what? more bbq? yea, more bbq.

sometimes the ideas that pop into my head are just so freakin' brilliant i can't believe i thought of them on my own. this particular idea just jumped into my cranium and ended up sounding like this when it came out of my mouth... "hey, wanna bbq again?" genius.

as my friend and i left work to go to our apartment (yes the same friend as last time. she's lucky.) we stopped at the store to gather our supplies, then i prepped at my place.

first, i sliced up some zucchini and brushed them with olive oil on both sides and sprinkled with some good ol' S&P (salt & pepper, stupid).

then, cut up my peppers and tossed them in the same, very complicated, oil/salt/pepper concoction and slid them onto skewers (soak your sticks in water so they don't catch on fire and look super ugly).

now, for the salmon... i just decided to make some stuff up. so i took some brown sugar and kind of used it as a dry rub on the fish. then sprinkled the top with sliced almonds and brushed some maple syrup on top to kind of form a glaze to keep the almonds in place.

and you can't forget dessert. it's the most important meal of the day (what?). i took some banaynays and sliced them down the middle like i was performing open-heart surgery.

after that... I STUFFED THOSE SUCKERS FULL OF CHOCOLATE!

now everything was all set to bring down...

i laid the strips of zucchini on the grill first, because there's another step for these puppies.

then i tossed on the kabobs and salmon. the salmon i wrapped in foil because i didn't want to flip it with the almonds and i was afraid i was going to lose all the syrupy goodness to the coals. next time i do this i'll probably do it in the oven so i can broil the top and get the almonds nice and toasty and a serious glaze going on. MEANWHILE, i sprinkled some feta (seasoned or not.. i chose seasoned) along the strips and rolled them up until they looked super sweet.

when the kabobs were done... i took them off.

then... i did the same with the salmon...

now, for those nanners. i wrapped them in tin foil (that's why the tin foil was in the picture with them earlier. muahaha) grilled them til the choco was all melted and the outside was pretty dark.

then i topped with whipped cream and ate with a spoon right out of the peel! so delish.

well... i'm gonna go write another post because i made something else and i just can't space them out. AAHHHHH!!! SHE'S A MAD WOMAN WITH NO SELF CONTROL!!!

gimme pizzaaaaaaaa

so i was sitting on my couch, minding my own business, when i decided i wanted to try making a pizza.

i remembered seeing a recipe card in my recipe box in my mom's writing for a pizza crust, so i dug around for it. i found it... but she didn't write down how long to put it in the oven for (get it together, mom). so to the internet i went. i just wanted to find general cooking times to get an idea. instead, i ended up kind of making an amalgamation recipe of a few i found mixed with my mom's. the ingredients are as follows:

2 c flour
1 c warm water
1/4 c sugar
1 tbsp dry active yeast
1 tsp salt

i whisked all ingredients together minus the water.

when it was all mixed, i added in the water until it made a nice dough.

i don't trust my counter top all the time, because i have a cat... so i put down some parchment paper and sprinkled it with flour, a well as the dough so it didn't stick to my rolling pin.

then i brushed some oil on my pizza pan and put the rolled out dough onto the pan.

in the meantime i cooked up some chicken to toss on this pizza pie. i just kind of grabbed whatever i had in the house. it ended up being chicken, tomato, and green pepper.

for the sauce... i'm not going to lie to you... i made it up. completely. like, i can't even give you measurements. i just dumped random stuff in a bowl and stirred. i do remember the stuffs though: canned crushed tomatoes (maybe half a big can?), tomato paste (maybe half a little can?), 2 garlic cloves and basil.

then i smeared that sh*# all over the dough.

i used a cheese blend, topped the sauce, then put the rest of the toppings. then i put more cheese on it for two reasons: 1) it kind of holds the toppings in place and looks nice. 2) i like cheese.

(oh yea, i preheated my oven to 400F.) put it in the oven until golden brown (i think it was about 25-30 minutes for me).

PIZZA CUTTER TIME!

now to eat. all that work... for this:

don't you worry your little head, i'll finish it.

oh p.s. i have a facebook page now! please go check it out and "Like" it... because if you like it, it means you like me! (please like me)

peppermint patty's patties

they're not really hers... they're mine. but i share.

i LOVE the mint/chocolate combo. ice cream, after eights, putting peppermint in hot chocolate, polar bear shots, those delicious girl guide cookies that are hard to find... anything.

these little delights are closest to york peppermint patties. they're a little labour intensive, but it was also my first time making them, so with practice they may become easier. here is what you'll need:

2 1/4 cups of icing sugar (plus some for sprinkling stuff and things.. mostly to do with the patties. your choice though)
1 1/2 tbsp corn syrup
1 1/2 tbsp water
3/4 tsp pure peppermint extract
1 tsp shortening
8-10 oz 70% cacao dark chocolate


hokay. so. take everything (minus the chocolate) and beat it in a bowl. i found it easiest to kind of stir it around best i could first to avoid covering myself in powdered sugar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ38PGV_3wg

you're probably going to feel like you should have more liquid in the mix to get it to the consistency you want... i thought i did, but i waited it out and it was perfect. mix it til it's just mixed together then move it over to a surface dusted with icing sugar. knead it in a way that makes your cat jealous.

transfer it to a piece of parchment paper and then place another piece on top. roll it out between the two, then when it gets to about 1/4 inch thick toss it in the freezer for about 15 minutes on a cookie sheet or something. i don't really care what you put it on.

have you been thinking these pictures are less than awesome? well quit judging me, my camera was dead. don't worry your little head, i charged it.

after the 15 minutes, peel off the top parchment paper and sprinkle with sugar. place the paper back on and turn over and do the same to the other side. you can use any shape of cutter you want, i used a couple different ones i have, but in retrospect i probably should have just used the small circles. you'll be placing these on a fork for the chocolate part, and you don't want anything hanging over the edges or the heat of the chocolate will kind of cause them to warp.

place your cut-outs back onto a sheet of parchment and put back in the freezer for about 10 minutes. you'll have to keep re-rolling the filling to get as many cut-outs as you can with the scraps of each round. basically until you either get to the photo below, or fed up.

i chopped my chocolate up so that it was easier to melt. you can use a double boiler if you want, but i just microwaved it (because at this point it was about 11:30pm)

stir it up so it's all nice and silky smooth, then take your shapes out of the freezer. place each cut-out on a fork and submerge in chocolate and let excess drip off. tapping and wiping the bottom on the side of the bowl will help speed things up.

place it back on the parchment until it settles (i kind of pushed them off the fork with a knife). the fridge will help speed this up, but you'll need a lot of space because they can't overlap (i put them in the fridge in groups as i was doing them).

then voila!

i've been trying to eat healthy lately, but i still want to make yummy treats so i've been bringing things into work. win win?

*disclaimer*

the following things may happen to you if you attempt to make these:

-end up using a new piece of parchment paper every time one is needed
-covering yourself in powdered sugar (not unlike officer farva)
-producing more dishes than you know what to do with (mostly forks and knives, as the chocolate hardens on them quick and it just seemed easier to get a new one)
-your cats sits and stares at you the whole time because of the whole kneading thing
-looking like a 2 year old playing in feces due to the amount of chocolate you end up getting on yourself (ie hands, forearms, face, legs, feet and pj's)
-staying up until 2am to finish them, then waking up late because you're so tired and taking a cab to work so they don't melt in the heat and you make your 9:30am call.

just some very generic things that everyone should look out for. nothing to with with the fact that i'm a messy, clumsy person.

shaken, not stirred fry

so last night i made a chicken stir fry and decided to make my own teriyaki sauce to go with it. i've been on a bit of a health kick lately, and although there are a couple of things in here that aren't ideal, food is never as tasty if it's 100% good for you ;)

i don't really have any cute or witty stories this time (not that i really think i did before). i know, i know, you're terribly and utterly disappointed. i had a very busy evening of working out, smoothie making, showering and watching The League. i didn't get around to cooking til about 9:30, therefore, i was all business.

let's dive in, shall we?

i didn't give you an ingredient list last time, but this time i suppose i will...

stir fry:
olive oil (or stick prevention of your choice)
chicken (or meat of your choice)
array of vegetables (of your choice)
noodles (or rice of your choice)
s&p (or seasoning of your choice

teriyaki sauce:
1 1/4 cups of water (no choice)
3 tbsp brown sugar (no choice)
2 tbsp corn starch (no choice)
1/4 cup soya sauce (no choice)
grated ginger (no choice)
garlic clove (no choice)


first, in a wok over medium/high heat, cook your meat in a little bit of olive oil (to prevent stickage). Once your meat is cooked through, toss in your vegetables (i used water chestnuts too).



meanwhile, on the other side of town... mix 1 cup of water, the soya sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic clove in a saucepan. stir it continuously until it comes to a boil.



weird alien ginger



dissolve the 2 tbsp of cornstarch in the 1/4 cup of water and pour that stuff right on in... it will get to a nice and teriyakiy consistency.



oh, by the way, are you starting to make your noodles? you should be. the noodles i bought take 1 minute once the water is boiling... so the timing was fine.



pour your teriyaki sauce over the veggies and toss until everything is nice and coated.



finish up your noodles or rice... mine looked like mr. noodles without all the weird powder, sodium and dehydrated vegetables... see?



you can toss your noodles in the wok with the vegeat (vegetables and meat) and get them all saucy, or you can leave them plain and just top them. i did the latter. you can add a little lemon wedge for some citrus delight if you wish. i did.. and that wish came true.



let me know if you have any requests of things you'd like me to make/post. i'm always up for trying something new!

(insert week where i check everyday for someone to suggest something and no one does and i feel silly and spend hours wondering why)

every season is BBQ season

i don't even want to talk about how long it's been, ok? let's just move on...


at work i'm currently working on a project that has me looking at food and food related things a lot. after a 3 hour meeting of looking at foody things, i decided that i needed to make a lovely dinner. SOOOO... i gathered up my best friend (who also happens to live in my condo building... not a mistake) went to the grocery store after work, and made a menu (in my head).

we had baseball after work (lost) so it had to be a late dinner. i decided on: lamb, asparagus and stuffed mushrooms.

i had to prepare up in my condo before taking everything down to the BBQs.

first thing was first, cut any gross ends off the asparagus.



then i tossed the asparagus into a dish-aroni, drizzled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on it, sprinkled some salt and pepper, then tossed it like nobody's business.



instead of buying the pre-packaged mushrooms and opted for choosing them by hand, that way i could pick the big mothers. i bought some crumbled traditional blue cheese and threw it in a bowl and mixed in some margarine (about 2 tablespoons), parsley (a big sprinkle) and minced garlic (one clove). mmm, blue cheesy.



then i just spooned that stuff right into the little mushroom bowls. easy peasy.



last, but certainly not least, was the laaaaamb. i love lamb.
i drizzled a little olive oil on each side, a little s&p and some rosemary... hey check out my spice rack. sure, i may have gotten it from value village, but don't worry, i cleaned it very throroughly.... many times.





DOWN TO THE BBQ!!!

lamb took the stage first, and their performance was legendary.



mushrooms were gonna go this route...



but then my camera died, the iPhone took over, and in the end they went this route...



i took the lamb off and covered it with tin foil for a bit so it could soak back in all its yummy juices...



the asparagus went straight on the BBQ, rolled it around every few minutes until it was how i thought i wanted it (very scientific).



i put a small baguette on the top shelf of the BBQ to toast it up and bit, cut the sucker up and plated it! please note the lovely styrofoam plates (not allowed glass on the patio).






hopefully this work project will keep me inspired to share my cooking with anyone who cares enough to read it; and right now, that's you! so thanks for that ;)