Lately I have been feeling a bit cranky and sensitive to noise…

and three boys = loud…

They are acting normal…They fight, they scream when they are upset, when they are excited and when they play… they run, they jump, they twirl, they fall, they talk nonstop and they laugh…

If the snow outside was nice and not slush, I would send them out to play… but on a day like today they would come back within a few minutes because they would be sopping wet and cold…

I would put on a movie but no one can agree what to watch so they rather watch nothing at all….

So I fed them and then sat down and told them I needed a few minutes to myself, and that I need a bit of quiet time… and with that said they headed downstairs to play on their own accord…

and now they are playing nicely, no screaming, no crying… just laughing and making the sound effects for the stories they are making up… sounds that I don’t mind at all… and even more… love to hear…

I am having tea and a slice of banana bread that just came out of the oven and just these few minutes of peace will give me the refreshment that I need…

It is Nov 30th! I have been doing NaBloPoMo and  I have made it!

30 days of posting everyday!!

this was a great thing to get back into the mood and habit of blogging…

I spent all morning editing the pics I took yesterday of my friend Gen… they turned out so well and I can’t wait to show her… I am really pleased with them…

I do have a few pics of Khéna that I want to share from his birthday on Friday… we did things really quiet… ordered Pizza and got Sushi and I made a Carrot Cake…

It was just us… and it was perfect…

Sushi… at his request… really he is the one that said it…

Seeing his cake…

Blowing out Candles… he actually did it the first time so quickly that I didn’t get a pic so we did it again..









proud boy…

My two year old..

If it wasn’t for NabloPoMo I wouldn’t be writing right now.. I am so tired…

I had a great day today… I left this morning and went to pick up a few things and then headed to my friend Gen’s house… We went out for Sushi in St-Anne-de-Bellevue at a great little restaurant with great service…

After, we went back to her place and I set up a little makeshift studio and took some pics of her… I think that there are a few that turned out great… I can’t wait to start editing…

Then we watched a movie, sipped tea and had left over Sushi… I would have loved to stay longer but I had an hour of driving to get home…

Great day… it felt really good to be out…

I need to write a bit more but for now I am just going to share the link to his birth story…

What an amazing 2 years it has been… he is such a joy to be around…

a little more later along with some of my fav pics…

The other day I was looking around for some articles and found this one… I think that it is a great one that explains well what the additives are and what they do…  and then he goes on to talk about alternatives… The only think that is not mentioned are that artificial flavours including Vanillin (fake vanilla) come from the same sources and have the same effects…

Here is part of it… and you can read the rest on the author’s site…

Replace Artificial Food Colors with Natural food Colors
by Pete Maletto

Jan 25, 2007 - It was not long ago when I was conducting my daily ritual of research on the internet and stumbled upon consumers growing concerns about artificial food colors. While it didn’t surprise me because I have the same concerns, I noticed that many consumers are complaining about side effects with artificial colors. Most consumers are concerned about yellow dye consumption and its side effects such as headaches, vomiting, hives, asthma and a possible cause of ADD and ADHD.

While I found that yellow dye has quite a laundry list of possible side effects, I also found that red dye has its share as well. One that really amuses me is that this artificial food color can actually dye our own internal systems red color (they do this with salmon to make the pink color).

While side effects are not as documented as it should be, there also seems to be some people that have allergic reactions to most artificial colors. Just ask any doctor that performs colonoscopies and you’ll hear him tell you about artificial blue color and red color showing up and coloring the colon for days. This has lead many consumers to believe that artificial colors are bad for you and that they are another cancer causing agent found in foods today. Now the media is piling on and consumers are starting to avoid artificial food colors.

And as an experienced food technologist, I tend to agree…..

The FDA manages the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) as an added safety check on color additives to food, with a computerized database to track potential public health hazards. FDA’s Advisory Committee on hypersensitivity to food constituents concluded in 1986 that FD&C Yellow No. 5 may cause hives in fewer than one out of 10,000 people, but found no evidence that it provokes asthma attacks as some reports had indicated. You would think a system as sophisticated as this would catch the problems but they decided to permit the usage of Yellow No. 5 to continue, with product labeling allowing those with hypersensitivity to avoid it.

Yellow dye is basically a hidden term for tartrazine, a coal tar derivitive which has proven side effects on the central nervous system. For example, in a study published in 1978, 122 patients who had a variety of diagnosed allergic reactions were given 50 milligrams of tartrazine.

This dose elicited reactions such as palpitations, weakness, hives and itching in these susceptible individuals; 50 milligrams is a large dose, but could be consumed by someone drinking a few bottles of soda during the day. Or a serving of Mac and Cheese to your kids (get the hyperactive hint here?) which has close to 50 mg per box and at a childs body weight, that’s a lot of tartrazine. It is also important to note that there is a connection between people allergic to aspirin and allergic reactions to tartrazine.

Usage of Red No. 3 was voluntarily terminated in 1990 after animal testing indicated an association with thyroid tumors. Although it still remains on the list, the FDA is proposing to remove it. A panel from the National Institutes of Health determined in 1982 that coloring additives were not related to claims of hyperactivity (look at the kids today and it makes you think twice). Although approved by the FDA, some people may still have allergic reactions.

Currently, any blue or green food on the U.S. market gets its hues from certifiable colors FD&C Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue), Blue No. 2 (Indigotine), or Green No. 3 (Fast Green). Blue No. 1 and Green No. 3 are both petroleum-derived triphenylmethanes–that is, they have three aromatic rings attached to a central carbon atom. Blue No. 2 is a disodium sulfonate of a naturally occurring compound called indigo.

However, the indigo used to create Blue No. 2 is synthesized by fusing N-phenylglycine in a molten mix of sodamide and sodium and potassium hydroxides. And we are feeding these chemicals to our kids!

Lets face it, there is no way you could tell me that something that can stain the cells of our body and come from chemicals such as coal tar/tartrazine, triphenylmethane, and other chemicals would not cause some type of mutagenic effect in the body over a period of time.

None the less, it’s seems obvious to me that consuming artificial colors can definitely cause side effects with some people (some side effects that they may not even notice) and they are quite possibly “cancer causing chemicals” that we do not need in our food supply, especially when healthy alternatives exist.

Read more about the alternatives….

I found this recipe at The Fresh Loaf and I just had to try it… and now that I have I will make it again…

Buttermilk Cluster
Makes 12 to 18 rolls, depending on size
6 to 6 1/2 cups (750 grams) bread or all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 envelope (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry or instant yeast, or 1 15 gram cake fresh yeast
1 tablespoon warm water
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon honey

Glaze:
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Topping:
1-2 tablespoons seeds (poppy, sesame) or grains (cracked wheat, rolled oats)

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Combine the warm water and yeast in a small cup and allow to proof for 10 minutes.

Pour the yeast, buttermilk, and honey into the flour mixture and mix well. If the dough is so dry that some of the flour won’t stick, add a bit more buttermilk or water. If the dough is too sticky to knead, more like a batter, add more flour by the tablespoon until the correct consistency is achieved.

Knead by machine or hand for approximately 10 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and set aside to rise until the dough has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

I made the dough, let it rise and then used a 9X9 cake pan and separated the dough into 12 pieces…
and then let that rise again for about 40 min and then brushed with the egg and sprinkled with sesame seeds…

Then bake at 425 for about 30 min… (mine took about 25min)

It makes an amazing bread with a great consistency… It was the perfect bread to go with the soup I made, I it is great not having to cut it because the pieces come apart easily..

This will be a great bread for when company comes also because it looks beautiful also…

This is a variation of a recipe that Annie shared with me a while back and I love it!

Usually I make it her way and make curried tofu and of course that is always delicious but I was craving spicy peanut sauce and it really isn’t very much longer to make so that is what I made tonight…

What I love about this recipe also is that it takes very little preparation, takes little time to cook, is filling, delicious and nutritious…

For the Coconut Quinoa..

• Chop up an onion and sauté in a pan until translucent (I sauté it in coconut oil)
• Add 1 1/2 cup of Quinoa.. I like to leave it in there a few minutes and toast it a bit…
• Add one can of coconut milk and one can of water and simmer until ready (about 20 min) and then fluff with a fork

Peanut Sauce

• Mix together in a saucepan on low heat … 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, 1/2 cup hot water, 3 tsp tamari, 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp brown sugar and garlic chili sauce (to taste)

Crispy Tofu

• cube one block of tofu
• in a container (with a lid) add a few tsps of corn starch, add a bit of salt and garlic powder and then add the tofu and shake so that it evenly coats the tofu
• Add a few tsp of peanut oil to a wok or pan and toss and fry until crispy on all sides…

If you want to make the curried version don’t make the peanut sauce and instead coat the tofu with 1 tbsp of cornstarch, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp coriander, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1tsp paprika, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp tumeric…

Serve with steamed broccoli.. (adding it to the Quinoa near the end of cooking is an easy way to do add it)

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