ShoppingDecember 7th, 2012
This week, I participated in a facebook contest to win tickets to the Umbra VIP warehouse sale and I WON!! It was my first day of being unemployed and therefore I had the time to go out to the International Centre on a Friday at 10 a.m. What perfect timing!
Here’s a great photo of what you can expect:
It’s Massive!!
I really do love this sale as the discounts are tremendous and the quality of the products are amazing!! I spent $70 in total for: 2 garbage cans, 1 storage unit, 1 kitchen shelf, 1 jewellery rack, 1 paper towel holder, 1 wall decor, and 1 (adorable) belt holder! Here’s a few photos of my favorite purchases.
Jewellery rack
My favorite purchase is this rack ($10)
One day those pots will have plants in them. One day!!
Not to mention, my bathroom was screaming to have one of these organizational units.
You should go. Seriously.
Here’s the info you need to know. Happy Warehouse Shopping!!
Contests, FoodDecember 6th, 2012
Today’s blog post is dedicated to the question: How Many Knives Do You Own? I have a lot….errr….WAY TOO MANY. It all started 20 years ago, when I never invested in a decent knife. My attitude was “I’ll buy another one”.
My useless knife collection
This is NOT the right attitude. Here’s why.
A long time ago, I saw a blog post (or was it a tweet???) with the question: “What’s Your Favorite Kitchen Tool”. Many of the replies were “MY KNIFE”.
Think about it. Do you think you could make a dish without a knife? It truly is an instrumental tool to have in the kitchen.
Because it’s so important,…I will be giving away a CUTCO knife to one lucky reader!! (value $138). All you have to do is go to the Cutco Website and leave a comment telling me which knife you would want to own. If you haven’t heard of Cutco before, here’s what you need to know about this North American company: a) they have a Forever Guarantee b) they produce quality, SHARP knives c) they are all about offering exceptional knives and customer service.
Isn’t that easy? Isn’t this a great contest? Something tells me, I’m not the only one with a million knives in their kitchen. Actually I’ve decided that these knives are going into the GARBAGE. Ever since I was introduced to Cutco, I’m now dicing vegetables like a pro and have no need to have useless knives in my kitchen!!
What a difference a good knife makes!!
The contest will run from Thursday Dec 6th to Friday Dec 21st and is open to all Canadian residents. A winner will be selected using random.org and will have one week to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
Happy Knives = Happy Cooks. Yes?
Contest, Cutco, kitchen, kitchen gadget, knives
Thanks to
Costco, I always seem to have salmon or tilapia in my freezer. I probably make fish once a week, which means I’m always looking for new recipes for either types of fish. Last week, I was searching for tilapia recipes on the computer and came across this amazing recipe from
The Rookie Chef. It fits my criteria for a perfect recipe: easy, fast, and the results were outstanding. Here’s the recipe:
BEER BATTERED TILAPIA
- Tilapia filets
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of beer (I used Molson 67, of course)
- Vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
step 1
- In another bowl blend the egg and beer together
step 2
then quickly stir into the flour mixture.
- Don’t worry if the batter is a little lumpy (seriously…it’s lumpy)
Lumpy Batter (but it’s all good)
- Heat oil (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a skillet) in a frying pan until extremely hot
- Now lightly dust your tilapia filets and dunk into your beer batter mix
- Fry until golden and crisp, then drain on paper towels
The fish was moist moist moist and no one had any fish left on their plates after the meal. Definitely a good sign!!
FINAL PRODUCT:
PS. Costco had haddock on sale this week. Anyone have a good recipe to share?
Beer, Costco, fish, molson 67, Recipe, salmon, the rookie chef, tilapia
My mom was visiting from Ottawa over the weekend, so it was a perfect time to book “Afternoon Tea” for some mother/daughter bonding. Seeing as my mom is from Glasgow, she has always adored scones with clotted cream and the whole “afternoon tea” ritual.
I decided to book afternoon tea at the Windsor Arms after reading some blog entries. (I do my research. Surprise. Surprise).
We got all dressed up and off we went. Well not exactly. Afternoon tea requires reservations as it served daily at 12:30 p.m, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm, and even 6:00 pm. So please ensure that you make reservations and call in advance as it’s more popular than you might think!!
When we entered the dining room, we immediately felt relaxed. The atmosphere was elegant without feeling too stuffy. Here’s what a table looks like:
After we sat down, the waitress quickly served us chilled water with lemon along with the menus. She then explained how afternoon tea at the Windsor Arms works. We were impressed with the service from the get-go!
We selected our tea and when it arrived it’s poured with style. (see photo).
Then the “serving tray” arrives! I quickly made myself a little plate that looked like this and then tried my best to take my time and enjoy each bite while sipping my delicious tea (#33 in the event that you are curious).
For me, the best part were the scones. They were so light…so fluffy ….so warm. The scones were even better after I shmeered them with the strawberry guava jam and the mixed berry jam and the clotted cream! The whole experience was just heavenly. Just so you know, both jams are made in house!! #impressed.
It was real treat to spend some quality time with my mom while enjoying this special ritual at the Windsor Arms. We certainly will be doing this more often!
For more info:
Windsor Arms 18 Saint Thomas, Toronto 416 971 9666
Afternoon tea, Glasgow, Ottawa, Ritual, Scones, Tea, Toronto, Windsor Arms
