Rose
For Easter, we surprised Jim's folks n' Grandma with a visit to Sorrento. Then we hit the road again and spent our second night in Kelowna with Jay, Cheryl n' the kids. It was a crazy whirlwind visit, but it managed to temporarily ease Jim's itch to see everyone. However, he is still planning on taking a longer trip sometime this summer.
The trip also eased my itch to get rid of some stuff that has been seriously cluttering our home. We looked like hoarders with a huge shelving unit crammed on our balcony because it didn't fit anywhere inside. Jay n' Cheryl have kindly taken the unit off our hands, until we have the space for it again. It also felt really good to finally pick up a bunch of other things that we were missing from our initial move. I didn't realize I had left so many clothes behind. I think I'm gonna have to do another purge soon....
Thorn
The ridiculous cost of renting a van over Easter weekend! I thought I was going to be sick. I could've purchased a return flight to Ontario for the same price! (Rose bud: Fortunately, Jim found a cheque we had left behind, we returned the van early enough that we qualified for a small refund, and we also came into some other money - for a grand total of about $300. Yay for found money!! So that definitely helped ease the burden.)
Rose
Now that we have all our stuff back, I've really been going to town trying to make our place feel more cozy. I've rearraged furniture. I've hung up curtains, pictures and sconces. And I've also bought a few cheap home decor items like a new houseplant for the living room, some cupboard organizers, etc. Our place has transformed in leaps and bounds over these last two weeks. It's almost at the point where I actually wouldn't be embarrassed to have people over, which is kinda nice.
Also, I finally got rid of our mushroom brown kitchen! Hooray! Before, that room just felt dark and grubby, like I was standing in shadows and the walls were pushing in on me. Last week I got to work painting it a light lime green. And my goodness! It's incredible how colour can affect a person! The kitchen suddenly feels so much bigger and happier. I looove it! I keep singing to it, "Oh green kitcheeeen, you are so beautifuuuullll! You make me so haaaappyyyyy with all your bright greennessssss."
There's also a real sense accomplishment that comes from tackling a project like that by oneself. Jim has said a few times how impressed he is with me. (Start to finish, it took me about three days.)
Next, I just have to install a shelf on the one wall to give me some more counter room, and then I'm off to tackle the hospital blue bathroom with a bright pinky red. Awesomeness. :)
Thorn
When I accidentally kicked over the paint can! Yeeeeesh! Fortunately I salvaged most of the paint and you can't even tell where it spilled. Meanwhile, whoever painted the kitchen red eons ago left splotches all over the place, and never bothered to wipe them up. I've considered having the flooring replaced in our kitchen for that reason. It's such an ugly old floor. You sweet n' mop it and it still looks filthy. But since I don't know how long we'll be living here, I'm not sure it's worth the effort. We'll see...
Rose
I attended the 420 festival by myself, and holy crap, man! THAT is a post in itself! I've been to many rallies, but I've *never* been to anything quite so extraordinary. The crowd was intense with an estimated 15,000 mellow people packed body to body. There was a "farmer's market" unlike anything I've ever seen, as well as fantastic musical performances, inspiring politicians, young people, old people, shiny happy people. What an experience!
East Van's (returning) MP Libby Davies also got up there and made a great speech. I had heard of Libby's work a year or two before moving to Vancouver, so I was quite excited to learn that her name would be on the ballot for my area. It felt refreshing to vote for someone I actually admire and then see them actually get elected. Small victories.
Thorn
When I pulled out the stove and fridge to paint behind 'em, it was quite the sight to behold. It's one thing to clean up your own gross, but cleaning up other people's gross is just... well, gross. I can't believe what a shitty job the previous tenants did before leaving this place. Tons of dog hair, dirt, sticky crap that had been spilled between the counter and appliances....blegh. I'll say it again - feckin' gross!
Rose
I had a really great time with my friend Jessika the other week with our afternoon of burritos, pedicures and lattes. The pedicure was spur of the moment, but so needed! My feet were lookin' pretty hideous. It felt wonderful (and maybe even necessary) to get out of the house and just have a girly day. Fun, fun!
Thorn
They still haven't patched the hole up in our kitchen wall yet. Hopefully I'll have enough paint left to do the panel.... :o/
Rose
Fleet Foxes! Even though I was the one who tracked down their album after hearing them perform on SNL, Jim likes to take credit for "discovering" them. I swear he is a Fleet Foxes missionary. If you've talked music with Jim anytime during the last two years, you will have heard him rave about this folksy band with their throw-back sound and baroque style harmonies. I agree that they are pretty rad, but as for Jim, he hasn't loved a band this much since Elvis. Actually, I don't even think I've heard him talk about Elvis as much as he talks about the FFs. (Mainly because Elvis doesn't need the publicity.)
Anyway, we got in line early and scored prime second row center seats to their concert on Saturday!! Unfortunately, the audience crowded up to the stage, which meant that we had to stand too. (So much for those two n' a half hours wasted standing in line.) Oh well, it was still a really great performance. Their new album comes out today, so when I go out to buy some bathroom paint later, I might see if I can grab it somewhere n' surprise Jim. :)
Here is one of their music videos. Love the goats!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Veggie Enchiladas
I feel like I've been getting away from blogging these last few weeks. I've been kinda busy/distracted (as you'll see once I finally catch up on my roses n' thorns). I've also been procrastinating writing a post until I can sit down and write something interesting with/about Jim. He has about a week of long days left, but then he should be free. (I feel like I've said that a million times before... but it's true this time. They're working on the final mix as I type this.)
Anyway, better late than never....
This recipe is from my Skinny Bitch In The Kitch cookbook. I made this dish for the first time a few weeks ago, but it was so good that I know I'm definitely gonna be making it again and again.
Last time, I made it with the homemade enchilada sauce, but I think next time I will just buy the canned sauce to speed things up. Also, since the sauce only requires 1 tbsp tomato paste, the rest of the can ended up sitting in my fridge until I tossed it out. (I don't use tom paste too often.) In the future if I want to make the sauce from scratch again, I may have to plan ahead n' make something tomatoey in the days to follow. I hate wasting food, and yet I do it more often than I'd like to admit.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp refined coconut oil (or whatever other type of oil you have on hand), plus more for frying
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 red onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 garlic cloves
3 cups enchilada sauce, homemade (recipe follows) or canned
1 cup fresh corn, cooked, or frozen corn, thawed (I used canned corn...)
1 (2-1/4 ounce) can sliced Mission olives, drained (I chopped up a bunch of green olives instead)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
12 (7-inch) corn tortillas
4 ounces vegan cheese, shredded (or use regular cheese - this is just a vegan cookbook. I'm definitely not vegan as I luuuuurve me some cheese! - but I do like to mix up my ingredients from time to time with more animal/earth friendly options.)
2 scallions thinly sliced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350'F
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a 10 - 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce, the corn, olives, salt, cumin, and coriander.
Warm the remaining enchilada sauce in a small saucepan. Then transfer the sauce to a round 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Working one tortilla at a time, use tongs to dip the tortilla into the warm enchilada sauce, dipping to soften the tortilla and coat both sides. Transfer the tortilla to a plate and spoon about 1/4 cup of the vegetable mixture down the center of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla into a tight cylinder, enclosing the filling. Transfer the filled tortilla to a 13 X 9 inch baking pan, seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas, making 2 rows of 6 enchiladas each in the baking pan.
Pour the leftover dipping sauce over the enchiladas, covering them evenly. Sprinkle the cheese over the sauce. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tip of a knife inserted into the center of an enchilada comes out piping hot. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.
Enchilada Sauce
Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients:
10 dried California or other mild chiles, stemmed, split and seeds removed (I used 5 extra hot chilis...)
5 cups water
1 garlic clove
1/4 refined coconut oil, melted (or whatever oil you prefer to use)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fine sea salt
Directions:
In a 10 or 12 inch skillet over medium high heat, toast the chiles a few at a time until they're blistered and a few shades darker, 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and cover with water. Place a plate on top of the chiles to keep them submerged in the water (if necessary, place something heavy, like a can or two, on top of the plate). Set aside for 30 minutes.
Drain off 2 cups of the water. Place the chiles and remaining water in a blender, along with the garlic, oil, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, and salt. Puree until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a 2 or 3 quart saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes.
Anyway, better late than never....
This recipe is from my Skinny Bitch In The Kitch cookbook. I made this dish for the first time a few weeks ago, but it was so good that I know I'm definitely gonna be making it again and again.
Last time, I made it with the homemade enchilada sauce, but I think next time I will just buy the canned sauce to speed things up. Also, since the sauce only requires 1 tbsp tomato paste, the rest of the can ended up sitting in my fridge until I tossed it out. (I don't use tom paste too often.) In the future if I want to make the sauce from scratch again, I may have to plan ahead n' make something tomatoey in the days to follow. I hate wasting food, and yet I do it more often than I'd like to admit.
Veggie Enchiladas
Serves 6Ingredients:
2 tbsp refined coconut oil (or whatever other type of oil you have on hand), plus more for frying
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 red onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 garlic cloves
3 cups enchilada sauce, homemade (recipe follows) or canned
1 cup fresh corn, cooked, or frozen corn, thawed (I used canned corn...)
1 (2-1/4 ounce) can sliced Mission olives, drained (I chopped up a bunch of green olives instead)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
12 (7-inch) corn tortillas
4 ounces vegan cheese, shredded (or use regular cheese - this is just a vegan cookbook. I'm definitely not vegan as I luuuuurve me some cheese! - but I do like to mix up my ingredients from time to time with more animal/earth friendly options.)
2 scallions thinly sliced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350'F
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a 10 - 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce, the corn, olives, salt, cumin, and coriander.
Warm the remaining enchilada sauce in a small saucepan. Then transfer the sauce to a round 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Working one tortilla at a time, use tongs to dip the tortilla into the warm enchilada sauce, dipping to soften the tortilla and coat both sides. Transfer the tortilla to a plate and spoon about 1/4 cup of the vegetable mixture down the center of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla into a tight cylinder, enclosing the filling. Transfer the filled tortilla to a 13 X 9 inch baking pan, seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas, making 2 rows of 6 enchiladas each in the baking pan.
Pour the leftover dipping sauce over the enchiladas, covering them evenly. Sprinkle the cheese over the sauce. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tip of a knife inserted into the center of an enchilada comes out piping hot. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.
Enchilada Sauce
Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients:
10 dried California or other mild chiles, stemmed, split and seeds removed (I used 5 extra hot chilis...)
5 cups water
1 garlic clove
1/4 refined coconut oil, melted (or whatever oil you prefer to use)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fine sea salt
Directions:
In a 10 or 12 inch skillet over medium high heat, toast the chiles a few at a time until they're blistered and a few shades darker, 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and cover with water. Place a plate on top of the chiles to keep them submerged in the water (if necessary, place something heavy, like a can or two, on top of the plate). Set aside for 30 minutes.
Drain off 2 cups of the water. Place the chiles and remaining water in a blender, along with the garlic, oil, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, and salt. Puree until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a 2 or 3 quart saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes.
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