Sick sick Sick SICK sick.

Ugh. Is there anything worse than a hard-hitting Cold.

Wikipedia says:   "The common cold (also known as nasopharyngitis, rhinopharyngitis, acute coryza,^[1] head cold, or simply a cold) is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract which primarily affects the nose. Symptoms include coughing, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, and fever which usually resolve in seven to ten days, with some symptoms lasting up to three weeks. Well over 200 virus strains are implicated in the cause of the common cold; the rhinoviruses are the most common."

Lookit. These little buggers are responsible for the misery.

In layman's terms: You lay on the couch because everything is achy and it sucks and you can't breathe and So. Much. Snot. Gah. 

 

This is Day 3. 

I will say that I haven't just been wallowing on the couch in a sea of tissues (with aloe). I did manage to shower every day, and yesterday I vacuumed and even ventured out to Target. Where I realized I had no business being.

So, no. No sewing this week. Nothing. I did watch a lot of Netflix and discovered the BBC Channel for documentaries on Youtube. Yay.

This gratuitous shot of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is brought to you by Dayquil.

I also read and reread several of my favourite Bloggers for inspiration when I'm feeling better; which I shall now share with you. Enjoy.

  

I have been a long time fan of Rita at Red Pepper Quilts.

Her amazing attention to detail and precision floor me every time I look at her work. I aspire to be as good as she is, some day. :)

 

Another quilter I love is Crazy Mom Quilts; her tutorials are great and she's a fellow Canuck. :)

And it's really neat when you find another person that writes like you do; it's like reading your thoughts in someone else's life. Weird? Maybe. But this is a great healthy living foodie blog that I discovered this summer, and have had a great time catching up and trying several of her recipes.

 

Check out Meghan at Clean Eats, Fast Feets

That should keep you busy for awhile. Thanks for your patience whilst I wallow. Heh.
Oooh. There's a documentary on Wombats starting. Must go!!

How was your week??

Baked Kale Chips. New favourite Snack Food!

So for those of you that know me; you know about my GINORMOUS sweet tooth. And for some of you that *really* know me you know that my dinners used to include were basically Cadbury Creme Eggs, Oreos and Cherry Coke.

But alas; time marches on and one's metabolism slows down. Mine is slowed down to the point where I look at a Creme Egg in the lineup at Target and I gain 20 pounds. Le sigh.

Enter in : KALE

I had never even heard of kale until a few years ago. It's really good for you, looks like spinach, sautes nicely, but my favourite way is to bake it, and have Kale Chips. Like regular chips but healthy.

I've used this type before but the curly kale works best, in my opinion.

Another super awesome thing I have recently discovered: Smoked Sea Salt.

I have a wonderful Epicure rep who turned me onto their Alder Smoked Sea Salt. It's so good I use it now on EVERYTHING I cook - taters, veggies, etc etc.

Don't be intimidated. Here's how to make some crispy crunchy kale chips that will let you snack and satisfy your crunch/salt cravings instead of eating nasty ol' potato chips. AND....a bunch of kale costs around 1.99-2.49 whereas potato chips can be up to FIVE bucks!!!

Without further ado; here's the way to do really yummy baked kale chips.

BAKED KALE CHIPS:

1 Bunch Raw Kale

Olive Oil

Smoked Sea Salt

You will need: Cookie/baking sheet, colander, kitchen towel

Cut the stems at the bottom off of the bunch. 

I usually cut right above the elastic band that holds it together.

Fill your sink with cold water, and put a colander into the water. 

Submerge the kale leaves and using your fingers rub gently into all the edges & nooks and crannies to ensure all the dirt and yucky bits out. Swish around as you remove the leaves and shake water off.

Remove from water and let dry flat on a tea towel or paper towel or whatever kitchen towel you like to use. Pat dry.

**Note: I usually leave them out overnight to ensure the leaves are really, really dry. This is important because if they're not dry, then the water will steam the leaves and they will be chewy and gross.**

Preheat oven to 300F.

Remove leafy parts from center stem, and if there are strong smaller stems in the leaf make sure you pull them out. Youdon't want any stems; they are either chewy or rip the roof of your mouth.

 Tear kale into bite size pieces.

Using a large baking sheet/cookie sheet, spread your kale bits over it. 

Do not crowd the kale! It likes its personal space, thank you.

This is perfect.

Drizzle freely the olive oil over the kale bits. Using your hands, massage in the oil.

Sprinkle Smoked Sea Salt over the oiled up bits. (heh.)

Put into your preheated to 300F oven. Set a timer for 12 minutes. 

After 12 minutes take out tray and using a spatula flip your kale pieces.

Replace into oven and set for another 15 minutes, making sure to check around the 10 minute mark.

Your kale chips will be a very dark green when you're done. Keep an eye on the timer, make sure to check on the ten minute mark - not all ovens are created equal and these little babies will burn quicker than you can say No to a telemarketer.

Let cool, and enjoy! Keep them in a closed container for up to a week, if they last that long!


And I promise I will get back to blogging about quilting this week!!

Roasted Cauliflower - (Not a quilt pattern, a recipe)

Okay. If you'd told me last week I'd not only be roasting and eating an entire head of cauliflower for dinner I'd think you were having a wack attack.

Tonite I did just that - I used the most FABULOUS recipe from a even more FABULOUSER (it is so a word. I just made it up) lady who blogs out Cleveland way....."Clean Eats, Fast Feets" - I highly recommend checking it out.  I've used several of her recipes and never been disappointed. My all time fav recipe for how to do the perfect artichoke is also here.

...oh my gosh you will be blown away by how easy, fast & simple her recipes are to follow!

Here it is: Clean Eats, Fast Feets - Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

No photos; cuz we ate it all it was so yummy!!