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I was hungry last night. Usually when this happens, hubs will jet out and grab a snack (usually terrible for us) or we'll even cave and order in. But something stopped me from doing that last night, and I'm super stoked about it. One of my favourite shows on the Food Network is Chopped - I love the creativity the chefs have when they are confronted with an odd conglomeration of
When I started making this dinner, I didn't think it was going to be BAD, but I have to say that it completely surpassed my expectations with just how freaking delicious it was. Sunday was grocery day (always my favourite day; I consider it like a weekly shopping free-for-all), and I picked up a big side of salmon (yum!). I also picked up what seems like a metric ton of veggies and fruit
When it comes to cooking and meal planning, I take inspiration from a huge variety of sources, influences and cuisines. I like to mix it up. Sometimes we eat a lot of meat. Sometimes no meat. Sometimes complicated. Sometimes simple. Sometimes spicy. Sometimes herbacious. Sometimes sweet. Sometimes salty. The way I see it, the world is
Before we had kids, hubs and I used to host dinner parties pretty often; not monthly, but probably at least every couple of months, we'd have people over for a nice fancy dinner party. Since we and others we know have started having babies, that has fallen a bit to the wayside; part of it is that I'm a little too tired and short on time to host, part of it is that my dinner parties don't t
I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, but this cake is always ugly. I've made it four times now, and every time I think....man, this is uuuuuuuuuuggggly....but it's so delicious, and it smells so incredible that I keep making it. And I still don't like dates. I still think they look like cockroaches and completely refuse to eat them in an un-baked, un-chopped state. T
I remember my first exposure to meal planning. I was 13, and had a pretty sweet after-school gig sitting for a couple of younger kids in my neighbourhood. All I had to do was get off the bus with them, and we played games and read books until their parents got home an hour or so later. Easy peasy. On the fridge of this family, there was a laminated menu indicating what din
Yesterday was meet the teacher (again, still in shock my little mini foodie is big enough to be in SCHOOL - egads!)...so I wanted something quick and tasty for dinner. Hubs and I (and lil Z) all love chicken drumsticks. They are super tasty, always nice and moist, and I love the fact that you can almost always get a wicked sale on them. When I'm feeling less lazy, I skin them, b
I'm totally stoked about this. You guys all know that I don't have advertising on my blog (partially laziness, and partially that I don't really want your visits to the site interrupted with endless ads that may or may not be interesting and/or relevant). And I don't normally do giveaways, because most of the possibilities tend to be for odd new products that I personally would never use.
The tiniest person in my house turned six months old today. It's crazy to think how quickly time flies. While I write this, she is happily bouncing up and down in her Jolly Jumper, watching me type and giggling away. Have you seen those things? I want one. But I digress. Last night, I was going out for Indian food with a few friends, and so I wanted something quic
When I was coming up with a title for this post, I vascillated between spain in a bowl and adventures in charcuterie. I opted for the former, primarily because the adventures in charcuterie were not entirely my own, AND I was so excited by this dish (and also the charcuterie) that I wanted to make sure more people read the post. I figured a lot of people would be put off by the ide
We had a frost warning a couple of days ago, and it's currently pouring rain. So I guess that means it’s time to break out those rich, delicious and comforting fall flavours – spice, pumpkin, rich stews and braises. YUM. I’ve got a few things in the freezer that are begging to be braised. Can’t wait. One of the fall flavours I like most is
When I was growing up, my mom used to make a dozen blueberry muffins fresh, from scratch, almost every morning. Those muffins were LEGENDARY. My brothers used to devour them as quickly as she could bake them. I was actually indifferent to blueberry muffins (a fact I didn't tell her until much later), but my friends used to pretty much fall all over themselves to see who could claim
yes, I know it's been a while since I posted. I have been cooking (so I totally encourage anyone who wants to know what I'm cooking from day-to-day to like my FB Page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Definitely-Not-Martha/155084067933484 :) Since I'm linking to so many recipes from FB, it seemed like overkill to be reposting my versions of them here. That said, since I
If there's one thing that drives me nutty when it comes to selling food, it's when companies advertise something they are not truly delivering. They aren't breaking the law, because you can always find out the real story through the ingredient list and the nutrition facts table....but it's still a poopy practice that makes me crazy.Case in point - companies that sell products with fruit on the pa
Before I get into this dinner party menu, just wanted to show you my snazzy new facebook page - just adding another way for you to keep up. I also add some content on there that you don't get on the blog or via twitter. More snark and links and that kind of thing. So it's toooooooooooootally worth liking. :) I'll apologize in advance for the cruddiness of these photos - my camera battery (all
If you guys are anything at all like me, you probably tend to start out the new year with all sorts of healthy eating resolutions. For me, it's not even really about the idea that it's a "NEW YEAR" and thus I must resolve to renew myself and become somehow better. Mostly, it's that I've just come through an orgy of unhealthy (yet oh so delicious) food and celebration and that I think it's time f
They really aren't that spooky - more cute than anything!This is just going to be a quick post, but thought I would share.I made double chocolate cupcakes, using this cake recipe I've used millions of times before (it makes 36 cupcakes, if you use a 1/4 c measure to scoop the cupcakes). Bake at 300F for about 21 minutes (don't overbake, or they will be dry). At some point, I'd kinda like to expe
I have both the fortune and misfortune to live in a country where the weather is pretty much unpleasant for at least half the year. As a result, I'm surrounded by people who are completely devoted to and consumed by all things Summer and sun, and are all about taking advantage of everything the warm weather has to offer.I am not one of those people. I actually don't like hot weather. I love the
One of the many things to love about summer is that you just can't go wrong when you invite people over for a barbecue. Nobody expects anything fancy (most are content with burgers and hot dogs), and anything you do that's a bit outside of the box looks extra fancy as a result.For example, tonight's dinner was nothing crazy - bbq'd pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes, salad and dessert - but having
I'm not sure why it is, but there's something about the combination of a crunchy shell, spicy filling, rich cheese, and bright notes of cilantro that just call to my soul. You can cobble together pretty much anything vaguely Mexican/South American/Tex-Mex/South-Western, and I will probably like it.I grew up with Old El Paso Taco kits (as I'm sure did a large portion of my readership...if not, you
I may occasionally have the palate of a pre-schooler, but I just absolutely love tuna melts. It's one of my favourite treats to make - the perfect lunch for a rainy afternoon, or a quick easy dinner on a day when I don't feel like cooking.One of my favourite things about these sandwiches is they are super versatile and forgiving; you can make them work no matter what you have in the house. As lo
...and goodness knows, my house could use it!You may have noticed a few changes around here lately...part of the problem of starting your blog in 2006, is that in 2011....it looks like you have a blog from 2006. :pNow, I'm no designer, and I certainly am not about to hire one, so you'll just have to deal with my little tweaks as I bring this blog up to date....so here's what's goin' on:1) I chang
To me, sweet, savoury, rich and healthy are the essential building blocks of a delicious brunch. I really love making brunch, because it gives you the chance to something a sweet and indulgent (like cinnamon buns, pastries, scones, croissants) and balance it with savoury flavours, either healthful (slimmed-down broccoli cheddar quiche) or not so much... (quiche lorraine). I like to finish brunch
When I spent Thursday evening loafing instead of grocery shopping and menu planning (which, ofcourse, relegated me to spending Good Friday doing nothing, because grocery stores, etc. are not open on Good Friday)....I didn't really have high expectations of the food this weekend.For Easter, we were entertaining hubs' parents, as well as hubs' sister and her hubs (and newborn! yep, the same newborn
So this post relates to my previous post, detailing all my monkey-themed baby shower craftiness. This is where you come for the menu. The baby shower was at 11 am on a Sunday, so I went with a brunch theme. Dietary restrictions of the crowd included one vegetarian and one with a moderate intolerance to wheat (i.e., not celiac, but not piles and piles of flour everywhere either).The Menu (recipes,
In terms of food budgeting, today was medium. It was GOOD because I brought and English muffin and toasted it at work (and topped with some peanut butter, which I keep in a jar at my desk. And which I do not ever eat with a spoon.)Okay, that last sentence was a lie. :p I don't do it often though. And I don't double dip.It was also good, because I brought my lunch and ate all of it. But then I
Just in case you've never played with these two fruits. This is what you do.I bought two prickly pears this week. They were on sale. I'd never had prickly pear before, so I gave it a try. Should you too be so curious, here's what to do.1. Behold pear in all its prickly goodness. Be careful when handling. I was not careful. I got to spend a little time picking out the picky little 'pricks'
I think I blew my kid's mind tonight. I already shared my meal plan for the week and in order to decide what we were going to have for dinner today, I got Lil Z to pick the meal from the photos in the magazine (one of the advantages of planning from a beautifully-photographed magazine). She picked the fish and chips, which I found interesting, because I don't usually serve food like that at home.
So apparently food prices are set to go all bananas on us (I thought about linking to a similar New York Times article, but given that their content may not be accessible to all....due to their lovely paywall....I'm sticking with content everyone will be able to see).We're definitely a little insulated from this in North America. In Canada, we spend an average of 10.2% of our income on food. In
Ever since I was about five years old, I've made no secret of the fact that pizza is my favourite food. I pretty much like any kind of pizza except hawaiian (pineapple + pizza = all kinds of wrong).I love the classic thin crust italian pizza, with fresh seasonal toppings, and I also love the local pizzeria special, loaded with toppings on thick doughy crust.Pizza is good.Sometimes I make my own p
I can't even count the number of times I've read/heard the phrase "eat more dark green leafy vegetables."It's everywhere. They form part of Canada's Food Guide. My favourite magazine, Clean Eating, is always touting their benefits. Most lists of so-called 'superfoods' (in quotation marks because this is not a licensed or regulated term, so always take it with a grain of salt) have spinach featur
Hope you all got a bit of a giggle out of hubs' April 1st recipe....I'd say it was an April fools' prank...except that he really does bake hockey sticks. ALL.THE.TIME. ;) Last week, he even baked his brand new hockey skates (oven at 80C, turn off, then heat for 15-20 minutes....if anyone was curious). Apparently the skates are now exponentially more awesome than they once were. I'll take his wo
It's been a solid six weeks since I last posted....so much for more frequent posts. :pI've never had a guest blog post on this blog....and it seems it's the thing to do lately. So I then I thought...who better to have guest post on my blog, than the one person who figures most prominently in it...after yours truly - hubs! Also, hubs has been bugging me to post. He's shared a recipe on here befor
...but every once in a while I pull off something that does a pretty darn good Martha impression. I had one such moment this past weekend. Most of you know I have a young kid (lil Z), but what most of you don't know is that I don't have a single niece or nephew. Not yet, anyway. ;)So when my sis-in-law told us she was expecting, we were all SUPER stoked. I grew up having two younger brothers.
No, don't worry, I'm not a vegan, nor am I likely to become one. BUT, meatless Monday is a movement that has been gaining momentum over the last decade. The tenet is pretty simple - don't eat meat on Monday, and it's better for the planet than eating meat on Monday. ;) I actually didn't plan to make this today, as it was a bit more time consuming than I was wanting for a weeknight dinner, but a
I have a rant. It's been a long time brewing.Food consumption and preparation are my passion. I freaking looooooooooove food. I love variety, I love exoticism, I love localism....basically, I derive large amounts of pleasure from food. But in the back of my mind, I am acutely aware that the polished facade of my grocery store is really just a fresh hide over the rancid underbelly of industrial
The last couple of days have totally served to remind me of WHY I've hardly blogged at all since I went back to work....holy crap....I get home at 6:30/7. Scramble to throw something on the table by 7:30/8. Then eat, tidy a bit. It's 9. Then I need to work out....by the time I'm done, it's usually 10:30, and I need a shower and I need to go to bed. Not a whole lot of time for loafing, photosh
