I spend most of my day logging samples for microbiological and chemical testing--sometimes, but rarely for quality control (there's someone else for that). The majority of the samples we receive are food-related though there are the occasional pharmaceutical samples.
Most of the time I find it faster and easier to log by samples by grabbing a whole slew of sample request sheets, logging them all at once and then stickering the samples and sending them down to the micro or chem lab.
One day we received samples for milk chocolate chips. I had to log them for a nutritional analysis--you know, the label you see on back of a package, that's what my company is responsible for. Anyway, I logged them under the "snacks" category because obviously they were milk chocolate-covered potato chips. Right, right?
Not so much.
They were actually milk chocolate chips...the ones you find in milk chocolate chip cookies. Duh! I had to cancel the sample I logged and re-log the sample under the correct category--clearly not "snacks" though some would consume them as snacks. I don't know what the hell I was thinking but I found it hysterical and I knew it would only be funny to me, Sean and my foodie friends. I knew that no one at work would have any idea what I was talking about--and think I was totally crazy.
Anyway, that's the funny story of the month. Actually, last month since I totally missed out on November. Now I'm off to have a taste of Asher's Milk Chocolate Smothered Potato Chips. I'll report back when I can.
December 3, 2010
November 18, 2010
I'M NOT DEAD...YET
I'm still here. I know it's been more than a month since my last post. To tell you that so much has happened is beyond an understatement. There was Halloween, my dad's birthday, a trip to the ER, four separate attempts at rush tickets for Wicked (the results to come) and lots of baking* and cooking. Most of it was documented--the baking and cooking aspects, not the trip to the ER--although I suppose it would have wasted some more time but my thoughts weren't on that while I sat in the waiting area contemplating my high blood pressure. Crikey, I'm only 27!
Several posts are forthcoming...during the weekend. Thank goodness I didn't enter the Foodbuzz Project Food Blog. I probably would have had to quit my job just to keep up with the weekly challenges.
*The baking involved cupcakes, cookies and a fantastic six-layer chocolate and peanut butter cake that was gluten-free and almost vegan. Where the hell is one supposed to purchase soy creamer in the Markham-Stouffville area?!
Several posts are forthcoming...during the weekend. Thank goodness I didn't enter the Foodbuzz Project Food Blog. I probably would have had to quit my job just to keep up with the weekly challenges.
*The baking involved cupcakes, cookies and a fantastic six-layer chocolate and peanut butter cake that was gluten-free and almost vegan. Where the hell is one supposed to purchase soy creamer in the Markham-Stouffville area?!
October 24, 2010
RECIPE: ANGELA'S PUMPKIN CHIA SPELT SCUFFINS
One of my closest friend's dog died a little less than a month ago and Sean and I decided to go over and cheer her up. Not wanting to go over empty-handed, Sean and I opted to make her cookies but since she's on the Weight Watchers diet (and doing a mighty good job), I had to find a recipe that would suit the WW points scale but also be delicious.
Enter Pumpkin Chia Spelt Scuffins by Angela from Oh She Glows. What the heck is a scuffin? Well, I kind of wondered the same thing but then continued reading and found out that it's a mix between a scone and a muffin. I followed Angela's recipe with my substitutions in italics below:
PUMPKIN CHIA SPELT SCUFFINS
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flax egg in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (spelt, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves). Set aside. In a different bowl mix the butter, sugar and agave until smooth. I melted my butter a bit in the microwave for 15 seconds first as I find the Earth Balance is easier to work with when melted slightly. Now add pumpkin, flax egg, and vanilla. Beat well. Carefully mix in dry ingredients being sure not to overmix. Spelt is broken down very quickly when mixed and you can end up with a tough batter if you overmix it. But relax it will turn out regardless!
The batter will be very moist and sticky, but don’t worry. Drop the batter onto the baking sheet. I wet my fingers to slightly shape the scuffins. Pop a stick in the end if preferred to have your scuffin on a stick! I got my sticks at Bulk Barn. Sprinkle with chia seeds for a spooky, yet nutritious, effect for Halloween! You can also have fun decorating little pumpkin faces on them (great for kids!). Bake for 17 minutes or until the scuffins slightly bounce back when touched. Handle the scuffins on a stick very carefully because they are delicate. I found that I improved this by making smaller scuffins on a stick- then they weren’t as heavy!
Believe it or not, these cookies are only 1 point on the WW point scale. My friend was not only really happy to have some company to cheer her up and not only happy to receive cookies (Sean made a cookie containing coconut and white chocolate), but really happy to find out that these cookies were only 1 WW point. Score!
I've made these once again since that first time and made the following substitutions according to what I had on-hand:
The second round of baking these cookies turned out to be better than the first. I don't know if it was the use of cane sugar or butter but the cookies were less dense than the first batch. They were addictive, crazy addictive.
Enter Pumpkin Chia Spelt Scuffins by Angela from Oh She Glows. What the heck is a scuffin? Well, I kind of wondered the same thing but then continued reading and found out that it's a mix between a scone and a muffin. I followed Angela's recipe with my substitutions in italics below:
PUMPKIN CHIA SPELT SCUFFINSIngredients:
- 2 1/2 cups whole grain spelt flour (I used whole wheat as I didn't have any spelt on-hand)
- 1 t baking powder
- 1 t baking soda
- 2 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t nutmeg
- 1/2 t ground cloves
- 1/2 t fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan buttery spread
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar (I used white granulated since I didn't have any cane sugar)
- 1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin
- 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T warm water, mixed)
- 1 t vanilla
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flax egg in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (spelt, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves). Set aside. In a different bowl mix the butter, sugar and agave until smooth. I melted my butter a bit in the microwave for 15 seconds first as I find the Earth Balance is easier to work with when melted slightly. Now add pumpkin, flax egg, and vanilla. Beat well. Carefully mix in dry ingredients being sure not to overmix. Spelt is broken down very quickly when mixed and you can end up with a tough batter if you overmix it. But relax it will turn out regardless!
The batter will be very moist and sticky, but don’t worry. Drop the batter onto the baking sheet. I wet my fingers to slightly shape the scuffins. Pop a stick in the end if preferred to have your scuffin on a stick! I got my sticks at Bulk Barn. Sprinkle with chia seeds for a spooky, yet nutritious, effect for Halloween! You can also have fun decorating little pumpkin faces on them (great for kids!). Bake for 17 minutes or until the scuffins slightly bounce back when touched. Handle the scuffins on a stick very carefully because they are delicate. I found that I improved this by making smaller scuffins on a stick- then they weren’t as heavy!
Believe it or not, these cookies are only 1 point on the WW point scale. My friend was not only really happy to have some company to cheer her up and not only happy to receive cookies (Sean made a cookie containing coconut and white chocolate), but really happy to find out that these cookies were only 1 WW point. Score!I've made these once again since that first time and made the following substitutions according to what I had on-hand:
- 2 1/2 cups whole grain spelt flour (I used whole wheat as I didn't have any spelt on-hand)
- 1 t baking powder
- 1 t baking soda
- 2 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t nutmeg
- 1/2 t ground cloves
- 1/2 t fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan buttery spread (I used butter as I was out of EB and the calorie count actually turns out to be very similar)
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin
- 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T warm water, mixed)
- 1 t vanilla
The second round of baking these cookies turned out to be better than the first. I don't know if it was the use of cane sugar or butter but the cookies were less dense than the first batch. They were addictive, crazy addictive.
October 11, 2010
MONTREAL: SMOKE MEAT PETE'S
I think I'll spend October recapping most of September. Why the heck not? I don't have any upcoming cupcake orders so it seems like my October will be free to post as I wish.
My trip to Montreal with Sean was more than a month ago but the memories are still there. The food memories, of course. What else would I be talking about? Our first food stop was none other than Smoke Meat Pete's, which Sean and I both consider to be better than Schwartz's Deli in terms of food, service and environment.
For the first time ever, Sean and I checked out the menu though I somehow neglected to take a photo of it. Though there were a plethora of things to munch on, Sean and I stuck to the Pete's Special which included a smoked meat sandwich with fries, coleslaw, a pickle and a drink. Here's what that looks like in photo form:
And here's the sandwich up close:
Yum!! Unfortunately I couldn't finish the entire thing. As much as my tastebuds wanted me too, I decided to play it safe and let Sean finish off the last bit of my sandwich and fries. It was hard to do so but I knew that my stomach would thank me later. Plus, being in a city I wasn't too familiar with, I didn't want to have to do any last-minute washroom hunts.
This is the Dairy Queen across the street from SMP:
It's a small jaunt to the DQ and had I not been so full of smoked meat and Montreal French fry goodness, I totally would have jumped at the chance to venture into this terribly old DQ and order up something cold and creamy. I love this DQ. It's just so ghetto-fabulous! (This is actually the view from the road. You can see SMP in the background...with the green awning.)
Then we hit the road for our hotel--Novotel Downtown Montreal, here we come!
My trip to Montreal with Sean was more than a month ago but the memories are still there. The food memories, of course. What else would I be talking about? Our first food stop was none other than Smoke Meat Pete's, which Sean and I both consider to be better than Schwartz's Deli in terms of food, service and environment.
For the first time ever, Sean and I checked out the menu though I somehow neglected to take a photo of it. Though there were a plethora of things to munch on, Sean and I stuck to the Pete's Special which included a smoked meat sandwich with fries, coleslaw, a pickle and a drink. Here's what that looks like in photo form:
And here's the sandwich up close:
Yum!! Unfortunately I couldn't finish the entire thing. As much as my tastebuds wanted me too, I decided to play it safe and let Sean finish off the last bit of my sandwich and fries. It was hard to do so but I knew that my stomach would thank me later. Plus, being in a city I wasn't too familiar with, I didn't want to have to do any last-minute washroom hunts.This is the Dairy Queen across the street from SMP:
It's a small jaunt to the DQ and had I not been so full of smoked meat and Montreal French fry goodness, I totally would have jumped at the chance to venture into this terribly old DQ and order up something cold and creamy. I love this DQ. It's just so ghetto-fabulous! (This is actually the view from the road. You can see SMP in the background...with the green awning.)Then we hit the road for our hotel--Novotel Downtown Montreal, here we come!
October 10, 2010
RECIPE: ANGELA'S HOCKEY NUTS IN CANADA
You have to make Angela's nuts. You'll fall in love with Angela's nuts. It's actually a recipe adapted from Union Square Cafe. You can find the original recipe here but you can find Angela's version.
Here's a recap of Angela's version:
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups mixed unsalted nuts (I used 1/2 cup peanuts, 1/2 cup cashews, 1/2 cup walnuts, and 3/4 cup almonds) (I used this ratio of nuts)
- 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (I used dried since that's all I had on-hand)
- small pinch cayenne pepper
- 1-2 Tbsp Sucanat (or brown sugar) (I used 2 Tbsp brown sugar)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup, to taste (optional) (I totally used maple syrup...I love it)
- 1.5 tsp sea salt (I used pink Himalayan salt since it was nearby)
- 2 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
This IS a highly addictive snack. In fact, I didn't even bother waiting for the nuts to cool and did a little quality control on some hot-out-of-the-oven almonds. Yum, yum! It was some really good stuff and then I proceeded to sit on my hands for the remaining 19 minutes until the nuts had cooled down.
Then I proceeded to eat almost every single nut in the little glass above. It was a little bit of insanity but I managed to stop myself and then had to transfer the nuts into a Bernadin 500mL mason jar with the remaining placed into a tightly shut container. I'm sure how long they'll in their containers but I don't think it'll really matter. They're great snacking items.
Here's a recap of Angela's version:Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups mixed unsalted nuts (I used 1/2 cup peanuts, 1/2 cup cashews, 1/2 cup walnuts, and 3/4 cup almonds) (I used this ratio of nuts)
- 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (I used dried since that's all I had on-hand)
- small pinch cayenne pepper
- 1-2 Tbsp Sucanat (or brown sugar) (I used 2 Tbsp brown sugar)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup, to taste (optional) (I totally used maple syrup...I love it)
- 1.5 tsp sea salt (I used pink Himalayan salt since it was nearby)
- 2 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread nuts onto the baking sheet and toast for about 10-12 minutes. Remove nuts and let cool for about 5 mins. or so. While cooling, mix the sauce ingredients (rosemary, cayenne, Sucanat, maple syrup, sea salt, 1 tbsp of Earth Balance butter). Now, dump nuts into a large bowl and stir in 1 tbsp of melted Earth Balance butter. Add sauce and mix well. Pour nuts back onto baking sheet and bake for another 10-12 minutes until golden. Cool for about 20 minutes and serve warm. Makes 2 1/4- 2 1/2 cups.
This IS a highly addictive snack. In fact, I didn't even bother waiting for the nuts to cool and did a little quality control on some hot-out-of-the-oven almonds. Yum, yum! It was some really good stuff and then I proceeded to sit on my hands for the remaining 19 minutes until the nuts had cooled down.
Then I proceeded to eat almost every single nut in the little glass above. It was a little bit of insanity but I managed to stop myself and then had to transfer the nuts into a Bernadin 500mL mason jar with the remaining placed into a tightly shut container. I'm sure how long they'll in their containers but I don't think it'll really matter. They're great snacking items.
A WEEK-LONG UPDATE
So I kind of fell off the bandwagon with my whole "will post every other day" thing. This week was really manic, beginning with Monday. And I'm not even talking about the infamous Marie Claire article about the "Big Six." I do think the article is a bunch of hooey considering that I've been reading Caitlin's blog for close to two years now. (Honestly, I can't even remember when I first started reading her blog but it would take me a heckuva long time to figure it out.) I won't bother commenting too much over the whole thing (it has been a week since the debate exploded) but my initial reaction when I read the Big Six was, "who the hell calls them that?!" And that was pretty much my reaction throughout the entire article.
But enough of that. How was the rest of my week? Well Tuesday involved Glee, a hockey draft with Jessie, Sean and Jessie's BF, Adam. I opted out because I don't really care for hockey. We were supposed to make cookies after Glee but ended up watching more TV and then totally forgot. We're hoping to make pumpkin cookies this week though.
Wednesday was supposed to be jam-packed (picking up alterations, a trip to Bulk Barn, cutting Sean's hair and etc) but Sean and I just got the middle thing done. We picked up some major Halloween necessities at Bulk Barn including a Halloween-themed cookie pan (which I will be using for Halloween-themed Madeleine cookies and cupcake liners and fall-themed mini cookie cutters. I also had a Quarter Pounder meal for dinner from McDonalds and let's just say it wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had. My stomach was kind of in knots the entire evening. I had indigestion and my stomach was making noises so loud that Sean and I both wondered if an alien was going to burst out of my stomach at any moment. It was kind of crazy. Suffice it to say, it's probably going to be a VERY long time before I have McDonalds again.
Thursday was a relaxing night at home involving Baking Life and FarmVille. It was good to get caught up and just chill at home for a bit. To be honest, I hadn't been home in a few days and the cats knew it. I also spent Thursday freaking out about a dress I had altered specifically for a wedding last night. The straps were too long but the altered dress made the dress too uncomfortable under my armpits and all the other dresses I had were either too long, needed to be dry cleaned or were too big. Even a dress my mom had only bought me about a month and a half ago was too big. I've only lost about 2lbs (maybe) since then but still, could it really have made that much of a difference? Well apparently so! I wasn't totally chuffed since the dress only cost $10 and getting it altered will probably cost around $20-25 so the dress (including alterations) will still be a steal.
As a result Friday after work was spent scouring the mall for a new dress and low and behold, the best dress was found at Le Chateau. It's the ultimate little black dress though totally not my usual style. First of all, it was tight and fitted. Sean said I looked like a model (and I kind of agreed). Unfortunately I totally forgot to take any photos of Sean and I at the wedding and when I mentioned this to him, as we were sitting in a Chinese restaurant in clothes that we had brought to change into, he said it was okay because we could just re-create the whole look and take pictures then. *snort* Who the heck is he kidding?! I had to get a last-minute hair cut, dye my hair (a last-minute trip to Coupe Bizzaare wasn't in the cards so I didn't have time to re-dye my pink hair), do a mani/pedi on myself, plus shower, get dressed and get my make up done. I mean, maybe, just maybe for the sake of photo preservation we'll do it. We did look smokin' hot last night.
There's been other drama going on in my life but the one constant has been Sean. Good times all around on that front. And a good man he is. This is Thanksgiving weekend and I guess you could say I'm really thankful for Sean. And our relationship and I guess it's taken me a full 9 years to truly and utterly appreciate it. I mean, I know I appreciated it before and I always told Sean that, but never has our relationship meant more to me and been more meaningful than it is now. And I think he knows that too.
There's another post coming today...I promise!
But enough of that. How was the rest of my week? Well Tuesday involved Glee, a hockey draft with Jessie, Sean and Jessie's BF, Adam. I opted out because I don't really care for hockey. We were supposed to make cookies after Glee but ended up watching more TV and then totally forgot. We're hoping to make pumpkin cookies this week though.
Wednesday was supposed to be jam-packed (picking up alterations, a trip to Bulk Barn, cutting Sean's hair and etc) but Sean and I just got the middle thing done. We picked up some major Halloween necessities at Bulk Barn including a Halloween-themed cookie pan (which I will be using for Halloween-themed Madeleine cookies and cupcake liners and fall-themed mini cookie cutters. I also had a Quarter Pounder meal for dinner from McDonalds and let's just say it wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had. My stomach was kind of in knots the entire evening. I had indigestion and my stomach was making noises so loud that Sean and I both wondered if an alien was going to burst out of my stomach at any moment. It was kind of crazy. Suffice it to say, it's probably going to be a VERY long time before I have McDonalds again.
Thursday was a relaxing night at home involving Baking Life and FarmVille. It was good to get caught up and just chill at home for a bit. To be honest, I hadn't been home in a few days and the cats knew it. I also spent Thursday freaking out about a dress I had altered specifically for a wedding last night. The straps were too long but the altered dress made the dress too uncomfortable under my armpits and all the other dresses I had were either too long, needed to be dry cleaned or were too big. Even a dress my mom had only bought me about a month and a half ago was too big. I've only lost about 2lbs (maybe) since then but still, could it really have made that much of a difference? Well apparently so! I wasn't totally chuffed since the dress only cost $10 and getting it altered will probably cost around $20-25 so the dress (including alterations) will still be a steal.
As a result Friday after work was spent scouring the mall for a new dress and low and behold, the best dress was found at Le Chateau. It's the ultimate little black dress though totally not my usual style. First of all, it was tight and fitted. Sean said I looked like a model (and I kind of agreed). Unfortunately I totally forgot to take any photos of Sean and I at the wedding and when I mentioned this to him, as we were sitting in a Chinese restaurant in clothes that we had brought to change into, he said it was okay because we could just re-create the whole look and take pictures then. *snort* Who the heck is he kidding?! I had to get a last-minute hair cut, dye my hair (a last-minute trip to Coupe Bizzaare wasn't in the cards so I didn't have time to re-dye my pink hair), do a mani/pedi on myself, plus shower, get dressed and get my make up done. I mean, maybe, just maybe for the sake of photo preservation we'll do it. We did look smokin' hot last night.
There's been other drama going on in my life but the one constant has been Sean. Good times all around on that front. And a good man he is. This is Thanksgiving weekend and I guess you could say I'm really thankful for Sean. And our relationship and I guess it's taken me a full 9 years to truly and utterly appreciate it. I mean, I know I appreciated it before and I always told Sean that, but never has our relationship meant more to me and been more meaningful than it is now. And I think he knows that too.
There's another post coming today...I promise!
October 2, 2010
PUMPKIN OATMEAL!
Yep, I finally jumped onto the pumpkin oats bandwagon! I mean really, who wouldn't want to partake in a delicious meal of this:
I know I would want too, and now you can too! Here's my recipe for success:
DOM's FIRST PUMPKIN-Y OATMEAL:
- 1/4 cup of rolled oats
- 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup of 2% organic milk (or any liquid)
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 2 heaping tablespoons of canned pumpkin (next time I would probably increase this quantity to 3)- 1 ripe banana sliced and halved
Toppings:
- sprinkling of roasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of pure maple sugar
- drizzle of clover honey, about one teaspoon's worth
Directions:
PS: Might I also add that I realize that September was the worst for blog posts. There was a LOT of stuff going on...trips to Montreal and a record amount of cupcake-making and baking in general. That means lots of good material for future posts. I'm hoping to bang out a post every other day. We'll see how it goes.
I know I would want too, and now you can too! Here's my recipe for success:DOM's FIRST PUMPKIN-Y OATMEAL:
- 1/4 cup of rolled oats
- 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup of 2% organic milk (or any liquid)
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 2 heaping tablespoons of canned pumpkin (next time I would probably increase this quantity to 3)- 1 ripe banana sliced and halved
Toppings:- sprinkling of roasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of pure maple sugar
- drizzle of clover honey, about one teaspoon's worth
Directions:- In a small saucepan, combine the oats and 1/2 cup of milk over high heat. Once the mixture starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium-high and add the chia seeds and 1/4 cup of milk. Stir well.
- Once the chia seeds have begun to congeal, add the pumpkin and stir well. The mixture will turn a lovely shade of orange. Turn off the heat and add the banana. Mix well.
- Now add your toppings, mix well and enjoy!
PS: Might I also add that I realize that September was the worst for blog posts. There was a LOT of stuff going on...trips to Montreal and a record amount of cupcake-making and baking in general. That means lots of good material for future posts. I'm hoping to bang out a post every other day. We'll see how it goes.
September 19, 2010
MY LAPTOP IS DISEASED
My laptop is on the fritz--again! It's what I get for trying to stream Bethenny Getting Married. But I also blame the Apple for not letting me purchase the episode from their iTunes store because I'm not an American user.
I'm currently using my dad's laptop which just happens to have a French keyboard which means that nothing is where it's supposed to be. The letters are in their usual spots but the apostrophe, 'at' sign, quotation marks, slash and backslash and just about everything else are everywhere but where they should be. It's confusing. There's also an Alt+Car button which is what I have to use to access the @ sign. This is kind of chronicles except that I'm quickly getting used to it. It reminds me of the month Jessie and I spent in Europe (3 weeks in Geneva and one week in Paris).
Ah, Paris. Don't even get me started on Paris. I love that city. I have plans for Sean and I and that city. First I need to finish our trip to Montreal and our 9th anniversary celebration at kaiseki-Sakura.
Unfortunately all my photos are on my laptop and not on my dad's so I'm waiting for my brother, who just happens to do IT for law firms in TO for a living, to fix my laptop before I can post about all those wonderful things.
Until then, this photo-less post will have to do. But you can still find me on Twitter. Yep, I've joined that. We'll discuss it later.
I'm currently using my dad's laptop which just happens to have a French keyboard which means that nothing is where it's supposed to be. The letters are in their usual spots but the apostrophe, 'at' sign, quotation marks, slash and backslash and just about everything else are everywhere but where they should be. It's confusing. There's also an Alt+Car button which is what I have to use to access the @ sign. This is kind of chronicles except that I'm quickly getting used to it. It reminds me of the month Jessie and I spent in Europe (3 weeks in Geneva and one week in Paris).
Ah, Paris. Don't even get me started on Paris. I love that city. I have plans for Sean and I and that city. First I need to finish our trip to Montreal and our 9th anniversary celebration at kaiseki-Sakura.
Unfortunately all my photos are on my laptop and not on my dad's so I'm waiting for my brother, who just happens to do IT for law firms in TO for a living, to fix my laptop before I can post about all those wonderful things.
Until then, this photo-less post will have to do. But you can still find me on Twitter. Yep, I've joined that. We'll discuss it later.
September 9, 2010
MONTREAL, DAY 1
The morning started off earlier than normal:
But breakfast was as usual (instant oatmeal, ground flax, chia seeds, grapes and strawberries):
to be eaten in the car. We left 18 minutes later than planned:
but it was all good. What was not all good was my stomach! The oatmeal was not eaten because after two spoonfuls my stomach started feeling queasy. Even before getting onto the highway, I had to ask stop off at a McDonalds so that I could use the washroom.
The ride along the 401 westbound was pretty uneventful. I even managed to fall asleep for about 15 minutes but I suppose that shouldn't come as a big surprise to anyone. Eventually we happened upon the Big Apple in Colborne and decided to pay it a visit. Actually, what really happened was that I got so excited about the Big Apple that Sean obliged when I told him we had to stop to check it out. We were making pretty good timing so I don't think he cared too much. Also, when you squeal with delight, you are more apt to getting your way.
Tons of photos ensued:
We never saw any of these animals...
Just a couple of llamas and a couple hidden sheep:
Check out the bakery:
Pie and crumble production! Some kind of machinery:
Cutting out pie crusts/shells or something of that sort (no one was really around to give us a tour or more info):
A giant mixer! This is my dream come true--although I'd like a more stable one:
And what visit is complete without food?
Savory bites available at the Big Apple cafeteria:
Along with some shockingly glowing candy apples:
apple butter:
and a slice of apple crumble that Sean and I split:
It wasn't totally horrible. I was actually a little hesitant to eat anything, in fear of having an IBS-related attack so I had about 1/3 of it and left the rest for Sean. It was a little too sweet but that's normal of outside desserts.
Of course, what visit to the Big Apple would be complete without a picture with the Big Apple:
Then we continued along our merry way.
The best part of the ride into Quebec was eating our prosciutto and basil sandwiches that I had made the night before. Mmm, mmm, good. (Does Campbell's have a copyright on that saying? I sure hope not as I think I've mentioned that quite a few times on this blog). Anyway, it was a grande plan as I wasn't fond of stopping at some fast food joint only to stop at the next fast food joint to get re-acquainted with the porcelain. So I made some sandwiches on ciabatta bread. The goat cheese I planned on using had gotten moldy so I nixed that and used some gooseberry jam from Sean's fridge. Sean's sandwiches had the jam, prosciutto and tons of basil while mine just had prosciutto and basil. They were great sandwiches to go with my coconut water. Whole Foods was all out of Vita Coco so I had to stock up (I only got 4) of the Zico brand. It's okay; I still prefer Vita Coco.
The rest of the ride was uneventful--until this came along:
The best thing about being in Quebec (not just Montreal) is that my name is everywhere! No longer is my name unique or interesting or related to a song sung by a nun, it's just a French name, like any other name in Quebec--awesome!
More stuff to come...I figured that Smoke Meat Pete deserves its own post!
But breakfast was as usual (instant oatmeal, ground flax, chia seeds, grapes and strawberries):
to be eaten in the car. We left 18 minutes later than planned:
but it was all good. What was not all good was my stomach! The oatmeal was not eaten because after two spoonfuls my stomach started feeling queasy. Even before getting onto the highway, I had to ask stop off at a McDonalds so that I could use the washroom.The ride along the 401 westbound was pretty uneventful. I even managed to fall asleep for about 15 minutes but I suppose that shouldn't come as a big surprise to anyone. Eventually we happened upon the Big Apple in Colborne and decided to pay it a visit. Actually, what really happened was that I got so excited about the Big Apple that Sean obliged when I told him we had to stop to check it out. We were making pretty good timing so I don't think he cared too much. Also, when you squeal with delight, you are more apt to getting your way.
Tons of photos ensued:
We never saw any of these animals...
Just a couple of llamas and a couple hidden sheep:
Check out the bakery:
Pie and crumble production! Some kind of machinery:
Cutting out pie crusts/shells or something of that sort (no one was really around to give us a tour or more info):
A giant mixer! This is my dream come true--although I'd like a more stable one:
And what visit is complete without food?Savory bites available at the Big Apple cafeteria:
Along with some shockingly glowing candy apples:
apple butter:
and a slice of apple crumble that Sean and I split:
It wasn't totally horrible. I was actually a little hesitant to eat anything, in fear of having an IBS-related attack so I had about 1/3 of it and left the rest for Sean. It was a little too sweet but that's normal of outside desserts.Of course, what visit to the Big Apple would be complete without a picture with the Big Apple:
The best part of the ride into Quebec was eating our prosciutto and basil sandwiches that I had made the night before. Mmm, mmm, good. (Does Campbell's have a copyright on that saying? I sure hope not as I think I've mentioned that quite a few times on this blog). Anyway, it was a grande plan as I wasn't fond of stopping at some fast food joint only to stop at the next fast food joint to get re-acquainted with the porcelain. So I made some sandwiches on ciabatta bread. The goat cheese I planned on using had gotten moldy so I nixed that and used some gooseberry jam from Sean's fridge. Sean's sandwiches had the jam, prosciutto and tons of basil while mine just had prosciutto and basil. They were great sandwiches to go with my coconut water. Whole Foods was all out of Vita Coco so I had to stock up (I only got 4) of the Zico brand. It's okay; I still prefer Vita Coco.
The rest of the ride was uneventful--until this came along:
The best thing about being in Quebec (not just Montreal) is that my name is everywhere! No longer is my name unique or interesting or related to a song sung by a nun, it's just a French name, like any other name in Quebec--awesome!More stuff to come...I figured that Smoke Meat Pete deserves its own post!
September 8, 2010
MONTREAL, JE T'AIME.
Montreal was a blast! The vacation was over way too soon. There was biking and cupcakes and cake and so much good food. Absolutely nothing and I mean, not one food item was a miss. Terrific, just terrific! The company wasn't bad either:
Just kidding!
Sean and I both had a fantastic time. Food adventures included stapes such as Smoke Meat Pete and Lafleurs and poutine at (new to us) La Banquise. We even hit up a cupcake shop, Cocoa Locale with really high expectations and it matched (almost) every one of them. Also had room service our first night in town (good stuff!) and had our first taste of wild boar prosciutto at Bottega. Hmmm..what else am I missing? Ah yes, Sunday morning mimosas at Holder Restaurant and I cannot forget Sean's soft-boiled eggs with truffle tapenade at the same restaurant. To.die.for. We even had the courage to (finally) try Ethiopian food and the experience was all together fantastic. The taste of the injera was not as horrifying as others (on the internet) were making it out to be and our chosen dishes were great; the alcohol beverages we chose as accompaniments weren't bad either ;)
Did I forget anything? Oh wait, there was a squirrel that attacked me in Parc La Fontaine. But I'll get to that and all of the above in detail in the following days. Good food like this deserves its own post.
Just kidding!Sean and I both had a fantastic time. Food adventures included stapes such as Smoke Meat Pete and Lafleurs and poutine at (new to us) La Banquise. We even hit up a cupcake shop, Cocoa Locale with really high expectations and it matched (almost) every one of them. Also had room service our first night in town (good stuff!) and had our first taste of wild boar prosciutto at Bottega. Hmmm..what else am I missing? Ah yes, Sunday morning mimosas at Holder Restaurant and I cannot forget Sean's soft-boiled eggs with truffle tapenade at the same restaurant. To.die.for. We even had the courage to (finally) try Ethiopian food and the experience was all together fantastic. The taste of the injera was not as horrifying as others (on the internet) were making it out to be and our chosen dishes were great; the alcohol beverages we chose as accompaniments weren't bad either ;)
Did I forget anything? Oh wait, there was a squirrel that attacked me in Parc La Fontaine. But I'll get to that and all of the above in detail in the following days. Good food like this deserves its own post.
August 28, 2010
BASIL PLANTING
I planted my basil cutting today. It's currently hot as F out today and I'm not a happy camper but being practically home alone (my parents are at a soccer tournament, bro is at work and Sean is at a friend's wedding that I wasn't invited to :| ), I thought it would be a good day to get down and dirty with the dirt. Mind you, I'm not really a fan of dirt and all that jazz. The idea of discovering a worm kind of wigs me out.
But I braved the outdoors elements and planted my Loblaws basil cutting:
I actually just used some all-purpose soil from a bag I found outside in the makeshift garden center. Our backyard is still a huge mess. I keep meaning to post photos of the "construction" going out outdoors but keep forgetting. It's a miracle I even remembered to replant the basil frankly. Too much has been going on this month but I'm hoping September settles down.
Anyway, back to the basil. Here's the root system:
And the entire cutting:
And here it is in the pot:
I'm very proud of my basil plant. I don't know the exact variety but it is different than the one I purchased from Longo's. Speaking of which, check one that one:
It's totally thriving now! It still has the white fly issue but I think that's because I was ignoring it for a while and it was totally dying. I mean, COMPLETELY dying. Its leaves were wilting and I didn't think I was going to be able to revive it, but I stuck it outside and watered it like crazy and after 24 hours it bounced back. See, what I mean? I'm good with plants outdoors but indoors, not so much. So for the past few days the Longo's basil has lived outdoors and the same fate will fall upon my Loblaws basil. After all this hard work, I don't want to replant it only to have it die.
But I braved the outdoors elements and planted my Loblaws basil cutting:
I actually just used some all-purpose soil from a bag I found outside in the makeshift garden center. Our backyard is still a huge mess. I keep meaning to post photos of the "construction" going out outdoors but keep forgetting. It's a miracle I even remembered to replant the basil frankly. Too much has been going on this month but I'm hoping September settles down.Anyway, back to the basil. Here's the root system:
And the entire cutting:
And here it is in the pot:
I'm very proud of my basil plant. I don't know the exact variety but it is different than the one I purchased from Longo's. Speaking of which, check one that one:
It's totally thriving now! It still has the white fly issue but I think that's because I was ignoring it for a while and it was totally dying. I mean, COMPLETELY dying. Its leaves were wilting and I didn't think I was going to be able to revive it, but I stuck it outside and watered it like crazy and after 24 hours it bounced back. See, what I mean? I'm good with plants outdoors but indoors, not so much. So for the past few days the Longo's basil has lived outdoors and the same fate will fall upon my Loblaws basil. After all this hard work, I don't want to replant it only to have it die.
WEDDING REHEARSAL CUPCAKE EPIC, EPIC, FAIL
The Plan: 65 cupcakes for a wedding rehearsal dinner.
- 25 double chocolate fudge cupcakes filled with dulce de leche topped with Kahlua whipped chocolate ganache frosting
- 20 triple vanilla cupcakes filled with blueberry mousse cream topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting
- 20 triple vanilla cupcakes filled with strawberry mousse cream topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting And each cupcake would be topped with a heart-shaped fondant topper embossed with the bride and groom's first initial's and sprinkled with edible glitter.
Sounds simple, right? In reality, not so much.
On the day of, everything that could have gone wrong, did.
The day started out rather well. I woke up really early, giving myself five hours to complete The Plan and arrive at the rehearsal site by 3:30. Everything was looking good. The fondant hearts were already done and by 10:00 the double chocolate fudge cupcakes had been baked, the fillings had been made and were cooling in the freezer. I was just about to start on the vanilla cupcakes and everything from there on out went straight downhill.
The recipe for the vanilla cupcakes did not yield the 20 that I was expecting. Fail #1. This I knew, was attainable, as I had attained 20 cupcakes at Jessie's house when we first baked the triple vanilla cupcakes. Whatever, moving on. As soon as the first batch were in the oven I began making the second batch. The second batch baked as the first batch were cooling and low and behold, the cupcake liners were slowly but surely peeling away from the cupcakes! Fail #2. These were cupcake liners that I had purchased online in the colours of the bride and groom's wedding because I couldn't find them in-store at Michael's or Walmart or Bulk Barn. I chose the same brand as the black ones that I had purchased for a previous wedding but for some reason, these ones were peeling away! And I knew it couldn't have been the recipe I chose because I had fantastic results with the same recipe with the same liner in a different colour. At this point I was completely freaking out as I couldn't serve cupcakes that had no liner and I only had enough butter for one more batch of cupcakes. So I made the last batch of vanilla cupcakes in regular white cupcake liners and hoped that these liners would be okay. As I was getting the flour and baking powder mixed together I realized I was on the last dregs on my 10kg bag of flour! How could that be? How could I be out of flour? I tried to get out as much flour out of that bag as I could but I still short about half a 1/3 of a cup of flour and subbed it with cake flour. Fail #3. I hoped that the 1/6 of a cup of cake flour out of the entire 2-2/3 cup of AP flour wouldn't make that much of a difference.
At this point I gave myself two options: go to Michael's and purchase ribbon to tie around the bottom of the cupcakes to make up for lack of liner and up the presentation factor OR go out and buy more butter and flour. The latter wasn't really an option since the butter wouldn't have been room temperature anyway. The former it was! I spent 40 minutes round-trip purchasing four different types of purple and yellow ribbon only to have Sean show up and help me tie the ribbon but then realize that I hadn't purchased enough. Clearly, 18m of ribbon is only enough to wrap like...8 cupcakes, not 20! Fail #4! At this point I had no choice but to go with the unlined cupcakes. It was devastating. Being a perfectionist, I cringed at the thought of presenting less than stellar cupcakes but I didn't really have any other option. I was already running incredibly late as I'm the type of person who likes to arrive early at these sorts of things.
Finally, an hour later than intended, Sean and I left for the wedding rehearsal site. When all was said and done, the cupcakes looked amazing even despite the missing liners and I know that they tasted amazing so I'm hoping that the bride and groom are happy with the results. It was all very rush, rush so I set-up as quickly as I could without making it look like a rush job but didn't have a chance to make contact with the bride-to-be.
So after four major failures, it was what I would consider a true cupcake failure but I managed to pull myself together and get the job done. Why life likes to play such cruel jokes on me, I don't know, but the cupcakes still looked good and the double chocolate fudge cupcakes tasted better than ever. My dad even sampled one and complimented me on how "fin" it tasted. That's a winner in my books as my dad's comments usually begin with "next time..."
Here's a little teaser...
More photos to come...
- 25 double chocolate fudge cupcakes filled with dulce de leche topped with Kahlua whipped chocolate ganache frosting
- 20 triple vanilla cupcakes filled with blueberry mousse cream topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting
- 20 triple vanilla cupcakes filled with strawberry mousse cream topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting And each cupcake would be topped with a heart-shaped fondant topper embossed with the bride and groom's first initial's and sprinkled with edible glitter.
Sounds simple, right? In reality, not so much.
On the day of, everything that could have gone wrong, did.
The day started out rather well. I woke up really early, giving myself five hours to complete The Plan and arrive at the rehearsal site by 3:30. Everything was looking good. The fondant hearts were already done and by 10:00 the double chocolate fudge cupcakes had been baked, the fillings had been made and were cooling in the freezer. I was just about to start on the vanilla cupcakes and everything from there on out went straight downhill.
The recipe for the vanilla cupcakes did not yield the 20 that I was expecting. Fail #1. This I knew, was attainable, as I had attained 20 cupcakes at Jessie's house when we first baked the triple vanilla cupcakes. Whatever, moving on. As soon as the first batch were in the oven I began making the second batch. The second batch baked as the first batch were cooling and low and behold, the cupcake liners were slowly but surely peeling away from the cupcakes! Fail #2. These were cupcake liners that I had purchased online in the colours of the bride and groom's wedding because I couldn't find them in-store at Michael's or Walmart or Bulk Barn. I chose the same brand as the black ones that I had purchased for a previous wedding but for some reason, these ones were peeling away! And I knew it couldn't have been the recipe I chose because I had fantastic results with the same recipe with the same liner in a different colour. At this point I was completely freaking out as I couldn't serve cupcakes that had no liner and I only had enough butter for one more batch of cupcakes. So I made the last batch of vanilla cupcakes in regular white cupcake liners and hoped that these liners would be okay. As I was getting the flour and baking powder mixed together I realized I was on the last dregs on my 10kg bag of flour! How could that be? How could I be out of flour? I tried to get out as much flour out of that bag as I could but I still short about half a 1/3 of a cup of flour and subbed it with cake flour. Fail #3. I hoped that the 1/6 of a cup of cake flour out of the entire 2-2/3 cup of AP flour wouldn't make that much of a difference.
At this point I gave myself two options: go to Michael's and purchase ribbon to tie around the bottom of the cupcakes to make up for lack of liner and up the presentation factor OR go out and buy more butter and flour. The latter wasn't really an option since the butter wouldn't have been room temperature anyway. The former it was! I spent 40 minutes round-trip purchasing four different types of purple and yellow ribbon only to have Sean show up and help me tie the ribbon but then realize that I hadn't purchased enough. Clearly, 18m of ribbon is only enough to wrap like...8 cupcakes, not 20! Fail #4! At this point I had no choice but to go with the unlined cupcakes. It was devastating. Being a perfectionist, I cringed at the thought of presenting less than stellar cupcakes but I didn't really have any other option. I was already running incredibly late as I'm the type of person who likes to arrive early at these sorts of things.
Finally, an hour later than intended, Sean and I left for the wedding rehearsal site. When all was said and done, the cupcakes looked amazing even despite the missing liners and I know that they tasted amazing so I'm hoping that the bride and groom are happy with the results. It was all very rush, rush so I set-up as quickly as I could without making it look like a rush job but didn't have a chance to make contact with the bride-to-be.
So after four major failures, it was what I would consider a true cupcake failure but I managed to pull myself together and get the job done. Why life likes to play such cruel jokes on me, I don't know, but the cupcakes still looked good and the double chocolate fudge cupcakes tasted better than ever. My dad even sampled one and complimented me on how "fin" it tasted. That's a winner in my books as my dad's comments usually begin with "next time..."
Here's a little teaser...
More photos to come...
August 24, 2010
FOOD RECAP (SORTA)
Here's a really random food recap because I'm missing a lot of meals. Like I mentioned on my previous post, I've missed out on a lot of morning photo ops due to Baking Life--oops!
3rd...Tuesday
Lunch was a mild Italian sausage with navy beans and cucumber sticks:
along with mangoes, peaches, strawberries and golden kiwi for fruit:
Sean picked me up after work and we headed off to the mall. We were at the mall for a while because when we got out everything was closed, including the diner where Sean wanted to grab a burger so instead we decided to make our own burgers:
I also wanted some chicken wings so Sean kindly obliged and cooked those on the grill for me as well :)
===
6th...Friday
Lunch was a leftover burger that Sean and I had made together on Tuesday night (I had a whole slew of food to eat between then):
and fruit included blackberries from the garden and mango:
Dinner was leftovers from Sean's birthday dinner the night before. His parents took us out to Mevame and I had the two lamb skewers with garlic mashed potatoes:
===
10th...Tuesday
Lunch inspired by Freshii:
And it didn't cost me $7.99 plus tax. When in Toronto with time to kill and a meal to eat for, I typically head to Freshii when at the Eaton's Centre where I order a Bliss Bowl. It contains brown rice, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, double avocado, diced tomatoes, goat cheese and your choice of dressing (typically extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar). My Bliss Bowl contained brown rice, avocado, corn, portabella mushrooms, goat cheese and three types of heirloom tomatoes...these ones actually:
It was a totally filling lunch and definitely hit the spot. I love the items offered at Freshii (customizable also) but do not love the $8 price tag.
===
11th...Wednesday
So apparently all I've got from the 11th is an iPhone photo of my breakfast. It's better than nothing, right? This breakfast is actually organic vanilla yogurt with organic instant oats on top along with chia seeds and a bunch of fruit:
I wanted a little bit of variation from my usual hot oatmeal and this did the trick. The only problem is that I over estimated how much I'd be able to eat during my morning break. Oops.
===
13th...Friday
Dinner on Friday was a sandwich but not just any sandwich...it was a delicious prosciutto sandwich on baguette bread:
Baguette + prosciutto + goat cheese + fresh basil = HOLY CRAP YUM!
I'm not gonna lie...sandwiches on baguette bread totally remind me of the summer I spent with Jessie in Europe. We stayed in Geneva, Switzerland for two weeks, then spent one week in Paris and then another week in Geneva before heading back home. It was the summer before our last year of high school and it was glorious. We were a couple of gals spending our summer touring Europe and the best part about Paris were the ham and cheese baguettes we would pick up for $3. I will never forget those sandwiches. Or the fact that I gorged myself on cheese and all kinds of dairy while there and then came home and became lactose-intolerant. Does North American cheese really suck that much? (Note: I am lactose-intolerant but my tolerance level varies with different types of dairy. I can do ice cream, organic milk and hard cheeses but things like cream, sour cream, thick yogurts and soft cheese like goat brie set me off in large amounts.)
===
19th...Thursday
Who has dinner at IKEA? Well Sean and I. Actually, we almost didn't. Sean arrived at my house Thursday night and after I told him about the Swedish meatball deal at IKEA Monday-Thursday ($2.99 for their regular 15 meatballs and mashed potatoes deal), he insisted we go. So off we went and as soon as we approached the Market Hall (more like the IKEA cafeteria), it was madness! There were two huge lineups and I suggested that we walk around a bit so that the lines die down. Sean agreed and we spent a good amount of time oogling our future kitchen (the word "dude" was repeated back and forth in one conversation far too many times for a convo in the years 2010). But then I caught sight of the Market Hall hours and realized we had 12 minutes to get there before it closed. Panic spread across Sean's face and inside my head as I knew Sean would have been really crushed if he missed out on the meatballs. We made the longest mad dash to the Market Hall possible--why is it impossible to find your way around IKEA's showroom?--but made it to the back of the line just in time. And it was still busy. And we were the third to last group of people in line. Yep, that's right, I spotted the woman standing by the closed sign just two people after us. Whew, we made it in time. I didn't even want to think of what would have happened should we have missed the line. But we made it and then waited 20 minutes before we could order our food. They were out of mashed potatoes so we subbed with veggies. Sean got some kind of smoothie and I got a ligonberry drink. Here's my complete meal:
It doesn't look like much but I couldn't finish it all. Sean had to finish off about three meatballs and in hindsight I told Sean that I should have let him finish off some more. The veggies weren't really anything to write home about but it was a healthier choice than the french fries.
===
20th...Friday
Hung out with Sean in the evening. I can't really remember what we did but I wanted a sandwich for dinner. We ended up at Longo's so I could make my dinner at his place instead. I picked up a bunch of stuff from the hot/salad bar including roast veggies, bocconcini cheese balls, prosciutto and a ciabatta baguette. Also picked up some lacklustre grapes and some more Ontario peaches. They are so good this summer...mmm. Here's the dinner I put together:
My sandwich contained the cheese, roast zucchini and yellow pepper along with a couple slices of prosciutto. Fruit included cantaloupe, grapes and a peach.
Sean's dinner:
A bunch of concord grapes, gooseberry jam from IKEA, a Knackerbrod Rag rye cracker from IKEA with cod roe spread on top (doesn't it look delicious :| ), a strip of sesame teriyaki steak from the Longo's hot bar, bocconcini cheese and a bowl of this:
Organic plain yogurt with rye crispies (rye bread baked with brown sugar, I think), red currants and gooseberry jam. Our separate dinners always entertain me.
===
21st...Saturday
I spent the day at the CNE with my parents and had a jolly good time. We spent more time there this year than the last but didn't get to do two things that we do every year: see the Superdogs and visit the Barnyard building. I missed seeing the cows and pregnant sow. It's probably just as well since seeing her makes me a little depressed. Back to the food! I decided to take the safe route this year and stuck to fish and chips for lunch. My parents had their usual roti at Island Foods, which had the longest line I've ever seen since I've been visiting the CNE. They do have the best roti there and the line just keeps getting longer every year. I ate half my fish and chips and brought the rest home. Other eats included peaches, Ruffles less-sodium chips, an ice cream waffle that I split with my parents and then we opted to head to Mevame for dinner, where we waited 45 minutes before actually being seated. It wasn't until a little after 8:30 until we were seated but funny enough, neither one of us were all that hungry. My mom and I ordered our usual two lamb skewers, mine with rice and hers with fries. My dad ordered the lamb chops with rice. No photos because I've reviewed Mevame at least three times now. The service was impeccable though. I can't remember the name of the waitress we had but the five guys seated beside us remarked that she looked like Anne Hathaway and she kind of did.
===
22nd...Sunday
Sundays are great because they're lazy. When I was at the post office I used to work every Sunday. I didn't really mind since it wasn't busy on a Sunday and I could get all or most of my paperwork done. Now that I have my Sundays off, I know I should be using them for more productive things like getting my work pants hemmed but most the time, I spend them chillin' in front of my laptop. This Sunday was no exception.
Lunch was mom's stir-fried vermicelli:
All kinds of veggies are in the mix. Excuse the iPhone photos for Sunday as well...I couldn't find my camera. Just as lazy at this Saturday started though, I got to doing stuff! My parents and I headed out to IKEA on a whim. I had a prosciutto sandwich in the car:
Once back at home and $50 poorer (how did I get suckered into buying a more expensive CD shelf? Aren't parents supposed to help you save money?), I made myself an afternoon snack:
Vanilla earl grey tea and three small slices of raisin bread. Yep, that's the same raisin bread from Longo's that I featured a while back. That same $5 loaf of bread. I couldn't get it out of my mind after I had finished it and subsequent trips to Longo's failed me because they were constantly out of stock. Who else is rich enough to afford a $5 loaf of bread? Well apparently lots of people but eventually it was my lucky day. Promptly after taking that photo I decided to indulge even further (can I change my middle name to Indulge already?) and added Nutella to one piece of bread and PB & Co.'s Dark Chocolate Dreams (chocolate PB) to the other two. It's a toss-up as to which I like best:
===
23rd...Monday
Lunch was leftovers from Mevame along with some stir-fried watercress from dinner the night before:
along with a lot of mango:
Notice the blue at the bottom right of the container? Well that would be a smaller lid inside my container. I was putting this together the night before and was completely obviously to the fact that I was dumping my mango in a container that contained a lid. I should have realized something was up when I couldn't fit all of my mango inside but I figured it was due to the fact that it was an apple mango and not the smaller altufo mangoes.
Anyway, that's enough food recapping for one post. Whew! More to come.
3rd...Tuesday
Lunch was a mild Italian sausage with navy beans and cucumber sticks:
along with mangoes, peaches, strawberries and golden kiwi for fruit:
Sean picked me up after work and we headed off to the mall. We were at the mall for a while because when we got out everything was closed, including the diner where Sean wanted to grab a burger so instead we decided to make our own burgers:
I also wanted some chicken wings so Sean kindly obliged and cooked those on the grill for me as well :)===
6th...Friday
Lunch was a leftover burger that Sean and I had made together on Tuesday night (I had a whole slew of food to eat between then):
and fruit included blackberries from the garden and mango:
Dinner was leftovers from Sean's birthday dinner the night before. His parents took us out to Mevame and I had the two lamb skewers with garlic mashed potatoes:
===10th...Tuesday
Lunch inspired by Freshii:
And it didn't cost me $7.99 plus tax. When in Toronto with time to kill and a meal to eat for, I typically head to Freshii when at the Eaton's Centre where I order a Bliss Bowl. It contains brown rice, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, double avocado, diced tomatoes, goat cheese and your choice of dressing (typically extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar). My Bliss Bowl contained brown rice, avocado, corn, portabella mushrooms, goat cheese and three types of heirloom tomatoes...these ones actually:
It was a totally filling lunch and definitely hit the spot. I love the items offered at Freshii (customizable also) but do not love the $8 price tag.===
11th...Wednesday
So apparently all I've got from the 11th is an iPhone photo of my breakfast. It's better than nothing, right? This breakfast is actually organic vanilla yogurt with organic instant oats on top along with chia seeds and a bunch of fruit:
I wanted a little bit of variation from my usual hot oatmeal and this did the trick. The only problem is that I over estimated how much I'd be able to eat during my morning break. Oops.===
13th...Friday
Dinner on Friday was a sandwich but not just any sandwich...it was a delicious prosciutto sandwich on baguette bread:
Baguette + prosciutto + goat cheese + fresh basil = HOLY CRAP YUM!
I'm not gonna lie...sandwiches on baguette bread totally remind me of the summer I spent with Jessie in Europe. We stayed in Geneva, Switzerland for two weeks, then spent one week in Paris and then another week in Geneva before heading back home. It was the summer before our last year of high school and it was glorious. We were a couple of gals spending our summer touring Europe and the best part about Paris were the ham and cheese baguettes we would pick up for $3. I will never forget those sandwiches. Or the fact that I gorged myself on cheese and all kinds of dairy while there and then came home and became lactose-intolerant. Does North American cheese really suck that much? (Note: I am lactose-intolerant but my tolerance level varies with different types of dairy. I can do ice cream, organic milk and hard cheeses but things like cream, sour cream, thick yogurts and soft cheese like goat brie set me off in large amounts.)===
19th...Thursday
Who has dinner at IKEA? Well Sean and I. Actually, we almost didn't. Sean arrived at my house Thursday night and after I told him about the Swedish meatball deal at IKEA Monday-Thursday ($2.99 for their regular 15 meatballs and mashed potatoes deal), he insisted we go. So off we went and as soon as we approached the Market Hall (more like the IKEA cafeteria), it was madness! There were two huge lineups and I suggested that we walk around a bit so that the lines die down. Sean agreed and we spent a good amount of time oogling our future kitchen (the word "dude" was repeated back and forth in one conversation far too many times for a convo in the years 2010). But then I caught sight of the Market Hall hours and realized we had 12 minutes to get there before it closed. Panic spread across Sean's face and inside my head as I knew Sean would have been really crushed if he missed out on the meatballs. We made the longest mad dash to the Market Hall possible--why is it impossible to find your way around IKEA's showroom?--but made it to the back of the line just in time. And it was still busy. And we were the third to last group of people in line. Yep, that's right, I spotted the woman standing by the closed sign just two people after us. Whew, we made it in time. I didn't even want to think of what would have happened should we have missed the line. But we made it and then waited 20 minutes before we could order our food. They were out of mashed potatoes so we subbed with veggies. Sean got some kind of smoothie and I got a ligonberry drink. Here's my complete meal:
It doesn't look like much but I couldn't finish it all. Sean had to finish off about three meatballs and in hindsight I told Sean that I should have let him finish off some more. The veggies weren't really anything to write home about but it was a healthier choice than the french fries.===
20th...Friday
Hung out with Sean in the evening. I can't really remember what we did but I wanted a sandwich for dinner. We ended up at Longo's so I could make my dinner at his place instead. I picked up a bunch of stuff from the hot/salad bar including roast veggies, bocconcini cheese balls, prosciutto and a ciabatta baguette. Also picked up some lacklustre grapes and some more Ontario peaches. They are so good this summer...mmm. Here's the dinner I put together:
My sandwich contained the cheese, roast zucchini and yellow pepper along with a couple slices of prosciutto. Fruit included cantaloupe, grapes and a peach.Sean's dinner:
A bunch of concord grapes, gooseberry jam from IKEA, a Knackerbrod Rag rye cracker from IKEA with cod roe spread on top (doesn't it look delicious :| ), a strip of sesame teriyaki steak from the Longo's hot bar, bocconcini cheese and a bowl of this:
Organic plain yogurt with rye crispies (rye bread baked with brown sugar, I think), red currants and gooseberry jam. Our separate dinners always entertain me.===
21st...Saturday
I spent the day at the CNE with my parents and had a jolly good time. We spent more time there this year than the last but didn't get to do two things that we do every year: see the Superdogs and visit the Barnyard building. I missed seeing the cows and pregnant sow. It's probably just as well since seeing her makes me a little depressed. Back to the food! I decided to take the safe route this year and stuck to fish and chips for lunch. My parents had their usual roti at Island Foods, which had the longest line I've ever seen since I've been visiting the CNE. They do have the best roti there and the line just keeps getting longer every year. I ate half my fish and chips and brought the rest home. Other eats included peaches, Ruffles less-sodium chips, an ice cream waffle that I split with my parents and then we opted to head to Mevame for dinner, where we waited 45 minutes before actually being seated. It wasn't until a little after 8:30 until we were seated but funny enough, neither one of us were all that hungry. My mom and I ordered our usual two lamb skewers, mine with rice and hers with fries. My dad ordered the lamb chops with rice. No photos because I've reviewed Mevame at least three times now. The service was impeccable though. I can't remember the name of the waitress we had but the five guys seated beside us remarked that she looked like Anne Hathaway and she kind of did.
===
22nd...Sunday
Sundays are great because they're lazy. When I was at the post office I used to work every Sunday. I didn't really mind since it wasn't busy on a Sunday and I could get all or most of my paperwork done. Now that I have my Sundays off, I know I should be using them for more productive things like getting my work pants hemmed but most the time, I spend them chillin' in front of my laptop. This Sunday was no exception.
Lunch was mom's stir-fried vermicelli:
All kinds of veggies are in the mix. Excuse the iPhone photos for Sunday as well...I couldn't find my camera. Just as lazy at this Saturday started though, I got to doing stuff! My parents and I headed out to IKEA on a whim. I had a prosciutto sandwich in the car:
Once back at home and $50 poorer (how did I get suckered into buying a more expensive CD shelf? Aren't parents supposed to help you save money?), I made myself an afternoon snack:
Vanilla earl grey tea and three small slices of raisin bread. Yep, that's the same raisin bread from Longo's that I featured a while back. That same $5 loaf of bread. I couldn't get it out of my mind after I had finished it and subsequent trips to Longo's failed me because they were constantly out of stock. Who else is rich enough to afford a $5 loaf of bread? Well apparently lots of people but eventually it was my lucky day. Promptly after taking that photo I decided to indulge even further (can I change my middle name to Indulge already?) and added Nutella to one piece of bread and PB & Co.'s Dark Chocolate Dreams (chocolate PB) to the other two. It's a toss-up as to which I like best:
===23rd...Monday
Lunch was leftovers from Mevame along with some stir-fried watercress from dinner the night before:
along with a lot of mango:
Notice the blue at the bottom right of the container? Well that would be a smaller lid inside my container. I was putting this together the night before and was completely obviously to the fact that I was dumping my mango in a container that contained a lid. I should have realized something was up when I couldn't fit all of my mango inside but I figured it was due to the fact that it was an apple mango and not the smaller altufo mangoes.Anyway, that's enough food recapping for one post. Whew! More to come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
