Dining Out

Last night my dad took my sister and I out for dinner to the Rooftop (as a late celebration for my sister's birthday).  I ordered the lobster penne, even though I just enjoyed homemade lobster pasta a few days ago.

It was pretty good, but did not reheat well today.  It was really oily.  Because of this, I didn't eat much for lunch and was left feeling ravenous all afternoon.  I didn't have any snacks at work, so I ate a mini Toblerone.  It wasn't really what I was looking for.  It is one of the best chocolate bars around though!

Dinner was fantastic!  I went to one of my favourite restaurants, Bombay.  I ordered the shahi paneer (paneer cheese cooked with nuts, ginger, garlic, cream and spices), and the saffron rice.  Incredible.  I've never had anything at this restaurant that wasn't out-of-this-world good.  

Because I frequent Bombay quite often, the owner knows me now and is always very thankful and appreciative that I keep coming back and keep bringing my friends to this place.  He brought out a couple gulab jamun (pastry balls) as a complimentary dessert for my friend and I to try.

They were really hot (temperature), sweet and delicious.  

The service at this restaurant is great, and the food is the best Indian food I've ever had.  Christopher and I are planning to visit this restaurant on Valentine's day, but I think we'll go at least once before then.  I used to want to visit "fancy" restaurants for special occasions, but have come to realize over the years that the food at the higher end restaurants in my city is not high end, but simply high priced.  It never compares to the ethnic restaurants in the city, or the little hole-in-the-wall places, and I am always left disappointed.  I'm happy to leave the fine-dining for vacations to bigger cities that have better quality food.  Also, I tend to avoid chain restaurants most of the time, although there are a few I like.

What types of restaurants do you frequent most often (diners, cafes, chain restaurants, fast-food, fine-dining, etc.)?  What types of places do you like to go to for special occasions?  Do you have good, high-quality, fine-dining in your city?

Shrimp Bee Bim Bop

There has been something very important missing from the Everyday Foodie fridge the past month or so.  It was missing the best, stinkiest, tastiest food that usually takes up residence in there.

We were out of kimchi!!!! 

The only good thing about the statement above is that someone must have eaten the two liters that were in there, and eating kimchi is never a bad thing.

Today I made the necessary, and long overdue stop at the Korean grocery store to pick up some more of my precious.  We then got to work making the very strange sounding, yet easy, and incredibly delicious, bee bim bop.  If you are too scared to try bee bim bop - don't be.  Go to a Korean restaurant, and order it in a hot stone pot.  There is nothing weird about rice, veggies, a bit of meat and an egg.  

Shrimp Bee Bim Bop

Ingredients:

*Measurements/amounts aren't important

- white (sticky) rice

- assorted veggies (julienne) (we used celery, carrot, cucumber, mushroom)

- thawed cooked shrimp

- gochujang (red pepper paste - it comes in that little red tub in the picture below) 

- eggs (one per person)

Optional but very delicious (in other words ... buy them):

- kimchi

- seaweed

- raw green onions

Cook the rice however you like to cook rice (but please tell me it's not in the microwave).  Meanwhile, stir-fry the veggies in sesame oil or other.  Sprinkle with some sugar to sweeten them up a bit.  Remove once softened and set on a plate.  Toss some thawed/cooked shrimp into the wok and stir fry until hot.  Remove shrimp and set aside.  Fry up one egg per person.

 

Assemble the bowl however you like, but stir in that gochujang (there is never enough), and toss the fried egg on top.  I like top my bowl with obscene amounts of kimchi, seaweed and raw green onions.  

To-die-for.

 

Uh huh.

Have you tried bee bim bop yet?  What are you waiting for?

What did you have for dinner this fine Monday evening?

Lobster Alfredo

Last night we were in a pasta mood.  We made lobster Alfredo.  Mmmmm!  I am glad there are leftovers in the fridge. 

Lobster Alfredo

- Cook pasta according to directions (we used about half a box of fettuccine, and didn't need all the sauce).  The sauce recipe below would likely make enough for a box of pasta.
- Boil 2 lobster tails for approximately 10 minutes, then remove from water, crack open, and chop of the lobster meat finely
- Meanwhile, make the sauce

Alfredo Sauce

(Original Source: Olive Garden)

1.5 cups cream
1.5 cups milk (I used skim, but any would do)
1 cup shredded cheese (Parmesan & Romano or Asiago)
6 egg yolks
salt, pepper and parsley

Heat the milk and cream in a small pot until simmering.  Meanwhile, put the egg yolks in a bowl and set aside.  Remove milk/cream from heat and stir in the cheese until melted.  Ladle a scoop of the milk mixture into the egg yolks and whisk.  Pour egg yolk mixture into the put and put back on the heat.  Warm until thickened and desired temperature.  Season with salt and pepper, and throw some parsley in for colour.

Pour sauce over the cooked pasta and top with the lobster.  Enjoy!

This recipe was not too rich - just perfect.

How was your weekend?  Did you cook anything new this weekend?

Weekend Food

I love weekends. 

Last night we cooked up some broccoli and tofu, which we ate on top of brown rice.  Mmmmm!  We inhaled this pretty quickly so that we could meet up with some pals for a few bevvies and some laughs.

 

In addition to weekends, I also love tofu.  I don't even need to cook it or season it - I like it straight up.  Last night, however, Chris fried it up in some sesame oil with sesame seeds, salt and pepper.  Perfection.

Breakfast this morning was our usual as of late - a veggie fritatta.  Fritattas are so good, and much easier than omelets.  This was enjoyed with toast, coffee, OJ, and strawberries.

On the menu tonight ... lobster Alfredo.

Can't every day be a Saturday?

Do you love tofu?  What are you up to this weekend?

Lessons for Life

Last night for dinner we had steel head trout and mushroom risotto. 



Breakfast this morning was a bowl of oatmeal (1/3 cup oats, a scoop of chia seeds, 2/3 cup coffee/chocolate almond milk mixture, strawberries, coconut, almond butter and a chocolate in the middle).


 
 

After breakfast I began working on my thesis discussion/conclusion.  I got about 3.5 pages done before packing the papers away for the day.

Today I came across 45 lessons for life written by a 90 year old woman (Regina Brett).  You can find the full list here, but I just chose the ones that stood out to me to reflect on.

Things I need to work on:

- Get rid of anything that isn't useful.  Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
(I am not overly sentimental, but I do have stuff around that I could probably get rid of.  I also need to work on discarding one or two things for every new thing that is brought into the house).
- Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.
(I waste a lot of my summer not going outside.  This year that will change!)
- Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.
(I am getting better with age, but I still take myself more seriously than I need to).

Things I already do:

- Pay off your credit cards every month
(I have never paid a cent of credit card interest, and I don't plan to start).
- Don't compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is about.
(This one took time, but I believe I arrived at this some time in my 20s).
- Frame every so-called disaster with these words "In five years, will this matter?"
(I try to do this all the time.  It really helps to put things in perspective).

If you have a look at the full list (or even just my short lists), which things do you feel you already do?  Which do you need to work on? 

2013: Looking Forward

 don't know if I ever make "resolutions" per se, but there are certain goals and intentions I have for 2013, and things that I am looking forward to doing and experiencing. 

This year I am looking forward to ...

1)  Traveling a lot.  With trips to Mexico and New Orleans already booked, I am feeling pretty excited!  I hope to sneak in another trip or two, however big or small, if possible.  Also, I look forward to many little weekend road trips throughout the year.  I love to get away!

2)  Seeing a bunch of live music.  I've always been a huge fan of live music, and try to go to as many concerts as possible.  This year is already looking promising in terms of music. 

3)  Laughing.  I've had more laughs in 2012 than any year before, and I am excited for this trend to continue.  It feels good.

4)  Cooking many new recipes and experimenting with food items I've never worked with before.  Any suggestions?

5)  Finishing my master's degree.  This should have happened in October, but the university was pretty quiet all spring/ summer and there was a lot of wait time.  This will happen in 2013.  Then what?  On to degree #4 likely.  Somebody stop me!

6)  Enjoying beautiful days outside (walks around the lake, picnics, decks, patios, maybe a weekend caaaaaaamping trip, give golf a swing, campfires in the backyard, music festivals, etc.).

7)  Doing a bit of redecorating around the house.  Out with the old ... in with the new ;-) 

8)  Blogging regularly/consistently.  I've been better with this lately, but in the earlier months of 2012 I was pretty inconsistent.  I'd like to blog approx. 5 days per week on average.

9)  Going to movies!  Lots of movies.  And eating popcorn.  With a dapper fella.

10)  Juicing at least a few times per week.  Juicing gives the digestive system a bit of a break while punching you in the face with nutrients.  Just do it.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Lunch Date, Homework Date, Nephew Date

Today has been a great day, and very productive!  I met my bud Tricia for lunch at Orange.  We both ordered the bulgogi sandwich with fries, and it was awesome - I'd say the best sandwich I've had in a restaurant.  

The fries are also the best in the city, in my opinion.  We were both very impressed and will be ordering this dish again.  I took half of my meal home for tomorrow's lunch.

I also spent time working on my thesis today.  Most of my time was spent working with numbers (finding effect size for some of my statistics) and putting together a table.  Tomorrow and Friday I'll work on writing  my conclusion.

Later today I picked up my nephew to hang out and have a sleepover.  I told him we could spend the later afternoon/evening doing anything he wanted, and gave him plenty of options.  We started by playing a round of miniature golf.

 

 

Next he wanted to go to the arcade.  He played games for an hour, ending off with shredding drums.

He had told me earlier that he wanted to go for sushi for dinner (he is not your average 5 year old!), but was pretty tired out after the arcade and changed his mind.  He didn't want to go to a restaurant, so we ordered pizza instead.

Pajamas, a movie and snuggles and then off to bed!

Are there any little people in your life (your own or perhaps a niece/nephew)?