Christmas Day!



From left to right; Matt, Scott, Moi, Briana, Mom, Dad and Mac!


Brothers<3 Mac and Matt

Mom and Dad preparing din din



A Holiday Snack: Spiced Nuts

This year I made Spiced Nuts for two Holiday get-togethers. They turned out to be a hit, and it was soooooo easy!! The idea of an ensemble of spiced mixed nuts with cranberries originally came from a recipe I found called "Mixed nuts with Curry Spices" from a recipe booklet called "12 easy ways to an easy holiday"(-From the LCBO,page 23). Up until recently I never thought of using Indian spices in Christmas cooking, but once I thought about it and how warm and explosive Indian spices can be, I decided to go for it. I changed the original recipe a little to suit my taste, and the ingredients in my cupboard-Enjoy!

 Follow this easy altered recipe for sweet/ spicy nuts anytime!

         You will need;

• 3 cups mixed nuts (salted)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp. wildflower honey
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Clubhouse Indian Masala One-Step Seasoning(I used this seasoning which is mostly Coriander instead of Curry- it is a bit sweeter and in my opinion more widely enjoyed by Westerners than the strong taste of Curry)

1) In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat.

2) Add the Indian Masala spice, stir.

3) Add the wildflower honey and brown sugar, stir.

4) Add the mixed nuts to skillet and gently stir until honey & spices have coated nuts well.

5) Turn element to low and add cranberries, continue to stir for 1 minute.

6) Take skillet off heat, put nuts on a cookie sheet to cool.

 -Thats it! Happy Holidays! 

Its In The Details

This year Christmas seemed to come barreling around the corner for me! Not only is it the hectic yule-tide season, but it is also the busiest time of year for Greenhouse Growers! Just to elaborate a bit, my colleages and I had to undertake the task of cleaning out and disinfecting the entire greenhouse (a three week process!), then there were 312,500 plants (22 acres worth) that had to be planted, and after that hours upon hours of distributing biologicals and natural pesticides. These last few months seemed like a year! That being said, long nights at the greenhouse left me little time to do Christmas shopping! Besides, we all know that shopping for presents during the last week before Christmas is like throwing yourself into oncoming traffic. Not to mention, I have been on a strict budget in order to afford this massive trip to Thailand!

The alternative: Home-made Christmas gifts. I dont think theres anything that says Christmas quite like something made from scratch with the inspiration of someone you love. This year all of my gifts are hand-crafted. Its not for everyone: it tests your patience, but when you create something beautiful, it feels even better to give it to someone.

I made some ornaments using; glitter, paint and beads, hot glue, and a few other simple supplies. I also purchased some Candy Cane Shot-glasses, (so cool!) filled them up with red and green Skittles and Runtz and wrapped them in some pretty cellophane and ribbons to use as an addition on top of gifts!

 Here are a few pictures of some of the creations we came up with!



Hand-made Christmas Tree Ornaments; Supplies provided by Mother Nature
(and The Dollarama, lol- unfortunately Mother Nature does not provide glitter...atleast the kind I required)





Some toy soldiers interestly decorated in Camo! Made by Scott



Holiday Cheer HAHA!