Wising you all, every happiness this holiday season. May your holiday be filled with lots of family, close friends, good food, delicious drinks and much love. Enjoy the magic and recharge yourself for 2015. 
Merry Christmas, Buon Natale. xx
Daily Dish
Skin Essence
Sorry for the hiatus folks. I have been in the midst of moving and unfortunately blogging has taken a backseat, but don’t fret I am back! While living out of boxes for the past month between the old place and the new, life just hasn’t had its regular routine. Thank goodness we are almost settled in at CasaDelSal and things can finally get back to normal.
While things have been a bit out of whack over the last little while, my skincare routine has fortunately stayed in tack and thankfully so with the colder weather hitting the skin. Many of us make it part of our daily routine to eat well and keep active to maintain a healthy lifestyle, while not thinking twice about what we put onto our skin, our largest organ. A couple months back at The Cure Apothecary, I instantly fell in love with the organic skincare line Skin Essence. This company and product line has educated me on the importance of using organic product and being just as mindful about our skincare routine as we are with our diet and fitness.
Skin Essence uses nature’s extracts, essential oils and minerals to nourish and keep our skin healthy. My daily regime consists of three of their high quality products, Nourish facial moisturizer, Ocular eye serum and Rosehip Seed oil. All of which work easily together to provide my skin with the nourishment and protection it needs. Within days I noticed an improvement of my skins tone and texture.
The must have item is definitely the Rosehip Seed oil. It is the one product I swear you will not want to live without. This oil is extracted from the seeds of a native rose plant and is one of nature’s richest sources of essential fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants. It feels like silk on your skin and helps with restoring moisture, toning, reducing wrinkles/fine lines, minimizing scarring, and healing and rejuvenating skin cells and tissue. It really is the miracle oil.
Add it to your wish list this Christmas or for those looking for gift giving ideas, this is a great option!
Nourish & Protect. xx
Chia Pudding
The tiny chia seed is a powerhouse of nutrients. It’s loaded with fiber, calcium, maganese, omega 3 fatty acids, protein, and various antioxidants. All of which offer benefits to our heart, brain, digestive, bone and oral health. No wonder it’s a superfood!
You can easily add the chia seed into your daily diet due to its tasteless nature. I find it easiest to sprinkle on salads, add it to smoothies, or most favourably- chia pudding!
This recipe comes together easily and you can top it however you like. Interchangeably chia pudding makes a great breakfast or dessert. And an added bonus, this recipe is vegan, raw, and gluten-free.
Chia Pudding (2 servings)
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 4 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract or maple syrup
- 1-2 tbsp of unsweetened coconut
- any toppings of your choice – fresh fruit, raw nuts, coconut are my go-to
- Combine almond milk, vanilla extract, chia seeds in a jar and shake until combined
- Chill in refrigerator for 4 hours or leave overnight
- Remove from fridge, stir in coconut and mix until smooth
- Serve with your favourite toppings
Enjoy. xx
Top it Off
Before we dive into the beanie and toque weather. Let’s embrace Hats.
This must have Fall accessory instantly adds a cool vibe to any outfit and is super functional on those not so great hair days. Don’t let hats intimidate your style and find the look that suits you best. If you aren’t sure where to start, the classic wide brim fedora is an easy choice and a great addition to any hat collection. But don’t forget about the other trendy toppers, floppy, matador, panama, or porkpie- there are options, so find what works for you.
Here are some of my favourite looks.
For Her
For Him
Top it Off. xx
Pumpkin Risotto
Nostalgia and a feeling of warmth flows over me whenever I hear the word risotto (ri-sòt-to/riˈzoːtto, pronunciation is key– nothing quite irks me like this one, it’s not ri-SOH-toh or ri-ZAH-toh people!). It is definitely the comfort food that instantly brings me back to my childhood. Growing up with Italian roots, risotto was always my choice of comfort carb -forget about the pasta. My mom would make her chicken giblets, garlic, and white wine recipe (simplicity at its best) and a smile would cross my face as the smell of heaven circulated the house.
As I grew older, I gravitated towards the more complex varieties. Seafood, squash, beet, truffled mushroom, the flavour combinations bountiful and ever changing. How do we try them all? Different variations are constantly popping up at my favourite restaurants or in my favourite magazines, often surrounding the latest food trend – which inspired me to introduce pumpkin to my love of risotto.
Once the cooler weather hit, I was set on stirring up a pumpkin risotto. And low and behold a friend of mine happened to post this dish days after the idea entered my mind. So here it is, pumpkin risotto. Best served as a meal or would make a killer side dish to an apple stuffed pork tenderloin (just saying).
Pumpkin Risotto (yields 6 servings)
- 2 cups aborio rice
- 1 cup bacon, sausage or pancetta
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4-5 sprigs rosemary
- 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 can of pumpkin puree
- S&P to taste
- Parmesan
- In saucepan saute, oil, onion, garlic on medium heat
- Add in meat option, paprika and rosemary and mix until meat is cooked through
- Add aborio rice to mixture, once coated add 2 ladles of vegetable broth
- Once absorbed add 2 more ladles of vegetable broth
- Repeat adding ladles of broth every five minutes on medium to low heat for 20 minutes
- Melt in pumpkin puree within the last minutes of cooking
- Serve with parmesan, cracked black pepper and rosemary
Mangia Mangia! xx
Del's Dish 
