St Augustines

One of my favorite places to go for a nice cold beer is St Augustines on Commerical and Broadway. I love this place because for $7.50 you can get a paddle, and sample any 4 beers you want! Since the craft beer menu is so huge its almost impossible to pick one so the paddle is an excellent choice if you just can't make up your mind.

Today we got the nachos, and wow. You can't just order nachos anywhere because you can get seriously ripped off.  A lot of places will have a thin layer of cheese on the top and everything underneath is just dry nacho chips with nothing on them.

These nachos were something else. Drowning in cheese, tomato, GUACAMMOLE, and even black beans and corn. We couldn't not even finish them. I'm telling you i didn't see ONE nacho on that plate that wasn't covered in delicious toppings. Definitely would order this again.

I just got the house salad for my meal, pretty standard. And Darren ordered off the brunch menu, the breakfast burrito. I had a couple bites, and YUM..

Another item on the menu that I LOVE is the CHICKPEA FRIES with mustard dip. So yummy. Like fries but healthier? thicker and more flavorful and the mustard dip goes perfectly. NOMNOMNOM

Burnaby lake run

Burnt almost 900 cal running around Burnaby lake yesterday. About a 10 k run, very beautiful and much better than running near traffic

NY times best chocolate chip cookie recipe

I had the day off today and it wasn't all that sunny.. what am I to do? Oh, I Know. Bake. ALana and I are on Pinterest trying to figure out what to make. Oreo stuffed brownies? Ferrero Rocher stuffed cupcakes? How about we try the New York TImes voted best chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Its been a while since i have had a real good chocolate chip cookie and I'm pretty sure this one was a winner.

One of the reasons it's so damn good? The dough to chocolate chip ratio is 50/50

Yes that is 2 lbs of Chocolate.

THe secret?
-- don't use pre made chocolate chips, buy the chocolate chunks and chop em up yourself!

Warning: this recipe makes a LOT. It couldn't all fit into my mixing bowl we had to separate the dough into two bowls and mix it all up that way. 

--don't use ALL PURPOSE FLOUR, use pastry flour and bread flour

--cool the dough for 24 hours until you actually bake. We took some of the dough and baked it and then took the rest and baked it the next day to see if this trick really does make a difference. Turns out, it does.... for a better texture and look I'd suggest waiting.

Here's the recipe;

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies

Ingredients 
1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.

- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.
- Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies.
- Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tomorrow Ill be baking the dough that set for 24 hours , check back tomorrow to see if it makes a difference :)

UPDATE: After cooling the dough for 24 hours the cookies actually have a better texture, a bit chewier. They also had a better look to them. More visually appealing. But that doesn't really matter to me :p

Great Costume Party Idea

I must say I have the best bunch of friends a girl could ever ask for. Not only because they are beautiful, funny, smart and kind but because they really support the fact that just because you are 23 years old does not mean you can't throw a kick ass themed birthday party- UNDER THE SEA themed.

What a great idea! All done while i was at work.

Decorations included

1. Balloons and tons of streamers!

2. Themed food

Catch of the day....

Fish and chips...

Hidden Treasure...

3. Sandy Cake!

4. Costumes

Italian Day on The Drive

Sunday June 9th was a celebration of Italian Culture on Commercial drive. Walking up to Napier from my car, I couldn't believe the amount of people! It was my first time attending this event and I thought it would be comparable to Greek days, which has a couple blocks of people, but Vancouver having such a large Italian population had Commercial Drive blocked off from Broadway all the way to Venables.

It was packed, tons of Kiosks set up seling raffle tickets, candied apples and lemonade.

A couple of outdoor beer gardens as well as all the restaurants creating a patio section right out on the street. Falconetti's had a nice rooftop patio that would have been a nice view of the crowd.

Along with many traditional italian dishes being sold there was also bubble tea and hotdog stands.

It was a nice hot day,  Tara and I treated ourselves to a nice Gelato. Tiramisu and Chocolate mixed together, so delicious, exactly what I needed on a day like that.

One of my favorite parts of the event were the performers. Italian performances on the main stage singing a sog from the sound of music, her voice was beautiful

Car show !

Tommy

Meet Tommy Tucker, the best cat of all time.

Cauliflower crust pizza!

EASY HEALTHY RECIPE for a Carb free dinner!!

Using Cauliflower for the dough... AMAZING, tastes just like pizza except you don't feel nasty, gross and bloated after having a few slices. I made about a 10' pizza and it fed 3 of us girls. Put whatever toppings you want, and I used vegan cheese, however, using regular cheese would be fine since you aren't eating any carbs!!

Just use a cheese grater to grate the cauliflower until you get about two full cups.

Cauliflower Crusted Pizza

Serves 2-3 people.. about 9-12 inch pizza

Ingredients:

CRUST:
1/2 LARGE head cauliflower (or 2+ cups shredded cauliflower)
1 large egg
1 cup vegan cheese (OR REGULAR :)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion salt

TOPPINGS:
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup vegan cheese
1/2 cup olives (i love olives)
1/4 cup green peppers
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup sliced mushroom

1. Shred the cauliflower. YOu can use a food processor if you would like. One head of cauliflower will give you about 2 cups.  Place the cauliflower crumbles in a large bowl and microwave them (dry) for 8 minutes.. Set aside to cool down


2. Crust: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray (or use a nonstick surface). In a medium bowl, mix the cauliflower with the remaining crust ingredients. Pat the "crust" into a 9 to 12-inch round on the prepared pan. Spray the crust lightly with nonstick spray and bake for 15 minutes (or until golden). Remove the crust from the oven and turn the heat up to broil.

3. Prepare the pizza: Spread the sauce on top of the baked crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on top. Add the veggies!! Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Broil the pizza 3 to 4 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese is melted. Cut and Serve!