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!

Grand Re-Opening

And we're back! After an extended summer vacation from the blog, I'll be starting up again and hopefully I'll be posting a few meals each week.

I feel like coming back from my home home and cooking for myself now will take a little bit of time to adjust. After all, almost every meal during my summer break was prepared and planned out for me. However, I'm trying a new system where I buy lots of veggies and chop half of them up to store in plastic baggies. That way, I can just grab a bag to snack on or use as part of a meal.

So, the first meal I just made was a simple salad with some shredded Sobey's roast chicken. I've got the layers as follows: baby arugula, cilantro, cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers, cottage cheese, onions, chicken, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

In terms of carbs, I try to eat them only at breakfast and after exercise. So that includes bread, rice, pasta, all the grain-y stuff. I must admit I do sneak in several crackers if I'm really hungry at night (but I handle carbs well anyways). I'm trying to fill up at the non-carb meals with veggies mainly. It's been kinda hard but it's definitely good for me.

Now, to share some of the great food I had over the summer break:

My mom stuffed salmon with parsley and cilantro and then wrapped it with prosciutto and threw them in the oven. Delicious.

My brother and I experimented with salsa recipes several times. Not bad to snack on during family mahjong games haha.

BBQ chicken wings on the barbecue made by yours truly :P

And finally, this is in memory of the Western glass I bought as a gift for my brother, which I ended up using more at home. It shattered, but it was a great colour match for my blueberry smoothie. Goodbye old friend.

Stay tuned for more!

So Much Food, So Little Time...

So it's really hard to keep up a blog, especially one about food (which you eat EVERYDAY - hand down again anorexic guy). Since blogger.com has a new, annoying way to upload pictures, and the fact that it takes forever to upload them, I'll try my best to fight the urge to yell at Rogers (which would take me 2 hrs just to get in touch with a real human being). That being said, here we go:

Just cooked dinner, pulled the dumplings from the freezer and they took quite a long time to boil before being done. After cutting open the first tester, I found it was still cold inside...and pinky. Had to test a few more before I could tell they were cooked (better safe than sorry!). It was still delicious, with Taiwanese cabbage stir-fried in garlic and chicken broth underneath.

                               

Hmm so I guess this blogger won't center portrait-style pictures either...wait I can use the space bar to push it over....haha silly me, anyways, I woke up super early today (7am...after sleeping at 10:30pm) and went to the gym (I had some Vector cereal with milk and a banana). When I came back I made an omelette with peas and corn that turned into a scrambled egg...because I couldn't flip it all in one go. Better safe to have it cooked through though, runny eggs gross me out. Added an orange, plum, and apple juice to finish it off.

                      

Watching Toy Story 3 is a pretty good way to kill time as pictures load :P
I always wanted an excuse to use balsamic vinegar in a savoury dish and I got my chance. Made a salad yesterday for lunch, using arugula, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. Topped it off with a pan-seared salmon to which I added balsamic vinegar to the pan at the end, and a little on top of the salad as well. Delicious.

Toy Story 3 cut out on me, time to study for a midterm this Saturday :S I had a pita with the salmon salad to fill me up, and used some good 'ol salsa. I was chowing down on a tub of hummus every week and I felt it was a bit unhealthy, so I switched over to a healthier option (although I think it does have more sodium...)

Alright time to backtrack a bit. Went home for the weekend, my brother made ribs using a dry spice rub, apple wood to smoke it, indirect heat, probably 3 hours in the barbecue, and this picture does NOT give the size of this dish justice. It was piled a good foot above the dinner table (there are 3 racks in there). Good stuff bro.

                     

Alright last one for now. The day after the barbecue we went to 168 Sushi Japan Buffet on Dundas St., west of Erin Mills. I was SO stuffed afterwards. But then again I worked out once we got home, to my surprise. Their food is pretty good for a buffet. Try it out! (It will put you back about $23.00 with tax and tip on top for dinner).

Kay gotta study now, thanks for reading if you got this far! I would like to do shorter blogs so that my labels don't become super long (so I can reference what I ate/build ideas of what to cook in the future). Ciao!

On Ron Artest and a World Cup Makeshift Breakfast

What a week! Exams and studying have kept me from writing, as well as the World Cup and NBA Finals. What a game last night! I was rooting for the Celtics but happy for Artest. Watch his post-game interview on nba.com, it's pretty fun at the end.

Currently watching Germany getting owned by Serbia...don't think anyone expected Klose with two yellows, a saved Podolski penalty shot, and multiple crossbars both ways. Simply evidence you can't judge teams from one game in the opening round.

I'm surprised I got up early to watch this game, but it was just one those day I got up naturally at 6am despite sleeping at 1am :P ANYWAYS this blog is about food so let's get to that (lots to catch up).

I didn't have any cereal left over, or eggs to make an omelette, so my main two options were out. Had to finish the cherry tomatoes in my fridge (heading out for the weekend), so I shaved some white cheddar on top with vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Made some noodles to get my carbs, and tried to finish up some broccoli as well. Threw in the last of the chives my neighbour grew in garden for some flavour. Since I didn't want to clean another bowl, I just ate out of the pot I boiled everything in. Reduced cleaning time = more World Cup. Need I say more?