line-up ettiquette

I had received free admission via email (thanks Heather!) for the Portabella West market today, since it was their 3rd anniversary (happy anniversary!). So, I dragged my sister down and we ended up buying a few things (me: a blazer, her: cute handmade thank-you card). While waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the skytrain station, I decided to grab something to eat. There was a gourmet hot dog stand where the buckwheat crepes stand use to be (I guess the crepes guy had a day off) and so I stood in line behind a chatty group of friends.

Waiting in line happens to everyone some point in their life, so I usually take this time to people watch. Well, I happened to notice this one chick (aka "Stumpy") who was standing behind me, trying to make her way in front of me. I know this, because a) she was slowly edging herself over to the point where she was now standing beside me, and b) she kept glancing at me, wondering if I would notice (I was wearing my dark sunglasses so she couldn't see my facial expression). When the chatty group of friends moved up in the line, I made sure to plant myself firmly behind the tall Australian (at least that's what I got from her accent), to make sure there was no way Stumpy was going to budge in front of me.

When it came time for me to order, I had to wait for the cashier to restock the register as the tall Aussie girl gave her a $50 dollar bill for a $5 hot dog. Not a problem. No sweat. But when she asked me what I wanted, Stumpy decides to throw in her order as well, while I'm still ordering my friggin' hot dog. So, the cashier was getting all confused, so I had to repeat my order two times and then ask her how much it was, or else I would have walked away with a free hot dog. Ms. Stumpy needs to step off and learn proper line-up etiquette, or someone may accidentally squirt hot mustard in your eyes and smear ketchup all over your white clean shirt. The good thing about this whole situation was that the cashier was so flustered, that she forgot to charge me tax.

Lesson of the Day: when you're standing in line, wait your turn. Or you might have condiments thrown in your direction. And a very expensive dry cleaning bill to pay.

PS: I forgot to take a picture of my turkey smokey. I was so annoyed at Stumpy that I devoured my smokey before realizing that a photo was required. As punishment, I'm going to get a turkey Japadog and consume it while I ponder my actions. I know, I am a horrible, horrible person.

sampling food court fare

Strawberry shaved ice topped with red bean and sticky rice balls. There was taro, but I ate all of it before I remembered to take a picture. Just imagine a gooey, pale purple mass where the hole should be and you'll get the picture.

Eggy goodness in the form of waffle-domed pancakes.

Crunchy on the outside, airy, doughy and gooey on the inside.

day 3: gibsons

Packed up our gear, loaded up the car, and headed to Gibson's to look for the Beachcombers hang out. Wandered around the harbour (Grandma's Pub?!), bought some candy, and stopped in at Molly's Reach for some breakfast:

Nothing like a filling breakfast to start off the day. Yum.

Scrambled eggs with plenty of black pepper and a light sprinkle of salt.

Hashbrowns, or "potato pancakes" as they're called in Molly's Reach.

Raspberry jam smeared on toasted sourdough and grilled ham.

For dessert, I had the homemade ice-cream sandwich...

And Andrea had the last slice of coconut cream pie.

Back on the ferry, and of course I had to abuse the soft-serve ice-cream. Gobbles was pecking at it when I wasn't looking. Bad turkey.

day 2: skookumchuk, egmont

Breakfast at The Green Rosette Bakery by Skookumchuck Rapids Provincial Park in Sechelt:

Andrea had the cinnamon bun... with raisins!!! I do not like raisins.

Blueberry and lemon muffin. Yum. You can see the lemon zest in the muffin.

Meet up with a friend of Andrea's who introduced us to LaVerne's Grill in Pender Harbour (good fish and chips, despite the long wait and the overly dramatic cook) for lunch. After lunch, I took a nap (rooster started crowing at 5:30AM and would not stop til 10AM), before we drove out to Egmont for dinner.

Andrea's beef dip sandwich that looked like a roast beef sandwich.

Seafood melt for dinner at Back Eddy's Marina and Pub in Egmont. It came with a generous side of green salad.

day 1: horseshoe bay, ferry, ruby lake resort

I took a mini vacation away from the city with a good friend of mine a few weeks ago. She doesn't believe I can camp. I can camp. I just prefer to do it in style.

What we ate while waiting for the ferry, sitting on the ferry and getting off the ferry:

While we waited for the ferry to arrive, we took a quick walk down to the little town on Horseshoe Bay and stopped by Baskin Robbins. I got the Jamocha chocolate fudge with almonds.

Andrea got the mint chocolate chip A classic.

This was the children's veggie burger meal at the White Spot Cafe on board the ferry: 1 large (adult-size) veggie burger, 1 small drink, 1 small fries and a Jello chocolate pudding cup. All that food and I could barely finish my burger. Andrea's got my chocolate pudding. She owes me.

Dinner consisted of chips (Chipotle BBQ and Sour Cream & Onion) and fruit juice with rum.

bon appetit!

I thought it would be appropriate to officially start this blog off with a review of the movie, "Julie & Julia." The movie, based on the memoirs of Julia Child's My Life in France and Julie Powell's book, Julie & Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen, follows these two females as they struggle to find their passion in life through their love of food.


Set in Paris during the 1900's and modern day Queens, New York, these two women are separated by time and distance, but their lives run almost parallel to one another: Julia Child enrolls in an all-male cooking class at Le Corden Bleu to learn french cuisine, while Julie Powells pledges to cook all 524 recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days and blogs about her experience on salon.com.

Loved the movie, although I was more entertained by the Julia Child's portion of the movie than I was by the other Julie. I thought the actors, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci brought great chemistry to their portrayal of the Child's relationship and their support and love for one another was refreshing and hilarious to watch. Meryl Streep's performance as Julia Child is wonderful, bringing Child's exuberance and sexual humour to life on the screen (case in point: using her hands to take manicotti out of a pot of boiling water, she exclaims "These damn things are hotter than a stiff cock!").


Be warned: don't watch this movie on an empty stomach. The close-up images of food is absolutely drool-worthy.

Images courtesy of google.images.ca

changes

are still being made to this blog since I'm still fiddling around with the layout. I'll start posting pictures of food soon.

testing, testing

1, 2, 3!