Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Soup

What better to warm you up than a healthy, homemade bowl of soup full of antioxidants, nutrients, proteins, vitamins & minerals! Here is my healthy, minimal sodium, no simple carbohydrates, & free of saturated fats, Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Soup.  It holds all the flavor & taste you desire.  Please Enjoy!!! 

Ingredients

• For the Soup:
• 1 cauliflower head, cut into florets (use steams and floret heads)
• 1 large (28 ounce or 2 x 15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 Large Cooking Onion, diced
• 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil, divided x 2
• 3 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. turmeric
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (adjust to your desired heat level)
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 4 cups vegetable broth (for vegan/vegetarian) or chicken broth (homemade, no sodium)
• 1 cup water (if required)
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Garnish Options:
• Reserved roasted cauliflower mix
• Fresh cilantro or parsley leaves
• Roasted Chickpeas (season and roast at 400 for 45 minutes, toss 1/2 way through)
• Greek Yogurt

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cauliflower florets with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and1/2 the amount of all the spices. Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring once half way through. Remove from your oven and set aside. Reserve some for the garnish if desired.
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent approx. 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, saute for 2 minutes, add remaining spices and saute for another minute.  Add chickpeas and saute for 4-5 minutes.  Add broth and the water (if required) and increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to maintain a simmer. Simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the roasted cauliflower mix.
3. Puree the soup using an immersion blender. Alternatively, you can use a food processor or blender, working in batches if necessary and being careful when transferring and blending hot liquids. Return the pureed soup to the stove top and gently re-warm it. Stir in the Greek yogurt. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Garnish as desired and enjoy!!!

Declutter Your Life

Now that spring is upon us, it’s time when many of us do a full spring clean of our home.  Before I tackle a full spring clean, I make sure I declutter my space.  A full spring clean is definitely more efficient once the space is decluttered. Did you know that 1/3 of all of our stuff isn’t used? And 1/5 of our home is used for storage!  Physical clutter ultimately leads to mental clutter and can increase stress levels, increase anxiety, and affect your overall health.

Clutter Culprits:

1)      Impulse Clutter:  We all have it!!!  These are the items we purchase by ‘impulse’ while out & about shopping.  These are the blouses you buy and when you get home, you realized you have a handful of similar blouses and ultimately all of them are not even being worn now.  These are the hand tools you buy because you can’t find the ones you currently have.
How to tackle this clutter:
·         Have a specific home for all items in your home
·         Discard or donate any duplicates of items (hand tools, clothing, kitchen gadgets, etc.)
·         Purge closets & storage area (check out our Spring Clean Your Closet post)
·         Maintain a 1 in, 1 out habit – when you purchase a new article of clothing, discard or donate one.  When you buy a new kitchen gadget or utensil, discard or donate the older duplicate.

2)      Disposable Clutter: These are the items we hold on to thinking that we might need it or use it in the future and never do.
How to tackle this clutter:
·         Discard any broken, damaged, outdated items
·         Electronics – sell or discard any old phones, DVD players, computers, cords, etc.  Check your municipal electronic disposal policy.
·         Paperwork – every year when you do your taxes, shred and discard any old tax years (in Canada save for 7 years).  Use your smart phone to make to-do lists, shopping lists, etc. in order to eliminate all of those post-it notes around your home/office
·         Go through your entire fridge, freezer, & pantry and discard any expired food items
·         Do not have a junk drawer – everything should have a place in the home.  “Don’t put it down, put it away” Peter Walsh, Organizing Guru

3)      Emotional Clutter: These are the items we hold onto for sentimental reasons but end up taking up so much space that mentally it affects us in a negative way.
How to tackle this clutter:
·         Gifts – if you receive something that you don’t use, don’t like or don’t have the space to store, don’t feel bad by donating them.  I personally would not try selling an item I received as a gift, donating to a better home is my only option here.
·         Collectables or items you inherited – there is no need to keep the entire collection of collectables.  Select your favourite pieces of the collection and discard or donate any ones in disrepair and/or ones you have no connection with.  Take pictures of entire collection for future memorabilia.
·         Kid’s crafts & drawings – I recommend picking your top 5 favourite pieces per year and display or place in journal.  Take pictures of all the other wonderful creations your children create and then discard.  Sort all these pictures on a key drive and can be easily viewed for future memorabilia.

4)      Digital Clutter: In this day and age, we spend so much time on our computer & phone so doing a spring declutter on these items is equally important.
How to tackle this clutter:
·         Unsubscribe to ALL spam, junk, unwanted emails.  For the next couple of weeks, instead of just deleting all unwanted emails, be sure to click on email, scroll to bottom, and click on 'unsubscribe'.  This might take you a couple extra minutes over the next couple of weeks, but will save you a lot of time and mental stress in the future.
·         Social Media – Unfollow any negative nellies on your social media platforms.  Negative energy on your feed just allows that energy to come into your life.
·         Phones – clear photos off your phone at least monthly, organize and delete unwanted shots.  Also, delete any unused apps on your phone.
·         Computer Files – have minimal folders on your desktop.  Break in to main areas and subdivide within the folder e.g. home, family, personal, business. 
·         Create non-digital times/boundaries with your family e.g. no phones at dinner time, family time, movie night, game night, etc.  And be sure to put down your digital device 1 hour before bedtime.

Spring has sprung so it’s time to get our space & mind decluttered and cleaned.  For any assistance or questions with regards to decluttering your home, please contact us at (416)262-0609 we would be happy to help!  Happy Spring!

Staging Is Not Just For Real Estate

Staging is not only for residential real estate sales.  Even though staging has been proven to sell homes faster and for more money, staging is not limited to just real estate.  Working with a Home Stager for other projects like; Home Show Booths, T.V. Sets, Store Merchandising, etc., can not only save you money but can easily create the ideal ambience for your project.  Below are a couple before & after décor transformations for a Home Show Booth & a T.V. Set we designed for clients.

An elegant, bright, modern Home Show Booth we designed for a Custom Home Builder.  What a way to make an impact and catch people's eyes. This booth definitely stood out from the crowd and the furniture and décor pieces were rented for the duration of the show.  Our clients really wanted to create a living room feel where they could showcase their business.

What an amazing transformation of this TV Set for 'From Selling to Sold' which aired on Cogeco.  Our clients left it to us to design to entire set and arrange for the furniture & décor rental for the duration of filming.  This was a fun project and definitely showed that staging can be more than just for real estate.

Contact us today at (416)262-0609 for more information

Spring Forward with these Daylight Saving Tips

With the changing of the seasons, it's time to spring forward once again and change our clocks one hour forward.   Before you spring forward, now is a good time to think forward and review the safety measures in your home so that you and your family are safe and prepared for any type of emergency.  Here are some helpful tips on what to check:

1. Change all batteries in all smoke & CO detectors
2. Test all safety devices to ensure all are in good working order
3. Change furnace filter
4. Check pressure on all fire extinguishers
5. Review safety & escape plans with the entire family
6. Ensure you have at least 72 hours of water & canned food (a combination of protein and carbohydrate sources) for your entire family.  Check expiration dates.
7. Have an in-home safety kit that is stored in an easily accessible location that all members of the family are aware of its location

Items in Safety kit:

1. Blanket (s)
2. Flash light (s) - we recommend at least 1 x LCD wind up flashlight
3. Batteries
4. First aid kit
5. Candles
6. Water proof matches
7. Can opener
8. I.C.E. contact name, number, & full address - we recommend recording at least 3 individuals
9. Hand cranked radio
10. Hand sanitizer or moist towelettes
11. Specific family needs e.g. formula, prescription medication, pain reliever medication, etc.
12. Paper & pencil

Spring is in the air

Spring is definitely in the air, especially in South Western Ontario. This recent spring-like weather can be a motivator to get you into your garden. Although it’s a great time to take advantage of the weather, it’s still a little early to do anything significant in the garden. Never the less, it’s a great time to get a jump on the season and your curb appeal. Especially if you are listing your home this spring, curb appeal is the most crucial thing you have to lure home buyers to your home.  Here are a couple of stylicious tips that can give you a head start:

1. Clean Up Your Garden – This is a great time to clean up any debris in garden, cut down any dead growth to allow new growth to come through, rake out your grass, and trim back any dead branches on shrubs and trees.
2. Pull Out Your Gardening Journal – It’s a great time to remind yourself of the goals you set last season for this coming season. This will allow you to schedule your time over the next couple of months to provide adequate time to complete these projects. Also, doing these projects early in the season will allow you to enjoy it throughout the gardening season. Your journal will remind you of any to-do items that you have recorded for March/April. Finally, if you don’t currently have a gardening journal, we encourage getting one now so you can record your tasks to do each month, and future hopes and dreams you have for your garden.
3. Sowing Seeds Indoors – With the new 100 mile diet trend encouraging everyone to eat locally grown, what better than having veggies and herbs at your finger tips, right outside your back door? This is the time of year to start planning and preparing your seeds. Most seeds require 6-12 weeks germination/growth before you can transplant them outdoors. Check your local weather trends for the average last frost date. For most of South Western Ontario, it is usually May 15-24.

Staging to Sell

Check out the video clip below for some home staging tips by Karen Wardell of Stylicious Living.  Full episode available on TV Cogeco.

As seen on "From Selling to Sold" on TV Cogeco.

Home Staging is increasingly more important to create that edge in the market place.  Your home is one of the largest investments you will have and preparing it for sale is not only smart but a great return on your investment.  Recent studies have shown that staged homes sell faster and for more money than homes that are not staged.  At Stylicious Living we understand the importance of showing off your home's best features to attract the masses and help secure the best possible offer for your home.  We also have a trained keen eye to point out the smallest of details that might detour a potential buyer from your home.  Our goal is eliminate potential buyers offering you less than your asking price by pointing out these flaws and offering solutions to fix them before you list your home.  Finally, our main objective is to help you display your home in its best possible condition to secure that ideal asking price.

Contact us today for all of your staging needs and/or questions at (416)262-0609

Design Trends by Stylicious Living

Check out the second have of this video clip for a couple design trends by Karen Wardell of Stylicious Living.  Full episode available on TV Cogeco.

As seen on "From Selling to Sold" on TV Cogeco

Contact us at (416)262-0609

Fall Back and Think Forward

With the changing of the seasons, it's time to fall back once again and change back your clocks one hour.   Before your fall back, now is a good time to think forward and review the safety measures in your home so that you and your family are safe and prepared for any type of emergency.  Here are some helpful tips on what to check:

1. Change all batteries in all smoke & CO detectors
2. Test all safety devices to ensure all are in good working order
3. Change furnace filter
4. Check pressure on all fire extinguishers
5. Review safety & escape plans with the entire family
6. Ensure you have at least 72 hours of water & canned food (a combination of protein and carbohydrate sources) for your entire family
7. Have an in-home safety kit that is stored in an easily accessible location that all members of the family are aware of its location

Items in Safety kit:

1. Blanket (s)
2. Flash light (s) - we recommend at least 1 x LCD wind up flashlight
3. Batteries
4. First aid kit
5. Candles
6. Water proof matches
7. Can opener
8. I.C.E. contact name, number, & full address - we recommend recording at least 3 individuals
9. Hand cranked radio
10. Hand sanitizer or moist towelettes
11. Specific family needs e.g. formula, prescription medication, pain reliever medication, etc.
12. Paper & pencil

Hope and the City - Canadian Cancer Society

Hope and they City is Halton's quintessential "girls night out" supporting women's cancer research (breast, ovarian, cervical and uterine cancers) funded by the Canadian Cancer Society.

On August 25th over 400 women in the Halton region came out to support this amazing event and I'm pleased to announce we raised $35,000 for women's cancers.

I would like to thank all the companies for their incredible donations that we received to make our Hope and the City experience even more memorable:  

DH Tour - Grand Prize = A trip for 2 to London, England
Salon Monzer
Mainstream
Godiva (Mapleview Mall)
Joelle's
Ohh!!
Mirella's
Nutrition House (Mapleview Mall)
Eleanor Hayward RMT
Love is in the Air (Jennifer McGovern)
Salon Mirage
Clip Hair Salon
East Side Mario's (Mapleview Mall)
Saltridges
Dolce Salon & Spa
Turtle Jacks (Mapleview Mall)
Earls (Mapleview Mall)
Purdy's Chocolate (Mapleview Mall)
Prana Yoga
Stylicious Living
Tweed & Hickory
Eudora Fine Foods
The Pheasant Plucker


To find out more information about Hope and the City and ways to donate/volunteer, please visit:
http://www.cancer.ca/hopeburlington

Stylicious Staging Tips

Home Staging is increasingly more important to create that edge in the market place. Recent studies have shown that staged homes sell faster and for more money. Follow these simple staging tips to ensure your home is prepared for sale:


1) Clean, Clean, Clean – every item in your home (including floors, appliances, windows, etc.) should be spotless and sparkle.

2) Declutter – take the opportunity to get your packing started and declutter all areas in your home especially closets, cabinets, floor space, etc.

3) Depersonalize – home buyers want to walk into a home and be able to visualize their stuff and their family fitting into the space. Having family photos, trophies, degrees, etc. hinder the potential home buyer visualizing the space as their own.

4) Lighting – your home should be bright and have as much natural light as possible. Clean all windows inside and out, turn on all lights for showings, and add décor pieces like glass, silver, mirrored to reflect the light throughout the room.

5) Be Religion Neutral – put away all religious items and figurines for all showings and open houses.

6) Curb Appeal – you only have one chance to make a lasting first impression. Pay extra attention to the details of your curb appeal. Your gardens should be well edged, clear of any debris and weeds, and add flowers where possible to add a splash of colour. Ensure doors, trim, and siding have a fresh coat of paint (choose a neutral colour). Ensure all paths to your home are clear.

7) Paint – painting is one of the cheapest and greatest return on investment. Paint interior and exterior in neutral colours and avoid dark accent colours like red, blue, etc.

8) MLS Photos – ensure they are taken during the day and have all lights turned on. Most home buyers now search for homes on-line before heading out to the area to view homes. Be sure your photos are inviting, in focus, and bright. Inquire about our Stylicious Retouch service for any photos that need colour correction, brightening, etc.

At Stylicious Living we provide a full room by room evaluation including curb appeal to ensure each home is prepared for sale using our Stylicious Staging Selling and Strategies Guide. Our consultations start at $195 + HST. We also offer showcasing services for open houses and furniture rental for vacant homes. Contact us today at (416)262-0609 to book an in-home staging consultation.

Staging for the Holidays

Selling your home throughout the holidays is often intimidating due to the weather conditions and hectic schedules. However, if staged correctly, the holidays can be a great time to showcase your home. Keeping in mind that one of the most important things while selling a home is to create an emotional connection with the potential buyer and the home, the holiday season can provide the perfect opportunity to do so. Here are some stylicious recommendations to stage your home and ensure the best possible offer throughout the holiday season:

• Colour Scheme – The colour scheme should be simple and classic.  Our rule of thumb is that 80% should be a neutral such as silver, while 20% should be an accent colour such as red. 
• Decorations – Keep all accent pieces tasteful and stylish, while staying religion neutral and avoiding figurines. Be careful not to over decorate or clutter.
• Baking – Just because your house is on the market doesn’t mean that you have to give up on family activities and traditions throughout the holidays. Get the family involved and bake some of your favourite treats before any open houses which will fill the house with a nice aroma. Lay out a tray of the baked goods for the guests to eat while viewing the home.
• Front Entrance – Flank festive urns on either side of the front door in the same colour scheme as your home.  Hang a simple wreath on your front door and be sure to keep all walkways to your home clear of ice and snow.
• Lighting – Exterior and Interior lighting should be all one colour tone and provide good ambiance without being overbearing. 
• Family Activities – Take advantage of the open house schedule to take the kids out for holiday activities and enjoy the holiday spirit.

The holidays can be an excellent time to sell your home since it’s a great time to display your home in a festive way that allows potential buyers to envision future family traditions in years to come. 

How to create a perfect photo collage!

All of us have great family photos and collectibles but are often challenged with how to display them in a stylicious manner.  Consider a wall collage to showcase family getaways, celebratory moments, and the interesting collectibles you have acquired over the years.  Here are some helpful tips to create a stylish collage:

• Colour - The most stylicious collages keep the colour of the frames consistent.  E.g. All white, all black or in similar colours like white and silver
• Style - The style can change granted the colour is the same.  You can combine vintage, modern, large, small, economical and/or expensive.  You can even change the matting to simple matting, detailed matting, or no matting and just having a great picture in a clear glass frame.  Try photo boxes for your artifacts.
• Sizing - The best collages have varying sized frames.
• Placement - They should be geometric overall (with all frames combined) and the best way to create that perfect shape is to lay out the frames you have in mind on the floor, use an A-Framed ladder and take an aerial picture of the potential layout.  Pictures often show the smallest of details that are out of place.  Once you have a layout that you like, you can make simple paper cut-outs of the frames and tape cut-outs (with low tack painters tape) to the wall.  Adjust accordingly.
• Subject: The best collages keep the subject similar and relative.  Use photos with a similar theme like travel photos, family photos, artifacts, etc.  All photos should be in the same colour, black & white, or sepia.

Ultimately, a photo collage is best suited to you when it captures your memories and style.  Be sure to use the same coloured frames & photos.  Be creative on the sizes and shapes of the frames to create a perfect collage to meet your family needs and style!

Stylicious Purple Pesto

Pesto keeps well in the fridge for up to a week and what better to make with our last harvest of basil & parsley in Southwestern Ontario. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of pine nuts
• 1.5 cups of extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 3 cups of purple or green basil
• 2 cups of parsley
• 1 tsp of pepper
• A pinch of salt
• 1/3 of a cup of lemon juice or chicken/veggie stock
• 1 cup of Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Toast Pine Nuts until golden brown (approx. 5 minutes on med-low).
• Heat oil and garlic on low for 15 minutes.
• Place all ingredients into food processor and pulse until paste forms.
• Serve over any meats including chicken, red meat, fish, pork, etc.

Enjoy!

How to Preserve?

Making your own preserves is easier than most people realize!  All it takes is the correct tools and a couple great tips to lead you along the way.  Like most things, trying it is half the battle.  Here are a couple stylicious tips to help inspire you to preserve the last home grown veggies of the year:

• Helpful Tools:
• Large Cooking Pot (porcelain finish) with jar rack
• Wide Mouth Funnel
• Vinyl-Coated Tongs
• Magnetic Lid Lifter
• Head Space Gauge & Bubble Remover
• Bernardin's Mason Jars & Snap Lids
• Bernardin's Complete Book of Home Preserving

• Canning Directions:
1. Fill cooking pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Prepare vegetables/fruit as directed in selected recipe.
3. Place mason jars and screw bands on the jar rack in the boiling water for 10 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes, add snap lids into the boiling water with mason jars and screw bands for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Remove all items from the boiling water using tongs and magnetic lid lifter.
6. Ladle vegetable/fruit into hot mason jars using wide mouth funnel.  Fill jars as directed in selected recipe using head space gauge & bubble remover.
7. Place snap lids onto hot mason jars and lightly tighten screw bands onto jars.
8. Place all mason jars upright in the cooking pot and bring back to a boil. Follow directed heat process time in selected recipe and appropriate altitude boiling time (approx. 15-20 min.)
9. Remove jars using tongs and let cool.  Once jars have cooled, check the seals and store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

Enjoy the fruits of you labour!

Stylicious Pear Salsa

This tasty salsa is not only great with chips but is even more enjoyable over baked brie served with Cristini's and/or crackers.  Bring this out at your next function and your guests will love it and they will also appreciate that it was homemade.

Ingredients:

• 9 cups of chopped, seeded Tomatoes (drain as much liquid as possible)
• 6 cups of chopped Pears (remove skin and core)
• 1 package of Bernardin Salsa Mix
• 2 Jalapeno Peppers chopped and seeded (optional)

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan, stir constantly, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and continue cooking until mixture is cooked through.
• Preserve ingredients into hot mason jars, leaving 1/2" head space.  Makes 12 x 250 ml jars.  Watch out for our next blog on "How to Preserve" for proper preserving techniques.
• Or refrigerate after mixture has cooled.  You can store in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or freeze for 1 year.

Enjoy!

Stylicious Stuffed Zucchini

Here is another healthy, in-season recipe that uses veggies that are found in our gardens or farmer's markets right now in South Western Ontario.  It's also a great side dish to serve your guests at the next BBQ with your family and friends.

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium yellow or green zucchini
2. 1/2 a cup of fat reduced feta cheese
3. 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
4. 1/4 cup of finely chopped broccoli
5. 2-3 minced garlic cloves
6. 3-4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
7. 6-7 springs of fresh thyme
8. A pinch of salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and cut zucchini in half (length ways).
2. Scoop out seeds with spoon and discard seeds.
3. In a separate bowl, combine feta cheese, onion, broccoli, garlic, olive oil, thyme, salt & pepper and mix well.
4. Scoop combined ingredients into each zucchini boat.
5. BBQ on medium until bottom of zucchini is golden brown. (approx. 15-20 min.)

Serves 4 side dishes

Household Items to Improve Your Garden

Improving your garden can be easier than one thought by using everyday household items.  The following items are not just great for the garden but they are items we use daily and, best of all, eco-friendly:

• Coffee Grounds - Sprinkle your used coffee grounds around the base of your plants to add valuable nutrients into the soil.  They are rich in nitrogen and tannic acids and acid loving plants like Rhododendrons respond the best to coffee grounds.
• Egg Shells - Place crushed eggs shells at the base of your plants to add valuable nutrients into the soil.  They are rich in calcium which aids in cell development in all plants.
• Vinegar - Spray on weeds especially on areas that are difficult to weed e.g. between interlocking bricks.  It will kill anything it touches so do not spray on grass or plants.
• Nylons - Use to tie back or support trees and bushes.
• Food scraps - Add to compost for rich nutritious soil.
• Dish soap - mix with water and wash the interior and exterior of your windows for a spotless view into your garden.
• Corn Gluten Meal - prevents the germination of weeds. Sprinkle around problem areas to prevent weeds.

Happy Gardening!