chocolate chip cookies

I was restless after excercising, so I decided to bake chocolate chip cookies (I can't believe I had everything I needed to make them)!

I followed the "Joy of Cooking" recipe I found for traditional chocolate chip cookies and they turned out almost perfectly! They are scrumptious! The added walnuts really gave them a depth and slight bitterness/nuttiness that I really enjoy.

Baking I enjoy, it's cooking meals & stuff I don't enjoy so much.

meal planning

People always talk about how hard living on your own (after moving out of your parents' house) is so hard, but I really don't think it's as bad as they make it sound. Maybe it made it easier because I was in university at the time and surrounded by so many other people making the same transitions.

I digress - my point was that 1 of the harder parts of living like a grown up is meal planning! I'm always having to think of what the next meal is!

On the agenda today:
- french toast and bacon for breakfast
- stuffed pasta shells for lunch
- fresh tilapia fish with cream of corn for dinner

french fries

We were making hamburgers for lunch today and decided that instead of heating up some frozen fries in the oven I would attempt to make fresh cut fries. That's right - I made fries....using a potato!

They were actually easier to make than I expected and only took me about 15 minutes in total to prepare and fry up. As for taste - they were alright, but not as good as take-out fries and a little too soggy.

Method:
1) Wash, peel and cut 1 potato into french fries.
2) Put in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes.
3) Drain.
4) Fry in hot oil until golden brown.

I can't figure out if it's the boiling or the oil temperature that is making them soggy.

I think next time I'll try cutting them thinner and heating up the oil more before I throw the fries in. If all else fails it's the boiling that I'll have to work around or nix completel

I cant' believe how much stuff I'm making myself. I amaze myself. =P Tomorrow we're even going to attempt to cook fresh fish! Stay tuned for more food adventures!

restaurant review: sushi kaji restaurant

Restaurant: Sushi Kaji Restaurant
Location: 860 The Queensway, Etobicoke, Ontario M8Z 1N7
Telephone: 416-252-2166
Website: sushikaji.com

Meal type: Dinner

Average price per person: $100+

What I ordered: Kaji Dinner - Waza

Ratings:










Comments:
This quaint little Japanese Sushi restaurant came highly recommended by my co-worker, so we decided to go there for Valentines day. We were lucky to get reservations as they were completely booked for the evening. At first glance itès not the trendiest restaurant or the prettiest, but what it lacks in decor it more than makes up for in incredible food.

Sushi Kaji offers 3 different tasting menus set at either $80, $100 or $120. We both chose the Waza dinner that was $100 per person. I really like the tasting menu style of dining which takes the stress off ordering and lets you try totally new things that you might have never considered trying.

The courses just kept coming and we were completely stuffed with food by the end of the dinner. Each course was incredibly presented and incredible tasting. I tried lots of things I have never tried before, like sea urchin (which wasn`t so bad at all) and the staff was super friendly and attentive, although a bit hard to understand at times.

The most memorable items of the night:
- west coast shrimp, probably the best I`ve had in my life
- sea eel, again probably the best I`ve had in my life
- the dessert mousse

To finish things off, we were given an orchid made from edible items (radish, carrot, scallion, etc.) which topped off the perfect dining experience.



Reservations are a definite must.

happy valentines day

On the menu:
- cappaccino
- pancakes (made from SCRATCH)
- freshly fryed bacon

I used the recipe I found in "Joy of Cooking" for the pancakes. They turned out nice and fluffy, but not super tasty. I think from now on though I will definitely make my pancakes from scratch. =) Next time I'm putting chocolate chips in them!

chipotle

Tonight I did what I've been wanting to do for a very long time - I made sweet potato fries at home.

For anyone that might not know me well, I really love sweet potato fries dipped in chipotle mayonnaise.

The chipotle mayonnaise turned out PERFECTLY, unfortunately the sweet potato fries were super soggy probably due to the fact that I baked them in the oven instead of frying them in oil. I think next time I will definitely try frying them in oil to see how they turn out.

All-in-all a successful cooking experiment.

domestic goddess?

Yesterday was a long day, so it was nice to laze around this morning. I woke up late(r) and made a nice breakfast of bacon, hash browns and eggs. Yummy!

I also made my first attempt at making a roast using the slow cooker - it didn't turn out as good as my sister's, but i guess it was a first attempt. I thought it was a bit too fatty/oily but perhaps it was the choice of meat I bought. I hope next time it turns out even better!

That's right.....I'm a domestic goddess in the making. (I still prefer baking, but I guess it's time I learn how to make some food that isn't heated via the microwave).

puff pastry dessert

This evening for dessert I whipped up a simple (but oh so yummy) dessert that Dave's mom taught us how to make many years ago.

All you need is:
- puff pastry that you can buy at almost any grocery store (in the frozen goodds section)
- fruit (I used apples and frozen berries)
- sugar
- egg

Instructions:
1) Unroll the defrosted puff pastry on a cookie sheet using the parchment paper it comes with to line the pan.
2) Mix the fruit in a bowl with some sugar to sweeten.
3) Fold the puff pastry's courners towards the centre making a cute little package.
4) Brush the pastry with a beaten egg.
5) Bake according to puff pastry's instructions.

And voila! One delicious and easy dessert!

trail mix

I made my own trail mix – finally! There’s a great bulk food store that I NEVER knew about at Parkway mall! I know....I’ve only lived 5 minutes from it my entire life & even worked there for a couple of years in highschool and I still never entered into this store to know what they actually sold.

Anywho, for less than $9 I got: brown sugar, rolled oats and all my trail mix ingredients.

It’s so delicious (if i do say so myself)! It contains: 2 kinds of raisins, dried vegetable chips, potato chip sticks, sliced almonds, honey sesame sticks, all-bran, oriental rice crackers and some other things I cannot remember at the moment.