People do a lot of crazy things when they are about to turn 40. I had just had my annual checkup and a warning from my doctor about high blood pressure. I had migraines, was sick all the time, lacked energy, and all the rest. I was at the end of my rope. So I visited a holistic nutritionist and put her to work. CleanseHer prescription was 3 months, vegan, gluten-free, no sugar, no alcohol, no caffeine. No problem, right? Did I mention that we started in October? Friends and family were convinced that I was ripping all the joy out of the holiday season. And no one believed me that it was REALLY NOT THAT BAD. In fact, I was feeling great and it took almost no time to be completely hooked. Added benefit - no after Holiday bloated, guilt-ridden, angst-laden resolutions. Pistache even came up with some awesome recipes. Some were twists from new found authors and bloggers, others were made up on the spot. Maybe we will put together a book. Truth be told, it was painless. Except for eating out {which was mostly a big diappointment} we were very successful. What I did notice was that the options for "vegan, gluten-free, etc" eaters was not nearly up to standard with our usual foodie palates. Obviously, our food was outstanding {no inflated ego here} but there was a real need to up the flavour quotien in a lot of recipes. Still GoingI have to admit that when I started the cleanse, I had no intention of continuing. In December I was already discussing how to reintroduce foods. Yet when the end was in sight and I was feeling anticlimactic because there were not a lot of foods that I wanted to bring back into the regular rotation. Which brings me to the reason we are still eating mostly vegan. It tastes awesome! I definitely have more energy, there is no crash at 3:00, and my mind is clearer. Getting through the Holiday season and sticking to our cleanse was a real confidence booster as well. I realized that I didn't need to overindulge to appreciate the holidays. In fact, when you are eat less and drinking less, there is more time for conversation and connection. At the moment, I am still on the Cleanse 90% of the time. Breakfast and lunches just became habit. Dinners are flexible 1 or 2 nights a week. When you lose refined sugars from your diet and go to just eating vegetables, there is a period of adjustment. Yes, you need to embrace herbs and spices. Yes, you need to lose your fear of the green things. But you in no way have to give up on taste. Pistache's Curry in a Hurry was a hit, full of flavour and textures. If you like the recipe, I will ask him to write down more! Curry in a Hurry
Saute onion in oil until translucent; Add curry and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes; Add Zucchini and saute until almost cooked through; Add Haricot verts, chickpeas, potatoes and currents. Saute for 3 minutes or until heated through; Add Coconut milk and banana. Bring to a simmer; Season with Salt, pepper and honey. Add extra coconut milk as needed. Garnish with nuts and herbs of your choice. We like Cashews and Thai Basil. ResourcesIt's true that both Pistache and I have culinary backgrounds but we did not just turn on the stove and wave our magic foodie wands to make delightful dishes appear every night. I found some amazing chefs and authors who gave me inspiration and who I would recommend you check out, whether or not you want to be totally vegan, paris vegan, vegan before 6, or whatever. Here is the list.
Oh she glows Joyous Health Nutrition Stripped It doesn't taste like Chicken If you are in the Montreal area and are looking for a similiar Cleanse. I recommend the following wholistic nutritionists Kassandra Kernisan of EnVie Natural Health Solutions Sandra Power of Sandra Power, Nutrition, Mind Detox, and Mind Calm I must also note that Vegans on Instagram are Awesome! Check out the hashtags #vegansofig #gourmetvegan #veganfood and #vegansofinstagram They are a very supportive bunch and there is a lot of inspiration out there. I hope that you enjoy exploring vegetable dishes as much as I have. Please let me know of any recipes or sites that I should check out! And don't forget to follow us on Instagram to see more vegan dishes! So you have decided on a theme, you've set the date, and organized a guest list. How are you going to get people to your event? Well unless you are doing a major media launch for an obscure brand of shoelace cleaner, you can just send an invitation. {Actually, the shoelace cleaning company would probably send out at least one invitation as well} But how do you send out an invitation these days? Does anyone use paper anymore? Do online invites only work for kids parties or girls' night out? And what do you say exactly? How early should you send them? What if no one responds?!?! I know you know the questions, so let's get to some of the answers! Paper or VirtualThe first thing to consider is your event and your guest list.
Once you have decided whether to send paper or virtual invitations, you can browse through some of my favorite links for each.
Design and Print or Send Maybe the templates just don't do your idea justice. In that case, you can alwasy design your invitation from scratch using an online program like Canva {my fav} and it's custom Wedding invitation Designer. Obviously, you are not limited to wedding invitations and there are lots of fun graphic tutorials to help you refine the look. WordingYou've decided on a delivery method but what are you going to say? There is some basic information that your guests will need in order to attend your fab event.
*Be sure to set a clear response method and date. And don't be shy to check with people who haven't responded, everyone is busy these days! When to SendYou want to give your guests the opportunity to receive and reply to your invitation in time for you to put on a fabulous event. If you are having hand embroidered place cards done for each guest, then you may want some advance notice to who is coming and who will not be attending. For a playdate at the park to get ready to go back to school numbers are not so important.
And of course, don't forget to Thank your guests after but we will talk about that in another post!
The cheese plate is a reliable presence at many events both big and small. The formula for building a cheese plate is most always the same and includes a variety of cheeses, something sweet and something savory, and bread or hard fruit on which to eat your cheese. Wine is also a requirement at my events. To build a cheese plate you only really need three things; cheese, accompaniments, and a plate. CheeseTo build a balanced cheese plate, you want to include a medium-hard cheese {like manchego}, a soft cheese {like camembert}, a goat cheese {like herbed chevre}, and either a sassy cheese {like roqefort} or a hard cheese {like parmigiano}. This gives you a nice range of textures. If you are planning a smaller plate, try to have a minimum of two different styles of cheese. On my vacation to Michigan I was fortunate enough to tour and taste the cheeses from Evergreen Lane Creamery. This lovely farm is home to hand-crafted artisan cheeses made from goat and cow's milks. After tasting the five varieties, we settled on of their cheeses - The Garden Herb Chevre {with parsley, lovage, and chives}, The Tribute Tomme {named after the owner's prized goat}, and April Showers {a camembert style tomme made from cow's milk} AccompanimentsThe next thing to think about is what will accompany your cheese. I tend to include fresh fruits, nuts, croutons, and a savory jam. In the summer fresh seasonal fruits are my preference. Since I am in Michigan, I included blueberries, peaches, pluots or plums, and grapes. During the winter, I would include dried fruits like apricots and cherries along with apples and pears. Nuts can be simply roasted with a bit or salt or glazed with maple or spiced with shallots and rosemary. Pistache loves to make nuts with maple and dukkah {recipe below}. Along with fruits, I will include savory jams, chutneys, conserves or salsa. This is not a must but it adds another dimension to the plate. Balsamic Onion jam, Chipotle Peach Salsa, or Mango Chutney are my favorites but test out whatever you have on hand. Finally you need something to put your lovely creation on. Toasts, crackers, baguette or ciabatta will all do nicely. PlatesMy cheese plates tend to turn into cheese platters but either way I have to put it on something. A large platter works well but it can be fun to try out a different material depending on the occasion. For our cottage plate, I used a large piece of wood {untreated}. The more interesting the material, the more interesting the final look. The above plates are from the Williams-Sonoma new wine country series. But all you really need to build a fabulous cheese plate is a food safe surface that is large enough to hold your cheeses and accompaniments. Spiced NutsTo make 1 cup of spiced nuts 1 cup nuts of your choice 1 Tbsp oil {I use coconut oil or butter} 1 Tbsp maple syrup 1 to 2 Tbsp of spice of your choice {cinnamon, dukkah, garam masala, etc.} Spray a piece of aluminum foil lightly with oil. Heat oil and maple until boiling. Allow to boil for 2 minutes and then pour over nuts. {The mixture will be very HOT!} Stir the nuts and add the spice. Stir again. Allow to cool on aluminum foil and use as needed. If you don't eat them all, they can be stored in a cool and dry area, in an air tight container for about 4 days. Nuts can also be enjoyed in salads or by the handful. Enjoy!
- pistache and rose Looking to create a Mood Board? It isn't as hard as you think. I first learned about making mood boards when I was working on rebuilding my catering and event website. I took a course called the Girl's Guide to Web Design and it was given by a friend of a friend, self-paced, and a really good introduction to coding and building a site from concept to launch. {Yes, I recommend it.} One of my favorite take aways from the class was the Mood Board, which is a collage of images and text that give a way to define and refine your vision. When I say that it is one of my favorite takeaways, I really mean FAVORITE! I started using them as discussion points for clients, for event guidelines, and for pure graphic delight, whenever the mood hit me. How to Find Images
How to Make a Mood Board There are only three steps to making a mood board.
When I am working on creating a board, I do not just go in search of decorations or photos of other people's events. I try and think about how I want to feel at the event and then I start pinning whatever makes me feel that way. After I have all those photos on one board, I add in some specific decoration, food and drink ideas. At this point there is no judgement, I'm not trying to create a theme in pictures. I am just gathering. Here is what my Pinterest Board looks like. Things to Remember
It is important to mention that I use these boards only for inspiration. By this time we have all seen and or experienced the Pinterest fails and that is definitely not my intention. I want to be inspired when I start to shop, when I plan the menu, when I design the invitations, and when I talk to my guests about the party. The board above is just my starting point. As the event creeps closer, I will add more pieces. I hope you have fun playing with the mood boards!
Rose With two chefs in the house, we don't often go out to restaurants. When we do getting our attention can be a challenge. I do have a few favorite restaurant finds that I wanted to share with you but I will warn you that I am not as verbose as Rose. Also, there are several others that could have made the list but I will save that for an old stand-bys post. Cheers! Patrice Patissier - MontrealPatrice Demers is one of the treasures of Montreal and we wanted to see if the legends were true. They were absolutely well deserved, from entrees to the two dessert courses we were in heaven for the night. Lupa - New YorkOn a recent trip to New York, I discovered the octopus at Lupa, incredible is an understatement. The sommelier was wonderfully helpful, the food divine, and the company was a pleasure. The perfect evening. Food Dance - Kalamazoo, MichiganA little treasure in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Food dance is locally sourced and always delicious. With an attached food shop and cooking courses it is developing a strong food culture in Southwest Michigan. Le Pichet - SeattleLe Pichet is worth the cross country flight. It is classically French with a hint of Seattle. Don't get me wrong there was little that I ate in Seattle that I didn't love but I would plan my next trip around the breakfast at Le Pichet. If you have any recommendations for me to try I'm not shy and I am will to expand my list.
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