3 Meals, 3 Photos

Good morning, loyal readers! Sorry for the lack of meal post last night. I was organizing photos on my computer, but yet didn’t feel like getting up for my camera to add a few more!

Yesterday’s oat-y breakfast

That’s crumbled banana bread on top. Not sure I’m a fan of that… just because it’s soft and the oatmeal’s soft. I think I would prefer cereal/flakes.

Yesterday’s dinner

Carbonade flamande that we made Sunday and wine – no, not the bottle! Just a glass.
(FYI: Graham didn’t use a recipe… he just sort of knew how to make it. This was the first one that appeared when I Googled it this morning…) 

Today’s breakfast

Purple oats!

Question for my loyal readers: if you eat oatmeal for breakfast, what is your favourite topping – one that I must try? 

Leave me a comment and I will try it on future bowls of oats!

Have a great Tuesday!

Back at it

Sorry ’bout that! Here is my 24 hour recap:

Friday after work
We tried to go for a run, but I was having some leg pains. We probably walked 3k, ran 3k. I don’t really know what was wrong, but I just couldn’t do it!
Graham wanted oysters and fries for dinner, but I wanted a little more substance – had a leftover piece of chicken, about 10 fries, 3 oysters and salad.

A look at the oysters…

(Yes, we shared a bottle of white wine… the entire bottle!)

Saturday Breakfast
We put some bread out last night to stale up [is that a term?], so that we could have french toast today…

Latte art (sort of) 

We then went out to Wal-Mart [our toaster was recalled due to faulty elements], the Beer Store [returns and a case of DAB] and Ikea [frames for above the sofa and new cushion covers].

Saturday Lunch
Suffice it to say, we were both starving and crabby by 1:30. We had leftover chicken and some brussels sprouts, with a toasted whole wheat english muffin on the side [not in the photo].

A look at our little pumpkins too!

Graham’s university roommate is stopping in around 5:30, on his way back to Ottawa, so I think we’ll hang around here for the rest of the afternoon. I’m going to catch up on my blogs and cross a few more things off my to-do list… maybe watch some of my PRV’d shows too!

See ya later! 

Election Day

Hope you all voted! My loyal Canadian blog readers, that is. I left work around 4:30 to get to the polls. There was no line at all! I even brought my book, just in case. Graham was home early and then we went to Running Room. I think we went about 6k today.

Dinner was leftover chili, raw broccoli and dinner rolls. Oh, and wine too!

His and hers!

FYI about the wine: Graham’s mum read about it in the paper, I think, and picked us up a case when she was getting one. It breaks out to about $7.75* a bottle and is really, really good. Apparently it’s flying off the shelves of the LCBO. My boss was talking about it today at work, that she had been able to secure a case, and I was proud to chime in that we already had a case! Here it is…

Highly recommend if you can score a bottle or a case!

[For any non-Ontarians, this is a bargain price! No Two Buck Chuck up here, that’s for sure! $8 is about as cheap as it gets, and that’s normally garbage wine.]

As promised, here is the side dish that we made yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture! So, here it is, from the magazine. It was so tasty – everyone ate every last bite!

Cauliflower and Brussels Sprout Gratin with Pine Nut-Breadcrumb Topping
Bon Apetit November 2008

10 to 12 servings

1 1/2 lbs brussels sprouts, trimmed, quartered lengthwise through core 
1 1 1/2- to 1 3/4 lbs head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into small florets 
2 3/4 c heavy whipping cream
1/2 c chopped shallots
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c plain dry breadcrumbs
1/2 c pine nuts, lightly toasted 
2 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 c grated Parmesan cheese, divided [used 1 c Parmesan, 2 c Cheddar]

Fill large bowl with ice and cold water. Cook brussels sprouts in large pot of generously salted boiling water 2 minutes. Add cauliflower to same pot; cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer. Drain. Transfer vegetables to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.

Combine cream, shallots, and sage in large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until mixture is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs; stir until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl; cool. Stir in pine nuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; arrange half of vegeatbles in dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then 1 1/2 c Parmesan. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly over, then sprinkle with remaining 1 /2 cups Parmesan. Pour cream mixture evenly over.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover gratin with foil. Bake covered 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle breadcrumb topping over and bake uncovered 15 minutes longer. 

Hope you’re enjoying a relaxing evening at home! Off to score myself some dessert…