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Things I’m Afraid to Tell You

February 3, 2017 by Stella Leave a Comment

Things I'm Afraid to Tell You

Today is confession time: this post has been in the making (or writing?) for a few months now. When after a long and busy day at the office I was walking down the hill towards the tram stop I was always drafting it in my mind. What I would tell you, and how I would say it. Then once I arrived home the evening was so short that after meal prepping for next day’s lunch, making and eating dinner I was too tired and lazy not to give in and say yes to Boyfriend when he proposed watching an episode or two of our favorite series while cuddling on the couch and unwinding from the long day. Then when I finally decided today was the day when I would put into words my rambling thoughts I ran into some technical difficulties and couldn’t access the blog for most of the day. But here we are. So take a seat, and a cup of tea/latte/hot chocolate and thank you for reading it, it will be long. And quite possibly rambly.

First let’s address the elephant in the room: this is my first post since July. Why? There are several reasons behind that.

1. The main one is that in August my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And it turned our world and lives upside down. It was shocking and scary to see my young, energetic and active mom, who worked out daily, went on couple hour-long hikes and ate healthy having to face endless scary doctors’ appointments, having to hear about cancer, radiation and chemotherapy, just to name a few. To tell you the truth we still aren’t over the shock yet. But the family rallied and my dad, two sisters and I put our lives pretty much on hold to spend as much time as we could with my mom. Her treatment is still ongoing and we hope for the best. But as you can imagine, it was not only lack of time that kept me from blogging but also the fact that my head and heart were elsewhere.

2. Then there is also the non-small dilemma of privacy.

In real life I’m a quite private person, I don’t like to share much about my personal life with people other than my closest friends, yet I didn’t want to keep this a secret on the blog. I debated whether I should tell you about it or keep mum since you are mostly here about the recipes. But I felt that if I didn’t share about this significant part of what’s currently going on in my life, it would feel like a lie.

3. And if that wasn’t enough came the third straw: being away for so long from the blog I developed kind of like a writer’s block: the longer I was away the harder it was to “get back in the saddle” and start writing a post. You know like those awkward and mortifying scenes in movies when the character is in class/has an exam and freezes completely with that deer in the headlights stunned look and even though they know they should say something, they just can’t utter a word or a sound. Well I felt kind of like that. Only in writing (if that makes sense).

But it seems (though it took me a few months) that I surmounted these obstacles, since here I am sharing with you what have kept me busy these couple of months. So I figured, if I got started, why not continue? That’s why I found it fitting to share my confessions to you in this “Things I’m Afraid to Tell You” post, that was inspired by Ashley’s post on Blissful Basil. So curious to know what things I’m afraid to tell you besides the one I already mentioned above?

4.  Even though I know I shouldn’t, I keep comparing myself and this blog to some other blogs, which of course makes me feel disppointed and inferior.

5. I struggle with working out.

I always chalked it up to being lazy, but maybe it’s just an issue of motivation. I’m not motivated enough to work out. Or I just haven’t found the right sport or workout routine that works for me. It doesn’t help that none of my friends is game to pair up and hit the gym with me, nor that Boyfriend is even more of a couch potato than I am. I walk to and from work, about 30 mins a day, but it’s not enough for me to feel fit. I’m slim but don’t have much muscle nor stamina, which I would love to improve. -> one of my goals for 2017

6. I’m terrified by my inbox.

I have a chronic fear of missing out syndrome: I sign up for all these great programs: adopt healthy routines, become happier, how to build your list, create courses, etc. and the e-mails just keep on piling up, while I don’t have time to read them. Currently I have about 600 unread e-mails in my inbox (1 out of the 6 e-mail addresses I have, though I only use 4 + 1 for work at my corporate job), which stresses me out immensely. That’s why for 2017 I decided to make letting go my mantra: delete all the e-mails I have no use for, unsubscribe, and let go of everything that just clutters my life and mind. It won’t happen overnight, but I hope that the fact that I want to tame the beast will overpower any lingering hoarder instinct I have.

7. I’m a perfectionist and it’s been holding me back.

I have a very high standard of how I envision any work, project done, and unless I can achieve that  I won’t take that step or leap forward. (Nicole Culver said it once and it was a revelation to me: that perfectionism is just another name for procrastination, and she was completely right!) I have so many ideas for the blog, for posts but get overwhelmed by all of it (whether RL tasks or all the things one should do: keep up with all the social media, photo editing, etc.) and my coping mechanism is shutting the door on the chaos and just trying to ignore/forget about it.

8. My biggest fears are disappointing people and Impostor Syndrome.

This article really resonated with me, especially this part:

we often hesitate to believe that what’s natural, maybe even easy for us, can offer any value to the world. In fact, the very act of being really good at something can lead us to discount its value.

My thoughts exactly: if it’s so natural and easy for me, then it seems unbelievable that it isn’t that way for everyone.

9. I’m learning to love myself more every day.

The past year I’ve started on a journey of self-discovery, establishing and exercising emotional well-being and taking care of myself. My whole life I’ve been defined by labels of “good daughter” and “good sister”, and the expectations I put on myself were becoming suffocating: I realized that I was trying to live my life according my family’s expectations, so as to make them happy, not taking into account what would make ME happy. But it’s high time I stop that. I realized that I need to take care of myself, it’s my life.

10. Although I’m excited and intrigued by all the possibilities, adventures and flexibility of the entrepreneur lifestyle, I’m also scared witless: noone in my immediate family or circle of friends is an entrepreneur, so it’s all vague and unknown to me, kind of like a scary black hole.

Phew. That was a long list. Seems I had quite a lot on my heart. Thank you for reading, I’m glad I could share it. And who knows, maybe a few of these fears won’t sound so unfamiliar to you. Would you return the favor and share one thing you are afraid to tell people? I’d gladly listen to you.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Life

Blueberry Cheesecake (Gluten and Refined Sugar-free)

July 5, 2016 by Stella 11 Comments

Make this deliciously creamy and light cheesecake filled with fresh blueberries, that comes together in less than 30 minutes, a perfect dessert for any summer occasion!

Make this deliciously creamy and light cheesecake filled with fresh blueberries, that comes together in less than 30 minutes, a perfect dessert for any summer occasion!

One of my favourite things in summer, besides the long sunny days and balmy summer nights, is the big variety of fresh fruit one can find at the farmers’ market! I looove the abundance of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, red currants, black currants, cherries, peaches and apricots, just to name a few. At our weekly Saturday morning trip to the farmers’ market I usually don’t know when to stop, and end up buying so much fruit Boyfriend always thinks we’ll have to throw it out before the week’s over. But he’s wrong: somehow having so much fruit at home makes us eat more, and usually by Wednesday night/Thursday morning there’s no more left in the fridge.

Of course besides eating fresh fruit straight from the bowl, using it for chilly soups and desserts is another great way to make the most of summer….

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Filed Under: dessert, under 30 minutes Tagged With: blueberry, yoghurt

Breaking the silence

June 26, 2016 by Stella 4 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Sorry for the dramatic title and also for the lengthy radio silence.

I’m alive, life has just been extra busy/hectic these past couple of months: I’ve been around the world (or through countries) a few times: spent a few weeks in Sri Lanka, discovered the amazing St. Petersburg in Russia, made a stop in Brussels and also spent a few sunny days in Rome celebrating Boyfriend’s birthday with some delicious pizza and gelato.

Beach in Sri Lanka

Beach in Sri Lanka

Monkeys on Ruins in Sri Lanka

Monkeys on Ruins in Sri Lanka

Besides those trips we are also past an apartment renovation (can’t believe it’s finally over, it seemed like the works would never end!), school is over which means it’s time to study for exams. :-/ Oh and summer’s here with a sweltering heatwave, we have trouble sleeping it’s been so hot this week.

So this is what life has been lately around here.

And I also have a confession: …

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Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Life

Oriental Lentil Casserole

January 10, 2016 by Stella 13 Comments

Make this oriental lentil casserole with bacon, carrots, beets and raisins, and sprinkle it with cinnamon for an unusual but extraordinary flavour combination.

Make this oriental lentil casserole with bacon, carrots, beets and raisins, and sprinkle it with cinnamon for an unusual but extraordinary flavour combination.

In many cultures lentils (and peas) symbolize abundance and fortune, therefore one must eat it at the beginning of the New Year to ensure their own and their family’s prosperity in the year to come.

Due to this tradition my family’s obligatory lunch on January 1st always had lentil soup. Which as a kid I hated. My sisters and I tried to boycott my mom’s lentil soup, but the responsibility of the whole family’s fortune resting on our eating a bowl of lentil soup was too much, so we grumbled but ate it. Thankfully my mom heard our complaints and experimented with other dishes containing lentil and that’s how this oriental lentil casserole entered our lives. It was instant success the first time she made it: not just us kids, but my dad as well asked for seconds. To this day it’s a favourite in our house, and my mom never has to listen to me or my sisters grumble about having to eat lentil anymore.

Make this oriental lentil casserole with bacon, carrots, beets and raisins, and sprinkle it with cinnamon for an unusual but extraordinary flavour combination.

…

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Filed Under: Main Tagged With: bacon, beet, carrot, lentils, parsnip, salad

Cream of Parsnip Soup with Sage and Smoked Salmon

January 3, 2016 by Stella 13 Comments

With a combination of sweet and smoky, this cream of parsnip soup with sage and smoked salmon is the perfect winter soup. It’s velvety, hearty, healthy and flavourful, and so easy to make, what more could you wish for?

With a combination of sweet and smoky, this cream of parsnip soup with sage and smoked salmon is the perfect winter soup. It's velvety, hearty, healthy and flavourful, and so easy to make, what more could you wish for?

Happy New Year Everyone! Hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are excited to start 2016!

Sorry for the lengthy radio silence, but first I had a small ankle injury, which kept me busy and off my feet for a few weeks, then the holidays rolled around and life got crazy hectic. I am dead serious, with the Boyfriend we got around to finally spend some quiet hours at home and gift each other our presents only on December 29th!

So all my dreams of spending a quiet, peaceful Christmas reading on the couch in front of our Christmas tree didn’t happen. *sighs* But I have great plans for 2016, so bring it on!

I’m sure that with all the holiday festivities and family meals most of you want to start the New Year on a healthy note, well this cream of parsnip soup is not only healthy but so deliciously velvety, that it will feel decadent and festive….

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Filed Under: Fish & Seafood, Soup, under 30 minutes Tagged With: leek, parsnip, potato, salmon

Maple Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Pomegranate

November 16, 2015 by Stella 10 Comments

Make these Maple Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Pomegranate for an easy no-fuss yet delicious and healthy side dish to accompany holiday meals or simply add some fanciness to a weeknight dinner.

Make these Maple Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Pomegranate for an easy no-fuss yet delicious and healthy side dish to accompany holiday meals or simply add some fanciness to a weeknight dinner.

When I was a kid I wasn’t much of a fan of Brussels sprouts. My mom loved them, but thankfully she accepted that its bitter taste isn’t something kids like, so she never pushed us to eat them, she gladly took them off our hands (or rather plates) and ate the Brussels sprouts herself….

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Filed Under: side-dish, under 30 minutes, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: Brussels sprouts, maple syrup, paleo, vegan, vegetarian

Roasted Beet Hummus

November 2, 2015 by Stella 21 Comments

A deliciously creamy, sweet yet savoury vibrant pink roasted beet hummus to snack on with veggie sticks, crackers or even by the spoonful! Warning: love at first taste guaranteed!

A deliciously creamy, sweet yet savoury vibrant pink beet hummus to snack on with veggie sticks, crackers or even by the spoonful! Warning: love at first taste guaranteed!

 I love hummus. No, I mean I seriously LOVE hummus. So much, that it was one of the main reasons that I signed up for Pinterest: so I could have a dedicated Pinterest board to all the exciting hummus recipes I come across. True story.

In addition to the beloved classic hummus, I am always up to try some spiced up versions: like the hummus made with roasted hazelnuts I made based on Vegie Head‘s Adele McConnell’s The Vegan Cookbook recipe, or when I didn’t have hazelnuts at home and used some peanut butter to make the tahini even creamier. And although all said hummuses were delicious, they just don’t stand a chance against this roasted beet hummus when it comes to looks.

A deliciously creamy, sweet yet savoury vibrant pink roasted beet hummus to snack on with veggie sticks, crackers or even by the spoonful! Warning: love at first taste guaranteed!

I mean take a closer look, that bright magenta pink (or purple depending on the light) doesn’t just make you want to reach for a spoon and dip in with a big grin on your face? No? Well then it’s just me. 🙂 I love how cheery yet elegant and sophisticated this roasted beet hummus looks like, and I haven’t even started on the taste!

Love how the puréed roasted beet changes the usual, well-known hummus taste: here you get a mix of sweet and earthy taste due to the caramellized beets, which is just fabulous with the hummus’ creaminess….

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Filed Under: appetizer, Snacks, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: beet, chickpeas, hummus, vegan, vegetarian

Multicoloured Scrambled Eggs Skillet with Vegetables

October 21, 2015 by Stella 30 Comments

For a hearty, filling and protein packed breakfast or brunch eat your scrambled eggs loaded up with plenty of veggies. Not only it looks cheery and colourful but is healthy and delicious as well!

For a hearty, filling and protein packed breakfast or brunch eat your scrambled eggs loaded up with plenty of veggies. Not only it looks cheery and colourful but is healthy and delicious as well!

Boyfriend likes to have a big breakfast or rather brunch on weekends. Usually the menu consits of freshly squeezed orange juice with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and tomatoes.

Well last week I wanted to shake up the weekend routine and make our brunch a bit more exciting, so I convinced him to let me make the scrambled eggs, which I then loaded with plenty of vegetables. (I can be sneaky like that 😉 )

I put in everything I found in our fridge: scallions, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and red pepper. (Since Boyfriend’s a carnivore I also added some ham to his eggs as he likes how it adds a smoky flavour, but even without the ham the eggs were plenty flavourful, so it’s completely optional.)…

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Filed Under: breakfast, under 30 minutes Tagged With: carrot, egg, mushroom, pepper, zucchini

Baked Fish with Lemon and Thyme

October 17, 2015 by Stella 9 Comments

For a quick and light lunch or dinner nothing better than healthy, protein packed fish baked with lemon and thyme for a fresh yet delicious Mediterranean taste. Best with salad or grilled vegetables, especially fresh or grilled tomatoes, which complement the fish wonderfully!

For a quick and light lunch or dinner nothing better than healthy, protein packed fish baked with lemon and thyme for a fresh yet delicious Mediterranean taste. Best with salad or grilled vegetables, especially fresh or grilled tomatoes, which complement the fish wonderfully!

Sadly I don’t make fish that often at home, and one of the main reasons for that is that I fear having that lingering fish smell in the house. You know that smell you just can’t get rid of even after hours of airing the house and having left the kitchen windows open. Well this recipe just showed me that cooking (or baking) fish doesn’t need to be smelly.

I love how quick and easy this recipe is: you put everything (the fish, the onion, lemon and thyme) in a dish, cover well with tin foil (not only will it keep the smell in, but it makes the fish incredibly juicy and flavourful as well) and bake for about 12-20 minutes depending on your oven and the thickness of the fish fillet, leaving you enough time to make a salad, grill some vegetables or steam some rice, and bam! Your lucnh/dinner is ready to be savoured!

A delicious, healthy and flavourful meal ready in less than 30 minutes. It doesn’t get better than that, does it?…

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Filed Under: Fish & Seafood, Main Tagged With: fish, lemon, thyme

Peach Jam with Vanilla Rum and Thyme

October 5, 2015 by Stella 26 Comments

Delicious peach jam spiced up with vanilla, white rum and some thyme for added zing. Very easy to make and success guaranteed, everyone will love it!

Delicious peach jam spiced up with vanilla, white rum and some thyme for added zing. Very easy to make and success guaranteed, everyone will love it!

In my childhood both my grandma and my mom regularly made jam and canned. Every year in the summer there were weeks they brought home baskets full of fruits (apricot, strawberry, sour cherry, cherry, plum, blackberry, etc.) and then made jam with it. With my sisters we loved to help and we all had our favourites. Apricot was one we all loved (and I was very partial to raspberry), but somehow I can’t recall that we were crazy about peach jam. My mom didn’t even make it, we only got a few jars from my grandma.

So this year when I spied some fresh and wonderful smelling peaches at the farmers’ market I knew I wanted to experiment and had no doubt that I could create a delicious peach jam recipe. Well I did, and once again, after Boyfriend and the family gobbled it up I can say it was a success! I even gifted some jars to grandparents and friends as they make a lovely homemade and special gift, just put the jam in nice little jars and decorate them, I’m sure they will love it!

Delicious peach jam spiced up with vanilla, white rum and some thyme for added zing. Very easy to make and success guaranteed, everyone will love it!

After last week’s strawberry jam recipes I’m sharing with you another new recipe favourite I developed last week: delicious peach jam spiced up with vanilla, white rum and some thyme for added zing! (I made my vanilla extract at home, by putting vanilla beans in white rum, but you can use white rum and vanilla extract or paste just the same.)

The recipe is very easy and you can have your jam within the hour. So let’s get to it and let me know if you try it.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Peach Jam with Vanilla Rum and Thyme
 
Save Print
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Total time
35 mins
 
Delicious peach jam spiced up with vanilla, white rum and some thyme for added zing. Very easy to make and success guaranteed, everyone will love it!
Author: Stella
Recipe type: Jam & Preserves
Ingredients
  • 1000 gr peaches
  • 150 gr coconut sugar / raw cane sugar / xylitol
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 1 small handful of fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tablespoon of dried thyme)
  • 5 cl Bacardi white rum
  • 1 packet of Dr. Oetker Gelfix Super 3:1
Instructions
  1. In a bigger pot boil water and put the peaches in the boiling water for 2-4 minutes.
  2. Take out the peaches and carefully peel them (you may want to wait for them to cool a bit).
  3. In a saucepan mix together the halved and sliced peaches, the sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract and thyme, and cook on low heat until the peach softens.
  4. Mix in the Gelfix, continue cooking on low, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn, until your jam starts to boil. Continue boiling until the mixture thickens. (Put a spot of jam on a chilled plate and if it solidifies then your jam is ready to be put into streilized jars. (If the jam is still liquid, keep it on low and stir it occasionally, it will thicken.)
  5. Add in the white rum and while stirring boil it for another minute.
  6. Take it off your stove and with an immersion blender blend until there are no more peach chunks.
  7. Pour into sterilized jars, screw the lids on tight and put them upside down on a tray. After 5-10 minutes turn them over and let them cool.
Notes
1. I prefer my jam not to be too sweet and have the taste of fruit be dominant, but while cooking, taste the jam and if you find it not sweet enough add some more sugar.

2. If you use dried thyme use much less as their scent is more powerful than the fresh ones.
3.3.3078

 

Filed Under: Jams & Preserves Tagged With: jam, peach, rum, thyme, vegan, vegetarian

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Enjoyer of all things delicious, fanatic cookbook collector, recipe creator and experimentor, world traveller and sunshine lover.

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