June 29, 2011

Something strange happened last night. Dinner was awesome, really fresh and light, but I think it was a little too light, as we were both not just peckish but actually hungry within an hour or two. We ended up eating grilled gruyere, ham and mustard on bread. And it was good (of course it was, right?!):

But even after that, we still weren't satisfied. So we spent the night feeling uncomfortable and complaining, with no resolution. Didn't stop us having a solid night sleep though, of course!

This morning I had half a grapefruit and a peanut butter ryvita for breakfast. I didn't eat my yogurt when I got in to work this time, I held out til about 10:30am.
Lunch was really good today, I had a salad of lettuce, tomato, capsicum, celery, goats cheese and some parma ham. Yum. Really hit the spot.

This afternoon I ate a banana, which kept me going until 5pm. It was a hugely busy day so I didn't realise how hungry I was until I left work.
There was talk of meeting a friend tonight for dinner, so I chucked the chicken in the freezer this morning, but the plans didn't pan out. Oh no, the chicken is in the freezer! Never mind.
Instead Lee and I went to a place I was introduced to on the weekend called Ethel's Lounge, they have a 'tex mex' style menu, and I had a spicy chorizo... uh... I guess you could call it a soft shell taco?  Its kind of like a quesadilla, but not. Anyway, this is what it looked like:

Anyway, apart from snacking on a few rice crackers and a few peanut M&M's, thats it for today. Bring on the long weekend!

June 28, 2011

Breakfast was two ryvitas with natural peanut butter. Haven't had peanut butter in a while, was a nice change... or change back... whatever, it was good.  And the usual yogurt with crushed walnuts at work.

Lunch was a chicken salad mix - chicken, capsicum, spring onion and tomatoes mixed with a squeeze of mayo and a bigger squeeze of spicy tequila bbq sauce. I ate it on two ryvitas:

Was so good, I never wanted it to end.

I snacked on some rice crackers in the afternoon, which were so more-ish that I kept taking them back out of my drawer, eating them, and putting them back again.

Dinner was pretty good too, I have to say. I made oven baked salmon with a honey ginger glaze, and served it with a mango salad:

Polished off the day with some vanilla bean frozen yogurt, and that's it. Tasty stuff and slightly healthier than yesterday! No idea what the food plan for tomorrow is just yet. Will probably make it up as I go first thing in the morning. Until then, good night xx

June 27, 2011

Yesterday I had half a grapefruit for breakfast at home, and then ate a yogurt with some nuts when I got in to work. No idea how but that carried me through til lunch, where I ate a salad (chicken, capsicum, tomato, lettuce, olives and goats cheese). It looked like this, and it was good:

Someone lovingly offered me a donut, and I really wanted it, so I said yes, when I should have said no.

I am not going to lie to you, I 'may' have gone halves in a second donut with a girl at work. The way I see it, I accidentally fell on it with my mouth open. What are you gonna do eh?!

Lee came to get me from work as he had the day off, and we took Sophie straight to the dog park. Was really good fun watching her run around, and really built up our hunger, but unfortunately our fatigue at the same time, and food inspiration was at an all time low.
And well, to cut a long story short, after much suggesting, brain storming, and throwing some ideas around (a process which took about 1.5 hours) we decided we were too tired to cook and went out for a bite. Illegal! We went to Boston Pizza. Even more illegal! We had pizza and beer. Lock me up and throw away the key!
Still, very good feed and we went to bed feeling guilty yet definitely satisfied. Diet Healthy eating starts today... maybe.

June 26, 2011

Oh man, the supermarkets let me down once again.

Let me start with the beginning of the day. I had half a grapefruit for breakfast and read a book for a while and took Sophie for a walk. Lee popped home at lunch time and bought me a chicken pita, it was so loaded it was messy to eat, and I can't imagine this one was particularly healthy being so loaded with tzatziki and feta. Still, soooo yummy.

I walked to the supermarket to get the ingredients for the steak and guinness pie, and stuffed if I could find puff pastry anywhere. I even asked, and they told me where it should be, but it appears they were sold out. Sold out?! It't not like puff pastry is a new release or anything. Plus, I wanted to use pancetta instead of bacon but they appeared to be out of that too. What's going on?! Why is it when I want to cook something, ingredients are impossible to find?! I managed to get just about everything though, so Lee had to pick up the puff on his way home, just meant dinner was a little later. I 'could' have made it, but without a rolling pin, or even better, a KitchenAid stand-up mixer with the rolling attachment, it would be a lot of hassle. Hell, even with the appliances and tools its a hassle.

Anyway, I cooked up the pie ingredients, this is what it looked like in progress:

Meanwhile, I played a game of 'one for the pie, one for me':

This was the final result, and it was goooood:

It's not exactly sky high, but I did what I could. And oh my, I have never had a steak and guinness pie with gruyere in the pastry layers. I am SO glad I got some, it was on fire!

I was going to make dessert - the almond pie Meredith suggested a while ago but it didn't happen. Soon though, I might do that during the week. Really string out the 'atta boy' thing. As for tonight though, we have some vanilla bean frozen yogurt for dessert. It should be a winner :)

June 25, 2011

Breakfast was half a grapefruit  - check.

Lunch was a delicious salad of shredded chicken on lettuce, tomato, olives, goats cheese and avocado - check.

Was going to head to the supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner, we moved 'atta boy' dinner to Sunday so Lee can sleep in the next day as he has Monday off. Anyway, some friends were also heading to the supermarket so they came to get me, and we thought we would start with a preparation pint. Well, that turned into four pints and some 'mexican' food, I had an amazing porkadilla (pulled pork quesadilla) which looked like this:

I wish I could eat this every day! Soooo good.

Anyway, grocery shopping turned out to be some milk, limes, and a sugar cane stick (not sure why), and we went back to their house for a follow up drink. Lee came to get me after work, stayed for a beer, and bought me home via Wendy's. Whoops. A bbq chicken burger and chips for dinner. Ah well, what are you gonna do?! Just try to fly straight from today for the next few weeks I guess!

June 24, 2011

Breakfast was half a grapefruit, around 6:30am. Lee is on day shift again, so he left around then, and so I was left to ride my bike in the rain to work. Which was fine, really, there are lots of starwars like sound effects when riding in the rain, love it! Puddles on the other hand are not so much fun. Growing up sucks sometimes eh?

When I got in, I had my standard yogurt with some nuts. I mixed the brazil nuts in my container with the crushed walnuts, bad idea, was pretty much annoying trying to get the walnuts from the bottom to put into my yogurt, so I mixed and matched:

How guilty did I feel for using a plastic spoon? I forgot to bring one from home, was gutted. I did wash it though and its in my desk drawer for my next bout of forgetfulness. 

I had to buy my lunch, and by 'had to' I mean because it was raining I had to take extra clothes to work and couldn't fit much more in my bag. Plus its casual Friday and jeans take up not only space but weight too. With my laptop, bike lock & cable, clothes, towel, shampoo & bathroom bag, it weighs quite a bit.

Anyway, so I bought lunch, and again it was slim pickins so I got a 'greek' flatbread. 'Greek' because it has feta, capsicum, tomato and olives.  Anyway, it was pretty good but I wasn't feeling the best, just felt 'meh' about everything.

For dinner tonight we were uninspired, until 'bbq chook' came to mind. I was so excited when I thought of it I could barely type my message to Lee, its exactly what I felt like. Well, I didn't know what I felt like until I thought of it, but you know what I mean. Anyway, we had the best chicken sandwiches ever. Avocado, tomato, lettuce, chicken, mayo & spicy bbq sauce (only a smidge). Check it:

Awesome. Satisfied, totally cheered me up, and ready for a good day of cooking tomorrow. Might be tough as Lee is working 7-7, and I have Sophie so might have to leave her here and ride to the supermarket. Still, gotta be in it to win it, right?

I know my blog has been a bit uninspired lately, my food options haven't been the smartest or even well thought out. Getting back in to work has played a big part in that, and sometimes I find I am too tired to blog that day, so I leave it for later. I am hoping I get my mojo back as I really enjoy creating this blog, it's proving to do both what I expected and a whole lot more. I am already thinking about how to continue it after this year, but I have to say, it will be a relief to be over. Publicly declaring every bit of food I eat is harder than I thought. 

Anyway, here's to tomorrow, we are gonna get our pie on!

June 22 & 23, 2011

Sorry, strapped for time at the moment, so this is a boring and short yet extremely committed entry!

Yesterday: Still no breakfast stuff, had another smoothie for breakfast and a dodgy egg sandwich. Regretted that about an hour later, wasn't pretty....
For lunch Lee swung by my work with a grilled chicken pita and we watched the Canadian geese by the lake as we stuffed our faces.
Dinner was the last of the leftovers of the beef and mushroom filos with salad. Soooo good, but glad the repetition is over.

Today: Lee did grocery shopping yesterday so I had grapefruit for breakfast and a yogurt with crushed walnuts about an hour later.
Lunch was a noodle soup from the food court at the mall. It was good but not really what I was after.
This afternoon I stuffed my face with a bounty, it was a busy day and the chocolate hankering kicked in big time.

Was a really hard day so we went to St Louis for dinner and a pint. I had a spicy grilled chicken breast wrap with sweet potato fries. The wrap wasn't spicy at all, so I felt a bit jibbed, but for some reason the lettuce, tomato and onion really worked for me.

Ok, thats it. No idea what tomorrow will bring but I will make sure it has pictures and maybe even something interesting!

later.... xxx

June 21, 2011

Ok, so it was a fairly uneventful day. I started off with no breakfast due to us having not visit the supermarket in a while. So Lee took me to Sobeys on the way in and I got a smoothie and a turkey club wrap. Smoothie was as usual fantastic. The wrap? Not so much.

For lunch I had left over beef & mushroom filo pastry, and some salad. I forgot to take a picture, but just check out my last post, hahaha.

After work Lee came to collect me (its like having my own personal driver!) and we realised we had some spare cash so instead of paying it off debt or using it wisely, we ordered in. I had something new and it was extremely delicious - chicken and prawn lettuce wraps. I wish I had taken a photo but it was kinda messy so probably good that I didn't. It was basically stirfried chicken and prawns in an oyster sauce with mushrooms & other veg with some crispy rice noodles. You spoon it on a lettuce leaf, drizzle on some hoisin, and roll & munch. Mmmmm. Messy stuff. We also had some spring rolls to go with it. Always a pleasure.

Not really much on the food inspiration front, other than a meal I am going to cook for my delightful husband on Saturday to cash in his 'atta boy' points. Looking forward to that actually!

June 20, 2011

For breakfast I ate a yogurt. No nuts, no grapefruit, shame on me.

Not sure how but that got me through til lunch, I ended up buying a 'half wrap' as my pissy little salad didn't touch the sides:

It was ok actually, but pretty heavy - avocado, sour cream & cheese with turkey & salad. Glad I didn't get a whole one! And look, it came with a side of pickles - niiiiiice, win win situation really.

For dinner I made beef and mushroom filo pasties and a salad which was pretty much like my salad for lunch. YUMMY! We love meat filos, and these crisped right up, even without butter. Sooo good. We were both pretty hungry so they didn't last long.

We had some great news today - Emma and Tero have have welcomed baby Robyn into the world! Congrats guys, having a beer for you in celebration xxx

June 19, 2011

Slept in a little bit today. Well, I woke up before 7am and waited for Lee to come home, and went back to sleep when he did. I crawled out of bed and had a breakfast/lunch of poached eggs on a thin toasted bun with goats cheese, fresh tomatoes and olives. It was lovely:

I had a slice of the pear tart today too. Its actually pretty good but definitely missing something, and I am pretty sure that thing is the seeds from a vanilla pod. And maybe some pear booze. Still, Lee is a fan and he loved the buttery pastry. I do think it would be awesome with filo though.

Lee didn't have a chance to eat his lasagna last night, and tonight is his last night of night shift so I had lasagna for dinner! It stretches out what we were meant to have tonight. Budget is kinda like that eh.

Well, that's it for this weekend. Until tomorrow.... xxxx

Sweet Stuff - Glazed Pear and Macadamia Tart

Ok so here goes. It's more of a pseudo cooking challenge as I didn't have the right ingredients and had to make a bit up as I went.

Ingredients used:
5 ripe but firm pears
55g butter
65g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1tbsp lemon juice
2tbsp brandy
shortcrust pastry (self made)
1 egg white
50g macadamia nuts

First I peeled, quartered and cored the pears, then cut them into wedges. I bought them to a simmer in a pan  with the butter (cubed), sugar and vanilla extract, for about 15 minutes. I removed from heat, stirred in the brandy, and let cool. FYI, the original recipe called for a vanilla pod, and ground star anise which I couldn't find. Also, the Poire William. I can see why this would be such an asset now, however the brandy is still good, I am a sucker for brandy.

In the meantime, I made my shortcrust pastry. I used an old 'rustic' style recipe, and I have to say, I am not really a fan. You can't really roll it, you press it into place. Not that I mind, I am yet to own a rolling pin. Still, not sure I am a fan, it didn't seem as tidy or workable. I pressed it into the tin and chilled it for a stint in the fridge. Normally I would make the pastry and fridge it in a ball until ready to use & roll, but not this time.

Then I brushed the pastry tin with egg white, forked the pear in, and sprinkled the nuts.

I baked on 180 C for 30 minutes, while using the rest of the buttery brandy mix to make a syrup. Or should I say, try to make a syrup. I added some cinnamon for fun.
I drizzled the tart with the runny glaze and reduced the heat in the oven to about 160, and baked for a further 10 minutes. Cooled in the tin, and voila:

The recipe called for vanilla icecream but I think I will wait until I make the uber version when more $ comes along, as I have just the right icecream in mind. For now though, this was a pretty tidy effort and I have to say, it is bloody delicious.

A few notes. Firstly, I miss the vanilla extract I used to get from Sainsbury's in the UK. It included the seeds and was bloody delightful to work with. Next time I will fork up the $7 per vanilla pod. I do love vanilla. Quality vanilla that is.
Second, the glaze was a bit runny, which annoyed me a bit, I obviously over did it with the brandy. Who can blame me really?!
Lastly, I am not the biggest shortcrust or any pastry fan, as I don't really like butter. I reckon if I made this on filo it would totally kick ass.

Overall though, it was much less effort than I thought, though so many areas where it could go wrong, including unobtainable ingredients. Seriously Canada, what are you doing to me?!
The uber version of this tart must be nothing short of amazing, so I am going to attempt it again in a couple of months. Also, I am challenging my mum to have a crack at it, we can compare notes. I might ask her to write a blog entry on it also. How does that sound?

June 18, 2011

So after some lasagna love last night, all I can think about is more lasagna. I made it for Lee, but it seems to be taunting me from the fridge. I dreamed about it, I woke up thinking about it, and I keep looking at it. What is it with my lasagna obsession? At least I know how Garfield feels. It's Garfield's birthday tomorrow too btw.

I had a yogurt with some walnuts for breakfast, then yep, another peanut bar. I know I shouldn't be eating them but we bought a massive box for 9 bucks, and they are not as bad as I make out. I just know I should be more mindful, rather than 'yeah that will do'.

For lunch I had rice noodles in lemongrass & chilli broth. It was ok, but I think I was much more hungry than I gave myself credit for.

When Lee woke up (and after I had an afternoon nap!) we went on a mission to find a vacuum cleaner (mission failed) and to find something to eat. We tossed around several ideas that neither of us were inspired by, and were lured to McMullen's with the idea of chicken wraps and salad. Well, that went a bit pear-shaped:

So I am in the middle of my cooking challenge, which isn't really a challenge but more on that later.

Also, my mum has inspired me once again, and I have decided that Lee's 'atta boy' points can be redeemed in meal form. Next week I am going to cook him mum's recommended 'sky high pie', which is steak and guinness pie stacked with a buttload of puff. Niiiice. I am thinking this will be the perfect opportunity to make Mez's recommended dessert too: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/25061/almond+semolina+filo+pie+with+butterscotch+schnapps

June 17, 2011

Started the day with a smoothie, was meant to have a yogurt but I forgot about it, its still in the fridge at work.
I ate a peanut bar around 9am, which got me through to lunch.

For lunch I had a gyro pita, bit fatty but very tasty. Went with this option as a girl at work had a coupon, cant complain with $5 gyro and soft drink eh? It had lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, hot peppers, feta cheese and tzatziki, with the sausage meat. Not sure I would rush out and get another one any time soon....

After work I finally got around to making Lee's lasagna, so I had a small piece for dinner, then went back and had another small piece a couple of hours later. Mmmm. Loaded with veg, this one was a good one. A little on the sloppy side but I am not complaining, I love a sloppy lasagna.

Then I demolished some icecream. That's it!

June 16, 2011

Right, I didn't have the chance to update last night as I was on the couch suffering a massive allergy attack. Its really stepped up a notch, and to be honest I am not coping that well. Not only is it really uncomfortable but the stares and questions I get at work are on the increase.

So yesterday I had grapefruit for breakfast, and had a yogurt when I got into work. I didn't have any nuts, but did pack a peanut bar so I ate that. I packed a pathetic small salad that didn't touch the sides so I also bought a wrap. It was chicken and mango, and was actually ok. Expensive though, but it was slim pickins at work.

Lee picked me up from work with the bike rack yesterday as I couldn't ride home, I couldn't  really see. Nightmare. I was meant to do the cooking challenge, cook myself dinner and cook Lee a lasagna last night but I spent the night horizontal feeling sorry for myself. For dinner I ended up having a sandwich that I threw together with my eyes closed, it actually turned out pretty good.

Lee has been amazing, not only is he on night shift now but he is looking after himself and me at the same time. He even drove me in to work this morning so I wouldn't be all allergic all day. And last night he bought me a gel eye mask which has helped to no end. used twice for 20 mins last night, and once this morning. Lee's 'atta boy' points are climbing!

Will update photos and today's post later on. Until then, Happy Birthday Nina, lots of love and sneezeless cuddles from Canada!

xxx

Quick update on Sweet Stuff cooking challenge...

Right, time for a bit more of an explanation on where we are with the challenge....

We are finding it tough to find some ingredients for it. Non salted raw macadamia nuts for example. Finally found some after four different supermarket visits. FOUR. And an ingredient is star anise. Still can't find that anywhere. Seriously, whats going on?! And vanilla pods, well, they are ridiculously expensive right now. As is Poire William ($40 a bottle). So here's what I am going to do. I am going to tweak the recipe just a little, and have a crack at it tomorrow night. Vanilla extract will have to do, and we will have to go sans star anise. As for the Poire William? After doing some research, I have found that brandy with pear syrup is a good substitute, so I will go with that.

I never thought it would be this difficult or expensive. But I will make you a deal. I will try this way, and when we are less strapped for cash I will go the whole hog and make the actual recipe, no tweaks. Will compare the two on a scale of 'zero to f%@!ng yummy' and see what happens.

Lesson learned though. Will need to be more thorough and thoughtful when creating polls. I will leave the results there as a teaser to myself and remind myself to be more conscious of my ideas, sometimes I get caught up in imagination and creativity that I lose sight of whats practical instead of possible. Either way when we can afford it I am totally going to make the shit out of this pear tart!

June 15, 2011

After a marathon sleep I was pretty groggy when I got up. I managed strawberries and grapefruit again, and cycled in to work where I had a yogurt with you guessed it, some nuts.

Long meetings this morning, so I demolished my banana at about 9:30am, and even cracked out lunch at 11:50am. No idea what got into me! Lunch was great actually, left over dinner from the night before but still, so good.

I have been totally spoiled, Lee cooked dinner again tonight! Whaaaaat?!
I wish I had been less lazy and less of a guts to pause and take a photo, he made amazing beef and mushroom rissoles which we ate in thin buns as hamburgers with some lettuce, tomato and avocado. My gosh it was awesome. What a stand up bloke eh?! Thanks Lee. The ride home after work was tough work with the winds and my allergies are a nightmare, so I really appreciated it. Still do in fact, they were so good!

Now watching the Stanley Cup Final - Vancouver Canucks vs Boston Bruins. I was meant to be on a work call but that was rescheduled. Sitting here happily with a vino now, enjoying Lee time before he goes back on night shift tomorrow. That reminds me, I better get off my fat bottom and make him a lasagna....

June 14, 2011

I had strawberries and grapefruit for breakfast. Not much I can say about it other than it was really good.
Yogurt at work in the morning after cycling in, and some brazil nuts.

Lunch was 'left over salad'. Check it out, was actually really good! I had a banana chaser not long after.

Dinner was amazing. Lee cooked it, chipotle pork and a salad. Yummo. Possibly too much meat but we both got through it all, we didn't think we would!

Not that I needed snacking after this meal, but there was no time anyway, I went to bed. At like... 8:30pm. And slept for 10 solid hours. Whaaaat??

June 13, 2011

Man, confession time. For dinner last night, we didn't have chicken. We had Harveys burgers (no chips) with orange dark chocolate as a chaser. How many times or ways can you say whoops?!

Breakfast this morning was strawberries and grapefruit. I had a yogurt when I got in to work and snacked on
some brazil nuts.
Standard salad for lunch, it looked like this:

Lettuce, tomato, olives, capsicum, goats cheese and pumpkin seeds. In the afternoon I had a banana and a few more brazil nuts.

I had my first volunteer meeting with the Food Bank tonight, and it went well! We are in the brainstorming phase of the project, basically coming up with recipe ideas and what we want the recipe book to look like. I think this is going to snowball and become a much bigger project. There are two volunteers including myself, and the project manager who works there. I am very motivated and feeling good about it. Will keep you posted as time goes on. Lee picked me up and we had a quick beer which may or may not have involved some chicken wings, and I received a email from my mum that had me openly in stitches. Its not always what she says, its how she says it. Thanks mum!

Dinner was what we meant to have last night, with a haphazard salad. I call it that because its a bit of 'we have some of that, and a bit of that' situation, with anything left over in the fridge. We have chinese cabbage, champagne tomatoes, pickles and spring onion. Random eh?! I totally love these stuffed chicken breasts. Goats cheese, walnuts and Italian herbs. Delicious. Plus who can resist some crispy salty prosciutto?

Probably a strange combo with the salad but I have to say, it was bew-ti-fool!

As for the cooking challenge, its still on the cards but I need to find some key ingredients. Hopefully in the next couple of days. 

June 11 & 12, 2011

Ok, again apologies for the double post, and an even bigger one for the cooking challenge, that will need an explanation. I pushed it out to today for a few reasons. My hair took ages on Friday after work, I had to go to a walk in clinic yesterday to get medication for my allergies and that took over 2.5 hours, and we went to the McGregor's yesterday for a bbq and I just ran out of time. As for today? Well, we had a nightmare of a time trying to get the ingredients. Even the tart tin, which we finally found but it cost us $25. Anyhoo, I have to push it out again until I find the ingredients. I am really disappointed, but never fear, its definitely on the cards! Will attempt this week.


So! For breakfast yesterday I didn't eat anything. That's right, nothing. Oh the shame! I wasn't hungry, I know thats bad and its not like half a grapefruit is exactly filling, but I skipped it all together. So unhealthy.
For lunch we both had wraps, mine was a chicken caesar salad, bit fatty but what are you gonna do.
And for dinner, well! Dinner was awesome. Krista put out an amazing cheese platter, as usual (this woman knows her cheeses!) and that was followed by some shashliks (I made pork with a honey soy glaze and beef with tequila habanero sauce, that sauce was store bought) and they turned out a treat! Krista also made some yummy salads - couscous with dried apricots and pine nuts, a black eyed pea salad and another with rice.
Soooo good.

This morning we head back home from Guelph and realised it was nearly lunch time before we had breakfast, so we had a peanut butter bar and some grapes to get us through to lunch. We were in the food court for lunch as we were trying to get the shopping done for the tart, so I had a Japanese udon noodle soup and a spring roll.

For dinner we have chicken fillets. I have some parma ham so I might wrap them and stuff them with goats cheese and serve it with a salad. Probably something simple. Will confirm later. I would love to be sinking my teeth into a scrummy glazed pear and macadamia nut tart but that will have to wait. I honestly didn't predict how hard it would be to find the ingredients. I am sure we will have better luck during the week.

June 09 & 10, 2011

Sorry for the double blog, I have been busy...

Yesterday for breakfast I had a few spoonfuls of baked beans and rode in to work. I had a yogurt with some nuts when I got in, and somehow that got me through til lunch.
For lunch I had a greek flatbread thing at work which I tried to convince myself wasn't pizza even though it was a pizza, because we had pizza for dinner! Well the lunch thing had capsicum, olives, onion and feta, whereas the dinner had pepperoni, cheese and mushrooms. So I dunno. I should probably feel guilty but I dont. Much...

Today I had a yogurt with nuts for breakfast, and that once again got me through til lunch. Ingrid, in my team, took me to get a pita for lunch. I went something a bit different and went spicy thai. It was.... ok. I bit into it thinking about the regular Lee and I get and it just wasn't the same. Didn't stop me from eating the whole thing though did it!

For dinner I had a jerk chicken wrap with sweet potato fries, and didn't even eat half of it. We were at a pub with some friends, hence the pub grub. Was delicious really, shame I couldn't eat it all!
No photos, sorry about that.

Tonight was meant to be cooking challenge night but I think I have to push it to Sunday. Please don't be mad! I went to get my hair cut and it went over time so we ran out of time really....It is coming though, and I am really excited about it! Woooo hoooo to the Glazed Pear & Macadamia Tart!
 Tomorrow is going to be a great food day, so stay tuned, I promise photos and all....

June 08, 2011

Last night after all that food I managed another snack - some jam on bread. Not much I can say about that other than it was good!

This morning I had grapefruit with strawberries for breakfast, then cycled in to work. What a nightmare, the slight breeze means hayfever central. I was that annoying person at my desk sniffling and sneezing that everyone thinks is sick and start cringing at.  Would be so much easier if it was heyfever. 'Hey'. Right??

I had a yogurt with nuts around 8am, and at 11 I had a peanut muesli bar. I know I said I wouldn't eat them but I don't take enough food to work, and we bought a massive box of them cos they were cheap so why not eh? It did the job, and got me through til my usual boring salad at around 1 o'clock.

Didn't ride home, Lee picked me up with the bike rack on the car, so sweet. Its bloody hot (39 with humidity), and allergies are a bitch so it was welcomed, even if I did feel guilty for not getting the exercise.
We snacked on some salt and vinegar rice crackers when we got home.

I had a bowl of last nights soup for dinner. Delicious once again, but lacking on the citrus front.  Must keep a mental note to boost the lime next time I make it.

That's it for the day. I can't stop thinking of the Gruyere in the fridge, trying not too but all thoughts keep leading back to my favourite cheese....

June 07, 2011

Had grapefruit with strawberries this morning for breakfast. I didn't ride in today, the storms were horrific, so Lee offered to drive me which was sweet of him, on the ass end of his night shift. Poor guy was knackered but I appreciated the effort!

I ate a yogurt with some nuts at work in the morning, and was hanging for lunch. I definitely need to take in more food to work. Its such a long day, and especially on bike days I need more energy.

Lunch was another salad, same as yesterday but with peanuts. I got hungry in the afternoon so bought a small slice of banana bread from the cafe at work, which was average.

Lee picked me up again before he had to go back to work for tonight, so we decided to have pitas together.
Its nice to eat early, but naturally that means getting hungry later. So I made the soba noodle soup, this time using uncooked noodles, and they come in the cutest little bundles, check it!

I love the ribbon!  The last time I made this soup the only soba noodles we could find were precooked, so we found they went a little soft and mushy, especially second time round. These noodles are awesome, they are 100% buckwheat, have translated cooking instructions on the packet, they are much cheaper and much tastier. Loving it.

This is the end product.

And it was goooood. Bok choy, snow peas, shiitake mushrooms and spring onion with garlic and ginger.  Glad I have it for dinner tomorrow too, if I didn't have to cycle in I would take it for lunch also.

I'm stuffed squared (tired and full), so that's it for today. If you haven't already done so please vote for my Something Sweet poll, top right. Thanks, and goodnight! xxx

June 06, 2011

Had my grapefruit this morning before cycling in to work, which was a pretty quick ride (35mins). I ate a yogurt with nuts when I got in.

For lunch I had left over salad from last night. Totally uneventful, not filling at all, and rather bland. So when I got home I was famished.
Truth is, I had a piece of Lee's lasagna when I got home and it was really good! I was meant to have a poached egg on asparagus, then make the soba noodle soup. Tomorrow....

Oh, I also snacked on some bbq rice snacks.

I heard back from the Food Bank, I got the volunteer position I interviewed for about four weeks ago, so I am officially part of the Recipe Crew! Looking forward to our first meeting, will be interesting to see what path they want this project to take. Either way I am happy to be on board, should be a great project.

Thats it for me today.... unless I get snacky later on....

June 05, 2011

Half a grapefruit and a yogurt and nuts for breakfast, then the grocery shopping. Always painful on a Sunday.

We had lunch out again, and had awesome burgers at St Louis. Whoops. And chips. Double whoops. The burgers were really good, shame I didn't get a picture.

We spend the afternoon drinking Pimm's outside our apartment, its about 26 degrees and clear as outside. Allergies are a bit of a bitch but its so nice out in the sun and shade, its hard not to be out there enjoying it.When we came inside we snacked on some Lindt dark mint chocolate. Mmmmmm. I know its not a 'this is what I drank today' blog, but had to share this anyway, plus we ate some of that fruit. We love Pimm's!

For dinner we had chicken drumsticks, I used a Gordon Ramsay recipe, they were meant to be sticky and slightly blackened but they didn't quite turn out that way. Still, they were tasty and I would def make these again, maybe mess with the recipe a little.

 I made Lee a lasagna for his night shifts which start tomorrow. It was a huge one so we went halvies on a slice, and it was pretty good. Gruyere makes all the difference, yum yum!

June 4, 2011

Dinner last night was awesome. It does deserve its own post but I am feeling a bit lazy, so forgive me.

So lets see.... Lee picked me up after work, we came home, dropped off the car and walked into downtown Kitchener, about 3km away. We went for a beer then caught a bus in to Waterloo and walked to The Keg. Man, we love The Keg! We last went in Vancouver a couple of years ago, we fell in love with it then and still love it now.
We started with a cocktail and a crab, parmesan and spinach dip to share which was really good. We both had a steak (of course), mine was a 12oz NY Strip, medium rare, with a baked potato that came with sour cream, chives and bacon. It also had some yellow and red beets on the side. We shared some sauteed mushrooms, and oh my god it was all so delicious. I kept quoting Mantis from Kung Fu Panda - I wish my mouth was bigger! Couldn't finish it all, but got as close as we could.

Breakfast was lazy today, a peanut muesli bar. I know I said I wouldn't have another one but laziness and sugar hankerings kicked in so thats what I ate.

Lunch was out, as we were under budget at dinner last night. I had a chicken wrap and a greek salad. It was pretty good, but not mind blowing. Still riding the high of last nights steak probably. Either way it was cheap and cheerful, and kept us going for the rest of the day.

Dinner tonight is planned, although not sure when I am going to crack it out. It's monkfish in green tea with edamame & shiitake mushrooms with a side of quinoa. That's the plan... will update later on.

UPDATE: Dinner was awesome, check it out! Skipped the side of quinoa, too lazy....

June 3, 2011

Lets see. This morning I had a yogurt with nuts for breakfast, and thats all I ate until lunch time. Terrible of me really.

Lunch was naughty. Lee came to get me as he has the day off and we went to Wendy's. My favourite sin is back - the BBQ dipped chicken burger. Basically the chicken is dunked in bbq sauce, then slopped in a bun with some pickles and red onion. OMG awesome. Terrible of me though, especially the side of fries...

Dinner tonight is going to be awesome. We are heading to The Keg. Finally! This is the 'hooray we are both employed' dinner we have been planning for so many months. So I will update on that later. If its totally awesome I might even dedicate a whole post to it.

Until then, be good, and if you can't be good, eat something delicious!

xxx

June 02, 2011

Wow what a hardcore sleep last night.

I woke up feeling groggy as and with post allergy attack eyes (I think only my family and Lee will know what this looks like, I am not going to lie to you, it aint pretty), so facing grapefruit was tough, but I did it anyway. No ryvitas left, so I packed a yogurt and some nuts to take in to work with me. I ate those at about 8am.

Lunch was veggies with hummus. I didn't take a photo, I was starving. I knew it wouldn't be filling either, bummer! So I had a kitkat in the afternoon.

I snacked on some rice crackers when I got home, and we had left over mushroom soup (finally) for dinner.
I was hungry soon afterwards, not sure whats got in to me! I ate some baked beans and a salami sandwich.

Another early night, Friday is going to be a great day!

June 01, 2011

Wow, sixth month of blogging about everything I eat! Half way there, so far so good (the blogging, not so much the food, hahaha). Thanks for following me!

I am a little late posting this one too as I went to bed as soon as I got home from work last night. My muscles were hurting and my hayfever attack had me knocked down and miserable.

Yesterday I had a yogurt for breakfast. I was starving when I got to work so I bought a banana nut muffin. It was average to be honest, wont do that again (plus I really shouldn't!). For lunch I had left over salad from the night before. We were meant to have mushroom soup again for dinner, but I was starving so we had pitas instead (Lee bought them home after night shift). Same old same old - grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, red onion, olives, feta ant tzatziki.

After that we both crashed. Today should be a little different, here's hoping! Happy June everyone xxx

May 31, 2011

Ok this is a day late, I have been a bit useless lately eh.

Yesterday I skipped breakfast because I was running late (shame on me) and biked straight in to work. I had a yogurt here in the fridge so I was all over that but they are so tiny it hardly touched the sides!

For lunch the IT team took us out, it was actually pretty nice, just a little on the hot side and I wasn't wearing summer clothes. I had a Mediterranean chicken flat bread - its kinda like a pizza but the dough is super thin and crispy. It had olives, artichokes, pesto, cherry tomatoes, and of course chicken. Was pretty good. I boxed what I didn't eat and bought it back to work with me, and snacked on that in the afternoon.

Shame on me, thats all I ate until dinner. It was my first real pay in over a yea so we decided to get take away. We had an awesome meal, we shared Vietnamese spring rolls, pork rolls, and two salads (one mango chicken, one Vietnamese chicken) and it was superb. I was so hungry and tired and hot, yesterday was a loooooong day, so I forgot about pics or anything.

Well, today should be better. Will keep yall posted and update when I get home tonight. Loving the response on the poll, thanks everyone!