"Tomorrow (noun) – A mystical land where 99% of all human productivity, motivation, and achievement is stored"
 It's bow hunting season here and my darling husband persuaded me to be a spotter for him.  Luckily I had this adorable little flask in my pocket to keep me warm- yes, that is snow on the ground!

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it"
The summer Farmers Market season has started and you will find me each Saturday at the City Market Downtown selling fabulous Mojo Jojo Pickles.  It's an amazing farmers market with wonderful vendors and a great atmosphere.  Family and dog friendly too!    

My kitchen sees me cooking, entertaining and creating new recipes!  A few of which you will be seeing right here!
This is homemade Limoncello!  Still working on this recipe but the testing phase is certainly enjoyable.

WHAT'S NEW
I have started teaching at Get Cooking Edmonton.  I love it!  We teach globally inspired classes using local ingredients.  If you have ever wanted to learn how to make fresh pasta, brush up your knife skills or just come for some fun and food I suggest you give the classes a look.  The kitchen is a great teaching space and it's perfect for every level of home cook.  You get to be hands on and best of all you get to eat the food and enjoy wine pairings specially created for each menu.  Check out the classes here.
 Throughout July Get Cooking Edmonton will be hosting a series of patio parties featuring cocktails, homemade sausages and smokies!

WHAT I HAVE BEEN TESTING
I was sent some Ultimate Flora Probiotic to try out.  In the past I have tried the yogurt drink probiotics and when life gets busy they can be pretty handy for keeping "everything" moving in the right direction!
I am not about to start chatting to you about my stomach health, it's really not that kind of blog!  I will tell you that when I am busy and rushing from place to place and eating at strange times of the day it's my stomach that takes the hit first.  Taking probiotics is just another way to ensure that you are taking care of your stomach and what I love most about these ones is that you don't need to refrigerate them at all.  You just take one a day and carry on as normal (or rush around like a crazy person!).  You can pick some up from here (they are also currently on sale!)

Renew Life is North America’s #1 digestive care and cleansing company — since 1997

At Renew Life, we believe a healthy gut is essential for a healthy you. For nearly two decades, our mission has been to empower each and every one of our customers with the knowledge to improve their overall health through optimum digestive function and superior nutrition.

Renew Life products are made with the highest quality ingredients available to help you achieve optimal health from the inside out. We go the extra mile in ensuring the ingredients are protected and precisely delivered within the body to optimize potency and absorption. Perhaps as important as the ingredients that are in our products are the ingredients that are not in our products. We are committed to providing natural supplements with no artificial ingredients, colors, preservatives, or other unnecessary materials of any kind.

Sorry to repeat myself so often with the "Life is busy" line but it's just a fact at the moment and my life has taken on a eat fast and move on approach. 

I am a cereal eater and not just for breakfast.  I can often be found eating cereal for lunch or as a quick snack.  I am not the sort of person who can skip meals so when time is tight a bowl of cereal is my go to solution for fast food intake. 

This is my cereal of choice at the moment- the good old bowl of muesli! 

I simply find the best quality oats and add different varieties of nuts, seeds and dried fruit.  I store it in a large glass jar and enjoy as and when it is needed. 

I really like dried sour cherries, pumpkin and sunflower seeds mixed in with my oats but my selections change each time I make it so it's never dull. 

The blog is a little like my eyebrows at the moment- in need of some attention!  I suppose all lifestyle bloggers will at some stage suffer from life overload, when the simple task of living overtakes the need to sit tapping on a computer.  I make no apologies for my absence but simply hope that a warm alcoholic drink recipes makes up for my lack of blogging........

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

ZESTY MULLED CIDER

INGREDIENTS

• 1 litres cider
• 250 ml lemon and ginger tea, from a herbal teabag
• 40 g soft dark brown sugar
• 1/2 large orange- juice and zest
• 1/2 lemon- juice and zest
• Juice of 1/2 a pomegranate
• 4 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks 

METHOD

1. Add everything to a large pan and place over a gentle heat..
2. Heat the saucepan until the mixture is almost boiling. Turn down the heat once the pan is near to boiling.   Pour into mugs or thick glass jars and enjoy- preferable around an open fire.

 Life may be busy but there is always time for a large stack of syrup drizzled pancakes!

 Our Halloween Pumpkin- colour is everything!

The speed at which life works seems to have increased to a blur.  Between picking and preserving fruit, searching for a house with enough land to keep chickens, pigs and with enough trees to build tree houses and generally just climb when the mood takes me it seems hard to understand how I even have time to sleep! 

Anyway, less busy talk more doing!

I recently taught some butchering for Shovel and Fork for their Epic Pig Day!  I love sharing my knowledge and it feels good to share some of my passion for good meat and nicely tied string. 

Here are a few snaps taken during the day by one of the participants Jens Gerbitz.  You can check our more of his work here- Seeing256 Photography

Alfie your smile is infectious and you are very cheeky, but I wouldn't have you any other way.


Harry catching spiders in jars- boys are weird you know!


Mint and courgettes (zucchini to my Canadian friends).  Green things that are bursting with tasty delight in my garden make us all very happy.


My Thursday nights are still all about the 124 Grand Market and my chance to eat at a different food truck each week.  Last week I tried the Vegan Coconut Bacon BLT Wrap from the Salin On Truck.  It's a flour tortilla, coconut bacon, home made roasted garlic mayo, fresh lettuce, tomato and shredded carrot- it's totally delicious and the coconut bacon is clever if not a little sneaky- it is vegan so there is no bacon about it!  Even butchers eat Vegan food every now and again you know.  If you see them out and about in Edmonton, I suggest you try this, even if you are a hardened meat eater. 

I will be at the 124 Grand Market tonight selling delicious meaty treats with the Sangudo Growers and picking another tasty treat from another food truck- Thursdays rock you know! 

 Recipes that only use egg yolks give me the perfect excuse to make meringue with the whites.  This was topped with lemon curd, Greek yogurt and strawberries.

 This fabulous boy had a birthday and us grown ups busted our butts to make this Playhouse.  The boys LOVES it!


The sun is shining and the boys are in shorts and climbing rocks- gotta love the Summer!

What is keeping you busy at the moment?