. and for this, i am thankful...and forever indebted to my body.

veganism. i am so happy and proud to be vegan. i have never enjoyed my food so much. being a vegan brings me such joy and such happiness. i became vegan a year ago. during my sciatica days. i did a lot of research, and realized that most of the food i was eating was so destructive...and inflamed my insides. so, i decided to eat anti-inflammatory foods...which lead me to veganism. people ask me everyday if i miss meat...cheese...butter...milk...and i say, with such conviction..."no, i do not miss any of it"...how can anyone miss animal products, when they can eat what i eat everyday? food rich in nutrients and vitamins...kind food...environmentally friendly food...beautiful colourful food...and it is such a joy to create such beautiful dishes...with the earth's bounty. we live in such a beautiful world...with so much to offer...i wish every human being could feel the way i feel...and help me save this beautiful world...however i am not a preacher...and i know i will never be able to change or better the world, so i mind my own business and do my part...what i don't appreciate is when other people try to push their meat eating ways on me...i don't do it to you, so why feel the need to preach my way? i am grounded. i will never budge. i am proud of what i am. i am thankful for this way of life. and i will be a vegan until the very day i die...

food love. like i said...how can anyone want to eat a steak...when they can eat this...

raw vegan

avocado caesar salad with coconut bacon and hemp sunshine burger, hummus and cracks on the side...

banana flax crepes, nutella, whipped cashew cream and strawberries (i subbed sprouted chia for the flax)

brazil nut banana pancakes, nutella, cashew whipped cream, strawberries and berry sauce

and last but never least...a cooked vegan meal...pizza...with daiya cheese...tomato basil sauce, zucchini, tempeh bacon and green olives...YUM!

have a beautiful night...

p.s. if anyone in the toronto area, or the gta would like to join our vegan patio party this saturday afternoon...please let me know...

weekend fun...and ani phyo giveaway update...

2010-06-14T14:21:00.007Z

hello my lovelies...how are all of you? how did your weekend go? did you do anything fun? or did you just sit back and relax?!

i had a fabulous weekend, filled with more fun and excitement than i have experienced in a while...it was superb to say the least...and i wish i could do it all over again!

here's a little recap...

friday:

went to the salon and sat for three hours in a chair...and got my hair did...(i really hate getting my hair done, but i love the colour, wasting three hours of my life in a chair inhaling chemicals is not MY idea of fun...that is why most of the time i stretch out my next visit as long as i can, even if my roots are disgusting to look at)...

friday evening i met up with one of my fave girls...camille, the mastermind behind raw candy...we met up at rawlicious, and had a very delicious raw vegan dinner outside on the backyard patio, such a beautiful environment...hands down, one of the sweetest, friendly, laid back, interesting gals i have had the pleasure of meeting in a while...conversation was so easy...and i honestly could have sat with her for hours...i can't wait for our next dinner date!

we had an amazing meal...we ordered the nacho platter to start (the classic trio of gacamole, "sour cream” and salsa, served with sliced green olives, green onions, hot banana peppers and a pile of rawlicious nacho chips)...

we also shared a pot of "beautiful foolishness" tea...the tea was such a sweet treat...and it was slightly chilly outside, so it helped warm us up...but there is never an excuse to drink tea...it's amazing...hot or cold outside!

for dinner, camille ordered the caesar wrap with a side salad dressed with poppy seed dressing (wrapped in a collard wrap, seasoned nut-loaf, romaine, caesar dressing,chopped peppers and onion bread crutons)...i tasted a a bit of this dish, and it was phenomenal...

i decided to go with the special of the night..."meat" loaf...yes, you read that correctly, "meat" loaf...with a side salad dressed with tangy lemon dressing...

i don't believe i have eaten anything that fantastic in a very long time...i tried to get the recipe out of our lovely waitress, but she wouldn't budge...we even tried bribing her with one of the moon pies i brought with me to give to camille...

although, camille was very gracious and ended up giving our waitress a moon pie anyway...like i said, one of the sweetest people i have ever met...she's a spectacular human being!!! thanks so much camille for such a lovely time...

camille also wrote a lovely post about our girls' night here, check it out...

saturday, john and i visited our local farmers market, and we were lucky to pick up a few goodies...local cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, zucchini, ontario strawberries and rhubard, first peas of the season...and some portabello mushrooms...we also did something SO exciting, we picked up a few plants for our very first garden...which we ended up planting on sunday...here is a sneak peak...i'll post a more extensive entry one day this week...

and within this lovely garden live various sweet little veggies...and in no particular order we have kale, red cabbage, swiss chard, various lettuces, brussel sprouts, eggplant, pickling cucumbers, celery, lemon basil, spicy basil, basil, dill, various hot peppers, including one i thought was so interesting, chocolate habanaro peppers, anyone heard of these before? and we also planted 5 watermelon plants...i cannot wait for our babies to grow...i am looking forward to watching the progress in the coming weeks...i am so so so excited.

we had some friends over saturday night, so john took care of dinner for them and himself...and i took care of some vegan apps, my dinner, and dessert...

for appetizers i served my yummy hummus (chickpeas, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, raw tahini paste, water, salt and pepper)...taquitos (vegan, chorize black bean)...and i made myself a very lovely brown rice pasta with local baby asparagus, kale, garlic and some tomatoes...and on the side i served a lovely kale salad, topped with hemp seeds...

and for dessert, well...i made a lovely vegan strawberry and rhubard crumble out of the beautiful loot we scored that morning...i served mine with so delicious coconut milk vanilla ice cream...

i had such a beautiful weekend...i wish it could have lasted forever...and i am so grateful to have been able to live through it...and experience it...i am definitely grateful for my sweetheart, my fur baby, my friends, my new friendships and having the pleasure of meeting such a beautiful soul...earth's bounty and this beautiful universe i am lucky to be a part of...life is dandy...even when it's not...haha!

i have an announcement to make about my exciting giveaway, ani phyo's raw food essentials, i have upped the stakes...i am now giving away TWO of these amazing books...so spread the word, and good luck to all of you...like i said, i wish i could give all of you a copy...

also, i noticed that some of you who entered didn't enter properly, so i will list the rules here, once again:

here are the rules...

*open to International, US and Canadian residents.

*MANDATORY: you must be a follower on google friend connect. it's on the right hand sidebar of my blog. then leave a comment stating that you are.

extra entries:

*follow me on twitter @nutellaaaa (3 entries = 3 comments);

*tweet about the giveaway on twitter...please include the link @nutellaaaa on your tweet status...can be done once daily;

*post on your blog about the giveaway and deadline...please leave a comment with a link to your blog post here...(5 entries = 5 comments); and

*add me to your blogroll, come back here and let me know...(5 entries = 5 comments)

DEADLINE: Tuesday, June 29, 2010

note: if you do not follow me on google reader, and your name is chosen, i will unfortunately have to pick another name...so please make sure you follow the rules accordingly, i wouldn't want you to miss out...click here to enter the contest, if you haven't already done so...

i now leave you with a few pictures of some lovely caramelo moon pies...have a beautiful day darlings...may the sun come out to play with all of you...

CONTEST CLOSED: when life gives you a chocolate disaster...have a giveaway...

2010-06-10T02:44:00.016Z

i had a bit of a fight with some chocolate this evening...sometimes things don't go as expected...so you gotta just go with the flow, and move on to plan b...so, giveaway time...

i adore this book...since picking it up on sunday afternoon, it has not left my side...i bring it with me everywhere i go...and i am not just pulling your leg...i am serious...i bring it with me to work...and flip through it on the subway...i flip through it during my lunch break...i take it outside with me during play time with my little goofball...i think you all get the point...anyway, i thought it would be amazing to give TWO of my dear readers a chance to get as acquainted with ani, as i have...and just in case you're all wondering, i do not take it to sleep with me...i promise...

if you already have the book, enter anyway, give it to someone you know might want it...never hurts to try...

here are the rules...

*open to International, US and Canadian residents.

*mandatory: you must be a follower on google friend connect. it's on the right hand sidebar of my blog. then leave a comment stating that you are.

extra entries:

*follow me on twitter @nutellaaaa (3 entries = 3 comments);

*tweet about the giveaway on twitter...please include the link @nutellaaaa on your tweet status...can be done once daily;

*post on your blog about the giveaway and deadline...please leave a comment with a link to your blog post here...(5 entries = 5 comments); and

*add me to your blogroll, come back here and let me know...(5 entries = 5 comments)

DEADLINE: Tuesday, June 29, 2010

good luck everyone...wish i could give everyone a copy...

*Edit: the contest is now closed...i will be drawing a winner soon, and sending out the books June 23, 2010...with the impending G20 summit in Toronto, and an unplanned vacation...it's the only time i can do it. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

tea tree oil is making me blind...and ani phyo is my new bestie...

2010-06-09T02:50:00.006Z

jokes! although it is making my eyes water quite a bit...i find it pretty fumy...

anyways...sorry i've been MIA...my excuse or (ahem) explanation is that by the end of the day i can barely see...my eyesight is pretty bad...i'll be picking up my eyeglasses sometime this week...so it should be a little easier for me to focus and blog properly...in case you're all wondering, yes the screen is VERY, EXTREMELY blurry right now...and it has been for months...but i'm trying...i feel like such an old fart...

today i said "see ya later" to my almost father in law...he is going to ukraine for a few months...and i got pretty emotional...i always do...not sure why though. he is coming back. and i will see him in a couple of months, and he will be having a fabulous time...i'm such an emotional gal...i wear my heart on my sleeve and i cry just about every two minutes...again, jokes!!! to be honest with all of you, i am such a suck. that is the best way to describe it. or my heart is just extremely soft. one of the two. anyone else extremely emotional? or am i a rarity?

i picked up ani phyo's new book this weekend, who hasn't? and i am in love...it is such a fabulous, informative and easy to follow uncook book...it truly is a raw food essential...anyone interested in raw vegan food needs this book...i think it's one of the best i have come across (hands down)!

i've made a couple of her recipes thus far, and this may surprise all of you, considering the amount of desserts i have been producing as of late, i stuck to the more savory recipes...but, don't you fear, i will be posting some raw vegan dessert porn in the next few days...also, i do have a batch of moon pies setting in my freezer right now...so you see, i am still a dessert girl at heart...

first up...coconut bacon...i followed the recipe exactly, except i subbed dried chipotle peppers, which i reconstituted and made into a paste to replace liquid smoke...and i also added a touch of hungarian paprika...

it's still in the dehydrator...i can, however, tell you that the marinade was VERY tasty...also in the dehydrator are a few hemp sun burgers...(i only made one change, that was replacing flax with chia seeds)...

i'll leave you with a picture of my breakfast for tomorrow...a very simple strawberry mango crumble...

have a beautiful night my friendlies...

p.s. one of my favourite girls is having a fabulous giveaway...this is one contest YOU need to check out...

p.p.s. there will be a pretty fantastic giveaway in this area in a few days...so stay tuned...can you guess what the giveaway is???

sweet dreams...

the universe is definitely trying to tell me something...

2010-06-04T00:46:00.004Z

a few months ago i gave up coffee...however, these past few days i have been craving it...so i gave into my craving and have had coffee in some way, shape or form since saturday...well...yesterday morning, i wanted a VERY BIG coffee...so i ordered a grande bold in a venti cup...and i ended up wearing it and burning my wrist...(pretty yucky to look at)...so, i think the universe wants me to be stop drinking coffee...although, i would think and hope for future lessons, the universe would be a little kinder...i may have also twisted my body in a bad way yesterday, because i had a bit of a sciatica flare up today...numbness in my foot and part of my leg...i stayed home from work...just to relax and not stress my body out...and i think it worked because i am feeling a lot better...

i have a new dessert for all of you...it is so lovely...i need one more item to complete it...and i will one day...i need an ice cream maker...to make a vanilla cashew ice cream...the proper way...

caramel apple crumble tart/pie (vanilla ice cream would make it "a la mode")...

apple filling

2 apples peeled, chopped very finely
2 lemons juiced
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp coconut sugar

mix all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside

tart/pie crust

1 cup almonds
1 cup pitted medjool dates
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
dash salt

pulse almonds and salt until fine powder consistency. add medjool dates. once a dough is formed it is ready.

caramel filling

1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup of yacon (or 1/2 cup agave or yacon)
1/4 almond butter
1/3 cup lucuma
1/3 cup mesquite
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3tbsp water or more depending on the consistency you prefer
dash of salt

put all ingredients in a food processor and process until a nice caramel sauce forms.

crumble topping

1/2 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut sugar
dash salt
4 medjool dates

place all ingredients in a food processor, except for medjool dates, process to a semi chunky/flour consistency. add medjool dates...you should end up with a crumble.

assembly:

press crust into tart pans, pie plate, or tupperware container, spread carmael sauce on crust layer, add apple filling and add crumble mixture. and voila you have yourself a beautifully delicious treat! i was able to get three small tarts and a medium tupperware container filled with apple crumble. yum!

on the savoury and cooked side of things...i put together a yummy indian dish...inspired by the beauty behind girl on raw...

pigeon pea quinoa curry

1/2 a cup of quinoa
1 cup of water
1 package of frozen pigeon peas
2 chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp curry powder

preheat oven to 450 degrees, put all ingredients in an oven safe dish, or cook on stove top...(if cooking on stove top cook on medium heat)...cook for 20 mins or until all water has been absorbed. remove from oven, or turn heat off (stove top), and let stand for 5 mins. enjoy!

today i am grateful for the beautiful country i was born and raised in. it is free and it is grand...i am grateful for all the fresh water and vegetation i am able to survive on...this land is bountiful...and i am truly blessed...i am also grateful for the wonderful comfortable bed i get to relax in...it is definitely really good for my back and is part of the reason i was able to overcome sciatica the first time i suffered from it...

hope you all had a beautiful day...sweet dreams my lovelies...

<3

what's a girl to do when she's outta moon pies?

2010-06-02T01:38:00.003Z

she makes a rawdorable cupcake, or something quite similar...yep she does...

the girl didn't have all of the ingredients she needed to make this particular recipe...so she had to be a little inventive and use her brain a little...which was a little mushy (that really doesn't sound very good)...

this is what she came up with...(shannon marie feel free to rename the cuppie if the name doesn't suit ya)...

carob caramel delight (makes 2 cute cupcakes)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
2 Tbsp. ground chia seeds
2 Tbsp. carob powder
2 dates
1 tbsp agave
touch of vanilla
pinch of sea salt
*caramel frosting
*dried coconut flakes for sprinkles

in a food processor, combine the seeds, carob, vanilla and sea salt. process into a fine crumb. add the dates and agave and process until evenly distributed throughout the "batter".

top the cupcake with caramel frosting (agave, mesquite, lucuma, vanilla, almond butter and sea salt), sprinkle with some shredded coconut and gobble it up...and have the 2nd one for breakfast tomorrow morning...'cause that's what the girl is gonna do...

the girl also had a very simple dinner...ezekiel wrap topped with roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach and ani phyo's baja cheeze...yummy and so super colourful...

today i am grateful for...all of my bloggie friends...my favourite blogs...my little goofball fur baby...the plethora of i love yous i hear everyday from my johnny...and last but never least mister sun, sun, mister golden sun...he came out to play again today...

hope you all had a very lovely day...and i hope you have a beautiful night...

weekends are so much fun...things i am grateful for...

2010-05-31T18:59:00.011Z

this weekend was amazing, (one of my best girls hung out with me...john went on a fishing trip with the boys, so i had a girls' weekend)...other than a few little hiccups...

what kind of hiccups you ask?

well.........after a beautiful and lovely dinner of grilled pizzas (vegan and non vegan)...we decided to go for a walk, to rent movies...(john's brother stayed behind and hung out with us as well...THANKFULLY!) as we were about to leave, he mentioned grabbing the keys, and i reassured him that they were in my purse...well, they weren't...so he shut the door and as he was shutting the door, i realized my mistake and tried to stop him...didn't work...we were locked out...we (john's brother) ended up having to kick in the inside garage door, needless to say the door is busted and glass shattered everywhere...fun times...i felt like POO!

once the mess was all cleaned up...and the door was secure, we finally went on our walk...and a few funny things happened...i got hit on by this random dude asking for change...ha! on our way to blockbuster, we passed a strip joint (joys of living in the city, ha!) my girl and i were invited in...and we were like, "umm thanks but noooo"...and ran away giggling like 3 year olds...i also got carded THREE times during the weekend(which is amazing because i am 34)...we were able to rent five movies, but, sadly we didn't get a chance to watch them friday night, my dvd player broke down...bought a new one saturday, brought it home, and discovered that it was a lemon...AND i lost the receipt! thankfully it all ends well, and i was able to get a new one because technology today is just so wonderful...they were able to find my receipt on the computer and i was able to bring home a working dvd player...we managed to watch one movie yesterday afternoon (leap year, really cute, and i love irish men, don't tell john)...and yesterday evening i watched another movie (valentine's day, super cute movie)...

we made an amazing sangria...so beautiful and fresh...it tasted like summer...

summery sangria

(i didn't have a pitcher on hand, so we used a glass bowl)

1 bottle vegan organic white wine
1 organic mango juice box
1 cup mineral water (carbonated)
1 bag of organic frozen berries (black raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
1 1/2 cups of sliced strawberries
ice (optional)

mix all ingredients together and enjoy...

vegan grilled pizza

i didn't have time to make my own dough, so i bought it already made...i made two pizzas, one with basil spinach pesto (basil, spinach, olive oil, walnuts, garlic and salt), topped with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, green olives and spinach...and a second pizza with the same toppings and my very own homemade sauce with plenty of basil and garlic...yum!

and of course jackson had a beautiful weekend as well...i don't even think he noticed that his papa was missing...we went to visit the vet, and jackson is down another two pounds...so he has four more to go...

i thought i would devote a short little section of each blog post to things i am grateful for...it's so easy to focus on every little negative thing that happens in ones' life...but it's so much better for the soul to focus on all the good...

my very best friend...

my little goofball...

my girls...

sweet raw vegan treats...

vegan and raw vegan foods...(so bright and colourful)...

summer days at the cottage...

hope you all have a beautiful monday...and for all my american bloggies...hope you are enjoying your three day weekend, totally envious of you!!!

my man is home...i missed him SO much...have a great night my ladies...i'm off to watch dear john...

<3

sometimes you gotta have some wine...right?

2010-05-27T23:23:00.009Z

on my way home from work i stopped at the lcbo and grabbed myself two bottles of organic white wine (it was that kinda day)...and noooooooooo i will not drink them both tonight, maybe one? haha...not! i have a friend spending the weekend with me...so i thought i'd treat her to some yumminess...

we have many fun things planned...and i am totally looking forward to the girls'/dogs' weekend...tomorrow night i promised another lady i'd take her out for her birthday, we're going to do indian...hopefully they have a vegan dish for little old me...i love indian...LOVE LOVE LOVE it...saturday i'm gonna take her to good ol' port credit and perhaps we'll pop into raw aura...and sunday she's gonna leave me, but i have plans with john's mama and her hubby...

john's gone for the weekend...he left this morning with my almost father in law...and his baby brother...they went on a fishing trip...i already feel so lonely...so weird...i don't think i have been apart from him for the last three years...i ain't kidding peeps...i miss him terribly...shhh...don't tell him i told you...

i don't know what's up with me lately, i am just so exhausted. i can barely wake up in the morning...but i have to...i feel like a zombie...and i am having issues with my eyes...i'm finally getting glasses on monday...so it'll be easier on my eyesight, and i will finally be able to actually read more than one blog an hour...haha, it's pretty bad.

ok. food. i made some pretty yummy salads this week...i added some hummus (chickpeas, parsley, raw tahini, dash of cayenne, salt, garlic, lemon juice, water) and a fuji apple to my normal, kraut, avo and greens...

and...i also managed to finally make one of my favourite meals in the entire world...high raw vegan nori rolls...(raw nori sheets, fuji apple, cucumber, avo, and sprouted brown rice)...yum...

i also made a VERY yummy and crunchy cracker, it's raw, it's vegan and it's gluten free...

spinach buckwheat crunchies

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, loosely packed
3 cups buckwheat flour*
5 cups organic baby spinach
1 apple, cored and roughly chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp herbs de provence or herbs of your choice

*you can make buckwheat flour by soaking buckwheat, sprouting it, and degydrating it overnight at 104 degrees, running it through the food processor until it turns into flour.

process the olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, apple, lemon
juice, salt and herbs de provence until thoroughly mixed.

add the buckwheat flour and process again until a batter is formed.

divide the mixture in 2 and place on paraflexx sheets, on dehydrator trays.

spread the mixture evenly on paraflexx sheet. if mixture is too sticky you can wet the spatula to make things easier. you can either score the whole thing into 9
squares with a knife, or leave it as is and break it into pieces once it's ready, for a more rustic look.

dehydrate at 104 degrees for 4 hours and then remove the paraflexx sheets by
placing another dehydrator tray and mesh on top and invert so that
your original sheet of bread is upside down. that will allow you to
peel the paraflexx sheet off and continue to dehydrate the underside of
the bread.

dehydrate for approx 18 hours more or until crackers feel crispy.

i had some for lunch today with hummus and some of ani phyo's baja cheeze...these cracks are so crispy and herby...i love them...can't believe i pulled them off...and without FLAX (my enemy)!!!!!

hope you are all having a lovely week. and i wish you all a fabulous weekend. hope the sun comes out to play...

sweet dreams my friends...have a beautiful night...

crazy crazy crazy kinda weekend...

2010-05-24T14:43:00.008Z

my weekend started at 1:30 p.m. friday, and i have pretty much not had one minute of peace since...and that's a great thing...i've had such a beautiful time...and! the sun has pretty much been a constant this weekend!

this weekend has been filled with lots of kisses from my fur baby and sweetheart, family, friends, unbaking, yummy raw aura eats and fireworks...

here are a few pics of my unbaking adventures:

cuppie cakes

choccie almond butter cups

caramelo moon pie

banana toffee fudge ice cream cake

i had a few get togethers to attend this weekend, so i picked up some yummy eats from raw aura...

casear salad (romaine lettuce tossed in a creamy sunflower seed caesar dressing, eggplant bacon, alomnd butter parmesan and tomatoes)...it was delicious...i had a tofurky beer sausage to accompany it with some horseradish mustard...but the salad was filling...and i wasn't able to finish anything that was on my plate...haha!

i also ordered the big salad (a mix of romaine and kale are tossed with your choice of dressing and topped with tomato, carrot, sprouts, avo, apple, pumpkin seeds, red pepper, red onions, and sprouted chickpea hummus)...it was AMAZING...i love the sprouted chickpea hummus, hands down the best i have ever eaten...i wonder if i can order a tub a week? i'd swim in it, that's how good it is!

i also ordered the pasta bolognese (angel hair zucchini pasta tossed in a roasted red pepper basil tomato sauce, spicy sunflower sausage, sprouted lentils and kale, topped with pine nut parmesan)...ok, this was the first time i have ever tried zucchini with pasta sauce (i'm italian, i don't say marinara)...AND! it was AMAZING...i will definitely be ordering this dish, again and again and again! and i need to get a spiralizer...because i can see this being a staple in my diet...yum!

no long weekend is complete without fireworks...(i took these photos with my iphone, and i have to say they turned out pretty amazing)...

now i am off to spend the rest of my monday with jackson and john...john wants to go fishing...we're off to a park and jackson and i will just walk and meet other dogs while john fishes...totally looking forward to basking in this warm beautiful day...

i have a lot of catching up to do, and i will later this evening...hope you are all having a beautiful monday...and that your weekend was filled with lots of love and awesomeness...

<3

clearing skies...and drying eyes...

2010-05-21T04:02:00.006Z

that's a line from one of my fave beach boys' songs...disney girls...

so i wanted to clear something up...because i think a lot of people misunderstood something i quoted john saying to me in my last post..."you didn't win the battle, but you're about to win the war"...did not in any way, shape or form mean anything bad at all...what john meant is..."you didn't win the contest, but think of all the other good things that have come from the whole experience"...that's all folks...there was no ill will intended...and like i mentioned, he is really into this new show "the pacific"...and likes to use war lingo...haha! that's all i got...

a few interesting things happened to me this week...i was at panacea on wednesday, and i bumped into this lovely lady...not that i know her or anything...but i know of her...she's a pretty sweet gal...it was absolutely cool to bump into someone famous...and i told her..."hey, i follow your blog"...haha...and she was actually quite gracious...and even said bye to me as she left the store...

i bought a few things on wednesday, to help me along with my raw vegan dessert creations...

shannon marie, do you see anything interesting in my little pile of goodies? i can't believe that this store sells those cute little silicone cupcake liners for $40...and i managed to find them for $13...at this lovely store...this is where i go to get all my unbaking needs!!!

wednesday night, my almost father-in-law was cooking a frozen pizza in the oven...and, the oven really needed a good cleaning...it had been sending smoke signals out for the last week and a half!!! the alarm went off 4 times...poor jackson was freaking out...there was an incident before christmas, we left the house because john's grandmother was very ill, and we were told she was going to pass away...and there was something cooking on the stove, well suffice it to say, the house was empty, with hummer and jackson, and a pot of cooking food...well, the fire alarm sounded, firetrucks were dispatched to the house...and the firemen broke down the door...and came to the rescue! thank goodness! could have been such a tragedy, but it all worked out! anyway, since that day jackson is afraid of smoke...and alarms, and the oven fan...he becomes so agitated and has so much anxiety...two firetrucks were dispatched to the house on wednesday evening...and i feel horrible saying that i was sort of excited! but i also felt quite badly for the firemen!!! they were very kind and gracious though...so i totally appreciated that! and, HUBBA HUBBA...i think they're so dreamy!

yesterday i was lucky enough to go to cruda cafe, hands down, some of the best raw food i have ever tasted...i ordered lunch and dinner...

enchilada (flourless organic corn wraps, guac, spinach and house salsa with raw vegan chili and marinated organic mushrooms)...to die for...

and...

and for dinner...wild mushroom nut burger (rests on a bed of boston lettuce, tomato, cilantro, guac, micro greens, beets and carrots)...YUMMY! best dinner i've had in a long time...

so that's all folks...hope you all have a very lovely weekend, it's suppose to be a little rainy, but mostly sunny here in Tdot...i'm pretty excited about playing with the sun this weekend...we have a few things going on...what do you all have planned? this is also a long weekend for us...monday off babies!!!

have a beautiful day!

<3

you didn't win the battle...but you're about to win the war...

2010-05-19T01:55:00.016Z

congrats to my fellow canadian camille, my girl kelli crawker, and my bitty boo for winning the ultimate ice cream cake challenge...camille's cake is fantastically beautiful, as is kelli's and bitty boo's!!!!! i'm thrilled they won and I was cheering for my girls!...congrats congrats congrats my ladies...*high fives all around*...

so if you're all wondering what the title of my post means, i'm about to tell y'all...when i told john i didn't win the competition he said "it's ok baby, you didn't win the battle, but you're about to win the war!"...i was kinda like "huh?"...all i can say is the boy loves anything war related, documentaries, movies, novels, you name it, so it's pretty normal that he speaks in war...and i guess he felt bad for me, he loves me, and most likely thought i was sad, which is a response i'm getting from tons of people...and i just want to say, it's ok! my girls won!!! and i am really really happy...i mean it y'all...

many good things have come out of the experience and I had fun...here are a couple:

i got a beautiful compliment from a raw vegan chef from right here in the GTA...and the compliment came at just the right moment...i was having the worst day possible...i thought i had made the biggest mistake of my life...and i was in hysterics...we're talking huge panic attack and just feeling like the world was crumbling down on me...i hate making mistakes...especially at work...little mistakes are ok...you know, typos, spelling mistakes...not transferring a call properly and hanging up the phone on someone accidentally...because you can fix those mistakes easily...this mistake though would have taken a lot longer to fix...and it would have just been really really irresponsible on my part...in the midst of my little meltdown i decided i needed some fresh air and so i grabbed my trusty little phone and went outside...checked my personal email...and this is what was waiting for me:

hey

its **** from *** ****.

beautiful deserts. you have a great talent. keep doing them and I would love to try them someday

best

**** :)

i don't want to publish this person's name because i didn't ask permission to do so...just in case you're wondering what the asterisks are all about...

that email made my day...it really really made my day...so thank you **** for taking the time out of your busy schedule to send me such a beautiful message. it was such a nice gesture...

and my brother's girlfriend asked me to make her birthday cake...she requested my banana chocolate fudge toffee ice cream cake...she even offered to pay for it...whatta sweetie pie...and i told her "yes to the cake part"...silly girl!!! she also made my day...someone actually enjoyed my cake THAT much...score!

so...i'm happy.

and if you're all wondering what ended up happening with my big mistake, things ended up working out and i didn't really make a mistake after all...i was just so frazzled i didn't realize that i blew up for no reason...it happens to the best of us...and i will definitely be more careful next time...

did someone say food? i haven't made any desserts so far this week...although i have come up with an amazing recipe which i will try to put together this week...and i am so excited about it...i actually have a few ideas...and i hope to start playing in my kitchen soon...love experimenting and creating lovely things, but y'all knew that right?! i was also thinking of getting myself a little journal to jot down my ideas so that i don't forget...

but i did make a batch of sauerkraut...this time i put a few of my fave things in the mixture...dill and garlic...and i used both green and red cabbage and himalayan crystal salt...all organic.

i also made a beautiful quinoa curry last night,

1 cup 365 organic light coconut milk
1/2 cup of organic quinoa
8 quartered heirloom variety mini tomatoes
1 package of wildwoods organic sprouted baked tofu
1 cup of organic frozen peas
1 tablespoon curry spice

mix all ingredients in casserole dish and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

pictured above is curry quinoa and baked tofu with homemade coleslaw and asparagus salad...

i also made coleslaw (shredded red and green cabbage and carrots) with my favourite vegan slaw dressing...amazing!

i've also made some pretty awesome salads with my classic combo, can you guess? greens, sauerkraut, avo and hemp seeds...i also added some asparagus and shredded carrots...and a very simple dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and salt...and crushed garlic...(i love garlic)...

sweet dreams my loves, i leave you with some pics of jackson sleeping in the most awkward funny position...

who sleeps like that? he's such a quirky funny little creature, and i am so truly blessed he picked me to be his mama...he really did pick me...

saving graces...

2010-05-15T20:20:00.000Z

i have a few...

my very best friend and sweetheart...

my fur baby...

my friends...

and then there is my time in the kitchen...i look forward to it...it's kind of like an addiction for me...it's one of my favourite places in the entire world...i find it exilerating and ridiculously fun...

so when people wonder where i find the time...it's something that i need to do, it keeps me sane...especially after a stressful day...

when i can do things like this...

and turn it into berry mango love ice cream cake...(blackberry, raspberry, strawberry and mango sorbets)...

or when i can take a very SAD dessert...like banoffee pie...

and turn it into a very happy banana toffee ice cream cake...(graham cracker crust and crackers (pecans, coconut flakes, mesquite, agave and a pinch of salt), heathy's vanilla ice cream and caramel recipe except i omitted the dates and added mesquite and almond butter, i spread two tablespoonsfuls of the caramel/toffee mixture on top of the graham cracker crust and the rest into the vanilla ice cream, heathy's banana ice cream...heathy's chocolate buckwheat crispies, heathy's fudge sauce, and chocolate covered bananas)...

so yes...my time in the kitchen helps keep me sane...

when i feel like this...

i just play a little in my kitchen...and i feel shiny and new once again...

is mother nature trying to tell me something?

2010-05-14T03:55:00.001Z

have i been naughty? is that why all i've seen this week is rain, gloom and doom...

this week has been a very tough one...not only have i felt exhausted the last 4 days...but i've also been carrying around a very heavy broken heart...

i believe i'm tired because i am the type of person that can't sit still for more than 2 minutes, i always have to be doing something...

and the broken heart...well i'll let this article do the talking...

needless to say i haven't really had the energy to blog...but tonight, well, i had some chocolate and i know it's gonna be another sleepless night...i gotta stop licking spoons...so i have a teeny weeny bit of energy...

so i thought i might stop in, say hello...post some teaser pics of 2 works in progress (ice cream cakes)...and show y'all some pretty little macaroons i made yesterday and sent off to heathy, as part of the package of goodies she won in my 2nd giveaway...had to make up for the lack of rawnola...

i'm also going to put a few in the mail for 3 other very special ladies...i think you might know who you are (i only have 3 other addresses)...so expect some sweet little macaroons by the last week of may...

sweet dreams my girls...and have a beautiful friday...sending you all so much love...

three little piglets went to market...

2010-05-10T03:10:00.000Z

three little piglets, piggles, pinky and porky...were on their way to the market...

when they were stopped suddenly by a strange man holding up a cake...he introduced himself as Mr. D...

Mr. D was going on and on about some sort of ultimate ice cream cake...although Mr. D was very strange, piggles, pinky and porky loved ice cream and cake...so they stayed and listened to him talk about these ultimate cakes...

Mr. D began describing the flavours of cakes he had...piggles was most interested in the turtle rawk...he mentioned something about some goddess heathy's chocolate ice cream, her vanilla ice cream and her vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce, her chocolate buckwheat crispies and chocolate brownies, pecans and chocolate sauce and caramel sauce...

then, as if the encounter wasn't strange enough, Mr. D broke out into a song and dance, (he was pretty excited about his turtle rawk cake), the song went something like this:

when i'm feeling blue, all i have to do is take a bite of you...then i'm not so blue...lalalala...

let's rawk...everybody let's rawk, everybody do the chocolate turtle rawk...come on everybody let's rawk...lalalala...

Mr. D then said something piggles thought was really funny..."this cake will really put the happy in your dance..."...and went on to show piggles various steps of putting together the cake...

and the final product...a lovely rich and decadent marbled cake, with chocolate ice cream and chocolate brownie chunks, vanilla ice cream, caramel ice cream...and a layer of chocolate buckwheat crispies, chocolate fudge sauce, caramel sauce and chocolate dipped pecans...

piggles took one bite out of the turtle rawk cake, and suddenly started to do a happy dance...and he started to sing the turtle rawk song...it was THAT good...and he told his brothers that the cake was dreamy...and he would dream about this day for the rest of his life...

pinky was pretty excited...so he asked Mr. D if he had a pink cake with strawberries...and Mr. D lit up...gave pinky a big smile...and said "i have something that is going to make you one very happy pink piglet, summer stRAWberry shortcake...he started talking ingredients, and almost lost poor little pinky...it went something like this..."strawberry ice cream: 1.5 cups of cashews, 1.5 cups of water and 1 tbsp of lecithin, vanilla ice cream: 1/4 cup of coconut butter, and again he mentioned the goddess heathy and her wonderful whip cream, blonde crunchies with an addition of 2 tbsp of coconut butter, strawberry sauce, 1/2 cup of strawberries, 1/4 cup of water, 2tbsp of agave..."...finally Mr. D stopped talking, and pulled out the most beautiful ice cream cake pinky had ever laid eyes on, she was prettier than strawberry shortcake herself...

pinky was so happy...he also did a happy dance...

porky, a bit of a grumpy little piglet, looked Mr. D in the eye and said..."Mr., i don't really care about your stories...all i want is something fresh and crisp and chocolatey...please!"...Mr. D pulled out something that porky had been dreaming of his entire life...and he didn't even hear the words that came out of Mr. D's mouth..porky was too busy drooling..."this here porky is a mint chocolate chocolate chunk ice cream cake, with goddess heathy's chocolate ice cream with an additional ingredient of 2 tablespoons of coconut butter, mint ice cream with goddess heathy's vanilla ice cream base, no vanilla, 1/2 a cup of packed mint and 2 tsp mint extract, chocolate chunks, goddess heathy's chocolate crispies, cacao nibs, and goddess heathy's chocolate sauce and whip cream on top..."...

all of a sudden this big mean looking monster appeared...looked at the piglets and licked his lips..

porky grabbed the cake right out of Mr. D's hands...grabbed piggles and pinky and they ran and happy danced all the way home...and all of the piglets remembered goddess heathy for the rest of their lives...and always secretly wished to meet her...fall in love with her and marry her...so that they would never be without their beloved ice creams cakes...

the end

have a sweet sweet night...

life...

2010-05-09T03:56:00.000Z

my life in the past few days in pictures...

my two loves playing...jackson likes to surprise attack...his attacks are always filled of kisses though...

jackson's first encounter with wheatgrass...(yes there are cigarette butts in one of the pics...but jackson doesn't eat them...nor does he smoke them...)

lots of green salads filled with kale...and my very own homemade sauerkraut...(yes! it totally turned out so well...)

sweets...

just because i can, i wanted to address something that has been bothering me a lot lately...and because it's affecting a few ladies that i respect...what's up with the blog drama? not understanding why there is so much hate in the blog world? who gives anyone the right to attack another's lifestyle? so someone eats a lot of leafy greens? the last time i checked greens were really good for you? did i miss the news broadcast wherein it was announced that chips and coke are the new superfoods? i think not! and what's up with trying to convince someone that they need to go on some weird fast? last time i checked we each live our own lives and make our own decisions...if we want and need advice, we'll ask for it...i think we're all pretty much old enough and mature enough to lead our own lives minus others trying to tell us that what we ate for dinner is not nutritious enough...and if someone posts a picture of themselves on their blog...why tell them that you think they're not good enough in some way, shape or form? do you walk up to a complete stranger and tell them that you think their outfit is horrid? or that they need to gain or lose a few pounds? i don't think so? so what makes it right to hurt someone's feelings in the comment section of their blog? or better yet, send them an email? why humiliate these people that you do not know...enough is enough. grow up, look in the mirror and judge only yourself, if judgment makes you happy or fulfills some weird void...enough with the negative feedback. my mama taught me that if i didn't have anything nice to say, not to say it at all...and i think that was a pretty amazing lesson...because i have learned to respect people...and life. try it. it's good for you. good for that thing called "karma" too.

speaking of mamas...happy mother's day to all you wonderful, beautiful mothers (including fur baby mamas)...enjoy the day, may it be filled with so much love...laughter and life...

one down, two more to go...

2010-05-06T23:46:00.000Z

i haven't entered the contest yet...because i can't cut into the cakes just yet...have to wait until sunday, mother's day...my mother mentioned that she doesn't like the flavour of cake i was planning on bringing her...thankfully, i have another flavour up my sleeve...

here are some pics of my first cake:

here is a sneak peak at the second ice cream cake i am working on...this is my favourite flavour...and i CANNOT wait to dig into this one...can you all guess what it is?

one of my favourite girls has been pretty busy in her kitchen as well...she's already made two cakes...chocolate, strawberries and banana and rawspberries and cream...two very beautiful cakes...and i am totally cheering her on...

i have been working on a few other raw vegan meals...i am such a lover of indian flavours...i love indian food...hands down one of my favourite food to eat...so you can imagine how excited i was when sweet little heathy shared one of her creations with us the other day...so today i recreated it...and it is so good...so good!

and i have another love...kelp noodles...but i have no idea what to do with them half the time...so today i recreated a recipe created by aimee, the genius behind a bitt of raw...i added marinated red cabbage and mushrooms, sprouts, green onions and carrots...so good...

hope you're all having a wonderful week...what are your plans for the weekend? i am so thankful tomorrow is friday...so so so thankful...i had a day off today...and i just did everything i wanted to do, and more...i uncooked, i ran some errands...and just hung out at home...i love home. love it...sometimes i never want to leave...anyone else feel this way?

sweet dreams my friends...

hmmm...what is it?

2010-05-05T02:42:00.000Z

i've been pretty busy the last couple of days, sketching...shopping for ingredients and cake pans...and prepping...today i started to put my first cake together...

here are a few pics...and it's far from ready...can you guess what sort of ice cream cake it is???

any ideas?

sweet dreams my lovelies...