Rabbit Pappardelle

Compared to my other meals, this was a relatively long (3 hours), difficult, and expensive dish to make. Why does rabbit cost so much when it is so abundant in the wild?

Floor Scrubbing

It was my day off and it was pouring rain. I had no plans until the afternoon, so I decided to clean my bathroom floor tiles in the morning. I had tried wet jet swiffering, mopping, and sponging to no avail; the tiles were rough and these did nothing for my floors (which I had not scrubbed thoroughly since I moved in). I then tried using my toothbrush with some vinegar mixed with water, and I noticed a huge difference after a bit of scrubbing. Unfortunately, it took a very long time - as in, my tiny bathroom took me 3+ hours to clean, with two dirty tiles left to go since my wrist and back were aching by the end of it! Suggestions on a more efficient way to clean these tiles?

English Grub

Pork chops with apple and sage,

Cabbage in worcestershire sauce,

Barley with butter and thyme.

Dessert

The non-burnt pieces of meringue mixed together with blueberries and whipped cream. Not bad at all!

Making Meringues

We attempted making meringues. It seemed pretty easy. Just whip a bunch of egg whites, add sugar, and put them in the oven.

They smelled good while baking in the oven. Then I started smelling something burning....

 And sure enough, the bottoms were burnt.

Part fail.

Winter Bike Ride

It was the second day in a row where I didn't have to work and it was sunny, so Leonard and I went for another bike ride. This time we went downtown and around the seawall at Stanley Park, stopped at Third Beach to enjoy the sun and sand, and then biked up to Finch's for my favourite sandwich of all time in Vancouver (yes, it beats the porchetta sandwich at Meat and Bread in my books) - the pear, blue brie, proscuitto, and walnut sandwich. Nom nom nom!

One sandwich wasn't enough for Leonard since we had just biked 20km, so we went to Save On Meats a few blocks away for an after-lunch poutine...

...and then I biked home, showered, and then went to Burnaby for dinner and bowling with work friends until late. Phew! Another very full day, and 40+km biked in the past two days. Now that's what I call a good weekend.

An Active Valentine

I had to work closing shift on Valentine's day, but I had the following two days off instead, which was even better because the sun finally came out! Leonard and I started off with a bike ride over to Commercial Drive, where we picked up sandwiches from La Grotta and dessert from Fratelli's, then we went to Burrard View Park in the Hastings-Sunrise area to eat our lunch. It was my first time biking since September, and I felt VERY out of shape, as I was huffing and puffing up little hills! Then we biked to The Wilder Snail, a coffeeshop in Strathcona. I've never been in that neighbourhood before, and I always assumed that it would be a bit shady since it is close to Chinatown and the downtown east side, but I thought it was a very cute area with cool houses.

We biked home afterwards, but the activities weren't over yet! We hopped into my car and headed over to Home Depot to pick up cleaning supplies (ie. big sponge and a squeegee) and then to Leonard's place to pick up his mop and pail, and then we went back to my place to clean my car, which badly needed to be washed. I sponged while he hosed down the car, and it was surprisingly fun.  Who knew a car wash would be such a good bonding activity.

Then it was time for a lovely dinner at Diva and the Met  in the evening followed by two episodes of Mad Men. It was a very full day, just the way I like it.  Exercise, fresh air, sun, good food, wonderful company, good tv, clean car - what more could I ask for?

Tagliatelle

Tagliatelle in a lemon + pine nut sauce, with shaved pecorino and parmesan and parsley.

A side of salmon sashimi from TNT

And then dessert of fried chicken from Church's Chicken!

Baby Octopi

Baby octopi in a red pepper and almond sauce, with some leftover quinoa.

It was disgusting watching and smelling Leonard clean and gut these little things.  I refused to touch them raw, so my job was to boil the water and to use the Magic Bullet for the sauce lol. It turned out to be a delicious dish, especially the sauce. I can't stop eating the leftover sauce with whatever I can find in my kitchen (eg. samosas, crackers...)

Eggs + Avocado Toast

I had to try this after salivating over the photos in this blog entry. Soft boiled eggs with avocado & salt and pepper on toast for breakfast.  Amazing!