Friday, 19 August 2011

Sincere apologies from a SUPER busy baker!

Alright followers, I think Shalane and I owe you an apology. We're so sorry it's been so long since we've posted, but I think that our reasons for having been absent are well justified. Well, you see, we were kidnapped by rogue, helicopter flying polar bears and were taken to the frozen tundra, and you see, all they wanted was 1 million dollars but no one had that ransom money. So we've been there. Until recently, when we escaped on the backs of giant wild seahorses. It was an adventure of epic proportions, let us tell you!

Hahahahahahha! I wish, that would be a lot easier to forgive. What's REALLY been happening is the following:

-Jessica's wedding
-family in from England and Italy
-another family wedding
-Jessica and her husband moving out into their own place
-Shalane getting a job in another province
-Shalane prepping for the move
-Shalane leaving Jessica :(
-Jessica getting awesome new travel job
-Jessica and husband assembling whole home worth of ikea furniture
-Jessica and husband puppy sitting giant crazy dog for 1 month
-Jessica making wedding cake for friend

As you can see, it's been a busy 2 months! I, for one, have NOT forgotten about my blogsibilities, and have been taking some sweet photographs and documenting amazing foods that I've experienced over the last few months and can't wait to share it with you. For today? I'd love to promote an amazing company that made our lives easier this summer. The West Cost U-Brew at 1st Ave and Clarke in Vancouver! Through them, we made 2 batches of delicious beer for all of our guests in from England, both batches in 48 lit. quantities! When we first walked into their shop, my husband and I were greeted by a friendly bunch of guys that really loved what they were doing. The shop smelled of delicious baking oats and whey, it was clean, and it was full of people! (Which is a good sign!) They first suggested we do an Irish lager, because it was a lovely clean beer that was not too hoppy and that appealed to a wide demographic of persons. Which it did. The beer was crisp and lovely and got to our heads really really quickly, which was awesome! It didn't feel heavy or processed, it was a beautiful beer. The second batch we got was a pale ale, which was nuttier in flavour, but delicious just the same. While the first batch lasted a good week and a bit, the second was gone in 24 hours. Literally!

The photos coming up are of our experience of going into the shop, cleaning the bottles, bottling (and tasting) our lager, and taking it home :) It was a fantastic experience and we can't wait to do it again! We recommend that everyone go try this place. If you've got a large party of beer lovers to satisfy, this is cost effective, the beer is DELICIOUS, the guys know that they are doing, and are extremely, EXTREMELY helpful! Thanks Mike and the rest of the dudes at West Cost U-Brew!!!







Eat well, my lovelies. I will be speaking to you more often, now! Happy Friday!!!!!!

Love love love,
Jessica xo

Monday, 6 June 2011

Jessica has been a bad girl....

....but it feels so good!

Hello, hungry world! It's 1/2 of 2 hungry blondes (Jessica) reporting to you tonight with some wonderful news! I have to date lost 10 pounds! Which means, my wedding dress fits perfectly. I am pleased! In honour of having lost some weight, I have somehow decided to...gain....it all...back? Let me explain:


Delicious homemade Won Ton soup at Woody's pub.......




Delicious smoked beef burger at Burgers Etc in Burnaby....


And finally, dinner that I ordered tonight for my foreign exchange students.....and two slices have mysteriously disappeared.... 

My my my. I feel as though during the week, I work hard at eating well (see older post about healthy breakfast eating time)...so, come the weekend, I allow myself a few delicious luxuries. Here is to you, hungry world, and your weaknesses. Please don't take life too seriously, and appreciate the moments where you can cheat. You're alive, you're well, and you deserve to indulge every once in a while!

Eat on, happy planet. 

Love always
A VERY hungry blonde.....

..well not now, I just stuffed 2 pieces of pizza into my belly.
:P






Sunday, 29 May 2011

Lunch Wrap

I'm hungry... it's sunny...

As you probably already know, I REALLY love food... And....well, I also REALLY love being outside (especially when it is this sunny)! My dilemma: I want to eat something tasty but I also don't want to spend a lot of time making whatever that tasty something is. I want to go and get working in my garden! Bright idea: It's lunch wrap time!

Ingredients: one tortilla, mixed lettuce, chicken tossed in tex-mex spice mix, corn, cilantro, scallions,  diced tomato and cheese (lots of cheese... because I like cheese... a lot).

Here is how I made it:








Super easy, super fast. Okay... now it's time to get back outside :)

Have an absolutely FANTASTIC sun/food-filled day,
<3 Shalane

p.s. This recipe was inspired by the quesadilla recipe in the cookbook seen below. It's basically the same recipe... the only difference being that I added tex-mex spice (a suggestion from my friend) lettuce and diced (instead of sliced) tomatoes. If you don't already have a copy of this cookbook, you should totally get your hands on one. Every recipe that I have tried from it has been super easy to follow and the meals are always incredibly delicious!


Saturday, 28 May 2011

Healthy Breakfast Time!

Hello, hungry world!

In between posts, I (Jessica) thought I would share with you a healthy breakfast idea that I was given by my amazing cousin Lori! The first thing you will need are any type of berries! About one cup will be fine!


The Second thing you will need are the whites of 4 eggs. You can scramble them, but I find that this breakfast is easiest to eat when it's cooked in omelette form!


You will also need weight watchers torillas, and turkey bacon! Delicious :)



Once you have the whites on the stove, pour yourself a BIG FAT glass of something hydrating. Here, I have added 1/4 glass of cranberry raspberry juice to water for a bit of flavor. Take the omelette, place it into the tortilla, and finish with 2 slices of turkey bacon. Wrap, and serve with the bevvy and the berries of your choice! 




The final step to this healthy and delicious breakfast is a refreshing, cleansing cup of tea! Green tea is the best, but if you prefer a tea with a pop of flavor, jasmine green tea is a good option! I really like this brand. You can find it at Superstore for a great price!!



Thanks for taking the time to read this in between post! I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I do! A VERY special thank-you to my cousin Lori, who has provided this, and many more wonderful, healthy meal ideas to me during this wedding preparation time! 

Good eats, my friends, and HAPPY SATURDAY <3

Stay hungry!
xoxoxoxo
Jessica

PS: Tune in tomorrow evening for a new post from both Shalane and I! 

Thursday, 26 May 2011

Hello Hungry World!

To our delicious followers!

We wish you a beautiful week, and an even better upcoming weekend! We're very excited to announce that we will be coming to you on Sunday with a new post! Can't wait to see what this culinary date with Shalane brings! Will it be something savory? Something sweet? You will just have to check back to know! 

We'd also like to take a moment to thank our new followers! Cheers, wonderful people, and we hope that we can keep you interested, and keep you coming back to see what treats we desire so deeply to share with the world.

Happy baking!
xo
Jess and Shalane

Saturday, 14 May 2011

Oh! I forgot!!!

I forgot to share with you the recipe for our strawberry buttercream icing! It's very simple. Generally, I use 1/4 cup butter per 2 cups of sifted icing sugar, which will leave it very stodgy. Instead of using milk to soften up the icing, we used a strained fresh strawberry puree!


 Add a touch of vanilla, and a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon, and you're on the road! If you feel compelled, and prefer a pinker colour, just add a tad of icing coloring (from Wilton) in the gel form so it doesn't break up the consistency of the icing, and you're set. Here is a picture of the type of coloring that works best. You can also use it in fondant and in cake batters! 
You can find these at any Michaels store in Vancouver and Burnaby!

Happy baking!
-Jess

Pizza Picnic

It was sunny. We made a pizza. We sat outside. We ate A LOT. We laughed. We giggled. We made a serious mess. We drank an entire carton of 100% pineapple Juice. Life is sweet (and savory)!











We definitely finished the ENTIRE pizza.


Oh, and guess who made a guest appearance... DOLLY!!!!:


Have a food-filled happy day,
2 Hungry Blondes

p.s. The pizza went a little like this:
Sauce: tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, onion, chicken stock (reduced until nice and thick)
Pizza Crust: whole wheat, rye, flax, and all things good and healthy
Pizza Toppings: bocconcini, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil leaves