Six years ago today I ...

arried my best friend. Happy Anniversary Chris! I love you.

It is amazing how time flies. Six years later ... yet it seems like just yesterday.



Chris (AKA - "The Hubby") worked today, but I of course had the day off (one of those perks of being a teacher). I got up early and had a quick breakfast of eggs, toast and OJ before heading to the spa for a 90 minute massage.


(2 scrambled eggs with hot sauce)


(Whole wheat toast with PB and J)



Lunch was a little platter with 2 organic samosas, 1 tomato, 2 dried figs, and goat cheese:







After work the hubby and I went to pick up OUR NEW CAR!!!!! For the first 5 years that we were married we only had 1 vehicle, and it worked really well. Last year we bought a second car, and this year we decided we wanted something with more room. We are going to sell the car that we bought last year.

Our New Car - 2007 Mazda 5



The hubby will most likely drive that, and I will drive my LOVE, our Lancer:



We only drive white cars. We are white car snobs. Hehe.
The car we are selling is white too.

We went for dinner to The Creek in Cathedral Bistro. We enjoyed some wine, along with two appetizers:






(Calamari with blackberry salsa)


(Blackened scallops)

The hubby had chicken:



And I had beef:



The hubby wasn't feeling very well this evening, so we picked up dessert and went home to snuggle on the couch.

Did you know that Dairy Queen has mini blizzards now??!!!!!!!!

BEST news I heard all week.



The hubby had a small Oreo, and I had a mini Georgia Mud Fudge. I couldn't even finish all of the mini!! They need to make an ultra mini!

What kind of car do you drive? Do you have a colour preference?

Brought to you by the letter B ...

agel for breakfast this morning:

Big salad for lunch:





Bit of lemon loaf for a snack:



Brew featured dinner:



Root Beer Glazed Ribs

About 12 ribs (enough for 2)
2 T brown sugar
2 T soy sauce
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup root beer

Boil the ribs for 1/2 an hour. Remove. Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce and root beer together. Put half on the ribs and cook at 350 for about 30 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce and cook another 15.

Root Beer Baked Beans
(adapted from BonAppetit)

3 slices bacon (chopped)
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
2 cans white kidney beans
1/2 cup root beer
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T molasses
3/4 tsp tomato paste
1 T Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp chili powder

Cook bacon in deep pan or in a pot. Once cooked remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add onion and garlic and cook about 8 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Transfer to oven and bake uncovered 350 for 45 minutes.





Banana rhubarb bake for dessert (I forgot to mention that I also bought rhubarb at the farmer's market yesterday).

Banana Rhubarb Bake

1 cup diced rhubarb
1 T sugar
1 tsp flour

Mix together and divide into 2 greased ramekins. Bake @ 350 for about 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and top each with 1/2 a banana, sliced.

Mix: 1/4 cup oats, 2 T flour, 1 T brown sugar, 1 T sugar, pinch cinnamon, 2 T butter (use fingers to mix and press ingredients into butter). Crumble over the bananas. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes @ 350.

Before and Afters:









Baking or cooking with pop ... have you ever done it?

Brownie Batter VOO Parfaits & Sopa de Lima (not together)

oday was a beautiful, quintessential summer day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the leaves were rustling in the light breeze.

All clichés were in order, and life was good.

I tried to soak up as much of the day as possible.

I noticed this morning that although some of my plants had died from too much rain, others were flourishing. I plucked two ripe peppers this morning:



Aren't they cute!



Breakfast was 2 eggs with 1 slice of toast (hiding under the eggs) and a plum. I also had a glass of OJ and some coffee:





Later in the morning I met up with a friend at the farmer's market. We did some shopping and then had sushi for lunch (gyoza, tempura, soup, rolls).

This was my haul from the market:



I am especially excited for the lemon loaf:



I spent the afternoon reading outside on my deck while sipping fresh juice (grapefruits and green pepper):





Dinner was soup and salad. I used the farmer's market tomatoes and cucumber in a spinach salad with lemon poppy seed dressing:





The soup was Sopa de lima (lime soup). I didn't follow a recipe, and I didn't measure so this is very approximate. It will taste good no matter how much you put in of the ingredients.

Sopa de Lima (Lime Soup)

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 chicken breast (cooked and shredded)
1.5 litres chicken broth (low salt)
1 cup dried hominy
3 limes
cilantro
oregano

Saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno in a little bit of oil for a couple minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the hominy and return to boil. Reduce to low, then cover for 25 minutes. Add chicken, lime zest and juice from 3 limes, and oregano to taste. Serve hot with cilantro to garnish.



After dinner the hubby and I went for a walk. He was craving ice cream, so I made some Banana Brownie Batter VOO (Vegan Overnight Oat) parfaits.

Brownie Batter VOO

1/3 cup quick oats
just over 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze
1 scoop chia seeds
1 T cocoa
4 drops vanilla liquid stevia (optional)

Mix together and leave in fridge overnight.

We SHARED 1 batch of these oats, layered with banana soft serve (1 banana whipped in Vita-Mix with 1 T almond milk).

His and hers:





Do you shop at farmer's markets? What do you typically buy? Is yours open year round? Outdoor or indoor?

In my city the farmer's market is only outside for a couple months, then it moves indoors for the rest of the year. I always buy tomatoes, and usually a small loaf of some kind.

Tropical French Toast & Orzo with Bacon and Shrimp

Tropical French Toast

- Make coconut crusted French toast
- Top with sliced bananas (1/2 a small banana) and Pineapple syrup
(1/4 cup pineapple, and drizzle of maple syrup blended in food processor).





After this wonderful breakfast, I spent the day with my sister looking at wedding venues. She is planning to get married next summer - it is going to be so beautiful! We went to 13th Ave. Coffee House for lunch and I had the same bowl that I had on Friday. My sister tried tofu for the 1st time!! She ate it all with no complaints ... I think I have another convert!

For dinner I made orzo with bacon and shrimp. It was really good, but not as creamy as I was hoping for. Next time I will add some cream or milk.

Orzo with Bacon and Shrimp
(Adapted from Flavours magazine)

1 cup dried orzo pasta
4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
Approx. 16 uncooked shrimp (peeled)
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup goat cheese
1 T parsley
pepper

Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, cook bacon in a deep skillet. Once done, remove with slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. Add the shallot and garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. Add orzo and cheese, parsley and bacon. Stir until warm and cheese is melty. Season with pepper.

Serves 2.





This evening I had a cookie, and then a small bag of chips at the movie Eclipse. (I snuck the chips into the theatre, and a water too). I like the movie, but it doesn't even come close the the book. If you haven't read the books, but you've seen the movies you are missing A LOT!

Do you sneak treats into the movie theatre?

I usually only sneak a water in, but tonight I wanted a little bag of chips. I usually buy popcorn, or frozen yogurt, or nothing at all.