Lately ...

It's been over a week since I blogged last - eeeeep!  Luckily, as of tomorrow at noon, I am done work for 2 months.  Expect to see much more regular blog posts.  

In the past week or so I have been enjoying beautiful weather and BBQd food including this pork chop with smokey paprika potatoes:

And this fabulous steak dinner that I got to enjoy with some of my favourite people (also known as one of the nicest families around):

 

 

 

Last weekend was one of my best friend's 30th birthday, and we celebrated 80s style!

 

Things have been winding down at work.  Last night we celebrated the end of the school year with a Tony Roma's dinner, after our last day with students.

This morning I made some beautiful oats to fuel up before a staff meeting and cleaning day.

 

Holidays are almost here!!!!!  I am so excited!

How was your week?  What are you excited for?

Finish the Sentence ...

It was a cool, rainy day yesterday, so I made chorizo mac and cheese for dinner using this recipe.

Mmmmmmmm!  I am a huge fan of mac and cheese.  This recipe was good, but I am still on the hunt for the best mac and cheese recipe in the world.  Think you have it?  Link away!

Today I tried Original Joe's for the first time.  I ordered the fish tacos, and thought they were pretty good, although not as delicious as the ones I had in San Fransisco at the Foodbuzz Festival.

 

Have you ever had fish tacos?  If not, give 'em a try!  They are better than they sound.

And now for a little fun ...

This meme has been floating around blog land, and I saw it over on Lisa's blog.  I haven't done one of these in a while, so I thought I'd play along.

Finish the Sentence ...

Maybe I should make use of my free gym pass that I get when I pay tuition.
I love thunderstorms, peach makeup, lilacs, and high heels.
People would say that I’m reliable.
I don’t understand negative people.
When I wake up in the morning I am usually tired ... unless it's the weekend.
I lost someone I love about a week ago :-(
Life is full of possibilities.
My past is full of happy memories.
I get annoyed when I am bored.
Parties are pretty much my favourite thing ever. 
I wish I had more parties.
Dogs are loyal.
Cats are sneaky.
Tomorrow I’m going to enjoy the first full day of summer.
I have low tolerance for rude people.
I’m totally terrified of spiders.
I wonder why I haven't been to the farmers' market yet this year!?
Never in my life have I driven in a city other than the one I live in.
High school was barely tolerable.
When I’m nervous I shake, and occasionally get sick to my stomach.
One time at a family gathering I was the most hilarious one in the room.  This happens often ;-)
Take my advice: Forgive.
Making my bed is something that only happens when I am expecting company.
I’m almost always floss my teeth 2-3 times per day.
I’m addicted to breathing.  I just can't quit it!
I want someone to have long leisurely lunches with in the summer.  I love having the summer off, but it would be nice to have more people to do things with during the day and late into the evening! 

Choose a few (or all) of the above and finish the sentence!!

Carbs.

I was feeling a little blah today, so I decided to get my butt into the kitchen and make things happen ...

 

 

First I made 2 loaves of my favourite bread.  

You can find the recipe here.

 

Then I whipped up a loaf of ridiculously easy beer bread, because all things are better with beer.  I used a full bodied spicy brew and the result was purrrrrrrfect.

 

 

Still warm and slathered with butter ...

 

I love recipes that use ingredients that I always have on hand, so when I came across these muffins on Foodgawker today, I knew I'd be making them right away.

 

 

How was your weekend?  Did you bake anything? 

New Recipes

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers - they are much appreciated.  Over the past week or so I have managed to try a few new recipes.  One was this chicken curry soup.

Although the soup was good, it would have been better with the addition of coconut milk.  I felt like it was missing something.

I also tried some buttermilk pancakes, which I will definitely make again.  You can find the recipe for them here.  I agree with the name of the recipe - these probably are the best buttermilk pancakes I have ever had. 

The other day I made a stop at our local Korean grocery store and picked up some kimchi and gochujang.  Those who know me well know that I loooooove kimchi.  I even made my own once.

 

I was bored this evening and decided to try whipping up some kimchi fried rice.  I started by frying up a few tablespoons of onion in peanut oil until it started to brown. 

 

I then added 1/4 cup chopped kimchi and cooked for a few minutes before adding one cup of cooked rice. 

I cooked this for about 4-5 minutes.  Meanwhile I fried an egg.  I removed the wok from the heat and stirred 1.5 T soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 chopped green onion into the rice.  I served it with the egg on top and a few heaping teaspoons of gochujang.

Have you made anything new lately?

Have you ever cooked with kimchi?

Restaurants

I have been a little MIA from the blog world lately, as we had a tragic and sudden death in the family on the weekend.  Make sure you spend time with your loved ones, as you never know how much time you will have with them.  Over this past week I have been deeply touched by the kindness and love of friends and family.  I am so grateful for all the people in my life.

Needless to say, there hasn't been much cooking in these parts.  Most meals have been eaten at restaurants.

Finally got around to trying Five Guys which is new to the city.  I like how you can eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor, although I couldn't make a mess, and instead kept my shells neat and tidy in the container.

I got the little bacon and cheese burger, loaded.  It was a pretty good burger, and I especially liked that the bacon was really crisp.

I also ate a few fries, but I wasn't a big fan of the them.  I prefer crispy fries, but these were a little soft.

Another meal out was breakfast at Fresh & Sweet.

I ordered the chicken with waffles, which was pieces of honey chicken and cheese inside of a waffle, panini style, with powdered sugar on top.  It was sooooooo good!  I was surprised by how much I liked this dish.

I also tried a bite or two of the red velvet pancakes.  They are definitely not a breakfast food (at least not a healthy one), but they are still delicious. 

My favourite part of this restaurant was probably the unicorn pooping cupcakes.  

Yeah, I know, I'm so mature.

I ate some junk at Beer Brothers with friends one evening, but barely put a dent in this plate.  The spring rolls were the best part, as they were filled with whole shrimp, mmmmmm!

Lunch at Henry's was great.  I loved the Thai soup.

And the margarita pizza at Slow Food really hit the spot after not eating all day.

A lasagna made by the ladies at the Italian Club made for a nice dinner with family after a tough day.

It hasn't been the greatest week, but I am ready to get back into routine, and back into the kitchen.  I have 2 weeks left of work until summer holidays, and I am really looking forward to an amazing summer.

How was your week?  What do you have planned for the weekend?

Bacon Crusted French Toast

If you didn't get enough bacon in my last post ... I have another bacon lover's recipe for you!

Bacon Crusted French Toast

French bread slice
Bacon (1 piece per slice of bread)
Egg (1 per slice)
1 tsp pure maple syrup

Cook the bacon in a pan until crisp (cook more than once slice if you want some for on the side).  Remove bacon and crumble onto a place.  Put the egg and syrup into a dish and soak the bread in it about 30 seconds on each side.  Dip the bread into the crumbled bacon.  Fry the bread up in the bacon grease on medium-medium high!  Serve with more bacon ... obviously.

 

 

If bacon is not your thing, try my recipe for coconut crusted French toast.  It is to-die-for!

Do you like French toast?  How do you make yours?  Any favourite French toast recipes?

Bacon Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing (Easy, No Yeast, and Mini)

Yep ... I went there. 

These are so easy that it would be a crime not to make them.  

Mini Bacon Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

(Also known as ahhhhh hell yeaaaah)

(Adapted from this recipe)

Rolls:

1 tube of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Cinnamon

Brown Sugar

Crisp Bacon

Take the dough out of the tube and make it into a ball.  Roll the dough out and cover it with cinnamon, brown sugar and crisp bacon.  Roll the dough and slice into 12 equal pieces.  Place into greased muffin tin and bake @ 375 for 12 minutes.  Let cool for a couple minutes then pop out of the pan with a spoon.

Maple Icing:

1 T milk (I used Vanilla Almond Breeze)

1 tsp real maple syrup

3/4 cup icing sugar

Whisk together and pour over warm rolls.

I only used a couple slices of this bacon and then devoured the rest.  Yes, I like my bacon almost burnt.

 

 

Get in mahhh belly!

What are you waiting for?  MAKE THESE!

Like the idea of baking with bacon?  So. Do. I.