Go Veggies!

I'm usually not one to have a meal without meat in it (you vegetarians will cringe I know) but I have a goal to lose about 12 lbs before I go to Florida in April so I find cutting out the meat once in awhile makes a huge difference on its own. I got this recipe from an assignment (as part of copy that we had to put on a newsletter that we designed) and thought it looked good so I decided to make it. And I took photos to put on my newsletter. It was a win-win!

Dining on a budget - Vegetarian Chick Pea Curry (serves 2)
2     tsp. vegetable oil
1    large onion, chopped
3    garlic gloves, minced
1    tsp chilli powder
1     tsp. ginger powder
2     tsp. curry powder
1    large can of chick peas, drained 
1    large can chopped tomatoes
1     tsp. sugar
    pepper to taste

Saute onion with vegetable oil in a frying pan until translucent, then add garlic, chili, ginger and curry powder. Cook for a few minutes, then add chick peas, tomatoes, sugar and season to taste. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat stirring frequently. Serve hot over steamed rice or cold in a slice of pita bread.

I made brown rice to go with it. It probably would go better with basmati or something but I just had short grain brown rice so that's what I made.


**It was quite spicy when I made it so if you are sensitive to that, just cut down the chili powder to 1/2 tsp or less.

There are many fish in the sea

This is one of the best suppers I've made for myself so far so I thought I'd share with you guys. It's so easy too!

What you'll need:
1 lemon (zest and a bit of juice)
handful of chives
about 3 tbsp of butter
splash of cooking oil
any filet of fish you like (I used fresh arctic char from Gimli Fish Market and it was wonderful)
salt & peppa
wine (for you to drink while you cook of course)

What you'll do:

1. Heat a pan with a bit of vegetable oil (I used cast iron. It tends to work better than non-stick because it gives a great crust. I'm sure stainless steel would work great too though)

2. S & P both sides of the fish.
3.When the pan is nice and hot, add the fish. It should take about 2-3 min per side but it depends on the type and size of course.

4. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan

5. Add the chives (I just cut them up with kitchen scissors, almost like you're cutting hair)

6. Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice from a half.

7. Plate the fish and spoon the sauce over the top.

I made sweet potatoe fries to go along with mine but it would go great with asparagus, salad, green beans, rice or any other side dish of your choosing!

*I had extra sauce leftover so I put it in a Zip-loc bag and put it in the freezer. You can use for next time and don't have to worry about always having fresh chives or lemons in the house.

I have the smoothest legs

I have to credit this idea to Amie because she gave me this for Christmas.  We met up on the 22nd and the following day (being the lover of "cooking" that I am) I immediately went out to get my own ingredients to make my own version.

Homemade Sugar & Salt Body scrub:

Best used in the shower right before you shave your legs.  It makes them super smooth after and you only need to use it once or twice a week.  

2 cups of Epsom salt
1 cup of natural sugar (I used can sugar but you can use brown sugar or raw sugar)
1/2 cup of oil such as olive (you can use avocado or any kind of nut oil but they tend to be more expensive)
1/2 cup of sweet almond oil (this is an aromatherapy oil, not a cooking oil)
few drops of any kind of aromatherapy oil you like the smell of (I used a mixture of lavender and eucalyptus)
3/4 cup agave syrup (or honey)

Combine.  Makes about 4 jars with a 1 cup capacity.  I got most of the ingredients from Vita Health and the jars from Dollarama.

I gave my girlfriends each one for Christmas but they would work for little birthday gifts as well.  I attached little bottles of hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works as well. I think making things homemade is very thoughtful and if combined with a bottle of wine, this scrub is pretty much the best birthday gift ever.

Magazine project

The new semester has started and thus...magazine projects have begun. 

As you can imagine, I was a strong advocate in my group for doing some sort of food magazine.  We thought of cake, sushi, desserts but interestingly enough, we have decided to make a magazine about toys.

It's a little weird for me because I don't know much about toys but our magazine's "niche" is toys for cool kids who have cooler parents" or something like that.  It's not going to be a toy collector magazine, rather a magazine that informs/introduces parents to what kind of toys are out there for their kids as well as where they can be found.  Parents will also feel a sense of nostalgia as we are going to tie in lots of toys from their childhood as well. 

As much as I would have liked to do something about food, toys seem fun and we chose toys because it was the most realistic magazine from a marketing and sustainability perspective.  Now lets just hope it gets approved.

So I'd like to end this blog post with some cool "cooking" toys that I'd love to feature in the magazine.

it's a make your own pie set

Grand Walk-In Kitchen.  This bad boy sells for $399.99 at Toys-r-Us

Design your own pizza!

Xmas Holidays!

Dear Readers,
I haven't blogged in awhile as I am on Xmas break (woo hoo!).  Actually, that's a lie, I'm bored out of my mind and I miss CreComm.

Since I have a bit of time however, I decided it was a good time to write an initial post to establish my new blog topic.  Food!  I love cooking and I love food so I thought that topic was more up my alley.  I always tweet photos of things I've cooked so I might as well blog about them too. 

So to get down to business...

Last night, my bf, Jean cooked supper for my parents and their friends.  It was actually their Xmas present from last year that they were finally cashing in on.  He made a New Orleans meal that consisted of shrimp bisque which was delicious and a chicken and anouille sausage etouffe.  I made the salad and the rice to go along with it.  Then for dessert, he made beignets which were so delicious (basically donuts with icing sugar) and an apricot sauce to go along with them  I was sous chef for the night and it was actually quite nice.

Next time, I will take pictures!

Review of Short Story: Birdsong by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

When I first started reading this story, I knew it didn’t take place in Canada. However, the story was very accessible to me. Perhaps my favorite part about it is the main character, a girl who is having an affair with a married man.
The story is told mostly in flashbacks while the girl is in a car stuck in a traffic jam. She notices a woman who she realizes could easily be her lover’s wife. This woman is staring at her in a judgmental way and it causes our protagonist to relive different scenarios in her relationship.

One thing that really gets me in stories is reoccurring images (or motifs for you literary folk). The motif in this story happens to be birds. The protagonist and her lover have a little inside joke that they come up with when talking about chickens. “Cock with a dick” or “CwithaD”. This particular part of the story really helps to establish their relationship. It’s something they can joke about, yet something that still needs to be kept a secret. It’s a nice metaphor for their relationship.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I felt like it was very real. I (almost) always enjoy stories about relationships and I feel like this one was no different. It was very entertaining to read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dramatic stories.

Book Launch at McNally Robinson

On Sunday, I went to see Grant Lawrence speak at McNally Robinson about his new book called Adventures in Solitude.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got there but I actually really enjoyed myself.  Grant was a very compelling speaker and read a few excerpts from his book.  One excerpt was about an encounter with a "cougar" while he was swimming naked.  He stopped reading right before the "cougar" was revealed.  He spoke with great enthusiasm and told a fair share of jokes.  There were probably about 40 people there and he signed copies of his book for people at the end.

A neat twist was that he invited local musician Del Barber to perform a few songs in between his readings.  Del's music is folk-style and almost sounds like country without the honky-tonk.  It was just him and his acoustic guitar.

The book is about his cabin which is located at Desolation Sound in B.C. and his various adventures and the people he's met.

I didn't buy the book but Dani did so hopefully she'll let me borrow it :)