Simply Stardust

Strawberry (Or Any Fruit) Mayo

Sara — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:56:26 +0000

While at Bronwyn’s, Brendan made some strawberry mayo for our sandwiches. I know what you’re thinking. What? How on earth could strawberry mayonnaise be any good? And how on earth is it supposed to go well with your delicious tomato, lettuce, whatever-else sammich? Well, believe it or not, it probably will compliment your sandwich. And it’s scrumptious. And I’m not just saying it is because I love strawberries. I tried it with peaches this afternoon and it was still as good. It’s really easy, but still worth sharing.

What To Do

Get two or three strawberries, or half a peach, or a few raspberries, or a mix of a few even! (You get the idea!)

Slice them up really well and microwave them for a minute or two until they’re soft and easy to mush.

Take your vegenaise*, mayo, kewpie, etc and add your desired amount to the strawberries and blend!

Spread, enjoy, and devour!

*Those of you who rolled your eyes at the Vegenaise, TRY IT. It’s actually “creamier” than mayonnaise, if that were possible! I was surprised.

A Grown Up Sleep Over Day Two

Sara — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:25:09 +0000

I apologize in advance for how image heavy this post will be! Even though this is most definitely a photoblog, I try to keep the images to a reasonable amount so as not to crash any computers! (But there were just too many photos to choose from!) Anyway, the sun came out (a little too much if you ask me) for the day and when Tom and I came downstairs there was a beautiful breakfast laid out for us. Apple filled pastries, homemade blueberry muffins and homemade cranberry granola! Oh, and of course, tea. The rest of the day was spent either exploring or relaxing at the pond. There was a gentle breeze and the pond water could have been mistaken with bath water.

You may or may not have noticed that Tom and I are both extremely pale. (He’s Irish. I have no such excuse.) No, the photos are not actually blown out. We are that white. Okay, I’m kidding, but this actually is a good question. What on earth do you photographers do when the sun is staring you directly in the face, there is no shade, but you want to capture the memories?! How do you avoid blow outs?

Tomorrow I will be sharing Brendan’s strawberry mayo concoction, so be ready! (Why on earth did I not think of mixing those two things together before?!) After that comes a 365 digest or two, brownie recipe, and who knows what else! Thanks for stopping by! Now hop outside and take some photos!

Photos 22, 23, 24, & 25 by Bronwyn.

A Grown Up Sleep Over Day One

Sara — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:42:17 +0000

We spent the weekend at fellow photographer Bronwyn‘s family farm and took walks, enjoyed great company, consumed scrumptious food, and of course took lots and lots of photos. In fact, the photographs from today’s bokehlicious rain shots were taken in her garden! After a foggy expedition, we dined with the family by candlelight before playing the Wii until the wee hours of the morning. Also, I fell asleep first, even though I tried staying up late the last few days as practice. I’m just not as young as used to be! Har har har.













Photographs 5 & 21 taken by Bronwyn.

After The Rain

Sara — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:30:16 +0000

A Few Bokehlicious Shots

Rain can be a good thing!

Making Tea For One

Sara — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:15:13 +0000

Why, good morning!

Green Tea Bar – Delicate Pear by Sencha Naturals

Sara — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:45:33 +0000

Now I’m not usually one to review products (I don’t think, anyway) but boy these were delicious! I wasn’t expecting too much, to be honest, but they were the perfect blend of nuts and pear without being too sugary. (Some times these supposedly healthy granola bars make me feel like I’ve taken a toothbrush coated in sugar to my teeth.) Mmm, delicious. (The green tea bars, not the toothbrush full of sugary paste. Ew.)

The bars are made by Sencha, a US company, so I’m surprised we even stumbled upon them here in Canada. The best part is they are gluten & wheat free (I couldn’t believe it) and vegan, so everyone can enjoy these babies. The bars come in three different flavors, Original, Delicate Pear, and Lively Lemongrass. I have only tried the Delicate Pear, but we will be trying the Lemongrass soon because it doesn’t have almonds in it, and thus it wouldn’t kill Tom to cave in to the delicious smell. All this talk is making me hungry. I’m going to chop this stuff up and sprinkle it on my salad. Right now.

Terry Wilson’s Miniature Meadowvale Part II

Sara — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:47:11 +0000

And now we have the follow up post from yesterday’s entry!

Rosemary (Terry’s mother) has this in her backyard, along with a few other things as well. She opens the library for people to gather and borrow books (some of them are over 100 years old.)

So delightful!

These last two are from “the museum”, which is again in Rosemary’s backyard. (For those of you who have seen the movie Jewel, you’ve seen Rosemary’s house! Inside and out!) Inside Rosemary’s museum is a collection of photographs and history from the town she’s been collecting since she was a little girl.

If you are ever in the area, be sure to stop by! Both Rosemary and Terry are super nice and love giving tours!

Terry Wilson’s Miniature Meadowvale Part I

Sara — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:12:04 +0000

I’m not even sure where to begin explaining Terry Wilson’s minature village. He and his family worked together to build a replica village of his local town as it was in the 1800s, and it is positively a breath taking experience.

Everything is built from rescued wood, and inside the buildings are hundreds upon hundreds of treasured vintage items and finds, some more than a hundred years old. What started out as a hobby has become a delightful recreation of history all can admire and enjoy. I wish I’d had more time (and more sun), but I might make another trip over there if the sun ever decides to show it’s face for longer than a half an hour this week. (See, I told you we don’t always get along.)

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. If you couldn’t guess, this is only the first part, I’ll be posting more tomorrow!

Tasty Tofu! A Zesty Herb Marinade

Sara — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:23:35 +0000

The most common complaint about tofu is that it’s “too bland”. Well, of course it is when you’re eating it by itself! You need to put some flavor into that sponge and let it soak it up first! So what the heck do you marinate tofu in, other than soy sauce? BBQ Sauce? (Oooh noooo.) Here is a delightful marinade for your tofu, I promise you’ll be delightfully surprised. I think this will a fantastic replacement of chicken or crab to compliment any pasta with white sauce. ENJOY!

What You Need

☑ 4 tbsp olive oil
☑ 2 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
☑ 4 cloves galric, minced
☑ 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil (or 1 tsp dried)
☑ 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme (or 1/3 tsp. dried)
☑ 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary (or 1/3 tsp dried)
☑ 1/2 tsp salt

Sometimes lemon can be too tart for me, so next time I’m going to try using orange juice instead and see what happens. But for those of you that don’t mind that tart kick, you’ll love this.

A Celebratory BBQ

Sara — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:40:19 +0000

So Tom’s mom & her husband had us over yesterday for a delicious summer bbq to celebrate finishing their patio! It was our second bbq for the summer, since Tom & I also celebrated July 4th with veggie dogs and veggie burgers. It was a wonderfully sunny day with refreshments and delicious grilled veggies, potatoes, fruit, TOFU KABOBS, and organic ice cream. Tom’s mom also discovered this fantastic marinade for the tofu! (We tried bbq too, but that didn’t go over so well.) I will share the recipe for the tofu tomorrow, so please look forward to it!