Insprired by Beans

I just ate the most delicious breakfast I have had in weeks. You are probably all wondering where I went, and how much I paid so you can all go run there next weekend. But....I made it all myself. During the week I cannot pull myself out of bed early enough to make a decent breakfast so I will often just have a protein shake, an apple, a banana, or something easy enough that I can chow down in the car. This morning after quite the sleep in, so much so that my breakfast should have been called lunch, and while watching Kristy Alley's Big Life- I decided that not eating breakfast was A) not a good option and B) eating the homemade sugar cookies that were left behind by the Easter bunny will not help my cause to looking great on our upcoming trip to Vegas/Cali/San Diego.

So...amongst my condiment fridge I managed to throw together quite the breakfast. The secret to a great breakfast is not using fancy ingredients, it truly is being creative in what you put together along with an immaculate presentation. I know that when food looks better, the portions don't have to be as large...and I take longer to savor the flavours.

And now without further a due, and with much inspiration pulled from C's blogsite The Road to Health I just had to photograph my food journey this morning.
I started with some frozen blueberries stored in the freezer. Organic and from a co-workers farm last year, their little blue heads peeked out at me as plump and delicious. They needed a little livening so I tossed them in the microwave to defrost and added a dallop of crushed pineapple which I had leftover from baking. To that I added some plain eating right yogurt and still not satisfied I tossed on a handful of bee pollen. Bee pollen I discovered last year in an naturalist attempt to curb my spring-time hay fever, summer allergies. To that what bowl of deliciousness is not complete without a drizzle of honey and a shake of cinnamon to sweeten the deal . Yum....this first course to my 'breakfast' was amazing!


As my creativity started to turn in the kitchen I knew my breakfast would not be complete without some hearty protein. So I grabbed a weight watchers English muffin ( they are whole wheat and portion sized) and let the microwave bring my carb friend to life. I then grabbed my favouite egg poacher- the poach pod, to whip myself up a healthy mc kelly's muffin. I added some fresh arugula and a Kraft singles slice with a sprinkle of paprika and s&p and Voila!~


The most delicious breakfast all week.
Made for free.
Eaten in comfort.
No added crap included.


and to top off the home dining experience, enjoyed with a tall wine glass filled with chilled juice.

Suberbe!

Cheers~

Sweet as Pie

Let me just say it's been a very busy month!
Between birthday, work, and preparing for Easter baking I have had little time to myself.

I did however successfully complete my first wedding cake, a gourmet birthday cake, and some spring cupcakes for our family's Easter dinner pot-luck. For those people that don't understand why bakery's charge thousands of dollars for wedding cakes....well let me tell you! Designing a masterpiece is no piece of cake; especially if you are tackling it on your own. Don't get me wrong, I do love to bake...and after I had stressed myself out all turned out well.

I also need to pay gratitude to a great friend who came to the rescue and used her amazing baking skills to help me meet my deadline during power-outages, car accidents, and getting up at the crack of dawn to help me maintain my sanity. Thanks Lamb.

After the wedding cakes were delivered and gone it was time to treat ourselves to some delicious Noodle Box! If you have not tried Noodle Box on 4th DT you MUST go. This little noodle restaurant was started in Victoria and only in the last two years opened shop in Vancouver. They make your curry noodle dish very mild to screaming hot and add delicious toppings for an unforgettable noodle dish. I wish I had a photo...but you will have to go and see for yourself.

So.....as it has been my first opportunity to spend some relaxing time on my "friday" night I will leave you with some pictures of my baking creations as I reach for my glass of merlot.

On a side note....my gf's and I had some fun creating a "breakfast in bed" dish for our friend Quatchi after a long day of baking. His delectabe meal was made with leftover fondant and sugar paste...all edible- if only Quatchi could digest things properly.

Enjoy the weekend!
~Cheers
Kelly in the Deli

This is the first wedding Cake I have made. It's covered in crusting buttercream and decorated with fondant flowers.

This cake, Chocolate and Vanilla layers with buttercream and chocolate ganache was made for Britt's 17th birthday!

Quatchi enjoying his Green Egg and Ham-bacon along with S&P Hashbrowns and buttered toast! MMmm

Thrusday Treats

I love to bake. I hope you already know that.
Today is also scrapbook Thursday and I can't wait to go!

Having been so busy with life and the Olympics I have neglected two passions of mine. Baking and spending time at Amanda's Stampin' Up classes- Scrapbooking and Card Class. So today I get to indulge in both!

For the special occasion I decided to use what I had and whip up some delicious cupcakes! I must say for a first time recipe they turned out fantastic!!! I will let you know how they get reviewed after class tonight!

So....I leave you with these mouth watering photos of my latest baking creation: Butter Pecan Cupcakes topped with Buttercream frosting and a Chocolate Brandy Ganache!

Enjoy~

Breaking up is never Easy

Wow!

Go Canada Go!

You have made me very proud these past two weeks. We have come together, shared our spirit and showed that WE Believe!

I am very sad that you have come and gone so fast. I was a little weary of the relationship that I was going to be entering into before you arrived, and then you came and blew my mind! I really wish that you could have stayed longer. You ignited my internal flame of Canadian pride and even though I still have hopes that you could stay longer I will forever cherish our relationship that set Golden on the skies of Vancouver this evening.

Although you may have taken the fire with you, the flame you have ignited in my heart will forever be unchanged.



Go Canada Go!

Congratulations to all athletes, volunteers, sponsors, friends and Canadians alike who helped to make this one event I will never forget!

2010 You have high expectations to live up to!
Bring it On!

I ♥ Cakes and Canada!

Let it be known...I LOVE CAKES....Just as much as I love Canada!!!

Four days off seems to fly by when you are having fun!!
And what more fun could a girl ask for when she gets to spend a weekend in her Canadian gear wandering the streets in the golden sunshine! Gold, because Canada now has their first ever 3 gold medals on Canadian soil! Pretty Cool if you ask me!

Acutally the feeling of nationalism is so thick you go downtown and it's hard not to catch our Canadian Fever. Scrap all the H1N1 talk, we Canadians have a fever that can't be cured! There have been flash mob's dancing down at Robson Square, people everywhere suddenly bursting into song and dance to O'Canada! And of course, Red Mittens, Hi 5's and Free Hugs at each street corner! I love where I live!

Last night I also got to experience my first Japadog! What is a Japadog?? Well if you have not heard its the latest and greatest hotdog! You can get a beef edamame dog, or a kobe beef dog, all topped with great toppings straight out of your local japanese restraunt. Last night I induldged in a Spicy Terimayo Cheese Japadog! The watering of my mouth after the first bite was well worth the wait,..and the chance to share some of my wassabi peas with my two new found friends also waiting in line for their first Japadog!


To finish off by busy four days off I am proud to say I completed my very first two official cake orders! I was definatley a little nervous to be making cakes for two very special occasions, but in the end they both worked out and look fantastic! I hope the birthday boy and girl will love their cakes this weekend!


So....off I go! Time to get ready to once again head on on our public transit system to go and see our first Official Olympic event of 2010. Pairs Ice Dancing! It's going to be great!!

Cheers~ to a weekend, taken during the week!

Positively Canadian

With all eyes on BC and Canada it can be difficult not to get wrapped up in some not so positive news surrounding the 2010 Olympics.
There have been protesters with posters, fatal practice runs, and technical difficulties seen upon a backdrop of mild temperate weather that still eludes us (last year we were in snow-survival mode this time wondering how we would make it up the road and out of the cul-de-sac just to get to work).



But I am taking stand! Today as a proud Canadian I am taking a stand to eat, breathe and speak only the positive aspects of the 2010 Olympics! This is a time in my life that I will never forget, so why not make it the happiest time! Protesters and negative news stories you will not get my spirits down! Keep your negativity away from my shield of roses! For these two weeks will no doubt be amazing, so let it be my duty to all my fellow Canadians, and the world to show you a truly positive Canadian Olympics!



Join me as we cheer for all past torch bearers who brought the communities surrounding us together if only for a brief moment to cheer on the flame. Feel warm and fuzzy when you see our furry mascot friends, who don't speak our language but can unite any 2010 Vancouverite with the sound of a cowbell ringing around their neck. Be polite, and offer to take a picture for your fellow photographer...because we all love pictures we can be in together. Last but not least SMILE as you smell the scent of spring in the air! It is not every year the world gets to come to your backyard to cheer on athletes, family and friends alike.




As my mom used to tell me "Smile and the World Smiles with you, Frown and you Frown alone!"

Go Canada Go!
(for Gold of course)

How Sweet it is to Be Loved

Midweek days off are not so bad I have decided.
I got up early...well early being around 8. OK, I'm lying. I opened my eyes at 8 and laid in bed for another 45 minutes. That was nice. Especially with the sun shining in my eyes, I really thought that it was Spring already.

Then off to town to visit the dentist, and run multiple other errands that you can only get done mid week when the traffic is less and shops and stores are still open. I always forget that running around to do errands is actually a full day's job, and it makes you tired. None the less I decided to come home and make some sugar cookies with my newly purchased cookie pan.

Let me retrace my steps. There is a new Thrifty's supermarket in town that I decided to stop and check out. Which was maybe not the greatest of idea's. With their parking lot in full construction mode, and maybe half of town also there to check out the new market the parking lot was less than pleasing. It's probably better to call it a puzzle lot, or a no-parking lot, or best yet the game for Ipod called Parking Lot. It was somewhat of a joke, and I am starting to wish I lived within walking distance to things like grocery stores just to avoid parking lots and the people that use them all together. But that is another story left for another day.

OK....so I walked around the grocery store, which looked great! New stores are always fully staffed with people everywhere And then Inspiration!! TaDA! ready to help, samples ready to try and they are always clean. Walking around the supermarket is where I got a great idea for cookies!!!

I know what your thinking...I had to read all that rubbish just to find out that's how you decided that tonight you would make cookies! OK! Well it was. But these cookies that inspired me were huge! They were decorated well and wrapped in little cellophane bags tied with cute Valentines day ribbons! That's when I knew I had to make some!

I love Valentines day just because I love to make the pretty decorated sugar cookies which to me is more fun than colouring outside the lines in my 3 year old nieces colouring book!

So....off to the Kitchen Store I went! OMG! I love this store! It's filled with the coolest kitchen gadgets one has ever seen. Baking supplies galore...and this one amazing cup/2 carat ring! I also found some great cookie cutters while I was there, which I will use later on my second batch of sugar hearts. But for this evening I used this cool pan that forms the cakes. It looked neat, and was supposed to emboss the picture onto the cookie. I thought it did an OK job. I would probably give it maybe 6/10 but a neat idea! Lucky for me I had noticed a dent in the pan and got it for 20% off! I really love getting a deal.

So...to all you sweet people out there reading this I will leave you with some pictures from my baking escapades tonight!

XOXOXO

le petit gâteau

The small cake was a big hit! After a long Sunday of work I came home and dove right into sin and sugar. and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it was good.

It all started with some unsalted butter, vanilla vodka and a kitchen aid mixer. TaDA! Vanilla Vodka buttercream was born. Next Came the espresso, the brandy, the Kahlua and finally the cream. Born, was a chocolate layered creation from here on known as the White Russian Petit Gateau. Oh! And let's not forget the silky smooth chocolate ganache.

A smooth layer of blache fondant rolled over top and then decorated by two silly girls practically high on natural, ok, refined sugar to finish the night off. Milk and a toothbrush please!

All in all a good night! Much to the appreciation of my staff at work for a sweet indulgence the next day! Unfortunately it looks like there is more creating and baking to be had before the big day!

But maybe that's not such a bad thing Martha, now is it?

My First Wedding Cake

I am sooooooooooo ecstatic!
Congratulations to our friends JONN and VAL who have decided to set the date to get married this July!
For their beach wedding, I am honored to be able to bake their fabulous wedding cake for their special day.
I love to bake, and have only dreamed about being able to bake my first official wedding cake. 2010 is starting out great!
The design is picked; a three tier off center square cake that will feed 100-150 people. Covered in lush fondant and decorated with delicate floral patterns, the only thing left is to decide on a delicious center.
Over the next few weeks I will be testing, baking and creating combinations of chocolate cake and fillings. If your mouth has already started to water like mine, be sure to check back for updates to come! Hopefully if all works out I will be able to start my first round this week! Wish me luck!
and Cheers to the fabulous Couple!

Wacky Wednesday

When I clean. I really clean. I have to admit, I am not the best at the day to day cleaning routine. After I get off work, drive home in an hour's worth of traffic, only to stop at the gym for an hour then home to make dinner. he last thing I am thinking about is folding or putting away laundry, vacuuming and really anything that is remotely cleaning related. I would much rather plop my sore, sorry ass on the corner of the sectional and watch my one last episode of trash tv before hitting the hay. Does this sound like your day?

Kudos to those moms with kids....and more than one kid! I do not know where you get the energy to stay up late and take care of many others besides yourself. So today, my Saturday....I rose out of bed (after sleeping in from my exhausting week) and got to work. The sun was shining, and what better motivation to clean than the sun shining and the crisp air outside. I put on a strong pot of coffee and went to it!

I did have a slight ulterior motivation in that today I am receiving my grandmothers dining table along with a mattress and some other belongings from her recently sold condo.

Unfortunately still a renter, all our our furniture seems to be taking over our awkwardly laid out living space. And unfortunately for me, it seems to be furniture we cannot part with. The couch and the tv take up most of our open concept living room/dining room/kitchen. The table from my grandma I would like to keep for sentimental reason and that leaves not too much extra space to be had.

That said, today I re-arranged the whole room, much to the man of the house's dismay. But actually, I like it!

I now have a room that feels and looks much larger, and a kitchen table that is in a space I can actually use to eat at, use as a desk, and have to lay out all my crafting. Maybe now I can have a dinner party with a sit down (as in at the table and not around the coffee table on the floor!).

Maybe tomorrow I will tackle a delicious three course dinner with desert!

Now to just decide on what to make....

Faces in Places

My creative brain is always ticking and running. If I could only begin to tell you all some of the most amazing dreams I have. During the time I am awake however, I often see faces in many places. It has become a kind of game between myself and some friends. We all capture these faces we see in places. So today I will share two.

The first face we encountered while on a family walk down at Island View beach in Saanichton, Victoria BC. This berry winked at me as I walked past and couldn't help but stop to capture his quirkiness.

The second face smiled as I walked by in the backroom at work. This first aid kit was sure to make anyone feel better after having to dig around for a bandaid or other medical instrument. It reminds me of a happy content new born baby with his eyes squinting shut.

Hopefully these will make you smile! I will share more as I come across!
Happy Friday to Everyone!

Sunday Bliss....on Saturday!

Coffee and Baileys
D's Special Caesar's
Eggs Benny with a side of Organic Apples
Blankets, Pillows and Snuggles on the Couch
Out of Town Friends..in Town Visiting
minus
one movie not to be rented
"All About Steve"...should have been left on the shelf at the video store.

Maybe Sandra Bullock was doing the producers of Miss Congeniality a favor by starring in this movie, but make no mistake; she is not doing any of us a favor. This movie is one to pass up.
All in all, this is one Saturday to sit and enjoy!
And it's not even over yet!

Sparkling Beauty

I have a confession.

Maybe some of you already know.
Let me admit now that I have a deep passion, obsession, and adoration for all things that Sparkle!

The list of things that I love starts with Perrier Water, Gin and Soda
with Lime, Crystals, Chandeliers, MAC eyeshadow, Christmas Balls,
Raindrops,Shiny Silver Platters, Mirrors, and of course but is not
limited to Diamonds!

I am not sure when my obsession started, but I know that I feel like an ADHD child in a candy emporium anytime I come across an item that sparkles.
Things that are pretty bring joy, they bring a smile and they reflect light from one's smile upon seeing them.

My dream bathroom includes a silver platter for which to hold my pretty perfume containers, which reflect light against the antique framed mirror lit by the crystal chandelier hanging above the ceramic silver claw soaker tub. Now if this isn't a Pisces dream I'm not sure what is.

So, on a rainy, grey and gloomy Vancouver day...look around to see something Sparkling and smile. Maybe the light you reflect may brighten someone else's day.

New Years Resolutions all Jarred Up

BudgetExerciseCleanEatWriteSaveCreateSmileReadFun....are all words that make up just a few of my many New Year 2010 Resolutions. So today I tackled my fridge! Literally. Containers, and Jars and expired food seems to spill out of my fridge as I attempted to organize and sanitize. After pulling out every piece of plastic and glass and wiping and washing, I felt only like I had climbed a very small version of Mt. Everest. Which brought me to wondering what does one really need to keep in their fridge? I found I had eggs, milk, butter, cheese, vegetables all in good condition but i also found...



Condiments! You name it, we have it. Thai this, soy that, ketchup, BBQ, hot sauce galore. But really....does one fridge and two consumers really need all of these toppings? And how long do they really last for? I was acutally surprised that some of my salad dressings were expired. I think they should come in smaller containers. And some do....but they cost almost the same. So....maybe I will stick with oil and balsalmic vinegar, tried and true.

So, as one of my resolutions to cook more meals at home, good hearty, healthy meals what really do I need to keep in my fridge? I looked online but that was not much help! So any tips for being able to prepare meals at my fingertips the search is on for the fridge essentials of 2010 would be greatly appreciated.

Also for Christmas we recieved our very first slow cooker! Since I now commute further to work I am extremely excited to be able to cook a meal before I leave for work, and being able to make a healthy breakfast of steal cut oats the night before. I will keep posted the recipes and their outcomes of my new kitchen appliance.

Maybe my New Year's resolutions should be to try and use all the condiments in my fridge before they expire next year!

Cheers~