Coconut, Cranberries and Cute bowls!

Not going to lie, this past weekend was a bit of a gong-show, doozy, and needless to say I set myself back to where I wanted to be with my progress for beach season. Back to the grind!

However it was a blast and it was great to catch up with friends. The 3.5 hour drive, not so great. I don't know if any of you have been to Alberta but it's quite flat...so not much to see on the drive. If you enjoy the colours grey, white and sludge then I would definitely suggest the trip! After returning from a weekend away Calgary is starting to feel more like home. It feels good to get back into a routine and slowly figure out where things are around town. We are moving to our bigger place at the end of the month and I am looking forward to having a deck and yard and space! V and I are busying ourselves packing and cleaning.(Va-Necessary) I even got around to baking something some-what healthy and yummy! Oatmeal cranberry coconut cookies are on the menu today! I also had to show case my favorite little bowls I bought from Ikea. Bah! They are adorable! They even match my Starbucks Alice and Olivia Mug! 

Oatmeal Cranberry Coconut Cookies

Ingredients:2 1/3 Cups All purpose flour
2 Tsp Baking powder
1 1/2 Tsp Baking soda
1 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1/5 Tsp Ground cloves
A pinch Ground nutmeg1/2 Tsp Sea salt
3 1/2 Cups Quick cooking rolled oats
8 oz (2 sticks/1 cup) Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 Cups Light brown sugar
1/3 Cup Granulated sugar
2 Large eggs
2 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
1 Cup Grated coconut, unsweetened
1 Cup Walnuts, roasted & chopped coarsely1 Cup Dried cranberries, chopped coarsely

SO CUTE!

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190° C (375° F). Grease or line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Stir in oatmeal. Set the dry ingredients aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
5. On low speed, add flour-oatmeal mixture and mix until just blended. Add coconut, walnuts as well as cranberries and mix until just combined.
6. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto your prepared cookies sheets, spacing them about 2 inches (4cm) apart. Flatten the mounds of dough slightly.
7. Bake until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes.
8. Cool cookies on sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. 

Don't forget a nice big glass of cold milk!! 

Recipe from Rosa's Yummy Yums

Spring Essentials

Spring is upon us! Well not so much now that I am here in Calgary...with the snow and all. Never the less the sun is shining and i felt it necessary to make up a spring inspiration board! Here are just a few of my favorite spring items. Enjoy!  

1. Birch bark vase Etsy 2. Frilled top H&M 3. bkr glass water bottle 4. Celia Sunglasses Coach 5. Hand Foot non-greasy hydrating hand cream 6. Hervana Benefit cosmetics face powder 7. Do what you like mug Indigo 8. High society satchel Nine West 9. Lip stain Elf cosmetics

I used to despise pink as a child and anything classified as "cute." Now I just can't get enough, needless to say these items are super cute and you will find me in pink this spring! 

Here we go again...and chocolate quinoa cake!

Our time on Vancouver Island has come to an end. As brief as it was our time there was just what we needed to heal. Last year was one to never forget, it was a roller coaster of emotions, from the low of the most heart ache I have ever felt to the high of my first nephew being born. Being out in the middle of no where, next to the lake enabled C and I to figure out what we wanted and where we wanted to be. It allowed us the time to understand the emotions we were feeling. That has always been an area I have struggled with. I have a tendency to push feelings down because I'm not too sure what they are or how to cope with them. I feel like if I leave them alone I can better understand them later which in the end back fires and I am left with a mess of emotions not dealt with flooding back up. I realized what I needed was time. Time to myself, time to mull over what I am feeling. Running has been a great way for me to do this. Any-who!

Now the question is, if we aren't on the island anymore where are we??

We are in Calgary folks! C and I hopped in our little car made a week pit stop on the mainland to visit the family and then off we went. We had great weather for the drive. Now we are staying with my sister(from va-necessary) brother in-law and my nephew. For the moment we are all squeezed into their condo but soon we will all be living comfortably in a house! 

I am super excited about being around family and watching my nephew grow up and being a part of his life. 

And so begins the adventure in Calgary! 

Also as promised Quinoa Chocolate cake! We are trying to cut gluten out of C's diet for a while to see if that is what is bothering him. I was blown away with this recipe, you can't even tell that it is gluten free. It's still moist chocolaty and utterly addictive.  

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or preferred milk)

4 whole eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted (or butter)

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1 cup organic evaporated cane juice

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Whipped Chocolate Coconut Cream Frosting

1 (13.5 ounce) can of full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight

1 (10 ounce) bag chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and then line two round cake pans (or a 9x13” pan) with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine the eggs, almond milk (or preferred milk) and vanilla extract then blend for ten seconds to combine.
3. Add the cooked and cooled quinoa along with the melted and cooled Earth Balance and coconut oil (could also use all regular butter) then blend until completely smooth, about thirty seconds to one minute.
4. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl (cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt).
5. Add the wet ingredients in the blender to the bowl with the dry and mix together until well-combined.
6. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool.
7. To make the frosting you will need to refrigerate the coconut milk overnight (in the coldest part of your refrigerator) so that the cream separates.
8. When you are ready to make it, melt the chocolate in a sauce pan over low-medium heat. Grab the coconut milk from the refrigerator but don’t shake the can or turn it upside down before opening. Open the can and scoop out the solid parts with a spoon, placing them into the pot with the chocolate. It’s okay if it the solid parts on completely separated, just try to get as much of the thicker portions as possible. Melt the coconut cream and chocolate together then transfer to a large bowl that you can later use to whip it in. (note: if the melted chocolate/coconut milk mixture still appears really dark you can add more coconut milk to lighten it up so that the end result isn't bitter)
9. Allow to cool on the counter then cover and refrigerate for several hours, until thickened. Once it has thickened, remove from the refrigerator and beat on high for thirty seconds to one minute, until a fluffy icing has formed. (I made mine the night before baking the cake).
10. Transfer the cakes to a surface for icing with the bottom side up. I recommend that you only transfer the cakes once as they are fragile and difficult to hold together once removed from the parchment paper.
11. Frost the cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. The icing will melt in really warm conditions but should be fine for a few hours in cooler settings.

recipie taken from http://makingthymeforhealth.com/