Beautiful Weather

After my declaration on Saturday, Sunday rolled in with wonderful rain and warm weather. It rained heavily in the early morning and a warm breeze came through. I posted a picture on twitter of the snow at the front of the house and by the afternoon most of it was gone. We were able to go for our first walk of Spring around the neighborhood. It's in the 50s but there was definitely a wind chill factor... the wind had turned cold by the time we got out. 

The field next to our development will be turned into houses at some point. There is a spot that dips down and there's a little pond that has developed and hasn't gone away since we moved in. Ducks like to think it's a real pond. :)

We did our usual route that takes us down by the real pond. There was a pair of geese and a pair of ducks in it. I'm so happy that we could get out and that most of the snow has gone away. We weren't able to do any lawn care this weekend but will probably be able to this coming weekend. Yay! (I'm excited to do lawn work... what is wrong with me? :P)

Max Quacks: I'm 3!

Happy Birthday to this awesome little dude. So determined...

...and a bit silly. :P

Kitchen Adventures: Chili Corn Chowder

We've been pretty lucky with the recipes we've tried so far... 5 out of 6 have turned out excellent. The lone bad recipe had far too much oil in it.. and wasn't interesting enough to try again. This adventure was a very simple, yummy soup that was pretty easy to make because I got a hand blender for Christmas. 

Ingredients: Frozen Corn, Potatoes, Vegetable Broth (we used Knorr Chicken Stock), Onion, Celery, Red Chili, Thyme, Green Onions, Sour Cream. Not Pictured: Olive Oil, Black Pepper, Kosher Salt, Butter

The green onions, part of the red chili and sour cream are just for topping. It was quick to whip up, slightly blended with the hand blender... Fantastic. :)

Professional Taste Testers

Our Sunday took a weird turn... We went out to breakfast which is something that we never do. Afterwards, we walked to Sobey's to look for a green chili that we hadn't been able to find. When we walked inside, a woman said that they were have taste testing for Taco Seasoning and they would give us a $5 gift card each for our participation. Having nothing better to do, we headed upstairs into a small kitchen. They poured us each a glass of water and then handed us a tray with 4 little cups filled with hamburger and a tortilla chip.

I only got this fuzzy picture of the kitchen... I think I was little shocked that it was something so formal. There was a person in the back who seemed to be monitoring the testing, a couple people serving and the chef. The first one I tried was awful but Ian thought it was excellent... turns out the cups were randomized. It was an interesting experience... one that we might repeat next week... it's chicken wings! :P 

It's Spring Time!

I've decided that it's Spring whether the outdoors agree or not. I've put up the spring wreath on the front door. I'm hoping that we can fertilize the lawn this weekend and start spending some time outside!

Kitchen Adventures: Pav Bhaji

After my Adventures in Spice post, Ian and I ventured into the world of Indian food. We made Pav Bhaji and paired it with Lime Pepper Tilapia.

Bhaji Ingredients: Olive Oil, Onion, Tomatoes, Carrots, Potatoes, Garlic, Cauliflower, Pav Bhaji Masala (a mix of spices for this dish!), Red Bell Pepper, Dried Kashmiri Chilies, Turmeric Powder, Chili Powder, Kosher Salt

It turned out close to the dish that my friend at work made. It was spicy and full flavor... but unfortunately I boiled the veggies too long and when Ian mashed them, they turned to mush. It was still really good. The lime pepper tilapia was excellent; we normally make it with chicken but this was better. We got the fish from a local butcher instead of the grocery store and it was fantastic. We're definitely going to make the bhaji again and this time I won't let the veggies boil forever! :P

Bathroom Shelves

When we had the house built, I went to Pottery Barn and got some design tips for a lot of the rooms. It was super helpful because it gave me some sort of direction with the blank canvas. The ensuite is one of the most complete rooms. We went to Target and found one element - white shelves for over the bath tub. I'm still looking for knick knacky things to put on them but I want to keep it clean looking. Thanks to Ian "The Tool Man" Matheson for putting them up. :)

I tried to pan back so you can get an idea of how they look in the room... but the blinding light from the window didn't help. 

Kitchen Adventures: Lemon and Herb Chicken with Mash

This was another Jamie Oliver recipe. We were a little skeptical at first... but we devoured this... specifically the 'relish' it calls for. 

Black Pepper, Kosher Salt, Basil, Green Onions, Red Chili, Thyme, Lemon, Frozen Corn, Tomatoes, Chicken Breasts, Olive Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, Baby White Potatoes

The star of the recipe is the tomato relish. Ian took the tomatoes, basil, green onions and red chili and finely chopped them up. He didn't include the seeds of the chili since it was our first time using it in a dish. I mixed them together in a bowl with the olive oil and red wine vinegar. The chicken is cooked with lemon and thyme and the boiled baby white potatoes are mashed together with the corn. It was so fresh and delicious... we needed every bit of the tomato relish. Next time we are going to add a few of the chili seeds to give it a bit of heat.

Max Quacks: Rocking Goggles

Max had his first dentist appointment recently. What a good little patient... :) 

5 More Months

Some days I miss football.. some days I'm happy our Sundays are free. But I can't wait for next season! Go Hawks!

Source: 9gag.com via Jordan on Pinterest