Jamie Oliver’s new book, Jamie at Home, was waiting for me when I got home last night.  And after a quick flip through, I know it’s going to become one of my favourite cookbooks.  Part gardening manual and part recipe book - Jamie shows how satisfying it can be to not only cook for yourself, but to grow your own veggies.

I’m also starting to like his recipe style  too - no calorie counts or breakdowns, just quality ingredients.  He lets you decide if you should splurge on that apple crumble or not.

And the photos.  Swoon.  The whole book is printed on this lovely matte paper which gives the whole book a sort of wholesome feel.  (Much like Super Natural Cooking.)  The cover too is oddly reminiscent of a cookbook your grandmother probably had.  The whole thing is just lovely from cover to cover.   Now, to start cooking…

I am currently obsessed with this matcha green tea latte mix. I bought it on a whim at the grocery store last week and now I can’t imagine starting my day without it.   It’s so easy - just mix the green tea in equal parts with milk, heat on stove (or microwave) and voila… latte.  I put a little more milk in than tea, probably about 1 1/4 cups milk to 1 cup tea.  This way it’s not too sweet.

It’s like having a Starbucks… in your kitchen.  And you can wear pajamas if you want to.

Last night was the book launch for the new version of Cheap Eats Ottawa.  The new version has lots of familiar Ottawa foodie institutions and plenty of new reviews.  Like pho.  Seriously, there are a lot of pho places around these days.

Hot off the presses- you can buy a copy online or in stores today!  Valentines gift you say?

Here’s a peak of my profile - to read my recommendations just pick up a copy.  It’s a bargain!

I took my sandwich in a Ziploc bag today (ok, No Name brand “sandwich” bag) and I felt guilty.  Too guilty.  I’ve tried washing out these little bags to reuse them, but they never really wash properly… or take for.ev.er. to dry.   So, bags-b-gone.  I bought a 3 pack of wrap-n-mats.

I’m having a bit of a food freak-out since reading some information about the chemicals in plastics.  Did you know that Bisphenol A is even in the linings of many canned foods?  Like canned tomatoes??  We eat a lot of canned tomatoes.

If I knew how to can food, I’d probably start.  Well…  in the summer.  Hmm, maybe it’s time to learn.

Nothing says “settling down” like buying a 22 pound bag of flour.  Value size = hot.

We tried to simplify our grocery shopping after one too many groggy Sundays asking ourselves “what groceries do we need this week”? We tried just keeping scrap paper on the fridge to jot down items as we ran out, but we’d always forget something. Like always. For realsies.

So, I started typing up a Master Grocery List (lists are awesome) to keep on the fridge. Run out of milk? Just tick the box. Cat needs food (as if he hasn’t reminded you every.single.hour. that his reserve box of food is getting dangerously low)? Tick the box.

I divided the list into items that we get at the grocery store and ones that we buy in bulk, but feel free to rearrange as you see fit.

Download the Master Grocery List

I poked into the bookstore on the way home last night to browse and thaw my toes (just a little bit).  I came across Nigella Lawson’s Feast in the bargain bin pile.  This tomb of a cookbook was on sale for $20.  Woo $20!!  Any Nigella recipe I’ve ever made has turned out.  Including baked goods.  And I am no baker.

When I flipped through the book, I saw she had an entire chapter devoted to chocolate cake.  In fact, she calls it her “Chocolate Hall of Fame”.  Inside the hall of fame was a recipe for a Guinness beer chocolate cake with fluffy white icing - making the cake resemble a very squat pint of beer.  Sold.  What recipe could possible be more boyfriendly than beer cake?

I’m not a vegan, I just play one on TV.  Ha ha.  I found out about ZenKitchen gourmet dinners from a vegan friend and her photos of the dinners looked amazing.  The more I read about the background of the dinners (local foods, organic, seasonal etc.) the less it mattered whether the meals contained meat, dairy or eggs.  In fact, I’m really excited to experience a full four-course dinner without these familiar staples of my diet.

With limited seating you get to mingle with other diners and then ask the chef questions after the meal.  I really love this concept.

We scooped up two tickets for the December dinner.

I decided to start a new food blog rather than keep posting recipes over at my old site. I do enjoy cooking and trying out recipes (most of the time). I also try to cook healthy meals (some of which may involve tofu or other “weird” ingredients.) Now, girls normally don’t turn their nose up at tofu or versions of cheese that are low-fat, but boys certainly do. When I made one of my tofu or uber healthy meals and my husband would like it, I called it a  “boy friendly recipe.”  That’s where the title of this blog comes from!
First rule of boyfriendly cooking. I have to like it.

Second rule of boyfriendly cooking. Men can learn to love chickpeas.

Third rule of boyfriendly cooking. It can’t be healthy all of the time. But it has to be tasty.