Weekend Treat (Peanut Butter and Toffee Blondies)

How does a single 20-something spend a long weekend? Start it out right with a good workout. Have a healthy dinner (with 2 glasses of wine, good for the heart, right?) Note to self: apply makeup before wine next time. Sing out loud to your iPod on the metro. Arrive at party. Continue to drink, because it's such a summery wine, and such a nice evening! Flurry of events occur. Wake up. Apply new makeup over old makeup. You're going for the smudged look. It's a thing. Slowly stumble, in your party dress and heels, to find the greasiest breakfast possible. Eat sausages. Forgetting you're a vegetarian. Sleep on the metro. Get back to your own bed. Watch some bizarre indie films on Netflix. Roll in and out of sleep for 24 hours. Wake up and wonder why drinking your early 20s didn't feel this painful. Is it Sunday already? Where did Saturday go? Vow to yourself to drink less, be healthier. Spoonful of peanut butter. Baking inspiration! Bake some ridiculously delicious, portion-controlled blondies.

I can be healthy on Monday.
It's still the weekend.

Two-Bite PB Blondies
an original recipe by allison sklar

what you'll need
½ cup margarine or softened butter

½ cup peanut butter
½ cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour
¾ tsp baking powder

1/4 cup Skor toffee bits*
handful of chocolate chips
*1 crushed Skor (or Heath or other crunchy toffee) bar would work just as well

how to do it
Fit stand mixer with paddle attachment. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine margarine, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until  smooth, about a minute. Add eggs, beating another 30 seconds. Add flour and baking powder, mix until just combined. Grease and flour mini muffin tins. Fill about 3/4 of the way to the top with mixture. Top with chocolate chips and sprinkle with Skor bits. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool before eating.

Waste Not, Want More (Roasted Spicy Squash Seeds)

Over recent years, I've come to notice that my vegetarian lifestyle is often accompanied with a heightened sense of consciousness in relation to environmental and health issues. I am more aware of what I put into my body, and I am more aware about the amount of waste that I produce. Suffice to say, this doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the occasional processed food item. I do. I am just aware now that these are not the healthiest of options, so I opt for moderation over deprivation. It also doesn't mean that I won't buy anything in a package - I will. I just try to re-use as much as possible. notice how I didn't say "Recycle"... because I've also learned that tossing paper and plastic into blue bins doesn't do much to save the planet.

So, what do I re-use? First off, I opt for glass jars over plastic whenever possible - because once the food inside them is done, they're washable and re-usable, even heatable... a chemical-free alternative to leeching plastic lunch containers. As for the things that come in plastic that I can't live without - yogourt containers, for example - I bring the empties to the art teacher at my school so that she can use them for projects in class, as well as holders for art supplies.

And then, there's my food. I like to throw away as little food waste as possible. Unfortunately, my area doesn't have a composting program, and living in a small top floor apartment, it's just not an option for me to be doing on my own. So, I reduce the amount of waste that I produce in the first place. I do this by buying less groceries, more often. I've been told that it's the "European" way of shopping, and whether it is or not, I've come to find that it's the best way to eat. The benefits of buying a little at a time (instead of one big grocery order): Foods are fresher, I get more exercise with bi-weekly walks to the market, I save money, and I waste less. Tips for anyone who'd like to try this - keep essentials on hand such as oils, vinegar, seasonings and grains. Buy one or two vegetable items at a time, and use it all up for a meal or two. To save even more money: buy what's on sale each week - this will also encourage you to eat a bigger variety of veggies and fruits.

Ok, so what does this all have to do with the mouth watering picture above, you ask? My waste-not methods encouraged me to use up every inch of my winter squash after I made this (or this, or this...). I couldn't bear to throw out all the lovely little seeds! Inspired by watching my mother roast pumpkin seeds every halloween, I decided to roast these baby versions of them and see what came out. Oh. My. Goodness. Heaven in a handful. The best part - you can eat the shell. Warning - these are very addictive.

Mid-East Feast (Roasted Squash with Cardamom)

Walking through the Plateau in Montreal on a friday night is always a new adventure. I love to immerse myself in the hubbub - which exists in large part thanks to the plethora of ethnic restaurants, trendy cafes and re-vapmed dive bars that line the streets. Whichever side of the world you're from, you're guaranteed to find a restaurant in this city that has what you're looking for. And, if you're in the mood to try new things, you will never be short on options.

Many people have voiced to me in the past their discontent with my vegetarianism (whether directly or indirectly) as it is an "inconvenience" to have to cater to my needs. To that sentiment I say, "Ha!" Being a vegetarian should never be viewed as limiting - it should instead be viewed as exciting: an excuse to get creative and try new food! I was quite excited when a friend suggested that we check out this funky looking place on Duluth, Khyber Pass, an Afghan restaurant with a number of  appealing meat-free menu items.

The food itself was similar to many of the middle-eastern dishes that I've tried before - looking around, I spotted many different rices and stews, I noted the common use of onions, tomatoes and legumes. What stood out to me however was the combination of spices and flavours. I immediately recognized the unique taste of cardamom in my main dish - and I absolutely loved it. I've only ever used cardamom in teas or in desserts before, never in anything savory. What a fantastic spice! The flavour complimented the sweet earthy squash, balanced out with the acidity of tomato, and softened with a hint of yogourt. I just HAD to re-create this dish at home. And I did - with great simplicity and success.

Spring Cleanse

Spring is in the air, and I've decided that there is no better time than now to do some spring-cleaning-of-my-body. I'll be doing this not by dieting, but by incorporating more healthy, nutrient-packed meals and snacks. I decided to start this off by taking a dive into my vegetable bin... which is when I discovered some vegetables and fruits that were looking a little less than savoury edible. Carrots growing roots, apples so wilted they could go undercover as prunes, and some oranges that resembled a fat old lady's butt cheeks much more so than any citrus fruit I've ever seen. Thing is, I absolutely despise wasting food. Brilliant-idea-alert: Now is the perfect time to dust off my trusty juicer and get juicing!

Here is what I came up with:

revitalizing carrot, ginger and orange

 invigorating beet, apple and lime

Recipes:
Carrot-Ginger-Orange: Two oranges, peeled. 5 Carrots. 1 inch cube ginger.
Apple-Beet-Lime: 4 apples. 2 medium beets. 1 lime.

Juicing for more? Click the following link to see my past juice post with tons more recipes and inspiration. Enjoy!

http://baconveggie.blogspot.ca/2011/11/juiced-up.html

Devilishly Good (Devilled Eggs)

January, 1998.
A monday morning I'll never forget. Seated at the breakfast table next to my brother, sleep in our eyes and tangles in our hair, well-rested, but groggy and grumpy, as most children who are returning to school from a two-week break might be. Our cheerful mother sliding scrambled eggs onto our plates, humming along to the radio commercial song, "it's the most wonderful time of the year."
Wonderful it would be, about 2 minutes later.

"7 O'clock CJAD News time
The PSBGM has announced the closure of the following schools..."

Our eyes suddenly opened wide, as my brother and I jumped from our seats, shoving each other out of the way to attempt to push our ears as close as humanly possible to the speaker.

"Cross your fingers!"
"Wasting your time, your school never closes!"
"Shhhh! Maybe today!"
"Eat your eggs!"

my backyard, this morning

We glanced outside at the glistening tree branches covered in ice. Maybe today. I cross my fingers as hard as I can behind my back, pressing them into my spine, and close my eyes tightly. Riverdale, say Riverdale! We turn our attention back to the radio.

"...Cartier Adult Ed Centre, Hudson High School, Westpark Element..."

"Sucker! I'm off!" My brother jumps as high as if he were about to slam dunk a basketball. The list goes on, and then abruptly ends. They didn't say my school's name. Of course. I slowly drag myself back to the table, an exaggerated sour look on my face. Disheartened, I scoop the rest of my eggs into my mouth, my pout growing bigger with each bite.

As I scraped the remaniants of my plate into the trash, I listened haphazardly to the news."A few more schools to add to our list." The ice outside began to grow seemingly thicker as the pellets clanged down on our window.

The next five words out of the radio announcer's mouth came to me as a complete shock. "Riverdale High School in Pierrefonds."

This is the story of the first and the last time that I ever got to experience the joy of a snow day. That snow day ended up lasting 2 weeks, and was dubbed Ice Storm '98. Shortly after this excited morning, our power went out. For the next few days, we crammed into my grandmother's two-bedroom apartment along with my 6 other cousins. We buried our meat in the snow to preserve it, and we lit more candles than the St Joseph's Oratory. All in all, this storm taught me that there really had to be a MASSIVE amount of bad weather and power outages to truly merit a Snow Day.

And then, today happened. 
And it was the most joyous wake-up call I've ever received. 

Because this time, I'm getting paid for it.

An unexpected day off is the perfect time to make a breakfast reminiscent of my childhood: devilled eggs.