3D Paper Garland

More cute paper garland! I can't stop!

Actually this is the first garland I started last week but somehow it got pushed aside once I started cutting out the glittery circles for the other holiday garland I made. 

To make these I folded a couple circles in half and then glued one half to another half, and kept gluing the folded circles to each other until I was happy with the amount of layers. Then I just put thread in the middle (where all the folded edges meet) and glued the last two sides together. 

I think the little 3D circles would make really cute simple ornaments for a christmas tree and the flat strands of circles would look great acting as ribbon on a present. 

Looks like I've got more crafting to do!

Samosas

Samosas have been on my "Must-make" list for years now. I suppose one big hinderance that kept me from making these for so long was finding nigella seeds for the dough. But thanks to Costas Halavrezos and Epices de Cru I now have a wealthy stock of them in my spice drawer.
The recipe I used was from Epicurious and although seemed to have generally good reviews many reviewers complained that they were bland. Considering that the recipe suggests that they be served with yogurt (as opposed chutney which is what I eat samosas with) I wasn't too concerned.

Well after rolling out the dough, folding and filling them, we fried up two right away and froze the rest. We ate them with my peach chutney and loved every single bite.

Metallic Paper Garland

I'm really not a glittery person.
Aside from a pair of black sequinned leggings I bought 2 years ago, and maybe some glittery eye shadow I wore as a teenager, I think I can safely say I don't really like glitter.
That is however until Dec 1st hits and I'm transported into a world where silver, gold and all things shimmery feel almost necessary. Maybe it's because winter is so white, cold, and drab that I feel like I need a something sparkly to catch the light and brighten up my day.

This garland was super simple to make. I used a large paper punch to create all the circles and then just sewed them together with my sewing machine. Since my metallic paper wasn't double sided I had to use sew two together back to back so that there wouldn't be plain white sides of the garland showing. I think the fact that it's doubled up and therefore sturdier will help it last for at least a few years.

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Scones with Orange Zest

Not since I discovered "Super Natural Everyday" have I been so excited about a cookbook. I've been patiently waiting for my turn to borrow "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals" by Maria Speck from the library, and today I finally got to pick it up.
Now I know a recipe like this might not be the best representation of a book of this nature but it was the first one I tried and they turned out to be some of the tastiest scones I've ever had so I felt I owed it to you all to share. I literally can't stop thinking about these scones (weird, no?) and even crave them for dessert.
And don't worry I'm sure I'll be sharing lots of delicious things made with farro, barley, quinoa, polenta and wheat berries with you soon enough.

Cauliflower Soup

Since getting home from vacation I've made a few promises to myself. The first one was to really crack down on eating healthier and making time for exercise.

 I was doing great before vacation but it's amazing what a huge step back it is to eat out and not exercise for almost three weeks. Ugh. I really can't believe how out of shape I feel.

The second promise was to really make great use of my time at home since I'll be working at the family biz full time for...well...quite a while. I wish the two promises weren't so interconnected..but they are (having barely any time to cook, clean, or relax leaves very little motivation to eat healthy and work out).

So today is my first day off since working full time again and I've done laundry, ran errands, made soup, and am currently making veggie burgers and cookies to have in the freezer for those upcoming days when we'll need them most. I'm also planning on dusting off my rarely-used slow cooker in hopes that it'll provide some amazing meals while we're both at work. Have any great slow cooker recipes? I'd love to hear about them!

Empanadas

We just arrived home from our amazing 2 week vacation and I'm feeling rather weird.
I barely got any sleep on our red-eye flight, my stomach is still struggling to adjust to digestion without acidophilus (although I'm so thankful for it's help in saving me from sickness in Cuba), I'm excited to get back into the swing of things yet don't really want to do anything at all, I'm exhausted but I can't sleep, I'm in the middle of load #3 of probably 6 loads of laundry, I'm hungry but have no groceries...
Am I painting a vivid picture of my day so far? Phew. I wish I could just fall asleep.

But on a positive note I felt so thankful this morning to be back in our little home, to climb into our bed that feels just right, to be able to make a cup of my favourite tea, listen to CBC radio and most importantly to be able to reach into the freezer and pull out one of these black bean empanadas for a quick and completely effortless lunch.