A return?

Hello again!

I felt inspired today to write. and I think it's because of the way my omelette is shaped...so thank you omelette. I was trying to flip it over and it kind of just folded itself in a nice way :P Anyways I used onions, garlic, chicken powder and sesame seed oil (it makes it smell and taste delicious). Served with a pita/hummus and topped with fresh green onions!

Last month I decided to do a rack of lamb in the oven. It was already marinated in garlic and rosemary, so I popped it in the oven for 30 minutes with an electronic thermometer so I could get a nice medium (although it turned out medium-well). It was still really tender and delicious so that's okay! You do have to watch out for the resting time once you take it out of the oven because it does add another 10 degrees to the internal temperature...

Anyways I stir fried some asparagus as well and added mint sauce (store-bought). Mint's pretty essential with lamb. Just saying.

Chili, The Weekend Pizza Pocket, and a Deconstructed Sandwich

I've always wanted to make chili for the longest time, but never had the guts to do it I suppose. It's just one of things that seems like a daunting task until you actually do it. So I did it :) Instead of ground beef, I bought a flank tip steak and chopped it up into bite size pieces (my family doesn't like to buy ground meat...I guess we're paranoid about contamination) and browned it with onions in a hot pan for about 5 minutes. Then, I added red/green/yellow bell peppers, V8 juice, and mixed beans. Threw in some garlic cloves, bay leaves, and chili powder and let it simmer for 45 minutes.

It turned out okay, but my roommate said it was really good so I'll trust him on that :P I just felt there was something missing, so next time I think I'm going to make it from scratch (without the V8 juice). However, it was super easy and quick to make, and has been added to my repertoire :D

This weekend, I decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches just like I had back in the days of camping haha. I packed Monterey Jack cheese, pasta sauce, and cilantro in between two pieces of olive bread, and minced garlic to spread on the outside of the olive bread. I pan fried them on med-low heat, sprinkling oregano, salt, and pepper on top. The meal kinda doesn't match well with the whole 'eat healthy' thing I've been doing, but it was just one of those days where you give in haha. For three sandwiches.

For dinner I worked on my pan-fried fish (in this case, salmon) topped with a salsa made of onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives. I planned to have the salmon sitting on top of the salsa, sitting nicely on top of the rice (like I would imagine it in a restaurant), but that didn't really work out... Not bad though, just needed some salt.

Finally, I threw together a spinach/cilantro omelette, olive bread, and chopped vegetables today for a Deconstructed Sandwich. Now, it's not just my fancy name for this dish, because as I ate it, I would sometimes take a bite of each ingredient or I would build a mini open-faced sandwich playing with the order of the layers of food (wow that was a long sentence). In other words, I played with my food because I'm still very a much a kid at the dinner table.

(For my omelette I use two eggs and I add egg white for extra protein and volume of food)

The Weekend Meals aka Leftovers

So I finally cooked an omelette correctly (I turned down my super-powerful stove to medium for most of the cooking time). I still got to learn how to flip them over in one piece though. This picture is a little deceiving because I use two whole eggs and I add egg white...so it's quite a big meal. This one was a mushroom and broccoli omelette I believe. 

I began to finish the fresh food stored in my fridge, and that included shredded chicken (how I miss thee), baby carrots, and leftover rice. I threw it all together and added barbecue sauce (can't beat the Ribfest-bought sauces) and it didn't turn out too bad. Whenever I eat a dish, I try to eat the stuff I don't like first (aka carrots) and the stuff I like last, so I can enjoy it. In hindsight, I should've chopped up the carrots and softened them with heat for longer.

I didn't feel like prepping any meat for this meal, so I grabbed cottage cheese for the protein, and for the awesomeness that is cottage cheese. I suppose I got all artistic with this one...makes up for the butchered omelette presentation.

Still having problems with steak on the stovetop...it burns too fast when I have it on high...but it feels so weird to be cooking steak on medium. The middle was still raw after 2 min/side on high so I ended up deglazing the pan with water for about another 3 min. Added sauteed mushroom/onion/cilantro (have you heard how much I love cilantro? and I'm out right now D: ) and olive bread from the St. Lawrence Market back in Toronto. Also running out of good bread. Who thought it could be so depressing?

Finally, we come to tonight's dinner. I didn't want to think too much so I grabbed two cans of tuna, a can of Campbell's mushroom soup, a bag of snap peas and spaghetti. Softened the peas in mushroom soup + half can of water, combined, voila (I'm getting really lazy with the descriptions aren't I...well its not that hard....seriously). Made enough for lunch as well (other half of steak turned into a sandwich today). This is quite an important point: double your dinner portion for lunch the next day - less cooking, cleaning, more How I Met Your Mother. 

Thanks if you read this far!

Post-Party Breakfast

So when you sleep in for 12 hours and wake up at 4am, I still consider the meal at that time my breakfast. I fried two eggs topped with spice salt and defrosted two slices of olive bread. Warmed up some homemade "soup." It's not like Western civilization soup, more of like an in between of soup and a beverage. We from China boil some chicken bones/meat, mushrooms, and lots of other things of which I don't know English name equivalents (there's no dog or cat so relax). Anyways, its good and soothing after a long night out.

I'm noticing the lack of veggies in this now, but I had a banana earlier so I'll probably fill up on carrots for a snack.