Long Weekend Ramblings

 

 

Happy Canada Day!

 

Yes, I know it was yesterday but better late than never. I spent it doing some weeding and watching the festivities in Ottawa. I am something of an Anglophile so I totally love Kate (or should I be calling her Catherine?) and Wills. Her maple leaf fascinator was also totally adorable, but I wonder how it manages to stay on.

 

 

I was walking home from work the other day in the blazing heat when I spotted a little baby groundhog taking a siesta underneath a bush. I whipped out my iPod camera to capture the cuteness; I think the lady behind me though that I was nuts.

 

 

Sometimes, when I am having a rough day at work, I flip through my calendar of cute dogs and try to focus on the cuteness so as to decompress.

 

 

Why must heirloom tomatoes be so expensive? Those four tomatoes cost almost 6 bucks. And it’s summer here! Ouch. Want to see what 125 dollars worth of groceries looks like?

 

 

(Ignore the gigantic container of olive oil)

 

 

 

And this was a cheap week. I’m always amazed when I read other blogs and see that people only spend 75$ a week on food. Usually we average 175$-225$. I might not envy the American health care system, but I sure would love to have their food prices!

Rainy Days

It has been raining like crazy here. Normally I’m an indoor person but the yard needs some weeding which I wasn’t able to do. My parents both have green thumbs but I consider myself lucky if I am able to keep some herbs alive.

Since I was kept indoors, I decided to work on my recipe scrapbook project. You see, I have a bad habit of buying and subscribing to way too many cooking magazines. We have an entire room which we used as a library and even so, my magazines are taking over too much of the shelf space. In an effort to cull the herd I have started going through all my magazines, cutting out the recipes that I want to keep or try and stashing them in scrapbooks.

So far I have different scrapbooks for main courses, soups, desserts etc… They get tucked into the scrapbook until I try them and when I decide they’re work keeping I glue them in. So far the dessert scrapbook, not surprisingly, has the biggest pile of recipes waiting to be tested.

 

Now to the eats.

 

For lunch I decided to make Monte Cristo sandwiches, which is a variation of a Croque Monsieur. Basically you make a thick cheesy Béchamel sauce, spread it on some bread, top it with ham and another slice of bread, then dip it into beaten eggs and cook it in a pan.

His. Yes, it was enormous.

Hers.

I also made Sole Grenobloise for dinner, except with Tilapia instead of Sole. So easy and so good. This is the type of recipe that you can have on the table in 15 minutes.

 

I’m off to go watch a movie with the husband. Bye!

I Never Thought That Buying Faucets Could Be Exciting

My parents always said that owning a house was like having another child, a very expensive child. This month my very expensive child needed new faucets. Mucho dinero and 8 hours of plumbing work later— due to our badly cut counters—we now have shiny new faucets.

 

I was super excited since we ended up getting the faucet that turns on when you touch it anywhere. Since I’m a dork, I call it the Star Trek faucet. Maybe my suburban life lacks some excitement?

In other news, it’s finally spring! This means pretty tulips, but also weeds. I already saw a dandelion this week. In the event of nuclear winter, I’m convinced that the only two things which will survive will be cockroaches and dandelions.

Another sign of spring, Easter chocolate. One of the advantages of not having kids is that you get to act like one and buy yourself chocolate lollipops with bunny rabbits on them. This one was filled with maple cream, yum.

Now for a quick review. As most Canadians know, it is rather hard to find Greek yogurt up here. We all look on enviously at Americans with their Fage and Chobani yogurts and mope. In the last year or so however, more Greek yogurts have been popping up. I found this one at my supermarket last week.

It’s certainly thick, that spoon is standing up just stuck in the yogurt, but I’m so-so on the flavour. They’re on the tangy side and not very sweet at all. The texture is also a bit odd, almost gloopy. Until I find something better I’m sticking with my beloved Liberte Greek yogurt.

Interesting Grocery Store Finds

I have a hard time finding, to me, basic things like cilantro and jalapenos at my supermarket, yet when it comes to meat my supermarket abounds with interesting finds. Those are honest to goodness frog legs, not a gag gift in a joke shop. They’re in the frozen food section sandwiched between the calamari and the mussels; they were actually on sale last week. I wonder if anyone actually looked at their supermarket flyer that week and said, “Honey, frog legs are on sale. Wouldn’t they be nice with a glass of chardonnay?” because I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen anyone buying them.

Ground horse. I’ve never bought it, but according to my supermarket’s website, it is best served medium rare. Apparently it makes good burgers. Something new to liven up one’s backyard cookouts this summer.
I’m pretty sure that there are at least few people who will see this post and be like  O_o , but what is and is not considered edible is just a product of culture. Although I’ve never tried horse or frog legs, and I don’t have any inclination to do so, I’m not opposed to it being sold in the supermarket. Just had to get that out of the way.

Why I Will Always Remember to Floss from Now On

Does anyone else remember this Simpson’s episode?

 

At the Painless Dentistry (formerly Painful Dentistry), the dentist interrogates Ralph.

DR. WOLFE
How often do you brush, Ralph?

RALPH
Three times a day, sir.

DR. WOLFE
(menacingly) Why must you turn my office into a house of lies?

RALPH
Alright, I don't brush! (crying) I don't brush!

DR. WOLFE
Let's look at a picture book - the Big Book of British Smiles.

He shows him a book of people with crooked and missing teeth.

RALPH
That's enough! (crying) That's enough!

 

Replace brush with floss and “I don’t” with very rarely and that was me in my dentist’s office last week.

 

 

This was me when the dentist told me how many cavities I had. I did however, take it like a champ and got them done in one shot; I was in the dentist’s chair for 2.5 hours. When I went back to work my entire face was frozen and people kept coming up to me with a look of concern asking what had happened to me. I was talking like I just had a stroke and trying to avoid answering the phone all afternoon. Did I mention that it took hours for the drilling sensation to go away? Thank God for dental insurance because it would have cost me a bloody fortune if I didn’t have it. Even with it, it was rather painful.

So take it from me people. Floss every night. Otherwise you will have your dentist and your dental hygienist giving you stern disapproving looks and coming at you with pointy rotating miniature drill bits. I for one have learnt my lesson.

Friday Eats

 

I love impromptu dinner outings with a friend. Especially after rough days at work.

 

 

There’s a British pub called the Dominion Square Tavern near work that I had been wanting to try for a while.

 

 

Friday nights call for fried bits of food (thick cut fries and fried clams), chased down with a Pimm’s cocktail, diet be damned.

 

 

And finished off with some sticky toffee pudding accompanied by a scoop of coffee ice cream. Yep, fried food and sugar makes everything ever.

New Toys

 

Amazon.ca is my crack. I am pretty sure that I own more cookbooks/nutrition books than my local library. I’ve been waiting for these two books for a few weeks since they’ve been backordered on Amazon for a while. Crazy Sexy Diet is a diet/nutrition book based on a vegan diet. While I’ve tried the vegetarian thing and it just does not work for me, I think I could always use more veggies in my diet.

 

 

More than anything I love the author’s vibe. She is just so happy and positive. Sometimes eating well and exercising can seem like such a chore, but she presents it in such a fun way that you can’t help but feel good about making changes in your lifestyle. I’m about halfway through the book and I really like it.

 

 

Pretty Delicious is a cookbook by Candice Kumai and one of the few cookbooks that I have bought sight unseen. Usually before buying a cookbook I will go down to the bookstore, flip through it and then order it online. I stumbled on to the author’s blog and I really loved the look and feel and ordered the book. Sometimes healthy cookbooks are *boring*, everything is either steamed or raw, but this author really believes in eating good food. She has a bunch of recipes and videos on her website and is also on face book and posts all the time and responds to comments, which I think is pretty cool, that an author wants to interact with their readers.

 

I try to buy fitness and health magazines as a way to remain motivated, and as a reward to myself that doesn’t involve food.

 

 

 

And in random buys, in an effort to appear more ladylike (anyone who knows me in real life knows that I am completely indifferent to fashion), I am downsizing from my gigantic backpack to a more demure messenger bag. I have no idea why it has a slight purple cast here but it’s black. One of these days I’ll succeed in looking fully like an adult, although I still refuse to carry a purse and haven’t worn high heels in years. Am I the only one that hates them?

Waffles Make Everything Better

I had to go get blood drawn yesterday so I was not a happy camper. I have anorexic little veins that nurses always have trouble finding and afterwards my arms resemble a pin cushion from all their attempts. Happily, the person who drew the blood was pretty good and she got it on the first try.

I had to be fasting since midnight for the test and my appointment was at 10 am, so I was ravenous when I got home. I nuked some Belgian waffles that I had made and ate them with blueberries, a bit of mango, some Greek yogurt and maple syrup. We have Belgian waffles for breakfast every weekend. I make a big batch and then we just thaw them. I like mine soft so I just throw them in the microwave for 25 seconds on each side and they are perfect. Homemade waffles make the weekend a little more special.

I also made some coffee to go along with breakfast.

I did a Turbo Fire DVD last night. They all go into this cute little book, which creates much less clutter than having a bunch of DVD cases.

So far this has been my favourite DVD. The music is great, no cheesy 80s instrumental workout music here, and you will get a great workout. The moves are easily modified for beginners and I didn’t have much trouble keeping up with the choreography.

On other news, I’ve been working on a homemade version of Clif Bars. I’m getting close and I’ll post the recipe when I’ve perfected them.

Question: I’ve always struggled to find exercise that I find fun. What is the exercise you enjoy the most?

Is It Spring Yet?

 

The other day I got my issue of Martha Stewart Living. It happened to be the spring gardening issue, full of delightful tips about preparing your soil and mulching your plants. Alas, this is what I get to see everyday as I walk to the train. Nice and desolate. And this was taken in the morning, it’s even more depressing at night. Didn’t the groundhog mention something about an early spring? Can I sue him for false advertising?

 

 

I walk past a flower shop in the train station everyday. I took this picture on Valentine’s day. I’m sure I must have looked weird but the crowd of desperate men willing to pay 50 bucks and up for a bouquet made me laugh. I didn’t even manage to capture the whole line which snaked down the hallway. I poked my head in the day after and it looked as though a mob had ransacked it. There were a few sad looking daisies lurking about but that was it.

 

Happy Wednesday! The week is finally half over!

Random Weekend Meals and Tax Time Hurts

Yay! It’s finally the weekend! This week has been really long but sometimes they all feel long. I did a pretty lousy job of pre-planning my meals last week, so I had zero leftovers for Friday dinner. Happily, they had sushi on special at the super market, so I snatched some up for dinner which I ate along with an un-pictured salad.

This morning we had errands to run so I left pizza dough rising in my trusty bread maker and when we came back all I had to do was prep the toppings and throw the pizza in the oven.

I had decided to make a sausage and mixed mushroom pizza with red onions, so I picked up one of each type of mushroom that the supermarket had. Dear oyster mushrooms, why must you be so delicious but cost almost 5 bucks a package? *sniff*

Fancy sausages. This was my first time buying this flavour and it’s definitively a repeat.

Before. (I pre-cooked the toppings in a pan, hence why they look so dark)

After. I think I must be one of the few people who does not actually like mozzarella that much, so I just use cheddar. I find that most mozzarella tastes like tasteless rubber except for the fresh kind and I prefer the expensive stuff in a nice Caprese salad rather than on a pizza.

One more shot. Not that photogenic but wow was it good.

Ah, now for the painful part. Once a year we drag ourselves to the bank and chuck money into our RRSPs and extra money into the mortgage. We do this before tax season since you get an income tax deduction for the amount that you put in. For all of your non-Canadians, RRSPs are the government savings plan that you can contribute to, to help you save for retirement. On TV you always see smiling happy people making investments. In my experience waving bye bye to a chunk of your money and not seeing it again for another 35 years is not the most pleasant thing ever. What cracks me up is that they make an investor profile for you and one of the questions is, “How long do you need your retirement savings to last you once you have retired?”, basically how long do you think you will live. It’s rather morbid, but sort of funny. I told the girl to put in 100 for my age since I come from a family that lives long. The software would only let her put in until 90 years old. Apparently my bank has a slightly more somber outlook on my life expectancy than I do.