Winter came back with a vengeance for us this week! As I throw this together, so much snow is coming down and I’m planning to bring some wood in to warm up for the fireplace tonight. I don’t mind it at all honestly. My mum and I stopped into a local garden centre this week to look at pansies, hellebores, tulips, hydrangeas etc and that was a nice little dose of spring haha. They also had orange and lemon trees with flowers blooming and the smell was SO heavenly.

I plan to make some bread this weekend and we’re also celebrating my dad’s birthday tonight. Other than that, it’s grocery shopping, laundry, cooking a bunch, and all the usual stuff. Extremely chill and routine, just the way I like it. I hope that you’re taking good care out there!

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. Good News for the Socially Anxious: People Like You a Lot More Than You Think They Do, New Research Confirms
2. The Persistent Mystery of Protein Intake
3. Understanding What Your Rising And Moon Signs Mean For You
4. Think What You Could Accomplish if You Devoted Your Whole Self
5. What’s the Price of a Childhood Turned Into Content?

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. On Instagram: Liz Miu makes the best vegan food and is so fun to watch + Anna-Laura Sullivan’s art makes me tear up regularly.
2. Layne Norton on Rich Roll’s podcast
3. I’ve been rewatching Downton Abbey and I think it might be the very definition of a comfort show.
4. I purchased a Wagner steam cleaner recently and this thing is powerful! It comes with so many attachments (probably too many for my use if I’m being honest). It blasted grime out of my oven so fast.
5. Loving the Sahajan Sleep Well bath soak and am thrilled to see the launch of their skincare line at Sephora! I’ve loved this brand for years.

5 Questions:

1. Any suggestions for a work-from-home lunch that I can prep on the weekend?
   Let me introduce you to my latest lunch obsession! I think I might have to put a finalized recipe up on the blog soon, but in the meantime: I put roughly chopped cabbage, kale, and carrots in a food processor and pulse until it’s finely chopped (kinda like a “chopped” cole slaw). I learned this food processor chopping technique from Pinch of Yum! These chopped veg keep in a container in the fridge for 5 days. Then, I’ll make a batch of pickled red onions and a sweet/tangy creamy mustard dressing. So to recap, prepped in the fridge we have: finely chopped cabbage/kale/carrots, pickled red onions, and creamy mustard dressing. At lunch, I combine a portion of all three and add chopped ripe avocado, chickpeas, and maybe some toasted sunflower seeds. Toss it all together and voila. My dream lunch. It’s about an hour of prep total and I don’t foresee myself ever getting tired of it haha. Let me know if you want me to post a an actual recipe!
2. Saving for a mattress, any recommendations? Made in Canada ideally!
   I have an organic Hamuq mattress and I love it. Firm but supportive, nice and cool, and customer service is excellent. It arrives at your doorstep all compact and packed down into a box, but it is heavy. Definitely make sure you have some assistance lined up to move it into your home.
3. Is it possible to make a vegan burger that isn’t mush?!
   Yes absolutely! I have two firm and incredibly grill-able options on my site alone! The BBQ black bean burger (which only has 10 ingredients) and these tempeh burgers with millet and rice are both winners. The tempeh burger gives me old school health food store vibes 😉
4. What’s a secret ingredient that you won’t find everywhere, but it sets the flavour of your food apart?
   If you’ve made any of my recipes, you’ll notice that I pretty much always incorporate at least one umami-rich ingredient (miso, Tamari, tomato paste) and one acidic component. Most of the time, utilizing these two things alone will make your food taste amazing. For umami-rich ingredients, lately I’m favouring vegan Worcestershire sauce and Marmite. For acidity I do like to splurge on high quality vinegars as we do eat a ton of salad and the dressing is so key sometimes. I love the selections from O Olive Oil & Vinegars.
5. What are some cozy homemade drinks you’ve been enjoying lately?
   Hot Bengal Spice tea with a bit of frothed nut milk and a drizzle of maple syrup & also I’m really getting into matcha lattes again! Ippodo’s matcha is reliably excellent and comes in at a variety of price points.