IDS2016 New ideas in design

Want to get the biggest BANG for your buck in Design?  

I recently attended the Opening Night Party and Media Preview at the INTERIOR DESIGN SHOW IDS2016 in Toronto to see what's new in Home Design. I have been wanting to go to IDS for the past few years but it always seemed to happen when I had other things going on.  So I was really happy that I could attend this year, although I did end up having work conflicts and was only able to go to the Opening Night Party but I was determined to see everything at the show that night.  The alcohol and assorted food bites were flowing but I ventured throughout the Metro Convention Centre to look at all of the Design Displays.  The photos probably don't do the design justice but it will give you a bit of an idea of a few of the things I checked out including this Lego House.  I wonder if Lego could be the homeless solution of the future?  Maybe I should build myself a Lego House on a Lake or something... HMMM..  

 One of my favourite Canadian stores Urban Barn was there with a great booth of all the things I would love to buy in the spring.  I bought a lot of my furniture from them.

I am not sure exactly what this oval piece is meant for but I am guessing it's a man cave thing of possible a music player?  There wasn't anyone there to ask at the time.

 

I really like Black Classic but with a slight edge so this booth of black and white really caught my eye.  Solid pieces that would probably stand the test of time. I love all of these pieces.

 

 Oh Look it's fashion Santa on the wall of this huge living room booth.  Looks cozy.  I wonder how long these people sat there.  They look very comfy.

A trend that I saw seemed to be Wood everything including these sliding doors and this very interesting Modern Table.

In one of the Kitchen's was Chef Devan Rajkumar from OMAW whipping up some delicious Shrimp and Grits.  I am sure he doesn't get to cook in a kitchen that clean and roomy everyday.  I would love to have a kitchen with a fridge that large and a visit by Chef Devan wouldn't hurt too.

I thought this Fridge was interesting.  You know how you lose things at the back of your fridge?  This fridge is shallow and you can see everything in it very easily.  Might not be great for Big Birthday Cakes though.

 I also thought this bowl was interesting functional design.  It's a bowl that is also a strainer and it has a handle that you can use if you need to pout out the contents.

The one thing I have learned over the past few years of shopping for a new space is that you need to have function and beauty together for a piece that you will want to keep for a long time.  Design without function is just art but create a piece that is beautiful and functional then you have Great DESIGN.  I saw a lot of great design at IDS2016.  Lot's of solid wood, lot's of granite and other similar  types of counter tops, interesting finishes in wood and laminate flooring and modern and high tech kitchens and bathrooms.

I was hoping to write this post in time for you to still visit the show but unfortunately you will have to wait until next year to go to the show but you will see some of these designs on local daytime TV Shows and in retail stores soon where you can purchase some of these beautiful things.

For more information about the show and some of the Vendors that were in attendance check out :
http://www.interiordesignshow.com/

#IDS2016  Follow more photos from the show on Twitter and Instagram.

Fudi by Foodies -New product contest

Fudi is a new Boil in Bag Frozen Food Product that you can pick up at your grocery store for under $10.  All you have to do is boil 2 bags for 15-17 minutes and just open and serve and you have a complete meal.  Fudi sent me 5 different samples of their new meals.  These are great for people that want a fast meal but maybe have small kitchens, or don't have all the chef skills it would take to make a meal like these.  In each bag you get a bag with raw Kale, unseasoned.  Another bag containing pearl barley and the seasoned Chicken.  The chicken comes in 5 flavourings right now.

Pollo Jerk, Pollo Tandoori, Santa Fe, Cacciatore and Cajun.  Fudi also makes seasonings so the flavours of the seasonings are spot on.  I preferred the flavour of the Tandoori one the most.

A few of Toronto Food Bloggers were also given some samples and we were all tasked with taking photos of the products and we are competing for the best photos that Fudi have selected.

They chose the photo of the POLLO JERK meal that I made.   You can help me win a Supply of these products that I will share with my readers if I WIN.

I just need your help to VOTE for my photo.  You can vote everyday until January 27th.  The most votes for a photo wins the products.   So if I WIN,  you WIN.  I don't have room in my freezer so I will share with many of you.

Here is the link to VOTE:  

http://bit.do/votefudi .  it's the POLLO JERK under my @lindamatarasso name

You can vote on their Facebook page or their website.

 Follow Fudi on Social Media to see who wins.

Twitter: @fudi_ca

Instagram: @fudi_ca

Facebook: Fudi Canada

Thanks for you support and let me know if you have tried any of these products.

This one is going to be tough since there are a lot of my Toronto Food Blogger buddies also competing in this contest so even if I don't win at least I will be happy for one of my pals.

*Disclosure:  I was not paid for this post but I was given 5 sample products to review.

Pantry Raid: Tips for a Fresh New Year

PANTRY RAID

Getting Organized for a FRESH New Year

I have been on a mission to start 2016 fresh and clear out any clutter and bad things or habits from previous years.

It started when I started feeling like my small space felt cluttered with accumulated stuff from events, things I bought on impulse and gifts and other things.

I started to gather the stuff I didn't really need or want anymore and made a huge pile and then decided to have a Holiday party and give most of it away to my friends instead of buying gifts that I can't afford to purchase.  The clutter clearing and party organizing set me off on a space cleaning and clearing mission.  I think it's probably a good feng shui practice to keep your space clean and clear for good things to be able to be brought into your life.  Since my life needs some good things to be brought into it this year it kind of kick started me into a domino effect of non stop cleaning and organizing.   What I always find is that once I start on a cleaning or organizing project that moving the things around creates a domino effect and what starts off as a plan to spend a few minutes turns into hours of a bigger project.

Case in point.  This week for some reason I started moving a few things around in my kitchen and ended up deciding to go through a basket that had little bags of spices from the bulk store and other things.  Then it turned into an exercise of making space to be able to see all of these spices so they don't get lost in the back of the cupboard.  I got rid of all the little bags and put things into Mason jars or other containers.  Then I decided I had too many boxes of different salts and re organized that.  Then I moved onto flours, sugars, and other bags of things and moved them into vacuum seal plastic containers that can be stacked.   This little short task that I started turned into a 4 hour re-organizing of 2 out of 3 large cupboards.  The Third one isn't too bad as most things were organized not long ago.

Here's the thing about the benefits of spending the time doing this:

1. You see what you have or don't have.  I realized that my cornstarch had an expiry date. 
2. You put the food into containers that may preserve them from leaking, getting stale or dust or bugs.
3. You can see exactly how much of the contents you have if you store it into mason jars or clear plastic containers.
4. Label everything so you know if it's flour, sugar, cornstarch or icing sugar so you never grab the wrong thing.
5. You save lot's of time looking for things and this saves time in cooking and shopping.

The other benefit is that you feel like you have accomplished something and know that everything is fresh and clean and your spices aren't 10 years old.

I would suggest that it's a good way to start off a New Year.  Clean your pantry, check your spices when you just want to stay inside when the weather is too cold outside.  It's a great time to get organized and if you plan on losing weight or working on your New Year's Resolutions this can only help lessen your to do list later.

It makes you feel great when you see everything and don't have to spend 20 minutes looking for something you only use once a year that is buried under a pile of bags of stuff way at the back.

Here's the Best Tips for getting this done:

1. Get a label maker or fancy labels that you can write on with chalk
2. Mason Jars make excellent re usable containers and come in different sizes and can stack
3. Square, rectangular Vacuum containers let you open things quickly and keep things sealed tight and also stack for maximum space in your cupboards
4. Take everything out and sort like with like before you figure out which containers they need to be moved to.   
5. Try and use a container that can be filled to the top so you don't waste space with empty jars or boxes.
6. If you bake a lot maybe you can put all of your baking supplies into a basket and then you just pull out the basket when you need it.  You can do the same with spices.
7. There are all kinds of organizers you can get for your cupboards like multi level shelves or dividers or lazy susan's or even cheap dollar store baskets can help so think about how to maximize the space.
8. If you are able to leave room to grow if you know you have to purchase missing things.

I will also give you my list of some key pantry ingredients you should have for many things:

Pantry Staples:

• Baking Soda
• White Vinegar
• Cornstarch
• Coconut Oil or Olive Oil or Canola Oil.
• Sugar (White, Brown, Icing, Raw etc)  depends on baking or other needs
• Salt (Sea, Kosher, Rock or Himalayan) depending on your needs
• Pepper
• Cinnamon
• Flour
• Rice/Pasta
• Canned Tomatoes
• Canned or dried beans or lentils
• Oatmeal

Notice something interesting about this list?  Well it's probably pretty similar to what your mother or grandmother bought with the exception of maybe Coconut oil which wasn't as readily available as it is now.

But here's the thing with this list.  You can cook, bake a whole lot of things.  Some of these things can be used as beauty treatments or cleaning products and health treatments.  

Examples:

• Mix salt with lemon to clean copper pots
• White vinegar and baking soda to clean sinks
• Baking soda to clean stainless steel pots
• Coconut oil to cook and also as a moisturizer or in coffee even
• Cornstarch can thicken sauces and keep things dry
• Oatmeal can be used as a breading, a topping, a hot breakfast and a beauty treatment

I wish I had a before and after photo of what I started with.  It didn't look really bad because I had a lot of stuff in containers but it is functionally better.  I still have to use up a few things and organize a few more things.  Being a blogger makes you accumulate food and food styling things you need for plating etc.  I am trying to just keep things I really need as much as possible moving forward.

It's always a work in process.  I have been working on this pantry organization for a long time because I have an obsession with spices and seasonings that take up a lot of space but can change a meal on a time with a few ingredients.  I can travel the world through my kitchen.

If you open your cupboard and things keep falling out then maybe it's time to get everything out and a garbage bag and get some containers and a label maker and make a big cup of tea and get to it.

You will thank me later.   

Happy Organizing and I hope this brings you great Feng Shui for 2016.