by Marie | May 25, 2013 | Thoughts
I love my local Asian market. It’s closer than any other grocery store, and it’s like a treasure trove. The shelves are loaded with things I’ve never heard of, and things I love that are so cheap they’re practically free compared to what I’m used to paying. I always get something new every time I go, and make something fun and delicious for dinner. With the shelves loaded with so many bottles, bags, and cans, it can be hard to know what to start with. Here are the things I’ll never buy at the grocery store again.
Thai Curry Paste
This stuff is potentially the biggest rip-off in the tiny Asian section of your grocery store. You’ll pay $5 for a 40mL jar of curry paste. Head to the Asian market and you’ll get 400mL for $3.
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by Marie | Mar 10, 2013 | Articles, Featured Posts, Soap, The Basics, Thoughts
I wasn’t originally going to publish this today, but I received a few comments on yesterday’s entry about the use of tallow in soap making. I’ve also had a quite a few questions over the years about the use of lard and tallow in my soaps, so I thought I’d finally bite the bullet, as it were, and write a full entry on why I use it, and what the alternatives are if you are morally opposed to using animal products.
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by Marie | Feb 4, 2013 | Cooking, Thoughts
Going out for dinner on Valentine’s Day is like going shopping in that last week before Christmas, except now you’re forcing someone to come with you. It’s a rather odd ritual, when you think about it. When was the last time you thought “Gee, I’d really like to share an intimate, heartwarming, candlelit meal with my significant other, 40 other couples, and a waiter?”.
Anyhow, that’s why I think a homemade meal is the best way to go. Not just any meal, though—a feast. A feast worthy of love and leftovers. And whenever I think feast, I think Indian. It’s easier than you think to whip yourself up a miniature buffet as most of the prep overlaps—use your food processor to chop up a few onions, and then to make a garlic/ginger paste. After that you pretty much just have to sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger with different spices, add some veggies/lentils/etc., top it off with broth/tomatoes/cream/coconut milk, and let simmer. Do that a few times, et voila. Feast.
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by Marie | Feb 3, 2013 | Thoughts
I’m sorry to say that my grandfather, Grandpa Jim, passed away early on December 18th. While most of you did not know him, I wanted to take some time to share some of my favourite memories and photos of him. I’ve been spending the last few days sifting through all my happy memories of growing up with Grandpa in Calgary.
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by Marie | Jan 26, 2013 | Home, Thoughts
Go home, winter. No one likes you. You weren’t invited to this party. You look fat in those pants and you smell funny. GO AWAY.
Ok, well, that didn’t work. Crap. Winter’s still here, my feet are still cold, and I’m still dreaming about escaping to a beach in Australia. I’ve been dealing with winter for most of my life (minus that one time I skipped most of it by going to Australia), and I’ve developed a few coping mechanisms. (more…)
by Marie | Dec 31, 2012 | Thoughts
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want
In a lot of cases we’ve been taught that it’s impolite to ask for what you want, but I’ve learned that not making your desires and intentions clear can really backfire on you. If you don’t ask for what you want, or at least make your intentions and goals known, you might just get exactly the opposite of what you want (potentially with good intentions on the part of the other party), and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.
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