Pookie

I am glad you can get him a new one. I am sure he will be happy! 12 for 2 ice creams is insane. The Gelato cost us about 6$ total and anywhere else 3-4$ is the upper limit for ice cream. (In case anyone is thinking I am weird for writing my prices as 12$ instead of $12 - I spent 13 years of my education in French Immersion school. I learned to write and do math in French. And that is the french way. It feels unnatural to do it any other way) I can snap some shots of Swiss Chalet and Loblaws on my way home from work if you like. I am at my second job today. They are much less restrictive with the use of the Internet. But I can't get my camera to upload to this computer so you will have to wait until about 5:30pm for pictures of breakfast, the Farm Stand and the bits for najiki.

What's the difference between a university and a college in Canadian English? ← University would be where you go to geta Bachelors or Masters or Phd. College is where you go to become a plumber, early childhood educator, accountant, Chef. One is much more academic and the other provides a lot of hands on training. I did my training to be a chef and a Food service supervisor at a College. My Husband is taking Accounting at the College here in town. College is also about half the price!

After the ribs we went to Marble Slab. I understand that there are a lot of these in the states? This is new to London and there has been a lot of Buzz. We decided that we had to check it out. I got Honey Ice Cream with Peaches. The Husband had Chocolate with Raspberries. It was good, but I prefer the Gelato. And at 12.00$ for 2 cones it was a lot expensive. I don't think we will go back. Not because it was bad, but there is better and cheaper and local ice cream to be had.

And more still. Some of the vendors. Victoria Park has some of the tamest squirrels in the world. They will walk right up to you and demand some of what you are eating. There are hundreds and hundreds of them in the park.

More from the ribfest. Pulled Pork on a Bun. I liked it but though it could have been less saucy and more smoky. Maybe less sweet too. More vinegar in the sauce. These were my favourite ribs of the night, Fall off the bone tender with a great smoke flavour. We got them from this booth. These were also very good.

I never thought of it as very dense. There are large swatches of parkland and trees. We do seem to have a lot of apartments though. We have both a University and a College here in town so our student population may have something to do with it.

And now for something only partially related to food. Corn Maze! The Husband's Cousin made this in his corn this year. Not sure if you can make it out, but it is a fireman at the top, a firetruck under that, a cross with ladder and axe and another axe at the bottom. It has been entered in the Guiness book of world records as the worlds largest corn maze.

Now for the fridge pics! The main part. The Door. Yes that is Meijer Butter in the door. I bought several pounds the last time I went to Port Huron with Randi. It's 4.00$ a Lb and up here so there it was 2.00$ Even with the exchange it was a steal!

You are right about the store. It probably is Korean. I think of it as the Japanese store because it's where I buy my sushi rice and miso and seaweed. A few teasers from the Rib fest...... Mmm. Ohhh.

Next I hit the grocery store. This is right down the street from our place. We do probably 95% of our shopping here. The only thing I have ever looked for and not found was mascarpone cheese. The produce. The deli. Some of the organic section. The indian/carribean aisle. (yes it takes a whole aisle!) Here is what I bought. This cost me 84$ Cdn. Now I am off to meet the Husband at the Rib fest. I will be back with pictures of that and of my fridge.

After work I went shopping. My first stop was the Japanese grocery. It dosent look like much from the outside..... But on the inside it's a treasure trove. Grocery section. Freezer section. Housewares. What I bought. Mirin, noodles, rice sprinkles, fried beans, chinese sausages, panko, sweet potato fries and Ume plum drink (I think.)

Lets start with Breakfast and Lunch! (which I actually ate today, go me.) Breakfast was left over quiche from last night. I am really a savoury breakfast type of person. Things like pancakes and waffles and such are fine but I would rather eat leftovers. Lunch was Pasta Salad (the leftover bruschetta mix, penne and turkey kielbasa) , canned apricots and Earl Grey Iced tea. I had really let the fridge and cupboard get empty so I was scraping the bottom of the barrel food wise. Lunch today for our residents was a choice of white meat Chicken strips with peas and pasta salad, or Cheddar-tomato-red onion sandwiches with tossed salad. Watermelon or ice cream for dessert. For dinner they have the option of Crunchy Perch or Veal Cutlets.

Coming right up! I made it back from work and the grocery store. I am just uploading pics and will be with you in a moment!

Thank you! I am leaving for work. It's far too early in the morning (5:40am) I should be home and posting again by 3:30.

I have been a bad blogger today. I wasnt feeling well so I didnt eat breakfast or Lunch today. I did make dinner though. We desperatly need to go grocery shopping so the fridge is pretty bare. I managed to scrounge together the ingredients for a spinach and Goat cheese quiche. I also had some tomatoes for an impromtu bruschetta. I thought I would show you a few more things in my life. For the first time in my life I am able to keep plants alive. They always died on me before. I have a window full of Herbs in the dining room. From left to right, Rosemary, thyme, oregano, lavender and sage. There is also a garlic chive in the office. Here you can see the view from our balcony. It went from extremely hot hot hot yesterday to cool and rainy today. Tomorrow I am going to the Japanese store after work and meeting the Husband downtown for the rib fest. We are also going to Marble Slab for ice cream. Hope I don't burst! This weekend I work at my second job. I get to visit my favourite farm stand and the Peanut store.

The picture of the Keith's made my husband whimper. He still hasn't gotten over the fact that he lost his precious green Keith's cap off the back of a motorcycle taxi a couple months back. His parents scoured Halifax for another one for him, but said they don't make them anymore. ← Was it anything like this one? Anything else you would like to see?

Sneaking in from work (shhh don't tell) Sushi is still a weird thing in the country side durrounding London. We took it to a family reunion in Glencoe and we were the only ones who would touch it. On the other hand there are at least 6 Japanese Restaurants in London and Sushi is sold in almost every Grocery store. I like to compare London to Toronto. We have everything Toronto has, but instead of 10 places to get something we will have 1 or two. There is nothing I have been looking for that I have not been able to find in London. I do miss Toronto some times. Mostly for the transit, but not for the rent! We pay 85$ a month less for our inclusive 2-bedroom apt here in London than we did for our 1 bedroom walk up (plus utilities) in Toronto.

Hello, sorry to be away for so long. I went shopping after work and then the Husband met me for a movie and we went out to dinner. A few bits - the LCBO may have been very controlling in the past but it is trying to become more customer focused. They are open later hours and have amazing selections. They also have a rocking magazine that they put out free about 8 times a year. It has amazing travel, food and booze articles and the recipes can be really great. And did I mention Free? There are also often free wine tastings in the newer stores. And yes, in some of the very small communities some grocery stores have special LCBO sections. These are mostly in places where it wouldnt make sense to keep a completly separate store open. I have seen LCBO outlets in Trailers before though.... So today it is still hot hot hot hot hot. So For breakfast I had Muesli and Milk. This is Jordan Brand 50% fruit and nut muesli. We get it at our favourite grocery store Food Basics. HUge selection and amazing stock. Lunch was a chicken and mandarin salad with poppyseed dressing. In the green bottle is hibiscus iced tea. After the movie the Husband took me out for dinner. There are not a lot of non-chain restaurants in our area. All the boston Pizza and East side mario's and swiss chalets that you can take though. We went to Kubby's sports bar for some wings and onion rings. Hot. HOney Garlic. Rings. Not the fanciest plating but they were very good. And the beer went down quite the treat. I didn't eat the dip as I HATE RANCH DRESSING!!!!!! The very idea is yucky to me. The Husband and Randi laugh at me, but I can live with myself. No Ice Cream today, I had enough fat in the wings. Tomorrow we will go again.

In an effort to generate the least amount of heat in our apratement we had crockpot pulled pork for dinner. It's incredibly easy - pork and bbq sauce in the crockpot for 8 hours, shred, eat. We had it on buns with coleslaw. Now I am going to bed. Hopefully tomorrow my camera will cooperate and I can post breakfast and lunch too. Any requests of things you would like to see? The Market? My butcher? If it's this hot tomorrow we are going out for dinner.

So after the Ice Cream we stopped off at the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario - Lickbo to most folks) to pick up some drinks. I bought a pack of Blackfly - a locally produced cooler. It's made right in Downtown London, right next to our market. They started out last year and are in all Ontario LCBOs and expanding accross the Country. I like it because it's not nearly as sweet as most coolers. It's a Cranberry/blueberry blend with vodka and slight carbonation. We also stopped at the Beer Store. We picked up a 6 of Keiths and a 12 or Creemore springs. I should have bought some Labatts because it's brewed right here in London, but I couldnt bring myself to do it. Brew days make the entire downtown core smell like hops. It both stinks and smell like home. The LCBO and the Beer Store are the only places to buy booze here in Ontario (except for Winery direct stores) No booze in the grocery stores or corner stores.

Okay, Boy it's hot - I'm going to make this quick - there is no A/C in the office. Today after work I picked up the Husband from school and we went for more Ice Cream. This time to the London Ice Cream Company. The shop is in an industrial type area and they supply Ice Cream to many local restaurants and stores. It's a very basic shop, cash only and the decor is minimal. I had Chocolate Moose Tracks - chocolate Ice cream with chocolate flakes, and peanut butter chocolate cups. Yum! The Husband had Rocky Road. My Camera seems to have eaten the ice cream pictures. I will see if I can find them later. I am going to sit in the semi-cool air of the bedroom. When I make it back I will show you the LCBO and Beer Store, along with what we bought.

As a quick note (while I wait for my pictures to upload) there are 46 Tim Horton's in London. With a Population of 350 000 that is one Timmies for every 7600 people. Not to mention the other independant and smaller doughnut chains.

It's more of a general "Meat" cook Book. The publishing date is 1933. The nice part is that it has meat cut pages that show all of the different cuts of beef, pork, veal and lamb. I actually use it quite a bit. Today I had some Doctors appts so I didn't get to eat breakfast or lunch. But dinner made up for it! I really liked the "Chicken" even if Randi didnt. I have been to that place a few times now and really like it. Because it is so hot I dragged the husband out to our local Gelato place. (Ha! Local place.... It's one of the only places in London that serves Gelato. We are just lucky that it is less than 3 blocks away. They have been in business for about 3 years now and each year get bigger and better. The paninis are great too! Here you can see the inside with the cold case. There are lots and lots of flavours and most days I go for the Rum and Raisin or the Dark Chocolate. But again, because of the stinking heat they are too heavy. I had Green apple and Peach. And the Husband had Mango and Lemon. Then we went home to sweat some more. (I did pick up a wheel of Brie when I went to Costco with Randi. We don't have a membership as we are in an apartment and have no room to store stuff. )

Yep, Merla Mae. I hope to make it there this week too. But tonight we went a lot closer to home - Twistee Treat! Here you can see the menu. They do soft serve and shakes and sundaes. In the early summer you can get a Rhubarb Twister which is really yummy. Both the Husband and I went for the chocolate/vanilla twist cones dipped in chocolate. And now I am off to bed, as morning comes way too early. I work 6am -2pm tomorrow and have some errands to do so Randi will have to hold down the morning fort.

On weekends I am home by myself as the Husband is at work. He is a full time student during the week and a line cook on the weekends. He works at a Steakhouse here in London. But it does mean I am cooking for one on Saturday and Sunday. Tonight after it cooled a little I made myself some pasta. Nothing fancy, just some bacon, onions, mushrooms, garlic, cheese and green onions. I made lots so that will be lunch for tomorrow too. We are planning on going for Ice Cream once the Husband finishes work for the night.