The Magic Spice Combination

There are five magical spices that I use in a lot of dishes. I use them on pasta, on rice, with potatoes, etc.

They are delicious!!

Every time I attempt to remove one of these spices from the mix, I end up disappointed with the results. So I always come back to the same thing.

Sometimes I’ll add things to the mix or try a completely different combination, but this is the one that I’ll use the most often. It consists of:

Seasoning salt

Pepper

Onion Powder

(lots of) Paprica

Parsley Flakes

I learned this combination while watching my dad cook. He often stir-fries his spaghetti noodles (with a LOT of oil and butter, eww! His stir-fried foods are really FRIED.), and most of the time he uses this combination. He does the same when he fries his potatoes in a pan.

I use the same technique, but without as much oil and butter. Seriously. I don’t like my food dripping with fat.

There are a lot of my recipes (like tomorrow’s recipe!) that will use this mixture of spices. Often I’ll post a link to this post in a recipe that uses them.

Feel free to experiment with the ratio and amounts! Everyone has a different preference for that. For instance, my dad adds a lot more parsley flakes and a lot less paprika than I do. This mixture can be so fun and versatile!

Also: If you feel like have a more sauce-like texture to your food when you use these spices on your food, try adding chili sauce to the mix. The taste fits deliciously well!

Delicious cheesecake!

I have two things to say about this recipe.

One: I’m so sorry I cannot post a picture for this one. The cake was all gone before I knew it!

Two: This is NOT a healthy recipe. This has butter, fat, cream cheese, sugar, the likes. But it is SOOO worth it.

Cheesecake like this is so rich you won’t want another piece, anyways.

I made this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday; it was my first attempt at making one like this. I'm not a cheesecake fan, but even I liked it. According to my boyfriend and his family, it tasted like a cake you’d find in a gourmet restaurant. Yay.

I don’t want to disappoint you, so I will warn you. Although this recipe yields a big cake, it won’t last very long. Beware of greedy friends and family!

To make the crust:

1 ¼ cups graham crumbs

¼ cup white sugar

1/3 cup butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, mix graham crumbs with white sugar.

2. Melt the butter (stovetop or microwave), then add to the bowl. Mix very well.

3. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch pan (if you have a springform pan, it’s best to use that.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes. During that time, you can go ahead and start the cake batter.

To make the cake:

3 packages (8 oz each) of cream cheese, softened (I used Philadelphia)

1 can (14 oz) sweet condensed milk

¼ cup lemon juice

3 eggs

1. In a bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until it becomes light and fluffy.

2. Gradually, combine condensed milk while still beating the mixture.

3. Mix in lemon juice and vanilla extract, then add eggs. Beat the mixture until everything combines smoothly.

4. Pour cake batter into the crust. Bake for 80 minutes in preheated oven or until center is set (check with a toothpick or thin knife).

5. Once cooked, let cool for at least an hour before refrigerating. It is important to let the cake refrigerate overnight before serving.

Optional: Drizzle strawberry or chocolate sauce on top of the cake for decoration. For the occasion, I used strawberry sauce to make pretty swirls on top of the cake.

Whenever I make it again, I swear I will post a picture of it!

Staple Vegetable Soup (plus a failed dessert!)

Soup...

One of the foods I love to cook the most! Mostly because it's so versatile...

It can be chunky, creamy, healthy, not so healthy, vegan, salty, sweet, filling, or used as an entree.
This is the soup I make the most often. It's a staple in my diet because it's filling, filled with vegetables, incredibly tasty, low in calories, and can be easily switched up (change the protein, add or remove vegetables, etc).

Soup porn....

Staple Veggie Soup (this makes two servings)

8 cups water
Chicken broth (I use powdered, 3 large spoonfuls)
2 large carrots
2 large celery stalks
1 medium onion
1 large potato
1 cup cooked corn
Source of protein (chicken, shrimp, beef? For this occasion I used lentils! If you use lentils or other water-absorbing legumes, make sure you have more water.)
Uncooked soup noodles or rice (quantity can depend- I like my soup with a LOT of noodles and almost no broth left)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place water in pot and add a little salt. Bring water to a boil. While the water warms up, chop up carrots, celery stalks, onion and potato.

2. When the water boils, add broth, carrots and celery. Add pepper to taste. Let the soup simmer slowly. After five minutes, add potato and onion. After five more minutes, add noodles and corn. Let simmer for twenty more minutes, then add protein. (If protein was uncooked, add it with the carrots and celery right at the beginning.)

3. Taste to see if the carrot and celery are cooked through. These ingredients take the longest to cook, so when these are done, the rest of the soup should be ready! Enjoy :)

Below: failed attempt at a peanut butter-chocolate-coconut dessert. It tasted good, but the bottom layer wouldn't hold! I will re-post this one when I find a better formula.

Summer- A Fountain of Health!

Summertime.

Right in the smack middle of it.

Summer is the perfect time to rejuvenate and focus on your health. There’s nothing better for motivation than the sun’s warmth on the skin and the crisp, fresh air of budding wilderness. Just the thought of it… doesn’t it fill you with bright energy?

…Can you tell I love summer?

It’s sad because Quebec doesn’t have the longest summer in the world. I have the same attitude with summer days as I do with Christmas desserts; I enjoy every bite slowly and fully because I know they won’t be there for long. Plus, they both only come around once a year.

Summer is the time to refresh your mind and body. It doesn’t matter how old we are or what we do or anything else like that; changing our routines temporarily to reset the brain for a new year feels uber-great. In my case, it reduces stress, A LOT.

I’ve made a list of my 3 favourite ways of getting healthy during the summer. Whether you’re taking the summer off or working full time like me (or anything in between), there is always time to devote to your health if you put your mind to it.

1. Buy fresh produce

If you live in more northern areas (like me!), fruits and vegetables can be available all year- but not necessarily in the best shape. If there is a time to begin consuming more fruits and vegetables, do so in the summer. I love fruit, especially strawberries, but in January it’s kind of hard to eat them when they begin rotting after a day or two in the fridge. For someone who dislikes fruits and veggies to begin with, buying them in bad conditions is NOT going to help them enjoy these foods more!

Incorporate more produce in your meals. Eat your favourite fruits as snacks in between meals to satisfy sugary cravings. The fibers in them keep the stomach fuller for longer and they are abundant in vitamins.

2. Enjoy nature

When it comes to nature, I’m lucky- my hometown is abundant with it. My house borders the woods. We have a thousand lakes. For those of you who have access to a little corner of nature (even if it’s just a small park!), take advantage of the place to relax!

Read a book outside while listening to the wind blowing through the trees. Rent a canoe or kayak and explore a nearby lake (or river!).  Take a stroll somewhere and enjoy the sunshine. Think of nothing else but what surrounds you. Realize how beautiful the world can be.

3. Move!

There is NO excuse not to move in the summer. On the contrary! There are several options that open up when the snow melts.

-It’s so much more fun to go swimming, outside or inside, during the summer. I’m a year-round swimmer, but this is perfect for the summer because it’s the only sport you can perform comfortably when it’s 40 degrees outside. When it’s that hot, people can’t WAIT for their pool work-out.

-Bike! Whether it’s to get somewhere or to increase your speed and endurance, biking is a fun way to explore your town.

-Walking more is another fun option in the summer. It’s not always ideal to take leisure walks when it’s -35 degrees outside and your face feels like it’s going to fall off. That’s why I walk as often as I can in the summer.

-Go camping! That would fit in category 2 as well. Wild camping can be very physical when you do the following- collecting firewood, setting up tents, carrying heavy loads…