Thursday, December 16, 2010

BAKING!

The Christmas baking I've done so far consists of the following:
(please note that these pictures are internet stock photos, NOT actual photos of what I made....)
- Sugar cookies: the classic. They're super good and colourfully decorated.



- Gingerbread cookies. Also super good.


- Savoury shortbread - namely, Rosemary Walnut Shortbread. Usually I make a sweet whipped shortbread, but I decided to go savoury this year. People may not like it.... (here's a picture of rosemary since the internet can't find a picture of my cookies)


- Pumpkin muffins. Okay, so these don't really count as Christmas baking, but I'm bringing them to mom's house so they count.

- Chocolate-almond popcorn. But I didn't like it that much, so I brought it to a party last night and didn't take home the leftovers. Ha.



WHAT IS THIS LIST MISSING? WHAT ELSE DO I REALLY NEED TO MAKE? Help me.







Tuesday, December 14, 2010

P.S.

My blog needs a new name. Submissions welcomed. The person who submits the winning name will receive a batch of cookies of their choice, baked by me.

A new era.

Welcome to a new era in my blogging life. I AM GOING TO START BLOGGING NOW, FOR REAL. I know that the three of you who regularly read this blog have stated several times that I should write far more frequently than I have been. The spark of motivation arrived on my doorstep this morning, and my brain exploded with ideas. Also, I looked at other people's blogs and was jealous of their commitment to blogging and their creativity, and I want to be like them!

So. Today's topic is, THE DETOX. Today is Day 9 of my 12-day Detox Adventure. I embarked on this project because I know I don't have the healthiest eating habits, and wanted to see if two weeks of really healthful eating would make any difference in my life.

There are some herbal supplements involved, but I really don't think they're doing anything for me. The diet consists of mainly vegetables. Some fruits are allowed but none of the good ones - my favourite fruits are bananas, oranges, and kiwi, but they are considered "tropical" and not allowed. The diet also allows unlimited amounts of fish, brown rice, and almonds. You can also have beans, lentils, eggs, and meat, but not a lot (only 20% of the diet should be made up of these.)

When I first started, I thought it would be two weeks of pure torture and that I'd be stuck eating salads for every meal - and gross salads at that, because you can't even have vinegar, which, mixed with EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) is my absolute favourite salad dressing. But I've realised there are actually a lot of meal options. For breakfast I've been having eggs (except for today - more in a moment), lunch has been lentils and rice, snack of an apple or some rice cakes, and then vegetable soup for dinner. With a few variations, that's pretty much been my diet for the last 8 days.

I thought I would miss bread the most, because I generally eat some form of bread every day, and at more than one meal. I haven't really missed it at all, except when the office ordered Swiss Chalet for us last week, and I couldn't have the bun along with my salad and chicken. I seriously love those little Swiss Chalet rolls..... so so so so yummy. But other than that I've been fine and not at all tempted by bread. The most difficult things have been the lack of sugar, and the lack of alcohol. I'm used to eating something sugary - a cookie or something chocolatey - at the end of every lunch and dinner. Not the best habit, but that's what I do. My meals now never feel complete and I just don't feel "done" or satisfied at all without my little sweet at the end. I've also missed white wine. I didn't realise how accustomed I was to having a glass of wine in the evenings, either while I'm getting dinner ready or else later on.

The most prominent observation I've had through this whole thing has been my energy level. Generally, especially now in the freezing months, I'm a tired person. I'm not non-energetic, but I could always do with a nap. On the weekends I always make sure to take a 2-hour nap on one of the days, preferably both, just so I feel well-rested going into Monday. During the week, while sitting at my desk, I'm usually yawning throughout the day and wishing I was napping. But the past 8 days, especially the last few days, my energy level has been great. I even tried to lay down for a nap on Sunday and COULDN'T SLEEP. Which has never ever happened to me in the history of my life. I haven't yawned at work at ALL. It's remarkable. It really makes me wonder what the source is... not having sugar in my system? Not eating flour/bread? I wish I knew.... I do plan to go back to eating a semi-normal diet as of Friday, but I will definitely incorporate more of the low-carb meals that I've been eating in hopes that the energy levels will continue.

Oh - so about today's breakfast. There were all these signs in the lobby of our office building the last few days, inviting people to come to a FREE HOLIDAY BREAKFAST today. I came in an hour early to enjoy the spoils and spend some time studying for an exam I have tonight. I walked into the building, hopes held high, expecting, perhaps, some eggs, potatoes, toast - standard breakfast fare. At least something hot. Instead my ears were blasted by a bleach-blonde male saxaphone player's antics in the corner while I was handed a cardboard box tied with a silver ribbon. Hmmmmm. I picked up a cup of coffee (poured out of a samovar - weird - I believe those are only for tea), and went upstairs to open this "breakfast". 4 things were inside: a sad, limp croissant, a small grease-soaked muffin, a hard cookie with green stuff on it, and an old-looking rectangular brownie. It was so pathetic and anticlimactic! I obviously couldn't eat any of it, and had to settle for the bruised apple in my purse. What a disappointment. You really broke my heart, Oxford Properties. I appreciate the effort, but next year, please give us something non-processed - or at least HOT. Thank you.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

I'm back?

Hello, friends! Sorry I've been so absent as of late. And that I didn't finish those Montreal food related thoughts. All I can tell you at this point is that Griffintown Cafe in Montreal is THE BEST restaurant in the city. Possibly in all of Quebec.

Life has become ridiculously busy and I haven't had time for this blog. That's my only excuse.

Just now I woke up really early (7:30) (not cool because it's Saturday) and had a fleeting thought of going for a run, which I haven't done in approximately one year. The thought quickly left, thank goodness.

Last night the boyfriend and I tried to make some sort of tomato sauce/pasta sauce/pizza sauce to use up a bunch of tomatoes in my fridge. We removed the tomato skins, chopped the tomatoes up, and started cooking them with some garlic and a bunch of spices. So far so good. But then I made the bad decision of adding a container of tomato sauce that I'd made maybe two weeks ago, which had been hanging out in the fridge since then. As soon as I added it, the whole thing turned really brown. For awhile after that, Jai insisted it still tasted fine. But then he kept putting more spices in and trying to make it better and it just got worse and worse. So gross. We chucked it and ordered pizza. Then I made chocolate cake. The end.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Trip food

This week I'm in Montreal, working with a few others from our Toronto office. We were sent here to avoid the G20 craziness going on at home, and also to unofficially check things out here and eat lots of food. My All-Star team and I have had the chance to sample quite the variety of food on this trip.... so let me update you on the food situation thus far.

First off, while in the Toronto airport on Sunday, I ordered a "Crispy Chicken Sandwich" at a restaurant inappropriately named "Beaches". I waited approximately 23 minutes to receive this sandwich. It consisted of a bun, mayo, lettuce, and 3 disgusting floppy chicken strips shoved inside. Needless to say this was a bad start to my week. I recovered quickly but was thwarted again when West Jet informed me that they don't serve coke products!!! After grudgingly agreeing to accept a diet pepsi instead, I relaxed in my double-leg-room exit row seat and gabbed with Alisa about the stuff of life.

Upon arrival in Montreal, we made our way to Les 3 Brasseurs, a generic sports pub on rue Ste Catherine, to meet up with the guys. Their menu advertised something called a flamm and claimed it was "better than pizza!" Seriously guys? You better have a darn good product if you choose to market it as better than pizza. We all know that nothing, NOTHING, is better than pizza. The flamm arrived, and was fine, but basically similar to a pizza except on a pita instead of something more crust-like. SO NOT BETTER THAN PIZZA.

Monday morning we had to grab these breakfast vouchers at the hotel in order to get the free breakfast included in our deal. The hotel restaurant featured a waitress who hated her life and didn't talk or smile. We ate really blah meals there, not even worth discussing. Lunch was some sort of food court fare. Oh yeah, I had a whopper jr. from Burger King and a side salad. It wasn't very good. Dinner had to be a quick affair so we'd make it back in time to watch the Bachelorette. James, Alisa and I found an Irish pub a few streets over and decided to try it out. There was this odd table set up in the middle of the restaurant with some mini sandwiches, weird little sausages, and cut up veggies. We couldn't figure out if it was for a private function or was just open to everyone, so I dared James to go fill a plate from that table, and he actually did it. The sausages were suuuper good. For dinner I had a bison burger which was REALLY good. No better than any other bison burger I've had, mind you. But bison is just good meat. Good solid meat. I recommend it. The menu also touted it as being "heart-friendly"- you think this is true?

Tuesday morning we breakfasted at the hotel again. At lunch I tried out a food court restaurant called Taco. Had a good taco. We went out for mexican food in the evening to this place called Carlos & Pepe's. It was so hot in there! Food was alright. I had that whole fajitas deal where you get a container of tortillas and a steaming plate of meat and vegetables. Pretty good but I could only eat two fajitas. The food in general was just meh - no one raved about it but there wasn't much to complain about either.

Wednesday morning we were informed that the hotel restaurant was closed down due to lack of business. ??? So we were given vouchers for Cora's across the street. This seems to be a pretty popular breakfast place, but we only got to choose between cereal, a bagel, or oatmeal, and nothing from the regular menu, so it wasn't too crazy. I chose oatmeal. Obviously. At lunch I enjoyed the leftover rice from Taco the day before.

Wednesday dinner: THE PIECE DE RESISTANCE of the week. I'll write about it later - it deserves its own blog entry.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

April Update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. I'm back. So much to talk about, right guys?

First off. Does anyone have a solution for extremely puffy eyes in the morning? No matter how much sleep I get, my eyes are suuuuuper puffy every single morning. I even bought this product that claims "late nights will be your little secret" or something ridiculous like that, and I'm pretty sure it does absolutely nothing. You roll it on under your eyes and it has caffeine in it which is supposed to reduce the puff. But it's all just a show. So if anyone has any tips (that DON'T involve laying down with cucumber slices or cold tea bags for 10 minutes, because I don't have 10 extra minutes to lay there) let me know.

I really dislike it when people yell on the phone. I just experienced a yeller on the phone, and the best part was that she works for THE SAME COMPANY AS ME but was treating me like the enemy. How about, even if you disagree with someone, you keep your voice at the same decibel while you talk about it? Got that? Deal.

Okay, what else. I've been doing this "Booty Camp Fitness" for the past few weeks. It's a women's-only class designed to "whip you into shape", as the website claims. The classes are brutally hard, but really enjoyable. We do constant push ups, burpies, jumping jacks, and other torturous activities. I wish I could do it 5 nights a week instead of two. Seriously. It feels SO GOOD at the end when you're done. I really don't think it's whipped me into shape though. Maybe just made me realize how out of shape I truly am. But I think I can do more push ups now than when I started.

I heard on the radio this morning that Toronto Blue Jays baseball hats are like, THE trend in NYC right now. Very weird.

Lately I've been craving a DQ blizzard like nobody's business. Problem is, aside from the 600+ useless calories I'd be ingesting, I'm seriously lactose intolerant. So even if I had a blizzard, I'd be suffering from extreme stomach pain for a day afterwards, so it's probably not worth it. Someone needs to invent lactose-free blizzards. Currently the only lactose-free ice cream available in stores is ALSO sugar-free. Seriously, did you need to combine these two things? It's completely gross. I had a sugar-free, lactose-free ice cream sandwich and the pseudo-chocolate cookie parts tasted like cardboard and dirt mixed. The ice cream itself wasn't bad. So - just inject some cookie dough and we're good to go. Ok, ice cream companies?

I'm currently reading a book called "The Book of Awesome" and I like it. It makes me really happy. You should google it and enjoy yourself.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Sears.

In the last few weeks, I've discovered a place I really enjoy hanging out: the upper levels at Sears. There are so many reasons why this is a great spot to chill. Firstly, almost NO ONE shops at Sears, so it's generally pretty much empty, save for one or two staff members. Secondly, it feels like you're in a complete time warp. The clothes are a mix of trends from days of yore, mother-of-the-bride outfits, prom outfits, and just really tacky items. The music is elevator-style. The furniture is plentiful and worn-in, so you can just basically sit and CHILL. Also, if you feel the inkling to buy anything, everything is always on sale. There's always a giant store-wide clearance going on, so you can for sure get 40% off, if not more. It's just a really comfortable place to hang. You can walk around, try items on if you want, or just sit in an easy chair and wait to see if any people show up. You could probably take a nap and go unnoticed. I think part of the reason I love hanging at Sears is because it reminds me of being a little kid and shopping with my mom. But all nostalgia aside, Sears remains a solid place to relax, use an empty bathroom, relax in a chair, and pretend it's 1989.
My only question is - how do they remain in business???????

Friday, March 12, 2010

Helloooooo, summer dress.

Hi guys! The title of this entry is from a real-life experience. Once, in that awkward four hours between a wedding ceremony and the reception, my best friend Mary and I went for a walk on the beach at Port Dalhousie, the muddied waters of Lake Ontario in St. Catharines. Some dude enjoyed the fact that two lovely ladies were walking barefoot along the beach and said, "Hellooooooo, summer dress." Not sure why it was singular though. I guess only one of us had a dress worthy of saying hello to.


I don't have a lot going on these days - it's rainy, my tennis elbow hurts, things are normal. So instead this entry will be a prehumous tribute to my aforementioned best friend Mary. Here are some of the great things we've done over the years:


We decorated an old record player in blue fabric and white rick-rack and named it the Hot Box. We also decorated all of our records by cutting out pictures of our friends' faces and gluing them to the centres of the records, so that when we listened to music, we could also look at a rotating face. Then we threw a vinyl party where the price of admission was one record. That was probably our most successful party to date. We also made HOMEMADE fortune cookies for that party. It took several hours and several burned fingers but they turned out really well.


We acquired a really old typewriter and thought it would be hilarious to anonymously mail our friends and acquaintances some extra photos we had laying around. Some of them were from a trip to the zoo, and others were from a roll of film we found and got developed (it turned out to be honeymoon photos from a happy couple). We would put one picture in an envelope and then type the address on with the old typewriter, and then mail them out. We really loved doing this even though our friends obviously knew it was us.


We snuck into several parties at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce and just acted like we were supposed to be there, including one for some kind of soccer league. We were pretty good at just chatting people up and going along with whatever they said, and mostly just acting really confident so no one would question our presence.


We waitressed together one summer at a horrible restaurant called Roasters, where we had to wear GIGANTIC red "patio shirts" with black pants. They were men's XL button up shirts and the short sleeves came down to our elbows, and when they were untucked they were almost to our knees. But of course they were gorgeously tucked in while we were working. We had two alcoholic bosses named Nakos and Tolis who strutted around town checking on their leather stores. We got in trouble all the time for absolutely everything, and had to do ridiculous amounts of work because the restaurant was short staffed. We also had a co-worker named Ed who once invited us over to his house, where he turned off all the lights and showed us a Guns 'n Roses live DVD with FULL SURROUND SOUND and even a few strobe lights. We weren't too impressed.


We went on a caribbean cruise and met a man in his 60's who managed to insert the phrase "sex on the beach" into every conversation. He volunteered for a lot of games and stunts on board. A few days into the cruise, after overhearing him talking to several people, we figured out he'd been on this exact same cruise EIGHT TIMES. Like - same ship, same crew, same islands. On this same cruise we also met Oprah the Donkey on St. Maarten.


One time, fairly late at night, we stole a pylon from a construction site, then went to a Tim Hortons and put the pylon in the middle of the drive-thru road, but positioned it so that the person driving would only see it after they'd rounded the corner and were going to the window. Here's a pic of what it looked like:

It was really great because as soon as people rounded the corner, they'd have no idea what to do. The driveway was actually way narrower than that by the way. Some would get out and move the pylon but a few actually reversed all the way out of the drive-thru, parked the car, and went inside. SO hilarious.

And finally, our best and most hilarious feat:


We used to do this grand activity we made up, called Pick Up And Deliver. It involved driving around the Niagara area, seeking out houses who'd left junk outside for the garbage truck. We liked to pick up these items, and deliver them (stealthily) to friends. We left a framed photo in a tree at Chris' house and an ab-flex on Dave's car. Once we put huge bags of leaves on all our friends' cars when they were at a party. We thought the cars looked like stegosauri, but our friends were not impressed. We once found a giant old-style tv, and called up a couple friends to help us lift it into the truck. We then drove it to our friend Rob's house and left it on the doorstep. I think his mom was really pissed off. (A few weeks later, Rob filmed the tv being dropped off a giant cliff, then drew me a treasure map to go find the smashed tv at the bottom.) We didn't give up on Rob though - our most enjoyable Pick Up and Deliver was the time we found an old exercise bike and decided Rob needed to have it. We parked down the road, and I had such an adrenaline rush going that I picked the bike up out of the truck with one arm, jogged down the street with it, and left it in Rob's driveway. We then repositioned the car, and hunched down to watch until someone discovered it. After awhile, someone came home (Rob's dad maybe) and just moved the bike to the side of the driveway. When he went inside, we ran out again to put it smack dab in the middle of the driveway. Rob eventually found it and wasn't impressed. Mary and I loved it though.


And those are just a few epic stories of Mary and I. OH! We also once drove tractors around on Mary's street, which was super fun. Now she lives in BC with her husband and unborn child, and our adventures are few and far between.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Books, movies and food.

My hugest apologies for not posting in such a long time!!!! Begging your forgiveness.

Today in Survival History, Navy Commander John Collins invented the Ironman Triathalon to settle a debate on which athletes were the fittest - runners, swimmers or bikers.

Sooooo, in two days I'm headed to the magical land of Orlando, Florida. It's probably going to be cold there, but I should be able to have some good times anyways. Our hotel has a HEATED outdoor pool which I may choose to swim in if there are no kids around. Kids make pools really bad places to be for a plethora of reasons, most importantly, their urine in the pool and all the screaming and running. I also plan to do a lot of reading, walking, golfing, relaxing, and crocodile/alligator avoiding.

I'm currently reading "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" by Susanna Clarke, and I can't even express to you how much I LOVE this book. It's about a magician in England a couple of centuries ago and I can't get enough of it. Thanks to Stephen for lending it to me. You probably won't get it back, ever.

I'm pumped to see the new Alice in Wonderland movie when it comes out soon. It's in 3D! This seems to be the new norm for movies. Maybe in 5 years, all movies will be in 3D. And then all our kids will grow up only knowing about 3D movies and no regular 1D or 2D movies. It's sad that my future children won't be able to experience the pleasures of VHS.

I know you guys love to hear about my food adventures, but I haven't eaten anything too stand-out lately. I swore off hot dogs a long time ago but have been craving them lately. My mom insists that hot dogs contain cow eyelids and this just grosses me out to the max. I've tried the soy/tofu hot dog equivalents but they're basically inedible. I need to find some type of hot dog that is only made with regular cow parts and not eyelids or toenails. Any suggestions?

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Haiti, the Bachelor, and my Eyes.

Hi friendsicles. (Like popsicles, but friends instead.) How the heck are you? I sometimes feel guilty for not updating this thing more. My guilt usually goes away in about 7 seconds though.

So the ongoing crappy chaos in Haiti still makes me super depressed, and I just HOPE that things improve somewhat. I can't think about it too much otherwise I just wish I was down there and could do something actual, you know?

In other (petty) news, I watched the Bachelor last night, and it was soooooooo good. Psycho Michelle FINALLY got booted off, thank goodness. I'm fairly positive that although she constantly talks about how she really, really, really wants a husband, she will never get married. No one wants a desperate whiner. Also Elizabeth the Game-Player was not given a rose. Her signals were super confusing and she kept totally misinterpreting what was going on. She was really annoying and frustrating. I can't totally figure out why all the girls hate Vienna. Yes she's young, and she talks too much about her and Jake's date, but I don't see her as that bad otherwise. It seems like next week, there will be even more DRAMAAAAAAAAAAAA so stay tuned for that, folks. Seriously.

Today I have another eye doctor appointment. You'll remember that debacle a few weeks ago during which a so-called optometrist got really confused, changed my prescription a ton, and also felt the need to give me crazy eye drops that made my eyes go huge and blurry. I was sitting in the chair, reading letters off charts, and he kept getting so muddled and asking ME if he should change my perscription. Isn't that your job, buddy? He wasn't wearing a white coat, so that should've been my first red flag. Anyway, I walked out of there with some kind of bogus perscription that consists of numbers and symbols. When I had it expertly translated, I was told that APPARENTLY my eyes had miraculously gotten much better and I now needed a much weaker perscription.

This is a pure lie. I've had glasses since I was 14.... so that's 15 years total. And every time my eyes have been checked, they've been a bit worse than the time before. So I have a really hard time believing that they improved that much. I wasn't ready to lay down like 60 bones for new contacts when I don't trust the prescription, ya know? So I'm going for a second opinion today - this time NOT at Wal-Mart Optical. Yeah, I know that was probably my first big mistake. NEVER again. I'm pretty sure Dr. Ikjgafidgmawaye or whatever his name was just wrote some arbitrary numbers on a page and gave it to me to get rid of me. (And I use the term DOCTOR loosely.)

So, I'll keep you guys posted on the sitch. Now back to my coffee. SECONDCUPRULES.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Haiti.

I feel horrible about the earthquake in Haiti. I can't even express it. I wish I could help more than just donating money. I wish I could go down there and do something productive.
My parents lived in Haiti for a year, during 2005-06, and have a lot of friends down there, who may or may not still be alive. I spent Christmas there in 2005 and loved it. I can't imagine the devastation that the city of Port-au-Prince is facing.
Please go to http://www.redcross.ca/helpnow/ and donate to help with the relief efforts.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Tuesday TEATIME

Oh, hello, dudesies. I wish I had the technology to make this into a little "video blog" instead of just words on a page. Picture me in an easy chair in a library, sipping on my drink of choice. That would be the setting. As it is, I'm in my burgundy office chair, drinking blueberry green tea, which totally makes my stomach hurt. Weather: blustery. Office mood: tired/bored. Tonight I'm going to my book club. We're discussing A Fine Balance, written by Rohinton Mistry. I'm almost finished it, and I definitely recommend it. Everyone says the ending is horribly depressing though so maybe once I finish it, I won't be recommending it anymore.

New years eve was extremely solid. A bunch of people from here and there met up at the Goertz apartment on the east side, and hung out with their new puppy that has about ten names. We also drank huge tequila shots and ate cheese. Then our normal crew, "The Usual Suspects", headed down to the Imperial to watch Erin croon her heart out. She was spectacular as usual, and the bands that followed were dance-worthy and so catchy. I enjoyed my first Amaretto Sour in years, a drink I used to order all the time, and felt nostalgic.

Now it's time for new year's resolutions!!!!!!!!!!! Blaaaahhhhhhhh. I'm not telling you all my resolutions, because then you'll guilt me if I don't accomplish them. Next time I'll try to post a video of myself doing something awesome.