Steve ordered the chicken grilled under a brick (I’m not sure how it’s physically made but it sure tasted great) which came with spinach and potatoes, and we ordered a side of sour cream biscuits that kind of stole the show- they were rich and light and came with a sweet-sour chutney and I probably could have just eaten a big plate of them for my dinner.

I’m drooling just looking at these pictures again.

The other fun part about going out to eat is getting dressed and made up before you go. (This is my attempt at a segway to hair care, so please just go with it haha). I realized a little late yesterday that I was all out of conditioner and kind of needed to shower before going out, so when Steve said he was going to BJ’s (it’s like Costco) I decided to go with him and see if I could find a decent conditioner in bulk. Steve’s aunt is a hairstylist who apparently swears by Biolage, so I was pretty stoked to see that BJ’s carries the brand in large (though still expensive) sizes and decided to try it out. Anyway, enough with the intro, end result is that I am officially obsessed with the Biolage Color Care Conditioner! My hair is so soft and shiny after just one wash, and the best part is that a gentle salon smell lingers in my hair after it has been dried and through to the next morning! Yes, that’s correct, I woke up this morning and the first thing I smell is my hair. I am in love, and as usual, it’s kind of a costly love.

What is your favourite hair care product and why do you love it?
I think we’ve just established my favourite.

What is the best or most memorable (for good or bad reasons) meal you’ve ever ordered out at a restaurant?
Last night’s duck was pretty awesome, I’ve also tried Cornish Hen which I loved, and I’ve had some pretty crazy things at sushi restaurants- like the soft shell crab roll, which came with the crab legs sticking out of the end of the roll! It was crunchy and looked weird but I ate it. And liked it.

I hope everyone is celebrating the way they see fit, with kisses (of the human, canine, or chocolate variety, all are wonderful) and plenty of love. Steve and I have plans to go out for dinner tonight, but for today we’re doing the lazy thing and he’s playing video games while I blog. I made a pancake brunch for the two of us this morning, and I have to say that I think I have fiiiiinally found my go-to pancake recipe. I am so, so, so picky about pancakes. I don’t like them too fluffy so that they fall apart on your fork or so muffin-y that you need a serrated knife to cut them. I don’t like them too thin, but they also shouldn’t be too tall. I was using a mix a couple months back but realized that sub-par pancakes just wouldn’t cut it any more so I tossed it. But enough of the drama, I’ve found the one!

Heidi of 101 Cookbooks knows how to make a pancake, and her favourite recipe has now become mine. I always doubt the proportion of liquids to dry ingredients in pancake recipes because I find that most are too heavy on the liquid and there are few things I hate more than a soupy pancake batter. So I was stingy on the buttermilk, but found myself making up for that defecit as I combined wet and dry because, well, what do you know, her proportions were right on. I guess Heidi hates soupy pancake batter too. These smell like cake while they’re cooking and are fluffy while also being a touch doughy, and the buttermilk adds such a nice flavour that I know my search for the perfect pancake recipe is through. Thank you, Heidi!

From pancakes I’m now going to jump to cupcakes Steve and I found ourselves at the South End Buttery yesterday and I am so glad we stopped in. We ordered a large 2% milk cappuccino and a carrot cake cupcake (all of their cupcakes are named after their dogs, which we loved) to share.

The cupcake was moist but taste-wise, nothing special. The cream cheese frosting, however, was amazing! It was slighty lemony and so creamy and tart but still sweet. Swoon-worthy, certainly.

And now to address the reason why I’ve titled my post about huge food…

I bought a ball of multigrain pizza dough from Whole Foods the other night with a plan to make calzones for Steve and I. I sauteed onions, green peppers and mushrooms with Italian spices and a little red wine, rolled out the dough and then stuffed them with pizza sauce, veggies, mozzarella and salami. I used a little over a fourth of the dough for my calzone, which came out lovely but still a little large for a single serving.

Ok, so the dough package claimed it held 11 servings. I might have scoffed at first but after this monster came out of the oven, Steve and I could not stop laughing at its hugeness. Please note the cell phone next to it for size comparison.

Steve, I am not trying to cause your death by dough. It took him 3 meals to eat all this

Eat lots of chocolate today everyone!

I’ve been gone for a while, I know, life has become super busy with the new job! I am happy though and enjoying the busyness. I’m not sure what my blogging schedule will be like for the next few months while I’m in training, but I can let you know that after the training period I am going to be travelling for work nearly all the time. Yup, my job is 60-75% travel. I can’t wait to show you all what I manage to find to eat while staying in rural Kansas!! I’ll be all over Canada, the US, and maybe even Europe. I might even be in Hawaii for a week or so So, that’s what will be coming up for me!

For the present though, I’ve been enjoying spending as little of my free time as I can at my computer. For me, the reasons why I love blogging are also some of the reasons I need to get away from it sometimes- but reading Heather‘s post on fat really made me remember that I need to eat the way that is right for me, not someone else. I love all the neat foodie ideas I get from reading blogs, but sometimes they influence my thoughts on how I think I should be eating, instead of reinforcing what I know about what works for me.

But enough talk, let’s look at some food

I have been seriously loving on coconut water (it was on sale at WF so I gave it a whirl) and coconut butter, and I’ve been making tons of smoothies with these two lately.

Another meal I’ve been loving lately? 2-egg omlette with cheese and cooked in just a tiny pat of butter. That, and putting half and half in my coffee, because fat keeps me full longer and makes me happy. There, I said it, I love fat

And to go a little gourmet on you, I made Potato Gnocchi tonight. It takes forever but the end result is so delicious.. I used the basic recipe from 101 Cookbooks, and made a sauce from butter, olive oil, lemon and white wine.

Perfect.

Mondaayyy (Happy MLK Jr. Day!):

Ezekiel English Muffin with Barney Butter

Split Pea and Ham Soup

And Tuesday:

Mixed Greens with Olive Oil and Lemon Vinaigrette, Flax Crackers

Banana, Apple, Cashew Butter

Brown Rice with Black Beans and Marinara Sauce

I promise to be more entertaining tomorrow

With that being said, it seems a little silly to talk about my food, but that is what my blog is for, so here we goooo….

I don’t have pictures for Friday because the whole day was kind of rushed and I didn’t get any breakfast or lunch pics before leaving for work. For Friday dinner though, I was craving pizza (which seriously never happens, weird) so I got Steve to drop me off at Whole Foods while he went to the gym. I shopped around for a bit, then went to get a slice of pizza and starting chatting with the younger guy behind the counter. I took my slice and left to go pay, then sat down and started to eat, and then the pizza guy comes up to my table, says “you forgot a slice” and handed me a pizza box before sprinting away (I kid you not, he got out of there so fast, by the time I turned around he was behind the corner). I open this box, (secretly hoping for extra free pizza) but it was empty- except for his number, which he had written along with his name inside the box.

I’m seriously considering giving him a call, just to congratulate him on his creativity Steve and I have been together for almost 3 years now so I don’t think he’s got much of a chance there, lol.

Saturday:

Dinosaur Kale, Cilantro, Romaine, Grapefruit, Pineapple, Lemon, Lime

I know these Lunas are bars, and they are processed… But you know what? I like them. The peanut butter one is the best Speaking of highly processed- I had chips with dinner! Cape Cod brand, the only kind Steve will eat. They were pretty yum.

Ham and Pepperjack Cheese Sandwich, Jalapeno and Cheddar Chips, Coleslaw

I made the coleslaw using some preshredded cabbage mix with raw apple cider vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper.

For dessert, I bought a bar of bubble chocolate ’cause I figured it would taste like an Aero bar, which Steve had never tried. This bar was pretty good! I love how the bubbles pop when the chocolate melts on your tongue.

Steve and I met up with my BFF Alex and her British boyf Paul at the BBC. I started with an Allagash White, which was kind of citrus-y, but not as good as Blue Moon.

Then I tried a pint of Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. OMG!!!! It was like a richer, deeper Guinness. I loved it! I think this was the BEST beer I have ever tried.

This was a lot of booze for a small girl, lol I was a little tipsy after these. ‘Twas all in good fun. Steve and I got home and I had a glass of OJ and some Salt & Vinegar chips before going to bed.

Sunday!!!!

This smoothie had banana, raspberries, agave, raw cacao nibs, green chard and raw almond butter. Yum!

Ezekiel English Muffin with Barney Butter and Four Fruits Preserves

Yessss that is Coldstone. I got the cake batter with cheesecake and oreos! But to be honest, it wasn’t as good as I remember it being. I still ate it all though, muahahah Oh and dinner was pretty delish too, that is TJ’s Lemon Pepper pasta with ham and carmelized onions. I made a “sauce” out of butter (only like 2 tsp), lemon juice and brown sugar and it came out fab!

Anyway, confession here, I’m writing this while watching Jersey Shore so if there are typos in here, well there’s the explanation

Hope everyone had a great weekend!