Five Thing Friday: 08-02-13.

Happy Friday! Hopefully you’re not buried in snow, wherever you are. I’m typing this up Thursday night so I don’t know what it’s like Friday morning, but they’re predicting one hell of a snowstorm for the area. Hope you’re staying warm!

(edited to add: yup, it’s a snow day! University is closed).

5 Awesome Things About a Quick Trip Home:

1. Seeing my family. That’s kind of a given!

2. Taking over the washing machine for a night.

That is what 3 1/2 weeks worth of laundry for two people looks like.

3. Having the bestie stop by for a little while so I can see her gorgeous face.

My birthday weekend last October.

4. Seeing this adorable little furball.

Such an adorable face.

And yes, that is my dad’s Steeler’s PJ pants in the background.

5. This one too.

Except for the fact that her meowing woke me up about 3 times Wednesday night…not cool.

 

5 Workout Classes that I would love to try:

1. Spin. I’ve never actually tried a class. I think I’m going to need padded shorts before I give that one a shot.

2. Pole Dancing. It’s legit exercise, people!

3. Capoeaira. It just looks like fun.

(source)

Because I could absolutely do this.

4. Power Yoga. I’ve done it via podcasts and videos at home, but I’ve never done an actual power yoga class (I’ve done intro yoga and hot yoga, though).

5. BodyPump. Especially if Annette teaches.

(source)

 

5 Pet Peeves of Mine:

1. Incorrect use of grammar or language. Seriously, you do not want to be one of my students who mixes up they’re/their/there or you’re/your when I’m marking papers. Drives me insane.

2. People who don’t put away their equipment at the gym. Really? I’m sorry, is twenty seconds to put shit away too much to ask?

3. Slow walkers. In the middle of the sidewalk. Sigh.

4. Drivers who don’t use a turn signal. I don’t get too ragey when I drive, but that just annoys me to no end.

5. Rude waiters. It doesn’t matter how awesome the food is, if the waiter/waitress is rude or annoys me, I ‘m not going to like the restaurant. Customer service, people!

(source)

Although, this movie has taught me never to rude to waiters…

 

5 Books on My To-Read List:

1. The Name of the Wind. Because Amanda compared it to the Song of Ice and Fire series, which is one of the best series I’ve ever read. I trust her judgment

2. Terra by Gretchen Powell. Gotta support the fellow bloggers – plus I’ve been hearing good things!

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth. Yes, I haven’t read this series yet. I’m disappointed with myself.

4. Inferno by Dan Brown. Looove Dan Brown books. The movies, however…not so much.

5. How To Tell if the Cat is Plotting to Kill You by the Oatmeal. Because you know that book has to be hilarious. And I’m sure, will verify why I consider myself to be a dog person.

(source)

Talk to you later!

<— What’s a workout class you’d like to try? Please tell me I’m not the only person who would take a pole dancing class.

<— Next on your reading list?

<— One of your pet peeves?

Scenes From the Cottage.

I definitely had a fabulous weekend.

 

We stopped for lunch in Goderich on our way up to the cottage. My parents had tried a place called West Street Willy’s Eatery in the downtown core when they were here a few weeks ago. They had liked it, so we decided we’d give it a shot.

 

 

I love these water glasses. So rustic/cute.

 

While their burgers looked amazing, I wasn’t feeling anything too heavy, so I decided I would try their falafel burger – falafel balls on a bun with hummus, tomato and lettuce, with a side salad.

 

 

Umm…so much for light.

 

(and that is Eric’s poutine in the background. Boy’s obsessed)!

 

 

 

 

It definitely did not say on the menu that the falafel was battered and deep fried. It was delicious, but I wasn’t expecting that – I figured it would likely be fried, but the battered part, I didn’t see coming (Random pet peeve – when restaurants fail to specify that a dish is deep fried).

 

And jesus, that is huge. I took off the top bun and ate in open style with a knife and fork. Because clearly, my mouth is not fitting around that (TWSS).

 

Still definitely enjoyed though!

 

Then, we made the rest of the journey up to Eric’s aunt and uncle’s cottage. I’ll let the pictures say the rest.

 

 

 

Hello, beautiful scenery.

 

 

 

Dinner of barbecued Asian sesame salmon, roasted potatoes, and a black bean and corn salad with jalapeños and tomato. Delicious dinner!

 

Saturday breakfast:

 

 

2 fried eggs, a slice of bacon, tomato slices and a piece of toast with herb and garlic cream cheese.

 

(P.S. I was struggling to remember what kind of cream cheese that was, but could only remember that it was garlic something. I just asked Eric what it was and he told me it was herb and something. It was herb and garlic – that was teamwork).

 

After breakfast adventures:

 

 

Would not be able to tell you the last time I was on a bike.

 

And, I have never been on a road bike before in my life.

 

And now I kind of want one.

 

 

And, I enjoy embarrassing my boyfriend on the internet.

 

Love you!

 

 

 

Can I live here?

 

 

 

Helmets are important kids – even when you look like a goof wearing one.

 

Unfortunately, our biking adventures were cut short.

 

 

Well, that’s unfortunate.

 

And made for a very slooow ride back to the cottage. (It was Eric’s bike, not mine).

 

Lunch time!

 

 

 

Mmm…sandwich. Pastrami, Imperial cheese (this stuff is only available in Canada, and is some of the best cheese in existence), pickles, dijon and hot peppers.

 

I don’t know if I’ve ever had pastrami before. I enjoyed it, but I still have no idea what the hell it is.

 

Cherries on the side. And a vodka and diet coke.  

 

Relaxing afternoon of talking and reading.

 

 

And watching Lola enjoy the water – she thought it was pretty too!

 

Dinner!

 

 

Just stuffing some chicken breasts.

 

Broccoli, sundried tomatoes and old cheddar on the BBQ – so so good.

 

 

Would it be rude if I just ate them all?

 

 

(Excuse the poor photo quality – we ate outside and the sun had gone by that point)

 

Chicken topped with mushroom gravy, steamed green beans with onions (I can’t remember the exact name – something small and Italian) and corn on the cob with parsley butter and parmesan.

 

Clearly, we were eating well on this trip.

 

Speaking of the sun going down…

 

 

Now I really don’t want to leave. It doesn’t get much more picturesque than that!

 

 

Obligatory couple-with-sunset-background pose.

 

So cute.

 

Sunday breakfast (after an awesome nights sleep…I slept about 9-10 hours a night on this trip. It was glorious).

 

 

Scrambled eggs with basil and cheese, toast with Laughing Cow, cherries and peameal bacon.

 

Because I am a sucker for flea markets –

 

 

 

They’re cute. And you can find amazing stuff.

 

Like an adorable pair of oven mitts. That I forgot to take a picture of and will do so tomorrow.

 

Lunch stop at Union Burger in Goderich (it was halfway between home and the cottage, so it definitely made a great rest stop).

 

Union Burger is a cute little burger place (I think it’s a chain but I’m not 100% sure According to Google, it is a Canadian chain that started in 2010) where you place your order and pay, then you sit and wait for your number to be called. Kinda fast food-ish, but more upscale.

 

The service wasn’t the greatest (I had to repeat our order to the cashier no less than 12 times, and our food took a little while) at least the food was tasty.

 

 

Hello meal-sized salad. I’ve missed you.

 

I got the Tuscany salad – greens, tomato, cranberries, mandarin oranges, candied pecans and goat cheese with balsamic vinaigrette.

 

 

(Why yes, I am hungry).

 

And I demanded Eric share some of his onion rings.

 

 

Not the face of someone who wants to share.

 

Good thing I’m cute.

 

We made the trip home in good time and proceeded to plop down at our respective computers for a while. Clearly, we are an internet-loving couple.

 

Super-late-I-am-lazy-dinner.

 

 

The last of the lasagna on some baby greens.

 

Trying to tame my sugar tooth a little.

 

 

 

Berries, you will have to do as dessert.

 

So that was my weekend in a nutshell!

 

Definitely a great way to spend the last weekend in August – thanks to Rob, Linda, Dan, Lauren, Jackie and Mike for an amazing weekend!

 

 

<—What was a highlight of your weekend?

 

<—Can anyone tell me what pastrami actually is?

Ninja Health Attack.

So….

I am a dessert queen.

Any sort of family or friend get together, I bring a dessert. Today, Eric and I were heading over to my parent’s for a BBQ dinner, so of course, this rule applied.

Normally, I am all over the sugary sweet desserts. I usually show up with brownies or cupcakes in hand. However, I’m feeling like my sugar intake is getting higher than I’d like it to lately (there’s definitely lots of chocolate, candy and handfuls of cereal that go undocumented on the blog) so I wanted something a little bit healthier tonight.

I challenged myself to take an already decent dessert health-wise and try to healthy it up even more. My parents are fans of blueberries, so I thought a blueberry crisp would be perfect.

The challenge? Healthy it up a bit, but don’t make it noticeable. That’s the challenge I find with healthy desserts – making it undetectable.

So blueberry crisp – but with no butter, 100% whole grain and reduced sugar. I’m so sneaky.

Healthified Blueberry Crisp

(serves 6, based off of Blueberry Crisp recipe in Betty Crocker New Edition)

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 – 4 cups blueberries
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, in solid form
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup large flake oats
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 pan with coconut oil.
2. Pour blueberries into pan.
3. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
4. Sprinkle topping over blueberries.
5. Place pan in oven and cook for 35 – 40 minutes, or until topping has browned and blueberries are juicy.

 

So simple!

 

Umm..yea. 

This is just sweet enough, and the topping is perfectly crunchy. You can eat 1/6 of the pan for only 220 calories – and it tastes a lot more decadent than that.

Recipe success. 🙂

 

Family Time

When we got to my parents, I made a beeline for this adorable creature.

 

This is the family dog, Lexus. She’s part Miniature Pinscher, part Jack Russell, and all attitude. 🙂

Of course, I was excited to see my parents and my brother too. They live about 25 minutes away from me, but I make sure to see them at least a few times a month.

My mom spent yesterday at the Farmer’s Market in St. Jacob’s, Waterloo. St. Jacob’s Market is Canada’s largest year-round farmers market, and it is absolutely amazing. Of course, she was thoughtful and brought me back a treat.

 

(excuse the plastic wrap!)

Fresh-made focaccia bread with spinach, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese. Umm, three of my favourite things on oven-baked bread? Yes please!

We got there right around lunch time, and the plan was for an early dinner. Fortunately, my mom loves hummus as much as I do and always has a stash in the house.

 

Pretzel Crisps and Caramelized Onion Hummus. Clearly, I was so excited by this I just jumped right in before setting up any sort of decent picture. 🙂

I’ve had these crisps before and I see them all the time on Tina‘s blog, but I forgot how good they are. Tasty on their own, but the perfect hummus vehicle – super crunchy and thin, with a nice flavour.

When I went to talk to my brother, he had to show me the new toy in the house.

 

A Bowflex! (and my thumb. and an unfinished basement).

My parent’s live pretty far out in the country, and while my dad and Craig belong to a gym, it’s not always possible to drive into town to hit it up. This allows them to get in a decent workout at home.

It looks like it’d be fun to try out! Although while Craig and my dad were showing me how it worked, I couldn’t help but think it took a long time to set it up between exercises – I feel like I’d get too annoyed with it.

Speaking of my dad,

 

Can you tell he doesn’t like pictures much?

While my dad has always been active (he plays baseball and golf in the summer, and volleyball in the winter) he just joined a gym back in March. Since then he’s added a lot of muscle and and lost about 20-25 pounds…I’m super proud of him!

 

We love getting in some time with the family. 🙂

And another dog shot. I just can’t help myself.

 

Too.effin’.cute.

 

Dinner

It was gorgeous outside tonight – breezy and not too hot. My parents have a nice deck and a gorgeous backyard, so we ate dinner out back.

 

While I love living in the city, there’s something so nice about being out in the country.

We had what might have been the coolest wine I’d ever heard of with dinner.

 

My aunt and my cousin just got back from a trip to Newfoundland, and they brought this back for my mom as a souvenir. It’s a raspberry wine made from real iceberg water – that’s such a cool concept!

 

I thought I would be driving later so I kept it to just one glass – but oh my, was it delicious! I’m a huge fan of fruit wines; the more they taste like juice, the happier I am. This one was light and fruity, but not too sweet. Absolutely perfect.

For dinner, we went with a real BBQ style. 

Barbecued chicken and ribs, scalloped potatoes, and corn on the cob.

 

I tried a little bit of everything – plus I went back for another scoop of the potatoes. Sometimes, you just need a little condensed cream of mushroom soup in your life. 🙂

Of course, we brought out the dessert.

 

Looks awesome, but missing a little something.

 

Better.

And – the dessert passed the healthified test. Not one person noticed it was healthier than the usual version. Happiness!

Overall, an awesome time spent with the family. We’ll get the chance to see them again a week from Monday – my family always goes camping for a week in August and Eric and I will be driving up to join them for a few days. I love camping and I haven’t been in a few years – looking forward to it so much!

Amazing way to spend a Sunday. 🙂

 

<– Favourite dish your mom/dad/sibling makes? I do love those potatoes.

<– Do you ever try to healthify desserts?