Day 26-28

The beginning of January was going so well.  Then life started happening again!  Still...  I'm making some big improvements.

On Wednesday (the 26th), though, I wasn't feeling well.  When I got home all I could stomach was soup.  So I made possibly the worst kind but it's so good when you're sick - Lipton's chicken noodle soup from the packet.

Thursday was a complete right off during the day.  I think I only had a banana and oatmeal.  At night I got a bit of my energy and appetite back so I whipped up some chicken but it wasn't very elaborate.  I basically spread some olive oil and Epicure's Garam Masala spice on chicken breasts that had the skin on and baked them for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  I paired the chicken with the salad from Tuesday night and dinner was done.

Friday is a day I'm somewhat proud of.  After work I drove up to see R.  I didn't get there until 8 and I still wasn't feeling all that well.  When I arrived we couldn't decide what to eat.  R suggested Subway.  I said pizza so we didn't have to go out.  After resting a bit I decided I felt good enough to cook and scoured the cupboards to see what I could come up with.

We had shrimp... pasta... and garlic so Garlic Shrimp Pasta was an obvious choice. We did not have spaghetti, though, so we had to use macaroni.

The recipe is below.  It was quite tasty.  I thought it was going to be too runny but we added a pile of shredded parmesan in the pot and everything thickened up to coat the pasta.

I will add photos as soon as I find the cable for R's camera.

Enjoy!

Garlic Shrimp Pasta 

• Time 10 minutes
• Serves 4

Ingredients

---

• 1 Pound Spaghetti (or Linguine)
• 1 Pound Medium Shrimp, Cleaned And Deveined, And Coarsely Chopped
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup White Wine
• 3 Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped
• 1/4 Cup Parsley
• Salt & Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes

• How to make it

  ---

  • Put the pasta on to cook.
  • While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet.
  • Add the shrimp, garlic, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
  • After a minute or two, as soon as the shrimp are pink and opaque, remove them from the pan.
  • Add butter and wine in the skillet and turn the heat up to medium high.
  • Cook until it has reduced by half.
  • Drain the pasta, reserving a small cup of pasta water.
  • Return the shrimp to the skillet and cook until heated through.
  • Add the parsley and mix.
  • Add the pasta, and cook another minute or two over high heat.
  • If it seems dry, add a little of the reserved pasta water.
  • Serve piping hot, garnishing with additional fresh parsley if desired.
  •    

Days 22-25 - Family, fresh fruit, quinoa and an armadillo cake!

I spent the weekend visiting my family and didn't get the chance to do a whole lot of cooking because of everything we had planned but I still have some foodie things to share!

First off - I was determined to cook SOMETHING so Saturday morning I decided to make a fruit salad.  I shamefully sent my father off with a list of fruit we had written the night before so I could sleep in (I am a spoiled child) but around 8:00 or so I got up to get things going.  Making the salad made me want to kick myself for not doing this weekly.  I love fruit salad.  I won't post a recipe seeing as all you really do is pick your fruit cut it up and throw it in a bowl.  I will say, however, that I love to have bananas in the salad and always pour orange juice over the whole thing to stop oxidization.  What ends up happening is the bananas sort of melt into the juice as the days go on and I personally love it!

After the fruit salad and a hard boiled egg we started off for a day of dress shopping and girly fun!  My sisters and I wanted to treat my mom to a girl's day for her birthday.  Dress shopping, all you can eat sushi lunch, mani/pedis, make up and then "SURPRISE!!" a birthday party!

At the party we had a red velvet armadillo cake a la Steel Magnolias.

Anyone who has seen the movie might recognize why my mom cut the end off first!!  The cake was delicious!

Sunday we did more dress shopping and stopped at the Muddy Duck Restaurant for lunch - a wedding tradition for my family, it seems.

While I didn't cook much we had some successful shopping trips!!  It was so much fun!

Monday morning I had work to do in Toronto and had decided to drive back home right afterwards.  I didn't make a lunch so ate out at lunch and dinner!!!

Today there was no question!  I was going to cook dinner but I really have no idea how people do it when they have kids.  After work I stopped by a friend's event at work, then picked up a box of invitations a store had on hold for me before I made it to the grocery store.  By the time I walked through the door I had absolutely no idea what to make.  I grabbed my phone, downloaded the Food Network Canada Mobile app and searched for a recipe that included quinoa.

What I found was a warm spinach salad with quinoa:

Warm Spinach Salad with Quinoa

• 1 Container small (5oz) of baby spinach
• 1 cup Quinoa, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon Organic butter
• 2 cups Filtered water
• Unrefined sea salt to taste
• 50 grams unripened goat cheese
• red onion, diced
• Cucumber, halved and sliced
• -3 Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Sprig of thyme, removed from stem
• Tasty Healthy Salad Dressing (see recipe)

Tasty Healthy Salad Dressing

• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons organic balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon unpasteurized honey
• pinch of unrefined sea salt
• fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• 250 millilitres organic extra virgin olive oil
• 250 millilitres organic, cold-pressed flax seed oil

Directions

Warm Spinach Salad with Quinoa

1. In a medium sized saucepan, melt organic butter on stovetop. Add quinoa, stirring frequently while it toasts in the bottom of the pot.
2. Once you can smell the toasted quinoa, add water andunrefined sea salt, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiled turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes. When all the water has been absorbed remove from heat and let cool for ten minutes.
3. Toss spinach, goat's cheese, onion, cucumber, thyme and tomato in a large bowl. Add warm quinoa and toss. Pour overdressing and mix. Enjoy.

Tasty Healthy Salad Dressing

1. Mix all ingredients but the oils in a medium sized bowl. Slowly add the olive oil, pouring in a thin stream while whisking vigorously. You should see the mixture begin to thicken as you continue to whisk in the oil. Repeat the process with the flax oil. The result should be a thick, creamy dressing. Use dressing immediately.

Salad dressing for me usually means oil and vinegar so I was excited about this recipe but in the end I think I'll just go with oil and balsamic vinegar for my lunch tomorrow.  The dressing was good but it was a lot of flavour.

I only mixed in some of the quinoa on my plate so I could have this as a cold salad for lunch tomorrow.  It was pretty good!  I love quinoa.  I think with everything cold and a simpler dressing I'll like it even better.

Now I'm going to bed!

Day 21 - Best Muffins Ever

Let me start off by saying I did not make them.  Friday was another total fail!!

I woke up at R's place with a five hour drive ahead of me and a growling belly.  I should have made oatmeal or something but I woke up with a craving for one of the best muffins ever.  Where are they?  Cafe Ole in Pembroke, Ontario.  I've seriously never found another one like it.  I was considering what makes them so good as I started my drive to Toronto.

For starters they're a real hearty muffin.  They are big and brown and you'll usually find oats throughout.  They're also jam packed with fruit.  This time I had a blueberry-peach muffin and the fruit adds such a nice texture and sweetness to the muffin.  I once asked if there was dairy in them and Christine Tomka, the owner, told me there is no added fat to the muffins.  I don't understand how she does it but it makes a difference.  When I get a craving in Ottawa I try muffins from other small cafes but they always seem worse for you.  You can taste the oil or something.

These muffins are usually too big for me to eat in one serving but I couldn't stop this time.  I ate it at 10 and then I wasn't even hungry again until 4.  I figure it's kind of like eating a big bowl or oatmeal with fruit.  Or something.

Again, I was going to take a photo but didn't want to stop eating.

And...  because I was driving I clearly didn't make lunch.

I was going to make dinner for my mom and sisters but when I arrived at my parents' my sisters called and said they were coming to get me.  They had found a store that had the wedding dress I wanted and they wanted to see me try it on but the store closed in an hour and a half.

We tried on dresses and then ran out of time to make dinner before going to the movies which we were doing for my mom's birthday (a belated celebration).

Now I'm going to make breakfast so that I can say I made SOMETHING this weekend!

Day 18, 19 & 20 - Total fail!

And then real life sets in!

I was doing so well but I wasn't actually living my normal routine.  This week R went back to his normal schedule and that meant a lot more travel.

On the 18th I went to a hockey game after work so I did not make anything.  I pretty much rushed home from work (as much as you can when there is a bit of a snow storm and everyone is going slow), fed the dogs, took them outside and then left.

I have to admit, although I had a homemade muffin for breakfast for lunch I picked up an antipasto plate from La Bottega and some bread and then I ate that for lunch and dinner.  Fail!

On the 19th I worked and then drove up to see R and bring him the dogs.  He lives about an hour and a half away.  I called as I was getting close to see what he wanted to eat for dinner.  He said cereal.  I told him I'd go to the grocery store but he thought it was too late for that and suggested take out if I didn't want cereal.  But I was determined.  In the end we both went to the grocery store and picked up the Dole Asian Crunch salad in a bag and some frozen shrimp.

This is a fall back recipe we both enjoy.  R makes the shrimp as I assemble the salads.  I will have to ask R what he puts in the shrimp because I honestly don't have any idea.  I'm pretty sure I saw some teriyaki sauce, soya sauce, and something red.  The shrimp were already cooked so they really only needed to be warmed up and flavoured and then put on top of the salad.

So that was dinner.  I'll add photos soon I just left them on R's camera.

The next day I drove back to my city for work.   I'm pretty sure I had to buy a muffin for breakfast that day and can't for the life of me remember what I had for lunch.  I had a meeting with a caterer after work (which was already 6:30) and I had decided to drive back up to see R because I was going away for the weekend the next day.  The caterer gave me two chicken dinners to take up with me and seeing as I didn't get there until close to 10pm I decided just to eat that.  I was going to take a photo but I was too hungry.

So this was all a total fail. I think what attributed to it all was the fact that we didn't have any food up at R's place and I didn't have anything ready to go at my place.

Planning and shopping!  That's what I really need to work on.  I am really going to have to make up for these three days.

Day 16 & 17 - Oatmeal Muffins and Chicken Pesto Pasta

 I have been a delinquent blogger.

My mom was up for the weekend for a bunch of pre-wedding planning and it all flew by so quickly.  I really have no excuse for yesterday.  So ... I'm not sure who is out there reading this but my apologies.

I wasn't a delinquent cook, however!  

Sunday morning I decided to start the day by making some oatmeal chocolate chip muffins.  The recipe I used (see below) make amazingly light muffins.  If you don't want the fat and sugar of the chocolate chips (and mini kisses in my case) I think they would be fantastic with some berries.  

Here is the recipe I used.  It's very easy ... just don't forget you have to soak the oats before you use them.  I found it here .

One more thing - I used large flake whole oats instead of the quick oats it calls for and it turned out fine.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/4 cup oats
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Combine oats and milk; let stand for 15 minutes. Stir egg, oil, brown sugar and chocolate chips into oat mixture; add vanilla. Combine three dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the liquid mixture; stir until moistened. Use paper liners or cooking spray in a 12-cup muffin pan. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake in a 4oo degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Next up - Monday night dinner.

I really didn't want to hit the grocery store on my way home so I started thinking about what I had in the fridge and decided on Chicken Pesto Pasta.  We had leftover chicken from Saturday and plenty of pesto so it was perfect.  Then I found a recipe for chicken pesto feta pasta and that was even better!  It used up one more ingredient sitting in my fridge.

If I was at R's house I would have added pine nuts but I wasn't and I didn't want to buy any more.

So all I really did was cook the pasta (enough spaghetti for two).  While that was cooking I shredded any bits of chicken we had left from Saturday.  When the pasta was done I saved a tiny bit of water in the pot and then added two tablespoons of pesto and bit of olive oil (I really should start measuring).  It was a bit difficult to mix it up.  I might mix the oil and pesto together next time or save a bit more water.  I crumbled the rest of the feta and added the chicken and gave it all another good stir.  Again - one thing I might change is just add the chicken on top because it settled to the bottom so it was hard to scoop out.  I put the pasta on the plates, shredded parmesan cheese and dinner was served.  

I thought it was going to make for a great lunch as well but we ate it all.

The following recipe was my inspiration but obviously not my guide.  I found it here. 

Ingredients: 

1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into cubes 

4 tblsp Classico Pesto  

8 oz of uncooked pasta (Rotini or Penne Lisce) = 4 cups cooked 

feta cheese 

Directions: 

Make pasta following instructions on package. When you have put pasta into boiling water 

you can prepare the chicken. Heat pan at med to high temp. Cook chicken in frying pan, add 

salt and pepper and other spices to desired taste (you can use an Italian herb mix). When 

chicken is cooked through turn heat down until pasta is cooked. Drain pasta when done, add 

pasta to chicken in pan stir in pesto. (You can add more pesto if you like a stronger taste). 

Dish onto plates adding the Feta on before serving.  

Today will be tricky because I'm going to the hockey game after work and I have a sandwich for lunch.  Hmmm.... I'll start thinking about what I can make in between.

Have a good Tuesday!

Day 15 - Beer Can Chicken, Smashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Mmmmm!  I'm so happy we finally made it!

My mom and I started off the day right - with a 1/4 cup of oatmeal and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Then we went shopping for wedding dresses and we kind of lost track of time.  Suddenly it was 4:30 p.m. and we hadn't eaten anything else.  And after all that shopping we were too hungry to even think of taking time to make a proper dinner.

We called R to see what he felt like.  Secretly I hoped he suggested we go to the local pub for dinner.  But he didn't.  So I decided we should stop at Bridgehead on our way home to split a cheddar and tomato sandwich to hold us off for dinner.

It did the trick!  When we got home I started making dinner right away.  We already had everything we needed, I just needed to find the best guide for cooking the bird.

The recipe I decided on is below but, as usual, I did not follow it to a T.  So I'll tell you what I did.

I washed the chicken (there were no giblets inside) and then rubbed it with some oil, salt and pepper.  Then I lifted the skin from the body and put some Montreal Chicken Spice underneat the skin as well.

I have a special beer can chicken holder which I got at Canadian Tire for about $10.

I washed a can of Heineken and put it in the holder (after opening it, of course).  I poured a bit of beer in the bottom and put in slices of onion.

I put the whole thing in the oven which was preheated to 350 degrees and set the timer for 90 minutes.

While that was cooking I cut up some potatoes and put them on to boil.  When they were done I decided to make "smashed" potatoes (skins on).  I chopped up some garlic and tossed it in with butter and milk and mixed it all together.  When it was done I put a plate over the pot to keep it warm.  

Just before the chicken was done I put on some water to boil the green beans.  

The chicken looked deee-licious!  I even made gravy with the drippings under the beer can while somebody else was carving the chicken. 

Voila!  Dinner!  

The chicken was unbelievably moist!!!  You should definitely try it!

Again... I'm very happy we decided to take the time and make dinner!  I got to show my mom that I know my way around the kitchen and we had a great meal admittedly in front of the TV while watching the hockey game.

Tomorrow it's the Bridal Show... and then who knows what we'll eat!

Beer Can Chicken

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
1 can beer

For the rub:
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

To make the rub:
In a small bowl combine the rub ingredients. 

Chicken:
Remove the neck and giblets from chicken and discard them. Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and the dry rub mix. Set aside.

Open beer can and empty out half of the beer. Place the beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, place the bird cavity over the beer can. Straighten it out so it is solidly in place. 

Oven Baking Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Carefully place the bird and beer can on a baking pan or roaster that is deep enough to catch all of the juices. Bake chicken for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until juices run clear as indicated above.

Makes 4 to 6 servings. 

Day 14 - Pork Loin Roast

Or at least that's what we planned on eating tonight.  A pork loin roast rubbed with the Fall Harvest mustard from our stash of Raye's mustards.  But then I realized the roast was still pretty frozen.  I pulled it out of the fridge and put it on the counter to sit while we ran to the store for a few more things.

When we came home we saw this:

It took me a few seconds to realize what I was looking at.  Finn, the dog in the photo, tends to chew things up if she's anxious but I didn't recognize the paper.  And then it hit me...  it was butchers paper... the kind that my pork roast was wrapped in.

I ran upstairs to the kitchen and sure enough - no roast!

We were only gone about 15 minutes.  Plus, it was really quite frozen!  I can't believe she ate it all.

Two minutes later she was on the floor in the kitchen looking sad as ever.  What does this look say?

"The roast wasn't even cooked!"

Or is it...

"I think I ate too much... or too fast."

And then there is Sadie...

I can't tell if this is a look of satisfaction (the way you feel after eating a big turkey dinner) or a look of sadness because Finn didn't share a bite.  It's possible she didn't.

Either way, there is no roast for dinner.

Looks like it's going to be pesto pizzas again.

Beer can chicken tomorrow I promise!

POST SCRIPT:


Below are photos of what we ended up eating.  My mom and I had the pizza's, R had the macaroni.

The next day R began to suspect perhaps Sadie had more to do with the roast eating than we thought.  Hmmm...

Days 12 & 13 - Leftovers

I promise I haven't given up already!  I just had so much food in my fridge I had to eat some leftovers.  There was nothing I could even do to make them into different meals.  Also, I'm very very tired. No excuse, I know but I have not been sleeping well and I'm in a bit of a fog. 

The good news is, I haven't bought a single meal out either day!!  Yesterday I made oatmeal for breakfast, ate sushi for lunch, and had some soup and another pesto pizza for dinner.  Today I had a protein shake for breakfast, chicken curry for lunch, and... well... I'm about to have more chicken curry for dinner.  I don't like freezing the chicken curry because I don't like how the vegetables go in the freezer so it has to be eaten.

I froze some of the potato soup in individual containers, though, so I can pull those out next time I'm running short on lunch items!

Have no fear!  I will make up for it this weekend!  My mom is coming for a visit so I intend to come up with a muffin recipe (instead of the usual mix I use), I would love to make a beer can chicken, and I should pull the pork tenderloin roast out of the freezer one night as well.  I'm also dying to make this pasta dish I learned from an old roommate and wonderful chef.  It's very rich.  Very VERY rich but so so delicious.  It's the one recipe I pull out when I want to impress people but my stomach cannot handle the amount of dairy it contains so I know I'll have to suffer a little whenever I make it.  I'll just give you a hint: it includes gorgonzola cheese and pears.  Yum.  Oh - and I'm sure R will put in a request for more sushi which will mean learning how to make tempura batter for shrimp!  That will be a fun challenge!!  Then we could make some tempura veggies too.  The possibilities are endless!! 

Watch for it all!  And toss any recipes my way!!  Whether it's a tried and true family recipe or a challenge you want someone else to try first I'll happily accept.  I picked up the newest Food & Drink magazine from the LCBO today. I can't wait to see what's inside!

Happy eating!

Day 11 - Sushi!

First can I tell you about a cool blog I heard about today on 'A' Morning Ottawa?  It's called Would Rather Gather .  It's a local woman who blogs about cooking vegan recipes and they all look amazing!  I love how she knows what to throw in to substitute any animal products in a recipe.  I'm definitely going to try a few recipes listed!!

Now... on to dinner:

Today I decided to pick a recipe based on the ingredients that had to be used up for fear of rotting!!  I typed 'avocado' and 'cucumber' into the allrecipes.com search engine and 'sushi' came up as the response.

I love sushi!  But I remember making it once before and I think I had an issue with the rice.  I have major issues with rice in general but sushi rice is special.  Still I went to the store and picked up a bag of Kokuho Rose Premium Rice .  I recognized the bag a friend from university had once told me I had to buy.  Plus it said sushi rice on the grocery store tab below the shelf.  I also picked up some artificial crab meat and a package of nori (seaweed wrappers).

When I got home I had this feeling that the friend who taught me how to make sushi before had told me something special about preparing the rice but I couldn't remember what it was.  I remember the rice being too vinegar-y once but couldn't remember where the vinegar came in.  Do you think I made any attempt to answer those questions?  A call to my friend or a simple search online?  No.  I did not.  Instead I followed the diagram on the back of the rice package (I didn't even read the written instructions) and rushed to get the dogs outside for a bit of play time.  I was tired and I had run around Bells Corners trying to find the nori.

What I'm trying to say is I don't think I made the rice correctly.  Just now I googled 'rice' and 'sushi' and came up with this link that answers all those nagging questions in my mind.  There was something else I was supposed to do with the rice and vinegar was involved somehow.
My rice didn't turn out bad it just wasn't technically correct.  While it was cooking I sliced up the avocado, cucumber and crab meat.  When everything was done I went to grab some rice to put on the nori and realized it was very hot!  Duh!  So I put it in the fridge to cool down - also not technically the correct thing to do.

I laid out a sheet of nori on to of some saran wrap.  When the rice was cool I pushed a layer of it on the nori with my fingers.  I laid the veggies and crab out in the middle and used the saran wrap to wrap up the roll tightly.  I even kept the wrap on while cutting the sushi - something I had seen at my favourite sushi restaurant in Ottawa.  Watching an expert sushi chef make sushi does not make one an expert themselves.

What I ended up with were a little light on the filling and a little heavy on the rice.  To make up for it I piled some avocado and crab on top of each slice before taking a bite.  They were very tasty and one roll filled me up easily!!  Which is surprising considering how much we tend to order when we go out.

It wasn't perfect but now I know what I did wrong.  The next step is going to be learning how to make tempura shrimp so I can make R's favourite rolls of all time.  I have a feeling once I learn how to do that - it might be all sushi all the time!!

Oh - and one other thing I have to do is to buy more kitchen gadgets.  Seriously, if I had more money and a bigger home I think I would have one of everything.  Things I would have liked to have tonight:

-A wooden rice mixing bowl
-A rice cooker
-Bamboo rolling mat
-A set of knives sushi chefs have
-Something that cuts vegetables in the 'julienne' style (not a knife)

But clearly you can actually make sushi without any of those items!  I'm not living proof.

I even wrapped up an extra roll for lunch tomorrow.  I think tomorrow might have to be a leftovers day!!  My fridge is getting a little full.  That - and I have to put some leftovers in the freezer for another day.

Now... sleep.

Day 10 - Yellow Curry

No roast chicken... again.

They actually had them at the store tonight but I found out I have to go into work really early tomorrow so there just wasn't time to make the chicken, eat it and get a good night's sleep!!

The normal me would have just made more of the pesto pizza with some potato soup.  That is one of my worst habits.  I get groceries and then eat the same thing for every meal until I'm done.

I forgot to mention one thing about the pizzas: you can throw the pitas in the freezer and when you need something last minute just make the pizza on a frozen pita and it heats up while it's in the oven.  Plus you can throw whatever you want on it!

Instead, I decided to make one of the meals I was going to make with the leftover chicken - yellow curry!

It's a recipe I picked up from a good friend and it's one of my favourites.  Plus it's very very easy!

All you need is:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Onion
1 Can Coconut milk
Thai Kitchen Yellow Curry Paste (to taste)
Vegetables
Rice

I am not going to say what vegetables you should put it in because I tend to just use up whatever is in the house.  Tonight I added mushrooms, broccoli, snow peas, tomatoes, and cabbage.  I have never put cabbage in it before but it ended up being quite good.  One thing I have used in the past but didn't have tonight is a can of diced tomatoes.  If you put that in you will need to boil it down a little.

Here's what you do:

Chop the chicken breasts into chunks.

In a pan heat some oil and add onions, chicken and mushrooms.  Cook until the chicken is done.

Add vegetables as you see fit in terms of cooking time (I added the snowpeas and cabbage at the very end so they didn't over cook).

Pour in a bit of the coconut milk.  Add curry paste to the coconut milk and whisk with a fork to break up the chunks.  Tonight I added four teaspoons and it wasn't super spicy.  You kind of have to figure out what you like in terms of spice.  Pour the mixture into the pan.  This is also where you would add the tomatoes if you had them.

Boil everything for a few minutes.

When it's done put some rice on your plate and top with the curry.  Don't forget to spoon some of the sauce onto the rice it's the best part!

I love lots of vegetables in my meals so I just pile them in but I'm pretty sure when my friend made the dish initially it was just chicken, onions and maybe snow peas.

Thai Kitchens has a red and green curry past as well but the yellow is by far my favourite.  Don't take my word for it though!  Try them all and find your own fav!

I had a couple of friends (two golden retrievers) at my feet as I cooked so when I was done I gave them a taste of the rice and sauce.  I wasn't sure if it would be spicy but they lapped it up.  I'm not sure they're the best critics though, they tend to eat pretty much anything I put in front of them!!

One thing about all of this cooking ... it creates a lot of dishes!  I have never had so many things to clean.  At the same time there is a lot of time to clean up while dinner is cooking so I suppose there is no excuse.  Have I complained about this already?

I promise I'll start making some more recipes from books, magazines and web sites.  I am just trying to get over the laziness that makes me not want to cook before I start to tackle really big tasks.

One request - does anyone have a good apple pie recipe??

Day 9 - Jay's Potato Soup and Pesto Pizza

C's homemade bread

I officially have cooking envy.  I went by a friends house for a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon and she had made her own bread from scratch.  And I mean scratch.  She even made (grew?) her own yeast.  The bread was amazing!!  I totally want to try to do this on my own now.  We had it with a poached egg.  Yum!

After the television marathon I had absolutely no excuses not to cook.  I removed all my christmas decorations, took the dogs for a walk and then started planning my week.  I was going to make a roast chicken for dinner thinking I could stretch it out for a few days but the grocery store was out.

So I decided to go for some comfort foods for dinner.

It was having trouble warming up after taking the dogs on a long walk so I decided to make my sister's carrot potato soup!  It's so easy!  This is all I put in it:

5 medium potatoes
2 large carrots
Milk (to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

I cut the potatoes and carrots in to similar sized pieces put them in a pot and then filled it with water to cover the pieces.  I put the burner on max and boiled until soft.

In the meantime I needed something else to tide me over and I had picked up everything I needed for another old favourite.  This was a recipe I picked up from a roommate in university.

Pesto Pizza:

Greek style pocketless pitaso
Pesto
Spinach
Sliced olives
Feta cheese

I didn't put any amounts because it's all to taste.

I was going to make my own pesto but I left my Magic Bullet blender at work and my pine nuts at R's place so I had to go with the PC Brand pesto.

The pizzas are easy to put together.  Spread pesto on the pita then top with spinach, olive slices and crumbled feta cheese.  I also added some artichoke hearts.

I normally pile on the spinach because it really cooks down but today I decided another good idea would be to chop it so you don't pull everything off with one bite.  I threw it all in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and it was done.  And very good!  It's a touch salty but if you don't mind that you'll love it.  Sometimes I also add mushroom slices and chicken to make it more of a meal.

When the pizza was done the potatoes and carrots were soft.  I turned off the burner and left the pot to cool for ten minutes.  Then I put the carrots, potatoes and half of the water they cooked in into my blender.  I added a bit of milk and salt and pepper and blended it all up.  If you want to cut the fat you can completely cut out the milk and it's still very good.  I was thinking it might also be nice with some rosemary but I didn't have any.

My sister started making this soup when we were in high school and I always loved it.  Tonight it warmed me up and filled me up just enough!  And now I have a whole batch to eat throughout the week!

I was going to make a salad for tomorrow's lunch ahead of time but I'm so tired I might have to just go to bed instead.  I've got to get up early to get in a work out tomorrow so I'll make it then.

I'm also hoping to pick up a whole chicken on my way home tomorrow night.  I should probably pick up a meat thermometer as well!

One more thing - as I was making dinner I was thinking it would be nice to have a glass of wine but didn't want to open a whole bottle.  I hate when it's just me because I don't want to waste wine but one bottle is way too much for one person.  I end up feeling like I have to have a glass every night until it's gone.  I know... it's not a terrible problem to have but I'm really trying to cut some extras out of my diet these days.

I was going to just go without when I found a can of wine I had bought in New Brunswick.  I can't find a link to the company's web site but what I found out is the wine in a can is available in four variants.  I had picked up a red and white.  The red was not superb but we were drinking it right from the can at the end of a late afternoon snowshoe along the river.  Today it seemed like the perfect solution.  I cracked open the Chardonnay can and poured myself a glass.  It seems each can pours two glasses - perfect for sharing and the wine was quite good.  It went well with the pesto pizza anyhow.

If I see it again I'll have to pick up another red and try it in a glass!

Happy cooking!

Day 8 - Omelet

Saturday morning started as it usually does.  We woke late with a craving for tea.  R suggested a trip to Tim Hortons where we would most likely grab breakfast sandwiches as well.  But we started doing a little wedding planning and decided to throw the kettle on the stove instead.

As the water started heating I started rummaging through the cupboards.  First I was thinking muffins but I did not have all the ingredients.  Pancakes were the next option but we didn't have the right stuff for that either.  In the fridge I found eggs, spinach, tomatoes, and sliced ham and decided to try my hand at an omelet.

It may sound simple but I wasn't really sure what the official recipe was.  A quick google search returned a basic recipe calling for:

2 eggs
2 tbsp whole milk
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

I decided to do four eggs and eventually had to add another to make up for all the other ingredients.

I chopped up some spinach, sliced some cherry tomatoes in half and sliced up three pieces of ham and grated some cheddar cheese.  Then I tossed all the ingredients in a bowl and mixed them up.  I melted a little butter in the pan and then poured everything in.

The problem is I cannot flip an omelet.  I can hardly even flip an egg without scrambling it.  I was going to pour the omelet out on a plate and then pour it back in the other side up but R suggested I just put the whole pan in the oven on broil.  That was the smarter plan for sure!

The omelet was fantastic and I actually had enough to put one quarter in the fridge for the next day's breakfast.

I'm sad to say that's the only thing we cooked all day long.

In our defence it was already noon by the time we ate and then we did more planning.  We didn't get out of the house to run errands until around 4 and we had a party to get to so we decided to grab a slice while we were out so we weren't starving at the party.

Still - we skipped the Timmies breakfast so that is a minor success!