Holla folks!
I just wanted to write a quick note to let you all know what’s been happening around here of late, as it has been (just a little) busy juggling work & family & blogging & Not So Fast all at once, and it is all so worth it. Continue reading
Filed under Children, Feeding, Food, Food Insecurity, Happiness, Inspiration, Non-Profit Organization, Not So Fast, Success
So it happened again (so many high fives)!
A group of folks got together to spend just under two hours with a group of kids from our fair city’s toughest neighborhood to cook together. To cook real food ~ food that needs no more than a few basic skills to make, skills like peeling, chopping, stirring, boiling, cutting, slicing, and best of all, caring. Continue reading
Filed under Cheap, Children, Cooking, Feeding, Food, Food Insecurity, Gluten Free, Going Without, Inspiration, Non-Profit Organization, Not So Fast, Photography, Recipes, Rich & Simple, Soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
It’s that time of year again! The time here in the cooling (and beautiful) Northwest when we start thinking about cozy sweaters, warm scarves, pulling on our favorite boots, and about Thanksgiving. This is the time of year when every corner grocery store stocks tiny mini pumpkins and you can’t take a step without hearing a leaf (or seven) crumble under your well-meaning fuzzy-socked feet.
Happy October everyone!
The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.
~ William James
This week I am particularly thankful for big progress here at what I like to lovingly call world IPOM headquarters (tee hee).
Not So Fast is making progress at a healthy and (mostly) manageable pace. I owe big gratitude to all who are taking part in this creative and amazing labor of love. Your energy and support are the only reason NSF is anything more than just a random passing idea.
I’ve got a giant heart here and it’s all full because of all of you. Yes, you (that is pointed squarely at you too IPOM readers).
Risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
~ Leo Buscaglia
Not So Fast is hard at work planning a full school year of cooking classes for kids and families living in our fair city’s poorest neighborhood.
We want to not only share simple food with those who are keen to join us, but we hope to (maybe) offer (just a little) hope, confidence & much needed access to eating well into lives that are (likely) much more limited than our own.
A quick visit to our local farmers market drives our mission home for me with motivating intensity each and every time I go.
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
~ Epictetus
This time of year showcases producers of all types offering up the very height of glory in the fruits of their (hard) labor.
I get goosebumps just thinking of perusing & buying fresh corn, squash, kale, sweet cherry tomatoes, heirloom variety apples, and the last of the summer fruits and berries of all kinds.
It is nothing short of pure vegetable heaven this time of year, and every bit a true food lover’s paradise, no matter what your dietary preferences. You’d have to be inhuman not to get inspired this time of year after a visit to the market.
That is, unless you can’t afford it.
I wrote a few posts back about my visit to the market where I (oh heavens me) happened to find myself with only a meager sum of cash to get me through my visit. That visit where I had to control my desires and my will.
Imagine (just for a second) that you had to do that every day?
Not because (like me) you just weren’t organized, but because you simply didn’t have the dough. I ask this question not to instill guilt, or a sense of anything other than awareness.
Awareness that no matter what your means, there is always someone who has less than you, and always someone who has more.
Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayer and worn with thanks.
~ Thomas Goodwin
As we prepare here in Canada to celebrate our national celebration of Thanksgiving (we are 3 weeks ahead of our American friends), many of us might be busy planning menus, inviting guests, or maybe just looking forward to our next three-day weekend.
My wish for this coming weekend, and for all the weekends to follow is simple:
My wish is that each day that comes next might be just as good as the day before, and that no matter what life throws at me, I always remember the important things. Like having a healthy loving family, a cozy roof over my head, and two strong legs to walk my sorry a** to the store when I’ve run out of milk (again).
Rest and be thankful.
~ William Wadsworth
I’d love to know what you might be thankful for not just this season, but all year long. I’ve a feeling our needs are not that different from one another, really.
Food, shelter, love.Good people. Good food. A good laugh here and there.
Not too much for ask for I reckon, especially when there is just so much to go around.
I am so happy to have you all here at IPOM to continue to celebrate simple healthy food and the idea of living with (just a little) less.
Many blessings to you, your loved ones, and the communities you live in.
Because the truth is as we move forward in our collective lives is just this: we are all in this together.
I’d love to hear what you might be pondering in preparation for this coming holiday weekend (and for those of you who are looking that far ahead in the US). No matter where you are, thanks for joining us!
I’ve got some recipes coming up that I hope you’ll love 
Yours in Less (as always),
Filed under Children, Cooking, Fasting, Feeding, Food, Food Insecurity, Going Without, Happiness, Health, Hope, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Non-Profit Organization, Not So Fast, Photography, Recipes, Rejuvenation, Success, Uncategorized, Victory
“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair…”
~ Susan Polis Schutz
Alas it does seem a while since I posted, bonjour everyone!
Truth be told, it’s been somewhat challenging to blog from the road here, as time inside is limited and my mind is flooded with new sensations, views, ideas, and inspiration, none of which have solidified enough to properly put to words.
It is also (put more simply) that I am (and for the first time in a long time and maybe actually ever) in pure honest vacation mode, and my mind has turned off (mostly) everything.
All to make room for the new.
Here, in Provence (where we arrived Friday after a few glorious days in Burgundy), I was treated Sunday to my very first Provencal market experience, and what a treat that was!
The adorable and ancient village where we are based, called L’isle Sur La Sorgue, is somewhat popular for its markets, most notably antiques.
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Provence itself as a much larger area, (I just read in my French history book) has been celebrated since the Roman times for its particularly good fresh produce.
With the area being somewhat continually drenched in hot sun (it has been between 35 and 40 degrees steady since we arrived), one would think it obvious that this food would be good, and I had heard that indeed, it was.
But I was not prepared for this.
There are simply no words that could adequately describe the taste of the food that grows here, for this is (for any fruit and vegetable lover) a total mecca.
So in the absence of new recipes, I do hope you’ll enjoy a little tour of the town and the market with me here – as I’ve tried to do it justice, but I’ll let you be the judge
Life isn’t as serious as the mind makes it out to be.
~ Eckhart Tolle
Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.
~ Eckhart Tolle
I am quite sure I read there were over 300 stalls at this market on Sunday, and judging by the fact that we couldn’t even see it all, I believe it.
This little village, with its narrow ancient streets, transformed into a bustling shopping zone with sellers & producers offering everything from soap, to clothing, records, antiques, jewellery, shoes, bags, scarves, spices, and of course food.
Oh, the glorious food.
Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.
~ Unknown
Forget every stereotype you’ve ever heard about the French being anything less than polite. Here, they are warm, and excited to see visitors delight in their hard work. In fact, here in the south, the people are downright wonderful.
There are so many characters in a small village like this. And their food, their food.
It is truly sublime, not to mention very cheap (I’ll share more in my next post on just how inexpensive it really is).
Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
~ William Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s Sonnets
In my next post I’ll tell you the top foods we’ve been enjoying here, especially since arriving here in Provence where we’ve got a full functioning kitchen, a barbeque, and an outdoor eating area to enjoy the food and the company under the open skies.
After Paris, and then a few days in hotel in Beaune, we are happy to be enjoying a lovely amount of space here, and are taking advantage of the fresh food & views available right around the corner.
L’espoir fait vivre.
~ French Proverb, “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”
We’ve got just a few more days here, so the likelihood that I’ll get another post out before the end of this trip is quite small, but you never know – I’ll have months of inspiration to share and enjoy from the perspective of life at home.
But not just yet!
From here, we head south for a night to enjoy the ocean before returning to Paris for the last two nights – we head home Monday. I hope you all are enjoying the final weeks of summer, and I’ll look forward to catching up soon!
Let us know, and thanks for joining me!
Yours in Less,
Filed under Aspirations, Children, Cooking, Family, Food, Happiness, Health, Hope, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Photography, Rejuvenation, Salads, Travel, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.
~ Emily Dickinson
Oceans are beautiful, aren’t they?
I am lucky to have grown up on the ocean, spending my youth just a few minutes from the peaceful rocky beaches of British Columbia. I still live near the ocean here in Vancouver, and admit I might find it tough to ever live away from it.
I am also lucky enough to live in one of the top cherry producing regions in the world. You know, those dark red fruits that grow up to the size of small plums and stain your hands and clothes as well as your palate, rendering it useless to enjoy any other fruit as much (at this time of the year).
Oceans and cherries. Two wonderful things.
Don’t worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright.
~ Bob Marley
You have to be someone.
~ Bob Marley
Well you can imagine the sheer glee on our recent island weekend at the discovery (by me, my daughter, and my visiting younger sister) of cherry trees laden with ripe fruit growing seaside not far from our parents home.
There isn’t a much better way to cap off a leisurely afternoon of sunshine and swimming at the beach than taking a spontaneous detour down a country lane to find bushels of your favorite fruits – just hanging there amongst the shipwrecks and sun-laden stillness.
It was a perfect day if there ever was one.
You can only lose what you cling to.
~ Buddha
My sister and I felt like kids again without a care in the world, except maybe being late to dinner at home as a result of our spontaneous excursion to the seaside orchard. Not far from when we were kids really, now that I think about it. And it felt good.
Today I’m excited to share those photos with you all as well as this simple and truly delicious recipe for a memorable summer drink. Another simple recipe requiring no more than 2 ingredients, this summer chiller really, truly, hits the spot.
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
~ Ghandi
The Less:
Fewer ingredients to play with means each one stands to play its part. Less time to prep once you are ready means having it in hand in minutes. Less packaged, store-bought fruit drinks means less waste and cooked sugars, and more reasons to use what’s seasonally on hand.
The More:
More fresh fruit and whole ingredients means more easy simple nutrition. More fresh fiber and whole fats from soaked nuts means more natural fuel, protein, and roughage. More easy simple recipes means more ways to enjoy your favorites, and these two are a match made in seaside cherry heaven.
*photos of the recipe were not made with the cherries picked that day : – )
Chilled Cherry Almond Smoothie:
To pit cherries, use the ripest fruit you can. If you have a cherry pitter, go ahead and use it, but I never have and (like usual) prefer to use my own tools (my hands). If the fruit is ripe, simply tear the cherry open and remove the pits with your hands. If they are more on the firm side, you can open them with knife (like an apple) and remove the pit then.
If you have the almond milk handy, simple combine the milk and cherries in a blender and add the ice cubes. Blend on high until frothy. Serve as desired and enjoy! A simple, easy way to cool down and enjoy two healthful and delicious foods.
Nothing fancy. But somehow it still seems fancy to me – how about you?
The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it
~ Henry David Thoreau.
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Summer is here and it’s a beautiful thing, my weekend at home was such a fabulous one, and much love to my folks and to my sister for the time together!
On another note, we are in the 10 day countdown until we leave for our trip to France for 3 whole weeks! I’ll be blogging from there as there will be just too much to keep up with, especially as we try to work our way through it all in true ‘less is more’ fashion.
As well, we are adding a link to the sidebar, but for those who wish to follow me on Instagram, you can do so by following @shiramcd.
I’ve really been enjoying this new way to keep up with friends, as pictures really can be worth a thousand words. There, you can bet I’ll be adding shots daily while we are away.
Do let us know. Until next time, IPOM readers, and I wish you all a truly wonderful day wherever you may be
Yours in Less,
Filed under Children, Cooking, Desserts, Food, Photography, Raw, Recipes, Rejuvenation, Rich & Simple, Sweet Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian
