Parsley, Mint, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

From Leftovers to Newovers: I had some mint, parsley and quinoa in the fridge and started searching online for some recipe inspiration which used these ingredients. I found this great Parsley, Mint and Quinoa Salad recipe by Martha Stewart which I experimented with by adding some other ingredients to the recipe.

I just love it! It's so refreshing with the mint and lemon. It was one of the dishes I made for Shane's 30th back in April and finally got around to posting the recipe for it. Great on it's own, side salad or with pita!

Parsley, Mint, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
(adapted from this recipe)
Makes about 6 servings.

You'll need:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped 
• 2 cups mint leaves finely chopped 
• 1-2 cucumbers diced
• 1-2 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 green onions chopped
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa (from about 1/2 cup dry) 
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus fresh lemon juice 
• Extra-virgin olive oil 
• Coarse salt 

How to:

1. Cook quinoa ahead of time and let it cool down completely. (Here is a great recipe on how to cook perfect quinoa every time)
2. Preheat oven to 180ºC (about 365ºF). Peal and dice the sweet potato. In a bowl, drizzle a bit of olive oil and toss to lightly coat. Spread the diced sweet potato on to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake for about 15 to 25 minutes and turning them over half way through.
3. Combine chopped parsley, mint, cucumber, garlic, green onions, cooled quinoa, in a large bowl.
4. Mix in a juice of a lemon, lemon zest, olive oil and a touch of salt and mix it all together
5. Once the sweet potato is out of the oven and cooled, mix it in with the salad.
6. Serve as the main dish, a side salad or with toasted pitas.

Optional: Serve with pita

• 3 whole-wheat pitas (or tortilla, which is what I had in my pantry at the time) - heat up pitas or tortillas, until toasted, on a sandwich grill or under the broiler in the oven. Cut into wedges.
• In a bowl, a couple spoonfuls of greek yogurt with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, salt and olive oil.

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DIY: Painted Table & Chairs Makeover

So I got this free table off of Gumtree (like a craigslist/kijiji but in Australia), late last year, just as an extra table for our old place. I've always had ideas around painting and revamping it but it wasn't in bad shape and still looked decent so just never got around to it. Finally the day came, a few weeks ago, where I was really motivated to give this thing a makeover! 

I got some inspiration from a collection, I saw in a Home Beautiful Magazine, by Swedish designer Per Söderberg. The table had a dark top and yellow legs and I immediately loved it! 

Went to the local hardware store, stood in front of the paint samples for ages (with a boyfriend, growing very impatient, wandering around the store), I finally decided on a light, bright yellow for the legs and a grey for the top. I really should have went and chose the fabric for the chairs first but I chose it after getting the paint and lucky for me I came across this lovely yellow and white chevron, velvety fabric that was a great match. 

I'm not going to do a how-to as there are so tutorials out there already (like this one). I just wanted to show off my new set of table and chairs and perhaps give you guys some ideas for your next painting project! After a few coats of paint (I realized how painful it is to paint chairs haha) and staples here and there, and taa daaa, I sooo happy with the way it turned out!! Even Shane was impressed! ;)

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Printable: Father's Day Cards

Father's Day is just around the corner in Canada! I want to wish my dad a Happy Father's Day all the way in Calgary, and the rest of you fathers out there!

I missed out on making a printable for Mother's Day, as May was a bit of a busy month for me, but my mom got some flowers instead. 

So, here are some free printable cards for Father's Day. I made a set of 3 so you can pick and choose which one you want to print out and give to dad!

Click to download the PDF

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Chocolate Cake with Zucchini?? Yum!!

I've always wanted to try and make a chocolate zucchini cake. And when I had a bunch of zucchini kicking around in my fridge, I decided to give it a try. I found a recipe with high ratings on All Recipes, read some of the reviews and after a few of my own modifications, it was time to start baking!

To my surprise, the cake turned out perfectly! It was absolutely moist and chocolatey and I didn't feel as guilty having a piece.. or two (with all that zucchini and some of the modifications to try and make it semi-healthy haha). The original recipe uses 1-1/2 cups of vegetable oil and 2 cups of sugar!! Yikes! So, I swapped a cup of oil for plain fat-free yogurt (some reviewers used apple sauce), to cut down the fat, and cut out 1 cup of sugar.

The second time I made it, was for Shane's 30th birthday party (kept the decorating to a minimal, as you can see (but it probably was because I iced the cake after a few drinks - during the party lol). Anyway, those that had a piece said they really liked it so yay!

I totally forgot to take a good photo of a the finished product and a slice of cake, but I'm sure you all know what a moist, chocolate cake looks like!

So, here is my version of a Chocolate Zucchini Cake:
(adapted from this recipe)

Prep Time: 15 | Cook Time: 50 min | Servings: 24

You'll need:

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 2/3 unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup + 1 tbsp plain/greek yogurt
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

How to:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2) In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Add the eggs and oil, yogurt, vanilla, mix well. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.

3) Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting.

Note: This cake freezes really well. Wrap tightly with aluminium foil then plastic freezer wrap or place in a heavy-duty freezer bag. It stores for 4-6 months.  

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DIY: Tea Bag Holder Using Jar Lids

Got some jar lids kicking around? Here's a quick DIY. Turn those jar lids into used tea bag holders!

I didn't have any little saucers or plates that I could have used for my tea bags and other plates just seemed too big to use. One day as I was cleaning some jars and making myself a cup of tea, and without thinking I placed the used tea bag on the upside down lid that was sitting on the counter. I thought, wow, what a perfect size for tea bags. And that's when the DIY-moment came along.

You'll Need:

• jar lids
• super glue
• spray paint

How To:

1. Wash and dry the lids
2. Make sure you are in a well ventilated area. Put some super glue or loctite/epoxy on the inside of the lid to cover the rubbery ring/seal and let it dry overnight (first time I spray painted the inside without the glue the paint rubbed off the rubber seal, so I tried loctite and it worked wonerfully).
3. In a well ventilated area, spray paint (your colour of choice, I chose black to match our black mugs) the inside and topside, allowing drying time between sides and coats (2 to 3 coats should do). 
4. Leave the lids to fully dry for at least 24 hours after the last coat of paint. 
5. Wash and dry before you use it with your tea bags!

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