Sipping Soup Surrounded by Autumn Leaves

Thanksgiving. A holiday filled with family, food, laughter, and most of all, lots and lots of pumpkin. Fresh pumpkins lining the tops of tables and mantles, or puréed and cooked pumpkin with maple and spice and baked in the form of pies, cheesecakes, tarts, or all three laid down the centre of an extended dining table in between decorative pumpkins, surrounded by black corn and autumn's leaves.

I spent this past thanksgiving weekend back on Bowen, and the better part of two days travelling from one island to the next, via the mainland, during which I spent most of my time thinking about what it would be like back on the island where I grew up, and back in my friends familiar house, but unable to quickly pop up the hill to where we used to live. I also spent the better part of the ferry rides gazing out the window to where I thought Bowen was, terrified. Terrified of how different it would seem, and how it would feel to be among everything so familiar but changed myself with living in a new place, new people, and most of all, a completely new routine to run by. 

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The Comfort of Things

Cozy. Comforting. Words that fill me with the feeling that everything will be alright, that soon, this will pass, and there will be something just around the corner to excite and rejuvenate us. It is human nature to gravitate towards those things which make us comfortable, and it is often during times when we are so close to the end, the end of high school for me, and near the end of living on Bowen for our family, that we need a little reminder of these things to keep us motivated to keep going until that moment of change. In my last post I began by reminding myself of a few things that I love about living on an island, and some of the memories of growing up in a rural, peaceful environment. Here is a list, one that you can easily start for yourself, that helps us all to return to who we are, remember what we love, and importantly, what brings us a love and energy as well as inspiration in our lives.

As always, we should have something to encourage us, to bring us happiness and joy, comfort, peace, and the sense that we have something to fall back on when we need it. This list, and the things I thought of in the process of writing it, has done just that. I got the idea from a blog by Moorea Seal, and just had to make one for myself! Hopefully you can make one too to help you do the same.                      

A LIST OF MY GREATEST COMFORTS

Walking outside at night under a full moon, the quiet

Hearing the purr of the cat 

Bowen's best Signature hot chocolate

Dipping toes into a soapy hot bath

Having a bright bouquet of flowers in the house

Lying on the deck under the warm sun

When someone brings a cup of tea to you in bed

Feeling sort of proud after a blog post

Finding a perfect dress in a cute boutique

Warm gluten free chocolate chip cookies {my favourite recipe can be found here}

Driving with the music up, and belting out the words

Getting lost in a daydream

Telling someone your secret

Roadtrips

Fresh peaches and cherries from the Okanagan

Listening to "A Pocket Full of Sunshine"

Seeing my sister in the airport, coming home

Finding a heart in your latte foam

Driving on my scooter when the wind is warm

Racing my dog down the trails

Photos of mum and dad when they were younger

"Good Morning" texts

Standing by the woodstove in winter

Pulling on fuzzy socks in the morning

The book: The Man Who Listens to Horses

Reading something in French

Riding horses

Mum's Eggplant Parmigiano

Wearing Nana's jewellery

Listening to my sister and dad discuss science

Curling up in a nest of blankets and pillows

Hiking

Watching people, and creating stories for them

Writing

Big open fields

Creating lists

Organizing my closet and room

Roasted root vegetables

Pretending I really can sing

Playing board games

Watching "Easy A" with my sister

Biking on Bowen

Rope swings

Sitting on a beach, the waves against the quiet

The first snowfall

Painting my nails

Snuggling my rabbit

Apples taken and eaten right off the tree

Coffee dates with mum

Gluten free granola for breakfast

Big sunglasses

Chocolate desserts

Laughing with friends over an inside joke

Giving someone a hug when they need it

Picking up blue sea glass from the beach

Feeling salty after swimming in the sea

Avocadoes

China tea cups

Remembering funny moments from when we were little 

The feeling of the plane during take-off

Photos of me when I was little

Finishing a novel

Giving someone a handmade gift

Sharing a tub of Haagen Daaz with your best friend

Running through a sprinkler

Spending time with my entire family

Clotted cream tea

Throwing a stick over and over for my dog

Knowing I have a future full of opportunity: travel, friends and exciting new things

...and homemade crème brûlée in the pouring rain.

Classic Vanilla Crème Brûlée

{Print me here}

A creamy, rich dessert with the decadent and simple flavour of vanilla is the perfect dessert, but all dessert is perfect. With such a simple and elegant presentation of both texture and taste, you really can't go wrong serving crème brûlée to guests or family. Everyone loves breaking the hard caramel topping of each pot, and diving into the slightly warmed custard underneath. And it gives everyone the chance to feel as if they're little again, digging for the precious treasure, only this time your taste buds will find it.

{Makes three individual crème brûlée pots}

{Ingredients:}

300 mL heavy cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

75 grams brown sugar, or coconut (palm) sugar

{Directions:}

Preheat the oven to 300° F.

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, warm the cream. Add in the vanilla to the cream and heat until the cream is just about to begin simmering. Remove from the heat.

Set aside the cream and vanilla to infuse for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs yolks and 25 grams of brown sugar. Pour a small amount of the cream into the egg mixture, stirring well, and then add the rest.

Divide the mixture between three ramekins, and place them in a roasting pan. Fill the pan with enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 

Bake for an hour, or until the crème brûlées are set, with the edges pulling from the edges of the pots and the centre still "wiggly". Remove from the oven and cool slightly, before moving them to the fridge for three hours, or overnight.

Before serving, heat the rest of the brown sugar in a heavy saucepan. It should become darker in colour, and turn to a caramel texture. Remove from the heat quickly, and pour onto a greased baking pan. Be very careful, the caramel is very hot.

Once hardened, peel the cooled caramel from the baking pan, and break the pieces into small chunks into a food processor. Blend finely to small crystals, and sprinkle evenly overtop the set crème brûlées.

Using the broiler setting of the oven, place the crème brûlées with the ground caramel topping under the grill until the crystals melt and turn a light golden colour. Remove from the oven and allow the topping to harden, then serve.

Enjoy! xx S.

To Sip a Winter Smoothie

Last week, on one of the endless days of rain and thick cloud cover, I stayed home from school to recuperate from early mornings and what felt like a hive activity for the past few weeks since school restarted for the new year. It was one of those days where very little was going on, so Mum and I got to spend the afternoon together in our cosiest socks and big thick sweaters. I spent the morning beautifying this blog, focusing on adding more pictures and clarifying the little details which had been bothering me for some time, so it was nice to completely relax when she got home from work.

Lunch was only something small to curb our hunger, so when four o'clock came around, and after we'd taken the dog out for a walk to the lake and back, we both felt the need for a little pick-me-up and something to hold tightly in our hands to warm ourselves up. The wind had chapped our lips as we strolled beside the lake, shards of ice perched on top of each other along the shores after being pushed aside by the strong wind. There was a slight breeze as we wandered, and the clouds threatened rain in small droplets that fell infrequently onto our heads and shoulders.

We came home in a flurry as the rain picked up and quickened. Mum put on the fire to heat up the house, and I turned up the stove to make a drink to heat us up. It was then that we both ended up choosing our favourite spots on separate sofas after sipping warm smoothies, and curled up around iPads in the nooks of our arms, absorbed in the trials of our preferred shows and covered in soft blankets. The fire blazed on; the animals snoozed peacefully.

I wish every day could be as peaceful as that day was, instead, I try and stay warm bundled in a big knitted scarf and a hot beanie on my stomach today while studying for an exam. I might just make another smoothie to remind myself of that day, and to sip while I try to memorise vocabulary.

Try a favourite gluten free cookie with your smoothies as well, they're delicious when dunked - see how long you can keep them in without them falling apart!

Before I get too carried away with the goodness of these smoothies, I must quickly tell you how amazing they are. As in, you must make them today, tomorrow morning, next week. In the summer after a day at the beach with ice, in the winter by the fire in a steaming mug. And for the pumpkin obsessed (oops, that's me!), try this for breakfast too. Then, as you take the first sip, you'll realise that this really is the most delicious, creamiest, smoothest, drink ever.

They'll be your neighbours favourite, and your friends favourite, too.

Go ahead, see what pumpkin can really do.

Warm Pumpkin Spiced Smoothie
Print recipe here.

If you thought pumpkin pie was just for Thanksgiving and Christmas - think again! You can pick up a can of pumpkin pie mix from your local grocery store, or puréed pumpkin, all year round. Serve this warm smoothie as an after dinner dessert, or quickly heat it up on the stove to start your day with just the right amount of sugar and spice.

Using canned pumpkin pie mix sweetens the drink, so there's no need to add sugar, and by adding a little extra spices it will bring out the pumpkin flavour a little more when paired with the coconut milk (this can be substituted with any choice of alternative). Try using pure puréed pumpkin if you'd prefer to adjust the sweetness, I recommend doubling the amount of spices listed below and add brown sugar or honey to sweeten, then simmer for an additional 10 minutes to develop the rich flavours of all the spices.

For a creamier dessert, serve these smoothies with a spoonful of vanilla Greek yogourt (the thick kind works best), and provide a spoon to eat.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (the beverage kind)
1 cup water
1/2 cup pumpkin pie mix

Dash of vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice powder

2 cinnamon sticks to serve

Directions

In a medium sized sauce pan on the stove, whisk together coconut milk, water and pumpkin pie mix.

Add in vanilla and spices and bring to a near boil.

Simmer for a few minutes (3 to 5), whisking repeatedly.

Strain into two large mugs and serve with a cinnamon stick. Top with yogourt if desired.