Simple Living Revolution

Canada Day: Wondercliparts.com

Happy Canada day to all Canadians out there! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday and shared it with family and friends.

We had a laid back day with family, although the kids went and checked out the fireworks. It was actually raining, but that didn’t stop them.

On the weekend we had a huge barbecue and family reunion, so it was a bit of an early celebration. It was my dad’s side of the family and it meant a lot to see them again since dad is gone.

A few of us wore red and my cousin made a beautiful strawberry shortcake with a maple leaf design. We also played horseshoes and the winner won a trophy. I didn’t win, but somehow I managed a few ringers.

Some of you may know that I’m a walking jukebox, so I must include a song.

Look out California!
Ooo-ooo, I gotta warn ya.
Here comes Canada…

Zucchini: Graham Soult

The foodie fight posts are all up and they’re awesome. If you’re looking for unique recipe ideas for zucchini or garam masala, check them out! The other brave competitors are:

Cranky Cakes

Downsized!

Endless Simmer (Gans)

NomNomNom Blog

The judges are:

Food Goes in Mouth

Cream Puffs in Venice

The Daring Kitchen!

Also, don’t forget to vote at Foodie Fights (Battles for Fame Not Fortune) If you want to get more involved, sign up for the next foodie fights battle!

Zucchinni Samosas With Mint Chutney

Foodie Fights Battle 6 is on and I’ve been selected to participate! The ingredients we’re using include zucchini and garam masala.

These are two of my favourites, so I had a lot of fun with this food fight. My dish includes Zesty Zucchini Samosas and Minty Zucchini Chutney with a kick.

In case you don’t know, garam masala is simply a combination of spices that originated from India. There are many variations, but it usually includes: cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, mace, bay leaves and star anise.

Pastry for Zesty Zucchini Samosas

• 3 cups (750 ml) of flour
• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of oil
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
• ½ cup of water (125 ml)

1. Add oil to flour and break up until crumbly with your hands. Add the water and knead the dough for about five minutes until soft.

2. Cover for at least a half an hour and knead again before rolling. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into five to six inch circles, flouring the surface as you work to avoid sticking.

3. Cut in half and place two teaspoons of filling in the middle. Wet all the edges and fold them shut so that you have a triangular shaped samosa ready to cook.

4. You can either deep fry the samosas for five to ten minutes until brown or bake for 10 to 15 minutes. If you bake them, make sure you turn them halfway through cooking so they’ll bake evenly.

Filling

Filling for Zesty Zucchini Samosas

• I small chopped zucchini
• 3 chopped green onions
• 2 diced cloves of garlic
• 5 medium sized potatoes
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) Garam masala
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp. (5 ml)Ground Coriander
• 4 to 6  tablespoons of oil (60 to 80 ml)

1. Peel and cook the potatoes for 20 to 30 minutes until they’re soft enough to cut into small cubes. I used yukon gold potatoes. Cut them and toss with one tablespoon of lemon juice. Set aside to add to the filling later.

2. Heat oil in a skillet. (I used a cast iron frying pan.) Add onions, garlic and spices and heat on medium for a few minutes until softened. Add zucchini, potatoes and lemon juice for another five to seven minutes or until heated thoroughly.

I did not add any pepper to these samosas, but feel free to add a chili pepper or a bit of cayenne. I figured the chutney was hot enough and I didn’t want to burn my family’s lips off.

Minty Zucchini Chutney

Zucchini Chutney

• ½ cup (125 ml) of fresh chopped mint
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• ½ cup (125 ml) of chopped zucchini
• 2 chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of lemon juice
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) ginger
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) garam masala
• 1 chopped jalapeno pepper (Reduce if you don’t like it too hot.)
• 1 cup (250 ml) of plain yogurt. (I used fat free yogurt.)
• 1 tsp. Salt

Combine ingredients in a blender of food processor. I used the chop setting for about ten seconds combined. I stopped to stir everything up before blending again.

My neighbour inspired me to use mint in my chutney, because she raided my garden for mint last week.  She had company coming and wanted to make a chutney.

This chutney is a refreshing summer dip and would go well with vegetables or pita bread, but it is so yummy with samosas!  It looks pretty if it still has a little bit of texture. It’s also very healthy and helps add moisture to the baked samosas.

While some tap water’s safety may be questioned, studies show bottled water is no safer. The toxins released from plastic in landfills are polluting our land and water.

The current craze in bottled water has become more popular, but it is not necessarily healthier nor does it even taste better. In a blind taste test conducted by Showtime in New York the host found that 75% of residents preferred tap water over bottled.

• Bottled water is presented as being higher quality water and it certainly costs more. Over 90% of the cost is actually in the bottle, label, lid and transportation.

• Many of these bottles portray scenes of mountain springs and glaciers but some are simply purified tap water. It is in the bottled water industry’s best interest to promote the perception that bottled water is higher quality since people are paying $1.00 to $4.00 a gallon.

• After the US Conference of Mayors passed a resolution to study the negative environmental impact of bottled water, at least one company agreed to add a source label to their water so consumers knew that it was simply purified tap water.

Read more…

Girl: Simona Balint

1. Roast marshmallows, wieners or biscuits over a fire. Biscuits should work as long as they’re thick enough. Make smores with marshmallows, chocolate and graham wafers.

2. Make a tie-dye t-shirt, skirt or dress. Simple supplies include elastic bands, squeeze bottles, and dye. For fun, try using natural plants or spices for dyes.

Read More: 30 Fun Free Things to Do With Family.

Clock: Jay Simmons

Managing your time helps simplify your life so that you can focus on what’s really important. Flitting aimlessly from task to task isn’t productive and often very little gets done.

Do distractions interfere with your goals to such an extent that you don’t get what you had planned done? We all get sidetracked occasionally, but if you prioritize your tasks by writing them down in order of importance, it helps give you the discipline to follow through.

Planning

Then go one step further and figure out exactly how you’re going to achieve that goal and if applicable, decide how much money and time it will take to complete. Just like a well thought out grocery list, for your plan to be effective you have to stick to it.

Of course planning a task can become a form of procrastination if it’s taking too much time. Fear of failure can stop people from starting something, so there’s no need to wait for the perfect detailed plan. Keep it somewhat flexible so that you can change it later if necessary. (For example I started writing this in a quiet room, but it became noisy so I had to move. ) Then begin and keep at it like a workhorse until it’s done.

Saying No

Learn how to say no. This is very important because distractions often come as requests for help from others. You’re no good to your friends or family if you’ve been too busy helping strangers you couldn’t say no to. How To Say No And Live To Tell About It would be beneficial to anyone who has ever had trouble prioritizing or saying no. Its focus is on women and their unique challenges, but it has some great ideas for everyone.

Deadlines

Not everyone likes deadlines, but without them it’s so easy to procrastinate. Set yourself realistic deadlines so that you can move on to the next goal when it’s complete. For example I plan to lose ten pounds and write a book. The weight might take a couple months and the book closer to six months, but if I don’t set deadlines for these things, they might never happen. These types of goals can be broken down into smaller tasks. For example every day I’ll squeeze in a half hour walk and two hours of writing time.

The more skilled you get at organizing and prioritizing your time and tasks, the more time you have for family, friends and fun.

Canadian Flag: Creative Daw

Since I was too busy celebrating last Canada Day, I missed the blog boat. This year I’m listing Canada Day activities and ideas before July 1st to use for celebrating. Canada rocks, so why not start celebrating early?

Canada Day began as Dominion Day in 1879. In 1982, the name was changed to Canada Day to reflect Canada as being independent from the British. For more information see Wikipedia’s Canada Day.

We usually go for a barbecue and/or picnic, catch some bands playing and watch fireworks in the park. There are always parades, face painting and games happening in the streets and parks.

Online Canada Day Crafts, Recipes and Activities

• DLTK’s site has fun and free craft instructions, printables and recipes. Since they’re Canadian, they also have a great selection of Canadian themed activities.

• If you’re looking for barbecue ideas or recipes, check out Kaboose’s Canada Day pages. They also have canuck colouring pages and crafts.

Recreation in Canada

• Want to go fishing, rent a canoe, play a game of paintball or go camping? I love camping and it’s a great way to connect with nature and your family. Playday.com is Canada’s Recreation Website.

• Looking for Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa? Check out Canada’s Capital and search for live shows, fireworks or fun family activities. Also check out the article Free Canada Day Events in Ottawa, Ontario by Chloe Ernst.

For extensive Canadian Provincial Parks listings, see National and Provincial Parks in Canada or Wikepedia’s list of Canadian provincial parks. Feel free to add to this list if you have information or other Canadian listings.

Burton Cummings often performs at Canada Day celebrations and since I’m a fan, I’m including the video “My Own Way to Rock“.

Chickpeas: Sanjay Ach (Wikipedia Commons)

Chickpeas originated in the Middle East and are also known as garbanzo beans. They’re widely used all over the world and are popular because they’re high in protein and fiber. Chickpeas are also low in fat and are a good source of iron, zinc and calcium.

High fiber food is good for you not only because it helps prevent constipation, but also  reduces cholesterol. The reason it does this is because the fiber binds with the cholesterol in your body and flushes it out.

Chickpeas make a delicious addition to soups, salads, stews and casseroles. They’re also yummy as a hummus dip. My favorite way to cook chickpeas is to roast them. Try omitting the oil for a lower fat crunchy snack.

Roasting Chickpeas

To roast chickpeas, add one tablespoon of olive oil and lemon juice to one can of drained chickpeas. You could also use one cup of dry chickpeas, but you’ll need to soak them before cooking.  They should only take a few minutes to cook if you soak them overnight.

Toss with desired spices and roast at 375 F/ 190 C for at least 30 minutes. If you want crispier roasted chickpeas, cook them longer but keep an eye on them. Stir them around every few minutes.

• Good spice choices include garam masala, chili powder, cayenne, cumin or curry powder. My favourite is garam masala, which is a combination of spices from India. Experiment to find your flavour combo. I bet garlic would also be good.

Bread: Cema from sxc.hu

The episode on Chuck’s Day Off yesterday was called The Hangover Show.  I’m not sure if I could eat some of the stuff he cooked hungover, but the bread looked so good.

He cooked a massive breakfast for himself and his friend Robert who he refers to as an “oyster shucking champion, a hell of a fiddler, and a good friend.”

He created both a savory and a sweet loaf simply by sprinkling sugar on one and steak spice on the other.  I haven’t tried it yet because I don’t have whole wheat flour. I’ll let you know how it works out once I do.

It looks very easy so if you’re interested, check out Chuck’s No Knead Bread Recipe. He also made  simple honey butter and roasted cinnamon plums to go with it. Seems a hardy breakfast on its own, but I suppose these guys needed major refueling.

Big and Juicy Tomatoes: Chrissi Nerantzi

Rachel Vanden Berg and Michael Torreiter from The Healing Path Centre are challenging people to eat locally grown food found within 100 miles. This 100 Mile Challenge begins July 4, but in the meantime they’re organizing events and workshops that will teach things like how to preserve food and bake bread. They encourage everyone to participate, even if they’re committing to 40 or 50% locally grown and produced food. Good to know, because some local products are expensive or hard to find.

Grow Your Own Food

• If you would like to start planting vegetables but are unsure of what to plant when, check out Mother Earth’s Garden Planning Guide.

• Path to Freedom is also a fantastic gardening resource. The Dervaes family shares their experience and encourages others to start their own urban homestead. It’s amazing how much you can grow in a small space, so even if you only have a balcony, don’t let that discourage you. Check out Path to Freedom’s 100 Foot Challenge.

Find out more about the 100 Mile Challenge on Food TV. There you can watch the show, read the blog, plan your menu and find local resources. Locovores tend to help each other out, so if your goal is to eat locally, find like-minded people and lessen your impact on the environment.