Protein…mmmm

Ever since I started this huge lifesyle altering workout and diet regime, I haven’t had a big delicious, juicy, tender, slightly charbroiled, smothered in a marinate glaze… STEAK. 

To examplify this lust, my friend just called and invited me to a BBQ this Friday; my RSVP is dependant on the presence of the guesof honor, Steak.  Also, for the past 3 days, I’ve been trying to find a Steak-like asatiation during my dinner.  Maybe a chicken breast’s protein would equate, maybe a grilled Salmon with Montreal steak sauce? Nope… still salivating at every The Keg commercial.  Omg, I am even writing a BLOG post about my need for steak.  It’s disgusting. 

Personal justification: It really doesn’t even make sense why I am avoiding steak.  Part of this new healthy-diet of mine is minimizing fats and maximizing protein. With the right cut of steak (Round, Sirloin.. Fillet… etc etc), grilled on a flame (not the amazingly yummy flat top) and marinated with minimum sodium content.  It’s actually super healthy, the protein will help me build muscle and with mroe muscle, I burn more calories and fat.  The important thing is to order a side of veggies instead of mashed potatoes or fries.   Ok.. I am convinced. 

Omg…. Look at you… you juicy, hunk.

Mushrooms are good for you too!

So I’ll see you at the friendly neighborhood Steakhouse, k?

Speaking of Steak houses.  Everyone knows Outback was my ultimate fav.  And since it’s shut-door in Ontario, I’m like a baby without it’s favorite toy…. or a carnavore without meat.  I’ve also befriended a lot of the ex-managers, cooks of the restaurant, hoping they will recreate the steak greatness for me.  One day… maybe…  I have gone as far as dating an ex- Steak chef.  (he hasn’t made me very many steak meals… last time was Feb I think)  Anyhow, through a grape vine, I heard the ex restaurant manager is Opening his own franchise in place, with the exkitchen manager as…. kitchen manager….THE GREAT CANADIAN STEAKHOUSE In the same location.  I’ve already contributed to the new menu.  Calamari, glazed salmon with sesame thai glaze.   So it’s going to be awhile until it opens.  But I’ll definately be there opening day!

A|X Summer 2009

I am not nearly as huge of a brand whore as I used to be.  Probably because I am now in poverty, no longer living under the moneytree protection of my parents.  But I digress….

I stumbled upon the A|X 2009 Summer collection and I love its entireity.  It’s bold, classy yet sexy. 

One Gold Star for you

Has a man ever made you feel like the most amazing thing in the entire world.  Like you are worth the world and beyond? You realize what love is, not because any one particular thing, but you sit back and reflect and realize how absolutely incredible someone is and you just cannot live with them.

You might hate them sometimes, you want to kick  them in the balls a million times cause they say mean harsh words (that they probably don’t mean).  But you don’t, not only because it’s incredibly inhumane, but because well, you love them. 

There are a million reasons why I love Marc, but the latest episode made him just toppled the LOVE scale. 

This is what happened:

Thursday about 10pm after returning from the gym, we had a huge arguement involving salad dressing pounding on counter, Marc storming out and me going MIA until 1am.   And all this drama was because I got angry at him for not eating dinner…  We love blowing things out of proportion. 

Long story short, we made up cuz we both realized that we couldn’t stay mad at each other… I knew I was over being mad when I came out from the bathroom and I saw him when he got home and couldn’t stop myself from having a half grin from seeing him.  (And our make up sex is always fantastic.)

So not even 24 hrs after we fought, I came home from the gym to see fresh flowers on our dining table, a card and a…… SWAROVSKY bag!  Couldn’t believe it… it was a lovely little tearjerker card, a lululemon gift certificate AND a huge swarovsky ring!!!

All these are “just because” gifts.  There was never a boyfriend that has ever gotten me a just because gift.  It’s just  like my birthday!  What surprised me was that he picked the one that I loved most, and the sizing was perfect!

I am one lucky girl. 

He did good.

Kickass Dinner

The first meal I learned to make was Speghetti and meat sauce when I was in my teens. Over the years, I have perfected the art, adding more spices and marinating and changing temps etc. etc.
There are many variations depending what materials I have to work with.
This is what I made on Friday night:

I started with sauteeing the onions. I normally julianne the onions because I love onions, but since Marc likes them diced and barely noticeable. Add some garlic, salt and pepper to make the onions super yummy and tasty.

Once the onions are nice and soft add in ground beef. I used a lb of extra lean meat.

I didn’t have time to marinate the beef, but it is very important to flavor the meat, even just 1/2 hr of marinating would suffice. Instead, I just added some oregano, fresh chopped basil (from my plant), chili flakes, thyme and S&P.

I always add a touch of wine when marinating, but since I didn’t, I’ll add it while I’m browning the meat. To ensure that the meat really absorbs the flavors, I turned it to medium heat to cook it slowly. The ideal is to cook it at low, but I’m impatient and hungry.

I used 2005 Monte Cheval Vranac this time. I got it as a house warming gift awhile ago. Later found it it costs less than $10 a bottle. Cheap bastards. But it’s pretty hearty, with indistinct sour berry fruit, leather and earth. I read it has a touch of Cabernet Savignon in it too. Not good to drink, so I use it for marinate. BTW, my gneral rule for marinating with wine is simple. (because I am a simple person) White meat=white wine. Red meat=redwine. It makes so much sense…

I hope you started boiling the water for your pasta when you started the onions… the timing is almost perfect to have everything finish at the same time. As an ex-cook, timing is crucial to ensure your entire meal is done at the same time so hot dishes doesn’t sit and cools for no reason. I added some frozen mixed veggies to add some color to the dish. I also cooked broccoli on the side because I want to make sure I don’t eat too much carbs.

Make sure your drain the meat of the oil first. Nothing is more disgusting than an oily pasta sauce. It is recommended that you even rinse the meat with hot water. I prefer not to, just to savor the taste. I like using canned tomato sauce, it makes my life 5 billion times easier. I used Unico this time because it’s the brand that Marc always buys. Not my favorite. BRAVO is the best tomato sauce ever, it only has 1 simple kind, not like some that has like: tomato basil, parmesan, vodka.. blah blah blah. Bravo is just a simple tomato sauce base that lets YOU make it to what you want it to be. They’re normally at the very bottom of the shelf at grocery stores because it’s cheap like 99 cents a can.

Add more spice.. I added more fresh Basil this time, we were craving tomato basil… plus our basil plant is dying. This is when you add spices to your sauce. Don’t taste the sauce for flavor right now, it won’t taste like anything, you have to let you cook on low for a good 10 minutes before the flavors start emerging.

Wanted more wine in the sauce too.

Drain pasta, pour desired amount of sauce ontop, garnish and.. VOILA!!!
(I know.. bad presentation with the drippy sauce… whateve.)

Enjoy 🙂

Sunfest

The best thing about my apartment has got to be the stone’s throw distance from Victoria, where all the best festivals are held.  From July 9th-12th, it’s Sunfest!  After a nutritious dinner at Swiss Chalet, we took a walk to the park to check out the festivities. 

I think this year’s sunfest is a lot busier than ever! A lot more vendors.  considering it was a Thursday night.  It was BUSY!!!!  Crowds and crowds of people everywhere.  Note to all the parents out there, a toddler with a bike is not a good idea to go through the festival with.

The agonizingly tempting aromas of all the different food vendors is not for anyone on a diet.  So I highly suggest you take a detour away from the main diagonal walk path from the north west to the south east corner of park.

I find the side paths are where all the gems are.  There, I found tons of little vendors with great hand made crafts and original pieces that haven’t been seen before.  I haven’t had a chance to explore every booth because of Toddler and my impatient soul.

Inspried lines, by Leah Marlene Wilb definitely caught my eye! Featuring original black and white ink art.  The detail involved in the pointilism and the intricate line work is enough to make me swoon. 

Another Gem I found is Nharo! Paul WellHauser  Featuring fair trade art from Africa.  This amazing littly Rhino is made from ironwood, heavy as hell.  It is normally $380.  But this poor little fellow has a chipped ear and is on sale for $180.  Get it before it’s gone!  Marc and I were so tempted to take him home.  If we see it on Sunday we’re definitely going to grab it. 

I found a list of all the exhibitors as well.

We’re going to go again on Sunday night when we don’t have the little toddler to really enjoy the festival.  Here’s a list of performers for the festival as well. 

I urge everyone to come and check it out.  It’s quite a hoot.  But don’t stop there, there are some other amazing shops and restaurants on Richmond Row as well.

 

AND.. YES… I KNOW.. MY SPELLING IS ATROCIOUS

Keepin’ it So Fresh and So Clean

It all started with a conversation with a client regarding steak houses:  He enjoys The Keg, I prefer Outback.  I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take a drive to Niagara Falls to go to the only Outback in Ontario *tear*tear* for their fresh salmon, homemade honey mustard dressing and fresh calamari.   

As we drove down it was crazy rain-sunny weather.  We saw a total of 8 raindows.  Absolutely crazy!!  Maybe we’ll win the lottery or something.

We had dinner before we checked-in because Outback closed at 10pm.  Marc ran into an old friend of his who is now the GM of that Outback.  No discounts were offered.  Boo.  The meal was pretty damn yummy, but there were changes and autistic-side of me dislike changes.  They jacked the prices up like crazy too.  We ate $96 worth of food which normally would’ve cost us $64.  So the surprise was Chocolate Strawberries.  I knew Marc wasn’t a huge fan of chocolate strawberries but it was this or rose petals on the bed for the same cost.  I’d rather something I could eat. 

The strawberries without flash.  They were uber delicious! The top were pistashio covered, then almonds, GOLD Flakes and the bottom ones were white chocolate.  YUM. YUM Yum.  I devoured them all myself.

There was a jacuzzi tub in the room too! and it had a window that led to the bed how convenient is that?  We had fun in it…. …

We got dolled up and went to Dragon Fly Night Club. 

OOO Feature DJ.. should’ve researched the DJ before going.  Paid $20 cover to simple melodic House Music.  It drove me nuts cuz he used beats from other DJs so I kept thinking it was a song I liked.. but no no no… just the same beat over and over again.  We got bored pretty quick, wasted our money and left.

Narcisstic Lainy loves mirrors~ and grand hotels have a lot of Mirrors.

It’s shitty that Marc isn’t crazy about taking loads of Pic.  Maybe he needs a reason fo taking pics, he needs to start a blog. Haha… I hate asking him to take pics of me.  And when I do.. I get angry cuz he doesn’t take good Pics. 

It was 1:30 am and I jumped right back into the jacuzzi tub.  Might as well take advantage of it while we got it.

Marc had more less-blogable pics on his phone.  This soak was cut short cuz of different urges~ ya..

Good Night.

I didn’t get aything for Mother’s Day btw…

Disclaimer: This post would be so much more exciting if I had images to support, but I don’t. Yesterday, I was much too exhausted to take pictures, I just wanted to sleep. So I am garnishing this post with some results I found when I googled, “Father’s Day”

Anywho, So it was Father’s Day on Sunday, but I didn’t have Christopher so we didn’t do anything. Marc is technically not his father, not even a step father. But in my heart, I think Marc fills the shoes of a father in our house. He takes cares of us like we are his little family. Christopher adores him and he recipricates with as much, if not more love. I can keep going on and on… but I won’t because it’s a tad too mushy.

So I had Christopher yesterday night, so we did a mini Belated Father’s Day with Marc. Just to show how much we appreciate him in our life. I went to the local grocery store and got a chocolate cake that read, “Happy Belated Father’s Day” (spelt correctly this time) I wanted to see if they can put a little toy golf cart on it and they did. For free. 🙂 (This is probably because I frantically searched through the book for a cake and then asked if they can be made instantly. Followed by asking for a pre-made cake with “Belated Father’s Day on it”– she felt sorry for me) I was so impressed by the service, the spelling of the clerk. She made my day. I wish I took a picture of it. Damn my laziness!!!

Christopher also gave Marc a card that I help him make about a week ago. Christopher ran into the house yesterday calling for him and said coyly, “I WUV WU” and gave him the card. I also wrote some mushy words in it that brought tears in his eyes. I love seeing Marc tear, I know it’s a tad sadistic. But I love seeing emotion in a guy and when it’s from joy and love it’s just so cute. awwwww~~~

Down the Bunny Hole

iI’ve always loved Alice in Wonderland.  My mother bought me a hardcover antique version of it as a little girl and I remember rereading it a trillion times over.  Losing myself to the mystery to the fantasy that surrounds the story.  Tim Burton is recreating the movie with real life characters.  And Tim Burton’s right hand, Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter.  Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.  See images HERE

Remember Gwen Stefani’s Alice in Wonderland phase?  I love it so much.  I love the fashion that surrounds it.  The magically blue, the frilly-ness the black bow and white socks and Mary Jane shoes. 

A lot of designers tried to recreate fashion inspired by Lewis Carrol’s acid-trip stories.  I wish I could quote you some designers, but I cannot.  Because that’s not important.  Just absorb the talent and take what you can out of it.

A Twist, A Spin, and a Loop

It was the first day of summer, the summer solistice, the longest day of the year, an absolutely gorgeous day… What does Lainy do? GO TO WONDERLAND BABY!!  We woke up from a sleep depriving house party and decided that the best way to nurse a hangover is being spun and jerked around in an enclosed compartment. 

We went to Ikea first, which we had to turn around about 6 times despite having a GPS because Lainy was trying to recover from the inebriating experience the evening previous.  We effortlessly spent $200 but returned a gorgeous $60 wall art because it didn’t fit in the car.  we’re such losers.

Marc pointed this out to me, I kept picking spiny, whirly rides that made both of us nauseous thinking that those are the recovery rides after the big ones. But we always emerge sick and headachy. Which of course, can be cured with food. Apparantly, Wonderland food is so awesome that the can charge 3 Xs the norm. Yes, we had a slice of Pizza Pizza (dwarfed slice mind you) for $7.99. No comment, we ate it and was angry eating it, but we ate it.

We went on all of our usual rides, Mindbuster, Top Gun (no longer called Top Gun since Paramount does own it anymore, but everyone still refers to it as Top Gun) The standing up rollercoaster and this Superman ride… I realized that upside down doesn’t phase me.  Bring on the loops babe! But the up and downs are what gets me sick.  I hate the G force… I hate the butterflies in my tummy…. it hurts…. I hate it.. I hate you.

You.. as in Marc…. I was forced to ride on the Bohemoth, the tallest, most G Force causing ride in the entire park. The drop was practically 90 degrees. While I was crying in line, I looked around and there were lots of little boys and girls on the ride, unphrased, calm, relaxed and happy. And here I am, a 23 year old grown lady crying because of fear. I am not afraid I’d die, I’m more logical than that. I’m afraid of the FEELING of the G Force. How it makes me cringe and bite my teeth and tense every muscle in my body. That’s what I was afraid of. But I was sort of convinced that since all the wee ones were going I should be ok… Then…. I was strapped in….. I felt so damn helpless because there was NO TURNING BACK…. it made a quick turn… then it went upwards… and upwards… and upwards…. and upwards… and upwards… I was frantically crying and cursing Marc for doing this to me. I tried to search for the most secure and comforting position: my one arm latched around his, while gripping damn tight to the resitraint. (which was minimal btw!) and my left leg hooked to his. Alas, I was at the top… for a second or two, it looked like it was going in slow motion… the train slowly pointed down to this 300 something metre drop… staring down the track of this insanely long drop…
….
…..
……

My scream could’ve shattered all the glass in the entire park. Up… down.. up.. down… around and over and twist here, loop there. Then it came to a sudden stop. I turned to Marc with messed up hair and a pout. Then a smile. I am so glad he forced me onto the ride, it wasn’t as bad as I thought (maybe cause my eyes were closed most of the time) I think it’s also because it’s a metal coaster so it’s so much smoother.

I conquered it. And I am so proud of myself. Marc was proud too, he rewarded me with the yummiest Funnel cake ever. Though it made me feel so nauseous the whole ride home. MMm… deep fried pancake batter with ice cream and icing sugar…. Grease attack to death!

We love Wonderland…. ♥ ♥ ♥

Mirror, Mirror on the wall….

This is my tribute to Asian Poses.  I would do more, but I’m just not quite Asian Model material.  I’ve had many gents propose their undying wish to sleep with me.  Not because I am so lovable, seductive or sizzling.  But simply because I am Asian.  *sigh* To be a fetish…

I had the day off yesterday.  I planned for an ultra productive day of Getting-My-Shit-Together.  You know, do things that I normally can’t do because I work Mon-Fri:9-5…  Went to the Ministry of Health on York St.  It only took about 30min with a 14 min wait time.  What a pleasant surprise! I took Christopher with me and I packed him toys, juice and even a little sandwich just in case this is going to be a whole day excursion.  Better to be prepared than not right?

I came up with a brilliant idea to put more charges on my credit card, and went over to CakeWalkers to order a just because cake.  I walked in and told the chicky at the counter that I wanted a “just because” cake.  The ones on the display were nice but not special enough.  I suddenly came up with a brilliant idea to get a Maple Leafs cake since Marc loves the Leafs (and I threw out everything that has anything to do with the Leafs when he moved in)

As she was fillin the order sheet, I remembered that it was our friend Dave and Drew’s housewarming party this weekend. And HE Loves the Leafs! SCORE!  I got a housewarming present out of the way and by telling Marc that the cake idea originated from me thinking about him, I get extra points! It’s ok, my brilliance scares me too. Gonna pick it up on Sat, will post pics of my brilliance then. 

Ok… so I didn’t leave empty handed yesterday, I got a slice of moccachino cake, a slice of strawberry orange and 2 truffles too.  I should’ve taken pics but they were in our tummies within 5 minutes.  Everyone should find an excuse why they rock and go to Cake Walkers and reward yourselves with a slice of cake.  I think they were 2.45 each or something insane like that.  mmm

Lainy and Friends are heading to the Children’s Expo tonight! See everyone there 🙂