14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #5

Homemade Pancakes for Dinner - smothered in real Maple Syrup made in Northern Ontario at a family friend's sugar shack, and served with a dollop of yogurt.
This indulgence is in honour of Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras AND my all time favourite breakfast food.
When I was little, my dad would make us pancakes for breakfast after church, every Sunday morning.  He was very adventurous in the kitchen and would frequently add a whole spectrum of "secret ingredients" to the pancake batter - parmesan cheese was particularly memorable.
While having inherited some of my father's penchant for experimenting in the kitchen, I choose to stay away from cheesier ingredients when it comes to my pancake batter - instead I like to play around with ways to make the mix a little healthier - that way I don't feel so guilty about drowning them all that Maple Syrup.

Some of my favourite additions to any basic pancake recipe - wheat germ, cornmeal, oat meal, wheat bran, cocoa, powdered green tea and hemp hearts.  Sometimes I also experiment with adding different fruits and nuts to the mix, like mashed banana, grated apple, frozen berries, sesame and sunflower seeds ....

Today though - I think I'll keep the recipe basic, but give a nod to Mardi Gras by making the batter a rainbow of colours

Mmmmmmm, my inner 8 year old and I can hardly wait for dinner!!!!

Happy Mardi Gras! Happy Pancake Day!! and Happy International Women's Day!!!

As always, Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #4

A Perfect Afternoon Nap

I had a relatively quiet day today, with 2 kids home from school.

My 5 year old daughter had a dentist appointment to fix a "sugar bug nest", while my 8 year old son had something like the flu.  So, we lay low for the day, and drank lots of fluids and ate fairly bland foods.  

STILL - I managed to swing this quiet day to my pre-birthday celebration advantage by shamelessly indulging in a blissful afternoon nap, curled up along side my kidlets...and I'm not talking about an energy-efficient power nap - nope - I'm talking all out, fully relaxed, lucid dream filled SNOOZE. 

It was wonderful!
Finding the time to take an afternoon nap is becoming part of my ongoing quest for renewed inner-balance.  Napping helps to calm my mind in the middle of the day.  The lucid dreams I sometimes experience while napping not only help me sort through my thoughts and feelings, they can also make for wonderful escapes... with lucid dreaming I'm able to relive wonderful memories from my past, visit again with friends from long ago and visualize ideal moments of peace and calm, spent by myself or with loved ones, so that I awaken refreshed and appreciative of the blessings in my life today.

The Three Ages of Women (detail), 1905 by Gustav Klimt

I think napping is an under appreciated indulgence, and a gift that we should give ourselves more often.  I am grateful I periodically have the time to indulge in them now, before I make my next plunge back into the workforce.

A day without a nap is like a cupcake without frosting.  ~Terri Guillemets

As always, Dayna

PS My son's flu-like bug appears to be abating - he's kept down all of his fluids since this morning and had no problem eating a light dinner.  He's sleeping soundly now with no fever - so I think we may be in the clear.

Favourite Quotes

Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance.
Rabindranath Tagore

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #3

MMMMMM Chocolate

Tonight's self-indulgence: Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie and raspberry fruit wine from Field Stone Fruit Wines in Strathmore, Alberta
They were particularly special self-indulgences because I brought them over to celebrate a good friend's birthday.
The fruit wine was a little weak to be the perfect accompaniment to the decadence that defined the chocolate brownies.  In retrospect, I think the wine would be better served on a hot summer day - served over ice, in a spritzer with a fresh mint leaf or in a fruity punch.
The brownies deserved to be accompanied by something a lot richer - perhaps with a raspberry liqueur (i.e. Chambord) drizzled over them....... now that would have been DE-CA-DENT!!!!
Still as far as self-indulgences are concerned, I'm not too disappointed.
The companionship, movie (The Social Network) and conversation more than made up for the weakness of the wine.... besides, I still have 12 more days of self-indulgences to look forward to.

As always, Dayna

PS Happy Birthday Jen!!

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #2

Cats Pee (and I don't mean weak tea)

CONFESSION TIME - I know it's so not right to judge a book (or anything else) by it's cover, but I'm a sucker for a good wine label.
A couple of years ago, on a trip home to Ontario, I was browsing the LCBO and came across a funny label that I just couldn't ignore - Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush.  Justifying the purchase with the thought that a portion of the sale would go to support the OSPCA, I took the plunge.  Whether it's because the wine's name makes my inner 8 year old giggle, every time I see it,  or whether it's because the wine truly deserves my praise, I found a new favourite indulgence... it qualifies as a self-indulgence, because I'm the only person in my household who drinks wine.  (It's my self-indulgence #2, because conveniently I already had a bottle of it in my fridge and it was way too cold out today to head out looking for something new)

A crisp Sauvignon Blanc from Coopers Creek Vineyard in New Zealand, Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush is a dry and light white wine that makes a perfect thirst quenching spritzer on a hot summer day (sigh - I MISS summer).  It also goes well with cheese, crackers, a comforter and a good book or movie.

I plan to spend this evening curled up with my family and a glass of self-indulgence, watching a movie that's m'eh (Inkheart - the movie has nothing on the book), but totally worth it for the cuddles and the Cat's Pee.

As Always, Dayna