This process happened slowly then all at once, much like falling asleep as described by John Greene in A Fault In Our Stars. This decision has been weighing on me for a while now and I constantly questioned my choice of going back to school to get a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from a prestigious university in Toronto. I had the grades to get in, dare I say excellent grades that would have landed me a few bursaries but (and this is a huge BUUUT) after auditing a few classes, I simply do not want to do it. It is not that I am lazy or find it too impossible a task but I just lacked any drive or passion to sit in a huge lecture hall to discuss the structure of proteins, carbon bonding and take not one, not two but THREE statistics classes?

On a dark early morning a few days ago before I headed to my Advanced Functions class, I sat on the edge of my bed and wept; we are not talking about a single rolling tear down my cheek but sobbed so hard and long that I had to catch my breath. I was alone, Mark had already headed to school, and I felt helpless, overly dramatic and cursed myself for letting my emotions get the best of me. I wiped my tear-streaked face dry, put on my coat and headed to class. This was the first sign of my need to change.

 With Advanced Functions, I am also retaking my Grade 12 English credit to increase my grade average (oh how I could shake my 18-year-old “my-boyfriend-is-the-most-important-thing-in-my-life” self) and my English teacher asked me why I was headed back to university.

“To get my BSc for Nutrition,” I replied.

“What for?”

“I don’t know…” this quick reply even stunned me. I really didn’t know. I said I have a vegan recipe blog and it went hand-in-hand. “It would be beneficial to the site, I guess…it would benefit my readers, I guess…I think I might be good at it, I guess…” I stumbled over my words trying to justify to my teacher a good reason about why I was upgrading my credits to obtain my nutritional degree, feeling the blood rush to my face out of sheer embarrassment. There sure was a lot of guessing for such a commitment. This conversation was the second sign.

The third and final sign of my decision was actually inspired by the writer of Orangette, Molly Wizenberg. I was looking for a book to read on the subway to go to school and saw A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table sitting on my shelve, quickly shoved it in my bag and headed to school. I have read this wonderful written book twice previous to this but this time her book hit me hard, as all good books do. When I read these memoirs of Wizenberg’s life it is like I am sitting with her at her kitchen table and she is telling me these stories herself over a cup of coffee and maybe a fat piece of pain au chocolat. I cried in public while reading her book detailing her father’s cancer and passing, I giggled over her early love affairs in Paris and swooned over the pages when she met Brandon, her now-husband.

One entry of her book hit me the hardest and made me look at my own life in a new light. She describes going back to Paris to research power study and the body for graduate school but after awhile she realized that this work bored her stiff. Wizenberg states, “Paris has a way of getting your priorities straight,” since she spent most of her days reading cookbooks, visiting pastry shops and kitchen supply stores and decided to quit graduate school. Shortly after this, she started her blog.

This was a sort of revelation to me. I didn’t need a degree in Nutrition to be a food blogger. To me, it has always been about the food: the smell of roasted garlic cloves on a warm piece of baguette, the fresh taste of a perfect smoothie combination, the sweet transformation of slow-roasting tomatoes, the cool creaminess of a cashew cheesecake and not the dephosphorylation of adenosine triphosphate (though it is important).

I think I went through all the stages of grief in a single day. I tried to convince myself out of making this decision, I imagined myself getting my acceptance letter and the feeling of pride that comes with it, questioned my sanity and all the while I just wanted to get back into my kitchen and maybe bake something. I laugh at that thought now, having a mental breakdown about my life and future but wanting to bake. How clear my priorities are now.

The academic upgrading was not for nothing and I will continue taking English with the stress of mathematics and unhappiness lifted off my shoulders. Damn, I feel better already.

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in a city not so far away there lives a girl who loves green. Green is her favourite colour since it matches her eyes and her favourite sweater. She tries having green in all aspects of her life since she now realizes how important it is to love green food. She uses green vegetables in her cooking and smoothies but that wasn’t enough for this girl: she wanted green milk. Rich, cool, creamy and lightly sweetened green milk. Sounds crazy right? But this girl believed in the green!

She summoned the assistance of her Vitamix cauldron to concoct the perfect green milk. Double double turbo trouble! ITS ALIVE!!

The Green Monster Milk was ready to go out into the world, spreading the goodness of green for everyone to love and enjoy.

The only problem was this milk didn’t look like the rest of the milks in the world. On the surface he looked a little different but inside he had so many good things to offer: vitamins and minerals, those important micronutrients but all anyone saw was his green colour.

He was sad and lonely so he went on a journey through the spooky Collard Green Forest in hopes of meeting others that would understand him and his greenness.

Just when he thought he wouldn’t find any green monsters like him, he finally met some! And people who loved all his green goodness that he wanted to share!

He finally found his calling and that is bringing people only the best source of green power: plant power! He lived happily ever after. Definitely not THE END of this recipe.  

Happy Halloween from our new friend Green Monster Milk!

I made this milk for those who do not like green juice (I have yet to be sold on it!) but I do love green milk! It tastes just like my Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk but with all the green juice goodness. The milk is completely raw, vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free since it is sweetened with dates! So if you are not a fan of straight green juice this milk is a great alternative.

For complete step-by-step instructions with photos visit my Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk post, just add the chopped greens and dates with the almonds instead of just the almonds. Warning: if your nut milk bag is made of a natural fibre like hemp, it will slightly discolour the bag. Wash right away for minimal staining. Trust me….

This is a great recipe to use if you need a little detox after a Halloween fete. If you are anything like me and stuffed your face with sweet bubbly punch and tons of candy, you will need this green milk in the morning. 

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Destiny’s Child on FULL blast!

Watch ALL the new Once Upon A Time episodes Netflix just released! Marathon it! (ALSO NEW THE WALKING DEAD!!!)

Practice the Single Ladies dance routine along side Beyonce on YouTube….pretend that I AM Beyonce.

Eat as MANY olives as I can!

Mark does not like olives which is a real problem for me because I LOVE olives. I am a huge fan of the briny, leathery fruits. Sometimes when Mark is working late I will prepare a little plate of olives, sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, capers, balsamic vinegar, fresh cherry tomatoes and mustard to serve on crusty bread slices for dinner with a glass a red wine and feeling oh-so French! Unfortunately for me, cooking with olives is a no-go since I dread the idea of someone picking out an ingredient out of a dish. Maybe I am just too un-picky? I knew I needed to make a dish with some of my favourite ingredients that Mark is not a fan of while he is off being a rockstar. 

These potato rounds are banging good! Salty salsa, spiced potatoes and cool cashew tzatziki sauce come together to create this recipe. It is a bit fussy since you have to make a salsa, a sauce and the potatoes but if you follow my game plan, it will seem effortless. First, preheat the oven, salt the cucumbers, make the sauce and refrigerate. Secondly, chop and toss the potatoes in the spice oil and roast. While the potatoes are roasting make the salsa and prep the parsley garnish. When you break it down, it doesn’t seem so daunting.

Since olives are the star of this dish I encourage you to buy the best olives you can afford: from an olive bar, cheese shop or high-end grocery store. Jarred olives are far too salty and lack the richness and depth of a good quality olive. I tried this recipe with nicoise olives but this olive is more expensive than the recipe recommended Katamala and impossible to find pitted (believe me when I say they are a b*tch to pit these tiny French olives).

The best part of being in a relationship is that you like when your person is there and when they are not there. A little time alone is needed sometimes: just me, some olives and my cat Barb. And Beyonce on full blast.

What dish do you make when your partner is away? Anything you love and they hate?

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