Merry Merry!

Merry Christmas babes!!!

I had a wonderful past week and I really hope everyone reading did as well. We did our classic Christmas Eve mass at Saint François D'Assise church + Levesque-Mumford party and then went to bed and waited for Santa to do his magic. Christmas morning, my mom, my dad, and I were up bright and early but I had to wait FOREVER for the two other sleepy heads to wake up to enjoy the festivities. Christmas dinner was pretty simple and casual as our guests were just my aunt Nini and Uncle Roger, and the student that's boarding with them. Before our guests arrived my family and our friend Liz went to deliver food to the less fortunate with the Carleton Tavern. We talked with a guy who told us it was his first Christmas out of jail in twenty years and it was wonderful to see him light up with our gifts.

On Friday, we headed to Peterborough to meet up with my mom's side of the family and it was soooo nice to see the Farlows!! It was fun to have a new baby in the mix (congrats Laura and Jeremiah) and to have the big boy/girl reveal for Robyn and Ian's baby. We also played a gambling type game and I won a whopping total of $63. Yay!!!! I love and miss all of my relatives already.

Here are a few shots of the fun:

On Sunday morning, my cousin Ali's boyfriend, Andrew, made a delicious breakfast that is totally worth sharing:

Prosciutto Egg Cups

Ingredients

- Prosciutto

- Eggs

- Cheddar cheese

- Spinach

Instructions

✿ Grease muffin tin and preheat the oven at 350℉ 

✿ Wrap a piece of prosciutto around the sides of the muffin tins and place a few leaves of spinach at the bottom.

✿ Crack an egg into the centre and top with grated cheese

✿ Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the egg has set.

The chefs!

Enjoy!

xox Gaby

My Favourite Things

Hi lovelies,

TGIF!!! Well to tell you the truth I didn't even realize that it was Friday since all my days have been mixed up. I have been thoroughly enjoying my break and it's so nice to have all my sisters together. Britt arrived from Vancouver on Monday and Steffi's last day of teaching was yesterday so we're all on break!

Last night, Steffi, Britt, my mom, her friend Birgit, and I went to the Sound of Music at the National Arts Centre and it was fantastic! It's such a classic movie and the stage production was so well executed. SO much better than the Carrie Underwood remake… It was such a wonderful evening filled with good music and dancing. It made me miss the days when I was in my high school's theatre program and we would parade over to the NAC for a quick matinee all the time.

The other night I made this fajita/burrito recipe and it was easy and tasty.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito

Adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 pepper (colour of your choice! I used red.), sliced or chopped
- 1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
- 1 small white onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 can of black beans (15oz)
- 3/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Sour cream, salsa, avocado, cheese, and green onions for toppings
- Tortillas

Instructions:

✿ Boil a pot of water and add the chopped potato (1 inch pieces). Simmer till tender.

✿ Warm some olive oil in a medium skillet or saucepan, add the garlic, pepper, and onion. Cook over medium-low heat till the onions are tender.

✿ Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and add the rinsed black beans to the sweet potatoes. Also add the lemon juice, cilantro, and salt.

✿ Use a potato masher to mash the potato mixture until smooth.

✿ Spoon the mixture onto tortillas, add the onion/pepper mixture, and top with various toppings mentioned above.

Enjoy!

xox Gaby

Transporting Goodies During the Holidays!

Hi readers,

Hopefully a better chunk of you, who are in university, are finished exams and have returned to your home towns. I'm writing this post while watching the Holiday, so if my sentences don't make sense you'll know why. It's such a great holiday movie (no pun intended) and I've been meaning to watch again for a while. I love the scores in it and they're perfect for studying.

During this holiday season, you may catch yourself bringing goodies over to friends and family. If you don't want to risk forgetting your favourite cake carrier or glass tupperware at someone's house save your cleaned recyclables and use them to transport baked goods. You can wrap them up for a more christmasy feel and add ribbon and a card. I usually use hummus containers for small portions of cookies, spinach containers for cupcakes, and I also make my special boxes that I make from inside-out cereal boxes. The last option is great because you personalize your boxes with greetings and drawings on the exterior and add some tissue paper on the inside.

I use this template to make mini cupcake boxes out of cracker or cereal boxes, and adjust it for bigger sizes. This is a cheap alternative that reduces waste during christmas. Merry Christmas!!

Gaby

Spring Rolls and Home

Hello!

I am home for the holidays and it feels great! It's nice to be in a city instead of a small town with not even a movie theatre. I had to remind myself how to drive but after a few days I think I'm back to normal ;) For this holiday season I'm going to try and eat fresh foods and exercise a lot to balance out all the sweets and treats! I went to a step aerobics class yesterday at the recreation centre I used to go to in high school. I tell ya, those women sure know how to keep it up in an aerobics class. To begin, I was the only one under 50 but it took me sometime to get back into the rhythm and keep up. I usually enjoy running outside, even in the winter months, but it's been especially cold since I've been home and it seemed like a better idea to go to an indoor class.

Today I made spring rolls for lunch and they were delicious. I used leftover salmon from last night's dinner and picked up some vegetables at the store this morning after I met Maggie at the UofO library.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

For this recipe I am not going to indicate specific amounts, because it depends on how much you would like in each spring roll.

- 1 package of rice paper rounds

- 1 package of vermicelli noodles

- 1 bunch of cilantro

- Carrots

- Green onions

- Cucumber

- Shrimp, crab, or whatever fish/meat

1. Boil a pot of water and soak vermicelli noodles for one and a half minutes

2. Soak one rice paper at a time in a bowl of warm water for about 45 seconds or until they are soft and no longer crunchy.

3. Shred the carrots, and chop the cucumber, cilantro, and green onions.

4. Add the veggies and the noodles to the rice paper and roll them up!

 You can enjoy them with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, or anything that will spice them up a bit. Enjoy!

xox Gaby

Finals and Goodies

Hello!

I am in the the middle of finals now and I have already finished 3/5 of my exams! In less than a week I will be back in Ottawa, baking, seeing friends and family, and starting my christmas shopping. I'm beyond excited to get home seeing as I haven't been back since Thanksgiving (Canadian that is). This week has been really stressful and I have managed to get some baking in since I find it calms me. I can't eat everything I make though, or I'd blow up, so I've been giving away goodies here and there. My meals haven't been too exciting and consist mostly of me grabbing something frozen from the freezer. So nothing too exciting other than the fact that PC Blue Menu Lasagna is really delicious especially combined with homemade garlic bread.

I mixed up some butter, herb & garlic cream cheese, rosemary, and garlic (lots of it!), spread it on some french bread, and popped it in the oven at 350℉ for a few minutes. It was wonderful :) Right now, I'm writing a blog post to keep me up because my roommates and I are going to see Catching Fire. We're going to a later viewing and I might be the only student to usually go to bed at 10/9:30 during exam time but I'm getting sleepy!! 

Here is a recipe for Ginger Molasses Cookies. They are nice and soft when you don't bake them too long. I made them for my friend Rachel's birthday and shared them with my Bishop's University Commerce Society team. They were a hit! These puppies are from my old recipe book that my mom and I made this summer with all our old family recipes. They're classics and I always know they'll be delicious. 

Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

✿ Mix and form 1" balls 

✿ Roll in a small bowl of white sugar (not included in ingredients), and press lightly with a fork

✿ Bake at 350℉ for 8 minutes or until they crack. Don't over bake!!

Enjoy!

My family calls recipes "keepers" if they're worth remaking and this is definitely a keeper. The other day I stumbled upon this cook book called Keepers. SO cute! I really want to take a look at it when I get home and rush to Chapters. I am having slight Chapters withdrawal. There aren't any in Sherbrooke  and it makes me sad :( Anyways, I'll be at one soon enough! Yay!!

xox 

Gaby

T'was a Magical Night

Hello lovelies,

I hope you aren’t too busy with end of the semester craziness. My schedule has been packed with meetings and study groups but I have been able to cram in some fun times here and there. Last weekend, I hosted a dinner party for 20 of my closest girlfriends and we had a magical evening. I decorated our house and it was so much fun (but sometimes stressful) to throw a party. I love throwing parties, but not your typical university party. My friends kept teasing me and saying that I was going to throw a huge kegger à la Project X. I was like NO WAY! I figured that 20 guests was the maximum number of people I could feed under my budget and this way everybody got to socialize with everybody there. There were some elements that I absolutely wanted to incorporate into the evening:

1. Hand-written and delivered invitations. I set off on my bike with them in my basket and delivered them to my friends' houses. In the age of Facebook, it's so refreshing to get mail and this way it adds a little element of surprise with regards to who would be there.

2. Whimsical decorations that make you feel like this is a special evening and not just another dinner party. Think DIY balloons and garlands, floral everything, and candles scattered throughout.

3. A good meal that was interesting and different, but that wouldn't require that I slave away in the kitchen all week or that would break the bank. The solution: Grilled Cheese Bar. Yes, that is capitalized because it was ah-ma-zing. I loved the buffet-like layout and our house is perfectly set-up for the make-grill-eat sequence. I had three types of cheese, bacon, ham and various spreads and toppings.

 4. Party games were also a must-have. A few years ago my mom made a Jeopardy board for either an office christmas party or a family reunion, I can't remember which. Since then, we've been customizing it for various occasions and it's made an appearance at more than one of my parties. We also played the "get the Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands" game. That game sure is great for pictures ;)

5. The last thing I really wanted to see happen, was goodie bags. I love to give my guests a little something to take home! I put together little s'mores kits and put them in little brown paper bags that I had jazzed up a bit with my flower hole punch and japanese eyelet paper.

We had such a wonderful time and I couldn't stop telling my friends how happy I was. I know this sounds really cheesy but when I was surrounded by all my friends I couldn't help but think how lucky I am. I made the best decision of my life coming to Bishop's and it really showed last Friday night. 

I made my grandma's wacky cake cupcakes with buttercream icing for dessert and I got these cute little hot pink foil liners to go with them. I also got tall candles and they looked fabulous on my cake stand. 

Here are the basics for a grilled cheese bar:

1. Have a few different kinds of cheese. I had jalapeño mozzarella, cheddar, and goat cheese.

2. Have your toppings labelled. On the night of the party you'll be pretty busy and you won't have time to be running around telling people what's what. 

3. Have enough bread! You can't make a grilled cheese without bread. 

4. Think big with your toppings and add something for everyone. At the party we had two vegetarians, two gluten intolerants, and one vegan, so I wanted a good balance. Some of the toppings included caramelized onions, ham, bacon, herbed cream cheese, red pepper jelly, and pesto. 

5. Have many frying pans on the go, or a big pancake griddle and rotate the sandwiches.

There were even sparklers!

I mentioned last week that Maggie was coming to visit me. We had a great time and I'm so so so glad she came. Everyone was amazed at how similar we were and how we laughed at all the same things. It brought me back to high school days when we'd always get scolded for giggling at all the wrong times. We went to a Great Gatspy (GABspy) party and I loved getting all dolled up with my best friend on my side. I even pulled out my grandma's fox scarf and it was a hit!

 xox Gaby

So you think you can knit?

Hello my lovelies,

Today is a special day because it's Prince Charles's birthday! Oh, and mine too :) This is yet another example of how I'm related to the Royal family. On that note, look at this cute picture I found:

What gossips!!

I am getting really excited because this weekend one of my best friends, Maggie, is coming to visit me!! I love visitors so this will be great fun! My friends are also hosting a Great GABspy party on Saturday night that will be a bigger crowd than my birthday dinner party on Friday. I have a strict budget to follow and so far I'm on track. The grocery store must think I'm trying to murder a lactose intolerant person because I bought three big blocks of cheese, spreadable herbed cheese, goat cheese, and 2 giant things of ice cream. If I haven't mentioned, I'm having a small gathering on Friday night with a grilled cheese bar. Yes, you heard right. A grilled cheese bar. I'm pretty pumped too :)

On another note, tonight is my first knitting club meeting of the year. Last year, this lovely woman in our community offered to teach Bishop's students how to knit. I jumped on the occasion and LOVED it! Wendy is so sweet and such a good teacher. She even offered to Skype with us if we got our stitch mixed up. She really brought us together and we're going to donate the hats we made to a refugee centre this winter. I stepped up to the plate this year and sent in the appropriate forms to our student representative council so that we can get some funding. I have gotten incredible demand for the club and we're going to have over 30 knitters this season!!! I can't wait for tonight.

Okay, okay, I'll get to what this blog is supposed to be about. Here is a recipe that I made a few weeks ago on a cold afternoon. They are delicious and a must try!!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe from Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cup quick oats

• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ¾ cup melted coconut oil

• ¾ cup dark brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened is fine)

• ¼ cup milk chocolate chips

• 2 teaspoons milk

Instructions

✿ Preheat oven to 350 degrees ℉. 

✿ In large bowl whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

✿ In bowl of an electric mixer beat together melted coconut oil and brown sugar until smooth. Add in egg, milk and vanilla; beat again for 2 minutes or until smooth.

✿ Add in flour & oat mixture to the wet ingredients; mixing until well combined. Slowly add in coconut and chocolate chunks.

✿ Drop dough with cookie scoop or by large rounded tablespoons onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes or until edges just being to turn a golden brown. Do not over bake; we don’t want crispy cookies! Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. Makes 2 dozen.

 Enjoy!!

p.s. Watch this video. I never cry at movies, but tears were just rolling down my face this morning when I watched this. If you're wondering, yes, I watched the full 27 minutes… pathetic I know.

Hello Old Friend

Hiiiii!

Woah, this time it really has been too long! The past few weeks have gone by in a whirlwind and I'm so glad I can finally blog again. I had a little hiccup in my blogging a few weeks ago. As a true food blogger my laptop is always around food and drink... And my beautiful little piece of technology was having a bit of a nap because of said food and drink. With a little help from the computer Gods (a.k.a. the Apple store) and wishing on every 11:11, my laptop is in tip top shape and I'm ready to rock and roll.

Since I last posted, a lot of exciting things have happened to me. First, I got a position on the Bishop's University Commerce Society (BUCS) as Relations Executive Assistant. I am so pumped about my new role and I look forward to working with the profs of the Williams School of Business. I am also organizing the first BU Knitting Club meeting of the semester. I've had such great feedback on Facebook and our school's e-mail newsletter, that I am eager to see all the new faces this Thursday. Speaking of Thursday, it's my birthday in less than a week and I don't fool around with birthday parties. This year I've decided to go with a girl's-night-in theme with a hint of classic childhood birthday party staples, think loot bags and party games. I am thinking of dedicating a post to it, in the coming weeks.

On another note here's a recipe that will knock your socks off! I made them for Ellen's birthday and we polished off the leftovers in no time at all.

Sandy's Meatballs

Meatballs:

- 2 lbs of beef

- 1 cup of milk

- 2 eggs

- 2 cups of breadcrumbs

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp dry mustard

- 1 tsp salt

Sauce:

- 1 bottle VH garlic spareribs sauce

- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar

- 3/4 cup water 

- 3/4 cup vinegar

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp dry mustard 

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together and forms 2 inch balls. Place in an oven proof dish.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl then pour over the meatballs. 

3. Cook at 350 degrees for one hour. 

4. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Enjoy!

xox Gaby

p.s. Shout out to Ariane for coming home to me last night, curled up in the fetal position under my covers clutching onto my phone scared that there was a man lurking around our house. I was obviously paranoid but I SWEAR I heard footsteps and then an alarm went off nearby. Anyways, she warded off all the monsters and I was able to fall asleep. You da best, roomie!!

Pizzas and Midterms

Hi lovelies,

Erica and her little munchkins

Doesn't it feel like forever ago that I wrote a post? I have been super busy with school seeing as I had two midterms last week and I have three coming up this week. I actually have two tomorrow but my Dad always used to tell me that you should relax the night before a big test if you feel you've studied enough. Watch a movie, go for a walk, write a blog post, or whatever else calms your nerves. So that's what I'm doing!

I have been keeping sane with various school events this week such as volunteering at the Shoot for the Cure women's basketball tournament and pumpkin picking with Big Buddies. I don't have a little buddy this year since I am the club's Vice President of Finance, but I have my hands full and this way I get to meet all the kids!

We're so cool!

On Tuesday night, I went to the Business Wine & Cheese event at the campus pub and it was a nice study break, plus we got free food and drinks. I stayed till the end of the event to help clean everything up and I pounced on the leftover bruschetta. We brought some supplies back to Dewies, our campus dining hall and I may or may not have taken a few (too many) cookies!! I asked the the cashier and I guess my undeniable charm is what got to him ;)

With the leftover bruschetta I made this excellent pizza!

Pesto Pizza with Herbed Cream Cheese

➝ Two Variations: Salmon or Bruschetta

Ingredients:
- 1 package of naan bread (two pieces)
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese, or however much you like on your pizza
- 2 Tbsp of pesto
- ¼ cup of chopped onion
- ⅓ cup herb and garlic cream cheese
- Bruschetta ~ or ~ Salmon

Other good add ins:
- Pears
- Artichoke hearts

Instructions:
✿ Spread 1 Tbsp of pesto on each piece of naan bread. Sometimes I add a little olive oil so it's more spreadable.

✿ Then grate the mozzarella cheese on top of the pesto.

✿ Top with chopped onion and bruschetta, or salmon. If you're using salmon, I just fried a thin fist sized portion of salmon in a pan for a few minutes then chopped it up into pieces and placed it on top of the cheese.

✿ Scoop the cream cheese by tsp (so they're little globs) onto the pizzas.

✿ Bake at 400℉ until cheese has melted or until desired crispiness is achieved (~7-10 min)

Pesto Pizza

Bruschetta Pizza

Enjoy! I should probably end the post here so I can get my beauty sleep before my 8:30 AM midterm.

Ciao!

Gaby

Study Break/Baking Break

Hi!

I know I have some international readers, so bare with me guys while I go on about Canadian Thanksgiving! I got home on Thursday night (yay for no Friday classes) at around 7 and it was so nice to get a ride from my friend Karly. Don't get me wrong, I love taking the train, but not two weekends in a row with a suitcase the size of Russia and a backpack packed to the brim with textbooks and cue cards. I am in the middle of midterm season and to put it quite frankly it sucks. I am following my study schedule like my life depended on it, but I wish I could just parade around Ottawa and see everyone with no time constraints. Oh student life, what am I going to do!? 

The other night when I got home, I made these wonderful turtle bars. I would have made something more Thanksgiving-ish but I thought I was making dessert for our family Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt Nini and uncle Roger's house. Then, I got a call saying that someone (I will not use any names...) snatched up my dessert making duty and my mom and I were demoted to appetizer duty. Maybe I'll make something extra delicious next week with that can of pumpkin puree that's burning a hole in my cupboard in Lenny. 

Butter Pecan Turtle Bars

From Bake or Break

Ingredients: 

Crust

- ½ cup butter, softened

- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

- 2 cups flour

- 1 cup chopped pecans

Filling

- ⅔ butter

- ½ firmly packed brown sugar

- 1 bag of milk chocolate chips (300g)

Directions:

Crust

✿ Beat butter until creamy. 

✿ Add brown sugar and mix well. 

✿ Add flour gradually and mix well. 

✿ Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9″x13″ pan. 

✿ Sprinkle with pecans.

Filling

✿ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

✿ In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in brown sugar. Bring to a boil, and continue stirring for about 30 seconds. 

✿ Pour over crust and pecans. 

✿ Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. 

✿ Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. 

✿ Let stand for a few minutes, and then use a knife to cut through chocolate. Cool and cut into bars.

 They are so delicious and remind me of Erica's Skor bars. I'm so happy to be home and see everyone. Especially these little munchkins!!! They're the cutest little neighbours and I could just eat them for dinner. Happy Thanksgiving and if you're in the middle of midterms, or another tough time, just drop everything and go hold a baby. It helps every time. Just remember to ask the parents!! ;)