Champagne and china

I think it's silly to save the china, the good cutlery, the special table cloth for special occasions. Uh hello? Isn't today special? I bet it is.  

Reasons why today is special for me : 

I’m not feeling sick anymore

It’s the first snow fall of the year

There’s a new grocery store opening around the corner 

It’s pay day

I go home for a visit in just 21 sleeps

In my opinion, these are all reasons to celebrate, all reasons to break out the good cutlery. 

Yesterday I fought the urge to spend the night on the couch and went to a dance class. 

The day before I organized the messy corner in our apartment. 

The day before that was Sunday; I love Sundays. 

All perfectly good reasons to break out the china. 

Growing up, my best friend Anna and I were the fanciest kids in town – everything deserved a wine glass, a toast, a dress, a boa. Whether it was pizza night, brunch, or a quick lunch we always drank our orange juice out of wine glasses and dined by candle light.  To this day Anna remains one of the most 'every day we deserve something special' people I know. In fact, she inspired this post when she shared this quote on Facebook.  Thanks, Anna! 

Wishing you takeout on china and champagne with pizza, 
Rebecca

Sandwich Love

Don't you love when a simple lunch can be super duper delicious? Silly question, of course you do!

I wasn't going to blog about my lunch because it was so simple and seemingly unexciting.
Then Monday lunch time comes around and I eat my simple, understated sandwich and it was fantastic.
I ate it again on Tuesday - still fantastic. 
Since I bragged about this lunch to friends and coworkers I think it deserves a tiny spotlight on the internet.

Prepare yourself ....

2 slices of whole grain bread,

hummus spread on both slices of bread, 

thin slices of bell peppers (orange and red),

 lettuce,

1 slice of pickle, 

and some jalapeño peppers. 

OMG IT TASTES SO GOOD!

What simple meals or snacks blow your mind? Please share!

Wishing you super duper deliciousness,
Rebecca

Just like the French

It's flu season. Yuck, gross, ick, blah. It seems as though everybody these days has got an arse or an elbow wrong with them, including me. When I'm sniffling, snuffling, and coughing my mama's French Onion Soup always makes me feel better. Growing up I was never much a fan of soup but French Onion Soup was always a treat.  Perhaps it had something to do with the gooey melted cheese on top....

My Mama's French Onion Soup Recipe 

Cut a small amount of steak or stewing meat into really small pieces. 

In a small amount of oil fry the meat with some worcestershire sauce (~1 Tbsp) and pepper. 

Add 1/2 cup water. 

Add 4 or 5 onions chopped into thin slices. Let cook for about 10 minutes. 

Add enough water to cover the onions. Bring to a boil. 

Add some more worcestershire sauce (about 3 Tbsp)

If you have a small tin of onion soup on hand throw it in (optional). 

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Add some gravy browning to colour. 

Let simmer. 

Pour into serving bowl. 

Top with homemade croutons and grated mozzarella cheese.

Broil for about 1 minute or until cheese is melted. 

Serve, enjoy, and feel better. 

Wishing you a sniffle-free week, 

Rebecca 

It's a funny thing about that...

Grab a sweater and you'll be better.

Warm sweaters, wool socks, 

apple cider, crunchy leaves, 

crisp, cold autumn air. 

Breakfast for the Snoozer

I don't know about you but I prefer to spend my mornings sleeping. I would hit the snooze button for hours if I could. Once I'm out of bed I am good to go, it's the getting out of bed part that hurts the most. The snooze section of my morning often means that I end up rushing like a mad woman to get out of the house. But let's face it - a girl's gotta eat. Working without breakfast is a waste of time and energy. Everything takes longer, things go wrong, I get grumpy - you know how it goes. 

One of my favourite breakfasts is my Ramekin Frittatas. They look fancy but they are quick, easy, versatile, and delicious. Plus they come in their own personal sized ramekin which is just so darn cute (cute things matter in the morning).

To make sure we are all on the same page: a ramekin is a single serve, heat proof dish. It's french and eating out of a french dish also makes me feel better in the morning (it's the little things that count). 

This is a make ahead recipe. I'm always chopping up veggies when making dinner so I just chop a little extra. I toss the veggies into the ramekin, scramble together two eggs with a bit of milk and season as desired (oregano and basil, chilli flakes and pepper, garlic and cayenne, etc.). Pour the egg mixture over the veggies, add some feta cheese, and bake at 400F for about 20 minutes (or until the egg is cooked through). 

In the morning I pop one in the microwave for 2 minutes and eat while doing my makeup, hair, and getting dressed - it's all about multitasking! 

 5 great things about this breakfast: 

1. It's high in protein which helps me feel full for most of the morning 

2. Eggs keep well in the refrigerator so I make a few at a time and eat throughout the week. 

3. It's a great way to get veggies in during breakfast. 

4. It's portable. Sometimes multitasking just doesn't work out. Wrap some saran wrap over the dish and heat up at work. Much better than picking up a bagel and cream cheese. 

5. It's a delicious start to the day.

Wishing you an extra 5 minutes of sleep,
Rebecca

Understanding Life

Double Chocolate Buttermilk Cookies

November already, can you believe it???

Halloween weekend was lovely - lots of friends and costumes and dancing and laughing. My friends and I dressed as a Birthday Party - a little lame but the party hats were cute and we had a great time wishing everybody we ran into a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I live in an apartment building and we never get trick-or-treaters. HOWEVER you never know when a little monster could knock on your door and if that did by chance happen you wouldn't want to be caught empty handed with no chocolate treats to give out, right? ...and I did just buy some buttermilk that I've been meaning to experiment with ...  it was like the universe was screaming "JUST MAKE THE COOKIES,REBECCA". I caved to the pressure of the universe. The results:  delicious double chocolate buttermilk cookies. 

Since I had no clue what to do with buttermilk I looked on the web to find some inspiration. I found this recipe which looked pretty good but I modified it slightly with some whole wheat flour and less sugar. 

Here's the final recipe: 

Recipe: 

All purpose flour	1 cup
Whole wheat flour	1 cup
Salt	1/2 tsp
Butter	1/2 cup
Cocoa Powder	3/4 cup
Sugar	1 cup
Agave Nectar*	1 Tbsp
Vanilla extract Buttermilk	1 tsp   2/3 cup
Chocolate Chips	As many as you like
*omit if you don't have any

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a larger bowl, blend the cocoa powder and melted butter until smooth. Add in the sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk. 
4. Slowly stir in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Scoop the dough onto the lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool more.
6. Enjoy!

Wishing you a week as good as these double chocolate cookies :) 
Rebecca