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My Pantry
I'm not going to arrange my pantry like a crazy. I'm not going to lie to you and make things fancy for the photos! This is the condition of my pantry, and I bet yours is pretty damn close.
I thought I’d make one of these, because I think it’s super important that you have a properly stocked pantry. If you’re new to cooking or think you dislike it, this will make it easier, and fun! Or something!
and in the interest of awesomeosity, I’m going to look for the best stock photos ever.
Beef Sliders on Brioche
So delicious and the brioche buns make it!
I made these at work today, we actually make a lot of these. One of our most popular appetizers! Homemade, fresh baked brioche buns, beef hamburgers glazed with bbq sauce, cheddar, mayo and grainy mustard and garnished with a gherkin or whatever else I can find. 😉
Brioche can be a bit of work to make, but it’s truly worth it for these little guys. Really any fresh baked bread will do, the key is fresh baked!
Brioche is also great because it freezes very well in it’s dough form, so if you want you can make this ahead and freeze it for any appetizer emergencies!
Jerk Chicken Perogies
Jerk Chicken Perogies! Creamy potato with chunks of chicken breast and spicy jerk sauce.
Michael invented these. Or at least gave me the suggestion. I was looking for interesting perogy ideas and he blurted out “jerk chicken”. So I used my imagination and came up with this.
I knew it had to be done with potato, as it adds substance, and perogies still need to be comforting and starch-a-licious.
Red Curry with Lamb and Tomatoes
I honestly threw this dish together randomly. BUT. Michael LOVED it and asked that I include it in our regular meals. Go figure!
Lately I’ve been cooking much more asian/asian inspired food than anything else. I can’t help it. We both love it, it’s healthy, an oh sooo spicy.
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 48,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 18 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Pita Bread
Surprisingly AMAZING! Is that a thing people say?
I had some chickpeas for falafel rehydrating, and I thought I’d take a shot at making pita bread. First time ever. I always risk making things I’ve never made before, but dinner always seems to turn out. Now that I’ve said that, I’ll probably burn the kitchen down next time!
These are a must make. MUST! Must make, and eat immediately after making. So awesome.
A Bryan Creation – Apple Fritter Sandwich
This time, I tried it.
I’ve posted a recipe from my friend Bryan on here a while back, it was a random trip to starbucks that turned into some odd sandwich. Â But this was something he planned, and has actually had before.
Herbed Olive Oil Biscuits
Carbs. Perfect for everything.
I like using heart shaped cookie cutters, molds, stamps, whatever. My middle name is Love (seriously), and I’m normally a huge cheeseball. I like to draw heart shaped sriracha on food I give to Michael.
Love love love love hearts *puke*. I make myself sick!
It was our 3 year anniversary yesterday, so I post something heart shaped in lieu of a proper related post.
Glazed Salmon with Chimichurri
Moist salmon with a sticky savory glaze, topped with a lively and bright chimichurri.
We don’t eat as much fish as I’d like. Michael is slowly warming up to the idea of fish, although he eats sushi which is a jump. Apparently raw fish is better than cooked! 😛
But since my parents always give me fish, it was time to make some. I’ve never made my own chimichurri before so I grabbed a recipe from epicurious.
Garlic Monkey Bread
Yum!
I guess this is more of a pull apart bread, but whatever. I think monkey bread has to be “gooey” or something? 😛
I wanted something to go with spaghetti and meatballs, so I came up with this.
Pulled Beef BBQ Pizza
Michael ate more than half. Seriously.
We love pizza, and I love making pizza. I can use whatever I have or plan to make certain types. This was a combo of both. I had some stew beef I wanted to use, but I didn’t want stew.
I also don’t understand people who say they don’t make pizza dough because it takes too much time? I can make a basic pizza dough in 20 minutes, less even.
Caamaan people!
Mini Donuts at the PNE!
The PNE, or Pacific National Exhibiton, is our summer fair that shows up for about two weeks near the end of August.
I generally go to the PNE once a year, but I’m not really sure why anymore. Nostalgia I think. It’s generally very packed, hot, and expensive. I don’t go on the rides while the PNE is here, because it’s held at our amusement park, and it’s maybe two times cheaper to go when the fair is gone!
Killer Cheese Sauce
Put this on macaroni, cauliflower, fries, dip things into it. Dear god.
Killer as in awesome, not deadly. That wouldn’t be good.
This recipe is for a creamy cheese sauce, with a blend of sharp white cheddar and regular cheddar, cracked black pepper and cayenne pepper. You get the sharpness of the cheese cutting through the richness of the cream, and a little pop of heat from the peppers. Amazing.
Nalesniki – Polish Crepes
Nostalgia, alll over the place.
Just a quick-ish post. My mother made these for Michael and I last weekend 🙂 I asked. It was one of my favourite things she used to make!
Mini Peach Pies
Yeah these were good AND easy!
So I went to Donalds Market earlier in the week and they had whole cartons of peaches for $2.99! So I had to buy them and I had to make something.
Beer Thursday!! Britannia Sushi
Yaayy!
We haven’t gone to a real Beer Thursday in forever. But we were finally able to and quickly decided on sushi, as it’s too hot for pub grub.
Bao Chau
I have a new soup related love.
There’s this new place down the street that we go for our Pho nowadays, but they have this one type that just blows me away.
Slocan – Sleepy Breakfast Time
We needed one of those...uh.. "Rejuvinatin' Greasy Breakfasts" to counter an over consumption of a certain type of liquid.
We headed down to the Slocan for some All Day Breakfast. I had never been there, and yelp said it was alright. The only other “close as we want to walk” was some placed called Tom and Jerry’s, which features a banner of some Budweiser girls from the 90’s and boasts about $4 awful beer on tap. (not that I judge, I’ve been to many a scuzzy place, they’re just reserved for french fries and karaoke).
Brownies for Michelle
They were good!
One of my facebook fans straight up asked if I could try and make some brownies she’d had at a fundraiser, and gave me the description. I’m not sure if I came even close, but regardless these were tasty!
I guess I do requests now!
These are my “fudgey brownies with a peanut-buttery milk chocolate topping with mini chocolate chips”.
Spicy Peanut Noodles with Chicken
It's just you and me noodles. (And Michael) But mostly you an' me.
You know I love spicy, asian-y, cilantro-y, peanut-y, whatever else-y can describe my tastes. This is a dish I’ve started to make much more often because it’s just so easy. And I have not just one, but TWO ways to make this! Golly! (there’s way more ways than two, I might have lied)
7 Facts Blogger Game
I looked everywhere for a sesame street reference, but this will have to do instead.
Well I’ve been tagged so I guess I have to participate! 😛
Peach Crumble Coffee Cake
This isn't a coffee flavoured cake, it's a cake you eat with coffee!
This is a type of cake my mother used to always make. Especially when we had fresh plums! Â This works great with any kind of fruit, and the base is incredibly forgiving.
La Casita – Bday Dinner 1!
La Casita!
I’ve been having a great birthday so far. I have such great friends and they’ve been treating me so well! With food and booze. How kind!
My girlfriend took me down to La Casita on Tuesday for a meal! Her exact words were to “wine and dine me” but whatever.
Raptor Toe - Food, Baking, Fun. 