Cheap n' Easy Barbecue Sauce (gluten-free)

First and foremost, I apologize to this amazing BBQ sauce for calling it cheap and easy. I meant it in the most complimentary way possible...

Hope that wasn't too awkward for the rest of you. 

As for the recipe for this sauce, I found it online after reading through my cookbook and seeing that the bbq sauce recipe had about 28 ingredients. A quarter of which I'd heard of. SO, after a quick search on the magic interweb, I came across what was termed a simple bbq sauce.

Thank you, mystical author of said recipe.

I made a couple adjustments, since I did not have garlic powder, but rather, raw garlic. I also used seedy Dijon mustard instead of yellow mustard. And I divided the recipe in half!


So here it is:


1/2 c. Ketchup (if you have a squeeze bottle, which most of us do, measuring this out is suuuper funandgross). If you have a glass bottle, sorry, however you're super awesome for buying glass instead of plastic...so rejoice in how cool you are.

1/4 c. Vinegar (cider or wine is suggested...I just used regular white)
1/4 c. brown sugar 
1 Tbsp soy sauce (VH sodium-reduced is gf AND...well...low in sodium)
1 Tbsp Worchesssccchtersssccchire sauce. 
1 Tbsp mustard (be creative!)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1 clove of garlic, minced.


Mix it all up in a sauce pan, plop that pan on a burner, crank it up to medium til it bubbles and turn it down to simmer it for 5 mins. 

...Then put it on some chicken (this recipe was good for exactly 8 drumsticks and 2 hot-dogs, so the original was good for ~16...and 4 hot-dogs?), and put that in the oven. Mmmmmm. You can thank me later. But don't forget to thank the mystical author of the original recipe.

Agh, so bright! I didn't even have the flash on...that's the downside of white dishes I suppose. But people, trust me....it was DELICIOUS. 

And I swear my broccoli isn't radioactive.

Conquering Fears

For as long as I can remember, the thought of getting on a roller coaster and enduring all those drops and loops and high-speeds has left me cringing and imagining the impending doom of a car disconnecting from the tracks, carnage everywhere, my poor parents screaming "WWHHYYYYY!!!???" 

A little dramatic, but that's my brain.

So on my 25 goals list, I put "go on a roller coaster". I don't know why I did that. I regretted it quite soon after. But there it was, in "writing", and I had to do it. I also bought a season pass to our Six Flags park "LaRonde" at the beginning of the summer, thinking I would enjoy the fraidy-cat activities. However, that pass was unused all summer until this past weekend. I really needed to use it or else I would have wasted $60. 

So off we went. 

I researched the rides, knew the names of the two "intermediate" (aka wussy) roller coasters and those were the ones I hunted down...as we walked by the extremely high roller coasters and my brain went back to imagining the carnage rather than the potential of fun.

Regardless...I went on a roller coaster. It was one of the wussy ones, and I screamed and laughed hysterically as we dropped and sped through the darkness, spiralling down and whizzing back up again. And then it was over, and....I loved it. 

So I went on another one. A bigger one, one with loops and twists and a big drop and big spirals. I LOVED IT. I'm going back again twice this week to try more.

Who knew!?! 

Lesson 1: You can not get motion sick in less than 3 minutes. So you just have to stop thinking about "what if I puke?", "what if someone pukes ON me?!" (à la "The Sandpit"... Anyone? Anyone?), "what if I DIE?!" etc. and just enjoy it. 

Lesson 2: Screaming really helps. It turns into laughter. Or more screaming.

Lesson 3: Don't let someone MAKE you go on a roller coaster that makes you nervous. You'll probably cry the whole time (I have done this). It HAS to be your choice. You have to WANT to go.

So...once I had conquered this fear, I was ready to conquer another. Today...I went through a ropes course. 50 feet in the air, between trees, with zip lines running over the tree-tops. And you know what? I loved it. I just had to stop imagining the carnage (caribiner snapping, harness ripping apart, zip line inexplicably combusting), and trust. 


It. Was. Awesome. 

I'm a new woman. No longer afraid of roller coasters or zip lines. Hurrah!

If only I could stop having flashbacks of my skateboard accident, I wouldn't be afraid of high speeds and my head busting open anymore either...hrmm.

But that's a story for another day.

Last Day in Nova Scotia!

I am aware this is a few days late, but I've been moving. Throw me a bone here.

On my last day in NS, I was awoken by my sweet papa bear who asked "you wanna go sailing?"

I said: YES

(Side note: for my dad, sailing = going on a fishing boat)

Anyhoo, mom, pop and I run around for an hour, eating, drinking coffee, packing for a day on the water. We got to our family friends' cottage at 10:30 or so, and got on a "sailboat" (fishing boat) and "sailed" (drove) for about 30 mins...or at least it felt like 30 mins, since I had no idea where we were going.

This is where we were going:

SAY WHAAAA!?


It was almost tropical. The water was a greeny-blue, the water was warm, the sun was HOT. 

HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THIS!!!!

The "sailboat"

It was actually a pretty sweet ride, and I got to drive! :)

Best picture of the day. My folks are flippin' adorable. <3

We left around 4, and let me tell you....we all looked like lobsters. In fact, I look like I'm wearing white underwear, when in fact I'm not wearing anything. Yeah. Ouch. I've never seen such colours on my back. My poor back.

But you know...totally worth it. That was the BEST way to end my trip. Chillin' with my folks and friends, on a sandy beach, with wine and junk food and an ocean to swim in. Glorious.

:)

  

Nova Scotia Vacay: Days 3-8!

I can't believe I fly back to Montreal tomorrow night!

The past 5 days of my vacation home have been spent at our cottage and at our house in the Annapolis Valley. On Sunday, my cousin and I went out for sushi and did a little shopping, after which we drove out to meet my mom who picked me up to head to the cottage. We stayed until Wednesday, visiting friends and relatives and having a lobster dinner with relatives from out West. We headed to the valley Wednesday evening, staying until Friday afternoon. During that time, mom and I went to the zoo, I went to the movies and caught up with some friends. Now it's Saturday and it's almost over! We head over to my aunt and uncle's cottage later today for a going-away party for my cousin.

It's been a great trip home but I wish I could stay longer! It seems that no matter how long I'm home for, it's never enough.


I managed to actually take a lot of pictures this time, so here are my favourites!

At the cottage:

The old way of catching lobster...

And the modern way. :)

Lobster Dinner with the "Rellies":

My auntie Joan :)

In the Valley:

Across the road from our house (both pictures)

My folks...check out the glasses strap. HAHA That's my papa!

THE ZOO!!!!!

7 pigs lined up butt-to-face in a U-shape...odd.

Fortunately for you, I couldn't get a shot of it...but he had testicles hanging from his neck. I hope he's never seen a mirror.

Hmm...the alpaca was scarier than this dude.

Could you ever say no to this face? Not me.

He looked busy. I didn't bother stopping him for an interview.

The two idiots gawking at all the other animals.

The saddest, grossest, saggiest camel in existence.

ZONKEY!

I think I may have mastered photographing flowers.

As long as they don't blink or decide to scratch something at the last second like my other subjects...

Nova Scotia Vacay: DAY 1 & 2

I arrived in Halifax last night around 10:30, dropped my bag off at my brother's apartment and immediately headed to the South End to a party with my old biochem pals. No surprise, we played Sociables until 2am and then stumbled to our respective homes. I can't believe I'd planned on jogging this morning. HA!

The only workout I did was continuously lifting a water bottle from 7-11 am, trying to rehydrate my poor body. My brother had also had an eventful evening, so when we met zombie-like in the hallway and he muttered "brunch?" I replied "mhm" (as enthusiastically as possible..)

Smitty's: The cure for everything, especially broken hearts and hangovers.

Then he ran off to the beach with his buds and I got one of those fun phone calls from a girlfriend of mine which goes: "Good Morning! Turn around." Then we shopped. Naturally.

I met up with one of my best gals and a former roommate Nancy, and we walked along the waterfront (not as smelly as I remember!), grabbed some coffee, THEN had the most wonderful dinner. If you live in Halifax, you MUST go to Morris East. Awesome service, delicious food (gluten-free pizza? flourless chocolate torte? oh yes.), adorable space, $5 cocktails at happy hour...mmm. I still have half of my pizza left (toppings: sweet potato, apple, bacon, banana peppers, goat cheese.......OMG) and I'm salivating as I think about my breakfast tomorrow.

Plans for tomorrow: Shopping and sushi (say that five times fast..) with my hilarious soon-to-be Australian teacher cousin (not to mention fashion school graduate), Jen. After that we'll drive to the shore to our cottages and I'll FINALLY see mom and dad! :D

On a non-vacation-related note, after finishing my plaid shirt I sent pictures via Twitter to the lovely folks at the Couture Cafe/Sewing Lounge and I found out today that they wrote an entire blog post about my shirt adventure! I was so touched, I even sent it to my mom to read (she cried, dad said "whoooaa") and then she sent it to my aunt (who also sews). Mom was apparently SUPER impressed with the "classy seams!" (the credit goes to Daniel for teaching me to make French seams). She kept reciting it, like when she used to ANNOUNCE my report cards out loud (just to me and dad) how "conscientious and brimming with curiosity" I was. My mom is Cute (with a capital C). Here is the link, if you'd like to read Emeline's wonderfully sweet post.

I apologize if that was long-winded as I am currently avoiding going to bed, despite my yawning. I will save my thoughts up for a couple days so you're not too bombarded. ;)

I may go drool over my pizza now.

I. made. a shirt.

Start-to-finish, I cut, ironed and sewed my own shirt. 

I remember when it was just a couple metres of fabric. So innocent, so pure! 

In the past 3 weeks, this little roll of fabric has been chopped up, twisted this way and that, poked with pins and needles and had seams ripped out mercilessly. What a life. 

I put the finishing touches on it (hem, buttonholes, buttons) just this morning.

Then I had a little photoshoot (after I did my happy dance and sang "it's done it's done!" a few million times) on the front porch. I will tease you with close-up pictures of the details.

 I call this one: "Buttons" (ooo...aaaah)

 Collar from the front.

 Collar from the side.

Back of collar and yoke seam.

Cuffed sleeve

Alright, alright, here is the whole shirt! 

Can you tell which pictures I didn't know were being taken? That Penny...she's so sly.

Not a very difficult game eh? When I'm trying to take serious photos, I need giggle breaks in between. Penny tends to take secret photos during these breaks, which end up better than the photos I'm "ready" for anyway. She's some kinda magic. 

Anyway...the point is... I sewed my own shirt! :D 

PS the button-hole attachment for the sewing machine is amazing. How did people do this before?!

PPS I've been wearing this shirt all day. 

PPPS I should change before I spill something on it. I may frame it (in plastic wrap) for that very reason.

Gluten-free Ying-Yang Cookies! Requested by Penny :)

I set out to make some cookies tonight, as a proper reward for our race yesterday. As I pondered, Penny said "Ying yang cookies!" and since I love her dearly and they sounded interesting, I made them!

They are no different from my previous cookie recipes, except for the directions.

Once the batter is made (chocolate chips too), BEFORE the cocoa powder is added, split the dough into two bowls. Add 1/4 c. cocoa powder to one bowl and mix. Put both bowls in the refrigerator for 30 mins, while the oven preheats. 

After 30 mins, take 1/2 Tbsp of plain dough, and dollop that onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Take another 1/2 Tbsp of chocolate dough and place that onto the sheet, right next to the other dollop. You can try to actually make it ying-yangy, but the point is that the cookie is half plain vanilla and half chocolate. 

Place in oven at 375F for 10-12 mins (depending on your preference for chewy or crunchy) and slide the parchment paper carefully off of the cookie sheet, onto the counter to cool faster (the hot pan will keep them hot longer). 


This batch ended up more swirly than ying-yangy, but delicious nonetheless!