Off Topic: To self-publish or not to self-publish

To read or not to read - that is the question.

I pick read. I think it's better to share you work than to not share it, regardless of the means of that sharing. This is why I'm a strong believer in self-publishing. Why not give people the option of reading your work - even if it's just your aunts and uncles who buy it. I think to have a book that you can hold in your hand and say, "I wrote this" is special, even if a publisher didn't think so.

This brings me to the question: electronic publishing or hard copy publishing? Maybe this makes me sound old but I love real books with real pages. I'm not intrested in reading a book on any type of hand-held device. I know they're smaller and lighter but they're a lot more expensive too. Imagine being on a beach in Mexico and reading a book on your iPad. Yuck! What do you do if you want to go for a swim? That thing will be gone in a flash. No one's going to steal a $12 paperback. And if they do, it's not the end of the world.

Call me crazy but I also love cover art. It's probably the main thing that attracts me to reading the back cover. (I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Don't judge.) You can't beat going into a real bookstore and browsing the shelves for your next great read.

One thing that would be interesting to see Julie Wilson do is observe what people read in airports. I'm a sucker for buying books at the airport because it's like they sort through the book store for you and just carry a small selection for you to pick from. Some of my best reads were purchased at little airport convenience stores. The departure lounge is the best place to read a novel.

The Delicious Miss Dahl

I'd like to dedicate this blog post to my new favorite Food Network show called The Delicious Miss Dahl. It stars British former-supermodel Sophie Dahl.

The show started on BBC but was met with some bad reviews. Now, it appears Food Network Canada has picked it up and it's on once a week on Sundays at 5p.m.(which is definitely not enough, as far as I'm concerned.) A lot of the reviews I've read just say the world doesn't need another Nigella. But I say, it does.

Here's a video of the lovely Sophie making one of my favorite foods, guacamole:


Why is it that every word that comes out of a British person's mouth sounds so wonderful? Let's face it, it's probably why learning grammar was actually enjoyable in Writer's Craft. (Thanks Dr. Petty!)

My absolute favorite-ist dish on the planet

The dish I'm talking about is Thai green curry. Anything with Thai green curry in it, I just die for. The flavour is indescribable. It's just amazing. Here's a recipe for the dish I made last night. I had hardly authentic ingredients - you can use whatever you have. It doesn't matter if it's traditionally Thai. Really, the only essentials to this dish are coconut milk and green curry paste. Both are made by Thai Kitchen (actually there are many brands of coconut milk) and you can find them in the ethnic section of your grocery store.

One thing to mention as well: if you aren't a fan of Indian curry, don't let it stop you from trying this. Most people think of Indian cooking and the typical Indian curry when they think of curry. Trust me, this is way different. Seriously, the flavour doesn't resemble Indian curry in any way.

I used the recipe I found on the curry paste jar (with some of my own variations of course):

2 chicken breasts

1 carrot

2 stalks of celery

1 onion

1/2 cup of frozen peas

1/4 cup of bamboo shoots (I used them because I happen to have a can but I'm not really a huge fan)

1/3 cup of chicken stock (plus some for deglazing the pan)

1 can of coconut milk

2 tbsp of green curry paste

2 tbsp of fish sauce (used a lot in Thai cooking but I think you can get away without it)

2 tbsp of brown sugar

fresh basil (I didn't have any but you can garnish with it at the end if you have some. Just throw the leaves in whole)

noodles or rice

salt and pepper

Before I start, this is going to seem like a lot of steps but it's really not, I promise.

1. Start by cutting the meat into bite size chunks. Salt and pepper them and throw them in a pre-heated, deep frying pan with a little bit of oil until they're browned and cooked through. Remove.

2. Add the chopped carrots, onions and celery until soft. When they're about halfway done, throw in a splash of chicken stock to deglaze the pan. You don't want to leave any of those yummy brown bits behind. Remove.

3. Add the can of coconut milk and the curry paste. Bring to a simmer.

4. Add the chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, peas and bamboo shoots.

5. Add in the rest of the ingredients you pre-cooked and simmer for a few minutes.

6. Serve over rice or Asian style noodles.

The best part about this recipe is its creamy but coconut milk is way healthier than butter and cream like most cream sauces. Also, if you are a vegetarian, you can use tofu or just no meat at all. There's so much flavour in the dish that it doesn't rely on the meat to make it yummy.

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!