My favourite ingredients...

Hi! As I sit sipping wine and watching Paul and my bestie Sarah duke it out in Wii Sports Resort, I thought I'd take a minute to share some of my favourite things as of late. There really are so many right now, it's hard to choose...

Do: Sunday spring strolls 

The weather in Toronto today was unreal. After a seemingly endless winter, the warm sunshine could not have been more welcomed. While strolling around the east end, our day mainly consisted of  goofing off, admiring rows upon rows of beautiful flowers, and even jumping a fence. This happened.

Watch: Project Nim

James Marsh, the creative mastermind behind Man on Wire, has done it again. Project Nim is outstanding. The documentary follows the life of a loveable chimpanzee named Nim who was the star of a groundbreaking experiment back in the 70s. The best thing about this film (yes, even better than watching little Nim learn how to use sign language) is that Marsh respects his audience enough not to moralize the situation on our behalf. He lets his viewer formulate their own opinions about what ended up happening to Nim. Project Nim is a beautiful, yet incredibly challenging, movie that has left me shaken.

Listen: Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues

Whenever I hear a Fleet Foxes song, I can't help but feel happy. Their music is folky and cute and melodic and everything I would want from a band with both alliteration and a furry animal in their name. Their new album is as whimsical and catchy as their last, and the title track has been stuck in my head for days.

Read: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

I consider myself somewhat of a self-help book skeptic, but when this one came recommended to me by both my mum and my sister, I approached it with an open mind. The book is short, easy to read and totally worthwhile. Ruiz's philosophy is simple: follow four basic principles to achieve happiness. Sounds sappy and preachy, I know. But his wisdom comes from the intuitive simplicity of the agreements, namely to be impeccable to your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions and always do your best. One of Ruiz's ideas that has really stuck with me has to do with not taking other people's judgments personally (obviously easier said than done, but important nonetheless). Ruiz likens the negative opinions of others to "emotional garbage", and if you take them personally then "you eat all their emotional garbage, and now it becomes your garbage". Okay, so maybe the eating analogy sold me, but either way I feel a little more peaceful and a tiny bit wiser from reading this book, and that's gotta count for something right?

photos by pwisenberg

Enjoy: Grill season

My new favourite dinners are living proof that vegans can enjoy the good ol' bbq as much as meat eaters! Apart from my newfound obsession with Yves zesty Italian veggie sausages, I've been enjoying a plethora of charred veggies in the past few weeks. And although I can't resist the smoky, savoury flavour of all things grilled, my main source of barbecue joy has come from the fact that Paul does the grilling! He made this beautiful meal for me last weekend (okay, I may have planned, seasoned and prepared mostof it, but still), which consisted of crispy tempeh strips with a lemony-tahini dipping sauce, button mushrooms tossed in fresh parsley, and charred asparagus and red pepper. So good!

Lastly, I couldn't post today without mentioning one of most favourite people ever- my mum! Mum, you can take sole responsibility for my ever-increasing love of cooking and eating and I wouldn't be the strong young woman I am today without your endless support. Happy mother's day!

Robin