No More False Appearances, Tossed Vegetables Make Us All Happiest

I was thrilled when I read a post so openly criticising what Pinterest and Instagram have become, making each of us focus on how everything looks again. Each site is filled with food bloggers and perfectly posed photos under an array of lights to cast the oh-so-natural-but-not-real lighting streaming in through what appears to be a window propped open that leads to a fresh cut lawn and a platter of home made cookies and pitcher of freshly squeezed lemonade for everyone to enjoy, because there are no enemies in this world right? I remember starting this blog to get away from an image-obsessed world and the popularity contest that ruled the halls, and finally feeling a freedom in being able to start from scratch, and from there, to build a place where I could write, write, and write even more, being in a place away.

When did it become being about that 60-second elation upon receiving another notification for which, yet another, stranger has double tapped your photo. They chose my photo! You might scream out, only to glance upon another user's photo that has quietly surpassed any number of likes you've received. And the best part, this little elation dwindles quickly, leaving behind only an immense amount of disappointment. Maybe this one will do it, you think with each added hash tag to the caption of another photo, a towering plate of cookies that never tasted very good anyway, maybe more people will notice this time.

Oh. My. God. No. Since when did this become a network for the popularity-obsessed, each prying for one another's attention, and solely forgetting the interests that are clearly stated in each person's bio. I read a recent blog post from Gluten Free Girl, and have to say, that I couldn't have been happier that finally, someone had acknowledged how far this has gone, and how far it has come into each blog, as little as we realised. 

Now as I look around Instagram and Pinterest, it truly feels as if the attention has turned to being solely preoccupied with looking our best, and above all, making everything perfect. And for a perfectionist like me, someone who isn't often left happy with a "good" job, I'm sent into spirals and loops while I continually question all the effort I have already put into this blog, and the work I've had to put in to break away from high school pressures, mainly striving to be perfect in a world full of unattainable standards. 

Is it really fair to ourselves that the food we make, cooked so we feel better, healthier, is now a measurement of how others see us? That each photo taken can scale how good we have life, rather than just an outlet a long along with the creative process of cooking, and of blogging. So who cares if a hand peeks into the frame while a photo is snapped? The food I make is for people to enjoy, forks in hand, plates ready, so isn't it right that they would be there, with the food? And all those times we've left a table full of people waiting while the perfect shot has yet to be taken, only to present a plate that's cooled down, lost its brilliance of being straight from the oven, only to mumble, well at least I got a photo. 

No!

It's this post from Gluten Free Girl that captured what I've been meaning to scream for too long now, after realising that those moments immediately after scrolling a news feed teeming with foodography were when I felt the worst, almost as if I had to live up to each brilliant, glittery photo. But how could I? When each post was unattainably attractive, without a dog hair in the frame, a perfect slice of apple pie that doesn't crumble when it's cut, and would never spill any of the evenly chopped apples inside. And of course it's free of anything that makes food taste good! As she says, "It’s just fake, all of it, this perfect food. I’m so damned tired of perfect food." And so am I. 

So here's to throwing pleasing, being perfect, and trying to attain something that, really, I would never want to be, out that perfectly propped open window and into the tray of baked cookies and lemonade. Besides, I'd rather have them warm from the oven. And a cake without sugar?  Puh-lease. 

Back to tossing vegetables together for dinner, throwing in an array of spices, and mixing up the colours to see what will come out the kitchen this time. There's excitement in that, and best of all, complete and utter joy while we enjoy the flavours in a plate that's still steaming in front of us. Behind that shine of perfection we see in photos on our Pinterest feeds is a whole lot of stifled creativity, and I'll have none of that, for this blog, and these dishes prepared, are for living without being heralded by appearances, perceptions, or worries.

This blog after all, has been a way for me to be happy, and I hope to keep it that way. 

Baked Root Vegetables Tossed in Fresh Rosemary

{print recipe here}

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This was a great recipe as it used up some of our fresh vegetables, and fresh herbs that we picked up at a market in Saanich, with very little effort. Beets this time of year are juicy and full of flavour, as well as many other root vegetables such as yams and potatoes, that complement each other with taste and colour. 

serves 4

Ingredients:

3 medium sized beets
1 onion, sliced
1 small yam, diced
3 - 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, cut from the stem
1 teaspoon salt

 Directions:

Start by cooking the beets, preheating the oven to 415 F, and chopping off the stems of each beet. Place the beets in a shallow baking dish and fill with water reaching halfway up the sides of the beets. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 40 - 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss together sliced onion, yam and potatoes, olive oil, rosemary and salt, and lay out onto a baking sheet. Place this in the oven, with the beets, and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the beets from the oven and allow to cool, or run under cold water. Using a knife, or gently pressing with your fingers, peel the beets, rinsing frequently to avoid staining your hands. They will stain everything if not rinsed immediately.

Cut the beets into small cubes and toss with tray of yams and potatoes, quickly returning to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Serve hot, enjoy a delicious meal with fresh ingredients!

Pampered to Perfection: Dinner For Two

I feel as if it has been too long since my last post - ten days has made me realise how much I love each blog post, each creation. It's an outlet for my creativity and imagination, and also a stream of my consciousness limited by only myself.

I understand now that with each post, I will baby my blog even more, as if every addition is grooming and nurturing it so that it will grow and will evermore become greater to me each time I click Publish. I remember how I doubted my perseverance and ability at being able to continue posting throughout the  weeks, even months, but I think I've proved myself wrong and done exactly that.

I'm almost at 3 months at 25 posts. Almost.

Mum and I have started making dinner together again, perhaps due to the fact that I've become more relaxed around the kitchen, and have begun to let go of the control I sometimes try to retain when cooking,

"This goes here, and that in this cupboard here."

One day last week, when it was just the two of us for dinner, I cooked up the initial portion of the meal, blended in the spices and then hurried off to my evening dance class. For my return, mum had finished off the cooking, and placed the dish in the oven.

A wonderfully prepared, a collaboration, the meal was ready and hot when I came home.

Although we may not have been cooking at the same time, we still shared the tasks involved in preparation of that particular meal, and later shared the outcome of the satisfying tastes of something cooked together.

Last week, I started a new routine, a relaxing end to my day, and rejuvenating for myself as well. Sunday night, as I got back into the mind frame of starting another week of school, and the many upcoming tests I needed lots of rest to be able to study for, I also got myself relaxed enough to try and sleep at least 7 hours that night, an unusual feat for a night owl like myself - especially Sunday nights when my mind would rather race circles around imaginary stresses and upcoming depictions of events - almost irrelevant worries as soon as morning arises and the alarm chimes cheerily.

I started with the bottle of flax oil that I've been neglecting, previously unaware of all it's amazing benefits. I'm also intrigued to try the jars of coconut oil that are also being shunned to the cupboards, maybe tonight I'll take them out and give them a try too. There have been many positive reviews for coconut, especially for its rejuvenating effects on the human body, and both oils have been found to be extremely beneficial to the skin as well as general health.

I've heard that coconut oil is an excellent moisturiser, can be used as a face wash - although some with oily skin may not agree - is used as a natural anti-ageing remedy, for psoriasis and eczema, and has many other internal health benefits as well. It comes in many forms, and I have included coconut flour into my gluten-free baking flour mix because I just love its sweeter, lighter consistency, and the much appreciated dietary fibre that it also contains.

So by first pouring a small amount into the palm of my hand, the strong smell distinct among the warming aroma of freshly baked gluten-free goodies: chocolate chip cookies, I began by massaging small amounts into my hair, and especially focusing at the ends where I suffer from frizz, and moving to the roots where skin can become dry, particularly in the winter and dryer months.

I felt so good all pampered that evening, as if I was finally doing the right thing for my hair, giving it the nutrients and care that it needed, so much that I decided to do a face mask as well.

We've got our grad photos coming up soon, it's scary, already so close, and I want to look fresh, refreshed, and of course, healthy. As in glowing with health.

So, after rinsing my face with warm water, I mixed together a few drops of fresh lemon juice and a teaspoon of natural honey, which mum was given by a local farmer when she visited the bees in the valley just outside Greater Vancouver, for product sampling. It felt wonderful.

And just for good, internal health, I ate a spoonful of honey as well.

For the fifteen minutes while my masks worked their magic, I took time for myself, laying down with my eyes closed, but also trying to stay out of the dog's reach, who would only try and lick the honey off my face - and she did try very hard!

Then, on Tuesday evening as the American election played out on the radio and via online streaming, I made it a ritual. Red and blues battled against each other for the last time this year as I mixed together my masks: flax oil for my hair between my fingers before being lathered in my hair; honey and lemon first in a small bowl, and then applied to my face. I wrapped up my hair in a small towel and twirled it on top of my head - I couldn't have felt more like a diva, slippers and robe and all.

The Shepherd's Pampered Pie
Print Recipe.

I've grown up on mum's homemade Shepherd's Pie with a tomato base to the sauce, but this recipe, combined with multiple herbs and flavours, will have everyone scraping the pot for that last mouthful! (Not that mum's didn't!)

My favourite ingredient of this dish is the rosemary, a warming and comforting additional twist on a familiar family meal. If you don't have some of the ingredients listed, don't fret, the beauty of the Shepherd's (Pampered) Pie is that multiple variations of vegetables can be substituted depending on the season, as long as the herbs and spices are kept constant to achieve that desired taste.

Let the dish cool slightly before serving, so that all the flavours can be detected upon serving, and so no one risks burning their mouths.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

2 peeled/diced potatoes
2 tbsp vegan butter, such as Earth Balance
2 tbsp rice milk

1/2 tbsp grape seed oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 onion diced
1 sliced carrot
1/2 c sliced zucchini in half moons
1/2 c chopped broccoli
3/4 c black beans, cooked and drained

1 tsp Herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp rosemary

1 tbsp grape seed oil
1 tbsp rice flour
3/4 c rice milk, warmed
1 tbsp vegan butter
1/2 bouillon cube

pepper to season

Directions

Potatoes:

Place potatoes in a pot with water, and bring to a boil. Continue to simmer until tender. Drain and mash; add butter and rice milk.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Filling:

In a skillet over medium temperature, heat grape seed oil and add garlic and herbs. Then pour in carrots, zucchini and broccoli.

Cook until tender (10mns), then lower heat. Stir in beans and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Gravy:

In a saucepan over medium/low heat, pour in grape seed oil and stir in rice flour to make paste.

Add milk slowly, stirring. Add butter, and bouillon cube. When it begins to thicken, remove from heat.

Pour gravy into filling and mix well.

Spoon into a large ramekin, or individual ones, and top with mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle with ground pepper.

On baking sheet, bake for 20 minutes, and then increase the temperature 415° and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until top browns slightly.