Biggest Loser!!!

O.k I know this has absolutely nothing to do with food; but i love, love reality T.V, and i have watched this show a few times. I admit, it was not one of those shows that i would fake a sick day to watch, but I sorta enjoyed it from time to time.  So, when my fiancee' went out and bought the x-box 360 and the kinect motion game i decided to get some games that I could enjoy too.  I got 'The Biggest Loser' game and i must say it is worth the $43.00.  It works me to the bone, I feel like I am actually at the gym being trained by a hard core trainer.  It is intense, and it switches exercises everyday, automatically, can you believe it?
Every night, I go to sleep with aching muscles, as if I ran a marathon.  
It certainly, is helping me stay on budget with not going to the gym, and it has the option for you to use your own equipment like; resistance bands, stabilizing ball, weights etc.  Stuff us girls probably have lying around, way in the back of our closet gathering dust. lol, lol,  It is great, I have been using it everyday since I bought it, and I have toned up and lost a few lbs, and loosing lbs was not my intention.  If you are thinking on getting a workout out dvd or game and you already have the motion system, then go for it.  It is definitely worth every penny.

I love it, so much that I am considering getting the other workout game, when I have exhausted this one.

One of My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

Buckwheat Blueberry Chocolate Chip Cookies are my # 3 favorite chocolate cookie of all time.   Notice I said 'MY'  favorite, because my fiancee' and my brother; who eats everything and anything don't like them.  My brother ate two of them but declared that he did not like the taste , this scared my fiancee' away.  But I like them, I sometimes eat about 4 to 6 a day.  I don't necessarily like chocolate chip cookies, but i love these.

 3/4 cup of canola oil
 1/2 cup brown sugar (you can use 1 cup, but i prefer half the sweet)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2tbl flaxseed meal (mix with 6tbl of warm water)
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
3/4 xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350, then line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Cream the canola oil, and sugar until light about  2minutes then add vanilla and flaxmeal mixture. Continue mixing for 15 minutes  until fully incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. Next add to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated , stir in chocolate chips (first toss in some gluten free flour to prevent sinking to bottom of cookie) along with frozen berries. Use the medium size ice cream scoop to scoop onto the baking sheet and bake for  about 25 minutes until done.

 cool & enjoy !!!
What is one of your favorites?

Journey into the Land of Cinnamon Rolls.

I know right, and this was my second batch,   I absolutely love, love cinnamon rolls.  Therefore, my latest obsession is to perfect a vegan & gluten free recipe so that i wouldn't feel so guilty when i gulf down 2 or 3 a day.  The first batch was horrid, and bland, they were hard like rocks.  This batch was very crumbly, more like tea biscuits.  they were not bland because i put some allspice & nutmeg in the dough.   I actually got this recipe from one of my favorite allergen free authors; Cybelle Pascal, but obviously, this is not one of the better recipes.  I really don't know what went wrong here but i guess it's back to the drawing board for me.
 Actually, i am going to try Veganjoys' recipe for cinnamon rolls  http://veganjoy.blogspot.com/search/label/cinnamon  before I try tweaking my recipe. Definitely not a keeper, lol, lol.  They taste good though with some tea, yumm, i will be having one for breakfast in the morning.

The 14th Annual Bordeaux Farmers Rastafari Agricultural & Cultural Food Fair. Part 1

 Pumpkin Soup.

This was a two day festival, held on the island of St. Thomas, it's like a big farmers market.  I was accompanied by my eldest niece, and we had a wonderful time.  There were tons of fresh produce and plants, farm tours, live demonstrations and a variety of prepared vegetarian, vegan, and raw food and drinks.  I had an amazing bowl of pumpkin soup, it was choc full of veggies and whole wheat dumplings, it was so delicious.  Oh, how could I forgot my peas balls, ( those are the brownish balls on the top of the soup) they were crunchy on the outside but soft and spicy on the inside.  It was a wonderful experience we learned a lot, and I mean a lot, and I actually saw some local plants that i never knew had medicinal properties.... like this one ....

The bunch with the frilly edged leaves, the farmer said that it is very good for the cold & cough.  One has to seep it like a tea, then drink it; I was amazed, that plant grows wild everywhere in my back yard.  I actually thought it was a weed and destroyed it several times.  To think that when i had the cold last year the cure was right in my back yard (before i destroyed it ) was pretty ironic.
I bought a lot of plants to replant in my garden and produce I also bought some jams that were absolutely delicious.  Have you ever heard of soursop jam?
I know right?
Crazy, even for me and I have made some pretty strange sounding things, that tasted great; this jam did not disappoint.  It was delicious, I bought 8 jams total: sour sop, basil, &, sorrel.  I have them hidden in my refrigerator they are excellent with my Tahini Scones.

These wonderful Jams are the brain child of Ms. June Archibald of Virgin Islands Fruit Preserves.  Like myself , she is somewhat of a kitchen connoisseur and has started her own company in St. Thomas, where she has a farm and grows several tropical fruits;she  makes her tasty preserves from the harvest. website:  www.mydrizzler.com / email:vifruitpreserves@mydrizzler.com
What  is your favorite exotic condiment, something that you absolutely cannot live without?

 Sorrel 

I bought some of these too, Sorrel flowers makes an excellent drink, one of my favorite actually and it is very easy to make:

Just place the flowers in a big pot with some water and a cinnamon stick, a few whole cloves, and a piece of ginger root (optional) and  let that baby boil for a few hrs (maybe 3 depending on how much sorrel is used).  After it has boiled, the water will become the color of the flower and the flower will look white, then it is ready.  Just let it cool, sweeten with sweetner of your choice, then presto ... Sorrel Drink.

Fresh Produce

The Root of all My Madness! Pun intended .

My Cabbage, Pineapple, & Collard Greens, Patch.

Did I mention that i love gardening?
I really, really do, there is just something about digging in the soil with my bare hands that just stimulates me. lol, lol,. I am an environmentalist and I love growing things and working outdoors.  I also love to cook and prepare meals with the produce from my garden.  It is definitely fresher and more nutritious than the produce bought in the supermarket.

 Spinach Patch

  There's only one problem finding an organic and or natural insecticides.  I started growing some corn but they were eaten by something, either a fungus or an insect and because I wanted my produce to be organically grown  I had to destroy the entire patch.  Does anyone have any ideas of natural products that i can use to keep my produce pest free?

 Eggplant.

I grow most of what I use in all of my goods, I can't wait for my eggplants to blossom.   As soon as the the first blossom appears I have to start thinking of what i am going to do with all the excess, after all I can eat only so much.  Do you have any good eggplant recipes?

Welcome to the Chic' Gourmet Blog!!! YAY!

 This will be a wonderful journey of food, cooking and baking experiments, traveling, and more food.  Specifically, it will be the chronicles of an entrepreneur as she tries to grow her business in a unique community.  I have always enjoyed coking and baking, and being a vegetarian, i love inventing new ways of making my daily lunches exciting. Being in the kitchen really helps me to unwind from the everyday hustle  of life and sooo.... Chic' Gourmet was born (Thanks Mr. D).  Chic' Gourmet currently is an online bakery, that specializes in healthy organic, and allergy free goodies (gluten free, vegan, sugar free etc). Presently we are only able to deliver goodies locally (Virgin Islands), however, our fingers are crossed for future international orders and of course a store.   

Ok, I am super excited that i finally got this up and running, what do you guys think?
I totally love it, i take no credit for the design of course, remember i told you that i work best in the kitchen , not at a desk in front of a computer. All the credit goes to Jessica of ' www.The Frilly Coconut.com' she is a design genius.  I just love her work and she is very patient especially with someone who is not at all tech savvy.
Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment on every or anything, remember life is all about 'Healthy  Food & Dining' and of course Shopping!

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