Pumpkin Spice Raisin Mufffins

While getting the apartment all spruced up for Fall, I got inspired to make some Pumpkin Spice Raisin Muffins. The warm, spicy pumpkin smell, made the entire place smell amazing. The perfect fall breakfast treat!

What you'll need:
2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cloves
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
2 large Eggs
1/3 cup Oil
3/4 cup Plain Yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Raisins

Preheat oven to 375°F

In a medium bowl, add flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

Whisk together dry ingredients.

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 5 : Tour de Greenbelt

This week is a long picture-heavy post about an exciting event my brother and I participated in (plus the weekly exercise log and stats at the bottom!) This past weekend we did the Tour de Greenbelt - a 30km bike ride through trail systems and along country roads in the Ontario Greenbelt. It was the perfect activity to get up and enjoy the nice weather on a Saturday morning.

There were plenty of people joining us, including this adorable family with their bike built for three.

They were even cuter in action.

The beginning of the ride took us through the Nokiidaa Trail system that connects the communities of Newmarket, Aurora and East Gwillumbury, Ontario. Nokiidaa means "walk together" in Ojibwa, which is perfect for describing this great trail system. The canal that we are crossing here is actually part of the ghost canals built in 1912 to make it easier to take goods up to Lake Simcoe. Unfortunately it was never used and has now become part of the park system.

Easy Autumn Candle Holders

This is a craft that has been going around the blogging world a lot in the past year or so, but I wanted to share my own version it. It only took a little while, but they look great in the living room and I love to have them lit up in the evening.

Using a few pieces from your local dollar store, you can great simple candle holders that look just like the ones you'd find at places like Pottery Barn (left), without the big price tag.

 

I purchased two hurricanes and two pillar bases of varying heights at the local dollar store. There were about $2 each at Dollarama. I used pillars candles that I already had laying around and they were the perfect height for each candle holder.

Inspired by Nature and the Harvest

Image from Country Living

With the weather getting chilly and the leaves changing, I'm itching to get my Fall decorations out and get the apartment ready for the season. I haven't had time to work on anything until this week, and this weekend I found some great ideas that inspired me to keep a harvest coloured theme, drawing from the beautiful things around us in nature.

I'm always a sucker for the bright oranges of pumpkins and leaves, so I know I'll be incorporating some of that into whatever I decided to do. This adorable candlebra from Martha Stewart Living is made with little mini pumpkins and tea lights, resting on a horizontally hung vine and leaf wreath. You could even make this into a beautiful table arrangement that will look colourful and bright during the day, but cozy and inviting in the evening as the sun goes down.

Image from Country Living

How about displaying Fall's bounty of gourds and apples, mixed in with pinecones, leaves and beautiful candles in a long wooden planter? I love the idea that these could be things that you already have around your house, pick up on walks onside or find at the local farmer's market.

This tweed table runner looks great with this wooden table. I've been looking at making a new table runner myself, and this is a great look, thats easy to do. (How cute are the little Thanksgiving turkeys too?)

Queen West Art Crawl

Last weekend I took advantage of the beautiful Fall weather and went to Trinity Bellwoods Park with a few friends to see the Queen West Art Crawl. The park was full of little booths of great local artists, as well as those who traveled in from all over Canada.

The leaves were just starting to change in the park, so it was a beautiful backdrop for the festivities.

There were many wonderful exhibits, including these glass vessels.

 Local Ontario artist Lisa McLaughlin Larose had a booth set up with a variety of her works on display.

White Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Last weekend I had someone visiting me and I told them I'd make any cookie, brownie, dessert etc that they wanted. And what was their only request: Chocolate Chip Cookies with white chocolate chips. The idea intrigued me. Why hadn't I thought of that before? I conveniently had white chocolate chips in the cupboard, so while I was routing around for them I found a little bag of shredded coconut. And idea was born. Why not put white chocolate chips AND coconut in it? Bingo.

White Chocolate is a relatively new phenomenon, only being first introduced in Switzerland a few years after World War I. The first white chocolate produced was by the Nestlé company in 1930 and it wasn't until a year later that the M&M Candy company started manufacturing it in New Hampshire and introduced it in the United States. Its hard to believe its only been around for about 70 years. What did they make white chocolate bunnies out of before then?

Thats your history lesson for the day. Now onto the recipe!

What you'll need:
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Egg
1 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 3/4 cup Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup Shredded Coconut
1 cup White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar for 3 minutes.

Add in the egg, milk and vanilla and continue to mix for another 2 minutes.

Mix mix mix!

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 4 : Its Getting Hot In Here!

This week I tried something I've never done before....hot yoga! Back when I was in university I had a roommate who used to go on about "sweaty yoga". It took me a while to figure out that she meant "hot yoga", but now I get why she called it that. I have never sweat so much in my life. Even in the most simple moves, my heart was racing and I was drenched.

I went to the Moksha Yoga studio in downtown Toronto to try one of their 90 minute classes. Moksha Yoga hot yoga is a series of postures practiced in a heated room. The series works to stretch, strengthen and tone the muscles while detoxifying the body and calming the mind. The heated practice room allows tight muscles to stretch with greater ease. This sounded perfect for my goal of increasing my flexibility.

Apparently even some of the Toronto Maple Leaf players come here to help them deal with the heightened body temperature during a game and improve their body awareness and focus. I was especially interested in trying it, because I hear that it is great for people who run and bike. Over time these activities can tighten the muscles of your hips and limit your movement, but by increasing your flexibility you can improve this, resulting in few aches and pains after runs, as well as a better mental focus when you get into endurance runs. For cyclists, opening up the hips, calves and hamstrings with help diminish knee pain as well as lower back pain.

When I first walked into the class, the lights were dimmed and everyone was laying down in savasana pose. This was really great for getting used to the change in temperature and to let everyone focus on their breathing. I started to feel all the tensions of the day melting away already. Its been a long time since I've done yoga, so I found that during the class, I really had to focus on my breathing and performing the poses correctedly. That being said, I think with more classes, this would decrease and the moves would come more naturally. My instructor was really great abour walking through the room and helping people get correct posture. She was soothing and guided everyone through each move. It was amazing how quickly 90 minutes went by. I took a nice cool walk home to wind down after the class. And of course I had a shower when I got home. This is not the kind of class that you sneak in on your lunch break.

New Feature: Recipe Index!

Over the past few months I noticed something. I spent too much time searching for my own recipes on this blog. You see, I tend to use this as my own recipe book and go back to reference old ones.

For example, if I decide to make Parsnip Fries (like I am tonight!), I often search back to the recipe to double check the temperature or cooking time.

When I'm talking to friends about a recipe that I've made and enjoyed, I often find its easier to email them the link to the page on the blog, than to dig up the recipe card and copy it out.

If I take something to a potluck dinner (like Mom's Infamous Mac and Cheese) and someone asks me how I made it, I jot down the recipe name and the blog address on a scrap of paper and give it to them.

But, it isn't always easy to find the recipes on here (Thank goodness for the search engine!).

So, I decided it was high time to fix that. Without further ado....I present you with the new Recipe Index. All the recipes that I've posted are on there now (including the failed Chocolate cake, that still tasted amazing by the way).

Now when you click on the Gingersnap picture on the left panel it will take you to the Recipe Index. Hopefully this will make it easier to find recipes that you're looking for! (I know it will be a big help for me!)

Any other comments or suggestions on how to improve this little blog would be greatly appreciated!

Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Recap

 
The past two weeks have been a flurry of activity here in Toronto with all the press and industry people here to cover the 35th Toronto International Film Festival. Being a part of the film industry here in Toronto, I took full advantage of the festivities, putting in lots of work, but lots of play as well.

My beautiful friend C and her husband (Who have 6 kids together! Can you believe it?) invited me along to the Entertainment Tonight Canada party one night. It was a great way to enjoy all the excitement of the festival.

We got to see the delectable Canadian hottie Scott Speedman (and his mother too, haha). He is every bit as interesting and charming as he is handsome.

I also happened to run into Morgan Spurlock, the director of Super Size Me. His current film is called Freakonomics, done with five other rogue documentary filmmakers who explain the hidden size of everything. I'm looking forward to seeing that one soon.

While the days were filled with meetings and events, there were lots of great nights spent out with friends. These lovely ladies danced the night away at an event in Yorkville.

Another night we ran into Canada's own Emmanuelle Chriqui from Entourage at the Spoke Club. Although I would have loved to meet Ryan Kwanten too! I love him on True Blood.

Fall Fashion

With the crazy mixed weather here in Ontario, Fall is all about layering. It can be chilly in the morning, warmer in the afternoon and then back to freezing by night. Internet window shopping is great, because you can do it from the comfort of your couch in yoga pants, while catching up on recorded TV shows without dealing with all the crazy crowds at the mall. (I may or may not be doing that right now...) So, here are some of the pieces that I found this year that I had to share with you guys.

A corduroy skirt is a great transition piece for the fall. While the weather is still nice, you can wear it with boots and socks like the Eddie Bauer Corduroy Skirt ($49.50) above. When the weather gets cooler, you can pair it with thicker tights and a warmer sweater.

To me, tucking in a button shirt in tight jeans and tall boots is a tried and true Fall look. I've really been loving the new Fall Collection at LL Bean Signature. I love this look with their Snap Front Wool Shirt ($65), Skinny Jeans ($49) and High-Heeled Leather Boots ($199).

Of course, nothing gives you that great Autumn feel like a warm coloured and toasty sweater. This Eddie Bauer Shawl Collar Tweed Cardigan ($69) is a classic that will last through the Winter as well.

This LL Bean Signature look is the perfect modern look for the Fall. The simple, yet cozy Mohair Blend Cardigan ($69) and Modal Blend Black Tank ($19) look great with this fantastic Tweed Skirt ($99) and modern Leather Ankle Boots ($139).

To me, Fall is all about great sweaters and I've been loving the more modern cuts of the classics.

This gorgeous Cable Knit Sweaterdress ($88) from Victoria's Secret looks supersoft and comfy. It would be great with leggings or matte tights.

Fall Fitness Challenge Recipe: Oven Roasting Vegetables

Incorporating more vegetables into your diet isn't always easy, but there are ways to make them not only nutritious but delicious as well. I’m a big fan of roasting vegetables, especially now that the weather is getting colder.

Roasted vegetables are a perfect side for any meal, and there are so many vegetables and flavour variations that you can do. My personal favourites are brussel sprouts, zucchini and broccoli, so here are my tried and true recipes for each of these.

Brussel Sprouts

I know that many people think that they don’t like brussel sprouts (I used to be one of those people!), but its often the way that they have been prepared that turns people off. Roasting them gives them a wonderful nutty taste and often leave people coming back to seconds. Which is a good thing because these little bad boys are not only high in fiber, but they also contain many nutrients that help your body fight disease, including cancer.

What you'll need:
1 pound Brussels Sprouts
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Trim the stem ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any damaged outer leaves. Halve each sprout lengthwise.

Toss in a large bowl with oil, salt and pepper.

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 3 : Healthy Eating

Work has been chaotic and draining with the Toronto Film Festival in town the past two weeks, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And with it will come sleep and normality. One of the things I'm looking forward to the most is getting back to healthy eating. Despite trying to stock my fridge up with lots of healthy options before the festival started, I'm still out of the house most of the time (16-19 hour days right now!) and I can't always bring something with me. On a few occasions I've had to buy something on the go, but I'm trying to stick to healthy options like Pita Pit or Subway. However, they has been a couple late night pasta dinners with colleagues, candy bars while riding the subway, copious amounts of Diet Coke (I don't drink coffee or tea and I desperately need the caffeine!) and of course popcorn at some of the screenings.
When all the mayhem stops on Sunday, I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal eating habits.

I used to be a breakfast cereal fiend, eating it every day. I could still always go for a bowl of Kashi Go Lean with skim milk and a sliced banana (any meal, any time!). That was until I recently saw a documentary that explained how bad all the sugar and carbs in cereal are for contributing to our blood sugar levels. Now I am trying to make more berry protein smoothies, egg white (+ one whole egg) veggie omelettes with whole grain toast or even oatmeal. Having more protein in your breakfast will give it some staying power to get you through the morning

A few times a week, I like to chop up a variety of different vegetables at once and store them in glass containers in the fridge. They are perfect for snacking on when I'm making dinner (when I often fall prey to nibbling) or for when I'm on the run and need to put something nutritious together fast.

Then every morning (or the night before), I use a variety of the pre-cut vegetables to put together a salad for lunch. I like to toss in a lean protein, like chicken, beef, beans, chopped hard boiled egg or even low fat cottage cheese.

Duing the work week, I like to pack my own lunches using the chopped veggie salads, preparing homemade soups in advance (low sodium!) or making a veggie and lean protein packed sandwich with whole grain bread. I find it harder to stay on track on the weekends for lunchtime when there is the temptation to grab a hot dog, or I completely forget to eat lunch and before you know it I'm munching on a plate of nachos mid-afternoon.