Uh oh, I've been a crappy blogger! It's been months, and I'm sorry.

I've been working Monday to Friday as the dog nanny/personal chef and on the weekends I've been going skating and spending time with friends and baking lots of things (which I regret not blogging about).

But hey! Don't fret! Here's a photo of some madeleines I made this afternoon. I used left over bundt cake batter!

They are gluten-free peanut butter banana chai madeleines, and yes, they are to die for.

The bundt cakes I made have been glazed with rhubarb jam, and those too are delicious. I even swirled some raspberry jam in some of them! Lots of flavours going on!

Hope your Saturday afternoon has been sunny and splendid. Mine sure has!

Hibernation + Cranberries!

Oh hello!
I forgot about you!
I'm so sorry!


I arrived back in Montreal on Monday. I was sleepy and remained sleepy until today, Saturday.
Again, I'm sorry about the silence.

This week has been bread/scone/cake filled!

I've also been listening to lots of oldies from the 1950's. It's hard not to. Especially when you're warm and cozy, and it's snowing outside. Am I right?

I made my dutch oven crusty bread with cinnamon and raisins. I also tested out a bread maker that Andrew's parents gave to me. I tried to replicate a bread my mom used to make for my brothers and I. It  didn't turn out like hers, but it was just like a hearty whole wheat Wonderbread. Not so bad!

Also, I baked some cranberry scones for Andrew. They were a hit! Buttery, perfectly layered, and sweet.

Currently, there's a walnut and cranberry pie baking away in the oven. Hopefully I can post some photos of it later on.


Here are some photos from this week.

Weekend Tricks

Hey there!

Sorry about my silence. I've been surprisingly busy, and unsurprisingly unmotivated to update my social media.

My weekend was jammed packed with two parties on Friday night, a lazy Saturday, and a lazy (but productive) Sunday!

Friday afternoon I stayed cooped up. I made some delicious tomato soup and watched Bridget Jones's Diary. I ate waaaay too many Halloween sized Snickers.

I also prepped bread dough in the late afternoon. Five ingredients! Extremely easy!

Friday evening Andrew and I went to my best friend's house for some drinks. We headed our separate ways after a top 40 dance party. Andrew and I ended up in Mile End at a party that was being hosted by our new (first) mutual friend. The host works at the hip grocery store, where we always run into him. I met people with Australian and French accents, who, at the time, became my new best friends.

We only stopped by for about an hour, and then headed further north to a funky bar with antique bowling lanes, mac and cheese, and old friends. It was blurry, but tons and tons of fun seeing people I haven't seen in almost a year!

Saturday morning I woke up with a very bad headache (see above). I crawled out of bed to knead the bread and put it in the oven.

The bread ended up turning out amazing. I ate it for two days straight with butter and jam.

Sunday rolled around. Andrew and I went to Expozine. There were so many cute prints, zines, and novels. I ended up leaving with two food themed prints (of course!)... A cat covered in eggs, and a cat as a cheeseburger. I begged the artist for dog prints, but she admittedly only draws cats because that's all people buy! People suck!
We were starving by the time we finished walking through the sale, so we hopped on our bikes and journeyed down to Duluth for some Areperas. I got the usual chicken and avocado mix. Delicious!

I wore my new sneakers out. They're my new indoor shoes for my upcoming job. Just thought I'd give them a try! They're very purple, and very very comfy.

Tomorrow I'll be heading home to Ontario for a couple of days. I miss my dogs and my parents. There will be lots of time for me to post my tomato soup recipe, bread recipe, and a delicious and easy falafel recipe that Andrew has mastered in only one try.

Here's some cuteness I'd like to share with you to make up for my weekend hiatus. She's a special cutie who I'll be seeing very shortly. D'oh!!

See ya on the flip side! 

Nice Words

I hope you're having a wonderful Thursday afternoon. 

Employed!

Hey there.

I have good news. Great news, actually. I got a job!

Last Monday I was interviewed for a position as a dog nanny and personal cook (at a Bentley, Range Rover, Jaguar dealership haha). A week went by and I convinced myself that I didn't get it. Fortunately, last night I got an email from the employer saying that their interviewing process was over, and they would like for me to work for them!

The position starts on December 3rd. The hours are 8-5ish (awesome!). I will be looking after a nine month old Labradoodle, walking him three times a day, playing with him, and baking him yummy treats. I will also be preparing meals for the humans throughout the week, too.

a google image of a labradoodle

Now, in the mean time, I will be planning menues and recipes for the family. I'm going to look into Christmas cookies to make for them and freeze (for them to eat while I'm back home during Christmas). I'm also going to research information about labradoodle puppies, just so I'm not surprised when the little rascal misbehaves.

I'm ecstatic about this fresh beginning. I really can't wait to spend my days with a puppy. Eeee!

Weekend Tricks

My housewarming on Saturday was nice! It ended up being a bunch of girls, plus Andrew, eating donuts, listening to groovy 8tracks playlists. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves.

I've heard back from a couple job positions, some good, some not so good. A lot of the families that are providing the positions have a very odd amount of hours that they can give (5-10pm, 3-7pm etc.). I wish I could commit to them, but I need at least 25-30 hours a week in order to maintain this apartment and this life. Hopefully I get a couple more bites by the end of the week. 

Kettle corn with lots of sprinkles.

I made heart cakes with the left-over gluten-free donut batter.

Cute $2 shot glasses

This week I'll...

-Avoid spending the remainder of my savings. It's hard not to dip into it during the week. Everyone's so busy, and I get the worst anxiety sitting alone in my apartment. I tend to go out and buy lattes with the money I should be saving in case of an emergency. Coffee cravings are emergencies, right?

-Keep motoring through Kijiji and Craigslist ads. I'll contact as many families as I can, in hopes they'll want to meet for an interview. Interviews are my specialty. I never get nervous, and love talking about my pastry experiences (and they love hearing about it!).

-Get groceries! Cheap cheap groceries. Andrew and I are trying to use up whatever we have saved in our freezers. It'll save us money and time.

-Keep my chin up. Everyone goes through these awkward transitions. I have to keep pushing myself to stay positive. I have to learn to understand that I can achieve whatever I want to. I just have to keep trying!

It's time to party

Hey there. Happy Saturday.

Tonight I'm throwing my first party, a housewarming of sorts, in my tiny apartment.
There will be no where to sit, but that's okay.

There are donuts to eat, wine to drink, and conversations to be had.

I'm excited.

Here's a recipe for you. It's easy, yummy, and they're cute as heck.


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Chocolate Donuts With Vanilla Glaze
Makes about twelve

2 cups of flour (Bob's red mill gluten-free or all purpose regular)
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cocoa powder
1 tsp of each baking soda and baking powder
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
vanilla extract
rose water or lavandar extract or violet extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Oil your donut pan
3. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, and powder. Whisk together until combined.
4. In another large bowl combine milk, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk together until combined.
5. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Try not to over-mix. It'll make your donuts dense.
6. Spoon your batter into a piping bag. No need for a tip! Just cut off the bottom.
7. Pipe the batter into the pre-oiled pan. Fill only half way because these babies rise!
8. Bake 8-12 minutes. They're done when you touch them and they bounce back up.
9. Cool completely

Vanilla Glaze

1 cup of icing sugar, sifted
1-5 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla, or 1 vanilla bean

1. Whisk icing sugar with vanilla and 1 tbsp of milk, adding more milk until the glaze is a pancake batter consistency.
2. When the donuts have cooled completely, dip the tops into the glaze. Let the excess drip off.
3. Sprinkle with SPRINKLES!