Some yummy eats

It seems like the month of May is just flying by.  And just under 6 weeks to go before the 2010-2011 school year comes to an end.  I’m looking forward to the summer…spending my days at the beach, biking, hiking, sleeping in, camping and of course lots of walks with the dog.  Until then though, it’s crunch time… track and field, field trips, report cards…ahh..it never ends. 

And what about those Canucks?  I can’t believe we are still in it.  If you haven’t been following the hockey playoffs, our team has made it to the Western Conference Finals.  It’s Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks… and we won game #1.  Only 3 more to go…   I predict Canucks to win this series in 6 games.  One can only hope, right?

On to food.  Not too much description, so I will just show the pictures.  I have been so so busy these days that sadly I did not have the time to be taking pictures during the cooking process.  Plus the camera is out of batteries, so I’ve been pulling out the blackberry to do the job. 

Hope everyone is having a great start to their spring.  Enjoy

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I have made this one before…my Cream of Parsnip Soup with a drizzle of White Truffle oil.  Not on picture is a couple of slices of Toasted Rosemary Baguette and some Earth Balance Butter.

Moose Burgers with brie cheese, truffle drizzled grilled asparagus and fire-roasted bell pepper.

Yummy Turkey Burgers with melted Brie Cheese, spinach, sautéed onions and mushrooms and apple…and of course tender grilled asparagus.

Made on the BBQ…. spinach, a couple slices of Hornby Island Red Pepper Vegetarian Paté, an egg and some brie cheese.  This paté stuff is awesome…it’s vegan, soy-free and dairy-free. 

My power went out the other night, so I made this meal entirely on my BBQ.  In the veggie mix are onions, garlic, orange pepper, red baby potatoes and brussel sprouts.  The salmon fillet was marinated with the West Coast Salmon Rub from the lady behind the Metropolitan Chef.  I highly recommend you pick up some of their rubs.. I've tried most and they are all amazing.

I BBQ some Pork Tenderloin and served it with leftover veggies from the Salmon meal. 

Hope you enjoyed the show…be back soon I hope

Love Bea

xoxo

No excuses

So I really have no excuses for not posting more frequently.  So much going on, I lose track of time and then it’s off to bed.  I will try to get better, so please bare with me.  So for this post, I’ll try to not bore you too much… how about a quick recap of what’s new and the food I’ve eaten.

Food pics first…..

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Chicken tomato bake

First I cooked some boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  Then in a casserole dish, layer together:  chicken thighs, onions, spinach, garlic.  Then I added a jar of tomato sauce.  Top off with some grated cheese and stick in a 350F oven for about 35 minutes.  Serve with whole-grain pasta or rice.

Turkey 6 bean spaghetti

Another quick and easy weekday meal.  In a large pot, sauté onions, garlic and carrots.  Then golden in color, add ground turkey.  Cook until no longer pink.  Add a can of beans of your choice (I used a 6 bean mix), a can of diced tomatoes and a jar of tomato sauce (about 475mL).  Cook for about 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened a bit. 

Asian-inspired Stirfry

Slice thinly some pork tenderloin.  In a wok, sauté the pork with 2 Tbsp  green curry and some grated ginger.  Then add stir-fry veggies of your choice.  I used baby bok choy, broccoli, red peppers and mushrooms.  After about 5 minutes, add some fish sauce, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, worstershire sauce and reduced sodium chicken broth.  Allow to simmer for a few minutes.  Then add your pre-soaked rice noodles and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente.  Sprinkle with some peanuts before serving.

BBQ Salmon with Mushroom Risotto and garlic veggies

I used my BBQ for the first time this spring to whip up this awesome goodness.  For the salmon, I made a rub of brown sugar, dill, cumin, salt and pepper.  I mixed the rub a bit with some olive oil and then basted the salmon fillet.  It took about 15 minutes on the BBQ, skin side down over low heat.  (The skin was burnt, but the salmon juicy and nice and firm). 

For the Risotto…it actually contains mushrooms, but they were underneath, so you can’t see them.  I added saffron to my risotto to make it nice and yellow. 

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And some other stuff…..

1. I had a follow up appointment with my doctor a little while back and found out I am pretty anaemic, even after taking an iron supplement every day. I eat a lot of iron-rich foods too, so this is a mystery to me and my doctor.  I’m tired of always feeling easily exhausted.  So I was given several referrals, one of which was for a surgeon.  I had an appointment last week and he’s scheduled me for a colonoscopy and gastroscopy.  Not fun, but I do want to get to the bottom of this anaemia.
2. I’ve been training for my 8km adventure relay race. It’s less than 2 weeks away now…May 1st is the big day…eek   I just got the trail route today and am hoping to be able to run/walk it next week to familiarize myself with the route before the event.
3. I won a free week of bootcamp and loved it, so I joined for month.  This is now the second week and I can already feel it.  After the first week, I could barely sit down on the toilet or walk the stairs as my legs were shot.  It hurt to sneeze too… we worked out abs.  Classes are Mon/Wed/Fri.
4. I went to a concert Friday night…. Fefe Dobson came to town and put on an awesome concert. 

Hope everyone is having a great start to their spring.  I’m really looking forward to seeing more sunshine and warmer weather soon. 

With love

Beaglebea

xoxo

You gotta roll with the punches

Happy Monday evening everyone.  Hope you all had a good weekend.  I’m going to tell you right now that it’s going to be a very busy week.  You see, I have to get my report cards written by Friday and I've got a long way to go still.  Plus my student teacher begins this week too, so lots of meetings and such happening.  I will try and post some stuff, but I apologize ahead of time if you don’t hear much from me.  Please come and check back often.  I don’t want to lose any of my readers.  So what did everyone get up to this weekend?  Try any new recipes?

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Friday night we took the kids downtown for a Festival of the Arts.  It was called Wind & Fire.  Although it was a very chilly night, the kids did pretty good.  We took them to Tim Horton’s later on to warm up with some hot chocolates.  We watched a fire show… a group of 4 ladies dancing and spinning various objects on fire, such as swords and hoops.  I forgot my camera at home, so I took pictures with my Blackberry.

Saturday was a bit of a bummer for me.  I mentioned earlier that I was going for my NLS Lifeguard Recertification course.  Before someone is able to recertify, your CPR-C has to be current within one year.  I thought mine was, but apparently I only had my CPR-A.  I had to take a first aid course in October for work since I”m the first-aid attendant at my school and I remember practicing infant/child CPR, but I guess the instructor decided to throw that in, but not give us credit for it.  To make a long story short, since CPR-C was not written on my first aid certificate, I was not able to take the NLS recert course….boo .  However, there is always a silver lining on every cloud…I’m going to be taking my recertification for Standard First Aid and CPR-C in a few weeks when I visit my parents for Spring Break, and then take my NLS recert course.  And since there are many more options for recertification courses offered in the big city, I’m also going to be updating my WSI (water safety instructor) as well as my LSI (lifesaving instructor) courses.  Then I’ll be good for another couple of years. 

Saturday night I played another game of hockey and then we had some friends come over for a games night.  Great times had by all.

And are you ready for some cuddly, cute, awesome and adorable news?  I got a call from my dad Sunday morning… we have a new addition to the family.  May I introduce you to Bonnie…….

Bonnie is an 8 week old Jack Russell Terrier.  My  jaw just about dropped when I saw her picture.  I can’t wait to meet her and cuddle her when I visit in 3 weeks.  I wonder what Buster will do with her?  Can’t wait to see them play together too. 

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As for my eats this weekend…. nothing too interesting until Sunday night.  I did my regular grocery run Sunday afternoon  and decided to come up with some sort of creation for Pork Tenderloin….and some vegetables….and voila…..

Roasted Cream of Vegetable Soup

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Brie in a Truffle infused Filo crust

Unfortunately the filo pastry kind of fell off the pork when I cut it to serve, but that’s ok.  It still tasted pretty darn good. 

Well guys, I’m off now.  I need to get in my workout, eat dinner, prepare an assignment for tomorrow AND work on report cards.  AHHHHH.

Talk soon

Bea

xoxo