Home-made Reed Diffuser Oils

I like having a reed diffuser in my bathroom, but i find the scent isn't always what I'm looking for or doesn't last long enough.

I tend to purchase mine at Homesense (my very favourite store!!) or Kohls.  But sometimes you spend quite a bit of $$ only to find out that you don't really like the scent.  The nice "beachy shore" actually smells more like dried seawee or "cotton linen" smells like dirty socks.  Well you get the picture.....

 

 

 

So I decided to experiment making my own.  The Internet can be a lovely thing!

So here's what I did:

- 1/4 cup water
- 12 drops essential oil (you purchase these in small bottles with a dropper)
- splash of vodka (apparently the vodka helps the oil bind to the water)

Since it's summer, I had an "ocean scent" essential oil in my drawer, but I have lots for other seasons (pine or cinnamon for the holidays, pumpkin spice for the fall, etc.).

So I've mixed it all together, placed it in my bathroom and voila, it actually works.  I've saved a lot of money, plus I get a scent that I like.  It's safe, non-toxic and economical.

You could put a lovely lavender one in a guest bedroom, a citrus one in the kitchen, a homey scent in the family room.   I happen to have a few diffusers tucked away but any small-necked bottle and reeds would do.  The reason you want a small-necked bottle is that the water evaporates slower. 

Take care of your body, it's the only one you've got!

Nutted Rice Salad

This is a great recipe for a side dish, a potluck, or for lunch.  It keeps well and, except for the oil in the dressing which is minimal, it's really healthy.
 
Thank you Laurie, via her sister, for this recipe!  I love it!!

NUTTED WILD RICE SALAD

• 1 c. raw wild rice

• 5 c. chicken or vegetable broth or water

• 1 c. pecan nuts 

• 1 c. golden raisins

• Rind of 1 large orange, grated

• 1/4 c. fresh mint, chopped

• 4 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced

• 1/4 c. olive oil

• 1/3 c. fresh orange juice

• 1 tsp. salt (to taste)

• Black pepper, freshly ground (to taste)

Put rice in a strainer and rinse thoroughly under cold water.

Add chicken stock (or water) to rice in medium size, heavy saucepan and bring to rapid boil. Adjust heat to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. (Rice should not be too soft.) Strain and transfer rice (after draining well) into a large bowl.

Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Adjust seasonings to taste.

May chill at this point, or at least allow to stand for 2 hours to develop flavors.

Serve room temperature.  

 

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Michelle's Variation:

I'm not keen on raisins and especially golden raisins.... :(, so I add the following instead:

- diced dried apricots

- mandarin orange slices
- dried cranberries

And I typically omit the mint.  

 

When I cook the rice, it doesn't seem to take that long (maybe 20 minutes or so) and I prefer the rice once it's started to soften and  burst.  I have also made it with brown rice, or a combination or brown and wild, and that is also yummy.
 

 

If life hands you limes.......

If life hands you limes,

make margaritas!

Jimmy Buffet

 

Watermelon and Feta Kabobs

This is such an easy and fresh appetizer for the heat of the summer months (well, if we had heat....).  Regardless, it's nice and refreshing when watermelon is in season.

 



Ingredients:

• seedless watermelon
• block of feta cheese (I like the Greek kind)
• mint

Simply slice pieces of feta and watermelon and skewer with a small mint leaf in the middle.
A little bit salty from the feta, cool and crunchy from the watermelon, and a little zip from the mint.

Enjoy!





Summer Appetizers

Did someone say summer? Here's a nice summer appetizer platter for sitting by the pool, lazy cottage afternoons, or evening drinks on the deck.......

Easy appetizer platter:

• proscuitto & melon
• tomatoe, basil & boccacini
• watermelon & feta



Strawberry Banana Pie

Silky, smooth, and light as air.  Perfect for summer BBQs.

Ingredients:

• 1 cooked piecrust
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 envelopes unflavoured gelatin
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 cup unsweetened strawberry puree
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 6 drops red food colourng
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large banana, thinly sliced
• 1 cup whipping cream
• fresh strawberries for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare pie crust as directed.  Cool.
2. Measure water into a 1 1/2 quart saucepan.  Sprinkle in gelatin.  let stand 1 minute.
3. Add half the sugar, the salt and egg yolks.
4. Stir constantly over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is hot and thin-syrup consistency.  DO NOT BOIL.  Remove from heat.
5. Let cool slightly.  Add in strawberry puree, lemon juice, vanilla and food colouring.
6. In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until frothy.  Gradually beat in the remaining sugar.  continue beating until egg whites hold soft peaks.
7. Whisk gelatin mixture until smooth.  Gently fold in egg whites, half at a time until blended.
8. In same mixing bowl, whip cream until peaks form.  Fold into the filling.  Fold in the sliced bananas.
9. Spoon into cooled crust.  If there seems to be too much filling, spoon only to the edge of the crust, chill 5 minutes and then add the remainder.  Garnish with fresh strawberries. 
10. Chill until set for at least 5 hours or up to 24 hours.

Note:  For the strawberry puree, I mashed up fresh strawberries.

Tomato and Beet Salad



JUST LOOK AT THE COLOURS IN THIS DISH! 

This is a veritable rainbow of colours and textures.  Simply beautiful!

 

This dish pairs well with grilled salmon or simple chicken breasts.  Really it goes well with just about anything.

 

 

This recipe is from Martha Stewart:  http://www.marthastewart.com/907476/tomato-beet-salad

Ingredients:

• 1 pound scrubbed small beets
• 2 pounds tomatoes, preferably heirloom
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (I didn't use cilantro)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions:               

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Seal beets in a foil packet. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet until tender, 75 minutes. When cool, rub beets with a paper towel to remove skins; slice.
2. Slice large tomatoes, and halve cherry tomatoes, then arrange with beets on a platter.
3. Top with feta, cilantro, and olive oil; season with salt and pepper.





Smoothies

I've been drinking a smoothie for breakfast for about the past two months now.  I'm amazed at how full I am and that it keeps me going through the morning.

Like many of my posts, I'm all about eating healthy.  Well truthfully, my motto is "Everything in moderation".  These smoothies pack a punch of nutrients and healthful ingredients. 

The great thing about a smoothie is you can add any ingredients, combinations and flavours that you like.  Don't like strawberries, then substitute mango.  Don't like peanut butter, go for an almond butter instead.  Lactose intolerant, use an almond or coconut milk instead.  The sky is the limit here!

Here are a few of my favourite combinations.  Please note I don't measure so my measurements below are 'guesstimates' only.  You'll soon find what combinations and measurements work for you.

I use the never-fail MAGIC BULLET for my smoothies.  Super quick and easy for those weekday mornings.  A blender or juicer would work too.

My favourite smoothie:

• 1/2 cup coconut milk (or substitute any soy, almond, 1% milk)
• 1 heaping Tbsp organic natural peanut butter
• 1/2 to 1 whole banana
• 1 heaping tsp ground flax seed
• 1 Tbsp hemp seeds
• 1 scoop protein powder (if you have it)
• some kale or spinach (trust me you can't taste it!)
• 3-4 ice cubes

Whirl away until smooth and frothy.  Sip and enjoy!

Other Options:
- substitute the peanut butter with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of blueberries or strawberries. 
- substitute the peanut butter with 1/2 cup of mango or peaches

Blueberry Smoothie

The great thing about smoothies is the sky is the limit.  Put in what you like and omit what you don't.

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Tips:

1. I use fresh fruit when it's in season and frozen fruit when fresh fruit isn't available (meaning local).
2. I use fresh or frozen kale or spinach.  Whenever I have leftover kale or spinach, freeze it in little ziploc bags.  This way I don't waste it and I always have some for my smoothies.  I'll repeat, if you only put in a few leaves, you don't taste it at all.  Although I must admit that it does sometimes turn my smoothie a strange brownish/greyish colour, which isn't all that appetizing.  If you don't like the colour, simply don't put it in.
3. Hemp seeds pack a nutritional punch and add protein to keep you fuller longer.  They are widely available at bulk food places (e.g. Bulk Barn) as well as Costco. 
4. I keep my ground flax seed and hemp seed in the freezer so they don't spoil. 

Asian Napa Salad

I can't believe I haven't posted this salad before!

It is a staple in our house-hold.  Need something for a potluck, this is it!  Offered to bring a salad to a BBQ, this is the one.  Need a side for your chicken breasts, steak, or pork tenderloin - you've come to the right place.

This salad is dead-easy.  You can make it ahead of time and dress it at the last minute.  I love bringing this salad up to cottages when we've offered to bring the next day's dinner.  It's prepped and ready to go, so we can enjoy the weather and activities, rather than being in the kitchen.

This salad has several names - Asian Coleslaw, Napa Cabbage Salad, Asian Salad.  My niece's family calls it "Crunchy Salad".  I think that's an apt name for this one.

Enjoy!

 

Makes 6 servings

 

Ingredients:

 

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

1 (3 ounce) package oriental or chicken flavored ramen noodle soup package

1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted and/or sunflower seeds, toasted

1/2 cup slivered, toasted almonds

1 large head napa cabbage, shredded (or Savoy cabbage works well too)

3 green onions, chopped

1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

1tsp sesame oil

1/8 cup white sugar

 

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Directions

1. For dressing:  Add seasoning mix from the noodle package with the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar.  Set aside until ready to serve.
2. For the salad:  thinly slice the napa cabbage and the green onions.
3. To serve:  crush up the noodles from the ramen noodle soup and add to the napa cabbage and green onions.  I usually don't add all of the noodles. 
   Toss with the dressing (I usually don't add all the dressing at one time - you can always add more, but you can't take it away).  Add the almonds and sesame or sunflower seeds.

 

You can serve the salad right away once it's dressed, but I find if you let it sit awhile (may 20-30 minutes), it's even better.

 

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Notes: 

• As I try not to use white sugar whenever possible, you can substitute honey or agave syrup for the sugar.
• If you're transporting this, I slice the cabbage and put it in a bowl.  I keep the onions in a separate container as they can be quite strong.  I keep the nuts and the noodles in a ziploc bag and make the dressing ahead of time.

I'M BACK.....

So happy to be back!

I was gone for awhile but happy to say that I'm back!
For a whole bunch of reasons there's a gap in my blog, but I'm happy to be back on-line and delighted to be blogging again.

For those of you who kept asking where my blog was - thank you!  It's for you, and okay for me too, that I'm back to blogging.

I've got a lot of news posts coming over the next while, so check back often.