so true

that or eat cookies

Sweet Summer Time

Just a few things to share, while I procrastinate doing an actual recipe.... I don't know if you have ever seen an Alaskan postcard. The ones with moose in a pond, and its all serene, and the moose has reeds hanging out of its mouth.....

I just thought these were really funny for some reason....swamp dog. 

 I also picked a nice strawberry from our strawberry plant before the birds ate it! And it was delicious!

That's all.....maybe time for a real post!

Plants are fun too....

Being a vegetarian isn't that hard. And while I am a pretty rotten vegetarian, because I eat fish, and sometimes can't resist bacon, living with a meat eater hasn't really hampered me too much. If you were thinking about becoming a vegetarian, or just wanted to give it a try for a healthy change, here are a few tips....

1.) Don't immediately try to make special vegetarian meals. Just cook as usual and replace. The pizza below if half BBQ Chicken for TJ, and the other half is veggie. Make the same crust, use the same sauce, but cut yourself some vegetables instead. 

2.) Always keep beans in your house. This is probably the best/tastiest source of protein. Let's get real, tofu if gross. Beans can be flavored how ever you like, and are still edible. They are great to replace ground hamburger in chili and burgers. 

3.) Learn your alternate sources of protein, such as quinoa, beans, soy products, eggs, nuts and seeds. The more your know the easier it is.  

4.) If you are really craving your favorite teriyaki chicken or peppercorn steak, use those seasonings on your vegetarian choice. I am a big fan of tricking myself by BBQing tofu with yummy barbecue sauce. 

5.) Don't replace your meat with carbs, it will make you fat. Haha just kidding, but seriously don't do it.

The average meal, when meat is replaced by a plant based protein sourced, has 200-500 less calories. That means you can have extra dessert, and isn't that what we all want? 

Beach Bummin'

In Nassau at the Atlantis Resort. Water slides= deadly. So fun.

The second part of our vacation was a cruise out of Miami to the Bahamas. Oh man, I didn't want to come back, that's for sure. The Bahamas are such a great destination because....

 #1) It is obviously beautiful

 #2) The official language is English 

#3) Everyone is so nice, it's almost overwhelming

I would definitely go back...soon. Beaches, sunsets, fruity drinks, cold beer, fresh fruit, warm water, island music, bathing suites....I guess you get the point. Here are some pics of our trip!

Cliche sand writing & some sea turtles with starfish!

A little buddy I found on the beach :)

Sunset from our rooms balcony on the cruise

 But I did come back to a blooming Crabapple tree, which was super pretty. It even inspired me to plant a little garden...pics to come soon!

Southern Comfort

This weekend my husband and I made the trip from Northern Alberta to the Southern US. Statesboro, Georgia was our final destination (for now) to watch my sister graduate from college! I had never been to Georgia so I was so excited to see the sights and eat some real southern food. And I got to do all of that! Here are a few highlights of my trip!

In one of the various squares throughout Savannah, Georgia. This city was so amazing. Original buildings from the 1700's and cobblestone streets too! All of the trees had Spanish Moss hanging from them too, and you can see it in this picture above. Very cool.

A picture above is the graduation ceremony, which was held at the football field. There were over 2,000 undergrads receiving degrees! But the weather was beautiful and listening to the professors say "Magna Cum-Laude" in Southern accents was more than enough to keep me entertained :)

After grad we went to a little spot call "Gnat's Landing" for lunch. This place looked a little shady, but so does Thai food out of someones basement :) They had this awesome wall of beer cans held up by chicken wire. If that doesn't sound country I don't know what does. After having a few pitchers of Blue Moon (my favorite beer that they don't have in Canada!) and eating some deep fried pickles, I felt my trip to the south was complete!

Pasta salad, deep-fried pickles, baked beans, sweet potato fries, and a wrap! Enough carbs to kill a man.

Happy Easter!!

All of our eggs on the left... my favorite tie-dye eggs on the right!

 I hope everyone had a relaxing Easter! No work, lots of food, and friends & family were my day today! I cooked up a storm and my husband and I had some of our friends over for an Easter dinner, wine, and charades (my favorite pastime....ever). I had so much fun chatting with friends and eating wayyyyy too much food. I even dyed Easter eggs and really brought out my 6 year old self -still as fun as ever though! I have a few pictures of mine and TJ's Easter eggs, my flowers that I bought at Safeway and turned into a bouquet, and goody tray I put together. I am sure there will be a hard boiled egg recipe soon, there is really no way around it. Maybe some left over ham recipe, you never know. Well actually,  now you do.

Some beautiful dahlias and a mystery flower I liked. If you know, tell me!!!

Mini eggs! In Canada though, mini eggs are here year round, so no big deal. Sorry my American amigos :)

Taking a Break....

Today my husband and I had the rare opportunity of a free afternoon. We took full advantage and went for a walk on the trails with Oscar. Don't be fooled by the picture, only a portion was paved, and the rest was dirt, wood chips, and mud. Oscar loved it. The backseat of our car on the other hand....not so much. But he was so happy to be running free in the woods. I could swear sometimes he thinks he is a wild animal. He sure acts like one. It was so nice with the sun peeking through the clouds, and a spring breeze. If you have the opportunity this weekend or any day to go for a walk or spend some time with someone you love, DO IT!  You can only work some many days in a row before you go crazy...for me it is about 3 days :) 

Seeds of Spring

I cooked 2 different things today for the blog, but they both took too long to make, and soon I lost all the good natural light. So instead I wanted to share my little project with you. A few weeks ago I planted some basil seeds for two reasons.

The first was that I love using fresh herbs in my cooking. They trump dried herbs any day. My problem is that it is winter here 7 months a year which mean I can't always walk outside to my herb garden and snip away. So since fresh basil may be one of the most commonly used herbs I thought I would plant some!

 The second was that it was March and still winter, so I really needed some sign of life! Just a little green in my life is all...... I do have a orchid plant, but right now it is just a skinny green stalk with no flowers. There is a mystery weed in the orchid's pot that is growing great. My green thumb on the other hand.... not so healthy.

So today I took a picture of my basil plant which I am pretty sure is 3 weeks along now, just to share a little spring with you, if it hasn't quite reached your neck of the woods yet :)

A Friendly Reminder

You know how sometimes you could swear you and your best friend were meant to be best friends? When I look at this picture from my wedding, I think it is pretty obvious.

                                              

 You also know how when you are little, you and your best friend wish you could really be sisters or at least related? Well, I am going back to Fairbanks, for maybe the last time, to watch that happen. My best friend, since we were 9, is getting married to my second cousin, Pete. I am so excited I could literally scream. Tara has always been my best friend. She is obviously beautiful, talented, smart, and shares my amazing sense of humor :) We still laugh about things that happened when we would camp out in her yard in 5th grade, or stuff we would chat about on MSN messenger in middle school (blast from the past right?). I know you are supposed to say your husband is your best friend, and TJ is also my best friend! But I am really going to talk to TJ about how hot Robert Pattinson is? Probably not.  

A lot of people say that when they don't talk to their friends for a while, they always pick up right where they left off and everything is the same. I don't think that it true. I think things always change, and it is never quite the same with most of your friends. Well this one is no different. Sometimes we don't talk for a while, and obviously things in your life will change. After a few weeks I don't know some of the people she is talking about, and she doesn't know how my work is going. But the one thing that will never change is how much I love her, and no amount of time will change that. Despite being 3,000 miles apart she is always there for me. And I am so excited to be there for her this weekend.

Below is a link to Tara and her older sister, Michelle's, website for their super cute business idea. She sent TJ and myself a sign after we got married (above), and it is perfect. Check it out! I promise you will see something you like :)

Wanderlust and Rust

Take #1, Oscar likes the signs too!

A Thai food change of heart

I put my husband in charge of dinner tonight. Before you laugh, just know I fully expected take out. Maybe a pot of Kraft dinner (which, for all of my American homies, Kraft dinner is what Canadians call Mac and Cheese). When I got home, dinner was nowhere to be seen. But panic we did not! A few weeks ago one of our friends gave us a take out menu for a Thai place. This came with the disclaimer, "Now, it's not really a restaurant, it's an old Thai lady who make foods in her home, but you can order it and pick it up, and she only takes cash". Now don't get me wrong, I love a good questionable dining experience, but this was not just a dimly lit sushi place in a strip mall offering all you can eat raw fish. This was waaaaay better than that! Dinner from a strangers basement? Bring it on! We ordered some Pad Thai with shrimp, Pa Nang curry, spring rolls, and coconut rice. Drumroll please.......
IT WAS AMAZING!!!!! This broad must have been straight from Thailand, and brought all of the secret ingredients with her. She even called after we had started eating an told me she forgot to put egg in the Pad Thai, apologized, and offered me a discount next time! You don't get service like that at Panda Express!  I might try to adopt this old lady :)

The point of this story is that sometimes the littlest things in life can change your perspective, and remind you to not be such a cynic. I am sure this sounds silly but that little old lady really made my day! She cooked me some delicious food, and checked on me afterwards. There really are people on this planet who would not only give you what you paid for, but also do the right thing, make you smile, and add a little sunshine to your day. So I guess it is time for me to post a cheesy quote.....