… end of the month mofos … tomorrow we flip the calendar over to July (Happy Birthday Canada), the BEST month … the month of my birth. I’m in the homestretch y’all!!
… snapped & sharing only ’cause I liked the coiffe, lol!
… and get this … ’cause of my recent healthier lifestyle, and with my newly transformed tighter/toned/slimmer physique – Tiffany K even suggested I take up modeling, LOL!!
… consecutive days I should add, 8K everyday! Not to mention the occasional nightly 3-4K walks with Tiffany K … not even counting those. That was gonna be my blog entry, the days and distance … but something remarkable happened on the 25th day, I recorded my best time ever. And not by a bit, by a lot, I obliterated my previous best (39 minutes) by a whopping 1 minute and 18 seconds! Gonna email my personal trainer and tell him that’s all I’ve got to give and not to expect anymore (private joke, lol)! To put it in perspective, my single best 1K split was 4:42 … today I ran the whole 8K AVERAGING 4:42 … I know, insane, eh? Friday Morning Run June 7, 2013 RunKeeper stats y’all!!
map blotted for privacy reasons …
my 8K splits …
Finally getting around to blogging about Tiffany K‘s Duck Pancakes – pulled BBQ duck, a heaping helping of blueberry compote, and a huge scoop of creamy chèvre piled high on fresh flapjacks (I know, sounds SO decadently good!) from our initial brunch outing in November 2011 at Barque Smokehouse on Roncesvalles. Hey, better late than never, ‘sides, ain’t as if yer payin’ a pretty penny for the quality of my work … so no complainin’, lol. Found this pic, actually two pics – two perspectives … take a look! Neat!
mine with Tiff in the background snapping her shot
… and her pic (mine’s better, just sayin’, lol)
MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!
Tiff, where’s my 12 gauge??!!
Just my expert observation. Including a Tiff K file pic from 3 years ago, March 27, 2010 … that’s a shitload of chips and ice cream, lol!!
One of the many healthy herbal tea products from Traditional Medicinals … it caught my eye while tea shopping for Tiff as I was familiar with it having previously bought dandelion root tablets. Its health benefits are incredible, and I’m happy having incorporated it into my nightly routine. It has a pleasant taste … you can actually taste the roasted flavour.
… and it’s ORGANIC to boot …
… steeped, ready to enjoy in my fave Denby mug …
… in a hearty Sangiovese/beef broth sauce w/ sundried tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic on a bed of buttered egg noodles … Happy B-Day Tiff!!
… ya ALMOST ruined ma b-day dinner for TIFF K!! Yer recipe writing skills leave a lot to be desired … lucky for you I have shittywrittenrecipefixingskills!! 👿
… made it here … finally!! Had the group discount WagJag from what seems ages ago, and today decided to go. Oh, and I’ve never been to South St. … famous for their mango chutney (and no if you must know, not on you life, lol), as well as other fun (unique) offerings. I loaded my burger with gorgonzola, chipotle BBQ sauce, spicy onions, dijon horseradish mayo, w/lettuce and tomatoes too!! Tiff had guacamole, spicy onions, hot peppers, garlic mayo, honey mustard, w/lettuce and tomato (sorry, no pic). We agreed the food was good, Tiff especially loved the fries, and I second that – they were great. The burgers were good too … but nothing outstanding, we’ve def had better. Must admit, I really enjoyed the chipotle flavour on mine, the spiciness was perfect. Unfortunately the bottom line is we probably won’t go back … er, unless we snag another WagJag, lol!!
fries and shake …
ma burger (toasted bun – nice touch) …
even with the coupon – it ain’t cheap …
didn’t know what to use as a title, this will do. and for the first time ever, I’m blogging without editing, re-editing a million times. I promise (I think, lol). so don’t be expecting the usual falling off your chair as you read this either. stuff I write is falling off the chair funny, isn’t it, lol?! mistakes, punctuation, caps be damned. today was a helluva day, plans I had were cancelled … hate that word, rescheduled is better. Tiffany K and I were dressed ready to go, but with nowhere to go. perfect time to drive to Hamilton to the brand new Anchor Bar that opened yesterday … read yesterday’s blog y’all. normally when I post pics/stories I embellish, cover faults, etc. focusing on only the good aspects … I’m not a reviewer after all, I like things to be perfect (or appear to be). today, I’m afraid I can’t, I have mixed feelings about it all. I can’t remember the last time I had Anchor wings in Buffalo, it’s been that long. fifteen years for sure, probably twenty. I remember they were the pinnacle, the best … today they were good, very good but not the best. Tiff immediately said, “Duff’s” are better. she read my mind, they are. no matter – good is still good. it was more about the beautiful city of Hamilton that depressed me, and I felt bad, I still do as I write this. we made the mistake (mistake because it exposed me to things I was unaware of) of walking out the back of the restaurant, the exit that leads into the mall. Tiff said, “it’s like the seventies in here”. as many stores that were open, an equal number weren’t. for lease signs abounded, the mall was poorly lit, very dark and unwelcoming … I could go on, I won’t. was blown away with the depressed state of it all. guess what at the time was my highlight of the day, so much that I took a moment and snapped a pic … free parking on a Saturday, downtown Hamilton, on King Street … was in fact a harbinger of Hamilton’s economic state. the pics.
… sorry Tiff. Stopped at my fave Sunday haunt and got roped into a Portuguese food feast. Good bud Alex didn’t even bother to ask if I wanted a beer today, he just ordered it … and he even remembered my brand, Stella (best the bar offers). He did ask if I wanted to join him/them for lunch, his treat … I can’t tell you how many times I’ve douched out and declined … not today. A few pics y’all …
Alex and me (grunge photoshopped, lol)
vino (and bread)
cabbage, carrots, and potatoes
… pic #2
… and 3
meat: chorizo, chicken, pork … unsure of the rest?
… pic #2
my plate (1st of 3 helpings)
2 bottles (these are the bigboybottles btw) down, 1 to go
after dinner espresso and double shot of brandy (bowl is deep)
Final thoughts; those three bottles of wine were drunk ‘tween eight manly men dining (seven actually … stuck with my Stella). Every Sunday, anyone who wants to eat/drink is welcomed. The bill is calculated as a whole, then divided by the number of people … roughly calculated too (no nitpicking), making paying easier. Today it was $20/head … ALL IN!! My lunch included three beers (typically $6-7 at any bar), all the food I could eat, a double shot of brandy and espresso … to call it a good bargain would be the proverbial understatement. Thanks again Alex, you’re good people!!
Must admit, really don’t fully understand it … and if this was her blog maybe she’d explain better, but it ain’t. And I do know she’s signed up for others – beauty boxes … Luxe Box, Loose Button … come to think of it, something tells me those two are actually one in the same?! The fuck do I know, lol? Anyways, I do remember reading in my TO Star that TopBox was the most desirable of this dollingoutsamplesbeautyboxbunch … AND, that there was a waiting list to sign-up. As luck would have it, my credit card membership permitted me front of the line privileges and Tiff scored huge … not your regular TopBox either, this one came with twice the goodies offered regular subscribers. Can’t remember all that’s supposed to be inside, do like the packaging … a couple of pics y’all …
A well deserved break, an opportunity to look back. Our Christmas tradition revolves around Christmas Eve, and includes a lot of food. Copious amounts of food, and not only this time of year. It’s in our culture to be overly generous with food. To give you an indication, Tiffany K and I haven’t left the house for groceries since … that’s almost a week. I’m finally reclaiming the fridge as my own, lol. Not to mention I froze leftovers knowing we couldn’t eat everything before spoiling. This year I even tackled baccala. Was very proud of my accomplishment, from sourcing this fish market in the city that carries the best baccala, a part of the city where parking is at a premium, never any spots available, to researching online various methods/rules of thumb preparing it. Generally soaking 1-3 days was the advice, two was better, and three if you had the time. Naturally I opted for the 72 hour soak, with 3-4 changes of water daily. I also researched baccala and potatoes in a tomato sauce recipes as I’ve had this years ago from this great little Italian bakery that used to make it (Fridays only) during the holidays. Alas, they moved, went out of business … not really sure, only know my baccala went along with them. In all my research, nobody bothered to mention the skinning of the fish and removing of the bones might prove challenging if attempting for the first time … thanks internet gurus, lol. Luckily when I bought the baccala I over bought … close to 3 lb, not the 2 lb I was planning to, so I did have some leeway with the wastage. I didn’t settle on any one particular recipe either. I read many to get ideas, that’s what I do, I know my way around a kitchen and felt comfortable enough combining/assembling the ingredients in a casserole dish and baking it without any difficulties. I eyeballed the potatoes I needed (was looking for a 50-50 ratio) and proceeded. And another thing you don’t see in these recipes is for parboiling the spuds before baking? I ALWAYS do to ensure them being cooked through … plus the oven temps they tell you to use are too low (350º – 375º) so I completely ignore that part of the recipe and crank it to 400º – 425º. One thing that did catch my eye, and I was so happy this person wrote this … not sure why others didn’t since it was so helpful? If I was making this recipe, but substituting the baccala with … let’s say tilapia, I’d be seasoning (salting) the you know what out of it. Everything. The fish, my home made tomato sauce … the potatoes … especially the potatoes. But this recipe writer … recipe advisor cautions on doing so due to the baccala’s inherent saltiness. Sure I soaked it, rehydrating it … changing water over and over, but it still retains plenty of salt to sufficiently season the whole dish. And for this tidbit you included, my baccala dish was sublime … and I thank you. It was the highlight of the dinner (but was so busy/preoccupied I didn’t snap any pics to share – sorry), and I was thrilled with my work, accomplishment … my success.
It’s funny after our Eve feast, a long time spent filling our bellies as you can imagine … a mere twelve hours later we’re back at the table for a HUGE breakfast blowout before the troops pack their booty and go on their merry (Christmas) way. Now that our dinner leftovers are done, felt like relieving that today, but on a lesser scale … and in a quieter moment. And now, found time to take a pic. 😆
sunny-side up eggs on toasted jalapeno salsa english muffins, pastizzi, potato pancakes w/ketchup
… all the way to the bank. One of those group discount deal-of-the-day websites, my favourite one btw. Tiffany K has been keeping a keen eye on the goings-on lately … got in on this incredible Special K score … did you know they made Flatbread Morning Sandwiches? Well me neither, but I do now, AND I got mine for free … same for their Morning Shake Beverages as well … wasn’t aware of them, but yep … gratis. Before the Kellogg’s haul y’all bought into $20 worth of food for $10 from South Street Burger Co. … and here’s the kicker; when Tiff was signing up for the deal, sitting in her account was an unexplained $5 credit … so actually it only cost five bucks five bucks five bucks (sorry Pizza Hut, lol)!! I’m so excited, have never been, although I was close to going on a number of occasions. From what I heard/read, their burger is throughthemothereffingroof delicious, PLUS included (no extra charge) is a shitload of cool toppings available … who does that? Mango chutney, HELLO?! 😀
voucher printed …
In the kitchen early in the a.m. making/baking pastizzi – a Maltese delicacy … these are ricotta cheese filled, the most common variety. It’s an annual holiday thing I do for Tiffany K to take to her work for their annual holiday thing that they do … from what I know, and I don’t know much since I don’t ask too many questions (better that way, lol), is that all staff contribute some food for a potluck of sorts. Last year everyone was raving about them (after repeatedly asking, “what are they?” “how do you say the name?” since they didn’t have a clue as to what they were), and who wouldn’t be – it’s cheese stuffed phyllo pastry for Chrissakes!! Naturally she (I) have to out do everyone else, so I order pastizzi from my secret pastizzi place (best in the city by far), drive outta my way to pick them up, and as I previously mentioned, rise and shine extra early (I know, things I do, lol) to bake three baking sheets full, two dozen total. Eight at a time is pretty much the max, you don’t wanna overcrowd them or they won’t puff properly, and at 35-40 minutes per sheet … AND with them having to be done and out the door by 8:00 … well you do the math … did I mention things I do?! 😀
tray #1 of tres
tray #2
tray #3
the perfect pastizzi
… a couple of quickie pics of our ecologically friendly, and year after year wallet friendly faux christmas tree Tiffany K decorated … I did help btw, but won’t bore y’all with my beautiful & brilliant contributions, other than a brief quote, “they were minimal” … and that’s not me saying that shit, it’s Tiff, lol!!
view from the right …
and from the left …
… my badass dog had fun ’bout twentytimesadaytuggingatthetreeskirt … God, I MISS that!!
Today was the release date of these seasonal wines, ready-set-GO to be stocked on LCBO shelves for sale … well, were supposed to be, talking about the actual physically stocking part – LCBO employee dude was happier than a pig in shit (even commented how we were making his job/life easier) as we kept taking bottles directly out of the boxes from his cart. Every year it’s a mad rush, so get there early or prepare to drive from store to store getting what you want. I walked in with my cut out Toronto Star article (and a Tiffany K Post-it® with her wants for added accuracy – not to mention a way-too-early-in-the-a.m.-finger-waving–pay-explicit-attention-to-what-I’m-saying-so-as-to-not-fuck-it-up-session detailing said specific must-have purchases, doubly ensuring no errors from yours truly as well, lol) and immediately upon entering – mere minutes later, a couple of gents followed with their crib notes. Quick draw Dan had 3 bottles of the coveted Negrar Novello Del Veneto secured, but when I overheard one guy wanting/asking for a case of Negrar, snuck back and snagged my fourth bottle … this store’s allotment was only three cases, and after our troika was done picking, was left with a dozen bottles (after half an hour of the store opening … on the first day of the Beaujolais Nouveau release). And btw, that’s it folks – once when they’re gone, they’re GONE!! A few pics from the day …
Shelves starting to get stocked
My pile ‘o wine on a vacant shelf – minus the one, lol
And now four
Two bottles of Dubœuf Gamay Nouveau
Tollo Novello Rosso Terre Di Chieti and Catalans Primeur Syrah Merlot
Watched the show last night – 1st time ever – certainly not willingly, but with no necessary arm-twisting. Know very little about it to be honest with you. But I do know that yesterday’s televised winner was to have his or her product available in stores this morning – in ALL Loblaws stores … and let me tell you folks – that’s a shitload of stores!! And I didn’t go shopping this morning, I went this afternoon and as you can see from the picture below, the set aside area and ready to go bunker was empty. The store manager took time to investigate and respond to my query. He was very kind, polite and understanding of my frustration (unlike the many indifferent employees of this company – pretty sure I blogged about their clock in – clock out & pick-up a paycheque lackadaisical work ethic before), hell … I could tell he was none too happy as well. And I was one step ahead of him when he mentioned that if their shipment hadn’t arrived, chances are all stores were in the same (sinking) boat. Poor Galen – you must feel like you’ve been kicked in the gonads with this public relations gaffe!! Oh, and since I have your ear … your decision to discontinue PC Memories of Lyon still has me scratching my head … you pissed off MANY 4 peppercorn sauce loving customers. I’m sure it was one of the top selling Memories brand items you’ve ever sold?! Take some advice from a guy who knows a thing or two about more than just one or two things … and bring it back pronto – no questions asked … don’t let Dave Nichol have the last laugh, ’cause trust me I know he’s rolling in the (your empty) aisles and howling now!! 😆
can’t say I didn’t try Tiffany K …
gone but not forgotten – you’re in steak heaven now ole friend … RIP …
Circumstances (which I won’t get into, divulge) dictated this simple affair!! And ya know what?? … easy and understated beats fancy schmancy … ANYEFFINGTIME!! Felt great for once not slaving (for days) in the kitchen for the troops. Too tired to story-tell folks … here’s a few pics from earlier today.
Creemore, coffee, and Canadian sparkling water …
Tiff K’s flat top …
Burger, frites and mayonnaise (love the Bibb btw) …
check out the doneness, perfectly rare …
another look …
… and the bill …
… for the variety name … green thumb stumped … HELP … PLEASE … ANYONE?!?! Was purchased a few years ago (09/10 – perhaps?), and showcased in the President’s Choice Insider’s Report … unfortunately no sign of the plant tag or receipt, but believe me, Tiffany K will def know the name once/if she sees/hears it … she captured this beautiful pic (isn’t it gorgeous?) July/August … Hosta and blooming Daylily together off the walkway to our house!! AND NO, it ain’t Stained Glass … ain’t Sitting Pretty either … the Hosta I mean … come to think of it, me too for that matter!! 😆
danistrulytheman 