Looking Forward

I've been looking forward each day this week to the dinners that we had planned.

On Monday evening we made salmon and Greek salad.  This was such a satisfying meal, and my handsome husband cooked the salmon so beautifully.

Last night we sat out in the backyard while we slowly cooked a pork loin.  We also had portobello mushrooms and asparagus. 

I have so much more to look forward to in the next little while.  I'm looking forward to:

This week - dinner out to celebrate the retirement of my best bud at work!
This month - the last day of work before two months off!
Next month - Las Vegas for our friends' wedding and a summer vacation
This summer - the arrival of a new niece or nephew!
This fall - going to a music festival
This year - celebrating life as much as possible

What are you looking forward to this month?  

This summer?  This year?

Easiest Mac and Cheese & Backyard Cooking

We made some of the easiest, tastiest mac and cheese ever this week.  Forget making a roux; you can totally skip that step.  This is a pretty high fat, cheesy dish, so you might not want it as a main course, but instead as a side dish.

That being said, we had it as a main course.  We're really wild like that.

Easiest Baked Mac and Cheese

(serves 4-6 as a side dish)

1 1/2 cups macaroni noodles (or mini shells)
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded swiss
1/3 cup Parmesan (*set aside some of the cheese to top the dish with)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream (or mayo)
2 T butter
1 T flour
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain.  Return noodles to the pot.  Add everything else and stir over the heat until combined.  Pour into a buttered baking dish.  Top with more cheese if desired.  Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes, then broil for about 2 minutes.

We ate a small portion each, and topped it with some roasted veggies.

The leftovers were great warmed up the next day.

Last night we sat outside, listened to tunes, visited, and cooked meatballs and potatoes on the BBQ.  We had never cooked meatballs on the BBQ before, but I bought this cool contraption from Williams Sonoma years ago, and wanted to finally try it out.

We were really impressed with how well it worked!  The meatballs were perfect.  They held together really well, and cooked very evenly.

This weekend we are looking forward to relaxing in our backyard.  We'd much rather hang out on our own deck than go out to a restaurant or pub patio.  When we got groceries yesterday for the weekend and week ahead, we only bought stuff to BBQ.  We'll be taking full advantage of the beautiful weather by cooking outside all week.

What are you up to this weekend?  What's the weirdest thing you've ever cooked on the BBQ?

Eats this Week

On Sunday evening we BBQd some salmon; we served it with a spicy, gingery, cucumber salad.  I saw the salad in Food Network Magazine, and it looked good.  We'll definitely be making it again.

Asian Cucumber Salad

(Source: Adapted slightly from Food Network Magazine)

3 T rice vinegar
1 T sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 lb thinly sliced cucumber
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 thinly sliced green onions
1/2 small Thai red chili
2 T pickled ginger
1 T sesame seeds

Mix the first four ingredients, then toss with the rest.  Top with more cilantro if desired.

Enjoy!

On Monday night we had an amazing Thai bowl.  We had made a similar bowl before, but Christopher had some ideas throughout the day that he thought would make it even better ... and he was right.

We fried up some curried rice, and mixed it with seasoned pork.  Over that was a sauce mixture with lime, fish sauce, and sugar.  Everything was topped with fresh, raw, ginger, green onion, sprouts, cilantro and chilies.   Next time we'll keep better track of measurements so I can share a recipe with all you lovely readers.

It was one of the best meals I've had in a long time - crispy, tangy, fresh, and fantastic!

Last night we made chicken biryani, using this recipe that I wrote a couple years ago. 

It was just as good as I remembered, and very easy to make.  If you want to try cooking with Indian flavours at home, this would be a good recipe to start with.

It's only Wednesday, and we've already had some pretty great meals this week!  We're cooking up another decadent dish tonight.

How's your week going?  What have you been cooking? 

Mosaic Days 2 and 3

We went out to Mosaic again on both Friday night and Saturday night.  The jerk chicken at the Caribbean pavilion was great, but fried corn thing they served with it was even better.

We tried the cream chicken at the Romanian pavilion, but weren't impressed.  It was served with some bland polenta like stuff.

We had a couple scotch eggs and grooved to some Scottish music.

But skipped the Ukrainian food, since we had made our own earlier in the week.

The Austrian eats were some of our favourites; we had spätzle, sauerkraut, and potato salad.

Then we just couldn't resist more spätzle, potato salad, and schnitzel at the German pavilion at the end of Saturday night; it was sooooooo good!



We had a wonderful weekend!

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

Mosaic Day 1

Mosaic is a cultural festival in town that we attend most years; we go for the food.  We like to try something at each place, sharing so that we don't fill up too quickly.  Last night we went to four of the pavilions.  We started at the First Nations one, where we shared a bannock taco.

At the Chinese pavilion we shared a small portion of noodles, veggies, and ginger beef, served with a spring roll (Canadian Chinese food!?).

Next we visited the Irish pavilion, but we just had a beverage.  We were holding out for spaghetti and meat balls with the Italians.

It was ridiculously hot in the Italian club, so we didn't stay long.  We were home early enough to watch some shows before our 9:30 bed time.

We have plans to meet up with some pals tonight and tomorrow night to check out more pavilions.  On Sunday, we're having a cooking/back yard relaxing/ TV day at home.

What are you up to this weekend?

This Week's Eats

We've been growing a curry plant, along with other herbs and veggies.

We used some of it last night in a tofu, vegetable curry, while we snacked on a samosa.

We ate a bunch more veggies tonight in a chicken salad.

We'll be cooking at home again tomorrow evening, then we have some fun dinners out for the rest of the week. 

What have you been eating so far this week?

Did you plant anything this spring?

Weekend Things

On Saturday evening we took my dad out to one of our favourite local restaurants, Crave, to celebrate his birthday.  I had a chicken dish, Christopher had fish, and my dad had beef wellington.

Everyone enjoyed their food, and the boys saved room for dessert.

Other scenes from the weekend ...

We have chocolate chip cookies for the week, and sweet and sour meatballs prepped for lunches.  It's going to be a good week!

How was your weekend?  What did you do?