Half Magic

Yummy Recipes

Black Bean Brownies...sooo good!

I have added some great recipe links at the side that I love to browse and they inspire me to cook.
Black Bean Brownies comes from a great website called 101 Cookbooks. Heidi Swanson had this huge cookbook collection and decided one day to actually make some of the recipes and her website is a record of that journey.
So black bean brownies - not bad,  a lot of butter, and a lot of agave, I reduced it to a cup because it is so expensive and a can of black beans only adds up to 1 1/2cups but I wasn't about to open another can to top it off to 2 cups. Aside from having three mini appliances out because I don't have a food processor and you do need to make sure the beans are pureed they turned out great. I like flourless chocolate anything but I overheard one of the teenagers I served it to last night at the school say it was like mud...my kids loved it.
I also made carmelized tofu with brussel sprouts and pecans because the photo she had was so beautiful and everyone gobbled that up. I added carrots and basil which is weird because I always have cilantro. The meal was ready in 15 minutes, I had rice already cooked.
From the  mother of all healthy cooking websites, Rebecca Woods, I made poached curry salmon in coconut milk that was so delicious and ready in 15 minutes because you take the skin of the fillets and cut into small pieces- so very quick!
And my last dish was inspired by a conversation with a friend who caters and based on her description alone I was salivating and raced home to make it. I bought kamut and quinoa pasta and tossed it with sea salt, olive oil, lemon rind, feta, basil and I added, for Theo and myself, olives. Easy, easy and once again not a noodle was left on a plate.

From Susan Jane's website in the UK  I will be experimenting with the Buckwheat Avocado Burgers I love her detailed analysis of all the healthy benefits, it reminds me of someone I know (oh yeah my sister) and she is, after all, the President of Oxford University's Gastronomy Society.

Food for body and soul

Happy 'slaves' digging in Nana's garden                          A well-read treasure re-discovered

We are the official guardians of my husband's family history as his parents have downsized and we have the space- sort of. I am not sure of how I feel about closets full of photo albums, and boxes of more photos stuffed under everyone's mattress, and Time Life series, and National Geographic collection,but I admit there are treasures to be discovered such as a well worn book of poetry called, Four Feet and Two; An anthology of verse compiled by Leila Berg. By chance I pulled it out desperate for a line of poetry to write in an 8 yr olds birthday card and have been reading it to my children ever since; poems on nature, welcome and unwelcome beasts,bird songs, loving-kindness, special moments, and sharing the Earth. That started a year ago and although sometimes it sits gathering dust by a window ledge we really enjoy spending that moment reading a new poem together and it introduces them to the greats like Emily Dickinson, John Keats, and Lord Byron plus so many more. Here is the recent favourite about cats (Piper even carries the book around with her!)

Cats

by Francis Scarfe

Those who love cats which do not purr,

Or which are thin and tired and very old,

Bend down to them in the street and stroke their fur

And rub their ears and smooth their breast, and hold

Their paws, and gaze into their eyes of gold.

And since every family blog seems to share recipes I have added two favourites. I have made this bread several times thrilled to use up my Red River Cereal supply. It is a truly delicious bread to have with soup or salad. The other recipe is a vegetarian dish that I was attracted to because it talked about not being spicy to the tongue but spicy as in warming up your insides- a very ayurvedic approach to cooking and that is exactly where this recipe come from.

Download red_river_bread.htm

Download spicy_vegetable_rice_recipe.pdf

Conscious Living

Spending some time with my sister at Ezra's Pound  discussing her International Project Management Graduate program over a beautiful latte with a rosetta design. This coffee shop adds the most beautiful touches to compensate for the high cost, such as unbeatable flavour, complimentary water served from a glass bottle, delectable croissants, impeccable service, wireless access and gentle but persistent encouragement to sit and linger to avoid using take out materials!

Upside down is my friend Jeannette explaining why I should do a head stand and stare at the sun. Something do with the way the lens of your eye flips in this position. Of course we were really suppose to be playing soccer, a Monday night scrimmage we organized for women but we were the only two that showed up! Jeannette also reminds me to do things like take a salt bath on a full moon !

Another discovery I made this week was the studio of  Susan Harris Design.One of my favourite shirts given to me this summer was from a really fun environmental store,Planet Lovers, in the adorable town of Bayfield . I happened to be wearing my shirt ( you know what I mean) during soccer- that was a better night- there were 4 of us, and one of the mom's knew right away it was one of her designs and that her studio was in the same warehouse as her art studio. And if you know me you know I like nothing better than discovering tucked away independent cafes or shops and Susan Harris' working studio did not disappoint. She's affordable, she uses recycled fabric or natural fibres such as bamboo, she's fun, she's kid friendly and what a funky location, tucked down an alley.