2nd half of the weekend

2nd half implies that it is now over 😦

Ayayaye. I am not looking forward to work tomorrow.

Saturday’s dinner was steak, salad and baguette.

We headed out about 8:30 to a housewarming party at my director’s house. I thought there’d be some munchies, so we ate a full dinner. Well, turns out there was food galore! We both ate way too much! Home around 1:15, we both hoped for a good sleep.

But no. The neighbour’s alarm was going off again! I have to write that note…

For breakfast, we both wanted something small. I made some bran muffins…

We finally finished the ottoman cover! I will post pictures tomorrow – will take them in the daylight.

In the afternoon, we went out to Mississauga. Lunch was homemade soup and cheese and bread at Graham’s parents’ house. We then went to visit everyone over at his sister’s.

He left for Sarnia about 3:30. I didn’t want him to go. Since then, I’ve been to the bank and Walmart, made soup, finished two loads of laundry, made and ate dinner and watched Amazing Race.

The veggie lasagna was stolen from Graham’s parents’ – leftovers!

Yes, Graham, I ate the other half of the St Honore! Couldn’t let a good desert go to waste.

Time for bed now, I guess. Hope you had a great weekend. Hope your Monday starts your week off well.

Butternut Squash Soup

Pureed Vegetable Soup
Everyday Food – Jan/Feb 2008 

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped 
coarse salt and ground pepper
Vegetable of choice*
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 to 3 tsp. fresh lemon juice 

*Ideas:
– Parsnip: 2.5 lbs peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks.
– Carrot: 2.5 lbs peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks.
– Broccoli: 2 lbs cut into florets, stalks peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks, plus 1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks.
– Celery Root: 2 lbs peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks.
– Beet: 2 lbs peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks. 
– Mushroom: 20 ounces button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered, plus 1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks.
– Butternut Squash: 3 lbs peeled and seeded, cut into 1 inch chunks.  
– Cauliflower: 2.5 lbs cored and cut into florets.
– Celery: 2 lbs cut into 1 inch thick pieces, plus 1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks. 

1. In a large dutch oven or pot, heat oil oven medium. Add onion. Season with salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add vegetable, broth and enough water (4 to 5 cups) to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until vegetable is tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Working in batches, puree broth and vegetables in a blender until smooth, transferring to a clean pot as you work. To prevent spattering, fill blender only halfway and allow heat to escape: Remove cap from hole in lid and cover lid firmly with a dish towel. Adjust soup’s consistency with a little water if necessary. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

I will have this to freeze and also to eat this week for lunches. One giant bowl of soup!

Daring Bakers – November

Well, today is the day everyone’s been waiting for… November Daring Bakers! This month’s challenge was Caramel Cake.

The recipe comes from Shuna Fish Lydon and can be found here. The month’s hosts were Delores at Culinary Curiosity, Alex, Brownie at Blondie and Brownie, Jenny at Foray Into Food and Natalie at Gluten-a-Go-Go. Wow, lots of hosts!

I decide to halve the recipe. Since I wasn’t sure if that was enough for a cake in the pans that I have, I decided to do cupcakes. Also, I’ll be able to easily transport them to Mississauga tomorrow.

My caramel syrup went really well. Like others, I covered the top of the pot with tin foil. The syrup worked just fine on my first try! I made the syrup, then we went out shopping. Once home, I made the cupcakes. Then, I ran to the store for some groceries, including icing sugar. Once home again, I made the icing. My alteration to the icing was more salt, again as others had suggested. My icing’s consistency was a little hard. If I had piping supplies, it would have been nice to make the tops a little more decorative. But, I guess I’m still learning…

My half. The verdict? Very, very tasty! I liked getting a little salt in the icing. The cupcakes were moist on the inside but a little crunchy on top – very caramel-ish. 

Overall, I loved the taste!

Can’t wait for December…

Saturday at last

Well, Friday was ok too!

We had my sister over for dinner and she and Graham were both already home when I got home. They were starting dinner – pasta with shrimp in a vodka sauce. I made the salad – easy job!

Sorry for the poor photo. I think I was already a little tipsy (vodka cocktail and glass of wine… second one to follow). It was a tasty, excellent meal. 

For dessert, Graham picked up his favourite cakes – a piece of dobos (a Hungarian cake) and a St. Honore. I had a small piece of dobos.

I fell asleep on the sofa pretty early – very uneventful night!

This morning, we had waffles!

I had another half. 🙂

We went out for some errands this morning, did a few jobs, etc…

For lunch, I had two little sandwiches: both BLTs.

We’re sort of having a quiet day, which is nice considering the past few Saturdays!

Hope you’re relaxing today, too!

Happy Thursday!

Sorry for the blogging respite.

I went out for dinner with work friends last night (had pizza and a glass of Shiraz).

Tonight, I went to Mississauga for dinner with my aunt & uncle, who are in town, with my mum, sister, grandparents, too. We went to Swiss Chalet and I had a quarter chicken dinner.

What I picked up in Mississauga is this:

My advent calendar!!

Any other 25 year olds out there who still have one??

Pancake Tuesday

Yup, that was my dinner!

It was a pear on the side.

I went to check out the Y tonight. It’s literally about a 5 minute walk from the apartment. It seems like a great facility, with a pool, indoor track, all kinds of classes. It is expensive, though, at $55/month. I am debating on it… I would like to start yoga (think it would be good for my hip) and the hours are great (open at 5:30 on weekdays, 7 on weekends). What do you think??

Tomorrow is hump day… yay! We already had Thanksgiving, so I have a full 5 day work week. But, Graham has Friday off, so he’ll be home early this week. Count down has started… Night!

Stitch in time…? still gives me a huge headache…

Well… today was one of those days. Fine until 4 o’clock. Then I found a mistake in my project. One of those mistakes where I am so glad that I caught it now. Down the road would have been a million times worse. But, it still sucks. I should have caught this and just feel like garbage. My boss is gone for the next three days, so not only do I have to fix the mistake, I have to wait til Friday to talk to her about it. Ugh… this sucks.

I got in a good de-stress run after I left my desk and it helped a little.

Home to dinner…

That’s Annie’s Mac and Cheese.

Do you like the new placemats?

After dinner, I had the last lemon cranberry scone and some Sweedish Berries (drowning my troubles in candies) and am watching DWTS now. 

Don’t even know how to finish this post… 😦

Back in T.O.

We came back yesterday from Muskoka – got the tasks done in the afternoon and it was so cold! -15!! There wasn’t a reason to stay overnight and none of us wanted to. We had an early dinner in Barrie – chicken fingers & fries – and then were back here around 7. We went out to see Bond at 8. The movie was pretty good. Entertaining, I’d say, but maybe not top-notch Bond?

Once home, I snacked on too many crackers and read my book.

This morning, we were once again awakened by the neighbour’s alarm clock. It seems she goes away on the weekend but forgets to un-set her alarm. Wouldn’t be so bad if it was music or news, but it’s the alarm beep. From 6:54 (when I first woke up) to 8:08. Eep. Nice way to wake up. Showered and dressed, I decided on breakfast. I had seen this post at Smitten Kitchen and decided today was a good day!

I had a second scone because they turned out so well! Not the most filling breakfast, maybe, but they were so tasty!

We’re off to meet a friend who is passing through town for coffee, so see you later!

Double post

Morning everyone!

Graham made it back from Sarnia yesterday, on very treacherous roads… I went to the gym after work where even though my leg/hip hurt, I managed to do 40 minutes on the treadmill – about 7.5 kilometers. Not too bad! It hurts today, though…

For dinner

Sorry about the really bad picture! I ate wayyyy too much bread! But it was tasty 🙂

Breakfast

I had three or four crepes, I think.

We’re off to Muskoka til tomorrow, so see you then!

‘Twas the day before Friday…

Happy Thursday, everyone! This was the scene in Mississauga today…

Quite a nice morning! I had the doctor at 9:15 [who sent me for an x-ray and told me to see a physio for my hip] and the dentist at 11 [just a cleaning]. I high-tailed it back to the apartment to work from home for the afternoon.

Here was my lunch…

That’s 1/2 c. oatmeal with 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. water. 1/2 a banana mixed in with cinnamon and walnuts, then peanut butter on top. The verdict? Not my favourite! Couldn’t finish it, to be honest. I found it too sweet with the PB, I think. I’m not sure I’m really able to eat oats anymore…

Sidenote: Sarah tends to eat things so often that she gets sick of them. And then cannot eat them anymore. This happened with peanut butter in high school. This happened with Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal during the first two years of university. This now has happened with oats/banana/cinnamon combination after eating that nearly everyday last year, from about September to May.

It pains me to say this, since Tina, Kath and Rose – all well known for their love of oats – all adore the oats and PB combo. Just not for me, I say!

My afternoon went ok… had the snow tires put on, read some of my book. Oh yeah, worked too! I snacked on crackers and some w.w. chips throughout the afternoon – not too much, though. Before I knew it, it was 7:35. I made a quick, if slightly less than satisfying, dinner…

And then, the most satisfying part of the meal…

So satisfying, I might have had a 2nd (smaller!) bowl.

Now, I am mid-way through CSI, tea in hand. I wanted to get a good post in before it got too late and I got too lazy.

The plan for the weekend? Graham comes home tomorrow – yay! We are going up to the cottage Saturday – Sunday. It’s supposed to be -6 in Huntsville. The cabin is heated by wood stove. BRRR!

What about you? Any great weekend plans? I hope so!

Night night!