The Same, But Different

Okay, so my fantabulous bagel melt for lunch wasn’t quite enough food to keep me going through a 4 hour lecture, and the commute home from school (and really, I knew that would be the case). Good thing I’d packed up a mighty fine snack for the afternoon.

Yogurt & granola mess, featuring quince! Remember those beauties I bought earlier this week? Well, I cooked them up with some water and agave nectar into a sort of compote/paste/jam thing.

They turn a very pretty rose colour, and keep that lovely floral aroma. I decide they would make a good yogurt topping along with some pomegranate arils.

I really like the quince, but man, they are a pain to work with. They are SO HARD to cut and core, and they oxidize (turn brown) so fast! Plus they take quite awhile to cook. So while I’m not against them, I’d have to be in the mood for some hard work if I were to buy them again.

Class today was…trying. I was not impressed with my group. We have a big paper that’s due at the end of the term, which we only get to start on now (not our choice, it’s how the course is). It involves us going into some schools to interview them about their food system there. So we only have 2 weeks left of classes, which means these visits need to happen ASAP. And not everyone in our group has even contacted their schools yet to go in there. Not to mention some of my group members haven’t read the outline for the paper, and had no input into our group discussions. It’s like pulling teeth, I tell you! ARGH. I was so close to walking out of there. I would much rather write this paper on my own, because I bet I could bust it out in a weekend, and get a decent mark. Alas, that is not an option. Le sigh.

Getting home from school took FOREVER tonight as well. And it was pouring rain, so my feet ended up soaked through my runners This, coupled with my trying class, did not make for a happy camper

What did make for a happy camper was the garlic bread I found when I got home. If there is one thing I could probably gorge myself on, it would be garlic bread. Is that weird?

Obviously, I had some with dinner.

As well as leftover shepherd’s pie, ketchup included.

And some salad leftover from my parents’ dinner earlier that I only half ate – it wasn’t doing it for me.

You know I totally went back for seconds on that garlic bread though

That plate looks like a crap ton of food, but it’s actually not a proper sized dinner plate, so it’s not as much as you think. I’m just saying.

My mom must have known I’d had a crappy day, and that my tootsies were soaked from the rain, because she said we’re going down to the mall this weekend in search of good boots – early Christmas present. Hurray!

I chillaxed on the couch, watched some Survivor and CSI, and drank some tea – Silk Road Lychee Fruit Double Happiness Tea.

I’m going to be sad when all my Silk Road teas are gone. I guess that just means I’ll need to head on over to Victoria for a visit!

Time to get some shut eye. Only one more day of early mornings this week, and I’m determined to not be late. Night!

Making Me Sweat

This afternoon my dad brought home this interesting package.

Obviously, I had to try one out. I’m not generally a liquorice fan, but I figure mango flavoured might be different?

Meh, it was alright. I’m still not a liquorice person. Plus they get stuck to your teeth.

I then had a nice long nap. Curled up under my blankets, Sienna beside me. It was glorious. Of course, it meant I totally slept through dinner. Oops! No worries though, since I wasn’t hungry (lunch was pretty late). Instead, I went downstairs and sweated it out with Jillian and her No More Trouble Zones DVD. You know, it’s tough going through it, but so satisfying when you are complete. My sister has been enjoying it as well. Not bad for a $10 investment.

I was ready for some dinner after that for sure! On the menu tonight – Shepherd’s Pie.

Mom made her classic Shepherd’s Pie, with ground beef, onions, corn, and mashed potatoes. I always eat it with a little ketchup.

I was in the mood for a little salad, so I whipped up a quick Caesar salad on the side.

Looks like that salad is taking over the plate!

Lots of TV watching later (ANTM, Criminal Minds, and CSI:NY), and it was time for a little something something.

Ambrosia apple with creamy peanut butter for dunking. Such a simple, perfect snack.

And now, it should be my bed time. But of course, since I had that nice long nap, I’m so not ready for bed. Doh! I think I’ll go contemplate what to have for lunch tomorrow at school – a bunch of our campus eateries are offering special Fall Harvest menus this month, and there are alot of tasty looking options. I figure I should try some out before they are gone.

It’s a bit hard to see, but…

What do you think I should have for lunch tomorrow?

Time Flies

Wow, where has this day gone? I can’t believe I’m only sitting down now to write this post. You’d think on a day when I only have one class, I’d have all the time in the world! Time flies when you’re having fun, right? If only I could say my day was filled with fun though.

Not so fun? Waking up at the ass crack of dawn. Especially when the house is still cold. I totally stayed under the covers until I heard the heat kick in (it’s on a timer). Of course, it meant I was a little behind, so I had to go the cereal route for breakfast.

• Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal
• Kashi Cinnamon Harvest
• pomegranate seeds
• dried blueberries
• milk

They look like pretty jewels

With a glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party.

I love taking pictures of breakfast.

 

I had my usual commute, usual biochemistry class, then my volunteer shift at Agora. Uh, yeah…let’s just say that was less than fun. I’m pretty glad that my time there is almost over, and won’t be returning next semester for any more unpaid labour.

I did bring a great snack with me to keep me going until I got home for a late lunch.

Medjool dates are back! We picked up a container at Costco on the weekend. These ones are stuffed with Artisana pecan butter. Nom nom!

I eventually found my way home, and had a lunch bowl full of leftovers.

I layered mashed potatoes, corn, sauteed mushrooms, a couple of random brussel sprouts, hot italian sausage, and sausage gravy. It cleared out a few containers from the fridge, and made for an excellent meal.

A hot meal at home is always the best.

I will say though – I could have done without the sausage. Give me the potatoes, corn, ’shrooms, and gravy, and I’d be a happy camper. Probably because of the gravy

I had a leisurely afternoon on the interweb, and enjoyed a little snack.

Sourdough rye Wasa cracker with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries. It always amazes me how great this is at satisfying a sweet treat craving

I headed over to my cousin’s place this afternoon, as we had plans to get our workout on. She has the whole Carmen Electra series of striptease workout videos, so we figured it would be fun to go through them. Uh yeah…I’m so not a dancer. Figure skater/ice dancer? I’m all over that. Put me on the ground, and I am a spaz. At least I can laugh at myself, right? LOL.

And, as I’m sure will come to no shock to you, we went out for sushi afterwards. I swear, my cousins and his wife are obsessed more than I am with the stuff! We couldn’t go to our usual place though, as they were closed when we pulled up. There was a note on the door saying they had to take one of their children to the hospital. I hope everything is okay!

We hit up all you can eat sushi instead, which isn’t as bad as it might sound. Every item is brought to you in really tiny portions, so you get to try all your favourite without leaving overstuffed. I had all of my favourites, and was totally content when we left

I went back to their place, watched some tv, drank some hot chocolate, then made my way home. It is a school night afterall My cousin hooked me up with all of his music (80 Gb!), so now I have the task of transferring it all to my computer, and sorting through what I don’t already have. I’m sure it will be a warranted distraction from school work this weekend.

And that concludes my Wednesday. Hope the week is treating you all well. I’m off to dreamland. Night!

Go Fig-ure

So Operation: Clean Up is sort of going well. I managed to get into bed at a decent time, and had a decent sleep. But alas, I slept in a little longer than I wanted, so I couldn’t bust a move this morning before I was out the door. No worries though – after I finish this post, I’m going to go for a walk around campus before my next class starts It’s a beautiful fall day, so I have no excuse

Oatmeal was on the menu this morning, and I decide to try out another Costco purchase – dried figs.

It’s not that I’ve never eaten figs before – hello, Fig Newtons? But I’ve never purchased them, eaten them as is, or combined them into my own creations. I couldn’t resist when I saw the little package for a steal of a deal. Into these oats went:

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 small banana, sliced
• 3 dried figs, chopped
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• splash of vanilla
• shredded coconut
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

A refreshing glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party was along for the ride.

What a great way to start the day.

So I think I’m in love with figs. They are super tasty to eat just on their own, and they added the perfect sweetness to the bowl. More so than a ripe banana does, I think.

I had an uneventful transit ride to school, then sat through a psychology lecture on sleep and dreams. We also found out that our class is cancelled next Tuesday, which is perfect, because I have a midterm that afternoon. So instead of going to school for 9:30 am, I don’t have to be on campus until 2 pm. You better believe I’ll be taking advantage of that!

After lecture I found myself a comfy seat per the usual Tuesday/Thursday routine, so I could play on the interweb and chow some lunch.

The highlight of today’s lunch was ED&BV Cocoa-Coconut Chili I pulled out of the freezer.

I paired it up with some whole wheat pita wedges for dunking.

As well as some carrot sticks and snap peas.

And some Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus.

I even had a (cute) guy stop and tell me that my "soup smelled so good". I told him it was chili, and he said even better! He asked if I made it, to which I replied yes. Then he was sad that he was off to the SUB to "eat the crap" there. Too bad he was total jailbait

I’m still having issues with my WLW on my laptop – I cannot add links to any of my posts, and even with my support request into Microsoft, I can’t figure it out. It’s very frustrating – has anyone else had issues using Vista & WLW?!

Well, I’m off to enjoy the crisp fall day!

Another Marathon Day

Wake up time: 6:30 am

Time out the door: 7:30 am

Time home from school: 9:15 pm

Bed time: ASAP!

These marathon days are just killing me! Especially when they involve projects and presentations. I feel like such a bore in my posts lately, but school is taking it’s toll on my brain.

I started off my morning with a bowl of cereal – mostly because I was cooking up something for lunch, so I didn’t want to cook oats as well.

It was a mix of Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise, Peanut Butter Puffins, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax granola, topped with pomegranate seeds, and drowning in a sea of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

A glass of cranberry juice paired nicely with the cereal mess.

I’m starting to run low on acceptable cereals now! Oh no!

*insert psychology lecture on altered states of consciousness*

Then I made myself comfortable to map out what I was going to say in my presentation later on this afternoon, and to chow on some lunch.

What’s in the thermos you may be asking? Well, I made up a little pasta dish featuring the wild rice pasta I bought a little while back. I cooked some up this morning, then mixed it with some leftover chicken, peas, corn, red onion, shredded carrot, parmesan cheese, and Annie’s Organic Green Garlic Dressing.

Honestly, I could even detect any difference between the wild rice pasta and regular wheat pasta. I’d totally eat it again.

There was also an apple.

And for a snack later, I brought two leftover blueberry pancakes with peanut butter inside.

They kinda looked like tacos, folded in half like that. Pancake tacos!

I sort of wish we had pancakes, with leftovers, more often. What a great little snack idea

Then we had our class with our presentations. It went fine, and we got a higher mark than on the last one. Considering I wasn’t even sure the presentation was going to get completed yesterday, I was glad to see we’d still improved. But – some of the comments on our evaluation irked me, so I really hope we fix them for our next presentation.

I totally toyed with the idea of going home after my class, because I was just so drained, but there was a "Meet The Dietitian" night at the school, so I figured I should go. It was actually really interesting, and I am glad I went. They had 3 community dietitians in to answer questions. It was great to hear about their experiences working in the community, since there is so much focus on the clinical aspect through school and the internship. Even though I’m aware of many of the different areas one can get into once they are an RD, they still brought some more to my attention.

I also met up with Bronwyn at the session, and the wonderful person she is, brought me a whole wheat fig scone she had baked. It tasted great, and was a good snack to keep me from gnawing my arm off before I got home from school Thanks Bronwyn!

*insert transit ride home, where I nodded off on the train, and was this close to missing my stop*

Dad informs me on the ride home from the train that they had KFC for dinner. Booo-urns. So I know I’m going to be scrounging for food when I get home. I totally thought there were some perogies in the freezer, and got myself psyched up to eat them. Alas, when I open the freezer, I find out there are gone. Apparently they were "eaten ages ago". I pout, open cupboards, complain to my family there is no food in the house, then lie on the couch for awhile feeling cranky. I contemplated just going to bed, but I was to hungry. Back to the kitchen to come up with something…

Sesame bagel with cheddar cheese, cucumber slices, dill dip. Something about a cheese sammy. I just love it!

Of course, I realized I still had a chunk of vegan brownie leftover from my volunteer shift on Monday, so I made a fro-yo sundae.

Vanilla frozen yogurt, crumbled brownie, chocolate chips, coconut. I swear, there is actually fro-yo under there!

It was obviously amazing. Even if it left me chilled afterwards.

My eyes are totally getting droopy, so I guess I should sleep. Not only do I have my one, early class tomorrow morning, but I have a job tomorrow! That pays money! My sister’s work is doing inventory this weekend, and they need help, so she got me in for three days worth of work. And they order in lunch for all the staff when doing inventory. Woohoo! It’ll be nice to have some spending cash pay bills.

Anyways, I sleep now. Night!

Much Better

I’m happy to report that I today did not include any injuries, the throwing of cameras into liquid foods, or any other mishaps like yesterday. Sure, I still had to wake up early, but meh, that’s my life every weekday!

My camera is still working, despite the little swim it took in my tomato soup. Thank god, because I can’t really afford a new one! The lens cover isn’t retracting properly when I turn the camera on, but if I fiddle with it, it seems to go. I’m hoping that with time, whatever is causing it to stick will wear away. Otherwise I’ll see if I can get it cleaned.

I was in a full on cereal mood this morning. So I started grabbing boxes and came up with quite the combo.

Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, puffed kamut, puffed brown rice, and a sprinkle of Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola. I added the craisins because they looked pretty

More cran-peach juice made an appearance.

It’s all about the speedy breakfast when you get up at 5:30 am.

‘Twas a lovely little bowl of cereal to start my day.

A biochemistry lecture + volunteer shift later, and I was on my way home for the day. I had big plans for lunch – leftover mac & cheese. Too bad when I got home, I found out someone else had those same plans and beat me to it. BAH! Another reason to miss living on your own – you know the exact contents of your fridge, so you know those leftovers will be there for you when you want them.

Instead, I decided to tempt fate. Bring on the leftover tomato soup. Dun dun dun!

I even took an overhead shot. This time, I managed to keep all electronics out of my soup bowl, thank you very much.

I decided to go with the grilled cheese sammy as a side again. This one included aged white cheddar, apple slices, and red pepper jelly.

Yeah, I still kinda charred it. I fail at grilled cheese when it’s not on a Foreman grill.

I had the other half of the apple with some pb on the side.

Lunch time feast.

I worked on random projects this afternoon, and noticed my biochem midterm marks were posted. I did better than I thought! There was a certain percentage I had in mind, and I was 10% above it, so I was super happy Biochemistry has been my nemesis for so long, so it was really good to get a mark I could be proud of, and still leave myself with some room for improvement over the rest of the semester.

Dinner was also a tasty affair, even if it wasn’t overly photogenic.

Mom made stuffed pork chops. I can’t even tell you the last time I ate a pork chop. But if I’m going to eat them, stuffed is the way to go. I’ll spare you the close up though – it just doesn’t photograph well.

Our sides were much prettier. Like half a sweet potato with a little buttah.

And a mixture of corn & peas.

I always try and steal extra stuffing when mom makes these. It’s one of my favourite foods

My hockey boys were playing tonight, and low and behold, they won a game! On the road even! Woohoo! It’s about freakin’ time.

More tv & homework ensued, requiring a little evening snack.

I started with a cup of tea from my favourite tea place – Silk Road.

How can you not like a tea called "Double Happiness"? And it’s lychee flavoured. Love.

I also grabbed a pumpkin chocolate chip coconut muffin, with a side of biochemistry text.

Loving these muffins. I think their flavour actually improves as they age. And they stay so moist. Pumpkin rocks!

I guess I should think about sleepy time. Only two more school days til the weekend…yes, I’m counting down. Night!

All Downhill

Story of my day. It started out strong, and progressively went down from there. Fortunately, I’ve gotten away without any major injuries, and it’s almost bed time, so hopefully sleep will turn it all around.

I started my morning with some oats inspired by a few bloggers (who I would love to link to, but wouldn’t you know it, my auto linking in WLW still doesn’t work from my laptop. ARGH). I broke out the caffeine this morning for some mocha almond oats.

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• brown sugar (to take the edge off the bitter coffee flavour)
• chocolate chips
• almond slivers

I guess you could say it was a take on the mocha almond fudge cheesecake I made for Thanksgiving dessert

And of course, there was a glass of juice. Today was cranberry peach. Meh.

It was a lovely oat mocha to start the day, and the caffeine definitely did it’s job. Too bad it also wrecked havoc on my digestive system for the rest of the day. It made sitting through lectures less than fun – and I’ll just leave it at that.

I spent part of my break today tending to my virtual farm & cafe finishing up my journals and submitting them before the deadline. Then it was time for a little UBC blogger lunch. I met up with Bronwyn from Will Work For Peanut Butter at Red Burrito. From what I gather, it’s similar to Chipotle in the US in terms of menu, but I have no idea if the quality is similar or not.

When at Red Burrito, what do you order? Well, I figured a burrito was a good idea

Seems like all the food I order on campus comes in wrap form. HA!

I went with the chicken burrito, stuffed with chicken (duh), rice, black beans, lettuce, roasted corn, spicy salsa, and a wee bit of sour cream.

Lots of fun flavours and textures going on that burrito, that’s for sure. I’m no Mexican connoisseur or anything, but I enjoyed it. There are other fillings available, like salsa verde, tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, and guacamole. I totally wanted to go for the guacamole, but it cost extra, and I’m a poor student, so I refrained. But I bet it would have totally taken that burrito to the next level.

And let me tell you – this burrito kept my hunger at bay until I got home. I didn’t dig into any of the snacks I brought with me – can’t go wrong with that!

I completely failed as a blogger though – Bronwyn and I never took the obligatory blogger meet up photo. And I failed to take any restaurant pics. Seriously, where was my head? I blame the morning oats – they were still making me feel funky.

I went off to my 4 hour class, which we ended up leaving early, and made my way home on transit. Lucky me, a total cracked out meth head decided to get on my bus. It was such a joy to watch him have a very loud, profanity-ladden conversation with…no one. And spit on the bus. And throw his bag around. I was glad when we got to the train station, and I’m sure everyone else on the bus was as well.

Finally I get home, and see that soup & grilled cheese sandwiches were on the menu. There was leftover soup for me to heat up, but I was on my own to build the grilled cheese.

I made mine fancy – Silver Hills bread, aged white cheddar, ham, and red pepper jelly.

Too bad I completely charred the damn thing on one side (you’ll see in a minute).

I cut up a carrot to have with some dill dip.

And my tomato soup.

And then…

I dropped my camera…

in the soup.

*insert profanity and frantic clean up here*

I don’t know what happened. I was leaning over the soup to take a photo, and just spazzed out, and it went straight in. Soup everywhere – on the freshly washed kitchen floor, counter, cupboards, camera. UGH. It seemed to be confined to only the lens, but still! I worry it’s going to get stuck if there is any more soup in there.

As I was cleaning, and cleaning, and making sure all the parts were still moving, I snapped a test photo of my charred sandwich – to prove how craptastic my day was now going.

The blur is due to the fact the lens still had a slight tomato soup coating on it. If you notice though, the top left corner is pretty much in focus. And I’ve taken some more test photos, and other than the shutter sticking ever so slightly when I turn the camera on, so far so good.

I eventually sat down and ate my lukewarm dinner, but not before Sienna helped herself to some of my sandwich when I wasn’t looking. BRAT!

Later on I settled in to watch some SYTYCD, and thought I’d get started on some psychology studying for my midterm next week. Wouldn’t you know it? I get a freakin’ papercut from my textbook. Seriously. Not my day. I gave up on the studying, and just sat on the couch so I wouldn’t get hurt anymore.

When I wandered back in the kitchen, what did I find?

Oh yes, not only did she steal my dinner, she was curled up on the laptop. But hey – proof my camera is still working!

So, I’m thinking I should head to bed to avoid the last hour of the day. And it’s only Tuesday. Ugh. Night.

A Milky Day

Were you aware of just how many different types of milk are out there? And how different they all taste? We spent part of our afternoon class doing a blind milk tasting in preparation for our trip to a local dairy farm on Thursday. It’s crazy when you taste all these different milks back to back, how you can pick out so many different flavours and really compare them. Is it weird that my favourite was the buttermilk? I know, who picks buttermilk?! But it was just like sour cream, and hey, I’m Russian – I love me some sour cream.

That wasn’t all the milk I had today either. There was some at breakfast…

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 banana, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• splash of vanilla
• Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter
• raspberry jam

Breakfast also featured the return of the Happy Planet Mango Peach Party juice. Woot!

Tasty tasty.

Lunch was exciting today, because I got to try out a new toy.

I finally picked up a Thermos Food Jar! Actually, I bought one small one (pictured here), and one larger one, so I can expand my portable eats for school. I knew I couldn’t go all winter without some warming soups for lunch.

Speaking of soup…I cooked up a big pot last night.

I knew when I read about this Coconut Curried Butternut Squash, Carrot, and Sweet Potato Soup on Jill’s Test Kitchen, it was going on my “To Cook ASAP” list. It just so happened that I had basically the right ingredients in the house, just in differing quantities. Here’s what went into my pot to produce this beautiful soup.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 tsp red curry paste
• 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
• 2 medium carrots, peeled & diced
• 1/2 kabocha squash, roasted
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled & diced
• 1 gala apple, diced (would have been peeled, but I forgot!)
• 3 cups organic chicken broth
• 1 can light coconut milk
• salt & pepper to taste

Just a few minor adjustments based on what was in my kitchen, but it still produced a smooth, rich, complex soup – perfect for fall. There is a great coconut aroma that hits you, then you get a subtle heat from the curry paste, that gradually builds as you eat the soup. I highly recommend trying this soup, and checking out Jill’s blog – she has some excellent recipes with awesome photos, and we went to high school together! Gotta promote my fellow local bloggers

Obviously, I brought along some soup for lunch.

As well as a hummus, cucumber, and chive & onion cream cheese sandwich on Silver Hills Squirrelly Bread.

 

Thumbs up to my Thermos product – it kept my soup warm until lunch time.

I also packed some snacks to tide me over through my marathon class (not knowing we had a milk tasting as well – that milk fills you up!)

Some plain, roasted almonds (of which I only ate maybe half of what I took).

And a Raspberry Fruit Source Plus Veggie bar. Apparently it gives you 3 servings of fruit & veggies in that little bar. I don’t know if I believe it. We didn’t have any easily portable fruit to grab this morning, and the ingredient list was acceptable, so I figured I’d give it a go.

Like a thick fruit leather. Not bad. Fruit leathers aren’t really my favourite, but it would do in a pinch.

Alas, when I got home from school this evening, there was no dinner ready & waiting for me The family had pancakes, but thought I wouldn’t want any, so there were no leftovers. Oh well. I set to work on throwing some things together, and ended up with an impromptu Tex-Mex millet dish.

I cooked up some millet, added frozen corn & peas, salsa, and a diced green onion. Then I topped it with some avocado, cheddar cheese, and more salsa.

Since there was a little chunk of homemade soda bread still around, I sliced off a piece, and spread on some Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus. That stuff is like buttah!

Not bad for an impromptu meal. Olé!

Mom baked muffins, but I was too full to have one I did have enough room for a warming mug of hot chocolate to accompany my Hell’s Kitchen watching. Too bad it was camera shy. Now it’s time to get in a little biochemistry studying before I sleep. Night!

Nothing Says Cool…

…like studying biochemistry on a Saturday night!

I know, I know, you are all jealous. But hey, you can’t have play time all the time, right? And seeing as my first midterm is coming up in a mere 2 weeks, I figured it was time to get down to business.

Don’t worry, I didn’t spend all of my Saturday night with amino acids.

I made the trek to the gym late in the afternoon, and the traffic had actually gotten better since this morning. Hurray for that for sure. I had a mind clearing cardio session on the stairclimber and elliptical, then made my way home. It was only myself and my dad for dinner tonight, and he had a hankerin’ for some Chinese food. What can I say, it’s one of our family go-to take out options!

Since it was only the two of us, we each ordered a 3 item dinner for one, so we could customize what we wanted. Well, let me tell you, this dinner for 1? It was at least two dinners’ worth of food. So like a good little girl, I portioned out half of the food onto a plate, and put the rest away in the fridge.

The list of choices for the dinners was pretty limited, but I worked with it. My first choice was the Diced Chicken With Cashew – chicken, celery, carrots, peas, mushrooms, baby corn, cashews.

Choice #2 was the Sweet & Sour Pork – pork, green pepper, onion, pineapple.

And I can’t have Chinese food without a noodle, so I went with the only option – Chicken Chow Mein.

I’m pretty sure you can all guess what I’ll be having for lunch tomorrow

After dinner, I got caught up on a couple shows on the PVR from this past week, then watched the remainder of one of the late hockey games while getting caught up on some reading. Then I figured it was about time to dig into the biochemistry.

Of course, studying required brain food.

My mom’s fruit scones sounded like the perfect option. I heated mine up and spread on a wee bit of Artisana Coconut Butter.

I also brewed up a cup of Stash Coconut Mango Oolong Tea, with a splash of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and agave nectar.

Tea & scones. How British of me!

Of course, my dad brought me another distraction – he has a hockey pool through is old work, and he asked if I wanted to put in a team. Like I could say no. So once I had my fill of biochem knowledge, I started perusing my options for this hockey pool. Yes, I’m a hockey fiend. What can I say? Maybe this year will be my year, and I’ll actually turn a profit on my hockey pools? Fingers crossed people!

And now, my Saturday night has turned into Sunday morning, which I think is my cue to consider some sleep. Night!

Mystery Solved

No longer will you have to put up with me complaining about how dodgy my internet connection has been. We have solved the mystery! Turns out the stereo speakers upstairs are interfering with the signal from our router, and therefore I lose my internet connection. We have a wireless set up for the surround sound, and I think it’s that signal that is causing the issues. How did I find this out? As soon as my mom put on the stereo to watch a movie, I lost my connection. I had her shut it off, and it worked again. Eureka! Why was I having problems when no one else was here? Well, I was using the stereo upstairs to play music from my iPod, and although the wireless speakers weren’t being used, it must have been emitting enough of a signal to interfere with the connection from time to time. So glad to have that figured out – I’ll just have to coordinate my internet usage with my mom’s movie watching time.

So now that you all no longer have to listen to me complain about technology (I can hear the cheers of joy), let’s check out what went down today in French Fries To Flax Seeds world.

I had wanted to get up early this morning, to hit up the Coquitlam Farmer’s Market near the time it opened, but that didn’t happen. Mom said she actually thought I wanted to go later on, so she let me sleep in. LOL. Thanks mom

I started off my morning with a quick breakfast of toast with nut butter & jam. The first piece of toasted Silver Hills Squirrelly Bread was topped with peanut butter and some of my ad hoc blueberry preserves.

The second slice was topped with some of that velvety smooth macadamia nut butter and apricot preserves.

Served up with a glass of cranberry peach juice. I finally finished off the bottle!

I enjoyed my toast outside while my sister & her bf enjoyed their Tim Horton’s breakfast, then it was time to get ready and head out to the Farmer’s Market with mom.

I had heard mixed reviews on our local Farmer’s Market, but when we got there, we were happy to see a multitude of booths selling tons of produce, plants, nuts, baked goods, seafood, and meat, as well as crafts and various other items. And considering we got there with only an hour left, there was still plenty of good product left.

So much local goodness! There were plenty of organic products, and many labelled as “spray/pesticide free”, and all of it looked delicious. My mom was impressed – she said the last time she went (sometime last year), it wasn’t as good. We definitely brought home a good haul.

We got all that produce for $13:

• 7 sunrise apples
• 2 zucchini
• 2 crowns broccoli
• 2 yellow peppers
• 3 tomatoes
• bunch of new red potatoes

We also got a beautiful fillet of halibut, and some BC side-striped shrimp, as well as two cacti   We already have plans to go back next week – apparently local gala apples will be in!

The market is located at the community rec centre, which is also home to a pretty little rose garden. We made sure to take some time to stop and smell the flowers

Once we were home and had out loot put away, I threw together a little lunch plate.

I whipped up some nachos – Que Pasa Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (locally made, the best chips out there) topped with a little grated cheddar, avocado, refried beans, and sour cream. If only we had some salsa, then they would have been perfect!

I also sliced up a carrot and some cucumber to dip in some of the ED&BV Roasted Red Pepper & Almond Hummus that’s still kicking around.

Seriously, salsa would have even made the plate more photogenic. I must pick up salsa stat!

Lunch dessert was another Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownie.

Then it was time to retreat to the basement where I could hear some Wii action going on. My sister & her bf were playing MarioKart, so I played spectator until they were done their game, then it was on! And I will let you know, it was a close race, but in the end, yours truly prevailed

Of course, that just ignited my Wii playing fire, so I swapped out my family’s machine for mine, and started up my saved game of Super Mario Galaxy, and proceeded to waste a good hour or so trying to save that damned princess. Alas, she’s still out there. One day princess, one day.

Dinner came around eventually, featuring one of our market purchases – the halibut. We dressed it up with some lemon juice, mayo, dill, garlic, chives, salt, and pepper, and grilled it up. It turned out wonderfully.

We also grilled up some corn. There were only two cobs left in the fridge, so we had to cut them up to serve 5 people.

Mom steamed the new red potatoes, and I topped mine with the same butter & pepper combo as my corn.

And my sister was on salad duty, using up various things in the fridge – green leaf lettuce, cucumber, red pepper, avocado, and chick peas. I added the sunflower seeds and pine nuts, and dressed it with some Brianna’s Homestyle Honey Mustard Dressing.

Enjoyed with a bottle of Perrier sparkling water.

As my mom says: “Dinner fit for a king!”

Oh how I love wild halibut. And it’s always better when done up on the grill. Mom is already talking about hitting up a different Farmer’s Market this week just to get some more delicious fish from this vendor, as they won’t be back at our market until the end of September now!

It was a great summer dinner. And what better way to end a great summer dinner than with a great homemade dessert?

My sister dished up more of my mom’s homemade blackberry apple pie, which we enjoyed while we sat out chatting on the back deck until the sun went down and the mosquitoes started attacking.

Since my mom was watching a movie upstairs, rendering me internetless, I figured it was a sign I should hook up with Mario again and work on finding that princess. We got a little closer, but she’s still MIA.

I can’t believe I only have one more week of holidays left, and then I’ll officially be back in school. Where does the time go? I’ll have to make sure to pack in a few more fun things this week before I’m back to the grind. Which means I should head to bed – I’ll need some energy to get the most out of my last free week. Night!