Tuesday, August 30, 2011

New Music Tuesday

Anyone watch the VMA's this past weekend?
I feel like I was a little out of the loop with some of the artists... I have never heard of some of them and I consider myself familiar with alot of genres of music.
My highlights from the award show was Adele's performance and Beyonce showing off her baby bump!! :) Both Beyonce and Jay-Z looked so happy to be expecting! So cute!

 

Anyways I spent some time this morning downloading some new music and updating my ipod.
Here are some new tunes I recommend you check out!

Dev feat. Flo Rida- In the Dark (remix)
Florence and the Machine- What the Water Gave Me
Florence and the Machine- You've Got the Love (REVOLVR remix)
Keri Hilson- Lose Control
Jay-Z and Kanye West- Otis

 

Bombay Bicycle Club- Shuffle
Young the Giant- My Body
Adele- Someone Like You
Hope you can check out some of these awesome tunes!
B

Monday, August 29, 2011

Duncan Farmers Market

This past weekend I visited a Farmers Market in Duncan with my mom and a couple of her friends. It was a great local market with lots of fresh produce.
My mom and I picked up some amazing sourdough bread..


Some succulents.. this one is called a chick and hen?!?! I am pretty excited because the lady that sold them to us recommened planting them outside as they are pretty hardy.
I was expecting to have to keep it inside, but nope this plant finds a home outside!


We also bought some blackberries, but I ate my share on my car ride home. Such a good snack!
And last but not least, we bought some rhubarb! I was so excited for this purchase as I love making rhubard sauce!


If you haven't made rhubarb sauce before you must try it! I just chop up the rhubarb...pop it into a pot and let it boil down. Halfway through I add some sugar to taste. I added approximately 1/3 cup for a good size amount of rhubarb.
Once I have let it cook down.. I pop it in a tupperware for storage in the fridge!
Then....when I am ready for dessert..


Pop it on some ice cream... 
I must say...pretty good dessert!

I am pretty excited for today. Courtney is coming up for a visit. I believe we are going to venure out for lunch at a restaurant that offers a gluten-free menu. Perfect for my gluten-free friend Courtney.
And then....Allen is home Wednesday!
AND THEN SCHOOL GOES BACK IN THE FOLLOWING WEEK! ECK!
I am excited to start TOCing again, but honestly where did the summer go???
I always get excited for the start of a school year. I get back to routine...
Before school starts I always like to do a big spring..er fall clean and organization of my closet...office...entire house.

What are some of your back to school or welcome to fall routines?
B

Friday, August 26, 2011

Basil pesto pasta

You will have to excuse my lack of posts lately.
I am feeling unmotivated...uninspired with my blog right now.
I have been running out of ideas.
I am hoping that I will get motivated soon..
I did promise you a new recipe or two. I finally tried a new recipe today.




I didn't have any bowtie pasta so I just used macaroni.
I really enjoyed this recipe. The best part was probably the cherry tomatoes. They provided a great contrast in flavor against the pesto.

My mom and I made pesto this past week and I just popped it into the freezer until I needed it.

We just used this simple pesto recipe.
Super easy, super delicious.

I would definately give both recipes a try.
Super easy and delicious...couldn't ask for more in the summer!
B

Monday, August 22, 2011

Some sad news for BC

I don't consider myself a very political person. I don't follow politics (that much).
I always try really hard to vote or at least understand what each political party stands for.

Well I have got to say that I am very sad today.
Jack Layton from the NDP party has passed away at 61.


I have always liked him. For the amount of politics that I have followed, I have always felt connected to him. I have always like the way he speaks and relates to a crowd.
He recently took a break from politics to battle cancer for the second time.
Sadly the cancer won.
Sad to see this Canadian icon pass away.
Rest in Peace Jack Layton.
B


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Amazing Fishing

Hello! So Allen and I had a great time fishing this past weekend!
I got to battle some big fish, and now are freezer is stocked full with fish. I am so thankful to have all this fish! Hopefully our grocery bill will be cheaper especially with Allen going back to school in October!

Here are some of the photos from the weekend:


Don't you just love the outfit?!?! Fashionable, hey?!?!



All in all it was a pretty cool weekend. Memorable weekend!

So on a different note...I have a few recipes that I am hoping to try out this coming week to post for you.
Here are some I am hoping to try:


I am thinking I will be trying to pesto dish tomorrow night for dinner :)
B

Monday, August 15, 2011

Butternut Squash Fries


Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I don't know where the time has been going.
This past weekend Allen and I went fishing again.
The fishing was awesome...
Not sleeping because I thought every sound I heard was a bear....not so awesome.
Yes, I am a bit of a stress case when it comes to bears...or cougars...apparently rain drops on the tent...you name it.
Oh well...
Anyways photos to come!
Just wanted to quickly let you know I was still alive and to give you this awesome recipe.


Butternut Squash Fries
Recipe adapted from a number of website recipes

1 butternut squash
Veggie oil
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Clean squash of inner stuff (seeds, etc.)
Cut squash into "fries" and arrange on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle with garlic powder and sea salt.
*I just eye-balled how much of the seasoning I wanted to use.*
Bake for 35 minutes flipping halfway.

If you like yam fries,  I think you will dig squash fries. Super easy and delicious!

Anyways I will be back soon with some fishing photos and hopefully some more recipes.
B

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins


Sorry that I am a little late with my Coombs photos.. things have been busy around here.
Amanda and I's Sunday trip to Coombs was a success!
We bought some good second hand books...
We found some lovely finds at the market...
We had a delicious lunch...
We bought awesome scarves...
and we shared some laughs...including discussions about carved wood penis chairs...and "moose" versus "meese"

Here are some the beautiful fruits I saw...




I love the Coombs Market. So amazing!!
Now onto other housekeeping..
I have a couple recipes that I want to pass on...

Todays recipe is Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins.
Recipe adapted from: Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup Bran Buds
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten with a fork
1/4 cup oil or melted butter
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups blueberries

1. Combine oats, bran buds and buttermilk in a small bowl. Add beaten egg and oil. Set aside.
2. Combine dry ingredients, stirring to blend well.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring until just moistened, then fold in blueberries.
4. Fill greased or paper lined muffins tins.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Yield: 12 large muffins

*Note: to sub in milk for buttermilk mix 1 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice to milk. Set aside till it curdles.

I just tasted one of these bad boys and they were delicious!
Hope you enjoy them!
Next post...Grilled Cauliflower!
B

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Simple bruschetta and blueberry crumble...

This past week I went to visit a friend that I haven't seen in two years. We went to university together and kind of lost contact over the past couple of years.
Randomly we started chatting and I ended up going over to her place for a night.
I got to see her new condo and met her boyfriend.
We had alot of catching up to do.
For dinner she made me really delicious bruschetta.
I decided to try and recreate it for dinner tonight...


I cut up tomatoes and onions...



I tossed the veggies with olive oil, dried basil and garlic...
Then I topped some toasted bread slices with the mixture..
I added some parm. cheese on top as well.
I baked 'em for 10 minutes in a 375 degrees oven...



They turned out okay. My friend Jenni's were much better...
I would have used real parm. cheese and different bread. Oh-well!

For dessert I got creative again...
Blueberry Apple Crumble..


This was super easy. I cut up an apple, mixed in some blueberries then topped the dish off with a combination of whole wheat flour, margarine, brown sugar, rolled oats and cinnamon. These ingredients need to be combined and "crumbly" before putting it on the fruit.
 I pretty much eye-balled the measurements till I got a consistency I liked.
I baked these guys at 370 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes.
I could have baked them a little longer so that the apples were a little more tender. Overall this was pretty tasty and super easy!


Allen's gone fishing for the weekend so I am taking it easy tonight. I am having a "Brooke" night.
On the agenda:
  • Mop the floors
  • Clean our bedroom
  • Color my hair
  • Paint my nails
  • Take Emma for a walk
  • Watch a movie or finish my book
I will be back tomorrow. Amanda and I are going to Coombs tomorrow so I will have some photos to show you!!!
B

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Beautiful Pachena Bay


So this past weekend I headed out to Pachena Bay to relax and soak up some sun!
Allen, The Sanhs, Shawn and I all headed up there Friday afternoon. It was late when we got there, so we were setting up our tents in the dark!
Once we got settled, we headed down to the beach. It was amazing. The sky was clear so we could see stars for miles. The beach was covered with people having fires and partying!



Saturday we woke up to clouds, and misty rain. Such a bummer. After sitting around the fire, cursing the rain, we headed into town to go pick up Morgz!
She has been working her butt off with school work, so we came and rescued her for a break.
By dinner time the sky had opened up and it rained and rained....
We set up a tarp...while it was raining...duck taping the holes as we were getting dripped on...


Sunday we woke up to this...


It ended up being absolutely gorgeous on Sunday.
Here are some snap shots from Sunday Funday!





I have never seen a dog dig as much as Emma did this past weekend. She dug a 4 foot hole that we had to warn people about at night...

More on the food front...
Allen and I had Greek Chicken Kabobs, salad and garlic bread for dinner on Sunday.




The kabobs were super easy! I bought metal ones that I can reuse. This week I am going to try grilled cauliflower.
I better get going, but I will post more photos from Pachena soon!
B