dinny din din

So I haven't posted anything in a while, mostly because it doesn't seem like many people care for my blog. Maybe it's because I mostly post about food. Hmm..... Oh well. I like food. Anyway, here's a short one, just wanted to share what I made for dinner tonight cause it was pretty stellar. And I made it all from scratch (except i didn't make the bread or crackers). It was yu-uuuuummy! Luke says I eat better than the Queen of England probably does. Ha! Take that, Queen's chef! Clockwise from top left are Oven roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus in olive oil with sunflower seeds, Flax & honey bread (yes I still eat honey) with Earth Balance buttery spread , Brown rice/chick pea/tofu salad with other stuff in it in a mediterranean dressing( ok the dressing is store-bought too), and guacamole with organic flax/sesame/quinoa crackers. I want to cook like this every day. So glad I made enough for leftovers tomorrow.

On repeat in my head.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Turn Into

Winter Wonderland at Allan Gardens

For Ceilidh and Dru

My weekend included dinner parties and busses and dinner on party busses

  So, like I mentioned before, I was having some friends over to say farewell to Adam, Tyson and Tim. Alex and Heather helped me make Sweet Potato and Coconut soup, hummus and Pumpkins and Spinach wontons. Everything turned out delish and I think it's safe to say we all had fun.  Ooooh and we ate those cupcakes, the pumpkin choco-chip ones, for dessert. So here's how the cooking and hanging out went, pretty much in order, for your viewing pleasure:

                                                              Peace and wonton filling

Aww Shucks. You're a doll.

                                                                 The beginning of soup

                                                         Drunk Heather and drunk Dru

Wontons! Didn't think these would turn out...But they did!

Ceilidh!

Tyson!

Tim!

Adam! (why is your hand placed on your crotch?)

1/2 way there

Coconut Cream for the soup

Voila!

                                                                               Elliot

Dru and Heather and myself

 Skip ahead to Saturday. Billy got home from 6 weeks of touring the US and so I met up with him and Alex and we went to Hibiscus in Kensington Market to get vegan ice cream for his friend MJ from Australia who's been on tour with him, working for one of the other bands. We were going to go to dinner with her at Fressen but time was running out so we went to grab a sammich at Urban Herbivore instead.

                                                                                  Alex

                                                                               Billy

 

 From there we went to the Sound Academy where Billy's band was headlining that night, and hung out on their tour bus until show time. The weather outside was cold and miserably wet. the bus was warm and cozy. It was a good hangout choice . Lots of fun was to be had including games of C-lo, Snaps- which has taken me 3.5 years to finally understand!!!! -and another Aussie game which Tyson and Alex stumped us all with called Black Magic.  

                                                        View of the city from the Docs
                                                  Billy on his Blackberry. Surprise? No.
                                                                               Tyson
                                                               C-lo. Only $20 a pop!

                                               Money money money monnnnnney. Money!
                   Tyson karate chopped Alex in the lip! He pretended to feel bad afterwards!
                                                                       Ceiling mirrors
Moi

 My camera died right after the last photo, so I couldn't get the rest of the fun that was had lastnight, but Rob Dyer showed up and I got to see my friend Katrina too! The guys played a good show, the venue was packed with kids mostly so it was nice to be able to watch from side stage and not get trampled by little emo's. After the show I came home and Billy and Alex went on to the Horseshoe Tavern to see Attack In Black play. Anyway, that was my weekend. How was yours?

I may have found my new love..... guess what it is?

So once again I had the urge to bake. This seems to be turning into a weekly thing for me.  I do have 75 different cupcakes to try out, so you will be seeing them posted on here OFTEN! And if you're nice enough maybe you'll even get to taste some!  Ooooh excited? Yeah, I know  your mouth is watering. Try not to drool all over your keyboard okay? I refuse to be held responsible for any damage your saliva, due to my cupcake photos, may cause.  Anyway, tonight I made Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cupcakes and the pictures below are to make you feel like you were there with me in all the glory. I made a double batch because 12 just didn't seem like enough. Billy, I made these for you! Welcome home Saturday!! The icing isn't quite like the Sneaky Dee's ones, but it wasn't until I started making the icing recipe that I realized it's not a fluffy one. I'll make a 'butter'cream icing next time. Still, I tried one and it was soooooo f%&@!n' yummmy....... oh no, my keyboard! Okay I'll take responsibility for that one but only cause it's my own fault. 

NOT muffins!

Cinnamon Icing- more like a glaze

                                                                                A fin!

                                              

 So tomorrow night (or tonight I guess since it's after 1 am; i should so be in bed) more cooking is to be had. Gonna make some Sweet potato and coconut soup with pumpkin and spinach wontons as a last supper of sorts for my friends Adam, Tyson and Tim who are leaving Canada over the weekend to head back home to Australia. It's sad they're leaving after only 5 1/2 months, but I'd be stoked to be heading to summer in Melbourne too, so I can't blame them. Hopefully we'll be lucky enough to cross paths again someday, for a 3rd time in our lives.  So after dinner and cupcakes tomorrow night it's off to the  El Mocambo to celebrate the return home of Rob Dyer who's just today finished his Cross Canada Skate 4 Cancer! I am so proud of him, he is such a strong, motivated and passionate person. I mean, how many people can say they skateboarded from Vancouver, BC to Halifax, NS to raise cancer awareness?? Not many. Fuck yeah, Rob, you are my hero!! I'll bring you a pumpkin cupcake!

                         

Like I said..... VCTOW is going to make me the happiest [and fattest] person!

I made these guys tonight. Vegan Peanutbutter cupcakes with a chocolate ganache drizzle. Packaged all nice for my trip to Montreal tomorrow yay! I am going to try really hard not to eat them all on the train there. And hopefully I'll by a memory card for my camera so i can actually document the fun to be had. My house smells amazing.

I, also smell amazing- thanks to the pampering I had done today. First, I met up with my best friend Alex Lee at a pretty little Yoga spot she works at part-time and we took a Hot Fusion class together. That means yoga mixed with pilates in a room that makes you sweat after 10 seconds of stepping inside. It was intense and I do not look forward the the pain I'm going to wake up to in the morning. Then I rushed over to Flow Nail Spa for luxurious pedicure/manicure which my best ladies, Alex and Heather, treated me to with a gift card for my birthday last month. I got to pick a fragrance for the pedicure and I love love love anything vanilla so that's what i picked and it was the most delicious smell my nose has ever experienced. Seriously. I believe the scent was named "Fingerlicking Good". SO it started with a water bomb in that fragrance, then a scrub, then I got a full foot and calf massage with the lotion. PLUS I was served a tea of my choice from the menu. I love any kind of green tea and so i tried a Sencha green with a hint of cherries. YUM. The pedicure lasted an amazing 45 minutes or so. My toes have never looked so pretty. Or French. Then I got a matching French manicure that came with a fingerlicking good hand and forearm massage. I want to smell like this forever.

OK, time to dream of baked goods and spas now since my dreams, quite often, are strange abstract versions of the day before.


Carrots.

BATS

This is what can happen when you support local metal/hardcore bands!

So proud of these guys!

Cancer Bats - Lucifer's Rocking Chair

Earthlings

The video below is yours to watch if you choose. I just did. It's pretty heavy and made me cry so much it hurts and I feel extremely nauseous but I think those reactions to this film are the way any half-decent person would react- vegan, vegetarian and meat eater alike. Now, whether you choose to continue the latter lifestyle afterwards is another story. So be warned. Some people may think that ignorance is bliss but it can also be murder among other horrific things. I've been a vegetarian for over 3 years now and as of this moment I don't see any reason not to become vegan immediately. But that's me. I'm not telling you to watch this nor am telling you that if you do, to give up whatever non-vegan lifestyle you may lead. Just consider it. Just consider watching it. It'll be here later if you want to think about it first.

"As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields." -Leo Tolstoy

EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby. 

IKEA commercial: HILARIOUS!

okay, so I have this on my myspace page so you may have seen it already, but I had to repost it here because I love it so much; it cracks me up every time I see it.

Pilobolus

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a while!

VCTOW

This book is going to make me the happiest and possibly fattest person in the world. But as long as I'm happy, right? Can I get a Hallelujah?