Cookies

I don’t bake. At least not very often, but the other day I had an insatiable craving for homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. I used a recipe I found in a Betty Crocker cookbook I got for Christmas a few years ago. The result thoroughly satisfied my craving and tasted a lot like Subway cookies. Delightful!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. In large bowl beat all ingredients except oats, flour and raisins, until well blended. Stir in oats, flour and raisins.

2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart.

3. Bake 9-11 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Enjoy!
 

 

Thrifty Adventures

Over the past month I’ve spent most of my days off in various secondhand stores around the city, and thanks to some amazing partners in thrifting I’ve had abnormally good luck. My initial goal was to find artwork and other things to furnish my place, but of course I came across lots of funky clothes and jewellery that had to come home with me as well. One of my new favourites is an old leather camera case that fits my little Lumix perfectly.

The spots I would recommend checking out are The Old House Revival Company on Young Street, the MCC on Sargent Avenuve and Founder on Portage Avenue. I’m planning on turning some of my finds into craft projects so stay posted!

Date Night In (Sort of)

I have a huge love affair with dining out, I love trying new restaurants, ordering fancy cocktails, and spending an evening oohing and ahhing over tasty dishes. Unfortunately, this affair costs money and it currently isn’t meshing with my attempt  at being a financially responsible adult. But that’s ok, it means that my man and I get to try our hand at cooking our own inspired meals and tasty cocktails.

Our first attempt at a date night in included a big pot of Paella, Whiskey Sours, and then we went out to see a friends band at the Albert. I would say the evening was a success, especially knowing we saved a moderate fortune!

Spanish Paella with Shrimp, Chicken and Sausage

Recipe from here

Ingredients

1 splash of olive oil
2 chicken breasts, skin removed
2 whole Italian sausages
10 whole peeled garlic cloves
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
2 cups arborio rice
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup red or white wine
3 whole bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 whole red pepper
1 lbs shrimp
2 onions, peeled and chopped

Directions

Heat a large flat sauté pan or traditional paella pan.  Add a splash of oil and begin to brown the chicken and sausages, that have been cut in large chunks. Once they have browned set them aside on a plate.  Add the onions to the hot pan and a small splash of oil, sauté until golden. Add the garlic and stir for a few moments. Add tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon.  Add rice, stock, wine, bay leaves, rosemary, red pepper, the reserved meat and the shrimp.  Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat until the liquid has absorbed and the rice is tender, about thirty minutes.

Lil’ Dyls Whiskey Sour

This recipe comes from the brain of a good friend

2 oz Whiskey
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz simple syrup (how-to here)
1 egg white
Shaker

Egg whites may seem like a strange cocktail ingredient but don’t exclude them! Once shaken the egg whites create an amazing frothy head on the drink that is silky and delicious. All you need to do is combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and give it a hard shake. Pour into a rocks glass and enjoy!

Cat Fur

Meet Naala my new kitty companion. I adopted her from a friend two weeks ago and she is quickly turning me into a crazy cat lady, as in she drives me crazy in the most entertaining way.

Her current hobbies include cuddling before bed, burrowing under the covers and attacking my legs every night at 5 am, sprinting from one end of the apartment to the other and eating everything that has feathers attached to it (not excluding jewelry and hair accessories). But even though she is a quintessential nutball I absolutely love having her around!

Finally

So, here’s the scoop on all the dead air lately: I’ve moved! It was a long process and a slow process but I’m finally settling into my new (old) apartment. It’s a giant two bedroom in a character building just a block away from where I used to live. I’m currently roommate-less, and loving the alone time a bit too much, and while I can afford living by myself for the moment come August I’ll need a flatmate.

I inherited the suite through a friend when I fell in love with it way back in February, since then I had been driving myself crazy waiting for April 1st to arrive. Move in day was hectic but I was so thankful for the help I had because I have way too much stuff than is reasonable for one person (I admit it and I’ve made downsizing a part of my to do list). After two truck loads were hauled into the apartment, my mother and I decided it would be a great idea to go buy me more stuff from Ikea and Canadian Tire, hence the giant fern inhabiting my dining room!

I keep discovering things I love about my new place, like the creaky wood floors and hissing rads, and the never ending storage places, but it very much is a work in progress. Be prepared for a few infrequent home improvement posts over the next little while. I say infrequent because I don’t have internet at the moment, and don’t plan on getting it anytime soon, leaving more room for creative thoughts but less room for actual blog posts. Thank god for coffee shops!

Until next time.

xoxo