Jumping Back into the Saddle

Hello Sweets,

It feels like it's been a lifetime since I've written an actual post.  My health is still not where I'd like it to be and my sleep is pretty much non existent, but I hate not writing so I've decided to jump back in!  I'm going to start slow to make sure I'm not pushing myself too hard, so today's post will not have a recipe (although I am talking food), but I have a few tucked away that haven't been written yet so if all goes well tomorrow will be full on Canuckette's creations!!  I know I'm pretty lame lol, but hey I love myself and it's the small things in life that can really make you happy. For example; smiles from my best friend/soul mate (he's got eyes you can get lost in), and my blog with its lovely readers :)

So I've been back from Texas for a while now and wanted to share with y'all a special dinner that Nathan and I had the night before I left to come back home.  Since we weren't together for valentines day we decided to celebrated on our schedule, which actually works out well as it isn't hella busy lol.  I, just like any other person, have certain foods that I just absolutely love but don't necessarily eat often due to different circumstances.  Well I'm pretty sure I've shared this particular delight with you before, but just in case you missed the last post, "I love lobster!", and all other crustaceans. lol  I haven't come across any seafood that I didn't like :)  So when I was down for my visit and they say the Red Lobster "Lobsterfest" was on, all it took was one excited look in Nathans direction and that was where we were going for our dinner *insert happy dance, and repeat*.

To make a complete date day, Nathan took me to a matinee at the Fork and Screen theaters, for those who don't know what they are picture a smaller theater with recliners instead of uncomfortable chairs and full service at your seat (including adult bevies).  We went and saw The Great and Powerful Oz in 3D.  The nice thing about this version is that it's more true to the original story.  Don't get me wrong I love the old school Judy Garland version but it's nice when they get closer to the original story (which doesn't happen too often, for example "My Sisters Keeper" and don't even get me started on that fiasco lol).  Of course we both ordered our go to lunches, and kicked back and enjoyed a movie together.

 

pretty sweet setup right? 

After the movie we had a few hours before we left for dinner so we just went back to the house to get lost in each others conversations and eyes (yes we are that much in love lol).  Needless to say when it was time to leave for dinner my taste buds and I were so ready for some lobster.  The hard part would be choosing what I was going to have lol.  We arrived at a later time in hopes of the restaurant being less busy, but because it was March break time it was still slightly busy.  That didn't deter us, we just took a seat at the bar and waited for our little table pager to go off.  It didn't take too long (I think because everyone else was tables of 4+), we sat down and scoured the specialty menu which ended up taking me a little longer than I had expected because I couldn't make a decision lol.  Take a look at what we decided to indulge in :) ;

 They have a great Pinot Grigio that went fantastically with the seafood

 I had the Lobster lovers dream with both rock lobster tail, sweet split maritime lobster, and a lobster/shrimp fettuccine Alfredo.  Nathan had their Surf and Turf, it came with the rock lobster tail and a sirloin steak, and of course his double mashed potatoes :)  Needless to say it was a delicious dinner and we were both very satisfied.  Now I want to recreate their cheesy garlic biscuits at home because they are so darn good!  And if you are interested in these delicious meals yourself, the promo is still on so check it out here!

Well my sweets, I feel a lot better knowing you'll have something fresh and new to read and I promise to be more consistent moving forward because clearly it is something I am very passionate about, and I was missing it more than I realized.  Don't forget to check back in the next few days because I've got some delicious treats to share with y'all.  Until next time..............................


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo

Chocolate Trials

Hello Sweets,

It's finally the weekend :)  Do you have anything excited planned for this weekend?  I don't have any other plans beside; going to the gym, packing my bags, and laundry (yes I know I live an exciting life).  What am I packing for you ask?  Well it's the Christmas season which means I am heading down to Texas to spend it with Nathan and his family.  I have some family in the neighboring state of Oklahoma, so we will be heading their way as well.  I've never been one for the Christmas season, but seeing Nathan and his family together celebrating with laughter and smiles has really changed my view :)  I've even thought of a great gift idea.  Now I can't go into too much detail because I have readers who will be getting this gift, but lets just say it will definitely have the Canuckette spin on it ;)

A couple of days ago it was my love's birthday, and sadly I was not there to celebrate it with him, but I am going to make up for it.  He LOVES chocolate cake, so I am going to make him one from scratch.  Now it sounds pretty simple right?  Well anyone who knows me, knows I put the pressure on myself to produce the best baked good, and with cakes that means moist deliciousness!  So for the last five days I've been researching, researching, and researching lol to find the perfect chocolate cake recipe.  Even after finding one I went looking for others just to have as a back up in case there was something off.  Then I started researching ways to ensure it was as moist as I could get it without ruining the balance of the recipe.  Of course there's the obvious, don't over mix the final batter mixture, but did you know that beating the egg whites and the yolks separately then adding them one at a time creates little air bubbles?  Or replacing white sugar with brown, because it holds moisture easier?  I learned all sorts of fun things about baking moist cakes today!  So get your beaters ready, because we are going to chocolaty moist cake town with a pit stop in icing island ;)

 Canuckette's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

1 3/4C all purpose flour

2C brown sugar

3/4C cocoa powder

1 1/2Tsp baking soda

3/4Tsp salt

2 large eggs

1C buttermilk (or substitute 1 Tbsp vinegar, then fill up to 1C with milk waiting 5 minutes to thicken)

1/2C butter, melted

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1C freshly brewed coffee (or 2Tsp of instant in 1C of boiling water)

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 325F, line muffin pans with papers and set aside (if making a cake there is enough batter for 2 9" pans, either grease and flour or line with parchment paper).

2) In a large mixing bowl; combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  

3)  Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla, beat until just smooth.  

4)  Stir in hot coffee with metal spatula, mixture will be very runny.

5)  Pour batter into muffin cups 3/4 of the way full (makes 24), bake in the middle rack for 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Leave in pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire cooling rack.

In the meanwhile let's make some icing!

Decedant Chocolate Buttermilk Icing

Ingredients

1/4C butter, softened

2/3C cocoa powder

1-2C confectioners sugar

1 Tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1/3C milk

Directions:

1)  In a medium bowl, combine butter, cocoa, salt, vanilla, part of the confectioners sugar, and part of the milk, mixing until well blended.  Adding in the remaining milk with the additional confectioners sugar, until you reach desired sweetness.

Once your cupcakes (or cake) are completely cooled, place icing in a piping bag (or my go to make shift sandwich bags lol) and decorate, then of course enjoy!

The chocolate icing is so decadent you don't need a lot :)

These cupcakes turned out exactly what I was looking for; light, fluffy, and moist!  I think I found a recipe worthy of my birthday boy, and I think he will be very happy with these little treasures.  Oh who am I kidding, he loves everything I make him lol just a bonus as to why I love this man :)

Well now that I have a treat for my birthday boy, I can shift my attention back to finalizing the Christmas surprises.  Well that and taking care of everything that needs to be done before I go, ahhhhh never enough time (or perhaps my organization is lacking lol).  Until next time.........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Trumped Up Tuna

Hello Sweets,

I hope you all managed to get through your Monday.  My doctors appointment got pushed back until tomorrow and it couldn't come sooner because I am definitely getting worse!  I feel so awful that I almost didn't make my chunky tuna salad, but I didn't want to let you guys down, so I mustered up what energy I had and got my butt into that kitchen (see how much I love writing for you guys).

So as I said yesterday, I know tuna salad is a simple thing to make, but for whatever reason, I had a craving for really crunchy tuna salad lol.  So I looked through my magical crisper (lol) to see what I could add to plain old tuna, and I found all sorts of crunchy vegetables to add, so I now have a colorful and crunchy tuna salad made :)  Let us get on to the salad shall we?

Canuckette's Crunchy Tuna Salad

Ingredients

1 can of tuna (flaked or chucked, up to you)

1 celery stock

1 carrot (small-medium)

1 Spanish onion (just cut a 1/2" piece from the side)

1Tbs whipped dressing (or mayo)

2 baby dill pickles

pinch of salt

dash of pepper

Directions:

1)  Drain the excess water out of the can (too much liquid can make for a runny sandwich icky!), empty tuna into a Tupperware container.  Break up any large pieces with a fork, set aside.

2)  Chop up the celery, onion, and pickle into bite size pieces.  I chose to shred the carrot, but you can just chop it if you'd like.  Add to the tuna.

 

lots of vibrate colors :)

3)  Add the whipped dressing, I like light mayo in my tuna salad, so you may want to add more depending on your preference.  Add the salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly.

And there you have it!  A colorful and crunchy tuna salad that you can enjoy in a sandwich, as a wrap, on top of a salad, or even on it's own.  You can add even more vegetables in it, or play with the spices and make it your own.  This is what I'd like to call an updated version of my grandmother's tuna salad. :)  In school I loved tuna salad, but would only eat it when I came home for lunch (always in elementary school).  I know I was a weird kid, loved tuna or egg salad but when it came to regular sandwiches it was either PB & J, or meat and bread only lol.  I'm so glad that my pallet has grown with me, it really took a long time for me to enjoy sandwiches the way they were meant to be. :p  Just another silly fact about me lol.

So last night Nathan and I were FaceTiming (have to when your 2,163km away from each other), and he decided he was going to get me some "just because" gifts, I know keeper right?  The things he found on Think Geek might have bothered some girls, but I got super excited!  He got me this really cool measuring spoon (I will show you guys in all its glory when I have it) that allows you to use one spoon for all your "spoon" measurements.  It has different ridges that show 1/2tsp, 1/2tbsp and so on.  It even has an opening in the spoon handle for liquids, so cool!!!  Then he got me a molecular cuisine starter kit, which means I can make food look like a science experiment, so fun!  You can bet that it'll be a post all on it's own.  I'll be making foam and bubbles (among other things) with real food.  It will be tasty, scientific, and fun all wrapped up it one.  And finally, the Hungry Scientist Handbook, a DIY cookbook to make all sorts of fun science treats.  An example would be light up lollipops, yup you read correctly.  I am totally exposing my geek side, but hey I'll let my geek flag fly without being embarrassed :)  

I am completely stoked that I can combine my love of the kitchen with my love of chemistry and anything science related.  It feels good to be exercising the brain with the wonderment of learning.  I really do have a great boyfriend, and yes I'm going to get mushy for a minute, but when you find someone that compliments you in every way (like Nathan and I), don't ever let them go, and always encourage them to reach for their dreams.  I support Nathan in everything he wants to do (even if it means we have days apart once living together), and he supports me by encouraging to follow my dreams and even with the blogging (he is after all my editor and publisher lol).

Well sweets, I'm going to go make yet another cup of hot tea and relax with a movie.  What do you guys think of today's post?  Is there a sandwich from your childhood that you've revamped?  I would love to hear from you guys about anything and everything, I love my readers :)  Until next time...........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

Sick as a Dog :(

Hello Sweets,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thursday, you are after all one step closer to the weekend!  I, however, woke up today feeling like I had swallowed a pine cone :(, so unfortunately my blog will be short but sweet today since I need to rest up my immune system.

Waking up sick today reminded me of when I first got diagnosed, the doctors told me that I could get sick easier than the average person because my immune system is confused with everything else my body is fighting and not sleeping properly.  But it was easier for me to deal with being sick then over now, and it's weird because it's not because I did things differently, it's because I had my best fur friend Roxy a lab/collie/shepherd mix, to cuddle me when I was away from Nathan.  Roxy is no longer with me (that is a long story that I don't like rehashing), which has been hard for me, considering it's been almost a year (December 17th to be exact) I thought it would get easier too.  But when something or someone has a huge impact in your life,  it always feels like it was yesterday.  I wanted to share some pictures and happy memories with all of you, because even though she is not with me anymore she never leaves my thoughts :)  She was literally that great of a dog!

3mths old, just brought home <3   

We used to take long walks on the trails by the river, and she would always go for a swim lol she's just like me, loves the water :)

I went on a girls trip to Las Vegas and someone definitely missed me, instant cuddles when I walked in.

Sick days became more often, and she never left my side.  Best dog you can ask for! 

Last night together :( we watched Marley and Me (our favorite), and I let her finish the peanut butter, still in the jar lol

Although thinking of her still brings tears to my eyes, I can still smile through them because we have so many great memories together.  Every animal I have ever owned holds a place in my heart (I love fur babies), but I think Roxy holds an extra large spot, she was with me everyday during one of my sickest parts of this whole ordeal, and if it was a really bad day she wouldn't leave my side.  I love my baby girl still, and I'll never forget her :) xoxox

My all time favorite picture of my girl :)

But you know I am fortunate enough to have some great people in my life and even a new fur baby, Nathan has been kind enough to share his dog with me; little baby Bear a Pomeranian.  And who can forget my amazing nephew Miguel :) aka my little raspberry burrito (inside joke), and I just remember the good times with Roxy and create new memories with the ones that are here today!

The love of my life and I at a Dallas Stars game last year

My adorable burrito, in auntie Jemmy's sweater! 

Sleepy little Bearries

Well sweets, this is all the energy I can muster up for now, I am going to make me another cup of green tea with a touch of honey and cuddle up in bed and watch some of my favorite shows (American Horror Story). 

Until next time.............

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

Baking and Cooking is best done with the heart

Hello Sweets!

I'm sure everyone at some point in time has baked or cooked for that special someone in your life, and I am sure even if we messed it up by burning, misreading instructions, or just something tastes off that same person will either try to make you laugh about it or eat it regardless (these are why they are the loves of our lives right?).  I will be the first to admit both parts; a) I love to bake and cook for the love of my life, Nathan, and b) both him and his father got to witness me dumping a bowl of ingredients into the garbage because I swapped two of the ingredients measurements lol (mine was flour and it was WAY too much) and not to mention the cupcake debauchery (no tins lol needless to say they were a little flat and sad looking).  Hopefully when it happens you can do what I did and have a  good laugh at my silly error, and of course when you do it in front of others you might not hear the end of it, like I still do LOL!!

Nathan and I 

I tend to go a little crazy with Nathan, I bake cookies every time I visit (maybe it's because we are 2,083 kms away from each other that I tend to spoil him), on his birthday I told his mother and grandma that I would be baking his cake and there would be no more store bought cakes(ick!), and I even have made a flank roast with all the fixings for him and his brother (considering I had never made one before it was DELISH!).  But every time he always tells me "you know you don't have to do that right?", of course I know and I always say that I want to do it.  I have always baked and cooked for the end  result in watching someone enjoy the delectable morsels, more often then not I won't really eat much of what I make (which is probably good or I would be going to the gym more then doing what makes me really happy :)).  

Needless to say when he comes to see me there are goodies already waiting when he walks in the door.  The reason I tried a new recipe on Sunday was because he will be here tomorrow!!!!!  My roommate knew as soon as the house smelled like pumpkin and allspice that his visit was right around the corner (her and her son also benefit when I bake).  So after baking his pumpkin spice cupcakes I was left with pumpkin puree which got me thinking, I don't want to waste the leftovers so what can I make while he is here (I hate wasting anything)?? 

Mmmm pumpkin puree

Since he is here for a few days I of course picked up breakfast food to make for him like fruit, eggs, and bacon (I'm a granola girl, just cannot get enough of my cereal hmmm maybe I should make my own!!).  Then it dawned on me, I always make pancakes so why not pumpkin pancakes!!  Of course I had to run this past him as he can sometimes be picky (oddly enough not usually anything I make him ;)), and he is game!  So guess what I'll be preparing tomorrow for Fridays breakfast......yup you guessed it Pumpkin Pancakes!  That also means a blog with a recipe and step by step pictures, I'm very excited.....and clearly a newbie lol.

Stay sweet,


Jennifer  xoxoxo