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Coconut Curried Vegetable Rice

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Hi friends! It seems that there’s a theme running through my recipes this week, and that theme is SIMPLE DELICIOUSNESS. Maybe you don’t think of curry being that simple. But guess what, this one is. We’re making good use of the stuff you’re already got in your spice cupboard and pantry and we’re making it into something super tasty.

I wanted to make some sort of curry paste for this, but I didn’t have many of the traditional curry paste ingredients. So I made my own take on a curry paste, using common ingredients that I DID have. We’re talking chilli powder, ground ginger, soy sauce, basil, curry powder, lemon juice, and a bunch of other good stuff. I like the concept of this paste because if you don’t want to make curry out of it right away, you can put it in the fridge for a few days until you’re ready to use it.

It’s also great because it acts as your flavour bomb for the whole curry! All of the spices and flavour you need for the whole dish is found in it, making for a super easy single application of amazingness.

All of the veggies in this dish really sing too. I love a good rainbow in my curries, and almost any veggie would work in here, so feel free to do some substituting with what you have and what you like. I personally found my own heavenly combo of mushrooms, onions, bok choy, red peppers, and carrots to be very nice.

The vegetables get cooked down together in some coconut oil, then sauteed a bit more when the curry paste is added, and then everything simmers together in some coconut milk. To make this heartier and more of a one-pot meal, I thought, why not add in some rice? So brown rice gets thrown in too and cooked in all of the delicious flavours.

Once this curry is done, your house will definitely smell really good and you’ll have a few meals worth of awesome curry rice stocked up in your fridge. I love how flavourful this is, and how it has just the perfect amount of spice! Plus, it goes great with any protein you choose to add, and is so hearty and comforting.

Hope you enjoy!

Coconut Curried Vegetable Rice

Serves: 3-4

Total Time: 70 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Curry Paste:

  • 1/2 tbsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/4 of a white onion, diced

For the Coconut Curried Vegetable Rice:

  • 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/4 of a white onion, sliced
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
  • 4 white mushrooms, sliced
  • 8 stalks of baby bok choy, cut into halves
  • 1 serving of Curry Paste (above)
  • 1 400ml can of coconut milk
  • 2/3 cup brown rice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. To make the Curry Paste, combine all of the curry paste ingredients in a blender or food processor until a paste-like consistency is reached. Don’t worry about small chunks of onion; these will be cooked in with the curry. Use immediately to make Coconut Curried Vegetable Rice or store in the fridge for up to 3 days before using.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a large, deep skillet. Add in all of the veggies for the curry and cook until the onion is translucent and the peppers are beginning to soften, about 6-8 minutes.
  3. Add the curry paste to the pan and sautee for another 2 minutes.
  4. Dump the coconut milk into the pan and give everything a good stir to combine. Season generously with salt and pepper, and stir in the brown rice.
  5. Bring the contents of the pan to a simmer and turn the heat to low, covering the pan and letting the curry cook for 35-40 minutes, until the rice is completely cooked through.
  6. Remove the pan from the heat season more to taste with salt and pepper, serve warm and enjoy!

I love this recipe so much and I hope you guys do too! See you Friday:))

Yours Truly,

Olivia;))

Fresh Baked Falafel

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Hey guys! Welcome to my first recipe of 2021- I wanted to start the year off right and this recipe is SO GOOD. We’re making amazing homemade falafels that are packed with flavour and are super healthy too! All you’ve gotta so is follow three simple steps; blend, shape, then bake, and you can be poppin’ these bites of deliciousness into your very own mouth.

First off- blend! You’ve heard of a one bowl recipe, but have you ever heard of a no bowl recipe? Probably not until now, but that’s right- this recipe calls for no bowl and only one blender or food processor. All of the fresh and amazing ingredients for our falafels are being thrown in there and simply combined until a nice, even consistency is reached. I didn’t call these FRESH Baked Falafel just for fun either. We’ve got fresh parsley, freshly squeezed lemon juice, minced garlic, chopped onion, and so many other ingredients to make these chickpea nuggets come to life! I also used some oat flour to bind everything together, but if you prefer to use another kind of flour you can go ahead.

Step two- shape! I got out a little spoon, scooped tablespoon sized amounts of falafel mixture into my hands, and formed them into flat patties. This shape is the best for baking because the outsides get nice and browned while the inside still cooks all the way through. This step is pretty straight forward, and also fun and kind of messy.

Finally- bake! These babes bake for fifteen minutes on one side, then get flipped and bake for another fifteen. The result is a golden brown, toasty falafel that is amazing on or in just about anything. Bowls, salads, wraps, sandwiches; you name it, these will take it up a notch. I recommend making a double or triple batch, freezing them, and pulling them out when you want something fast and tasty.

Hope you enjoy these amazing Fresh Baked Falafels!! Let me know how they turn out when you give this recipe a try:)

Fresh Baked Falafel

Serves: Makes 9-10 Falafels

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup oat flour
  • 1/2 a white onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Add all of the falafel ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until everything is completely combined.
  3. Scoop the mixture out from the blender by tablespoon fulls and form into discs about 1/4 inch thick. Spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet.
  4. Place the falafels in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. At this point, remove the pan, flip the falafels, and then place them back in the oven to bake for another 15 minutes.
  5. Take the falafels out of the oven, let them cool, and enjoy in bowls, salads, wraps, or sandwiches, or just dip in hummus.

Have fun making and eating these Falafels! See you guys Wednesday with another great recipe:)

Yours Truly,

Olivia:)))

January 2021 Reading List

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Happy New Year everyone!! Today I get to move into my new bullet journal which is so exciting, and I also can’t wait to share what I’m going to be reading this month because I have some LEGIT books lined up. No joke.

I did end up finishing my 2020 Reading Challenge so I’m really happy about that! Here are the books I read last year to complete it:

I started reading Shantaram in December with the intention of using it for the “Set In Asia” prompt, as it’s set in India, but it’s over 900 pages long and I only gave myself about two weeks to read it. So no, I did not end up finishing, but I looked back and saw that I read Lion last January, which is also mostly set in India, so we’re all good. Before I start any of the books on my January reading list though, I am going to finish Shantaram. I think I have around 400 pages to go, so hopefully I’ll be done by the end of this first week of the month and then I can start on some other reads! Shantaram is pretty good so far though I like it a lot, it’s just a long one:)

This reading list features two books that I got for Christmas (upon request), and one book that I got a while back but didn’t have the chance to read because I was busy with my challenge. Something that I started last year is just keeping a running list of books that I want to read in my phone, and adding and removing as I need to. This is good because whenever I go to the bookstore I AM READY, and it also helps me with my Reading Challenge because I know which books I need to read. The first two books on my list were on that TBR page in my notes. I’m really excited to read all of the books I have picked out for this month because I’ve heard great things about all of them, so it should be a really good time:) Here’s my January Reading List!

The Song of Achilles

I love Greek mythology so much, and so anything that weaves it in in some way has an automatic draw for me. Last year I read a novel called Circe, which was so good that it made it onto my list of Favourite Books of 2020. It was a retelling of the goddess Circe’s story, and I just couldn’t put it down! It was also the author’s, Madeline Miller’s, second novel. Her first is The Song of Achilles. It’s a tells the story of Achilles and Patroclus; two princes, one exiled and one perfect, and how they grow up together. Their relationship develops and is tested through the Trojan War. This novel has amazing reviews and is right up my alley so I can’t wait to get into it.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

This looks like it’s going to be a really deep, intense read, but I’m ready for it. It tells the story of Lale, a Slovakian Jew, who is forcibly taken to the concentration camp at Auschwitz and is tasked with tattooing the numbers on his fellow prisoners. He witnesses both acts of atrocity and amazing courage, and also tries to do his best to give what help he can to those that are suffering. After a couple of years, he meets Gita, a prisoner who comes in to be tattooed, and vows to one day escape and marry her. It also has great reviews, and I feel like it’s one of those books that you should read at least once in your life. It’s also based on a true story, so it takes care of that prompt in my Reading Challenge!

Death On The Nile

I’m assuming that I’m going to blast through both The Song of Achilles and The Tattooist of Auschwitz, so I’m giving myself A Death on the Nile to read as well this month. This was the book that wasn’t on my list and that I got a while ago, but I’m still really excited to read it! I read my first Agatha Christie Novel, And Then There Were None, last year and loved how suspenseful it was. It was also a really quick read, so I think this one will be as well. It’s part of her Hercule Poirot series, her most famous detective, and follows him as he solves the mystery of a young woman shot dead on a Nile River Cruise. This should be a short and fun read, and I’m looking forward to it!

I hope you got a little book inspiration from this list! I’m so excited to start reading these and will defintely let you know how I like them- check out my Instagram page @mydayisbooked_24 to stay updated!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:)))

My Favourite Books of 2020 + How To Read More In 2021

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‘Sup friends! Happy New Year’s Eve! I’ve been loving all the posts I’ve been doing so far this week; I feel like I’m so ready for 2021 in my Bullet Journal and in terms of my 2021 Reading Challenge! Instead of planning ahead today we’re going to do a little reflection on the past year and take a look at some of my favourite reads from 2020:) I’m really excited because I read some freaking awesome books this year! Plus I’m going to share a few tips with you guys on how to read more in 2021.

While I’m not exactly sure how many books I read this past year, I know that it was definitely over 20. It may seem like a lot, but reading 2-3 books per month is totally possible! I attribute much of my reading success to my 2020 Reading Challenge- it really helped me step out of my comfort zone. And that’s my number one tip for being able to read more- is keep your TBR list interesting! Reading the same kind of books over and over again can be repetitive and boring, but when you’re switching things up often it keeps reading fun! Of course if you find one genre or book style really appealing to you then you can stick with it, but if you’re finding it hard to get into a book try something new. I’m starting another challenge as well this year so DEFINITELY check it out if you feel like you’re in a bit of a book drought.

Having a book that you’re interested in is really the number one way to ensure that you read more, because it means that you’re more likely to pick up your book instead of the remote or your phone. Reading shouldn’t feel like a chore or something that you have to do; it should be fun and keep you on your toes. I’m a big believer in JK Rowling’s idea that people who don’t like to read just haven’t found the right book. Try and match your life interests to books, or go the opposite route and read about something you know nothing about! However you do it, keep looking into different books until you find the ones that speak to you. Libraries are great for this because you can try out as many books as you want for free.

Finally, whenever you are endlessly scrolling on social media or surfing Netflix- I’m guilty of it too- try to make a conscious effort to go and read instead. The amount of free time we have is actually a lot, it’s just what we do with that time that’s holding us back. Try allotting a certain amount of time for reading each day at first, and then eventually when you get used to it and find books you like, you can keep expanding your reading time.

Hopefully those tips help you out a bit in 2021! As for my favourite books of 2020, I found that lots of them featured strong women, or had themes of both family and independence. These books just really struck a chord with me- I don’t know if they felt nostalgic or what but I just really enjoyed them! And then I have a couple of more adventure/mystery novels in here as well that I just about devoured. These books aren’t in any particular order- it was hard enough for me to narrow down my top picks, you can’t expect me to rank them! Here are my favourite reads of 2020!

Little Women

This story really touched me and I enjoyed reading it so much. It’s about the four March girls growing up during the American Civil War, and is loosely based on the life of the author, Louisa May Alcott. It follows them from young teenagers into young women, and tells of all their adventures, love interests, dreams, and careers along the way. It doesn’t sound like it would be a super exciting read, but something about the way that it’s written was very entertaining for me. How the sisters always stick by each other through thick and thin, and support one another, is just beautiful and so heart warming. The 2020 movie adaptation is actually my favourite film- I cried while watching! I really recommend this novel and hope you pick it up soon!

The Red Tent

Another beautiful story about women, The Red Tent features Dinah, who is the daughter of Jacob and Leah and is a minor character in the bible. It tells the story of her family, the role that the women have in it and the strength that they carry. It also follows Dinah as she grows up and moves away from her family’s camp, trying to discover her purpose in life. The way that everything intertwines in this novel is superb, and the themes of resiliency, family, love, and tradition are so moving. This really is a timeless novel and I definitely want to reread it sometime soon.

Circe

Ok, yes, you can kind of see a pattern here, but all of these books about strong women are just so good! I’m a sucker for anything related to Greek Mythology, so this book was PERFECT for me. Circe is a minor Greek goddess whose story isn’t very well known, and so the author Madeline Miller expands on it and really makes it something worth reading. It follows Circe throughout her life and chronicles how she stands up to her father and is then exiled, leaving her to discover a life of solitude. She has to learn how to deal with visitors, her family members, and how to let go of the thing she loves most. The story telling in this book was amazing and I found myself absolutely zooming through it. This is Madeline Miller’s second novel and just came out in 2020. I got a copy of her first novel- The Song of Achilles- for Christmas and I’m SO excited to read it!

And Then There Were None

I literally finished this book in two days- I couldn’t put it down! It’s an Agatha Christie mystery novel and it was such a fast-paced, smart and thrilling read. 10 completely unrelated visitors are drawn to a mysterious island by a mysterious, unknown person that no one can identify. Then suddenly, they all begin to die one by one, and their deaths match up with a nursery rhyme framed throughout the manor! This book kept me guessing to the very last page and was very well written- can’t wait to read more of Agatha Christie this year!

The Da Vinci Code

This is another book that I finished really fast because I just had to know what happened next! It’s set in Europe, where a symbologist and a cryptologist are both dragged in to a thousands of years old hunt for the Holy Grail, led on by cunning clues and chased by a powerful religious organization. The Da Vinci Code was not only super interesting, but also really exciting and puzzling. It was full of twists and things that I never saw coming, and also tied together at the end quite nicely. There’s a movie for this book too, but I don’t think that it does the book justice. Make sure to pick up a copy!

A Cook’s Tour

I’ve never really read a book like this before, and I was pleasantly surprised! Travelling and food are two of my favourite things, and if I couldn’t actually travel this year, at least I could read about it. Anthony Bourdain is a great food writer, and wittily gives his account of his travels to numerous different countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico and Russia. The amazing food and culture of all these places really comes to life, and it for sure made me hungry! It was interesting to read about how the food actually is in those countries, as opposed to our watered down versions here at home. It got me excited to travel and taste some great things once everything is safe again!

And that concludes my favourite reads of 2020! It was really hard to choose because I did love most of the books I read this year. Except for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea- that was pretty painful. I hope you all have a great New Year’s Eve, and I’ll see you tomorrow for one last post of the week!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))

January 2021 Bullet Journal Set-Up

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Woot woot! It’s time for my first monthly set-up of 2021! I CAN’T WAIT to move into my new journal- right now I’m in that awkward phase where I need both my 2020 and 2021 journals to plan stuff😂😂 The fresh start and clean spreads will be very welcome, because I’m ready to do some big things in 2021🥳

I really struggled to come up with a theme this month! I wanted something simple because I’m tired from all the drawing I did for my Sound of Music theme, but I still wanted it to be pretty and elegant. I was literally doing research for this because I wanted it to be meaningful as well, so I looked up different New Years traditions around the world and stuff like that. I finally stumbled upon the fact that January is named for the Roman god Janus, who was the god of duality and doors. I couldn’t really see how the duality part would fit into my journal, but I loved the idea of doors!! Doors remind me of new opportunities, and since it’s January it’s kind of like the “doorway” to the rest of the year. So I went with a door theme!

The doodles I did this month are pretty simple, which I love because it makes for quick and easy weekly spreads:) I went with a nice pale, kind of robin’s egg blue, and a pale-ish brown. These colours are kind of winter-y and I think they complement each other really well! I didn’t want to bring in too many colours because I wanted these pages to be fresh and clean. I did try to switch up my font a bit though to a more bouncy style, because if I’m going to do calligraphy every month I want to challenge myself a bit😂

I hope that this set-up gives you some inspiration for the year to come! Let’s get into it:)

My title page is up first! I drew a bunch of different kinds of doors- some rectangular, some rounded, some with a frame, and some without. I coloured them in with that brown and blue combo, and then added some washi tape! And there’s that bouncy font I was talking about. I like it a lot! For my quote page I wrote out a saying from Mary Poppins, which I thought was perfect for my theme, and for the beginning of the year.

Here’s my calendar/monthly dash board spread. Yes, I decided to go back to that one page calendar! I find that I really don’t write things down in my calendar all that much, and would rather use more space for writing down stuff for school and any goals I have. I did a shorter quote below the calendar, used more washi tape, and also drew some more doors.

Next we’ve got my trackers. Ever since last May I’ve taken this layout and ran with it- I love it so much! This month I’m tracking a bunch of habits, my mood, productivity, and workouts. I really want to plan my workouts more this year, so this will help me with that! Just a side note, I’m really proud of how I wrote my k😂 I’ve always struggled with calligraphic k’s so I’m glad I’m finally getting them down👌

This spread is super simple, but I’m glad that it is because I need the space! On the left is my gratitude log, where I drew a few doors and write the title in the middle. Then on the right I have lots of space to plan out my blog stuff! I highlighted the days that I’m actually posting in brown, so it’s easier for me to tell them apart.

Finally I did my first weekly spread! I decided to just combine that first Friday and Saturday with the following week, so I have nine days in here. This is one of my favourite weekly layouts because it’s simple and gives me a TON of space to plan. To spruce this one up, I drew some more doors, used some washi tape, and wrote out the days of the week in that bouncy calligraphy.

That’s all for January!! I love the simplicity of this theme, and am really excited to fill in these spreads with some great plans🙌 Make sure you tune in tomorrow for another instalment in this week of book and bullet journal posts!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:)))