Category: Uncategorized

Re: Why I stopped blogging for a year

On By Kaye Ann C.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

It’s been well over a year since I published a full-length blog and I don’t feel guilty at all.

There were a few times when I’ve forced myself to sit down for an hour or two to write a blog post from the list of topics I’ve listed a long time ago or random topics I’ve thought of during my long commute from work. These times were the most excruciating writing sessions I’ve put myself through – for no damn reason! To make matters worse, I had a slew of excuses for why I couldn’t finish a blog post or why I had to stop writing. Eventually, I started to feel anxious about my skills as a writer. What if I just couldn’t write anymore? What if I lost my creative spark? What if my writing is not good enough?

I was psyching myself out of doing something I loved to do.

In retrospect, there were a few personal things I needed to reconcile with first over the past year or so. Blogging suddenly became such a laborious thing that I “had to do” on my free time after work. It just didn’t feel like something I enjoyed doing anymore. At first, I felt really bad. It felt like I was failing myself. So I took some time off to understand why I felt that way and figure out what I should do next to not feel like that anymore. Granted there are still a lot of things I need to work on, but I’m in a much better place now.

So, why am I blogging again?

Because I want to. Because I’m genuinely hungry to start writing again. I wholeheartedly want to continue sharing pieces of my life; lessons I’ve learned and my travel adventures to places I never thought I wanted to visit. I’m blogging again because it’s an expression of my authentic self – blogging has helped shape who I am and how I communicate. Though I won’t have a regular publishing schedule like I used to, I’m making an effort to continue writing and ultimately to continue expressing myself.

For those who have been there with me on my winding journey or those who are just stopping by for a quick read, thank you.

Always,

K

Advertisement

Re: Heart-BEET Pancakes

On By Kaye Ann C.In Food, Recipes, UncategorizedLeave a comment

 

IMG_6995.pngOn my way from a long workday, my hungry self was daydreaming about a beet-apple smoothie I made the previous night. A few moments later, my imagination took over and thought of beet red heart shaped pancakes perfect for a Valentine’s Day brunch. Well, I came up with a quick recipe this morning!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2-1 red beet
  • 1 banana
  • 1 1/3 cup oatmeal
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp. raw honey
  • ground cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tbsp. melted butter
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
  • 1 tbsp. sugar (optional)

Procedure:

  1. Using a regular blender or a food processor, roughly grind the oatmeal (or you can buy/use ground oatmeal if you it’s available to you)
  2. Put the ground oatmeal in a medium size bowl then add the baking powder, ground cinnamon and all purpose flour
  3. Peel and dice the red beet then put it in the blender/food processor
  4. In the same blender/food processor, add the banana, vanilla extract, eggs, raw honey and water
  5. Blend away until all the ingredients are combined
  6. Gradually pour in the wet ingredients (beet mixture) with the dry (ground oatmeal mixture) ingredients
  7. Once the dry and wet ingredients are mixed together, add the melted butter
  8. To make the heart shape pancakes, I used a piping bag to make a heart shape OR you can also use a squeeze bottle OR a heart shape pancake mold
  9. Cook the pancakes in medium heat because they do tend to brown very easily
  10. Enjoy with some fresh fruits and more raw honey on the side!

A healthy and pretty brunch dish that will keep your sweetheart’s heart-beet beating! 😉 (see what I did there? Haha) Give it a try and let me know what you think! Share with us your comments and questions in the comments section below 🙂

 

Always,

–K

Re: Back to Basics

On By Kaye Ann C.In Lifestyle, UncategorizedLeave a comment

IMG_3090I started blogging on tumblr about 4 years ago to help me improve my writing. And if I’m being really honest, I started practicing my creative writing on tumblr to help me release some frustration and sadness I was feeling. Blogging/writing was an avenue for me to unapologetically dump everything I was thinking and feeling.

After a couple of years I decided to start a different blog at WordPress, focusing solely on food culture. Now, though I do love food culture and will continue to develop recipes and write about food, there are other topics I want to explore and write about. So, for a few months now I’ve been looking for a way to create a blog that focuses on key principles instead of categories. I know it might sound a little unorthodox, but I figured that I wanted my blog to be a good representation of who I am growing to be.

Another huge part of my decision to transition into doing life blogging is that I truly feel like I’ve grown up with my blogs and the people I’ve met or interacted with through it. I’m going back to basics and blogging about my life through letters/letter writing. A mix of old school with new school.

 

I can’t wait to share more stories with all of you this coming year!

 

 

 

Always,

–K

Flavoured Butter

On By Kaye Ann C.In Food, Recipes, UncategorizedLeave a comment

My secret weapon to making my roasted turkey or chicken is flavoured butter. Easily combine dried or fresh herbs with butter then chill it in your fridge until you’re ready to use it. I like to put some of my flavoured butter right under the skin or directly on the skin of the bird to get a nice golden brown.

What I love about this Holiday Hack is that you can experiment with different flavour combinations depending on the protein you’re using. For example, a couple of years ago I used some ground chipotle, garlic powder, and fresh parsley to go with my Mexican flavour inspired turkey. Actually, I used dried rosemary and thyme flavoured butter to cook my pork chops for lunch today!

Give it a try and let me know which flavour combinations you tried with your butter! 🙂

 

 

 

Always,

–K