A Mint-y Good time!

I hope everyone enjoyed the extra day of rest this past weekend! M. and I were very busy. We have officially felt what it's like to be home owners. You know, besides paying the mortgage and other bills. The proof was in M. and I going to Home Depot/ Rona this past week on three separate occasions to buy paint supplies, a lawn mower and additional biodegradable bags for all the leaves the previous owners didn't rake up in the fall. Oh, right!  We also needed a rake so we bought that too.

We started off the weekend (Thursday) with this waiting on the front step...

Right away I texted my friend A. to come over this weekend to try this baby out! We decided to tackle the mango and mint sorbet recipe.  Mostly because I am a sucker for mint. What was too bad is that I had to do all the prep work the night before since all of the components needed to be cooled over night.   I didn't take any pictures of the process of mixing the mango and mint together and then simmering it on the stove top because it looked like runny eggs with spinach. Thank goodness it tasted better than it looked! After the mixture cooled over night, you hook up the actual ice cream maker bowl (that has been in the freezer for at least 15 hours) and add the mango mixture slowly while the Kitchen Aid mixer does its thing.

Voila! With a few fresh mint leaves it was the perfect treat that was refreshing, healthier (compared to actual ice cream), very easy to make and inexpensive. I purchased frozen Presidents Choice (from Superstore) mango, fresh mint, a 1 litre of soy milk and white corn syrup which came to $11. Not bad! This was a dessert that easily could have served 6 people but A. and I were not prepared to share.

M. and I have been planning to paint the living room and dining room for quite some time and after we decided on the colours, we were ready to tackle the project on Sunday. But before we get into that, we needed a nourishing breakfast with lots of protein to get us through the day.

                                              

M. made us an omelette with broccoli, red pepper, feta and spinach. After that hearty meal, we were ready to go!

Before: all taupe

After: Stonington Grey and Bellbottom Blues

I love, love, LOVE the blue accent walls. The other wall is a grey which you can sort of tell. Over all, much better than the taupe me thinks.

After a long day of painting and doing some yard work, M. and I decided to BBQ. I made smoked tofu and grilled some asparagus and baby potatoes.

I also indulged in one of these.

Mojito with lots of fresh mint!

Unfortunately due to a dreary Monday, M. and I weren't able to continue with most of our chores but we did make this fabulous soup! It's a favourite of ours. An asparagus and spinach soup with cashew cream. It's vegan to boot. 

It was also perfect as leftovers for another rainy Tuesday.

Recipes for the sorbet and soup to follow :)  The sorbet will be worth trying out this weekend but maybe keep the soup recipe tucked away for the upcoming fall. After all, I hear sunshine and warmth is (finally) in our future.