POUTINE: Firefighter's Club

IT HAS BEEN SO LONG which is really a good thing because I don't have anywhere to work out anymore D:

BUT. You can't keep me away forever. Branden's parents invited us to go with them and his grandparents for Mother's Day. It is his Grandma and Grandad's favourite place to go and they have their usual spot and their usual meal and it's really cute teehee.

I ordered the Firefighter's poutine (duh!). It was a pulled pork poutine and the fries were AMAZING. The cheese curds were good and the gravy was too. Nothing out of the ordinary but ordinary is tempered by the default awesome for poutine, right? ;D But the fries man, they were super good.

Oh no, I have to rank this now, don't I! I forgot about that apart haha... Let's see...

I have a choice here. I think this was actually good enough to not be considered just "fast food" like Roo's Pub... (Sorry Roo's).

Now looking at this list... It's somewhere on par with Club Ilia and Spud Shack... I think...

1. Dunn's Famous
2. Preston's
3. Brado Pizza
4. Mean Poutine
5. Smoke's Poutinerie
6. Zako's Deli
7. The Kaboom Box
8. Club Ilia
9. Firefighter's Club
10. The Spud Shack
11. Belgian Fries
12. Frenchies
13. La Poutinerie
14. Fritz
15. La Belle Patate
16. The Cambie
17. The Metropole Community Pub
18. Dougie Dog

The fries were amazingly good, much better than Spud Shack's, but Club Ilia's gravy and beef were a bit better. It's also got a couple other locations, check out their website!

In case you're interested, here's the address: 6515 Bonsor Ave, Burnaby, BC V5H 3E8

Ding Hao Taiwanese Noodle House and Bubble Tea

Hi everyone! I've been sitting on this post for a while, I hope you enjoy <3

Okay, so if you're local, I totally have a new place for you to try in Coquitlam (oh god I just gave away my location...) Eh. Over the summer one of my friends did me a huge favour by coming out to my area for hangouts (HI CAITLYN) and in return I decided to buy her lunch. BUT she's a vegetarian, so I had to do some googling.

One of the first and only things that came up were Ding Hao Taiwanese Noodle House and Bubble Tea. Apparently they're one of few places in the area that make noodles in the traditional Taiwanese way. I don't know what that means but I figured it would be something like pho, but new. The first time I went, I got crispy chicken and clear noodle soup or something like this. The soup itself was vegetarian I think and you can see some leafy greens and onions floating around in there. The noodles were amazing. They're really doughy and the whole meal was filling. My crispy chicken came on the side and was kind of too much food, hah.

The next time I went my friend (shoutouts to Ronak!) got the noodle in sesame sauce with cucumber, which is also a vegetarian dish (where did you all come from??).

And that's actually the end of this story because I'm pretty addicted to this. The sesame sauce is extremely rich, and the first time I had it I had a hard time finishing it (but by next week I was craving it again). I think the trick is to mix the cucumber in so that if you're feeling overwhelmed you have some of that and you're ready to go again.

Their bubble tea is fabulous too! (And HUGE)

In conclusion, you should find your local Taiwanese Noodle House and try some new things! Let me know what else on the menu I should try! :)

Baking: BANANA BREAD

Guys I found a cool recipe! It is ONE BANANA BANANA BREAD! I found it HERE. I've made it twice so far (two loaves each time) and it is fool-proof and has few ingredients and tastes like banana.

Okay, so basically you get all the ingredients and dump them all in a big bowl. I doubled the recipe but here's 1x:

1 egg

Milk until egg+milk = 1 cup (I used almond milk here! yum!)

0.5 cup butter

1.5 cups flour

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

and of course, one banana!

Everything in the bowl! I mixed it by hand and it didn't take long though you can totally use a mixer (those things scare me though, I avoid them at all costs). Mix it until most of the lumps are gone, but not too much or it'll be too dense.

Fill the loaf pans two-thirds full!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 55 minutes.

The toothpick test was the perfect check. Breakfast is served!

It was pretty much gone the second it came out of the oven so no pics of the sliced up pieces. Yum! Let me know if you try this. Do you have any favourite recipes?

Poutine: Smoke's Poutinerie

I'm going to end this year with my favourite food: poutine! I finally got around to trying Smoke's Poutinerie, which is just past Smithe on Granville street in downtown Vancouver. The prices were average (about $8), all poutine was one size and there is a TON of variety!

I opted for the traditional, but some of my friends got a little more adventurous! Hopefully I remember all the names...

Traditional

Chicken Chili

Country Style

Double Pork

That same week I went again and tried the Double Pork, which includes bacon and pulled pork. The menu is quite extensive and though the boxes appear small when you get them, it is definitely a LOT of food!

Now for the breakdown on the traditional... The gravy was pretty good, but nothing special and the cheese was squeaky, though also nothing special. The fries were also average and got soggy pretty fast. The double pork one was considerably better, though that might just be because of bacon... and pulled pork.

As it stands, I think I have to give some bonus points for the variety which puts it right...

1. Dunn's Famous
2. Preston's
3. Brado Pizza
4. Mean Poutine
5. Smoke's Poutinerie
6. Zako's Deli
7. The Kaboom Box
8. Club Ilia
9. The Spud Shack
10. Belgian Fries
11. Frenchies
12. La Poutinerie
13. Fritz
14. La Belle Patate
15. The Cambie
16. The Metropole Community Pub
17. Dougie Dog

I had to think really hard about how it stacked against Mean Poutine, but nothing beats those batter Costco-style fries.

Have you guys been to Smoke's before? Where would you rank it?

(Happy new year by the way! See you next year!)

BAKING: Angelfood confetti cupcakes with Strawberry Whip Icing

First, I'd like to say I found the first bug in the watermark program: it doesn't mark my non-nail pics! IT KNOWS SOMEHOW! *cough* Anyway, the boy will get to this ASAP as I will pester him.

Okay, to post. It was my friend's kids' birthday party(ies?) and being socialized little girls, their favourite colour is PINK. Last year we made fantastic angelfood cake cupcakes with strawberry buttercream icing but hey, this year we have Gramma's vanilla whip icing which means we get to experiment! We were a little leery since the chocolating of the recipe didn't turn out nicely, but this isn't a dry ingredient so we dove right in after a bit of thought!

This was lots of fun. We modified the recipe a bit to avoid adding lots of fluid via pureed strawberries. So from before the original recipe was:

Here's what you'll need:
5TBSP Flour
1CUP Milk
1CUP Butter
1CUP White Sugar
1TSP Vanilla

We modified this by using only half the milk (0.5CUP Milk) and adding 0.75CUP pureed strawberries. Our first step came out MUCH more dense and gluey which was to expected.

(Full instructions for this recipe here - nothing was changed, only ingredient measures as noted above)

Cupcakes were made with Betty Crocker Angelfood confetti cake.

Angelfood cake cupcakes!

 I forgot how marshmallow-y they are pre-baking! Teehee~ They poofled up nicely =)

I didn't get a photo of our lumpy glue paste but it was extremely relieving when we added the strawberries and the icing whipped up just like there were none! These next two pics is where I try to show you the pretty pink it became but alas, kitchen lighting was not my friend.

That's okay though, because you can see it in the next photo!

This icing is PERFECT for piping! Lookit my pretty lines =D If I'd had the patience I would have flowered the whole thing xD As it were, Branden covered up the middle with chopped strawberries, which is where the rest of our $3.98 package went. I think they worked out quite nicely!

These tasted absolutely amazing! You guys need to try this icing recipe and it's extremely pliable! Tell me what you put in it! Better yet, tell me what I should put in it! I'm already thinking of redoing my mango-coconut devilfood cupcakes with this icing instead of buttercream. What do you think?

Poutine: The Kaboom Box

Food truck Wednesday happened at SFU last week!! Guess what I found?

THE FREAKING KABOOM BOX! The last two or three times I've tried to find them and eat, they'd run out or been closed and I had been left sad (and in the rain, thanks Vancouver). BUT NOW...

Hells yea, b*tches! And it's vegetarian! I didn't even know! I LOVE MUSHROOMS. (It came to $6.50 after tax.)

Mushroom gravy is the best guys. Seriously. It is AWESOME. And the cheese was really good stuff. I wish there was more (not that they skimped, no way). On top of that, these fries are AWESOME. They're better than they look and they look pretty good at that!

You're lucky I managed to pause to get a pic halfway through. And Kaboom box has heavy duty biodegradable forks! The entire franchise is impressive and I am definitely up for going back.

Now where does it rank? Hmmm...

1. Dunn's Famous
2. Preston's
3. Brado Pizza
4. Mean Poutine
5. Zako's Deli
6. The Kaboom Box
7. Belgian Fries
8. Frenchies
9. La Poutinerie
10. Fritz
11. La Belle Patate
12. Dougie Dog

Click here for the full list <3

The Kaboom Box had WAY better fries than Belgian, but it was not as filling or enormous as Zako's Deli. It earned its place next to the greats though, and I definitely recommend it! Any of you tried anything good lately?

Baking time: Special K Treats

Contrary to the name of the post, this is not about drugs. Special K is a cereal brand and most of the iterations are DELICIOUS. Recently Branden's brother came home with a little card with a recipe and whipped some up and today I paid it back and made another batch. It literally takes ten minutes.

 There's the little card with the recipe. He got it from one of his coworkers =)

For ease I transcribed the photo:
2 and a quarter cups of Special K (the CEREAL)
Half cup smooth peanut butter
1 package of chocolate chips (equivalent to about 2 cups)

Melt peanut butter and chocolate chips together (low heat). When all melted, remove from heat. Stir in Special K. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.

This recipe works well with all flavours of chocolate chips - milk, semi sweet, butterscotch, etc

This is after the dropping onto cookie sheet. The best part is cleaning out the pan you use. I recommend using a rubber spatula to mix, so that the chocolate chips don't end up burning at the bottom. Keep it moving or it'll get too hot! It only takes about five minutes to be melted and another minute or two to get rid of all the lumps. Hurt my arm though, I need more push ups!

After dropping, stick them in the fridge to harden them up real quick...

I eat these SO FAST it's disgusting. They taste SO good. I apparently really like chocolate and peanut butter. Reese lied in their commercials, it's exactly the same.

Try it and tell me how you like them! If you use a different cereal, let me know what works! The Special K I used was basically Rice Krispies so try those too =D

What are your favourite easy treats to make? Tell me in the comments! <3

Aveda Peppermint and Black Licorice Root Green Tea

I finally got my hands on the most delicious tea I have ever ever ever tasted!

BUT FIRST, an introduction:

Mmmmmm.

If you walk into an Aveda, they will offer you some tea. It's a green tea, sugar and caffeine free and 100% organic. It's Peppermint and Black Licorice Root. You get this fresh peppermint breath and the black licorice root gives it a subtle sugary aftertaste. I don't need to add anything to it to enjoy it. Omfg.

I tried this during the summer with one of my awesome friends and we vowed to go back. We never actually did, but FINALLY, I made it. I got a whole jar.

This little jar set me back $39 but I made some yesterday and a single teaspoon got me two whole teapots worth, and I probably could have made a third with zero lessening in taste. I am really pleased. The associates at the store told me this should last me about 6 months, so we'll see. I will let you know =)

I have been drinking it all weekend and it is amazing. The downside? Other than the price, it appears to give my lovely boyfriend heartburn =( Oh well, more for me! Sorry love <3

What's your favourite tea? And what's the best thing you've ever found in the least expected place? Do you think it beats tea in a hair salon? xP

De Dutch De-Lish

I finally get to write about food again! I've been trying to save money lately, so I haven't had the opportunity to go out but after this I've got one more meal budgeted for next weekend =).

For now, I'm going to talk briefly about one of my favourite places to eat breakfast food! I say breakfast food because I am a firm believer in bacon being an anytime kind of food. ;) Can't beat the bacon.

Unless you're at De Dutch and get the Pannekoeken.

Here's the trick with De Dutch. You've gotta go with someone. Obviously, I go with my man, and we order a breakfast platter and a Pannekoek. This way, we get our healthy balanced breakfast and a sweet unique treat =D

For about $15 a person, we get what you see here...

 One full piece of buttered toast (whole wheat or white bread), hash browns, and a salad (green or fruit). On the right there is the most delicious thing ever - Chocolate Strawberry Whip Pannekoek. We'll get to that =)

That left side looks a little sparse doesn't it? That's because the toast is covering the coup de grace ;)

Two enormous pieces of bacon!

 BACONBACONBACONBACON... And under the hash browns: eggs!

1 piece toast, 2 pieces bacon, 1 egg, hash browns, salad =D

 Now for the best part. The first thing you do is make a huuuge mess =D

And then you nom it!

=D Between the two of us, we spend about $30 and though this meal feels deceptively light but is EXTREMELY filling. So there you have it! Don't be deterred when people tell you it's too expensive, just take a buddy ;)

In other news, it was Branden's mom's birthday yesterday, and we made brownies!

Branden's mad baker decorating skills =D So cute. I'll give you a moment to squee <3

Oh! One more thing! I started a Facebook Page for the blog, so if you use Facebook, maybe you can head over and like me? <3? (It's on the right there too ;) >>>>)

Have a great day =D

Speaking of food...

You guys should get into a White Spot soon if the special is on. Right now they have the Legendary Burger + Caesar salad on for about $12. The crowning glory of this combo, is that it comes with a "personal blueberry pie" (in BC anyway), which I thought meant a tart.

NOPE.

Not even close, this pie was bigger than my hand with the fingers spread out. And absolutely delicious, only about 400 calories for the whole thing (with whipped cream!).

[In other news, yesterday was a fantastic day for me. Two of my friends signed up for Julep (code: PENNY for a one cent box), I got a TAship with the university (which means I get to teach first years) and I got a really sexy bathing suit from Brazil. I also passed my Microbiology class (I was failing earlier this semester O_o never happens) and I think that's it. The TAship takes the cake... or pie! =D]

GET SOME.

Richmond Night Market (New Location)

On Saturday we went to the OTHER Richmond Night Market, but first, my lunch gets honourable mention:

Lunch on Saturday!

This is the delicious bento from Sashimi Sushi in Coquitlam Center. If you're ever looking for something to fill you up, this is the way to go. It's huge, only about $8 and so good.

After this was our poutine dinner at Fritz!

ANYWAY, before this even came up, I put on some make up and we went out to the Richmond Night Market at the new location! If you'll remember, we already went to the old location =)

It's even easier to get to than Google Maps says it is!

They had lots of crossing guards and traffic control and one of them was SO BLOODY CUTE. She thanked us for waiting as she let cars through and told us all to have a good night and omg I died a little. <3

We walked around the tents selling knick-knacks a bit but then headed right for the food.

Demon dog strikes again!

On our way, we came across this gorgeousness.

Wish trees!

"I wish for a lot of boys to have sex with..."

Mathmatical Rhombus?

It was so pretty!

You gave a donation or something, and you got a card to make a wish on. Most of them were about health and happiness; it was really cool to see.

Now the food (for real this time!)

DEEP FRIED SNICKERS

My reaction: Omg what do I even do with this?

MOUTHGASM

 The last bite was the best. Then we got thirsty..

So good!

 I'm not sure how they made this lemonade or got it so perfect, but it was really really good. The sugar wasn't overwhelming, but it balanced out the sour of the lemon. Just so perfect. =D If you're thirsty, get one of these!

Bacon wrapped mushrooms

Admittedly, these could have been better, but Branden liked his a lot more than I liked mine, so it might just be me.

This guy gets honourable mention! xD

Eat Like A Sir and Eat All The Food!

Japanese style yam fries with Honey Garlic mustard

SO DELICIOUS. This was about when we got bored and decided to get something a little more filling before we left.

Small order of chow mein (so fresh and good)

BBQ Chicken skewers

I highly recommend this combination. The chicken skewers were amazing! I don't know what they did to them, if they used mutant chickens or what, but they were so good. And the chow mein was better than what you usually buy in Chinese places.

On our way out, we stopped to watch the fire dancers!

They were good!

 We emptied out the rest of our change to them =) It's what pushed us up to about $18 each.

They deserved it!

BONUS: My pretty face ;)

On this Richmond Night Market, Branden and I both spent around $18. It's $1.50 to get in, and totally worth it. It's a bit of a bigger venue with more things (though the shops are about the same), but the food is over the top. Both Night Markets had the potato skewer things (Hurricane Potatoes / Rotatoes) but I would recommend getting them at the old one if you want to try, since they're much larger there. Both Night Markets also had the deep fried banana and mango ice cream, though this one had deep fried Snickers, Mars Bar and Cheesecake (which we didn't buy - if anyone tries the cheesecake let me know if it's worth it!!).

Just to round out this post, I want to finish up with the rest of the weekend starting on Sunday morning when we took Zorro to his agility class. It was super fun and I recommend trying agility if you want something new to do with your dog! I got a lot of good feedback from the instructor and other handlers there saying that I was a much calmer handler than Branden's dad and I kept Zorro more focused the entire time. Squee!

Zorro in the back of the truck, after a hard workout =D

That night, we played some Dungeons and Dragons Steampunk Pirate style, where I couldn't hit anything, fixed the boat by kicking it and molested Philippe (role play only unfortunately). It was fun! Overall a good weekend of not studying for my final exam on Tuesday. Wait, what?