paradise

After record breaking snowstorms this past winter, we took refuge and reconnected as a family during our winter vacation in Antigua.  It's an island that my husband and I visited before having children, and have always wanted to return to this beautiful, quaint island that boasts 365 beaches (yes, you can visit a new one every day of the year).  With our child-centric vacation last year to Disney, we wanted to go to a more sophisticated (but still kid-friendly) destination, where we could really take in the natural beauty of sand and water. No slides, no rides, no digital distractions.

At first, I think it was an obstacle for everyone to adjust to a slower pace.  WiFi was limited, so our digital devices also had to take a break.  I have to admit it, but I think we were all a little agitated at first.  It felt like our connections to the outside world was broken.  And as much as we were very grateful that we were able to fly to a beautiful resort in the Caribbean while it was cold and wintery back at home, it took a few days to remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of on-line "life", and go...off-line.

Once we lured everyone away from the digital devices, down at the beach my daughter spent quality time with her Dad wading in the water and building sand volcanos, while I coerced our son to take a private sailing trip with me around the cove at our resort. After he reluctantly agreed, we were taken to the deeper parts of the ocean on our sailboat, as we quietly chit-chatted with our sailor about life in Antigua.

I asked about the weather and if they were lucky enough to enjoy 30+ degree weather all year.  He smiled yes and said the previous guests he sailed with actually complained about the heat, but he told them it was nothing compared to the heat in June and July, when it can reach to upwards of 40 degrees!

He couldn't understand why those visitors complained so much.  They complained about the heat.  They complained about how quiet it was.  They complained about the lack of internet access.  "We're in PARADISE...how can anyone complain?" he exclaimed.  No gadget, game or "all that internet stuff" (his words) can compete with the real-world interaction with such beauty and nature that surrounds us.  I felt a little guilty.  Although I didn't voice those complaints (out loud), I realized that we too, were not seeing the bigger picture of our "first world problems", and we weren't seizing the opportunity and appreciate what many people in this world would never have the opportunity to do as we were doing...travelling to paradise.

My son was quiet for most of the trip, and part way through our excursion, I could see that he was starting to go "off-line", as he started to really take in his surroundings.   It was so peaceful and quiet.  The water was glistening in the sun, and I watched my son close his eyes as he enjoyed feeling the cool breeze on his face, as we heard the gentle waves underneath us.  As we went further into the depths of the ocean, we saw grouper fish, angel fish and even manta rays swimming in the clear turquoise sea.

After our sailboat ride, my son and I headed back to the beach.  His iPod was on the beach lounger, and as he reached for it, I thought he would go back to all those digital distractions that I so painfully wanted all of us to stop, even for just one day, and I momentarily felt disappointed that he wasn't going to take advantage of the beach lying in front him.  Instead though, he reached for his iPod and packed it away, and headed towards his sister who was playing in the water.  I overheard him tell her about the fish and sea creatures that he saw while quietly floating with her.  She asked him if he liked the sailboat, and he said it was amazing.

When I went back into the water to rinse off the sand, my son came up to me and asked me to join them as he held my hand briefly.  My daughter then asked me what I thought of the sailboat ride.  I smiled at her as I watched them both peacefully enjoy the sand and water.

I told her it was paradise.

Pina Colada

(serves 4)

I had my fill of Pina Coladas during our stay in Antigua...it was my own little paradise in a glass!  I asked the bartender what he used to make the drink...the "virgin" ones for the kids just omitted the alcohol (they called it Pineapple Coconut "crush" for after the crushed ice).

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or canned pineapple juice
• 3/4 cup cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez (or add coconut extract to canned sweetened condensed milk if you don't have cream of coconut on hand)
• 1 cup light rum
• 3 cups crushed ice

Directions

• Combine all ingredients except garnish in a blender. 
• Pour into tumblers, garnish with pineapple spears, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

soy good for you

After learning that Martha Stewart's show was cancelled (I wrote about it here), I was curious to know what was on in her place.  I guess there was a point, where daytime television was all about soap operas or gossip shock-talk shows.  And in the evening, television was saturated with celebrity reality show/soaps, so I ended up only watching TV for morning news/weather, and anything on AMC after 10pm.  

So for the sake of "research", I blocked off some time (I had laundry), and watched television in the afternoon.  What I discovered were two back to back shows about personal health (and both are on the ABC network).  

The first one was called "The Chew", which is more like a food network show with a daytime talk show platform.  Two of the five hosts are Chef Mario Batali (Food Network star and Gwyneth Paltrow's pal) and Dr. Oz's offspring Daphne Oz.   This show seemed to focus on the "inside self"...mostly what you put in your body.

The second one was "The Revolution", which is self-described as a show about "Body, Mind, Health and Style".  Two of the five hosts are Ty Pennington (of "Extreme Makeover" fame), and Tim Gunn (of "Project Runway" fame).  It seems to focus on the outside self...fashion, design, fitness.

With the over-saturation of celebrity obsessed reality shows, it's nice to see that programming is starting to swing in a good direction. The types of programs on television are indicative of the social environment...we're just sick and tired of watching the corrupt get richer as we try to be better human beings, in a time crunched, financially restrictive world.  And we want to learn how to better ourselves, as simply as possible.

I'm not quite sure yet if these shows will provide the answer, but at least it shows as a society, we're making an effort.  I hope programming will continue to evolve to the positive again, so we can all get healthier, inside and out. 

Soy Smoothie

(Inspired from the Soy Strawberry Smoothie from "The Planet Organic" cookbook)

Ingredients

10.5 oz (300g) Silken tofu, soft
1 cup juice (of your choice)
1 cup black/blue/strawberries, frozen (instead of ice cubes)
1 banana
1 tbsp. pure honey

Directions

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth (approx. 1-2 minutes).  


Serve immediately.  Yields 2 servings.

counting our vanilla beans

After the expensive holiday season, I can’t help but feel a little jittery about the year ahead, when I listen to the news about the financial situation, especially in Europe.  I feel so helpless…people losing their homes.  Losing their jobs.  Or retirees with no money to retire with.  It feels like such doom and gloom, such dire straits.

I wonder if things got this way because as a society, our generation felt entitled.  Entitled to oversized houses, fancy cars, luxurious vacations and exotic meals at restaurants.

Don't get me wrong.  I love luxurious, beautiful, and fancy, just like the next person.  However, as much as I love the finer things in life, I sometimes wonder if that aspiration has attributed to the escalating notion that we need to show that we have more. I once stood behind someone at Starbucks, who ordered a small (Grande) cup of coffee, but asked for it to be put in a large (Venti) cup.  She didn’t want to be seen drinking from a small cup!

I think it hit me right then.  Was I in Starbucks to be seen?  Is the liquid in the cup worth that much more than the one I make at home?  I think I'll just count my blessings that I actually have a home, and enjoy all the things I can do inside it.

Vanilla Bean Hot Chocolate

(recipe adapted from Epicurious)

Ingredients

• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split crosswise 
• 1 1/2 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process

Preparation

• Place sugar in large bowl. Split half vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape seeds into sugar, and add pod. Work seeds in with your fingers. Cover snugly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.
• In food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and milk chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. (Process in two batches if necessary.)
• Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend.
• Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to six months.

To serve

• For each serving, heat 8 ounces milk in small saucepan over medium heat until scalded (or microwave 2 1/2 minutes at full power). 
• Whisk in 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix. 
• Serve with unsweetened softly whipped cream or marshmallows.

Enjoy your luxurious indulgence...at home.

champagne dreams

This year, we had our usual low key New Year's Eve gathering.  Good friends, neighbours and children gathering, enjoying a casual time, having great conversation and comforting food.

We watched the perennial New York/Times Square ball countdown as we rang in the new year.  My husband and I were at that very spot in Times Square a few months ago, and we thought, some day when our kids are older, we'd love to go celebrate one New Year's Eve right there.

This year seems to be the year for travel.  A few nights ago, we had dinner with friends who's own grown children were travelling abroad, and we thought that's something we'd like to do more of as a family...setting a tone for our children to seek the world, learn about different cultures and experience things that no school could ever teach.

I don't believe in"new year's resolutions", however, I do believe in reflecting on where we've been, and re-evaluating the path for where we're going.  And although our dreams of travel come with a hefty price tag, we can still dream about far away destinations, and learn about the world, wherever we go.

Non-Alcoholic Mimosa

This is the easiest drink in the world that my husband whipped together.  On New Year's Day, we had a huge brunch, and served French Toast, Bacon and Eggs with our kid friendly mimosas...we used a peach flavoured non-alcoholic champagne...so yummy, like Fuzzy Navels without the alcohol...good for any celebration!


Ingredients
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of non alcoholic champagne


Mix and toast!

beside myself on the rocks

While going through some summer photos, I came across these, and started to remember this day that we went to the harbour.  It was the end of summer, and extremely hot.  I was hovering around my kids, paranoid, as they wondered along the rocky shoreline.  I must have sounded like a broken record, with the constant repetition of "be careful", and "don't go so fast".  A stranger looked at me like I was crazy, and I realized that at that moment, maybe I was sounding a little too paranoid.

I wonder if, as a parent, our behaviour towards our kids are based on the type of audience we have. Do we try to sound like “authoritative” figures when a judgmental stranger watches? I know some people would say that they don’t really care about what others think, but deep down, those are the very people who really do care.

I’ll admit it. Sometimes I use other’s reactions as a social monitor of sorts, to determine whether or not I am being too lenient or too harsh. It’s sometimes a person’s arm’s length perspective that can give me a reality check…that maybe I shouldn’t be so paranoid, even if at times, we seem to live in a world of doom and gloom. That when my kids want to climb on (relatively) safe rocks around the shoreline to get a better view, that they have the ability and courage to do so. And I don't need to hover, nag or worry.  Just let them be and trust their instincts.

I think the hardest part of being a parent is letting go. Maybe I need to learn to let go a little.

Or sometimes I wonder if I should just drink more.

Fruit Daiquiri

Ingredients

1/2 cup of ice

6 cups of frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, even mango!)

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

3/4 cup of rum

Preparation

Blend the frozen fruit with sugar until the mixture becomes slushy.  Add rum.  Drink.

coffee, tea or me

I’ve been slowly trying to eliminate coffee from my daily routine.  My love affair with coffee began during my first pregnancy.  Although I couldn’t (wouldn’t) drink coffee while I was pregnant, I did find comfort in the smell of it.  (picture a very pregnant woman standing in front of a coffee shop, just standing, smelling, with eyes closed no less!).

After my second child was born, I started actually drinking coffee.  I felt I needed it to keep up.  To stay awake.  To be able to have the fuel to get through a day of crying (mine) and exhaustion (my husband’s).

But as much as I love coffee, it has come to a time when I should go back to my first love…tea.  I’m now not sure if if I have more energy now than I did when I ran on coffee.  Tea’s soothing power and cleansing ability has given me more strength to think clearly, with less irritability, and more calm. 

Calm is good.  

Mint Tea

Ingredients

·     10 sprigs fresh mint, plus extra for garnish

·     3 teaspoons green tea

·     3 tablespoons sugar ( or more to taste)

·     4 cups water

Directions

·     Boil the water and pour a small amount in the teapot, to warm the pot.

·     Combine the mint, green tea and sugar in the teapot, then fill it with the rest of the hot water.

·     Let the tea brew for three minutes.

Enjoy the tea.

A Simple Summer Drink

Sometimes when we’ve been to the farmers market, we get carried away with buying too much fresh fruit, and we don’t consume it fast enough (although that is a rarity in our house…usually I can’t keep up)

However, when berries are over-ripened, but hasn’t gone bad yet, I usually just throw it in a ziplock bag (I mix up a variety of berries and fruit in one bag.), then freeze it. When I have a full bag (usually the size of a sandwich bag), I make a quick and simple treat.  It’s amazing how some frozen fruit and a little sugar can make something so natural and simple taste like it’s processed (my kids actually prefer this better than the “Strawberry Julius” you get at the store…). 

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

Serves 4.

Ingredients

2 cups of frozen fruit (I like the combination of mango, strawberries, blackberries &

raspberries)

½-1 cup milk ( nonfat or lowfat okay)

½ cup water (optional)

¼ cup vanilla sugar*

                         

·     Using a hand blender, blend the fruit into a puree consistency. Add the sugar, blend, then slowly add the milk (add more for thinner consistency)

  

*To make vanilla sugar, store one vanilla bean, sliced open, with 2 cups of sugar in a sealed container for at least 1 month.  

If you don’t have vanilla sugar, you can substitute it in this smoothie with ¼ cup sugar plus ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.

Enjoy.