Pasta with Mussels and Prawns

I'm going to be real with you here. I sometimes get my best work done when I should be working on something else. I like to call this pro-procrastination. If I have a deadline, you can expect that...

a) I'll have baked something delicious
b) My place will be spotless
c) I will have worked out

I fought these tendencies for a long time. And then I realized that after my place is tidy, I've had some chocolate or another sweet baked good, and I've got my sweat on, that I can work way quicker and more efficiently.  So now, I embrace them.

However, this pasta dish is a nice carby option when you are actually getting painfully close to the deadline and you need something fast.

Pasta with Mussels and Prawns
Prep: 10, Cook: 15

1 box of spaghetti. I made mine with gluten free pasta, because I'm trendy like that.
2 tablesppons of olice oil
2 chopped onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 cup of pitted olives
1 cup dry white wine
2 pounds of mussels
10-12 large prawns
*grated parmesan cheese and basil for optional garnish

1. Begin cooking pasta according to package instructions.
2. While pasta is boiling, heat olive oil in a large pan on medium high heat. Toss in onions.
3. Once onions are translucent, add in garlic.
4. A minute later, add in tomatoes, olives, oregano, olives, and white wine.
5. Simmer on low heat.
6. Rinse mussels, and add to sauce. Follow with prawns.
7. Cover with lid. Once the mussels have opened (after about 4 minutes), toss together with pasta and serve.
8. Garnish with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

Dirt and Worms Parfait for Grown Ups with Ricotta and Dark Chocolate Mousse, Toasted Hazelnuts and Oreos

I'm in the midst of writing papers and editing a boat load of photos so I have very few words to share here. However, what I do need to say, is that when you are "oh my god-how will I ever finish this mountain of work" but you still want to be social and end up inviting your friends over for dinner, this recipe is a god send. This is possibly the best dessert I've ever made, and definitely the easiest. The presentation is lovely as well, making it looked like you slaved over it.

It stores extremely well in the fridge, so you could make it the night before and just wait until the last minute to top with hazelnuts. For people that are rocking the gluten free diet, you could sub out the Oreo crumbs for hazelnuts.

Dark Chocolate and Ricotta Mousse (Dirt and Worm Parfait for Grown Ups)
Makes 4 small servings
Prep: 15min, cook: 0min

1 1/2 cups of Ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar
1/2 cup melted dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup whipped cream

Layering ingredients:
1/2 cup orea cookie crumbs
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts (you can toast them in a dry pan over medium heat for 3 minutes)
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup whipped cream

1. In a food processor, blend melted chocolate, ricotta cheese, confectioners sugar, and greek yogurt.
2. Once smooth, slowly and gently fold in whipped cream.
3. Layer Oreo cookies, mousse, strawberries and whipped cream. Top with toasted hazelnuts.

*If you want to make it gluten free, just don't use the Oreos!

Ch-ch-ch-chia. That's right. I'm on the band wagon.

I am the biggest believer in New Years resolutions, and goal setting in general. My New Years resolutions tend to haunt me through out the entire year, like in 2012 when I vowed to take more risks and it spawned this blog and my photography business. This year, I've got three big ones.

1. Focus my time on one active at a time. Goodbye editing photos while texting, checking my emails and watching Breaking Bad. 
2. Do more for my community. Last year was a great year for my career. This year, I'm starting by working on a calendar celebrating different body types benefiting eating disorders.
3. Limit my intake of preservatives and concentrated foods. Do this by only purchasing items from the grocery store with less than 10 ingredients. 

The other thing I love about New Years is the champagne and hot tubs  reinvigorated interest in health and fitness! It is the perfect time to preach my love of chia seeds. Not only do they make awesome hair for pets, they are full of fibre, protein and antioxidants. My favourite thing about them  are their really cool gelling properties - think slightly more textured tapioca.

When I had my best amiga over for brunch, she described this pudding made of chia seeds as "not healthy tasting at all," in a good way. It has such a creamy texture, it is hard to believe that this dessert/breakfast/snack is dairy free (as well as gluten free and vegan).

Coconut Chia Pudding 

Makes 4 little ones
Prep: 5, Chill: 1 hour

1 1/2 cups soy milk
1 mashed up banana
3/4 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons of crushed chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla
1tsp cinnamon

1. Blend it all together
2. Pout into individual ramekins and chill for at least 1 hour.

That's it. Seriously.

Coconut Crusted French Toast

I just finished an epic week of photo shoots! I booked a suite at the stunning Loden Hotel in Vancouver, for my marathon boudoir weekend (doing a bunch of boudoir photo shoots back to back before Christmas). You can see some pictures from it on my Facebook page.

We could not have had more fun. And guess what? Everyone involved completely killed it. I felt so proud of all the girls who bared it all (or almost all) even though there were things about themselves they said they were self conscious of. Self conscious or not, I truly believe that all women are beautiful. Still, learning to feel this way about yourself can be really challenging, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to help women think of themselves in this way.

Anyways, after my epic weekend I really wanted to make something delicious and easy. And Voila! Coconut Crusted French Toast, or what my boyfriend described as "the best thing [he] ever ate in his life."

Coconut Crusted French Toast
Prep: 5, Cook: 8

1 white baguette, cut into diagonal, 1.5 inch slices
6 eggs
1 tsp coconut oil *if you don't have it, just use to tsp margarine
1 tsp margarine
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tbl almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbl brown sugar

1. Mix together eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, brown sugar, almond milk and coconut.
2. Dunk baguette slices in egg mixture, being sure to fully coat bread.
3. Melt margarine and coconut oil on medium heat in a large skillet.
4. Cook bread coated in egg mixture for about 4 minutes per side.

Top with warm fruit, greek yogurt and agave syrup.

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Soup

 I haven't posted on the little-old-blog in way too long! I've been involved in a few exciting projects that are consuming all of my soul  time. Most of them are photography related (like some uber amazing creative collaborations that are pending submission so I can't post them, even though I want to so, so, bad). Aside from that, I've also been working on my research project on leadership and personality, which has proven to be both immensely frustrating, interesting and rewarding at the same time. In this time of craziness, I've learned a few ways to bring a sense of calm and direction to my everyday. 

1. Breathing exercises. I really never thought I'd be the one saying this. In one of my psychology classes, I learned that if you breathe deep in to your stomach, and think about that breathe travelling into the places you hold tension, and then let it all out in a big exhale, you actually feel more relaxed after  a few times. I'm usually bouncing off the wall so its handy to have this grounding technique. 

2. Bring a huge bag of food with you wherever you go. Having a bag of carrot sticks to munch on keeps me from buying fast food, and gives me the energy boost I need to fuel my constant running around like a crazy woman. 

3. Write it down. For me, list writing and goal setting are daily activities that help both to make what needs to be done real, and to make it a priority 

...4. Make some time for a little bit of comfort food. 

Hence.....

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Soup 

Prep: 10, Cook: 20 

1 large butternut squashed, peeled and cubed 

2 carrots, peeled and cubed

1 apple, peeled and cubed

1/4 a red onion, diced 

2 cloves of garlic 

2 cups of vegetable stock 

1 cup of greek yogurt 

1/2 cup goat cheese 

1 tablespoon of butter 

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter and begin to cook down onions and garlic on medium heat.

2. Once onions are translucent, add in squash, carrots and apples. 

3. Cover and stir occasionally. 

4. In a few minutes, begin to add in vegetable stock and cover, stirring occasionally. 

5. Once the squash, carrots and apples are fully cooked (around 15 minutes), begin to stir in goat cheese and greek yogurt. 

6. Turn heat to low, and blend with hand mixer. If its too thick, slowly add in a bit of water or 1% milk. 

Optional garnish: a spoonful of greek yogurt, a dash of chilli powder, a drizzle of olive oil and a kale chip. For the kale, pre heat oven to 350, throw some de-stemmed kale, a bit of olive oil, and seasoning in a bag. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 12 mins. I seasoned these with brown sugar, salt and chilli flakes. 

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

The biggest thing that I want to express through this blog is that healthy food can be delicious food. I'm not saying ridiculously vegan-gluten-free-raw-nosalt-nosugar-nofun healthy. I just mean, regular, much better for you-than bad for you food. These muffins are a perfect example of how a few simple substitutions can take you from scary-sodium-Starbucks and empty calories, to whole food that starts your day on the right foot. The key is taking out the extra sugar for apple sauce, and swapping white flour for whole wheat. Apple sauce is amazing because it adds sweetness and creaminess.
All in all, these are one of my favourite fall snacks ever that strike the perfect balance between decadent and healthy.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins 
Recipe adapted from Two-Tarts
prep: 20, cook: 25
Makes 12 muffins

Cream Cheese Filling 
4 oz light cream cheese
1/4 cup icing sugar

Muffins 
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ginger

Optional: pinch of nutmeg and clove if you have them. Toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish.

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease 12 muffin tins, or line with paper cups.
2. Whip cream cheese and icing sugar to make cream cheese filling. (You can whip it with a fork if you don't have a beater). Put in fridge.
3. Mix sugar, apple sauce, oil, eggs, and pumpkin puree in large bowl. Throw all dry ingredients on top, and incorporate together. Try not to over mix.
4. Drop muffin mix into the tins by the heaping tablespoon. Its important that the mix is evenly distributed on the bottom, so you might want to whack the muffin tin on the counter a few times, or spread it around with a spoon. There should be a large remainder of the muffin mix.
5. Take the cream cheese mixture from the fridge. Distribute about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture into the middle of each muffin.
6. Spoon the remainder of the muffin mix to cover up the cream cheese. It should be around 2-3 tablespoons per muffin. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Love on Top

I've been all booked up with photo shoots over the past week, and have had barely any time sleep, let alone cook anything blog worthy. This little sneak peek is of an absolutely beautiful couple who I shot on Cypress Mountain where they went on some of there first dates...aw. I could not have had more fun trekking through wildflower fields, taking photos of two people, so clearly in love. The bottom line is,  I am so grateful that I've been busy doing what I love most.