Smoked Salmon Gluten Free Penne {Rookie Recipe}

I haven't done a recipe in a while but when I posted on twitter that I had made a gluten-free smoked salmon and mushroom penne with white wine dill sauce... people started asking how I made it.

And I have to admit. This is the best accident I have EVER thrown together. Ever. This meal turned out accidentally amazing and it is dairy-free, too. My go-to pasta yum sauce used to be pesto. Now it is this. Yes pasta yum sauce is a thing.

Gluten Free and Dairy Free and IMPROVISED? Unbelievable.

Smoked Salmon and Mushroom Gluten Free Penne in a white wine sauce.

What I used:

• 1 Bag of Tinkyada Pasta Joy Brown Rice Flour Gluten Free Penne
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• smoked salmon, sliced
• fresh garden dill
• fresh garden chives
• sage
• four cloves of garlic, minced
• a handful of mushrooms
• around a cup of white wine 
• dill

What I did:
I always over cook the pasta. I happen to love over cooked brown rice pasta. But I reccomend you cook the pasta to your taste, strain and put it aside. In olive oil, saute the chopped fresh chives, and garlic. Add a sprinkling (or more) of sage, sliced mushrooms, and the smoked salmon, stirring over medium heat. Add white wine - I suggest starting small and adding more. Too much is too much, so go easy. As the white whine bubbles down, add the cooked pasta and fresh dill then stir until everything is coated.

Hell yes, right? So easy, so delicious, so simple. I'm having seconds right now.

We Hope for More Good Days.

It's easy to post about the good days. The giggles. The smiles. The day he said Mamama for the first time. The day he sat up unassisted for a good chunk of the afternoon.

It's worthwhile to post about the inner dialogue. The struggle to connect with other women. The desire to stay neutral yet supportive when all moms are doing their very best.

It is so difficult to post about the hard days. The hard nights. The hard weeks on end. It would be so lovely to paint motherhood with this lovely brush, a scene where one woman has it all together and nothing ever goes wrong.

But it isn't like that in my household. We have hard days. We have especially hard nights. We have weeks without sleep and hours that stretch on and on like molasses in the sun. Sticky and tar black, inescapable.

Couch Cuddling on a hard day.

I could blame teething; the rivers of drool and rashy red cheeks tell me to expect baby teeth any time now. I could blame his sensitive tummy; one slip up in my elimination diet and he explodes into painful little sobs. He goes back and forth between wrenching around in pain and then stiffening harder than steel, all while breaking my heart with his little baby cries. I want him to know I would fix it if I could. I would rather feel it ten times worse than he ever has just to guarantee that he never will again.

The good days, oh we float! We are like clouds, we drift over the day in a haze of love, marvel at the sunshine and rain happiness on the people around us. We laugh and tickle, we strut around unconsiously bragging about our love bubble.

But the bad days, we close the curtains. We try anything. We try everything. But mostly we rock and cuddle. We dance and we bounce. We sing quiet songs and say "Shh shh shh, baby, I know. I know."

And we hope for more good days.

I talk about Breastfeeding. A lot. Here's Why:

You may have noticed I talk about breastfeeding a lot. I post pictures of me nursing, I ask questions about breastfeeding on twitter, and I blog about breastfeeding, too. Hell. I've even written a poem about breastfeeding.

There are more than a few reasons why it's always on my tongue, and I think sharing those reasons is important.

I talk about Breastfeeding a lot because I do it all the time. Right now I nurse Baby D about 12-14 times in a 24 hour period. If it sounds like a lot, that is because it is. I am his only source of food right now, and both his body and his brain are growing exponentially. So we nurse. And of course I'm going to talk about it; I think you would talk about it, too, if it took up many hours in your day.

Nursling Smiles

I talk about Breastfeeding a lot because I'm curious about it. I like to be a smart-ass, it's true. I like to know a lot about the things I know a lot about. Meaning, when I set out to be good at something I want to be all the way good. I want to know the secret things, the tiny bits of information, the loud things, the things everyone knows. Breastfeeding is intricate, a delicate relationship between a mother and a little one, there are a lot of details to know about supply, physiology, mistakes to avoid, and inevitable struggles. I want to know all of those things.

I talk about breastfeeding a lot because I want it to be normal. I want people to think nothing of my breastfeeding baby at the restaurant. I want to nurse in the middle of the mall without a cover and not get any glares or stares. I want to educate women before they are mothers on those small intimate secrets about breastfeeding so that they aren't secrets anymore. I want people to know that breastfeeding can be a positive experience and have it be a natural first choice for every mother.

But I don't talk about breastfeeding to make anybody feel badly. I don't talk about breastfeeding to make anyone feel guilty, or judged, or like less of a loving mom. I don't talk about breastfeeding to make mothers who do otherwise have any negative feelings, ever.

I support all women, and I support the informed and educated choices that they make. I support mothers who feed babies, mothers who have a different story, mothers who are doing their best; I support all mothers.

So yes, I talk about breastfeeding a lot, but it doesn't dictate who I am as a mother.  And it certainly doesn't have any effect on my respect for all women and mothers.

TED Tuesday - Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs by Cameron Herold

When I was a child we used to run a lemonade stand in front of our house in the summer time. We would make lemonade and charge 25 cents a cup and close neighbours would come, pat us on the head and buy a glass. When we realized we had tapped out our market, we offered lemonade AND iced tea. After that fizzled out and most of our nearby friends and neighbours had a taste of each, we realized we needed more business. We set up signs and sent little sisters and brothers out on their bikes to holler our address at people to get them to come. Then we realized that my cousin lived just two blocks away but directly in front of a playground, and the walking traffic there was ten fold what we were seeing. Soon, the lemonade stand was moved and we were on our way to riches as far as an 8 year old can see!

Our lemonade stand would have never gotten off the ground if we didn't get the help from our parents. A float to make change, cups and materials offered for free, and emotional support when business became slow - they constantly asked us what more we could do to sell lemonade to people who wanted some.

Maybe they simply thought it was cute, but I'm sure they knew that even though we didn't rake in big money - enough to buy a ton of candy, I'm sure! - we were learning valuable life lessons with every quarter we earned.

This TED talk was filmed at my local TED gathering and Cameron Herold is a home-grown Canadian boy who speaks of a school system that tried to fit his square peg into a round hole - and how he and his father cultivated certain skills which allowed him to succeed despite the odds.

Here is where I disagree with what he has to say:

• Cheating to get to the top is never okay. If it isn't working for you, find another path. But don't cheat those who work hard out of what they have earned.
  
• If you are going to be an entrepreneur, offer fair trades. Better your own situation by bettering the situation of those around you at the same time. Everybody wins when people are paid what they are worth.
  
• Not all schools and teachers are out to crush your kids into a mold.

Here is where I agree with what he has to say:

• Kids do need to be taught to negotiate, to think critically about the service they receive, to be creative, to handle failure and still move forward, and to be comfortable speaking in front of a crowd.
  
• Entrepreneur does not have to be a dirty word.
  
• Our life mistakes should lead us to where we are, not bring us down. Did Mr. Herold partake in a few activities that would be considered unethical? Yes. But ultimately he learned from those mistakes to create his own success.

TED Tuesday - Why to believe in others with Viktor Frankl

I'm going to preface this by saying that I have been, at many times in my life, a pedestrian, a cyclist, and a motorist.

I know what it is like to be cycling on a busy road, to feel intimidated by other vehicles around you. And I know what it is like to be hit by a truck while cycling! I'll just say, none of it is fun. I go out of my way to be non-aggressive when I am passing a cyclist, to leave the appropriate amount of space (half a lane), and to stay calm behind a biker even when I have somewhere I really need to be right. now. But it really really really irks me when cyclists don't take the time to follow the rules of the road themselves. Most of those rules are there to protect themselves! And many of them are there to uphold a standard which helps motorists know to respect cyclists as a vehicle.

What is this all about, you might be asking, why is Farren ranting about cyclists today? Did a cyclist kill her entire family?!

No, no... This post is actually about Expectations. It is popular these days, and especially in my circle of friends, to expect very little from those around us. We are all people with our own predisposed ideas and we will all make our own decisions, and they may seem random at times, so don't expect anything from anyone, and the world is your oyster, correct? While I do agree in some cases and situations, I also wholeheartedly disagree. I do have certain expectations. I expect you not to spit in my food, I expect you to be honest when speaking, and I expect you to respect all living things. These are common expectations, no?

So the other day, I am driving down a long and winding road and there is a cyclist in front of me. Since I am about to turn right onto a one-way street, I decide to slow and wait for the cyclist instead of passing and immediately turning in front of them. To my surprise we turn the corner together, and he immediately darts to the left directly in front of my car - out of his designated bike lane - and takes the first left without signaling to me at any point! I had to slam on my brakes to avoid him. My first instinct? My window was already down, so I called after him - "PLEASE SIGNAL!"

Rude? Maybe. It embarrassed the manfriend something awful. He argued that yelling out a car window probably won't influence anyone and instead they might defiantly ignore my request... my request to look after his own safety. I considered his point for a long time, I really did. After all, you do attract more bees with honey (or flowers, really!!), than vinegar.

F.Y.I.

But ultimately, I have decided that it is not only appropriate for me to register my expectation that he communicate with me properly while putting his life at risk - it is necessary. Maybe he had never even considered signaling before. And whether or not my request influenced his decision, I can only control my output and not the reactions of others - but I do feel that it is absolutely VITAL that, as a society, we communicate our expectations to the others who share our communities. This is how we build vibrant and respectful places to work and live! If it happened again, I would do the same thing. Cyclists need to signal if they want to be successful and alive at the end of their journeys, and I'm willing to be that jerk who tells them. Besides, I said "please."

By being idealists about the intentions and the power of humankind, we are pushing ourselves to attain those goals, says Viktor Frankl, legendary psychiatrist and Holocaust-survivor, as he delivers a powerful four and a half minute long message on why it is important to believe in others. This TED Talk was actually filmed in 1976 and has been declared by TED to be "best of the web" and definitely worth seeing. Please spare the 4:21 to listen to this funny man tell you about the human search for meaning -- and the most important gift we can give others.




In many ways, we do create our own reality, and in general, the people around us will rise or fall to our expectations. Do you think it was wrong of me to request this cyclist signal?

Srikumar Rao - Plug into your Hard-Wired Happiness

Do you generally feel that you are a happy person or a cynical person?

Srikumar Rao, the speaker in this video, believes that all of us are hard-wired to be happy all of the time. Every moment. And that we are taught to be unhappy, to be constantly reaching for something new that will bring us happiness, that success is measured by the accumulation of WHATEVER as compared to our social peers.

Have you ever been so happy that you could sink to your knees in gratitude at the tremendous good fortune that has been bestowed upon you? That you become radiantly alive several times through out a day?

If your life isn't like that, he claims, then your life is sadly wasted.

Srikumar Rao commits to providing us all with strategies and tools to get there and start Plugging into your hard-wired happiness and living life to the fullest. Watch this short video lecture and see if you are on the right path to happiness:




Do you invest in the outcome, or do you invest in the process? Since actions are within our control, and outcomes are not - perhaps investing on the outcome is the same as focusing on failure. Live your life in a way that celebrates your success while leaving what is out of your locus of control behind. You will be infinitely more satisfied with life and the choices you make.

Simple Tips: How to Organize your Craft Space

To tell you about my craft space, first I have to tell you a bit about my apartment. I love my apartment. But not for the size, or the landlord, or the arrangement, or the way the kitchen appliances are over 35 years old and the colour of crusty mustard. Though that last one grows on me more and more with each addition of blue kitchen-ware. I am in love with the location and the relatively inexpensive rent, considering I live very central in a pretty large city. The building is sinking and I hear sirens, traffic, and wanderers at night - but the people who live in this neighbourhood are so diverse, interesting, and mostly harmless - anything less just wouldn't be home to me, now.

But the limited space does mean that my handsome manfriend and I need to be creative when figuring our how to be productive in our tiny place. My craft locale is a folding table, nestled delicately between the sliding balcony door (one of our only sources of natural light!) and the giant bookshelf full of novels, texts, my gigantic collection of national geographics, and vinyl records.

I had a lot of fun organizing everything and learned a lot for next year - as I definitely seem to be the kind of crafter who collects odds and ends with the hopes of doing something fruitful with it another time - hence the 200 issues of National Geographics. Ha.

Here are some of the little tidbits that made my re-organization successful, pleasurable, and efficient:

1) Start with five piles or boxes: things to keep, things that need a "forever home," things to recycle, things to give away, and things to throw away. Be ruthless. If you don't do it now, it will just haunt you later. Get rid of your trash, recycle, and give-away boxes immediately, don't look back!
2) Once you have figured out what is staying in your craft space, spread it out in front of you. Dump out drawers, open all your boxes, empty all your kits and cases. Start to really consider your art.
3) This is where it gets personal. Think about your own method. What works for you? What is important to keep you motivated? I like sunshine and plants, so I made sure that was a part of my craft space. I found an absolutely gorgeous vintage picnic basket and decided to use it to store unsold finished projects, and soon after stumbled about a vintage child's toy picnic basket which worked perfectly as an area just for my unfinished projects, as I can't stand constantly putting them completely away.
4) Group like with like. This is a great way to visualize how much space everything really does use. I put all my scissors and art knives together, all my different glues and adhesives together. My elastic and ribbon, my thread and bobbins, vintage buttons, stamps, everything went into little piles all over my table and floor - I pulled out every photo box, every old jar, vintage make up case, wicker basket, pencil box, or antique tin I had lying around to see what might fit where. Other ideas to contain your supplies include napkin holders, cake platters with domes, and envelope books. Etsy.com is a great place to look for items such as these!

5) Don't forget to think outside the box, too! I'm very visual and tactile, I like to see and be able to touch all my supplies immediately. Everything that I use often found a spot directly on my table or closest shelf. My top drawers reserved for items I reach for most - but I also decided to hang a few things - like an envelope to hold recent receipts until I can file them as well as small butterfly clips on a string so that I can hang baggies of earring hooks, snaps, and brads. I make my own patterns, so I finally made them each their own envelope and then drew the garment on the front of the envelope in neat sharpie colours and slid them all into their own little box.
6) Be comfortable in your own space. Stick to a style you love. I love warm, open, and cozy spaces and wanted my tiny craft nook to reflect that style. And I wanted it to be a place where I love to spend time. Mission Accompli!

For me, this organization project was at first a daunting task that turned out to be a lot of fun and didn't quite take the effort I was expecting. It can be very inspiring to see all the supplies, colours, and tools to have at one's disposal! Good luck to everyone launching their own organization project, I think you will find that a clear space translates to a clear mind - which really lets those great ideas sparkle through. Shine on you crazy diamonds, Shine on!

The 8 Secrets of Success

A quickie TED talk, today! I found this speedy little video the other day and watched it for my own curiosity. Am I on track with my goals and aspirations? Am I moving towards success? Turns out, there were a few things that I was already doing, a few things that I know I needed to focus on, and a few things that I needed to re-evaluate about myself and my goals.

Even though this video is extremely short, it is packed with useful and motivational information that helped me feel like I was on the right track. Hopefully you feel the same way!


"Why do people succeed? Is it because they're smart? Or are they just lucky? Neither. Analyst Richard St. John condenses years of interviews into an unmissable 3-minute slideshow on the real secrets of success:"



Motivated?! Let's get creative!

To view more TED talks, go here.