Trains and Treats

Hello readers,

I am once again on the train! I finished my homework and so now I can attempt to write a post with this horrible internet connection. I had a fabulous weekend and it was just what I needed. I have been wanting to visit my friends and family for a while and I knew if I didn't get all my stops done on this trip, I probably never would. My first stop was a visit with my friend Steph, from high school. She goes to HEC Montréal and it was neat to see another business school. Hers seemed so intense and the big city just enhanced the image. While I was at her apartment I got to see my friends Alexis and Ysabelle, who also went to De La Salle in Ottawa. We had a few good laughs thinking about our up and downs at school. 

Then I left for Toronto on Friday morning and headed to the Glendon campus of York, where Zoe, one of my best friends, is in her second year. I've taken more subways in the past few days than I have in my life (side note: there are no subways in Ottawa) and I felt like a country girl cause I was so rattled and jumpy for all my rides. Speeking of subways... My friend Elizabeth's aunt is the woman who announces the station names on the Toronto subway. Cool eh? We went for a nice Italian meal at Fusaro's downtown and I got to put a face to all her friends' names.

Saturday Afternoon, I met my cousins, Ali and Monica, my Aunt Ann, and my sister Steffi and we headed to Mississauga for our 41st annual Farlow Family Golf Tournament. I love my family so much and I get along well with all of them so it's great when we get together. I ate like a king and I'm still full from all the wonderful food. Last night, I went back downtown and stayed with Ali and Moni at their beautiful apartment in an old brick house. Their street is so nice and you'd never know it was in the middle of a bustling city. This morning I woke up bright and early and caught the train.

So now I'm here, and I'm going to brighten your rainy day by sharing THE BEST cookie recipe. They're so delicious that I made them on my last day at OAG this summer to say thanks to my coworkers. The other night I had a brainstorm to put jam in the center instead of the cranberries and white chocolate. They were ah-ma-zing and a must-try.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Shortbread

Adapted from Kraft

Ingredients:

- 2 cups butter, softened
- 1 cup superfine sugar (sometimes I cheat and use regular white sugar)

- 3½ cups flour

- ½ cup cornstarch

- 1 pkg. (170 g) Baker's White Chocolate, chopped or 1 cup of white chocolate chips

- ½ cup dried cranberries

** If you're making thumbprint jammies, you can make a dent with your thumb in the dropped cookies and place a tsp of raspberry jam in the middle of each one (pre baking).

Directions:

✿ HEAT oven to 350°F.

✿ BEAT butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Mix flour and cornstarch. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate and cranberries.

✿ DROP by tablespoonfuls, 1 inch apart, onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

✿ BAKE 20 min. or until just lightly browned. Cool 5 min. on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. 

Enjoy these cookies and don't be afraid to take a little vacation for yourself once and a while. It was totally worth it!!

xox

Gaby

p.s I took my pumpkin spice latte virginity this weekend at the Chapter's Starbucks in the Yorkdale mall. It was a defining moment in my life. I just had to see what all the fuss was about. ;)

p.p.s I found out that my cousin's girlfriend's sister is dating Harry Styles. One moment while I die. Does Harry golf? He will soon! (Wishful thinking?)

1 Squash 2 Ways

Hello guys and gals,

Today I commenced my cross country journey (I'm going to Toronto, we can all stay calm) from Lennoxville. I was so antsy in my last class, but apparently my prof didn't pick up on that because he kept asking me direct questions. He did quite like my managerial accounting analogy about making chili. This past week has been busy as usual, but I like it that way. Now that we're into October I am loving life because fall is just great. I went for a nice run this morning at around 6:30 and it was so calm and beautiful out. Lennoxville is structured in a way that wherever you go there are hills, so the views are impeccable this time of year.

I love hunting for bargains and I usually base my meals off of what's on sale. So when I found out butternut squash and eggs were on sale, I was at the grocery store faster than you can say ''Two dozen eggs for $4". The squash recipes that I am posting today are great for autumn and are simple, yet delicious.

Roasted Squash with Brown Sugar

- ½ butternut squash
- ½ Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp butter

✿ Cut squash in half and cut a small section out of the back so that it doesn't wobble on the pan.

✿ Remove seeds from center and place butter and brown sugar in the center. You can rub the butter
and sugar over the surface of the squash too, to spread the flavour.

✿ Bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 400℉ or until tender.

Squash Croquettes

Adapted from Cierra's Country Life

- ½ butternut squash, grated

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 1 green onion, chopped

- 1 egg beaten

- ½ cup + 1 Tbsp of flour

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tsp pepper

✿ In a large bowl, combine squash, onions, egg, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well. Stir in flour.

✿ In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.

✿ Drop batter in ¼ cup portions into oil.

✿ Cook about 3 minutes per side or until golden brown, turning when needed.

   

Well that's it for today folks! Have a happy october 3rd and a good Friday too (TGI-almost-F right?).

xo

Gaby

Eggsactly What You Need

Kitchen Must-have:

Mini egg frying pan: It makes the perfect breakfast sandwich and the egg is the just the right thickness.

That is all. Have an eggsellent day ;)

Gaby

Company's Coming

Hello!

The other night I had some dinner guests and I made the best shepherd's pie. It wasn't your mother's shepherd's pie, it was made with sweet potatoes and ground chicken. I mainly made it because I got a ton of ground chicken for $5 the other day! I froze it (#typical) so I have chicken coming out of my ears. 

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie with Ground Chicken

Adapted from Skinny Taste

Ingredients: 

For the potatoes:

- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled, diced

- 3 cloves garlic

- ½ cup milk

- ¼ cup chicken broth

- 2 Tbsp sour cream

- salt and pepper to taste

For the filling: 

- 1 lb ground chicken

- 1 tsp olive oil

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 1 celery stalk, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, diced

- 8 oz mushrooms, diced

- 10 oz frozen mixed vegetables 

- 2 tbsp flour 

- 1 cup chicken broth

- 2 tsp tomato paste

- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

- 1 tsp rosemary

- salt and pepper

Directions:

✿ Boil sweet potatoes and garlic until cooked and soft. Drain and mash with chicken broth, sour cream, milk, salt and pepper.  

✿ Preheat oven to 400°F.

✿ In a large saute pan brown chicken; season with salt and pepper. When cooked, drain and set aside on a plate. Add olive oil to the pan, then add the onion and sauté one minute. Add the celery, salt and pepper to taste; cook about 12 minutes, until celery is soft.

✿ Add garlic and mushrooms; sauté another 3-4 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Add frozen vegetables, chicken broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, cooked chicken, and mix well. Simmer on low about 5-10 minutes.  

✿ In an oven safe dish spread meat mixture on the bottom of the dish. Top with mashed sweet potatoes. Use a fork to scrape the top of the potatoes to make ridges. Bake 20 minutes or until potatoes turn golden. Remove from oven and let it cool 10 minutes before serving.

With some fresh bread and a glass of wine you can't go wrong! I also served cranberry scones and ice cream from a local dairy in Coaticook for dessert. I saw a post on a blog I love about untranslatable words. One of them was the spanish word "sobremesa" that means the after-dinner conversation. I loved that! Well we had a lot of "sobremesa" until late last night and I was little sleepy this morning when I rolled out of bed to bike to campus and head out to discover the Eastern Townships with the BU Environmental Club. We had a lovely day and I had a well deserved three hour nap and a hot hot shower when I got home. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and run out to the store to get some sweet potatoes and ground chicken! 

Gaby

p.s. Check out my new blog features by clicking on the My Food or Me pics on the right hand side, and see where it takes you ;)

The Mix

Hi lovelies,

Two posts in two days? Wow (more like #procrastination from making stats notes...)! A few summers ago we were up at my aunt and uncle's cottage in Southampton and my aunt D'Arcy made The Mix. It is necessary to capitalize the name because it was a pivotal point in my life. Those Farlow girls sure know how to make good food combinations. Exhibit A: We had been going to a Lebanese bakery to get meat or cheese pies for years. When we brought my cousin Robyn and asked her if she wanted a meat or cheese pie, she responded with "Meat AND cheese together in one". From that day on, we've always gotten meat and cheese pitas! It really is the simple things with food. Exhibit B: Up at the cottage we were making sandwiches and D'Arcy mixed hard boiled eggs and tuna in ONE SANDWICH. I was a little unsure, so you can be too, but the result was incredible and since then it's one of my favourites.

The Mix

- 1 hardboiled egg 

- 1 can of tuna (drained)

- 1 tbsp of mayonnaise (or however much you like)

- A few tbsp of grated cheddar cheese

- 1 english muffin

- s&p to taste

✿ Mix the first three ingredients together in a small bowl. 

✿ Spread The Mix equally on both sides of the english muffin.

✿ Grate cheese on top of The Mix.

✿ Bake on a small cooking sheet at 350℉ until cheese has melted and english muffin is crispy.

✿ Add s&p to taste.

Let's Talk Cookies

Hey guys and gals,

I hope you aren't drowning in too much work this week! It is officially my weekend so I can sit back and relax. Nvm I have like 538439439038 things to do so my weekend will be go go go. I want to get some of my work done early though because I want to participate in the annual Tomiphobia Trail Clean-up with the environmental club on Saturday. I went last year and it was a good bonding experience with the club, plus we got to be in the great outdoors during my favourite season.

This summer I watched a movie and one of the main characters drops out of Harvard Law to open a bakery because she got caught up baking every time she had a study session... Is this my future?? Well judging from this week, that's sounding pretty good! For my International Business class we have to analyze a case study in a group of five every week so my friends Rachel, Kelly, Becky, and Karly all came over to my house to work on it. One of the things I love the most about my house is the big harvest dinner table and the banquet that can fit so many people. It's perfect for big meals or group projects. I made cookie squares for the meeting and they sure were a hit.

Cookie Squares

- ⅔ cup shortening

- ½ cup white sugar

- ½ cup brown sugar                       

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1½ cups flour

- ½ teaspoon salt

- ½ teaspoon baking soda

- 1 cup chocolate chips (milk choc. taste the best.)

✿ Cream together the first 5 ingredients then add flour, salt baking soda. 

✿ Mix well and then add the chocolate chips. 

✿ Grease pan with shortening (8x8).

✿ Bake 375 degrees for 17 min. or until light brown.  

This recipe is quick and easy and only requires one bowl. You can make them in no time at all because you don't need to roll them or scoop them, just pat them down in a pan. You'll be having study groups in no time if you make these ;)

xox Gaby

Wild Blueberries? Muffins!

Hello hello!

I have a little break in my day today so I get to go home! Later on in the year I will probably use this time to be productive but right now I've done everything I can do, so I can goof around on the internet and write a blog post. Here is the muffin recipe I mentioned a little while ago. Oh btw WE HAVE INTERNET. So I can finally write blog posts from home, which is ten thousand times more convenient.

Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

1 ½ C whole wheat flour

1 C oats 

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ C sugar

¼ heaping C melted coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla 

1 egg

2 large bananas 

⅓ C apple sauce

¼ hemp hearts (optional)

1 C blueberries 

✿ Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
✿ Mash bananas and add in sugar, melted coconut oil, vanilla, egg, apple sauce and mix well.
✿ Combine wet and dry ingredients and then add the hemp hearts (optional) and blueberries.

✿ Fill 18 muffin cups with liners or spray with cooking oil/spray.

✿ Bake for 17 minutes at 400 degrees.

These are so good and it makes so many! Plus they are pretty healthy for you :) Enjoy!

Gaby