Prepping for Dinner Guests

On Tuesday evening we did a bit of prep in the kitchen ...

We were in bed early, and then up on Wednesday around 8:00 a.m. to prep some more.  We work together in the kitchen seamlessly, each taking charge of some of the dishes, while helping with the others.  We turn up the music, and dance around the kitchen, laughing, chopping, and having the greatest time.  There is something so soothing about cooking, and we both really enjoy it.

We set the table, and chose serving dishes for each course.

We put napkins out for appies.

To see what we did with everything, what else we ate, and how it all came together, check back tomorrow!

Do you ever spend all day in the kitchen?  Do you enjoy it?

Eats this Week

We made a ham dinner recently, and then froze the ham bone to use later for soup stock.  On Monday evening we made that fabulous, flavourful stock.

We then used it to make borscht, one of our favourite soups.

We topped it with a big dollop of sour cream, and a lot of fresh dill.

We also had a creamy, bacony, garlicky pasta this week.

Last night we prepped for today's dinner.  We had guests, and a big, yummy meal (post to come soon). 

Do you like borscht?  How is your week going so far?

Five on Friday

1)  We are hooked on the show Scandal.  In fact, it had us hooked within the first minutes of the first episode.  It's that good.  It's fast paced, and the momentum never seems to die, even though we're seasons into it.  If you're looking for something new to watch on Netflix, give it a shot.

2)  About a week ago, we ordered Pizza Hut, which we do once a year.   Mmmm, I love their greasy crust. 

3)  On Wednesday for dinner we had simple curried shrimp over rice.

4)  Yesterday we had our first snowfall of the year ... earlier than last year (it was November 11th last year).  It all melted, which is nice, and it's expected to be really nice this weekend.  Yes, I've lived in Saskatchewan my entire 33 years, and no, you never get used to the cold.

5)  The beet, potato, goat cheese, and dill perogies were just as good as they sound.  Actually better.  We'll definitely be making them again.  You could really taste each component, and yet they blended so well together.

How was your week?  

Do you have anything exciting going on this weekend?

No-Spend November & Four Kinds of Perogies

We had such a fabulous weekend!  Yesterday was the start of our no-spend November.  No-spend November is mostly about avoiding going out, spending money out, and leaving the house, as much as we can.  We love entire weekends where we can cook at home, relax together, and have absolutely no where to be.  It's a way for us to relax and hibernate as the weather starts to get cold, and before the busyness of December starts.  It's a time for us to purge household items, and make hearty meals that stretch.

To kick off no-spend November, we spent our entire Sunday afternoon in the kitchen.

We made a giant dough baby ...

And then made four different kinds of perogies - at least 10 dozen total!

We've had the idea for a while now, of doing fusion perogies with some of our favourite types of cuisines.  We're both part Ukrainian, so we're very familiar with traditional potato and cheddar filled perogies, but we wanted to get a little creative with them.

We made some with an Indian samosa-style potato filling:

Korean perogies, with potato, gochujang and kimchi:

And gorgeous perogies with potato, beet, goat cheese and dill:

We also made some more traditional perogies, with potato, cheddar, onion and bacon:

In all the excitement, and mess of making a bunch of perogies, we also cooked up a ham dinner, with scalloped potatoes and peas.

We'll be enjoying the leftovers for a few days, and we're going to use the bone to make borscht soup.

How was your weekend?

Do you have anything fun planned for November?

This Week's Eats

Christopher beat me home yesterday after work, and started whipping up pico de gallo, and a super-cilantro sauce.  He's a good man.

We made the best fish burritos for dinner.

It had been a while since we had them, but they were just as incredible as we remembered.

Other eats this week included stir fry:

And ginger noodles with chicken and broccoli:

What kinds of things did you cook this week?

Happy Halloween everyone!!  Are you dressing up? (we're not).

What's Up Wednesday

1)  Last week we got an Artixen pizza.  It's the best pizza in town, but it's hard to come by, as it can't be bought in a regular restaurant or store.  You have to be friends on FB with Xenofon Gargatzidis to get the details on how to score yourself the most scrumptious pizza!  We went last Thursday to pick up his weekly creation, and were not disappointed. 

We couldn't believe how heavy the pizza was.  We got it home and had a peek.  It was still piping hot.

The sourdough crust was incredible.  The sauce - the best we've ever had.  It was so flavourful, and super saucy, which I love.  Christopher doesn't normally like super saucy pizzas, but he said that was because none of the other pizzas had a sauce like this!  He said numerous times as we slowly ate, and savoured, how much he loved the sauce.  You could tell all the ingredients were very fresh, and carefully chosen.  It was evident that a lot of care went into this creation.

It was filling enough for us to have it for dinner and then lunch the next day (well, part of Christopher's lunch).

Xenofon is a master.  A pizza master.  And from what I can tell on Instagram, he's a master of all types of cuisine.    

We might have to try and make him our new best friend.

2)  The kind people at GoMacro sent me some macro bars free of charge to test out, and we were impressed.  I loved the ingredient list - all of them very recognizable.

They sent the following flavours:  sesame butter & dates, granola & coconut, apples & walnuts, peanut butter & chocolate chip, and sunflower butter & chocolate.  They are certified organic, vegan, non GMO, gluten free and macrobiotic.  These bars definitely hit the spot when we need something to hold us over for a couple of hours.  We'd buy them for sure! 

3)  On Sunday morning Christopher made lovely breakfast skillets. 

I'm thinking he might have to make these again this coming weekend!  There's nothing like a hearty, flavourful, leisurely breakfast on the weekends over coffee and visits.

4)  On Sunday evening I whipped up a batch of sausage, kale soup for our lunches, while Christopher prepared dinner.  This has become our Sunday evening routine, and we're always happy when we have yummy, warm lunches to look forward to on Monday and Tuesday.

5)  On Monday evening we roasted a big pan of veggies, and made a warm chicken salad. 

We topped a bit of raw greens with the roasted veggies and some sliced chicken.  We then drizzled a simple dressing over that (sesame seed balsamic vinegar, with olive oil, salt and pepper).

5)  We have loved the comedian Bo Burnham for a while now.  When my sister told us that he was coming to town, we were beyond excited!  Last night we went out for dinner with my sister and her boyfriend to Famoso.

I was a bit disappointed as it wasn't as good as what we had had in Edmonton and Saskatoon previously.  Our pizzas were soggy, and difficult to pick up.  I had to eat mine with a fork and knife #firstworldproblems.

After dinner we headed to see Bo Burnham live.  It was everything I expected and more.  So, so good!  I definitely hope to see him live again one day.  He's a comedic genius.

How is your week going so far?