Why do things always taste better when you're younger?

I guess it has something to do with taste buds developing or something. I don't really know though, I'm not a scientist. Biologist? Whatever. The reason I bring this up is because a few nights ago I was reminded of this drink that I LOVED when I was younger. A killer koolaid. Woah mama, I used to suck those down like water. But, anyhoo. I had a few of them and realized they aren't as good as I recall, which brings me to this.



My grandmother used to make these sandwiches for my sister and I when we were younger up at the cottage. They are basically a piece of toasted bread, whatever jam you prefer, and cottage cheese layered on top. For this one I added sliced almonds for a little more protein. Back in my younger years, these were the best thing since... well... anything really. Having them now has just reiterated everything I mentioned in the above paragraph. Not as tasty. I'm really hoping that it's just my taste buds.. 'developing' and not that these were actually really bad before and I just didn't realize it.

One of the only attempts to be healthy before I started at the gym.

Woah. Looking at this picture makes me laugh. I remember making this too. One of the very few attempts I made to be somewhat healthy before starting at the gym in late September. Hahaha. Fuck I'm terrible. Anyhoo, on to the photo.



Tuna Ceasar Salad. I firstly chopped up some romaine leaves, cucumbers and shroomies. Then, opened up an oh so fresh can of deliciously flaked tuna (*eyeroll*), and went on to make the dressing. Now this dressing is pretty effin' good if you make it right. I have made it a few times that have turned out terribly, so be careful with your measuring. I found the recipe online after craving ceasar dressing like a beast, but not wanting to lay on my bathroom floor for 20 hours because of the huge amount of dairy in the creamy shit I had in my fridge. Further research provided the information that, apparently, true ceasar is actually a vinegrette... no dairy should be in it in the first place. Who knew? This one is also egg-free. Hurrah!

Eggless Dairyless Ceasar Dressing

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a jar, combine mustard, garlic, lemon juice, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and olive oil. Shake until combined.

SIDENOTE

I actually have discovered the power in using a handheld blender thing to blend my dressings now. Makes life so much easier. Another goto dressing I use for salads, marinades, and sometimes just dipping is as follows.

Classic Vinaigrette

Hmm.. ok. I tried to figure out how to type this out, recipe style, since this is all in my noggin'... but alas.. I just can't seem to figure it out. Sooooo, I will just.. write this as I would make it.

Take big measuring cup. Pour in (a random amount) of grapeseed oil (this stuff is amazing, by the way.) followed by a lesser amount of either balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. Sometimes I do random combinations of those four. It all works out beautifuly. Lately, i've been doing a red wine and apple cider vinegar mix. Don't put more vinegar than oil though! Next, crush a couple of decently sized garlic clove, or one huge one, into the cup. Add spoonful of polish mustard(or dijon) and a spoonful of honey. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. If you feel like it, feel free to add some minced green onion. Then, blend the fuck out of that fucker with your handheld. YUM! Doesn't stay too long in the fridge. A week tops. Don't forget to shake it up!

Housesitting at Cindy's means eating all her food.

One of my neighbours, Cindy, went... somewhere.. sometime ago. She had redone her kitchen about 2 years ago this summer and it is B-E-A-UTIFUL! She had asked me to watch over her cat, Ella, and I took this as an opportunity to use her kitchen and nicely stocked fridge. She totally said I could too, so I don't even feel bad.

This is the only meal I made that I took photos of. I'm pretty sure I wrote the recipe down somewhere, so... let me find it and try to remember how to upload pictures in the first place.



Appetizer. Prociuttio wrapped asparagus and button mushrooms drizzled in a wasabi balsamic glaze and garlic sauce thing. I can't remember how I did this exactly. Baked it? Whatever. It's not that difficult, and i'm sure you're smart enough to figure this one out.




Main course. Here's the recipe I have saved on my computer for this. I'm pretty sure this is almost exactly what I did, although I'm not 100% sure. This was in the summertime and my memory is that of a fish. Sounds pretty correct though.

Shrimp and Scallops in a Lemon Butter sauce


Fresh, large scallops (as many as you want)
Fresh large shrimp, deveined, with tail on (as many as you want)
Zest of one lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
3-4 basil leaves, chopped (divided)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Juice of one lemon
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste


Combine the first four ingredients plus a bit of chopped basil and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Season the scallops and shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat the last teaspoon of olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium high heat, when the skillet is hot add the scallops and cook for about 2 minutes then turn over. Add the shrimp and lemon juice to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and tender and the scallops are golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy.


I'd give credit to whoever I ... 'borrowed' this recipe from, but again... summertime. Sorry!



A token picture of Ella in a bag. Adorable.

Uhm.. Hi.

So... wow. This is like running into an ex-lover you haven't seen in months. Awkward as all hell, yet slightly refreshing to see that they are doing ok without you. Unless you still have a flame. Then they can just.. fall off something high. But I still obviously care for you, dear blog, so here we go. I was trying to find a recipe for quinoa battered onion rings to attempt to make this weekend and found this AMAZING blog (www.cheeseyesplease.com) and was like.. woah.. I have a blog. Dang. So here I am, writing about nothing, yet again.

I suppose I should update you on my life before adding the two zillion pictures of shit i've made in the past few months. I finally bit the bullet and signed up for George Brown's food programs. Three of them actually. Nutritional management, culinary management, and chef's training. Still waiting to hear back from them. Not like I'm checking the site every half hour or anything... *cough*

Have been trying to gym more to counter the intense amount of food i've been consuming. Has been... difficult to motivate myself to get there sometimes. I went with my mum today. It was good. I'm so glad I've stuck with the personal trainers though. Without them, i'd be up shit's creek with only my hand as a paddle.

Alright. Enough about me(and by that I mean I don't particularly feel like sharing all the other shit that's been going on in mi vida loca). Food time. I have a lot of photos on my phone, so to save me from going insane trying to HTML this shit, and you the long amount of reading time, I'm going to just post the individual meals in individual posts along with a brief description of either what it is, how I assembled it, or both. Depending how much I liked it.

Enjoy, bitches.