Healing Turmeric Tea

It’s Foodie Friday!!

I have been under the weather this week and so I thought it would be the perfect time to try turmeric tea.  Have you heard about it?  Lately, I’ve been hearing that turmeric is like the superhero of spices.  It has so many incredible qualities to help our bodies and one of them is to fight colds and flu.  Making the tea sounded easy enough so I thought I’d give it a go.  It smelled so amazing as it was simmering.  That alone started to make me feel better.

Here are the directions and I’ve included a link to the video that I learned from.  The only thing I found lacking in the video is what you do with the left over tea.  So I put it in a glass container and then stirred it and reheated it the next day.  And I can honestly say that the severity of my cold was lessened dramatically after the second day.

Like my Coach mug?  The tea is a bit of a funny colour and looks thick but it's good!

TURMERIC TEA

1.5 litres of water

3 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cardamon

Add all ingredients to a sauce pan and bring to boil.  Turn down the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.  

I then transferred it to a glass jug.  I strained it as I poured it into my mug. 

Since I don’t normally take honey or sugar in my tea so I thought it made sense to try it without.  And it was great!  It has a bit of a spiciness to it but it’s not overwhelming. 

The second day, after reheating just enough to fill a mug on the stove, I added a little bit of honey.  It cut down the spiciness a little bit but I don’t think it made a big difference on the overall taste.  

The woman in the video also added almond milk to hers but I haven't tried that yet so I can't comment on how it tastes. 

It was quick and easy and gives you enough to share or use for another day or two.  And it will help with so many things.  Here are just a few of the ones she mentions in the video, if you choose not to watch it…

~helps with the inflammation of osteo arthritis

~is a liver detoxifyer and helps clean the liver

~has antiseptic qualities

~is anitbacterial

~is anitinflammatory

~natural pain killer

~helps with weight loss as it aids in fat metabolism

~sooths upset tummy

~helps body absorb and digest protein

~helps fight against the flu

You can see the video HERE

Sharing Sunday

Whether you call it March Break, Spring Break or something else we can’t escape the fact that it will be here before we know it and we’ll have little kids (or older) that will be wanting something fun to do.

This week I have discovered some wonderful, magical and imaginative items your kids to play with.  Encourage them to use their creativity and imagination and get them away from the TV or video games, at least for a little while.

These items are all made by Canadian shops and will spark hours of story making from worlds and characters we’ve not yet heard about.

Enjoy!  You may even find something for yourself!

I had a hard time picking from so many amazing toys.  Links are below.  : )

Clockwise starting at top left:

AtelierSaintCerf  Quebec, QC

3PrincessesStore  Ottawa, ON

Humbletoys  Wingham, ON

EvesLittleEarthlings  Guelph, ON

AtelierSaintCerf  Quebec, QC

CateandLevi  Toronto, ON

Top row:

Banjopuppets  Toronto, ON

MouseandMoose  Vancouver, BC

AmCreatures  Toronto, ON

Bottom row:

MouseandMoose  Vancouver, BC

EllaNHarry  Barrie, ON

Sharing Sunday

It’s Sharing Sunday!  Hmmm, so many incredible handmade things out here to share.  Well, I know Valentine's Day has passed but it's always difficult to find something special for the men in our lives so I went on a little wander and found some interesting ideas for gifts.  Enjoy!

Again, these are all Canadian shops on Etsy.

From left to right

Top Row

PillowThrowDecor  from Vancouver, BC

DivinaDenuevo  from Vancouver, BC

PocketwatchPurveyor  from Ottawa, ON

Middle Row

MountainMasche  from Vancouver, BC

UnicornTees  from Keswick, ON

2SistersHandcrafted  from Barrie, ON

Bottom Row

RongDesigns  from Toronto, ON

AbsolutelyDollicious  from Courtney, BC

CuffLoves  from Revelstoke, BC

Hope you enjoyed my sharing this week.  If you have a suggestion for a theme let me know.  I’d love to hear it.  Have a great week!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

It’s Foodie Friday!

Here is a special treat for the special people in your lives.  They are really rich and really yummy!

Chocolate Brownie Bites

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp instant espresso powder or granulated instant coffee

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 24 mini muffin cup tray with paper liners.

Melt butter and chocolate chips over low heat or in microwave.

Combine melted butter and chocolate chips with cocoa powder, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in medium sized bowl.  

Sift in remaining ingredients, except chocolate chips.  Add the chips and stir until combined.

Fill each mini muffin cup 3/4 full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until set.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

*If you don’t have espresso or instant coffee you can omit from recipe.  And if you have a silicone baking tray I suggest you use that instead of a metal one.  I lent my silicone tray to a friend and I found it challenging to get my brownie bites out of the metal one.

I sprinkled some candy hearts on the top and they are all ready for our Valentine’s dinner tonight.

Enjoy and have a very happy day!

Exciting news!!!

I have some very exciting news to share!!!

The Promoting Creative Friends Team on Etsy has put together its first ever sampler box!!!  It will be ready for Mother’s Day and will be packed full of fantastic handmade goodies!

The boxes will go on sale March 1, 2014.  Details about how you can purchase a box will be here: www.pcfteam.blogspot.ca

And from now until September 30, 2014 you can receive a discount from these shops.

More details to come but in the meantime you can enjoy this short video to see the wonderful shops that have submitted samples of their work.

Sharing Sunday

The Olympics are here again!!  Do you enjoy watching the games and cheering on your Country's athletes?  I couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement and found a bunch of unique items to celebrate  Canada.

GO CANADA GO!!

These are all from Canadian shops and the links are on the bottom.  Enjoy!

From left to right

Top row:

HumdingerDesignsEtsy from Osoyoos, BC

Middle row:

OurHomeAndNativeLand from Toronto, ON

CountyCupboard from Toronto, ON

Bottom row:

Yapespaints from Vancouver, BC

MuskokaJewelry from Parry Sound, ON

Route401 from Toronto, ON

From left to right

Top row:

Thunderpeep from Toronto, ON

GreenBananaCards from Vancouver, BC

TheTinyfig from Vancouver, BC

Bottom row:

RiverwarePotteryNort from Parry Sound, ON

SparrowAvenue from Toronto, ON

Foodie Friday

Valentine's is coming!  Do you like to prepare special treats for yourself and family?  I do and I want to share this one with you.  Maybe not recommended for the littler kids but definitely for the big, big kids.

This one is really, really good!  So good and simple that they won’t last long and you’ll wish you’d made a double batch.

Sadly, not my picture.  Found on pinterest

Liqueur Infused Chocolate Strawberries

~ 16 large strawberries, rinsed and dried

~1/4 cup liqueur of your choice (orange liqueur Grand Marnier)

~1 lb bittersweet/dark chocolate, chopped

~1 oz white chocolate

Use syringe to inject liqueur into strawberries. If you don’t have a syringe you can poke holes in the narrow end and pour the liqueur in.  

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the liqueur become one with the strawberry.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate over a double boiler.  Dip strawberries into chocolate and either set on waxed paper or prop up on the leafy end.

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler and drizzle over the strawberries.

Refrigerate and serve.

Sharing Sunday

There are so many incredible artists and creations out there in the universe of handmade.  So much inspiration and talent to be shared.  And with Pinterest and Instagram and other social sharing sites getting more and more popular it's hard not to be overwhelmed by everything we're presented with.

So, I thought I'd start a Sunday Sharing page.  Each Sunday I will (try to) make a collage of interesting and unique items, all with a common theme.

This week I thought I'd share some Canadian card makers for Valentine's Day.  There is still a little time to order a love card for your special valentine and here are nine fun and beautiful shops to get you started.  I have listed the shop names and links below.

Going from left to the right:

Top row

#1 RainbowofCrazy from Toronto, Ontario  

#2 PaperBlossomStudio from Halifax, Nova Scotia  

#3 Thunderpeep from Toronto, Ontario  

Middle row

#4 HandmadesRovena from Toronto, Ontario  

#5 APaperLifeOriginals from Surrey, British Columbia  

#6 AmelieCardsandPrints from Montreal, Quebec 

Bottom row

#7 PosyPaper from Vancouver, British Columbia  

#8 Gotamago from Toronto, Ontario  

#9 ThresholdPaperArt from North Vancouver, British Columbia

Enjoy my picks and find some new favourites of your own in these wonderful shops!

Happy Sunday!