The past couple of months have been a blur of boxes – packed and unpacked – shifts – mental, physical, emotional – and searching, looking, yearning for some kind of stability and, dare I say it, routine. It’s funny that two adults needed a baby in order to have, and learn to cherish, routine.
The past couple of months have also, unfortunately lacked any kind of proper time to devote to me, my work, my writing, my Picky Foodie world. Every night, when I sit at the computer it is to get things done so we don’t drown in administrative tasks. And by the time I’m done with those, every part of me is completely shattered. As a Holistic Health Consultant to myself, at that point, I recommend sleep.
Still, so many moments that would have been wonderful to share here, have gone unrecorded. However, today I knew I would be writing this down no matter how late it was or how tired I got. Full-time motherhood is the hardest, most exhausting, most time-consuming job I have ever done and probably will ever do. I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again: kids don’t come with a pause button.
But for all the challenges…
Today was a rough day. Vida Lev didn’t sleep very much or very well and kept me up most of the night with constant demands to nurse. It was also a day packed with activities, play dates and I needed to cook dinner to take over to a friend’s house. When Vida doesn’t sleep, she can get grumpy (who doesn’t?). When neither of us sleeps, well, it can get pretty trying.
I decided to take her to the park in the hopes that a little fresh air and a good run around might help. She took off after the ball but then stopped and came running back to me in tears. She demanded to be picked up but wanted to be let down again immediately. Exhaustion coupled with an inability to verbalize what’s wrong. Eesh!
Finally, she lay down on the grass and looked up at the sky. A small smile appeared on her face. She pointed at the airplanes, the birds. “Ooooo” she whispered in awe of a falling leaf or a cloud. Then she turned to look at me and patted the spot beside her.
There we lay, staring up at the blue sky, the flutter of cotton candy clouds, feeling the chilly wind on our runny noses.
“La la la,” she sang softly beside me.
“La la la,” I replied in a similar tone.
“La laaa,” she sang and waited.
It was my turn: “La laaa.”
“Laa laa.”
“Laa laa.”
“la la la la.”
“la la la la.”
For a magical moment, all that existed was the blue sky, the clouds, and my daughter and I singing a song together that had no words but felt like the clearest, truest love song. Her voice went as high as it would go and then low low low. And I followed, happy. I felt her little hand grab my thumb.
La la la
Easy Easy Quinoa
These days, there is no time for fuss. There is less time for dishes or planning or complications. I thought I’d share one of our autumn favourites. (Although I’m currently no longer eating grains but that’ll be a post for another time). It’s got greens, sweet seasonal root veg, protein-rich quinoa – this is truly a perfect meal-in-a-bowl or a fantastic nutrient-dense side dish. And, it’s super versatile: make it with leftovers, change up the greens or grains you use, add different spices. Or, do the whole cook once, eat three times thing. It works, and best of all, it will keep you from missing magical moments because you were too busy in the kitchen.
1 ½ cups quinoa
1 medium squash of choice, preferably one with edible skin (I love kabocha)
1/2 T coconut oil
4 onions
1-2 bay leaves
1 T balsamic vinegar
½ t cinnamon + ¾ t cinnamon
½ t ground cumin
pinch chilli flakes or to taste
1 bunch kale
¾ c raisins
water
salt to taste
Soak the quinoa overnight or throughout a work day. Make sure you cover with enough water so it doesn’t get all soaked up.
Drain and rinse well.
Bring to a boil in 3 cups of water. Once it’s proper boiling, lower the flame and cook until the water is gone (around 45 minutes).
Pre-heat the oven to 350F/175C
Chop the squash into bite-sized pieces. Combine with the coconut oil and mix well to ensure pieces are ever so lightly coated. Sprinkle with salt, ½ t cinnamon, a sprinkle of rock salt and a pinch of chilli flakes. Roast for 45 minutes. Pull out of the over and give the pan a good shake/ stir and return to the oven for an additional 20 minutes. The squash is ready when it is easily pierced with a fork (but not mushy).
Chop the onions into thin strips, put in a pan along with the bay leaves and balsamic. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer, topping up the water as needed until the onions are well-cooked (around 45 minutes). There should be no water remaining in the pan.
Finely chop up the kale.
When the quinoa, squash and onions are ready, combine in a big bowl. Stir in the kale, which will be slightly “cooked” by the heat of the rest of the ingredients. Then add the additional 3/4t cinnamon, the cumin, an additional dash of chilli flakes and lastly, the raisins. Adjust the seasonings to taste.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
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