What did you do with the extra hour?

We've fallen back an hour and gained more time in the day. Most people were probably productive and did school work. I, for one, worked enough hours the past two days to make my head spin so insteaddddd, made a simple dinner that had many many mannnyyy components:

TACO SALAD!

Consists simple of: romain lettuce, tomato spiced rice, ground beef, crushed can tomatoes (didn't have salsa), guacamole, sour cream, some cheddar cheese and Tostitos chips!

Long time no post!

Didn't get to cook much since the last week of October was reading week. Went home to Ottawa, so got Mom to cook for me instead...it was glorious....

I did however pack little (well...big..) breakfast for Mark and myself for the train ride home.



While in Toronto I picked up some inari skins in Korea town. So first thing possible, I made us a big sushi lunch, first day back from reading week! Below from left to right, are:

• Mini spam nigiri
• Avocado rolls
• California rolls (minus cucumbers)
• Inari sushi filled with carrots and mushrooms mixed with rice
  

Its always hard to make small amounts of sushi. It is so unreasonable to cut only 1/4 of an avocado and see what to use the other chunk for...or make only 3 inari sushi when a pack of 8 has been opened. So overall, made 4 trays of food, feeding a total of 5!


Wednesday's food...made a trip to Whole Foods and bought this lovely chicken thigh. Decided to do a simple salt and pepper and fried it up. Served with steams Green Leaf lettuce, one portion of rice stuffed in an inari skin (had to use up the rest since I ran out of carrot/mushroom rice yesterday...oops!). Served with a quarter of a jelly and butter sandwich for dessert!

Thursday I was going to serve the last 8 inari skins half filled with rice and other half is tuna and diced apple salad. However, a friend invited us over and we all shared a lovely picnic style lunch!
(Never realised Chai tea was so awesome...)

Something quick and simple today. Sorta. A basic pasta salad with veggies, mini pork patties, and steamed lettuce!

Lower that fat!

I keep telling myself to lower the fat in the lunches. So today's was relatively simple. But my god the more I read the more I worry about packing the calories into these boxes. According to Just Bento, if you have a box tight (like your really should) then the ml=cal in an almost 1:1 ratio.

Scary thought. Luckily with mine if i must pack a fattier lunch I can use half the set to make 500 cal, or maybe one of my smaller boxes. But with Zuza's, its a sandwich container. Probably closer to 800 cals if packed tight! Websites often recommend fillers like tomatoes, or carrots, etc. But you can only eat so much of em.

Today's lunch I tried to pack it light, with variety and still fills the box. Can't have the food shifting around inside eh?


Zuza's lunch consisted of white rice, unsalted tamagoyaki (which came out beautifully this time!), fried sweet potato (the only food with oil), white rice and grapes for dessert.

Sadly she found the white rice kind of plain. For me out of habit I like to eat it with the sides, but I guess its different for her? I don't want to salt it, nor fry it. hmmm maybe some sesame will be nice.

My lunch was relatively the same. Can you tell I was concerned about calories based on the ratio of food in the two boxes? No sweet potato for me since I know it is Zuza's fave. Instead, I had some jarred Chinese spicy radish preserves. Quite yummy! This box was still too much to eat for lunch. Time to rethink how to pack these things, I think...

Lunch!

Trying to get back in the mode of making a decent lunches attempting to make it healthy+yummy.

Zuza's Lunch box

Steph's Lunch Box

Today was simply a medley of veggies, grapes, sweet potato and ginger scallion noodles.

Zuza's sweet potatoes are seasoned with a more western taste, with italian seasoning, chives, parsley, salt and garlic.

Mine were leftovers cooked with ginger.

The noodles are really easy to make, and Mom used to make it as a side to eat with our congee.
Egg noodles are fried with slices of ginger and green scallions. Then you add some oyster sauce in for that lovely msg XD

Time to plan tomorrow's lunch..

Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had an awesome thanksgiving! I sure did. The studious would've used this weekend to their advantage, catch up in school or hop ahead. The smart relaxed and had food binges. Lucky for Oakville, the weather was awesome too! I know I should feel guilty about not thinking about my school work but I don't. It was an awesome weekend!

Cooked like a maniac. To think our mothers did this for the last 22 years of our lives! What I really wanted to do this year, being the last year in college, was to tackle a whole turkey. Last year, I just bought one of those butterball boneless meat. Lucky for me this year, there was a turkey out there around the same price as those lumps of meat...


So being a noob at it all, I forgot the defrost the turkey! NO WAY! I've heard the stories, etc etc. But the lumps could be done from frozen so it completely slipped my mind. Luckily this was still the morning so it spent the better part of the afternoon defrosting...

That's my seasoned turkey...Pre-Oven... at 4:45 pm. Yes, you can do the math...we had a nice late dinner... Rubbed the turkey in a little veggie oil, and sprinkles some paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parsley inside and outside. Didn't bother to stuff it since it increases cooking time...And to be honest, I just do Stove Top. Covered the bird in Aluminum foil, and in it went at 375.

Turkey around 6:00, uncovered. Lookin good, but the bottom was definitely not getting enough heat...
This was uncovered around 10:00. I could've taken it out 9:40 but just in case, I wasn't giving my guests stomach pain. I tried to cook the bird uncovered as of 6 but it started to burn so the foil went back on top until 8:30. Not too crispy and super yummy. Did I mention I rubbed butter on it at some point? Next year I'll try what Zuza suggested: drape a couple slices of bacon on top!

And so this was out dinner. Only 4 main dishes but it was enough...(i hope?) We started eating at 10:40 and finished out first plate by 10:50....I'll take it as it was yummy!

Stove Top stuffing with some turkey drippings. Added half an onion to the box. mmm...

Carved Turkey. I admit I'm not sure how to carve. This being done on Saturday, most of the Food Network Thanksgiving specials didn't start until Sunday. So this is my attempted to carve a Turkey. Not bad, eh? For an amateur...

Veggies was saute broccoli, mushrooms and onions with a little oil and Maggie sauce.

Family recipe potato salad! My brother loves this so I just had to make it for him. Consists of 4 large potatoes, 7 eggs, mayonnaise and a can of (drained) fruit cocktail. The fruit usually turns people off, but I love it. yum yum yum...

Product Advertising! Enjoyed all this with a glass of Inniskillin Late Autumn Riesling!

Yummy Plate. And we end off with Apple pie for dinner!


BUT WAIT! Cooking isn't over yet! Brother and boyfriend stayed the night so I made an awesome lunch before they went to catch their trains.

Friend egg noodles with green scallions and ginger, mixed with oyster sauce.

Homemade sushi. Seriously. California rolls and some egg avocado rolls.

Not a bad Thanksgiving, eh? With all the leftovers, Zuza got to have it in her bento today!

Lordy it has been a week...

No I didn't forget to upload the pass little while. Last wednesday and Thurs I didn't end up making lunches due to one being a friend's bday so I made a special breakfast and the second was because I got super sick again.

Anyways, started up again this week.

Today's lunch was a simple stir fry noodle with Edemame and Dumplings!

Zuza's Lunch (Her own box was dirty so I lent one of mine)

Steph's Lunch (Zuza's edamame is in here too so they didn't get all saucy)

How to make em Noodles!

Noodles were really easy to make. I had cabbage, carrots and onions in the fridge so that was my base. Saute Onions, then add in other two. If you have any marinated meat (which i didn't ...) you can add it in here. Salt, Garlic, Soya, Sugar. Add water and simmer. Chicken Broth works too but I didn't have any...

Add in cooked noodles to absorb all the liquid. Sesame Oil and some Oyster Sauce (or Unagi sauce if you got any...and guess what?! I DID!)

That's my simple noodle recipe. Kinda reminds me of the one they used to make at Tiki Ming...

Chicken Soup Recipe

So being sick, the first thing that comes to mind to eat is Congee. But I personally like my congee thick so...next thing that comes to mind to eat is chicken soup. Usually I am prepped with some chicken bones leftover from deboning whole chickens (cause its cheaper) but its the beginning of the school year. No Chicken Bones. So no Chicken Stock. Cry.

This is my last minute recipe for Chicken soup for the sick!


Ingredients:
1/2 Cabbage
1/2 Cup of Diced Carrots (put more if you want your soup sweeter)
1 Onion
1 Box of Mushrooms (or as much as you like)
2 Bay leaves
2 tsp of Parsley
2 Chicken Breast
Seasonings for Chicken: Sesame Oil, Salt, Garlic Powder, Sugar, Soya Sauce, Corn Starch, Vegetable Oil

1) Dice up all the Veggies, rinse then set aside to drain.
2) Cube Chicken Breast, then bash with knife for homemade mincing. This makes it possible to make chicken meat balls, yet still have textures and chunks of meat so you know its chicken.
3) Add in seasoning for the chicken. The Corn Starch will help the meat stick together.
4) Heat up the pot with some oil, saute onions to sweat them.
5) Add in remainder of Veggies and cook for 3 mins.
6) Top off the pot with water so that it is at least 2 inches above the top.
7) Simmer for 15 mins, with the 2 Bay leaves.
8) Roll chicken into little meat balls and drop them into the soup.
9) Cook for another 10 mins.
10) Finish off with a little parsley on top.

I just realized....I forgot the parsley in the pic!

In case you are curious, if you are better prepared, replace water with the chicken stock, makes it yummier. Then take the breast and you can simply shred it to make little strings of meat. For the stock:
1) Bring to bowl water with chicken bones. Add in Bay leaves here (then you can omit it from step 7) If you want you can put in other veggies. I usually don't since the soup itself has a ton and to me, its a waste if you can't eat it.
2) Simmer for 30 mins.
3) Strain out all the bones/veggies/leaves
4) Skim the fat off the top. Or if you have a Gravy separator, that works too!

Stock is ready!

Being sick bites.

I think we can all unanimously agree that being sick bites the rump. Worst off is being so early in the school year! Thankfully this year's schedule allows time to rest up. So for today, I only had to make Zuza's lunch since I stayed home to rest.

I promise I disinfected myself! Something Simple: Steam bun (sadly not homemade this time) with Veggies and a pecan tart.

High Tea At the King Edward Hotel, Toronto

So it isn't lunch that I made, but I did want to make a quick post about the High Tea I took my brother to this weekend. It was for his 21 birthday, and despite having a tight budget, wanted to splurg for it!

So we went (without reservations) so we got put inside instead of the outside hall. Which was nice in the end since there was a wedding going on at the same time and Eric and I wanted to talk since it'd been ages since we spent any significant time together...(Minus labour day last week I guess....)

Anyways! We both went for the King's Tea (although I was almost tempted to try their asian inspired tea box (which had egg tarts and smoked duck with Hoisin sauce...) with out selective tea blends. They didn't bring us the box to smell the leaves so we just picked from a list.

Eric went for Early Grey, I tried the Golden Assam.


Our food tier showed up, and it was amusing considering I was shorter than Eric, so I had to talk around this thing XD
The top tier is Desserts, Middle is sandwiches, then scones on the bottom.


Its funny since most of their desserts are probably based on seasons so what we got wasn't necessarily what was listed in the menu. In comparing to the menu they emailed me, its definitely not the same, but nonetheless yummy!




Dessert plate: chocolate tarlets, Raspeberry shortcake (I think? in the glasses), the little brown "cookie" was nut based, and sweet honey Madeleine


Sandwiches: I spent so much time trying to identify what was in these...Got an Egg salad, Cucumber and radish, a turkey sandwich, and I couldn't identify the last one. Amusingly it was the first one I nabbed. Green in colour, super rich.


Scones: Currant Scones with Devonshire Cream

Was it worth the experience? Absolutely. Its classy, and definitely worth trying at least once. The food was rich, but worthwhile. Amusing as the ladies behind us were all gasping at the amount of butter and mayonnaise they were consuming but to hell with that. Can't think of calories when having high tea!
.

Oh noes! No photos!

Today was a rushed day. I only packed a lunch for Zuza, and despite that I STILL forgot to nab a picture before it as consumed...and I had a recipe to go with it too...next time!

Overall the meal consisted of:
-Noodles with sesame/peanuts
-Shanghai Bok choi
-Hot Dogs
-Homemade Pickles

Everything else is just a repeat since I gotta use up the ingredients but the new thing is the pickle. Mom made it a lot during the summer and I discovered that I could eat it so long as all cucumber was pickled out (darn allergies).

I'll be making it again soon, so I'll post the recipe then XD

Sushi attempt #1

I got home from the gym and still wasn't 100% sure what to make for lunch for today. Considering that time was running out, I don''t know why, but I decided to attempt sushi.

Forgive me for being beginners, as the filling was less than traditional and the rice wasn't cooked properly. It was cooked, and seasoned. Just not properly.

I was in such a rush I had to take these at school. Sadly, the lighting made my photo not come through. Anyways, this had Avocado Rolls (needed more salt) and a sweet egg roll.

One of the things that boggled my mind was how to make the egg smooth. I've tried frying it like all of those "How to make Tamago" youtube videos and yet they are always burned or crispy. Then I got it! Ding! Our landlords provided us with a Cuisinart Egg Cooker that has a egg poaching container. So, I scrambled the eggs, added sugar, then poured into this egg poach container. When it was done, it looked so unappetizing. Took it to the frying pan to brown all sides. When done, I simply sliced it into rectangles, then paired it with a little mayonnaise in the roll.

Today's lunch took almost an hour and half to completely make, not including clean time. For sure I'll save sushi for days I start super late...

Zuza didn't need a lunch for today so I tackled at some stuff that was dying in my fridge: Tomatoes and Chicken.

I made this dish that my parents made a lot when I was a kid. Its the only dish Dad knows. This is how it works.

Ingredients:
-Tomatoes (dice with or without skin) ...
- 2 eggs scrambled
-Beef or chicken
-Sugar, salt, soya sauce, garlic (or garlic powder)
-Ketchup

I'm not sure the ratio. I kind of fib it here and there. Anyways!

1. Cut your meat into thin slices and marinate in Soya sauce, sugar, sesame oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Or don't marinate if you are short on time.
   
2. Fry your scrambled eggs into something like an omelette. Doesn't have to be pretty, just has to be flat. When its done, and cooled, cut into thin slices about 3 cm wide, however long you want.
   
3. Fry your meat to 85% cooked, then remove from heat.
   
4. In the same pan (don't bother cleaning out that meat juice!) Toss in the tomatoes. It will bubble for a while and let out a lot of water.
   
5. Add in a spoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, garlic powder and soya sauce.
   
6. When the tomatoes looks mushy-plump, toss in the meat and eggs. By adding these two, that should help get rid of excess water. Squeeze in a tbsp of ketchup then stir.

Serve on a bed of rice.

For Sept 9 2010

How I forgot to post yesterday's, I dunno. Spent the night reading the psychology book I guess. This is the lunch we had yesterday which ended up not being enough to last us the whole day. Note to self, make Thursdays heartier!

Zuza's Lunch box

Steph's Lunch Box

Attempting to be healthier with a salad, and to convince Zuza that my salads are awesome!

• Iceberg Lettuce
• Carrots
• Grape Tomatoes
• Leftover noodles from Sept 8
• Cheddar Cheese
• Grilled Chicken breast (marinated in Soya Sauce, Sesame Oil, sugar, salt)
  
• Poppy seed dressing from Kraft
  

I had that dressing once before, and it was awesome! Although it was Kraft's asian poppy seed... I knew I needed to get it for this year!

Still processing...

Went up for groceries today, so fresh food should be coming along! More fruits and salads and less chilled cooked veggies, I hope. Better to save that kind of cooking for winter. I guess the major difference right how between our two lunches is the carbs. I'm more of a veggie person so I have double of that, whereas Zuz (hopefully?) loves the noodles, so she got double of that instead!

Zuza's Lunch

Steph's lunch

Today's foods are...
- Chilled...Steamed "California style veggies" aka Carrot medallions, broccoli and cauliflower.
- Half of a Octopus hot dog
- One hard boiled egg
- Chilled Peanut/sesame noodles

Everything is still cold foods since I am prepping it the night before. No way I'm waking up earlier than 7 to cook, since that's gym time...

Also, need to get a better cam, other than cell phone one...

Simply Processed....

Had to forage since I couldn't remember what I bought as school startup food. Sadly there really wasn't much. It was quite the salty meal...

Anyways, here we go! Zuza's Lunch Box

Steph's Lunch Box

Today's menu had:
- Steamed Shanghai Bok Choy with sesame oil and Maggie
- Onion Egg omelet with a bit of sugar in the egg
- Beef hot dog
- Fried Noodles (For Zuza) with sesame oil
- 2 Oranges (For me)

Having just moved back into town on a labour day, I haven't had the chance to go do much grocery shopping. But nonetheless, I intend on packing lunches everyday, starting tomorrow. Why pack lunch though! I'm lazy...For a couple reasons.

1) Save money. Cause starving students can't afford Tim's every. single. day.
2) Eat healthier? Cause all animators do is sit on their rears...
3) Hopefully get some cool ideas out of this. And just keep records.

First few days are going to bite. Going to make do with a bunch of processed foods and frozen food until I can get to the market. Also as a bonus, I'll get to visit Toronto china town tons this year. Hopefully that'll get me cooking. bwahaha!

Follow if you be curious, post if you have ideas. This is going to be awesome!