Just NB

Even thought I've been back in Canada for nearly a year, my living circumstances have been all over the place. Prior to that, I had ALL my meals planned out for me. Might be nice for some...but I actually like cooking and I liked coming up with ideas of what to eat. That something died in Madagascar. I can't think of anything to cook. I eat weird combinations of foods, super super easy meals, prepared food, and a lot of eating out. I'm not happy with my eating regime...or my weight. And while I'm reading and researching  different ways of eating, it all comes down to the same - there has to be some kind of order. I've tried meal planning for months. I've failed more than I've succeeded. I looked on-line about ready-made meal plans...but never found anything affordable or that interested me. Louis had mentioned soscuisine.com before, and I thought about it, but it ended there. Now that we are both back in Canada, have the girls some of the time, and...

Hey there! Wanna read about something other than my moods? 'Cause I'm kinda sick of hearing about them myself. While I was in Luxembourg, my friend asked me if I cooked and what kind of stuff I make at home. I couldn't think of anything... I mean, I know I cook, because we don't eat out that often and Louis isn't anything special (except for special) in the kitchen. I've eaten out twice while in Montreal, both this week consisting of McDonalds and a thing of poutine. I'm not really interested in eating out, for two reasons: 1. We had our food prepared for us day in and day out and it was none of the stuff that I liked and it was often inedible.... 2. I'm so overwhelmed by the menu that I CAN'T decide. I can't focus enough to think about what I want to eat. If it's a restaurant I've been to before, I usually just order what I had last time. But it's always a very long, painful process. (OH! But I really want to go to Cora's...

For my birthday, a thoughtful friend bought me some cookie cutters, since I complained that I couldn't find any in Madagascar when I was making Christmas cookies . One of the shapes I received was a tiny little heart. I knew Valentine's Day was coming up, and although I'm not hugely into v-day, I thought I'd make Sergio a gift for the occasion. My brownie recipe is based on this one , from Kraft Foods. First, I measured out all the ingredients: 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate (all I had was 65% dark) 2 cups of sugar (I thought this was a ridiculous amount and I wasn't using unsweetened chocolate so I took out about 3/4 of a cup of it) 3 eggs 1 cup of flour 1 teaspoon of vanilla (I used vanilla bean) 3/4 cup of butter My plan was to make a less sweet brownie, and then cut up peices of Mars bars and spread them all throughout the brownies. Except MG is out of Mars bars, so I had to replace them with a less quality, cheaper version we have called Bar One. Also throu...

Last night I made one of many batches of sugar cookies. In my family, it's a BIG tradition. It seems that every year about a bazillion or so cookies are baked, iced, and decorated. In fun shapes like santas, bells, Christmas trees, stars, angels, and gingerbread men. (We have a fun game where we decorate some gingerbread men to be anatomically correct :P) I've been struggling with the Away-From-Home-Christmas blues lately....pretty strongly, in fact, and I needed something to cheer me up and help me feel like I wasn't so incredibly far away from home. I have been sharing my Christmas traditions with my staff and co-workers, in exchange for their Christmas traditions, and I've trying to look at this as an experience of a lifetime....Imagine, spending Christmas 15,000km away from home, in a foreign culture, and amazingly beautiful country. What an adventure. Don't get me wrong....I know I am blessed and I know I am lucky for this opportunity. But some days... okay, m...

Here are a few pics from the unofficial Thanksgiving dinner.....which also happens to be the first time I've had people over and not blown up a stove.... The chicken....killed early morning.... The guests... The food.. Oops!! The soup was a bit too hot....dropped the bowl in the pot! The last minute guests, who were so in love with the soup I thought they'd marry it... :D It's not grandma's turkey dinner, but obviously, I have a lot to be thankful for....

Sounds pretty exotic, hey? As I posted earlier this week, I'm now living with the boy . For blog/anonimity purposes, the boy, will now be referred to as, Sergio. (No, that's not his real name!! But I think I like it. :D ) This weekend Sergio and I are having a couple of people over for some wine and a bite to eat... The problem with this is....my track record for cooking is NOT GOOD. The last time I was near a stove , I nearly lost an eye.... My original menu was as follows: Sergio & Nicole's First Dinner Party Appetizer Freshly purcahsed cheese and crackers Main Course Peanut Butter spread over freshly baked bread Dessert Locally grown bananas with locally made pastries made with Madagascar vanilla Okay. *Maybe* the PB sandwhiches are a bit... um, pathetic... but do I really want to risk injury for a meal? Using this menu....I wouldn't even need a sharp knife...there is just no risk involved...right?? Perfectly safe... BUT, perfect would be boring .... So, my lit...

I was house/dog-sitting last weekend so I decided to invite a few friends/colleagues over for supper. Four were invites - two accepted...was ready to have a nice night. Anyway, a pasta/bread/wine night sounded nice. I didn't want anything complicated since I haven't cooked since Australia . I just have to say....I've had people over for supper many times....I'm no Martha Stewart ...but I know my way around a kitchen. Or...so I thought... It was a bit umm.... interesting shopping for the pasta sauce ingredients since the grocery store has extremely limited goods. On hindsight...perhaps I should have just bought a bottled sauce...or a can of spaghetti-os and heated them up in the microwave? The night started off nice...it was nice being in a house instead of the camp room... I started to make the sauce. First step, brown the meat. (Thankfully, I ran into an acquaintance in the grocery store....and he confirmed the ground zebu I bought was okay... I'm always skeptical...