Being grateful - 20120517

I am grateful for good reviews and schedules.

We had some bffs over tonight for fun. I made dinner and dessert and also did some baking for Mr.S' work potluck. It wad hectic but I stuck to my schedule and felt awesome after it all.

And even better, I finally unleashed my White Chocolate Brownie to my girlfriends, who are the biggest fans of the Moxies version and they deemed it BETTER!! Amazing amazing amazing. (i would have had a pic but we ate them before I remembered.)

My Schedule for the day. Crazy, but I did it!

Key Lime Cheesecupcakes. Some for us, some for the potluck!

Bring grateful - 20120515

I am grateful for the ability to make cookies.

I am told that baking and/or cooking don't come naturally to some people. I like to think I'm not one of them and hope that years of watching and helping my moms, sisters, aunts, dad, Yan, Pasquale, and all those people on the Food Network and food blogs taught me something.

My favourite things to make ever are cookies. I love cookies myself, so I guess maybe it's somewhat selfish (I'm not much of a cake person) but they're so easy, so simple, and so delicious.

D-nut is a cookie monster. You should see him eat a cookie. He savours every bite and sometimes closes his eyes when he bites and chews. I often wish i could bake cookies just to watch him eat them.

And I did just that. Or well, for him and me and Mr.S. And then Mr.S asked me to make some for his work potluck in addition to the cupcakes I was planning to make. I guess I make good cookies. Watch out, Mr. Christie.

Being grateful - 20120328

I am grateful for burgers and babies and baked goods.

I met up with one of our BFFs today for lunch after my regular doctor appointment. We work in buildings pretty much right beside each other and haven't had lunch together in a while, so it was just time to meet up, and also we needed to have one more lunch before I went on mat leave. We went for burgers at Hero Burger and talked about all sorts of stuff, catching up on what we've been up to. When I went on mat leave last time, we also met up for burgers. It was just really nice to hang out and talk over lunch. And, of course, I didn't leave lunch without a big stain on my belly. Thanks, mustard.

I also baked some cheesecupcakes for my colleagues. With me going away for a year, I figured that it'd be nice to leave them with a treat, and also thank them for the shower they threw me. Also, a bunch of them have been asking me when I'd be making my cupcakes since the last time (they were slightly disappointed when, at our last pot luck, I brought in snowflake decorated sugar cookies -- impressed but disappointed they weren't my cupcakes. Also, I'm missing our next pot luck, which is on Monday). So I left some on our floor and the floor below us (we're spread out over two floors) and ended up being swarmed. I heard that the ones on the floor below were gone in 2 seconds after I sent out an email saying that they were there. I didn't even get to try one -- they were white chocolate brownie crusted cheesecake cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese frosting. Dang, that sounds good. Luckily, the dozen that I set aside for Mr.S to bring to work weren't all needed (he brought in just a few for his team), so we were able to try the rest at home. I mean this in the most modest way -- they were amazing.

Being grateful - 20120316

I am grateful for rainbows.

With D's birthday party coming up, we decided that I'd go easy on the baking, but bake some treats for our family and close friends, especially the kids. After last year's all-nighter, I was happy to be baking for a smaller group, all of whom are people we're really close to and whom D has grown to know and love over the past 2 years. I was going to enjoy this, which was going to be especially easy given that I haven't baked as much as I'd like to in a while.

I baked rainbows. Rainbow cupcakes. Rainbow chocolate chip cookies. Rainbow sugar cookies. It was very colourful and very happy, and it made D happy to both see and eat them...which makes me happy.

My sister's pic of some of the goods. More pics to come.

Being grateful - 20120213

I am grateful for customers and "Mr.Moms".

I got a Treeh's Treats order for tomorrow. I haven't been taking orders for a while because I've been pregnant (and therefore tired/lazy haha) and because all my baking stuff is packed away, but I did make an exception today, and well, my customer was one of my best friends, so nevermind the rules! Just kidding. But yeah, I'm grateful for that order. I haven't baked in a while and these days, I especially enjoy baking things that I can make extra of and feed to D-nut whose palate is totally new to much of these things. It means a lot when the people you love enjoy the food you make. I whipped up some Brookies and made a little extra batter for us to enjoy, using the hand mixer that Mr.S picked up on a big sale day. (It was really cute -- we don't buy each other stuff, but this time, he bought the hand mixer, a good one, on SUPER sale, and handed it in a bag to me saying that he thought it would be nice for me to be able to bake since my mixer isn't with us. He knew that even though I decided to take a break from baking&selling, my break from baking wasn't voluntary.) I really enjoyed baking tonight. It didn't matter to me what time it was when I finished (I was totally unaware of time today -- I almost missed one meeting because I was enjoying my lunch and left work 37 minutes after I was supposed to because I simply wasn't paying attention!), or that I had loaded the sink with dishes, I just enjoyed the smell in the house, trying out and enjoying the hand mixer, and the taste testing. Ohhhh, how I miss being in the kitchen.

While I did all this, Mr.S tackled the laundry. I like when he does the laundry, and not just because it means I don't have to do it. Laundry has become the bane of my existence. With my growing belly, it has become increasingly difficult to reach into the machine to unload washed clothes and also to even sort clothes...all that bending into the hamper gets really tiring. And so when he said he'd do the laundry, I cried a few tears of joy inside. For reals. Anyway, when he does laundry, it's kinda cute. He asks the funniest questions even though he's serious, and is very careful about what can and can't go in the dryer. Sometimes if he's not sure, he just hangs it instead, and I'll find things like an old tank top hanging to dry. He ended up doing ALL the laundry last night, not just some, and that means that I don't have to do ANY laundry this week. My back just shed a tear, if that's possible.

WANT THIS!!

One day, in my beautiful dream kitchen, I'm going to have this hanging on the wall. AWESOME.

D-nut's first Christmas

I can write now that I'm officially recovering from Christmas. Sorry, that sounds horrible. What I mean is, this year, Christmas was a whirlwind. It came and passed so quickly and while it did that, it sorta felt like it picked us up, span us around a bit, made us dizzy and then slowly let us down onto our feet to continue (what feels like) running through life. Don't get me wrong though; I loved it. While Christmas is so much more crazy with a child, it's also a million times better. And that feels like an understatement.

Read more »

Opening Pandora's (recipe)Box

I decided to finally try out a layered cheesecake after seeing a picture of one it in one of my magazines. I had completely forgotten that I wanted to try it out until I was reintroduced to it while flipping glossy pages.

While I do have to keep practising to get it to the perfect consistency, my first try turned out pretty good, I think. I just need to get my mind to stop working overtime, mixing and matching cheesecakes and layering them into a 10-layer cake.

(and then there's pie...)

Introducing...

It's not much to look at (I'm no web designer, that's for sure), but it's got the basics. I'm missing a ton of pics (I keep forgetting to take pictures), but there's some eye candy there. Enjoy!

BrWOWnie!

I am eating a brownie for breakfast. It’s a goodie. I’ve finally come up with an excellent recipe. I concocted it last night. It’ll likely get you wired for the entire day and make you feel like you downed some banned Japanese version of Red Bull, but, it’s DELICIOUS…and I don’t even like my own baking.

I'm totally gonna crash in a few hours.

Where's the milk?

Fresh!

Every year (except last year because I was moving out and moving in and getting married during peak herb shopping time) I buy fresh herbs and either plant them or dry them (when they’re no longer fresh) or grow them (i.e. I buy them potted and hope they don’t die). Like most people, I prefer to cook with fresh herbs. Also, I keep knocking over bottles of dried herbs when I'm rifling through my pantry while I'm cooking, resulting in broken glass and wonderful aromas on my kitchen floor (and some swearing). My mominlaw gave me a beautiful set of bottles of dried herbs and spices and now I'm down two bottles. The bottles were so pretty, I was planning on keeping them and just refilling them every time I run out. :(

I don’t have a green thumb. I haven’t really tested it outdoors other than in my parents’ garden or my flower boxes, but indoors, my plants are screaming for mercy…all TWO of them. Feeding my “magic” fish is part of my routine while feeding my plants – not so much. My brother looks after watering them.

Then I learned about this: The Prepara Power Plant Professional.

It uses NASA technology something something something. There’s a video on the website on how it works (there’s also a video on the internet of someone using it to grow weed. Tsk tsk + wagging finger). I’ve blogged before about indoor herb gardens, but I think this one’s small enough that one, I have space for it and two, it looks pretty easy so I think I can handle it.

I hope they have it at Williams-Sonoma here.

Katrillionaire

(Now I have that Lil Wayne Milli song in my head. Oops.)

This weekend was excellent. Having spent each day of it with most of the people I love dearly (I’m sorry to have missed the rest of you), I found myself counting my blessings this morning. It’s nice to do that and lose count. Try it!

Here are some highlights:

• I can tell my friends and I are getting older – our girl talk isn’t merely about boys anymore (but I’m not saying we don’t talk about boys at all!). Our much-needed and much-missed gabfest put many things in perspective for me and I felt just as nourished as I hoped I would. I also felt that I did some growing up at that table.


• Streetfighter – it’s nice to collectively want to defeat Seth using Ryu. So much encouragement, so much solidarity, so much Streetfighter, so many injured thumbs. Fortunately none of them are mine, and fortunately, there’s Kevin.


• My cousin and her husband are having their baby in a month. We celebrated this weekend with their shower and it was so much fun. I didn’t win a prize, but Husband and I did get a treat for bringing our special dip :) I love showers as most people know, but what I loved even more was pressing my ear to her belly to hear “bubbles”, a heartbeat and feel a little kick telling Tita Trina to wait a little bit longer.


• March birthday blitz shopping with husband rocked…Yay for good deals, seeing things we want but don’t need and having the self-discipline to walk away. AND I found my onesie. AND yes, I bought it, AND it’s got the “trap door”, AND it was on sale, AND I got an extra 20% off, AND it’s red, AND it fits well even though it looked huge on the hanger, AND I have to wash it before I wear it to bed. Cheers to no more looking for ones online!


• Crispy. Ginger. Beef.


• Finally got to watch Watchmen. When I bought the IMAX tickets online on Saturday for Sunday I didn’t realize that they were actually for a Saturday show…until we were walking into the theater yesterday after waiting for 45 minutes in line. The ticket-taker was nice and let us in when I told him I had just noticed that the tickets were for the previous day. Hopefully us being there didn’t mean that there were two other people forced to sit on the floor or something.


• Got to hang out at my sister’s house for my brother(-in-law)’s birthday and although we came late, I thoroughly enjoyed myself (but of course!), especially when the kids saw me when I said hi and were genuinely happy to see me. (“YAY IT’S TITA TRINAAAAAAAAAA!!!”) Ugh, each time, I melt, even when it’s followed by “Can I check how tall I am to you?”. The best part though, was when everyone turned off all the lights and unlocked the front door so that when we arrived and walked in, they yelled SURPRISE! Hahaaha, that’s such a “them thing to do”!


• Beautiful weather.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

A Quickie (because I should keep doing what I'm doing and I can't contain myself!)

I'm so excited!

We've never actually spent Christmas Eve together because it's always been his day with his household when we weren't married yet, so the mass, quiet time, baking/cooking components were always boyfriend/fiance-free. Much of our Christmas Eves were spent on the phone and if I was lucky, a quick visit.

This year, not only is he mine (and work's until his shift is over...hopefully soon!) today, but we get to start our own Christmas traditions. Christmas Eve into the first hours of Christmas day belong to just us. The rest of Christmas day is with our families, for lunch and for dinner.

I'm in the kitchen preparing at least 8 dishes, two of which are his favourites, and several of which I'm saving to finish preparing so he can cook with me, as was his request. I can't wait for him to come home from work!

I love you...

...whoever you are who thought of creating frozen seasoned chicken breasts. You are a saviour on lazy days like today when I'm still full from lunch and I have two hungry tired men coming home in an hour.

Et voilà!

This weekend's to do list

I've got my work cut out for me this weekend. Husband and I are holding a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. It's an opportunity to bump me up to my goal for the marathon, to thank everyone for supporting me and my family and for some good old Halloween fun!

It's a lot of work, and I'll admit I'm quite tired, but I'm enjoying it all. I'm thinking this might be the last big fundraiser for me for a while, so I want to make it goooood. Here are some things I'll be doing this weekend.

• Bake Halloween cheese cupcakes (as in cheesecake cupcakes, not cupcakes made of cheese, like cheddar *GAG*)
  
• Ice Halloween cheese cupcakes
• Bake chocolate chocolate cupcakes
• Ice chocolate chocolate cupcakes
• Bake chocolate chip - m&m cookies
• Bake Reese's pieces peanut butter cookies
• Make red candy apples
• Finish putting together my costume
• Decorate the house with Halloween decorations
• Clean up the mess that is my house
  
• Pack Halloween decorations for the hall
• Decorate and prepare the hall
• Give away prizes and prizes and prizes!!! (We have a lot of good ones...and I'm not just saying that!)
  
• Celebrate a successful kick-ass fundraiser
• SLEEP

I'm anticipating quite a fulfilling weekend.

If you're free, please come by:

Because I don't have the capacity to think right now...

Hi, my name is - Katrina.

When I'm nervous - I feel like I have to pee
By this time next year – I'll have grown even more :)
Last night – I soaked…it was nice.

PART 1: YOU

Were you a planned baby? I’m not sure, but all I know is that everyone thought I’d be a boy
Were you the first? Nope


PART 2: YOUR PERSONALITY

Do you have low self esteem? Nope
Are you happy right now? I am, but I’m also verrrrry sleepy!


PART 3: APPEARANCE

Are you comfortable with the way you look? Usually, but right now I look how I feel!
Describe your hair – Black, short, and dry. Haha!


PART 4: RANDOM

Ever been kicked out of a bar? Nope
Ever been punched? Yes


PART 5: THE OUTDOORS

Do you prefer indoors or outdoors? It depends on the time of year
Do you like walking in the rain? Yes, provided I have my galoshes 
Do you like thunderstorms? Yes


PART 6: FOOD

Are you a vegetarian? Nope
Anything you absolutely could eat forever? Asparagus (sorry, it makes my pee smell)
Can you cook? Yes


PART 7: RELATIONSHIPS AND LOVE

Do you want to get married? No…because I am!
Are you in a relationship? Yes
When did you last hold hands? Earlier today


PART 8: RANDOM QUESTIONS

Where is your cell phone? In my bag
Cheesecake? In my fridge
Your dream last night? I had a LOT of them last night…which means I didn’t sleep very well. :(
Car you want? The kind that seats 5 kids. Haha!
Your fears? Garden gnomes. Stupid things.
Where did you grow up? Toronto
What are you wearing? Purple sweater, jeans
Tattoos? Two
Ketchup? Rarely
Your computer? Has too much stuff on it
Your friends? Are all grown up!
What are you thinking about right now? My warm bed
Last time you cried? A few days ago…it’s that time of the month I guess
Last text? From my cousin
Last received call? My husband


Part 9: LIFE

Who do you blame for your mood today? Myself…it’s not bad so I don’t feel the need to blame anyone!
Have you ever seen a dead body? Yes
What should we do with stupid people? Feed them to pigeons
What is making you sad right now? I’m not sad
What was the first thing you did this morning? Went back to sleep
Last person you went out to dinner with? My husband
Do you drink lots of water? I try
What toothpaste do you use? Crest…and only Crest
The last compliment you received? Something about my jacket I think

*Thanks to my niece*

Thankful II

This is what happens when I have nothing to do on Thanksgiving...

We ran out of eggs--we only had 4 :( so the dessert portion of this was limited to cheesecake. I would have liked to cook more, but there's only so much time to cook, clean, wash and run ;)

Hope yours was a good one!

I love Herbs

I missed buying herbs this summer and given that I have no time to cook these days (and Jaye is doing more experimenting in the kitchen and grill - YAY!), I guess it's okay. Come time for the intense training to end (I'll admit, I'm getting tired of running until I have to force myself to believe that the pain is good), I'll be back in the kitchen...and with me, enter this thing:

I think thing is so cool ("this thing" being the Kitchen Counter Herb Garden"). I don't think I'll actually get it since I don't have much counter space for it and it's really expensive, but I think it looks so lush and imagine the aromas that would come from it. I could stick my head in it every so often and just smell cilantro for days (I love it, Jaye hates it).