RECIPES

Hiya,

Happy Hump Day.

As promised, here are the recipes for the dishes that I made for our American Thanksgiving last weekend.

The Spiced Applesauce Cake from Smitten Kitchen is so amazing.  I cannot stress the amazing part enough.  It had super simple and non-fancy pants ingredients, it made our apartment smell wonderful for the whole day, it turned out really moist and delicious, and was light enough to eat more than one piece (or one really gigantic piece). I want to call it foolproof because it was so easy to make. Also, I have enough of each ingredient to make it again .. immediately.  I plan on it.  It was that good. 

This is their cake.  Not mine.  Mine looked similar, but not nearly as cute.

The Brussels Sprouts Gratin from Cooking Light were also a hit.  Most likely because they included quite a bit of bacon.  Bacon and brusells sprouts together in a dish .. it’s a bit of a contradiction, huh?  Oh well.  I feel like when you’re having a deep fried turkey, you might as well throw calorie counting out the window.  Vegetables don’t have to suck.

Again, mine was not as pretty.  I guess we can't win em' all.  

PS – It’s almost that time.  Holiday countdown time.  Hold on to your hats.  I can’t wait.

MONDAY MUSINGS: THANKSGIVING ROUND 2

Merry Monday, Friends!

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to any American friends who may be checking in.

What did you get up to over the weekend?  I did so many of my favorite things it was actually a bit overwhelming.  In a good way, of course.  Really, in the best kind of way.

I finished a book, ate leftovers, had lovely holiday drinks from Starbucks, shopped till I dropped at Super Target, ate cookies for breakfast (thanks V.T), played with Liesl, wore mascara, made crafts, baked a cake, ate Chinese food and drank beer, shopped online, watched Elf, painted my nails, did some knitting, ate French fries and drank root beer, washed my bedding,  anddddd here it comes … had an amazing second (American) Thanksgiving dinner.

It was so wonderful. I made Brussels Sprouts Gratin and a Spiced Applesauce Cake (check back later for recipes).  There were amazing potatoes, carrots, stuffing, and salads too.  We also had a deep fried turkey.  Say what?  Yeah … DEEP FRIED! O. M. G.  It was delicious and not at all gross (like it sounds).  Really, it was the best. Ever.

There is a turkey in there somewhere

I think it’d be hard to ask for a whole lot more out of one weekend.

PS – We’ve now passed the 1-month mark to Christmas.  I will save the Holiday posts until December 1.  But, you’ve been warned.  Prepare yourself for an onslaught of excited Christmas posting! Also, let me know if you have any fun Holiday post ideas .. I love sharing

CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

Hiya,

Happy Hump Day.  The workweek is almost half way over!  Yay!

What did you get up to last weekend? 

On Saturday morning, my friend Emilie and I ran in the inaugural Beach Running World Championships in Cocoa Beach, FL.  It was super fun and really beautiful.  In terms of long distance running, it doesn’t get much better than sunrise on the beach.  Not to mention there were donuts and pizza at the finish line.  Mmmmm.

Em and I decided to enter the 10km event as a fun way to get back into training after a period of recovery.  She raced like a champion, leaving me in the sand with 2 miles to go.  She finished 5^th overall and won her age category.  Whooohoooo!

I huffed and puffed my way to the line and finished 6^th overall and also won my age category.  Luckily for me, Em and I fall into different age categories (barely), so we can both be World Champs.  I don’t want to sound like I’m tooting my own horn here, so let’s be real.  Yeah, I went pretty hard and yeah, they gave champagne to the real winners (not us), but this was not like the Tour de France or the Boston Marathon. 

There were roughly 200 competitors split between half marathon and 10km events and anyone/everyone was free to enter. 

There was a real mix of participants on the line.  Young, old, serious, athletic, fun-loving, walkers, runners, jugglers, the whole shebang.  In fact, the man and woman who both came 2^nd overall in their respective discipline completed the entire 10km whilst juggling.  Yep, this chick crushed me (and everyone expect one person, for that matter) while juggling.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I said juggling.  Like with 3 little balls.  It was sort of embarrassing and inspiring all at once.   All in all, it was nice to see so many people out on the beach being active and I was really glad to be a part of it.

I’ll still tell anyone who asks that I’m a World Champion, though.

Check out these great pics that Em managed to snap:

FOOD-RELATED FRIDAY: SLOOOOOOOOOW-W-W-W-W-W COOKING

Know what I love?  Slow cookers.  Or crockpots.  Whatever the kids are calling them these days.

Why do I love slow cookers and slow cooking?  Two reasons:

1 – Effortless evenings.  Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to know that all you have to do come 6:30 pm is boil the pasta, cut the bread, steam the broccoli, or pour the wine because all of the work has been done? Remember, you did it 6 hours ago when you put all of the ingredients in to the slow cooker?  Work your magic all day slow cooker, I’ll take the credit later.  It’s the best. 

2- Peeking.  You know what I mean.  Lifting the lid before you should and filling your house with the marvelous smells of whatever you’re cooking.  Tom hates peeking and I can’t not peek.  Can’t stop, won’t stop.  Peeking is pretty much my fave.

So remember when I said that I bought the BOGO pomegranates for Slow Cooker Pomegranate Beef?  I said that yesterday, and I want to share this delicious recipe with you.  This is the part where I reveal my secret and you can laugh at me.  The recipe doesn’t really call for actual pomegranate seeds.  They are pretty much just a garnish.  Okay, I have a BOGO problem.  DWI.

It’s still an amazing dish.  Check it out…

First you throw some onion in the slow cooker.

Then you rub a bunch of spices into the meat.

After that, you put the meat on top of the onions along with an obscene amount of garlic. Vegetarians, you may cover your eyes ... now .. 

Next, throw in diced tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, unsweetened pomegranate juice, and maple syrup.  I chose to omit the raisins in the recipe, but who knows .. maybe they’ll be a hit next time.

Then let the slow cooker work it’s magic for 8 hours on low or 5 hours on high.  Peek often.

When it’s all done, serve with whatever you feel like.  Usually I choose mashed sweet potato with the pom seeds as a garnish, and some other healthy-looking green vegetable, like broccoli or asparagus. 

Obviously these are my very, very loose guidelines.  

Here’s the actual recipe from an amazing site.  A Year of Slow Cooking.  My friend has the cookbook "Make it Fast, Cook it Slow", which is from the site.  She introduced me to it and I love her for that.  I highly recommend it for any/all slow cooking recipes. 

Mmmm

Happy Weekend, friends!  I hope you have so much fun.  I can’t wait to tell you what I’m doing tomorrow morning.

THRIFTY THURSDAY – BOGO .. HIT OR MISS?

Let’s real talk about deals.  B.O.G.O.  Buy one get one.  Buy one get one free?  Buy one get one half off?  There are so many variations on BOGO these days.

I am not afraid to admit that I am a total sucker for deals like this.  Most days, I leave the grocery store with two of something that I normally wouldn’t buy one of (who doesn’t need two chocolate fudge cake mixes on hand at all times, anyway?).  Same with deals on tank tops, t-shirts, and other clothing “essentials.”  It’s clever marketing – especially since you can usually still get one of the items at the BOGO price at the grocery store.  Oh well.  I guess you choose your battles, and I choose not to admit that I just love buying things – until after the fact.

The BOGO that I hate the most is the one at Payless shoes.  It’s buy one, get one half price.  To me, this is not a worthwhile deal, especially considering that Payless has gotten quite a bit more expensive over the past little while.  I usually go in there looking for something cheap and semi-disposable (like black flats for a night out that would wouldn't mind getting dirty), and leave feeling disappointed in the "deals."

However, there are some BOGOs that are actually a good deal and that I really love.  For example, there is a cool pub in my neighborhood called Celtic Corner.  Every Wednesday they have a BOGO pasta night.  It is great.  You can go in with another person and get two pasta dishes for the price of one.  The rules are that you can’t do takeout, you have to buy a drink, and you have to order off of their special BOGO menu.  The food is yummy, the portions are great, and you can get a group of friends together in the middle of the week for a beer and a visit.  I love it.  What’s not to love?  I make a point of going every time I’m in town.

This week I also got pomegranates on a BOGO deal at the local grocery store.  Yeah, yeah, I know that they are not at kitchen essential, but I love them and almost never buy them.  They are sort of obscure and labour intensive, don’t you think?  But I still love them all the same.  I think I am proving my point about buying things I don’t need.

To me, BOGO pomegranates are a great deal and a perfect excuse to have them.  You might be asking yourself, “now Una, what might you be using these two pomegranates for?” and to that I would reply, “Why, Slow Cooker Pomegranate Roast Beef, of course.” 

But we’ll chat about that tomorrow.

Here are some more reasons why I love poms:

I secretly love that when you deal with poms, the cutting board, your work space, and your hands end up looking like a crazy scene from Dexter.  Always make sure to wear a dark shirt.

I'm also free to chomp on these little things all week.  They are so delicious and I end up with a really rosy pout without even trying.  What's not to love about that?

So all in all, what are your thoughts on BOGO?  Thrifty?  Just a scheme to make you buy things you don’t need?

I’m still on the fence about it .. and I’m still resisting the BOGO cake mixes every time I walk through the grocery store doors.

WISHFUL WEDNESDAY

Happy Hump Day!

What are you wishing for these days?  I wish I had the guts to rock this hair cut …

Refinery 29

tylershields.com

Seventeen Magazine - tylershields.com

Isn’t it sassy?  I’ve always had a girl crush on Dianna Agron, and I think I may even love her more with this do’.

Maybe I will make it my New Year’s Resolution to chop off all my hair.  EEEEK

TRADING TUESDAY – THE ORIGINAL RED PAPERCLIP

Do you guys know who Kyle MacDonald is?  I most certainly did not .. until yesterday-ish.  So what?  Who is this guy?  Why should we care?  Well you may not, but I probably should have recognized the name at least.

Check this out and see why.  You might chuckle – I did.  Seems like the little red paperclip is sooooo 2005.  Oops.

Okay, so Kyle MacDonald is the guy who we all sort of know about who traded a red paperclip all the way up to a house in one year.  He is like the trade master.

We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy.

Maybe I should have done my research before I decided on a red paperclip.  In hindsight, maybe yellow would have been a bit cooler.  I cannot live up to this red paperclip.

During 2005, in 14 trades, and in a year, Kyle went from one red paperclip to some crazy cool stuff.  At one point he had a doorknob, an instant party (keg delivery and neon Budweiser sign), a snowmobile, a cube van, one year’s rent in Phoenix, an afternoon with Alice Cooper, and eventually, a house on Main Street up on the trading block.  What an amazing story.  Even after it all went down, he had some more crazy stuff happen.  He had the World’s largest paperclip built and dedicated to him, his project was featured in ad campaigns for Volkswagen Spain, MasterCard, and Grolsch beer, and he received a Guinness World Record for the Most Successful Internet Trade.

Very impressive.

I sort of like Kyle.  I like Kyle’s blog.  He talks about the trades and how each one went down.  He promotes his book (yeah, he has a book about it – I’m totally going to read it), and his speaking gigs, as well as what he’s up to these days.  What I like best is that it’s not fancy and he seems to be really sincere.  Kyle just sort of seems like a guy who you would have a really fun time with if you sat down to have a beer with him.  Maybe that’s why everyone wanted to trade with him. 

Trade with me .. I want to be just like Kyle.  Sort of.

Happy Tuesday, Team.

MONDAY MUSINGS – SHOW ME YOUR MUG SHOT

Hi All,

Happy Monday.

How was your weekend?  Mine was great.  I suntanned, adventured on my bike, watched a great movie with Tom, had a yummy burrito lunch with girlfriends, finished a book, Skyped with my parents, had red wine, had beer, and had white wine (not all at once though).  All in all, a great success. 

As with all weekends, I ate too much, exercised too little, and drank way too much coffee. 

I love coffee.  I also love coffee mugs.  What kind of mug person are you?

I have a weird theory that our coffee mugs sort of define us.  Some people have a perfectly matching set of mugs, some people go for colour or pattern themes, and some people, like myself, have a crazy array of random mugs that have been collected over the years.  I love that each mug comes with a story and a memory.

See …

These are the ones that live in our apartment.  I also have mugs spread out at my parent's house, Tom's parents house, and the apartments we usually live in while we're training in Florida.  I think I may have a mug obsession.

I picked up the red ones at a market in Mexico while on vacation last year.  The Natal Day mug is obviously pretty special to me. 

How many of you have Bunnykins dishes?  Probably a lot.  I've had that one since I was a kid.
Tom and I also got really in to Mad Men last year, so for Christmas I got us matching Mad Men mugs.

I bought this for Tom in Mexico because it seemed like a "manly" gift haha.

More Mad Men, more Natal Day, and a lovely Lupin mug that we were given while we were in PEI for Canada Games in 2009.

This is my friend Christine.  She lives in a house where all of the mugs are shiny and black.  We call them “man mugs.”  She bought this to throw some colour into the cupboard.

Check out these mugs that I found on Amazon.  I love them.  I think they are so funny and cute.

I am also coveting this little guy from The Bay.

Sometimes I wish I could have a lovely little set of matching flowered teacups with matching saucers, but I know it would look pretty funny and out of place next to the skull mug. 

So what’s your strategy when it comes to mugs?  Send me a pic of your collection.  Let’s share.  I think it will be fun.

JUST SAYIN’ SUNDAY

A Sunday post? Say wha?  Yeah .. that’s right.  It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to … I mean … it’s my blog and I’ll post what I want to.

Thought I would spice things up a little and post some neat pics that will let you know what I’ve been up to lately.

Just sayin’ … 

Photo credit for above shots to Bernie Irvin, our great team massage therapist/photographer

REMEMBRANCE DAY

November isn’t just about moustaches, believe it or not.  November 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada, and Armistice Day, Poppy Day, or Veterans Day in other Commonwealth countries. 

November 11 is a memorial day that is in place to remember the members of the armed forces who have lost their lives in the line of duty.  It is also the official date of the end of World War I in 1918.

Wikipedia succinctly explains the symbol of the red poppy: “The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.”

Do you have a poppy on your coat these days?  Most of us do.  I’m in Florida now, so I’m not wearing a coat these days.  I have mine attached to my backpack so I can see and wear it more often.

Recently, there has been a bit of a controversy around a new push in Quebec for a white poppy.  The white poppy is meant to symbolize peace and to acknowledge the civilians who lose their lives in war as “collateral damage.”

Some people feel that the white poppy is disrespectful and that it shouldn’t be worn during a time of remembrance for veterans.  It has also been argued that the red poppy does, in fact, symbolize peace.

The National Post covered the story a few days ago.  Check it out here.

What do you think?  Would you wear a white poppy?  Does it take away from the tradition of honoring veterans and remembering fallen soldiers?  Is it important to acknowledge innocent people at the same time?  Is there perhaps a more appropriate time for the white poppy to be donned?  Do you think it’s okay to wear both?

I’m not really sure how I feel about it yet.  I can definitely see both sides.

One thing is for sure though; today is a special day.  It’s a day for remembrance and reflection.  It’s a day to feel thankful that we live in a country that is free of war.  It’s a day where it’s important to take a moment to think about what Remembrance Day stands for and what it means to you.  Whether you wear a red poppy or a white one, or none at all, it’s important to remember the past and reflect on it as we look toward the future.

MOVEMBER

HOLY MOLY… It’s November already!?  Wow.

Okay Ya’ll, sorry for the brief hiatus from the paperclip this week.  I was traveling on Monday, and then I spent Tuesday and Wednesday watching romantic comedies, running errands, and eating tiny little chocolate bars until I felt sick.  I think you all understand.

To throw things off even more, I’m going to skip Thrifty Thursday this week in honor of MOVEMBER.

You know what it is.  Right?  Here’s a clue.

Stay tuned for a special Movember announcement later.  It’s going to be fun.  I promise.

Ohhhh the suspense …