Archive for the ‘Restaurant’ Category

Best. Recipe. Book. Ever.

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Vacation Eve, much like Christmas Eve, is an exciting day.  The day before a vacation officially begins is like the last day of school before summer starts when you’re in elementary school.  You know the next day is going to be awesome, but the day before, or the eve of it all, is full of extra-special stuff.  You know, you mostly just play pointless games and have longer recess.

I didn’t play games at work today but we did go out for lunch.  That’s way better than soccer-baseball.  I was bad at that game anyway. 

Vacation Eve should start out with good things – enter extra sleep and oatmeal.

Today was another exercise-free day.  I had too much to do to think about squeezing in a work out.  Walking to and from the office was it, but that felt like just the right amount.  The extra sleep this morning was nice.

The bowl of oatmeal was literally doubly good as usual.  Why?  I used a whole banana (look outside, the sky might be falling) and double the almond milk and no water.  Woah! 

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The rest of the bowl was 1/2 c. oats + cinnamon + raisin + walnuts + almond butter.  Yep, this was banana bread oats.  Extra nan-ish with walnuts and raisins is pretty nan-bread-sounding to me.

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Lunch was at Pho Van Van – a Vietnamese restaurant I’ve never been to.  It was alright.  None of us were crazy about our meals.  I had vermicelli + chicken + beef + spring roll.  Most of the spring roll went to the boss.  I wasn’t digging it.  The bites I did eat surely gave me the tummy ache I endured for the afternoon.

But I was not phased because it’s Vacation Eve!

After I walked home and did frantic packing, I ate an apple while watching The City.  Why, oh why, do I waste precious hours of life on that drivel?

Because it’s a great show.

To keep with the theme of the week – Really Bad Suppers Using Old Food From The Fridge – I made a boring, unsatisfying dinner.  Good thing I ate a ton of expired hummus before hand.

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2 eggs + ham + spinach + salsa + avocado.

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It had potential.  Potential wasn’t met.  I moved on to dessert.

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This was peanut butter + plain yogurt + raspberry jam, in that order.  It would appear that the yogurt was an after thought to the peanut butter.  I’m just looking for excuses to eat nut butter around the clock.  It’s getting ridiculous.

Does anyone else have this problem?!  Someone, please, get me on Intervention if this continues.

Anyway, the flight from Ottawa to Toronto was smooth sailing.  I love seeing from the sky how green space all of a sudden turns into a huge metropolis.

When Dad and I got home to Kitchener, I found this on my bed, which may be the most beautiful book I have ever laid eyes on:

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I did a 10 million dollar happy dance in my room when I read the cover.

This is brilliant!  Absolutely the best.  Gluten free and sugar free?!  I am pumped.  So so so excited about this.  I need to find out where my Mom got this!

Off to read some enlightening recipes to finish off Vacation Eve…

Adi

Broke My Yolk

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

I’m lacking on pics of the eats today – out for lunch!  I met a friend over the lunch hour to try a new Thai restaurant, Thai Coconut (their website leaves much to be desired…).  It was tasty, the service was good and the price was right.  Did it blow my mind?  No.  Would I go back?  Absolutely.

The only snack I ate at work was a banana.  Nan photos get a little boring anyway. :)

After I walked home from work – and I must say, the day flew by! – I had a big bowl of grapes.  I ate plenty more from the bag. ;)

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The eggs made another showing this week at supper time.  I’m trying to eat my way through the fridge before holiday time.  Okay, and I wasn’t feeling like making anything else.

Open-faced Eggers were on the menu. 

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These guys were gf corn bread + spinach + lean ham + egg + salt n’ pepa.

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I broke a yolk for photo effect.

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This last forkful had all the right ratios going on.

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And making its first appearance in a long time: an orange!

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I seldom buy oranges because they’re always dried out, or bitter.  I have bad luck picking good ones.  But this guy was great!  Made for a good dessert.

Today’s a rest day from exercise.  I like days off. :) Walking to and from the office was the extent of my moving around today…

Back to it tomorrow though!

Adi

The Sushi Effect

Monday, August 17th, 2009

All-you-can-eat sushi is like the Pizza Hut lunch buffet.  It seems like a great idea at first, and then afterward you feel like the Goodyear Blimp and ask yourself numerous times, “why I didn’t stop about 15 bites ago?”

But sushi twice in one weekend?  Gold.

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The lighting in the restaurant was brutal for pictures so this is all I’ve got!  Doesn’t it look like an edible game board? 

The restaurant was 1000 Sushi Islands.  That just screams classy.  And if the name doesn’t, the neon green paint job on the building sure does.

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Sushi will forever be my favourite social activity with friends. ;)

The rest of today’s eats were weird, mostly because I ate so much at lunch.  An apple + almond butter and two banana nut spongies, with a few dried apricots during lunch packing were supper/snack.  Weird. 

Food for thought, a Time article you may have seen floating around the bloggy world – or in Time magazine.

Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin

Heather did a great post that stems from this article.  When I think about it, my appetite is a lot more intense on days that I workout and usually, this means I’m constantly snacking.  Would less exercise mean less kitchen grazing?  Fewer mindless trips to the fridge?  The article is a good one to mull over.

Monday is creeping up on me… that means tea time and a good book.

Goodbye to another weekend – hope you enjoyed all 48-ish hours of yours. :)

Adi

Stunning Sushi

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

I won’t bother recapping the day’s relatively boring eats, but I did start off with a delish bowl of oats.

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And I had breakfast companions… he was just about to attack me and steal my oats in this photo.

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This guest was much more mellow.

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Lunch and snacks were blah today so let’s get straight to dinner!  Check out this!

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A friend and I went to Wasabi in the Byward Market for a sushi dinner and it was to die for.

We started off with some edamame.

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The rolls we had:

  • Rideau Roll
  • Mango-Tango Roll
  • Spider Roll
  • Yam Roll

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Absolutely fabulous.  This might be the best sushi I’ve ever had – it was so fresh and so… ahhhhhhhh asdkljasdf!! I’ve run out of words.  Go to Wasabi if you’re around Ottawa – the menu is fantastic, service is great, the restaurant ambiance is trendy… worth checking out.

Dessert?  Gelato!  Wow, what a great Friday night.

aug14 023No dairy in this three-scoop delight.  A mix of strawberry + mango + passionfruit.  But yes, there was indeed sugar in this… my tummy shall seek its revenge.

But for now, my tongue is savouring its momentary victory.

Ohhh I love good food!  When I met with the specialist yesterday, he asked:

“So, do you like to eat?  Would you say you have a pretty good appetite?”

I believe my response was… (and said with a huge grin)…

“You could say that…” ;)

It was a total rest day from exercise after four days of being on, and I really needed a break, but I’m looking forward to getting moving again tomorrow.  I’ll be back part way through the day…

Happy weekend!

Adi

Eggy Daze

Friday, August 7th, 2009

I wish I had a picture of my lunch today because it was so photo-worthy!  First though, breakfast.

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Just kidding, this was supper. :)

Breakfast didn’t really happen, per se.  I ate this nan half before the gym.

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All in all, I ended up doing 30 minutes of biking + 25 minutes of elliptical and called it a day.  It was a pretty relaxed hour of cardio (except for fighting the wind on the way there) but it felt good to be up and going first thing in the morning.

But I’m not happy that the sun isn’t out nearly as early as just a few weeks ago. :(

At work, I had half a Clif that remains photoless.  I’m not a big fan of Clifs as a substitute breakfast but I was short on time and new I was going out for a bigger lunch with the co-workers.

Bibim-what?

Speaking of lunch, it was so great!  We went to Le Kim Chi, a really nice Korean restaurant… in Little Italy.  Imagine that.  We split an appetizer Kim Chi Jeon, which crispy pancake things with veggies in them.  Different, but so good.  With the lunch special, we also had miso soup and a salad with the most summery dressing I’ve had in ages.

The main entree we all ordered was bibimbap.  It’s as fun to say as it is to eat.  It comes in a big, really hot pot and in the bottom is a layer of rice, topped with various veggies + meat and in the middle is an egg yolk.  You stir it all up and the egg yolk cooks immediately (no raw yolks, thanks).  Think of fried rice.  Anyway, the rice that sits on the bottom ends up getting a crust on it because the pot is so hot, and it gets nice and chewy.  It’s accompanied with little dishes of sweetened potato + pickled radish + kim chi + red chili sauce.  Sounds a bit scary if you’re not that adventurous (cough cough, like me) but this was fantastic.  I’ll be going to Le Kim Chi again!

The only bad thing was the food induced coma I was in all afternoon.  Really, I was practically falling asleep at my desk.  Good thing the boss let me scram early.

I did sneak in an apple to help me stay awake. ;)

And back to supper!  I’m getting dizzy trying to follow this post.  Sorry folks.

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I guess I’m all about the egg action today.  An omelette seemed like the easiest idea for supper because I wasn’t feeling like waiting to eat.  I cooked mushrooms + red pepper + green onion and then threw it into the egg + parsley omelette shell.  Hard to believe it stayed together!

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I had some toast on the side made with some less than delicious gf corn bread.  Margarine helps, as does the toaster. :)

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Dessert was fruit, because apparently, the canker sore on my tongue isn’t stopping me from eating more of the sweet stuff.  Hard to tell, but that’s a quarter of a pineapple.  Oh tummy.

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I dipped a couple grapes in peanut butter.  Oops.

Alright, I’m off to get dressed up for what should be a pretty fun party!  Yippeeeeeeeeeee weekend!  Have a great Friday night!

Adi