Shrimp Pad Thai

Hello lovelies,

If you don't know me very well you may not know that in high school my friends and I started a curling team. It's the classic underdog story of how we worked together as a team to fight the assumptions that this team of beginners couldn't make it anywhere. Well, we ended up making the playoffs and quickly curling nights were a highlight for this tight knit group of girls. So without boring you too much about my curling stories, I just wanted to say we've kept a special place in our hearts for curling. (Cue the cheesiness…)

Which brings me to tell you about my fun little outing over my reading week! 75 years ago, my great grandmother, Clara Williamson, donated a trophy for the City of Ottawa Ladies Curling Cup. Ever since then, descendants of Clara have presented the cup and this year my dad and I went. I felt like Kate Middleton, as we posed with the trophy and were introduced as the guests of honour! It was fun to watch the game cause it was a nail biter!

My dad kept whispering in my ear "This is so exciting I'm on the edge of my seat" sarcastically, but I was having a ball. I didn't know innocent little old ladies could yell so much and scream so loudly when they played a good stone. It was really fun and it was great to be there representing my family.

Here is a Pad Thai recipe I found on one of my favourite blogs, A Cup of Jo. She's so funny and honest!

Shrimp Pad Thai

By Cooksmarts via Cup of Jo

Ingredients
- 8 oz. Pad Thai noodles 
- 3 tbsp. canola oil 
- 1 lb. frozen peeled, tail-on shrimp 
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped 
- 4 cloves garlic, minced 
- 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped 
- 2-4 eggs, whisked 
- 1/4 cup chicken stock 
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar 
- 3 tbsp. fish sauce 
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce 
- 2 tbsp. tamarind paste (optional) 
- A few limes

Instructions
✿ Place noodles in a large bowl and pour 6 cups of boiling water over the noodles. Give the noodles a stir and then let them sit in the hot water for about 8 minutes. This will be enough time to get them softened but not soggy. Drain and set aside. (I usually toss the noodles with about 1 tbsp. of oil to keep them from sticking.)

✿ While waiting for the noodles, defrost shrimp in a bowl of lukewarm water. Drain them after 15 to 20 minutes and dry with some paper towels.

✿ Meanwhile get your the other ingredients ready: chop green onions, keeping green and white parts separate; mince garlic; chop peanuts, and whisk eggs.

✿ Next mix together the sauce. Combine stock, sugar, fish and soy sauces, tamarind paste and minced garlic. Marinate shrimp in about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sauce.

✿ Now it’s time to put all the ingredients together. Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp. oil and then shrimp to heated oil. Be careful to drop the shrimp in as close as you can to the wok to prevent spattering. Sear shrimp for about 2 to 3 minutes on both sides until you get a beautiful caramelization. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

✿ Return wok back to medium-high heat and add remaining tbsp. of oil. Add in the chopped white parts of the green onion with a dash of salt. Pour in whisked eggs and scramble lightly for about 30 seconds. Push them to the side of the wok and then add noodles. Pour in remainder of the sauce and toss your noodles with tongs and get them completely coated in your sauce. Once the noodles have absorbed all the sauce, add the shrimp back along with the green parts of the green onions and juice from half a lime. 

✿ Toss everything together and then taste! If it needs more sweetness, add more brown sugar; if it needs more salt, add fish or soy sauce; if it needs more tanginess, add more tamarind paste. Once you get it exactly to your liking, serve piping hot with chopped peanuts and extra lime wedges.

Enjoy!

xox Gaby

Crêpes

Salut mes amis,

This morning I woke up and I wanted crêpes, so I made some! This delicious french dish is so simple yet you can dress it up in any way, making it savoury or sweet. One day this year, my friend Karly made these wonderful crêpes with prosciutto, caramelized peppers, and goat cheese, topped with a light vinaigrette. They were delicious and we ate them for dinner. With a few toppings these puppies can look fancy in a flash.

Another time this year, I was over at some friends' house and after a lovely sausage pasta dish that Hannah made, Kevin made us sweet crêpes for dessert, showing us that they are the quickest yummiest dessert!

Here is the recipe I made this morning! It makes two crêpes, enough for one person.

Crêpes

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup milk 

- 1/4 cup water

- 1 egg

- 1/2 cup flour

- 1 tsp sugar

- 1/2 tsp vanilla

- A little butter to coat the pan

Instructions

✿ Whisk together all the ingredients until smooth.

✿ Grease a pretty large pan with butter over medium heat. Make sure the pan is hot enough by flicking a few drops of water into the pan. If it sizzles, then it's ready!

✿ Pour half the batter into the pan and roll the pan around so that the batter covers the surface of the pan. It should be thin.

✿ Turn the crêpe over once bubbles start to appear and the one side is no longer sticky (roughly a few minutes).

Bon appétit!

xox 

Gaby

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Hello!

I hope those of you in cold weather, like me, are bundled up in a wool blanket sipping tea! It's pretty nippy in Ottawa today, I can practically see my breath in the comfort of my own bedroom. I'm home for reading week and I've been having so much fun already! From three hour coffee shop chats with the besties, to hitting up Costco like I'm a 30 year-old soccer mom with a birthday party to throw.

I've also made a bit of progress with my exchange research. My dad is all gung-ho about me travelling since he loves anything related to maps, geography, or discovering the world. If my dad was ten and his house was being built on Extreme Makeover Home Edition, I'm pretty sure his room would be map themed, with his bed being a huge atlas. I just need to decide where I want to live for four months and it's so difficult!!! BUT new information: My best friend Maggie might come with me!!! Imagine that?? We've shared so many good memories but have gone to different universities so now would be our chance to study abroad together! It makes me grin from ear to ear just thinking about it.

Here is a recipe for all you vegans out there! Or if you're not vegan, this recipe is great, and that's coming from a huge sloppy joes fan!

Side note: Here is the text I sent my roommate Sara, when I found this recipe… my bad.

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Adapted from Hell Yeah It's Vegan

Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dry mustard
- 1 c quinoa (cooked)
- ½ tofu (optional)
- 1½ c water
- ½ c pizza sauce
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- soft  buns

Instructions

✿ In a medium saucepan, saute pepper and onion in oil until onion is translucent.
✿ Stir in chili powder, garlic and mustard.
✿ In a small bowl mix pizza sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar to make ketchup like sauce.
✿ Add cooked quinoa (and optional chopped tofu), water, ketchup like sauce, and soy sauce; stir well.
✿ Cover and bring mixture to a boil.
✿ Reduce heat, simmering for ~20 minutes covered.
✿ Remove lid and simmer for 5 minutes more, stirring frequently until most of liquid has evaporated.
✿ Season with salt and pepper to taste.
✿ Serve hot on toasted sandwich buns, with onion slices and avocados if desired.

Enjoy!!

xox
Gaby

What's Cracking?

Good morning!

Guess what? I made a gif!!! Thanks Britt for the lovely photos.

FYI I like eggs.

xox

Chili-Fest Party Idea

Hi folks,

This past weekend my roommates and I hosted a chili fest! It was Sara's idea, and she got it from her annual chili-fest back home. We invited around 40 people but with midterms and other middle of the semester shenanigans, only about 20 could make it. Every team/household had to bring a pot of chili and a prize for the winning chili.

Our theme for the event was the stages of Leo. As in Leonardo DiCaprio… All I can say is our guests weren't just saying "yum" about the chili!! Every team got to pick a different Leo for their pot of chili and then after we ate copious amounts chili topped with cheese, sour cream, and green onions, we cast our votes at our secret voting station a.k.a. the shrine in our staircase. It was the perfect way to spend a snowy afternoon in February.

The prize for the winning chili went to Tim, or should I say The Wolf of Wall Street Leo!! His chili had the perfect hint of hot sauce and the right amount of tomatoes. Congrats Tim, we knew you had it in the bag :)

Yay for homemade valentines garland 

It's a great party idea if you're thinking of having some friends over! At all our parties we have a pretty central theme of good food. I've always said food brings people together!!!

Have a beauty of a day friends :)

xox

Gaby

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Hello lovelies,

It's valentines day, and as a single gal I should be posting passive aggressive gifs about how life sucks and all I want to do is eat chocolate and watch Netflix. BUT Valentine's day is one of my favourite day's of the year! I love how I get to dress up and bake and make cards… a.k.a. my three favourite activities. What's not to love? Last year I went home for Valentine's day and it was super adorable to see everyone reuniting in the Montreal train station with roses in hand.

I also threw a cute party last year with red drinks (I made a drink called Kiss in Heaven, 1 part grenadine, 3 parts pure love) and desserts with my girlfriends. It was so fun! This year, I'm going to a ladies only v-day party and I'm super pumped! I'm planning on making a chocolate fudge pie with raspberry sauce and coconut whipped cream (recipe to come!). Seriously, this is becoming a "let's celebrate ladies'' holiday and I'm loving it!

If you're heading somewhere special today here's a fabulous recipe you can make for your loved ones!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Layer:
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 tablespoons milk, divided 
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon red food colouring
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar

Cheesecake Layer:
- 2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

✿ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 18  pan with butter or spray.

✿ In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla extract, red food coloring, and white vinegar.

✿ Combine the dry and wet ingredients, until completely combined. The batter will be a really thick, almost moldable texture...but don't worry, that's what you want. Remove 3/4 cup of the batter and place it in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk (into the 3/4 cup of batter you just took out). Set aside the 3/4 cup batter.

✿ Pour the remaining batter into the prepared jelly roll pan. Using a spatula, smooth out the batter to reach all the edges.

✿ Now, in your stand mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined and there are no lumps. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the red velvet layer and smooth mixture till it reaches all the edges.

✿ Drop spoonfuls of the remaining red velvet batter (that you mixed with milk) onto the top of the cheesecake layer. Drag the tip of a knife through the red velvet and the cheesecake layers to create swirls.

✿ Bake for 30 minutes, rotating half way through, or just until the center is set and it no longer jiggles. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Use a medium sized heart cookie cutter to create the perfect Valentine's Day treat!

Enjoy!

xox

Lemon Shrimp Linguini

Hello mates!

You may be wondering why I just referred to you as mate?? Well… after waking up in a cold sweat one night (slight exaggeration) I realized that I need to start living more spontaneously. I decided that even though the deadline for exchange program applications were due a week ago, I would look into studying abroad for a semester. I emailed the international exchange coordinator and in less than 24 hours I was sitting in her office bright eyed and bushy tailed. She told me that the deadline didn't matter but that I should get to it with my research! What was initially holding me back was that I couldn't study in a big city but once I brought that up, she informed me that Bishop's just recently signed an agreement with a business school in the heart of LONDON's FINANCIAL DISTRICT!!!! Say what?!?!

I'm by no means certain that I will go because, if you haven't already clued in by my recipes, I'm really  frugal and living in London = me pouring out more money than I can imagine. I mean it would probably cost me four times more than living here and I don't want to feel bad the whole time I'm there about my strict budget (I'm serious. Think spreadsheets). BUT, it's an option and even looking into it makes me giddy and excited about doing something crazy! So I will keep you posted on my adventures.

Anywho, I've been having a great time in Lenny these days especially with a visit from Steffi and my mom last weekend for an event I helped coordinate that involved TED inspired talks and a debate tournament.

Here is a fabulous lemon shrimp pasta recipe to add a little zest to your drab winter.

Lemon Shrimp Linguini

From Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Ingredients:

- Vegetable Oil

- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds linguine
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 5 tablespoons good olive oil
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
- 2 pounds large shirmp, peeled and deveined (just buy them that way)

- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

- Grated zest of 1 lemon

- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)

- 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
- 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Instructions:

✿ Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

✿ Meanwhile, in another large pan melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! 

✿ Add the shrimp, 1 tablespoon of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. 

✿ Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

✿ When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Enjoy!!

xox 

Gaby