Best Ever Quinoa Chocolate Cupcakes

A couple weeks ago I was reminded of these absolutely yummy cupcakes Jack and I enjoyed at a birthday party last year.  Harrison’s 3rd birthday opened my eyes to the most delicious chocolate cupcakes made with quinoa…I couldn’t believe it!  Thanks Andree & Jason. I recently requested the recipe for a friend and thought, man, this is just too good to not share with everyone.

From one blogger, out through another, check out BEST EVER QUINOA CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES  by Cake on the Brain.

BEST EVER QUINOA CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES adapted from Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood Makes 12 large scrumptious cupcakes

• 2 cups cooked quinoa, cold (see note below for instructions to cook quinoa)
• 1/3 cup milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cups butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

*1 muffin tin (large cups, large cupcake liners) with 12 wells.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with the 12 large-sized cupcake liners.
2. In a Vitamix, Blender of Food Processor, combine: milk, eggs, vanilla. Blend until combined. Add 2 cups of cold cooked quinoa and the melted butter and continue to blend until smooth.
3. Dump in the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the Vitamix. Blend well to combine.
4. Pour from the blender directly into the cupcake liners, evenly distributing the cupcake batter between the 12 liners. Gently tap the tin on the counter to ensure there are no air bubbles. Smooth the tops with a small spatula (or your finger!)
5. Bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 30 minutes.
6. Test the cupcakes for doneness with a toothpick or cake tester.
7. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a rack.
8. Frost if desired with Swiss Meringue Buttercream using a 1M Wilton tip. Decorate with the chocolate lace hearts (see post above for the easy method I used). Bling it up with dragees if desired.
9. Cupcakes can be stored sealed in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month. But I don’t think they’ll last that long.

Note: Bring 2/3 cup raw, rinsed white or golden quinoa to boil in a heavy saucepan with 1 1/3 cups water. Cover, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered saucepan on burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and allow the Quinoa to cool.

Rice Cooker Method: Cook rinsed quinoa as you would rice, following manufacturer’s instructions and the indicator lines for appropriate water levels. I made 1 cup quinoa and found it had enough leftovers to make another dish.

The townhouse that’s more like a detached home

Timberwood Village 94, 6880 Lucas Road, Richmond, BC

MLS: V1037991 List Price: $529,000 Floor Area: 1556 Unit: 3 bed/2.5 bath Condo Fees: $290.49 Taxes: $1902

From the inside, you would never guess that this detached townhouse was 36-years-old.  With beautiful updates through out the home, you will see granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, new flooring, tile, crown moulding, paint and more.  The kitchen is open to the living and dining rooms, while the living room has vaulted ceilings open to the upstairs den.

There is a patio off from the kitchen with a spacious path to the back yard, while the living room also provides direct access to the yard.

The three bedrooms upstairs are all average to larger in size and are nicely separated from one another.  There is ample closet and storage space; the master room has side-by-side closets, one of the spare rooms has a large adjoining storage room, there is a large attic, linen closet, coat closest, space within the washer and dryer area and a storage room in the garage.

The price has dropped from $538,000 to $529,000, with a motivated seller.

PROS

• Amenities nearby (shopping, schools, parks)
• Rooms are average to large in size
• Fully updated with new kitchen, bathrooms, floors, crown moulding, fireplace  and more
• In-house storage, attic and garage
• 1/2 bath on main floor, 2 full bathrooms upstairs
• Visitor parking near by
• New steam washer and dryer
• Complex has outdoor pool

CONS

• Maintenance fees are on the high side, but it is an older complex and there is access to a pool
• Kitchens is nice and open, but fridge is in an unusual spot
• The outside aesthetics of the complex are not as pleasing to the eye as other developments, but work is being done to upgrade by strata
• Kitchen patio will eventually require some work

MORTGAGE DETAILS

Purchase Price: $529,000

High Ratio Loan (less than 20% down payment) Interest Rate: 3.04% Amortization: 25-year Down Payment (5%): $26,450 CMCH fees: $13,820.12 Total loan: $516,370.12 Payment: $2,454.31 Approximate income required: $110,000*

Conventional Loan (20% or more down payment) Interest Rate: 3.04% Amortization: 30-year Down Payment (20%): $105,800 Total Loan: $423,200 Payment: $1788.16 Approximate income required: $86,000*

*Inclusive of maintenance fees, heat and property taxes.

From my home to yours -Irene

Building & Sales Leveling, Prices Notch Small Gains

Canadian existing home sales and housing starts declined in most markets, while prices continued to rise in 8 out of the 11 major markets.

It’s expected for the market to cool over 2014, but there might be a surge of purchases prior to the Mortgage Insurance Premium increases set for May 1, 2014.  Genworth Financial and Canada Guaranty followed CMHC’s lead and will adjust mortgage insurance premiums from a range of 0.05%-2.75% to a range of .06%-3.15%.

Even with the softening of the market, it’s still surprising to see what your money will buy in various Canadian markets.  My cousin Shirley who lives in Windsor, Ontario often comments on the property listings included in my newsletters each month.  She shocked to see how costly our homes are in Vancouver in comparison to theirs.   In Canada’s housing market here’s what $500 K buys: A lake in Edmonton … a condo in Toronto is a good article showing the price comparables on home listings across our nation.

This month, there were also a number interesting graphs worth sharing:

More highlights from February’s headlines:

Overall

• The loonie fell to its lowest level in 4 1/2 years against the U.S. dollar on Jan. 22 after the Bank of Canada kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
• Re/Max surveyed 16 Canadian markets and found sales of what it calls “upper end homes” higher in 75% of those markets.
• CREA: reported January sales through its multiple listings service totalled 457,893 homes for 2013, up eight-tenths of a percent from 2012.
• The national average price for homes sold in December was US$389,119, up 10.4% from the end of 2012. Excluding Greater Vancouver and the Toronto region, the year-over-year increase was 4.6%.
• Last year was a pretty remarkable year for negotiating a good deal. The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals said the average five-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.06% in 2013, while the average posted rate was 5.21% in 2013 for the same term.
• This week the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that a competition tribunal erred in dismissing allegations by Ottawa’s former competition commissioner that the country’s largest real estate board is abusing its market dominance. But in ruling the tribunal should reconsider the complex case on its merits, the court has really reopened a critical question: How much industry controlled Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data should be made available to consumers online? “One of the key things I tell our people is that your role is not to be a house finder. That was a 1990s job. Today’s consumers grew up on Google — no one is more excited about finding a house in a particular neighbourhood than they are…What they need you to be is an interpreter of data, a consultant, an adviser and a professional negotiator who ensures that not just the price, but the terms and conditions of this complex deal are well managed. That’s where all our focus should be.” Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper said.
• Canadian existing home sales fell for a fifth month in January on fewer transactions in Toronto and Vancouver, adding to evidence the nation’s housing market is cooling.
• CREA: Sales declined 3.3% in January from the previous month. The average price of a home sold in January rose 0.3% from the previous month and 9.5% from a year ago.
• Canadian home prices rose to a record high in January as Vancouver prices surged, the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed. Prices rose in most of the 11 markets surveyed, led by a 1.1% rise in Vancouver and a 0.5% rise in Toronto and Quebec City. Prices were up 0.4% in Calgary, 0.3% in Hamilton, and 0.2% in Montreal and Winnipeg.
• Year-over-year price gains were seen in eight of the 11 markets, led by a 7.5% gain in Vancouver and a 7.1% rise in Calgary compared to January 2013.
• CMHC: Canadian housing starts fell twice as fast as expected in January, led by a drop in multiple-unit projects. Work on new homes fell 3.7% to a 180,248-unit annualized pace, the third straight decline. Permits for dwellings such as apartments and condominiums fell 6.0% to 102,289 units and single-family homes rose from the lowest since July 2009 in January, gaining 3.4% to 60,869 units.
• Prices continue to rise across the country. The Canadian Real Estate Association said December average prices were up 10.4% nationally from a year ago to $389,119.
• The cost of mortgage default insurance is about to go up for most consumers after competitors moved quickly to follow Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s decision to raise premiums.
• CMHC announced it is increasing premiums across the board, effective May 1. The change does not impact existing homeowners and is expected to raise up to $175-million for CMHC. “The higher premiums reflect CMHC’s higher capital targets,” said Steven Mennill, CMHC’s vice-president of insurance operations, in a release. “CMHC’s capital holdings reduce Canadian taxpayers’ exposure to the housing market and contribute to the long term stability of the financial system.” Prior to the announcement, the premiums ranged between 0.5 per cent and 2.75 per cent. Under the new rules, they will range from 0.6 per cent to 3.15 per cent.

Predictions

• Toronto-Dominion Bank Chief Executive Officer Ed Clark said Canada’s economy is in danger of underperforming the U.S. as consumers become increasingly “fragile” amid rising household debt and home prices. “Canada could well undergrow the United States for the next three or four years, which means we’re going to have lower interest rates for longer,” Clark, 66, said this week in an interview at the bank’s Toronto headquarters. “There’s a risk that people are going to keep borrowing.”
• Re/Max says there is “upward trajectory” for home values in Vancouver but expects modest growth this year for prices.
• CMHC: housing starts will be in a range of 176,600 and 199,800 in 2014, with a point forecast, or most likely outcome, of 187,300 units, relatively unchanged from 187,923 units in 2013. That is up slightly from CMHC’s October estimate of 184,700 starts. The agency said there will be 163,200 to 206,600 units started in 2015, with a point forecast of 184,900. Both forecasts represent a sharp slowdown from the 214,827 starts of 2012, when the market was at record highs and the government intervened to tighten mortgage lending rules.
• CMHC: homebuilding and sales leveling off, with prices continuing to notch small gains.
• CMHC: home sales will range from 436,000 to 497,000 in 2014, with a point forecast of 466,500 units. That’s down slightly from October’s forecast of 468,200 but up from 457,485 in 2013.
• CMHC: For 2015, it expects a move up to a range of 443,400 to 506,000, with an increase in the point forecast to 474,700. Price gains are expected to slow in 2014 and 2015. CMHC’s point forecast for the average price calls for a 2.1% gain to $390,400 in 2014, and a 1.7% gain to $397,100 in 2015.
• Canadian home prices are overvalued by 10% according to two new reports issued by Toronto-Dominion Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The TD report, authored by economist Diana Petramala, also notes the overvaluation in markets like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa is likely more significant than in others across the country. “Overvaluation depends on the definition of income,” Ms. Diana Petramala, a TD economist, said. “A more encompassing definition of income, including government transfers and investment income, suggests the housing market is only 8% overvalued.” She arrives at the 10% figure, however, by also looking at affordability and taking into account interest rate trends over the next few years. “Home prices have weakened in the second half of 2013 as a result and we expect that softness to persist in 2014,” Petramala said.
• CIBC Deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal said now that the federal budget has closed a loophole offering a shortcut to wealthy investors, he thinks it could have an even greater impact on housing markets in Vancouver and, to a lesser extent, Toronto. “They basically had stopped the program,” said Mr. Tal, about the Immigrant Investor Program which fast-tracked permanent residency for people who could come up with $800,000. The money ultimately served as a interest-free loan to the government that was paid back to the immigrant in five years. Mr. Tal says his own research shows there has been a “significant softening” in activity in high-end home sales in Vancouver, Canada’s most expensive city.

 Vancouver

• The escalation of east-side property values is raising fears that speculators are buying land at inflated prices. An industrial part of Mount Pleasant near Main Street and Broadway had the highest increase – about 30 per cent, as calculated by the B.C. Assessment Authority on the basis of recent sales.
• Vancouver, the priciest market in the country, saw an increase of 36% in sales in 2013 from 2012 in homes selling for $2-million and up.
• The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver: there were 1,760 sales through the Multiple Listing Service in January, a 30.3% increase from a year ago. But sales were down 9.9% decline from December.
• Last month’s sales figures remain 7.2% above the 10-year average for the month of January. Prices have inched up a bit too. The board’s composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver stood at $606,800 last month, a 3.2% increase from a year ago.

Toronto

• In Toronto, where a luxury home is said to start at $1.5-million, sales were up 18% in 2013 over 2012.
• The shortage of new listings is being blamed for a 2.2-per-cent decline in home sales across the GTA in January and a more than 9-per-cent surge in prices, year over year, according to figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board
• TREB: The average sale price of a home in January was $526,528, up more than 9 per cent from $482,080 in January of 2013.

For the month of January:

• Sales of detached homes were down 4.3 per cent in Toronto and 6.5 per cent in the suburbs, in large part reflecting the shortage of those most sought-after properties for sale.
• The average sale price of a detached house in Toronto hit $888,210, up almost 15 per cent, according to TREB. That compares to a 10.5 per cent price jump to an average sale price of $620,654 for a detached home in the suburbs.
• Semi-detached sales were down 5 per cent in the 416 region and almost 9 per cent in the 905 area, with average sale prices up 6.1 per cent (to $622,319) in Toronto and 6.3 per cent (to $416,441) in the suburbs.
• Townhouse sales were up 7.4 per cent in the 416 and flatlined in the 905, with prices up 4.6 per cent (to an average $439,401) and 10.4 per cent (to $396,320), respectively.
• Active listings also plummeted by 16.4 per cent, down to 11,903 properties still for sale across the GTA in January, compared to 14,231.
• TREB: Some 2,767 properties were sold during the first two weeks of February, up just 1.3 per cent from the same period a year ago. But the average sale price was up 7.8 per cent to $547,107 from the $507,474 recorded in the first two weeks of February 2013.
• New listings remained down about 6.1 per cent as of mid February, year over year. But that’s a significant improvement from the 16.6 per cent decline in new listings in January which was blamed, along with the unrelenting polar vortex, for a 2.2 per cent drop in sales across the GTA.

Calgary

• A luxury home starts at $1-million. Sales of upper end homes in Calgary climbed 34% in 2013 from 2012. Edmonton is a little less pricey for a luxury home with the starting price $750,000 but sales jumped 32% over the same period.
• CMHC: first quarter 2014 Housing Market Outlook said housing starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area will reach 14,100 units in 2014 before declining to 13,500 in 2015. They were at 12,584 last year.
• CMHC: record level of migration in 2013 will help lift MLS sales from 29,954 in 2013 to 31,300 units in 2014 and to 32,100 in 2015 and the high level of demand is expected to be met by more supply which will help lift the average price from $437,036 in 2013 to $449,000 in 2014 and to $460,000 in 2015.
• CMHC: In Alberta, after reaching 18,431 units in 2013, single-detached starts are projected to increase to 19,100 in 2014 and remain near this level at 18,800 in 2015. After increasing to 17,580 units in 2013, multi-family starts in Alberta are projected to rise further to 18,000 units in 2014 and then moderate to 17,600 units in 2015.
• CMHC: In the resale market, MLS sales are projected to rise from 66,080 units in 2013 in Alberta to 68,500 in 2014 and to 70,100 in 2015. The average MLS price in the province will increase from $380,969 in 2013 to $391,100 in 2014, and then rise to $401,000 in 2015.
• CMHC: The Calgary and Alberta housing markets will be buoyed in the coming years by strong net migration numbers. CMHC estimates net migration to the province in 2013 will be 103,000 people followed by forecasts of 71,000 in 2014 and 63,000 in 2015.

LEGO: Controversy over Little Pastel Bricks

LEGO has been a big part of my 2014, mostly because of my 3-year-old son, Jack.  But it has not entirely been because of his interest. I noticed the ad you see shown here posted on Facebook in January. It’s a 1981 LEGO ad that was reviewed by Huffington Post and I found it interesting for a few reasons.  I liked it, but I didn’t.  I liked it because of the story and the happiness it exuded, but I felt like the visual was telling me, for a girl to play with LEGO, she would likely be a tomboy.

I learned later in the article The Little Girl from the 1981 LEGO Ad is All Grown Up, and She’s Got Something to Say, that the clothes she was wearing in the photo shoot , were actually her own clothes.  I don’t know why, but I would have liked to see her in a dress or something a little more ‘girly’ to be more representative that even the ‘girly-girl’ loves to play with regular LEGO.

LEGO’s benefits, as described in the Bloomberg Businessweek article, LEGO is for Girls, say “LEGO play develops spatial, mathematical and fine motor skills, and lets kids build almost anything they can imagine, often leading to hours of quiet, independent play”, proving to be an invaluable toy to both boys and girls (and parents). The article digs into LEGO’s history and the development of trying to reach the other 50% of the market, girls.  LEGO has continually failed at targeting this demographic in the past, so they invested 4 years researching, interviewing and assessing 3,500 girls and their mothers, resulting in some key findings for their new product development:

1. The greatest concern for girls was beauty
2. Girls prefer role-play, but still love to build. They just build differently, preferring to stop along the way opposed to boys tending to be linear, building rapidly, even against the clock
3. More girls projected themselves into the ladyfig, where boys tend to play with minifigs in the third person.

Using their new findings and committing $40 million dollars to a marketing strategy,  a new LEGO line,LEGO Friends, was released in late 2011 aimed to girls 5+.

Their initial launch of LEGO Friends generated consumer controversy with groups and individuals such as SPARK (Sexualization Protest, Action, Resistance, Knowledge) and Eating disorder specialists, Carolyn Costin, demanding changes to be made due to their concerns with the damaging gender stereotypes of the product.

Despite the negative push back, in 2012 LEGO tripled sales in the US from 9% to 27% for the number of ‘girl’ sets sold.

LEGO met with SPARK to discuss the concerns and addressed plans for implementing change, but Bailey Shoemaker Richards notes in her article, A Year Later, How’s LEGO Doing?, she has not seen improve in an area of main concern, the female representation on their website and in their product lines.  According to Shoemaker Richards, the count for female minifigures was only 16% as of March 2013.

Shoemaker Richards also critiques the new LEGO ad released in early 2013, which is surprisingly consistent to the 1981 release. I also found an article by Robert Klara, LEGO’s Consistency Has Been the Key to Its Success Getting girls was the tricky part, comparing the ad to an earlier 1978 poster with a young boy.  Both exude achievement, but in different respects; her, for her individuality and self-expression, him, for his achievement and parent admiration.

Although LEGO has increased sales to girls through LEGO Friends, the questions is, has it ultimately peaked interest for girls to explore other LEGO products lines or gain the special skills these little bricks have been offering boys for decades; ‘toys with vitamins’ as they have been referred to.

I love that my son is at the age to be completely engrossed with hours of fun LEGO play.  It’s absolutely his favorite toy, and The LEGO Movie has not disappointed to drive his passion further.  He knows all the trailers word for word, and action for action – we are desperately waiting for the online release.

His passion of LEGO pretty much extends to wanting everything LEGO: Angry Birds LEGO, The LEGO movie LEGO, Star Wars LEGO, Batman LEGO and even the Princess Romantic Castle set from the LEGO Disney Princess series. In watching Jack, I know he plays and sees a toy, as a toy.  Not that it’s being advertised to him directly or to a girl, or that it is blue versus pink or that it’s teaching him anything special.  He sees it as something interesting that can factor into his imagination and playtime.  He loves building different things like monsters or robots and good guy guns that can help protect a princess from bad guys.  He wants to help and protect, like a hero.   For him, he likes having a princess (sometimes mommy) to save or team with to beat the bad guys together.

Including more females in the boy dominated LEGO sets and boys in the LEGO Friends would allow for more creative imaginations crossing both genders, and I believe it will help with gender equality. Limiting pinks, purples or specialty pastels to be sold in girl’s product is a bit concerning, when instinctively, kids don’t see the need for that division.  The gravitation to certain colours or styles may be present in each sex and each kid, but it doesn’t mean it’s that the way a 100% of the time.  I have observed that variety (colour, shapes, sizes) is welcomed by most kids.

My hope is that more girls find interest in LEGO and over the years LEGO can continually adapt their product to include more collaborative, gender-neutral, hybrid products (including all colours), that can be intermixed with the gender specific models.

Lastly, LEGO is for all generation, not just kids.  If you thought your days were over playing with LEGO, think again. LEGO is a phenomenal product, even for adults.  Lynn Oucharek of O Vision Consultingshared this video in her Creative Starters newsletter last month. It shows how LEGO can be a valuable time management training exercise – even if you don’t like to build, it can prove to be a rewarding reminder of your accomplishments from your hard days work.

Check it out for yourself to see if you can apply this idea to your own career development.  The full article related to the video is available here.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/d5xAQnwPXIE?feature=oembed

Spring Ideas for your Home and Parties

Welcome Spring and all the exciting decorating ideas that come with warmer, longer & brighter days

	Colour Trends for 2014 Radiant Orchid is the colour of the season and find many more fashionable Pantone’s for Spring.
	Spring Decorating Ideas From place mats to custom door mats, find the “how to’s” to make your home beautiful.
	Spring Decor Welcome Spring to the indoors and wake up your living room, dining room and bedroom.
	Go Green Home can feel natural with the colour green.
	Spring Decorating Tips Tips to light up your space.
	Decorate for Easter Have fun this Easter – host a tea party!
	Spring Party ideas Celebrate the season with beauty.