2013, here I come!

I will be out of town over the holidays so I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holidays!

See you in the new year.

Spaghetti Squash & Kale Gratin

What is this, an actual food post? It's been ages, I know.


I've been hunkering down and doing some serious cooking in the past couple of weeks. I purchased some brussels sprouts still attached to the stalk, roasted them, tossed them with quinoa and garnished the dish with pomegranate seeds. After reading this article on sweet potatoes, I immediate went out and bought some to make this.


There are certain vegetables I've always wanted to try but haven't gotten around to (rutabaga, you are still on my list) and spaghetti squash is one of them, so I picked one up when I went apple picking several weeks back. At the farmers' market, I saw a beautiful variety of kale that I haven't tried before (lacinato or black kale, though I quite like the name dinosaur), bought a soft cheese recommended to me by a vendor and bam, a meal was born.

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San Francisco

I just spent a pretty fabulous week in San Francisco and the Bay Area.



Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to sort through the pictures on my camera yet so enjoy some photos from my phone instead.


I've returned to howling winds and pouring rain.


Can I go back already?

September 2012

Major changes occurring around me has forced me to become contemplative about my life. (More than usual, anyway.) What are my life and career goals? Where do I see myself in five to ten years? I've always had a general idea, a certain path I'd like to follow but if I think too hard about the future, it can be a little overwhelming and frightening.


It can also be frustrating, as I certainly did not expect to be where I currently am at this point in my life. I'm sure there are many people in their 20s who feel the same way; I've seen enough articles in the media about how young adults are struggling in this economy. I know quite a few people who are job searching, myself included.


I will attempt to stay positive and fight the good fight, because what is the alternative? I've always been one to think that everything happens for a reason and things will work out eventually, so I will continue to cling to that belief even when things are tough.



These pictures are from my trip up north during the labour long weekend. There was a day trip to the Bruce Peninsula, which was gorgeous beyond words - blue skies and clear water for as far as the eye could see. There was a stop at the blueberry farm, but the highlight was the pick-your-own tomatoes. I love tomatoes and at the height of the tomato season, I can't help but eat them raw because they're so flavourful and I don't want to tarnish their perfection. I eat them like a fruit! (Because they are a fruit. Ba da bum.)


Here's a picture of a sunflower field. I will let you in on a secret: I love sunflowers because they make me happy. Hopefully this puts a smile on your face too, as it does to mine.

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A major change that happened: one of my closest friends got herself hitched this month.

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Grilled Corn & Cheddar Quinoa

I am trying to break the habit of complaining about how busy my life is (as per this article), but my August was a little bit ridiculous. The only time I actually stepped foot inside my home was to sleep in my bed; I wish I was kidding. I've lost an alarming amount of weight over the past several months, but I guess the bonus of that is I get to eat whatever the heck I want.



This long weekend, however, I am making an escape from life and heading north of the city. My plans are to sleep, relax and be one with nature. Lather, rinse, repeat. Bags under my eyes, be gone!

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Roasted Red Peppers Bean Dip

What is this, you ask? More peas? True to my last post, I went back to the farm to pick more green peas, along with some snow peas and potatoes. A week made a huge difference though - I'm assuming because it's been so hot and dry lately, I really had to sift through the peas to find ones that weren't fully matured yet. I added some garlic scrapes with the green peas and turned them into a pesto.





It was also the first week for raspberry picking and I couldn't resist snagging a couple of pounds. I ended up spending a good three hours on the farm. It was like I was WWOOFing again. (Minus the fact that it was 30+ degrees out. And loud children were running around.)

Summer is fast becoming my favourite season because I actually enjoy the unbearable heat and you can't beat in-season fruits. Cherries, peaches and plums - these are fruits I've purchased from the farmers' market in the past several weeks and I thank my lucky stars that they were available since it's been such a tough season for growers. I really wanted to go peach picking this year and make an absurd amount of peach preserves (I've been dreaming about peaches since last fall) but I don't think that's going to happen. I do need to make this before peaches disappear from my life again.



The raspberries, however, were cooked and canned.

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Lemon Pasta with Green Peas

My friends and I went strawberry picking last weekend. Though let's be honest: I bugged them to go strawberry picking with me until they relented.





A group effort led to strawberry shortcakes with vanilla bean whipped cream, though my mission of picking pounds and pounds of strawberries was to make preserves. After years of failed attempts, I am determined to get into canning this year, time be damned.

(I do hate American measurements though - the recipe I used said it made four half-pint jars, which I assumed meant four 500 ml jars. As you can see in my photographic evidence, I was very wrong. I can't believe all my efforts only led to two barely-full jars of preserves.)

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Rhubarb Compote

Sprrring! Warm weather! (Yes, those exclamation marks were necessary.)



Spring also means the arrival of new vegetables at the farmers' market, which is very, very exciting. (To me, anyway.)





The first sign of leafy greens were ramps (aka wild leeks), which I snatched up and turned into a pesto. Ramps are an intense combination of onions and garlic and as someone who loves both, raw ramp pesto was even a little too intense for my liking. Will attempt to roast or saute them next time.

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Florida + Oat Soda Bread

My friends and I went to Florida to see this:



(This picture was taken at the airport right after we landed. We spent half an hour in the gift shop ogling at merchandise, that's how excited we were, even after a 6:30am flight.)

First, we took a nap on the beach.



We had a late lunch of fish tacos and crab legs.



Afterwards, we took a stroll on the beach...

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Lemon-Glazed Madeleines

Do you know what I need more of in my life?

Time.

Extra hours in a day would be nice (ones not spent at work) or an extra day so that every weekend is a long weekend. How lovely does that sound?





Things I would do if I had extra time: Sleep. Go for a run. Job hunt. Yoga. Sleep. Catch up on tv. Sleep.

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Roasted Beets & Potatoes with Quinoa

We've been having an unusually mild winter, which, to be honest, I am quite pleased about. I've mentioned that I hate the cold, right? (It's the one thing I can't shut up about, I know. I get cold really easily, especially in the extremities.)



We're in the midst of root vegetables season. Normally I'd be yearning for some leafy greens but since my discovery of beets, I don't seem to mind.



I can't get enough of them. There was this one week where I ate so much of it that my urine turned a disconcerting reddish/pink colour. Not to worry, a quick google told me that this can be normal. Or that I am low in iron (which would explain why I am cold all the time.)

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