Embracing Balance

Things…

2012-02-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

This was my view from the gym yesterday. There’s worse things to look at while sweating up a storm, no?

I swear I had plans for a recipe post this week. I made this Quinoa and Bean Soup the other night and while it’s OK, it’s bland so I didn’t deem it good enough for a post of it’s own.

To be fair, it was better heated up and it was really easy to make so maybe with some better seasoning I might make it again and tell you about it.

So far, my grocery budgeting has worked out exactly as I had planned for the week. In fact I bought myself a happy little bouquet and still didn’t break the budget. Huzzah!

Once a month I load my Starbucks card for buying coffee beans and occasional handy dandy coffees. Yesterday I was happy to use up my last $3 just to get my hands on a cute Love cup!

I didn’t do it, but there’s an iPhone app you can use to scan the cup and the picture will magically come to life! Starbucks…you are a PR machine.

UPS arrived at my door and I may have squealed with delight when I buzzed the guy in to deliver this package!! I’ve been sitting, waiting, and wishing for a real food processor for years now (I only have a wee 2 cupper) so I finally gave in and ordered one.

Don’t worry…it didn’t cost me a dime! As if a KitchenAid anything is in my budget right now. Nope! You can thank Airmiles for this one. :)

This thing is enormous!! I’ll probably be complaining that it’s too much food processor for me now. Never satisfied you know.

Now, what to make…what to make?

Oh, and the third instalment from #CanadianBloggerSeries is up over on Heidi’s blog. This time it’s my buddy Scott from Your Inner Skinny explaining what a giant pain in the ass it is to eat healthy living in Yellowknife.

I hate to break it to you bud, but those organic eggs cost the same ridiculous amount here in Victoria. You aren’t alone up there on that one!

Fit February

2012-02-07T11:46:00.001-08:00

Well folks, I’m stoked to report that my January Joiner motivation has stayed with me and Fit February is off to an excellent start. I think I can finally safely say I’ve found my workout mojo!! It only took the better part of two years. :)

As planned I finished up January with lots of cardio and a weeee introduction to strength training in the form of the rowing machine. My greatest fear about this whole returning to working out situation is that one of my many evil aches and pains will return…and the rowing machine is a good test of my neck and shoulder. So far, so good!

Monday – row, row, row my…rowing machine!

Tuesday – extra focus on the cardio…

Wednesday – Michael returned from his vacation so we took the dogs for a wander at the dog park and beach…

Thursday – hanging out on the elliptical extra long…

Friday – took my first steps into the weight area…mini plank workout!

Sunday – gorgeous day in Victoria, took the dogs for a nice long walk around one of our nicest lake trails. Thetis Lake…

I actually felt guilty not doing anything on Saturday! Who am I?!! :)

This week I’ve ventured into actual strength training. I’m starting out a few weeks behind on Fitnessista’s Winter Shape Up…yesterday was my first day and oh boy I’m pretty sure my body might hate me in a couple of days.

How is everyone else’s workout motivation holding up? Anyone need a kick in the pants?

Bigass Budget Salads

2012-02-06T13:25:00.001-08:00

Happy Monday everyone!

As I do every Monday I am sitting here writing my to-do lists, planning my weekly workouts, balancing my bank account and budget, and putting together my grocery list.

Since I have pretty much spent all of my grocery money on a microbrew collection I am currently hoarding in my fridge this week’s challenge is to buy as few groceries as possible so as to stay within budget. Thankfully I have a decent selection of items in my freezer, a freshly boiled bowl of eggs, and lots of odds and sodds to turn into quickie breakfasts and lunches this week.

But what about those bigass salads I’ve been known for? The big silver bowl is back in the rotation and I love to fill it chock-o-block with lots of healthy vegetables. What I’ve learned though is this is the place it is easy to bust my budget and have started to pay close attention to how I’m getting what I want and need.

Where I’m willing to spend: Those convenient tubs of pre-washed baby lettuces and/or spinach. It’s faster, easier, and tastier than some boring but cheap head of green leaf lettuce. I am far more likely to make my salads if I can reach into the tub instead of having to clean, dry and prep the greens.

Keeping on budget with the rest of the fillings is the ticket to making that tub o’ greens worth it. I look for veggies on sale or reasonably priced when bought in smaller, as-needed quantities. It’s easy to get a few carrots, radishes, celery, and red onion for a couple of bucks. One avocado can last for four salads. Last week broccoli was on sale…this week it’s tomatoes. Shopping the sales not only saves money but creates variety without even really thinking about it.

To keep the salads even more interesting I reach into my baking cupboard. A sprinkle of some kind of nut, seed, or dried fruit makes the bowl seem fancier than it is. If the salad is intended to be a meal I top it with whatever protein I’ve decided on for the week…whether it’s roast chicken breast from the deli, beans from my pantry, last night’s leftovers, or one of those boiled eggs I remembered to cook up this morning. Combine all of that with a quick squirt of dressing, or drizzle of oil and vinegar and it’s a complete bowl for a reasonable price and a fast preparation.

So this week I’m aiming to spend less than $30 on groceries for myself, but will still manage at least five bigass lunch salads and a batch of homemade granola bars. And no, that doesn’t mean I’m eating Mr. Noodles for dinner! :)

Do you have any budget tricks to keep your grocery bills from skyrocketing?

Black & White

2012-02-05T14:57:00.001-08:00

On Saturday night some dear friends of mine, Laura and Hugh, hosted their first party in their new townhouse. Being the quirky and fun folks they are, their party came complete with a theme…Black & White. Bow ties, polka dots, dice and dominos were the focus of the evening.

Of course, I was more concerned about what kind of food I could bring than what outfit I would wear. I mean…have you ever really thought about black and white food? It’s a toughie!!

Laura put together lots of white cheeses, crackers, dark chocolate cupcakes, popcorn and dips. She really pulled out the black and whites of the food world.

What I came up with was Oreos. But I can’t just show up with a bag of cookies now can I? So I took those cookies to the next level.

Bark is one of the easiest, but prettiest treats to put together. You melt some chocolate and you top it with your favourite yummy bits. This version is simply white chocolate and smashed Oreos cookies.

White Chocolate Oreo Cookie Bark

Ingredients:

3 cups white chocolate discs or chips
15 smashed Double Stuf Oreo Cookies, chilled

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
Place the cookies in a zipper bag and smash with a rolling pin. If the icing sticks a lot, stir with a fork to break up.
Divide the chocolate into three batches. Melt the first batch either over a double boiler, or in the microwave stirring to ensure smoothness. Spread the melted chocolate on the papered baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with about half of the smashed cookies.
Melt the second batch of chocolate and pour over the first layer of bark. Spread with the back of a spoon to incorporate cookie crumbs and even out the layer. Sprinkle with about a third of the remaining cookies and press with the spoon.
Melt the third batch of chocolate and use the spoon to drizzle all over the second layer. Press the remaining cookie chunks into the drizzled chocolate.
Refrigerate at least one hour or until needed. When ready to package or serve, lift the whole sheet of paper off the tray to a cutting board and use a large knife to cut into large pieces. Then break by hand into smaller pieces.

I stacked the black and white bark into a couple of sturdy white bowls, wrapped the whole works in white tissue paper and packed it up in a cute black and white damask bag. Success.

Cute theme, cute eats, good times. Black and white and fun all over!

What’s your favourite theme for a house party?

Sunshine on a Rainy Day

2012-02-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

So my boyfriend has been gone for 12 days and I think we’ve had 12 days of rain, snow, wind or some such other crap weather. He returned from Costa Rica last night and he had better have brought me some sunshine!

On the off chance that he didn’t pack beach sand and surf in his suitcase for me I looked to the bag of clementine oranges in my fridge to help me create my own sunshine. Clearly eating them straight up wasn’t doing the trick.

Guacamole seemed like another hot weather, fun in the sun food to work on so it only seemed to reason that these things should go together. And thus Clementine Guacamole was born.

Clementine Guacamole

yields 4 x 1/4 cup servings

Ingredients:

1 large avocado, peeled and diced
4-6 clementines, peeled and segmented (depending on size, looking for equal parts oranges and avocado)
1 lime, juice and zest
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 small red chili pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
coarse salt, pepper, and cumin – to taste

Directions:

It’s real rocket science. Mix everything together without mashing the avocado or oranges, taste, and adjust seasonings if desired.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least an hour so the flavours have time to mingle.
Serve with tortilla chips, rice crackers, fish tacos, or on a spoon. Enjoy.

Note: Just like any other guacamole this recipe is open to interpretation and the ingredient quantities listed are just a guideline. Go ahead and sprinkle, taste, sprinkle, taste until you love what you’ve got. :)

According to MyFitnessPal a 1/4 cup is around 140 calories…give or take.

Didn’t I tell you…sunshine in a bowl. If anything, the absolutely delicious aroma of the juicy clementines being segmented got the job done. But obviously powering through a couple of servings of the guacamole felt pretty good too.

Try this: a whole wheat flour tortilla spread with plain Greek yogurt, a sprinkle of Mexican seasoning, greens, grilled halibut with cumin & lime, and a bigass scoop of this guacamole. Your welcome.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I have a suitcase to inspect for sunshine.

Confessions

2012-01-31T10:30:00.000-08:00

** There is a box of Special K Vanilla Almond in the cupboard above my fridge. And often eat a bowl drenched in soy milk while laying in bed watching Firefly/Castle/HIMYM/FridayNightLights before falling asleep.

** I have made next-to-no progress on the painting of my base boards. That whole “base boards are thisclose to the carpet” situation has proven to be a giant pain in the azz. (Yes, I bought the little tool…but it’s still a pain).

** Sunday night I made a pan of Rice Krispie Treats as snacks for the week. Yesterday I threw them away because they didn’t turn out. How do you eff up cereal, melted marshmallows and butter?

** You may find a case of Diet Ginger Ale in my fridge. Sometimes it’s OK to drink artificial sweetener. Like when you read 8,001 food blogs that feature cupcakes and chocolate covered bacon and you need something to stop your sweet tooth from jumping off a bridge.

** I didn’t shave my legs the entire time Michael was in Costa Rica. What? It’s not like it’s skirt season around here. (He’s home tonight BTW!)

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The second post for the #CanadianBloggerSeries is up over on Heidi’s blog. This week’s installation comes from Lisa at Smores N More and she tells us about her love of Ontario and a great snowshoeing adventure. Pop over and check the girls out and tell us what you love about Canada. :)

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Got any confessions you just HAVE to get out and tell me??

Consider January Joined!

2012-01-30T13:06:00.001-08:00

Two days left in the month and I can safely say I hit my workout goals for January!

What were those goals? Well, I didn’t want to scare myself away from the gym again so I kept it simple…

Some kind of activity at least 4 days per week.
Preferably at least 3 of those days at the gym.
Basic cardio with lots of stretching.

Aside from the fact that I got the plague immediately following Day 1 and ended up a little delayed at the get-go…I did it!

If you count the next two days (which obviously I do!) I completed 19 activity days in January. 13 gym days, 5 extra walks, 1 at home yoga session. Not too shabby, eh?!

I do have to admit that this last week started out a little shakey…I lost my motivation for a few days at the beginning of the week, but on Wednesday I did drag my buns out to walk the dog and from there on it was all good!

Wednesday – doggie walk to the park…

Thursday – quiet early day workout…

Friday – happy to burn off some calories in anticipation of dinner…

Saturday – rare weekend trip to the gym (20 extra minutes!)…

Sunday – rainy day walk through the dog park and along the beach. Chibi was pretty stoked to be soaked! :)

So, two more days of this January cardio build-up then we get into Fit February. This means the re-introduction of strength training. Guess I’d better get to work on that plan!

Any other January Joiners hold it up through the month? What’s your motivation? or is anyone in need of a little motivation?

Tweetup Meatup

2012-01-28T15:03:00.001-08:00

So yeah. I think I’ve said about a dozen times now to anyone that would listen that I wanted to try to get away from restaurant reviews. No real reason other than that I was starting to feel obligated to say nice things, drag my camera everywhere, and annoy my friends and dates by getting pictures before anyone touched their meals. It’s cumbersome you know!

But here’s the thing. Sometimes restaurant adventures are definitely worth mentioning. If it’s particularly delicious, or especially fun, or something a little different it might warrant dragging my bigass camera out for the night.

Case in point: a Tweetup of food loving Victorians at a newly reopened local BBQ joint. Smoken Bones Cookshack.

I’m pretty sure the rest of the world thinks Victoria is full of West Coast hippies that eat a lot of granola, and kale, and fresh fish…but oddly enough our little city has become home to a wide variety of barbecue these last few years. We have multiple places to get our hands on pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, and macaroni and cheese.

Smoken Bones has recently moved from their suburban home in a strip mall to a spacious new location downtown in The Hudson building…and has taken to social media in a grand fashion. All it took was a handful of tweets and overnight a Tweetup for Meat was born.

Here’s a tip. You want great service and special attention at a local eatery? Arrange a party with 25 other food lovers who like to tweet and blog their faces off. Scott and his staff looked after us like we were rock stars.

He arranged a few pre-dinner snackies for us and brought us a round of bacon cocktail shots. Yep, bacon cocktails. They make their own bacon vodka, mix it with roasted pineapple puree and a weeeee bit of serrano pepper and call it a margarita. The C’moniwannaleia. And it’s delicious.

He also took us for a tour of the rest of the construction zone under The Hudson and told us a lovely rumour that next to the new 2% Jazz Coffee there just might be a local bakery going in.

And then we dove into dinner.

This ain’t no dainty dinner spot. Bring your short sleeved shirt, your ponytail, and your appetite. You are going to have BBQ sauce on your nose and meat stuck in your teeth. And you are going to love that. I opted for the pulled pork sandwich because that’s my favourite barbecue joint meal to try…and for something completely different I ordered up the pan-fried cabbage as my side.

That sammich was LOADED. Pulled pork was falling out from every side…to the point where I was eating up the meat with a fork. Then I rolled up my sleeves and dove in for the first greasy bite and was whisked off to juicy, flavour heaven. I’d call it the second best pulled pork I’ve ever had.

And that cabbage. It created a mess of butter in my dish and made me feel guilty for eating my vegetable this way but it’s a fun and tasty option for sure.

As for portion and pricing I thought this meal was just right. My basket was $10, it wasn’t ridiculously overfilling, nor did I feel like I could eat more. Paired with a beer it’s a good meal. Sure, it’s not healthy but if your are heading to the Cookshack I suspect you weren’t hoping for kale salad and quinoa now were ya?!

While we stuffed our faces we also kept our fingers clean and tweeting during a round of #Cookshack BBQ Trivia. Scott posted rounds of questions for us to answer and the player with the most points won a gift certificate to the restaurant. Second runner up got themselves a pair of tickets to a Victoria Royals hockey game.

Of course, no restaurant tasting would be complete without trying out dessert. Especially when the dessert is what got us all talking about going to Smoken Bones in the first place. Bacon Ice Cream. WHAT? You thought the Bacon Cocktail was the crazy item on the night’s menu didn’t you?

Caramelized bacon wrapped around vanilla based ice cream. I think my friend Jen described it best when she said the bacon reminded her of that almost-burnt-marshmallow-taste. You know, when it’s thisclose to overcooked and damn near perfect? That was the bacon. Smoky, candied, super fun.

So yeah. Now you can see why I just had to haul James Dean with me and report back to you all on this particular restaurant. A great time was had by all, the staff looked after us well, the food was delicious, and the cocktail is worth a second visit.

Note: The Tweetups will likely become monthly events so if you missed this one, follow @smokenbones411 on Twitter and watch out for the next one.

Cheap & Tasty Kale Pesto

2012-01-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

I don’t know why I’ve not thought to do this before now. I spent five pretty fun years working in a funky restaurant in my late teens where one of my favourite things to eat was a grilled cheese sammich with pesto…and somehow I have not had one since. Really?!

How did this happen?!

Probably because I’m too ~~cheap~~ frugal to make real basil pesto and it’s not something I think would be good from a jar.

I’ve made spinach pesto in the past so I thought kale would probably work too. Turns out I’m right…it’s super yumm-o! Of course, it also turns out that I did indeed see the idea on Pinterest, so I can’t claim full recognition for this genius idea. Dammit.

But at the very least I whipped up my recipe before I looked at my boards and confirmed my suspicions that I truly don’t have any original ideas. :)

Kale and Almond Pesto

yields 8 servings, 1/4 cup each

inspired by Raw Food Recipes

Ingredients:

1 large bunch fresh kale, washed, trimmed from stems, and torn into large pieces (approximately 8 loose cups)
1/4 cup whole almonds, pan toasted
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
juice and zest of half a lemon
salt and pepper
1/4 cup pecorino cheese, grated (parmesan or asiago would work too!)
1/4 cup olive oil
optional: pinch of cayenne

Directions:

Using a food processor or good blender chop the almonds. Remove and set aside. In the same processor chop the kale.
Add the almonds back to the processor along with the minced garlic, lemon juice and zest, a liberal sprinkle of salt and pepper, and cayenne (if using). Whirl in processor until well minced and mixed.
Set processor to low speed and drizzle in olive oil slowly to saturate. Scrape down sides if necessary, then add grated cheese and whirl just to combine.

Note: I kept the olive oil quantity light to help keep the calories down, but if you want a true wet pesto add more oil.

MyFitnessPal tells me this recipe works out to around 135 calories per serving.

Personally I think the almonds are what make this work, but the fresh, rich taste of the kale lends itself quite well to the mix too! Whatever it is I think I might like it better than regular pesto. It’s probably because almonds and kale are a fraction the cost of basil and pine nuts. Cheaper tastes better!

Now my mind is spinning with ideas for this bowl of green goodness.

Start by mixing a large scoop of the pesto with a spoonful of olive oil mayo, then slather it on your favourite bread (you know mine was Squirrelly) with a layer of old white cheddar and make yourself the bestest grilled cheese EVER.

Yes, EVER. Possibly better than that dreamy sammich of my teen years.

What are your favourite uses for pesto?

I plan to make pasta with goat cheese, pesto bean dip, and about six more of those sandwiches.

Today…

2012-01-24T18:07:00.001-08:00

…is National Peanut Butter Day. How do I know? Because it’s the hottest topic among food bloggers on Twitter! Oddly I actually bought peanut butter for the first time in months today. Only because my Trader Joe’s almond butter is nearing it’s end and I haven’t managed to talk anyone into trekking across the border to replenish it for me. PB will have to suffice. I suppose.

…I’m making Kale Pesto. I feel like this is brilliant. And cheaper than real pesto. If someone else thought of it before me please don’t ruin my fun by telling me. I like to think I come up with ideas on my own. I plan to smoooosh it into a grilled cheese sandwich. See! Brilliant.

…I am tackling the first of the to-do projects I gave myself for the New Year. Painting my base boards has only been on my to-do list for about 14 months. Not that I’m counting. It involves a lot of painter’s tape and crawling around on my floor…not to mention moving my couch, TV stand and desk…so we’ll see just how much of this project gets done before Michael comes back from vacation and I enlist him for the heavy lifting.

…the first post for the #CanadianBloggerSeries went up over on Heidi’s blog, The Balance Project. For obvious reasons I love her blog name. For other obvious reasons I love this blog series. Proud Canadians in the house! Today’s post is all about Saskatchewan and courtesy of A Dash of Meg. Stay tuned for posts every Tuesday, including one by yours truly next month.

…I want a cupcake. That is all.

What did you do today?

I’m still a January Joiner

2012-01-23T12:38:00.001-08:00

Are you?! How is your healthy lifestyle holding up now that we are a few weeks in? I’m struggling to see results and let me tell you it’s annoying, but I’m keepin’ on keepin’ on!

Another week of cardio…this time with RUNNING. Oh lordy. I decided to up things from my speed walking and get my heart pumping so hard it felt like it would pop out of my mouth.

Monday – new workout – basic HIIT…

Warm-Up = 3 mins (3.0 – 3.5mph)
8x 1 min jogging (4.5mph), 30 sec running (5.5mph), 1:30 min walking (3.5 mph) = 24 mins
Cool down = 3 mins (3.5 – 2.5 mph)
TOTAL = 30 minutes

Wednesday – same workout – new playlist…

Saturday – same workout – forgot my socks!

And since yesterday I spent my morning fighting a harrowing windstorm on the highway home from a friend’s house I decided I wasn’t going out in #yyjWindpocalypse again and did some yoga at home.

Sunday – yogadownload.com – Shoulder Opening Flow…

This week is more of the same with the addition of the rowing machine. Preparing my upper body for the return of strength training in February.

What’s your favourite treadmill workout?

Happy Birthday Hour

2012-01-22T15:22:00.001-08:00

After starting a Friday afternoon off with a cider tasting with dear friends you can’t very well just call it a night. More plans must be made. Especially when an important birthday has just passed without a celebration and several bottles of sparkling cider have just been purchased.

We can’t let Tiffaney get away without a girlie birthday dinner!

Unpictured: herby cheeeeese, mixed olives and crack-crackers.

Bigass roasted beet and apple salad with candied pecans and fresh orange juice dressing.

Butternut squash gnocchi with brown butter and sage from La Piola.

And homemade birthday cake…complete with sour cherry buttercream.

Also unpictured (geeee, how did that happen?): mass quantities of Sea Cider.

Our potlucking skills have become excellent. Talk about team effort!

Happy Birthday Tiffaney!!

Sea Cider Friday

2012-01-21T15:34:00.001-08:00

Well I think I’ve figured out how a Friday afternoon should be spent more often. A little early exit from work, a short drive, a crisp Winter day, some good girlfriends, and a wee cider tasting. Sounds good, no?

Shockingly I have been holding on to a Groupon for Sea Cider for almost a whole year. I guess “we’ll go sometime this Summer” means “we’ll go before it expires”. Thankfully I was not alone in my slacking so there were two Groupons to be used up which meant four of us gals could take part.

Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse is just a short drive out the highway where it sits on a lovely little piece of land complete with a gorgeous view. Even on a foggy snowy day it’s crisp and peaceful.

Choosing to go late on a Friday afternoon worked out quite well…we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Included in our great Groupon deal was a little local snack plate…breads, cheese, chorizo, salmon, chutney and hazlenut brittle…all from local foodie artisans.

Good thing for that bread and cheese…we needed it for our long flights! Eight ciders to taste and a sample of Hot Buttered Rumrunner. I was glad to share!

I have tried several of Sea Ciders specialties before and was hoping to walk away with a new favourite…but turns out I’m a creature of habit. Still pretty much in love with Pippins, which is strong and off-dry but has a lightly sweet fruity touch to it. Rumrunner is still a close second but because of it’s stronger flavours I like it with dessert (or you know, in front of a roaring fire…if I had a fireplace). :)

A perfect way to launch into a busy weekend…now if we could just make short Fridays happen on a regular basis.

Wouldn’t that just be the life? *sigh*

Snowpocalypse Chowder

2012-01-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

Well, our snow appears to have stopped falling from the sky but is showing no intention of leaving the ground any time soon. I ventured out to the gym yesterday and was shocked that so many of the roads are still so bad. Driveable but gross! Slushy business.

Nice time for my darling boyfriend to head off for sunny South America, no? I knew that whole business of trotting off to Greece without him would come back to haunt me. Next time I need to be smart enough to book my warm and lovely vacation during Victoria’s annual snowpocalypse.

Alas, someone’s gotta stay home and pay her mortgage so instead of snorkelling with tropical fishies I’ll stay here and eat copious amounts of soul warming chowder. Take THAT silly sunny vacation.

Roasted Butternut Squash Chowder

yields 6 servings

adapted from Food for my Family (thanks Pinterest!)

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 baking potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-size cubes
2 tbsp fresh sage, chiffonade
1 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper
1 carton (900 ml) chicken broth
1 cup water
3 cups roasted butternut squash, pureed
1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp cold water

Tip: Add water 1-2 tbsp at a time to help the process of pureeing the squash.

Directions:

In a large pot, cook bacon over medium heat until browned and becoming crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pot to rest on paper towel.
In the same pot add carrots, celery and onions. Stir to coat and sauté until al dente. While vegetables are rendering down stir in garlic.
Add potatoes, sage, paprika, cayenne and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir to combine and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes.
Stir in chicken broth and water, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling remove the lid, reduce the heat, and simmer until potatoes are fork tender…approximately 10 minutes.
Stir in pureed butternut squash and whipping cream. Taste for seasoning and adjust if desired. Add corn starch mixture, stirring continuously while returning chowder to a light boil. Reduce heat once bubbling begins. When desired thickness is reached remove pot from heat, stir in reserved bacon, and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Don’t nibble on the bacon while you are working on the soup! You need it. If you are a bacon monster, make extra.

Fill your belly full of this delicious creaminess before pulling on your fuzzy lined boots and your devil horn toque and your big red mittens and your puffiest Winter coat to take your hairless dog out for her business.

It wards off the cold.

Almost as good as a trip to Costa Rica.

Riiiiight.

Victoria Snow Day(s)

2012-01-18T15:35:00.001-08:00

On Saturday morning we awoke to a few inches of freshly fallen snow out in the ‘burbs.

Just enough to be pretty. Just enough to be fun for the dogs.

On Monday morning we awoke to enough snow that I thought maybe my car and I might have to take a snow day. Alas I have snow tires, front wheel drive, and a boyfriend with lots of great elbow grease.

By Tuesday afternoon Mother Nature was trying to drag her blanket of snow into the city but after a while she gave up.

Until this morning that is. I woke up to a white out and minor snow drifts in the parking lot. So I went for a walk in two pairs of pants and my trusty toque. Yep, our roads are a mess and baby, it’s cold outside.

Looks like the perfect night for chowder. And snuggles on the couch.

Did I mention Michael is leaving for Costa Rica in the morning? Bugger.

Roasted Garlic White Bean Dip

2012-01-17T13:26:00.001-08:00

How much do you spend on store bought hummus and other easy-to-grab dips? When I’m looking for simple, healthy snack ideas I can easily spend $5 every time I walk past that deli cooler.

What is ridiculous is that for less than $2 and about 15 minutes I can make a triple size container of my own at home!

Since I didn’t have tahini in my cupboard and didn’t want to put out the cash for it I decided against hummus and opted for something equally as delicious and creamy…White Bean Dip. The nice thing about white beans is they generally have a creamier consistency and they don’t have those silly skins that need removing like chick peas do (not that I ever remove them because I’m lazy…but I’m also always disappointed in the smoothness of my hummus).

And since the beans lend themselves to pretty much any added flavour it was a simple decision to forego the plain version and opt for something much more exciting. We all know I’m recently obsessed with roasted garlic!

Tip: Since this recipe calls for olive oil I decided to use a little extra while roasting my garlic and added some fresh rosemary to the dish too. When the garlic was ready I simply strained the olive oil and let it cool for use in the dip.

Roasted Garlic White Bean Dip

inspired by Giada De Laurentiis

yields about 2.5 cups

Ingredients:

1 can (540ml) white beans, drained and rinsed
1 head roasted garlic, cloves squeezed from skins
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/8 cup olive oil (use extra to roast garlic, strain and use)
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley
salt and pepper
water for thinning
(optional: Greek yogurt)

Directions:

In a food processor or good blender puree together beans, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and parmesan. If mixture is too thick for blending add water one tablespoon at a time to loosen it up.
When desired consistency is reached add salt, pepper, lemon zest and parsley and pulse a few times just to chop parsley and incorporate. Taste and re-season if desired.
If adding Greek yogurt, move dip to a mixing bowl and fold in yogurt using a spatula.

According to MyFitnessPal 8 servings (about 1/3 cup) work out to approximately 115 calories per serving. yay!

Serve with your favourite crackers, pita crisps, veggie sticks or bread chunks. I found these hearty sea salt & sesame rice crackers that worked perfectly for scooping and shovelling the dip directly into my face. Or how genius I am to make yam chips and use those?!

For something fun and extra tasty try adding additional ingredients. I oven roasted a tomato to stir into half my batch…

Other Optional Add-ins: wilted spinach, red pepper, caramelized onions, chopped black olives, pesto, chili flakes...and on and on and on. :)

See how cheap and easy this is? Now get to it!

January Joiner Update

2012-01-16T12:20:00.001-08:00

Week one back to working out = complete!

Keeping things simple with a few work day cardio sessions at the gym and a couple of outdoor walks with the pupper. This week I crank up the cardio intensity…and by crank I mean like one minute of jogging. :)

Monday – view from the gym…

Tuesday – my feets on the treadmill…

Wednesday – walk to the park with Chiberoo…

Thursday – cardio machine lovey dovey…

Friday – post workout schweaty face…

Saturday – rest and relaxation.

Sunday – snow walk with Michael and the doggies…

How is your January Joiner recommitment to life, health and happiness going?

Butternut & Chorizo Tart

2012-01-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Helloooooo out there! All of a sudden it’s been like a week and I haven’t had anything to blog about! That’s what happens when I spend my days eating salad or take-out…nothing exciting to share!

OK, I should share the amazing Butter Chicken Poutine I had the other day, but that’s not what we’re here for now is it? Tease. Yep.

Instead I have the first of two recipes involving this bigass bad boy.

Michael sent me home with this butternut squash last weekend in the hopes that I’d turn around and bring it back all cooked up in a soup or some such thing. Well, lucky boy…it was so big I came up with two things for him.

Thanks to Twitter friends I was inspired to tackle a Butternut Squash Tart. Well, my lazy variation of a tart anyway. Let’s just say I’m not friends with homemade pastry just yet…

The suggestion that came my way from Rayna was caramelized onions and goat cheese. Yesssss. I don’t know about you but I love the flavour combination of chorizo sausage with butternut as well, so I decided to just work all of those ideas into one recipe…and let me tell ya, I felt like a genius for doing it!

Butternut Squash Tart with Chorizo, Onion & Goat Cheese

inspired by Epicurious

yields: 8 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups roasted butternut squash
150 grams bulk chorizo sausage (2 links removed from skin)
2 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4-6 leaves fresh sage, chiffonade
1 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for brushing roasting squash)
1 tbsp butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup heavy/whipping cream
(water for thinning)
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle cayenne if desired
1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, coarsely grated
60 grams (2 oz.) creamy goat cheese
1 pre-made pie crust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove frozen pie crust from tin plate and set into glass pie pan to thaw while preparing filling.
In a non-stick skillet over medium heat brown the chorizo, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon if necessary. Cook until crumbly and no longer pink in the middle. Remove from skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet heat the olive oil and butter together over medium heat. When hot add onions and stir to coat. Sautee until becoming translucent, then add garlic and stir. Continuing sautéing until onions and garlic start to brown, then add sage. Stir and continue cooking until everything becomes golden and caramelized. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a food processor or good blender puree the roasted squash (may need a little water to help it along). Add egg, egg yolk and cream and continue pureeing until smooth.
Pour squash mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add sausage, parmesan, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if using). Stir to incorporate. Add onion mixture (reserve a few tablespoons), stir again.
Scoop about half of the filling into the pie crust, spread evenly. Sprinkle with dollops of goat cheese. Add remaining filling, spread evenly. Top with remaining goat cheese and reserved onion mixture for decoration. Sprinkle with cracked pepper.
Bake tart for 30 minutes until crust is browned and filling has set. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

I have to tell you a secret… I don’t even really like butternut squash all that much. It’s like this weirdly overrated Winter food that everyone goes crazy over, but every time I have it I’m always underwhelmed.

Well, apparently roasting it is the key because I am pretty much in love with this. Never mind the chorizo, cream and two cheeses in there helping tasty it up…shhhh. And those onions….oooooh, those caramelized onions.

Best part about this recipe? According to MyFitnessPal a serving of this seemingly rich deliciousness is only around 200 calories!

Obviously this would be even better with a homemade crust if I wasn’t afraid of pastry. If you’ve got a good idiot proof one for me, please share.

How To: Roast Butternut Squash

2012-01-12T18:30:00.001-08:00

I know, I know. This seems like a cop-out post. I’ve been MIA for days and now I’m giving you this lame little thing telling you how to do something you probably already know how to do.

But….here’s the thing. I didn’t realize how easy roasting a butternut squash was, so maybe you didn’t either!!

Being presented with something like this can be intimidating!

Don’t be dirty. I know what you are thinking you dirty, dirty birds. ;)

When scoping out recipes for that bad boy I realized that every idea I liked involved roasted squash. It just seems so much more flavourful than using raw or boring baked butternut. So I picked out two recipe ideas and got to work roasting the squash in advance.

Directions:

Cut the squash in half lengthwise. If it’s a big fella, cut it in half crosswise as well. Scoop out the seeds…I find a solid soup spoon works great for scraping away the stringy flesh.
Lightly brush the cut sides with olive oil then place face down on a baking sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes until soft.
Let cool, then the rind should pretty much just pull away from the flesh. Use right away or refrigerate in a sealed container until needed.

Et voila! Now you are ready to tackle a delish roasted squash soup or amazing tart with caramelized onions and chorizo.

Oh wait, I guess you need the recipes. Is it tacky to make you wait a day or two? Oh well!!!

Egg Whites for the Win

2012-01-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Hello healthy friends! Thanks for all of the support on Friday’s January Joiner post…hope it was a little motivation for a few of you, because it was for me. I see some serious treadmill time on my schedule today. My lululemon pants are happy to do something other than walk the dog or sit at my desk!

Eats this week have been really quite deeeelish and healthy, a few meals thanks to this bad boy…

Remember those egg whites that were hurting my head? Turns out I had about a bazillion recipe ideas for them… once the sweet and tart Citrus Curd haze cleared from my brain that is.

Keeping true to form I had to make sure I was keeping the meal budget-friendly and went shopping in my freezer for items to bring my ideas to fruition.

Leftover smoked salmon? Well all right then. Now we’re cooking! Literally.

Egg White Frittata with Smoked Salmon and Capers

Serves 4

Ingredients:

6 egg whites
1/3 cup cottage cheese (I use 1%)
1/4 skim milk (or milk of your choice)
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 cup smoked salmon, flaked (not lox)
3 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp capers
salt, pepper and dill to taste
fresh grated parmesan

Directions:

Preheat broiler.
Whisk together egg whites, cottage cheese, milk, green onions, salt, pepper and dill. Set aside.
Liberally spray an oven-proof skillet with non-stick spray. Heat skillet to medium on stovetop, add onions and sauté until transparent (might need a little water to help them along). Add salmon, stir and cook until warmed through.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add egg mixture and gently mix to distribute salmon mixture evenly through eggs. Sprinkle with capers.
As eggs begin to cook use spatula to gently ‘drag’ edges of eggs to create space for uncooked mixture to fill.
When mixture is approximately 3/4 cooked through, sprinkle fresh parmesan over entire dish, then place skillet under broiler. Cook 4-6 minutes, watching carefully, until cheese begins to brown and eggs no longer jiggle.
Let stand 2 minutes before cutting and serving. Sprinkle with more parmesan to serve.

This turned out better than I had expected. The cottage cheese worked perfectly as a binder and the capers gave an excellent zing and saltiness.

According to MyFitnessPal this works out to a measly 115 calories per serving. Served with a salad it made a perfect lunch and the next night a delicious light dinner.

January Joiner

2012-01-06T13:45:00.001-08:00

In the past I’ve never really needed a milestone or date marker to ‘start being healthy’. Overall my lifestyle has been pretty healthy for the last five years…balanced eating, balanced exercise. A few cupcakes, a few carrots.

But… Somewhere along that long drive from Halifax to Victoria I think I lost my healthy living mojo. I arrived here on the Island with a sense of entitlement to all things beer, cheese, and burger related. All in the name of socializing with friends I had missed for the better part of three years. I felt invincible or something. Like since I’d been so careful with my eating for so long a year of throwing calorie caution to the wind couldn’t hurt me.

Guess what? Life doesn’t work that way. If you stop working out, and keep eating poutine your ass gets bigger. And all of a sudden your entire wardrobe doesn’t fit and you spend your time telling your new boyfriend that you have nothing to wear…ever.

So, instead of whining about it for another six months I’ve decided to join all of the other resolutioners and get my shiz together. Time to get back to that girl I used to be. Time to be a January Joiner.

My gym membership has literally been a drain on my bank account for months now. I had all of that hip/leg/back pain over a year ago that slowed me down and kept me from working out, but honestly it just became the world’s best excuse to not do anything. I’m acknowledging that now and tackling the simple things I can do and I’ll worry about the more intensive stuff later.

I don’t plan to spend much time here telling you about my escapades in fitness. My workouts can be random and not all that interesting to anyone (including me!) but if something noteworthy happens I’ll be sure to update you all.

What I will do is eat healthier and share that with you. Nothing like a month of posting cookie recipes to get a girl in the mood for salads, egg whites, and chicken. Time to revamp some favourite recipes and see if we can healthify them…and if we can’t then I guess we’ll eat them full-fat and just take an extra trip to the treadmill.

When it doubt, run it out. Word.

Anyone else a January Joiner?

What’s your New Year’s resolution for 2012?

How To: Garlic Breath

2012-01-05T11:52:00.001-08:00

On New Year’s Eve Michael and I met up with some friends and family for dinner at a downtown restaurant. It was a good thing we are all close and had carrot cake to cleanse our palates because the veggie sides we all had were absolutely slathered in garlic. At least I knew my New Year’s kiss partner had suffered the same dilemma!

Not that there’s anything wrong with garlic. But whoa.

Funny enough though it appears I’ve been stockpiling fresh garlic at Michael’s house. Every time I buy groceries for a recipe I come home with more garlic “just in case”. It had produced a surplus and he asked me what I planned to do with it all.

When in doubt, roast it! Roasted garlic is tres delicious and super versatile. So much smoother and less vampire-repelling that the raw or sautéed versions. Our New Year’s restaurant could take a tip here!

Roasted Garlic (it’s so basic it’s not really even a recipe)

Ingredients:

whole garlic bulbs
olive oil

Directions:

Slice the pointy tops off the garlic…enough that each of the cloves are visible…and place in a baking pan.
Drizzle liberally with olive oil. Tightly cover tray with foil.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or more. When garlic is golden and easily poked with a fork, it’s ready.

There are soooo many uses for roasted garlic. We served ours alongside delicious cheeses, pate and crackers as our final long weekend meal. Tip: the roasted garlic was amazing paired with simple, plain, fresh goat cheese on a crisp cracker.

We found that either a small fondue fork or a rounded knife worked best for getting the caramelized cloves out of their natural paper packaging. Turning the whole thing upside down and squeezing works too, but I only recommend that if you aren’t sitting around the dinner table. :)

Other great uses for roasted garlic:

compound butter (mix roasted garlic with butter and a favourite fresh herb. serve with bread, use to pan cook fish, or serve atop a fresh grilled steak)
pasta sauce (add to cream sauce with lots of fresh pepper)
hummus (use instead of raw garlic in a batch of your favourite chick pea or bean dip)
pizza (the combinations are endless but I like sautéed mushrooms and extra cheese with my roasted garlic)
roasted garlic olive oil (use lots of extra olive oil in the roasting process. you can then drain and strain that extra oil for use in other recipes.)

What else do you use your roasted garlic for? Share with me!

Last Hurrah

2012-01-04T13:14:00.001-08:00

Just like most everyone else I am quite happy to abandon the treat parade that rolled through my life for the last couple of weeks and get back to a cookie-free lifestyle. I actually started making salads last week and have been enjoying every bite of every crunchy piece of lettuce, carrot and radish. But…

Yep, but.

…I promised Michael a lemony treat over the holidays and I never got it done. And since I hate broken promises I had to follow through, even if the holiday baking season is actually over.

I rationalized that this past Monday was still part of the holidays since we had the day off work in lieu of New Years Day…that totally counts!

The Citrus Curd Tarts I threw together turned out to be just the right thing! Michael’s been asking me to use up a pack of frozen tart shells some family member left in his freezer months ago, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to make Guilty Kitchen’s Citrus Curd ever since I first read the recipe.

Added bonus: Michael is actually friends with Elizabeth and her husband. Small world. :)

I had hoped to make the curd using Meyer lemons, but of course the day I went shopping for them I couldn’t get my hands on any. So I went with the original recipe of lemons and limes and it was a huge hit. Creamy, tart, tangy and oh so deeeeelish.

Baker’s note: Do NOT bake the curd. Bake the shells, then fill with the pre-made curd. Top with whipping cream if desired, then chow down.

Turns out making curd isn’t all that hard. Who knew? It’s just finding a use for all those leftover egg whites that’s making my head hurt. But if that’s the worst of it then I think we’ll be tackling this recipe again…and maybe again. The variations are pretty much endless.

Oh, and what’s that? Ah yes. An excellent way to use up that leftover Christmas cranberry sauce. Do it! Then get back to that bigass salad.

Bon Voyage 2011

2012-01-03T11:41:00.001-08:00

Here’s to an amazing 2012!!

Good Times 2011–Part Two

2011-12-30T10:50:00.000-08:00

Part One of this recap reminded me of so many fun times this year. Hard to believe there’s another six months to get through here!

July

Canada Day – always a festive good time in downtown Victoria.
Canada Day Fireworks – which ended up being the actual anniversary of my relationship with Michael. :)
Bonfire Campout – good times with friends and dogs.

August

ParmanFest 2011 – a reunion with lovely lifelong friends.
A daytrip to Salt Spring Island – relaxation with a side of Harley, wine and cheese.
Epic West Coast Crab Boil – the first of many dinner parties hosted by Michael and I.

September

Oceanside Camping for two – the post that reminds me I need to win the lottery and buy my own RV. {We ate good too.}
Great Canadian Beerfest 2011 – I volunteered to drink a lot of beer.
I left for two glorious weeks in Greece with my BFF!

October

I took a much needed blogging break.
Greece Recap – don’t worry I made sure to post plenty of information and photos about my amazing Greek vacation!

November

Nada. Blog breakin’ y’all.

December

I made my blogging comeback – and you were all thrilled to bits.
Holiday Feast – Round One & Two – because I’m just crazy enough to cook a big dinner for Michael’s family.
Holiday Feast – Round Three – because I’m smart enough to stand back when a man is making paella for eight.
Christmas with my Mom – complete with gifts and good eats.

All that’s left is New Years Eve! I may just sleep until then…just putting these posts together has exhausted me. And here I thought I was boring.

Thanks to everyone for an amazing 2011!! Blog readers and supporters are really what makes this all worthwhile and I can’t thank each of you enough for cheering me on throughout the year.

Here’s to a great 2012!