Fancy a prune? How ’bout a date?

Things areeeeeee happening!

Leaves have fallen, scarves have been purchased, leases have been signed, boxes have been packed, and dates have been pureed.

datin’

Yep, stuff is going down in funky town. Exciting things, sad things, scary things… but also delicious things. In the form of date squares. Very simple, very delicious and somewhat healthy. I used to think that dates squares were for old people. Totally for old people.

I think I associated them with prunes. Which definitely carry negative connotations of being primarily enjoyed by senior citizens, in juice form… weird.

I hated prunes when I was little. You know why?! Yeah youuuu know. I’m looking at you Dad… and those god awful prune muffins you made that ONE time. I honestly don’t even remember if they were that bad, but my brother and I made a point of hating them and never letting my Dad live it down.

Hey Dad… Member that time you made those horrible prune muffins…? yeah… me too.

Funny thing is, my Dad is now an incredible baker. Like top-notch. After the Prune-muffin incident (henceforth known as The PMI), I don’t think he baked again until I was in highschool. Or maybe he did and I blocked it out of my memory because of The PMI. Anyway, I was uber skeptical of his baking for a while, but day after day I would come home from school and there would be warm muffins, cookies and scones piled high on the kitchen table. It didn’t take long for me to forget all about the PMI. And when I did… there were muffins to consume on the regular. And consume them I did. Two at a time.

However, that is not really the point. The point is, I thought dates were gross, until I finally tasted my Dad’s date squares. After crossing over to the vegan-side, I thought that date-squares should be an easy treat to re-create vegan styles. I found this great recipe on OhSheGlows. Check it out. And make it!

I’ve presented these date squares to many a people, all of whom have been thoroughly impressed given the simple ingredient list. These can easily be made raw and gluten free!

Date-Squares
From OhSheGlows!

1 1/2 c. roasted almonds

1 1/2 c. rolled oats

1 tsp. salt

1/4 c. (or slightly more) melted coconut oil

3 c pitted dates

First, add 2 1/2 c. of the chopped dates to 1/2 c. of boiling water.

For the crust, put the almonds, salt and oats in the food processor and blend into a fine crumble. Add about 1/2 c. of chopped dates and blend until combined. Add the coconut oil and blend once more until the crumble is sticky.

Set aside 1/2 c. for crumbling on top, and then pack the rest into an 8″x8″ parchment lined pan. Press down the crumble until it is packed in.

Next, blend up the remaining dates and boiling water until a paste is formed. Scoop the paste on top of the crust and spread until even. Sprinkle the remaining crumble on top and press lightly.

Allow the squares to set in the freezer for 1-2 hours before slicing and enjoying! Keep in freezer or fridge, as the coconut oil needs to stay solid to hold everything together.

yum.

x

 

 

 

 

mom

You know what’s the best? Moms. Moms are the best.

this is my mom

More specifically, my Mom. I’m sure your mom is okay, but my Mom… my Mom in the best. She’s infinitely cooler than any other Mom. She’s my best friend.

I wasn’t exactly a dream child, I don’t think. I wasn’t a nightmare either… but I suppose I had my moments. I wasn’t one for throwing tantrums, but I diiiid cry before school every single morning for longer than I’d care to admit. I also refused to eat breakfast and I’d push my dinner around my plate for at least an hour every night. You know what else? I never once stayed at a sleep over past midnight. I think I was probably 13 before I actually spent a night away from home willingly. And do you know why I never wanted to partake in sleepovers? Even when all the other girls were braiding each others hair, eating sugar and talking about boys? And why I cried every morning before going to school?

Because I missed my mom.

Talk about major separation anxiety.

But honestly, if you knew my Mom, you’d cry upon separation too! She is the coolest lady I have ever met.

coolest lady ever and kind of a fox. just saying.

She is the best at cheering me up. She’s awesome for watching trashy tv with and she’s really good at eating cereal for dinner with me. She is an excellent Yoga partner and an even more excellent post-yoga coffee partner. She will help you dye your hair blue when you’re going through your teenage rebellion phase. And she will drive you to and from the photography shop approximately 154 times when your school projects are falling to pieces. She throws the best birthday parties ever and will help you create the best halloween costumes on the block. She makes a mean carrot cake and an even meaner fruit tray. Just ask any of my friends.

She’s also a real keeper cause when you move to Australia, she will save up all her money and fly across the world to see you. For seven weeks.

Yep. That’s her. I can’t really even put into words how much I love my Mom. She’s a pretty incredible lady.

Happy Mother’s Day MOMMMMMMMM!

If I was in Toronto today… I would make her this for dessert:

And these for later when we’re on the couch inevitably watching Say Yes to the Dress:

peppermint patty

xo

ps. Just for good measure can I add this child hood photo? Humour me. This is my brother an I dressed as none other than Batman and Robin. But you know that right? Spitting image, I tell ya.

batman and boy wonder

happy one year

Autumn is here! The cool, windy weather is making me giddy and has me itching to buy scarves and wooly sweaters. Although this autumn will never turn into a proper winter… not here in Sydney anyway. I’m still excited and sort of surprised to look at the ground and see fallen leaves in hues of burnt orange and red. I didn’t think that happened in this country. So ill informed, I am.

And here we are. It’s been a year. A year since I started writing this little blog and a year since I moved to Australia. (In fact I just checked and tomorrow marks exactly one year since I first posted here. It’s somewhat of an anniversary I suppose…)

It seems odd to me, that it’s been that long. Even as I write this, it seems wrong. Where has the year gone? Has it really been that long since I’ve been home? Since I’ve seen my puppy? Since I’ve slept in my own bed? I suppose it has. Sometimes It feels like eons ago and sometimes not so much. Either way, I have mixed emotions. I’m very happy at this moment in time, in this lifestyle. I get to live in a beautiful country with a beautiful man. I get to sip delicious coffee and eat delicious food, and I get to gallivant about Sydney. And there are Palm trees. PALM TREES everywhere! But I do miss my Canadian home, my friends and my family. Some days are harder than others…

I won’t be gone forever… but I think that somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought that I might be back for a visit around now. Well, life is life. And it would seem that I won’t be visiting home just yet. Still, the weather is making me nostalgic for Canada. I am half expecting some winter winds and frosty mornings.

Now before I start tearing up over my keyboard (ooops, too late) let’s move on to a sweeter subject. Banana Bread! Cause who doesn’t need a little comfort food when the cold weather hits (bringing with it just a dash of reality…)

so dense and delicious

Well, I sure needed it this week. And I might need a little more right now. In fact, as I sit here typing this, there is a second loaf of bread baking in the oven. Yes, cause the loaf I made last night is nearly gone. (this recipe is REALLY yummy)

raspberries look sooo sophisticated when cooked.

I think it’s kind of fitting that I post a Banana-bread on the one year anniversary of this blog. When I first arrived in Australia Bananas were a whopping $14 a kilo… all I wanted in the world was to bake with them. Haha… Well this week I stumbled upon a bounty of bananas for just 99cents! So as fate would have it:

Raspberry-Banana Bread
to soothe your soul

1.5 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. raw sugar

2 tbsp. ground flax (+ 1/4 c. water)

2-3 bananas (mushed up)

1/2 c. rice milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

3/4 c. raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. whisk the flax seed with the water and allow to sit and thicken for about five minutes. Mix the wet ingredients and add in the flax seeds, then add the wet mixture to the dry and mix until just combined. Now fold in the walnuts and raspberries. Pour into a loaf pan(greased or lined) and baked at 350* for about an hour.

Eat warm, eat cool, eat at the coffee shop with a delicious cold coffee. Eat after it has been smushed in your bag by your ginormous camera, because honestly… it’s still good.

I guess a lot has happened in a year. I mean just browse through this little ditty. This here marks my 45th post. Almost one a week. Not too shabby Hicks.

For now I will just have to keep baking, it calms any storms a’brewing in my mind and reminds me of home. And to ease the pain of being away from my puppy, I snuggle up with this little guy.

Odin

He’s no dog.dog.DOG… but he’s as close as I’m going to get for a couple more months. And he is pretty cute.

hello adorable.

xxx

all the answers to life in one small serving of flour and sugar

Life is weird. Obviously.

Have you even had those moments where your brain stops for a second… and it says ‘Wait a tick… what the hell is this?’

And ‘this’ is not referring to any specific activity, or event. It’s not an object, or a feeling… it’s just life. What the hell is it? Honestly.

I have those moments. Riding the subway to school, walking along a street in the sunshine, sitting on my couch writing a blog.

I look at my hands and I think they look so weird.

Everything looks weird.

What’s the point of all… this?

I think about my stress and it seems so inconsequential.

What is it? What does it alllllll mean… why am I worried about my job? Why is it necessary for me to do the laundry right now? Why do I have these extremities? How did I get on a piece of machinery that somehow propelled itself into the air and carried me across the planet? Why do I sometimes scratch an itch… and then feel it in another part of my body? And for the love of god, why does scratching an itch feel sooo good?

It just makes no sense to me. Why?

I don’t mean to get deep and philosophical. I have no intentions of figuring it all out… but it makes ya wonder. It’s makes ya wonder and then in makes you feel a bit queasy.

So that’s when I make scones. When I feel like there is nothing else to do, cause honestly, what’s better than making scones?

Another deep and philosophical question. The difference here is that I know the answer to this one. Nothing. There is nothing better than making scones. And when you think about it, in the GRAND scheme of this ridiculous ‘life’ caper we have going on… aren’t scones just about as important as anything else?

so so delish

And just to clarify, making scones implies you eat them also.

Boom.

cranberries!

Lemon-cranberry Scones

My usual is date scones, but sometimes life (or my mom) just begs for a little something lighter. And tangier.

3 c. flour

2 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. -1/2 c. raw sugar

1/3 c. coconut oil

1 1/4 c. non-dairy milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. frozen cranberries

zest of 1 lemon

lemon sugar

Mix the lemon zest with the raw sugar to infuse it with lemony goodness. I think this helps to spread the lemon flavour.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Create a well for the wet ingredients and pour them in. mix gently until just combined and fold in the cranberries. Scoop 1/4 c. of batter onto a baking sheet per scone.

Bake for 15ish minutes on 400*C.

Eat them and then forget about all of life’s unanswered questions. And stop looking at your hands, because apart from all those hangnails… they are perfectly un-weird.

xxx

perfection

I found out long ago, that it’s a long way down the holiday road…

Oh hot damn. Here it is, in living colour and frozen frames, the part II to the Tasmania adventure! (bonus points to the cool kids who can guess where I got the title!)

beautiful beach in an odd little town.

What to say about Strahn? Not too much was happening. It’s a nice enough wee town, and a lovely place to see Penguins, if you feel so inclined to take a boat tour. However, we were told we might see them from the beach! mmm no such luck. Another night of camping, with another night of incredible camping food:

Sean's plate, but seriously the best meal ever.

One night was enough here… and off we go to Hobart!

We took a  trip over to MONA (Museum of Old and New Art), also a winery! We tested all the finest and took in a day of culture.

It was a bit too much for us, I think.

we're an interesting bunch.

But we can pull it together when necessary…

We stayed in a YHA and had some really nice brekkies around Salamanca, before heading onward to Launceston!

a cute boy's hands. and a delicious coffee

To be honest… I don’t remember much from Launceston. This is why I should write these things closer to having actually DONE the trip. However, I recall… Sean driving slowly as I held a bubble wand out the window of the car…

bubble!

I remember this Echidna, or as my Dad called it, the EchiNda.

And I remember this MOTHER of a spider in our room at the bed and breakfast. Yes. It was bigger than my entire hand with fingers spread. and NO Sean did not capture it and set it free outside. So YES I slept with one eye open all night. (and No. I’m not kidding about that last part. I also had a pillow over my ears, and a blanket over the remainder of my face.)

Man, this picture hardly does it justice.

Anyway, after Launceston, back to Devonport and onto the ferry!

just pretty.

Watching the sunset...

the silhouette.

Another delightful night in a forth berth cabin and we were back in Melbourne!

After some further gallivanting, which included (but was not limited too) rooftop movies, more visits to the Vegie Bar, and some LITTLE PENGUINS…

…we drove upwards along the coast to Jervis Bay for some finals nights of camping!

Wildlife was a plenty!

A curious wallaby and a STICK bug! Awesome.

There was a beautiful beach, some friendly dolphins and a school of jumping fish that frightened me. I think they were jumping cause there was a shark near by. That’s what me and my mom decided anyway. I think there is some truth in it.

Greenpatch Beach and an approaching storm!

It was such a fun trip! I was really excited to be doing so much camping… and I think we all learned moreee than enough about each other. Haha. From camping in the pouring rain, to resorting to caravan park cabins when the thunderstorms hit, to cooking multiple breakfasts, dinners and cups of coffee over a gas stove or campfire, to cramming everything and everyone into a car and driving for 6 hours straight, we really covered all the bases of a good family vacation.

xxx

browner

Brownies.

I wouldn’t consider myself a brownie person. At all. and then I saw this recipe. And I thought… this needs to happen.

And then, as fate would have it, I received a little something in the mail… and all the pieces fell into place. All the lovely brownie pieces.

enJoy!

Now I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I didn’t rip open this cocoa as soon as I received it. I’m not going to tell you that I didn’t inhale it’s deep bitter scent or dissolve it into oat milk with maple syrup and peanut butter. Chea. I went there. But that was just to test the chocolatey waters… I knew it’s main purpose would serve in these brownies. And man alive! It did.

On a side note, who else thinks of Willy Wonka’s river of chocolate whenever they drink hot chocolate? I kind of wish I was Agustus Gloop. That’s a fact.

one gone...

Back to the present: Combining banana bread and brownies? It’s genius! It’s a match made in heaven. Though I took matters into my own hands and spiced up this recipe in a vegan-healthy living sort of way. I’m pretty sure anything with whole wheat flour is 100% good for you. no?

For the sake of this recipe I’m saying yes! Bananas, whole wheat, flax, walnuts and coconut oil… these are the things that health is made of! That, or it’s just what I tell myself after I eat three brownies in one day. Whatever.

good god

Either way, I’m a brownie convert. And you should be too.

But look! Somehow, some WAY I managed to not eat any until after the pictures! And then I had one… and then I had two… and then… ya know.

this is what happens.

This here is what happens during photo shoots. A little ‘behind the baking’ for ya. Yeah, ok. So maybe my bare feet shouldn’t get so close to the brownies and maybeee I shouldn’t stand the ikea coffee table, especially when I question its structural stability. but whatever. I’m going with it…

the banana-y-est brownies.

1 flax egg (1 tbsp. ground flax with 3 tbsp warm water-whisked together)

2 bananas mushed up

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. coconut oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. raw sugar

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. white flour

3/4 c. cocoa!

1/2 c. chopped dark chocolate

1/2 c. walnuts

 

Mix the wet!

Mix the dry!

Mix together! But not tooo much! Add the chocolate pieces and walnuts!

Grease an 8″ x 8″ pan and spread the brownie mixture (aka the very thick batter that is so thick you start to wonder if this will work at all.) (it will!)

Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes, slightly under cooked, but perfect since there is no salmonella-y risk. and also cause under cooked brownies are the bomb-diggity. and ALSO because they will firm right up if you prefer them cold from the fridge.

***

One thing I know for sure is that if I found one of those golden tickets in a bar of Wonka chocolate (and lord knows I would have. I mean just look at the number of chocolate bars I go though)… well, I would not have made it to the end of the factory tour.

Willy Wonka might call me gluttonous. The Oompa Loompas would probably sing a song about me.

I would be a goner. That’s another fact right there.

xxx

 

putting the *mint* back in entertainmint

It was my last day in Melbourne. I had a lunch break of over an hour, which was just enough time for me to take a last stroll through the city. As I approached Elizabeth street, I thought to myself… ‘one last attempt at finding the spandex-clad man that I know and love.’ So I ventured a bit further up Elizabeth, having heard that he often breaks it down in the Bourke street mall.

Well, low and behold, as I approached the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth, I didn’t even need to see anything to know it was him, I could hear his boom box from half a block away… and as the tram pulled away, there he was. In all his tight and bright glory, the only other Canadian I knew of in the city… Spandy Andy.

spandy!

An absolute vision in neon spandex.

tight, bright and everything in between

What a legend, just strutting his stuff around the world, spreading nothing but smiles.

adorable

It took me a couple minutes to calm myself. I had literally been willing myself to bump into this man for two weeks… It was pure fate that I ended up catching his little street show on my very last day. I was pumped. And I had to approach him and say hello. I gave a wee shout out to Bikram Yoga Toronto and also my mom. He was very sweet… and awfully sweaty.

some canuck love right there.

I leave you with one of my fondest memories from the streets of Melbourne.

xxx