Earth Hour

My husband and I celebrated Earth Hour together on Saturday. This is the first time he has been home from work to celebrate it with me. We decided to have the neighbors over to celebrate too. The plan was to have fondue and some wine to celebrate (trying to make snacks that we didn't need electricity for). Unfortunately, our neighbors came down with a bug and had to cancel so it was just my husband and I. We covered our table in candles and played cards together. The hour passed by in a flash and we were having such a good time we continued until 11pm. Then we put out all the candles and went to bed. It was a lovely night and made us both realize how much we are losing by sitting in front of the TV every night. I think it may be a regular thing for us to turn off the power bar to the entertainment unit and just sit together.

Squash, Quinoa and Lentil Coconut Curry

I had a spaghetti squash that needed to be used up. Also I want to try more vegan/vegetarian meals for the kids. I found it nice, hearty and filling.

Ingredients:

1 cup of cooked quinoa
1 spaghetti squash cooked
1 can of lentils rinsed and dried
1 tbsp of coconut oil or olive oil
1 can of coconut milk
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic diced
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (or dry ginger if you have it)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups of kale leaves well rinsed and ripped into bite sized pieces
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander

*you can add cayenne pepper a pinch or 1/2 tsp of green curry to spice it up***

Directions:

heat a wok or large skillet to medium. add your oil and let heat. add onion and garlic to wok. once onion starts to brown add the ginger, spaghetti squash, lentils and coconut milk. add all the spices, the quinoa and the soy sauce and let simmer for about 5-10 min stirring frequently. add the kale, give it a good stir and simmer until kale is slightly wilted about 5 min.
Serve and enjoy!!

The Essential Herbal free issue

The wonderful people that produce the fabulous magazine The Essential Herbal are letting everyone view a sample of their magazine.

Please visit www.essentialherbal.com/documents/mar-apr-2010.pdf to view.

I just found this magazine but have already fallen in love with it. It is a great read for anyone that enjoys gardening but also has a passion for herbal healing.

Spending my time well.

So for the past few days I have been spending almost the entire day scanning old documents and photos. My passion is my ancestry and I had a huge stack of old photos from my Grandparents collecting dust in my room. I figured that now that I am off of work and waiting to hear about school I might as well get them scanned and then store the photos properly. I also have a pile of letters that my Grandfather sent to my Grandmother when he was courting her during the war. They are so amazing, he sent one pretty much everyday and in the end he even sent her a engagement ring with one of the letters.
Such an amazing love story. They met while he was on leave one night. My Grandfather and his buddy picked up my Grandmother and her friend whom were hitchhiking. They all were headed to a local dance hall. They had a great night together and my Grandfather asked if he could write her (as he was scheduled to leave again the next day), she agreed but figured she wouldn't hear from him again. He wrote her for the first time the day he got back and never stopped up to the point of them getting engaged.